#mayb ill do more but it got late today so its just these 4

[mixtercandy]

begging and pleading for more silly ms paimt fnaf they are so goofy i love them so much (not forced)

MORE MS PAINT SILLIES COMING RIGHT UP!! i made them a little chibi-ish this time!! small and cute! (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

[crabonfire]

Engineer! cuddling you for the first time and falling asleep afterwards 🗣🗣💯🔥🔥

character: engie

note: I was reminded my a mutual that I have a fucking tumblr blog 😭😭😭 so here's uh yeah engie posting cause I miss him and also...this one goes out to u moot... xoxo...

also it's 4 am and I wanted to make this short but...yk me...I'm a yapper ☺️

also first 4 paragraphs are just a bit of backstory but you can skip that!!!

warnings: this is CORNYYYY super CHEESY so BE WARNED 🥶🥶🥶🥶

and also I'm making the reader the shy one ❤️ not engie ILL MAKE ONE WHERE ENGIE IS SHY OKKKK calm down

♡♡♡

• I had a lot of different scenarios for this but I'm choosing this one cause I feel like it fits ❤️

• It was a hard day for the both of you. Your team had suffered an embarrassing loss, with scout constantly dying to the enemy's sentries and spy getting caught by the pyro again and again. It was especially bad for you, though. You got three whole kills, a devastating drop from your usual 7.

• And Engie? He got tired of getting his sentries sapped over and over. His usually flawless strategy crumbled at the enemy spy who kept on tearing down his defenses. After he made dinner for the team, you saw him dissappear into his workshop, and not coming out at all after that.

• You tried to sleep it off, but one, you were disappointed in your performance today, and two... you wanted to see how Engie was doing.

It was, what, 2 am? 3? But who cares, right? You missed your boyfriend, and you could tell he was still awake when you walked over to his workshop and saw the light pouring out from the door.

There was no sound as you approached the door. Maybe he was asleep? You hesitated, but you opened it quietly, careful not to potentially wake him.

• But he was awake. His back was hunched over, goggles still attached firmly to his eyes. He definitely had creases in his face from how much he wore them. And that signature hardhat of his. He sat staring at- whatever contraption he was working on.

He didn't notice you, walking over and standing behind him, quietly taking a look at what it was he was so focused on. A little remote, you had never seen it before, but you assumed it had something to do with his sentries.

"What'cha working on?"

• He visibly flinched, not expecting to hear your voice. He blinked, shaking his head and turning to look at you.

"Darlin'! Ya scared me."

He chuckled, his voice was low and rasped as if he hadn't spoken or drank in a while. Now all he wore was a t shirt and more comfortable joggers, atleast he bothered to put on something softer before working.

He gave you a small smile, but you could tell from his voice and the creases near his eyes that he was exhausted.

"What're you doin' up so late? I thought you'd be asleep by now."

He commented very ironically, that smile still plastered staying even with the exhaustion written on his face. You stood there for a moment, before crossing your arms and tilting your head, mimicking that smile.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Another chuckle, this one less energetic and strained. He looked over at what he worked on, "I'm workin' on somethin' that I think will really bring us back. Its just...lots of trial and error." He looked back to you, taking off his hardhat and setting it to the side.

"But I think I'll take a break from that. Did ya need somethin' from me?"

You blinked, realizing that, you didn't really have anything to talk about or do with him. After a moment of contemplation, you shrugged and went quiet when you spoke.

"I...no, not really. I just missed you."

• You two hadn't been dating for very long at all, so admitting all this lovey dovey stuff was embarrassing. You couldn't see his expression too well, but the way his lips curled into a big smile made your knees feel weak. It was like his exhaustion faded at your words, as he fully turned back to you and hummed.

"Ya missed me, huh?"

He felt so happy hearing you say that. He couldn't help it, the sudden shyness in your tone made his heart skip a beat. "I missed you too, sugar."

• Your own lips formed a smile when he said that, and that little pet name? He could make any corny nickname into something cute. You two just stared at each other for a little bit, before he broke the silence with a small yawn.

He murmured a quiet "sorry", which made you giggle. Even if it had only been a minute or two, seeing him had already made you feel better about how your day went.

• You approached him as he sat on his chair, he stared quietly, tilting his head with a smile when you stopped and stood closely over him. You hesitated, but quickly blurted it out.

"Can we...yknow.."

You made a gesture with your hand which he couldn't help but smile at.

"Cuddle?"

It sounded so silly and embarrassing to say outloud. But you two were adults, goddammit. And you had to engage in some sort of cheesy romantic thing if this was gonna be a real thing.

He looked even more surprised then when you admitted you missed him, and somehow, his big smile grew even bigger. He nodded, chuckling once more and finding your hesitance charming.

"Of course we can, darlin'. C'mere."

• He wasn't nervous at all. Well- maybe a little. But definitely not more than you.

"How do I-"

You hovered awkwardly over his sitting form, but he only opened his arms up to you, his hand gently guiding your waist as he pulled you closer. He watched your nervous face, feeling his heart beat quicken at the way you seemed so scared to "mess up" or make him uncomfortable.

You sat down onto his lap, your chests close together as you settled your arms against his shoulders. This was the first time you two were this close. Everything else was just- a short hug or a kiss that lasted a little longer than most. You stared through the lenses of his goggles, it was a little silly but, you found the sight to be endearing. He felt the exact same.

His arms slowly wrapped around your body, making sure you were comfortable, too. You spoke up quietly, feeling a bit more nervous when you realized how close your faces were.

"Is...is this okay?" He only nodded.

"Mhm. More than okay."

• You relaxed a little bit more as you looked at his calm expression, and slowly, wrapped your own arms around him too. Feeling braver, you rested your head on his shoulder and sighed. You had been needing this. His body was so warm, so nice, like an oven.

He had been needing this too. He didn't realize how tense he had been until he calmed down from the feeling of your weight on him, his muscles could relax. He had been waiting for this, honestly. He wished it had happened sooner because if he knew how nice it would feel, he would've done it at any chance he got.

Being able to hold you felt therapeutic, felt comfortable and familiar. He leaned against the table as you settled in his lap, his eyes closed as he could hear the sound of your faint breathing. He hoped you couldn't hear the fast beating of his heart, but you secretly hoped he couldn't hear yours.

• "This is nice."

You mumbled quietly. He hummed softly in response. Your voice sounded so nice to him, so quiet, you could lull him to sleep and he wouldn't complain. He could never complain.

Instinctively, he started to rub random circles around your back, your own eyes closing at the soothing feeling.

• You'd break the silence occasionally by talking about random things that he'd be happy to answer. He was supposed to take a small break and go back to work but...you had fallen asleep. Well, how could he work if you were sound asleep on his lap, hm? Guess it would have to wait till tomorrow.

♡♡♡

was that a satisfying ending I can't tell I'm so tired OMG this was lowkey me rambling sorry for shit writing English not first language + I haven't written in so long kmg.

[i-heart-emos]

R𝑖ght p𝑙ace R𝑖ght t𝑖me/ Gerard way

Pairing: Gerard way x fem!reader

Warnings: little cussing, nothing really where this is a safe haven today

Summary: while working at Barnes and noble Gerard runs into what he calls “the girl of his dreams”

A/N” I know shit about comics so I’m just gonna to books I’ve read and think Gerard would like please don’t come for me

You briskly walk through the busy city watching all the street lamps start to turn on.

“Crap” you mutter under your breath. You can tell if it just getting darker earlier cause its winter up north or if it’s just late. You really wanna make it in time before Barnes and noble closes.

To say this weak has been shit is an understatement. First your stupid car broke down so you’ve basically been walking everywhere,Then your dog ran away,and you just started your period. So your only solution books.

You round the corner greeted by the bright lights of the dark brown building. Barnes and noble you read smiling brightly. You run to the door to check the sign

“Open yes” you exclaim hearing the chime of the door as it opens up

“Hello welcome” you hear a monotone voice say

You look up to be greeted by a brunette with bangs and glasses nose in a book not paying much attention. You do wanna ask about a book but don’t want to interrupt so you look for another employee.

As you walk the store you see another man he seems a little older than the other boy maybe 3-4 and he has longer black hair. You see he’s not preoccupied so you feel fine going up to him

You walk up slightly tapping on his shoulder.

“Hi don’t mean to be a bother but can you help me find a book” I say smiling brightly

He turns to a small smile adorning his face “oh yes totally what are you looking for” he asks

“The secret history by Donna tart” you ask

“Oh that one’s great right over here” he says guiding you

“Right it is I heard you guys have a new cover in stock so I thought I might as well come see” you smile “maybe it’ll make my week better” I mutter the last part to myself not think he heard

“Sorry you had a bad week” he says sympathetically

“Oh no it’s really fine life’s life” I say laughing slightly

“Yea I get well here’s the book and” he looks at like he wants to say something but the words are stuck

“And” I say smiling expectantly

“Wanna get coffee when I get off in like 20 mins” he says smiling

“Yes sure I’d love too” I say

“Good cause there’s like a Starbucks connected I mean you probably noticed your not blind but we can go there or anywhere else if you don’t like them” he says rambling in you giggle finding it quite cute

“Yes Starbucks sounds great thanks” I respond “is it alright if I just hand with you till you close then since it’s only 20 mins we can talk more about the book” you say holding up your copy

“Yes totally” he say smiling widely

“Alright im gonna go pay for this and ill be right back” I say smiling walking over to the checkout

“Wait what’s your name” he hollers grabbing the attention of some of the customers

You laugh a little “Y/N how about you”

“Gerard” he yells at the same level making you smile widely

Gerard quickly runs to Mikey smiling brightly

“What got you smiling like that you but another actions figure” Mikey say continuing to swipe threw his pages

“No I just met the love of my life” Gerard sighs like a teenage girl

“Wow a female is interested in you” Mikey says suprised

“Fuck you” Gerard laughs knocking Mikey’s book over

A/N: sorry if this is shit I just really wanted to get it out hope you enjoyed and please request for mcr fics I love writing them

[youn9racha]

uhhh hi

*ahem* umm,,, this is awkward,,,

so its been a while since ive last posted, and by awhile i think around october-november which makes it 3-4 months 😭 but im here posting.

first things first, i want to wish you all a late happy new years, and i also want to add that today’s my birthday !!! i am officially 22 years old as of today, turning me into a taylor swift song lmfao.

now you maybe wondering, “ella where have you been?”

well lemme tell ya, it has been a wild past few months, and not in a good way. i won’t get into too much details but i genuinely never felt so miserable as the past few months and 2022 had just ended so miserably for me to the point i couldn’t celebrate new years eve. but on the brightside i got over the stressful stuff and the last year had ended and this year has started.

i also would like to mention that i’m currently recovering from my surgery (yup once again, i’ve gotten surgery right around my birthday lmfao) but i’m doing just fine and alright so theres no need to worry.

what updates have i got? well, its safe to say aside from the deteriorating mental illness that i had, some good things have started to established. y’all remember my crush? well we’re still not together but we are getting closer than we ever been before and she was the first person to ever wish me a happy birthday. i surpassed a very tumultuous semester where it took a toll on my creative drive and thankfully passed the semester. i could go on but again there are certain things i’d like to keep private.

anyhow, if you’re wondering, yes, i’m still very much a stay, and i still actively thirst over bang chan like i usually do. i just haven’t been writing much thanks to my stressful environment. idk when will i come back to writing on here, but all i know is rn i won’t be able to due to my recovery.

i’d like to write some more in the future but idk when it’ll happen so please do be patient with me. but then again, i wouldn’t be surprised if people unfollowed me and forgot my existence lmfao.

anyway, i’m just here to remind y’all that i’m alive and well, just needed some time off of posting here. stay safe y’all and take care of yourselves 🫶

[summerheatismakingmeinsane]

aug 4

I woke up kind of late today. by late I mean really late. like noon. but its because I couldn't sleep last night so its not my fault that I woke up late.

I got up and was told that we were heading out for the day so I got on with my day by cleaning up and getting dressed. I did everything but the most important chore/task which is eating breakfast so I actually didn't get to eat until very late this afternoon which sucks but the day nevertheless was really good.

I tried on a bunch of jeans which was fun and I finally found a style I really liked. I didn't buy them because I want to try on some more before I find the right pair. jeans are very specific to me because they cant be too baggy or too skinny nor can they be too fitted on my hips or so loose that they dont hold. so trying them on is very important. I also wear jeans everyday in school so having the perfect pair for walking and moving around but also sitting and also spending at least 8 hours in is important.

I came home and had one of the greatest foods ever. gyros. unfortunately, it was not as flavorful as it used to be. but it was still so good I think I devoured it in 6 minutes.

i'm hopefully getting my new glasses tomorrow. I love zenni because of how affordable and good quality their frames are. and the prescriptions are always perfect so I have no complaints at all. I always get my glasses from them. maybe i'll post the new glasses and let you guys see for yourself.

lastly, i've continued to get really interesting tiktoks. I mentioned them previously on my page but they keep coming in order so if ms.tarot lady posts two parts of a reading I will get both parts on my for you page only a couple videos apart. I know that the algorithm sees what I watch and puts the video there for me to see but I want to believe that it magically appears there anyways. they are starting to make me feel really good about myself and I don't like how that feels because I do not believe in tarot. hearing someone say something so truthful to myself is eerie kind of. She keeps on saying how im becoming more mature and becoming myself and that people will start to see how I truly am. that people will erase the image that they have of me being immature and naive and will understand and respect me finally. I hope to god ms.tarot lady is right. I need so and so to respect me and stop thinking low of me because im not like them. im my own person and they need to see me for who I am. she says that I will no longer be getting pushed around and I will stand my ground and people wont like that which is sad to me because why would the people close to me want to see me so weak. she also says that I will finally speak my truth and that will shock those around me and I honestly hope it does. when the conversation im hoping I will have happens, I hope it rocks the people listening. if it ever happens, I will update you guys first.

ill talk about ms.tarot lady more I think. I think she'll keep coming up and she'll continue to tell me everything I need to hear. and maybe i'll listen. or maybe itll go in one ear and out the other. who knows.

sorry if this is a ramble. I just hope she's right.

[godlovesmemore]

a d d e r a l l & I got high driving again.

did not get pulled over by police. took more then last time but was more careful/safe — besides popping them while driving. was it cool? no but theres the rush when it feels illegal. i spaced them all out and thought about each one. the first one was genuinely because i was due for one and i forgot to take it before i started driving. that one was legal.

on the second one i knew it was more than necessary. i questioned my motives — is this my addiction talking ? its me and yes both are true. i also felt in my heart god said its ok to go ahead so i didn’t question the gut instinct. by this I mean it was a calling to do it and not a want of my own, my want comes after from curiosity, the pull where will this pill (direction) lead this time, good or bad? if i know its gods call i should take it, trust, break the law. if you’re not sure ask permission. be sure god says its ok, not yourself. then it’ll work out

By the time i took the 3x i was lost at some deadend — and thought wouldn’t this be a perfect place to pop a final one — my gut reaction (addiction) says take another — I wonder is it ok god? whatever the fuck you wanna do; god says — he’ll get high too. Update hours later. its 10pm and i just took another even though god said no. free will? actually it’s the opposite = addiction

edit

i just got home from seeing family, took a 2 hour long car ride in the country. trying to find god, reasons to live. reconnect by drowning out my feelings with bass music. i needed to decompress, so did some recreational drugs, slightly testing to see the effects going over the prescribed dose. its difficult to tell how it affects you unless your actually doing something (driving) so 3x in one hour and id say im feeling like i took a small dose of xanax — adhd meds really do calm me but its the mania = my addiction. if you’ve never done manic before you’ll just never know the high. i couldn’t sleep the past 2 days now and i haven’t eaten but i hope i can get real sleep tonight. new rule never exceed 6 pills in a day and try to stay below 4 — im only ordered 2x a day

5x today total i need to order more pills tomorrow

—feeling a come down from the last tab at 10 pm. this mania is truly tired out i hope she’ll still be with me tomorrow. mania must have just started today, honestly right when driving home. i guess something about leaving my familys house triggered it. id been feeling mad depressed lately. last night i felt so worthless deep down in my core. it was right there like i could hold onto it. yet ive managed to have my pills under control pretty much since being pulled over. yea nobody wants me manic—but its the only time i ever want to be alive. if you cant love me manic you dont get to know about my medication usage either. remember next time always hide mania from everybody — never trust anyone close to you but god

Im in bed right now, almost 1 a m — with bipolar i fear feeling better (moments like these) ill fear this moment because feeling better is probably gone tomorrow. so we stay awake, dont eat or sleep because maybe ill get another day with myself — the best part of me — a lovable me. i will remain sober from drugs. jesus help me i cannot go on with this life soberminded.

medicine is safe — its clean, im prescribed it. so what if i found the magic pill to become manic when it suits me: life fucking hacked.

[gloam-eyed-radio-tower]

January 29th, 2024

About me: I don't even know if I am using a consistent dating format. I sometimes, well... rather often get lonely, if I was just just alone in the world I think I would be fine. I would walk along the vastness of my town and for the first time it would look the same as I see it from my point of view, the illusion would end and everything that troubles me would fade. I want to go and visit great museums and galleries and get some desserts and take pictures with them with friends and go to the woods bordering the city like nature is trying to nurture what is no longer there with its palms. I want to be there having a picnic or maybe if its snow throw myself into it. Have a walk late at night at 2am with someone, stopping at the swings to try and grab a star so I could give it to them... But I feel awkward ? I don't know how I feel but I can tell when people don't enjoy my company and I'm not sure what to do. I tried to do what other people wanted of me but that just left me alone, tried acting how people wanted me to act but I guess its easy to see through the act and that just distances them away from me. I am at a point where if I do act like myself I think I would be rude, not overall but specifically to people I love the most. I would probably think ,, how could you love me so much and do this to me,, or something along those lines, so I distance myself from those who are closest to me in order not to hurt them or upset them and that distances me even more. I feel awkward. I can keep myself calm and I can keep my life peaceful and pleasant. I'm trying not to get into smoking too much, I don't know why I find it pleasant...uhmmm idk what else is new, I guess I just want a less boring life and I guess I started smoking because its just a new excitement at the moment. I feel awkward, I really want to start drawing again and pour myself into something , I will overflow , the tank will explode and I'm not sure that whatever pond is made out of it is a place where ducks could live. pee ass: riki was on my hand it was really hard to write any of this

Something cool: I think its a good idea to do a section above myself and another one where I get to nerd out about whatever I want. ill keep it short because I couldn't keep it so in the section above and I am getting tired so todays topic is going to be.... THIS NEW SECTION I JUST STARTED WOAHHHH :O where I could rant and write about whatever interest I have and there are plentyyy !!!! I stopped nerding out to friends and stuff they would prob tell my they don't mind it and like that about me but I'd just feel annoying so here it goes... ugm this is already plenty long and I started talking about myself again I utterly failed :< . Lets do fast waves of emo classifications , some left to my interpretation: Wave one would be the emocore scene with Rites of Spring being the 1st emo band of all time, its still closely related and basically still is post-hardcore, I probably like Moss Head the most out of them all. This wave started in the mid 80s and would continue to the start of the 90s with midwest emo starting the 2nd wave of emo. Bordering wave 1 and 2 I would put stuff like Sunny Day Real-Estate, Jawbreaker and Cap'n'Jazz ( the singer is the brother of the singer and guitarist of American Football and the drummer is him !!!) . I guess I would put Jimmy Eats world as the main influence of 3rd wave emo ( the 2000s yucky one that got popular ) with emo becoming more poppy with emo pop and genres like pop-punk being affiliated with it. My favourite from this era would probably be Johnny Foreigner. Wave 4 is emo revival with it mostly consisting of indie midwest emo acts with the main influence being Brave Little Abacus. Like shoegaze and slowcore the revival era mostly consists of a lot of boring music that doesent reinvent anything new, I personally dont like Modern Baseball at all, but there are a lot of good acts here that I like but I just wanted to shit on the popular normie one. Fifth Wave emo I named myself and I think I got the name the most accurate so far and I would call it bedroom emo as it consists of solo artists making emo from their room on their own, using a lot of digital software instead of real instrument and mixing genres like noise-pop and slacker rock with emo. Some of the acts from this era would be Weatherday and Parannoul but I feel too tired is 4:30 and I want to end the world.

"But I woke up this morning with a piece of past caught in my throat? And then I choked. "

[bubsub69]

Entry 4

18/05/2023 18:43

I just had to do it, couldnt stick with my fucking plan of waiting for a week to text her, nooo i just went with maybe shell be in the us in less than a week and ask her on thursday. I got a not yet reply, and the conversation immeadiatly died, had no fucking clue what to say cause i went in without a fucking plan like a fucking dumbass, couldve at least ask her change of plans if she wasnt there on sunday but wtf could i say? nothing and thats how it stayed just another point into the being annoying category. i dont even know if i should ask her on sunday now, cause she might be settling in cause idk when her flight is. god i just couldnt be a bit more patient. ill probably text her anyway, how annoying can 2 messages a week be

Doctors appointemnt is coming up as well and then well go to chastity, maybe keeping myself horny is the key, doing some nofap which apparently fixes all your problems… well im obviously still gonna do some sexual stuff so probably not

hope theres isnt a lot of work at the cafe, and i dont ruin my fucking edging session like ive done like 4 times this week as usual, but this is the one that accounts, the actual pre game the were about to chaste so fingers crossed i dont fuck it

had a lot of no showers today in class as well, fuckers left me alone with the web admin teacher and we had a disastrous class where we couldnt do anything cause partitions and virtual machines dont go well together, and fucking around with partitions is too dangerous to do with normal machine so we did actual fuck all today, and i was alone in entrepenership as well (the team not the classroom)

i dont know what to write anymore, had to go back to how my day went, dont even know if i should write it or just keep to a pure feels jornal but i guess its too late for that.

[foxtriestobiteandmaimandkilland]

today has been so fucking weird i had a rlly good early morning and then a rlly bad late morning and then a rlly just. idk. nonexistant afternoon. i feel like i blacked out when i opened my front door and have been fuckin living inside a dream like. mannnn.shits weird.     i wanna sit in a field and maybe just. yea. but also i rlly dont have the energy to do anything at all rn other than follow my sorta. natural schedule. like. its like my body has a default schedule it resorts to whenever i dont have anything i have 2 do and then that schedule sorta melds around whatever things i have. but rn its like. its like when u reset a phone 2 factory settings. or when u have it on ultra power savin mode. and like all the personality of it is gone. idk. i feel kinda sick rn. earlier tho i did smth nice bc. actually this morning i saw a rllyyyy friendly blue cat and i pet it for a while and that was nice. and this afternoon i less so  saw a cat but moreso heard it bc it had a rllyyyy loud meow and there was this lil kinda white n tabby cat that had a rlly gurgly meow and was veryyy loud and i loved it. and it didnt rlly LET me pet it but more MADE me pet it like that cat was actin like wed been besties 4 years. and then it meowed at me and went to the door to the driveway it was in and was all like. pathetic and shit. so i kinda assumed this cat got itself locked out and wanted 2 be let back in. so i rang the doorbell of the house but also wanted 2 avoid human conversation bc how do i explain hey i saw this cat and assumed it lived here let it in. so i just walked away but then after a bit decided 2 check back in case the cat wasnt let in and when i went back the cat was gone so either it ran off somewhere very quickly or was let in. idk what i was talking abt before. idk i like cats. i also am in a lot of pain. my shoulders r killing me fuckkkk i wish evetythin didnt hurt all the time. but its fine. just feel sick. its warmed up tho since this morning ig ill open the window

[queer-charming]

1000 Words - Part 4 - SFW

Rating: SFW

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: Language

Synopsis: Chuuya requests that you personally come to his office to receive his report on his latest mission over a glass of wine. Feelings ensue.

P.s. Part 5 (The final part) will have NSFW content, this is just a pre-emptive warning :)

~~~~~~~~~

Meeting in the kitchen for coffee after everyone else in the building had gone home became a regular occurrence, at least during report season. Just another reason you’d started looking forward to them. When you and Chuuya had started this little habit, it had been day 3 of that report season, and you two had done it again on day 4, then day 5, day 6 and finally on day 7. The meetings were full of all kinds of chatting, whether it was more telling of stories or talking about the day’s the two of you had had, of course Chuuya’s recounting of his day was always far more interesting in yours. He actually went out into the field, you sat at a desk reading about other operatives who went out into the field. Over the next 4 weeks while you waited for the next report season, you found yourself growing restless, it was too quiet in your apartment, and by too quiet you meant there weren’t enough firey redheads around to liven up your day. You found yourself thinking about Chuuya far more than you should, especially for someone determined to maintain their feelings as platonic. You were fairly certain trying to imagine what he’d look like shirtless did not count as platonic. (Didn’t stop you from doing it though)

Today was the third day of the new report season and you were antsy in your office, unable to focus on a report for longer than a few minutes before your mind started to drift to a certain redhead. You knew he’d just gotten back from a 4-day mission alongside the ADA, somehow the flimsy alliance between your two organizations had yet to crumble, and he was bound to have quite the report for you. As if on cue, there was a knock on your office door.

“Come in.” You said, making an effort to look busy at your desk, even though you’d had the same report open in front of you for about 10 minutes and had only managed to read the first two sentences. The door opened to reveal one of the mail clerks, he looked utterly exhausted and utterly over walking from office to office delivering envelopes and messages.

“Tonight’s new reports, ma’am.” He said, swiftly handing you a stack of maybe 5 or so envelopes before quickly making his exit. You felt bad for him. Sure, you stayed late too but at least you got sit down while you did. You sifted through the new stack of reports, unconsciously searching for that handwriting you knew so well, and you weren’t surprised when you found it, however, despite the fact that Chuuya had been gone on this mission for 4 days, the envelope felt strangely light, hardly like 4 days’ worth of writing. You popped the seal on the envelope, pulling out only one sheet of paper, folded neatly. There was no way this was the final report, some if it had to be missing right?

You unfolded the parchment, reading its contents.

“Mission number – 36248 – was a success! Well aside from the fact that I had to deal with that asshat Dazai again. This whole cease fire thing is really starting to grate on my nerves, can’t wait for the day when I can finally plant my fist right into that mackerel’s face without worrying about Mori getting all pissy that I bruised his favorite waste of space. Anyway, the night started pretty normally, Dazai was yapping about something, tiger boy and Akutagawa were having a shouting match every five minutes and my ever growing migraine made its grand return.”

Despite the fact that Chuuya was notoriously ill tempered and abrasive, you were surprised at his way with words. He was so concise and ordered, hardly ever missing a beat, and recounting events like he was reliving them.

“Our purpose there was to infiltrate the headquarters of a rival organization, one hell bent on dismantling both the Port Mafia and the ADA, hence why I was stuck with babies first detective agency. I swear every time I get roped into one of these missions, I feel less like a Port Mafia executive and more like a glorified baby sitter. I don’t get paid enough for this.” That was a lie, you knew he got paid plenty. “Said headquarters were located inside an abandoned mine, just south of Yokohama, isolated enough that me making a few bangs wouldn’t disturb the general peace but close enough to take less than a few hours to get there. Not gonna lie, it was pretty nice out there, quiet, isolated, without the added bandaged freak I might have even considered getting a place somewhere similar. Anyway, we infiltrated the mine at approx. 10:00pm. It wasn’t hard, exterminate a few pesky guards, avoid some less than top notch security, expose some snob nosed assholes to the force of gravity and bingo! Done. Or so I thought, but of course there’s some extra fun anytime the ADA is involved. But now that I think about it, I think I’m having a hard time remembering all of the details at this moment…

I guess you’ll just have to come to my office, and I’ll tell you in person.

P.s. Bring wine.

-Chuuya.”

You stared at the letter for what must have been a solid five minutes, reading the last few lines over and over again before a smile found it’s way onto your lips. You should be annoyed, irritated that it was taking so long to get the full story on such an important mission, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be mad, or even close to it. In fact, you were downright giddy as you thought about what type of wine to take. You were beginning to think running into Chuuya in the kitchen days ago was the best thing to happen to you in a long time.

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

Chuuya’s office was just past the kitchen, you got lost a few times trying to navigate the winding hallways of the Port Mafia building. Eventually though, you did find yourself standing outside office 9-B, an aged vintage red wine in your hands, gripping the neck of the bottle probably a little tighter than needed due to your trembling hands. Why were you so nervous? Chuuya was a friend. This is what friends do. There was nothing intimidating about this, there was no reason for you to be so nervous. Your little internal monologue did little to sooth your overactive nerves. It wasn’t like you hadn’t been alone with Chuuya before, you’d been alone with him just about every night this week, so what made this different?

You knew exactly what made this different. This wasn’t a communal kitchen, this wasn’t somewhere where at any moment anyone could walk in, this was a private space… Chuuya’s private space. It was intimate. This was new, and it was new very fast, it wasn’t exchanging letters or spending the evening in a kitchen under the illusion of being alone with Chuuya, the second you stepped through this door, you were going to be truly alone with him, and that kicked the air from your lungs and made your heart feel like it was going to hurtle out of your chest at any moment. You took a breath to steel yourself, Chuuya would notice you were nervous and there was no way in hell that you wanted that. Once the trembling in your hands had settle somewhat, you raised one, knocking on the door a simple three times, waiting only a moment before the door swung open, revealing a very exhausted looking but very pleased looking Chuuya. You stood a moment, taking him in, he was dressed differently than you’d seen him before, trading his typical formal field attire for simple but well-fitting trousers and an equally well fitting, very well fitting you might add, sweater; he looked like a man who was here because he had to be, not because he wanted to be. When you realized you were staring, you quickly looked away before handing him the bottle in your hands.

“Figured you for liking a good vintage.” You said, trying to keep your voice as even as possible in the presence of a man whose intense gaze made you feel like you needed to sit down for a little bit.

“You figured correctly.” He responded, easily taking the bottle from you, and stepping aside to let you in. You gazed around the spacious office as you stepped inside, honestly it seemed less like an office and more like a full on living space, two decently sized couches nudged against a far corner, a large flat screen television mounted to the wall across from them, numerous potted plants very clearly well maintained, on the other side what seemed to be a bar of some sort, you could identify a clearly impressive collection of different kinds of liquors, though most of them seemed to be rarely touched. Chuuya seemed to notice your gaze, his eyes following where you were looking. “I’m not much of a hard liquor man, not really built for it.” He said as he popped the cork on the wine you had brought, opening a cabinet, and procuring two obviously expensive red wine glasses. You turned your attention to the other side of the bar, where your eyes caught something peculiar.

“I’m guessing you like community coffee more than your own?” You joked, pointing toward the clearly expensive and well used coffee maker on the far end of the bar. He glanced at the piece of machinery before glancing back at you.

“The night I met you I had run out of coffee to use here.” He explained. That made sense.

“And the nights after?” You asked. He looked at you a long moment before settling on his answer.

“I still have yet to replenish my supply.” You simply hummed. In the center of the room was his desk, it was large, not nearly as big as Mori’s, but it was certainly bigger than yours, behind it was a wall of floor to ceiling windows with one of the most beautiful scenes of the cityscape you’d ever seen. You stared out at the city you’d called home for so many years, it was just before sundown, the normally clear blue sky highlighted and dyed in a cacophony of pinks, oranges and violets as the sun began to sink beyond the horizon, giving the ocean the most picture-perfect glimmer.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Chuuya’s voice pulled your attention away from the window as he handed you a glass of wine, your fingers just barely grazing his gloved ones in the exchange, but that little touch was enough to send your heart racing, and you really hoped he couldn’t tell. Chuuya looked out at the skyline, his eyes seemingly following the sun’s descent past the edge of the water. “The office was a gift from Mori after Dazai defected, an attempt to make sure I stayed right where he wanted me, not like I would have followed that bandaged bastard anyway.” Chuuya talked big, he always did, but if there was anything you’d learned about him over the last several months, it was that Dazai’s leaving was still very much a sore subject. Your eyes traced the planes of his face, the lines of his cheekbones, the straight edge of his nose, the deep set of his eyes. The way the colors of the setting sun reflected on his skin, made his hair look so firey you thought it might actually burn you if you touched it. You wondered, for only a moment, what it would be like to card your fingers through it, before you returned to you senses, ripping your eyes away from him and back out the window.

“Mori’s lucky to have you.” You found yourself saying, once again training your eyes back to Chuuya, but this time, instead of looking out at the horizon, he was looking at you. He seemed to think about your words for a moment.

“At least someone is.” There was a certain sadness is his tone. ‘I’m lucky to have you.’ You wanted to say, but by some stroke of luck managed to hold your tongue. “Anyway,” Chuuya’s loud change in tone jolted you as he walked over to sit at his desk, motioning you to take a seat across from him. “About the rest of that report.” And like that, the seriousness of the moment was gone, replaced by the familiarity you’d come to love so much, but it also left a curiosity on your tongue. Chuuya had so many walls up, and you had only just barely started chipping away at them.

“So, what happened in the mine?” You asked, taking a sip of your wine as you crossed one leg over the other, leaning back in your chair. “Sounds like it should have been open and shut.”

“It should have been,” Chuuya sighed, bringing his own wine glass to his lips. “However, a certain ability user managed to get in the way of that.”

“What was his ability?”

“Illusion.” Chuuya’s tone betrayed the clear annoyance at the memory of this particular foe. “Specifically, manifesting the images of enemies that didn’t even fucking exist, had us shooting at smoke.”

“Can’t Dazai,” You had to keep the smile off your face at the way Chuuya’s contorted at the mention of his ex-partner. “Nullify any ability?” You finished. You knew very little about Dazai, as did most people, but you at least knew what his ability was, considering it was one of the things that made him so dangerous.

“Yes… and 80% of the time he uses it to annoy me in particular,” Chuuya explained. “However, in order for Dazai to be able to do anything but be a thorn in my side in this case, he needed to come in physical contact with the ability user in question, and we couldn’t figure out where he was.”

“Which is why the mission ended up taking 4 days.” You connected.

“We eventually found him, holed up in the base of the mine behind a rock wall, he had security cameras that gave him a view of everything going on outside and topside.” Chuuya traced the edge of his wine glass with one of his fingers, your eyes following the movement. “However, by the time we’d found him, most of my men, and the ADA, were out of ammo, and in order to get more we would have had to go back up to the surface, and who knows what this guy would do if we left him and I wasn’t about to let Akutagawa go and bring the whole mine down on our heads with his knack of turning humans into pulp.. along with any structures they may be inside, so yours truly cleared up the problem.” Your eyes snapped back up to Chuuya’s face.

“Do I want to know how?”

“Probably not.” It was here that you noticed the startling lack of light in the room, the sun had completely gone down, instead the moon hung high in the sky, framing Chuuya’s hair like a halo. It took your breath away. “(y/n)?” You jolted slightly when he said your name, you realized you’d been staring.

“Any casualties?” You asked, your voice wavering a little, but if Chuuya noticed he didn’t mention it.

“No, well except our favorite illusionist, he is very dead.” You chuckled lightly, and despite the low light, you could see the smile on Chuuya’s face. Love was too strong of a word, it didn’t fit right now, but there was definitely something close stirring in your chest as you looked at him, how the hell had you gone a year without talking to this man? Just reading his reports and calling it a day, these last few months have made you realize just how much you wished you had sent that first reply sooner. Fuck not supposed to have feelings, you failed that task miserably the first day you met him. You had feelings and there was nothing you could do about it.

Making the decision to leave Chuuya’s office had been a hard one, but eventually he’d convinced you that you should get some sleep.

“You look exhausted.” He’d said as he put away your now empty wine glasses.

“Says you.” You quipped.

“Hey!” Chuuya tried to sound mock offended. You gave him a look that said, ‘am I wrong?’ and he sighed. “Okay what if I made you a deal,” He started, approaching you again. “If you go home and go to bed, I promise I am not far behind you, and we’ll both come back tomorrow fresh as daisies.” You laughed at the suggestion, you were tempted to accept it, just to make sure he at least got some sleep.

“I still have so much work to do, Chuuya.” You explained.

“We all have work to do (y/n), if you go to bed, I promise I will personally come help you catch up tomorrow.”

“Do you even know how to do my job?” You asked.

“What, think I can’t read some reports?” It was at this moment you realized just how close the two of you had gotten, he was standing directly in front of you, so close you could feel his breath on your skin, could feel his body heat. You could tell when he noticed too, you saw when his eyes flickered from yours to your lips, and for a second you thought he was going to kiss you. If you just moved that much closer, just a fraction of effort and then…

The knock at the door is what made you two jump apart, Chuuya laying a hand flat on his desk to steady himself as he shouted an only slightly breathless “Come in”.

Looking at the door, you saw as the same mail clerk from earlier walk in. “You’re still here?” You found yourself asking.

“Always ma’am.” He replied simply, making a conscious effort to avoid your eye contact, you supposed being in Chuuya’s office did offered that kind of intimidation factor. “Finalized statements, sir.” The clerk handed Chuuya a stack of papers held together by a sturdy looking black clip before swiftly taking his leave, not once meeting yours or Chuuya’s eyes. Once he was gone you turned back to Chuuya, the absurdity of the situation finally hitting you. You worked to get your brain moving again.

“So bright and early in the morning, yeah?” You asked, a smirk plastered to your lips. A look of recognition to what you were referring to crossed Chuuya’s face before a  smile formed on his own lips.

“Scouts promise.” He replied, before he finally bid you goodnight.

You stopped at your office to grab your things before you left for the evening. You leaned your hands on the top of your desk, finally letting out the breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding until just then. You replayed the events of the night in your head, how Chuuya had spoken to you, how close he’d been to you, the way he looked at you.

…

Was he flirting with you?

~~~~~~~~~~~

[thewritetofreespeech]

I'm feeling under the weather. Would you write some scenarios of how the GOM boys + Kagami would take care of me to help me feel better???

Awwww! I’m so sorry to hear that!! I hope you feel better ^_^. Hope this helps too! It’s a little long with all the boys. So rest of the GOM + Kagami is under the cut.

Akashi:

Being sick was the worst. Between the body aches & pains, general lethargy, you hadn’t gotten out of bed hardly at all today. You barely had the energy to get up and call school this morning to tell them you weren’t coming. Thankfully, they hadn’t pressed, and wished you a speedy recovery for returning to class on Monday.

That was your wish too.

You didn’t want anyone to know you were sick.

Sleeping most of the day, you were surprised to hear the doorbell much later in the afternoon. This would be the time you would normally just be getting home from school. So, who could possibly expect you to be home right now?

“Akashi-kun…?” You said in surprise. Finding your boyfriend, and his dreamy duel-colored eyes, on the other side of your door.

“Hello darling.” The brilliant red head greeted with a soft smile. As if it was perfectly natural for him to be here. “I heard you were under the weather. So I came to check on you. I also brought a physician to check in on you as well.” You look past Akashi finally to see a nice, older looking gentleman in a white lab coat with a crescent eyed smile.

“Akashi-kun, I already went to the doctor. That’s how I know I’m sick.”

“This doctor is better.” He announced as he saw himself in, with his doctor, and led you over to the couch. “He’s the personal physician for the Akashi family. His credentials are far superior to that of your typical clinic doctor.” You want to say something to him about how it didn’t take ‘superior credentials’ to diagnosis a cold, but Akashi was already positioning you on the couch. He gave you another soft smile before he turned to the doctor with a much cooler look and told him to get to work.

Sure enough, you still have a cold. “Gee, I’m so glad you brought such a brilliant doctor all the way here for me Sei-kun.” You quip sarcastically. Using your familiar nickname now that you were alone.

“Humor me, alright.” He replied. Bringing over the tray of tea he had been busying himself with while the doctor examined you. “I was worried when you didn’t come to school today. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I didn’t want to worry you….” You mutter into your tea cup once he had handed it to you. “I know…you get worried about people you care about being sick, after what happened to your mom. When Kuroko was sick last winter you practically wore a trench in the floor pacing ‘til you knew he was better.” Your fingers run the brim of the tea mug. Soaking up the warmth in your hands as you hold it. “I thought I could get over it before you found out, so you wouldn’t have to be the wiser. I guess that was pretty stupid hn? You always figure everything out.”

Akashi looked at you with a soft expression. Then he leaned in to kiss your warm forehead. “You’re not stupid. Don’t ever say that about yourself.” He told you. “And yes, it’s true. I get worried when people I care about are ill. But more than that I get worried when people don’t tell me things. When my mother was sick, no one told me anything. They said she was fine. Then one day she was just gone. Being in the dark is worse than just knowing the truth. So I must insist that you tell me these things in the future. Ok?”

You smile a little. You can tell he was trying really hard not to make this an order; his orders were absolute after all. But he was trying to make sure that he was kept in the loop in the future. He was worried about you.

You smile a little and snuggle into Akashi’s chest. “Yes kotei-kun.”

Midorama:

Thank God Japan had such strict firearm laws, because if you had a gun right now you’d shot yourself.

Ok, no you wouldn’t. But death would be a sweet blessing over this cold. This 24-hour bug thing hit you hard and hit you fast. Crippling you from a once vibrant human being to a walking corpse in less than a few hours. You sincerely wished that it was only 24 hours.

You hear the doorbell from the kitchen and hope it’s your soup. Too weak to even make your own food, you’d begrudgingly ordered some hot broth in an attempt to eat and keep up your strength.

You open the door to surprisingly find not your soup but Shutoku’s positive point guard standing there. “Takao?”

“Hi [Y/N]-chan!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Shin-chan heard you were sick. So, he wanted to come take care of you.” Holding of a napsack of supplies.

You blink once, looking around to see if you had somehow missed Midorima in your fever fogged mind. “He’s…here?”

“Don’t just stand in the door way and let the cold air in. You’re just going to make your cold worse.”

You blink again and Takao gave an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his head, before revealing a small green walkie-talkie from his pocket. “He didn’t want to get sick himself.”

A grumble of irritation left your lips. “So Shintaro sent you to do his dirt work, as usual.” Takao laughed again. “Tell him thanks but no thanks. I don’t want any second-hand bedside manner, and I’m just going to sleep anyway.”

“Oy! [Y/N]-chan! Don’t be like that!” The dark-haired teen’s hand lanced out to catch the door. Barring you from closing it. “Shin-chan was really worried when you didn’t come to school today. Honest. He does want to help. You just know how he is though. I know it’s not the same as coming up here himself, but he bought all this stuff and wrote down all these instructions for me to help make you feel better.”

You look at the bag Takao had in his hand. It did seem like a lot. Midorima must have gone to several different drug stores to pick it all up and bring it over here. Even if he did stay in the parking lot. You look past Takao down to the ground floor, where Midorima was standing looking up at your apartment. Seeming to wait for you to follow his instructions about going inside but also with that steadfast look he got when he was truly worried about something.

“You just don’t want to go back down there and tell him you failed.” The boy in front of you laughed with an awkward ‘maybe’. “You can’t stay too long. My parents are going to be back after work, and they’re not going to be happy about a boy in my room and another one looking real stalkery in the parking lot.”

“Thanks [Y/N]!” Takao said as you let him in.

“Make sure they take the cold medicine now, before it gets too late. It’s one cap full every 4 hours. Drink some of the green tea I made for you. It’s in the green thermos. The red one is soup.”

“I know how to take medicine Shintaro. And I already ordered food before you got here. It’s on its way so-Wait! Why am I arguing with a walkie-talkie!?!”

Aomine:

You have an absolutely splitting headache. To the point that every time you get up to go to the bathroom and throw up, you check to see if an icepick is somehow lodged in the back of your skull.

Why did you have to get sick today? Aomine was going to kill you for missing his game; even if the outcome was inevitable. His love for basketball was second only to you (and sometimes you weren’t sure about the ranking). So you being at his games was what he loved most of all. If you weren’t there to see him crush whatever team into dust and lead his team to victory, you’d never hear the end of it. Maybe you’d get lucky and he’d get in the Zone early on and not even realize you weren’t there. Yeah…that was possible….

You crack your eyes open into painful, narrow slits from under the covers as you realize the pounding you were hearing was not just in your head but at the door. What idiot was banging on your door in the middle of the afternoon?

Steeling yourself to get up and answer the door. You were surprised to find it was your idiot behind the door. Aomine standing there, in his trademark Too warmup suit and equally trademark scowl.

“Aomine? What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?! What are you doing here?!”

“I kind of live here.”

Aomine tsked through his teeth with a sneer. “That’s not what I meant, baka! Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?!”

“Oh….” You blink a little in surprise. What was a good way to tell him that you didn’t think he’d care? “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“It’s not, but you should still tell me about it!” He told you. “I had to hear about it from Satsuki. Do you know how stupid that makes me look if I don’t know that my own s/o is sick?!”

“So are you mad that I didn’t tell you? Or are you mad that I made you look stupid?”

“I’m mad at both!” Aomine yelled. He then seemed to realize he was yelling at a sick person, and his s/o, so he took a breath and calmed down. “Here.”

You look down at the convenience store bag he offered you. Taking it in your hands. “What’s this?”

“Jellies.” He replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know which flavor you’d like when you’re sick, so I just got a bunch of ‘em.”

You blink at the bag, then up at Aomine. He…got these for you? You can see on his face now that he was angry because he was worried about you. Not that you were going to miss the game, but because he was worried about you. Your beautiful basketball ace was too proud to admit it though. “Thanks.” You said softly, with an equally soft smile.

The ace looked away and rubbed the back of his head while he was at it. “Yeah well, jellies always made me feel better when I was sick as a kid. Figured they’d make you feel better too.”

“I really appreciate it. I haven’t been able to keep much down.” Maybe that was TMI, but hey. Relationships weren’t always moonbeams and rainbows. “These will really hit the spot.”

“Well, I got extra red ones in there for you, so crack one open.” Aomine said as he saw himself past you and into your apartment.

“Hold on! You’re eating my present now?! Wait…hang on a minute, aren’t you supposed to be warming up for your game? How are you going to get back in time for starting line up if you’re here now?”

“I’m skipping it.” The blunette answered as if it was obvious. Taking off his windbreaker jacket and throwing it in a chair, before he flopped himself on your couch with his limbs stretched out to take up most of it. “There’s no one strong on that team anyway. So, it’s no fun. Let those other guys put in the work for once. They can’t expect me to carry the team all the time. So annoying….”

You stare at Aomine. Was he really….skipping basketball….to be with you here when you’re sick?

A warm feeling, you’re sure was not your fever this time, spread over you. He really did care, didn’t he?

“You should really put those in the fridge before they get warm. Warm jellies are the worst. I still want a red one though. Maybe two now that I think about it.”

You grumble as the ‘warm feeling’ starts to dissipate. Still harboring in your chest, but certainly less profound than it was a moment ago. “It’s super rude to eat someone’s present when they haven’t even had one of them, Aomine.” You still give him the red ones though.

Kise:

Your kingdom for another box of tissues. At the rate you were running through them, a small rainforest was in serious jeopardy.

If you didn’t feel so cruddy, you’d be more worried about that fact. Right now, however, you just wanted your nose to stop running. You had been sneezing and sniffling all day, and in an effort to not be labelled ‘Typhoid Mary’ chosen to stay home from school. It was the reasonable thing to do. When you were sick.  

You finish blowing your nose for the umpth time when your phone rang. You pick it up and answer with a gravely, “hello?”

“[Y/N]-CCHI!!”

You pull the phone away from your ear at the loud, sobbing cry of your name through the phone from your boyfriend. “Kise…don’t yell…”

“[Y/N]-cchi! You’re sick! Why didn’t you tell me?? Kurokocchi had to call me today and tell me!”

Damn Kuroko. That snitch. “Because it’s not a big deal. It’s just a little cold. I’ll be fine.”

“But [Y/N]-cchi! You’re all alone with no one to take care of you! I won’t be back til Sunday!” Kise had gotten a modeling job out of town for the weekend. Some ‘on location’ gig for some sea side pics. Poor Kise. He must be freezing. But, those photos needed to be done and printed long in advance before summer time to boost sales.

If you had had to put money on it, you would have thought he would be the sick one: running around half naked on a frozen beach in January. Yet here you were.

“Do you think I just sit in a dark closet, with nobody around, until you show up again Kise?” A dramatic gasp was heard on the other end of the phone. “I’m not ‘alone’ Kise. I mean, I am now, but I have people around me to help if I need it. So you don’t have to worry.”

“But I’m not around to help you!” Kise whined. You can practically hear the broken-hearted boyfriend emoji floating around his head. “Let me at least order you some soup. Soup is what sick people eat right? That place near your house has that chicken ramen you like. Chicken ramen is like chicken soup. That’s what people eat when they’re sick right?? Or maybe you want something else?? What’s another thing that sick people eat?!”

“Ryouta!” You have to yell his first name to get him out of the spiral. You love Kise, but every now and then his boundless energy was annoying. You let out a sigh, and tell him, “yes, you can order me some food. Don’t go overboard.”

Kise perked up. You do kind of wish you could see his smiling face. It was so cute when he did these adorable 180s. He promised not to go overboard before he hung up the phone and ordered you some food. He then immediately called you back to let you know it would be there in 20 minutes, and told you all about his day.

He stayed with you on the phone when your food came, and even after. You watched one of your favorite movies on Netflix party, curled up in your blankets on your bed. If you closed your eyes and focused on the warmth of your blankets & Kise’s soft voice in your ear, it was almost like he was here.

You fell asleep to that feeling. Feeling much better after you woke up and waiting for Kise to come home.

Kuroko:

You toss and turn a little in your sleep, trying to get back to it as you’ve actually woken up and want to sleep more. Rest was the only cure for a cold. And although you were still tired, even though you’d stayed home and slept all day, you were apparently too tired to fall back asleep.

You crack your eyes open. Your vision blurry for a moment before it clears up. Leaving you with a sea of blue in front of you. “Hello [Y/N].”

You let out a surprise shriek, followed by an almost perfect imitation of your boyfriend’s Ignite Pass against his face. “K-Kuroko!” You stammer, as the young man in question tried to recover from the shattering blow you just gave him. “I’m so sorry! What are you doing here?!”

“Your mother let me in.” He replied, words muffled by his hand. He pulled it away to inspect it and seemed to find no blood. That was a relief. You’d feel so bad if you both were down for the count. “I wanted to see you, and bring you your course work for today.”

Ah. So that’s how he got in. You didn’t think your mother would just let a high school boy in your room unsupervised. Also, maybe it was because Kuroko looked so unthreatening. If only she knew. “Thanks. Sorry again.”

“It’s alright. I should have known better than to sneak up on a sick person.” He said with a soft smile. His hand reached out to pet your head. “How are you feeling?”

“Still crummy,” you confess, “but on the mend. I’m sure I’ll be back to school on Monday.”

“Good. Everyone at school misses you. Even the senpais were asking about you today.”

“Did you miss me Kuroko?” You ask sheepishly.

To which he got a surprised expression before softening and immediately answering, “yes.”

Your face warmed with something other than a fever, and you pulled your blanket up to your nose. “You should go. I don’t want you to get sick too.”

“I’ll stay for a little bit longer. Don’t worry. I won’t get sick.”

It was a big fat lie as Kuroko was sick immediately after he left. He really should have known better with his borderline frail physique for anything other than basketball. Still, it was nice to talk to him for a while. And you got to take care of him after you were better, so it was all worth it.

Murasakibara:

‘Just a few more hours. You can do this.’

You keep repeating that to yourself over and over again in your head as you trudge down the hall. Only a few more classes and you could go home to die in peace. Why did you have to have a test today?!

Your penance march comes to a halt when you run into somebody. Looking up you realize it was Murasakibara. “Oh, sorry Mura-kun. I didn’t see you there.” You really must be sick if you hadn’t noticed the tower that was your boyfriend and Yosen center.

“[Y/N]-cchi, you don’t look so good.” The purple haired man drawled.

You frown up at him, not needing to hear that right now. “That’s not very nice to say to your s/o, Mura-kun.”

“But it’s the truth.” He told you. “Honesty is the best policy.” You couldn’t really argue with him there. Besides, you were too weak to argue.

Suddenly your vision was dark. You were worried for a second that you might have blacked out in your sick induced state, but quickly realize that Murasakibara’s large hand was on your face. “Mura-kun, let go.”

“You have a fever.” He replied, completely ignoring your protest. He still let you go, of his own volition, and stood to his full height again. “You need to go to the nurse.”

“No. I need to go to class.” You state in a huff. Batting his hands away in an effective, but weak manner, before walking past him to head just there.

You make it about three steps before Murasakibara grabbed you. Lifting you up in the air with ease and throwing you over his shoulder, in a move that would have made your head spin normally. Not to mention if you had a fever. “Atsushi! Let go!” You shout. Squirming and kicking your legs to no avail.

“No. You need to go to the nurse.” He repeated. Carrying you like a sack of potatoes as he walked down the hall.

“Put me down Atsushi! This is embarrassing! I need to go to class and take my test! It’s important!”

“Nothing is more important that your health.” You stop struggling for a moment as Murasakibara said something actually profound for once. “[Y/N]-cchi needs to take care of themselves, or they’ll just get sicker and get others sick. Tests and silly stuff like school work can wait.”

You grumble and slump down on Murasakibara’s shoulder. It wasn’t like him to be this serious. He also seemed very serious about taking you to the nurse. Nothing seemed capable of deterring him from that path. “Mura-kun, can you put me down? I’ll go to the nurse with you, but this isn’t really comfortable and I can walk on my own.”

He stopped. Then gave you a side ways glance out of the corner of his eye, seeming to not trust you, but still gave in and sat you down. “[Y/N]-cchi is gonna be good?”

“Yes,” you tell him, “I’ll be good.”

He escorted you the rest of the way to the nurses station. Asking if he could have a lollipop, and annoyed when they didn’t have one. What kind of a doctor’s office was this if they didn’t have lollipops, he asked. You’d giggled a little bit and told him to get to class. You’d call him later, since your parents were going to have to pick you up and take you home. You 100% had a fever and were told to go home. Murasakibara pet your head once more before he left to get to class.

The next day, when you were home recuperating, your mother had come into your room with a big candy store bag. “Someone left this big bag of lollipops at the door for you. Do you have any idea who it’s from?”

Kagami:

“I’m really ok Mom….No, it’s not that serious….You really don’t have to come home. Dad either. It’s not the first time I’ve had a cold, and I’m just gonna sleep it off. I’ll be fine by myself…..Yes, I got medicine….No. I’ll be ok. I have a friend from school who’s checking in on me….I love you too. Bye.”

“Your Mom ok?” You look up from the couch when Kagami came up behind it. Handing you a bottle of water for your scratchy sounding throat.

“Yeah. She’s ok. Just worried. She asked if I wanted her to come home, but I told her no.” You hate to admit it but you’re pretty sure it was a hollow gesture. Your parents work was very important. You had learned that early on growing up. They missed certain things in the trade off for having very important, successful careers. One of which was taking care of their child when they were sick.

“You also didn’t tell her it was me who was here. How come?”

“You want me to call her back and tell her we’re playing house?” You ask, with as cheeky of a grin as you can muster being sick. It still got the desired result.

“We’re not playing house!”

“Doctor then?”

Your cute boyfriend turned about as red as his hair, and stalked off back to the kitchen while fluster muttering to himself.

You chuckle a little. Which turned into a coughing fit, so you had to drink a little bit of water.

You and Kagami had initially bonded over being “latchkey kids”. Though your situation was not as severe as Kagami’s, with your parents still being in the country at least, they both traveled for work a lot and were rarely home. They tried to stagger their work trips so you wouldn’t be home alone, but this wasn’t the first time.

This also wasn’t the first time you would be alone when you were sick, if it hadn’t been for Kagami.

“Aren’t you worried you’re going to get sick?” You ask from the living room. Your voice squeaking and squawking the whole time.

“I never get sick.” He replied back confidently. Then rounded the corner with a tray you were 90% sure you did not have in your house before now. “Basketball and eating right keeps me healthy. So, I never get sick. You don’t have to worry.”

“I don’t think eating a dozen cheeseburgers a day counts as ‘eating right’.” You tell him.

Kagami grumbled. Seeming to want to argue or say something, but realizing its bad form to fight with a sick person. Instead, he just sat the tray down in front of you and sat on the couch. “What’s this?”

“Chicken noddle soup,” he replied. “Japan doesn’t have the right noodles. So I had to use soba. But the main part should be the same.”

“You made me chicken soup?”

Kagami tensed for a moment. His face turning hot pink again; possibly from the soft expression on your face or the soft sound of your voice. He turned away, scratching his cheek. “Y-Yeah. Like I said, it’s important to eat right to keep healthy. So…So eat up so you can be at school on Monday. It sucks when you’re not there.”

You smile softly at Kagami, then lean over to give him a peck on the cheek. “You said you never get sick right?” You tell him when he looked at you. His cheeks still pink, but not much pinker than before.

You eat your soup and gush constantly over how tasty it was. Kagami seemed super proud. Cooking and basketball were the two skills he was most proud of, and knowing that you liked something he made made him puff out his chest even more.

After your soup he made you a bowl of ice cream you were also 90% sure you did not have in your house before now and watched a movie.

After that, Kagami said he was going to head home but when he stood up from the couch you hand lanced out and grabbed onto his shirt tail on it’s on. “Could…Could you stay?” You’ll blame the weak sounding tone of your voice on your cold later. “I know I told my mom that I’d be fine on my own but….I really don’t want to be alone.”

The red headed ace blinked, seeming surprised by your confession (that you were also totally going to blame on your cold later). He gave you a soft smile and sat back down on the couch. Pulling you into his arms so you were practically in his lap. “You could have just told me that.”

[oh-no-my-hand-slipped]

A new prompt for you! (Finally :3)

I'm picturing multiple couples or a family group (4+ adults) who share a cottage together in the middle of nowhere, living off the land. Winter is coming, bringing with it its chill winds and early dustings of snow. The people are hard at work every day, chopping wood and putting aside the last of the food for winter.

It's the worst possible time to get sick, yet someone does, coming down with a miserable, streaming cold and high fever. What do they do about it? How do the others respond?

Could have definite cottage core elements, or fantasy (since you're so good at writing that!) or contagion if you choose. Can't wait to see the results :)

It’s been so long since I’ve written a real, honest to god fic, so this will be my debut back into snzfucker favor!

Okay, okay, who to include in this house of contagion?

We need a soft healer boi that takes care of everyone before themselves, of course. A very strong, stoic, hardworking warrior with muscles of steel - but the same can’t be said for his immune system. A hyper comic relief (like if Scout from TF2 was in a fantasy setting) that insists he isn’t sick, but can’t keep back his sneezes long enough to prove his point. And, of course, a tall, thin scholar whose cold heart is only melted by his fever.

Adventurers packing it in for the winter and preparing for journeying in the spring, now only at most a few yards from each other and having shot immune systems from the exhausting work. Illness doesn’t have to travel far to infect…

Oh, this is gonna be good.

***********************

“Look look look! Otto, you’re not gonna believe this!”

Barlow skidded to a halt, almost tripping over his own two feet before regaining his balance. Otto chuckled.

“Alright, alright, que pasa? What is so exciting?”

Barlow fumbled with his cloak before pulling a shiny coin out of one of the pockets.

“I got this off a path when I was pickin’ berries! Must’ve been a merchant or something…”

Barlow’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Or maybe a warrior! Ooh, or a knight! Definitely somebody with a cape.”

He flung the back of his cloak behind him and stood tall, crossing his arms with a self-satisfied grin. However, Barlow couldn’t keep the pose long - the frigid air made him close the thin burlap around himself again, shivering. Otto knitted their brow.

“You’re wearing your summer cloak,” they said, looking Barlow up and down. “You must be freezing, chiquito!”

Barlow waved his hand, as if batting away Otto’s concern.

“Don’t worry about it, doc. It’s gonna take more than a little wind to get me down.”

As if to prove a point, he spread out his arms and spun around, laughing at the many leaves he kicked up.

Otto would usually be charmed by the sprite’s antics, but their concern soon outweighed their amusement.

“Just make sure to change into your winter clothes soon, okay? I would hate for you to get sick.”

Barlow stopped spinning, coughing a bit as he caught his breath with chilly autumn air. His hot breath clouded around his face like smoke.

“Okay, okay,” he panted, “I’ll grab it when I go by the cottage. Forgot my basket anyway. See you around, doc.”

With a quick salute, Barlow ran off, cloak billowing behind him, still clenching the coin in a tight fist. Otto shook their head and sighed. They knew that Barlow just didn’t want them to worry - but that only made them worry more. The healer in them couldn’t help but notice red-tipped fingers, congested voices, and pallid complexions. Besides, with a harsh winter underway, a cold could very quickly rear its ugly head, turning into bronchitis, pneumonia, and even infect a person’s magic…

Otto took a deep breath. Their thoughts had run away with them - and now, more than ever, it was important to stay focused.

The doctor gathered up their scrolls, pulled their coat close, and started back to the cottage.

Perhaps a little tea would calm their nerves.

***************

“it’CHEW! CHEW!”

“Salud.”

“Ugh…thanks, doc. Snf!”

Otto looked up from his knitting to see Barlow rubbing his long, pointy ears with a pained look on his face.

“Do your ears hurt?”

Barlow put his hands in his lap. “No! Just, uh, a little itchy.”

Severin, who had been reading on the sofa across from Otto, hid a smirk behind the yellowed pages.

“Someone must be talking about you,” he drawled smugly. “Considering the way you conduct yourself, I’m not surprised.”

Instead of snapping back, Barlow still scratched at his ears. Severin slit his eyes and continued to read. He almost seemed disappointed.

“Could be thragweed,” Godric rumbled from a large wooden stool, rubbing his beard in thought, “but they usually shrivel up by the first frost. Didja see any three-leaved plants while you were out foragin’?”

Barlow shrugged, wincing as he rubbed harder. “Um…maybe?”

Otto frowned. “Be careful. You’ll hurt yourself if you keep scratching like that.”

“S-sorry, I…huh-hold on…”

Barlow buried himself in his cloak, with only his mop of red hair showing.

“hit’SHEW! Huh…it’TCHEW!”

The sprite continued to let out sneeze after sneeze, his wrinkled, pink nose only showing when he needed to come up for air. Otto got up from their chair, and they were soon holding him by the shoulders to keep him from knocking himself over.

Barlow finally finished, snuffling into his sleeve. He looked up at Otto with bleary eyes.

“Sorry, doc, I don’d dow whad’s gotten into be…”

Otto hushed him with a gentle pat, using their free hand to feel Barlow’s forehead. They clucked their tongue.

“Oh, mijo, you have a fever...”

Barlow’s breath caught, and he coughed into his shoulder. “Nah, I…I’b okay, Otto, really. I’ll be…snrk…fide in the morning. Just gotta sleep it off…”

Otto smiled gently. “Well, you’re right about one thing. A good night’s sleep is exactly what you need. And maybe a little salve for your poor ears…”

Their hand still on Barlow’s shoulder, Otto guided the sprite to his bedroom, mumbled protests and miserable sneezes trailing behind them.

***************

Barlow’s fever never grew very high - his burning ears and nose, however, kept him up for most of the night. By the time morning came, he was too exhausted to even feign health. Otto had to put him back to bed, which was only met with pitiful murmurings.

“‘M fide, doc, I…hetch’CHIIIEW!”

“Pobrecito! You sound even worse than yesterday…”

“C’mon, Otto, I…”

“I don’t want to see you out of bed today, okay, cariño? You need to rest.”

“Nngh…”

Otto and Severin split the foraging work, since their respective jobs were mostly planning and budgeting the winter ahead of them. Godric promised to keep a good eye on the patient, but that didn’t lessen the doctor’s worry any.

“I wonder how Barlow’s doing,” Otto murmured, probably for the umpteenth time since they’d begun their work.

Severin scrutinized his severely pricked thumb. “Children always carry around such nasty things. It’s a wonder he hasn’t caught the plague instead of a simple cold.”

Otto froze mid-pick, and Severin hurried to correct himself.

“Peace, my friend. It is just a cold, after all.

He grimaced.

“One I dearly hope he keeps to himself.”

They both continued to fill their baskets with berries, wiping the frost off their shiny, black skins. However, Otto’s mind continued to race.

I shouldn’t have left him. Godric only knows so much. What happens if his fever spikes? I’m a healer, I’m not supposed to leave the sick behind. Should I go back? I should go back. No, I promised Barlow I’d get his foraging done. But I can’t keep a promise if he’s dead. What if he’s already dead? What if Godric’s on his way right now to tell me? What if I’m already too late? How will we bury him, the ground is too hard. Otto, your friend has died and all you can think about is how to bury him. You must be the most selfish -

“Otto.”

Otto snapped back to reality to see Severin giving him a fierce side-eye.

“It’s only a cold.”

Otto took a deep breath. “Right. Gracias. I…I lost myself, didn’t I?”

The afternoon went by in a quiet fervor, both of them trying to fill their baskets before the sun went down. With Otto’s quick fingers and Severin’s thin ones, it was an easy job, and the managed to get back before it got too dark.

Otto wasn’t two steps through the door before they were at Godric’s heels, wringing their hands and stammering through the worries that had built up through the day.

“Are you sure…how…did he…should I…?”

The warrior just chuckled and put a gigantic, calloused hand on the their head.

“He’s on tha’ mend, doc, on the mend. Sneezin’ his head off, sure, but gettin’ better.”

As if on cue, two loud sneezes interrupted them from one of the bedrooms, followed by a mumbled curse and a few wet sniffles. Godric shook his head.

“Been like that all day, poor tyke. When he wasn’ dozin’ off, tha’ is.”

Severin took a few scrolls out of his dragon-scale satchel.

“I understand you have a more…pressing engagement. Why don’t I take the calculations tonight?”

But Otto was already on their way to Barlow’s bedside, medicine bag in tow. Severin only lifted his eyebrows and turned on his heel, setting up the many notes he had taken and a few quills on the oaken table.

“Besides,” he murmured to himself, “I don’t want to get near whatever affliction that sprite’s come down with.”

*************

Barlow was scratching at his drooping ears, which were now covered in a red, peeling rash. Otto gently pushed his hands back under the quilt.

“I know it itches, but you need to try not to scratch.”

The healer took a small glass container out of their bag, dipping two fingers into the greenish-gray ointment inside. They began to apply the salve to Barlow’s ears, taking care not to put on too much.

“Tell me when you need a break,” Otto said.

Barlow nodded, eyes squeezed shut. After a few minutes, his nostrils started to twitch, and he held up a hand.

“G-gudda…huh…!”

He jerked forward into his knees.

“hit’CHEW! hhhit’SHEW! Uh…hut’SHIEW!”

Barlow snuffled into the quilt, and Otto handed him a tissue.

“Salud.”

“Ugh…sorry, doc…”

Otto put the cork back into the glass bottle and set it on the bedside table.

“It’s alright - most sprites have the same reflex.”

“No, I beant…for…”

Barlow bit his lip, his ears drooping even lower.

“For geddin’ sick.”

Otto put a hand on the sprite’s back.

“Oh, mijo…”

“I-I didn’d mean to,” Barlow whimpered. “I…I should’ve god by coat like you told be to…and dow w-we’re - hic - gudda starve…”

Otto hushed him, pulling Barlow into an embrace and rocking him slowly back and forth.

“We will be fine, mijo,” they whispered, their voice soothing Barlow into a sniffle. “We will forage until you are better, and not a day before. That is what friends do. They protect each other, they take care of each other, and they love each other like family. And that is how I love you. Like my family.”

Barlow hiccuped, trying to speak through his tears.

“Shhh, mijo…it’s okay…”

Otto wrapped the quilt tighter around Barlow and laid him down, pushing hair damp with both tears and sweat out of his face. The sobs quieted, then dissolved into shaky breaths. Before Otto even made it through the doorway, they could hear small, congested snores coming from the pile of blankets.

*****************

Scritch scritch scritch…scriiiitch…

Harried quill scratching filled the air as Otto entered the living room, putting on their tweed coat and wool gloves. They stretched out their arms.

“Buenos días!”

Godric lifted his coffee mug as a greeting, his famous half-smile dancing over his lips.

“Well, aren’tcha bright as tha’ north star this mornin’!”

Otto beamed. Barlow had slept soundly through the night, and he was still fast asleep when they had checked on him. Not a sniffle or a sneeze came from that room.

“Severin, I was thinking we could pick up acorns today,” Otto thought aloud, buttoning their coat. “There is a beautiful place in the forest…”

Silence. The quill scratching only grew more manic. Otto glanced up.

Severin was hunched over the table, writing madly on several open scrolls, only pausing to move a few beads on his abacus. Otto went back to getting ready. Sometimes it took a while for Severin to answer if he was engrossed in his calculations. He would respond when he got to a stopping point.

After about fifteen minutes of fidgeting with their scarf, though, Otto tried again.

“From what I’ve seen, we should be ready for winter in a week, maybe less. All that’s left is the dried vegetables and a few more logs for firewood.”

Again, there was no answer. But now that Otto was a little closer, they could see why.

Severin’s eyes were inflamed and painful, as were his gaunt cheeks. His long, usually well-preened hair was matted against his forehead, with stray hairs sticking up this way and that. Thin shoulder blades came together with each labored breath. Long fingers shivered around a red quill, leaving stray marks on the parchment.

“Mi sombro,” Otto breathed.

The shadowling blinked, raising his head stiffly. Pools of sweat, shaken loose by the movement, streaked down their face.

“I…couldn’t sleep,” Severin croaked. “Have I…have I been awake…?”

Godric looked up from his mug, finally noticing the sorcerer’s state. “Stars above, lad! Ya look like hell frozen over!”

The shadowling stared straight ahead, his breath coming in ragged strains.

“Could someone…please put out the fireplace…?”

Otto clucked their tongue, putting their hands on either side of Severin’s neck. His dark eyes fluttered shut, as if with great relief.

“Mm…”

“Ay, tu cabeza,” Otto cooed, putting their hand on Severin’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”

Severin finally looked down at the doctor. His tense gaze was now dazed, vulnerable - even afraid.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said again, hoarsely.

Otto rubbed their thumb on Severin’s feverish cheek. “I know, cariño. I know.”

***************

It took a lot more doing to get Severin to bed than it did Barlow. Not only did he insist he was perfectly well, only warm from the unlit fireplace, but that he had seen terrifying visions outside the window.

“Their eyes, doctor…they stared into my very essence…a…a beast of some kind…we’ll be killed…”

“Shhh, my love. It’s only a nightmare from your fever. You will feel better soon.”

In the end, the only way Otto could leave the cottage was by taking a small talisman Severin had in his cloak. They weren’t superstitious, but Otto wanted to do anything they could to put the sick sorcerer at ease.

Now with one less healthy person in the group, Otto rushed to get the last of the supplies for the cold winter ahead. The first snowflakes were beginning to fall, which made finding acorns that much more difficult. Before the sun reached its peak, the ground was completely covered in a thin layer of snow. But, for once, Otto’s anxiety was an advantage.

They plowed through every task as if their life depended on it. Another of their friends falling ill had kicked their healer instinct into high gear; whenever they were fatigued or sore, all it took was a few words of the healing oath to get them going again.

“From the monsters of the cave, of the sea, of the heart,” they whispered while peeling wild wolf onions, “I shall protect and provide for those who cannot.”

As morning turned to afternoon, the light flurry of the morning became a bitter gale that howled through the trees like a hungry animal. The world was silent except for the frigid wind - all the creatures of the forest knew well enough that the winter ahead would not be kind to them.

But Otto knew nothing of this.

And so they marched forward.

It was quite past dark when Otto returned to the cottage. Much to their delight, a fire was flickering in the fireplace, and a wonderful, familiar smell lingered in the air - a mixture of tender meat and spices.

As Otto had hoped, there was a pot of stew left over the flames. The broth still bubbled with warmth, and the chicken and vegetables gave off a heavenly steam. Their stomach suddenly felt very hollow.

They hadn’t eaten all day, had they?

With raw fingers, the doctor tried their best to use the ladle, which was as big as their entire arm and weighed twice as much. Gripping the handle with both hands, they brought the brew to their lips, taking care not to burn their tongue.

A beautiful, soothing flavor poured down Otto’s throat. They leaned their head back and closed their eyes, making sure to drink up every last tasty morsel. It was a long time before the ladle was empty again.

Once they were finished, the healer felt a heaviness collect around their eyes. Finally, at long last, they could rest. The cottage was fast asleep - and now it was time for Otto to follow suit.

Sleep came upon Otto too quickly for them to retire to their own bed. Like a hound after a successful hunt, they crawled onto the sofa and curled into a ball, dead to the world before their head hit the soft cushions.

*******************

Otto wasn’t sure how long they slept. They remembered bits and pieces of dreams, of words, or memories - but mostly a comforting darkness that lulled them into a deep drowse.

When they finally awoke, the first thing they saw was the flitting of the fire. The flame had all but burned itself out during the night. Otto rolled over, stretching and sighing with satisfaction. That was the best they had slept in several days.

They indulged themselves in a large yawn and shifted off the sofa, cringing from cold stone against their bare feet.

The cottage was still silent with sleep - not a thing stirred but the creaks and groans of the wooden beams. A frigid wind had picked up outside, and bits of snow swirled in the air.

How cold Godric must be this morning, Otto thought as they padded towards the hallway. The warrior was always up and working by first light - quite before anyone else was awake - but came back inside to drink some hot coffee and see how the preparations were going. Godric made a strong cup of coffee. One could smell it and be ready for a new day; that’s usually all most could stand without sputtering.

Today, however, there was no earthy aroma of it brewing. All Otto could smell was a hint of the stew they had eaten the night before - the husk of a beautiful, delicious dream.

The doctor peeked his head into Barlow’s room. The sprite was laying on his stomach, eyes closed and breath soft. Though they had been feeling better for the past day or so, Barlow’s nose frequently ran away with him, and was still very pink and sensitive. His upright ear twitched ever so slightly, but there was no sign of him stirring any time soon.

Severin, on the other hand, had fared much worse. Despite the many wet rags coating almost every inch of his febrile body, his breathing was still heavy and labored, and his eyes darted under closed eyelids. Bite marks covered cracking lips. Otto made sure they made little noise as they tiptoed from the doorway. Severin needed all the rest he could get.

Otto turned from his patients, a familiar heaviness weighing upon their heart. Such misery in what was supposed to be a warm season of reaping and feasting.

Perhaps it came back with them from market, or from the many travelers that take the nearby road into town. With how hard everyone had been working, and how many nights were left unslept…

Otto massaged the bridge of their nose, dashing from one possibility to the next, feeling more and more ashamed by how little they prepared, how stupid they must have been, how utterly selfish! They had been so busy with preparations that they had barely noticed that their journeymates were wasting away!

They could have done something. This was all their fault, wasn’t it? How could they be a healer if they couldn’t even keep the ones they loved safe?

Otto was roused from their guilt by the sound of harsh coughing. They peeked their head into the past two rooms, fearing that one of them had been awakened by their footsteps. However, both of them were still out cold. Or out warm, in Severin’s case.

No, the coughing wasn’t coming from their rooms, Otto realized. It was coming from the third bedroom - the one that they and Godric shared.

The door creaked open as Otto shuffled inside, already knowing the worst was yet to come.

“Doc? Is tha’ you?”

Godric was sitting up in bed, quilt wrapped around him, his chest heaving with another hacking fit. His cheeks were flushed with effort and fever. Otto went to his bedside, their heart dropping into their stomach.

“Real nice ‘a this cold to leave the healer last, eh?” the warrior joked before laying back down with a quiet groan.

Otto pushed the hair off Godric’s neck and felt his lymph nodes, which were not only hot, but terribly swollen.

“I can chop those few pieces ‘a wood, an’ then I’ll-”

“You are not getting out of this bed,” Otto said sternly. Then, with a kinder tone, “I know you want to finish your work, but you are very sick. You shouldn’t be out in the snow.”

“But how-”

“I will take care of it, cariño. Just rest.”

Godric opened his mouth to say something else, but just coughed and covered himself up with his quilt.

“Take care of yerself, doc,” he said before Otto went to check on the others. “There isn’t anythin’ I can’t do after I’m back on m’feet.”

***************

Between taking care of three sick creatures and the final preparations, Otto ran themselves ragged over the next few days. None of their friends were particularly hard to take care of - especially after Severin’s fever broke - but the heaviness of their heart continued to weigh upon them.

With no other options, they threw themselves into work.

If they chopped enough wood for an extra week, they chopped enough wood for two extra weeks. The larder was more than full. Their fingers and hands and back and everything else was sore, but they couldn’t stop for long without feeling their guilt gnaw away at them.

One frigid morning, Otto had taken to the axe, splitting wood and putting them in the shed to keep them dry. They had run out of pre-cut trunks a long time ago, so they started cutting sticks in half for kindling. Out of the corner of their eye, mid-swing, they saw a figure marching through the snow - lifting their foot high before stomping it down again with a crunch.

After a few minutes, Otto could finally see a pair of long ears fluttering in the cold wind.

“Barlow!”

The sprite grinned as he approached Otto, holding up a steaming container of something in his mittened hands.

“I got soup!” he called out, trying to move faster in the deep snow. “Godric felt a lot better today, so he wanted to try somethin’ new. It’s real good! Even Severin ate a whole bowl of it, so you know it’s gotta be great.”

Barlow sat next to the chopping block, and patted a mound of snow next to him. Otto sat down, wincing as their sore muscles twinged.

“Godric says we’re all packed up for winter,” Barlow continued as he handed Otto the food. “And we’ll even have stuff to eat in the spring, too.”

Otto didn’t answer, but tucked into the soup, not even blowing it off before putting the spoon in their mouth. Barlow thought for a little bit, then spoke again.

“Doc, Godric told me that we got more than enough food and wood to last through the winter. If you wanna come inside, we’ve got a checker game goin’…”

Otto didn’t respond, but they had started to shiver from the cold. Barlow took of his coat and draped it around Otto’s shoulders.

“C’mon, let’s get back. Everybody’s waitin’ for us.”

Barlow took Otto by the hand and pulled them up, then led them back towards the cottage. Otto trailed behind like a quivering lamb, both exhausted and numb. They couldn’t think of much else than putting one foot in front of the other.

When the pair finally got back to the cottage, a warm, cozy scene awaited them. Severin was on the couch, doing needlepoint with half-open eyes and content look on his face. Godric was above the stove, stirring a pot and putting one seasoning or another into it. The fire was blazing in a lovely orange hue that painted the scene with a beautiful glow.

While Barlow went right inside and was greeted by the others, Otto stood in the doorway, weary eyes closed, soaking up the light and warmth as much as they could.

“Doctor?”

Severin was up now, his quiet wisdom regained. Before Otto could answer, the sorcerer started to remove their soaked outer layers with quick fingers.

“If Barlow didn’t bring you here,” Severin said, “you would have worked yourself to a frozen skeleton.”

Otto suddenly jerked his head to the side.

“het’TCH! TCH! TCH’UH!”

“Many blessings, doctor.”

Severin smiled and tilted his head.

“Many, many blessings.”

Otto sniffled, rubbing their nose with stiff fingers.

“Nngh…gracias. Just a little…heh…htch’CHU!”

“Aye, I don’ like tha’ sound of that,” Godric rumbled from the kitchen, turning his head to see the sickly healer.

Otto waved their hand. “Just a li-hih-ttle sdiffle…”

“One that is long overdue, I think,” Severin said, putting the last of their wet things away.

Otto was ushered in front of the fire, still at the mercy of his nose. With each sneeze came a chorus of blessings and, if need be, another handkerchief.

“That’s a real nasty cold, huh?” Barlow commented after a particularly forceful fit. “Even I didn’t sneeze that much.”

As the day came to a close, the group all gathered on the couch, listening to the wind howling outside and treating themselves to Godric’s famous roast and sweet apple tea. Otto didn’t eat very much, but the hot tea soothed their sore throat.

“Tank you for taking such good care of be,” Otto snuffled.

Godric chuckled. “Ya care so much about us, doc. It only makes sense that we’s care an awful lot about you, ‘specially when ya aren’t feelin’ well.”

“And after you tended so well to us, may I add,” Severin said, leaning his head back.

“Yeah!” Barlow agreed, not exactly as good with words as the others, but still just as thankful.

Otto, overcome, buried their face in Godric’s side and began to cry, letting out everything that they had felt in the past few days. They wanted to stop, they wanted to explain, but it was lost in desperate sobs and hiccuping. Godric held them closer to him while the others offered quiet support until the doctor quieted.

“There ya go,” Godric said, putting a large hand on Otto’s head. “It’s gonna be alright.”

Filled with comfort and warm food, Otto quickly dozed off, and the others weren’t far behind. The only sounds were the falling of fresh snow, the crackling of the fireplace, and the snores of deep, contented sleep.

And, as winter finally settled into Harbinger Woods, they all settled down for their long winter’s rest.

******************

Not only do I want to dedicate this to @perfectpaperbluebirds , who gave me the prompt, but also @sneezytomatosquish , who has been feeling emotionally and physically under the weather lately. That may have changed by the time this fic is finished, but I shall gift it to you anyway. You are one of my favorite creators, but I want to create something for you for a change. You deserve it.

Get well soon!

[theskzvibe]

MIXED UP JAKE SIM

CHAPTER 1

you dragged your feet throughout the halls and towards your locker, one cup of coffee this morning was not enough to keep you going. as you opened your locker, someone tapped your shoulder. “y/n!!” your best friend sunoo smiled at you, instantly energizing you. “hey bestie” you smiled back at him while you put your books in your locker and shut it closed. “what happened to you? you look like the walking dead.” Sunoo said making you scoff. “I was up late last night, I practiced for the dance team tryouts after school, and then I practically pulled an all nighter on homework and essays.” you grumbled. “you’re a really good dancer I don't understand why you are still practicing. was Giselle with you?” sunoo asked while you two both walked to your first class, and you nodded. “speaking of the devil” sunoo laughs as a very tired Giselle slowly walks up to you both. “hey zombie girl” sunos smirks at Giselle while she hits his arm. “I am tired. “sunoo don't forget that picture I have of you with ramen up your nose.” Giselle raises her eyebrows. “my dear best friend is threatening to blackmail me right now?” “yes but I don't have the energy to keep going.” Giselle says while yawning. Suddenly Giselles eyes widen and she straightens up. “what just woke you up?” Sunoo said while looking behind him. There they were, the soccer team; Heeseung, Sunghoon, Jake, Jay, Niki. “gross Giselle stop drooling over Heeseung, and grow some balls and ask him out.” sunoo rolls his eyes. “what would I even say to him, he doesn’t even know me.” Giselle whines. “why don't you ask your little brother to set you two up?” you ask. “NO! I can never tell Niki about my crush on his soccer captain. He will never stop making fun of me, I can see it already.” “well maybe y/n will grow some balls to ask out ‘pineapple’  and then you guys can double date.” Sunoo laughs. “SHHHH hes right there!” you whisper yell. “Y/n I literally said his codename you made for him when we were in middle school. plus hes busy talking to Jake.” Sunoo rolls his eyes. “wait y/n it would be so cute if you went out with Sunghoon and I went out with Heeseung and we double dated!” Giselle gushed. “SHHHHH Giselle!! please say pineapple. I’d be screwed if he found out I liked him.” you worried. “ugh fine, but code names are cringey, like why pineapple? he reminds me more of an apple to be honest.” Giselle says while starring at him. “Don’t stare directly at him! he’ll know we are talking about him” you say. “talking about who?” someone asks right behind Giselles shoulder making all of you jump. “NIKI YOU LITTLE BITCH! DONT EVER SCARE ME AGAIN” Giselle yells at her brother while he just laughs. “why are you guys drooling over my teammates? its gross.” niki makes a disgusted face. “y/n has been hopelessly in love with sunghoon for 4 years now, and she hasn't made a move yet.” sunoo bluntly says. Niki gasps and covers up his mouth, “noway” he starts laughing. “Sunoo! why would you tell him?! Niki please don't say anything.” you plead. “I won’t tell him, but you should make a move fast, ever since he had that growth spurt, more girls are hitting on him by the day.” niki states. “but he grew like last year, and girls have always been over him” you argue. “damn girl you study him or something?” niki says, making sunoo laugh. “in fact she does.” sunoo states. “sunoo we should set them up.” niki says out of nowhere. “that's not like you Niki, what's the condition?” Giselle asks. “well you guys are trying out for the dance team, and that hot girl Yuna is on the team...” niki pleads with his eyes. “NO WAY YOU LIKE YUNA?” Giselle screams, and as a reflex niki covers her mouth. Giselle smacks his hand off her mouth, “she's too nice for you but whatever, deal.” Niki smiles in satisfaction. “okay after school today you guys should come to soccer practice to watch, after practice you guys come up to me and it could be a good excuse for you guys to talk to them” Niki schemes. “good idea, niki we can text about our y/n & sunghoon plan ideas” sunoo says while already starting a to do list on his phone. “you guys are something else.” Giselle says while rolling her eyes at her brother and best friend. “Okay we got physics class to get to, bye bestie! bye stinky!” Giselle says to the boys while linking arms with you, and turning in the direction of your classroom. “watch what you call me! I’m helping you and your hopeless romantic best friend out?” Niki yells back at you two. you two laugh all the way to your classroom. “oh hey y/n! Giselle!” Jake sim greets you both with a smile at your shared classrooms door. “hey Jake!” you say in return, as he holds the door for you and lets you enter the room first. you mutter a quiet “thank you” and head towards your desk. you have been friends with Jake since preschool, your mothers were and still friends, making you two friendly. you two used to be close in preschool, but as you guys got older, you drifted and things became a bit more awkward. the extent of your conversations were just hellos, and jakes occurring morning niceness when he holds the door for you. sometimes you guys discuss work in class or quietly joke when your teacher is making no sense again. you sat down at your seat, with Giselle who always sits next to you, and Jake who decided to sit behind you, and following him was his best friend sunghoon.

as your teacher started with the lesson, everything was good, but then with the equations, you suddenly got lost. “oh my god.” Giselle practically smacked her head on the lab desk. “what happened?” you whispered. she showed you her phone that presented a text from her brother Niki. “he’s making me do errands for him because of the deal” she groaned. “oh no im sorry g” you rubbed her back. “what does he want?” you asked. “he wants hot coco from the cafeteria. its fine this class is boring anyways, ill be right back.” and Giselle took the bathroom pass and left.

The teacher left you guys to work with your partners but you physically groaned out of confusion, and not having a partner because Giselle was being used by her brother. “what?” you whisper to yourself. Jake with his super hearing must have heard you because he called your name making you turn around. you make eye contact with Jake and then look next to him and see sunghoon, making your heart rate instantly increase. your cheeks reddened and you looked back at Jake, “yeah?” you asked. “I was wondering since you don't have anyone to work with right now, if you wanted to work with us?” he shyly smiled. you sighed out of relief, “honestly yes please because I am so confused right now.” you laughed. “yeah mr.kim doesn't even teach, the only reason why i’m passing is because Jake gives me his notes. he’s a science whiz.” sunghoon jokes, making Jake shy. “yeah I always remember Jake was always the smartest in our class, even in preschool” you laughed, making Jake blush harder. Jake clears his throat and looks up at you “well tomorrow night we are going to the library to work on physics, if you want to join us?” Jake asks. “that would be really helpful Jake, thank you.” you smile again and turn around as you see Giselle walking back in. “hey” you greet her while she sits down. “why is my little brother the literal devil reincarnated?” she says making you laugh.

MIXED UP MASTER LIST

next: chapter 2

taglist: @zylenes

[mrsalwayswrite]

It’s Always Been You (Eugene Roe x f!Reader)

I have mixed feelings about this piece. But who doesn’t love Soft Roe?

Warnings: couple swear words but PURE FLUFFY FLUFF

Words: 2700

Tag List: @happyveday​ @saritanotserena​ @sydney-m​ @evelynshelby​

  I stood in front of the mirror, unable to believe the person looking back was actually me. I brushed my hands down the front of the gown, enjoying its smooth, silky texture. Such a contrast to the stiff, dirty ODs I had become accustomed to. Light makeup on my face, something I had not indulged in for years. I looked… dare I say… beautiful. Even as I witnessed myself dress up in the mirror, I doubted my own reflection. It felt like I was someone else. Today, though, that was what I wanted.  

 It was a Sunday and everyone was still celebrating being in Zell Am See. We had thought Germany was beautiful but it had nothing on Austria.

 In his pilfering, Captain Speirs had found an abandoned, wealthy home that he thought I might enjoy. He purposefully pulled me aside and told me to investigate the master bedroom before anyone else got to it. At my questioning look, he just gave a wink and said he would stand guard until I was done. Without another word, he lit a cigarette and rummaged through his newest acquisitions. 

 Intrigued and still confused, since everyone knew I did not care much about finding treasures, I wandered into the home and up the grand stairwell until I finally reached the master bedroom. My jaw dropped when I saw what he was referring to and purposefully left for me. I owed him a huge bottle of liquor after this. Whoever the wife was that lived here had expensive taste. There were racks of beautiful gowns and dresses, ranging from whimsical day dresses to breath-taking evening gowns. I spent about an hour just touching all the beautiful gowns, in awe that clothing like this was even real. Even the heels and few pieces of jewelry left behind boggled my mind in their quality. It was a fairytale. It had to be.  

 So, I had decided while all the men were continuing to get drunk, blow things up and joy ride…. I was going to embrace my femininity. Something I had not enjoyed since Albourne, so long ago. 

 Now here I stood, having spent entirely too long getting ready for some kind of elegant ball. The gown I commandeered was an emerald green color, making me feel like I was wearing a gemstone, with wide straps but left my arms bare and dipped low in the back. The red lipstick I found made my lips pop in the bright light of the bathroom. My favorite thing was the small gold chain necklace I discovered half hiding under a dresser, as if dropped and forgotten by whoever was leaving quickly. I wondered if in another life this could have been me regularly, attending socialite functions and dressing up like a princess. Instead I was used to dirt and blood marring my skin, ill-fitting ODs and a helmet that constantly slipped over my eyes. 

 For this moment, just for tonight… I could pretend otherwise. Pretend I was someone important, someone elegant. 

 When I finally stepped out of the wealthy house, Speirs took one look at the gown draped over my arm and the pair of black heels dangling from my hand, and suggested I use the officer's house to get ready in. 

 Taking a deep breath, I took one last look at myself in the mirror. If only my family could see me now, I thought. I slipped on the heels and walked out of the bathroom, the gown trailing lightly behind me. 

 Tonight was about me. Doing something special for me. To remind myself I was more than just a soldier, more than the scars I now bore from our time in combat. That I had not completely lost myself to war and its carnage. Beauty could still be found in the little things...the stolen moments. Like a stunning gown and red lipstick. 

 I could hear the officers downstairs, talking about something, followed by a sharp bark of laughter from Nixon. Before I disappeared into the upstairs bathroom, I had told them I was going to watch the sunset by the lake and if I came back after dark to not worry about me. 

 Being extra careful in the gown, I descended the stairs. One foot at a time. One nervous breath at a time. Beyond aware of how different I looked. 

 As I stepped into view of those lounging around, most playing poker at a table in the middle of the room, silence struck. I could feel their eyes land heavily on me. 

 "Holy shit." Nixon said, mouth dropped open. 

 I stepped down the last two steps, brushing down my gown to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles. I tried to tease, their amazed looks making me uncomfortable. "I swear, it's like you guys have forgotten I am in fact a woman."

 "Uh huh. Can't forget that right now." Nixon took a sip of his drink in hand. 

 Harry asked, a smirk on his face as tapped his cards against the table. "Where you going dressed like that?"

 "Going to watch the sunset." I reminded them. 

 "Dressed like that?!" Nixon sputtered then narrowed his eyes at me. "Looks like you're planning on meeting someone."

 "Does a woman have to dress up only for a man?" Before anyone could answer, I pointed a finger at the officers. "The correct answer is no. I can dress up for myself. I'll be back in a while." 

 "Y/n?"

 I looked at Winters, surprised to see him sitting in an armchair near the fireplace reading while the other officers were playing cards. "Sir?"

 "You look beautiful."

 "Thank you, sir." I smiled at Winters, receiving a soft one in return.

 "You got a weapon on you?" Speirs asked around a cigarette between his lips. 

 "Maybe." 

 He froze, then slowly pulled the cigarette out and started to rise from his seat. 

 "Christ! Yes! I've got my knife! Anything else, dad, or can I go now?"

 "Be smart, don't stay out too late or talk to any boys." He deadpanned, shuffling the cards in his hand. The gleam in his eyes let me know he was just teasing, but would also have no qualms stabbing anyone who bothered me. 

 Amidst the others chuckling, I groaned. "I'm leaving now."

 Quickly, I walked out before anyone could try and convince me to stay or worse- go change. 

 Thankfully, even in the fading daylight, the air was still somewhat warm where I did not need a shawl. I could hear some faint cheers from the enlisted men but I slipped behind the rows of houses and headed down the lakeside path. I walked towards my favorite spot overlooking the lake. Colors danced upon the water, making it appear as if on fire. A few ambitious stars peeked out from above in the sky painted by angels. Never before would I have imagined finding myself somewhere so absolutely gorgeous. If heaven was real, I hoped it looked like Austria. 

 Standing there, I found myself humming and gently swaying to a Billie Holiday song. My arms wrapped around myself loosely, I tried to soak in everything. I wanted to remember this moment forever, to create new memories to replace the bad ones. The nightmares. 

 "Blue moon you saw me standing alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own…"

 "Y/n?"

 I turned to look over my shoulder, not expecting anyone else around. The voice was a dead giveaway but I was shocked our Cajun medic was down this way. "Hey, Gene."

 He stood several paces from me; his medic satchel, that he never went anywhere without, hanging off his side. He stared at me for a long moment, eyes dancing over me in a way that made me self-conscious of how much skin showed. Suddenly, he blinked rapidly as if waking from a dream. "What…" he cleared his throat, "what are you doin' here?"

 "Watching the sunset." I glanced over my shoulder at the lake then looked back at him. 

 "Mmm...dressed like you should be in the pictures?"

 I laughed, even as I felt my face warming. I ran my hands over the gown, still in awe that I was wearing something so expensive. For the most part of the past 4 years, I had been caked in grime and sweat; even though my skin was clean now, I felt too dirty to wear something so fine. 

 "I've never worn anything like this. I just...wanted to do something...for myself."

 "Mmm… well, I'll leave you be. Goodnight." With a single nod, he hesitated then turned around, beginning to walk up the path back to the houses. 

 "You know…" I said loudly, watching his feet still as he turned back around to look at me. "It would be a shame to be dressed up and not able to dance."

 He ducked his head slightly, a bashful smile on his face. I could see the uncertainty on his face. The desire to dance, to hold me close but also the concern for crossing that unspoken line separating us. For two years we had been tiptoeing around our growing feelings. Both aware but never acknowledging. It was in the secret looks, the subtle soft touches, the constant desire to seek one another out amongst a crowd, the solace our presence created when together. The knowledge hung there between us, with one slip we would both fall headlong over that cliff. So we kept back, together as friends but separate as lovers, even if we could read the desire in one another's eyes. It was safer this way. 

 Until now. 

 Without a word, he slowly approached me, as if waiting for me to change my mind, to tell him no, to maintain our status quo. My lips only turned up in a smile as he drew closer, encouraging him, telling him I wanted this. He dropped his satchel carefully on the ground. Our eyes locked, both aware of how this moment could change everything we had built. Carefully, he reached forward and clasped my hand, pulling me into his body. My lips parted on a quiet gasp, feeling his warm breath span across my face, his hand holding mine… and for once, neither one of us was covered in the blood of a fellow paratrooper. I lifted my hand to his shoulder, the muscles tensing underneath my palm. When he made no further movement, I grabbed his other hand and placed it on my waist. For a moment I thought he would reject this, to walk away as he seemed to stay frozen. Then with the softest whisper of my name, as if that was the key to unlock this moment, he pulled me even closer and took the lead. 

 In the stolen evening gown I found and Gene in his ODs, we danced. Like there was no war to haunt us. No rules against fraternizing. No fear of the future that lay before us. It was just him and I, in this moment of beauty and joy and life. We danced. He led me in a simple box step. Our pounding heartbeats, the fluttering of my gown and the soothing sound of the lake lapping on its shore, the only soundtrack we needed. 

 "You are beautiful."

 My face heated up at the compliment. "It's the dress and lipstick."

 "Non, mon chérie." He drawled in that perfect accent and tipped my face back to meet his soft gaze. "It's you. It's always been you."

 I stared into his soulful eyes, a new burning in them. Where once it had only been a candle trying desperately to beat back the darkness; now a bonfire replaced it. Something darkness knew it could never defeat. This man who held me so tenderly, like I was some kind of priceless gem, who had seen the brutality and horrors of war but still kept going, still trying his hardest to save his men even when others would have given up. He was beautiful, both inside and out. 

 "You need to stop lookin' at me like." He whispered; eyes glued to mine. 

 It was when he spoke, I realized we were no longer dancing. When had we stopped? Our bodies were still pressed together, our fingers now entwined but our feet rooted to the path. The air between us felt anything but still. An ardent intensity hovered between us, binding us to the moment, preventing us from escaping it. The sounds around us disappeared. All I could see, all I could feel and sense and taste… was him. 

 "Why?" I asked, my voice breathy. 

 "I might be tempted to mess up your lipstick."

 A nervous giggle escaped me. Instead of dispelling the profound moment, it only seemed to enhance it. With deliberate slowness, I moved my hand on his shoulder to the back of his neck. "I wouldn't mind."

 His hand moved to cup my cheek, holding me still as he leaned in. His lips ghosted over mine, the sweetest of sensations. It sent sparks shooting through me. After he leaned back just out of lips reach. Our eyes met once again, our breathing quickening even from the faint touch. As if our bodies were synced, I rose up at the same time he leaned forward. This time when our lips met, it was with a kiss long overdue. Our lips molded to one another, basking in the taste of the other. Both my hands slipped to the nape of his neck. His hand on my cheek drifted to the back of my head, keeping me from moving away. His other hand slid to my lower back, drawing me closer… and closer.

 The kiss deepened, pulling long dormant feelings from both of us, now finally exposed without reprimand. In the midst, his hand snaked up my side to brush a thumb over the underside of my breast. At the sensation, I gasped in the kiss, surprised by his forwardness. Surprised by the pure wanton need it shot through me. As my lips parted in the gasp, his tongue thrust into my mouth like he owned it. As if he needed more of my taste. Needed more of me. As if a simple kiss would never be enough. Not to him. He quickly drew my own tongue in a dance that soon left my knees weak and wobbling. I found myself clinging to him, not just in desire, but also to keep me upright, else I melted into a puddle of sheer bliss. 

 All too soon, we were forced apart by our lungs screaming for air. He pressed his forehead to mind, his hand still skimming my side from my hip to the underside of my breast and back down. 

 "It’s you. It’s always been you." He whispered as if finally able to confide his deepest secret. The words spilling forth like water out of cracks in a dam, held back for too long. "Since I first talked to you in Toccoa about tryin' to sneak a laxative into Sobel's coffee. And in Bastogne… you were always there for me. Checkin' on me. Makin' sure I knew I wasn't alone. But we're in a goddamn war and I couldn't say nothin'. Seein' you standin' out here, lookin' like an angel, I just...I had to…"

 I pressed a finger to those kiss-swollen lips of his, silencing the onslaught of secrets. "Gene, I'm going to need you to stop talking and kiss me again."

 He smirked, nuzzling my neck for a second. When he spoke, I could feel his hot breath and lips against my skin. "Yes, ma'am."

 This time there was no hesitation, no wavering in dilemma. Our lips touched and it felt like it was meant to be. No great fireworks in the night sky, no great orchestra announcing our love. It felt more like two puzzles pieces finally fitting together. Like the sun peeking through on a cloudy day. It was perfect. 

 When we broke apart again, I felt delirious with joy and the look on his face said something similar. I laid my head on his chest, his arms wrapping around my waist. Bodies pressed against one another, molded together like clay. Without a word, we began swaying. The soundtrack of our shared heartbeats and the lake's waves drowning out anything else. 

 Nothing in the world had changed. We were still paratroopers occupying Austria. Men were still dying. The war was still going strong in the Pacific. Evil endured. 

 But in this moment, in our own little world. 

 Everything changed. 

[mctherofdragons]

In the Afterglow | 3 | F.W.

moodboard by @minty-malfoy​.

Summary: The reader is married to George Weasley, and for all intents and purposes, he is the perfect husband. But, despite her best efforts to resist, Fred presents temptation she never knew she’d fall for.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem! Reader; George Weasley x Fem!Reader

Alternate Universe: No Voldemort AU

Rating: Mature, Future Chapters will Feature Explicit Content

Trigger Warnings: ANGST,  mentions of extramarital affairs, cheating, mentions of infertility/miscarriage, mentions of sex, cussing,  i think that’s it 

Author’s Note: I have to give a HUGE shout out to @starlightweasley because oh my gosh, she has been my sounding board for SO many ideas for this fic and i’m so thankful for that. I hope you all love this chapter, but I will say it’s a bit of a filler. Chapter 4 will be much more in depth and have action between the reader and Fred (including fluff). Also, please note the TWs for infertility and miscarriage, which were not TWs in previous chapters. XO. PS: If your name is in bold, i couldn’t tag you. 

Taglist: @oh-for-merlins-sake @sunflowernarry @vivianweasley @haf-the-trash-panda @obsssedwithjustaboutanything @msmarklee1213 @n3ssm0nique @satellitespidey  @michaylahpfan27  @girl22334 @starlightweasley @minty-malfoy @theweasleytwinsgirl @louist-pics @pigwidgexn @snehkaaay @slytherinbth @laurrrtyyy 

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

December 25th. 

The Weasleys didn’t have all the money in the world for a lavish Christmas, but somehow, it was better to celebrate in their simple way. You sat on the sofa, your legs tucked beneath you comfortably. Taking a small sip of your hot cocoa, you watched as George stoked the fireplace. 

“Happy Christmas, y/n,” Molly said as she entered, opening her arms wide. You gave her a warm hug, feeling the happiness simply radiating off of her. But inside, your stomach was in knots. Last night’s kiss with Fred was still fresh in your mind. He, on the other hand, was still sleeping. 

You watched as Albus played on the floor with his new toys, looking over as George sat next to you. “Maybe next year...we’ll have another little Weasley on the way?,” Molly gave you a wink and you forced a smile. George put his arm around you. It made you feel ill. 

“Mum,” George sighed. “You know we’re trying.” “Ah, well, getting there is half the fun I always say,” Arthur chuckled, sitting down with his cup of coffee. 

“Arthur Weasley!,” Molly gasped. Again, the room filled with laughter. You snuggled further down into the sofa, glad to be distracted by the marshmallows swirling around in your mug. 

_______________________

5 years earlier, November. 

Gryffindor had won again, in no small part thanks to the Weasley twins. You took off running, your robes catching the wind behind you. You were practically bolting toward the twins as fast as you could. For a moment, Fred found himself smiling, allowing his mind to think you were running toward him. His forlorn face wasn’t apparent to you as you leaped immediately into George’s arms. You practically knocked George over as he twirled you around. 

He laughed, taking in the scent of your perfume. “Hi, poppet,” he laughed, setting you down. 

“My favorite beater,” you giggled, giving him a playful kiss. Leaning forward, you stood up on your tippy-toes to give his nose a little kiss. His whisper met your ear and you giggled. Fred had heard it, though, and he was sure George wasn’t even trying to be quiet. 

“C’mon up to my room, love,” he whispered. Then he turned to his twin. “Hey, Fred, make yourself busy for a while, eh?”

George grabbed your hand and you took off toward Gryffindor tower, your stomach bursting with excitement for some alone time with George. Fred felt his stomach sink, jealousy brewing somewhere deep within him. He threw his broom down, eliciting a shocked look from the keeper next to him. 

____________________________

Fred came down the stairs eventually. His red hair was tousled and you couldn’t help but bite your lip. You caught yourself quickly, snuggling in closer to George. 

“Mornin, all. Happy Christmas, mum,” Fred gave Molly a little kiss on the forehead, heading over to pour himself a cup of coffee. 

“Well now that Fred has decided to arise from his slumber, we should get around to opening the rest of our presents, yes?” Ginny seemed annoyed with her brother, but that was not too unusual. 

Fred sat down on the floor, busying himself with sipping his coffee. Neither of you dared to look at one another. It occurred to you that maybe last night had been a dream, but then you felt the tiny rug burn on your lower back and knew it was real. Your sweater had lifted up while on the carpet with Fred, giving you a small scrape. 

Everyone busied themselves with opening their presents. Molly practically cried over every gift her children got her, including a framed photo of everyone from last Christmas. Meanwhile, George and Fred had gotten each other expensive bottles of whiskey, nearly dying in laughter that they both got the same thing for one another. 

Finally, George handed you a small black box and your heart fluttered. “For you, princess,” he grinned, giving you a small kiss. Something behind his eyes still felt distant, but you pushed your doubts away. You opened it up slowly, revealing a stunning vintage locket. It was eighteen karat gold and engraved with floral detail. It was no doubt madly expensive. It was stunning, the lights from the Christmas tree glinting off of its surface. You clicked the locket open, feeling yourself tear up at a picture of you both from your school days. 

“Oh,” you put your hand over your heart. George took the necklace from you and turned you around, fastening the clasp for you. Once he was back in front of you, he pulled him into a kiss. “I love it, George.” 

“Again, happy Christmas, love,” he gave your hand a squeeze. But you found yourself reaching up to touch the cold medal around your neck, secretly wishing a photo of Fred was inside. 

You looked up and caught eyes with the other twin. You stared for a moment, his brown eyes burrowing deep into yours. Fred broke his gaze. “I need a moment,” he mumbled, quickly rushing outside. 

“What’s got his goat?,” Ron said, stuffing a cookie into his mouth. Everyone shrugged, except for you. You felt your heart crack just a bit as you looked at the door which had just swung shut.

“I’ll go check on him,” you offered. No one suspected anything, of course. You were always kind to Fred. Each member of the family had assumed Fred was just stressed about the shop, as was usual, and needed some calming down. 

You headed out the back door, rounding the corner behind the Burrow. Fred was leaned against the small shed out back, tears streaming down his face. He saw you and buried his face into one of his hands, his other arm pulled across his abdomen. 

“Go back inside, y/n,” he sighed, using the sleeve of his sweater to wipe his eyes. 

You dared to step forward, moving his hand away. “Fred.”

“Please, go back inside,” he gently moved you away from him. 

But you pushed your luck again, stepping forward. He spun you around, kissing you with your back pressed against the cool wood of the shack. “Go back inside,” he repeated, the clouds of his breath floating up into the freezing air. A few tears remained on his cheeks, but they’d know somewhat rubbed off onto your cheeks. The winter breeze stung as it met the dampness. You kissed him again, and nothing about it was soft. When you and Fred kissed, it was as if you’d completely devour one another given the chance. Close was never close enough. He cupped your face in his hands, his forehead pressed tight to yours, your noses touching. “Go. Inside,” Fred repeated finally, and you slipped beneath his arms to head back toward the door. 

“You’d best come in before they start to worry,” you said quietly, thankful you had decided against wearing lipstick that day. 

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･

December 28th. 

George sat across from Fred, counting that day’s deposit. Fred had poured them both glasses of the whiskey from Christmas. This was something they occasionally enjoyed, basking in the happiness of just being brothers together. Usually, they talked about nothing in particular. World quidditch scores, or the latest movie they’d watched. But today, George seemed tenser. Fred hadn’t admitted it out loud, but he was partially nervous that George had suspected something. 

Fred tipped the bottle to top off his glass, taking a strong sip as George placed the deposit into the lockbox. He took his own swig, setting down his glass as he looked at his twin. 

“She’s driving me bloody mad, Fred,” he said finally, shaking his head. Fred raised an eyebrow, realizing George was about to start ranting about you. 

“Is that right?,” Fred adjusted his shirt a bit, undoing the top button. He was already nervous for what was to come, knowing any ill word against you would make his anger spark. 

“I mean, fuck, we’ve been trying for months now to get pregnant and she can’t. I know it isn’t her fault but, hell, it sucks, you know?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Fred said quietly, swirling his ice cubes around in his drink as he moved his glass. 

“And don’t even get me started on her being piss poor in bed, lately, neither,” George slammed back what was left of his whisky. He filled up his glass halfway again. 

Fred felt his blood pressure hit the ceiling as if someone had set a Whiz Bang off in his brain. 

“Ya know, I haven’t told anyone this, but she did get pregnant, a few months ago.” “How do you mean?” “Well, you know it….came away,” George frowned, feeling his throat get tight. “I just, ever since then, Fred. She doesn’t want to try anymore. I...I hate to admit this but, I’ve been...feeling less in love with her lately.” 

Fred stayed quiet, unable to form a coherent sentence that wouldn’t give himself away. You were perfect to him, and imagining you curled up on a bathroom floor, experiencing profound loss, broke his spirit. 

“It’ll all work out,” Fred gave George a friendly pat on the back. “C’mon, lets go down to the pub for a few with the boys, eh?” “Sure.” 

Fred left the conversation there, forbidding himself to venture any further. Two can keep a secret, but he tended to be rubbish at it.

He felt his phone buzz and he pulled it out of his pocket, smiling down at the screen. Your name had popped up with a short text message. 

Miss you. Meet tonight someplace?

[madam-mademoiselle]

The Ill Wind of Mozart's Horn Concerto No.4

It was one of those days where the rain was beating against the mansion, keeping residents at home. Normally those who are out in Paris at this time of day were occupying themselves in a little free time from their normal schedule. The weather being bad as it was, Sebastian forbade you to even take a carriage into the city to get what was on the grocery list along with the tenants' needs list.

You had more or less stuck with the same chores, wanting them to be done so tomorrow would be a lighter load on you and Sebastian. He had told you to make sure the windows and mirrors on the second floor were cleaned. The least favorite chore you had to do. There was that one smudge that resulted in a painful flick to the forehead. 

With Mozart's piano playing in the background, you swore you almost heard the same tune. You hummed along with it before realizing what it was! You snapped your fingers and smiled. Oh he was not going to like this, but! This was going to be worth it for you!

You waited as he played through an arrangement before coming to the one you knew quite well. Clearing your throat while cleaning the window next to his door. As soon as the first stanza began, you followed along singing.

"I once had a whim and I had to obey it

To buy a French Horn in a second-hand shop;

I polished it up and I started to play it

In spite of the neighbours who begged me to stop."

The piano stopped briefly from your… lack of the musical ability to carry a tune. You made sure the hallway was clear of any of the residents, starting your lovely melody as Mozart began his concerto again. You sounded off again much to his dismay.

"To sound my Horn, I had to develop my embouchure;

I found my Horn was a bit of a devil to play."

The sound of piano stopping suddenly had you quiet again while footsteps could be heard marching towards the door. You pressed your lips together to suppress the smirk that was trying to make its way on your face. Facing the window and focusing on the cloth, the door opens to have Mozart peering around to find the offender.

Those violet eyes were drilling into your person. You pretended to focus on the glass but turned to him. You gave him a smile, "is there anything you need Mozart?" The rag in your hand as you paused to give him your attention. Staring into your soul, he stepped fully into the hallway.

"Yes, I thought I heard someone butchering one of my concertos out in the hallway." You turned your head down the hall, making a show of it. You turned back to him with an expression of confusion. "I'm sorry, I haven't been paying attention. I've been trying to make sure the windows and mirrors are clean and streak free. Maybe some hot chocolate and sweets will help? You stayed up late last night working on your piece."

That part was true, he was frustrated when he described the music he heard in his head wasn't wanting to come through the way he was wanting it. When he did come to bed, he tossed and turned before getting up and returning to the piano. When you woke up to see him sleeping on the piano, you covered him with his blanket, and went to retrieve some Blanc from the kitchen to drink later.

Back to the current situation, he shook his head, "no. I appreciate the offer. Thank you for the Blanc and blanket earlier mein liebe.” His eyes softened as he reached to push back a stray lock from your face. Feeling sympathetic, you wrung the rag in your hand. “You know Wolf, someone once told me you need to focus on something else and whatever thought you were thinking of so hard before, will come in front of your mind. 

Seeing him looking indignant, you held up a hand, trying to soothe him. You started to tick off ideas for him to do. “Before you say you were playing something else, you still saw the notes in your head. Leave the music room for a little bit. Go to the dining room and get some lunch, I can make you coffee, or maybe go watch Jean and Napoleon spar, I’m sure Jean wouldn’t mind.”

He shook his head, “it's not that simple. It is at the end of my finger tips, the melody is there. Trying to convey it…" Placing the rag on the window sill, you take one of his hands in yours. You kissed the back fingers and squeezed his hand gently before letting it go. You knew he was a germaphobe and didn't want to push it too far.

"You'll figure it out and once you have it penned in the stanzas, it'll have its place. I won't keep you further, I have to get back to cleaning windows before Sebas finds out I am shirking work." You groan the last part. Thinking about any flicks to the forehead he may deliver if he catches a single streak.

He offered one of his private smiles for you before shutting himself back into the music room. You sighed and got back to work, listening to him play through his arrangements. Hearing the frustration in his playing as he tried to find the notes that eluded him. When you got to the last window and raised your rag to clean it, he started with that concerto again.

You waited patiently, keeping yourself distracted. Listing chores that you had completed, thinking of the shops you needed to visit in town, and even to the point where you were pursing your lips as you were mouthing along with it. He heard your God awful caterwauling for the first time. Mozart probably knew it was you singing and was too preoccupied with that tune to speak to you about it.

Taking it no more and ready to face his disappointment and horror when he realizes his significant other couldn't sing, you continued your song:

"I miss its music more and more and more.

Without that Horn I'm feeling sad and so forlorn."

Your voice had reached a deep pitch of the song when singing out forlorn. You coughed quickly to clear the tickle it had created in your throat. Quickly resuming where you had left off in your tune.

 

"I found a concerto and wanted to play it,

Displaying my talent at playing the Horn,

But early today to my utter dismay it had totally vanished away."

The piano had stopped abruptly. The rag dropped from your hand realizing what you had just sang aloud. Oh boy, that was probably the wrong thing to belt out when your composer boyfriend just told you he was having issues trying to wretch out that stubborn melody from his skull. You heard more than saw as the door to the music room swung open with more force than normal. In the doorway revealed Mozart, giving you an icy stare as he slowly walked toward you.

"MC? So it was you from earlier. I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I simply cannot forgive what I just heard." He placed his hand on the wall beside your head while you were staring at him with wide eyes. He moved to eye level, close enough to kiss him, his other hand moved to gently hold your chin in place. Maybe it was a bad idea to choose that song out of anything else? "Mozart, it's just that your music is so accomplished, that there may be some parodies of your work and that so happen to be one I overheard…"

He was silent, cool amethyst eyes watching your expression. Pondering about what to do with you. You had interrupted his time twice with what you called singing. No doubt everyone in the mansion had heard them. Grasping your chin, his eyes bore into yours, a small smirk started to grace his lips. "You had suggested I take a break. Come." Letting go of your chin and stepping away from you, he started towards his music room.

"Why are we heading towards the music room? I don't think it would be productive if you took a bre-!" Forgetting your momentary faux pas and getting slightly annoyed that you were still in your spot, he came back over to you to sweep you off your feet. "Your listening skills are as bad as your singing." That smirk got a little bigger as he carried you to the room. You glared at him for that little comment.

"I am going to take a break with mein liebe by giving her a voice lesson. That should inspire me." At the threshold of the door, he kissed you, teasing out a low moan from your throat. "Much better." With you still in his arms, he shut the door to start your "lessons".

*A few hours later*

Closing the door to the music room and hearing the piano's song flowing beautifully in the hallways you grabbed your cleaning supplies. Heading to the kitchen, you straightened up your clothes and hair. You happen to look at the wristwatch Issac had repaired for you, realizing it was 10 minutes passed the normal time the caffeine addicted vampires of the mansion took their coffee, Mozart included.

Arthur had beat you to the coffee grinder as he was drinking his fill of the precious bean water along with Leonardo present. His tool kit was sitting on the counter, putting away one of them. "Coffee grinder mess up again Leo?" Placing the bucket in the pantry and washing my hands, both vampires were silent, feeling their eyes on me. Drying your hands, you made eye contact with Arthur's sapphire ones. "What?"

"I didn't know Wolfie's bird wasn't much of a songbird. Was going to come out of my room and give you a standing ovation." Your cheeks were flushing red. You thought everyone had moved to the first floor, you had forgotten about the other residents that reside on the second floor. Arthur was probably writing instead of being with Theo. Leonardo chuckled, handing you the grinder. "Everyone heard you cara mia."

You groaned, hiding one of your hands. Arthur smirked at your embarrassment, "yeah. Mozart caught me singing to one of his concertos with verses that weren't really appropriate for it. He was trying to compose with a melody that wouldn't come to him and I told him a break would probably help."

Leonardo was silent, hearing the muffled sounds of piano playing. "It sounds like it helped cara mia or would prima donna be more suited to you eh?" You threw the drying towel at him, seeing him getting a laugh out of the teasing both of them were doing to you.

"It did, I'm just glad it helped. It finally came to him after he gave me some music lessons so I am happy he can get it on paper now." Placing the towel back on the counter, Leonardo left the kitchen, leaving you and Arthur. The smirk on his face grew the size of the Cheshire Cat's. "What? Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?"

 "I think you enjoyed the lesson too, bird." His index finger tapped to the place where his shoulder and neck met. Miming him, you felt the dried blood from where you had ‘your lesson.'

"Arthur!" Furious, you placed the coffee grinder down on the table to chase after the laughing writer.

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Thank you @aeoncryptic for proof reading and for the support for my first Ikemen Vampire fanfic shot!

The song MC is an actual song called Ill Winds by Flanders and Swann. Take this fic as you will, just wanted to have a little fun with Mozart.