#look i am technically not in fact actively TAKING requests

[forbiddenfrvt]

E X S C A P E

thought you were an escape, now i can't escape your grasp | ex-boyfriend!Leon (modern au)

warnings: mentions of cheating and breakups (past and present), unknowing Leon + reader being an asshole, fingering w shifty praise and degradation(? not so much cuz Leon rlly likes you too much for that), AFAB reader/female anatomy, public lewdness, f perversion, messy.

word count: yet to be proofread, will update with count after so.

ps: I do not condone cheating or anything of sorts as written in my fics because they are simply just as is; fictitious. Please do not take to heart what I write, MDNI! block/scroll do not report.

author's notes: this might be heavily inspired of irl :"> I went to watch oppenheimer with my ex and he just came from the gym, needless to say it was something. (EXCEPT THE CHEATING! I AM SINGLE BTW, DW. NO CHEATING IN THIS HOUSEHOLD YALL!) (Linked a playlist at the top :3)

Exes should remain just as is; Exes.

Exes shouldn't be friends for that would create conflict.

Nor should exes go out together for a movie.

Yet you stood there facing the nearly crowded ticket booth, looking around for a familiar mop of dirty blond hair— the very same one you used to run your fingers across, enjoying how fluffed it gets.

It had almost been a year since the two of you split, vaguely remembering how the break up went down, all you could remember was going on a fit of jealousy, along with stress from school exams crashing down, and needed to run away from the emotional baggage which you considered relationship to be.

Leon had been trying to reach out since forever, and by forever meaning— a month after you completely cut contact with him and began dating other guys. All of which ended horribly anyway; ended by you, yet again. Always. You simply couldn't stay in a relationship for too long, that, you acknowledged.

Leaving whenever the connection felt shifty and their mistakes often made you fall dissatisfied and bored, and while you could technically make it work— why bother? They'll continuously disappoint you anyway.

Your current boyfriend is proving it so, with his not-so-boyfriend-like activities of constantly putting you in situations you don't feel comfortable of; despite your protests, with how he keeps linking up with girls you've already voiced your displeasure for— and his overall lack of social etiquette, embarrassing you wherever the two of you might go. Not that you care for it, it's not like you saw a future with him anyway.

You clicked your phone open as it dinged, notifying you of a message from none other than the guy you've long labeled the number as: [do not pick up.]

It was a surprise to you how calm you were about the whole ordeal; you didn't feel anxious about meeting up with him again. Sure, maybe a slight nervousness and making sure your outfit matched pleasingly, opting for a pink low-cut tank top with a matching sheer, flimsy cover-up. A pathetic one where it couldn't even cover the temple of your breasts. No, you totally did not care.

After accidentally accepting his follow request, he wasted no time and practically expressed how much he missed you. Voicing how hard it has been on him without you in his life, humourously coping along. As the messages between you and your boyfriend gradually shortened, exchanges between yours and Leon's went longer. Chemistry seemingly never faded between the two of you.

Of course, there was no flirting involved, in fact you two comfortably began cussing each other out in chats, not to the extreme— but almost just for playful banter. You both would share opinions and talked about your seperate experiences from watching Barbie, and how he cried in the movies after so. Reminding you to bring tissues when you went to watch Barbie, unaware how your boyfriend had already given you his handkerchief to wipe your tears away as he eyed you intently, amused that you cried for a film. He just doesn't get Barbie like Leon did— and that very night after the movie, Leon invited you to watch Oppenheimer together. Well, re-watched, as he already went to see it the day before.

All you could remember was giggling in guilt before agreeing to his plans; callously telling your boyfriend, [Goodnight, love you.] though text.

Bringing you here at this very moment, scanning the cinema for his figure, glancing left and right for your ex-boyfriend. It would've been easier if he wasn't already lining up for the queue but, well— what can the both of you do? Everyone's just as excited to watch both films.

Noticing his back from far away, you almost walked up, only to back away and hide into a corner— unsure if it really could be him; and so,

After you sent the message, you stared at the figure you had suspected to be him, waiting... and waiting till he checks his phone. And just as soon as he sees the message, Leon immediately turned around, sheepishly holding up an arm despite the numerous eyes confused at his random gesture. Searching for your eyes amidst all.

It was all you needed to see before confirming your guess, jogging up to stand beside him in the queue, smiling. “Long line, huh?”

Your eyes travelled along his familiar face, the boyish smile etched in the corner of his lips as he kept his gaze forward— eyeing you through his peripherals; his glasses making it harder for him however. You note this, or course;

He wears glasses now? Looks cute. Suits him.

“Yeah, they're taking too long—” He nods, shyly answering you, catching a whiff of your perfume, pink dusting his cheeks.

You catch this, nodding inwardly before you turned your head to the side, “How long has it been?” asking again, curious. “I've been standing here for about twenty-five.” His voice struggled to stifle a nervous laugh, fidgeting with the strap of his gym bag that sat right inbetween pecs.

Leon had informed you how he just came from the gym while he waited for you to finish getting ready, claiming that it was nearby the mall anyway. And to somehow prove this point across, he only changed his jeans but kept wearing the black compression shirt, tightly hugging his biceps— a soft smirk playing along your lips as you basked in his body, practically undressing his torso while he tried to focus on the movie trailers randomly playing along the TV screens of the ticket booth— memorizing half of the lines at this point, trying to ignore your burning gaze.

To which he drastically failed, handing you money while jibberishly making up an excuse to go to the bathroom, rushing away from you. With your eyes trailing behind him, a chortle escapes your lips as you notice how his cheeks reddened, being pushed up by his huge grin.

“...Fuck, he looks good.” You thought, trying to brush it off— not wanting to be having such thoughts about your ex, especially when you're (hardly) dating someone else already. Your fingers fiddle with the money, folding it in half in between your knuckles, glancing around the booth while patiently waiting for Leon to come back into your peripherals, curious why he had suddenly decided to use the restroom when he could've done it before you even arrived. Still, when nature calls. You simply have to answer.

A soft chuckle falls out of your mouth when he finally shows, a jump on his foot when he returns to your side, yet clearly displeased at how the line barely moved an inch. “Should we buy the late night tickets? I don't think we'd make it for the afternoon showing.” You chirp, eyeing the elongated monitor Infront of the queue, to which he flicked his watch— humming in response; “If you're fine with that... Sure. I don't think you should miss out on the intro.”

A part of you wishes he was watching it for the first time too, needing to see his raw reactions like you both used to; but another side of you was flattered by his decision to pay just to watch it again, with you, this time around. He was practically ready to throw money once again, all for you. And by all means! You weren't one to complain after all.

———

The two of you began giggling, and chuckling as you both placed bets on what movie whomever would be watching based on their outfits— people in pink for Barbie, leather jacket people for Mission Impossible, and well— random shirts for Oppenheimer. With him jokingly calling you weird for wearing pink on Oppenheimer and brown for Barbie. “Why even!?" His gummy smile beams, with you returning yours with a laugh. “Can't help it! ‘Love confusing people!"

“Well, that's true, you gotta keep them guessing your next move.”

You two were dorks together, even back then, just that now, it lacked any sort of physical contact— despite constantly brushing knuckles while you two walked side by side, fingers flicking up as if to try and entangle into the other's.

He kept the tickets in his bag, placing your umbrella in it, as to not have you lugging it around, knowing how forgetful you could be. You exchanged music, talked about concerts you failed to get into because the two of you were busy for the exams (quite literally around the time you two broke up), complimenting yet making fun of each other's chosen courses along the way.

He absolutely adored having you fill him in on ‘chisme’ he barely had anything to do with, reciprocating it with telling you drama over at his school. And being able to do it once again exhilarated the two of you; moreso him, but he wouldn't tell you of that.

“He has a girlfriend?!” “Why? Can't he?"

“No— it's not that! I'm just surprised— like— finally?!” You laughed, surprised.

Earning a chuckle from him; “I'm definitely telling you on Chris, you really doubted his charm, huh?”

You shook your head in disbelief, smacking his sides with the back of your palm as if to shove him away. “Oh hush!” Your groans of struggle didn't fall on deaf ears as he watched you battle with the lollipop wrapper, offering his help by taking it off your hands, “Here, let me.” he says, almost laughing. Taking jabs at each other as the candy proved to be unwilling.

“You can shoot a gun but not open a wrapper?” “You're one to talk!” laughter erupts from the two of you, back to back.

He watched as you softly sucked on the candy after successfully peeling the cover off, his breath hitching for a second prompting him to look elsewhere, mind lingering on the thoughts of your lips wrapped around and innocently sucking the sweetness of it, wondering how it'd be like to replace that spot in between your lips— Leon could swear he never felt envious of a lollipop until now. Mindlessly, you went closer to him, laughing as you both decided to go back up to the cinemas floor after buying snacks for the movie,

“We should take the elevator, I know your feet hurt by now.”

You suggested, for him to agree with a meek smile, “Whatever you want.”

The two of you stepped in, smiling at each other knowing how awkward you both felt around others during elevator rides, the unwritten rule of keeping silent inside made you both cackle inside. “It's just so weird!” You both agreed on that; eyeing each other and taking note of strangers' faces and scents— which usually ends badly for the both of you. Criticising a middle-aged man for wearing too much Axe like there was no tomorrow.

This time however, it was different, you could only stare at each other while stifling your laughter, both of you testing waters how far each of your inside jokes can go and what would be uncomfortable to speak of just yet— the two of you trying to be sensitive to each other's feelings and boundaries.

Your eyes travail his arms, up to his neck, staring at his eyes while you continuously sucked on the treat— failing to realize how suggestive you looked in his point of view. And all your ex-boyfriend could do was look up at the silver doors, praying a mantra on his mind to calm himself down. The comfortable silence between you two was enough for him to feel satisfied, he didn't wish to be greedy any longer. He had no right, after all.

He wishes he had.

As you reached the second floor, more people came in, forcing the two of you back in the east corner of the elevator cab, with your back pressed on the wall and him facing your side, making sure his duffle-bag didn't obstruct your movement and wearing it the opposite-side of you. There was barely anymore space for you to check your phone so you left it at your back pocket, ignoring the message notifications you received. Still, your mouth kept wrapping around the candy, with him trying to distract himself away from the noises your lips made— each pop, each suck, he could hear them all, giving him a pornographic thought to rush. He honestly wishes you'd stop it and bite the entire candy to quit tormenting his ears; but didn't want to make it obvious how much you provoked indecent thoughts to swarm his mind. It didn't help that his anxiousness made him think that the other people inside the cab could hear his thoughts. Read his mind. See how much he wanted to pull that stupid fucking lollipop out of your mouth and replace it with his throbbing cock instead, mouth-fuck you while everyone inside the elevator watched. A groan escaping his mouth as you fiddled with the hem that hugged his bicep, glancing back at you for a quick second as guilt washes over him; seeing how you simply were just curious about the fabric.

Leon hung his head back in shame and pleasure, enjoying your proximity to him while also feeling bad that even the most innocent of your touch and actions turns him into such a dog in heat. Warmth tightening around his boxers. You stared back at him, shooting him a snarky look, as if to ask; “'Fuck you looking at?” even though you were the one touching him without permission to. As if you knew you could do whatever you wanted and he'd be all the more welcoming of how much of a bitch you could get. He grinned, shaking his head “nothing.” before slumping his head into the cold walls of the ride— chanting "fuck." in the back of his mind. The doors then opened, making him smile in hopes that people would get off to create more space, but to his displeasure, a whole group of elderly came in, the smile in his face dropping ever-so-quickly; much more when he was forced to face you, pressing into your body as the seniors pushed inside. Forcing everyone else younger than them to adjust for their comfort. Which included you and him.

Your hands are raised in front of you, pathetically creating a barrier between your chest and Leon's albeit his pecs were more on your face than it is yours. “Fuck.” you heard him groan, as you bit your lip, awkwardly chuckling. “You okay?" You asked in concern, a nod following suit in response. Their movements only affected the two of you even more, annoyed yet at the very same time, flustered at how much your bodies were being squashed against one another. Without much choice, you both fell silent, waiting for time to pass by. His staggered breathing didn't go unnoticed by you, however, making you stare up at him with your eyes slanted, “Leon? Are you sure you're okay—?”

Your line of questioning got cut off as he pressed his lips against yours, mumbling a “...shut-up.” while he positioned himself to block your body from view. His leg entraps you between his thighs, slightly bending downwards to reach your lips.

“Lee— stop, what are you doing...?” you mumbled back, brows furrowed. What was he really doing?

Is he out of his mind?! Why would he kiss his ex-girlfriend in such a cramped place where people can easily see if they just look back!

You were met with silence as your breast engulfed his arm the moment another elderly decided to move around, pushing Leon's gym bag on his side, and forcing him to push back into you, his hands gripping just above your wrist as he tried to find some sliver of composure— unsure if he really should, and if he could continue. Looking at you apologetically for getting carried away.

Yet all this did was turn you on. The forced proximity between you two, the excitement of getting caught making out with your ex-boyfriend in such a high alert place, being with said ex without your boyfriend knowing, and, well— being cornered by such a tall and muscular man that you've long fantasized touching drove all of your senses out of the window.

The way he simply looked like he committed a grave sin against you made it all the more enjoyable.

Silently, you snaked your arms around the back of his nape, inching your head to bury it in the crook of his neck. His eyes followed your movements and shared an agreement, as if you both just understood what the other wanted to do. God knows how long you've waited to do this, ever since then, and more so now. You were more than happy to continue this, and to prove that you trailed kisses along his neck, just below his ear, earning a gentle groan from his lips, raising a brow as if to ask you if this was okay.

“ 's more than okay, Leon.” you whispered, planting a soft kiss at his jaw, smiling at the random stubble tickling your soft skin. Wondering what Leon would look like with a more prominent stubble, when he's older maybe. Your eyes darts to the front, checking the coast before hiding back into his chest, waiting for his next move; “Can you stay quiet f'me?” He mumbled against your skin, pleading. Your hips instinctively bucked towards his as you register his words, as if your body knew what he meant and wanted. Eager to indulge his desire.

In an instant, he found his arm in-between your thighs which you ever-so-sweetly parted as much as you could for his easier access, hand gripping the fat of your inner thigh. While it infuriated him that others could get to see those soft and sexy thighs of yours in that skirt, he had never been happier in your choice of clothing than now. Thanking the fashion heavens for convincing you ahead of time that wearing a skirt while going to the cinemas with your ex-boyfriend who clearly has yet to get over you; a good idea.

“God, s' fuckin' wet for me already babe?” He mumbled inaudibly against your skin, eyeing your cleavage down while he rubbed the pad of his middle finger along the hem of your slick damped lacy panties, chuckling to himself but just enough for you to hear his comment, “Starting to think you planned for this to happen, slut.”

You jolt at the sudden term, baffled at his choice of words, moreso because you've never heard him address you like so— hell, you've never done anything remotely intimate before. A small peck on the lips was all you two ever got during to the time you both dated.

“Fuck, why did we even break up...” He groaned, “Cuz you hung around Claire more than I would've liked?" You chuckled, “I told you, she's nothing but a friend... she's Chris' sister for godssakes...”

Maybe it was his pent up frustrations about your relationship, or how he saw this as the only chance to act on his fantasies about you. Blush dusting your cheeks as you bite down on your lip, holding off a moan as you promised.

“Can't believe I'm letting the guy who cheated on me with his so-called girl-bestfriend touch me like this.”

His fingers hastily snaked inside your underwear, fighting off the urge to grunt loudly as he felt the warm wetness that pooled within you, not wanting to alert anybody; not wanting this to end so quickly. “I didn't! I could never cheat on you, please... I would never, fuck.”

“Leon—” You whispered against his ear, stopping his ramblings with your voice honeyed as ever, making him addicted to even the slightest of your sighs. “Hurry.” He almost came at how needy you sounded, shaking his head hoping to compose himself, smirking at your command. Wasting no time, he curled a finger inside of you, slowly, wanting you to enjoy and feel up each joint, trying to help you fantasize about it to be his dick— all stuffed in you, exploring your insides.

You roll your eyes as you've finally felt the satisfaction of feeling him being inside you, albeit inferior by a point to what you normally would've imagined; exactly wishing the same thing as he was. His finger slowly dipped in and out in quick intervals, as if trying to loosen you up, his thumb resting above your clit, moving it in circular motions. At this point he wasn't even paying attention to the discomfort of his throbbing member still encaged within his jeans, too focused on making you feel good, wanting you to cum on his fingers alone, wanting nothing more than to please you. In a way, hopefully earn you back? Right, if he could make you feel good, you'd definitely want to keep him and take him back, right?

Your fingers slowly dug into his shirt, the friction of it all hurting Leon more, wishing he just took it off since the contact of your nail on his shirt pressing down on his skin was all too uncomfortable. “Mhm ‘h shit!” You groaned, a little bit of your saliva dripping to the corner of your lips, alarming Leon and a middle-aged lady on your right. Of course, being the quick-witted cutie you were— simply smiled at her direction; playing it off. “I think I cut myself, can you move your bag?" You asked Leon, faking a pout; which he quickly followed along, laughing inwardly. “Ah— yeah— shoot, sorry! I think I- yeah, sorry.” He used his free hand to move the bag, covering your thighs further, while he continued his ministrations. Finger-fucking you harshly now as he slid another digit, simultaneously pumping two fingers in you while his thumb toyed your clit, loving how swollen it had become.

As soon as everyone else looked away and focused on their business, you started leaning into Leon's chest, your breathing eventually became laboured— wanting Leon to feel a sense of understanding just how much he makes you feel right now; and as so, you began palming his crotch through the dark-washed denim jeans, rubbing him the same pace he was doing to you. “Princess, no.” He stops you, knowing he'll make a mess if you touch him more.

“I want to touch you, Lee.” You whined, kissing his sculpted yet soft chin, brows furrowed while you inch your knees up, needing him to get his fingers deeper in you which he did, following up your body— pressing himself against you. “Please, let me touch you,” more pleas for reciprocating his motions fell from your mouth, more eager to touch him than he was.

Fuck. Leon could only curse in his mind, you looked so adorable, sexy, and beautiful all at the same time with how you pleaded for his own pleasure, loving how you reciprocated his want for you, how much you wanted to return the favour, but as much as he wanted to— he couldn't let you, not if you both want to leave the lift without judgemental stares, that is. Leon shook his head ‘no’, chuckling, “It's okay baby, this is about you.” He was fully committed to giving you what he could at the very moment, and more if time allows him. “Let's focus on you.”

Your smile deforms into an "o" as he dragged his index finger, going from your clit down back to your entrance, pulling in just the tip of his finger before pulling out again, teasing you while he pretended like it was his cock diving into you. “Look at the mess you're making at the floor, babe.” He ushered, retracting his hand from you almost abruptly you could've sworn even the gods heard the squelch your pussy let out. “That'a dirty girl.”

Embarrassment boiled in your stomach, along with a knot forming, you were so close, too close and he stops mid-second, making you ache for continuance.

It didn't help how he was far better than your no-name boyfriend back at the small town you went to school for, sure, you crushed and pined on that boy too but, he disappointed you in bed so quickly, God forbid how redundant his movements were whenever he fingered you, unable to make you cum like you thought he would; what was the point of leaving your other ex-boyfriend for him if he was a no-better fuck? You don't even remember the last orgasm you've had, and it was only ever your fingers doing the job with some porno flick playing on your phone. An erotica here and there. You could've sworn you'd stay single instead and fuck yourself. But God did Leon surprise you. Your previous boyfriends (well, except for him) couldn't dare compare.

“Leon, stop it...!” You whisper-yelled, furrowing your brows, daring not to look down for you could already feel how much of your slick had dripped down, “For someone who cares so much about janitors, you're really out here making their jobs harder; huh?” He joked against your ear, not even hiding how proud he was with that cheeky boyish grin on his face, probing his fingers back inside you as he followed the rhythm with how he bucked his hips into yours. Loving how dumbfounded you had become under his touch. He wanted to flick his phone right there and then, to record you; ah maybe next time, if you allow it.

You leaned against the walls of the elevator, the cold surface kissing your blood-heated skin. He rocks his fingers faster, in awe of how fucked-out you already look, with how you lolled your lips like that, which he took advantage of and kissed, sucking on your strawberry cream tasting tongue. Your eyes rolling back as you fail to care if anybody has noticed anymore, whining against Leon's request.

And he doesn't seem fazed, pumping his fingers inside you with more fervour. Grinning from ear to ear at the development of your relationship. God, he wished he had done this sooner, maybe more often, maybe if you realized he can be good for you, you wouldn't have broken up with him— this time he'll prove just that. And you'll make sure of it too, right?

You tapped on his shoulder, eyeing him and shooting him a signal ‘I'm about to cum,’ your eyes shutting close as you ride out your high, griding against his hand, desperate for release; which he gladly obliged to, using his thumb to drum at your clit, pressing his palms closer to your crotch so you could grind on it further while he vibrated his fingers inside you, flicking it back and forth inside, reaching for that one specific area, the spongy spot he had discovered just earlier, “Gonna come for me, pretty?” He asks, eyes soft, “Cum for me, go on, cum. I wanna feel you all over my hands...” His whispers turned into a mantra, saying it over and over again like a string of Hail-Marys, urging you to release. And exactly that— you did. Biting your lip as you brought his free hand over your mouth, using him to muffle the moaning mess you've started to become. Each whine and huff.

He felt the warm liquid drip down into his fingers, his hand, as it makes its way to the floors, laughing in a twisted sort of humour, feeling awful for the person who'll clean it up but was also glad someone will gawk upon the mess he helped you make. Happy to have participated in ruining someone else's day.

Leon then took his hand away from your pussy, dragging it ever so slowly before wiping some of the slick in your lips, “C'mon taste yourself f'me?” He smiles, prompting you to open your mouth and do as told, it's only fair you do so, right? You slightly grimace at the thought that you'd accidentally meet eyes with someone while you sucked on his fingers, licking it off your juices, so you figured closing your eyes was your best bet at avoiding the awkwardness; rather than telling Leon, 'no.'

“Atta girl,” Once he felt like it was clean enough, he pressed his thumb over your throat, putting just enough pressure to force your mouth to open for air, itching a cough— which he then slid a kiss into, tasting your cum-ridden tongue with a satisfied grin, letting you go as he heard the elevator ding, helping you fix your panties and skirt as you both arrived at the destined floor to the cinemas. Waiting patiently for your turn to get out, he plants a softer kiss against your forehead. “We're gonna focus on the film, right?" He cheekily smiled, blushing a tad while you rolled your eyes, feigning annoyance with your hand smacking across his bicep, walking hand in hand towards the cinema room indicated on your tickets; “Ugh, shut up. Yes.”

You were so breaking up with your boyfriend after this.

[thebottomfromhell]

Hello!, this is my first time on tumblr and i love hantengu so much. And i was wondering if you could do a hantengu x reader fluff (you can do any idea btw!) Oh! and you can add the hantengu clones if you want!.

very very sorry if your not taking requests right now!

I am always accepting requests, don't worry. People might just have to wait for them since they pile up. I will keep it to only Hantengu, since it seems the preference of the moment.

Hantengu cuddling against GN Human Reader while resting

Warnings: Hantengu being Hantengu :/

Unlike Hantengu, you are human, that means having to wake up every morning in order to finish and do chores and works. You need a profesional life, a social life, a domestic life and so on. Sometimes you can't help but envy how he gets to skipt every responsibility you have as a human, his only job is to survive... well, technically that is also your only job, but you have very different standards on how to do so. Still, that doesn't change that you come back home late, not wanting to move a sigle muscle the second you sit or lie down, like now. It's night, you are in your home, lying in your beddings as you read a book that is not that interesting but was the nearist one and you were either too tired or lazy to look for something else.

You can't even pay attention to the reading, every word before your eyes just turn into a meaningless symbol, even if you re-read it several times, being only a distraction that keeps your eyes active to do something that is not sleeping. Or... well, whatever. You really don't care enough, so you just zone out, mind thinking in anything else but the book, when you get startled by a figure "suddenly appearing" besides you. "Eeeek! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Oh, it's just Hantengu. You didn't expect him to be here tonight, and he is usually sneaky, so you probably just didn't see him get close as you were not paying attention and since it's dark already, only a latern behind you lightning the room.

"Hantengu, you scared me." You reply calming your breath as he still squeaks and apologizes, making you laugh as the adrenaline dies in your veins. "It's ok, I'm not angy. Need anything?" Not that you feel that you would want to do anything that means standing up unless you get hungry or need to use the restroom, but thankfully, Hantengu just shakes his head. But that only leads to an akward silence in which none of you both move a single finger, besides the fact that he is trembling and playing with his hand, but he is still kneeling besides your beddings. After a while you lazily open an arm to invite him in after he starts sobbing.

"Want to lie with me?" You ask softly to not trigger him, making nod after a while as he lies with his head on your stomach. The horns and the tumor make it a bit uncomfortable, besides his body weighting slightly, but you don't mind about it, only starting to pet his head. At first he tenses at the contect but he slowly relaxes against you as the soft touch prolonges. Some tears wet your robes but you don't mind it as you close your eyes, not really sleeping but trying to relax as well.

He nuzzles against you, if it was not for your clothes the scratch the horns would make would have hurted you, but none of you seem to care. He wants comfort and you want to give into sloth like he usually does, barely doing anything, letting the clones take away all the work. With the weight the heat and your pulse rise up, making you a bit sleepy as you have to remind and force yourself into keep petting your partner. You wonder where the others are, probably stored away. In order to stay awake you try to open you eyes, but they keep closing, eyelids heavy. "Y-Y-Y/N?" You ask as he noticed you stop, but it's the last thing you heard before everything is still.

By the time you wake up, Hantengu is still over you, but in a different position. It takes you a while to process that he surely got up to close and cover the windows in order to hide from the sun. The second you turn your head, rubbing your eyes to fight how tired you feel, not even knowing yet if it's day or not, you look at Hantengu, who is also looking at you with tears in his eyes, shin and palms against your stomach as his body is on top of you, his legs to each side, sheet covering all of him. With his eyes glowing and his position, he almost looks like a cat, making you laugh tiredly.

"Good morning, Hantengu." You have no idea if it's actually morning or not, but instead of correcting you Hantengu just looks away, ears and face blushing, before digging his face in your stomach, the horns made that sting, but nothing you can't tolerate. He probably was watching you sleep, not having anything better to do, since he himself doesn't sleep. The weight makes you not want to move, specially since that would mean disturbing him, so you just keep the activity you where doing before falling asleep, patting Hantengu, until he feels annoyed and gets up on his own.

After a while he moves away "Goo-good morning...." he says quietly, you still feel a bit lazy but sit anyway, yawning loudly, making him flinch. "I um... I have brought you tea." Just now that he is pointing it you see the keetle besides your beddings. You smile to Hantengu as you start serving yourself, barely mouthing the "thank you". He hugs you from behind while you do, giving you silence as he burries his face in your back, letting you remember the routine of today.

Once you remember everything you have to do and make a mental list... you decide to stay for a little longer. "5 more minutes..."

[kenobers]

Gangs of Coruscant | mobster!Obi-Wan Kenobi x fem!Reader

Chapter Two: The Godfather Espresso Blend

← Chapter One

After her run in with Coruscant's most notorious crime lords, reader finds herself working in one of his diners. Obi-Wan makes her feel anything but easy. However, sometimes he's a little less frightening when he's sweaty. tw: Mafia!AU, sweaty Obi-Wan a/n: I actually meant for this and the next part to be the same chapter, but this was so warm and gooey that I figured I'd separate it from when shit starts to get real. Disclaimer: Yes, this is a romanization of the concept of the mafia, but it is also a fictionalization based on the structure of the Jedi Order. No character in this story is based on any real life mobster and no plot point is based on an actual organized crime story. I am aware that most crime lords do not look like Obi-Wan Kenobi nor am I encouraging anyone to actually try and get with a made man (or woman). Please direct all complaints to Marty Scorsese. God Bless.

Obi-Wan paid well.

Technically it was the Jedi Order that paid well. Legally, it was Dex. But your checks always came hand delivered and signed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

It turned out you liked the waitressing job much more than you thought you would. If the diner was a front for mob activity, as you'd originally thought, that was none of your business.

Dex was a good boss. He was a big, burly man with a booming voice, and his bushy mustache covered much of his lower face, but you could always tell he was grinning. You were certain the man had lived every lifetime possible. He had a never ending slew of stories and postcards from every system lined the walls of the diner.

For the most part, the folks who frequented the diner seemed to be alright. The regulars had begun to learn your name - well, except for one elderly gentleman, who had thin hair tied in gold colored plates that reached his shoulders and had managed to call you by every variation and sound-a-like except for your actual name. You didn't hold it against the chap. You just appreciated the effort and the hefty tips. It was nice to have some semblance of community.

At first, being in the diner had felt suffocating. You would be lying if you said Obi-Wan didn’t make you nervous. The man had a kind smile and his eyes made you a little weak in the knees. He was beautiful, he was considerate and, once again, he paid well. 

Still, you couldn’t ignore the fact that he was keeping you here to surveil you. Or that he carried a gun with him. Or that he was an infamous crime lord. Maker knew you were paranoid about doing something to make him suspicious. You knew that’s why he dropped by so often; he was waiting for you to slip up. 

There were some days, however, where you could almost pretend this wasn’t the case. Like when he came in during lunch one afternoon. Instead of the usual tan and white suits, he wore a gray tank top with a Mandolorian band printed across it and a faded pair of green basketball shorts. His auburn hair still looked strategically placed, even when sweat had plastered it across his gleaming forehead. 

“Obi-Wan!” Dex greeted, shuffling out of the kitchen with a plate of food in each hand. “I take it you’re here for some protein?”

Obi-Wan laughed, “unfortunately not, although I wish I had the time. I’m just here to pick up coffee for Anakin and Ahsoka.” 

“Ah, (yn) will be right on that,” Dex nodded your way and realized you’d been starring. You dropped your head, then glanced up as if it was the first time you’d noticed him. However, you could tell from the amusement on his face that the silly little ruse hadn’t worked. 

Who could blame you for looking? It wasn't like a mobster in Adidas was an every day sight.

He slid down the counter to where you were stationed by the coffee pot and handed you a slip of paper with two orders on it. The first neatly written request for a white mocha with almond milk, complete with a smiley face and a thank you. The second was for a large coffee with a lethal amount of extra espresso shots and a particular amount of vanilla flavoring written in undeniably male handwriting. 

“I figured it might be easier just to have them write it down,” he said. Over the corner of the sticky note, you caught sight of his forearms, each adorned with a brown leather bracelet, and prayed that he couldn’t see your eyes popping out of your head. 

“Thank you,” you managed to whisper, getting to work on the order.

Your hands followed the instructions with ease, but the focus didn’t meet your eyes. They resisted the urge to turn back to the sweaty crime lord, acutely aware that he was studying you.

“I never asked what brought you to Coruscant.” 

You peered up at him like a deer in the headlights. As if you were unsure whether or not he was speaking to you, you glanced behind you - only to realize you were the only one behind the counter. 

“Well,” you started, pausing to add just the right amount of syrup to the first order. “I actually came here to work at the hospital.” 

There was an awkward moment of silence, before Obi-Wan sheepishly went, “Ah.” 

You gave him a small smile. It wasn’t his fault you’d lost the job you’d uprooted yourself for. Still, he looked a little guilty. 

“But,” you continued, moving to the second order. “It hasn’t been bad working here. A fresh start is a fresh start in any package.” 

He hummed thoughtfully and your heart stuttered a little at the musicality. 

“That’s an excellent philosophy. I don’t think I could’ve mustered up the same amount of patience when I was your age.”

Heat rose to your face. You managed to squeak out a little “thanks!” as you whirled around to grab the vanilla syrup, pretending to fumble for it before turning back to him. Maker knows why this conversation was giving you heart palpitations. 

Because his arms are, like, really strong, one voice in your head giggled. Another protested, or it’s just because he’s showing some interest in you. A third one shut them up, it’s because he’s hot, scary and he’s showing interest in you. 

“And what about sign language? How did you end up interpreting of all things?”

You looked up at him, a tad surprised. He wore a soft smile and seemed unnervingly laid back. There was a curious glint in his blue eyes, but it wasn’t prying, like it had been that night in the warehouse. He was genuinely conversing with you. 

“I was a bit of a hypochondriac and thought I was going deaf when I had an ear infection in high school, so I started learning some basic phrases. Then I just found a passion for it. It’s a fascinating language and culture, really.” 

You blinked, realizing you’d said all that while making direct eye contact with him - the longest you’d probably looked him in the eye since meeting him.

He chuckled, capping the lid on Anakin’s espresso death. 

“That’s admirable, my dear,” he said easily, placing both drinks in a carrier and tucking a generous tip into the metal jar. “And very cute.” 

You could’ve melted into a puddle of coffee right then and there.

However, it wasn’t enough to win you over. You couldn’t let your guard down around him.  

“He knows you aren’t trouble, doll,” Dex had assured you after Obi-Wan had dropped off your third paycheck a few days later. “He just has to be vigilant, he’ll do you no harm.” 

You hadn’t realized how tense you had become until Dex spoke. You sighed, “I know, he just….he makes me a little nervous.” 

Dex let out a hard laugh. “You wouldn’t be the first pretty girl to say that about him.” 

You rolled your eyes playfully as you opened the envelope. Two checks fluttered to the freshly cleaned counter. A yellow sticky note was attached to the bottom one. You frowned - what if this was a test. 

Your fingers shook slightly as you picked up the sticky note, turning it over in your hand to read it. 

Meant to drop this off last week, forgive me. 

You’re doing very well. :) 

O.K

You traced the smiley face, feeling heat rush to your own face. Then you picked up the second check. 

$1,000 made out to (yn) (ln)

For an excellent first month. 

     X    Obi-Wan Kenobi

Shock didn’t begin to cover how you were feeling. You pressed the sticky note to your racing heart. It was probably just to ensure your silence and cooperation. However, you knew he had no reason to do that. It was more likely...

Well, frankly, it was more likely that this was just an act of appreciation and kindness from a man who had the means to do so.

Those little voices in your head collectively sighed.

Maybe it's okay to fawn over a crime lord sometimes.

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Valicer Severance AU Time, Part II!

Welcome back -- I hope you're all rested and refreshed! Let's dive right into the second half of my Valicer Severance AU --

-->Eventually, after the Innies have all been there about a year, Victor decides that Smiler would be a much better Team Lead than him and politely asks Miss Glados about surrendering the position. Miss Glados has him submit a formal request to his Outie -- but the person who actually sees the request is Nell. Who is so annoyed by Innie!Victor daring to try and "demote" himself that she sends back a video blasting him and informing him that he is not a person and that he'll do what he's told until such time that they shut him off. Victor is very upset by this, as you might imagine --

So upset, in fact, that when he goes to leave for the day, he actually considers hanging himself in the elevator just to go out on his own terms (and stick it to both his Outie and the horrible woman supposedly speaking on his behalf). He gets as far as bringing a trash can into the elevator with him to use as a stool -- but before he can go any further, he spots a trio of blank Post-It notes Smiler stuck up on the wall earlier just to be silly in blue, yellow, and red. He takes them down, looks at them a moment -- and then bursts out crying as he realizes that he can't strand the people he loves on the severed floor without him --

-->And then he switches, and Outie!Victor is like "...why am I holding blank Post-It notes? Why is there a trash can in here with me?? Wait, was I crying???" He gets so distracted by this last question that he absently shoves the Post-Its in his pocket when he leaves...

-->Cue Caroline wondering if those Post-Its were some sort of attempt by the Innies at communicating with the outside world and heading to the Van Dort mansion to question Outie!Victor about them. He is like "they're just Post-It notes, I don't know why they were in there," so Caroline activates something called the "overtime contingency" --

And Innie!Victor suddenly finds himself in a strange new place (the study his Outie was practicing piano in) with "Miss Glados." He is naturally quite startled. XD Miss Glados grills him about the Post-Its as well, and he truthfully tells her that they weren't a secret message, just Smiler having some fun, and that they helped convince him that he didn't want to quit. He then realizes "wait a minute, am I at home?!" --

And Caroline quickly cuts off the overtime contingency, thanks Outie!Victor for his time, and flounces off. Outie!Victor is very confused by the whole thing, especially the realization that they can activate his Innie outside the severed floor --

-->And Innie!Victor is utterly rocked by that same revelation. He drags Alice, Smiler, and Wheatley into the storage closet the next day to tell them about what happened (and to apologize for being a mood the previous day and for possibly getting Smiler in trouble by telling Miss Glados where the Post-It notes came from). They are just as shocked as he is that there is technically a way for the Innies to go outside, but aren't sure how to use it to their advantage. Wheatley says he'll see what he can do later, and they go to work, a little wound up and wondering what's going to happen now --

-->And then Miss Glados sends them all home a half-hour early, as Aperture is hosting a gala this evening that she needs to prepare for (and that their Outies need to prepare for, as it's to celebrate a year of severed work and they're all going to be in attendance, but she doesn't mention that bit). After they're gone, Wheatley asks if he can attend the party, because after all he is a supervisor --

And Miss Glados not only tells him no, she rudely mocks him for being the stupidest core she's ever met, saying that his purpose should have been "intelligence dampening" and that his supervisor position means nothing. And then twists the knife by saying she plans to eat a whole PLATE of waffles at the party. A furious Wheatley says he doesn't care, he'll be doing Important Supervisor Things while he's down here -- like organizing the Post-It notes! Counting the pencils! Making sure the computers are all turned off --

And, the minute she rolls her eyes and leaves -- "Figuring out that overtime contingency!" [zooms off]

-->Cut to the gala, where the Outie versions of the trio are not exactly enjoying themselves -- Alice is stuck between two armed guards, watching her for escape attempts; Smiler is stuck with Miles Cedars, watching them for escape attempts; and Victor is stuck with his parents, who inform him that he's expected to give a speech on how awesome severance is to everyone. Victor, who is NOT a public speaker, flees to the bathroom to try and calm himself down, pausing just long enough to ask their driver, Mayhew, if he can get his sketchbook for him so he can look at the pictures to see if that will help --

-->And then. While Victor's splashing his face with cold water, Alice is wondering when she gets to go back to her nice quiet prison cell, and Smiler is debating whether they try to let anyone know what's going on with them (and coming to the conclusion no one at APERTURE would care, especially not with Dr. Kelman in the room with them), Wheatley manages to access the computer that controls the overtime contingency, "hacks" a few options that he doesn't need, then declares "Enjoy your vacation!" as he activates the OC -- and suddenly the INNIES are the ones at the party

-->Innie!Victor, naturally, is like "...why is my face wet?" He quickly realizes what's happening, though, and goes exploring -- only to nearly bolt in a panic when he discovers the incredibly busy party outside the bathroom door. Mayhew catches him first though, and hands over his sketchbook, and Innie!Victor is unable to resist the urge to look through his Outie self's artwork. Most of it is sketches of butterflies, along with a couple of sketches of Victoria and Emily (the last one unfinished :( ) -- but near the end, Victor finds a sketch of a meadow -- stretching out from behind a very familiar vending machine surrounded by pieces of paper ("!!! You do remember some things from being me!"). Unfortunately, his journey through his sketchbook is then cut short by him meeting William and Nell --

And realizing "that asshole on the label of the tuna fish sandwiches" and "that bitch who told me I wasn't a person" are his parents. He is not pleased by this, as you might guess -- and even less pleased to learn that William is planning on introducing severance for his own employees at his flagship fish canning plant. He's also "reminded" of his upcoming speech -- but before he can do anything about that, he spots a slideshow being set up with biographies for everyone to read on himself, Alice, and Smiler. He goes to read the information being projected on the big screen (saying "it'll probably help me with my speech") and learns his own tragic backstory first -- and then the slide flips to Alice and reveals that she's in prison for murder --

-->Cut to Innie!Alice, being like "I -- I was joking?! About that?!" Fortunately her guards are used to her acting weird, and take her shock over this (and her general sudden "holy shit this is a lot of people") in stride. Innie!Alice doesn't think her day can get any more bizarre after that --

-->And then the slide flips to Smiler, and cut to Innie!Smiler mentally going "KELMAN'S MY FATHER?!" They read the slide in stunned horror, unable to believe that they would willingly sign up for this --

And then reassess their situation -- namely, this weird nervously-smiling guy keeping a VERY close eye on them and telling them things like, "Just go ahead and ask for the haircut; Kelman will loosen the leash a little then, I promise!" and realizes that maybe their Outie didn't sign up willingly for this. D: They're not sure exactly what they can do about it, though --

-->And then Victor is called upon to make his speech. And after some badgering from Nell about how he has to make a good impression and how she won't tolerate him making an utter fool out of himself again, he strides up to the podium (still carrying his sketchbook in its shoulder bag that Mayhew also brought), calls his fellow severed employees up to the stage (who are allowed to go up, because they wouldn't cause a scene up THERE, would they?) --

And proceeds to tell the entire crowd that being a severed employee is HELL. Smiler and Alice are absolutely delighted to discover that they're all in Innie form and back him up as he talks about how horrific it is to be stuck at work constantly and how they're psychologically tortured and all of that. Nell attempts to get Victor to shut up, but he turns on her, calling her a bitch and letting her know that he is a person, damn it, causing her to realize that it's the Innie version of Victor that's currently in control --

-->And causing Caroline to realize that too and make a guess at what's happened. She tells the security team to get things under control as she sprints to the severed floor to shut down the overtime contingency --

-->But the Innies are not going down without a fight. Literally -- Alice nails one security guard in the crotch as he tries to take them down, and when Kelman comes for Smiler, they punch him and tell him, "You may have taken everything else from me, but you didn't get my fucking pronouns!" The guards eventually resort to activating the turrets in the ceiling (because of course this version of Aperture has that), and the Innie trio flees before they can be shot. There's a brief scramble through the halls as they search desperately for an exit (very annoyed to discover that they're still in the Aperture building as they do) --

-->And then they come across their elevator, guarded by Rick, and realize that Wheatley's still downstairs -- and they can't just leave him there. So they get Rick's security keycard off him, and Alice uses it to activate the elevator so they can get down and grab their friend (snapping it off inside the reader to buy themselves more time). However, as they head down, Smiler has a thought -- "Wait a minute -- the elevator is what turns our chips on and off normally, right? So what happens when we're already activa--"

-->Aaaand cue the elevator sensors overriding the overtime contingency, and the Outie versions of Victor, Alice, and Smiler suddenly finding themselves crammed into an elevator together. As you might imagine, they are very confused. XD Victor, due to his experience with the overtime contingency the previous night, is the first one to realize that the Innies might have been activated at the party, which deeply annoys Alice and Smiler -- mostly because they believe their Innies are cheery corporate drones who live to work. They all assume that the Innies just tried to go back to the office when they were activated, and realize that this is a great opportunity for them to actually see where they work...

-->And cue the Outies discovering the severed floor and all its weirdness! After being confused by their office ("why is it so big if all the cubicles are in the middle of the floor?") and what it is they do for a living (Smiler: "...we sort numbers based on vibes?" Alice: "Maybe they told us the work was mysterious and important."), they check out the kitchenette --

And cue Victor seeing the vending machine and being "!!!" He shows Alice and Smiler the picture he drew of it and the meadow, and says that he just thought his art was getting more surreal as a weird side effect of the chip, flipping to the next page to show them another example --

Cue Alice going "Cheshire?!" as she sees his rendition of her version of the Cheshire Cat (which, naturally, Innie!Alice told Innie!Victor about). And then the next page is Victor's take on Smiler's swirly-eyed smiley face, which he says just -- makes him feel better when he looks at it for unknown reasons. Smiler goes "I guess we're friends down here?" which both Alice and Victor admit they did not expect --

-->And then they hear a noise, and realize that if they're caught down here, they might be in trouble. They quickly try to find somewhere to hide, and after an abortive attempt to go into the Break Room (which ends with all of them frozen in nameless terror outside it -- and holding hands, which really throws them), they find their way into the surprisingly-empty security office. After noting that it looks like Aperture likes to just make people THINK they're being watched constantly, they start poking around out of curiosity --

And find various "incident" videos. Specifically, Innie!Alice trying to break out with the fire extinguisher; Innie!Victor threatening his fingers with the paper cutter (and revealing in the process he has no idea what his own last name is); and Innie!Smiler ripping the cubicle wall. Cue the trio realizing in horror that their Innies aren't drones, they're prisoners (with Victor in particular being extra horrified because he's the one who had the most choice in the matter about doing this to himself). It's generally agreed that they cannot keep working here, but they also don't know what to do about their Innies --

-->And then Rick the security core finds them and zooms off to sound the alarm. Smiler hastily downloads a bunch of videos onto a USB stick (as proof the Innies are being tortured), and they start looking for a way out, which brings them into the Johnson Memorial Wing. (Alice: [upon seeing the giant head] Are we in a cult?? Smiler: I'm not ruling out the possibility.) They start looking around, trying to find at least a spot to hide --

-->And then a glowing green rectangular portal appears on a nearby wall -- and out pops one Chell! Who is as surprised to see them as they are to see her, frankly. Before either side can figure out what's going on, though, someone comes stomping into the wing -- Caroline, carrying Wheatley and making various threats against his person while he needles her right back with lame insults. She is naturally very surprised to see the trio there, and starts talking to them like they're the Innies --

And then Victor calls her "Ms. McLain??" and she realizes the OUTIES are in control and have probably seen too much. And holy shit, is that CHELL?! Wheatley is like "you know this weird lady?" which makes Chell realize that he's forgotten her --

-->And inspires Caroline to try mind-wiping the trio and Chell, because that IS one of the options built into the programming of the severance chip. There is a moment of horror as she tells the computer systems to activate the "Clean Slate" feature of the chips --

And then the announcer cheerfully informs her that her request cannot be completed because everything is filled with garbage code. Wheatley crows that he "hacked it all" and follows up with "how do you like them waffles?!" Causing Caroline to get so mad --

-->She attempts to smash him on the floor. Which, as you might imagine, infuriates Chell. She scoops up her friend (now babbling with a cracked optic) and books it through the green portal nearby, indicating for the Outie trio to follow her --

And it's at this point you may be going, "what do you mean, green portal? The portals in the Portal series are orange and blue, at least in the single-player campaign." And that's true -- but Chell's not using her own portal gun; she had to leave that behind during her escape (threw it at a pursuer, in fact). Instead, Chell is using the portal gun from the one Portal fangame I've played -- Portal Reloaded. Which has a three-portal device, including a green portal --

That sends you through time. Twenty years ahead, specifically. Chell thus leads everyone into a wrecked version of the Memorial Wing that happens to have a hole open to the sky in its ceiling, with a good view of the moon. And when Caroline attempts to grab Wheatley away from Chell, going on about how she's going to make sure that she's put back on the testing track no matter what, Chell shoots one orange portal at the ground --

-->And one blue portal at the Moon. Cue a portal opening up into fucking space, and the Outie trio having to hold on for dear life as everything starts getting sucked through -- including Caroline, still hanging onto Wheatley (who, naturally, is pretty terrified). She begs Chell to pull her back through --

And Chell answers her pleas with a boot to the face. Cue Caroline sailing off into low moon orbit, and Chell dragging Wheatley back through before closing the Moon portal. Everyone is naturally a little, uh, stunned by all this --

-->But there's no time to sit and process, as the alarms are starting to go off in the present Aperture facility through the time portal! Chell quickly uses some regular portals to climb the sides of the walls, then provide a path up top for the Outies, where they find a random portal-able wall section just -- lying on the ground. Chell uses a time portal on this to bring everyone back to the present --

-->Where they find the wall chunk being watched over by a mystery woman with curly brown hair, who is like "Chell, what happened -- wait, is that Victor Van Dort, Alice Liddell, AND Mamaduke Kelman?!" Before any explanations can start, though, a short teenage boy in a leather jacket and fedora comes tearing around the corner, chased by a bunch of Aperture security guards --

-->And cue chase sequence #2, as the Outies find themselves running with these weirdos in a desperate attempt not to be recaptured and maybe have their memories wiped. An attempt that is briefly put off-track by Wheatley, recovering from his shock/smashing and actually getting kind of excited about being able to talk to the "other" versions of his friends/employees, doing this:

Wheatley: It's so cool to be able to meet you! We always wondered what you were like! Hey, do you guys like yellow, red, and blue too? Do you not trust pudding either? Alice: I don't think this is the correct time to be having this conversation-- Wheatley: Do you guys kiss as much up here as you do downstairs? Alice: [spins around so fast she falls over and lands on her butt] Smiler: [also whirls around, just barely managing to keep their feet] Victor: [whips his head around in shock and promptly runs headlong into a tree]

Yeah, uh, that's a surprise to the Outies. XD But again, no time to process, as not long after that a big white van pulls up and the back pops open, with a man with a shock of white hair and a redheaded woman with a ponytail urging them to "get in!" The woman, teen, and Chell all clamber in immediately, but the Outies pause for a moment, considering the fact that they'll be getting into a weird van with complete strangers --

And then considering the fact that their other option is continuing to work for Aperture and either knowing their Innies are in trouble or having their brains wiped and getting into the van. XD One security guard (Human Rick, in fact) manages to catch up to them as they're getting in, but Alice slugs him and announces "We QUIT" before slamming the back doors and telling the driver to hit the gas.

-->And so the great escape from Aperture is a success! The Outie trio take a moment to catch their breaths (and find themselves holding hands again, which -- makes slightly more sense in light of the "kissing" thing Wheatley mentioned), and the residents of the van introduce themselves -- in addition to Chell, we have Clara Clayton (the woman from before), her husband Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (the guy with the white hair), his assistant/best friend Marty McFly (the teenager in the jacket), his girlfriend Jennifer Parker (in the driver's seat), and Ellen "El" Brinkman, former Aperture Test Subject 4509 (the redhead). Their whole deal is that they're an Anti-Aperture group, with Doc being a former scientist working for them (in fact, he helped create the three-portal device's Time Portal tech) until he discovered just how unethical they were and left. He's teamed up with his old colleague and fellow escapee Doug Rattmann to help take the company down. Chell found them while trying to figure out how to deactivate her severance chip, and they were at the party for two reasons: one, to help Chell rescue Wheatley; and two, to see if they could somehow get Alice away from the police and convince her to let them take her and work on reintegrating her (figuring she'd be the safest one to take and the easiest one to convince, given she's in JAIL and all). Alice is like "well, now you have all three of us, and I think we're all agreed that we don't want to be severed anymore" (Victor and Smiler: [LOTS of nodding]). Marty also recorded Victor's speech and shares it with them when requested -- Victor is horrified that his Innie self called his mother a bitch, while Smiler is thrilled their Innie self punched Kelman. XD

-->With that sorted, Clara and El take Wheatley to go through his internal systems and wipe anything that Aperture can use to track him, while Doc explains to the Outie trio that they'll be doing a similar procedure with their severance chips -- but, since they only expected to have ONE severed employee, they will have to do it one at a time. The Outie trio discuss what they'd like to ask each Innie self as the machine is set up --

And then El finds a video file marked "First Date" in Wheatley's systems and asks "the fuck?" -- and it's revealed that, rather than just deleting the footage of the "picnic," Wheatley saved a copy because "come on, it's cute!" He shares it with them at their request, and the Outie trio find themselves weirdly touched by the whole thing (even as they find it hard to parse kissing these strangers next to them). El ALSO finds some files in Wheatley's memory banks that weren't properly deleted, just hidden, and restores them at Wheatley's go-ahead -- and it turns out that they're his memories of Chell! He is absolutely thrilled that she came back for him, and they have a lovely reunion. :) Made a little more amusing by Chell showing off that she's partially-reintegrated and able to switch between her Innie and Outie at will, moving to Outie mode so she can verbally apologize for not catching him and causing Wheatley to go "?!" over the fact she actually CAN talk. XD

-->And then it's time for all of the Valicer Innies to get activated individually! Victor goes first ("team lead and all"), then Alice, then Smiler. The Innies are naturally very confused as to what's happening, and also rather suspicious of the other two's Outie selves, as they only know that their own Outie situations are bullshit. Fortunately all the Outies are able to convince all the Innies that they're allies, and promise them once they're in a safer place, off the road, they'll make sure that they're all activated together so they can be sure they're all safe.

-->And indeed, after the van awakenings, the next time the Innies are activated, they all wake up together in a hotel room where they're staying with the Anti-Aperture group. They have a big hug-and-kiss session, then remeet Marty and the others -- Marty assures them they're safe, then shows them a video the Outies recorded, where they apologize again for not realizing the situation the Innies are in, and insist they want to make things right, saying that they're willing to give the Innies at least the eight hours a day they would have gotten normally at work while they work on the reintegration thing and asking them what they want to do now that they're out. The Innies are mainly like "we want to know what a shower is like" and "I want to eat anything that's not a tuna fish sandwich" --

And then, partway through, Wheatley asks why there's cloth on the walls, and Chell says they're curtains -- leading the Innies to realize holy fuck, they're in an above-ground room with actual windows. And, even more importantly, a door. They ask if they can go outside, and the others say yeah, with Marty warning them "it's just a parking lot, nothing special." The trio don't care and head out --

And cue them all crying as they see the night sky for the first time and realize that they are indeed out. :)

-->And THAT is where the AU currently peters off a bit -- which I'm sure you're all thrilled by, because holy hell I don't think it's ever taken me this long to sum up an AU. XD But I do have a few ideas of where it goes from there, namely --

A) The Outies give the Innies a "sleepover" of sorts while on the road -- basically a pizza party (with all their favorite pizzas) followed by being allowed to sleep for the first time. The latter experience is somewhat marred by the Innies having nightmares, but gets better once they all curl up together in the same bed

B) Relatedly, once they get to Doug's isolated cabin, the Innies get a proper picnic in the woods nearby, to their delight

C) There's a scene where Smiler and Alice are playing ping-pong at the cabin, bantering over Alice kicking Smiler's ass while Victor watches, amused; Marty shows up and goes, "Hey, I didn't know you guys were awake yet, I thought we were switching you over later" --

Cue puzzled staring, and Marty realizing, "You're still the OUTIES, uh, I have something to do over here." XD Alice immediately goes "probably says a lot about us that seeing us happy makes people think we're the Innies, huh."

D) Of course the Outies also get together in the end -- once they've actually gotten to know each other and recover some from their various traumas, of course. But there's a moment during their time in the cabin where Outie!Alice goes "you know what, my Innie has the right idea" and locks lips with a surprised Victor, who then kisses Smiler, and -- yeah, eventually a video revealing they're together too now is recorded for the Innies, who are thrilled for their Outies (and glad that they can stop feeling awkward about the fact that THEY'RE in a relationship when their Outies were not, despite the Outies saying "it's fine, you can keep kissing, just -- no sex, okay? That has the potential for more permanent consequences")

E) The Outie trio eventually decides that they don't want to pursue full reintegration because, well, they've gotten to know their Innies through video messages back and forth (and probably at least a few instances of only one or two Innies being awake at a time), and at this point, trying to become one singular personality again feels a bit like killing the Innies. They instead settle, like Chell, for getting to the stage where they can switch at will (without needing outside help), have at least some access to both sets of memories, and whoever isn't running the body retains some awareness of what's happening

F) I feel like going back to Aperture and reawakening the original GLaDOS has to happen at some point, in an attempt to maybe get her help in making sure the place gets shut down permanently and getting out any remaining severed employees. GLaDOS is a lot more keen on just gassing the place, but while trying to convince her not to do that (and not kill them as well), Wheatley, trying to hack something, accidentally sets off the self-destruct for the facility. And GLaDOS is like "you know what, that works for me -- I'll mess with the timer to make sure I have enough time to upload myself to a separate location, and you've got however long that takes to get anyone you want out, out." So there's a mad scramble to rescue any remaining severed employees, and at the end, once they're all out, the building just goes BLOOIE -- explaining why it's an abandoned wreck twenty years in the future!

And THAT is, finally, that. *whew* Thanks for sticking with me through all of that! I genuinely had no idea that putting all my ideas together regarding this AU would lead to such long posts. Hopefully you found them enjoyable, at least! Feel free to ask me questions because even after all this, I still had to cut stuff and would NOT mind talking about it!

[runwayrunway]

I was recently surprised to see this livery while boarding, and snapped a pic. Apparently enough people asked the crew questions to the effect of "Why is the plane yellow?" as we were boarding that the captain explained it during his take off announcements. Turns out we were on 'New Mexico One' (N8655D).

Maybe they were worried they accidentally got on a Spirit flight. Happens to the best of us. (Also, knowing pilots I think there's a legitimate chance he was excited about it himself and would have brought it up no matter what.)

This is your girl! This is actually New Mexico 1.2.0 - the New Mexico One livery is the fifth Southwest state livery, and one of the first special liveries they had full stop.

Southwest Airlines has had a lot of special liveries. The documentation is incomplete, but they have a timeline for them up to 2013 publicly available. It turns out there were at least three Shamu jets (unfortunately I cannot find the purported pictures of Herb Kelleher in a penguin suit), and that my guess was right - their first state-themed livery was a Texas one to commemorate their origin as an intrastate carrier.

Since then, they've released quite a few more in honor of some of their more-served or milestone states. The states with special liveries are Arizona; California; Colorado; Florida; Hawai'i; Illinois; Louisiana; Maryland; Missouri; Nevada; New Mexico; Tennessee; and of course Texas. These really vary in level of detail and inspiration, and I definitely have no desire or plans to do a massive joint post on them all. That is thirteen liveries. But there's one or two that have been hanging out on the distant fringes of my interest and one (Colorado One) has already been requested, so if anyone particularly wants to see any of them covered just know I am treating them as full, separate, self-contained liveries even though they're technically sort of a set. It just doesn't make any sense to do it any other way.

(I never want to see a Massachusetts One. The concept is actively repellant to me.)

Most of Southwest's special liveries have 'one' at the end, like Air Force One, you know, it's the famous plane, Air Force One, they made a film about it with Harrison Ford in. I do think hypothetically the implication of 'New Mexico One' would be a plane transporting the governor of New Mexico, but, well, that's their name scheme.

image: Southwest Airlines

This is the original New Mexico One, N781WN. Thanks to the information Southwest provides on its website for once I know the exact date a livery was debuted - 18th September, 2000. I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that this picture is younger than me, because it looks incredibly crunchy and vintage, like it couldn't have been taken later than 1985. I have a Polaroid SX-70 that was kept in working condition by a relative and it takes cleaner-looking pictures. It must have been taken very early on in the livery's lifetime because when Canyon Blue was introduced the tailfin was updated to match. As with all Southwest's special liveries - the tailfins remain untouched from the default.

image: Eddie Maloney

The initial iteration with the mustard-yellow and red tail looks very nice, seamless with the main body. Although the placement of the name on the fin is quite subdued and against the ethos of the low-cost carrier it is in the case of special liveries useful, making the interaction of the wordmark with the main design a non-issue. Part of me really wishes that they'd kept the old colors for longer or maybe even done custom schemes for the stripes on each of their special liveries, because the blue looks pretty out-of-place on the New Mexico livery. I'll be completely honest, I also think the older, more angular shape of the stripes suits the similarly geometric bulk of the design while the modern incarnation - the haphazardly placed little wordmark with no natural home on the tail, the fin which looks like it was removed from a wholly different plane - is just sort of generally worse than the original state. The use of a minimally-altered tailfin with a crammed-on wordmark does seem to be something about which Southwest is unwilling to negotiate, though, and I guess that's what I'm going to have to live with.

(...generally, I do have to live with all the liveries I discuss here, until the magical day that someone at a massive company decides that the opinions of a blog with under 1,000 followers are something they want to capitulate to.)

The basis of the livery is extremely straightforward. It's...the flag of New Mexico. This is a fantastic starting point. The New Mexico flag is my favorite of the US states' - though, to be fair, that's damning by faint praise in the extreme. Just based on the sorts of people I've met I feel like at least a few followers of this blog will have particularly vivid opinions about vexillology, but it doesn't take someone with the level of investment I have in liveries to know that most US state flags are just absurdly poorly designed. New Mexico's flag is not just acceptable but good.

Yellow and red aren't uncommon colors in flags, but the complete absence of very popular choices like blue and white definitely is striking. Unlike many US state flags, which are morasses of complex and jumbled iconography, it contains only one image - the sun symbol of the indigenous Zia (Tsi’ya) Pueblo group. Unfortunately, not only was the design not suggested by Zia individuals but it was used without the group's knowledge or consent, and there has been an ongoing discussion about this being properly acknowledged by the state - a good summary, albeit from 2012, is this El Palacio article written by the Zia Pueblo administrator.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Southwest actually did consult the Zia, including administrator and author of the above article Peter Pino. A contemporary news release from Southwest even discusses Zia children performing a Crow Dance as part of the ceremony. I was able to find a photograph of this in a blog post by a Southwest employee.

So safe to say people were pretty excited about this livery! Southwest's state liveries tend to be pretty beloved by the people from said state, as far as I can tell.

N781WN was retired earlier this year and sometime in the late summer the livery was repainted onto N8655D. The livery is largely unchanged except for the fact that it's on a longer plane now.

Anyway, I like New Mexico One. Not terribly much happens here in the way of detail so there's not much to say about it but I like the way it's placed at a sort of angle instead of just smacked in the middle of the plane directly above the wings or something. The fact that there's some yellow and red in the tail prevents it from looking as bad as it could (and definitely does on other state liveries) even though I kind of really genuinely dislike the wordmark placement like a lot. I'm not sure how they could have done it better. I just think if you're making it that small and out-of-the-way you could honestly just go without. Not like there's even one other plane flying around with this livery.

Why is the inside of the winglets totally bare? I can't be the only one that thinks that's strange, can I?

I'll give her a C+. I think there's a pretty low ceiling on how good a livery that's just the flag of New Mexico can be, and Southwest did a job I would call 'correct' - they didn't really mess anything up and they didn't have some sort of brain explosion that let them create a design more captivating than putting a good flag onto an airplane but leaving the tail Southwest colors. This is a good special livery and it seems like a nice little tribute to New Mexico, and it's always nice to see a beloved old livery be preserved on a new airframe. Congratulations to the people of New Mexico, particularly the Zia, on a pretty neat commemorative livery.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hello! For the mini event: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun & AU number 17

Of course, anon dear! Thank you so much for the request and I hope you enjoy the headcanons, as late as they are getting to you!

Okay, so I will admit that, other than House and a couple episodes of both The Resident and The Good Doctor, I haven't really watched many medical dramas and aren't really familiar with the various tropes and such normally used in them…am I familiar with the actual medical field? Yes, yes, I am. Did that actually help any with this AU? Nope, not really. But I did finally settle on an idea? Yes! Does the idea require you to suspend a large amount of disbelief and require you to ignore how much of this would actually be very, very illegal? Also yes!

Anyway, so this AU I imagined up does very much take place in a hospital. It's not only the largest hospital in the area but the one with the most prestige and a sterling reputation. It's also a teaching hospital, an important thing to know, but also houses a lot of the specialists and such that people are literally on wait lists for over a year to get into. This hospital is actually owned by Sullivan, who also does have a hand in the running of it and is Head of the Board of Directors, with the most say as to how the hospital itself actively operates, much to the displeasure of some of its staff, as Sullivan is something of an eccentric…no, that's going to be putting it too lightly. Sullivan is most definitely eccentric.

His eccentricities are most definitely on display when almost fourteen year old Iruma Suzuki is brought into the hospital after a vicious beating at the hands of his latest employer. The boy is held at the hospital to be treated but because there's just so much evidence of repeated injuries and neglect, social services is called in. Social Services investigation into Iruma's parents discover a staggering amount of neglect for their son and that they have been forcing him to work at various jobs to support their own gambling habits and pay the bills. The boy has never even been to school.

Anyway, in the end, they don't really care if their parental rights might get lost. Iruma's parents willingly relinquish their parental rights to him and it looks like Iruma is going to be held, after he has healed and been released from the hospital, in a group home until a suitable foster family can be found for him. But Sullivan had taken an interest in Iruma, no doubt helped along by the fact that Iruma's initial doctor and the one in charge of his treatment plan was Dr. Opera, Sullivan's adopted son. And Sullivan's interest in the boy led to Iruma Suzuki becoming the second son Sullivan would adopt and spoil, despite being in his sixties at this point…something about Opera never settling down and giving him grandchildren so Sullivan would have to adopt his own.

While Iruma is technically his adopted son, Sullivan very much treats him as his precious grandchild and Iruma finds a fatherly figure in Sullivan, who spoils Iruma rotten. Opera, meanwhile, also takes an interest and welcomes Iruma into the family, becoming someone Iruma both looks up to and aspires to be like.

Sullivan decides and, after discussing the matter with Opera himself, that Iruma shall join the family business and when Sullivan passes will be the one to not only inherit the business (and make no mistake, a hospital is very much a business) and Sullivan's spot on the Board of Directors. He'll not only be expected to learn academically, and learn quickly, but Iruma becomes a volunteer candy-striper at the hospital as soon as he's healed and shadows Opera and Sullivan throughout the years.

Which leads to present day, when Iruma has gone through enough schooling and grueling training and studying to become a resident. The story really becomes his daily life as a resident doctor at this teaching hospital, him meeting the other residents and interacting with the doctors, nurses, and other staff members at the hospital, along with the weird, zany, sometimes sad patients he interacts with and treats, along with exploring some of the pressure he feels, knowing he's expected to run this hospital someday, along with cute family moments between Iruma and his adopted 'grand'father and adopted brother.

Now, to get into some of the wide and crazy cast of characters that Iruma does have to learn how to deal with and manage, because like, isn't that half the fun, having all these secondary characters to add to the overall plot, all while having fun little plotlines of their own?

So, first off, when Iruma arrives for his residency, Sullivan really entrusts Iruma to an actual doctor who really is supposed to mentor and help teach Iruma. Iruma had been hoping to do his residency in the pediatric ward under Opera, but for some reason Sullivan refused to allow it. Instead, Iruma is doing his residency under the watchful (and spiteful, because this doctor most certainly does not want to have to put up with being a mentor to anyone, and considers the time he has to waste teaching Iruma as time he could be spending elsewhere) eye of Dr. Kalego Naberius, Head of the ER Department. The ER at this particular hospital is always insanely busy, with the doctors, residents, and nurses getting to see a little bit of everything, honestly, so Kalego does get Sullivan's insistence that Iruma do his residency solely there. Every resident has to do at least a shift a week in the ER, since there is never enough staff there, but Iruma's residency is done solely in the ER Department and solely under the eye of Dr. Kalego. The two don't always get along, honestly, but I do see them growing to at least strongly respect each other.

The various teachers are, of course, doctors in various wings and departments throughout the hospital, except for Balam, who I do see as Head of the Pharmacy Department, since a hospital that size does, of course, need it's own pharmacy. A pharmacist himself, Balam has an encyclopedic knowledge of all pharmaceuticals, both medicinal and holistic. Now Balam looks really scary, especially because a childhood accident left him with some noticeable facial scarring, but the man is a gentle giant and after Iruma stopped being so frightened of him, I could see him and Balam getting along fantastic, even back before Iruma became a resident. Throughout his schooling years, before going to university, I think Balam took Iruma under his wing and the boy spent a lot of time in the pharmacy, learning a lot from Balam. Iruma still makes it a point to stop by to see Balam as often as he possibly can, and honestly, Balam shows up to the ER quite often anyway, because he and Dr. Kalego are childhood best friends who take lunch breaks together so he's another important 'teacher and mentor' figure to Iruma overall.

The surprising twist here, but one I really liked and just made sense to me. A child prodigy, Ameri Azazel graduated high school ridiculously early and I see her being the same age, at most a year older, than all the residents. However, she's actually Dr. Azazel, though still a fairly new doctor, only a year out of her own residency. She most often works in the pediatric wing with Opera, but does do shifts in the ER as needed.

I'm sure you're wondering…are the other residents Iruma's classmates in canon? Mostly, yes! How could I not? But there's still a few surprise twists, haha.

One of those surprise twists is that I really don't see Clara as an actual resident. Nope, I see her as being a fairly significant member of the hospital's kitchen staff. Though she doesn't do all the planning and overseeing of the hospital's meal plans and such, because the Head of Food Services does that, I see her being at least a sous chef in the kitchen itself, but she often shirks her duties here and there to actually go and deliver the meals to patients, which really should be left to a lower ranking member of the kitchen staff. She just finds it really fun to get to go and explore the hospital and see all the different staff members (and patients, though giving the patients their meals is actually supposed to be left to the nurses) and despite the many write-up's she's had over it, Sullivan and even Clara's own superior refuse to fire her or make her stop it. After all, she clearly means no harm and really just is a kind of nuisance at worst.

Another person I don't see as being a resident is Elizabetta. I actually see her as being a new nurse in the hospital. She works in different departments as needed, and honestly, though she's good enough at her job and does have a really good heart, with a lot of compassion for the patients, it's obvious she's really not that interested in making a huge career out of nursing. She actually just really wants to marry a handsome doctor who's wealthy enough so that she can become a stay at home wife and then mother and live a picture perfect, happily married life.

The last person I don't see as being a resident doctor is Kamui Caim. Instead he's an intern pharmacist under Balam. An odd, weird-looking little duck, the boy's honestly a little bit of an incel and definitely a huge pervert, who becomes known for being a little inappropriate with both the female nurses, doctors, and patients. However, when it comes to his actual area of expertise, Kamui is actually a brilliant pharmacist and really helps not only fill the astounding amount of prescriptions that come through each day, but is able to help prescribe and treat the various small ailments of people sent to the pharmacy for help instead of an actual doctor needing to waste their time treating them.

So, that leaves us with the other residents. The most important two are Alice Asmodeus and Sabro Sabnock. Both men have relatives who sit on the Board of Directors for the hospital. Sabro's uncle, in particular, raised the boy to believe that, when Sullivan was gone, Sabro's uncle would run the hospital and then pass it on to Sabro, so the boy was pushed to prepare for that from a young age. Brash and arrogant but actually really good-hearted, Sabro would like to specialize in sports medicine but was pushed by his family to follow in his uncle's footsteps and become a surgeon and his residency is done in that department.

Alice, meanwhile, is prim and proper and determined to make the most of every second of his residency. He also has quite the ego, but deservedly so, as he is brilliant and everyone has very high hopes for him as a practicing doctor. Due to an accident during childhood that had left his sister badly burnt, and witnessing her recovery and various surgeries and skin grafts afterwards, Alice does his residency primarily in the hospital's Burn Wing and hopes to specialize in that field of reconstructive surgery.

Another resident hoping to become a surgeon is Goemon Garp. Goemon was born with a rather extreme form of facial deformity and because of that, he was badly bullied growing up. It wasn't until after many medically necessary surgeries and then some extensive plastic surgery, finished by mid-high school, that Goemon grew to look relatively normal, though he's still not the most handsome man out there. However, he's finally happy with the way he looks and he wants everyone to have that opportunity, so he would, after his residency, like to specialize in cosmetic surgery.

Picero Agares, however, was well known to those in the hospital even before he becomes a hospital. Picero has suffered from narcolepsy from the time he was a child and was treated at the hospital. He hopes to become a doctor working in the hospital, specializing in sleep disorders…though everyone is a little shocked, as Picero has always been anything but friendly, even as a child, and probably has the worst bedside manner out of any of the residents.

The last of those residents who know what they want to specialize in, Soi Purson was born severely hearing impaired. He received cochlear implants in both ears by the time he entered middle school, which opened up a whole new world for him, really. Because of that experience, he really decided that he wanted to become an audiologist and is doing his residency primarily in the hospital's Audiology Department.

Schneider Allocer is an absolute genius, even rivalling Ameri. While he is a resident doctor, he's actually not sure what he would like to specialize in. There's too many opportunities, too many possibilities, too many areas to learn and grow his expertise in with hands on experience. He bounces around the various departments, along with the other three residents who have not figured out what they would like to specialize in.

Keroli Crocell is one of those three. Her family has always put a lot of pressure on her to go into medicine, to become a doctor so that she could have 'the best life', be financially secure, and bring honor to the family name. So she's gone to school, always done well, always brought honor to her family, and is doing her residency. But honestly, she'd rather be doing anything else, but especially she'd rather be playing with her band, like she does in secret on weekends, doing gigs at clubs around the city.

That leaves the other two undecided residents as Lied Shax and Jazz M. Andro. To be honest, though neither of them has decided on a specialty, Lied actually becomes a hit in the pediatric wing, while Jazz is noted to have the best bedside manner out of all the residents.

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hello there :) May I have a matchup for Ninjago and Genshin?

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: I have no idea, but I'm content with that. I like the mystery of not knowing, and the freedom from labels😝. Potentially ace, if that helps.

Horoscope: I'm a Genini-Cancer cusp, (technically Gemini) Libra rising.

Myers Briggs: INFP (although, the second time I took a test I got INFJ so idk lol).

Personality, likes, dislikes:

At first, I come across as aloof, calm, and socially awkward. I'm very to-the-point, and can sense BS very quickly. I never get involved in drama, but I might make a witty joke while I sit in my little corner and watch with popcorn. I've been told I'm very observant and I've been called an old soul. But when you get to know me, I can be a bit of a gremlin😆.

I have a huge imagination and I'm always daydreaming. I'm creative and I love storytelling. Especially theatre and writing. Once I start writing, I find it hard to stop (as you can see here😂). I'm a film geek who likes psychological horror movies (Hitchcock films, The Shining, Carrie, etc). But I also love Scooby Doo. Another thing I like is archery and being outdoors.

I'm also a complete basketcase and 24/7 stressed. I try to look on the bright side of things when I can, though, and consider my life to be an adventure. I know my problems will be a fun story to tell at parties someday.

One thing I despise is people being condescending, and talking down to me. I'm neurodiverse and I look younger than I am, so I've had my fair share of that. I also hate when conversations get needlessly intellectual and philosophical. Like, if I ask: "What's 1+1?" And someone tells me: "Well...what IS the number one, really? Numbers are just symbols on paper. "

I'm like: "...right, but what's 1+1?" Me wanna know HOW math. Me not wanna know WHY math. Oh, and speaking of math, I hate math.

Fun facts:

I was born with weirdly shaped pinky fingers. They're both bent sideways. Apparently it's called "clinodactyli" or something, so that's cool. Also I have OCD, sensory issues and trichotillomania. My favorite movie is Gremlins. One time, I accidentally printed, like, 87 pictures of a cat because I was a dumb 7-year-old, and the entire computer room was flooding with cats. My mom was so mad😂. Also, I'm terrible at videogames. I tried to play World of Warcraft once, and spent over an hour trying to get out of the canyon I accidentally jumped into.

Hi! Thank you for your request! I hope you like your matchups!

In Ninjago, I match you with...

Nya loves sitting on the sidelines of drama with you and just watching things go down. She’s been tangled in her fair share of drama far too many times. Now, she’s more than happy to stay out of the conflict.

Would love taking walks through nature with you. She likes the peace that comes with being outdoors.

Would absolutely be a fan of Gremlins. Nya would love to watch it with you as many times as you’d like.

Admires your dedication to trying to see the good in things and treating life as an adventure. She knows how hard that can be sometimes.

Scooby Doo enthusiast. I can see her as a Daphne and Velma fan. She’s particularly fond of the Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated variation.

Nya will never talk down on you. She’s very good at treating everyone with respect, as long as they deserve it. And in her eyes, unless you’re actively attacking the city or her friends, everyone deserves respect.

In Genshin Impact, I match you with...

Xingqiu loves how your personality can flip so quickly from quiet and socially awkward to a complete gremlin. He loves the energy you bring.

Will try to drag you into pranking Chongyun. He won’t push you though, he respects that pranks are not everyone’s thing.

Loves that you like storytelling. You two would have great dates where you take turns telling stories. Xingqiu writes them all down later so he can remember every little detail you tell him.

Would absolutely take you to the theatre. He’s a pretty dramatic person himself so if you ever want to act out your favourite parts of plays or musicals, he’s ready and willing.

I see Xingqiu as a fan of horror, especially psychological horror. He can’t really explain why he likes it, he just does so expect to be watching and reading a lot of horror stuff with him.

Xingqiu does tend to cause drama sometimes, just for entertainment. He loves hearing your commentary on what’s unfolding and will make his own witty comments as well.

[quietmarie]

What is Async Anyway?

Explaining async/await and general concurrency concepts in programming languages.

A lot of modern languages have async/await syntax built directly into them, and the construct can be extremely useful. Examples of languages that include these concepts are JavaScript, C#, Python, and Swift, and even modern relatively low-level languages like Rust have this syntax. Even though it's usually thought of as a more advanced feature, I think it is really not that hard to use once you get the hang of it, and it is super useful and rewarding when you really understand it.

This is going to be a bit of a long and pretty technical post, but I hope it can give you some confidence to know what async/await really does when you use it, and maybe it can help you use it more effectively. Keep in mind that I will not be able to go over everything in super deep detail, and that I am going to simplify stuff, but it should give you an idea how these systems work.

I am a little curious about eventually following this up with a post looking at how these systems compare under the hood in different programming languages, so let me know if you'd be interested in that.

Big post under the cut.

Parallelism and Concurrency

Computers today can do many things at the same time. And I mean that literally: in one instant, a modern CPU can be working on multiple instructions. That's because a single CPU has multiple cores that can all execute code (mostly) independent from each other. This is called parallelism, and the way we as programmers interact with that is through threads. Most programming languages, especially "lower level" ones, have a way for programmers to create a thread that will run some part of your code. Creating a thread is telling the computer that it can, and should, run the code in your threads in parallel (although various systems such as the OS still have discretion over when and if that actually happens).

Parallelism is not quite concurrency tho. Where parallelism is about your computer literally doing multiple things at once, concurrency is about your computer doing multiple things, but not at once. With concurrency, you kind of pretend you're doing a parallelism. But in reality, stuff doesn't happen at the same time. Instead, your system (runtime) does some work on task A a bit, then on task B, then maybe again on task A, etc., but doesn't work on the two at the same time. So, in a concurrent system it might look like task A and B are progressing simultaneously from the outside, but work actually only happens in sequence.

Let's Talk About I/O

I/O stands for input/output and describes data in your program that comes from elsewhere, or that gets sent elsewhere. So for example, user input is I/O. And similarly, a web request can be I/O, whether you send it or receive it. So let's use that as an example: you send a web request to some API to fetch you the cutest bunny images and facts:

But the service is taking its sweet time to respond.

Fact: Loading bunny fact…

With how we did it here, we halt execution of the entire thread until the response comes in (at least in most languages, more on that later). In this case, we call get a blocking method because it, well, blocks the thread without actively doing useful work.

What if we could instead use the thread for other tasks instead of just sitting there, twiddling our thumbs and waiting on the server? This smells of concurrency…

Callbacks

Callbacks are a way for programmers to avoid that period of thumb twiddling. The new getWithCallback function now returns immediately, but it doesn't return a value. Instead, we have to register the code we want to run once the server responds with the function:

The function we pass to getWithCallback is called the callback, and it gets called by the client* only once the response arrives. Oh look, here it is:

Fact: A rabbit's life span is about 8 years, though sterilized rabbits (those who are spayed/neutered) can live as long as 10-12 years.

*"The client calls it" is a big simplification, there might be a lot more stuff happening here. But the important bit is that the client magically does not need to block to wait for the response.

Promises and Futures

What JavaScript calls Promises and what a lot of the other languages call Futures is essentially sugar sprinkled on callbacks - it makes our callback code a little nicer. Callbacks can commonly create a concept called "callback hell", where you have to call a function that takes a callback inside the function that takes a callback inside the function that takes a callback…

(Code modified from https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Using_promises)

To avoid this, functions now can return a Promise instead of taking a callback. Promises represent the promise that, while a concrete value might not exist right now, it will in the future. Once the value exists, we say the Promise resolves. The code above with Promises would then look like this:

It still doesn't look perfect, and there are things you can do to make it look a little nicer, but it's so much less nested. The callback in the then function will be called once the value is ready, and the callback itself can also return a Promise. The then function then returns a Promise which will get resolved once the future from the callback is resolved. Many other languages have a concept similar to JavaScript's Promise, and it's often called something like Future or Task (because it would be too easy to have consistent naming across languages).

Now keep in mind neither of those solutions above are really "concurrency" in the definition we used above. This is because the thread we call, for example, getWithCallback on still completely belongs to us. We could keep using it, and we would not get interrupted to execute the callback. Depending on the language and runtime, the callback might get executed on a different thread, or the runtime might have to wait until we are completely done with what we were doing to then use our thread to call it. The same thing goes for the callbacks in the then method of promises.

Async/Await

And async/await is just some sugar and magic fairy dust on top of Promises (or Futures or whatever). It makes our code look like it should be blocking, but in reality it isn't. Here's what our bunny image code looks like with async/await:

So here, a couple things happen. First, the Promise is created and the web request is initiated. Then, the Promise is awaited. For that, (if the Promise is not resolved at this point already,) the task first yields, meaning it tells the runtime that it is not doing any useful work at the moment, and that the thread it ran on can be used for other tasks. The runtime then makes a note of where to continue execution when that Promise resolves, and looks around for other tasks that currently need executing to put them on that thread. After a while passes, the Promise resolves, and once the runtime has some resources available for us (maybe because another task just yielded), execution on our original task is continued with the API response.

Fact: A rabbit's teeth never stop growing! Many people believe they need to chew to keep their teeth short. While they do enjoy chewing, it's the normal wear from where their top and bottom teeth meet that keeps a rabbit's teeth short.

This is more in line with the concurrency we sought out above. We can interleave other computations while our task is still running, but during times where it is not doing any useful work. (Still, because you may have multiple threads your tasks can run on and move between, it might not always be 100% technically accurate to call this system concurrent.) This is also why it is important to not block for long in async contexts: if you're hogging the thread for too long, you're stopping other tasks from progressing and throwing a lot of the benefits you gained from doing it concurrently in the bin. Most async runtimes will give you some option to run expensive or blocking code elsewhere, so that you can keep the benefits you gain from async.

So that's the explanation what async/await does, and the broad strokes of how it works. If you have any more questions regarding the topic, feel free to ask! I think it'll be fun to occasionally write a longer post on interesting things I've learned, so if you have topic suggestions, don't be afraid to tell me!

Further links and sources

Don't Block The Event Loop! - Why you should avoid blocking in Node.js, and what pitfalls to look out for.

I got the bnuuy images and facts from the animality API. The licenses on the images are not super clear, but I'll assume it's okay for me to use them here with credit because it's an open API.

I lifted the definitions and some of the explanation for parallelism and concurrency from Steve Klabnik's talk on Rust's Journey to Async/Await. The talk is more technical and very focused on Rust, but it's a great talk.

I referenced the mdn web docs at various points, they're a great resource.

I created the code screenshots using the carbon app.

[qqueenofhades]

Since you mentioned that you may be taking requests and also that you did that Dreamling oneshot the other day, I would like very much to humbly request an “every one of my family members is an eldritch abomination myself included however I should very much like to just go to uni and hopefully not destroy the entire world thanks” girlfriends, Rose and Nile?

It goes without saying that there are many things about this whole situation -- uprooting her life, moving to a new country, becoming her brother's legal guardian, helping him adjust while still feeling horrendously guilty about not saving him from his previous abusive situation sooner, sorting through her wealthy and late great-grandmother's extensive estate, and trying to start a graduate degree, while the mellifluous tones of Yakety Sax echo constantly through said country's government and she's not sure if the whole place is about to explode in a puff of clown-car smoke -- which are very, very stressful. Rose has always been good at making up more things to worry about, but even she doesn't need to search for ways to whet her anxiety, because it's already there and then some. Not to mention the whole part where she nearly destroyed the universe, became a dream vortex and then un-became it, inadvertently helped her friend have a baby with her dead husband, and almost agreed to let her creepy immortal great-uncle murder her for the greater good, before calamity was averted at the last minute and she turned out to be something called a Child of the Endless. Surely that won't be a problem again. Right?

In any event, amid this whirlwind of chaos, change, anxiety, and effort, Rose is very grateful to have met Nile Freeman, and they've taken to spending more and more time together. They have instantly bonded as young black women from America (or rather, Rose thinks Nile is from America, but she hasn't actually said) who both live in London and have endured the headaches of obtaining graduate degrees in history. Nile finished her PhD at KCL a few years ago, and is now doing that oh-so-fun early-career-researcher shuffle as she decides what she wants to do next, though she's made several cryptic references to wealthy parents who live in Malta and send her enough money to make sure she doesn't sleep under a bridge. "I appreciate it," she says as they walk through Bloomsbury, en route to Senate House so Rose can use the University of London's main library. "And considering all the disasters happening back in 2018, I was lucky to survive, truly. But sometimes I still want to do it on my own, you know."

"Mmm-hmm." Rose looks at her curiously. "What exactly do your parents do, by the way?"

"They..." Nile pauses. They come to a halt at the crosswalk and wait for the light. "You know, this and that."

Rose finds this answer rather vague, but maybe it's a sensitive subject, or Nile just doesn't want to talk about it yet. After all, they've only known each other for a few months, and Rose can't deny that she's very keen to impress the older girl. Nile is so gorgeous, so self-assured, with a strange eerie sheen to her skin and eyes that sometimes looks almost unearthly, but she's definitely the most normal person that Rose has recently met, and their interactions are the most refreshing part of her life. She has a bit (or maybe more than a bit) of a crush on Nile, but is too shy to see if that is actively reciprocated. As the light turns green and they cross, Rose says, "Are you from Malta, then? I thought you were American."

"Ethiopia," Nile says. "I was born there, at least. My parents adopted me a... a long time ago."

There definitely seems to be something she isn't saying, but Rose decides to let it pass, and they spend an enjoyable afternoon working at Senate House. Afterward, they trek off into the Bloomsbury streets in search of dinner, select a charming underground restaurant, and sit down in a candlelit corner. Nile orders her steak rare -- rare enough, in fact, that it's still practically mooing on the plate -- and Rose says jokingly, "Don't tell me, let me guess. You're a vampire."

Nile, who has just taken a sip of some indeed rather blood-red wine, chokes, starts coughing, and takes several minutes to compose herself, as Rose apologizes profusely. But she isn't laughing or treating it like a joke; she looks deeply startled. "How did you -- "

"Wait." Rose frowns. Oh no. Not her nice, normal, lovely friend who-she-kind-of-wants-to-be-her-girlfriend. Not in the one relationship and/or person she foolishly thought was not at all magical, creepy, supernatural, insane, or otherwise weird. "Are you...? I was just joking. I didn't..."

There's a very, very long pause. Nile seems to be weighing something up. At last she says, "If, hypothetically, I was... well, something like that, would you be upset?"

"I, uh." Rose considers what to say. After all, her horizons of what is possible have been recently and drastically broadened, and she's certainly not about to claim out of hand that vampires don't exist. "I don't think so?"

"I'm..." Nile looks around shiftily to make sure that all the other diners are happily absorbed, then lowers her voice anyway. "Technically half-vampire, half-djinn. My dads are one each. Nicky's a vampire and Joe's a djinn, and they sired me together, so it's... a long story."

"Okay." Rose blinks several times. "So your parents are...."

"Magical creatures, yeah." Nile eyes her. "You're taking this very well. Wait, are your parents also some kind of...?"

"My biological parents are both dead, but it turns out that I'm descended from something called the Endless." Rose feels awkward saying it, but there it is. "Do you, er, know what those are?"

"I don't think so. I could ask?"

"My great-uncle is the King of Dreams," Rose confesses, in something of a rush. "Lord Morpheus. Do you know him?"

"Maybe. It's been a long time, I can't remember everyone we've crossed paths with over the centu -- years." Nile nods her thanks as the waiter sets down a fresh basket of bread. "But again, I could -- "

"Wait. Centuries? How old are you?"

There is another long and deeply awkward pause. Then Nile says, "Technically, nineteen. But I was sired in 1104, so that means..." She calculates, then ventures, "Nine hundred and eighteen?"

"I knew it," Rose mutters. She is apparently just a magnet for every ever-living (literally) eldritch weirdo in the Western Hemisphere, and this isn't even touching the fact that her likewise-seemingly-nice-and-normal history professor/thesis supervisor is evidently also an ageless immortal and her aforementioned creepy King of Dreams great-uncle is valiantly attempting to not only date him, but ask Rose for advice. Truly. Her life is ridiculous.

[reallyromealone]

Hi Hi! How is my favorite author? Well know that I was very happy that you responded to my request, I really liked what you wrote! Well, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to place another order from Tokyo Revengers, but this time from Bonten's men! Something like Mikey's adopted son who is part of a volleyball team (and is friends with the Haikyuu boys) or basketball team (and is a friend of the Generation of Miracles). I really like sports anime, and your Son Bonten one-shots are really good and make me come up with a million ideas. Hope you are well, so eat well and drink plenty of water! ;)

I-Im your favorite 🥺👉👈

Damn y'all gonna give me a big ass head god damn

Also as a sports anime fan myself i love this but how dare you make me choose between GOM or our volleybros

I am going volleyball though because I actually know a lot about volleyball because I used to play believe it or not.

(name) was excited as hell.

(Name)s first official match against another team was coming up! And against another team!

(Name) was so excited to tell his dad's about the match, he hoped at least one of them could come to see it, he understood if they couldn't.

They were really busy after all.

(Name) was technically Mikey's adopted son, but was mutually seen as Bontens collective son since infancy as they all mutually took care of the boy--now teenager, it was just easier to say (name) Sano instead of (name) haitani/kakucho/Kokonoi/Akashi/mochizuki/Sano.

Anyways.

Walking into the mansion, a purchase they made when they realized how much energy the child had (also it was easier to just install what the kid wanted instead of taking him to where he wanted to go) and made a beeline to his dad's office area, where their collective home offices sat.

His dad's sat in the lounge area, talking about something business related and turned when they saw their son return from club activities "ah, it's six already?" Ran said absentmindedly while checking his watch and the men noticed the kid practically vibrating "what's up half pint?" Mochi asked slightly amused at his kids excited nature. "It's my first official match! Like with another school!" (Name) said showing the permission slip so he could go to the other school for the match "can I please go?" He knew his dad's were fiercely protective of his whereabouts, they had to be because after all he was the only child of Bonten.

This wasn't (name)s first official match but it was his first high school match and the fact that he made it into a powerhouse school as Libero was nothing to scoff at and the bonten men were quite proud of their kid, even if his goals weren't what they expected.

"It's at (high school).." Mikey mumbled while looking at the permission slip, the man mulling it over before signing it "I was also wondering if you guys could come? You don't have to if you're busy" (name) said awkwardly and his dad's felt their heart hurt a bit at his words " 'course we will come bud" Kaku said with a soft smile and the shift in mood was astounding as (name) practically radiated with joy "yeah?!"

"Now to take a shower you stink!"

[plxviofiles]

this is a repost bc my dumbass deleted the original post I'm obsessed with her too dw 😭, also fun fact I didn't see the lighting bolt and initially wrote the reader with ice powers, but I changed it when I noticed I got it wrong 🧍‍♀️. I hope I did this prompt justice !! I just kinda wrote this really quickly bc I liked the prompt but I think I liked the way it turned out <3

---

Stupid Cupid (if you know this song ilysm *princess diaries flashbacks*)

#kate bishop x fem!reader, ft. yelena, clint, and natasha (my besties) (requests are open!!) WARNINGS: a swear word, reader is really clumsy with her lightning powers lmao 😭, bad jokes (you're welcome) A/N: italics are flashbacks! I AM BACK WITH ANOTHER KATE FIC as i should tbh #girlboss. I actually wanted to have 5 fics of her by now bc hawkeye- 5 eps- yk? ANYWAY. Idk what I wrote and I hope you like it <3. my dickinson reference 😋 (I keep referencing things I need to stop). also i'm gonna go watch nwh soon 😈 ! word count: 2.5K (so unlike me I know idk what's going on either) --- “Y/N!!” You ungracefully fall off your chair at the sudden shout from what sounded like your mentor. “Nat, it’s a Sunday!” you complain, yelling so she could hear you, “It’s technically an off day!” “And technically, as your mentor, I can kick your ass if you don’t come outside right now, so help me.” You sigh loudly, closing your book, leaving your phone on the bed, and you open the door. Natasha, with a very unamused glare was standing next to Yelena, your best friend, who was failing to hide her amused expression. “You’re such a mom,” you whine playfully, making Natasha glare even harder (if that was remotely possible). “Why are you disturbing me?” and when you see steam coming out of Natasha’s ears, you immediately correct yourself, “Is there something you need me to do?” “We’re meeting someone new,” Natasha said simply, and Yelena nodded, taking a random grape out of her vest and eating it, “I think you’d really like her.”

It’s like your puppy mode was activated, your ears twitching, eyes sparkling, and adrenaline pumping, “A GIRL?”

Natasha looks like she regretted saying so, “A girl. Now come on, you’re delaying everyone.”

You burst out of the room and jog to the avengers’ compound entrance, Yelena and Natasha following you from behind.

“She’s like a puppy,” Natasha mumbles, taking a packet of m&ms out of Yelena’s vest, and Yelena nods, “She IS a puppy.”

You see the new girl already surrounded by the boys, no doubt interrogating her, or just being excited to see her.

Sam notices you trying to catch a glimpse of the girl, “Hey, guys move away, y/n wants to greet her.”

The sea of men parts for you and you got a bunch of ruffling of hair, pats on the back, and hellos, before finally being face-to-face with the girl.

She was facing her back towards you, talking to Clint.

Clint sees you and tells Kate to turn around.

Both of you lock gazes and your smile widens. She’s really pretty.

Kate’s smile mirrors your own when Clint introduces you.

“Kate, this is y/n, Natasha’s mentee, and y/n, this is Kate, my-“

“Partner slash best friend,” Kate intervenes, not looking away from you.

“Mentee,” Clint corrects, shaking his head, “She’s around your age too.”

“Hi!” you hold out your hand, and Kate shakes it vigorously, “I like your bow.”

“Oh my god, thank you,” Kate responds enthusiastically, “What’s with the burnt patch on your clothes? It looks new. Did you burn yourself?”

She was referring to your shirt, now partly burnt to a crisp, and you shake your head, “Well yes, but no, I mean- I’m an electrokinetic meaning I have electrical-based powers, so.”

Kate nods, “So you’re kinda like Zeus.”

You laugh vociferously, “Exactly! Except I don’t sleep around as much as he does,” you joke, making her laugh.

The avengers watch your interaction with a smile, already knowing that the both of you put together would be instant chaos.

And they were right.

Within a day, you and Kate were practically best friends (which Yelena complained about, but you constantly reassured her that she was like a sister to you).

Clint and Natasha had a blast, since both of you liked each other, they decided to train the both of you together, which saved a lot of time (and more time for the two to go drinking together).

Days, weeks, months, passed, and Yelena, Kate, and you were like the chaotic trio NO one asked for.

A million stupid activities, like acting you were married to try wedding cake samples for free, playing laser tag with actual lasers, balancing apples on people’s heads for Kate to shoot them off with arrows (there were many complaints for that one), accidentally adopting 5 cats (don’t ask).

It was all fun and games, but it usually ended with you and Kate getting “grounded,” and Yelena getting away because she ALWAYS has a way out.

You didn’t mind though, it just meant spending more time with Kate, who never failed to make your day better.

“I’M SORRY!”

“HOW THE FUCK DID YOU PUT THE BLUE HAIR DYE IN MY SHAMPOO BOTTLE AND NOT NATASHA’S?”

You were chasing Kate across the compound, the brunette screaming bloody murder, and you trying to avoid using your powers.

“YOU KNOW WHAT?”

You raised your hand, summoning your powers, and a minor bolt of lightning struck one of Kate’s feet, making her fall flat on the ground.

“Fuck,” Kate groans, and you stalk over to her patting her on the head and smugly smirking, “Thanks for playing.”

“What are you guys doing now,” Yelena complains, her room door opening as she yawns, “You dimwits woke me up from my nap.”

Then Yelena takes one look at your hair, and bursts out laughing, so loud, that Natasha and Clint came running.

“What’s wrong?” Natasha looks around hastily before spotting the two of you on the ground, “Oh.”

Clint just tries not to laugh, and Yelena gestures between you and Natasha, “She looks just like you when you were a kid, sestra!”

Natasha smiles crookedly, ruffling your hair and sighing, “Clean up guys, training in 10.”

Kate and you prepare to complain before Clint shot you pointed looks, “Yes, Natasha.”

They leave and so does Yelena, claiming she needed more “beauty sleep” and you pick up the strands of your hair, frowning.

“I’m sorry.”

Kate looked genuinely afraid that you were upset with her, “It’s nothing.”

“You seemed angry though.”

“But I’m not. I could never stay angry with you for long.”

“Really?” Her eyes shot up to look into yours, and it felt like déjà vu was slapping you in the face.

“Yeah,” your voice is weak, straining.

“You look pretty, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

You hear her mission went wrong.

You don’t even pay attention to anyone else, as you ignored the calls from the rest of the team, rushing to your friend’s room.

You knocked frantically.

“Katie?”

A few seconds later, the door opens, and you meet her sad expression.

“My poor baby,” you joke lightheartedly, wrapping your arms around her body, pulling her close, and using your foot to push the door closed.

Kate buries her face in your shoulder, breathing heavily, and you rub her back in calming circles.

“I messed up.”

You hate hearing her sound this vulnerable. So different from the bubbly girl she always was.

One thing some people failed to see, was that Kate Bishop, was not always the joker, the one who can take everyone and everything on with a confident smile.

She was just like everyone else, with feelings, worries, insecurities.

You pull her closer.

“Everyone messes up. You’re not alone.”

Kate shuts her eyes tightly.

You feel like you’re the only one who gets to see her this way.

“What if I always mess up?”

You contemplate your next words, knowing that there’s no right way to comfort someone.

Especially when it’s someone you love.

“Then I’ll be there to help you clean up. Every single time.”

Kate’s ragged breaths slowly stabilise, and she detaches herself from your, her arms still around your neck.

“You really are my favourite person in the world.”

Maybe it’s the way she looks at you.

The way her touch makes more goosebumps appear on your skin more than any lightning bolt.

The way she words things.

“I love you more than words can say.”

“They SO like each other.”

“Clint, there’s no way,” Natasha replies exasperatedly.

“Look, can you just accept that I’m right and you’re wrong for once?”

“No.”

“Fine,” Clint pulls his best friend’s arm and leads her to the kitchen, “I’ll prove it to you.”

He looks around like he’s in a mission, and Natasha rolls her eyes.

He gestures for her to follow his movements, peeking in the kitchen.

Natasha places her head below his, peeking as well.

It seems normal at first, just you and Kate in the kitchen, in your usual morning routine.

But then it’s like you were unconsciously making each other’s light breakfast before training, like you knew exactly what the other wanted, and silently at that.

You grabbed the bowl and slid it towards Kate, who took a cup out and slid it towards you. You grabbed two spoons and she grabbed the sugar and cereal. You placed a spoon in her bowl and a spoon in your teacup, while Kate dropped tea bags into it. You poured cereal into her bowl as Kate fills your cup with hot water.

Natasha watches the whole exchange with a surprised expression, while Clint just smugly smiles from above her.

“See? I’m right,” he whispers, near to Natasha’s ear.

“Stop breathing down my neck,” Natasha grits her teeth, slapping the man’s leg.

“No, you stop breathing down my neck.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

“No, you don’t make sense.”

Soon, they start bickering, and when Clint starts getting a little too loud, Natasha grabs him away from the entrance.

You sip your cup of tea, and look around, thinking you heard something.

“Did you hear that?” you ask Kate, who smiles at you and shakes her head, “Nope.”

“I thought I heard like, really loud whispering,” you murmur, and Kate snorts, “You’re just tripping.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“You’re annoying -er.”

“That isn’t even a word.”

Kate sticks her tongue out at you, and you reciprocate childishly.

Natasha hears everything and sighs in relief, “They didn’t hear us.”

Clint nods seriously, “No, they didn’t.”

Then, he jumps in front of Natasha and starts doing a ridiculous victory dance, “I was right, you were wrong. I was right, you were wrong.”

Natasha curses him in Russian, “So what now?”

Clint’s brows furrow, “What?”

“We can’t just leave them like that,” Natasha places a hand on her chin, thinking, “We have to do something.”

“Oh, so now we’re matchmakers.”

“Shut up and help me think.”

Clint agrees to work on Kate, and Natasha agrees to work on you.

They both have different approaches, determined to make this work.

“You know, you and y/n are meant to be together.”

Kate freezes in the mario kart game, looking to Clint in awe, as he continues racing.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You and y/n would be great together.”

Kate chokes on air, and Clint glances at her knowingly.

“N-No, I’m pretty sure you got it wrong,” Kate chuckles awkwardly, “We’re just friends.”

“So, friends just sleepover at each other’s room every day, makes each other breakfast and knows exactly what the person wants without asking, excessively touches the other person and exchanges hugs and kisses randomly, gets a little grumpy whenever the other person gets a date-“

Kate pauses the game, “FINE. Fine, you’re right,” she confirms miserably.

Clint puts his controller down, “Then why do you sound so sad about it?”

“I just don’t think she likes me that way,” Kate fiddles with the joystick, “She’s always so good to me, and I can’t help but feel like whatever this is, is all in my head.”

Clint nods in understanding, “I think you’re wrong though.”

“About what?”

“She does like you that way.”

Natasha opens your door without a knock, and you were on your bed, reading a book, and not bothering to look up, “Natasha.”

Natasha smirks, “You’re getting more alert, that’s good.”

“No, it’s just that you’re the only one who opens my room door without knocking,” you correct her, closing your book, “Well, you and Yelena, but she makes sure to pounce on my bed the second she comes in and is always asleep during this time of day.”

Natasha narrows her eyes, “Touche.”

“I learned from the best.”

She holds out two tickets to the movies.

“You want to watch a movie with me?” you seem confused, “Look, I’m all for milfs, and you are really pretty, but-“

“God, you really are an idiot,” Natasha pinches her nose bridge, “Clint and I wanted to go, but we both happened to be busy so.”

She places the tickets in your hands, and you stare at them blankly.

“You can bring whoever you want,” Natasha emphasizes each word without sounding too suspicious.

“Right,” you mutter, already knowing who you wanted to bring.

Natasha crosses her fingers, hoping you wouldn’t be a dumbass and just make a move, “Enjoy.”

You make your way to Kate’s room, rehearsing in your mind how you wanted to ask her out. This was so much harder than you imagined it to be. Kate was just this perfect girl.

You didn’t notice Kate heading in your direction, also focused on something else.

Before you knew it, you bumped into her, and managed to grab her arms before she fell.

“Sorry,” you wince, and she just brushes herself off, her cheeks flushing for no apparent reason, “It’s no problem.”

Then the awkward silence. Something was definitely wrong. Silence was never awkward between you two.

“Was there anything you wanted to tell me?” you spoke up, hiding the tickets behind your back, “You looked pretty determined and you seemed to be heading to my room.”

Kate blinks, “Yeah! Yeah, I just wanted to, uh-“

You gather up enough courage to suddenly hold the tickets in front of you, right in her face.

Kate stares at it.

“Do you wanna go out with me?” you ask quickly, “Like on a date. God, I’m embarrassing myself aren’t I?”

At first glance, you might not have appeared that nervous, but Kate notices the electric sparks on your fingers, the air smelling slightly of ozone.

“Y-You’re asking me?” Kate stutters characteristically.

“Yes,” you weakly respond, “We don’t have to talk about this right now but, I just really like you and I want to take you out on a date.”

Kate’s knees felt like they were about to give out, and a grin slowly appears on her face, “I would love to.”

“Great! Great, yeah, um, I’ll pick you up at 7?”

“If you mean you’ll meet me at my door at 7, then yes.”

The movie date goes well, and you come back with matching smiles, holding each other’s hands.

Clint and Natasha were already waiting at the entrance, and she whispers to him, “Do you think it worked?”

“I mean, they’re holding hands.”

“They’re always holding hands.”

“Good point.”

The happy couple approaches them, and the mentors hold their breath.

“They played cupid didn’t they?” Kate asks you once you reached them.

“I mean, I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to ask you out if it weren’t for Natasha.”

“And I probably wouldn’t have acknowledged my feelings for you if it weren’t for Clint.”

“Which means you should be thanking us,” Clint says excitedly, nudging Natasha as if she weren’t standing next to him and seeing exactly what was happening, “We worked very hard you know.”

“I did the thinking,” Natasha cuts in with very important information.

“Thank you, I guess,” you rub the back of your neck, and Kate snorts.

“What’s so funny, Bishop?”

“Want me to tell them about how you summoned lightning and burnt our chairs because you were so nervous when I kis-“

“STOP.”

[hauntingcryptids]

Plus One

Whittaker!Master x Fem!Reader

Summary - The Master breaks into your house to confront you about where you were while you were not travelling with her.

Based On This Request -

Warnings - The Master being drunk and irrational

Word Count - 1026

A/n - Implied Fem!Reader. Requested by this lovely anon on my old Tumblr account. I hope that you enjoy!

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

“Look at you. Sneaking back after a date. That doesn’t seem like you, Y/n.”

The Master aggressively jeered as soon as you opened the door to your flat. She was sitting in your living room armchair, her legs spread wide and domineering in appearance. It was clear to you that she had moved your chair to the corner of the room, probably to look more intimidating to you once you saw her, but something seemed off. Of course, The Master intimidated you, but in a crush type of way, not in a real threat type of way. You were terrified of disappointing her. 

This was different, though. This seemed like a real threat directed at you. The Master was actively trying to scare you. One of her hands was clawed into the stuffing of the armchair and the other was gripping a nearly empty glass of orangy-brown alcohol. It looked like whisky, but you couldn’t be sure. You looked past her briefly to see a fancy alcohol bottle on one of your side tables. It was alien, so that didn’t really help you in discerning what it was, but it informed you of the fact that The Master really wanted to get drunk. If she didn’t, then she would have just drunk your Human alcohol.

“Won’t your date be jealous if they discover you staring at me like that? The Master leered at you and looked you up and down with seething anger.

“Okay, I’m going to be blunt, I have no idea what you're talking about or why you are upset, Master.”

“Don’t play dumb, Y/n! You asked me to take you back to Earth urgently and specifically at this time. I planned to stop by because I was bored, as I often am when you are not around, and I see you leave your house in an extravagant outfit with a full face of makeup. You were clearly out with someone, and I want to know who they were so I can destroy them. You are my companion. You’re mine and you always will be!” 

“You really have completely misinterpreted this situation -” You laughed anxiously but The Master cut you off before you could explain.

“You dare accuse me of misunderstanding something when you have gone behind my back to fool around with some peasant!”

“All I did was go to a friend’s wedding! I didn’t go on a date.” The Master halted her aggressive, accusatory hand movements and slumped in confusion. 

“A wedding! Well, why didn’t you tell me? I love weddings! Great places to scope out new victims.”

“It’s a Human wedding.”

“But that’s still a wedding! I would have loved to go! Why not let me join you as your date?”

“Oh! I don’t know maybe because one: you hate Humans. Two: Humans would be the only race present at the wedding. And three: you hate Humans! Why would I invite you somewhere that would cause you to kill someone?”

“I wouldn’t kill anyone if you didn’t want me to. The worst I would do would be to cause a serious injury.”

“That is not any better, Master.”

“Well, technically -”

“Why are you so upset about this?”

“I don’t know. I just want to be seen with you.”

“Even if you want to kill everyone around you out of annoyance?”

“At least everyone will know that you are mine.”

“If someone close to me is getting married, then I will invite you as my plus one, okay, Master?” The Master happily nodded to you and then downed the last bit of her drink. She then tried to stand up but wobbled and fell back into your living room chair. You rushed over and helped the alien stand up. You wondered what she had been drinking and how much she had. 

“Where’s your TARDIS?”

“Down the street.” Since The Master’s TARDIS was too far away, you just decided to let her stay in your bedroom to sleep off her drunkenness.

“Well, how did you get in here?”

“Sonic laser. Very good at opening windows.”

“Okay, you’ll be fixing that once you are sober.” 

Eventually, the two of you struggled and sloshed to your bedroom. You tried to get some information out of The Master about the best way to take care of her in her drunken state, but she wasn’t incredibly coherent. The alcohol seemed to be hitting her all at once and she just seemed overjoyed about the fact you promised to bring her as your date for an upcoming wedding. 

You brought The Master a giant glass of water and made her drink a good portion of it before you forced her to change out of her incredibly fancy outfit. You gave The Master some of your sleep clothes and moved to give her some privacy. But she wanted you to stay with her in case she fell. You saw through her lie, though. She was a bad liar when drunk. The Master obviously wanted you to see her half-naked. You also changed into some sleep clothes, which caused The Master to fumble and ogle you drunkenly for a moment. But after many drunken delays, you and The Master crawled into bed and snuggled up together. You were shocked again; The Master was incredibly cuddly when drunk.

“Master, I don’t want to upset you, but I was offered to bring a plus one to this wedding.”

“Well, why didn’t you invite me if you had the opportunity to bring your own guest?” The Master’s head jolted upward in order to look you in the eye.

“How many times do I have to remind you that you hate Humans, Master?”

“But I like you. No other Humans matter because I like you.” The Master slumped forward and cuddled into your chest. You tried your best to not become flustered by this action or The Master’s confession.

“I like you, too, Master.”

“Promise to invite me in the future?”

“I promise. Now we should get some sleep, especially you.”

“Ugh fine, but only because you are the one telling me to do so. Goodnight, Y/n.”

“Goodnight, Master. Sleep well.”

[violettelueur]

RYŌMEN SUKUNA || KIND HEARTED

| featuring : ryōmen sukuna from jujutsu kaisen

| warnings : grammar error, but other than that n/a

| form : imagine

| word count : 1339

| published : 14 november

| request : could i request an imagine w/ sukuna where itadori’s best friend is just so welcoming of sukuna and tries to include him when they do things? like they’re just hanging out and she goes “sukuna would you like to try this” and she holds up a piece of food to his cheek so sukuna can try it and it just warms the curse’s cold dead heart bc she’s genuinely trying <3

| barista’s notes : i kinda went a little off track with this imagine ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ but i hope you enjoy your order of a cup of black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request) and that you have an amazing day! please come back again soon ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ

“You know, I think curses spirits have emotions”

“Mother, what in the world are you talking about? They don’t have feelings, they kill without remorse and try to gain power from their greed”

“Y/N dear, how are curses formed?”

“Negative emotions that results in cursed energy leaking from the bodies of humans”

“See ‘emotions’ is in the sentence dear”

“‘Humans’ mother, you forgot the word ‘humans’ was also in the sentence”

Back then you had no idea what your mother was suggesting or saying at that time. Curses having emotions? What was that all about? You knew from previous missions that some curses were intelligent from being able to take hostages to some being able to talk but other than that you still couldn’t comprehend what she was trying to communicate to you.

“You know the Legend of Sukuna?”

Looking up from your book, you stared at your mother - who was sitting on the opposite end of the room with a cup of tea in her hands - with a somewhat nonchalant but surprised expression on your face wondering why she brought up such a topic that was feared by most jujutsu sorcerers

“You used to tell me about it when I was younger, why are you bringing it up now?” you asked curiously, as you closed your book before gently placing it on your lap.

“We all know that the curse was a human before his fingers became cursed objects, don’t we? How do you think he felt when he was killed?”

You were about to answer her before you shut your mouth completely, not sure on how to even answer that question. How could you? No one knows the whole story to even come to a conclusion for that question, you have to interrupt the story in your own way to make one yourself? Wouldn’t he have been enraged when he was killed, annoyed at the fact that he lost in a way? Or was he unsettled? 

“Personally from my perspective, I think he would have been vexed at the fact that he somewhat lost, you mother?”

“I think the same as you, but I have a small feeling that he was upset for some reason, I’m not sure why though”

                                              ꕥ

You still have that assumption till this day. However, you were a little more open about your mother’s thoughts and took them into account sometimes when you were debating on the subject on your own. However, there was a slight shift in your opinion once Itadori Yuji unexpectedly came into your life.

The first time you meant the boy was when Gojo came back with him carrying him and Fushiguro back to Jujutsu high, confusing you completely on what was going on. For someone who was sent to just retrieve a cursed object, Fushiguro looked completely beat up and that worried you completely on what he had encountered during his time away. However, Gojo just couldn’t read the room.

“Yo Y/N, what is my favourite student doing at a time like this? It’s quite late you know,” he greeted you with a smile, before plopping Fushiguro on the ground.

“Sensei, now’s not the time to play with me, what the hell is going on?” you muttered annoyingly before using reserve curse energy to heal some of Fushiguro’s wounds.

After some time of your playful teacher explaining what was going on, you came to the conclusion that the boy ate the cursed object that Fushiguro was supposed to collect causing him to become Sukuna’s vessel as a consequence.

“So what you’re saying is that Fushiguro failed to get the object in the end,” you commented as you pointed at your close friend, leading to Gojo giving you an ‘okay’ sign telling you that you were technically correct.

“Was that all you got from the whole explanation Y/N?” Fushiguro irritatedly asked, causing you to lightly giggle before apologising to him.

                                              ꕥ

However, after that night, you made the decision to become friends with the teenager as you didn’t want him to feel completely isolated on his situation right now - he did leave everything behind to come to Tokyo - and with everything that was going to happen to him, you wanted him to live a happy life with people surrounding him before his execution after he ate all 20 fingers. What you didn't realise was this friendship would lead to you guys to have a sister and brother type of bond.

You and Itadori did everything together from going on missions together with Nobara and Fushiguro to randomly going out to do some shopping or showing him around Tokyo. As time went on, you decided to fully take in your mother’s opinion. You slowly included Sukuna in some of the activities that both of you would be participating in - usually this would involve you asking for his opinion on something, even if he sometimes gave a rude response.

“Do you think Sukuna is a pork or beef type of guy?” you randomly asked, as you lifted up your chopsticks that held a piece of cooked beef to Itadori’s cheek. “Sukuna, would you like to try this?” you kindly asked, leading to the curse to take a bite of the meat before his mouth disappeared like it didn’t appear in the first place.

“I never really asked, but why are you so kind to Sukuna? I mean he is a curse, after all, ain't sorcerers like you supposed to like, hate them?” Itadori asked in a confused tone, causing you to look up away from the meat that you were cooking to the boy that had asked you that question. 

To be honest, you weren’t so sure how to answer his question, just like the same situation that you were years ago when your mother asked you that question. How could you answer this time around? How could you answer this question now?

“Personally from my perspective, I guess I took in some consideration towards anyone’s emotions,” you casually answered, before going back to the meat that was cooking on the grill, leaving Itadori confused yet somewhat understanding what you were trying to say.

                                             ꕥ

Sukuna on the other hand was confused about what you were trying to interrupt to his annoying vessel as he sat quietly in his Innate Domain. Ever since the beginning of your friendship with Itadori, you had been nothing but kind-hearted toward him making him wonder what your intentions were from the start. However, over time he began to discover that’s what you were naturally. You were naturally just a kind-hearted person that was trying to become acquainted with him. You were generally trying.

It was hard to recall the last time he had someone to confide in - if there was anyone he even confided in at all - you were someone that took his emotions into consideration, you always question his reason for power, greed and destruction, instead of assuming that he was born with his sadistic nature. He still remembers that time you were able to somehow get close to him during his fight with Fushiguro and heal Itadori’s heart with no issues at all - making him intrigued on how powerful your reserve energy was. However, he remembers what you said to him as your hand was placed on top of the wound on his chest.

“Listen, I have no idea what caused you to become the man that you are today, I have no idea what pain you went through before your death 1000 years ago, I have no idea what you are feeling right now and I’ll try my best to understand” you quickly stated just as your curse began to revive his heart, “but right now, there is no way in hell am I going to let you kill Itadori, you got that Sukuna!”

That. That caused his cold empty heart to suddenly become warm.

Your kind-heartedness was the reason he began to reach out to you.

He wanted to cherish that trait of yours.

You were kind-hearted.

[darthzero22]

Hello. I was wondering if you could write Hunter x reader / bad batch x reader. But mostly Hunter. I have an idea where the reader becomes a prisoner of the Empire at the end of episode 14 of season 1 instead of Hunter. Hunter himself feels guilty that he could not protect her and that he had to leave her behind at her own request to leave the planet Daro. But Omega and his brothers tell him that they will come back for her. Because she would have done the same for them.

Oh, that's a beautiful and sad idea 💕😭 @athenaowl585

Hunter x F!Reader 

In order for your squad to get out alive, you sacrificed yourself. You let the Empire's soldiers catch you and take you prisoner, and at all times you disobeyed Hunter's orders.

Warning: Angst 

"We are not going to do that!" Hunter's voice sounded desperate. “We're coming for you, no matter what!”

"You heard Tech! The ship won't hold much longer. Leave me!" you sounded so determined, through the comm.

"Negative! We won't leave you... I won't leave you!"

"Hunter, we have to drop into hyperspace now!" Tech said.

“Turn around! We have to go back for her!” Omega said, also desperate.

"We're not leaving her, Tech! Come back, that's an order!”

"I'm sorry, Hunter, buy you have to do it..." you said.

"No, Y/N! I won't..."

"Please, go! I will find a way to get back to you!"

You were afraid of what would happen to you, but you were determined to stay behind as long as they managed to escape.

“Y/N, no!”

“I promised to protect you, Hunter, and that's what I will do... Go!” 

Hunter never listened to your orders when your life was at risk, but when he heard you so determined to sacrifice yourself so that they would come out alive, it broke his heart and he decided to listen to you this time. He closes his eyes tightly and only gestures to Tech with his hand, giving him permission to activate hyperspace. In less than two seconds, the Marauder was gone from Daro's atmosphere.

The Marauder was on its way to Ord Mantell for repairs. No one was talking, no doubt what had happened affected everyone, especially Hunter. Even Gregor, who once tried to speak, did not dare. He assumed you were very important to them. They were all quiet for at least five minutes, maybe more. Omega was obviously affected, but also worried about Hunter. He had gone to the back of the ship and did not want to talk to anyone.

The ship didn't feel the same without you.

"But he needs..."

"You have to give him space, Omega" Echo sighs. "He needs to be alone”

"Why? We are all affected! We leave Y/N behind!" she had a few tears in her eyes. "And we never leave our people behind... We have to go get her!"

"Technically it is the second time that...”

Echo looks at Tech with a raised eyebrow and a frown.

“Sorry... It's not the right time, I know" Tech said.

"Omega, you need to focus. The ship is in no condition right now to go anywhere else. It needs repairs"

"Echo, the kid is right! We have to go for Y/N!" Wrecker said.

"Wrecker"

"Don't you see it? Y/N sacrificed herself for us!”

“I know!”

“We didn't help her! We abandoned her! We have..."

"And you think I don't care!?" Echo's shout surprised those in the cockpit. "I care and I'm mad at myself for not doing anything to stop Y/N from making that decision! She allowed us to save ourselves and we left her behind... Of course I feel more than terrible, Wrecker!”

That shut Wrecker up. No doubt everyone was affected by the decision you made, but the most affected was Hunter. He was in the back of the ship sitting on a box with his head down, and in his hand was his communicator, which he clenched. To his mind came the countless times he promised you that he would protect you, something he couldn't do a few minutes ago. He abandoned you, he left you behind and it devastated him. In a moment he covers his eyes with one hand.

Without you, he felt lost.

Hunter never needed someone so badly. He needed you and he had lost you because of his plan. He remembered the last thing you told him, that you were going to keep your promise to protect him, but he couldn't protect you. Tears begin to flow from his eyes. 

His chest ached badly, his heart ached badly, and his senses betrayed him. He had never felt so broken.  

“I’m so sorry, Y/N...” 

The truth is that the last thing he needed was to be alone. Omega knew that.

“I have to talk to him" Omega said. 

“I don't recommend you do that. Hunter practically doesn't want to talk to anyone” Tech said. 

“I don't care. Hunter shouldn't be alone. He needs company"

That was more than true. Suffering the loss of a loved one was horrible, that’s why Omega goes with Hunter. He knew she was getting close, but doesn't raise his head. He kept looking at the floor.

“Hunter"

Hunter didn’t respond either. Omega didn't know what to say, she had never seen him like this.

“We will bring her back, Hunter”

Now Hunter wrinkles his nose and closes his eyes tightly for a moment. What if the Empire did something to you? You were a traitor to them and he saw what the Empire did to traitors. Those thoughts were going through his mind. 

“Please, Hunter, talk to me... I am sad too"

Hearing that was enough to make Hunter look at Omega. The poor girl had tears on her cheeks, so he carefully brushes them away. When he finishes wiping away her tears, he sighs and looks back down at the floor. 

“I left her behind, Omega...”

“But it wasn't your fault!"

“Yes it was! I leave one of us behind again...”

“You would never leave Y/N!”

“You don't understand... I have always promised Y/N that I would protect her, that nothing bad would happen to her. I failed her as a sergeant, I failed her as a partner... I failed her!”

“You didn’t fail her" she rests a hand on his shoulder. “We all feel guilty about leaving Y/N behind, but we are willing to go for her”

“How?”

“I don’t know...” 

"Me neither, kid...” he covers his eyes with his hand. 

“But what I do know is that we will look for a way. We always find a way! And Y/N would do the same for us... She would do the same for you" 

Hunter does not respond. To say he felt terrible was really an understatement. Omega could see it, could feel it. 

“Hunter...” she hugs his arm. 

It was more than obvious what Hunter was doing now, the fact that he covered his eyes with one hand indicated it.

“Just let me, kid. I need to... think" his voice was slightly cracked. 

“I will not leave you...”

“Omega...”

“No! Believe me when I tell you that we are going to bring her back”

Hunter removes his hand from his eyes and looks at Omega. He had slightly red eyes.

“Hunter, Y/N will be back with us. She is one of us" 

She was determined, he had never seen her like this. He sigh and brings his hand now to her head. Obviously they were going to come after you, he didn't doubt it at any moment, but he doubted how.

“Omega is right. We are not going to leave Y/N. We will go after her, no matter what " Echo appears with the others.

“Yeah! Let's bring her back with us!” Wrecker said.  

“We just need to repair the ship for it. Ord Mantell is the only place we can go" Tech was always with his datapad. 

“See? We're all ready to go after Y/N, sergeant” Omega said, with a smile. 

Hunter didn’t smile, but nods and stands up. He wasn't going to give up, he was going to bring you back to them no matter what, he was going to bring you back to his side.

[patt-writes-stuff]

Beach Days with The Genshin Characters!

Wc: 1.7k+

Type: Headcanons

CW: umm nothing except mentions of alcohol and maybe people being creeps? (None of the chars or you tho it’s very brief)

A/N: HI IM BACK FROM THE DEAD! These were supposed to be a lot shorter but I got too excited. If you by any chance wanna see some for your fav character lmk! I know it says request are closed in my bio but since it’s just hcs it’s a lot less (and I really enjoyed writing these so ajdhdhdk)

🔥Diluc:

This man cannot swim. Tell me otherwise, I dare you.

Kaeya tried to jokingly push him off a lil diving cliff area when they were kids.

He almost drowned. Kaeya was in a lot of trouble.

So, good luck getting this man to actually get in the water. The most he’ll do is sit on the shore where it’s very shallow.

He usually prefers to just stay under an umbrella on the sand and keep an eye on you.

Calls you every two hours in advance and helps you reapply sunscreen.

He’s very pale so I feel like he burns pretty easily, meaning he needs to reapply super frequently otherwise he will become a tomato. He brings like three bottles of the good shit. Tch, rich boy.

If you ask him to build a sandcastle, he will pretend to be annoyed but do it anyways. Ends up finding it kind of enjoyable.

He has the maids prepare a nice picnic basket for the two of you!! It’s got all your favorite foods plus grape juice cuz y’know.

If any creepy peeps approach you, don’t worry. He brought his vision and his claymore.

Of course, he won’t have to resort to such violent lengths. Everyone in Mondstadt knows who Diluc is and they probably know you’re his s/o, so they’re usually smart enough to mind their own business.

If they don’t, don’t worry. Diluc’s glare is more than enough to scare them away.

All in all I definitely recommend a beach day with him! I’ll give it a solid 8/10 (-2 for not wearing floaties and getting in the water with you or letting you teach him how to swim.

🖌Albedo:

You guys definitely 100% take Klee out with you on a beach day.

You guys bring snacks, beach toys like buckets and shovels for optimal sandcastle building, a picnic blanket, etc.

Jean definitely packs a lot more stuff for you guys to take with you than you actually need.

It’s only cuz she’s worried for Klee and is nervous about not being able to go with you guys though! It’s very sweet really.

Klee tries to bomb the fish and cause havoc at the beach 😭

I think Albedo is a good swimmer and gets in with you and Klee so that he can help her (which is very cute omfg)

He’s set total workaholic, as we know, so it took a lot of convincing to get him to put down his experiments and accompany you to the beach (however, he’s particularly weak to yours and klee’s puppy dog eyes so he caved eventually)

Though, looking at you and Klee happily building sandcastles and decorating them with pretty seashells of all shapes and colors, he can’t really find it in himself to complain.

He, of course, takes this opportunity to take out his sketchbook and draw the waves, seagulls, you… Of course he won’t let you see the sketch book no sir. He’s a bit embarrassed to be honest, but an artist such as himself recognizes beauty when he sees it so he simply had to draw you. (God I love him so much)

If a creepy person approaches you,- well don’t worry. The sight of a small arsonist child blowing up fish is enough to scare them away 🥰

At the end of the day, all three of you are all ticketed out. Albedo has to carry Klee back to Mondstadt because the poor baby fell asleep the moment you started drying her hair with the beach towel. You’re, of course, carrying back Dodoco and your bags. (You also manage to sneak a peak at Albedo’s sketchbook and find some very pretty drawings of you and Klee with your sandcastle)

At the end of the day, you guys tuck Klee in and read her a bedtime story (she woke up and insisted). Afterwards Albedo takes you back home and thanks you for coming with you and Klee (which you ofc say wasn’t a problem because how could you not???)

All in all? I’ll give it a solid 10/10. You’ve got tasty food, fun times, your boyfriend and his cute kid adoptive sister (yes I am very biased idc)

🦋Xiao:

I think it would take a lot of convincing to get Xiao to go out on a beach date with you.

He’ll probably see it as a distraction getting in the way of his slaying of monsters and demons.

However, he also worships the grounds you walk on (hehe, simp XD), so I don’t think it’ll take that much convincing on your part (especially because it’s is self appointed duty to keep you safe so if you insist on going with or without him, he supposes he’ll have to go)

Is definitely a bit tense at first. He doesn’t know how to let loose and chill so while you’re sun tanning on a beach chair he’s like 🧍‍♂️ahdgshjsjd

Eventually calms down a bit though! You get him to relax and eat some almond tofu you brought along with you. It definitely gets him to perk up.

I don’t think he would mind getting into the water but I do think he’d rather walk along the shore and collect pretty seashells and sea glass.

He later gives the ones he deems pretties to you (he hands them over to you with a blush on his face and pretends it’s not a big deal and he definitely gets all pouty and grouchy when you coo at how adorable he is)

As for creeps, Xiao is both intimidating and well known in Liyue. No one is brave enough (or, let’s be honest, dumb enough) to approach you with any bad intentions.

Sure, Xiao has sworn never to harm a human/citizen of Liyue but that doesn’t mean he can’t scare the absolute shit out of them.

I think Xiao would definitely enjoy a beach day 🥺🥺. He’d find it very relaxing to go out with you and just hear the sound of waves and feel the sand under his feet.

He’d definitely hint at wanting to do it again later. Of course, he won’t tell you. No, that’s a foolish mortal activity and he has much better things to do.

Wait no, don't turn around, yes he will go with you next month.

All in all, I give Xiao a 9/10. It’s a very relaxing day (which he deserves 😤). And you get to see a whole new side of him.

💎Ningguang:

OK SO ORIGINALLY I WASN'T GONNA WRITE ONE FOR HER (at least not in this post) BUT THEN I THOUGHT OF LADY NINGGUANG TAKING YOU TO A WHOLE ASS PRIVATE BEACH

She knows you don’t care about how exclusive the beach you go to is (in fact, the fact that you don’t care about where you are or what you do is one of the things that make her fall more and more madly in love with you) but you deserve the best so she’s gonna go all out.

She’s a busy lady so days like this where the two of you get to go somewhere and be together are few and far between.

She knows it’s hard to be in a relationship with someone who is busy 24/7, so she appreciates how you remain by her side despite all hardships. (Y’all are a whole ass power couple istg)

The two of you spend your day relaxing. Sun bathing, drinking piña coladas, maybe taking a dip in the ocean. It’s all very pleasant!

Ningguang doesn’t quite feel like the type of person who would sit in the sand and make sandcastle, however you’re more than welcome to make some yourself. She finds it endearing <3

If you insist on her helping, she’ll eventually comply. She loves you too much to say no. I feel like she’ll either be terrible at it or like a total architect.

Sand is technically like tiny rocks right? So maybe she can use her vision to help her? If that’s the case, she’s making a replica of the Jade chamber out of sand.

If any creepy person comes up to you don’t worry. Ningguang will buy the whole beach and then use her right of admission as owner to permanently ban them from the beach you’re at.

The only downside to a day at the beach with Ningguang might be that there’s a big chance she’ll be called to tend urgent matters, seeing as she is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing and all.

If that does happen, she’ll be sure to make it up to you somehow, whether it be rescheduling or taking care of the matter as soon as possible so that the two of you can get back to your day of relaxation and fun.

All in all?? Lady Ningguang will treat you like total royalty and the two of you will have an amazing time! I give her an 11/10 (she would literally buy a whole beach for you to be comfortable I mean c’mon)

🍃Venti:

BEACH DAYS WITH HIM ARE SO FUN!!

Swimming? Yeah, he’d love to! Sunbathing? Sure! He’ll ever conjure up a light breeze for the two of you. Sandcastle building? WELL OF COURSE WHY DO YOU THING HE BROUGHT ALL THESE BUCKETS AND SHOVELS?

No but seriously, he might be the best person out of everyone here to go to the beach with. He’s fun, free spirited, and he’s a traveling bard who’s been alive long enough to know where all the best beaches in Teyvat are. (He also knows a guy- er, well, dragon I suppose- who is willing to fly them to any place).

He’ll play some soft tunes while you doze under the sun.

HE PICKS PRETTY SHELLS AND GIFTS THEM TO YOU!!!

He will bring booze. I’m pretty sure this is a necessity. If you’re a little upset about it, he’ll probably “eheh~” his way out of it. That slick bastard.

If you really insist on him not drinking, he won’t consume much alcohol.

If some creepy person approaches you and tries to ruin you your day of beach time fun, all of their stuff will suddenly be blown away, causing them to scramble back to their spot and (almost embarrassingly) flail around trying to catch everything. What a shame…

At the end of the day, he’d be a little sad to leave. Definitely makes plans about tbe two of you going back soon.

I gotta give him a 10/10 he’s just so fun omg.

[drawlfoy]

detention, retention, and draco malfoy being a little shit

masterlist request guidelines

pairing: draco x reader

request: no not really

summary: golden trio friend y/n y/l/n tries to extract information out of draco malfoy after being placed in detention together.

warnings: swearing, panic attack kinda stuff, just the dark war things that would come w having the task that draco does

a/n: ayo so i started this as a fic i was originally planning on writing in a week. i discontinued it bc i didn’t think anyone was that interested, but i’ve written for it on and off. it’s about 16k words right now standing, but i’m reposting this as a 2 part series. here are the first ~12k words....enjoy :) IMPORTANT: if you’re like “hey i started reading this in october why tf are you reposting the first two parts” just keep reading ok lmao i promise there’s more there’s about through part 6 in here hehe. i just wanted new readers to be able to pick up on it without being turned off by the fact that it was part 3. this will b e 2 parts and at least 20k words

word count: 11.6k

taglist: @gruffle1 @missmultifandommess @cleopatera @hahaboop @accio-rogers @geeksareunique @eltanin-malfoy @war-sword @cams-lynn @itsivyberry @ayo-cowbelly @nerd-domland @yesnerdsblog @shizarianathania @evanstanfanatic @strawberriesonsummer @hariosborn @night-ving @straightzoinked @imintoodeeptostop @naiomimoonshard @jejegu @ophelia-enthusiast @alwaysbeanunknownfan @nearly-memories @litty-dumb @callieclearwater @malfoy-wife15 @charlenasaxen @belladaises @fiantomartell

happy reading y’all

For legal purposes, the york pudding she lobbed at Pansy Parkinson’s head on Monday evening was simply meant to be a joke. She didn’t know that her aim was bad enough that it was going to get in Snape’s hair instead--honestly, it wasn’t even supposed to get past the Ravenclaw table, much less veer to the left to make a beeline for the professors--but no matter how much she tried to explain this to McGonagall, her sentence remained the same: detention every Friday. For two months.

Her life was ending for sure.

“I honestly don’t know what you were expecting,” Hermione told her as she gently wiped off the nib of her quill later that night in the common room. “Even if you had hit your mark, that’s still technically assault.”

“Did you even hear what she said to me? She told me that I looked like the type of kid that bit people in primary school,” complained Y/N. “I didn’t even think she knew what primary school was!”

Hermione snorted. “How long ago?”

“Two days. I’ve been waiting until there was something throwable on the dinner table.”

“How very analytic of you.”

“I’m going to hit you.”

“And you wonder why you’ve got detention.” Hermione tsk-ed at her, her face stone serious but her tone light hearted. “Maybe take this as an opportunity to, I don’t know, do your homework for once? So you won’t have to have a breakdown over the next Potion’s essay and beg me to write it for you?”

“I’m going to go to sleep and think terribly mean thoughts about you.”

“Have fun.”

~ 

Detention.

Something that Y/N wasn’t completely unfamiliar with--she’d done her time organizing Snape’s cabinets, just like every other Gryffindor--but it was different when it came to McGonagall. An impressive old lady, she thought that McGonagall saw something in her. She was always the first to chuckle at Y/N’s jokes and hesitated to reprimand her stupid behavior. And she never gave Y/N detention.

Until now, she supposed. 6th year was changing a lot of things--even their Potions professor--so McGonagall turning a new stone shouldn’t have been anything shocking.

At least, not as shocking as the first thing Y/N saw as she walked into her house head’s office.

“Malfoy?” she spat.

The platinum blonde didn’t even bother to look up from his desk.

“Miss Y/L/N,” Professor McGonagall chided. “I think we would all prefer if you restrained yourself from getting into any more physical altercations with Slytherins.”

She huffed, plopping down in the chair furthest away from that foul git and reaching for her satchel.

“I’ll be back in two hours,” said the elderly professor. “If I hear anything, and I mean anything, other than the sound of studying, consider your sentence doubled.”

With a swish of her robes, McGonagall was gone, leaving her with Malfoy. 

“So what’d you do to get in here, huh? Did the administration finally get a hold of that video of you licking Voldemort’s toes?”

“What the fuck does that mean?!” he snapped, whipping around to glare at her.

“‘s just a joke,” said Y/N. “Like--how everyone says your family houses him and everything--but whatever. I can tell it’s a sore spot.”

His gaze, never withering in intensity, remained trained on her face. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Apparently so. What’re you here for?”

He exhaled sharply. “If I tell you, will you shut up and let me think?”

“No promises, but maybe.”

“Late work. I forgot to turn in the Transfiguration exam last week.”

She made a tutting sound as she lazily shuffled through the crumpled parchment in her satchel. “I expected more from you. Aren’t you gonna ask me how I wound up here?”

“No. I am going to ask you to stop talking now, though.”

~

“That’s terribly unfortunate,” Hermione said over breakfast the next morning. Ron and Harry were nervously chit chatting at the other side of the table over the Saturday Quidditch game against Hufflepuff--supposedly it was supposed to be quite a high stakes match. Not like Y/N cared much, though.

“Yeah! And the worst part was that he won’t even tease anymore. Like, he just sits there all broody and woe is me. We’re all witnessing our nation’s descent into war--he’s not special!”

“Who are you talking about?” asked Harry.

“Oh, just Malfoy,” said Y/N. “We have detention together with McGonagall. He’s such a nasty little greaseball, don’t you think? I mean, look at him right now, glowering over his cereal.”

“Wait! That’s it!”

“What’s it, Harry?” Hermione asked.

“It’s genius, really,” he said. “Y/N has to spend time with him alone every week, and we know that something is up with him. Malfoy is absolutely a Death Eater and has connections to You-Know-Who, but I just need to find a way to prove it.”

“I vaguely forecast where this is going, and I hate it already.”

“Listen, Y/N. It’s not for that long, and it’s for the health of the wizarding world. If you just get to know him--”

“Ick!”

“If you just get to know him, maybe get him to trust you and find out his secrets...we’d finally have enough to turn him in and throw him out of Hogwarts for good.”

“Is that really necessary, Harry?” Ginny butted in from her seat further down next to Dean. “Malfoy’s probably just exhausted like the rest of you. 6th year is difficult, and we have no solid evidence that he’s a Death Eater. I’m sure being stuck in a room with him for 2 hours is hard enough without pretending to be nice to him.”

“But what if Harry’s right?” said Y/N. “What if he is actually a Death Eater? What if he’s an active danger to the student body?”

“Exactly!” The joy written across Harry’s face at the prospect of someone else finally agreeing was infectious. “So will you?”

“Er…” She dragged her spoon across the top layer of her porridge. “In theory, sure. In actuality, I’m not sure how I could do it. Malfoy doesn’t want anything to do with me, either.”

“Love potion?” offered Ron.

“I don’t care how much of a prat he is, I’m not roofying him.”

“I rarely agree with you, Y/N, but I think you’re right. If you want to do this, you need to get him to trust you for real.”

“Your back-handed compliment skills never disappoint, Hermione. Do you think you could help me out with a plan?”

A slow smile spread across the girl’s face as she nodded. “That’s my strong suit.”

The plan they laid out over the remainder of the day was ambitious but at least do-able. Each week was split into different subtasks, the end goal being a somewhat tentative friendship between the two. 

“If you can flirt with him and get him to have a crush on you without scaring him off, you’d be in the best possible position,” Hermione told her as they walked back from the Quidditch pitch among the screaming Gryffindor fans. They’d won--yet again. “Obviously I don’t foresee that being likely, but if you pull it off somehow he’d probably be willing to tell you anything. The fact that you’re a pureblood is going to carry you through this whole ordeal. He’ll at least be accepting of your existence in the wizarding community.”

The bitter edge in Hermione’s tone made Y/N’s blood boil. There was no reason for Malfoy to be as prejudiced as he was--he’d spent his adolescence in Hermione’s academic dust. She was obviously smarter than him. 

“You got it, ‘Mione,” she said. Her voice barely carried over the cheers of her peers as they ascended the steps to the common room. “We’ll take this little ferret down. I can’t wait.”

“Don’t get too cocky, now.”

The Gryffindor after-party was crazy...per usual. The charmed self-filling goblets, the blasted playlist of Wizpop pumping through the air, and the buzzing energy of the room was giving Y/N a giant headache. She stood with Hermione and Harry by the edge of the crowd, watching Ron get hoisted up on the shoulders of the chasers. 

“No wonder the Slytherins think we’re Neanderthals,” Y/N mused. For once, Hermione didn’t respond. “Hermione? Is everything okay?”

The second she turned away to look at her best friend, gasps and whistles filled the room. She whipped back just in time to see Lavender Brown, a sweet but slightly ditzy girl in their year, pull away from a kiss with Ron.

“Oh shi--Hermione!”

Harry and Y/N shared a glance before darting after the witch--who had impressively already made it to the door. 

“Hermione, wait!” Y/N called as they jogged after her, throwing open the common room entrance and finding her sat by the tapestry on the other side of the hall, knees to her chest.

“‘Mione, what’s wrong?” asked Harry.

“Don’t be daft, Harry,” said Y/N. “You saw exactly what the rest of us did.”

“I don’t understa--”

“Harry.” Her voice was taut. “I know you’re just trying to help, but I think that it might be best if you let us be. Go back and enjoy the party.”

He gave her a tight, grateful smile before darting back through the door. Y/N wasted no more time in walking over to Hermione and throwing her arms around her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hugging her tight. Hermione made no move to detach them, so she continued. “Ron is an idiot. You deserve so much better--your first kiss was Viktor fucking Krum, after all. You’re hot stuff and this place is just unfortunately running dry of men who are impressive enough for you. Once you’re out of here and working in the Ministry, you’re gonna have the time of your life with men actually in your league.”

Hermione managed a sniffly laugh as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “It’s just so fucking embarrassing, you know. Like, I have a crush on him because I think he understands me and I smelled him in my Amortentia and I thought he’d like me back, but…” She hiccuped. “Then he goes off and kisses Lavender Brown, of all people. There’s nothing particularly wrong with her or anything, but she’s so different...I’m so bookish, and she’s so girly and everything I’m not…”

Y/N took the opportunity to tuck a lock of Hermione’s hair behind her ear as she listened.

“And it can’t help but make me think--was I ever anything to him but a friend? If the girl he ends up choosing is the opposite of me?”

“Girly, don’t think like that,” murmured Y/N. “He’s a teenage boy. They don’t think of love the way that we do--to them it’s a game of availability, not of choice. At least for Ronald. You intimidate him, and by extension, you’re not available.”

“That shouldn’t matter!”

“You’re right. It shouldn’t.” Y/N drew a long breath. “So you should find someone who always has you as their first choice--someone who isn’t intimidated by your intellect. They’re out there. I promise.”

Hermione managed a shaky smile. “Thanks, Y/N. I mean it. Do you mind if I have some alone time? I don’t think I’m ready to go back to the party but I just want some quiet.”

“Of course. Let me know if you need me,” she said, brushing herself off and making to walk down the hall.

“You’re not going back to the party?”

“Nah. It hurts my head and I want fresh air. If I’m not back here in a half hour, assume that I’ve been kidnapped.”

With that, she started her walk. She wasn’t planning on going on a long stroll--there was a small balcony that she often went to when she needed to clear her head. It was beautiful, especially on a snowy night like this.

But the walk was creepy.

There was only one way in and out--a narrow, damp hallway that had absolutely no light fixtures. If Y/N really wanted to, she could cast a quick lumos, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see what lived on the walls. The stairs were steep, too, but she managed to bound up all 40 of them in record time. 

“Who’s there?”

The sudden voice ripped a scream out of Y/N’s throat as she reached the top, catching a glimpse of the shadowy figure at the edge of the balcony that spoke. She clasped her hand over her mouth and she crept forward to the opening, getting a better look at the person that was in her secret spot.

The clouds shifted in the sky to allow more moonlight to cast a soft glow on Malfoy’s face, hardened with irritation.

“Malfoy?” Y/N asked, rather dumbly.

“What stellar observational skills,” he drawled. 

She felt her cheeks grow hot. “What are you doing here? This is part of the Gryffindor tower. Shouldn’t you be...I don’t know...playing hide and seek with the sewer rats in the dungeons?”

“Very funny.” His flat tone exposed the fact that he did not, in fact, find it very funny. “There’s no rule barring me from coming up here.”

“But why? This is my spot!”

“Because I wanted to get out. Now, I was here first, so unless you want your detention extended, I suggest you leave.”

Y/N bit the fiery comebacks on the tip of her tongue as the memories of her plan with Hermione began floating back to her. 

Week 1 -- Hold one neutral, civil conversation with Malfoy.

“I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here,” Y/N decided upon. leaning up against the balcony. The rogue snowflakes that made it past the overhanging roof melted on her cheeks. 

“That isn’t a suggestion,” said Malfoy. “I’m demanding you leave.”

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Y/N asked, pointedly ignoring his words. “I’ve always loved the snow. It’s so quiet.”

“And it would be even quieter if you left.”

“Aren’t you the conversationalist?” said Y/N.

“If you don’t leave, I will hex you,” Malfoy told her through gritted teeth. 

“I just love how the moonlight reflects off of the snow,” continued Y/N. “It’s so...pure.”

“Please leave.”

On her walk back down the dank stairwell, she allowed herself a little smile. 

Task 1? Technically done.

~ 

The first week went largely as planned. Malfoy was cold and certainly suspicious of her, but he wasn’t completely venomous when Y/N asked where he got his quill from in Potions. It was silver, charmed to shimmer with flecks of forest green. He told her Barnaby’s in France, and that was that. She walked away from his table with all of her limbs attached. Perhaps that was all the progress she was going to make in the next few weeks, but the task at hand certainly made the prospect of her lost Friday afternoons more bearable. 

Harry was going completely batty, rambling on about how Malfoy was behind the mysterious cursed objects that had been floating about the castle without explanation. 

“And why would Malfoy bring cursed objects to Hogwarts if he has aspirations other than being expelled?” Hermione would ask over their books.

“You don’t understand, Hermione! You girls need to be careful walking around at night--especially you, Y/N. I don’t want you going missing after detention because of that slimeball.”

Y/N always gave him a laugh, berating him for his slight misogynistic commentary and turning back to whatever her task was, but the truth was that she was worried for him. The mental weight of the impending war and the fact that he couldn’t do anything about it was certainly getting too difficult for him to bear. It was heartbreaking to see the vivacious boy she’d grown up with crumble under the responsibilities of something he should never have to worry about in the first place.

Friday came much sooner than expected, and Y/N reluctantly left her friends in the common room to trek to McGonagall’s office. The walk was frigid and the wind bit at her cheeks as she rounded the last outdoor hall.

Why was this castle so dark?

A thump behind her made her jump, and Harry’s words came floating back to her. 

Remember all those cursed objects? What if there’s someone just...stalking the school grounds, waiting for someone like me to snatch?

She shivered, throwing herself at the office door and slamming it behind her.

“Miss Y/L/N,” Professor McGonagall greeted, her eyebrows raised in amusement. “Something giving you trouble?”

“No, Professor,” she answered, setting her bag down on the desk next to Malfoy. He sent her a curious look as well. “It’s just cold outside.”

She chuckled. “I need to go speak to Headmaster Dumbledore. I expect that, upon my return, you both are in one piece and alive.”

“I’m not sure if I’m the one who needs to be given that speech,” said Y/N, bored and testing the waters.

“She’s right, Professor,” added Malfoy. “There’s no projectiles here.”

McGonagall exhaled a long, shaky breath before brushing herself off. “Please. Behave yourselves.”

“You got it, boss,” she said as she watched her Professor walk out the door. “So, Malfoy. How was your week?”

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’d way prefer if you didn’t speak to me,” he said, refusing to make eye contact.

“I’m not up to anything! We’re in detention together and, I dunno, since I see you sometimes at balls, I thought it’d be nice to be on good terms.”

“Good terms?” He scoffed. “You’re a Gryffindor. I’d rather you be a bloody Hufflepuff.”

“How about neutral terms?”

Even though he wasn’t looking at her, she could catch a glimpse of him rolling his eyes. “If neutral terms mean you being quiet, then, yes. Please.”

“I’ll be plenty quiet. After I hear about your opinion on what happened in Potions today with Brown and Weasley. When Snape yelled at them for holding hands.”

He let out a sharp sigh. “Believe it or not, I actually have better things to do than keep up with whatever stuff your house does.”

“But…?” Y/N pressed. She may not’ve spent her time at Hogwarts as Malfoy’s best friend, but she had grown up with the boy, and she could tell when he was holding back.

He stared blankly at her.

“Come on. I’m literally the only person in my house who’ll openly admit that they’re disgusted by that dynamic. I’m begging you.”

She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she saw a flicker of amusement dance across his face for a moment. “Your house sounds more like a cult than a student group.”

“Oh, says the one from Slytherin,” said Y/N. 

“We only act like that because our families are close. What’s your excuse? Hormones and Quidditch culture?”

“Touché.” As much as she wanted to fight back, she bit her tongue. Whatever she was doing was making progress, and quicker progress than she was expecting. Her next task was to make him laugh, and she was emboldened by the fact that she could potentially be able to kill two birds with one stone. 

They sat in silence for a little bit, but this time, it was a comfortable silence. Malfoy wasn’t staring at the clock on the wall or rolling his eyes at her every move, so she had time to plot.

On one hand, she could make a fool of herself--drop her inkwell, say something stupid in class, fall down the stairs--but she had a sneaking suspicion that her sorry attempts at slapstick humor wouldn’t land well with Draco anymore. He’d become so serious lately, so solemn. This was the most light hearted she’d seen him, even compared with how he acted with the rest of his Slytherin lackeys. 

On the other, she could try to sell out her friends. She could confide in him how “big” Hermione’s teeth were (they weren’t even big) or tell him that Ron smelled of eggs (true, but that was a low blow). Something told her that this would be much more successful, but she wasn’t willing to turn to that so quickly--she was already a week ahead as it was. 

“What is it?” 

Malfoy’s bored drawl cut through her flurried thoughts. Her cheeks turned pink as she blinked, noticing that she’d been staring at him for far too long. “Nothing. Sorry. I just spaced out.”

“Sure,” he mumbled, giving her another suspicious look before turning back to his work. “Can you maybe space out somewhere other than my face?”

“Where’s your vanity, Malfoy?” she pressed as she leaned back in her chair, hair swinging over the back. 

“Shut up,” he snapped. She could tell that whatever connection they’d had in the fleeting moments beforehand was being burnt by the second, but her embarrassment and pride drove her forward.

“Merlin, what’s got you so wound up?” she prompted, noting how deliciously unraveled he looked at this. “Where’s my cool, collected Slytherin?”

He slammed hands on his desk at this, whipping around to glare at her. “What’s your angle, Y/L/N?”

“What?”

“Why are you bothering me?”

“Because I want to.” She beamed.

Malfoy ran his fingers through his hair, mussing up the usual neat manner in which it normally laid on his head. “Compelling. What do you want from me?”

“What do I want…?” She tilted her head at him, narrowing her eyes. “What?”

“You never talk to me,” he explained. “Obviously, I prefer it like that. I can’t help but wonder why suddenly you want to be making small talk. So, what is it you want from me?”

“Malfoy,” she said. “I think you’re a spoiled prick who thinks far too highly of himself and drives me insane. But I also think that you’re funnier than what my friends give you credit for. Granted, you’ve always been annoying, but I don’t want anything from you. I just want to, I dunno, make these next few months less insufferable.” Somehow the lie slipped through her teeth easier than any of her previous bluffs. 

He frowned, his mouth opening once before firmly screwing shut into a scowl. “Oh.”

“No offense, Malfoy, but what else can you offer me other than your dazzling personality?” she teased. “You know my family. I don’t need to blackmail you to pay for jewelry I’ve had my eye on or anything.”

He scoffed. “As if I’d say yes.”

“Exactly my point. It’d be fucking weird. Merlin, I’m not trying to butter you up to buy out Borgin & Burkes for me. Do I give off gold-digger vibes? Is that what this is about?”

“Fucking hell.” Malfoy turned to her in disbelief. “Do you ever shut up?”

“Answer my question. Or better yet, pull out your wallet. Wait, did I say that out loud?” She mimed surprise and covered her mouth. “Oh no! What will my mother say now that I’ve squandered my last chance of hitching you? There’s no way I can go home for Christmas break now.”

He rolled his eyes so hard she found herself worried for a moment that they were going to just permanently get stuck in the back of his head. “Hate to break it to you, but you didn’t really have a shot to begin with.”

Ouch.

She huffed and dramatically flopped over the back of her chair, hoping he couldn’t see that she’d flinched. “So you don’t think I’m pretty??” 

“Y/L/N,” he snapped, his voice a low warning. “Can I please just work? What is with you today?”

Y/N sent him a sour look before giving her Charms work another look. Malfoy was awfully quiet, and when she snuck any glances at him later on, he was angled to face away from her. 

Why did she feel like such shit all of a sudden? She cataloged the past events, trying to pinpoint the exact moment that her stomach dropped. It all made sense when the words “You didn’t really have a shot to begin with” echoed around her head once again. She’d failed Harry. She’d failed Hermione. There was no way that she was going to be able to get him to reveal his secrets now--it’s not like he was confiding in even his closest friends as Harry made apparent when he explained how vague his statements were to his fellow Slytherins on the train. Her only chance would’ve been to somehow get him to fall for her, and that wasn’t going...great. And it had been a pipedream to begin with.

When McGonagall swished back into the classroom to dismiss them, Y/N shot out of there without even looking at Malfoy again. It felt like something was lodged in her throat and she was not going to cry in front of him. No, no. She had to make it to Hermione to tell her what was going on. 

“Y/L/N?” 

Malfoy’s voice made her pause in her flee as she nearly rounded the corner in front of her, but she refused to look back. It was far enough away that it was possible she didn’t hear him.

“Wait!”

She was up the stairs and speed walking as fast as her legs could carry her to the Gryffindor tower before he even saw which way she went.

~

“I don’t think you understand,” Y/N wailed by the fire as Hermione rubbed her shoulders and Harry sat awkwardly perched on the couch. “I can’t do this. The only way this was going to work was if he had a crush on me, and I don’t think he ever will. I fucked it up! The one time you guys need me, I fuck it up! I let you down!”

Hermione’s left hand stopped its rubbing to rest firmly on her shoulder. “Please don’t be upset. You didn’t let us down. Plus, you’re only, what...two weeks in? You don’t need him to like you to make it work. Just getting him to trust you will be enough, and you’re good at that.”

“I don’t think so,” continued Y/N. “Harry said that he wasn’t even that open on the train when he overheard him talking to all of his friends. And those are purebloods that he likes! That he’s trusted and known for years and years! I’m a friend of you guys, and he knows it. I think he’d figure it out quick.”

“We should take every chance we can get,” said Harry from his spot a few feet away, his eyes lazy and unfocused on the fire crackling in front of them. “You won’t let us down if you can’t get anything, Y/N, you know that! But if you got anything from him, it’d be incredible. It’s a win-win. I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”

“I’m not upset,” she said, her tone becoming defensive. “I just...don’t want to mess this up. I know how much it’d mean if I succeeded.”

“So just try!” Hermione said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m sorry he was kind of mean to you today, but I don’t think that should bother you too much. He should be more afraid of what you’d say if you didn’t care about being a good person.”

“Fucking right on there,” she said, wiping away the frustrated tears. “If I was honest with him, he’d leave crying. He should be grateful that I’m taking this bet so I actually have to be nice to him.”

“That’s the spirit.” Harry leaned over to smack her back like he did his Quidditch teammates after a winning match. 

After they’d parted their ways with Harry, Hermione and Y/N made their way slowly up the stairwell to the girls’ dorms. 

“Y/N?” Hermione asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah?”

“Do you think, er…” She paused. “Do you think you were really upset about failing us today? Or was it something else?”

“What do you mean?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t see what else it would be.”

“I’m sorry,” responded the bright witch. “Forget I ever asked. It was a stupid thing to wonder about.”

“Weirdo,” she teased as she waved her a goodnight and made her way to her dorm.

The next morning, Y/N busied herself with revising her Charms essay over her breakfast--a cup of tea and a half-buttered piece of toast--while Hermione leaned over her shoulder, nodding or grimacing at the corrections she made. 

“Did you work during detention? Like, at all?”

“‘Mione,” moaned Y/N. “It’s too early for this. I don’t want a lecture. I just couldn’t focus.”

Her warm brown eyes narrowed as they bore into Y/N’s face. “Why were you distracted?”

“Oh, I, uh…” She stumbled over her words as Hermione drew closer. “Merlin, Hermione. I told you last night. I just felt like I was letting you all down.”

“Mhm,” was all she got in response before her best friend tilted her head back down to the parchment in front of her. 

Y/N sat, completely puzzled. What was Hermione on about? She’d been straightforward with what was hurting her--she didn’t want to mess up the only task the Golden Trio had ever given her--and, even if she hadn’t been, Hermione was smart enough to deduce things for herself. So what was she thinking about?

Her eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table where the usual 6th year pureblood gang loitered about, drinking black coffee and sulking--but Malfoy was not to be seen. She jumped when her eyes met Parkinson, her dark eyes burning into her soul as a deep scowl was written across her face.

“Malfoy, what the fuck do you want?” Ron’s voice pulled her back to reality to see him glaring somewhere behind her.

“I wasn’t here to talk to you,” a familiar voice drawled. 

She turned to see Malfoy standing behind her, a sneer written all across his stupidly pretty face.

“Miss me already?” asked Y/N as she raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. 

“For fuck’s sake, stop doing that,” he mumbled, reaching into his pocket and throwing a box at her. “You forgot your quill. I took the liberty of properly storing it, because it seems like you lot like to just throw them in your bag. Makes me physically ill to watch.”

“Oh.” Y/N studied the intricate box in her hands before tucking it away in her knapsack. “Thanks? I guess?”

He nodded curtly, contorting his face into one last scowl to send to Ron before turning and leaving,

“So,” Hermione began, cutting her omelet at a much brisker pace, “I think we need to have a little chat. About...all of this.” 

“Why?” 

“Not right now,” she said, her voice low and her eyes flicking at Ron and Harry sitting across from them. “I don’t think it’d benefit us for them to hear.” 

“Ok?” She cautiously took a bite out of her toast and continued staring Hermione down. “You’re scaring me.”

“It’s...I don’t know. I thought I was crazy for thinking this, but it seems like we need to talk about it anyways. For this little mission of yours to work, we need to be totally open and honest with each other.”

“Sure.” Y/N took another bite. “I honestly have no clue what’s got you so on edge, though.”

“Who’s on edge?” Harry asked, leaning over the table and stealing the croissant on Y/N’s plate. 

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Do you not see the entire plate of them over there?”

He laughed, sending her an easy grin and dunking a piece into the hot chocolate in his mug. “Finders keepers. Say, Y/N, are you busy next weekend? Ron and Lavender are going to Madame Puddingfoot’s together, and I know Hermione isn’t going to want to take a weekend off studying to go to Hogsmeade, so I thought that maybe we could go cause some trouble at the Cauldron.”

“If you stop stealing my food we can talk about it,” replied Y/N, the corners of her lips tugging up into a grin. 

“Deal.”

Hermione tugged at her arm. “I just realized I need to get something out of my room before we watch the Quidditch game. Will you come with me, Y/N?”

“Sure!” said Y/N. “Gee, I’m rolling in invitations today.”

Once they exited the dining hall, though, it immediately became evident that they were not actually heading up to the dorms. Hermione dragged her into the nearest bathroom before casting a quick silencing charm.

“Myrtle! Are you in here?” Only when she was sure silence was the only response to her question, she seemed satisfied to turn to Y/N and begin talking. “When were you going to tell me that you have a thing for Malfoy?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Y/N felt the heat that had risen to her cheeks from the last quill-encounter re-emerge.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” said Hermione. “Are you seriously going to expect me to believe that you nearly sobbed over some random pureblood git telling you you never had a chance with him because it might slow down your progress with helping us? Actually? I’ve seen you look more ecstatic about hearing that your dear granny passed away.”

“To be fair, she had really good life insurance,” Y/N cut in. “And she was an old hag. Never had a nice thing to say to me.”

“Life insurance or no life insurance...you can’t seriously expect me to believe that you were just upset about not being able to help us as much. That was ridiculous. I don’t buy it. And the way you blushed like crazy when he came over to talk to you--the way you try and pretend like you can flirt...please. Y/N, it’s clear as day. I know you, and I know you have a crush on him.”

“Hermione!” hissed Y/N. “You have no clue what you’re talking about!”

“Yes, I think I do,” she pushed. “And you need to be honest with me if you want to be of any help right now.”

Her bossiness lit a fire of rage in Y/N’s chest, but she sucked in a deep breath, shutting her eyes before releasing it. “Believe me when I say I haven’t ever acknowledged any feelings I may or may not have towards him.”

“Ok.” Her face softened. “I know it might take time, but I honestly do think I’m right. Please just...be careful. This is a really odd situation to get caught up in if you actually have feelings for the other person. You’re trying to manipulate him, for Merlin’s sake.”

“And if I have these feelings for him, I’ve done a pretty damn good job of suppressing them for however long they’ve been here.” 

Hermione sighed. “That’s true. I’m just saying that spending this much time with him is probably only going to make things worse. Will you please tell me if anything changes between the two of you?”

“Anything changes?” Y/N’s voice was dripping in disbelief. “You’re joking. Even if I was obsessed with him I don’t think there’s ever a chance of hell in anything ‘changing’ between us. He said it himself.”

“You know what I mean, Y/N,” responded Hermione. “Just promise me, ok?”

“Ok,” said Y/N. “I promise.”

That seemed to satiate Hermione as she nodded approvingly at her friend. “I think it goes without saying that Ron and Harry shouldn’t hear about this.”

“There’s nothing to hear about, but yes.” She shuffled her feet before meeting Hermione’s eyes again. “Er, I’m sorry for this being a weird question, but would you mind coming along with me and Harry to Hogsmeade? I don’t really see him like...that...and I don’t want to read into it too much and reject him if he is doing it just platonically, but just in case. Y’know.”

“Sure,” said Hermione, even though her face took on that curious expression yet again. “Anyways, you actually did forget something--you’re not wearing a single piece of Gryffindor colors for our game today. You should probably run back to your dorm before Harry and Ron notice.”

After they said their goodbyes, Y/N found herself turning over the things Hermione had said to her in her head. Did she like Malfoy? No, no fucking way. But a part of her really did think he was funny. And of course it was natural to feel rejected when anyone insinuates that they’d never consider you as a romantic interest without jest. 

Once she’d made it up to her room and grabbed a few scarves, Y/N made to put her red cloak into her satchel. Her fingers ghosted over the box that Malfoy had given her and scoffed once she saw the Malfoy crest engraved into the rich wood. 

Narcissistic snot.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she reached over to open up the elaborately decorated box. What met her was not just one quill but two--one of which was most certainly not her own. 

She took them both out, tossing the old one in a pile with her other trusty familiar white feather quills and picked up the other one. It looked familiar--identical to the quill that she’d complimented Malfoy on in Potions about a week ago. Butterflies began to flutter like crazy in her stomach as she turned it over in her hand, watching the gray and green glitter together and the magic sparkles cast a gentle light over her bed. She generally avoided dipping into her family’s pockets to get school supplies any more than she had to--it’s not like it made her friends feel good about themselves when they were reminded how rich her family was--but this might be what she could consider to be an exception. She hadn’t even liked his quill all that much when she first saw it in Potions--but it was one of those things that was so noticeable that it made sense to compliment him. 

She gave it one last look before tucking it back away into the elaborately decorated box. Perhaps she had spoken too soon when she’d told Hermione all hope was lost. 

~ 

When Monday morning Potions class with the Slytherins rolled around, Y/N wasted no time. Malfoy was alone--even his Slytherin lackeys seemed to know not to bother him. Just what she needed.

“Malfoy,” she greeted, setting her bag down on his table and looking him dead on. He raised to meet her eyes, his eyebrow raised.

“Can I help you?”

“I just wanted you to know that I also really like your immense fortune,” she said. “And your manor.”

“Well, a lot of people do,” he mumbled as he looked away to dig through something in his bag. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought he was blushing.

“I’m just letting you know,” she continued. “In case you were wanting to give them away. It worked for the quill, so I thought, well, why not?”

He exhaled, a deep and annoyed sound escaping his lips as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “I knew I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You really didn’t have to.”

“I was getting sick of it,” he told her. “I never can stick with one quill for too long, and I thought it’d be a shame to toss it. I thought it’d be better to be charitable--it’s not like your family could get an appointment at Barnaby’s if they tried.”

“Hey!” Y/N said indignantly. “You don’t know that!”

“I’ve heard your parents try to speak French,” he said. “If you’re anything like them, you'll be barred from ever entering the country.”

“Malfoy!” 

His lips turned up into a smile, a soft laugh escaping his lips. Y/N suppressed the urge to grin in return. Task 3? Done. “What?”

“I can’t even argue with you,” she said. “It’s tragic.”

She stared at the empty stool next to him, wondering if she should just take the leap and sit with him. Malfoy seemed unbothered by her presence as he opened up his Potions book and set it next to his cauldron. “Do you want a partner?” The words left her lips before she could stop them.

He cast her a curious look before glancing at the empty stool. “It depends. Are you going to be annoying?”

She gasped in faux-offense. “What makes you think I could ever be annoying?”

“On that note, I think you better get back to Potter.” He motioned with his head towards the side of the room where most of her Gryffindor friends were chatting. Harry was staring at her, his fists clenched by his side.

Y/N smirked and sent him a wink. 

“On that note,” she said, careful to imitate Malfoy’s drawl and sending him a smug grin, “Maybe I better sit here.”

“Hm.” He awarded her one more uninterested look before rolling up his sleeves and setting out the ingredients for the potion they were brewing--Amortentia. 

She tried not to make it too obvious that she was staring at his left arm, but there was nothing on it like Harry had told her. It was just pure, unblemished pale skin that shimmered under the light. Before he could catch her looking, she quickly sat down and started pulling out her own things. After a short pause, she decided to take out the silver quill. She’d left his box back in her room--she wouldn’t be caught dead with something that had the Malfoy crest on it--but she’d wrapped it in a pouch with her own family’s emblem on the front, shimmering in gold and red.

“Why don’t you just buy your own charmed quills?” asked Malfoy after they had chopped all of the gillweed. 

“You already know. We’re an abomination to the French. We aren’t allowed entry.”

“That’s not what I mean.” His tone was meant to read as exasperated, but his words still seemed good-natured.

“I...well.” She frowned. She’d never confessed this to anyone, but she supposed that Malfoy wasn’t going to find a way to use it against her. “I don’t like to flaunt my family wealth. I think it makes people, at least in Gryffindor, like me less. I learned that pretty early on.”

He hummed something in response before sliding all the gillweed into the cauldron, turning the clear liquid into a bubbling forest green. 

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” she asked. 

He took his time finishing the note he was jotting down before he answered. “I’m not being nice. It’s just called being civil. You said it yourself, we see each other at balls sometimes.”

“We probably won’t anymore, though,” she mused. 

Malfoy’s eyebrows shot up, but his voice remained low and steady. “No. I suppose that we probably won’t. Is your family part of the Order?”

“Hm. Are you a Death Eater?” she asked brazenly. He had no business asking her something like that, and he knew it. Especially not with his family connections.

“What do you think?” he drawled, waving his bared left arm in front of her face.

“Bullshit. That doesn’t mean anything after we learned Glamour spells last year.”

“Guess you’ll just have to trust me, then,” he responded, focusing intently on the bubbling liquid in front of him instead of her face. 

“I guess so,” she replied. The weight of her Glamour comment began to sink in--she was right, after all. How had she not thought of it before? 

But he was right when he told her she just had to trust him. Could she? Y/N rested her chin in the palm of her propped hand as she watched him work. A piece of disobedient moonbeam blonde hair dangled over his forehead as he diced up the unicorn tail, his eyebrows furrowed in focus.

“Is this why you want to be my partner?” he finally asked after a few moments of silence. “So you can just stare at me while I do all the work?”

“There’s the vain Draco I know,” she said, grinning as she leaned over to punch his shoulder. 

He rolled his eyes again, scooting out of arm's reach before flipping back to Amortentia in his book. “You’re insufferable. And it’s Malfoy to you.”

“Fine, fine, Malfoy,” said Y/N. “What do you want me to do, then?”

He shoved his cutting board towards her, the half-diced unicorn tail staring up at her. “Finish dicing this and then stir it in. 9 times clockwise. I did almost all of the work, but it should be finished after that.”

Y/N sent him another glare before doing as he said. The glittering quill kept catching her attention from the corner of her eye, and she couldn’t help but notice that Malfoy was writing with just a plain white quill for the time being. HE really did just give it to me. 

After the final ingredients were diced, she began to stir, each rotation around the cauldron turning the potion to a different color. It began as the bubbling green, then a deep sea blue, then a royal purple, a crimson blood red, a glimmering gold--before settling into a pale silver.

“Wow. It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “It’s like...liquid starlight.”

“All thanks to me,” said Malfoy. “You didn’t even have to crush the Mandrake root.”

“You’re such a gentleman, Malfoy.” Her voice dripped in fake sincerity. “So, what do you smell?”

Y/N was expecting him to scowl at her and tell her that it wasn’t any of her business, but he actually leaned over the cauldron and shut his eyes. 

“I’ve never been good at explaining what things smell like.” 

“Fair.”

Once he leaned back, she took his place, shutting her eyes and breathing in a tendril of the beautiful potion. “Whoa.”

“What’s it for you?”

“I don’t...know,” she admitted. “It’s not something I can describe note by note. It kind of reminds me of something, though.”

“Something with Potter, I presume?” he said, casually twirling his generic white quill around his fingers.

“No,” she answered, surprised at how honest she was being. “It’s…I’m trying to think. Er, it’s very lavish. It reminds me of when I was younger and my parents would drag me to galas and balls and whatnot.” 

He stared at her in silence.

“What about you? Does it remind you of anything?”

“Yeah.” Malfoy reached forward to put a lid on the cauldron, effectively shutting out the steam from reaching either of them.

“Ooh, have you figured it out yet?” she teased, crossing her legs and turning to face him head on. “Let me guess. Is it someone like…”

She paused, a wicked smile stretching across her face. “Oh my god, is it Hermione? Or Luna? Or...help me out here!”

“No.” His voice was sour. 

“Ah, it’s Parkinson then, isn’t it? Tell her I’m sorry for throwing food at her if you ever have the chance. Make sure to add the part where I’m more sorry that I missed.” 

“Y/L/N!”

“It’s okay. I’d be a little let down, too.”

“Can you please just…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Please just stop. I haven’t figured it out. Okay? Happy now?”

“I’ll leave you alone,” said Y/N. “Under one condition. You give me a hint. I’ve given you everything I know! This isn’t fair.”

“This doesn’t have to be fair,” he hissed.

Y/N kept the easy smile plastered on her face while she waited, her eyebrows raised in anticipation.

“You’re not going to let up until I tell you, are you?”

“You’d be right on that,” she said, sugary sweet.

“Fine. It’s something kind of floral.” 

“How descriptive,” she snorted as she slumped back in her stool, thinking hard. Where had she smelled it before? Y/N shut her eyes, leaning her head back and trying to immerse herself into the memory that had surfaced. It smelled like grandeur, like an open ballroom full of guests wearing expensive perfumes. She could feel spinning, spinning like she was with a dance partner. Who was it? She couldn’t quite remember--the last ball she’d been to had been years ago--but after she leaned forward and smelled the Amortentia once more time, she came to a conclusion.

“I had to have danced with him at a gala before,” she announced to Malfoy, who was looking quite unimpressed. “So I know it’s no one from Gryffindor.”

“Interesting,” was all he said before turning to his parchment and jotting something down.

Late that night, while Y/N was settling into bed, a strange idea struck her. Sure that the thought that was nagging her was completely fruitless, she had no trouble with reaching into her desk and pulling out the Malfoy box. She just had to check if she wanted to sleep well.

Here goes.

She closed her eyes, imagining the expensive scent of her Amortentia. Then she opened it, stuck her nose into the fabric, and breathed in.

Well, fuck. 

~

The internal debate going through Y/N the next day at the breakfast table was intense. On one hand, she really, really wanted to just tell Hermione that Malfoy had been in her Amortentia and she was completely fucked, but on the other…

She glanced at the witch next to her as she methodically sliced her toast into perfect, equivalent squares before dunking them in jam. Y/N liking Malfoy was not going to fit into her toast cubes. If she said anything, she would lose her excuse to talk to her about him. And her excuse to try and get close with him. 

Perhaps I can figure it out tomorrow. 

When tomorrow came, she still hadn’t made progress. Y/N was beginning to think that her so called “revelation” after they brewed Amortentia was truly just complete and utter bullshit. So what that his quill box smelled like it--all rich people kind of smelled the same at some points, and so did their houses. There was a reason why she couldn’t immediately pin the scent to anything--it wasn’t like she even knew what Malfoy smelled like.

But the truth remained that she was still attracted to someone who happened to be a rich Slytherin--so naturally, her mind began to wander. There’s no way it was Zabini--his mother owned a fragrance line, and she would’ve instantly recognized the cologne that she knew Mrs. Zabini made him wear--and there was absolutely no way that it was Crabbe or Goyle, so the only other Slytherin it left was...Nott? But that didn’t make sense either--she’d never spoken to him before in her life, even less than Malfoy. So perhaps it would be better if she didn’t think on it.

The next day of potion brewing came on a stormy Wednesday. Malfoy and Y/N worked silently together to brew a Draught of Dreamless Sleep. She was surprised to see how practiced his movements were--he didn’t even have to reference the book to recite the exact measurements and directions.

“Do you have bad dreams or something?” she asked, mostly as a joke. He didn’t seem to pick up on the light-heartedness and stiffened up.

“No?”

“Gee, you’re talkative today,” Y/N said, trying to ignore how her hand brushed his by accident when she added the scoop of anjelica. 

“Excuse me for not entertaining you,” he drawled. “I wasn’t expecting to have such a needy potions partner today.”

“I am not needy!” she gasped, smacking his arm. “I’ve sat in silence for a full hour!”

He rolled his eyes (he was always rolling his eyes) and gave the potion one more final stir before setting the lid on the cauldron. “Think you can do that again? It needs to simmer for that long.”

“Just because you’re so sweet to me,” crooned Y/N before pulling out a heavy book from her satchel. Her Charms exam was tomorrow, and, naturally, she had decided to save all of her revising work until the night before. The textbook stared back at her as she jotted a few notes onto a previously blank sheet of parchment. The quill in her hands was light and glided across the paper like the tears of Merlin, something that she had forgotten quills could do. All of her familiar basic quills were okay, but they were prone to skidding and breaking. This nib hadn’t worn down in the slightest, still at a smooth and defined peak.

Y/N couldn’t believe that, out of all people, the person to give her such a thoughtful gift was Draco Malfoy. She tried to sneak a glance at him then, moving her curtain of hair away from her face. It took all she had in her to not be startled at the fact that he was already looking back, a slightly concerned expression etched into his face.

“Is something wrong?” 

He snapped out of it the moment the words left her lips, his face hardening. “No.”

“Forget I ever asked,” she responded, turning away from him for good and focusing on her textbook. No, there was no way he could be what she smelled in her Amortentia. She liked to think that her subconscious wasn’t secretly a masochist.

~

Friday evening swung around again, much to Y/N’s dismay. She’d had a talk with Hermione later on in the week, confirming that no, she did not smell Malfoy in her Amortentia, and that yes, she was still abiding by the plan that Hermione had so carefully laid out for her. It did bother her a bit that she could be lying to her on both fronts--but at the end of the day, she was going to get the answers that Harry wanted, no matter what. 

She just had to get through the scary ass castle first. She’d forgotten how spooky Hogwarts was after her previous sprint to the door, and this time she was positively trembling by the time she turned another dark corner on her way to McGonagall’s office. Yet another cursed item had been found in the girl’s lavatory on the 3rd floor, right by some of the classes that she had taken earlier in the week. The fact that whoever was out there was capable of dark magic and actively wanted to hurt people terrified her, all that Gryffindor bravery be damned. 

So when she heard footsteps suddenly right beside her, it was no wonder that she jumped feet in the air.

“Fuck!” she sputtered, turning to see a very familiar blonde in Slytherin robes. He was frozen in place, curiously looking her up and down.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Malfoy,” Y/N said, resisting the urge to melt into a puddle of relief at the sight. This wasn’t right--wasn’t he a suspected Death Eater? “You scared me.”

He scoffed, digging his hands into his pockets. “You’re supposed to be the brave ones, right?”

“Huh?”

Malfoy motioned to her Gryffindor jumper. 

“Oh.” Heat rushed to her cheeks as she realized what he meant. “I dunno. I just get jumpy around the castle at night.”

“No shit.” They’d begun to walk now, side by side. Y/N couldn’t remember ever walking with him before--she’d always been late. “Do you think I forgot the way you screamed when you saw me at the tower?”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, reaching over and giving him a healthy shove. 

They walked in silence together. Malfoy moved noticeably slower than he normally did so he wouldn’t leave Y/N’s shorter legs in tow. McGonagall seemed pleasantly surprised to see Malfoy hold the door open for her.

“I’m glad to see you two getting along,” she said, giving Y/N a hesitant nod before grabbing the stack of papers on her desk. “I’ll be back momentarily.”

After she exited the room with a swish of her deep maroon robes, Malfoy turned to her. “Are you scared of the dark or something?”

She turned, ready to send a biting retort his way, before she noticed how gray his pallor looked...and how big the circles under his eyes were. “You look like shit, Malfoy. Is everything okay?”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t change the subject.”

“Oh. Um…” Y/N pause before deciding that the little tidbit of information she was about to reveal wasn’t that important anyways. “I’m just on edge at night at Hogwarts is all. Especially with all that weird shit going on with all the cursed objects. So I kind of hate walking to and from detention.”

Malfoy let out something that sounded like a strained laugh.

“You didn’t answer my question. Is everything okay?”

“None of your business,” he snipped. “I just had a bad night.”

“Do you have trouble sleeping?” she asked, unable to keep herself from prying.

“Something like that.”

“Have you tried lavender?”

“I’m sorry?” He frowned.

“Lavender. Like the essential oil. It’s nothing magical,” she explained. “I just like to spray it in my bed sometimes before I sleep. Or I’ll use a few drops in a diffuser. I have trouble sleeping too, all the time, actually.” She shut her mouth before she had any chance to ramble further.

“It sounds a bit too floral for my taste.”

“Here.” Y/N dug around in her satchel, searching for the tiny spray bottle she kept with her at all times. “Borrow this and spritz your pillow with it before you sleep, and then tell me it’s too floral. I promise it helps.”

He glared at her. She extended her hand with the white bottle that was covered in purple decor, raising her eyebrows expectantly. “I won’t tell anyone that you have it if that’s what you’re worried about or whatever.”

“Fine,” he snapped, snatching it from her hand and dragging his fingers over her palm for just a second. “Don’t expect me to actually try it, though.”

“Just give it a sniff.” 

He huffed, but to her surprise, he actually uncapped the top and held the spray hole up to his nose, inhaling in once.

The effect was immediate. Malfoy’s face completely drained of color, becoming even grayer than he’d been when she first saw him under the light. The briefest expression of surprise fleeted over his face before he wiped it off, replacing it with something unreadable and tossing it back at her. “I’m not using this.”

“Why not?”

“Not quite my taste,” he spat.

Y/N was shocked by the sudden outburst, watching as he continued to glower at his desk. “I don’t understand. It really does help you sleep. I know it seems stupid, but I...really think you should try it. Just once, if anything.”

“Why does it matter so much to you?”

“Because I--” Y/N stopped herself before she let her mouth run without check. “I know what it’s like is all. I feel like shit if I don’t sleep. Plus, I have to spend time with you every Friday. I imagine that you’ll be slightly more tolerable if you sleep more.”

“Hm.” He sent her a particularly venomous glare. “Thanks for your concern. Consider me uninterested, though.”

“You break my heart,” she teased, pulling back her hand and placing the bottle on the corner of her desk. An idea struck her.

“And just what are you smiling about?” Draco said. His lips were turned into a sour frown. 

“Nothing, nothing,” she responded, her voice adopting a sing-song quality. All she had to do now was wait. 

He exhaled, a deep and exasperated sound. Then he turned back to whatever was in front of him.

McGonagall entered the room a few minutes later, nodding cordially at the comfortable silence the two students were in. What she didn’t know was that Y/N was waiting, just waiting for Malfoy to dig through his satchel and stop paying attention to his quill.

She got her opportunity a few minutes later, when McGonagall called him up to look over his latest Transfiguration homework.

“Mr. Malfoy, I’m happy to see that you’re taking more initiative in getting your assignments done...I have to say that you had me a bit concerned…”

While her professor kept Malfoy occupied, Y/N darted over and grabbed his quill. 

Ha.

Malfoy frowned down at his desk when he returned, giving Y/N a suspicious look.

“What is it, Malfoy?” she said, hoping her voice conveyed nothing that might hint that she took something of his.

“Nothing.”

“Hm.”

The rest of detention passed without any more discussion. Y/N was eager to run up to her dorm and set up her plan to be carried out the next morning, but she calmed her bouncing leg and forced herself to keep a straight face when McGonagall dismissed them.

“Got somewhere to be, Y/L/N?” Malfoy’s voice called after her as she sped down the hall towards the Gryffindor tower. 

“What’s it to you?” she fired back.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up his pace until he was walking next to her.

“Aren’t the Slytherin dorms the other direction?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Are they?” 

She allowed herself to be amused by the way words flowed out of his mouth when he was slightly out of breath. “Why are you walking with me?”

“You said it yourself.” He kept his eyes cast on the cobblestones below them. “You don’t like walking alone at night.”

“Uh...oh.” Against her will, her feet froze and she was glued to the ground. “You’re joking, right?”

If the lighting wasn’t so dim, Y/N would have good reason to believe he was blushing with how intently he was studying his fingernails. “By all means, I can be.”

“No! No, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “Er...I’d like you to. If you want to, that is.”

He shrugged, an elfish expression spreading across his face as he took in how nervous she was. “Well, come to think of it, you didn’t ask me to. I suppose I better get back to the Slytherin dorms anyways. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the Gryffindor Tower right now.”

“Why?” she squeaked.

“Oh, you know, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the cursed things showed up on your side of the castle, yeah?”

She gulped.

“I gotta get going. Don’t want to stand around here too long. This place gives me the creeps.” With that, he turned and began walking away.

“Malfoy?” She hated how timid her voice sounded. “Consider this me asking you to walk with me.”

He slowly faced her, a sly grin plastered all over his face. “Oh? Did I hear that correctly? Do you want me to?”

“I’m only going to say this once,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and trying her best to look intimidating. “Walk with me. Please.”

“I guess I’ll take it.” Malfoy glided down the hallway to her in just a couple steps, sending her yet another smug look.

“You made up that whole ordeal about Gryffindor Tower being targeted, didn’t you?” asked Y/N as they rounded the corner to reach the staircase leading up to the common room.

“You bought it, didn’t you?” 

“Who says I didn’t just want you to walk with me?” pushed Y/N. This was as close to flirting as it would ever get for her--but it looked like, somehow, things were falling into place. The heat in her cheeks must’ve been from the excitement of making progress. 

Malfoy’s toe caught on the first stair and, if it weren’t for Y/N’s steady grip on his arm, would’ve made him go sprawling across the stone steps. 

“Merlin, Malfoy,” she said, immediately dropping her grip from his shoulder. “What’s gotten into you?”

He responded with an unceremonial snort and a withering glare. The rest of the walk was done in silence, and Y/N noted how careful his footwork became around the Gryffindor steps.

“This is me,” she finally said once they reached the tapestry for the Gryffindor dorms. He seemed surprised, and only then did it strike her that he’d probably never seen the entrance himself before. “Thanks for being such a gentleman.”

“I live to serve,” he drawled.

And just like that, he was gone.

~

Her plan was simple. She had located an extra monogrammed pouch in her cabinet, a rich mahogany color with her family crest in a vivid gold, and placed both his quill and the lavender bottle. She would corner him after breakfast or follow him out of the Great Hall and show him then.

However, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Malfoy was not coming to Saturday morning breakfast. Many people didn’t, but Y/N had never known him to miss it. His normal spot was vacant, and it certainly wasn’t a house-made decision as all of his Slytherin friends were present and accounted for. Y/N couldn’t say for sure, but she could see Parkinson turning her head to the entrance every time the doors thudded open before glancing back to Malfoy’s empty seat when it turned out to be someone else.

Where was that loser?

“Excuse me,” she said to the trio as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. “I think I’m going to go get some fresh air. I have a bitch of a headache.”

Hermione and Harry expressed their sympathies while Ron gave her a characteristic mumble through his mouthful of bread, and she was off with the pouch secured in her cloak pocket.

It was a clear November morning, clearly Mother Nature’s attempt to slowly move the world from the crisp autumn to a cold winter. The sky was clear and the sun’s rays warmed her skin at a slanted angle, casting weak shadows across the courtyard.

If I were Malfoy, where would I go to sulk?

The obvious answer was either the Slytherin common room or his own dorm, but that was without a doubt out of question for her. She wasn’t even sure if she possessed the knowledge to guess which corridor the entrance was in, much less work out the password herself. Beyond that, just getting into the common room and waiting would be...She shivered. It would be a terrible idea while she was clearly wearing a cloak in Gryffindor red and gold trim. 

As she continued her aimless wander around the castle, she heard the slightest sound from the girl’s bathroom on the second floor. It wasn’t ever really in use--no one came in there to actually use the loo unless they wanted Myrtle to materialize and tell them her supernatural troubles while they were in the middle of their personal business--but it was often the source of strange happenings. 

Like the cursed objects she thought to herself, her nails digging into her palms. But did she care about that right now? Surely cursed objects seemed somewhat...suspicious. Dark magic was difficult to hide, and to a pureblood eye that grew up around magical objects, cursed things shouldn’t be impossible to spot. 

And, plus, it was Malfoy she was looking for. None of the students had died from the curses so far, and if she was able to break through and learn something, or at the very least gain his trust, the reward to the Order would be more than worth it.

She stepped in, expecting to see an entirely empty bathroom with perhaps a ghost rattling around at the sink. Instead, a different sight awaited her.

Draco Malfoy was clutching the edge of the cracked sink basin in front of him, rocking himself back and forth and shaking. From her vantage point, she could see that he was dressed in his normal garb--a black ensemble--but his hair was unruly and messy, sticking up in the back like he’d hurriedly tugged something over his head.

A strangled gasp grounded her and halted her curious observations. Malfoy began to make these awful sobbing sounds, like he could barely manage to breathe. 

Y/N was frozen in place as she surveyed her options. If she stayed and tried to talk to him, he might react in anger or hurt her. But if she just left him, like this, all alone...She swallowed once before stepping forward.

“Malfoy? Are you okay?” Obviously he’s not, you bint said a voice deep in her brain. She pushed it aside as he swung around, his wand raised and his eyes blazing. “Whoa! I’m not going to...Put your wand down!”

He stared at her, his eyes wide with horror as he continued to shake, so much so that his wand slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor. Without thinking, Y/N reached into her pocket and flung her wand away, holding her hands up.

“I’m not going to try anything. I promise.”

As she drew closer, she could see the remnants of tears on his wet cheeks and the way that his silver eyes were rimmed with a bloodshot red. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” he hissed, his voice weak and cracking. 

“Neither should you. This is the girl’s bathroom.”

final a/n: ok so lmk if you guys wants me to continue. i really did not edit the last half fjkdsal;f also kinda made this an au where malfoy tried to assassinate dumbledore. with more than one cursed object but dw it’ll all make sense ill clear that up 😭