#nah but i actually was sad when he picked up an injury because it looked like the lad trying his best was playing the u21 games and all

[dr4kenlvr]

shameless

feat. hanma shuji x fem!reader - fluff (9.2k)

—where the reader can't help herself from meeting hanma at the same place and time. but hanma can't help himself, either.

nana's note: coming back every 3 months with a hanma piece has gotta be the wackest thing anyone's on tumblr ever done. but this one is nearly 1k??? oh my god. much love and i appreciate you all so much. warning. some minor descriptions of injury

you try to shake off the look on your friends' faces when you told them you wouldn't be joining them for late night rides and snacks. "but you said that last week!" they whined, brows furrowed and arms crossed. you waved them off with a genuine smile, genuine enough to deceive the bunch that you were headed home.

but home didn't look like the alleyway you stand in, brick walls cold yet decorated with countless graffiti. your eyes trace the wild lines of colour, working themselves in harmony as they intersect. numerous bold words you couldn't quite make out, but one was oddly distinct.

reaper.

"hey," a smooth voice suddenly calls, "you're here."

your eyes shoot to the familiar figure at the entrance, his stature illuminated by the singular yellow light between us. you signal him to come closer, almost irritated why he's standing there for so long. a quiet part of you needs him closer.

"you're here, too," you muse, a small smirk on your face as he approaches. like always, the breath in your lungs is knocked out as he hovers over you. the gleam above us almost makes his yellow eyes glow, bright and cat-like as he grins down at you.

"you wait long?" he asks, propping a bent leg on the wall, leaning back beside you. he cranes his neck, eyes squint and focused on only you.

you shake your head, leaning your head back. "nah," your gaze traces over his face. there's a few small bandages lining his jaw, and a larger one at his cheek. his left eyes seems to be bruising slightly, too. you furrow your brows, standing straighter. "how many fights have you been in the past week?"

hanma's grin grows, and he mirrors your posture. "what, you worried about me now, darlin'?"

you stiffen. darling, or darlin' as he would say. you never knew how to feel every time those two syllables left his lips, limbs freezing but heart picking up. the same mouth that spits so much venom at others—can actually call you something so adoring?

instead of answering, you lift a hand up to grab his. your thumb strokes gently at the bruised skin, splotches of irritated skin peeking through the poorly placed bandages. you almost wished you could've been there to do it for him.

now it's hanma's turn to freeze up, but he wills himself to get over it. this isn't like him. he looks down at his palm, so much larger than yours, and at the attentive way you inspect his wounds. there's a sad pout on your lips that hanma can't help but smile at. every time the pair of you hide away like this, you never fail to notice every injury he's sustained from the last. well, at least the ones visible to the eye. he wonders how you'd react to the large bruise on his ribcage. but maybe another week.

"m'fine, darlin', the others ended up more fucked than me," he soothes. "you know i always make sure they do," his voice hums, that velvet tone of his warming your body like no one else's. your bones nearly vibrate at the way he bends lower to have a better look at your face, before deciding that doesn't work.

instead, he brings a hand beneath your chin to lift your head up. your orbs meet his, falling in a trance that feels so, so right. an awed exhale escapes your lips at the man who holds you with punishment—because you wonder why this feels like a reward. for being able to hide whatever it is the two of you have become, will become, you start to think that maybe... this is okay. that silent part that craved him so near, scream out for you to reciprocate.

you place two gentle palms on his chest, his breath hitching in response. "i know," you whisper, the words almost silent. usually, he would've taken you out on the road by now, or taken out a box of cigarettes to smoke. but your feet are glued to the ground, the world outside this alleyway forgotten as he holds you.

"you know," he repeats, barely louder than you. he thinks you know him better than anyone. he looks forward to seeing you waiting for him. his feet take him to this place, like clockwork. and he can't shake off the feeling that you are just right.

and everything feels just right when he leans in, waiting. but it's all you need, lifting your head higher to meet him half way. hanma tastes like cigarettes, like smoke invading your lungs and filling them with him, him, him. he groans softly, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. his hand trails around your neck to cup your nape, pulling you in further while his other hand rests on your waist. your hands loop around his neck, tugging him down.

the movement makes him chuckle against your lips, the sound so adorable you want to hear it over and over again. his tongue swipes your bottom lip before he parts from you, but only ever so slightly. the two of your pant softly, foreheads resting against one another.

he smiles down at you, the kind that makes you smile right back.

"let me take you out for a bit," he whispers, "properly."

maybe home didn't need to look like somewhere, you thought. maybe it was a feeling, like the warmth filling your body to the tips of your ears when you nod.

"okay," you whisper.

[xxfangirl365xx]

Question: "What is a day you'll never forget?"

Ghoul's answer: The Day we met Show Pony

NOTE: Written in my wattpad a few months ago, i posted Jet's and Kobra's here so here is Ghoulie's (:

Mine predates all of the other guys' stories and it's kinda sappy but why not. Mine was the day I met my fellow prankster Show Pony. Despite popular belief they didn't just roll up and start hanging around with us.

The four of us ( Poison, Kobra ,Jet and I) had been in the zones about a year and had pretty well adjusted to life out in the middle of nowhere. We were on patrol by ourselves, one of the first times Dr.D let us do that alone. Basically we got to drive around all day, nothing usually ever happened. On this day in particular we were on our way home and spotted something off in the distance...Dracs? Possibly. We drew out ray guns and headed over only to be met with a horrifying scene of three people, all fairly young, seemingly dead.

"Dear Destroya" Poison remarked observing the sad scene

They definitely had just escaped the city and made it pretty far into the zones...unfortunately they were unarmed and didn't stand much of a chance.

Jet went to the three and looked to see if by some miracle they were alive. First two were a sad head shake no.

The third person had long dirty tangled black hair and was maybe about 17 years old...about the same age as me. Jet gently grabbed their wrist expecting nothing and were were all shocked when he found a pulse.

" Guys! This one's alive!"

" They're bleeding from somewhere on their head" Kobra noted, hiding behind his brother, scared for who knows what reason.

It's not a secret that I hate blood, I get a paper cut and nearly pass out and the guys make fun of me for it a lot, but this time it didn't bug me, I was much more bothered by the fact this poor kid was now hurt and alone laying next to their dead friends. I wasted no time In gently picking them up and we headed back to the car so we could go back to the diner and hopefully help this kid. I rested their head in my lap to keep them as comfortable as I could on the ride home. I took my vest off and covered them with it because it was getting cold. I felt really bad, you know, I was so lucky to have found a good group to rely on and call my family and I think this made me realize how fortunate I really was. This kid needed a friend and I decided to be that friend.

We got home and I carried their limp body in the diner and laid them on an extra mattress we had.

" YO DR.D" Poison yelled

" What's up boys?" He asked coming into the room a few seconds later ( this was before he hurt his leg)

"We found this wanderer on the route home" Poison explained " Their buddies were dead but they're alive for the time being"

He stood over my shoulder looking at the kid

" Should I call a doctor?" he asked after a second

" Aren't you a doctor?" Kobra asked confused

He laughed, realizing he had never clarified where that title came from

" It's just a name, I ain't got a degree to back it up. I don't know shit about medicine" he continued

" Ohhhhh..." we exclaimed in unison

"I'll call someone" He said leaving the room

I sat next to the kid for a while, just watching the rise and fall of their chest for what seemed like hours until an actual doctor came.

He looked them over before coming to the conclusion they were in perfect health other than a head injury.

" Just keep a close eye on them for the next few days,once they wake up they may be a little out of it but I'm sure they will be okay." He said before him and Dr.D went outside to smoke a cigar and gossip for a while.

" Well, you heard him. I guess they're gonna be alright" Jet said. "Well' I'm gonna go change the tire on the Trans-am, it's got a leak."

" I'll come watch." Poison said , Kobra following right behind his brother

Jet poked his head in the doorway after a second.

"You coming Ghoul?"

" Nah, I'm gonna sit with them." I said

" alright"

I sat for a while enjoying some silence until the kid began to wake up. Of course I had never been in a situation like this before.

I sat next to them and gently moved the hair out of their face.

"Ugghhh-shit" they mumbled groggily

'"Uhhh...Um.." what are you supposed to say in this situation?! " He-y?"

They looked over at me and the first they they said...I kid you not was

" Why do you have a bee on your sleeve?"

I looked at my shirt sleeve..I do have a bee on my shirt. Huh...good observation.

" Who...are you? You look funny." They said again

" I'm Fun ghoul, I'm Killjoy." I explained " what's your name?" I asked, unsure if they could answer that question. To my surprise they answered rather quick

" I've been waiting foreverrr for someone to ask me that. My name's Show Pony." They said slurring their speech.

" Nice to meet you, Show Pony... How ya feeling?"

"I dunno" they giggled

"Looks like you hit your head pretty bad huh?"

" I think so" they said continuing to giggle like a crazy person

" What's so funny?" I asked starting to laugh too

" The room's spinning it's like a carnival ride"

" Oh yeah that is fun- do you like carnivals?"

"Yeah...no clowns though"

" Oh you don't like clowns?"

" nu uh they're creepy and smelly...am I smelly? The dessert is gross." They thought for a second before they started crying

" Am I a clown? I'm weird looking and I smell" they said in between tears

I forgot the kind of wack mood swings that happened when you were going through withdrawals from BLI brainwash drugs.

'"Hey, you're not a clown, don't cry" I said, trying to comfort them.

Without a second though I knelt down further and hugged them.

They stopped for a second and were perfectly still.

" I overstepped and made them uncomfortable!" I said in my head " Oh Ghoul you idiot!"

To my surprise they hugged back and quietly whispered

" Thank you"

I spent the rest of the night doing my best to take care of Show Pony and just chatting and giving them a hard time while they tried to tell lame jokes such as this fun one at 2:07 AM

" Hey Ghoul Knock Knock"

"Who's there?"

" Boo"

" what?"

" Nooo you're supposed to say boo who!"

" Aww don't cry Pony"

" Your a jerk"

Show Pony became very good friends with us all and impressed Dr.D with their intense knowledge of music and when he started his station he made Show Pony his official helper.

So yeah, I love Pony, they're one of my best friends no matter how annoying they can be, one of my favorite people and a part of my large Zone family.

Anyways that's my story, see ya later

-Fun Ghoul

[imagoddamnonionmason]

Howdy stranger original poster of the ask game

🎭- what’s their dream musical role? (If you don’t know musicals pick a movie role)

🌋- quick they have to save a town from an erupting volcano what do they do?

🏥- how do they act when their hurt/sick

🏛️- they’ve suddenly become President of the moon. What do they do?

for any OC

Eyup, nice to meet ya mate! Thank you for the ask!!

So, I'm gonna split the questions between a few of them :0c

-----

🎭- what’s their dream musical role? (If you don’t know musicals pick a movie role)

So I instantly knew I would be answering this question for Nanette. Cannot be convinced otherwise that this woman doesn't know most musicals and sings them in the shower. I think if she were to pick a role, one that she'd absolutely love and get giddy over performing, would be that of Jenna from Waitress. She loves the actress' voice and the songs are just so lovely - there's the good balance of funny, love, sadness. That and she is a mother and I feel she can relate to some things within the show and Jenna herself.

🌋- quick they have to save a town from an erupting volcano what do they do?

This is the first time I'm actually writing about him... but I think this question would be great for exploring Keith Wells, my CIA Agent.

He'd probably watch it burn. Unless losing the town would affect Perseus, his faction and their goals, nah that bastard would put a pair of sunglasses on and watch the flames. Probably get a kick out of it, too, the little rat.

🏥- how do they act when their hurt/sick

Franca is an absolute pain in the arse when it comes to being sick or injured.

When sick she'd put it off until someone pulls her aside and says 'you look like absolute shit mate please go and rest'. Even then, she wouldn't allow anyone to fuss over her because she hates the attention. She never had it growing up and she doesn't need it now, so just leave her to her hovel in her bedroom and when the sickness has cleared she'll emerge like nothing ever affected her.

When injured, she would be worse than when she is sick; getting illness is something that someone can't control, you know, it's all 'it is what it is'. Being injured? Well, according to her that's usually because someone has been reckless and stupid and should have being paying attention... so when she's the one that's been reckless... and stupid she'll hate others knowing she's injured because then they'll laugh at her. Like, you spend all this time lecturing us about safety and not getting hurt and then you go do it, kinda thing.

She will also refuse treatment because 'I'm a medic, I can take care of the injury myself'.

Yep. 141 sometimes have their hands full with this little Italian/English woman.

🏛️- they’ve suddenly become President of the moon. What do they do?

Haha, I'm going to do little Ashley Woods for this because toddlers have the best imaginations.

She would declare to her parents, Jodie and Frank, that she is now the president of the moon and if ya wanna live there, you gotta give her the sweet tax. If you do not have sweets, then chocolate milk will be fine. If you do not have chocolate milk, then unfortunately you cannot live on the moon with her, the president, and so will be 'thrown off'.

Frank is nodding along, agreeing that throwing people off the moon would be a good solution to not receiving the sweet tax. He is proud of his daughter for not taking any shit - no sweets or chocolate milk? Yeah, see ya!

I also imagine that she's wearing a blanket as a cape and is wearing one of those paper crowns kids can get from fast food restaurants. That is the uniform of the Moon President. The crown would be slightly too big for her head, so drops down a little on one side, but she'd probably mutter something about 'that's how it's supposed to look' if her mom tried to adjust it.

Sigh... Ashley is an adorable menace.

-----

Thank you again for the ask!! Hope you had fun reading these!

~Goose

[suckmyarschkarte]

the height difference 😭

[maybe-theres-hope]

Tarlos Fic - Dinner Date

3.2k | T | Warnings: Blood, Injuries (mostly minor) | Contains: Judd/Carlos friendship, Tarlos being perfect, blue Camaro (rip)

Read on AO3

“So, what are your plans for the night?” Nancy asked as they exited the ambulance, their shift nearly over as long as the bell didn’t go off in the next ten minutes. 

TK smiled to himself for a moment before he spoke. “Well, Carlos is taking me to Jeffrey’s, so…”

“Holy mother,” Nancy breathed, looking at him with obvious envy. “Do you guys have a ten year anniversary or something coming up? Did he get some kind of commendation at work? Because I know your last one was like a month ago, so.”

“No, no anniversary, that’s in a couple of months. And its three years, Nance.” He chose to ignore her muttering about their mushiness ‘aging me ten years’. “And nothing from work that I know of. Maybe he just loves me?” TK couldn’t stop grinning while they stocked the bus and readied for the handover. 

“He loves you crap ton! Their wagyu strip steak is a hundred and twenty-five dollars!” Nancy had her phone out, obviously googling the menu. 

“Well at least we’ll save money on wine,” TK said with a chuckle.

“I’ve heard of the place by reputation but like, dude, who ever gets the chance to actually go there?”

“TK it seems,” Tommy cut in. “Why don’t you go on? We got it here and you’re gonna need at least an hour to pick out an outfit.”

“And gel your hair. You and your dad are way more alike than you want to admit,” Nancy added with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. You sure, Cap? I can stay and help?”

“I’m sure, kiddo. Go get dolled up for your man. Eat a few bites for us, yeah?” Tommy yelled at his retreating figure. She and Nancy looked at each other with grins as they caught the little skip in his step. 

“So, what do you think the occasion is?”

Tommy looked back at Nancy with a gleam in her eye. “I can wager a guess, but I don’t want to jinx it.” Nancy just gave her a look and went back to restocking.

--

Around 8 p.m., Owen was sitting in his office toying with his phone in his hand, smiling at his last text exchange. 

we’re just leaving the house now, wish me luck!

you’re not gonna need it, kid :)

“Not if I know my son anyway,” Owen said aloud to the empty room. He wondered if it’d happened yet. No incoherent string of emoji’s from TK yet, so he doubted it. 

He was shoving the phone back into his pocket with the bell went off. 

--

“Alright guys,” Owen said into the mic from the Captain’s chair. “Dispatch says three vehicles involved, two still on the road and one went over the side into the ravine. Police are on their way but we’ll probably beat ‘em there. Strickland, Marwani, soon as we get there I want you to harness up and get down in that ravine. Judd, you too. You’ll be in command down there and I’ll stay up top with the other two vehicles. Everybody else you’re with me, got it?”

A chorus of “Copy that, Cap,” and suddenly they were on the scene. 

--

“Marjan, Paul, we’re goin’ down!” Judd called to them as the rest of the crew went over to the silver Prius and black Mazda that were crumpled in the middle of the two-lane highway. Judd wasn’t a prayin’ man, but he sent up a little something to the man upstairs that this went their way. It looked bad. 

Paul arrived at his side first, strapped into his gear. “Marjan’s grabbing the bag from the truck, she’s coming.” 

“Alright. We’ll go down this way,” Judd said, pointing to a safe-ish stretch of hillside. “Can’t see the other car from here but dispatch said bystanders saw it go over. Probably just hidden in the trees.”

“Okay guys, let’s do this!” Marjan called, harnessed and carrying the medical bag and a backboard. “TK’s gonna be sad he missed this. Medical doesn’t get to harness up a lot and I know he loved it. He coulda helped.”

“Nah, he’s got better things tonight. Carlos was takin’ him to Jeffrey’s,” Paul said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Ohh, fancy,” Marjan said with a smile. “What’s the occasion?”

They’d reached the bottom and were starting to look through the brush and low-hanging trees for a vehicle. 

“Don’t know,” Paul answered. “But I think Cap’s in on it somehow.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Judd cut in as he whacked a few branches out of his way. “Carlos came by the station a few weeks ago, and they sat up in Cap’s office for an hour before he left grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater.” 

“I have no idea what that means,” Paul said with a laugh. 

“Hey guys, look!” Marjan called from a few yards to the left. The other two went to her position and saw what she’d found. A track in the underbrush where it had been torn at and flattened. “Think this is the place.”

“Let’s go,” said Judd. They followed the path through the brush for a couple of yards before they caught sight of it: taillights. “Alright, Marjan you go on the passenger side, I got the driver. Paul you see if you can clear some of that brush off the back in case the doors are jammed and we gotta get ‘em out that’a way.”

Visibility was still low despite the lights of the car and their flashlights, but as they approached they saw the car wrapped around the trunk of a tree on the passenger side. “I don’t know if I can get in there, Judd, but I’ll try,” Marjan said as she broke out into a jog.

“Wait!” Paul cried. Judd looked over at him, and he would have said such a thing couldn’t happen to a calm and collected person like Paul, but his face had gone ashen. “That’s Carlos’s car,” he said on a breath. 

“What?” In the dark, now that he was really looking, he could see they were coming up on—what used to be—a blue Camaro. 

“I’m sure of it. TK bullied him into putting that sticker on the back because he said it was too pristine and it needed personality.” He shone his flashlight at the rear bumper and sure enough, there was a SXSW sticker half ripped off from the path the car had taken to get there. 

“Come on,” Judd said, heart rate kicking up.

“Should we call Cap?” Paul asked.

“No, we stay down here and do our jobs, and he stays up there and does his. We’ll get ‘em.” His voice sounded numb even to his own ears, but he was determined. 

“They were on their way to dinner,” Paul said lowly.

“Yeah, probably takin’ the backroads to avoid traffic,” Judd said, shaking his head. Fate was hell sometimes.

When they reached the car, Marjan was yelling. “TK! TK can you hear me?” She turned to Judd. “I can’t get in there. The tree trunk is halfway into the car, probably pinning him to the console. He’s unresponsive.” Her face was also pale, but determined. 

Judd went to the driver’s side and saw Carlos, head hanging to the side facing the broken window. He tried the door as he called out. “Carlos? Hey Carlos, come on buddy. Can you hear me?” The door wouldn’t budge; Judd figured the car had rolled a couple of times coming down the hill, crumpling it like a tin can. Then he heard a soft groan.

He looked up, and one of Carlos’s eyes was trying to open. The other was swollen shut, where he’d probably hit his head on the steering wheel before the airbag deployed. Half his face had burn marks from it. 

“Hey, hey Carlos, look at me, that’s it.” That one eye tracked around before it landed on Judd, drawn to the light of the flashlight on his helmet. “Hey man. We’re gonna get you out okay? Now, can you move your fingers and toes for me?” Judd stuck his head into the window to see down in the floor boards. “Alright, likely no spinal damage. How’s your head?”

“Hurts. Shoulder, too.” His voice was barely audible. 

“Okay, it looks like you dislocated it,” Judd said as he prodded his left shoulder. “I don’t see anything broken but we’ll have to get you out to determine that.”

“TK—“ a wheeze, “TK…first. Been out…a while.”

Judd peered over to the passenger side, where TK was shoved almost fully into the center console, head laid back on the headrest and his face covered in blood. Marjan and Paul were still hard at work outside trying to clear a path into the car. 

“We can’t get to his side just yet, but we can get you out first and then we’ll be able to pull him out this way, okay? We wanna focus on you right now.”

“Alive.”

“Yeah, you’re alive, Carlos. You’re not gonna leave us yet,” he said as he assessed the door panels where they could cut through with the saws they brought. 

“No. TK. Weak, but…alive,” Carlos breathed out, coughing through the end.

“We’ll make sure he’s alive, okay?” Judd said, trying not to lose his professionalism at this whole messed up situation.

“He is.” Judd stopped looking around and looked back at Carlos. The man raised his right hand just as much as he was able, showing where he had two fingers on TK’s radial pulse. 

“Good, that’s good Carlos,” Judd assured him. That meant Carlos had had some minutes of consciousness after the accident before they showed up. “Was he talking at all? After you hit the tree?”

“Little. Minutes, maybe.”

“That’s good, that’ll help. Alright Carlos, we’re gonna get this door off so I’m gonna cover you with this while we do okay?” Judd waited for a small nod before he covered Carlos’s face and torso with his own turnout coat. 

After an agonizing four minutes, the door popped off in a shower of metal and broken glass. Judd removed the coat and went back in to assess. “Carlos? How you doin’?”

“Tired. But won’t…sleep. Promise. That’s bad.”

“You learn a few things from your Paramedic boyfriend?” Judd said with a watery smile.

“Mmm.”

“Judd, I got the back cleared. Maybe we can get in there to at least check TK’s vitals,” Paul informed them. 

“Get on it, I’ma try to get Carlos here out onto this backboard. Marjan, radio for another backboard and have two RA’s ready to go topside!”

“Copy that!” Judd had to admire those two. They never let their professionalism slip too far, though he could see they were worried sick. He could relate. He wouldn’t relax until both of the boys were back up the hill and on the way to the hospital.

From the looks of things, maybe not even then. But he had hope.

“Alright, Carlos, I’m gonna grab your legs and behind your shoulders here and pull you out, okay? It’s gonna hurt like hell, but it’ll be quick.”

“Wait.”

Judd stopped cold.

“Left…pocket. Please.”

“You want me to get at your left pocket?” A nod. “Alright, hang on.”

Judd carefully shifted Carlos’s leg so he could reach into his slacks, which had probably been part of a very nice suit at the beginning of the night. His fingers searched until they hit a small bump, an object no bigger than a baseball, soft velvet over a hard shell. He sucked his lips between his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he pulled it free in his hand. 

“Keep it…safe…for me?”

Judd looked down at the little black box for a moment, then clutched it tight in his hand before transferring it one of the innermost pockets of his turnout. 

“Of course, man. I will guard this with my life.” He looked up and saw Marjan coming back with another backboard. “Alright, buddy. It’s go time.”

Carlos gave a weak nod and winced when Judd started to pull. 

--

“Welcome back, man. You had us worried there for a bit.”

Carlos opened his good eye to see Judd sitting at his bedside, smiling softly. It took a moment to remember where he was. Hospital. Accident. Tree.

“TK—“

“Is fine. Banged up and will need crutches for a few weeks, not to mention a killer headache with no meds, but he’s fine. All things considered.”

“Where is he?”

“On his way, so you just stay put, okay? You’re pretty banged up, too, ya’know.”

Carlos shifted a bit and winced. His left arm was in a sling, his head bandaged over his left eye, and his right side hurt like hell.

“Broken rib when the tree went into TK’s door, door went into TK, TK went into the console, then the console went into you. He’s got a femoral fracture in his right leg but like I said, all things considered, you’re both pretty well off for how far you fell and probably rolled.” 

“Yeah, he said his leg had gone numb but he could still move his toes. He made sense for about five minutes, then started talking all jumbled, then went quiet. I uh…freaked out a bit after that. I thought he had…” Carlos trailed off, looking haunted. 

“Yeah, and you kept your fingers on his pulse that whole time. What you were able to tell us at the scene helped us treat him. You did good, Carlos.”

“Not good enough to swerve in time,” he said.

“Not your fault. And don’t you dare go thinkin’ it is. I don’t wanna hear it, Carlos,” Judd said in what TK called his Dad Voice. Stern and no room for argument. Carlos just nodded. 

“And uh, hey. I been waitin’ to give this back to you.” Judd stood and walked over to the bed, holding out a tiny black box. Carlos took it and cradled it against his chest. “It better be a nice one, cuz I about had a heart attack while I was showerin’ thinkin’ someone was gonna come get my pile a’clothes and take ‘em to the laundry while I was gone.”

“You didn’t open it?”

“Nah, I figure the big reveal? TK deserves that all to himself.” 

“Owen’s seen it,” Carlos countered, smirking.

“Uh huh. He approve?”

Carlos laughed. “He whistled and said I spent too much.”

“To impress the Cap it must be a lot,” Judd said with a small whistle of his own.

“Well, what was it Michael Scott said? Three years’ salary?”

Judd’s eyes almost popped out of his head, and Carlos laughed harder before wincing again at his broken rib. “I’m kidding, Judd. But I can tell you, no matter the cost, TK deserves the best and that’s what I hope I got.”

“You gonna make another reservation? Soon as y’all get back into fightin’ shape?”

Carlos looked down at the box again for a moment, contemplating. “I…don’t think so.”

Judd had a confused expression on his face but at that moment, a nurse was wheeling TK into the room, followed by most of the 126. Carlos’s face lit up like starlight at the sight of him.

“Hey, babe,” TK said with a smile. His leg was in a full cast, so the nurse was careful in maneuvering him around to Carlos’s bedside. 

“Hey, I feel like you should be the one in bed! Why are you out and about?”

“Because you were still asleep and he’s an absolute menace. We made multiple apologies to the staff on his behalf for the last hour,” Owen said as he walked into the room behind his crew. “He’s a stubborn little shit. Always has been, always will be. You sure you’re up for that?” He asked knowingly. TK was still looking at Carlos, blushing at his dad’s ribbing. Carlos met his eyes and said, “Yes.” He blushed more. 

“In fact,” Carlos continued. “I’m ready to get started. I’ve waited too long anyway. I mean, how many times do you and I have to beat death before I get the nerve to do this?” He said, looking into TK’s beautiful eyes which were looking confused. 

“What are you talking about, babe?”

“Look, I’m sorry this didn’t go how I planned. And I’m sorry I can’t get down on one knee right now, but. I hope you love me enough not to mind.” He lifted his good arm, his hand holding out the box. “A little help, Judd?”

“It’d be an honor,” the man said before leaning in and opening the box, since Carlos only had one good arm. 

At the sight of the contents of the box, TK’s eyes went as big as saucers. Surprise was written clearly over every inch of his features, which were all still beautiful even scarred and stitched up as they were at the moment. God, Carlos loved this man so much. 

“Tyler Kennedy Strand, you are the love of my life. I tried so many different scenarios in my head of how this speech would go, before I just said screw it, I’ll speak from the heart. You’re kind, funny, sexy, sweet, and everything in between. You can’t boil water and you absolutely can’t properly separate laundry. I have a dozen pink shirts as proof of that.” At this, the gathered group chuckled and TK went bright red. “Ah, but you also know just how to ease the tension from a long day just by hugging me on the doorstep. And I can always count on you to be there for me when the world gets too much, when what we see out there creeps in too far. And I want you to know, that I want to be that for you too, for the rest of our lives. So, TK. Will you marry me?”

The room was silent, apart from the hum and beeps of the machines. Everyone on the edge of their proverbial seats, but no one having any doubt to the outcome. 

“Oh, my God! Of course I’ll marry you! Yes, yes! Yes!” The last was said through TK’s fingers covering his red face, hiding the few tears that had started to fall. He held out his left hand to Carlos, who Judd had kindly helped by removing the ring from its box and handing it back to him. He slid it over TK’s finger, smiling like an idiot the whole time, barely registering the whoops and hollers of the 126 throughout the room. 

He only had eyes for TK. 

“I love you,” TK breathed through his happy tears.

“I love you too, baby. Always.”

“Oh, my God, dude, were you seriously surprised?” Nancy asked incredulously once the commotion had died down.

“Well…yeah? I didn’t expect this at all,” TK said, looking sheepish. 

“TK…my dude…he was taking you to Jeffrey’s! How could you not know?”

Once again, the room erupted in laughter and TK ducked his head again. Carlos reached out and touched his chin, catching his eyes again.

There was nothing but love there. 

CLEARLY every Tarlos fic I write has to have a proposal in it *shrug emoji* 

Also I wrote this in like an hour after I had a dream so please excuse any typos I didn’t catch!

Please reblog if you liked it! I would really really appreciate it :) Thank you for reading!

[vanillann]

unsolved (spencer reid x reader)

a/n: i was watching buzzfeed unsolved when i came up with this idea so enjoy. also i know it’s not exactly right but i didn’t feel like going back and watching the ep so.

warning: swearing, talk of cases, and sexual innuendos

word count: 3.3k

“Hi, Welcome to Buzzfeed Unsolved! We’re your host Ryan and Shane.”

I sat in a spin by chair between the two, my legs crisscrossed as I spun as fast as I could with Shane picking at arm.

“This is (Y/N)-“ when I heard my name I dramatically grabbed Ryan’s arm chair, smiling at the camera “a good friend of ours.”

“I had never spoken to either of them before today,” I spoke directly into the camera, the widest smile on my face when Shane gasped.

“She exposed us!” He pointed an accusing finger at me, Ryan slowly reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“We need her for this case,” Ryan spoke mysteriously, as if he was in a mob of some sort.

“Yeah why is that?” I rested my elbow on the chair, placing my chin in my open hand as I looked between the two.

I would normally be shoved in the corner of my desk trying to avoid another weird product video. I didn’t want to wear another weight blanket that made me almost fall to the floor.

“We are doing a case today and from the gossip around the office, you’d be pretty familiar with it,” Ryan said nothing more as he held a picture up to the camera.

I looked to the viewfinder, my eyes going wide as I recognized the mugshot immediately.

“That’s the Reaper!” I pointed at the picture, grabbing Ryan’s wrist so I could get a better look.

“Is that your boyfriend or something?” Shane added, looking over my shoulder at the picture in my hand.

“No, the BAU worked in this case!”

I didn’t know my intense knowledge of BAU cases would make it around the office, but I suppose when you have a printed article of you standing with Agent Gideon and Hotchner word moves fast.

“You actually know a lot about BAU cases from what I hear,” Ryan almost smirked at me and I was close to attacking him.

“Yeah-“ I turned to the camera, thinking I should explain myself before people thought I was crazy “so when I was young my mother had a stalker.”

The room suddenly went from light and breezy to scary and stuffy, something I hated.

“Anyways, when my mother died he disappeared into thin air. I then got an internship here at Buzzfeed and suddenly I was being mailed pictures of myself.”

I felt Shane give a knee a quick squeeze, which made me smile but I said nothing about it.

“It is really bad, I’m not going into detail, that the FBI got involved. Gideon was my savior that day, Hotchner too. Since then I’ve kept up with their cases and Gideon still sends me letters even after he left,” I finished my story, smiling down at the case file Ryan held between his fingers.

“Enough sad story, let’s talk about murder!” I clapped my hand, Shane laughing at my excitement.

“Okay, before we get started with this video I would like to clarify this isn’t a normal unsolved case. While the case was pinned to a murderer, the real unsolved piece is what happened to him,” Ryan got into character, slowly opening the folder and reading off the first words.

“On June 5th, 1996, Tom Shaunessy was called to investigate a murder in Boston. It was a couple, laided into their chair with multiple gun shots to their head and torso-“

“Wait, in the car in Boston?” Shane asked.

“That’s what I just read,” Ryan replied.

I smiled to myself, already knowing the editing that would take place with the black screen and the blue and yellow words floating across.

“Isn't Boston super busy?”

“It has like 700 thousand people,” I spoke up, wondering what color my words would be in.

“How do you just know that?” Ryan looked over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows raised.

“If you saw the article I was currently writing you would understand,” I shrugged, moving in the chair so I could get a better look at the case file.

Ryan coughed, looking back down at the file to continue.

“When another set of murders came in, this time an older couple, Shaunessy, panicked as he found the first victim, Harry Goodwill, watching at the scene.”

“That was his signature,” I held a hand up like a child in class, smiling as I already knew what came next.

“Bingo!” Ryan pointed to me, smiling at my excitement.

“When this happened again, this time alone woman, Shaunessy called in the BAU-“

“You mean the love of (Y/N) life,” Shane cut in, smiling when I hit his shoulder.

“If you saw a picture of them you’d be in love too,” I shrugged, not thinking much about my words.

“Agent Aaron Hotchner joined the team and worked closely on this case with Shaunessy.”

“So this man just texted the FBI,” Shane started laughing before he could get his words out.

“I’m pretty sure there are rules,” Ryan looked over at Shane, looking at me when we tried to understand why he was laughing.

“I’m sorry, death shouldn’t be this funny,” Shane took a breath, making a hand motion for Ryan to continue. I started laughing at that, keeping it low so Ryan could continue.

“After 18 murders, there were no leads. The only consistent thing was he mostly killed couples and he left an item from his last victim at the crime scene. The BAU conducted that he was most likely killing the couple because of his own failed marriage or possibly one close to him.”

“So he started killing because he hated to love? I bet he hates Valentine’s Day,” Shane shrugged, his smile breaking across his face when I spoke up.

“Nah, he seems more like a Halloween type guy,” I shrugged, laughing when Ryan hit his elbow on the table.

“Okay okay, back to the good stuff,” I pointed at the file, laughing when Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Now victims 19 and 20 is where the story starts to twist. Amanda Bertram and George Foyet-“ I shivered at the name “we attacked by the Reaper.”

“Did you say attacked?”

“Yes, while Amanda Bertram was killed in the struggle Foyet manages to survive with serious injuries.”

“So this dude just accidentally forgets to kill him?” Shane almost yelled, reaching for the file to read himself but Ryan moved it back.

“He saw the ghost of Valentine and just ran,” I played on the joke earlier, which made the two laugh.

“The heart-shaped boxes of chocolate really made him shit himself,” Ryan barely got the words out, his laugh slowly turning into a cough.

“We shouldn’t joke about a murderer when we don’t know his whereabouts,” I laughed along.

“Wait, you’re telling me they lost him!”

“Yep,” I popped the “p”, smiling when Shane looked to Ryan who only shrugged,

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Was all he said before he continued the case.

“After this no new leads were found, it was later discovered that The Boston Reaper sent Shaunessy a note that if the investigation was shut now he would stop killing,” Ryan read the words off.

“I bet he ended the letter with “xoxo from your worst nightmare” with a lipstick stain,” I spoke without thinking, covering my mouth when I realized what I said.

“Oh he’d definitely come at you now,” Shane pointed at me, wiggling his eyebrows in the process.

“No way! The BAU will save me,” I shrugged, smiling as I imagined the team busting in the door at the last minute like they always did.

“Oh yeah the one dude, what’s his name,” Ryan started snapping his fingers as he thought over his words “Sp-“

“Spencer Reid!” I practically yelled the name, my smile only growing large at the mention of the handsome Doctor from the BAU team. While he didn’t work my case, I heard a little about him and he called my house phone trying to reach Hotch.

To say I was infatuated would be a small understatement.

“Him?” Ryan pointed at him, smiling wider at me.

“Who is this Reid boy and what are his intentions?” Shane folded his arms on the table like a father, looking between Ryan and I.

“I hope it's dirty,” I blurted out, covering my mouth again as I looked at the camera.

“Cut that out,” I started laughing when I heard Shane wheezing beside me.

“No we’re keeping that, that was quality content,” Ryan was laughing, pushing my chair slightly as I slowly joined in.

“I’m so grateful he works a busy job and will never see this,” I started coughing, which made Shane pat my back.

“Please take the obsession back to murder, please and thank you,” I nodded to the case file once everyone has calmed down.

“Okay okay, the cast went cold after that. No new murders ever appeared and the BAU left the case.”

“Spencer went to (Y/N)’s house,” Shane commented quickly.

“Until 2009 when a murder took place right outside of Boston, a couple killed on a hill. While this seemed like nothing at first, an eye was painted on the side of the door and glasses were found on the victim’s face. The glasses belong to Foyet,” Ryan read in his special voice.

“So the dude got bored and was like “Fuck my promise”?” Shane looked between both of us.

“Let him finish,” I patted Shane shoulder, looking at the file again.

“It was later announced to the public that Shaunessy was dead,” Ryan read, looking at Shane with raised eyebrows.

“Ohh, you should have led with that!”

Ryan rolled his eyes, going back to the file in front of him.

“Hotchner took up the case with his BAU team-”

“Spencer had to leave (Y/N)’s house early to get there in time,' ' Shane pushed my shoulder, my finger slowly starting to play with the little ring on my finger.

“I wish,” I spoke up, smiling at Shane when he shook his head.

“The team quickly gathered all the information possible, slowly putting the eye signature on the car with the sign off on the letter.”

“He didn’t sign it xoxo?” Shane asked, I shook my head sadly.

“Sorry to get your hopes up,” I spoke gravely, my mask cracking when Shane started smiling.

“I was readying for him to sign A like that show!”

I started laughing, my hand covering my mouth as Ryan tried to explain the show he was talking about.

“Why do they have to be pretty liars, am I pretty when I lie?”

“No,” I said the words so seriously I was shocked with myself. We all three started laughing suddenly.

I hadn’t been at Buzzfeed long, I had only made a few friends and I pretty much got dragged into the video when they needed a test dummy. This was my first video that didn’t make me want to rip my eyes out, I actually was having a great time with Ryan and Shane with the jokes and all.

“Okay,” Ryan coughed, finally reading the file again,” Many tried to brush it off as a copycat but Agent Hotchner refused to drop the case.”

“That’s my bestie,” I smiled, remembering the photo I had with him when the local news decided to take pictures of us standing outside the station. The photo was awkward and I doubt he even remembered my case but I didn’t really care.

“Then a few hours later an older couple, Arthur and Diane Lanessa, were found stabbed and shot. When the earlier victim, Nina Hale, was found on Diane's wrist, people started to worry.”

“Wait I thought he left the one dude glasses, who is still weird to me,” Shane spoke up again.

“That’s what I’m saying! He had his glasses yet he’s a copycat? Cops can be so stupid,” I rambled, still pissed about that to this day.

“The BAU split up to find Foyet, who went into hiding after his attack, to get more details. Agent Hotchner and Agent David Rossi found him staying in a house in Boston.”

“Why would you stay in Boston?” Ryan was the one to speak this time, his nose scrunched up as he thought it over.

“Right, like yes I almost died here let me stay,” Shane mocked Foyet, which made me laugh.

“Later that night The Reaper boarded a busy bus and killed the occupants of it. Many had theories on why he changed his MO but nobody will confirm or deny.”

“I think he was made at Hotch,” I spoke up. I had thought about this alot.

“Why do you think that?”

“He didn’t quite like Shaunessy, I don’t blame Shaunessy, but still. He stuck around even when he could have walked away,” I crossed my arms, slightly proud of my theory.

“You think he gave the same deal?”

“You don’t?” I looked at Ryan, his arms shrugging before he went back to the case.

“There was a cryptic message left on the side the bus along with the Reaper eye,”

“Cryptic message? Is this real?”

“Unfortunately,” I nodded, looking back to Ryan as he spoke.

“The BAU managed to decipher the code into a line of Foyet addresses-”

“Spender did it!”

“And how would you know?” Shane looked to me, raising his eyebrow at me with a little smirk.

“Because he had an eidetic memory and has an IQ of 187,” I spoke proudly, as if I actually knew the person I was talking about. Okay maybe I searched them on the internet one too many times.

“How do you know that?” Ryan asked, laughing at me now.

“Google,” I shrugged, laughing when Shane looked up from his hands.

“What does he even look like?” I held up my finger, fishing my phone out of my back pocket. I quickly unlocked it, placing my thumb print and moving on, and tapped the searched bar. I quickly typed in his name, thankful it didn’t pop up in purple because I couldn’t handle that much teasing.

“Here,” I placed the phone on the table, laughing when Shane moved closer.

“He has a Wikipedia,” Shane looked over his shoulder at Ryan and I, speaking like a kid on Christmas.

“You both have Wikipedia,” I shrugged, not seeing the appeal of the whole life on display.

“You don’t,” Shane pointed out. I jokily pouted, acting all sad as I looked up to the ceiling.

“We can make you one,” Ryan patted my shoulder laughing when I smiled.

“Can we say I’m married to Doctor Spencer Reid?”

Both nodded at the same time, my hand going over my hand and I laugh at their telekinesis response.

“Okay finished this case so (Y/N) and I can stalk Mr. Reid,” Shane patted Ryan shoulder and I lightly smiled to myself.

He seemed like nothing but I finally made some friends, I mean friends I could talk to outside of work.

“Once they arrived at Foyet house they found gallons of blood pulled from the back of the house.”

“So they killed him?”

“Just wait,” I held my finger up, smiling when Shane deflated slightly.

“Multiple police were attacked, even Derek Morgan with the BAU. The specific are not out to the public but a nurse claimed that The Reaper stole Morgan credentials,” Ryan read off the paper, smiling when Shane gasped.

“That’s insane, this case is insane!”

I laughed along with Ryan, all of ours eye scanning over the paper now and we waited for the next bit of information.

“After looking over past cases filed, the BAU were confused on why The Reaper would kill Foyet. Their tech analysis did research to induce that Foyet had multiple aliases, claimed he had them to feel safe from The Reaper, actually had multiple assault charges, and his parents were killed when he was six.”

“Oh my, he killed them didn’t he!” Ryan and I both nodded, Shane’s hands flying up to his hair as he looked between us.

“It was him the whole time! No way!”

“That’s what I said,'' I looked into the camera for the first time in awhile, it felt nice and easy with them. The video was coming easy unlike trying to do awkward yoga poses with strangers.

“They managed to trace everything back to Foyet, concluding he was The Reaper. After more research, Foyet’s phone was tracked to Roy Colson's house. A journalist would recently wrote an article on The Reaper.``

“This feels like a Scooby-Doo mission at this point,” Shane sounded out of breath, looking to the camera with wide eyes.

“We got some work to do now!” I jokily sang the theme song, making the two laugh lightly before moving on to the end of the case.

“The local police arrest Foyet at the house, Colson thankful survived. Foyet was taken to prison immediately after arrest.”

“I thought they lost him?”

“If you don’t let him finish,” I joked, Shane laughed as we finally let Ryan finish.

“Foyet was found in his cell later throwing up blood and convulsions. As being rushed to the hospital, the ambulance was ambushed and Foyet escaped. No more information has been released on the whereabouts of Foyet.”

“They really lost him!”

Shane was in shock at the discovery, my hand covering my mouth quickly before I answered.

“I bet he’s working for the FBI, they hire people when they’re too dangerous.” I tried my best to be serious about the theory but I knew my smile was peaking thought.

“He’s probably the BAU’s personal hitman!”

I laughed with Ryan, my chair had slowly moved closer to his as I kept leaning to see the case file.

“Where do you think Foyet it?”Ryan spoke into the camera, talking to the people that would watch this in a few weeks.

“I think (Y/N) should call her smarty-pants husband and ask,” Shane spit out his last joke before the video ended.

“Yeah, Doctor Spencer Reid please call me with information about the case.” I pointed into the camera like Uncle Sam and winked dramatically.

“He doesn’t have your number,” Ryan reminded me. I let my finger fall, thinking over my words before I pointed back at the camera.

“Email my business email,” I nodded. Shane and Ryan both hit my shoulder. both hands going to my arm to cover them.

“Say bye to our favorite guest ever,” Ryan waved in my face.

“Bye!”

I laughed as the video played on my laptop, laughing when my voice was replaced with light green words floating on the screen. I scrolled down lightly, reading a bunch of comments. I smiled when most were asking if I would ever be on another Unsolved.

My phone went off beside me, my hand reaching for it as I paused the video and moved to my email. I was waiting for an email about an article I was writing and I couldn’t stop hitting refresh.

Shane: i’ve seen two ship edits of (y/n) and spencer reid on my instagram already

Ryan: i saw an edit of shane fall out a chair

I laughed at the messages, the group chat the three of us had formed titled “The Reapers Bitches” never stopped as we had grown a close bond.

I heard the little ding from my laptop, also most screaming when I slammed the refresh button and screamed when I saw an email with a little unread dot beside it.

I didn’t think twice, pushing the email and reading over it quickly.

From: reidemail@gmail.com

Hello, this is Doctor Spencer Reid with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I recently saw a video of you mentioning me and my team about a case we worked on a few years back. While I legally can’t share any details with you in this case, I would be open to speaking with others. Please email me back!

I was going to scream, maybe cry, maybe both at this point. I read the email two or three more times, trying to comprehend what I just read.

He did see, shit he did see it. I heard my phone going off beside me, my hand picking it up and typing without reading what they were saying before.

Me: Spencer Fucking Reid just emailed me

I let my phone fall to my lap, reading the email one more time.

“Thank you Buzzfeed Unsolved,” I whispered under my breath.

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[zuffer-weird-girl]

Hey with kai new facial hair how about angel shaving it for him

You furrowed your eyebrows at the man sitting on the sofa. Your boyfriend. Ever since he was arrested never was the same. You saw it in his eyes even.

The man whose was prideful, had God like mind and wanted to cure the world of the sickness, wasn't there.... All you saw was Chisaki, the broken sheel of a once little bou that was abandoned on the streets and taken care of by Pops.

He must feel horrible after what he did to him... and that his plan actually failed terribly even...

"Here..." you set the tray of food on his lap as he stared at nowhere "I brought this to you my devil, you need to eat.."

No response, only a shaky sigh as he stared at the content on the tray numbly.

Without thinking, you brushed your fingers on his cheek, furrowing your eyebrows in concern at the moment your boyfriend let out another sigh to lean more on your hand which cupped his cheek.

"Just a bit..? For me? Please?" You pleaded in the most soft whisper you ever made before Kai only blinked, nodding faintly soon after that he could eat something.

You smiled in relief and grabbed the spoon to start helping him eat. You knew that this only wounded his now almost non existent ego... but you didn't had any prosthetic arms to give it to him nor an healing quirk...

So that was the best you got.

"The injury in your head... is almost healing. That's a good thing now isn't?" He once again blinked before swallowing what he had on his mouth.

"... I guess..." it came his hoarse and broken voice that almost made you tear up "... I'm.. full now."

"But Kai you-"

"Please.." he almost whispered while hanging his head low "Is enough my angel.. Thank you..."

You brushed your tears away with the heel of your paln while muttering an "okay" to grab the tray only to stop at hearing him calling your name.

"Yes?"

"... dont leave me alone..." he muttered, managing to break your heart once more as you set the tray down on the coffe table to crush his body on yours on a hug. "I... It's been like hell in there a-and-"

"I know." You shushed him while carrasing his back, your cheek squished by his shoulder "I know... you dont have to tell if you dont want to, I will be here anyway..."

You kissed his neck when you noticed hsi shoulders trembling a bit as he burried his face on your hair... seeing how the rest of his arms moved in a desperate way just to feel just an inch more of you glued to his.

It would have break you too if you weren't the inly one available to help your boyfriend get back to sanity and a normal state again...

You sniffled before parting away from the hug to cup his cheeks and nuzzle your nose against his as he gulped down on what you could inly suppose it was a sob by the way his eyes were puffy red.

"Its gonna be okay.." you kissed his lips softly befor scratching his now stubble "We're going to be okay..."

He tsked with a small sad smirk at feeling your lovely scratches on his chin.

"... help me shave this off.." he spoke after a bit of silence and you actually whined which surprised him a bit.

"Whaat? Why??" You pouted "You look so good and sexy with this! And now you're taking my joy away?!"

"You must be joking.." he chuckled lowly "Some parts of the food get stuck in it, is disgisting."

"No is not!" You prosteted "You never let your beard grew, let me enjoy it for just a bit!" You nuzzled and rubbled both your nose and cheek on his chin as he arched an eyebrow at your affection but with a smirk present on his lips.

"Oh please.. you're being dramatic.." he rolled his amber eyes before a frown appeared at the wish he had to envelop you on his arms or to even lift your chin up... but he couldn't.

"Call me whatever you want, but is sexy." You giggled before giving him another kiss, smilling at seeing that Chisaki actually went after your lips for more. "But if it is what you want..."

".. thank you.... I dont feel like... myself.. so maybe this can help.." you furrowed your eyebrows as you helped him up at seeing again the broken and distant face he carried after he escaled the prison along with others.

"A sacrifice for a greater good then." You posed dramatically and smiled at hearing the 'tsk' your boyfriend let out before shaking his head with a smile.

"Brat..."

.

.

.

"Carefull to not cut my throat along with it." He muttered as you carefully slid the slade, sadly getting rid of the the little stubble.

"Are you saying Im clusmy Kai Chisaki?" You arched an eyebrow at him as he only shrugged.

"Just making sure angel is all." He smirked at your puffed cheeks before snatching a towel to clean him up.

"Bye bye sexy stubble..." you mumbled as you carefully wiped away the cream and water.

"Was I not attractive before that abomination then..?" It was meant as a sarcastoc reply, but you could tell the slight bit of insecurity behind it.

"Nah. You're handsome as hell with or without it. It was just a new look is all." You smiled warmly at him as he tsked once again before seeing you had done and giving him the help to get up to look ag the mirror.

"So smooth." You kissed his now vonpletelt clean face as you smiled on his skin at seing the inner chuckle he tried to keep.

"... thank you..." he looked over at you as you smiped up at him.

"Dont need to thank me..."

"I've... been such an asshole on our relationship.." he dropped his head with a sigh "How can you still cate for me in such a tender way?"

Tears was already starting to gather on his eues before you lifted jis head up enough to look at you before gasping at the unexpected kiss you gave to him.

"Because I love you.. Always had, and always will."

His usually sharp golden orbs soften as he tilted his head to continue the kiss, not remembering how your tongues were already intertwined, not remebering how yoy two got ao fast to the bedroom neither remembering of you pushing him gently on the matress as you strabbles his hips, right on top of him.

Breaking the kiss he panted, looking up at you as he always had seen you. An angel send from heaven to him... even if he didn't deserve it for a bit.

"You know I cant do the same-" you shushed him with a peck before lowering your kissed down his jaw as he started to pant and shift his hips uncomfortable becaus eof how suddenly his pants and trousers had becone so tight.

"You can. But thats not the point." You kissed near his earlobe before nimbling a bit as he growled "Let me take care of you.. please?" You used the same tone of voice as before, making him almost feel emotional as he only nodded.

For now and only for you... he would let himself fall to be picked up again... being taken care of aparently wasn't so bad if he was in your arms and love.

[writesowhatnext]

it’s so mysterious to me // george weasley

Summary: life’s a little different when your girlfriend can see the future, isn’t it george?

Request: hi! can i request seer!reader x fred/george? where she sees their futures (weasley's wizard wheezes, yule ball and knows hermione will end up with ron *wink*) but doesn't tell them anything bc changing the future is complicates? but always hints at significant points of their lives. sorry if this is very long 😭

A/N: I cut out part of the request that’s a spoiler :) also it took me like 20 minutes to spell entrepreneurial

Reader: female, seer

Warnings: accidents, death, injury, guilt, parental death, battle of hogwarts

Not knowing the future is hard. Knowing the future? Harder. You hadn’t been alive nearly long enough before you learnt that lesson. The most difficult thing about being a Seer, you see, was not actually seeing the future, but fighting the urge to change it; something you’d learnt the hard way.

When you were about eight years, four months and thirteen days old, you had a vision of your mum falling down the stairs on a Remembrall and like any good daughter, you moved it from the landing and into a box on a high shelf in your Father’s study. You’d felt good the whole day, proud even, to have helped your mother. That happiness didn’t last long, though.

When your Mother’s loud shrieking echoed through the house, and she screamed at you to call an ambulance, that something had hit your Father in the head, you realised that maybe some things couldn’t be changed. The day your dad died you got the world’s biggest reality check; the future, whilst it was yours to see, was not yours to play with. It was a cruel mistress and as you grew up, you realised more and more how complicated it could truly be.

Sometimes, you got a feel for a person; an essence of what they would become somewhere down the line. Mostly, it was just silly things. When you first met Ron, the only thing you saw was him snogging Hermione; a bunch of strange teeth cluttered at their feet. An odd one, it must be said, but you thought it was sweet nonetheless. The first time you met George, though, was like nothing you’d ever felt before.

There you sat, only eleven years old on a magical train to a faraway place where you knew nobody, not exactly filled with confidence. You’d be hard-pressed to say it helped when two young boys with red hair and the same face barrelled into your otherwise empty compartment. They slammed the door shut behind them and ducked to avoid the window, sniggering to each other, obviously unaware of your presence.

You frowned as a few older students raced past, one with red hair looking at you sharply before disappearing down the corridor, leaving you alone with the twins before you. They still hadn’t noticed you and so, with a glance out the window at the country landscape, you cleared your throat.

“Oi, George,” one said, pointing at you and nudging his brother. You offered them a weak smile as they stared at you before one shot out his hand in greeting. He was smiling, rather mischievously, and was still crouching on the floor to avoid anyone spotting him.

“The name’s George,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

And when you took his hand, his palm against yours, you saw a whole life ahead of you. Laughter, dancing, countless nights running away with adrenaline-filled grins. He looked more what your Mum would call handsome the older he got, you thought. It seemed like you’d kiss him a fair few times as well, a fact that didn’t thrill you given the fact that boys had cooties, and all.

You stared at him as you pulled your hand away, looking into his expectant brown eyes with a fair amount on trepidation before a smile lifted your cheeks.

“Y/N,” you said softly. “I think we could be good friends.”

After the train, you, George and Fred, as you learnt the other twin’s name was, became fast friends. It was hard, undoubtedly, to be normal around George sometimes; the more time you spent with him, the faster you realised that he was the love of your life and the worse it became to not do anything about it. Somehow, though, life seemed to do it for you and you spent your nights exactly how you’d imagined: racing down corridors away from the scene of the crime with breathless laughter on your lips and George’s hand in your own. By third year, the kissing had started and Fred, despite being rather fond of you, was not a fan. He groaned like a child constantly, but you could see that he was secretly pleased for his brother deep down.

On one cold night in October, you and George were sat in the windowsill of the Gryffindor common room watching the sky dance with stars.

“Hey, George,” you said quietly, your voice wavering slightly as you leant your head back into his chest and his arm circled around your waist.

“Hey, Y/N,” he replied, teasing.

“Do you know what a Seer is?”

“Don’t know about a seer, love, but I know you’re quite the looker.”

You could hear the grin in his voice as you rolled your eyes, pushing your elbow lightly into his ribs.

“I’m serious, Georgie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, running his hand up and down your arm, placing a kiss into your hair. “Like in Divination, the world’s greatest and most riveting subject.”

You scoffed at his sarcastic tone, pursing your lips.

“I’m a seer.”

The air was still for a moment. His silence gave you enough time to thoroughly regret your decision to tell him, not quite sure what would happen. Gently, he turned you to the side so he could see your face and for a moment, you were struck by the softness of his eyes.

“Are you telling me you can see the future?”

You paused for a second, debating whether it was a good idea to just lie to him. Against your better judgement, you nodded, swallowing.

“You’re having me on,” he shook his head, smiling until he noticed your serious expression. “You can really see the future? Like who wins a Quidditch match or whether someone is gonna fail a test or-“

You nodded and his jaw dropped open, his mouth wide.

“It’s complicated,” you began, sighing slightly. “I can’t just… I can’t just change things. And some things make no sense until they’re happening and-“

“How do you manage to always be the coolest person I know?”

Your mouth grew dry at his words, a small smile playing on your lips as he stared at you, his hand lifting to push your hair away from your face.

“It’s a talent,” you said brightly, settling back into his chest, enjoying the way it vibrated at your joke.

“Have you ever changed anything?”

His face hardened at your shaky inhale and he opened his mouth to take back his question when you answered it anyway.

“A couple times,” you whispered, threading your fingers through his. You let the thought of your Dad weigh on you for a second before you huffed.

“I was supposed to fall for Fred, actually,” you joked, trying to lighten the mood. “I thought ‘Nah’, though.”

“You’re kidding,” George said, his arm tightening around your waist and his voice slightly hesitant as if he wasn’t exactly sure.

“Perhaps.”

You hadn’t meant to tell Fred at all, especially not hours before the Quidditch World Cup, but you and George had been joking and then one thing lead to another and now you were sat down on George’s bed with the twins looming over you like parents scolding a child.

“No,” you said.

“Why not?” Fred huffed, throwing his arms in the air, not at all understanding why you wouldn’t tell him who would win the match.

“No, Fred.”

“But, why not?” he whined, pouting with his hands on his hips. You stood up, rolling your eyes at his childishness.

“Because the future is dangerous and changing it is complicated and if I tell you something, it’ll change the whole future and-“

Out the corner of your eyes, you saw George mouthing along to your words, earning a scowl at his memorisation of your well-practised speech. He tilted his head at being caught, pulling you into his side. You shot him an irritated look only to have him wipe it from your face with a kiss.

“Disgusting,” Fred huffed, moving towards the door. “You pair make me sick, as does your lack of team spirit, Y/N.”

You did break your own rules sometimes, though. Only for special causes, you told yourself. You couldn’t help but think of what you’d seen about Ron and Hermione as they side-stepped around each other the closer it got to the Yule Ball. So, as you sat there in the common room, your shoulder against George’s chest as he picked at your sleeve distractedly, you listened to Harry and Ron complain about not having dates.

“You could always take Hermione,” you suggested, trying very hard to keep your voice indifferent.

“Gross,” Ron huffed, crossing his arms. “I’m not that desperate.”

You rolled your eyes, exhaling from your nose as they returned to their pity party. A finger poked at your side and you looked at George with a frown.

His eyes were suspicious as he smirked at you.

“You know, you get this look in your eye sometimes,” he said quietly so nobody else would hear. “When you know something everyone else doesn’t.”

You pursed your lips, not willing to give yourself away anymore. You turned away from him, stiffening when his hot breath fanned your ear.

“I’m on to you, love,” he whispered, sending a shiver up your back.

You tried to keep certain things on the down-low around George after that; subtlety, as ever, was the name of the game. You gave up trying to push Ron and Hermione together after a while, knowing that your meddling would only make it worse. What you didn’t give up on, though, was Fred and George. You didn’t have to be a seer to know that they would go far with their business; they were smart wizards and despite the headache they often caused Professor McGonagall, you couldn’t fault their entrepreneurial spirit. And though you expected it when they came to you in seventh year talking about leaving Hogwarts, given the fact that you’d tried to discretely push them towards the idea, you were sad to see the back of your two favourite boys.

“You should go out in a blaze of glory,” you said, staring at the floor to not give yourself away. “Fireworks and stuff.”

You’d been seeing bursts of colour for weeks at the thought of it.

“Y/N, that might be the most brilliant idea I have ever heard,” Fred said, shooting you a grin.

“Isn’t it just?” George agreed though he was staring at you with a very knowing look.

He could tell how much the war took its toll on you. He had no idea what it was you were seeing, but his heart ached at how much you were suffering because of it. It was obvious that the guilt of not being able to help was eating you alive and it wasn’t until the night after the Battle of the Astronomy Tower that you truly broke down. When you arrived at his apartment, Fred asleep in the room next door, his heart shattered at the sight of you shivering from the rain and crying so horribly that he thought you would pass out right there.

“George,” you said, gripping on to him like you’d never see him again. “I knew about Bill. I knew he was going to get attacked and I knew the pain he was-“

He shushed you gently, his hand stroking the back of your head.

“I knew, George,” you repeated over and over, your body wracking with sobs.

He thought about his older brother in the hospital and his hold on you tightened.

He didn’t need to see the future to know when the crescendo of the war was coming. It seemed as everything was leading up to this final stand at Hogwarts and though he was scared, it was nothing compared to how worried he was for you. After he lost his ear, you grew more and more unhinged. You never talked to him about it and he knew why, he understood that changing the future would have seriously unpredictable repercussions and he knew that you were haunted by every injury, every death that you didn’t prevent. The most he could do for you was be there and he spent most nights next to you just holding you close as you cried yourself to sleep. He thought they were the worst nights of his life at the time.

“George,” you whispered into the night, too afraid of the morning to look outside and see the sunrise.

“Yes, love?”

His arm pulled you closer and you were grateful for his warmth.

“You know I love you, right?”

A lump formed in George’s throat.

“Of course, I do,” he whispered reluctantly, not ready to hear your answer. “Why?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

He turned to face you, your eyes shining with tears in the moonlight. He could tell you were lying; he recognised your knowing look.

“I love you too. More than anything else in the entire universe,” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead and breathing in your scent. His stomach turned at the memory of the look in your eyes and for the rest of the night, he lay awake, staring at the pattern on the ceiling.

When you reached Hogwarts that next day, everybody was running. Younger students were being ushered to the basements and the elder kids were rushing around with their wands out and enchanted statues were marching out to defend the castle and amidst the chaos, your heart was like lead as you thought about what was to come. George’s hand was heavy in yours and your lie was heavy on your shoulders. You wondered if he’d ever forgive you, either way.

You’d never felt sicker than when Percy arrived. His apology was sweet and you were somewhat relieved to see the Weasleys together again despite the circumstances. It felt like you’d come full circle when Percy’s eyes settled on you, much less sharp than they had been on the train that very first day and you barely listened when Kingsley Shacklebolt divided you into groups; you already knew what your role was. George tugged on your hand.

“What is happening?” he asked, his voice begging you to tell him as his hands rested on your cheeks. You swallowed back a lump in your throat as Colin Creevey caught your eye, his young frame sneaking away from the other students that were too young to fight.

“George, I can’t tell you that,” you said, your eyes lingering on Tonks for a moment.

“Y/N, please,” George whispered. You turned to him when his voice broke and all the sight in the world couldn’t prepare you for the tears running down his face, the redness of his eyes.

“There’s so much pain here,” you said, oddly calm for the first time as you stared at him. You brushed his hair from his forehead with a soft smile and what was left of his heart broke a little more at the look in your eyes.

“Y/N-“ he began, trying desperately to find the words. He could tell that you knew too much at that moment, your young face wise beyond your years.

“I would give you the whole world if I could, Georgie,” you promised, grinning. Your insides scrambled as his shoulders rocked a little, a cry escaping him, but you felt surprisingly light. You looked to the side conspiratorially before learning up to him, his hands on your cheeks dropping as you whispered in his ear.

“We win.”

He frowned, but before he could say anything else, you kissed him hard and he fought the urge to trap you in his arms and not let you go.

“I’ve gotta go help Freddie,” you nodded, shooting him a wink. Your eyes lingered on his face for a moment, his beautiful, broken, handsome face, before you chuckled and shook your head, already walking backwards away from him.

“Your life is exceptional, George.”

He reached for you, but you had already disappeared and he was already being ushered away by Bill, who insisted that he get a move on. He couldn’t shake the thought that you were saying goodbye.

He’d been pacing the Great Hall for the best part of three minutes when he saw his mum. Voldemort had announced the armistice barely five minutes ago and already the dead and injured were being carried in. He played with his wand between his fingers when he thought of his family, not yet returned, and he pulled at the hair on his hair when he thought about you, also missing in action.

“Mum,” he huffed, running over to her and hugging her almost as tightly as she hugged him. “I’m fine, Mum,” he said, grabbing her wrists. “Have you seen Y/N? Fred? Ginny?”

“I’m here,” Ginny said warily, walking over to them along with Arthur and Bill, who each got bone-crushing hugs from Molly. They could tell George was getting antsy after ten minutes passed and there was still no sign of you. Charlie arrived almost uninjured, apart from a scratch down his arm, stopping short at the bodies of Remus and Tonks. George felt bad that he hadn’t noticed them yet, but his guilt was replaced with hope when he saw Percy come in.

He raced towards him, pushing past nurses and the other injured people to meet his brother, who he wasn’t completely sure he even liked until that moment.

“Perc,” he said with his hands hard on Percy’s shoulders. “Are you okay? Where’s Fred? Where’s Y/N?”

“George…” Percy said gently, his hand gripping George’s wrist tightly. He frowned.

“What?”

He felt sick.

“We were fighting-“

“No,” George exhaled, his eyes halting over Percy’s shoulder as Fred walked into the Hall with you in his arms.

He could barely breathe as he yanked his wrist from Percy’s grasp and ran over. Fred’s red, tear-stained face covered in the same dirt that covered you sent a sharp pain through his chest.

“No, no, no.”

George grabbed the back of his brother’s neck when he saw him, pulling lightly at the hairs on his nape. His eyes weren’t on Fred, though.

You looked cold, he thought, and heavy in Fred’s arms. Deadweight. George looked at Fred, a strangled sob ripping from his throat as his other hand fell to your face, rubbing at the icy skin of your cheek.

“No,” he whispered. “She’s fine- she’s fine. She’s not- she’s fine. She’ll wake up.”

“Georgie-“ Fred said, his voice weak as he watched his brother. Right there, in the middle of the hall, George sank to the floor, his hand sliding from Fred’s neck as he pulled at you, desperate to have you close to him. Gently, with a sigh, Fred lowered your body down, placing you into George’s arms as he sat there on his knees.

Molly’s sob rang out through the stone walls as George pressed you to his neck, his hand at the back of your head as his chest heaved. You weren’t hugging him back. Your hand dragged on the dirty floor.

Fred’s guilt gnawed at his gut as his family walked over, hugging him and placing their hands on George’s bucking shoulders in an attempt at comfort. It didn’t work.

“It’s my fault,” Fred said to Ginny as she hugged him, her cheeks wet as she ran her hands through his hair. He didn’t look at her, he just stared at George.

“It wasn’t-“

“She pushed me out of the way.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, the background noise of people milling around more than overwhelming.

“She knew,” George whispered, pulling away from you and placing your lifeless hands into your lap, his fingers trying desperately to rub the dirt from your face. He just wanted to see you smile. He just needed to see that smile. “She knew, Fred. She knew what she was doing.”

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[angelicamerlinbarnes]

Seven times someone spoke to a Marauder alone in a portrait and one person who spoke to them all together

In a world where all the Marauders died in the first war, their souls are preserved in portraits in Hogwarts. Their stories are legend if a bit tweaked, and their names are famous if a bit forgettable. But they were painted individually, and housed all over the castle, separated for all eternity from each other.

(Also, there are seven Marauders because Lily, Severus, and Regulus. Fight me.)

(FOR CONTEXT: Regulus married a Muggle named Amir and had a daughter with him named Hailee. Regulus and Sirius never fell out and Regulus calls Remus “Mum” because reasons. Sirius and Remus married and died without children and James and Lily had Harry with their partner, Severus. Peter had a nonbinary partner named Max, but they died in the war.)

ONE: Regulus Black (Room of Requirement) & Draco Malfoy [Second Year - Youth (Daughter)]

Draco is coming back from Quidditch practice after calling Hermione a Mudblood. He’s walking alone down a hallway empty of doors when one suddenly materializes in front of him. He walks inside, too curious not to, and finds a room with two chairs in front of a crackling fire.

Over the fire hangs a portrait of a young man with pale skin, ebony hair, and striking grey eyes. Draco sits down in one of the chairs and picks up the cup of hot cocoa from the coffee table, looking up at the portrait, which has now started moving.

“Who are you?” He asks, and the portrait shoots him a grim look.

“My name is Regulus Black. Do you know who I am?”

Draco shakes his head. Regulus hums, tugging at something around his wrist.

“I’m a Death Eater who defied Voldemort,” he says, pulling his sleeves up to reveal a blank wrist. “They didn’t paint me with that wretched Mark, thank Merlin.”

Draco puts his cocoa down, nervous, and finds his eyes darting around the room for a door.

“How do I get out of here?” He asks with all the politeness he can muster, and Regulus offers him a wry smile.

“Right through that door,” he says gently, pointing to the door now etching itself out of the wall. “But please remember, Draco - you make your own choices in life. You decide who you are. Not a House, not a name, not a Mark. You. Do not forget that like I did.”

Draco nods, backing towards the door.

“But you defected,” he says, feeling small. Regulus smiles sadly, his eyes cutting.

“Yes, I did. And I paid for it with my life. And the life of my partner, and my daughter, and my brother and my mum and my best friends. I paid, Draco. I’m still paying.”

Draco has his hand on the door knob. “Huh,” he says, and opens the door when Regulus adds, “Oh, and Draco, dear? Don’t call people Mudbloods. There’s no such thing. And it’s rude.”

Draco nods frantically and closes the door so hard he lands flat on his ass in the hallway, watching the door seal itself and fade back into stone.

TWO: James Potter (Gryffindor Quidditch “Hall” of Fame, Gryffindor Common Room) & Seamus Finnigan [Fourth Year - Never Not (Lauv)]

Seamus finds himself alone in the Gryffindor common room one Wednesday morning, pretending to be sick with a cold. He’s wrapped in a blanket and staring into the empty fireplace when he hears, “YO! KID!”

Startled, he falls off the couch, and stumbles up and over to the Quidditch trophy case in the corner. There, in a small frame, is the smiling face of a boy who looks just like Harry, except without the mark, with dark eyes, and happier. Seamus reads the plaque, James Potter, and smiles sadly, wondering if Harry has ever talked to this portrait before.

James, meanwhile, barrels forward, “You’re the one in love with that lanky black kid, right?” Seamus’ eyes snap up as he sputters, but James just grins. “Cool. I thought so. Can I give you some advice…?”

“Seamus.”

“Can I give you some advice, Seamus?”

Seamus, now bright red, says, “Um, sure?”

James’ eyes twinkle and he says, “Tell him.”

Seamus starts coughing, beating his chest as James laughs and he protests, “No! No, I can’t just tell my best friend I’m in love with him!”

James shrugs. “You can,” he says. “You wanna know a secret?” He leans in just a bit. “My best friends fell in love.”

Seamus startles. “What?” He breathes, and James grins.

“Yeah. Sirius Potter and Remus Lupin. Wasted six bloody years apart before finally giving in and admitting it. They’re the most in love people I’ve ever met.” His brow wrinkles. “Well, except Sev and Lily and me.” It wrinkles further. “Nah, I gotta give ‘em this one.”

Seamus gapes in shock for a moment before blurting, “That werewolf and the Black runaway were in love?! And you - fuck, you were with Severus Snape???” James stares at him for a moment before blinking and then bursting into laughter.

When he finally calms down, he looks back up at Seamus’ flushed face and says, “Sirius is a Potter and a Lupin, not a Black. And he and Remy loved each other more than anything. And yeah, Sev and Lily and I had some real fun times.” He tilts his head in consideration and says, “Actually, now that I think about it, some of those happened right on that couch over there. It’s weird they haven’t gotten a new one, huh?”

Seamus sputters for a third and final time and skitters away with a tomato-red face as James shouts after him, “TELL HIM, KID! SHOVE HIM AGAINST A WALL AND SNOG HIM SENSELESS!”

(Seamus, later, to Harry: “Your dad is fucking wack, bro.”)

THREE: Lily Evans (Library, Restricted Section) & Cedric Diggory [Fourth Year - Someone To You (BANNERS), Good Old Days (Kesha, Macklemore)]

Cedric sneaks into the Restricted Section to hide from all the pressure of the tournament. One night he’s thumbing through the books in his boredom when he finds an unframed portrait of a smiling redhead. As soon as he lifts her out of the book, titled The Marauders: A Complete History of Unfiltered Pranks (by Minerva Mcgonogall for Minerva Mcgonogall, signed by Regulus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Lupin (Love you Minnie!), and Lily Evans), the portrait pipes up, “Hi! I’m Lily!”

Cedric nearly drops the book in shock, but manages to catch it at the last second, mustering up a smile for the grinning portrait and introducing himself. She beams and glances at the book in his hand, her smile turning mischievous. “That’s a good one. We did get up to a lot, didn’t we?”

Speechless, he nods, not really processing that she’s just admitted to being Lily Evans, and her eyes dull with sadness at the sight of one of the injuries on his collarbone from the most recent challenge.

“Where’d you get that?” She asks, and he explains the tournament. She hums, and finally murmurs, “I heard them say my son is in that. Is that true?”

Mouth dry, Cedric nods, and Lily looks up at him again with glassy eyes and rasps, “Can you tell him I love him? That I’m proud of him and so are his fathers? Can you tell him that for me?”

Cedric nods again, hearing a creak and turning his head towards the noise when Lily whispers, “Go. Go, Cedric, before you get caught. Be brave, honey.” Cedric shoves the portrait back into the book and the book back onto the shelf with a muttered goodbye before sprinting away, Lily’s words echoing in his ears like a dying child’s scream.

FOUR: Sirius Black (Mcgonogall’s Office) & Ginny Weasley [Fifth Year - Alone (Bazzi)]

Ginny is sitting in Mcgonogall’s office, waiting for her professor to come and scold her for punching Zabini (he touched Luna’s ass, what was she supposed to do? Ask him to kindly stick his nose up where the sun don’t shine? She’d still be here, and he’d still be snickering like the slimy motherfucker he is in that dungeon cell he calls his bedroom). She hears a cough from somewhere on Mcgonogall’s desk and straightens up, ducking her head to peek around when she hears, “Pssst. Over here.”

She looks over and sees a framed picture of Sirius Black, grinning as if he’d never died. She swallows down her tears and nods her head in a polite hello. Sirius’ smile saddens as he says, “I hear you’re dating my godson.”

Ginny blushes, but nods, and for a moment, Sirius looks like he’s about to cry. “Why are you here, Ginny?” He asks softly, and she shrugs.

“Punched a Slytherin who touched my friend’s ass.”

Sirius grins at that, nodding his head in respect. “Good girl. You ever think about why that is?”

Ginny’s brow furrows and she opens her mouth to ask what he means when she sees his eyes wandering to a sketch of a wolf howling at the moon on Mcgonogall’s far wall, with the note For you, Minnie. Moony didn’t want it. Love, Sirius.

“I fell in love with a boy once,” Sirius murmurs. “My best friend. Remus Lupin. And he loved me back.”

I know, Ginny wants to say. You two were married and gave baby Harry joint Christmas presents and danced in the kitchen when you thought no one else was still awake. I’ve heard the stories, I’ve seen the pictures. I know. But instead she stays quiet, listening as Sirius tells his story.

“But instead of admitting that, I dated Marlene McKinnon for three years. Sold my gay ass out to a lesbian whore because I was too afraid to tell him how I felt about him.” Ginny has a lot of questions about the “lesbian whore” part - “I mean, she was a friend of mine, but I never wanted to kiss her, or sleep with her, but I did anyway. And he looked so fucking sad all the time. But he didn’t say anything. He didn’t wanna ruin my happiness. I didn’t know how to tell him that he was my happiness. By the time I figured it out, it was too late.”

Ginny swallows, finally speaking up, “Why are you telling me this?” Sirius finally tears his eyes away from the picture of the wolf and the moon and gives her a bitter smile.

“Because I’m dead and my husband and I spent a mere three years together in all of the ten we knew each other. What kind of bullshit is that?”

Ginny shrugs. “Some bullshit,” she answers, and laughs uncomfortably.

Sirius laughs too, then sighs. He looks deep into her eyes and says, “I love my godson. You make sure he knows that. But I also love my husband. And I spent too damn long running from that. So let me save you a bit of trouble, Ginny - the greatest love is often the scariest.”

Ginny purses her lips. “What are you saying?” She says slowly, and Sirius smiles sadly as Mcgonogall’s heels come clicking down the hall.

“I’m saying maybe you shouldn’t waste your time on Harry when both your and his hearts lie elsewhere.”

Ginny blushes, looking down at the homemade bracelet Luna made her three summers ago, and at the sound of the door opening, she looks back up at a frozen Sirius, whose eyes are caught on Mcgonogall, somehow still twinkling.

FIVE: Peter Pettigrew (Outside Gryffindor Dorms) & Ron Weasley [Fifth Year - lovely (Billie Eilish, Khalid)]

Ron is sulking on the stairs outside the Gryffindor common room after a particularly bad Quidditch loss. He wishes he were with Hermione and Harry, but they were already tangled together when he came upstairs and he didn’t want to intrude, even though they invited him to.

He knows they’re all best friends, he just feels so much like the third wheel sometimes. So he’s sulking when he hears a soft, “Hey.”

He looks up in surprise and sees a portrait of Peter Pettigrew, and he immediately steels his eyes, backing away. Seeing this, Peter shouts, “Wait, no! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I know! I just - I didn’t actually betray them, you know? Okay, well, I did, but - but I fixed it! They forgave me! I promise I’m not evil, I’m not, Ron -”

“How do you know my name?” Ron blurts, and Peter jumps back in his frame, startled, then smiles softly.

“They say it,” he answers. “Harry, and that girl you’re always with. They say your name all the time.”

Ron blushes. “Oh,” he says, ducking his head with a smile. When he looks back up into Peter’s sad eyes, he says, “We lost today. Quidditch.”

Peter cocks his head. “To who?”

Ron shrugs, looking down at his lap and fidgeting with his fingers over his knees. “Slytherin. Never lost against Slytherin before.”

Peter shrugs. “James and Sirius did. All the time.”

Ron looks up. “Really?” Peter smiles softly.

“Yeah. Mostly because they wanted Severus and Regulus to feel good, but. Yeah, they lost to Slytherin all the damn time.”

Ron’s smile fades. “Severus? Like, Snape? The Death Eater?”

Peter winces, then shrugs. “The Order spy. But, yeah.”

Ron blinks in shock. “They were friends? Even after Lily?”

Peter’s brow furrows in confusion, but he answers anyway, “Yes? They were dating. Them and Lily. Sent the whole school up in flames.”

Ron’s jaw drops open. “You can do that?”

Peter shrugs. “Yeah, ‘course you can. You can date Harry and that girl if you want. No one’s stopping you.”

Ron flushes, looking down in shame.

“They don’t want me,” he mumbles. “Not the way they want each other.”

Peter hums. “Severus said that too. So did James. They were both idiots.” Looking up at Ron’s glistening eyes and pouting lips, he smiles.

“Just because you’re not the smartest or the strongest or the funniest or the best at anything in particular doesn’t mean you’re not important, or that people don’t care about you.”

Ron nods, slowly. He stands and heads back inside without another word, pretending he doesn’t hear Peter sigh and say, “You’re welcome,” bitterly as he mumbles the password to the Fat Lady and slips back through the crack in the door.

SIX: Severus Snape (Headmaster’s Office) & Hermione Granger [Sixth Year - Ophelia (The Lumineers), O Children (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)]

Hermione is visiting Dumbledore’s office for her Prefect badge and an overview of the position while Ron and Harry are brooding in their room. The three of them have become far closer than normal lately, and she’s almost glad to be away for a moment, as they’ve always been more honest with each other when she isn’t around. She can’t decide if that bothers her or not.

She’s waiting for Dumbledore to get there when she hears, “Miss Granger, correct?” in a slow, molasses drawl.

She looks up at the portrait labelled Severus Snape and answers the boy in the Slytherin tie, “Yes. Hello, Mr. Snape.”

Severus grins slowly, a cat-like expression of amusement and carefully calculated arrogance. “Smart one, aren’t you?” He asks, and she nods. He clicks his tongue. “Should’ve been in Ravenclaw.”

She flushes and opens her mouth to retort when the Sorting Hat starts shouting about insecure fuckwads who don’t know their place and Severus starts screaming back about it not doing its fucking job right until finally Hermione screams, “STOP!”

The hat grumbles off to sleep again while she stares a shocked Severus down, her shaking hands curled in fists as she says, “Please don’t shout at it. It’s tired.”

Severus raises an eyebrow, but huffs and turns away. She sees his blank arm as he turns his back to her and feels her heart break open with pity.

“You’re Harry’s father, right?” She asks softly, and his head whips towards her in shock. She offers a sad smile and explains, “Lily and James. There are no records, of course, but…”

“You’re Mcgonogall’s favorite,” Severus finishes, smiling wryly. “Yes. I am one of Harry’s fathers.”

Hermione nods, looking down at her books, and swallows before looking back up again to say, “He really loves you.”

Severus rears back in shock, his eyes searching her for lies as she tears up. “He really does. You may not know it, and he doesn’t speak of it, but - but I can tell. He misses you.”

Severus’ eyes turn dull and glassy and he turns away, hiding his face with his long shaggy hair. Hermione swallows down her tears, smiling again. “Yes, well -”

“I love him too,” Severus interrupts, voice soft. “I miss him too. We all do. Tell… tell him that, would you?”

Hermione blinks, then nods.

“Of course,” she says, ducking her head as the staircase starts to rumble. “I’ll take good care of him, sir.”

Severus smiles that sad wry smile again and stills just as Dumbledore steps through the door, but Hermione hears his silence echo in her ears.

Thank you.

SEVEN: Remus Lupin (Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom) & Luna Lovegood [Seventh Year - Dynasty (MIIA), Towards The Sun (Rihanna)]

As the war comes closer and closer to Hogwarts, the students there grow more and more anxious. Luna herself takes refuge in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where only Harry and Ginny know to find her. But with Harry on the run with Ron and Hermione and Ginny trying to hold down the fort with Seamus and Dean, Luna often finds herself alone.

One day she decides to make her way up onto the balcony over the classroom that leads to the office, and she reaches for the knob on the office door when she hears, “Don’t go in there, Miss Lovegood.”

She looks over at the portrait who’s spoken, dubbed Remus Lupin, and smiles. He smiles kindly back and asks, “What are you even looking for?”

Luna shrugs. “Some way to help, I guess.”

Remus smiles wryly and nods, glancing down at the wedding ring adorning his finger. His smile softens for a moment before he says, “Sometimes, Miss Lovegood, the best way to win a war is by treating others with kindness.”

Luna tilts her head to the side. “Like, with hugs and smiles?” She asks, and Remus smiles, biting his lip and nodding. His eyes are glassy, but she pretends not to notice.

“Yes, my dear, with hugs and smiles. Support each other. Take no conversation for granted. Merlin knows the only thing that comforted me in the first war was the constant reminders that I still had my family. That they were fighting with me, and that I was fighting for them.”

Luna nods sagely and looks down at the bracelets littering her wrists, each one made for a different person in her life: Ginny, her girlfriend; Harry, her partner; Neville, her best friend; Draco and Ron and Hermione, her friends. She asks, “What comforted you when you died? I know… I know it wasn’t fast. Or painless.”

Remus smiles, his eyes shining with kindness and hope despite the exhausted bruises beneath them and the scars across his face.

“I wasn’t alone,” he answers, his voice soft. “I died by Sirius’ side. I was holding his hand when I saw the light. And in the light there were silhouettes - James, Peter, Lily, Severus, Regulus. They were waiting for us. And I knew we would be okay.”

Luna nods. She twists a ring on her finger and says, “Thank you, Mr. Lupin. I’d best be going now.”

Remus nods as she begins to descend the steps, his voice ringing out one last time, “Good luck, Luna. I hope to Merlin your victory will be more permanent than ours.”

Luna twirls around, cocking her head as she asks, “You think we’ll win?” Remus smiles.

He nods, his eyes twinkling, and says, “Someone has to. Why not you?”

ONE: All Together Again (Grimmauld Place, Harry & Ron & Hermione’s Bedroom)  & Harry Potter [After Graduation of Eighth Year - Daylight (Taylor Swift)]

Following the end of the war, Harry moves into Grimmauld Place, left to him by the godfather he never knew. He takes Hermione and Ron with him, the three of them having been in a committed relationship since sometime when they were on the run and following an unspoken agreement that they will follow each other anywhere.

Luna lives nearby with Ginny, in an apartment by Draco’s little cottage and Neville’s tiny hovel. The three of them live quietly, though their friends visit often. Harry feels better, happier, though the hole left by his missing family is still there.

One day, as he’s putting up pictures of him and his partners around their shared bedroom, he hears, “Harry?”

He looks up, and there, on the opposite wall, is a picture of the seven Marauders, all young and staring at him in shock. Harry tears up and rushes over, taking the picture delicately in his hands and smiling as he rakes his eyes over his lost family. They all grin back, and Harry reads the inscription on the frame: My dear Marauders, You have been my pride and joy for seven long short years. I know you will all do great things; I cannot wait to see what you accomplish. You are, and have always been, my favorite students. All my love, Minnie.

Harry covers his mouth, emotional, until finally James asks, “Are you happy?”

Harry looks at Remus and Sirius, their fingers intertwined and their eyes sparkling. He looks at Regulus and Peter, their arms around each other’s shoulders as they grin. He looks at Severus and Lily and James, his three wonderful parents. And he looks down at the two wedding rings on the chain around his own neck, bearing the initials R.W. and H.G.. And he nods.

“Yeah,” he answers, grinning. “Yeah, I’m really fucking happy.”

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Protect

For my bitch @spookysmujer, hope you like it girly! And y’all go check out her stuff!

Warnings: A fucking sleazy guy 🥴

~

“What do you say you come back to my place for some fun?” Some random guy asks as you walk out of the corner store that was down the street from your boyfriend Oscar’s house. You were actually heading that way after deciding to walk so you could pick up some snacks to munch on during the movie marathon he had planned for you guys.

“Fucking pig.” You mumble as you ignore him, taking a few more steps before you hear his deep voice once again.

“Are you a stuck up bitch that can’t answer a question or what?” He asks in a teasing manner as he walks closer.

“Oh no, see that’s what you’re not about to do.” You snap as you turn around to glare at the man,”Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Woah, woah, woah chill out baby.” He chuckles,”I’m just trying to get to know you, that’s all.” He says his fingers coming up to your face as he try’s to push some hair behind your ear.

“Don’t touch me!” You cringe in disgust as you swat his hand away,”Just go back to your car.” You say with a wave of your hand in that direction,”You don’t want the problems that come with me.”

“Am I suppose to be scared of you?” He chuckles,”Besides I wasn’t doing anything wrong, there is no harm in trying to make new friends.”

“Nah you’re doing more than that.” You say as a knowing smirk forms on your face,”You ain’t from around here huh?” You ask with a chuckle as you glance around,”Cause if you were, you wouldn’t even be looking in my direction. Especially not on this street.”

“What? Your daddy own this neighborhood or something?” He asks with a scoff,”Last I checked this was America baby, I can say what I please.”

“You could say my daddy owns this block.” You smile sweetly at him,”Which is why I’m going to let you walk away. I would hate for him to have to take time out of his day to beat the shit out of some sleazy dumb fuck.” You say as you spin around in the opposite direction, the guy biting his lower lip and nodding before heading to his car with sick intentions.

“What a asshole.” You shudder as you walk at a hurried pace along the sidewalk. Oscar’s house in sight a minute later just as a familiar beat up blue mustang pulls to a stop in front of you and sends a few trash cans flying.

“Ahhhh!” You exclaim as you jump back in fear,”What the fuck?!” You shout as you see the familiar guy step out.

“You know, I don’t like the way our conversation ended back there.” He says as he begins to walk around the car, causing you to step backwards and into the street,”I think I oughta show you manners baby. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to bitch if you had something to occupy that pretty little mouth of yours.” He smirks, his hand grabbing at his bulge.

“Come any closer and I’ll scream.” You warn, taking one more step before you trip and fall on your backside. A moan of pain escaping your lips as you sit up in discomfort, your snacks now thrown about.

“See what happens when you don’t do what I say? You get hurt.” He chuckles just as he reaches you, your about to scream when you hear a all too familiar voice behind you.

“Aye what’s going on out here?!” Sad Eyes shouts as he jogs down his driveway in nothing but his sweats with a gun in hand,”Y/N?” He asks, your best friend running out after him in one of his too long t-shirts.

“Y/N, oh my god are you okay?” She ask as she comes to a stop and kneels down next to you,”Your hands are all cut up.” She says as she puts her arms under yours and lifts you up quickly, Sad Eyes stepping around the two of you with his gun now pointed at the man.

“You know this foo?” He asks

“She’s my friend.” He answers the same time as you do, fear now clear in his eyes as he takes notice of a few neighbors coming outside to see the commotion. Most of them being armed and tattooed with the famous Santo cross.

“No! He fucking followed me from the store.” You say as you wipe your hands clean, the sting causing your eyes to water,”He wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“You messing with my homies girl?” He asks rhetorically as he cocks the gun,”Ima need you to take a seat on the curb. I’m sure he’s going to want to have a chat with you.”

“Look man, I’m gonna just go alright?” He says as he holds his hands up,”I don’t want any trouble. That wasn’t my intention.”

“He’s a liar! He was messing with me in the parking lot, I tried to warn him about what would happened and he didn’t care.” You say as angry tears slip from your eyes,”You should have just left me alone.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. Really, I am.” He says, his head snapping in the direction of Oscar’s commanding whistle as he walks down the street.

“What the fuck is happening on my block?” He booms as he takes in the scene in front of him, his pace quickening as he takes notice of you,”Dime qué está pasando.” He barks out loud to nobody in particular as he reaches you and takes you from Carla,”Calm down bebe, I’m here.” He soothes as he looks over you, his jaw clenching when he takes notice of your injury.

“Seems like this guy was messing with your hyna Spooky. Followed her from the store and shit.” Sad Eyes explains as he puts his gun down and steps to the side,”Made her fall and cut her hands up too.”

“No!” The man interjects,”It wasn’t like that.”

“You fucking with my girl?” Oscar questions as he slowly walks towards him after letting Carla take over you again,”And then you made her bleed?” He adds as he pulls off his chain and tucks it in his pocket.

“I would never mess with your girl man. Come on, we don’t have to make this into a big thing.” He says shakily as Oscar now tugs off his white t-shirt and hands it off to his right hand man.

“Nah it’s too late for that.” Oscar shrugs before he posts up,”It’s square business now, we gonna have to catch a round.”

“I don’t want to fight you. We don’t have to do all that.” He cries, one of the other Santo members coming up behind him and shoving him forward.

“It’s either we fight or my compa here puts a bullet between your eyes. Your choice.” He informs as he holds his stance, the guy looks around before weakly holding his hands up. Oscar taking that action as a final decision and quickly throwing a powerful right hook to his jaw. He falls to the ground, Oscar leaning down and delivering blow after blow to the guys head,”Don’t fuck...with my...girl!” He grunts as his knuckles get covered with blood, the curb sprayed with it as well.

“Oscar! Enough!” You shout out when no one else intervenes, the guy having been knocked out after the first few punches. He looks over at you before using his forearm to wipe his mouth as he nods towards the other side of the street.

“Look over there.” He orders quietly, you take in a shaky breathe before doing as asked and turning around with Carla. The sound of more blows being delivered reach your ears before a final and different kind of hit sounds off.

“Okay, enough...chill out Spooky.” Sad Eyes finally jumps in as he wraps his arms around his best friend and forcibly walks him over to you,”Take her home, I’ll handle this mess.” He reassures Oscar as he hands off his gun to Carla,”Go put that up and stay inside.” He instructs her as you take a peek at the man, his face almost unrecognizable. You look down and cringe when you take notice of your boyfriends once crisp white air forces, no doubt that the last hit you heard was a kick to the guys face.

“I’m sorry.” The man croaks out as you feel yourself being pulled away by Oscar, you let him lead you down the road and into the house after he kicks off his shoes on the porch.

“You okay nena?” He asks as he gently pushes you down on to the toilet to sit after you enter the dim lit bathroom,”He didn’t actually touch you, did he?”

“I’m okay...he’s so stupid, I tried to tell him to leave me alone because I didn’t want you to have to do that.” You say as you watch him wash his hands,”I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t apologize.” He says with a shake of his head,”He got what he deserved and that’s that. Next time he’ll think twice before approaching any girl, maldito tonto.” He grumbles as he drys his hands before taking yours in his and kneeling down in front of you,”Just a few scrapes.” He informs before flipping them over and placing soft kisses to the back of them,”I love you.” He mumbles against them, his nerves calming down as he closes his eyes.

“I love you.” You smile before wrapping your arms around him,”Thank you for being there, like you always are.”

“You know Ima always be there ma, ain’t no one ever gonna hurt you, or even disrespect you as long as I’m around.” He informs you, the two of you standing up so you could properly hug him,”You go set that movie up, I’m gonna step out real quick and see what’s up.”

“Okay.” You reply as you stand on your tip toes,”Just hurry up, I don’t want to be alone.” You admit before pecking his lips.

“I will.” He sighs, giving you another quick kiss before untangling his body from yours,”Go to my room, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He urges, he did have to make sure the mess that happened was cleaned up properly after all. You wait until he’s back outside before lazily walking to his bedroom and setting up a movie like he asked, a comedy for sure after everything that just went down. You look out the window after a few minutes go by, the little old lady that lives across the street cleaning off the road with a bucket of soapy water after giving Oscar a reassuring squeeze on the arm. The blue mustang now driving down the street, the window tint to dark to see who was inside. You watch as the neighbors join together to clean up the mess, being pulled from your thoughts as a pair of arms embrace you from behind.

“Don’t worry about that.” He mutters as he turns you around to face him,”He’ll be fine, I know you’re worried about that. He had his Id on him, Jokers gonna go toss him out on his lawn. Think he’s gonna keep the car too.” Oscar says with a dry chuckle.

“Lets just forget about it.” You sigh as you step around him to lay on the bed,”Can you come lay down now?” You ask, Oscar smiling as he slides in next to you before grabbing the remote and pressing play. Your mind now at ease in the comfort of his arms, his lips pressed to the top of head as he mumbles about how he’d always be there to protect you. A promise he’d keep forever.

[cloveroctobers]

CRANES IN THE SKY | C. Jackson

Requested: Nope! I saw a fluff prompt that sounded great for Chris so this is what I came up with! Prompt — “Stop moving and let me braid your hair.”

WARNINGS: mentions of mental illness, sadness, depression, and “curse words”

YOU were going through it. Life was just becoming a lot for your teenage self and it seemed like this week would never end. It partly felt like everyone was out to get you but you were really just having a bad week and in the back of your mind, you hoped that the next would be better...yet you didn’t even want to think that far ahead. As of a few hours ago you were allowing your self to sit in your funk of your Crenshaw home until Chris barged in making himself at home.

Working in retail felt emotionally and mentally abusive but hey, you needed money to get by right? You were tempted to quit after a month of being there but your mother persuaded you to toughen it out and not let them get to you. ‘Or maybe it was easier for her to say so, so that you wouldn’t be coming to her as much for some cash.’ You bitterly thought.

On top of that, you were getting hours in over time since there were three situations going on with your co-workers. One: was fired due to stealing money from the safe in the stock room, since one of the assistant managers didn’t fully close it, two: got arrested for god knows what— you didn’t care for the drama but it was common knowledge Julio’s ass was gone, and third: got injured on the job and would be out for 6 months. So the work load fell on the remaining three. Only 6 employees in retail...make it make sense. Not only that the customers were more whiny and quick to point the finger than usual and it takes a lot for you to step out of character! but you did.

You had it. So you went into a screaming match, which wasn’t expected of you but it happened. The store manager did not have your back and blamed you in front of the customer since, “the customer is always right,” motto was heavily encouraged and a part of you HOPED he was just doing that for show and would apologize later but nope! He stood by wtf he said and put you on punishment when it was clear that the customer was not right.

So instead of sending you home and keeping you away from the place? He decided to give you more hours as if you’re the only one working there + kept you off the register so you could only interact with those on the floor. If he expected you to come in for five days straight while being a high school student? He was out of his damn mind. So you called out the three of the five days you were supposed to be there and didn’t care for his guilt trips. You deserved better and didn’t need to deal with this bs for only $11.11 an hour. You hoped he fired you.

Since you were working so much prior to the screaming match with that aggy customer, you were falling behind on your studies. Those pop quizzes came back as c+ to c- and your exams? Even lower. You were turning in homework half assed or not turning it in at all and normally you were a decent student with a B average. You weren’t overly thrilled about school but you did your best and did just fine at that.

You never saw yourself as someone who would go to college. Your mom or your step-dad didnt go and it was expected that you wouldn’t because of your background. Wasn’t that a shame? Crenshaw high could do a lot better at getting kids prepared for bettering their futures but they just wouldn’t put the time in to kids that wanted it or could accomplish it if they just had the right guidance.

It was really depressing and it was all starting to sink in at the end of your junior year of high school. You couldn’t just give up but you were having one of those days and wanted to be left alone. Which was partly what you had in your condominium complex with your step-sibs staying behind to attend after school activities with you having to pick them up from the bus stop by 5:15, your mother was working the night shift as a waitress, and your step-dad was away on “business.”

The quiet was interrupted by Chris making his way into your living room with you all curled up. He took one look at you and shook his head, “Nuh-uh, get up ya ass up, girl. You’ve been like this for what? Days now?”

Giving him the side eye, you rolled your body on the couch to put your back to him as you went to bury your head into the open s peace between the couch and cushion. “If you came here to start with me, you can leave the same way you came in.”

You were used to Chris getting into your house. You did lock your doors around here but Chris was surprisingly good at getting through things which related a lot to his life I guess you could say. The guy overcame a lot especially learning how to walk again after almost being paralyzed. You and Chris grew up together, and were actually friends first before Spencer, Coop, and Shawn came into the picture. Your mother’s were the best of friends and got pregnant around the same time, with Chris being only a few months older than you, which he likes to rub in to get on your nerves.

“And you can keep that stank ass attitude to yourself, get up mama this ain’t no way to be.” You could feel the weight of Chris sitting on the couch behind you.

He was now poking you, probably trying to find your ticklish spot but if you start swinging then you’re the bad guy right?

Chris knew you like the back of his hand and vice versa. He knew all about how your week was going and how you’ve been skipping class to do whatever it is that you do, since you did have one class together.

“Alright look, when I was away—

He always considered his recovery as, “away,” almost as if it pained him to say that, which you understood by all means, but Chris could just call it what it was. He was strong, he made it through but you noticed in the way he played now was more cautious. He was in his head which was common with sports injuries apparently. You noticed with Spencer he would normally react after the stress of the game or something that brought on the stress. He also probably thought you had no clue what was going on with him, but he was also one of your besties so of course you knew. You just never said anything.

Now it was you who was going through a little something and needed someone to bring you out of it, whether you said it or not. And here Chris was. As always.

“You know I was a completely different person—

“Yeah, you were a fresh asshole.” You commented, remembering those moments quite clearly since it was you and Olivia who tried to be there. He only seemed to let you be there, especially after he broke up with Olivia over text. Which you laid into his ass about.

Which made Chris breathe out a laugh pressing his elbows into his knees, “you’re not wrong. And I’m forever sorry about that but you knew I was going through some dark shit. And I can see you’re partly there but you don’t need to sit in it.”

“Okay, Iyanla. What would you like for me to do?” You asked twisting your body to the side to finally look at the mocha skinned boy.

Chris smiled with his pretty teeth, “maybe take a shower? ‘Cause this bum energy I’m getting from you right now is not cute and I know underneath all that, you’re not half bad.”

A foot went out to kick him pretty hard but he tried and failed to doge it with a laugh. “Nah. But for real though, you got to find something that’s gonna keep you sane. Find something even if it’s not permanent that’ll keep your mind active and out of the dark, cause once you completely slip into it, it’s hard to get out of. Trust me.”

You knew Chris was on anti-depressants for a little while and how he called you flipping out that his mother even agreed that it would be a good idea. In the black community it was not a common thing to speak about your mental health, it was non-existent and you were expected to “get over it,” to not think like that because we are made to be tougher than what we are and it shouldn’t be like that. We should be able to feel our emotions and admit when something is troubling us.

And Chris’ mother thought that was what was best for her son. And you saw how vile of a person Chris became when he thought everything was over for him. That was not the Chris Jackson you knew, he was headstrong, compassionate when he wanted to be, and ambitious. So to see him like that was hard.

So here he was for you even though your emotions right now probably wasn’t that deep but again, you were trying to be more in touch with your emotions. Both of the adults in your life were slightly cold so it rubbed off on you a little bit of course, until it was brought out of you. Your father was the most loving and as a kid you used to be that way, with a warm prescence and a belly full of laughter. Now you were full of small smiles and cold stares.

However your main friends: Chris, Spencer, Coop, and even Shawn know/knew who you are even if you’re different now.

You don’t know how long you sat in silence but once Chris started to annoyingly snap his fingers in front of your face, You snapped out of it and smacked his hand down; slowly you sat up on your uncomfortable couch and took a deep inhale.

Then you moved through the cramped apartment to your bedroom and bathroom grabbing a few things. When you came back Chris was also entering from the kitchen with two plastic cups, eyeing the items in your hand. “What’s going on with that?”

You plopped the large pillow in front of the couch, held your hand out for the cup which Chris handed over, and you took a large gulp to taste cran-peach. Chris moved to place his own cup on the coaster and went over to the window to crank up the A/C before he glanced back over at you still awaiting a answer.

“You’re telling me to find my peace? I’ve always wanted to be a stylist, so I’m going to perfect my craft.” You answered sitting on the couch with a crack of your neck.

Chris thought this over and blew out a raspberry. Then he moved to sit in between your legs on the floor, “Alright, y/n. I’ll be your first client. But I’m tellin’ you right now if you braid too tight where my edges look eaten, I’m out the door.”

A smile graced your lips as Chris grabbed his cup and remote to turn the tv on, “so what we watching to keep me entertained?”

Shrugging your shoulders you held the rat tail comb in your hand while using the other to run your fingers through Chris’ coarse hair that he was deciding to grow out. Chris got himself comfortable resting against your legs as you decided which side of the head you wanted to start on first before you began parting and sectioning off his hair.

You were going to give him some cornrows so you had to make sure everything was even and not look crazy. You were decent at braiding, you often did your step-sis’ hair since your mother no longer had time to do it and she sure did have a lot of hair. It gave you some sense of satisfaction, you taking on the older sibling role and gave you the time to bond.

Chris finally found something after twenty minutes and was yelling at the tv which made you mess up the grip on the fourth row. “If you don’t stop moving and let me braid your hair...hold your head right or I’m gonna pop you!” You threatened.

“This is triggering me back to my aunties, specifically aunt Henrietta’s ol’ mean ass.” Chris mumbled the last bit as he flinched making you laugh a little bit, remembering the name and the picture of the woman with the large mole on her pointy chin.

She lived in Maryland and had a beauty salon that Chris’ mom would always take a trip down there to get their hair done, if they had a special event to go to. It didn’t make sense to you or your mother since there were a few good shops here in Crenshaw or rather—girls and boys that did hair out of their homes around but Mrs. Jackson wanted to support her great aunt so by all means...

You gripped his hair again tight but not too tight to begin the braid, “I’m gonna add beads so everyone around school can call you hurricane chris.”

“...that’s real foul. You’re about to make me not support your dreams anymore, I’m dead serious.” Chris replied making you laugh, which made him smile at the sound.

You briefly glanced up to watch a scene on whatever show or film Chris was watching and raised your eyebrow not knowing what was going on or who these characters were but it was definitely engaging.

Chris nudged your knee with his shoulder after you fell silent again, “feel better?” He asked, moving AGAIN to meet your eyes.

“yeah, a little. Thanks.” You scrunched up your nose and stuck your tongue at him.

After awhile your alarm went off letting you know it was time for you to leave and get ready to get the kiddos. As you both got up, Chris went to the mirror to check out your handiwork while you snapped a few pictures before making your way to the door, taking the keys from the side table as you went.

“Y/N...you said would make me look good.”

“Uh huh?”

“Then tell me why...the hell you got me looking like ODB?” Chris’ deep set brows held a deep frown on them as he glanced at his childhood friend who innocently peered back at him.

You shrugged as you threw the door open, “i never said I’d be the best hair stylist out there, plus you wouldnt stop moving your big ass head. I told you to sit still! And did you listen? Noooooo.”

Chris licked his lips looking down as he folded his hands together before his eyes flicked up, “ok. I’m on your ass!”

You yelped as dashed out the door, laughter in your lungs as Chris chased you down the narrow hallway, hot on your trail.

[kurlyfrasier]

Terrified: Part 4

Raph x Reader

Synopsis: Raph saves you from ruffians one night in an alley after watching out for you for weeks without you knowing. Which leads you to getting to know the guys and becoming part of the family. But Raph keeps a distance and you don’t understand why. 

Word Count: 1708

Warnings: None

I woke up later than intended- much later, as in waking in the afternoon later- red-eyed and weary from the tears shed the night before. I had decided, once I had calmed down enough to think beyond losing the boys- most especially Raph- that tonight would be my last movie night. At least, for a while. I also planned on telling them they need not walk me home after work. Granted, I had no idea how I planned on convincing them that they weren’t needed. 

Maybe I could tell them I’m moving? Getting a new job?

I sighed, looking into the mirror. If tonight was going to be my last night seeing Ra- them, then I would make the most of it. I decided I would look my best, without looking desperate...hopefully. Sadly, this meant I did not get to start my new book since l only had about an hour until Mikey would be here to pick me up. Yet another reason to stop burdening the boys. Regretting the fact that I wouldn’t get to wear pajamas like I usually do on movie nights, I trudged to my closet.

A little over an hour later Mikey found me in the middle of brushing just a tad bit of make-up on; to cover up my red-rimmed eyes. 

“Whoa angelcakes,” he drawled once I stepped out of the bathroom, eyeing my long, fitted sweater dress- because it gets cold in the lair- and warm leggings with comfortable Chuck Taylors. 

See? Not desperate. Comfy.

“Raph is gonna lov-” He stopped himself short when I gave him a quizzical look. “I mean, you look hot, dudette. Got any plans tonight?” he wiggled, what one would call, his eyebrows, erupting a giggle out of me. 

“Only to hang out with my besties, that’s all,” I shrugged, grabbing my phone, hoping he wouldn’t comment about my not-so-usual outfit once we got to the lair. I really did not want it made more obvious than it already is.

“Sounds like the best plan, but are you sure you don’t wanna bring pj’s for after?”

“I’m sure, Mikey,” I smiled reassuringly up at him as he plucked me up out of the window and onto the roof. “These are just as comfortable as pajamas, promise.”

“Okay then, let’s go,” he helped me onto his shell. “Can’t wait to beat you in a new racing game I got,” he hopped from roof to roof, holding me tight. I couldn’t help but compare his smaller, bulky size to Raph. I don’t think I would have been able to hold on to his shell quite as well.

“You’re on, man. But don’t come crying to me when you lose.”

He barked out a laugh and we stayed silent until we got to the man-hole cover.

“Hey, angelcakes,” Mikey started sheepishly when we got to the bottom of the ladder, scratching the back of his neck. “I wanted to ask…”

“Yeah?” I gave him an encouraging smile.

“Did somethin’ spook you last night?” He blurted out.

“No,” I furrowed my brows, confused about where this is coming from. Unless…

“Raph said you were running for your life after you got off the subway. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay.”

“Oh,” I tried thinking of an excuse, averting my gaze. “I just didn’t want to be a burden, is all.”

Not a complete lie.

“A burden?” He looked shocked as I turned toward their home and started walking that way, hoping to hide my despondency. “You’re not a burden, angelcakes! Besides, before that night in the alley, Raph was already-”

I stopped in my tracks as Mikey sauntered ahead.

“I mean, we like making sure you're okay. We don’t want a repeat of that night we first met,” he continued rambling, but I wasn’t listening. I wanted to know what he was gonna say about Raph. After a few steps he realized I wasn’t next to him anymore. “Come on, Y/n. Don’t want ya to get lost.”

I nodded, unwilling to ask my question as we continued our trek to the lair. I took a deep, calming breath to brace myself before entering the living room area where I knew Splinter, the wonderful father that he is, would be prepping for homemade pizza. Donnie had made an old brick oven not long ago and built it directly underneath a grate above that they only opened when baking pizza so the smoke would have an escape. I found it ingenious because now they could have pizza whenever they wanted. Which was always. A small smile formed at the thought.

Not five steps in and Raph blocked my path, arms crossed as he assessed me for injuries. I stared straight into his chest, unable to meet his all-seeing gaze. He would know something was wrong the moment we made eye contact, he always did.

“Bro, she’s fiiiine,” Mikey sang, lightly punching Raph’s shoulder as he walked by. “I would never let anything happen to her. She is my precious sister, after all.”

Raph ignored him, grunting in approval with a curt nod before walking away. Allowing me to breathe again, not realizing I had held my breath in the first place.

~~~~~~~~~~

Raph was anxious to see you. He had been attempting to work it off all day, to no avail. Everytime he closed his eyes he saw you, standing in front of him, looking small, keeping your thoughts to yourself. 

He growled in frustration, clenching his hands into fists. If only he knew what had you so utterly shattered last night.

He needed to see you.

He needed to know you were safe.

Raph breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard you and Mikey coming, but stopped short when he saw what you were wearing. Vaguely, he wondered where you had come from to be looking so good. That red sweater stuck to your form as if it was painted on. It may have covered almost every inch of skin from your thighs up, but it hardly left room for the imagination. Thos leggings did the same.

Where were your baggy pj’s?

Robotically, he blocked your path to determine if you had been hurt. Really though, it was all a ruse. He just wanted to have a good look at you. He crossed his arms over his chest to keep himself from holding you close. The fact that you wouldn’t meet his gaze had his blood running cold. You always at least gave him a tentative glance and a smile. Next to him, Mikey said something about you being his precious sister, but all he could think was that you were his precious everything. He didn’t even feel his brother’s light punch as he walked by.

He grunted as if saying “that’ll do” and walked away, wishing he knew what was wrong. Wishing he could make it all better.

“I’m gonna go help Donnie with something before we play, okay Mikey?” You spoke barely above a whisper before heading to Donnie’s lab. 

The moment you were out of sight he rounded on Mikey. “So wha’ didya find out?” he growled in in his face.

“Nothin’, bro!” Mikey held his hands up in surrender, backing away. “She said something like not wanting to be a burden. I don’t know. She was kinda quiet though. I barely got her to smile.”

“But nothin’ ‘bout wha’ scared her?” he asked low, peeking around to make sure you hadn’t decided to come back.

“Nadda. Just said she didn’t wanna be a burden. I told her she’s not. That we like takin’ her home, but,” he paused when he noticed Raph shaking, stiff as a board. “Uh-oh…”

Raph stomped away toward Donnie’s lab, barely able to comprehend what Mikey was telling him. 

You? A burden?

Never.

He planned on shaking you to your senses until he heard what you were saying to Donnie.

“...gonna take some self-defense classes so you guys don’t have to walk me home anymore. What do you think?”

Raph leaned against the wall, going to a whole new level of low with eavesdropping. He decided it was worth it if he could figure out what was wrong.

“We could teach you,” Donnie offered offhandedly. “Besides, we like taking you home. We can actually have a conversation as we protect you.”

“Nah, you guys are busy as it is,” you paused. “Plus, I don’t want to bother you guys even more.”

“What are you talking about, Y/n?” Something clattered, a sign that you have Donnie’s full attention. “You’re no bother. Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened,” you sighed before continuing quietly. “I just- I might be getting another job-”

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that, right?” Donnie chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Is this about last night? I heard you were running from something.”

“Ugh! I wanted to get home faster! That’s all,” you fumed, stomping a foot, demanding why the boys kept asking you about last night.

“We’re worried, Y/n,” Donnie stated calmly. “You spend a lot of time with us. That could make you a target. Especially if anyone figures out how much you mean to Ra- uh… us.”

“Fine,” you seethed. “I’ll stop hanging out with you guys, then. That way nobody will have to worry about my safety.”

Donnie’s call for you fell on deaf ears as Raph snuck into the darkened room across from the lab, your steps echoed down the hall. He sunk low in the shadows and held his head close to his knees, eyes shut tight in a sad attempt to keep the tears from flowing freely. He couldn’t breathe. His heart felt as though it were being shattered into a million pieces.

You were leaving? The thought ricocheted through his brain.

What had happened to bring this about? Everything was fine until last night.

Maybe someone got to you already? The thought had his blood boiling. Allowed him to breathe. He had a purpose; to find out what happened in the ten minutes you were on the subway. He was determined to keep you close. Keep you safe. No matter the cost. Even if he had to lock you in his room.

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

Part 5

[thedarklightwithinus]

Deception

A/N; I may or may not feel guilty for not posting in AGES. Please enjoy.

Pairing; Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings; None 

“I'm sorry. I just don’t know what you want me to tell you. I’m telling you all I know, I’ve never been good at lying. I’ve always been proud of that.”

“You mean you’re telling the truth?” His brows furrowed slightly as he eyed her for a moment. A second later, he nodded ever so slowly. He wasn’t sure if there was a time when he couldn’t tell if someone was lying or not. “So, this man corners you, screaming and shouting about things you can’t make out and then he attacks you?”

“Correct.” 

“And you stab him in self defence?” 

“Also correct.”

“The thing is, Y/N... This guy... He’s been on our radar for months.” 

“Our?”

“The Avengers.” Steve Rogers admitted, looking slightly lost in that moment. “We’ve been tracking him down for a while now. It’s strange how he managed to keep himself hidden from us all this time just to turn up in a random alleyway that you happened to be walking down.” 

“It’s not strange at all.” Y/N shrugged, fiddling with her sleeve as she sat across the table from Steve. “He clearly wasn’t in his right mind.” She released a shaky breath. “He was shouting at me and jerking around. I panicked and I stabbed him, yes. I’m sorry he died from his injury. I didn’t mean to make it fatal. I wasn't walking through the alley anyway... He grabbed me and pulled me in.” 

“You understand though, right? Why we had to question you?” Asked Steve. He couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for the interrogation process. “See it from our prospective. He’s been off the radar for weeks and when he does finally pop up, he’s dead before we can get an exact location on him.”

Steve watched her nod at his words. She was still fiddling with her sleeves as though trying to keep herself occupied in fear of looking weak. 

He himself, couldn’t help but sigh, closing the folder that lay out in the table in front of him. There was nothing they could do with the case now that the main suspect was deceased. All the answers had died with him and apparently, so did the case.

“I suppose we have to look on the bright side of it all.” He spoke once more, feeling like it was his duty to try and at least make her feel less guilt. “His death means that he won’t be alive to terrorise anymore people. Though i hate to say it, one death is better than multiple deaths.”

“He murdered people?” Steve watched as she looked slightly scared. “He could’ve...”

“But he didn’t.” Steve was quick to reply. “You’re alive and he’s not. No one will be sad to see him go. I can’t give you any details, it’s a classified case but I can tell you that he wasn’t a very good guy.” He watched her nod solemnly. 

Y/N sighed after a moment, rubbing her hands down her face. She brushed her hair away with the palms before she looked back up at Steve. “Am I free to go now?” 

“I can walk you ou-“ 

“There’s no need.” Her smile was weak as she stood up from her chair. “You must have things to do. It’s a straight shot from the elevators. I’ll be fine.” 

Steve, after a moment of thought nodded and moved to pull the door open. Y/N smiled as she slid through and let herself out of the room. With a final goodbye, she made her way to the elevators. 

Steve waited until she had disappeared from view before he sighed, hit the folder on the door frame and made his way to room in which he knew some of the others were sill digging through the old files of the deceased.

It was almost as soon as he entered that he frowned due to the anxiousness that was floating in the air. He saw Natasha and Tony having a heated conversation next to a computer screen while Sam and Bucky seemed to be searching through some old boxes that held the files Tony didn't keep in his systems. 

He made his way to Natasha and Tony, frowning when he picked up the words they were speaking. 

“I’ll go in next.” Natasha said, folding her hands across her chest. “If there’s anyone who can get answers, it’s me. There's no way she won't slip up if i go in there and ask a few questions. She can't be that good.”

“It isn’t as simple as that.” Tony rolled his eyes. “This is a ghost we’re talking about. No name, no records, no nothing. She doesn’t exist!” 

“What’s going on?” Steve tore the pair from their intense stare down. Natasha looked slightly pleased to see that he was there. 

“Oh good, your done. I’ll take over.” 

Her words caused Steve to frown even more. “With Y/N?" Natasha nodded curtly. "She’s gone.”

“What?” Natasha and Tony simultaneously said. Tony looked slightly alarmed while Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“I got her statement.” Steve told them, motioning to the folder in his hands that’s was quickly snatched up by Natasha. “I had no reason to believe she was lying. She seemed beat up over the whole thing.”

“Did she give you a last name?” Natasha asked as Tony began to fiddle with his computer, pulling up the towers cameras while asking F.R.I.D.A.Y specific times. “It just says Y/N here.”

“I-I must’ve forgotten.” Steve stuttered, shocked with himself. He never, ever failed to complete paperwork and new that a full name was one of the first things to fill out. “She was talking to me, I must’ve forgotten to fill it in.” 

“She was distracting you.” Tony rolled his eyes as though Steve should’ve known that from the start. "You see a pretty damsel whose looking like she's in distress and you try to fix it because you think it's your duty. That's what's happened."  

“There’s still nothing over here.” Bucky spoke up, as Sam whined about not wanting to go through old files anymore. "Most of these dates are probably before she was even born... Or she was just a kid."

“What’s the issue here?”

“The issue is that this girl, Y/N? She doesn’t exist anywhere.” Tony sighed, re-watching the footage of her leaving the building. “Her killing our guy? That was no accident. She sought him out, Cap.”

“She can’t be that far, we-“ 

“She’s left the building.” Tony said, nothing to the footage. “No facial recognition. She was clever enough to avoid the cameras. We’ve got nothing on her. We've swapped one guy we can't locate for a woman we won't be able to locate!" 

“She seemed so honest.” Steve found himself muttering, not liking the fact that he had clearly been played. 

“Hey, boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke out, forcing everyone in the room to stop what they were doing for a moment in order to listen to whatever she had to say. “You’ve got an incoming call. There’s a signal blocker that I can’t trace.” 

“Pull it up.” Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest as the sound of a phone being answered filled the room. “Can I help you?” 

“With whom am I speaking to?” The voice was instantly familiar to Steve and he froze slightly while Tony looked slightly offended at not being recognised. “I’m just kidding Iron man, lose the look would you? How’s it going guys! Gotta say, I just love what you’ve done with the place! Interior design should be your new thing, I’m telling you!” 

“Who the hell is this?” Tony’s eyes narrowed, fiddling with the pad on the computer to see if whoever it was had actually managed to tap into his cameras. “Are you watching us?” 

“Nah.” The sound of an engine being started filled the room. “Your arrogant enough to probably be offended if someone didn’t know who you are. Also it’s me! Y/N! Your new person of interest! Found anything yet? I’m gonna go ahead and say no. I could also save you the trouble and say don’t bother. You won’t find anything.” 

“What’s your deal?” Steve spoke up, his annoyance being overtaken by slight anger at the fact that he had been strung along. 

“Steve! Hey! How you doing my man? Let me tell you that you’re one of the nicest interrogators I’ve ever spoken to. It was almost to easy that I’m slightly disappointed I didn’t have to put up much of a front.” 

“You played me, Y/N. If that even is your name. You made me think you were vulnerable and weak.” Steve found himself spilling. “How’d you do it, huh? 

It was silent for a moment. The only noise being heard was that of the car she was obviously driving. Steve couldn’t help but feel as though he was being kept in suspense on purpose. 

“Remember when I told you I wasn’t good at lying?” Steve perked up slightly, remembering her words clearly. “Well, I might’ve been lying.”

.

[ga-yuu]

Yoichi Story~ ”His Manliness” ~ Collection Event

@silksieve

(This one was actually pretty difficult because Yoichi has some of the best stories, so I took the most cutest and the recent one.)

......

It happened when I was walking in town with Yoichi-san.

Yoichi: “I’m going to stretch my wings today.”

Yuno: “Yeah, its a beautiful day.”

Yoichi: “Of course and what’s more, I’ve got you smiling next to me.”

(.........Mm)

When he smiled mischievously at me, my heart screamed.

Yuno: “Of course, I’m smiling because I’m with you.”

Yoichi: “Oh yeah, and you looked too shy when said that. How about try saying that----”

Yuno: “? What wrong?”

As soon as I turned towards him, when he went silent, Yoichi-san ran off to a certain direction.

Yuno: “Yoichi-san!?”

(What the hell...)

When I looked at the direction Yoichi-san was running, I saw a little girl playing with her drawing on the ground. Behind her there was a wooden plank that was about to fall over. Its shadow falls on the squatting girl...

Yuno: “-----Look out!”

(No, I won’t make it in time....!)

Yoichi: “....!”

But....

Yoichi-san noticed it earlier than anyone else rushed to the little girl, picked her up and avoided the disaster by rolling on the ground. The sound of the wood falling made the people around them startle.

Yoichi; “....Phew, that was a close call.”

Yuno: “Yoichi-san!”

After preventing himself from being trapped under the wood, Yoichi-san raised his body while holding the little girl. Yoichi-san responded by waving his hand lightly, as if to reassure me.

(Thank god, they are safe!)

Little girl: “.......?”

The little girl, who didn’t seem to know what happened and blinked her eyes. But then she squeaked lightly and then started to cry.

Yuno: “...Woah, looks like she got surprised. Are you okay? Are you injured?”

I checked here and there for any injuries.

(....It looks like she is not injured anywhere.)

(But she can’t hear me either and I don’t think she’s going to stop for a while.)

When I was in trouble, Yoichi-san hand reached out and stroked the little girl’s head.

(! ah....)

Yoichi: “Don’t cry too much or you’ll ruin your pretty face, young lady. Now, smile.”

Yoichi-san smiles at the little girl. The smile on his face and the gentle hand stroking her head calmed her down.

Little girl: “.....”

The girl squirmed but stopped crying.

Yoichi: “Also yeah, sorry to startle you.”

Yoichi-san takes out a handkerchief  and gently wipes the girl’s wet cheeks. The girl’s little cheeks blushes and her gaze swims furtively.

(Oh! is this....)

Yoichi: “Hm? Looks like someone has come to pick you.”

Mother: “Excuse me....! Please let me through, my child!”

The little girl’s mother, who noticed the commotion, made her way through the crowd.

Little girl: “Mother!”

After hugging her daughter tightly and confirming her safety, the mother looks at us and bows her head many times.

Mother: “Thank you for your help!”

Yoichi: “No no, It was nothing. Be careful of your surroundings when you play next time. Okay?”

While hiding behind her mother, the girl shyly looks at Yoichi-san’s face and waves her hand a little.

(so cute....)

Yoichi-san and I smiled and waved back at them as they walked away.

Yoichi: “Well, I just got a new reaction from this.”

Yuno: “Yoichi-san. You do know what you just did, right?”

Yoichi: “Hm? What do you mean? All I just did was calm a crying child.”

Yuno: “First love thief.”

Looking back at the little girl’s reaction, I muttered and Yoichi-san grinned.

Yoichi: “Are you jealous, by any chance?”

Yuno: “Huh? No I’m not. Why would I be jealous of little chil....Hey! where are we going?”

Yoichi: “This way this way.”

He pulls my hand and brought me down to an empty alley.

Yoichi: “What did you say, Yuno? First love thief? Did you mean very first love?”

Yuno: “Yes, but what about it....?”

Yoichi: “But you know, I rather steal your first love.”

He hugs me tightly and whispers sweetly into my ears sending shivers down my spine.

Yoichi: “But, since you met me ‘now’, it can’t be helped. But I still wonder what your first love was like. I’m jealous too, you know.”

Yuno: “Yoichi-san....”

Though he sad that sarcastically, I could sense his feeling of jealousy. Seeing his manliness, made my heart jump.

(I’m a little embarrassed that you’re treating me so special, but more than that, I’m very happy.)

Yuno: “Yoichi...Mm..”

When I looked up, Yoichi-san robs my lips.

Yoichi:(smiles bashfully) “Your love from now on is only for me. I’m going to give my heart to Yuno as well.... I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that.”

The caressing fingers on the cheek and loving look in his eyes always made him look more masculine than ever...

(....Nah, who is going to say no to that?)

I let out a small moan, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Yoichi: “Yosh, good girl. Now let’s enjoy the day. You’ll let me have all your pretty little smiles, won’t you?”

The smiling Yoichi-san made me realize that I was no match for him after all.

[supernatural-fangirl1967]

Missing Pieces - Part 7

Pairing: Nurse!Dean x Reader

Warnings: Head Injury, Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 3,514

A/N: This is Part 7 of Missing Pieces. Please let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist

“I think that they’re trying to run me into the ground,” Dean tells you over the phone.

“Have you been busy?” you ask him as you balance your phone between your shoulder and your ear.

“Yeah,” Dean sighs. “But I have been helping out a lot on the pediatrics floor so that helps to soften the load a bit.”

“I’d say so,” you laugh.

“I’m sorry that I’ve not got to talk to you much, sweetheart,” Dean tells you.

“You’ve been busy, Dean. I get it,” you tell him softly. “It’s okay.”

Dean takes a deep breath. “So how have you been feeling since the other day?”

“I’m alright,” you tell Dean.

“(Y/N)…”

“I promise. I still have my bad days just like anybody else but I’m good,” you tell Dean. “Truthfully.”

“Okay,” Dean says and you can practically hear his frown over the phone. “So, what’re you up to now, pretty girl?”

You laugh a bit. “Well, believe it or not I am making you a pie.”

“Seriously?” Dean asks excitedly.

“Yep,” you say and you smile widely at hearing Dean be so happy. “I know that pie is your favorite so…”

“How’d you know that?” Dean asks you. You’re pretty sure that you hear a bit of hopefulness in his voice, but yet you have no clue as to why.

“Um, you told me,” you tell Dean as you laugh a bit.

“Oh,” he says almost disappointedly. “I guess that I did.”

Taking a deep breath, you decide to ignore his tone and you set your phone down onto the counter to put It on speaker. “When do you get off?”

“Four hours,” Dean tells you. “I’m actually heading out to take my lunch break right now.”

“I’ll let you go then,” you tell him.

“Tell me how that translated into me having to hang up,” Dean laughs.

“Because I figured that you’d be driving and I don’t want you to wreck because you were on the phone with me,” you tell me. “We don’t need two of us who can’t remember anything.”

Dean takes a deep breath. “Well, I’m not at the car yet so let me hear your voice a few more minutes.”

“Awe, he misses me,” you laugh and you can practically see Dean’s cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

“Alright,” he mumbles into the phone, causing you to laugh that much harder. “Well, I’m out in the parking lot so I should probably hang up… Crap. You have got to be kidding me.”

“What now?” you laugh.

“Flat tire,” Dean sighs. “Must have picked up a nail or something.”

“You need me to pick you up?”

“Nah, I’ll just eat here in the cafeteria. But if you wouldn’t care to pick me up when my shift is over I would greatly appreciate it.”

“No problem,” you smile.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I’ll text you when I clock out.”

“I’ll see you then, Dean.”

“Yeah,” Dean says before hanging up the phone. You take a deep breath and smile a bit as you try and focus on what you were doing before Dean called. You were afraid that after what happened the other day, he wouldn’t want anything to do with you. Afraid that he’d think that you were too much drama to stick around. But he has called or text you every day to make sure that you’re alright. It’s honestly the only thing that’s kept you pushing through these past few days.

“You’ve been busy.”

You jump a bit and turn to see your dad standing there. “Yeah,” you breathe out as you look down at the mess that you’ve made on the counter. “I needed something to do with my hands for a while.”

“How are you feeling?” your dad asks you.

“Like I want people to stop asking me that,” you tell him. “Other than that, I’m alright.”

“We’re just worried about you.”

“I’ve gotten that memo.”

“Seriously, kid. Answer me.”

You take a deep breath. “Well, my head hurts a little bit today but I promise that I’m alright.”

“You look tired. Maybe you should go…”

“No. I’m not going to go lay down. I’ve got too much to do right now. I need to finish this and then I have to go pick Dean up.”

“You’re doing too much.”

“I’m alright,” you tell him.

“Well, me and your mom were planning on going to the store. You need anything?”

“No,” you tell him.

“Alright, well, call if you need anything.”

“I will, Dad.”

He nods and turns to walk off. You get the pie into the oven and you sit down on the couch for a while. Sighing, you hide our face in your hands as you feel the tears welling up. You have no clue where these sudden bursts of sadness start, but all you want is for them to go away. It definitely isn’t helping you at all.

After a while, the timer on the oven goes off and you get up to take the pie out. Your hands shake but from exhaustion or weakness you have no clue. What you do know is that you’re tired of always feeling this way. By the time your phone goes off with Dean’s text, you’ve gotten so bored that your kitchen, bedroom, and closest are completely spotless and organized. You pull your phone out of your pocket and smile a bit at Dean’s text.

Do you think that you could get here a bit early? There’s something that I want to show you.

You’re already grabbing your keys and purse as you text your reply.

Give me five minutes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, there she is,” Dean smiles as you walk up to him at the front door. “I cannot thank you enough for helping me out, sweetheart.”

“I’m a little bit surprised that you even wanted my help,” you tell Dean truthfully, causing him to give you a look.

“Why on earth would you think something like that, sweetheart?” Dean asks you.

“Because of what happened the other day.”

“Oh, forget about that,” Dean tells you softly as he wraps his arms tightly around you. “(Y/N), sweetheart, you were tired and upset and I completely get why too. Please let’s try to pretend that never happened, alright?”

“Okay,” you tell Dean softly as he slowly lets go of you. “So, you said that you wanted to show me something?”

“Yeah,” Dean smiles widely as he reaches out to take your hands in his. He pulls you through the automatic doors and drops one of your hands as he leads you across the lobby. He walks right by the elevators which you can’t help but to feel a bit grateful for.

“Stairs okay?” Dean asks you.

“Yeah,” you tell Dean as you smile softly at him. “I actually hate elevators.”

“Hey, at least you remember that and it didn’t occur to you while you were actually on one,” Dean tells you, causing you to laugh. He leads you over to the stairwell and up a few floors before reaching a door that has a big number three painted on it. “Here we go,” Dean says as he uses his free hand to turn the knob and push the door open.

“We’re on the children’s floor?”

“Yeah,” Dean smiles as he pulls you around the corner and down a long, brightly colored hallway. “This is where I’ve been most of the week,” Dean tells you as you look around at all the sick kids that are still somehow managing to keep big smiles on their faces.

“Makes me wonder why I complain so much,” you tell Dean softly.

He stops walking and turns to look at you. “What?”

“Look at all of these little kids, Dean,” you tell him. “Most of them are probably a lot sicker than I am. Actually, I’m not even sick. But here I am complaining and having daily panic attacks when there are kids here who’re a lot more scared than I am, and I don’t see any of them crying or lashing out at the people that they care about the most.”

“Hey,” Dean says softly as he gently grabs onto the tops of your arms. “Just because there are people out there who might be worse off than you, that doesn’t make your pain and your fears anything less than what they are. (Y/N), what you don’t see is the tantrums that are thrown when we have to draw blood. The tears that are shed because even though they don’t understand it all, they see their parents getting upset and that makes them upset. Yeah, they’re smiling now but it’s not always the case.” Dean can see the tears welling up in your eyes as you look around at the open rooms and the crowded hallways. “Hey, look at me,” Dean tells you softly. Your eyes meet his and you swallow hard. “Don’t you think that they’d be upset if they couldn’t remember who their parents or their friends were? Don’t you think that it would bother them if they suddenly lost part of their lives?”

“Yeah,” you choke out in a strained voice. “But, Dean…”

“No,” Dean tells you softly as he rubs both of his hands gently up and down your arms. “No buts. You’re allowed to feel the things that you’ve been feeling. Don’t you dare let anybody, not even yourself, convince you otherwise. You hear me?”

You sniff as you slowly nod your head at Dean. He gives you a soft smile before wrapping an arm around your waist and slowly leading you on down the hallway. “I promise you, sweetheart, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you being scare and confused. You’re going to get better. I know that you will.”

You want to tell Dean that he doesn’t know that, but you’re not exactly feeling up to starting an argument right now. Dean leads you on down the hallway until you turn a corner and the different colored designs taper off into a solid, light blue color. You smile softly when you realize that Dean is walking you towards the nursery.

“Here we are,” Dean tells you as he opens up the solid wooden door by the huge glass window.

“Dean, what’re you doing?” you ask him. “Please don’t get fired.”

Dean chuckles as he holds a hand out for you to take. “I’m allowed in here.”

“Yeah, but I’m not.”

“You are now,” Dean smiles as he takes your hand and pulls you into the room. He carefully shuts the door, trying not to make too much noise and wake up the baby that’s sleeping in the only occupied plastic crib.

“Oh my gosh,” you breathe out as you walk over to the little baby bed. “Look how tiny she is.” You look over at Dean and he smiles softly down at the baby.

“Yeah,” he whispers. “I’ve stayed in here with her most of today. Someone has to keep an eye on her pretty much constantly.”

“Why?” you ask him.

Dean takes a deep breath. “She randomly stops breathing, especially in her sleep.”

Your heart drops. “Is there anything wrong with her?”

“No,” Dean shrugs. “Her lungs and everything are fine. It’s like she forgets which is what happens to a lot of the babies that have… passed on in their sleep. Just can’t figure out why she keeps doing it.”

“That’s awful.”

“Yeah,” Dean swallows hard. “Scared the crap out of me when it happened the first time even though I knew that’s what I was here for.”

“What about her parents?” you ask him.

“Um… Someone found her behind a bush outside the hospital,” Dean tells you. “Couldn’t have been but a couple hours old.”

Your heart breaks even more for this little baby. “It must be hard having to take care of kids like this,” you tell him.

Dean shrugs his shoulders a bit as his eyes meet yours. “Honestly, it’s days like today that cause me to seriously think about asking to be moved up to this floor. It’s rewarding in a way.”

“You like the kids better than the adults?” you laugh softly.

“Yeah,” Dean smiles softly. “I mean, some adults are okay, especially the cute ones.” Dean winks at you and you can feel a blush spreading across your cheeks. “But an adult gets mad at you and you could get slapped or something. Which, no kidding, has actually happened to me quite a bit. A kid gets mad at you and you get a few tears, maybe a small tantrum, but that’s usually cured with a couple of Disney songs.”

You fake a gasp. “Dean Winchester can sing Disney? Oh, I have got to hear this.”

“Only when it’s absolutely necessary,” Dean chuckles.

“Well, then, it is absolutely necessary that I hear that at some point,” you giggle. Dean smiles widely at you, only looking down at the crib that stands between you both when he hears a small cry echoing around the room.

“Shh,” Dean whispers as he bends over to pick up the tiniest baby that you have ever seen. Well, the tiniest baby that you remember seeing anyways. “You getting hungry?”

“How long do you have to stay with her?” you ask him.

“I can’t clock out until another nurse gets here,” Dean tells you as he gently bounces the baby in his arms. He looks up at the clock and sighs. “Not time to eat, sweetheart. You gotta hold out another hour for me.”

You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face as you take in how Dean is with this baby. The gentleness in his voice. His careful movements. That happy and carefree look that’s in his eyes. Dean looks over at you and you smile softly at him.

“Wanna hold her?” Dean asks.

“Oh,” you breathe out. “Uh, I… Dean, I don’t know if I should or not. I mean, it’s probably not even allowed.”

“It’s allowed,” Dean chuckles as he uses his free hand to motion over to a chair that’s pushed up against the wall. “You can sit if it would make you more comfortable.”

You swallow hard as you walk over to take a seat. You look up to see Dean walking towards you and you can feel your heart pounding in your chest as Dean slowly lowers the baby into your arms.

“Hi,” you whisper softly as you look down at her. When her little eyes look up into yours, a wall of sadness washes over you and you have no clue why there are more tears steadily making their way down your flushed cheeks.

“Hey,” Dean says softly as he sits down in the chair beside of you. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” you choke out as you look over at Dean. “I’m sad but yet I don’t know why.”

Dean frowns as he reaches over to wrap an arm around your shoulders. “You’re alright, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know if it’s because of the situation or the fact that I’ll never have this.”

“Never have what?” Dean asks you softly as he gives you a look.

“A kid. A family,” you tell Dean. “Not like this anyways.”

“Sweetheart, what makes you say something like that?”

You scoff a bit as you turn your head to look over at Dean. “Please tell me who in their right mind is going to care about me enough to overlook the fact that I’m broken.”

“Don’t say that,” Dean tells you as tears fill up his eyes. “You are not broken. You want me to tell you a person who would want you in spite of everything?”

“Yes, please,” you tell him.

“Well, me, for starters,” Dean says as he leans his forehead over against yours. “Sweetheart, I meant it when I told you that I care a lot about you. That’s the truth.” You swallow hard as you carefully pass the baby over to Dean. “(Y/N)?” Dean says as he looks up at you. “(Y/N), talk to me, honey.” Dean’s heart drops as you walk over to and out the door, carefully shutting it behind you as you walk out into the hallway. Dean sighs as he looks down at the baby in his arms, and he can’t help but to smile when he notices that her little eyes are staring right at him.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dean whispers. “You looked like you were sleeping good that time.” Dean looks over at the window to see that you’re standing there and he gives you a sad smile.

You keep your eyes on Dean as he keeps the baby calmed down and taken care of. When someone else shows up to take over, you relax a bit. Dean walks out of the nursery and over to you, gently wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you in to press a soft kiss to your temple. He rubs his hand up and down your side as he holds you tightly to him. Dean eyes slide shut and he lets go of the tears that he’s been trying to hold in.

“I don’t know what to do to make you happy,” Dean whispers in your ear. “I only want to see that pretty smile of yours, but I don’t know what I can do to make that happen.” You cling on to Dean for a while before speaking up.

“Take me home.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean pulls up in the parking lot before looking over at you. “Sweetheart, you okay now?”

You nod and slowly turn your head to look over at Dean. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, honey,” Dean tells you softly as he reaches over to give your shoulder a gentle squeeze. “All I want from you is to quit pushing yourself and relax. I don’t know what it’s like to feel what you’re feeling right now but you have gotta take it easy.”

“I know,” you choke out. “I’m trying so hard, Dean.”

“I know that,” Dean says as he gives you a sad smile.

You sniff and wipe at your eyes with both of your hands. “Thank you for driving,” you tell him softly. “I didn’t think that I’d feel like it right now.”

“No problem,” Dean tells you. “I hope you know that I’ll have to go home at some point though.”

You laugh softly and you nod your head a bit at him. “I know,” you tell him. “I wanted to give you the pie that I made.”

“Ah, so you weren’t only kidding about that,” Dean says, causing you to laugh a bit at him. Dean can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he reaches over to gently wipe your tears away. “That’s better,” Dean whispers. You smile softly at him as you reach a hand up to lay over his.

“Why don’t I go get your pie, then I’ll drive you home.”

“Okay,” Dean smiles as you get out of your car and you turn to walk towards your apartment.

“What happened?” your mom asks when you walk through the front door.

You give her a look. “How do you know that something happened?”

“You’ve been crying,” she says.

“Dean do something?” your dad asks you.

“No,” you tell him as you walk over into the kitchen. “It wasn’t Dean’s fault.”

“Then what happened?” he asks.

“Nothing,” you sigh. “Dean was showing me this little baby that he’s been taking care of this week and I… I don’t know what happened. I got sad and I don’t know why it happened, but Dean helped me get through it.”

“He shouldn’t have gotten you upset in the first place,” he mumbles.

“Dad, Dean didn’t know that it was going to upset me,” you tell him, wondering why on earth he’s getting mad at Dean for it. “Look, I have to take Dean home so I’ll probably be home in an hour or so,” you tell him as you turn to walk out of your apartment. When Dean sees you walking towards your car, he gets out to let you get in behind the wheel.

“This is yours,” you tell Dean as you hand over the covered plate. “Don’t drop it because I am not making you another one. That thing was a pain in the butt.”

Dean chuckles as he smiles widely at you. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

You smile at him. “I guess that seeing that smile on your face was worth it though.”

“Yeah?” Dean asks you as he gives you a look.

“Yeah,” you smile as you lean up on your tiptoes to softly press your lips to Dean’s. “Alright, I  guess that I’ll take you home,” you sigh as you pull away from Dean a bit.

“I might have to have a flat tire everyday if I can get you picking me up,” Dean smirks.

“I’d bet that you’d love that wouldn’t you, Winchester?” you laugh as you turn to get in your car.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Dean sighs as you shut the door. “You’ve no clue how much.”

Tags: @adoptdontshoppets @imaginationisgrowth @deanwanddamons @squirrelnotsam @hobby27 @cookiechipdough @campingmonkey @akshi8278 @muchamusedaboutnothing @vicmc624 @nothinbuttrouble2 @idksupernatural @flamencodiva @ladyofmaidensandwine​ @sunflowers-n-rocknroll​ @prettysourabbie​ @chaldei​ @mlovesstories​ @torn-and-frayed​ @my-proof-is-you​ @that-one-gay-girl​ @myopiamystical​ @starryeyeseunbyul​ @halesandy​ @busy-bee-angel-misska​ @lokismistressofmayhem​​

[yikesharringrove]

maybe? 👉👈 steve taking a really long time with college (like on one year and off one yours year, on, off, on, off) and he still doesn't really know what he wants to do and he gets really frustrated bc billy just did college all in one go and steve is taking forever and he feels down on himself? idk im feeling the whump rn???

Steve had left high school having no idea what he wanted from the rest of his life.

That’s not true, he had some idea.

He knew he wanted to leave Hawkins, follow Billy wherever he was going. He knew he wanted to be with Billy for the rest of his life, he knew he wanted to leave the past behind and make new friends, people who were kind, and fun, and didn’t bat an eye when Billy pulled him into his lap.

But that’s about it.

So when Billy graduates high school, and gets a full ride to UC Berkeley, and they move into a cheap apartment in downtown Oakland, Steve is so happy that he got out.

He gets a job waiting tables at a restaurant down the street, pays half the rent and buys the groceries while Billy’s in class.

But then two years pass, and Billy’s soaring through college, working to his degrees, plural, because he just couldn’t decide between studying English Literature or Biology with a focus in research.

So he’s majoring in both and getting a minor in Italian because then I’ll know what you’re sayin’ when you start horny babblin’.

And Steve was at the same restaurant.

True, he was assistant manager now, and it came with a pretty okay raise, and he even gets dental insurance, but he feels so stuck.

So he enrolls in community college.

He starts with some general classes, still completely unsure of what he wants to study.

Billy said it was okay to just rule out things you don’t want to study, to nearly fail a math course and know that accounting is not for you.

So when Steve finishes his first year, he at least knows what he doesn’t want to pursue.

Meanwhile Billy has an internship at a lab through Kaiser Permanente. And he can read and write Italian than Steve can.

Steve is walking home from his job at the restaurant when it happens. He’s crossing the street, and gets hit by a car.

He’s taken to the hospital, where he’s informed of a fractured spine and another concussion.

He’s told his injury could’ve been much more severe, that he will not experience paralysis, but he needs physical therapy and walking will be difficult for a while.

Their finances take a big hit.

Billy’s internship doesn’t pay super well, and with Steve being unable to work for the foreseeable future, he’s fired.

Billy has insurance through the school, but because on paper, he and Steve have no real relation, Steve’s medical bills come out of pocket.

So Steve is bedridden for months. He can’t work or get groceries, or do fucking anything but lay there.

They can’t afford physical therapy.

But Billy has a friend studying to be a PT, and she comes over every Saturday, and practices her technique on him in exchange for ten bucks and a few beers.

And so the money Steve tucked away for school is rapidly diminishing.

By the time Billy graduates, Steve is a year into recovery. He still gets dizzy at odd intervals, and his back gets stiff when it rains, but Billy gets a job right away, doing research on flu vaccines.

And Steve goes back to work.

He gets a desk job, something he won’t have to be on his feet all day for. He works reception for a message therapist, which comes with free massages, which work wonders on his back.

So in the fall, he decides to give his education another shot.

He learns that history is not for him, and that his nutrition course was fine until they began looking into how the body processes nutrients, and he was fucking lost. He takes a few business classes, thinking, hoping genetics would take over and this is something he could do.

But his dad was right to take away the job opportunity at his own firm. Steve was not cut out for this.

After a year of research, Billy is promoted three times. He ends up working on some extremely important study that Steve does not understand for the fucking life of him.

But he sits and listens every time Billy explains what he did that day, even though Steve gets so sad when Billy mentions having to kill the lab mice to study their bodies.

So Steve is two years into community college, five years into living in Oakland with Billy, and he still is lost.

He takes a semester off, working more hours, trying to save up some money.

Because Billy is beginning to think about grad school, and that shit’s not cheap.

But Billy decides to postpone that, work for a few more years, and besides, he’s caught between studying something to put him in a research field, or just straight up going to medical school to study infectious disease.

Because Billy could. He’s smart enough for medical school, smart enough to research and be a doctor.

And Steve has a smushy spine and half a degree in nothing.

A semester off turns into a year.

A year and a semester.

Two years.

They’ve been in California for seven years, and Billy gets into grad school in San Diego. They move south and Billy spends late nights pursuing a Masters in Immunology.

And Steve works the front desk at a pediatrician’s office.

He’s flipping through a course catalog from the San Diego Community College when Billy comes home from his new job, the position he got after applying to only three labs.

He kissed the top of Steve’s head, moving to grab himself a beer from the fridge.

“You thinkin’ of going back?”

“I don’t know.” Steve slid the catalog closed. “Is it even worth it?”

“That’s something you have to decide.” Billy sat down, sliding the catalog towards him. Steve had crossed off the classes he had already taken, the ones he new he wouldn’t like.  “And you know, going to school isn’t the only option. You could get an apprenticeship, master a trade.”

“I can’t do anything where I need to bend over for really any length of time. So that rules out plumber, and car mechanic, and anything physical like construction, or landscaping or even general contracting is right out.”

Steve could feel the old shame, the doubt and the self hatred crawling up his spine.

“I have nothing to offer. I have no discerning skills, and in seven years I’ve only made it through two years of goddamn community college, and here you are, ripping through grad school like a fourth degree is easy.”

“Stevie, you’ve got a lot to offer. We just gotta find something that suits you.” He took Steve’s pen, turning to the back page of the catalog. “Okay, we’re gonna write down all of you strengths, and think of career paths that could fit those. I’ll go first, you’re extremely caring. You’d be good at any career where you care for people.”

“But I can’t study nursing or something, I barely understood my biology 101 course. Plus, nurses are strong. I can’t lift more than like, thirty pounds.”

“There’re way more caring fields than nursing, Pretty Boy. Although I would love if you were my nurse.” Billy smirked at him, leaning in to plant a sloppy kiss to Steve’s cheek as he rolled his eyes. “Another strength: your emotional intelligence is through the fucking roof.” He wrote it down. “Okay, I’ve said tow, so you say one.”

“Um, I think that I’m good at making people laugh?”

“Yes! You are. Perfect.” Billy scribbled it down. “You’re a good leader.”

“I’m pretty good at reading people.” Billy wrote Intuitive, can smell a douchebag from a mile away.

“You’re good under pressure.”

“Sometimes.”

“Every time I’ve seen. You’re good at keeping calm and keeping others calm.”

“I guess.”

“Nah, Stevie. Positives only. Say a strength.”

“I’m, uh, I’m good at, bilingual?” Billy stared at him. “Like, I’m bilingual.”

“Are you sure? I don’t think that was English, even.” Steve slapped his chest, Billy laughed. “I’m joking. You are bilingual. You’re also really good at making others feel safe.”

“I was always pretty alright at public speaking.”

“You’ve got a great eye for detail.”

“I’m good at teamwork, and delegating.”

“You’re really compassionate, too.” Billy drew a line under the strengths side. “Okay, so now we’ve got some of your strengths, think about what you’d want in a job, and we can match everything up and think about some careers that could fit.” Steve nodded, racking his brain.

“Um, I would want to work with kind people, I would kind of like to do something, you know, worthwhile. I’d like to be in charge of something. Like it’s fine if I have a boss to answer to, but I’d like to be fairly independent.”

“I already have so many ideas.”

“Lay ‘em on me.” Steve sat back, closing his eyes to try and picture everything Billy threw out.

“I’ve actually always thought you’d be a really good teacher. Especially if you did like, kindergarten. Just got to be around little kids all day.” Steve could actually see it. “I also think you’d be a could social worker, like to work with Child Protective Services, or something. Um, you’d be good at even planning. Or I think you’d be really good working at a nonprofit of some kind. Maybe you could be the event planner for a nonprofit.”

And Steve was sitting there, and suddenly, he had four career paths, just sitting right in front of him. Four super attainable career paths.

“Wait, wait those make sense.” Billy beamed at him.

“Yeah, that’s because I know you, Pretty Boy.” Billy opened the catalog. “So, I think if you choose to enroll, you should pick a few classes, like, Intro to Social Work, Early Childhood Education 100, and maybe like, Sociology, and see from there.”

Steve stared at the course descriptions for what Billy circled.

“Thank you for helping me. I’m sorry this has taken me so long.”

“It’s okay. Everyone is on a different timeline. And it’s not like you got to explore options in high school. You were told business until your dad decided that nevermind. So it’s understandable that this took you a minute. Plus, you went through hell with your back.”

Steve sat up straight, stretching out his back.

“But, I mean, the back thing kinda happened to you too, and you still made it through all your schooling.”

“Sure, I watched you go through it, but I was not in the pain you were. And like, emotionally, it fucking sucked to watch the love of my goddamn life go through something, and I couldn’t even afford therapy. Like, I felt so helpless, but that’s nothing to what you went through literally experiencing it.” Steve took Billy’s hand, linking their fingers together, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

“You did the best you could. Everything was shit for like, that whole year.”

“I cannot telly you how many times I would go into an individual study room in the library and just like, sob for a while.And then I’d get so mad at myself, thinking of you at home, hurting and not even able to get yourself out of bed, and I’d race home feeling like shit.”

Steve scrubbed his fingers through Billy’s hair. He had cut it a while ago, kept it short these days.

“You were doing everything you could for me. I would just sit in bed all day, and think about how amazing you are. Like I would just think about all the good times we’ve had together, and how much I love you.”

“That explains why we didn’t fight for like, that whole year.” Steve laughed. Billy leaned to kiss him softly.

“And you know, even now we’ve done this, there’s still no rush on you. You don’t have to go back to school this year, of this decade, or anytime until you’re ready. Until you want to.”

“Well now, I feel like there’s a fucking light at the end of the tunnel. I’m almost, excited. Is this how you feel? Excited to go to school?”

“Welcome to the nerd life, Sweet Thing.” Billy drained the last of his beer. “You wanna go out tonight? Celebrate?”

“Like, go out to dinner, or go out?”

“Oh, just like dinner. Be home by eight thirty, in bed by nine, missionary with the lights off, and asleep by nine fifteen.”

“Sign me the fuck up.”