#my little brain melts. i have to take it in small doses.

[supjello]

You know that "I had to unfollow NASA 'cause it made me too craaaaazzzyyyy" reaction image? that's me with gumworth. I think about them for more than two seconds and start getting all flustered

[itsclydebitches]

The Ring

Summary: Omeluum gifted them one ring of protection... and seven people need it. Pairing: Gen, but there's Tav/Astarion if you really squint Word Count: 1,491 Part of the Little by Little, Step by Step collection

“So,” Karlach said, knocking her boots together. “Who gets to wear it?”

Everyone sat in a circle around the fire, staring at the ring Tav had set delicately on a pillow. It was an ordinary trinket by all appearances. Brass. Small, emerald insets. Yet they could feel the Weave pouring off of it—wave after wave of tingling energy that set their teeth on edge and left a chill sinking into the back of their neck.

Tav couldn’t be sure if they had an innate aversion to the ring simply by virtue of not practicing magic themselves... or if that feeling stemmed from the parasite lodged in their brain. They suspected the latter if the others’ expressions were anything to go on.

Halsin coughed. “I really have no say in the matter...”

“Don’t you?” Wyll lifted his head so that the fire left warm shadows across his cheeks and sparks settled on his horns. “You are a member of this party, are you not? You may not be infected, Halsin, but you reap the benefits of our triumphs; you suffer the consequences of our mistakes. You have as much right to help us decide this as anyone else.”

Lae’zel released a low growl in the back of her throat. “What is there to decide? The ring goes to our leader.” She stuck her nose in the air, a gesture which Tav had learned wasn’t a haughty expression, but one of respect for the Githyanki. “You demanded the right to be cleansed first and instead suffered a psionic attack within the zaith’isk. You drank the Mind Flayer’s toxic brew and came out the other side alive, but with your parasite stronger than ever. You alone have the honor of receiving that which might cure us—or destroy us.”

Well, that was certainly one way of putting it. “Thank you?”

“You are welcome.”

“Yes, just take the thing, darling.” Astarion waved a languid hand towards the ring. “The Gods know I don’t want it. A bauble that interferes with the influence and powers of the tadpole? No, no, no. You won’t catch this vampire handing over any weapon in his arsenal.”

“It is not a knife,” Shadowheart hissed. “It is not a sword, or a spell, or anything else we can wield with confidence. You think of the parasite as a key but it is truly the shackles that bind us!”

Astarion’s eyes narrowed. He smiled, but there was nothing there except the glint of a fang. “Do not talk to me about shackles, little girl.”

Tav saw Shadowheart’s dominant hand twitch and instinctively threw out an arm between them. They’d learned the hard way that Shadowheart could be goaded into a fight with almost no provocation and she wasn’t above cheating to win. Clashing that against Astarion’s own dirty style and supernatural advantage was a recipe for disaster. “You can have it then,” they said, noting that the others had begun preparations for an intervention as well. Tav re-directed their barrier hand to nudge the ring towards Shadowheart.

All at once the fury on her face melted away.

“Ah... no. No thank you, I suppose. It’s just... well. I’ve already lost so many of my memories. I don’t relish the idea of putting another barrier around my mind. Even one that Lady Shar would approve of.”

Astarion let out a dismissive scoff.

Determinedly ignoring him, Tav let their gaze drift to Karlach. She immediately threw up her hands.

“No way, soldier. There are three things I never touch: cursed books, watered-down beer, and Mind Flayer rings dosed with enough magic to give you a headache.”

Oh, Tav had a headache all right, but it had more to do with this conversation than the ring. They cut their gaze to Wyll.

To his credit, he seemed to give the offer some thought. “I stand by what I said before,” he finally said, nodding towards Halsin. “What we do we do as a group. We share the wealth we accumulate, the armor collected, the reputation earned—and any chance at salvation most of all. It does not sit right with me that only one of us should be protected.”

Astarion scoffed again. “Seriously? If we can’t all survive we should just die together? What sentimental rubbish.”

“So I take it you’d like the ring?”

“No. I just need you to understand what an idiot you are.”

Tav resisted the urge to rub their eyes. “Astarion, play nice or I’m not feeding you tonight.” Ignoring his head whipping around in shock they nudged Gale’s knee with their own. “Any chance we can... duplicate it? Or divvy up the magic somehow?”

Gale had been staring intently at the ring this whole time. Now he gave Tav a familiar look. It was his You Know Shit-All About the Weave and Are Embarrassing Yourself look.

“No,” he said shortly. Then he continued because Gale, by his own admission, had never been concise a day in his life. “If rings this powerful were easy to replicate don’t you think everyone would be doing so? Just imagine it. Instant protection! Instant profit! No, Omeluum was right when he said that this artifact is nearly priceless. Dividing the power? Well, then we’d have seven rings, each with a seventh of its former protection... and functionally useless. Even if such a thing were possible it wouldn’t benefit us. As for whether I myself would take it," Gale smiled sadly, gesturing to his chest. "A bit of a moot point, don't you think?"

Silence descended.

Astarion practically crawled over Lae’zel—eliciting another growl of disgust—and squeezed himself between them, swinging an arm over Tav’s shoulders. “I think what our dear leader meant,” he said, “is that not everyone has a Gale to do the duplicating and that this ring is clearly so powerful that perhaps splitting it would be negligible. Isn’t that right, darling? The boorish, downer wizard just didn't catch your brilliance.”

“Sure,” Tav drawled. “Also, your attempts to butter me up aren’t subtle.”

Halsin let out a sound suspiciously like a cut-off laugh.

“Whyever would I need to butter up so talented, intelligent, and gorgeous a specimen as yourself? On a completely separate note, I couldn’t help but hear the words ‘nearly priceless.’ If none of us will wear the damn thing, why not sell it?”

Wyll immediately shook his head. “And draw that much attention in the process? Not a wise decision, my friend. Besides, who do you propose we sell it to? No one we know would be able to afford it. A buyer might be found in Baldur’s Gate, but...” He spread his hands and as one the group let out a sigh. Yes, if they were in Baldur’s Gate many more problems than just a ring would have been solved already.

“Can't we just... give it back?” Karlach asked. “I felt kinda bad taking it in the first place.”

Astarion gasped. "Give it back?"

“I doubt Omeluum would accept it." Shadowheart worried at her bottom lip. "We traded for it fairly and though I know little of Mind Flayer honor—”

“They have none,” Lae’zel spit.

“—I would assume it wouldn't allow one to re-take what was given in good faith.”

Astarion swept out his arms, nearly whacking Gale in the face. “So let’s trade it back! I’m sure that tentacle-y scholar is loaded with interesting goodies. Oh yes, we could squeeze a fortune out of the squid."

Tav watched fondly (despite themselves) as Astarion seemed to sink back into the shadows after speaking, the move as thoughtless as it was effortless. It was a real shame they hadn’t had a chance to make use of his skills lately.

A real shame he’d been pissing them off too.

“I have a better idea,” they said sweetly.

***

Omeluum paused in the act of casting. Something was... different about the Weave around it. It didn’t take long to pinpoint the source and Omeluum lifted a familiar ring from the folds of its robs.

“Fascinating,” it murmured.

Blurg hustled over at the word, like a bloodhound on the scent of intellectual discovery. “What is—oh. Didn’t you give that to our mutual friends?”

“Indeed.” In fact, it had seen the band of adventurers just fifteen minutes before. They had been purchasing supplies from Blurg before seeking the duergar across the lake. The invaders’ defeat was a perilous task they had agreed to undertake and Omeluum had noted, in a detached way, that they seemed to be missing their vampire. Surely they would need him to return victorious.

Evidence. Hypothesis. Proposed conclusion: the vampire had indeed been among them, performing an action quite contrary to its nature.

“I believe,” Omeluum said, holding the ring up to one of the crystal’s light, “that I have been given a gift.”

Blurg smiled up at it as Omeluum slipped its ring back onto its chain. As the familiar weight of magic settled around it, it felt a stirring of... something, deep within it.

An emotion, it thought, though not one it had any name for yet. It was warm, and heavy—like a well-made bedroll—and it was, unfortunately, quite distracting.

This required further study then. Clearly. Omeluum only hoped it met the adventurers again soon so that it could continue such interesting research.

[haveafuckingfanfic]

Sup y’all, I actually have a fanfic for my once in a blue moon lmao. Link to AO3 version, but tumblr version is below!

Need to know tags!: chronic pain, disabled character, w33d v@pe use, some internalized ableism mentions, use of mobility aides.

Now without ado:

Puff Puff Pain Away

Today was not a good pain day. Izuku sat on the apartment balcony with neon blue weed vape in between his two fingers. As he took a long drag, he thought over the past decade or so. Turns out repeatedly breaking and mending your bones isn’t good for your body. Both Kacchan hurranged him about it and Shouto expressed consistent concern for him. Ever the self sacrificer, he waved their worries away and ignored the steadily growing pains that set itself deep in his bones.

‘Lot of good that did now.’ Izuku thought bitterly. Yeah, he saved Japan and helped regain a peaceful order, but at what cost? He was in constant pain now. He had a hard time keeping up with his new students. His robotic suit helped, but without his quirk he felt helpless. Closing his eyes he could feel a pleasant static seeping into his brain. Stress began to melt away slowly as he leaned back in the deck chair.

He cast his mind back to his early secondary school days. He had no clue of the ramifications that taking on such a powerful quirk would lead to. The pain started small. A bit of carpal tunnel here, a foot cramp there. Then it got worse. Some days it was agonizing. It was like a needle was being repeatedly stabbed into his arms and legs. Other days it felt like he had broken his bones again, even though there was no way he could have done that. Over-counter-pills did little to nothing, finding himself sneaking multiple pills throughout the day. Sometimes he was too lethargic to get out of bed, explaining it away as a cold or a small injury. He would then knock out for a majority of the day in some effort to regain the spoons that magiced themselves away. It was like he was weighed down by an elephant. Scratch that, multiple elephants. The pain would bring him to tears, which wasn’t hard to do, but the point was clear.

He took another drag of his vape, letting the static feeling fully wash over his body. The pain became a dull background noise as the cannabis rested in his being. A wash up, a has-been, an old man at just 26. Hell, his knees ache when it rained, he should be escorted to a senior citizen home just because of that alone! He was still having a hard time accepting that he was technically disabled. Izuku felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment at the thought of using a cane. Sometimes when he had a flair up, he’d use it.

He could recall when Bakugo and Shouto first presented him with one. He had been struggling with stability and fought Bakugo making any attempt to help him around. He made weak protests, saying he was fully able to walk still. Shouto had tried to soothe him, “Hey, it’s okay to use a cane! It’ll help you so much, Izuku. We understand if you aren’t ready yet though, so how about you try it out every now and then?”

Izuku called to mind tearing up, protesting, “No! I don’t need it, I’ll be fine! I just need to rest up!”

Katsuki’s tone was much gruffer than Shouto’s, “Oh, you don’t need it? Tell me then, what will you feel when you get up? Or with every time you try to walk?”

“It’s normal to have pain while walking though-“

“No! No it’s not! Izuku…” Shouto cupped his face, “You can’t keep pretending like this. Both Katsuki and I can see how much pain you’re in each day.”

“People without pain like yours don’t have to take heavy doses of over the counter pain pills just to go about their days. ‘Zuku, we’re worried about you.” Kacchan spoke with such tenderness and worry that was starting to feel horribly familiar. He yielded, a flood of tears coming from his eyes. He never wanted to worry them, he just wanted to live like he always did. Like how he used to before all his broken bones.

He held the vapor for a bit and blew a cloud above him. Rolling his shoulders, he felt he was back to his baseline. Not great, but he could cope with it. So he had started slowly, using the cane around the condo and getting used to outward support that it lends. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, Izuku wasn’t fond of the feeling of taking up more space. In reality, there was no reason for him to feel any shame about his disabilities. Just as with everything else, times have changed. Society had become much more accepting of not only quirkless, but also disabled people. For years now Japan has made a concerted effort to make things more accessible. He’d be lying if that made a difference mentally, he was still internally ableist. He longed for a fully functioning body, like he had all those years ago.

He looked at his vape, debating on whether he should take another hit. Sighing, he decided not to and put it back in his pocket. The sliding balcony door opened behind him and out stepped Shouto.

“Morning, sleepy head.” He greeted Sho softly. Sho pressed a kiss to his temple and propped himself up on the back of the chair Izuku was in.

“I don’t think it’s morning anymore, but morning to you too ’Zuku.”

Izuku smiled and waved it off, “Pshaw, you slept late, of course it’s morning now! You got off work only a few hours ago.”

Shouto huffed, smiling at him, “Which reminds me, Katsuki is cooking dinner right now so try to hold off your munchies. I know he nearly bit off your head last time you wandered in there looking for a snack.”

“Oh yeah, thanks for the warning,” Izuku said sheepishly. Katsuki would never say it, but he enjoyed feeding both Shouto and Izuku. He was a force to be reckoned with when he did, adamant to keep them well fed and accommodating for their various diets. He had gotten especially cranky since Izuku had forgotten he was making katsudon and asked him to make it for him. The dirty look that had been leveled at him would have been enough to kill Izuku on sight. Luckily Shouto was quick to occupy Izuku and get him out of Katsuki’s hair for the next hour or so.

The balcony door slid open again, the blonde poking his head out and beckoned them in, “Oi! Dinner is ready, come in before I eat your portion!”

Both scrambled into the house followed by various sounds of protest. A delicious curry with katsu and fresh rice was set in front of them and Izuku couldn’t help but start in on it. As they ate, Izuku looked around and absorbed the comfortably familiar setting of Katsuki adding extra spice to his curry, gentle conversations between the three of them, the occasional harmless arguments between Sho and Kacchan. The environment was warm and inviting, the food wholesome and the company welcome. He could feel himself tear up at the sight, beyond grateful for his supportive partners.

Shouto looked up at him, “Are you ok, Izuku? You look like you’re about to-“

The floodgates opened as Izuku blubbered, “I’m just so grateful to have you guys and you do so much for me and you always support me and I love you so muuuuuuuuuch!”

With a fond sigh, Katsuki reached over and held his hand and Shouto scooted over to wrap an arm around him.

“We love you too, Zu.”

[eclaire-went-bam]

ドーズ//DOSE by kairiki bear ft.yukimura eng translation

disclaimer ;; i am not fluent/native w/ japanese, i'm just enrolled in formal jp language courses and like to translate vocaloid/vocaloid adjacent songs for practise and fun

+ i translated this in 2022 and it was ATROCIOUS i needed to redo it LMAOOO

but this song was pretty difficult so don't take my translations as reliable

art by のう/nou btw

La la la ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum¹

The heartwarming² response was

A pain, and all roundabout

Hurt, hurt, it hurt

It was just once, but failure was off the table

The scorn was cruel

All my ailments are cancer

La la la shaking, shaking, shaking³

The love I want is minor—

Can't you spare me just a piece of it? Can't you?

Truthfully, my vision is in ruins

The cruelties keep coming

Each are my ending

I need help. I need help.

I need help. I need help.

I need help. I need help.

Oh! To p-party party people die

Ah, ha ha!

Pierce me till you reach the deepest pits of my heart

My six internal bowels got mixed⁴

1, 2, three, four

Simulation of

Withdrawal in the brain

Dizzying...

La la la my, oh my, oh my

Behaving attractively...

Yes, yes, how irksome

Hurt, hurt, it hurt

It was just once, but mistakes are a big deal

We've got(LOL) a bit(LOL)⁵ of an emergency here...

All my ailments are cancer

Cancer

Cancer

Cancer (aha ha!)

Oh! To p-party party people die

Ah, ha ha!

Tear at me till you reach the deepest pits of my cardio⁶

Having lined up the six bowels of existence⁷

1, 2, three, four (ah, ha ha!)

My hysterical thoughts

Of human body decoration

To p-party party people die

Ah, ha ha!

Gouge out my eye⁸ from its deepest pit

Having piled up the six bowels of idols,

One, two, three, four

Simulation of

Withdrawal in the brain

Aimless. Dizzy

Aimless. Dizzy

(Please) Help me. Help me.

Help me. Help me.

Help me. Help me.

To p-party people hurry, die

Ah, ha ha

Chopped me to bits till you reach the bottom of loneliness

My mingled five viscera and six bowels

I, II, III, IV (ah, ha ha)

The plan for a wild soirée

Ligament gradation

Oh!

To p-party party people die

Ah, ha ha!

Pierce me till you reach the deepest pits of my heart

My six internal bowels have mixed

1, 2, three, four (ah, ha ha!)

Withdrawal in the brain,

What a “simulation!”

To p-party party people die

Ah, ha ha!

Having feared

I'm terrified, to my heart's core

My six internal bowels hesitated

One, two, three, die⁹

Simulation of

Withdrawal in the brain

My hysterical thoughts

Of human body decoration

And gradation¹⁰

✨ translation notes

¹ ハラハラ is an onomatopoeia for feeling nervous or excited, so I wrote it as a pounding heart

² とろける is to melt something, but i've also seen it used to describe something comforting

³ カラカラ can mean multiple things. i think emptiness could be relevant, but i used the onomatopoeia for rattling as it seemed to keep with the previous verse, and translated it as so as it gave the mental imagry of shaking (in line with the intense emotion associated with a pounding heart)

⁴ the chorus seems to reference the zangfu organs, a feature of chinese traditional medicine. according to wikipedia, the 5 zang organs (yin) — heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney. the 6 fu organs (yang) — small and large intestines, gallbladder, urinary bladder, stomach, and san jiao (triple energiser). also referred to as the 5 viscera and 6 bowels. i don't know much of this myself

⁵ (笑) (笑) is written in furigana and said as しょうしょう here. This can also be written as 少々, which means a little bit. 笑 means to laugh, and can be used in place of 「ｗ」 for LOL

⁶ in the same place in the first chorus, 心 is used. Here, 心臓 is used instead. Both of these words mean "heart," but the former refers to "heart" in a more emotional sense (eg, "i can feel it in my heart" ; "my heart is breaking" ; "my heart is saying this but my brain's saying that"), while the later refers to the actual organ. Because of this, I tried to use a more medical(?) word for heart in this chorus

⁷ honestly i really struggled with this line. i'm very unsure on how to translate this (and the next idol line) to english, but it's worth noting that every word before 六腑 (6 bowels) sounds very similar to 五臓 (5 viscera), like the singer is getting closer to saying the full term every time

⁸ used singular eye because only one is bandaged in the illustration

⁹ 壱(1), 弐(2), and 参(3) are kanji different from the more common 一,二,三, used in financial or law documents to prevent fraud. 4 is written as 死 (death), which has the same pronunciation. Kinda has an air of "die on the count to four"

¹⁰ じんたい can be written both as 靭帯 (ligaments) and 人体(human body). the same word written with these different kanji has been used in two different previous parts of the song, and at the end here it kinda ties them both up

[always-andromeda]

Fool for Love, Edward Nashton baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! brain is very foggy yk the biz!!!! but maybe sick-fic??? eddie comforting reader who is sick, exhausted, depressed whatever, gimme the comfort darling!!! aLSO we have discussed how much eddie would enjoy being with someone shorter yk!!! so pls!!! eddie!!! give my short ass some love!!! other than that go buckwild babey do whatever i jsut wann b held

Author's Note | storm. my absolute beloved. my short king. I love you terribly and I'm so so so excited to finally fulfill this request. your support and your love has impacted me in a way that I don't think I'll ever be able to explain or repay you for. genuinely adore you with all my heart and I am hoping and praying this insane dose of comfort hits the spot for you. 🥺

You'd insisted Edward go to work; maybe spend the next week at his own apartment this time. With the limited amount of sick days Edward has saved up in his arsenal, it would only end up being a disaster. He'd get sick and if he didn't take time off, he'd have to trudge himself miserably to work and struggle through the sniffles and coughing fits. It's something he could've easily avoided if he wasn't insistent on being right by your side through all of it.

He also insists that he knows how to take care of you better than any doctor could. And you bet that's not far from the truth. He didn't like talking about his past much. He lived in it often enough in his mind. You're the escape. His safehouse. But based on the little he's let you in on, you figure the harsh winters had turned him into a self-sufficient person. Someone who could stave off the bitter cold and the pervasive rot in order to survive.

But this doesn't simply feel like survival. This feels like living--thriving--as Edward puts himself at your disposal. A continued rotation of mugs of warm tea with honey comes through your door. He'd managed to make sense of your mess of a hallway closet and picked out every blanket you owned. The weight of his care is almost deafening.

Even when he's silent for hours at a time, he seems to sense exactly when you need help getting up to go to the bathroom or when your mug of tea is getting low or when you're too cold or too warm. The day is already half over and Edward has spent all of that time, waiting hand and foot on you.

"You don't have to do this," you chuckle hoarsely. "You should really go home before you get yourself sick."

"I have a strong immune system, bunny. No need to worry your little head." he replies absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the morning paper's crossword puzzle laid across his raised knee. His fingertips gingerly graze across your spine before the flat of his palm lays protectively on the small of your back. The gentle assertion over your being could knock the breath out of you and send you into yet another coughing fit.

Your strained throat struggles slightly to voice the internal spiral you're going down. "Why shouldn't I? You've wasted the day away sitting with me...and if I get you sick...you'll have to take more time off...and I know that you don't get paid time off. I just do-"

Edward's voice raises, "Wasted? You think I've wasted my day by taking care of you?"

Rephrased that way...it almost sounds like an insult. You find another way to begin profusely apologizing for the implication before he scoffs.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be." From where you lay on your stomach, you can't see his expression. But you can picture his round cheeks flushing from the vulnerability; could picture him looking down through his glasses at his lap in order to regain some composure.

You feel him shift as he lays on his side and pulls you into the warm alcove in his arms. Instinctually, you melt into his grasp. In just those few seconds...nothing else seems to matter. He envelopes your figure quickly with his own lumbering height. His long arms seem to cradle your existence. And it quells an ache you didn't even know existed inside.

Head already fogging up from the feeling of his body wrapping around yours, you mumble, "I don't think anyone has ever loved me like you do."

He giggles airily--almost to himself--and kisses your hair, "Good. Because I can assure you...there's no one else like us in this entire world. That's why I can't lose you."

The intensity might've unnerved you if you were in your right mind; if you weren't half loopy from cough syrup and from Edward's suffocating passion. But now...now it just feels normal. It feels like home.

[safetycar-restart]

we all know pierre has a fondness of a certain position (wink wink 🐶). but i only see people write about pierre being the one fucking (which don’t get me wrong him fucking bunny brainless with bunny not being able to support his own head and shoulders anymore is so insanely brain numbingly hot). but what about him wanting to try it. or, him being so cocky about his skills in fucking you decide thats a bit much.

like he’s just finished fucking bunny into the mattress. charles is literally just melted on the bed, his own cum smeared on his abs from where he collapsed stomach first into his mess and he has no way of moving because his limbs are jelly. don’t get me wrong pierre is good at fucking bunny in this position, like insanely good. but he was being way too cocky whilst fucking charles, smirking the whole time. just before he came inside charles, still smirking fyi, you tell him straight up not to come. the smirk on his face stops instantly and charles whines and whines wanting pierre’s cum to fill him. you stroke charles’s hair and shoulders and shush him and give him kisses, whilst giving pierre a slight glare. and poor pierre is just like ‘wtf i gave her precious baby boy like two orgasms just from my amazing skills and she won’t let me come r u joking?’

so after charles get’s his aftercare and he’s just still a singular braincell and so happy and warm, he’s in pierre’s joggers that fall off his little waist and one of the purposefully oversized jumpers of yours that fits him just big enough to look baggy, and he’s happily snuggled into the couch with fluffy blankets and water next to him and he’s set up to watch cars 2, yet we all know he’s just trying to stay awake for you but he’ll be asleep within a minute. one little kiss on his forehead before walking back to the bedroom where pierre is still nude and so so hard. like he’s kind of annoyed he wasn’t allowed to cum. and its so quick how it comes on.

strap, on. pierre, hands-and-knees, his tight little ass, opened up and drenched with lube. and he’s so confused but also slightly happy that he’s getting fucked. ‘you were a bit too cocky there, acting like a little slut who could fuck better than anyone.’ ‘never had this before have you? excited to see what bunny loves?’ ‘be good for me and take me and he’ll curl up to you whilst i take care of you’

and he’s a mess when you push in. the dildo stretches him perfectly, and hits his prostate instantly. and its a quick ride from there. hes gripping the sheets desperately and his brain is entirely just focused on being good for once. and one slap to his pretty ass and he’s done. cumming and collapsing the same way charles did. ‘i can do it as well as you, do not get too cocky’

and then u clean him, make sure he’s okay and u guys go into the living room and surprise surprise charles is asleep. u cuddle up with him and a small smile comes on his face when he can smell u too. and u watch pierre start to dose off and just as he reaches the brink of sleep ‘you did so well baby, fucked our bunny well and then took me perfectly’

and then theres two asleep with smiles on there faces. its only 10:30.

my god i ramble a lot. but i couldnt sleep thinking abt this.

- 🍁

I... oh my god?? 🍁 anon you are becoming too powerful because I read this and then just stared at the wall for a while because this is so fucking good. I'm gonna try to add more thoughts but this is fucking perfect as it is already so I doubt I can make it any better.

Firstly, I am fully obsessed with how fucking pierre is almost a punishment for being too cocky when fucking Charles? Cause yes, of course pierre fucks bunny well and you're very happy with that, but pierre is your sub too.

Sometimes you want him to be knocked down a few pegs and remember that he is your sub as much as he is Charles's Dom, and that he only gets to fuck bunny like that because you left him.

You decide to do this because you know that pierre absolutely loves when you take control and remind him of his place.

The moment you tell pierre not to cum, he pulls out. Of course he's upset because he wants to cum and poor bunny is not at all happy about not getting Pierre's cum, but neither of them complain or even think about disobeying? Because they're both your good boys. They always listen to you.

You leave pierre there while you clean Charles and get him situated on the couch. You know that Pierre loves when you make him wait, so you can focus on Charles.

I adore the idea of Charles choosing Cars 2? I think he has a wide selection of animated movies to watch and he only watches them for aftercare and loves them so much. Sometimes he'll make you and pierre watch with him? He tends to fall asleep within the first ten minutes, but you and Pierre always watch the whole movie through because that's what Charles wanted and wake him up with kisses when the credits start rolling.

You double check with charles that he's okay with being on his own for a little while, and he really is? He's so comfy and safe and well taken care of and he knows you're going to go into the bedroom to treat Pierre how Pierre loves to be treated. He's more than happy to cuddle on the couch with his soft clothes and blankie and water and Cars 2.

When you get back to the bedroom, the smirk has been wiped off of Pierre's face because he knows he's going to get punished a little for being too cocky.

You make quick work of stretching and positioning pierre, because you know that he's already very desperate and wants it rough. He relaxes so well against your hand, opening up perfectly for you and shaking as you finally get him stretched enough.

You choose his favourite dildo, the one you like to make him bounce on in the corner while you treat Charles softly and attach it to your strap on.

Pierre thinks he's going to ride you or be fucked in missionary, but then you grab him and push his head down onto the bed, making him get into doggy style and pierre is instantly obsessed.

He only realises you're fucking him the same way he fucked bunny earlier when you say, "You're not the only who can fuck like this, remember that". And then... fuck he's absolutely gone.

He always knew it would feel good, but it feels even better than he thought possible. You keep a bruising pace, fucking pierre hard and fast until he can't remember his own name, until he's moaning and whimpering so much that Charles can probably hear him from the living room.

The pain from spanking his ass makes him lose it. He was so close to cumming when you made him stop fucking Charles, and then you stretched him and fucked him so hard so of course the pain from the singular spank was the tipping point.

He completely collapses, in exactly the same way Charles did. In fact, he actually collapses into bunny's puddle of cum? Which Pierre realises and then very nearly gets hard again.

Of course he gets his aftercare with Charles.

Bunny is so happy when pierre comes shuffling into the living room, immediately opening his arms for pierre to come cuddle and to hear about what happened.

Also, it should be noted that bunny insists on seeing you do it next time? The idea of you fucking pierre doggy style makes his single braincell implode because it's simply too good.

He simply must see it for himself.

[sappynapper]

Sweet dreams - Dreamwastaken x gn!reader fluff oneshot

reader is too anxious to sleep but dream can help with that 😌

cw: descriptions of stress/anxiety, tiredness, not being able to sleep, hurt/comfort, a near lethal dose of fluff?, author prefers writing in bullet points and is very tired but they tried

You had so many deadlines coming up and the stress of constant work was beginning to take a toll. So, even though you knew it was a terrible idea, you had downed one too many monsters that evening in an effort to get everything done.

Hours of struggling through the last of the day’s tasks crawled past, and now you were finally done. Your brain hadn’t got the message, however, and you remained jittery and anxious as you stumbled blearily around the bedroom you shared with your boyfriend, Dream, getting ready for bed.

Dream was still in his office and you hovered in the middle of the bedroom, considering going in to see if he was almost done. You could really use his company right now, he always knew how to get you out of your head and prevent a spiral. But you didn’t want to risk interrupting him if someone was streaming, the internet didn’t know about you yet and you’d both like to keep it that way as long as possible.

You sighed, deciding against disturbing him, perching on the edge of your bed instead, bouncing your leg and tugging on the sleeve of your sweatshirt absently. Despite being dead on your feet, the idea of lying down in the dark and trying to sleep filled you with dread as your endless to-do list cycled through your head. The indecision froze you and you stayed sat there trying to figure out what to do.

And that’s how Dream found you almost an hour later once he’d wrapped everything up for the night. It had been a later one than usual and he was fully expecting you to have knocked out already, so he was glad to see you sat up waiting for him at first. But he quickly noticed the tension in your shoulders and the anxiety in your eyes as you turned to look at him.

“Hi” you greeted him in a small voice.

“Hey baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, frowning slightly as he padded over to the bed, sinking down next to you.

“My head’s too full to sleep. I can’t turn my brain off.” you explained, offering a small smile as he cupped your face in his hand, tracing his thumb gently over your cheek.

Dream hummed in acknowledgment. Both of you had trouble with overactive brains every now and then. Normally he’d suggest pulling an all nighter and fixing your sleep schedule that way, but he can see how worn out you are, can sense how desperately you just want to rest. So, instead, he just pulls you into his arms, letting you push your face into his chest and breathe him in. That familiar combination of his laundry powder and body wash flooding your brain with comfort. His steady breathing and the feeling of safety you get from being wrapped up in him like this calms you down immediately. The anxious thoughts rushing through your head begin to slow a little and the feeling that you might cry builds up in the back of your throat.

"You're ok, angel." He tells you, squeezing you lightly, "Everything will seem easier in the morning." You just nod against him. "Why don't we lie down and you can tell me all about it? Hmm?" You thought for a moment, trying to steady your breathing.

"'m too tired to talk. Jus' wanna hear 'bout you. Think about somethin' else." You mumble and Dream smiles.

"Ok sweetheart, lie down with me, yeah?"

"Ok." You murmur and you feel Dream pulling you down on top of him before dragging the comforter over both of you.

Once the two of you are settled he starts talking about nothing in particular in a low voice. Just rambling about the code he’s working on and this interesting thing that karl said earlier and what you guys can have for breakfast in the morning. The rumbling vibrations in his chest make you melt even further into him, and he rubs soothing circles into your back with one hand, the other resting at the nape of your neck.

He feels you slowly relax against him, eventually looking down and seeing you’re fast asleep, mouth slightly parted as you huff out little breaths against his chest. He grins at the adorable sight, heart swelling with the knowledge that you could feel so safe in his arms. After a while, he drifts off as well, and when you wake up the next morning to sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains and your boyfriend still cradling you to his chest, you find that really there's not much you need to worry about, just like he said.

a/n: this was gonna be hcs for when you can't get to sleep with each of the crew boys but the dream simp in me popped off i guess. shall i do another post with the hcs for the others tho?

[komotionlessqueenmm]

So I've realized something y'all, & I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize this.

So as I've stated in my pinned post titled READ ME. I state that I don't really do story requests. And I explain why in the post. Simply because I'm almost never satisfied with what I write, and half the time as soon as someone would send a request, my brain melts in my skull and I have lost all ideas or inspiration. So story requests will get ignored "temporarily" until I find inspiration, but I rarely ever find that inspiration and I end up actually forgetting about the request all together. Sometimes I'm able to do a story request, and actually enjoy the final product, but that's very rare for me.

So I do not do story requests. ALTHOUGH if it's of an individual you know I've already written for, and NO ONE ELSE writes for them, I might be convinced to write something. But only because as a fan of many small and forgotten fandom's, I know how disheartening it can be to have nothing to read about involving said fandom. BUT EVEN THEN I might NOT fulfill that request. I'm an asshole I know.

HOWEVER!

Headcanon or Preference requests? I fucking LOVE them, and they're very easy for me to grind out. I have a knacked for reading people, and fictional characters and getting a vibe for their personalities. So headcanons are super easy for me to do, like I could do those fuckers in my sleep and still love them. I'm almost always very satisfied with the end result of a headcanon and preference requests.

So feel free to send me headcanon and preference requests. There's no strict rules about it, if it's someone I'm familiar with I'll do my best, if not I'll let you know, and either look into the character and try my hand at it, or simply tell you straight up that I'm not familiar enough with them to write anything worthwhile.

If you've been here a while you know I'm comfortable writing both SFW & NSFW, dark themes, incest (not proud of this one, but it's fictional anyways so fuck it.), crazy crossovers that make very little sense, supernatural entity readers, and generally anything else. Like I'm very open to weird requests that might seem silly, and if you happen to send something I'm not actually comfortable with, I'll DM you and let you know. Oh and I'll try to keep my headcanons and preferences gender neutral, but there is a chance I'll slip up every so often and make the reader afab as I am an afab, and my imagines and short stories are like all selfish self inserts. But hey atleast I'm honest.

Anyways thanks for taking the time to read this... Whatever it is... I just felt like I needed to say it, so heh here we are. And now I'm just rambling... Fuck.

Oh and of course I hope you have a wonderful day/night, and I'm wishing you all the best in the world. Love you guys, you're literally the best dose of serotonin & antidepressant that I could ever possibly get.

[3pirouette]

Fic: Virtual Insanity: Career Opportunities (1/1)

Title: Virtual Insanity: Career Opportunities By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette Disclaimer: They're not mine. Word Count: Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: It’s career day on Mr. Roger’s Zoom class, and Peggy needs to come up with something, quick. Sequel to Virtual Insanity.

Chapter A/N: I needed to write something fluffy and I’ve been DYING to find a way to get back to this little universe. This satisfies the “Sharon Carter” square for my Steggy Bingo. (We’re not talking about FATWS/CAATWS right now. I can’t. I just can’t.)

~*~

Don’t be mad at me.

The text itself was fairly innocuous, but her brain started to race, anyway. Peggy’s fingers flew over the keyboard, texting back: Is there a reason I should be?

She stared at the phone screen, waiting while the three little dots that meant he was typing appeared and disappeared twice over. Now she was worried.

“Aunt Peggy?” Sharon’s voice carried through her small apartment.

Peggy hummed a question in her closed mouth as the girl took off her headphones and bounded towards her, but the phone vibrated in her hands and pulled her attention back.

The Principal decided to observe me today instead of Thursday. Said he wanted to see a more interactive lesson plan, so I had to switch things up on short notice. I swear I was going to give you a heads up.

Before she could ask him anything else, Sharon sat herself next to Peggy at the tiny kitchen table, her notebook and pencil in hand. “Mr. Rogers gave us an assignment and I have thirty minutes to do it before I have to go back to my class and talk to them about it.”

Peggy smiled tight, the girl missing the tension in her sigh. “Oh? And what is the assignment?”

Sharon smiled. “I need to ask you questions about what you do for work.”

Peggy nodded, her mind racing as she tried to come up with what she was going to tell her niece. Not sure how you’ll do with the principal, she texted Steve, but that promotion to boyfriend you were looking for might be in serious jeopardy.

She waited a second then sent him a winking emoji, just to lighten up the mood. Having gotten to know Steve as well as she had over the last few weeks, she knew he might think her serious.

“Alright,” Peggy turned and faced Sharon, “how can I help?”

Sharon smiled and wiggled herself around in the chair, picking up her pencil before turning seriously to Peggy. “What do you do for a job?”

The honest answer would have been that she was making an obscene amount of money online by bouncing around her house doing chores in lingerie. That was not, however, the answer she could give to Sharon. “Well,” she bit the corner of her thumbnail and turned her phone over, not wanting to read the text that had just popped up from Steve, “I used to work for a company that helped other companies…” Peggy sighed, she wasn’t sure how to explain corporate espionage to Sharon, either.

Sharon looked up. “What did you do there? How did you help other companies?”

Peggy tapped her nails on the counter nervously, trying to come up with a good example. “Well, the company I worked for helped businesses keep secrets. For instance, you know how that chicken you like always says there are eleven secret herbs and spices?”

Sharon nodded. “Kentucky Fried Chicken!”

Peggy laughed a little. “Yes, well, those eleven are a secret for a reason. It’s what makes the chicken taste good to you.” Peggy leaned in dramatically and Sharon’s eyes widened. “But if everyone knew the secret, anyone who wanted to could make their chicken taste like that, and then that man with the silly bowtie—”

“Colonel Sanders,” Sharon interjected as she made some notes.

“Yes, he would have a hard time making money from the recipe he developed because it wasn’t a secret anymore. I helped other companies keep their secrets.” Peggy smiled to herself as the girl wrote furiously, satisfied. She wasn’t sure if she’d managed to make her job understandable to an 8-year-old, but it was close enough for now.

Sharon stared at her seriously. “And did you get to know the secrets or do you just have to stop other people from finding out?”

“Sometimes I got to know them, but most of the time I just had to help hide them, or help the company have enough security.”

Peggy’s stress melted away as Sharon asked her question after question and she was able to answer honestly, if not a little vaguely, for the next fifteen minutes. When she ran out of questions, Peggy cut her up an apple and put that and a spoonful of peanut butter on a plate for her at the table, where she waited for her class to start again with her snack.

Finally, she picked up her phone again.

I am so, so sorry. Really, I am. It was planned for Friday. I was going to tell you on Facetime tomorrow. I’ll have her go last. Billy Ryan can TALK. I’ll just let that kid go and maybe we’ll run out of time. Principal Clark won’t know the difference.

Peggy smiled, letting her fingers fly over the keyboard. Did you not see the ;)? It’s fine, and I’m not upset. Good luck on your evaluation and call me when it’s over. She paused for a second, watching Sharon put on her headphones and knowing her texts wouldn’t get an answer until their next break.

Peggy pulled out her own laptop and reviewed her e-mails. She was, in point of fact, looking for a new job. While the Only Fans was a surprising source of a lot of income, she was missing the excitement of her old field. There still weren’t many jobs to go around, but she found new ones each day and applied. Talking to Sharon, however coded, made her miss the day to day of corporate espionage: finding new ways to secure and protect trade secrets, while simultaneously trying to extract others. It had been challenging and thrilling work, and she missed it. While there was something to be said for the ease of her newest endeavors, it wasn’t the challenge she wanted or needed.

She smiled over the edge of her laptop as Sharon asked a question about dogs. Seemed a parent was a trainer or a vet of some sort. She could just barely see the screen from where she was, the Brady Bunch like squares filled with smiling little faces as they talked and asked questions. Steve was sitting in his own square in the upper right corner, smiling away as he listened intently and there was a fairly neutral man in the bottom left she assumed was Mr. Clark. She’d heard a bit about the administrator, but not enough to have an opinion on the man.

She posted her resume on a job-hunting site and crossed her fingers yet again. Six months of getting dressed up for a camera was enough for her. She wanted more.

More from a job, and more from Steve.  

They’d been talking nearly every night, facetiming, too, and had met just once, socially distanced, in the park in the fall for lunch. His mother, who lived in the apartment next to him and that he took care of, was considered high risk. He’d been apologetic, but careful about how and when he went out, and it was something she appreciated about him. She’d asked him, quite seriously, to be her steady significant other, but he’d flat out refused until he could take her out on a proper date. It was a conversation that had both made her fall a little more in love with him and completely frustrated her at the same time.

He was getting his second dose of the vaccine next week, and she was scheduled for a week after that. She already knew exactly which dress she was going to wear when that fourteen-day waiting period was up.

It was red and tight and screamed anything but staying socially distant.

She was daydreaming, one she had often, about pushing him back on that desk of his and straddling him, her dress riding up her thighs as his hands followed, kissing him and laying him down and taking him right there, when Sharon’s voice rang out loudly in the room.

“Ok. So, my Mom and Dad are at work, but I do school with my Aunt Peggy so I asked her the questions.” Peggy looked down at her watch. They had only ten minutes left in the morning session before lunch, but apparently that was enough for one more kid. Stupid Billy Ryan. Peggy closed her email and moved her laptop, listening. “So, my Aunt Peggy lost her job, which is why she can watch me, but before that she had a job she was really good at and she really liked. She worked for a company that I’m not allowed to tell you the name of, but for her job…”

Sharon took a deep breath and leaned into the screen. “For her job, she protects the recipe for KFC chicken.”

Peggy’s head fell in her hands as she heard the gasps of excitement from the kids. She couldn’t believe, after twenty minutes of questions, that was what the girl had understood.

“Sometimes, she protects the chickens. And sometimes, she tries to get the recipes from other places. She didn’t tell me exactly, but I think I guessed it and she just couldn’t say.”

~*~

Peggy laid back against the pillows, wine in hand, waiting for Steve to pick up his facetime. She’d just finished a short online session. Her heart hadn’t been in it, but she’d needed something to do while Steve was finishing his review with the principal after Sharon had been picked up.

His face popped on the screen and he wasted no time, slyly smiling. “So, you protect the KFC recipe?” She just shook her head, but he laughed. “I mean, I gave you a solid five minutes, you couldn’t come up with anything better?”

Peggy laughed loudly at that, leaning back into the pillows. “I swear, I did not tell that child I protected the KFC recipe.”

Steve lifted his phone and moved around his apartment, pulling a beer out of the fridge and sitting heavily on his couch before he set his phone on the table. “So, what did you tell her, exactly?”

“The truth!” Peggy sat up, pulling her robe tight around her. “I mean, how do you describe corporate espionage to an eight-year-old?”

“Corporate espionage?” Steve almost choked on his mouthful of beer. He sat up, eyes still wide with surprise. “You went from corporate espionage to an Only Fans?”

Peggy shrugged. “I wasn’t in IT. When everyone started working from home the demand was in IT because they had to lock down computer systems and access codes.” She sat up and took a long drink of her wine. “Quite frankly it was a move that was coming, anyway. More and more information is just digital.”

“So, uh,” Steve’s fingers played with the label on his bottle, “So you did what, exactly?”

Peggy bit her bottom lip and bent towards the camera. “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you,” she purred out.

Steve feigned getting hit, grabbing his chest and falling back. “Ouch, Aunt Peggy.”

She hummed at him, humoring his silliness while she played with her glass. She sighed. “I think my favorite part was where she literally told the children I protect the chickens. As if I were a farmer out there with a pitch fork keeping coyotes away!”

Steve started laughing far harder than was necessary. “Oh, I am getting the best mental image.”

Peggy rolled her eyes and laid back in the bed. “Oh? Do tell.”

“I’m thinking…” He smiled, took a deep breath and leaned back, his eyes sparkling. Little Daisy Duke short shorts, maybe a tied up plaid shirt, some dirty cowboy boots…” Steve drifted off closing his eyes, his smile growing wider.

Peggy laughed. “Oh really? Should I put my hair in pigtails, too?”

His head popped up, a guilty look crossing his features. “Well, I mean…”

She bit her lip at his stammering. “Your image of me protecting chickens and my image of me protecting chickens are vastly different images.”

Steve could only shrug.

~*~

The link that she texted him wasn’t familiar, but he trusted her by now. He clicked it, ready for anything.

When the video connected his jaw dropped.  

Peggy, in her shortest jean shorts and a tied up red gingham shirt he was sure was so small it must have been a handkerchief in a previous life, was standing in front of a green screened video of chickens in a chicken coop.

She smiled widely at him, putting on her best American accent. “Howdy, Partner!”

He laughed so hard he dropped his phone.

[snarwor]

moon and old stars - chapter 9

holy shit it’s been awhile huh. no warnings for this one <3

Masterlist | Read on AO3

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

Din thought about frost a bit too much.

It made almost no sense. Navarro was a lava planet, sulfuric and burning in dangerous pools less than a klick outside of city limits. His missions took him through the hottest damn planets. One of his only memories of his childhood was whining at the cold, and feeling the heavy weight of his father’s jacket settling around his shoulders. Heat and warmth and weight, that was love.

Of course, the exception to this was the blurrg which had fallen on him on Arvala-7, which was hot and heavy and smelly.

But Grogu, the kid. He weighed barely anything and was no warmer than perhaps a Loth-cat, and yet the weight which had settled over Din the moment he’d shot IG-11, the warmth which had filled his bones when that little hand had reached out for him, it was unlike anything he’d experienced before.

Crash landing on the ice planet with Mrs. Frog and the kid had been an exercise in fear, in hopelessness, in compartmentalization. The Crest was damaged beyond reasonable repair, there was a very odd biological imperative happening, there were karking ice spiders, yet the thing that filled Din with the most dread had been the cold. It seeped in and leached the warmth and hope from his bones, staining his beskar with ice, splintering like cracks in stone. False fissures.

When they'd managed to get to the atmosphere again, he joked about all of them dying in the harsh vacuum of space, and it didn’t even register until they’d hit the balmy surface of Trask. He’d made light of an icy, deadly situation, which was, at its core, supposed to be heavy and blood-hot. He’d been horrified when he realized.

He remembered listening to Omera speak on Sorgan about the history of the valley they lived in, how everything had been ice thousands and thousands of years ago, a massive glacier which melted and froze and melted and froze until an entire mountain had split in two. Din couldn’t believe it, but when he’d gotten back on the holonet, he looked up the phenomenon, and marveled at how cold destruction could bring such an idyllic sanctuary.

He began to see signs of it all over his travels. Ancient canyons with split boulders, once-whole halves laying cleaved by no tool made by man or machine. Din told the kid his findings. “Frost did this. Water gets in everywhere, it settles deep and when the cold hits, that water expands, and breaks things if it’s lucky enough.” Of course, the kid only paid attention when he had dried meat rations in his hand, but he liked to think he was paying attention at least some of the time.

His sanity had sprung a leak on Morak. Boba Fett had taken an ax to that leak and filled every splintered part of him with water until he felt like he was near drowning. His first gasp of air was on the armchair at the safe house, when they had been the only people in the entire galaxy. The shame was his heart’s first winter after the flood. The setup on the Lothal moon was an early spring snowstorm. The safe house had been a mild summer. The water had not left him. But when they boarded the ship, when they fought the Dark troopers, when…

Don’t be afraid.

That had been such a shock to his system that all that latent love and affection in him, feelings left dormant and misunderstood in the abscesses of his heart, froze. It was so cataclysmic he couldn’t even hear himself think over the groaning heave of his every canyon and valley. He was broken. He could not be put back together at all. And when Boba had said those five words, the frost started to melt, sure, but the cracks and chasms remained, evidence of a too-cold climate for anything like love to grow in.

Unless.

The melting sensation Boba had given him, the weight and warmth Din had always associated with love, perhaps it had been as natural as a cleaved boulder, but thaw had been intentional as well. It wasn’t Boba’s fault for the freeze in his heart. It wasn’t Boba’s fault he had existing cracks in his foundation. But he’d cleaned up the aftermath, several times over, taken his broken pieces and patched them together, said “I know you’re not whole, but I love you just the same” with every soft pass of a hand over his hair. With every pleasured moan he drew from Din’s lips. With every suspended second their gazes held, and every gentle press of a kiss, Din realized that the crags in his heart had smoothed over in places, didn’t hurt him as much as they had before. It wasn’t Boba’s fault for this new fissure, and here Din was, cutting the man on his own broken edges.

“Why didn’t you let her just kill me when she had the chance?!”

And still.

“Din—”

And still.

“No. Tell me why.”

And still.

“Because I love you, Din.”

The words sat in the air between them like a physical thing, an old moon in orbit, waiting to see if the shooting star would strike it down or warm it back. The last words his mother had said to him, before she was gone forever. He’d always understood that love wasn’t something to be volleyed back and forth, love wasn’t supposed to be expected or returned, not the true love his mother had given, and not the shy, defeated love Boba was giving him now.

And still.

“I love you, too.”

Boba let out a shuddering breath, half a laugh, and a single tear. “Then you understand why I couldn’t let you go.”

Love could look selfish, but it never felt selfish. At least not to Din. He let go of the bottle, and hung his head in his hands instead. The familiar shame of crying in front of Boba washed over him, and as his shoulders shook, he mourned that freeze a little, because he could at least pretend he was solid when it was there. Not now, though. Not now.

With hesitation, Boba’s arm wrapped around the slumped line of his shoulders. Without hesitation, Din leaned into it. “He’s gone,” Din rasped.

Boba made a noise he probably hadn’t meant to before the other arm came up to pull Din into his lap, curl him up small and safe. With the beskar, he was much heavier, and less kind on his aching body, but Boba bore his weight without complaint. “Not gone, just somewhere else,” Boba said, stroking a hand over Din’s head in a well-practiced motion they’d perfected since Morak. “I’ll...” The promise sat on the tip of his tongue. “If you really want him back, I can help you find him.”

Din shook his head, cried out and drained. “You don’t have to,” he said softly. “Your debt to me is paid, you don’t—”

“I don’t offer this to you out of a sense of obligation. I don’t offer any of myself to you for that. Maybe once, but certainly not now, jat’ika.”

The name hurt Din like a punch to the gut. The objection sat behind his lips like a fathier at the starting gate. He lifted his head so their eyes could meet again. Openness sat in Boba’s expression, and Din realized, all at once, that the two of them had really changed in those soft weeks between Tython and here. Without breaking eye contact, he brought his hand up to cup the back of Boba’s neck, and leaned in to press their foreheads together. A stuttering breath left Boba’s chest, a flash of that softness Din didn’t often see in him.

“I’m sorry,” Din said. “For what I said about your father.”

“You were upset,” Boba hedged. Din shook his head, only a little, as to not break the mirshmure’cya too fast.

“It doesn’t excuse it. I won’t say anything like that again. Forgive me, please.”

“I understand,” Boba said, bringing his own hand up to touch the apple of Din’s cheek. “It’s forgiven. Don’t catastrophize a mistake, Din.”

Din couldn’t help but laugh, a little. “Catastrophize.”

“Exactly,” Boba said, returning the smile. “Do you need to talk some more? Are you injured from the mission?”

This time, Din hedged, “Cuts and bruises, rattled my brain fighting a darktrooper, nothing huge.” Boba leveled him with an unimpressed look. “If it bothered me, I would have taken care of it.”

“Forgive me if I don’t quite believe you can take care of yourself.”

“Hoverskiff daddying, are we?” Din asked, a smirk on his mouth that both endeared and infuriated Boba in equal doses. Boba leaned back to press a smacking kiss to Din’s forehead.

“Show you daddying. C’mon, up. We’ll talk while we get you patched up.”

As Boba removed the armor from Din’s body, the weight which pulled at Din’s conscience followed suit. He felt able to take a full breath of air again, letting Boba smear bacta on his cuts and bruises, like every breath got easier than the last. Boba made him laugh, made him smile and forget he was ever frozen, forget he was ever broken and jagged and rough-edged. And when Boba mentioned the kid, the memories came with an ache, but no sharp pain. He would have permission to grieve, later. He knew that much. But for now, they reveled in the feeling of being alive after another difficult day, a unique sensation to the two that felt more familiar than coming home ever had.

“Your helmet.” Boba finally reached that topic, which predictably pulled a sigh and a downcast expression from Din’s face.

“I broke the Creed on Morak. And again, on the cruiser.” He left out the moments with Boba specifically. You are not of a Creed you can disappoint while in here. The only truth is that you are mine.

“You were saying goodbye to your son. I know men who would raze whole planets to the ground for the chance. It’s an honorable thing, what you did. Not a dishonorable one.” Din can’t make himself believe it in its entirety, not really.

“But the armor—”

“You told me once I’d have to peel your armor off your dead body. Yet I had to, to patch your wounds, give you comfort.”

They looked at the pile in the corner, gleaming beskar and worn padding which had protected Din for years. Clearly, he wasn’t dead, and yet, the armor went. Boba continued.

“And that to hand mine over to me was against the Creed. Until the more honorable realization was proven, you were returning it to me.”

Ret’urcye mhi. How funny that goodbye sounds like return to me.

“Your helmet was in the way of protecting your foundling, until it was not. Ke’juri beskar’gam, but not at the expense of k’ara’novo aliit, nor ke’gaa’tayli aliit bralir, nor ke’ba’juri sa Mando’ade.” Din felt the tears fall, but did not look away. “You are no less Mandalorian for making the decisions you did. In fact, you are perhaps more suited to hold that saber because of it.” He took Din’s hands. “You have protected and cared for your family. One of your aliit is learning what you could not teach. Your son is Mandalorian because he is yours.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty?” Din asked, his chest jumping a little in a hiccup, eyes shining with yet-unshed tears. Boba brought his hands up to kiss at their knuckles.

“It’s not guilt. It’s grief. We carry it differently, but it does not make us. The same as our armor. It is something we wear, something sacred, but it is not the armor who protects a son.”

Din fell into his arms, pressing grateful kisses to Boba’s mouth, his face. Tears of relief, not shame, not guilt, fell across his cheeks and smeared onto Boba’s skin, but he didn’t mind. His soul was still redeemable, he was still an upright man, deserving of salvation and absolution, deserving of the love which patched him together.

He realized he was speaking. “I love, I love—”

“I know, I know,” Boba repeated, not in a volley, but letting Din know his love had somewhere safe and soft to land.

And that it always would.

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

Mando'a - Translation

jat'ika - y'all should know this one by now mirshmure'cya - Keldabe kiss, soft headbutt for emotion, or apply forcefully for stronger emotion ret'urcye mhi - see you again, goodbye aliit - family, clan

Tenets of the Resol'nare (Mandalorian Creed) mentioned in m&os ke'juri beskar'gam - you will wear armor k'ara'novo aliit - you will protect family ke'gaa'tayli aliit bralir - you will help your clan succeed ke'ba'juri sa Mando'ade - you will raise Mandalorians

Other Tenets not mentioned because they don't make me cry as much ke'jorhaa'i Mando'a - you will speak Mando'a ke'shekemi haar Mand'alor - you will rally to the cause of the Mand'alor

[airiustide]

If I Could (I’d Kiss Your Fingers)

A Water Witch Tale

Summary: Taking place after Katara returns to the Fire Nation to stay with her new family, Zuko wants to give her a gift as a way to show how much she means to him. With Izumi's help, father and daughter pick out the perfect chocolates for Katara. Meanwhile, Katara works on something precious of her own. Part of the The Water Witch Tales 

A/N: I asked myself if I wanted to do a additional piece for The Water Witch of Biei Village or write a Valentine’s special fic? My brain: por que no los dos? I've wanted to write more about this zutara family since ending The Water Witch of Biei Village two years ago. My hearts been set on it and today was a perfect.

also posted on AO3

***

“Chocolates. Chocolates. We’re going to pick chocolates!” Izumi sang, skipping around several staff entering the Fire Lord’s study carrying gold trays of serve ware covered with lids. 

Zuko shoos them in, peering from left to right outside the study until the confectioner himself is the last to enter and Zuko can now close the door behind him. “Quickly, lay them there.” The Fire Lord points to the long table stationed in front of the open balcony doors. He grabs a hopping Izumi by the waist and swings her over his shoulders, eliciting a squeal. “Calm down, love. We’ll get to try them all, I promise.”

“Then we give to Mommy?” The four-year-old grins, panting from all the excitement. 

“Then we give them to Mommy.” Zuko confirms, reflecting his daughter’s smile. 

Zuko had been considering the perfect gift to give Katara after she had returned, after having forced the captain of the airship that was supposed to take her home to the rural lands of the Fire Nation countryside to turn around. It was a moment of joy and tears. Katara proclaimed Izumi her daughter without asking anything in return other than to care for the Fire Nation princess as her own. Any attempt at giving Katara jewels or expensive dresses were turned down. Katara’s humble rejection was sweet but was leaving Zuko a little deflected.

He wanted to impress her. The one kiss wasn’t enough and they talked little of it since then despite Katara’s return being well over a month ago. It was then that Izumi brought up how Katara had never eaten chocolates before, a discussion brought up while the waterbender did the nightly routine of brushing her daughter’s hair. 

It was then the idea sparked in Zuko’s head. Chocolates. No one could possibly turn down chocolates. A simple yet desirable candy.  

Once the trays are laid out, the confectioner snaps his fingers for his staff to remove the lids. Zuko lifts Izumi off his shoulders and sets her on her feet, the little girl’s bright gold eyes looking at the great display of chocolates laid before her in wonderment. “Wow.” She breathes.

“Only the best chocolates in the whole Fire Nation, your majesty. We’ve traveled all this way per your request from Ember Island. May I present my finest work.” The confectioner, Chou, bows. 

Zuko and Izumi approach, stopping at the first tray sitting at the left end of the table. 

“The first I’d like to present is a common treat. The bark is made from milk chocolate, quite sweet, I warn, but much lighter than the typical chocolate.” The confectioner explains.

Zuko breaks a piece for himself and Izumi to try. “Hmm.” The Fire Lord hums, finding his jaw lock from the overly sweet candy. “What do you think, princess?”

“It melts in my mouth!” Izumi exclaimed. “But too sweet.”

“Of course. This here, is a truffle.” Chou points to the second plate. “Though, today we’ll try many of these kinds of chocolates, this one’s a dark ganache blended with a touch of champagne.”

“Mmm.” Izumi sighs, popping the truffle in her mouth. “I like this one.”

“That’ll go in the yes pile then.” Zuko chuckled, nodding for one of the confectioner's staff to put the tray aside. 

The young Fire Lord had to admit, the amount of it all was too much. Some portions had to be given in small doses to prevent a stomach ache. Izumi was so eager to try them all that the first six or so trays resulted in tossing handfuls into her mouth. Not so much because she wanted to eat them all, but because it was so important to her that Katara had the best. 

Cordials, hazelnut, rum, caramel. It was all so delightful. It was not only a means to give a gift to share with someone they loved but the father/daughter time they had lost when Izumi had fallen ill was made up with a simple moment such as this. 

There was still more to go. Zuko deemed it unnecessary to try the rest when his daughter’s face became smeared with chocolate and her eyelids began to flutter. They had already settled on three flavors, some which will be boxed prettily for the master waterbender; passion fruit, mint, and champagne. 

“Good choice, your majesty.” Chou compliments. “The lady will surely be pleased.”

“Hmpf.” Zuko frowned. Chou would not be saying that if he knew that Zuko planned on gifting the chocolates to a waterbender. The Fire Lord was ashamed to admit that his people viewed waterbenders as conjurers of magic, they’re dwindling race created stereotypes and rumors far beyond what the truth actually beheld. “Do not worry, she will. Thank you for your journey to the capital. You will be highly compensated and even more in the future if Katara wishes for it.”

“Of course.” Chou bows, snapping his fingers for his staff to collect the leftovers and head out quickly.

“Someone’s sleepy.” Zuko turns to Izumi, sweeping her in his arms and cleaning the chocolate off her face with the sleeve of his royal robes. She had gained some weight since her lungs healed, no longer the tiny thin figure she once was when he had thought he was on the verge of losing her. 

“Mm...not sleepy, Daddy. I want to see Mommy.” The princess looks over at the neatly boxed chocolates sitting on the long table. She couldn’t sleep yet. She had carefully selected everything for her mother, Izumi wanted to give them to her now. 

“You will after a nap. Then, we will see Katara.” He coos, watching Izumi finally close her tired eyes as he holds her gently in his lap while he proceeds to sit in his cushioned pillow so that he could continue his work.

***

This is starting to feel like a distraction. When Kioko had shown up at Katara’s chambers that morning with an urgent request that required them to head to Caldera’s marketplace, the waterbender felt as though she had no choice but to oblige. She wished to see Izumi, if not for a little bit, before her and Kioko departed but the head healer demanded that they make haste.

“What, exactly, is it we’re looking for?” Katara questioned, looking around the busy streets with the older woman’s arm linked to hers. 

Guards surround them on all sides, a apparent perk the master waterebender wish didn’t come with officially adopting Izumi but Zuko would have it no other way. His argument, that people were against her legal adoption of Izumi albeit Katara knew the real reason- it meant Zuko was not willing to remarry. Every unmarried noblewoman and Zuko’s advisors made that clear with a single glare directed at her alone. It did not matter that Izumi was a living, healthy heir now. No, they needed more security than that, and marrying a Lady within the Fire Nation meant ensuring this. 

Kioko assured Katara that they were jealous nobodies that only dreamed of getting close to the Fire Lord if only to benefit from him. 

“Zuko would give you the world.” Kioko told her once, the two ladies held up in Katara’s room with wine and light chat. “He would bow to his knees for you, if you would permit him, and proclaim everything that is his, is yours.”

That came as a surprise to Katara, yet it made sense considering that she had healed Zuko’s daughter from certain death. She ignored that small whisper in her head that Kioko’s statement meant something deeper. The waterbender brushed it aside.

“I thought we might do some shopping. I haven’t seen my poor husband in months since his travels and I want to present him a gift when he returns next week.” Kioko answered her question.

“Are you not the gift, Kioko?” Katara smirked playfully.

“Oh my heavens. That is only between me and the captain I call husband.” Kioko winked. “We had missed our anniversary this last winter and I wanted to surprise him.”

“Sounds easy. What does he like?”

“Hmm, well, I was thinking I’d fashion up a new robe or maybe purchase new cuffs for his uniform. Oh, and while we’re here, why not get something nice for his majesty” Kioko said the last sentence so fast, Katara barely caught it.

“Zuko?” Katara whirled her head. “Oh. I guess I never did anything nice for him before. He did take me out that one time, after all.” A deep blush surfaced on her cheeks and Katara bit her bottom lip from smiling. She remembers where Zuko's hands were. His sultry voice and his low breath that tickled and teased her skin when he had openly flirted with her. The way his eyes glazed over when she had danced with him. 

Kioko raised an eyebrow at Katara’s sudden silence. 

“Yes.” The waterbender cleared her throat after noticing the head healer was staring at her. “A gift. I see no harm in buying one for him.” 

That’s what you believe. Kioko smiles, knowing full well Zuko was caught in Katara’s web and the poor girl had no idea what power she had over the Fire Lord. He loved her and she, likewise. The old woman hoped they’d realize it soon or else she would have to resort to locking them in the same room together, if it meant finally professing their feelings. 

The problem was, what does a Fire Lord like that he doesn’t already have? Yeah, Katara had enough to buy a pretty solid gift for someone of her status but Zuko was head of a nation. Katara didn’t have anything to her name that would remotely impress him. 

“Child, you’re thinking too hard.” Kioko interrupts her thoughts.

“Am I? I’m not exactly feeling confident here.” Katara panicked. “S-sorry I snapped like that. I don’t think anything here would be to Zuko’s liking.”

“That’s because you’re thinking of his status rather than what he is as a person. His majesty wasn’t as sheltered as you think. He’s traveled the world, he’s encountered struggle and defeat and when the tyrant, Lord Ozai, dies within the third year of Lord Zuko’s banishment and his daughter was seized for his death, Lord Zuko was called back to take his place as a mere child himself, marry, and raise a daughter on his own after his beloved’s death. He’s more humble than he lets on and we have the former general to thank for that.”

Iroh. Zuko often talked about him. “I know he’s like a father to Zuko. I didn’t mean to insult Zuko.”

“You did no such thing, dear. I wanted to remind you that his majesty is more than just a leader. He’s a man and a father first. Look to that when you go about searching for a gift for him.”

Katara halts, a large grin stretching on her lips. “I’ve got just the thing. Kioko, we need to stop at a few places.”

*** 

Where is she? Kioko refused to let Zuko visit Katara’s chambers, stating that the waterbender was busy and that she would meet them for dinner as soon as she was available. Izumi whined that she wanted to see Katara now and her impatience was starting to weigh on Zuko, who had to try and entertain his daughter as best he could until her mother arrived. They had taken dinner to his chambers this time, so that he and Izumi could give the present to Katara in peace. 

Zuko had asked that Kioko distract Katara while he and Izumi snuck in the confectioner and his staff, he had no idea that they would be gone well into midafternoon only for Katara to run back to her room and shut herself away with so much as a greeting. 

“What has Katara holed up in her room?” Zuko asked during dinner. 

“You’re majesty, I’m afraid this is an important time for Master Katara. She will see you and Princess Izumi as soon as she can.”

Something’s fishy. “You aren’t withholding anything from your Fire Lord, are you, Kioko?”

“You’re majesty.” Kioko feigned shock, resting a hand on her chest. “You would not use your position of power to pry personal information regarding your dear daughter’s mother from me, would you?”

Zuko’s good eye widened, his cheeks blushing profusely. “I- No. Of course not.” He grumbles, finding his food unappetizing because the anxiousness was eating at him. Izumi, the same, poked her steamed slug with a heavy sigh. Katara hadn’t gone a day without being next to her. Had they truly grown that attached?

The three are disturbed by the sound of the door opening and the master waterbender entering the room. “Late-” She pants, her wild hair loose over her shoulders and pieces of random fabric stuck to her dress. “Didn’t mean- I’m here now.” Katara smiles while she gains her composure.

“Mommy!” Izumi cried, jumping from her seat and rushing to her mother’s arms. “What took so long? I missed you.” Her voice trembled.

Katara felt guilty. Izumi had already been through enough when Katara left, she didn’t quite think through how a long separation might affect her again. “I’ve missed you too, love, and I’m here now.”

“Come here, come here. Daddy and I have something to show you.” Izumi pulls her mother along.

“Really now?”

Zuko grips the box in his lap, licking his lips to hide his nerves as Katara sat next him, her arm brushing his arm as she places Izumi on her lap. Agni, give me strength, he prays.

“What’s that you got there.” Katara leaned into him sideways, the box shaking in his hands. 

Why was he nervous all of a sudden? Zuko’s throat swelled up, his palms were sweaty. 

“Me and Daddy got you a gift!” Izumi replied.

“A gift? For me? Zuko, I thought-”

“I know.” He said, finally mustering the courage to speak. “But this is different. Please accept it, Izumi and I worked really hard to select them for you.”

They both gave her pleading eyes. Spirits, how can she resist such cute faces. “Okay. Can I open it?”

Zuko hands the box to her and Izumi claps excitedly as Katara pulls the ribbon and lifts the top half of the box to reveal something she’s never seen before. “What are these?”

“Chocolates!” Izumi giggled.

“They’re edible sweets made of cocoa.”

Katara eyes the pieces curiously. Unsure of where to start. “They’re all so different.” She comments.

“Here, Mommy, you’ll like this one.” Izumi picks out a passion fruit, lifting it to Katara’s mouth. 

Her eyes sparkle as she takes her first piece, her taste buds overtaken with a mix of passion fruit, chocolate and white chocolate. It’s decadent but the flavors are pleasant. “Spirits, that's delicious!”

“Hehe. See, I told you she’d like it, Daddy.”

“So this is what you two have been conspiring this whole time.” Katara teased the Fire Lord.

“We only wished to do something special.” Zuko explained sheepishly. 

“Well, this was certainly special.” Katara smiles.

“Why don’t you try the other flavors.” He suggests.

“Only if you guys eat them with me. This is certainly a lot.”

Katara pops one into Izumi’s mouth first. “Your turn.” She says to Zuko. 

His heart throbs in his ears. Before he could protest, Katara presses a piece of chocolate to his lips and he reluctantly opens, enclosing it in his mouth along with Katara’s index finger and his brain short circuits. As he chews the piece he can only assume is mint, refreshing much like Katara’s presence, her fingers still lingering on his lips; they’re gazes stayed only on each other. 

Zuko leans in slightly, drinking in Katara’s face as she bites the corner of her lip. She likes the look he’s giving her- heavy, glazed and adorning. She wants to see more of this, more of him looking like her just like this. “Do you want more?” She asks in a whisper.

“Well, this has been lovely.” Kioko announced, catching the Fire Lord and Master Waterbender off guard, shame written on their faces. “I’ll take my leave. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

It takes a while for the heat to die down in the room and the tension to fade before Katara tells Zuko she has something for him too. “For both you and Izumi, in fact.” She reaches for the pouch attached to her sash and opens it, fishing out two weaved bracelets with charms on them. “It’s not much but I thought of you two and I wanted to make something that would always be with you.”

“Pretty.” Izumi brightens. Katara ties the bracelet to her wrist, three little charms dangling from it; one of the moon, the second the symbol of the painted lady and the third a sparrowkeet. 

 Next was Zukos, which Katara delicately tied to his wrist as well. The first charm was of two dragons tangled in a dance, the second a replica of the carved stone on Katara’s necklace and the third the mask of the blue spirit. 

“It was all done at last minute, so it’s not perfect-”

“It’s more than perfect.” Zuko corrects. “Thank you, Katara.” He wraps an arm around her neck and brings her to him, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Mine is perfect too, Mommy! I want to kiss you too.”

Katara laughs, puckering her lips and letting Izumi peck them. The waterbender then snatches Izumi to her chest, displaying kisses all over the little girl's face as Zuko does the same until she begs for her parents to stop in a fit of laughter. 

I love you. Zuko wants to say. The moment passes, he realizes, watching Katara rock Izumi in her arms with pure love in her eyes. He’ll tell her. Someday. 

[riotfuckery]

Shark bites

Kirishima x f!reader

A/N: Hello beautiful readers! I’m here to drop off your fluffy/spicy dose of Kirishima love! This is a request from none other than my senpai and wonderful friend @queensynderella! Thank you for sending in and I kinda struggled to write it bc of being the big sad™️. I’m really not too happy with it but I hope y’all enjoy it! ��

Warnings: sexy descriptions, implied sexy time, a badly described make out, and kinda awful writing.

Tags: @thedreadthreadanomaly @trafalgar-temptress @lovelustdollsworld @obsessedchildsworld @kingtamakimurder @birds-have-teeth thank you for all the love and support, I appreciate everyone of y’all 💖🥺💖

»»————-　♡　————-««

The ‘almost official’ stage of dating was the most fluffy part of dating. Sneak peeks of being in a relationship with the person you were interested in just forced your brain to daydream of what life you could live together. It was close yet so far away.

When your long time crush Kirishima Eijirou asked you on a date for the first time, you were over the moon with excitement.

As he stood there with cheeks matching his long mane of fire red hair, holding slightly crumped wildflowers, and stuttering out it he wanted to take you out on that Friday, you melted. You were so happy that you launched yourself into his arms while giggling out a “yes!”.

He took you out that Friday for coffee. Dressed in a oversized (f/c) sweater, black jeans, and a comfortable pair of boots, you walked hand in hand with him as he fed you cheesy pickup lines on your way to the cute coffee shop.

When the two of you got there, he refused to let you pay. Saying “it wasn’t manly to let a lady pay on the first date.”. He was a real gentleman, helping you on and off the tall coffee shop seats and holding doors open for you. He swept you off your feet.

You walked hand in hand with him again on your way home. Warm smiles shared as you soaked in each other’s company, the air was filled with new love as you laughed and playfully danced your way back to the dorms.

Ever the manly man he was, he walked you right to your door. You of course told him he didn’t have to and that you live in the dorms with him but he silenced your protests with a “A gentlemen has to make sure a lovely lady like you gets home safe” accompanied by a playful wink.

As you arrived at your door, a slight sadness bloomed in your chest. You didn’t want to leave to his side so soon and he pulled you into a bear hug as soon as he noticed your crestfallen face.

“So if you’d like, how about we do this again next week?” He akwardly asked, cheeks hinted pink and warm red eyes filled with hope.

“Of course Kiri! I would love that!” You smiled happily up at him. He grew a lot since your first year, now quiet a bit taller than you.

Standing up on your tippy toes, you gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek before entering your room then closing the door.

Kirishima was floored by the sweet kiss you gave him. His large hand held on the place you pecked as his heart beat wildly in his chest. If he could get anymore love struck, he’d think he went insane.

Pressing you ear against the door, you waited until you heard his heavy footsteps walk away to jump on your bed and let out an excited squeal into your pillow.

Lingering glimpses at one another were happening often during that week until Friday came around again. The sickeningly sweet air of young love floated over the two of you like a cloud at all times, making everyone in the general vicinity roll their eyes in annoyance.

Neither of you could care less because you were head over heels for one another. Heads filled with daydreams until you could see each other again.

You were practically glittering with excitement when Friday finally arrived. Tearing up your closet to find the perfect outfit as you fussed over your hair, you couldn’t help the rapid thumping in your chest as you finished your look.

Giving yourself a twirl in the mirror, smiling proudly at the outfit you picked out with the approval of your friends via text. You were a bit nervous but the ever so present excitement overshadowed it.

He knocked on your door swiftly, catching your attention as you grabbed your phone and rushed to the door. You quickly opened the piece of wood only to be met with the handsomest man you’ve ever seen.

He looked stunning. A black floral button up shirt framed his solid build nicely, dark jeans hugged his muscular legs in all the right ways, and of course, his signature pair of red crocs.

He didn’t tell you what you were doing on this outing, only a hint to dress nice but casual. Walking with him hand in hand once more as his tall stature led you through the dorms, through the backyard, and into a small spot in the woods where you found a picnic set out.

A red checkered blanket laid on the top of a small hill, overlooking the city and a delicious set of bento boxes were sitting on top. Your heart raced again, thumping like a happy bunny rabbit as you sat down on the blanket.

Eating your food happily and teasing each other playfully, your heart felt warm when the sun set. Hazy oranges, pinks, and purples filled the sky when you rested your head on his shoulder.

He wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer as he placed a sweet kiss on the top of your head. Your cheeks heated up at the small act of affection from him, making you snuggle yourself closer to the redhead as the both of you watched the sunset.

He walked you to your room again much to your protests, gently tugging you along the forest path and dorms with the picnic basket in his large hand. The world felt so much brighter, so much more fun when he was around that the slight sadness hit your chest again as you arrived at your door.

“I had a really good time today, (y/n) and I know we literally just went out but would you like to hang out with me tomorrow? We could watch a movie in my dorm in our pjs.” He suggested sheepishly, thinking that it was way to be good to be true that you would want hang out with him 2 days in a row.

“That sounds wonderful Eijirou, what time should I come by?” You asked happily.

His cheeks flared red from the casual use of his given name, heart racing at the way it rolled of your tongue.

“U-uh how does 5 sound?” He stuttered out, a little embarrassed at how flustered he was by the simple act of calling him his name.

“Perfect, I’ll see you then!” You smiled brightly, the idea of cuddling up with him in your pjs sounding like heaven.

He summoned all the courage in his body as he gently placed the basket down, red eyes looked softly at your smaller form when he held a large hand out and softly cupped your cheek. Holding it almost protectively when he placed another sweet kiss on your forehead before picking up the basket and walking back to his room, just like you did.

You stood frozen in the hall for a second, cheeks aflame as you felt you entire body turn into a pile of goo. Quickly making your way way inside your room, you unleashed a smile that threatened to stay there the rest of the week.

Tomorrow couldn’t come by any slower, excitement buzzing in your veins as you desperately tried to make yourself sleep. The digits on your clock seemed to go in slow motion as they changed and you let out a groan in defeat.

Staring up at your ceiling you couldn’t help but think of the faux redhead. He was as adorable as a puppy, sweeter then sugar cubes, so friendly that he even tamed the blonde time bomb, and so in touch with his feelings that he made you swoon.

What plagued your mind most was how goddamn handsome he was. He caught your eye during first year, a bright sharp toothed smile sent your way as he gave you a big bear hug when he introduced himself made your heart beat wildly in joy.

Warm red eyes soft and sweet like red velvet cake as he always cheered you on the sidelines. A jawline sharper than a razor combined with his well defined cheekbones made him look cute and hot. Which never failed to make your cheeks feel warm.

Well defined full plush lips with a sharp cupid’s bow was something you thought of often, wondering during late nights if they were as kissable as they looked. Brawny arms that made you feel safe whenever he got the chance to give you a hug.

You took special notice of how tall and muscular he was now. Six feet tall and absolutely shredded, solid like a mountain with not an ounce of fat on him. He towered over your small form, forcing your heart thrash wildly in your chest. But he never made you feel intimidated, always safe and secure when you were with him. That fact alone just made you melt.

His hero costume didn’t help your fantasy about him one bit. A six pack and body carved by Greek gods as you sneeked peeks at him during hero training. He was golden tan and littered with various scars, thanks to internships, the color of his skin just accentuating his well defined six pack and rippling muscles.

It might have been the fact that everyone was asleep or that you only got a few innocent little kisses from him but thinking about this 6ft tall, absolutely shredded, and adorable man just set your lower belly on fire.

Sleep finally came to you before you could get too worked up, finally getting a few good hours of sleep before you had to get up and go about your day.

»»————-　♡　————-««

The bright rays of the sun woke you up the next morning, regretfully untangling yourself from your sheets as you got up to get ready for your day. Today was cleaning day.

Throwing on a pair of black leggings and an old shirt, you got to cleaning your room. Putting on (f/b) you not so harmoniously sang your way through laundry and organizing various things.

When you finished everything on your checklist , the room was sparkling clean. Taking a peek at the clock, it read as 3pm. Just enough time to eat and get ready.

Quickly making your way to the kitchen downstairs, you grabbed a few of (f/s) and headed to the common room only to see a few of your girlfriends chatting away on the couch.

“Hey cutie pie! Come and join us!” Mina happily waved as she saw you approaching the couch.

“Hi darlings! What’s up?” You greeted as you plopped yourself down in the seat next to cute pink girl, quickly eating your snacks.

“We were actually just talking about you!” She snickered.

“Cmon! Tell us how your last date with Kirishima went!” she enthusiastically demanded, playfully nudging your side with her elbow.

Momo, Uraraka, and Tsuyu all gave you an expecting look, nearly wiggling in their seats from the tension of your small silence.

“It went really well actually! He took me out of a picnic and we watched the sunset together. It was pretty romantic.” You admitted, a tiny bit embarrassed from all the attention on you.

“Oh wow that is romantic~! Who knew Kirishima was such a softie!” Mina gushed dramatically.

“That’s actually really cute. Ribbit.” Tsuyu commented.

“It’s simple and sweet, very much like him.” Momo analyzed thoughtfully.

“But did you guys get all hot and steamy under the sunset~” Mina asked, wiggling her eyebrows for dramatic effect.

“No pinky pie.” you playfully rolled your eyes.

“We didn’t, just a few sweet kisses on the cheek and forehead.” You sheepishly admitted.

Various cooing and gushing came from all girls except Mina, who knew this is how it would play out. In the midst of various chatter, you managed to get a small glance at the clock and saw it was 3:30. Saying a cheerful goodbye, you padded your way back to your room to get ready for your date.

Date. The word still making your heart flutter as you thought of your last two experiences. He was sweet, gentlemanly, and so adorable that you couldn’t help but gush about him internally.

Rummaging through your drawers to find the perfect pair of pjs, you pulled out one old band shirt after another before finding what you were looking for. A matching set of burgundy silk shorts and top with black lace trim.

It was something you bought on a whim after trying it on, loving the way the it made all the features you liked about yourself stand out. A perfect little tease to test his patience.

After pulling out a large hoodie to cover yourself up with, you grabbed your shower caddy and made your way to the showers. You made quick work of getting clean, the whole stall smelling like (f/s) as you scrubbed away all of today’s dust and dirt.

The hot water combined with the steam made your skin feel soft, reveling in the way your confidence soared after doing something so simple. (Self care is important y’all.)

Quickly finishing up what you needed to do, you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a fluffy towel. Confidence still sky high as you brushed and blow dried your hair also applying a little skincare along with it.

As you slid on your sexy little set, you couldn’t help but feel like it when you glanced in the mirror. After a swipe of deodorant and a spritz of perfume, you pulled on your hoodie and happily padded your way to your room to put your stuff away.

Successfully putting away all your things, you checked the clock once again. It read as 4:30pm so you still had half an hour. Deciding to laze around a bit, you checked through your socials and played a game for a bit before heading over.

When you finally looked up from your game, it finally hit 5. You scrambled to put on some chapstick before grabbing your favorite blanket and slipping on your slippers before heading out the door.

You skipped your way to Kirishima’s dorm, heart thumping in excitement about seeing him again. Stopping at his door, you knocked swiftly 3 times and waited patiently.

“Coming!” Kiri shouted casually.

When he did open the door, he didn’t expect his brain to turn into scrambled eggs. You stood there so adorably, eyes sparkling up at him, in a hoodie that nearly drowned you and he was speechless.

“Hey Eiji!” You smiled at him, temporarily putting a halt to his internal gushing.

“Hey (y/n)-chan, come in and get comfy!” He managed to say cheerfully as he stepped aside to let you into his room.

Embarrassingly, you forgot what his room looked like but when you did look at the surprisingly tidy room with workout gear in the corner and ‘manly’ decorations, you internally giggled as you made a beeline for his bed plopped onto it with light bounce. Deciding to lay up against his pillows as you made yourself comfy.

He managed to turn off his internal panicking as he sat down next to you. His warm body next to yours as he pulled out his laptop and pulled up Netflix. After debating for a bit, you both agreed on a random action movie that looked interesting. He carefully placed it on the opposite end of the bed as he got himself comfortable next to you.

As the movie started, your attention instantly wandered off of whatever was on the small screen. Instead focusing on how nice he felt next to you. He was warm that you wanted to cuddle up to him, the shorts you wore not helping you retain heat at all.

Carefully, you grabbed his hand and interlaced your fingers with his. Smiling softly as you laid your head on his shoulder as you vaguely payed attention to the movie. He smelt nice too, like sandalwood and citrus. Bright and masculine, just like him.

Kiri had a plan before you arrived and now that you were so cutely cuddled up to him, he couldn’t even form a coherent thought much less breathe normally.

He wanted to ask you to be his girlfriend officially. The cute dates you went on just put the final nail in the coffin for him as you playfully giggled at his jokes and looked at him so cutely. He was freaking out.

With a deep breath, he shoved off all incoming self doubt and popped the question.

“(Y/n)-chan?” He asked nervously, heart racing in fear that you would up and leave if he asked you too early.

“Yes Eiji?” You sweetly replied, just being so close to him was making you feel fuzzy inside.

“Youre so cute and sweet and I like you so much and I was wondering if you would wanna be my girlfriend?” He rambled nervously, his large body tensing in false preparation.

You looked at him in shock for a moment while you processed what he said before a soft smile took over your face. Giving his large hand a squeeze, he cautiously met your gaze.

He saw no anger, no hatred, just soft (e/c) eyes filled affection. He gave you a small shaky smile still a bit nervous from your lack words.

“I would want nothing more Eijirou.” You softly spoke as you admired his face. He was handsome and the little scar on his eye just adding onto to the cute look he had on right now.

He visibly relaxed as he felt himself lean closer to your face, red eyes briefly glancing at your soft lips. Ever the gentleman he was, he needed to ask before making his move.

“Can I kiss you?” He breathlessly asked, still slowly inching closer.

Your eyes briefly glanced at his lips, slightly chapped but still full and plush as you felt yourself lean closer as well.

“Please do” you replied just as breathlessly.

When his lips met yours, it was everything you dreamed of and better. His lips were warm and tasted of cinnamon as they moulded against yours perfectly.

The warm and fuzzy feeling in your body turned into a fire as you used your free hand to cup his cheek and pull him closer to you. You wanted to be closer to him, fuck you needed to be.

It quickly became heated between the both of you, his warm tongue gently swiping over yours in a silent pleas to let him in. When you gently parted your mouth to let him in, he took it to his full advantage, eagerly exploring and dominating your wet cavern with a low groan.

You let out a small moan in response, using the hand that was on his cheek to tangle in his red hair and gave it a light tug. He let out a low growl and without breaking the kiss, he moved his muscular form to hover above you as he pinned your joined hands on the mattress.

When he pulled away, you were both panting and blushing. Red eyes burning with desire as he hungrily looked down at your smaller form beneath him.

“So I’ll take that as a yes?” He cheekily asked with a sharp toothed impish grin.

“Of course, Red Riot~” your saccharine voice answered as you wrapped your legs around his narrow yet muscular waist and brought him closer to you.

His cheeky smile turned into a warning glare as he let another low growl, you were testing his patience and he wasn’t having any of it.

“Careful little one. Don’t get me too excited, you wouldn’t want to this shark to bite, now would you?” He warned you with smoldering eyes half lidded in lust, making the fire in your veins turn into a raging inferno.

“Oh I’m sure I won’t regret it. Now show me how hard this shark can bite.” You challenged, the raging fire in your blood reflecting in your own half lidded hazy eyes. The cute set you had on definitely came in handy later.

»»————-　♡　————-««

[the-slasher-files]

DIFFERENT PREDATORS - chapter 1

INCLUDES ANDREI KULOKOVA x XAVIERA LAH-MO

I am utterly obsessed with my oc Andrei and he just might have finally met his match after 27 years of a brutal life lived. Once I saw @horrorslashergirl oc Xaviera I knew she was going to be Andrei’s perfect battle, a clashing of a wolf and snow leopard waiting to become something more... thank you for all the Andrei support!! Hope you enjoy this paring as much as I do 🔪💕

Chapter 1 from Xaviera’s perspective linked HERE

MASTERLIST

The wolf was on the hunt again. Leading him far away from his motherland and into the Himalayas, a place unfamiliar to him. In dense woods on a mountain side, he hunted, waiting for the prey to come into the large clearing, ice blue eyes were sharp and focused, breathing slow and squeezing his rifle, patients fading. 

The customer didn’t give a reason for the wolf to kill, but he didn’t need it. Just to see the blood ooze from the wounds under the broken bones, the smell of his gunpowder to the copper of the crimson liquid coating his hands as he squeezed, feeling the life drain away between his fingers, and the look, oh the look of prey when he would meet their eyes for one last time before they were gone underneath him. That was enough for the wolf. It was always more than enough. 

The prey followed the trail into the clearing as he knew they would. The snow creaked beneath his boots as he took his spot. Removing the cigarette from his mouth, letting it melt in the snow as he pulled up his half face mask, some sort of wolf and human combination of white teeth displayed on the black background; Becoming the full ruthless wolf he was trained to be, his uncle’s voice in his head “Take the shot”. With a large inhale his grip tightened on the metal in his hands, bearing his canines under the mask as the hair seemed to stand on the back of his neck, beckoning the hunter to survey his environment, watch for other predators lurking within the tress, but the desire for blood was too strong. He was lost in it.

Breathe... Wound the prey... Be grateful for the hunt... And enjoy the thrash of the body beneath you... Breathe

In a deep exhale the wolf took the shot, wounding a man in the knee forcing him down, trailing his blood. Wanting to bask in the odor of the gunpowder and the cracking of the guns release, it was cut short. Another shot rang out from the mountain side and reverberating off the trees of the forest. The wolf perked up with keen trained ears as he ran through the dense snow in protection. Two more cracks of the gun in the winter air sounded, helping him locate the position of the other hunter, higher on the mountain side. 

The gunshots were like home. Ones he knew well. Ones he grew up around. They were from a sniper rifle. 

Could she have found me? It’s been so long... Why now?... Why here?... Amaria...      

Turning his lips into a snarl seeing his prey gone to waste. The wolf moved within the forest quietly and rapidly, chasing his new challenge. Seeing the movement from where the shots had been taken, someone climbing down the ridge, a small prey indeed. He waited in the forest, among the trees. This was a chase he desired too much for guns to get in the way, he needed to feel the pulse beneath his skilled fingers. 

As the prey came closer the wolf saw a woman. Small, blonde with rosy cheeks from the bitter cold wind. “Amaria.” He ripped off his mask, hooking it along his holster. Taking a few steps foreword, huffing and licking his canines she turned to face the beast, icy blue eyes challenging and yet holding him captured within the gaze for a moment. 

This was not his sister, but a different predator. His instincts took over, desire and lust formed a pit in his stomach, as he started the chase. A wolf chasing a rabbit. Fingers twitching at the thrill of potential, claws and teeth bared. 

She was so small... So breakable... One to take home

The prey ran straight back up the ridge, a hard angle for anyone to accomplish but she was fast and agile, perhaps he got the animal wrong; she was more like a snow leopard in these mountains, she was at home here. However, this only added more fuel to the fire of the wolfs heart, wanting to conquer and devour any one that dare challenge him. The little one lost speed and fast as he stalked her. 

Only a few feet away she challenged him again, stopping and turning to the wolf, maybe trying to bargain or pled like he loved the prey to do; but there was something more to her, making him for once, a little unsure of himself. The woman grabbed something from her jacket and spoke confidently “One more step and you’re dead. I don’t suppose you would want a dose of Russell’s Viper venom into your bloodstream. Even if you survive the venom, the effects are life-long term.”   

The man huffed at her arrogance. She didn’t know his past, his training. The wolf moved swiftly and precisely, dodging her darts with ease and grabbing her small wrists in his massive left inked palm. Pinning her against an old pine tree, she tried to struggle against him but the little thing was helpless under the wolf who towered her. She looked up at him through her thick lashes, doe eyes making him want to devour her whole where she stands. Hissing and snarling like a little kitten trying to threaten a wolf, he smirked, canines on display as he moved to stroke her cold soft cheek.   

“Easy little mouse, easy...” Andrei spoke deeply, enjoying this one a bit too much. However the prey’s eyes changed, now wide and scared. Looking up there was a wall of snow coming fast, crushing trees and anything in it’s path. Andrei pushed away trying to claw at something until the snow hit him like a freight train, tossing his large frame like a doll into trees and knocking out the solider.  

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

Blinking slowly, Andrei opened his ice blue eyes, groaning at the soft light and the pain shooting through his body. Running his hand through his light brown hair he remembered the hunt, the avalanche, the prey. His adrenaline sparked again, army training engraved in his brain over riding any pain. The wolf needed to find out where he was, who saved him, if he was safe. 

Looking around he was in a cottage, warm light coming from the ceiling light. Snow was failing outside and the wind howled at the windows drafting through the old wood. The wolf was in a bed, bandaged and shirtless, weapons removed.

Eyes whipped to the door that opened in front of him, the girl walked in holding a cup of tea, white long hair flowing as she walked. The prey from before, on the mountain side. She was gorgeous and even smaller without the large winter coat weighing her down, it sparked a sense of warmth in his heart but the coldness persisted.

“Why did you save me?” he roughly questioned. The wolf did not care for who she was, he just needed to know why she helped him. What was she after.

“Would you have preferred I let you die under the ice-cold snow and bleed to death?” An American accent no doubt. She was somehow unfazed by him, most people would stare in fear at the shear size of the wolf, and cower when his canines were on display. She did not. It lit some sort of fire within Andrei, so small with no fear. Arrogance or strength, he did not know yet.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.” he grumbled and she raised an eyebrow at him, her icy blue eyes matching his own predatory gaze. 

“Are you a poacher?” she asked with her arms crossed over her chest, trying to intimidate the wounded beast laying in bed. The question made him pull his crooked smirk as he rested against the headboard of the bed. 

“A poacher of sorts…you can say dat.” yeah, killing people for money was sort of like poaching. She spoke quickly back not giving him a chance to remember some of his best hunts.  

“If you touch any animal I’m gonna skin your scalp off.” she told him, with no hesitation in her voice, making him raise his scarred brow. Shaking his head a little he grabbed the hot tea from the nightstand; it was shockingly his favorite kind, a deep earl grey; not the Russian blend of course but it was good nonetheless. 

“My hunting is different, little one….Humans are the real monsters. I think that we can agree.” Andrei explained gruffly knowing his past, then sipping the tea.  

“Food is almost ready. I will bring the tray upstairs, since your ankle is twisted I don’t want you stumbling down the stairs and twist your neck too.” And with that she left the room, confidentially and beautifully, like a winter cat truly at home here.

This one was different, a new predator he had never come across before. Much like his sister but softer, and with a different edge incasing her. Fishing in the pockets he found his cigarettes and lighter, pulling them out and lighting one up. Taking a long drag he looked at the snow falling, trapping the wolf inside. 

Sighing Andrei thought ‘What have you just got yourself into wolf’               

[tthankstoyou]

There needs to be a Kurt and Sam fanfic about them watching adventure time

here you go, i hope you enjoy 💅

read it under the cut or on ao3!

Kurt took his jacket off and hung it up on the coat rack next to the front door. He heard the TV on in the other room and assumed it was Finn watching his daily dose of afternoon cartoons.

Kurt had just gotten back from studying at the Lima Bean with Mercedes. His brain was fried and he was ready to mindlessly scroll through social media for the rest of the night. As he walked towards the stairs, he peeked into the living room and saw his boyfriend, Sam, laying on the couch instead of his brother. Usually Sam was at swim practice at this time and wouldn’t be home until just before dinner.

Curious on why Sam wasn’t still at school, Kurt walked into the living room and stood at the edge of the couch. Sam didn’t notice him at first, he was too engrossed in the cartoon he was watching. Kurt glanced at what was on the screen and saw ‘Adventure Time’ playing. Kurt looked back over to Sam, he was eating straight out of a box of chex-mix.

“What are you doing home so early?” Kurt asked and sat down on the armrest of the couch.

Sam smiled at Kurt and sat up, his box of snacks fell off his lap and Kurt quickly moved off of the arm rest to grab it. He caught the chex-mix before it spilled all over the floor and placed it on the coffee table ‘where it should have been in the first place,’ he thought.

“Coach Roz decided to give us today off, something about needing to focus her attention on taking down Sue. I don’t really remember what she said, I left as soon as I heard we were free for the day,” Sam said. He patted the cushion next to him, Kurt noticed the signal asking for him to sit and placed himself next to Sam.

“And you’re using your free time to watch cartoons?” Kurt asked.

“Dude, ‘Adventure Time’ isn’t just a cartoon, it’s a masterpiece.”

“Mhm, I’m sure it is,” Kurt said.

“Watch it with me, you’ll see.”

“Oh… I don’t know, I had a long day. I was planning on locking myself up in my room for the rest of the evening.”

“Please watch it with me, please,” Sam said and gave Kurt his best puppy dog eyes. There was no way that he could say no to Sam when he was looking at him like that. Sam leaned in closer to Kurt as he batted his eyelashes.

“Fine, I’ll watch it with you. It better be good,” Kurt said and gave into Sam. His boyfriend fist punched the air, making Kurt stifle a laugh.

“You’ll love it! You’re just in time, the next episode is starting now.”

Sam threw his arm around Kurt’s shoulder and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. Kurt smacked him in the chest and scolded him for his improper manners. Sam took his feet off of the table and mumbled an apology. Kurt kissed his cheek as a way of letting him know that he wasn’t mad.

“Who’s the fire girl,” Kurt said.

“That’s Flame Princess.” Kurt nodded at Sam’s words.

“Wait… is the dog who you always do impressions of?” Kurt turned his face to look at Sam.

“Yeah, his name’s Jake,” Sam said. Kurt hummed in response and returned to watching the show. He snuggled into Sam’s embrace and smiled as he heard Sam whisper the dialogue under his breath.

Kurt looked up at Sam and admired him. His heart filled with warmth as he saw his boyfriend in his element. It was little moments like this that Kurt knew he wouldn’t want any other boy. Kurt loved how excited he got over things like this, Sam found happiness in the little things. That was something that Kurt had learned from Sam, life is too short to not geek out over stuff.

Kurt couldn’t imagine what he would do without Sam and his dorkiness. He could spend all day in his arms and watching cartoons like this.

Kurt brought his hand up to Sam’s cheek and gave him a small kiss on the lips. They broke apart and Kurt smiled softly at his boyfriend.

“What was that for? Not that I’m complaining, I would never complain about your kisses, that was just out of nowhere.”

“You just make me really happy,” Kurt said.

“Thank you,” Sam replied. “You make me really happy too.”

Kurt kissed him once again, but it didn’t last long. Sam pulled away as a pink girl entered the screen.

“Sorry babe, but you can’t miss this part,” Sam said.

Kurt playfully rolled his eyes and settled back into his previous position.

An hour later, Sam and Kurt were laying on the couch together with their legs intertwined. Kurt had fallen asleep on Sam’s chest and was snoring softly. Sam mindlessly ran his hands through Kurt’s hair and placed small kisses onto the top of his head.

Sam glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that Burt was supposed to be home soon. He shook Kurt’s shoulder to try to wake the boy up.

“Babe, babe, you need to wake up. Your dad’s going to be home soon,” Sam whispered.

Kurt only snuggled more into Sam’s chest.

“I don’t want to move,” Kurt said.

Sam’s heart melted at the sight of his boyfriend not wanting to let go, but Burt didn’t know of their relationship yet and Sam didn’t want them to be exposed by cuddling on the couch. Sam poked Kurt and shook his shoulder again. Kurt finally slowly opened his eyes and yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

They heard the sound of the front door open, which shook Kurt completely out of his sleepy state. Sam and Kurt quickly moved to opposite sides of the couch and tried to pretend that nothing was more than platonic was currently going on.

“Good evening, boys,” Burt said as he walked into the living room. “What do guys have on?”

“‘Adventure Time,’” Kurt said.

“Looks interesting, mind if I watch?”

“Go ahead,” Kurt said and motioned to the armchair. Burt didn’t sit in his chair, though. Instead, he plopped himself in the middle of Sam and Kurt.

“I didn’t know you liked cartoon’s,” Sam said, trying to start a conversation.

“I don’t.”

Kurt and Sam didn’t say anything after that, they refocused their gaze on the TV and snuck glances at each other out of the corner of their eye. Even with Burt in the middle of them, Sam still mouthed along to the show. Kurt smiled as Sam quietly sang along to the ‘Bacon Pancakes’ song, unable to hide how cute he thought his boyfriend was.

[alolowrites]

A Beautiful Blessing

Summary: Someone leaves a mysterious box outside your apartment in the middle of the storm. Fortunately, no one gets hurt. 

Author’s Note: This is my first story for @bnhabookclub​‘s Hero Camp Bingo event happening right now! It officially runs from June 5th until August 15th and I received my very own bingo card to fill out. Fun fact, I wrote this story prior to the bingo event happening (lol), so I’m glad it worked out! 

I posted my bingo card below. Each time I submit a story for this event, I will cross off the prompt I used as well. The first prompt I crossed off was Adopt a Pet! Please enjoy!

Word Count: 1.5K

A powerful storm rages through your neighborhood.

It is the perfect excuse to stay inside and watch random Netflix movies with your favorite person by your side. You snuggle closer to Shinsou, resting your head on his shoulder; his arm comfortably holds you and acts like a weighted blanket that nearly puts you to sleep. You suppress a yawn as an impromptu lullaby emerges from the raindrops pelting against the glass window.

The movie ends, and you stretch forward, “Pick the next one.”

Shinsou reaches for the remote, moving the bowl of popcorn sitting in the middle. You snatch it before the snack falls, avoiding a great tragedy. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for last week’s popcorn mess; the couch wouldn’t stop crunching up a song that night. Shaking your head, you shove a handful of the buttery goodness into your mouth and check some text messages. Your ears perk when a distinct sound rings outside.

“Did you hear that?” You glance at the window. A ray of lightning scatters across the dark clouds, which looms above the apartment building, “It sounded like a high-pitch mewl.”

Shinsou shrugs, “Probably your thought process at work.”

You whack his stomach. He snickers and continues scrolling through the selection.

“Very funny,” you dryly remark. The wind howls as the storm picks up its strength. A bright, white sheet temporarily blinds the entire sky, followed by a ferocious thunder that shakes the apartment complex. Through your munches, you hear the high-pitch noise return. With narrowed eyes, you stand up from your couch, “I’m gonna go check it out.”

“I’ll start the movie without you if you take too long.”

“Pfft, sure.” You stride toward the door, but regret opening it when the rain rudely greets your face. Groaning, you rapidly scan around until something catches your eye. An odd, medium-sized cardboard box sits near the door, a raggedy shirt flapping on top; you become suspicious.

“Hitoshi!” His eyes immediately peel away from the TV at the sound of your worried voice. You look over your shoulders, “There’s a random box outside.”

Shinsou springs into action, “Don’t touch it and get away from the door!”

He snatches his scarf and rushes to the entrance. Just as you turn around, the same mewl cries from inside the box; it sounds like a baby animal. Your curiosity ultimately wins as you kneel to inspect the package. Shinsou screams out your name, but you ignore him like an idiot. Tossing the torn cloth aside, you gasp at the sight below—it’s a little kitten.

“Oh, you poor thing!”

The frightened animal shivers in the farthest corner from you. It helplessly cries like a broken record, and your hands reach inside to comfort the wet bundle. Shinsou arrives with his scarf ready to protect you from an attack. His defensive stance weakens when he sees a black kitten in your grasp.

You shield the animal from the rain, “Let’s get inside! Find me a towel!”

A trail of water droplets follows you to the kitchen. Shinsou hands you a towel before heading outside again to inspect the box. The kitten meows as they get dried, their head twisting nonstop and body squirming around. You couldn’t blame the innocent feline for being petrified. After a few minutes, you uncover the kitten and scratch behind their ears to calm them down; it works like a charm.

Cradling the fur baby in your arms, you search for a warm blanket and head to the couch. Shinsou finally joins you with a puzzled expression. His eyes land on the kitten comically wrapped up like a burrito. The animal sneezes and owlishly blinks at Shinsou; the hero fights back a snort.

“Was there anything else inside?”

“Nothing. Not even a single note.”

You frown, stroking the kitten’s forehead, “Who the hell left this poor baby outside in that dirty box? Especially in the middle of this horrible storm! What if we weren’t home to save them? I don’t even want to imagine how much this fur ball would have suffered.”

“I’m wondering why they chose our apartment,” Shinsou mutters, his mind trying to remember anyone who might know his address. He tries to keep his personal life under wraps, even if he works more as an underground hero. Only his closest friends know where he lives, but they never would do something like this. Shinsou didn’t find any explosives or deadly chemicals inside the box, ruling out a villain. Maybe a crazed fan? He’s had a few run-ins with them before. Your giggles interrupt his brooding thoughts.

Lilac eyes shift down and watch as the kitten chews on your finger. A small grin curves on Shinsou’s lips at the adorable sight. You loosen the blanket so the kitten can move more freely. Little paws press on your thighs as its button nose sniff your clothes.

Shinsou tilts his head, “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“Good question,” you hum and inspect the kitten’s behind, “It’s a girl!”

“We need to take her to the vet tomorrow,” Shinsou’s hand immediately gets attacked by the kitten’s paws and he chuckles while playing along. The exuberant fur ball distracts him from his thoughts, nipping the hero’s fingers with their sharp teeth. It does not hurt Shinsou one bit; if anything, the bite feels more like a small prick. He then grins, “Got to get this little rascal properly checked out for any injuries and see if she’s a lost pet.”

“I doubt she’s a missing pet.” An annoyed thumb jerks behind you, “This little angel was left outside our doorstep in a wet cardboard box. If anything, I want to find the person who abandoned her like this and kick their ass.”

A meow squeaks below. You gesture at the kitten and chirp, “See? Even she agrees with the idea!”

“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Shinsou smirks before searching for the nearest veterinary office on his phone. You roll your eyes and continue to play with the energetic kitten. Shinsou does not react when you reach for his scarf to entertain your new guest. Dangling the fabric in the air, you squeak when the kitten jumps and grabs it; the scarf quickly engulfs the fur ball’s tiny frame. After a few shuffles, her head pops out, and you laugh.

“Got the address,” Shinsou takes a screenshot of one location. He glances at the kitten who endearingly tilts her head at him; he shakes his own, but a faint smile creeps on his face, “I guess we’ll create a make-shift bed for her in our room.”

“Ooooh, yes! I got some old clothes we can use.” You scoop the kitten in your hands and jump off the sofa. Heading to the bedroom, you cry out, “C’mon! She needs some rest; poor baby has been through a lot for one night.”

Shinsou doesn’t argue with you as he snatches his scarf off the couch and follows closely behind.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

“Well,” the veterinarian does a quick once-over at her patient. You wait with bated breath for the doctor’s results. Shinsou stands beside you with arms crossed, “Despite missing some vaccinations, she appears to be a healthy three-month-old kitten. I gave her a couple of shots, but she will need to come back in a few weeks for the next doses, though.”

You are relieved, “Thank you, Dr. Sasaki!”

“You’re welcome,” she smiles, bopping the animal’s nose, “The kitten also has no prior owner since I did not detect a microchip. She’s all yours!”

The curious kitten almost falls off the exam table, but you grab her with lightning speed. As soon as the doctor leaves, you face Shinsou and slice the air with your hand, “We have to keep her!”

“Huh?”

“I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. She has no home, and I don’t want her ending up in a shelter. Besides, look at her!” You raise the kitten to his eye level and pout to strengthen your case. Shinsou arches an amused eyebrow. “How can you say no to that itty-bitty face?”

On instinct, the kitten meows and instantly melts the hero’s heart. He scratches the back of his neck while saying, “Okay, fine. We’ll keep her.”

You squeal, cradling the bundle of joy closer to your chest; she purrs softly in your arms. Shinsou enjoys seeing you this happy. Unbeknownst to you, he already made his decision after yesterday’s events. You and Shinsou played with the kitten all night long, laughing as she eagerly swatted a piece of yarn dangling mid-air. Once the mini tigress tired herself out, Shinsou tucked her into her make-shift bed.

Your smile brings him back to the present, “We still need a name for our little girl.”

“How about Emi?”

“Emi…” You test out the name and your eyes sparkle, “It’s perfect!”

Shinsou wraps an arm around your waist and fondly looks at his new child while grinning, “Welcome to the family, Emi.”

She is indeed a beautiful blessing.

Which prompt will be crossed off next? Who knows, depends on what my brain comes up with lmao. 

As always, thank you for reading! 

Hero Camp Bingo Masterlist

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, flynnifox!

For @flynnifox <3

Read On AO3

*****

Have a Cup of Christmas Cheer

Stiles had stopped counting all the times he had heard 'All I want for Christmas' today. It seemed like all the shops and all the streets and even the freaking Sheriff's station when he had gone to say hello to his dad at lunch time, all had the same freaking playlist going on loop and in all honesty Stiles was quite fed up with it. All of it.

He sighed, irritated and annoyed at the sound of some overused Christmas song and just kept standing in line in Reyes' Coffee Shop with a blank expression on his face.

He was dead on the inside. He hoped coming here was going to turn his day around. The barista, Erica, was one of his best friends in high school. It had been a few years, college and all that, but he still considered her a friend even if these days they only saw each other in the professional setting of her coffee shop, him being the client, and her serving him in daily doses of caffeine. She was wonderful enough to usually be able to brighten his day, even the worst of the worst when his boss at work had been a total pain in ass like he had been today.

There was just something about this time of year, Stiles wasn’t really sure Erica was going to have enough Wonder Woman power to make his life not seem bland and unappealing under the plastic mistletoe they had hung up just above the cash register.

She spotted him after a while and smiled one of her bright smiles. Her long curls of blond hair stuck out from under her Santa hat. Yeah because if the songs weren't enough to create the goddamn Christmas atmosphere they also had to add visuals to really be festive. She didn't seem to mind.

Stiles would really like to throw up.

Jackson freaking Whittemore, his actual real life nemesis from high school now turned into the CEO of the number one rival company from Stiles' job, bumped into him on his way out of the coffee shop.

Karma was a bitch like that.

Jackson snorted, “Seriously, Stilinski. I don't care what you do with your miserable life but could you cheer up a little ? You're killing the elves with your Grinch vibes.”

“You're killing the elves with your face.“ Stiles retorted.

It was not his best come back but he was a little out of it these days. He fidgeted and bit his lip out of annoyance.

“Wouldn't be surprised if you made the naughty list this year.” Jackson gave him a deprecating shrug.

Stiles was one hair away from just punching the smirk off his stupidly symmetrical face. He couldn’t do that though, not in Erica’s coffee shop. She didn’t deserve that, and he wasn’t rich enough to pay for any broken furniture, so instead he just said, “Fuck off.”

Jackson rolled his eyes and started whistling along 'Jingle Bells' on his way out.

Could Stiles’ day get any worse ?

It was not that Stiles hated Christmas. He didn't. He sort of liked it, accepted it at least. He didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Christmas was everywhere.

He could have gone on into details about how Christmas could never be what it used to be when he was little but there was no real use. He missed his mom, sure, but he missed more than that during this time of year. He missed... something he never really had. He missed not feeling so lonely.

He had his dad. He had Scott. Only, it wasn’t the same. Scott was married now, (wow way to make Stiles feel like an old bachelor at twenty five) so there wasn’t any Bro-Christmas anymore. And going to Scott’s house for Christmas was worse than being alone. Seeing the happy couple, the happy baby, the happy everything. Stiles could already feel the anxiety building up in his gut.

He was a great Uncle Stiles, but he didn’t have it in him right now. Not when he wanted it to be him. He had been ready for that, had been wanting that for even longer than Scott had. Stiles had been ready to find the love of his life when he was sixteen when Scott was still going from girlfriend to girlfriend until he finally found the one. Stiles… Well, things didn’t seem to be moving along as easily.

He couldn’t even blame it on his career because he was not that career oriented. He was still just in some stupid entry-level job at his office.

He didn’t care.

What Stiles wanted was to the happy husband with the happy baby in the happy household. Having enough money to make do was enough for him, he didn’t wish to live in a castle or drive a Porsche like his nemesis Whittemore. He wanted to stroll through the decorated streets with the intent of buying presents for people he loved, he wanted to dress up as Santa and eat some cookies and milk at midnight, he wanted the disastrous burned ham and the scrubbing of the ruined dishes before joining the love of his life in bed on Christmas night. He wanted the whole thing.

It was hard to settle for less.

He finally got to the counter and ordered his coffee. Black. No sugar.

“As dark as your soul,” Erica grinned as she wrote his name on a to-go cup.

Stiles grimaced what he hoped looked like a smile, which earned him a small laugh from Erica. She looked like a real Christmas angel when she laughed. Maybe he had been right to come here to cheer himself up a little after all.

His fake smile turned into a real one when Boyd, Erica's boyfriend, came out through the kitchen door. Strong tall dude with a red apron around his waist and sporting a Christmas hat : the perfect figure of manliness.

“Looking good, dude,” Stiles nodded in his direction.

“I know,” Boyd answered as confident as ever. Erica winked. Stiles’ tiny frozen heart melted.

Erica quickly shooed him away. The line had to keep moving. He would have liked to stay just a little longer but it was part of the business side of things to keep things going.

Now all he had left was to go back to his tiny lonely apartment and wait for the next few days to be over.

Stiles went to stand a little way off to the side to wait for his drink. He looked to the side, silently sending a prayer for Boyd to take his time preparing the drinks. He watched the bright garlands, let his eyes wander and follow their paths arching over the doors and on the walls. The red ornaments had been hung there with sticky tape, it wasn’t delicate by any means but it did the job.

He couldn’t  keep the deep sigh from escaping him. His love-hate relationship with Christmas was still going strong.

His eyes then landed on a guy just a few feet away. Stiles hadn't noticed him before. Then again he hadn't noticed much of anything except Jackson being his usual douche-bag self.

Now Stiles was actually looking. The guy seemed to be waiting for his drink too, fidgeting a little as he put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He must have been in the line just in front of him. It really spoke volumes about his current state that Stiles hadn’t noticed a guy that hot. He usually noticed these things. Not that it usually amounted to anything because Stiles really wasn’t a one night stand kind of guy. Stiles was a romantic and most importantly what he craved was intimacy and comfort. He didn’t really care about dick.

Oh but that jawline was definitely cut by the angels. Falalalaa blessed be the lord.

Even with dick out of the question, Stiles’ eyes could only rejoice in the pleasing aesthetics this guy brought to the world.

“Derek ?” Boyd called out, putting a cup down on the counter, before quickly turning to prepare other drinks.

The guy, Stiles’ guy, stepped forward. Okay, Derek. Derek. Stiles almost tasted the name on his tongue. Yeah, he had to agree, Derek seemed to fit that hot guy perfectly.

He didn’t have the time to analyze anything more than that before Boyd came to put another cup on the counter and called, “Stiles !”

Stiles jumped a little at his name. That was fast. He quickly made his way back, ready to talk to Boyd for a couple of more minutes before it was actually absolutely mandatory for him to either leave or find a place to sit. He planned on leaving, he didn’t want to sit all alone in the busy coffee shop. He wasn’t a hipster trying to find a vibe, he just wanted a couple more minutes to hear Boyd tell him one of the stupid things Isaac, their employee, got up to or something. Anything.

Okay so Stiles was a little desperate. Just a little.

“Excuse me,” a voice said behind him.

Stiles turned around so fast, he almost heard his neck creak. Derek, the hottest guy Stiles had seen in a long time, was standing there, frowning down at his cup.

Why was he still standing there ? That was definitely not proper coffee shop etiquette. Someone should tell him because no matter how hot a guy was, he was supposed to be moving along when the drink was retrieved. That was how a coffee shop worked. Stiles was supposed to be the only one allowed to loiter, that was his friend privilege.

The guy frowned again, and it seemed directed at Stiles this time. He leaned in a little closer. Stiles swallowed audibly. Now was not the time to get flustered but it had been a while since anyone had come close into his personal space. What was this man doing all of a sudden?

“Excuse me,” Hot Guy Derek said again. “I think you have my drink.”

What ?

It was Stiles’ turn to frown now. (The frowning contest is on, mister!) He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, “What?”

Stiles barely had the time to take his cup but he definitely had time to notice Erica's cursive handwriting unmistakably spelling out his name in black sharpie. It was not every name that could be mistaken for ‘Stiles’. What was this dude on about ?

He threw a quick glance in Boyd’s direction only to find him gone. The bro code really wasn’t what it used to be.

“Stiles,” Hot Derek said.

Stiles' brain short-circuited a minute, only able to gape and stare at the wonderful scruff on that man's face. Stiles would very much enjoy hearing his name coming out of that mouth somewhere more private. Somewhere in between some sheets maybe, under a duvet, safe and warm on a Sunday morning.

“Stiles,” He said again.

Stiles shook his head and blinked a little to meet Derek's eyes. Oh wow. Those eyes. Yeah Stiles’ brain wasn’t back online yet. Later he would be able to express in a lot more words how beautiful these green eyes looked under the cozy coffee shop lighting.

Were the twinkles in there only the reflection of the Christmas lights?

The whole street was covered with the red and green lights. Their glow was flickering through the large wall of windows.

The town was floating in the Christmas spirit and if Stiles had to put a face on a feeling, he might want to choose this face right here.

Here was a reason to accept Christmas a little more.

Wait. Hot Derek's eyebrows twitched. They were clearly trying to tell him something. Stiles followed his line of sight down to the cup he was holding. Derek's cup... which also had a name written in that same handwriting in black sharpie, except that instead of Derek's name, it was Stiles' name written there.

It was all there from the capital S to the lower case s, as if it had been copy-pasted from his own cup, except that on this one the i of his name has been dotted with a heart instead.

“Huh ?” Stiles said intelligibly.

“You have my drink.”

“Huh.”

Derek probably thought Stiles was a moron. Maybe it was not too late to act like a foreign exchange student or a tourist. Excusez-moi no hablo English? No, even better, Stiles was almost ready to unearth his fake polish accent even if he hadn’t spoken a word of that language since the last time he went to visit his Babcia with his mom and dad when he was eight.

“You ordered a black coffee.” Derek said simply. To prove his point, he slowly uncapped his cup to show the wonderfully black liquid inside. Dark roast, Stiles’ favorite. “You want me to guess what’s in your cup or is that enough proof?”

“Listen dude!” Stiles started a little too loud.

Stupidly, Stiles was ready to start a fight. He was fed up with everything today : work, stupid Jackson, stupid Christmas, stupid coffee shop messing up orders for no reason. He didn’t need an attractive guy getting in his face now because of some coffee ordeal. He just wanted to go home and wallow in his misery. It was a thing people did ; going home just to be free to be miserable without having the world there to look at them. In this case, Stiles was people.

Stiles just really wanted to be left alone.... or to be hugged or something.

So yes, he had spoken a little too loud, making some heads turn to look at them. He didn’t really want to cause a scene. It was a reflex more than anything. It was such a reflex that he hadn’t come up with the rest of the sentence.

He cleared his throat to find some composure. “I’m sure this is just a mistake.”

Way to state what seemed obvious.

Though… Now that he thought about it, Stiles knew this wasn't a mistake. He quickly glared in Erica’s direction. She was way too careful with her business to make a mistake like that. Plus the little heart on the i was definitely giving her away. She never put hearts on his cup.

His eyes met Boyd’s for a second and the playful glint in his eyes was enough to confirm Stiles’ doubts. Fuckers. Both of them.

Stiles just hadn’t been miserable enough that they had to come and mess with him on this goddawful day.

“Oh god, I hate them. I’m so sorry.” Stiles let his head fall. “They think they’re hilarious. It’s just, yeah, they’re sort of my friends, though clearly they shouldn’t ever have earned that title. I should only have nice friends. I should only have all the nice things. I don’t deserve this? All of today. I don’t deserve that. And they know I don’t like Christmas time! They’re just… ugh.”

He hit his forehead with his fist, wishing so badly he could just transport himself some place else. Stiles hated everything right now. Erica and Boyd had had to go find the hottest guy in town and pull a prank? And they called themselves friends? What a travesty.

“Why would it be funny?” Derek’s eyes weren’t leaving Stiles a second.

It was almost uncomfortable. Hot guys rarely paid attention to him so Stiles lacked the proper defense mechanisms to help him cope with what was happening right now. Without thinking he brought what he believed to be his cup to his lips and gulped down a disgustingly sweet mouthful of what he guessed to be a white chocolate drink. The sugary feeling stuck all the way down his throat. It was so bad, he choked.

Heads turn in their direction again because Stiles was nothing but a discreet guy. God, could he please just disappear instead of making a fool out of himself?

Derek’s hand was on his arm, holding him upright, brushing down to his elbow almost like a caress. Stiles was definitely imagining the look of concern on the other man’s face. There was no way this was happening right now.

“Here!” Stiles all but shoved the burning hot cup of white chocolate in Derek’s chest. “That’s definitely yours.”

Derek let go of his arm, his fingers brushing against Stiles’ as he moved to catch the cup Stiles was handing to him.

Every touch felt like burning, Stiles was that touch-starved. Sure he shook hands with his colleagues at work but that was not the same. Shaking hands with people he barely tolerated definitely didn’t bring out any Jane Austen type of vibes in his heart. Here though, he could very well be named Elizabeth Bennett, he wouldn’t be the wiser.

Derek almost smiled, just a tiny smug curl on the corner of his lips. Stiles’ eyes widened as he realized that he basically had drunk in this stranger’s cup just before giving it back. That was definitely not proper coffee shop etiquette. Germs and all that.

Stiles was a disgusting twenty-something spreading his disgusting saliva all over the place, and by all over the place Stiles meant this thirty-something God of beauty.

There was just a tiny hint of grey, salt and pepper in the scruff. So incredibly endearing for some reason. He never really knew he had a type until today but he might just have had his revelation moment. Or maybe someone like Derek was just so beautiful that he would be anyone’s type. What are the chances that a guy like that would be gay or bi or pan or any of the sexualities that would give Stiles the slightest most tiniest chance? Zero, null, void of any chance that was what it was. Either that or he was married or a Jackson Whittemore type of douche bag.

Though he didn’t feel like a douche bag.

He felt sort of soft. He felt like someone who would accept to be the big spoon.

Stiles was about to reach for the cup again but was stopped short by Derek who pointedly stared at him straight in the eyes as he slowly brought the white chocolate to his mouth, took a sip and let out a small moan of satisfaction before licking his lips. Slowly, oh so slowly.

What the hell was going on here? Stiles frowned at him, mouth half open. It felt like the whole universe was out to get him. This shouldn’t be as sexy as it was.

Hot Derek looked up at him, smirking. He knew what he was doing. He knew.. He knew he was hella attractive, he knew how to use it. This was terrible. So so terrible. If germs had to be exchanged, why not a full on make-out in the back alley under the twinkling lights? Stiles could be down for that.

But all of this was just a joke, a prank. This wasn’t just a random guy meeting him a random way. This was a prank pulled by people he hadn’t seen outside of this coffee shop for years. He called them his friends but, really, maybe they were just acquaintances. He didn’t even know what Erica and Boyd got up to outside of the small walls of this coffee shop. For all he knew, Derek could be one of their friends, in on the joke, here to make Stiles miserable, really turn him into a Grinch for real.

“Can I get you a, uh, drink?” Derek asked. Stiles hadn’t expected that to be what came out of Derek’s mouth.

“I already have a drink,” Stiles narrowed his eyes and pointed at the hearted-Stiles cup.

“Right. Of course. There you go,” Derek handed him the cup.

Stiles took it, pulled it closer to his chest as, cradling it as if to bring comfort to the cup or to himself. He was not really sure. He didn’t seem to know much of anything right now. The only thing he knew was that Derek was not moving. He was not going away. He only stood there, looking at Stiles for some reason.

“Are you here with someone?” Derek asked now, taking another ostentatious sip of that Stiles-germ-filled drink.

What was Stiles supposed to say, did it look like he was here with someone? Would he be standing there with a hot stranger if he had anywhere else to be?

Yeah probably.

That guy was built like a Greek God, chiseled and beautiful. And he also smelled good, Stiles could tell. He didn’t know what brand of cologne it was or maybe it was just the pheromones in the air, but Stiles was swooning just a little bit. Not drooling, definitely not drooling.

The good question was why Stiles wasn’t leaving. He had his drink in hand, the deal was done. The cups had been exchanged. Stiles should go and save himself. He probably enjoyed being ridiculed. That was the masochistic low-self-esteem acting up again.

More importantly, why did the thought of leaving make him feel so weird inside? It felt like a little Christmas elf was in his chest using his heart as a punching bag.

Derek’s face did another of its twitches. Dude, this guy knew how to use his face to communicate like you wouldn’t believe. It was a little terrifying. Stiles got the message loud and clear that he had been silent a lot longer than politely acceptable.

That was a rare occurrence. Stiles was a talker. Everybody complained about it, he talked talked talked. Not always about the things that mattered though. That was one of his problems, wanting to keep face in all circumstances, not wanting to be a burden. That was why he never told Scott about feeling lonely. So he talked, he talked about Star Wars and he talked about the Mets or anything, talked about Lacrosse if he wanted to have the chance to have a two way conversation instead of just a monologue.

“No, I’m singl- alone ! I’m here alone.”

Stiles scrunched up his nose. That sounded bad. So. His anxiety was going to make him think about this for days and he might even wake up in the middle of the night four years from now thinking about how bad this had been. Smooth Stilinski, so smooth.

The soft cling of dishes being deposited on the counter pulled Stiles out of his never ending inner monologue. Derek turned around too,his eyes finally letting go of their hold on Stiles’ soul.

Saved by the bell as one would like to believe, except that when Stiles looked up he found Erica standing there behind the counter with some sort of wolffish grin on her face. It was more terrifying than being faced with an actual predator.

“On the house, boys. Enjoy!” She announced, her tone ringing like wind chimes.

Stiles glared. Her cheerfulness sounded just a little too forced under the circumstances.

He wanted to strangle her. She was only saved by the fact that there was a counter between them and about twenty people there to witness it. All he could do was glare, curse her with his mind, make it very obvious that he was not happy with her right now.

Still, Stiles was about to tell her off when Derek grinned and stepped forward to grab the two small plates of red velvet cheesecake with one hand.

Oh no, now Stiles was thinking about Derek’s hands.

“Thank you,” Derek said softly.

Derek seemed to accept what was happening without any trouble. What was up with that? Stiles still felt like he was living one hallucinatory scene in a movie or maybe one of these hidden camera gags. He was still ready to bolt, to dash out of there and leave them all to never return. This was a betrayal of the highest order. Reyes’ Coffee Shop was supposed to be a safe space. It was supposed to feel like home. Yes a home with stupid Jackson Whittemore as a guest sometimes but a home nonetheless.

“Your friends really are pushing this,” Derek huffed out, sounding amused. “If I had any criticism, I’d say she could have cut the cheesecake in the shape of a heart and given only one piece with two forks. This is really amateur work.”

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. It came out a little hysterical, a little loud. Again. His nervousness always had the best of him. He was a mess, and now he was obviously blushing. The hot flush moved on his cheeks and ran down his neck. When Derek smiled, Stiles stopped breathing entirely. The smile didn’t feel mocking. Surprisingly.

“Dude, it’s not too late, you can still put that in the suggestion jar!” Stiles said, pointing to a piggy bank next to the cash register.

Derek frowned, “Isn’t that for tips?”

Stiles only shrugged. That would be a sweet revenge. Derek rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go sit.” Derek offered, before looking down and adding, “Unless you don’t want to?”

It came out as a question. Shy. Stiles could laugh again because this amazingly beautiful man in front of him was acting insecure as if Stiles had the upper hand here.

Derek’s ears were turning bright red. The color fit perfectly with the theme of the season. And again Stiles thought about Christmas. It would be such a shame if anyone was ever to reject such a heartwarming Christmas spirit.

Stiles’ heart skipped a beat or two at the sight of Derek who was now looking up at him.

“It’s my birthday today,” Derek confessed.

“It’s your what?” Stiles exclaimed.

“My birthday.”

“Yeah I heard you the first time, but, man, I don’t understand why you would tell me these things?” Stiles was almost getting angry now. “Because if it’s your birthday… it’s even more terrible! First it means you’re a Christmas baby which means you might hate Christmas even more than I do. Or love it wholeheartedly. I don’t know which is worse. But also if it’s your birthday and you’re here by yourself and my friends decided it would be fun to pull this stupid plan to get you to what? Meet me? Because oh my god, that’s some bad karma. I thought my karma was a bitch but dude , yours might be even worse! Imagine karma doing that to someone on their birthday… Jesus fucking Christ.”

When Stiles finally stopped his grand overly dramatic speech, he found Derek only looking at him, soft crinkles on the corners of his eyes.

“Is that it? Are you done?” Derek asked.

“Yes. You gotta admit I’m right though, but yes, I am done.”

“Are you always this stubborn?” Derek shook his head slowly. “The question is only rhetorical.”

Stiles snorted. He crossed his arms in a way he hoped to be manly. It failed as he had to be mindful of his coffee cup (the one Derek had uncapped but hadn’t bothered putting the lid back on earlier because apparently Hot Derek didn’t care about hot liquid hazard).

“Let’s make this easier on both of us.” Derek huffed out. “You’re single. I am too. It’s Christmas Eve, it’s my birthday, and I spent all day working. You’re cute,” he stopped a second to smile at Stiles’ shocked face. “You’re also ridiculous, but in a good way. Your friends are meddlers-”

“The worst kind of meddling meddlers.” Stiles had to agree.

“Who clearly care about you enough to pull something like this. That has to mean you are at least a decent enough person.”

“I’m a great person!” Stiles felt the need to correct. Look at him finding some sense of self worth when needed!

“Well, I’d like to be the judge of that.” Derek smiled. “If you’d let me.”

“What?” Stiles’ brain might be short circuiting again.

“Say yes, Stiles!” Boys shouted from where he was standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Fucking Hell Stiles!” Erica added.

Derek was full on grinning now. The dude thought all of this was wonderful. This whole mess of life Stiles had, it didn’t seem to scare him or push him away.

“Let’s go sit and enjoy some cheesecake.” Derek didn’t wait for Stiles to agree and just led the way to an empty table close to the window.

The lights twinkle again, illuminating the small wooden table as Derek unceremoniously dropped the small plates of cheesecake on the tabletop.

Stiles reached for him before Derek sat down.

“You say that like it’s easy but you say 'cheesecake' and I hear a lot more than that.” Stiles admitted.

He was a little breathless. That mean elf in his chest had taken to squeezing his lungs now, stomping on his heart too.

“If the cheesecake is good, that might mean a date or two.” Derek was acting casual about this.

“Again. You’re doing it again . Because when you say-“

Derek cut him short, leaning in to kiss him, swallowing down soundless words.

“I think you heard me just right.” Derek smiled again. “Tomorrow is Christmas and I’m driving back to my hometown to be with my family. I’m going to assume you’re not up for that yet. My sisters, huh, they’re a lot to handle. But tonight… Tonight, I’m all yours.”

Stiles let out a small surprised breath. His heart was growing so big all at once, all the air was being pushed out. Derek knew what he was doing. Derek fucking knew. There was so much implication in what he was saying and yeah sure Stiles definitely didn’t feel up for an official meeting with the family tomorrow (what the hell?) but who knew? Maybe next year?

“Wait, I just need to-“ Derek said before leaning in once more, raising Stiles’ chin an inch to angle him just right to capture his lips again.

This time Stiles felt more prepared, he didn’t just take it, he kissed back. They were keeping it chaste, it was a first kiss. They were still in the middle of the coffee shop. But Stiles couldn’t help it, he had to taste more. He ran his tongue softly on the underside of Derek’s upper lip. Stiles needed just a little more time and a little less audience to dare slip his tongue inside and -

“Yeah,” Derek breathed out, pulling away. He nodded, seemingly satisfied by the result of what he had 'needed to'.

“You don’t know what you’re signing up for. I’m no piece of cake.” Stiles needed to warn him.

“Can’t wait to find out.” Derek said before turning serious. “If this is the fine prints of some imaginary contract we’re signing, I probably have to disclose that I'm not perfect either.”

“I’m loving your business talk so much.” Stiles snorted.

“You say business but I hear a lot more than that.” Derek’s tone was serious but his face absolutely gave away how proud of himself he was.

“Shut up,” Stiles couldn’t help but smile. His grin was so wide it actually hurt his cheeks.

“Do you actually want to eat that cheesecake or should we get out of here?” Derek asked, his wonderfully endearing blush back in full force.

‘All I Want For Christmas’ was coming back on the radio and Stiles could actually laugh now. He still couldn't believe any of it was really happening.

“Race you to the door!” He grinned before starting off like a lunatic.

He could hear Derek follow him quickly but bumping into someone and apologizing before reaching Stiles again, his hand finding Stiles’ lower back as they tried to both squeeze in the entryway.

“Get it Stiles!” Stiles heard Erica shout out as they were about to open the coffee shop front door to head out. “Get it.”

“Bowchickabowwow!” Boyd sing-songed, slapping Erica’s ass with a dish towel.

Oh for fuck’s sake.

Stiles sent them the middle finger. They were going to hear him next time he comes in. He was not going to let them live it down. They probably won’t either, especially if their stupid prank actually worked. Stiles was probably not going to survive this.

Erica laughed. She knew she'd won.

“It’s not Valentine’s so I can’t be cupid but who says I’m not up for saving Christmas?! Thank me later!” She called after him.

Stiles wanted to retort, but Derek’s hand just found his, their fingers intertwined.

And yeah, this right here, this was a true Christmas miracle.