#never written a word of fic before

[writeouswriter]

My followers: And is this “writing” you’ve been “working on” in the room with us right now?

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

“zukuu, you have to stop making faces at him.”

insulted, izuku splutters. breaking eye contact to gasp at you.

“ i wasn’t making a face ! was i..?” he trails off, you giggle, you turn your back to your boyfriend once again to continue wiping down the last of the dishes.

“he’ll pout harder if you keep making that scary face.”

“i-i wasn’t trying to scare him !” your boyfriend exclaims, looking at your baby cousin again and slumping when he sees the pout still fixed onto his face, visibly dimming “i don’t understand what i did wrong..”

“zuku, i already told you. kuma always looks like that. you’ll get used to it.” you reassure, a teasing smile on your face. your boyfriend seems undeterred by your explanation and hides his face behind his hands again, peeking through his fingers hoping to see even the minuscule crack of a smile on your younger cousin’s face.

your aunt had asked you to babysit your younger cousin takuma after suddenly being called in for work and having no one to watch over him for the day. you were free, and agreed to help her out, takuma was a sweet little boy and you didn’t get to see him super often. so the more you could the better ! unfortunately this fell on the same day as when your boyfriend was meant to come over to your house, but ever the loving, helpful boyfriend he is, izuku insisted on wanting to come over to help you out. he gets to spend time with you and get along with a cute baby, that sounded like a great time to him. and not to brag, but kids always seemed to love him.

every kid except for takuma apparently. the little boy’s face seemed permanently stuck with a frown. his eyebrows stood furrowed and his chubby pinch-able little cheeks puffed out, obviously unhappy with izuku’s presence.

you’d tried to tell izuku that this was just takuma’s resting face. that he looked at everyone this way and that it always surprised strangers. but as loving and doting as he is, your boyfriend could aslo be endearingly stubborn. he was determined to get takuma to smile at him at least once today. and now it looked like he was trying peekaboo. you couldn’t help but snort at your boyfriend’s laughable attempts at making your little cousin’s poker face crumble. “aw man, that one usually always works..” you hear him mumble. you put the final plate into your cupboard and turn with a sigh.

“izuku.”

“no no, i got it.” without realizing it, izuku’s brows furrowed in concentration, which your baby cousin unfortunately mistook for a challenge, furrowing his eyebrows even harder and even huffing at him. the nail in the coffin it looks like, izuku gasps, looking at your cousin with a betrayed expression “ ah ! what’d i do ?!”

“you were glaring at him !” you giggle, your boyfriend throws his head back, exasperated. you pull out a chair and sit next to him, giggling and pulling on takuma's pudgy cheek. said little boy does not break eye contact with izuku. you can admit he's acting kind of strange. was he actually going out of his way to challenge him ? the thought makes you giggle again. you turn to look at your boyfriend's pouty face looking at the exchange between you and your cousin.

"i didn't mean to glare at him.." he whines, leaning into your touch when you put your hand in his hair.

"i know."

"i felt like we were making progress."

"i..kinda doubt that," you snort, scratching at his green locks. desperately, he looks back at you wide eyed "but we were i swear ! it felt like he was starting to like me !"

"mhm ?" you break into a fit of laughter, and soon after izuku joins you, laughing softly to himself and shaking his head. takuma blinks at you both in confusion, and it makes you smile harder. seeing you laugh so hard makes izuku smile harder too, cheeks glowing a cute pink.

"i..sound crazy don't i ?" he asks, grinning at you. you pretend to think it over to tease him, and he huffs affectionately.

"hmmm, a little." izuku shakes his head, dropping it in shame as he stares at his lap. he heaves a heavy sigh and it makes you giggle a little bit more.

"i really don't know what i'm doing wrong, babies usually like me.."

"but i told you you're not doing anything wrong, izu." you reach to pinch his cheeks next, he yelps a little. "kuma's only lookin' at you 'cus you're new. he'll get used to you in no time, kay ?" you smile. a beat passes and izuku nods, smiling back at you.

"but i don't know, he kinda looks like he has it out for me.." he whispers, you assume so takuma doesn't hear. how thoughtful.

"yeah i did think it was kinda strange how he hasn't stopped looking at you.."

he drops his head back at your words "i thought so..!"

"but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you, per se..maybe he's just weary of you !" izuku leans back, placing a hand over his chest like he's actually been struck. he looks over at takuma still sitting proudly in his high chair like a king.

"what's there to be weary of ? i'm really nice, i promise !" takuma's only answer is a blink "that's really intense.." you're boyfriend sweat drops, "i don't think i've had anyone look at me like that before."

"shouldn't you be used to being glared at by now since you've known bakugou since you were kids ?"

"i don't even think kacchan was this bad." you scoff, slapping at his sturdy arm. "don't say that, you liar !" your boyfriend laughs to himself. struggling to hold your laughter back as you play fight. you're interrupted by takuma's whine. his poker face finally somewhat melting as he pouts, big eyes going glossy as he reaches out for you with chubby little fingers. you immediately zoom over to the child's side.

"aaww babyy," you coo "you wanna be wif me, yeah ? cuutieeee," your voice rises up an octave. izuku blushes at how cute you look and he hates himself for feeling a smidge jealous your cousin had managed to grab your attention. he shakes his head to rid himself of those childish thoughts.

you hop the baby up in your arms to readjust him, tickling his little tummy which earns you a giggle, izuku feels his jaw drop to the floor so hard if he were in a cartoon it'd make a comically loud clang sound, now he's a bit jealous of you.

"i think he's a little hungry, i'll be right back izu." you press a quick kiss to his cheek before bounding off to go get the toddlers bag that your aunt had entrusted to you in your room. the little contact alone makes heat blossom all the way to izuku's neck and he can't fix his lips to say anything, nodding dumbly.

the last thing he sees before you leave the room is takuma's gaze fixed to him. izuku sends him a determined smile and a wave. he'll win him over soon enough.

[hexxedghost]

NikPrice Holiday Threadfic

I hit 200 followers and bluesky and did a NikPrice threadfic as a celebration, figured I'd post it here. I will expand on it and post it to ao3 at some point, but y'all get this for now. (Inspired this art of Nik in a Hawaiian shirt by @nekrosmos that lives with me always)

The holiday had been a great idea, honestly.

They'd all earned a bit of R&R after the shitshow of a year. Some sun, sand and relaxation, lazy drinks by the pool and good company. 

Except that hadn't worked out.

A hotel a few streets over had flooded. Not a big deal.

Until the convention it had been hosting had every attendee spill over to the hotel they'd picked. From relaxing holiday to surviving the madhouse within hours.

And they'd only just landed.

The lobby was packed with people, a wall of bodies they had to battle through to get to the front counter.

John was already looking forward to hiding in the hotel room and just drinking away the rest of the day, and from the white-knuckle grip Kate had on her luggage, he wouldn't be drinking alone.

When Kate had given their booking number, the receptionist had frowned at their screen in confusion.

They'd politely told them to wait as they made a call, and John could swear he felt Kate's blood pressure rise. There'd already been a cock-up with the flights, so Jen and Nikolai wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow. It wasn't doing wonders for her mood.

The receptionist turned back to them, a sheepish expression on their face, as they apologised for the mix-up. Apparently, in the chaos, their booking had been cancelled.

He can't see Kate's expression from where he's standing, but judging by the way the blood drains out of the receptionist face, he can guess she isn't happy.

To avoid potential bloodshed, he manages to coax Kate down the street to a bar, where she angrily stabs at her phone.

"For fuck's sake." she tosses it down on the table and picks up her drink angrily, most of the wine drained in a single swallow.

"Okay," she says, "I have back ups. We are going to relax if it kills me."

"Might if you don't calm down." he murmurs into his beer, unable to stop the smile at the daggers she glares at him.

"Shut up, John." she mutters.

It takes a few phone calls, and abandoning the beach idea, but at least they have somewhere to stay that isn't infested with tourists and loud screaming children.

It's a cabin, further up river. Jen and Nikolai had managed to change flights and were already there, while John and Kate endured a crowded train ride that left them sore and tired.

But at least they'd made it, finally, with no bloodshed.

The cabin is what some magazine would call 'quaint' or 'rustic'. It's set amongst a forest, with a jetty leading onto the lake. There's even a small dinghy docked at the end.

Against all odds, John feels his shoulder might be beginning to relax.

------

The sun is setting now.

Nikolai had cooked, signing along to the radio while Jen kept them plied with drinks. They've all since collapsed on the couch, the music softly playing in the background, gentle with the fading light.

"Another?" Nik is already handing him the glass, ice clunking amongst the amber liquid.

"Cheers." he raises the glass in toast before taking a sip, savouring the pleasant burn.  

Kate is cradling the cocktail with the kind of care most would reserve for their firstborn, and judging by the flush on her cheeks, she's well and truly drunk.

"Wish we'd managed to beach house." she says wistfully, staring into the distance.

"Beach house? You wanted beach house?" Nik teases, falling into the seat next to John, the long line of his thigh warm against John's.

"I'm a beach party girl." Kate deadpans, Jen giggling into her shoulder.

They eventually head to bed, Kate declaring the night was over after Jen and Nik had drunkenly screamed their way through another verse of Queen.

John falls facefirst into the pillow, limbs lax and limber with drink and tries not to think about the memory warmth of a hand on his knee lingering.  

When he opens his eyes, there's sunlight filtering through the blinds. His mouth is tacky and his head aches a bit, but a brew and some food should put him right.

Nik's in the kitchen, apparently none the worse for wear as he bustles around humming softly, moving aside so John can make a coffee.

"The other two?" he asks, stirring sugar into his cup.

"Sleeping still. I am thinking they want a quiet day." Nik says, pushing a plate of food towards him.  

"Ta." he says, not one to turn down a free meal.

"What's plan for today then?"

John thinks it over, gaze drifting outside.

"Might go fishing. Boat's there." John pauses, glancing over at Nik "You could come along, if you want. S'not for everyone."

Nik beams at him.  "I would like that."

-------

It takes a quick trip into town for some gear, but the boat's serviceable. There's a slight breeze, the lake waters rippling.

It's not quite the beach vibes they'd wanted for a holiday. Although that hasn't stopped Nikolai.

"What're you wearing?" John sighs, setting the rods down in the boat.

"I am holiday, I am dressing for occasion." Nik says, holding out his arms to show off the eye searingly bright Hawaiian shirt

Price rolls his eyes, but can't help but smile as Nikolai saunters down the pier like a model on a catwalk. Behind him, Kate has shuffled out of the cabin, clearly hungover with sunglasses crooked on her face.

He gives a wave and laughs as she just flips him off and collapses into a chair.  

"Don't drown." he hears her call out.

------

They'd brought beer with them, sitting back and cracking the cans open once they out on the water, lines dangling in the water.

Nik, sneaky bastard, had apparently decided more beach vibes were needed as he stuck a shitty cocktail umbrella into the can.

"You've not got a coconut in there too?" John asks, nudging him as he laughs. "Sadly they did not have any." he chuckles, before looking to John seriously, "I did check." "Course you did, you bleeder." John settles back, tucking his hat forward to block out the worst of the sun,

"Suppose it's not quite the summer holiday we'd wanted." he sighs. "It is sunny at least." Nik says squinting at the bright sunshine beating down of them. "We could have gone to France or Spain for that." John gripes.

"My French is not very good." "My Spanish is worse." John counters.

They enjoy the silence, occasionally reeling in a line. Nik is muttering angrily as he fails to get a worm on the hook for the fifth time. John takes pity on him. "You don't like fishing, do you?" he asks, as he threads the hook through tossing the line back out into the water.

"I have never fished before. I do not think I am very good at it." Nik sighs, taking a drink.

Price shakes his head, "S'alright. Not about being good at it. Just relaxing with company really." "I like the company." Nik says earnestly. Price clears his throat.

"Should hope so, you put up with me enough." he coughs, prepping his own line and casting. "I am enjoying myself just fine." Nik insists.

"Bit rubbish though. We could have done something you liked." John insists.

He feels a bit guilty about it, if he's honest.

Kate had endured one fishing trip with him before telling him that as much as she valued their friendship, if he ever put her on a boat again, she'd hold him underwater until the bubbles stopped. Nik wouldn't threaten him. He'd be more likely to just smile and endure it, which come to think of it, he might be.

"John." Nik says gently, breaking him out of his thoughts, "I am where I want to be." "Stuck with me on a lake?" he looks at Nik doubtfully. "And very happy about it." Nik counters readily, grinning. John nudges him with his shoulder, and they let the conversation drop, a comfortable silence enveloping them. They finish most of the beer, Price settling back and tipping his hat forward. "Might have a kip for a bit." John murmurs, eyelids already heavy. Nik hums. The sunshine and the liquor in his veins has made him pleasantly warm, and he drifts off the sounds of the water lapping against the edge of the boat.

--------

The sun is low in the sky, peeking through the trees when he wakes up. "Christ, how long was I asleep?" he glances down to see Nik snoring at the other end of the boat. He rolls his eyes fondly, nudging Nik with his foot. "Rise and shine, Nik"

Nikolai grumbles, curling in on himself in a way that doesn't melt John's heart in his chest. He shakes him by the shoulder. Nik snorts, looking around before blinking up at him sleepily "Oh, your skin" Nik frowns, gesturing to John's arms "Eh?" As he looks down, he sees what Nik is talking about.

Angry red sunburn covers his arms. John sigh, at least his hat had spared him the worst of it. In his defence, he thought he'd had enough sunblock on. "Can't get any worse at least." he says. The clouds above them choose that moment to open and unleash a torrential downpour. "Fuck." John mutters

Nik meets his very unimpressed look with a grin. "You should know better, Captain" he teases. "Shut it you, help me get the lines in." -------- They're a few meters from the dock when the boat tips over. John bursts through the water, yelling in frustration.

Between the sound of raindrops pelting his hat, he can hear Nik's bright laughter. "What's funny?" Price shouts over the rain. "All of it, no?" comes the reply over his shoulder. He turns and gets a splash of water to the face. "Fuck off." he says, splashing back. There's a moment they lock eyes the challenge mirrored in his gaze. Kate finds them giggling like idiots, shoving water at each other. "What the fuck are you two doing?"

"Fishing." Nik says proudly, sending John into another fit of hysterics, the sheer fucking ridiculousness of the situation finally breaking him.

"Just get inside." Kate says, rolling her eyes.

-------

Later on, John is now realising just how badly he got sunburned. He groans into the pillow, his skin feeling tender and too tight on his body. "You're very stupid sometimes" Kate says, putting a whisky beside him. "My hero." he groans. "Oh hush, you big baby. it's sunburn. You've complained less with bullet wounds." Kate chides, turning to him with her hand on the door handle. "You gonna live until morning?" "No." "That's the spirit." she says nonchalantly, moving down the hallway. John thinks he can hear murmurs but he doesn't care enough to listen. He's too busy feeling sorry for himself. The footsteps reapproach. "I'm not dying, Kate." he grumbles, rolling his eyes. "Glad to hear it." Nik says, closing the door gently behind him. John leans up to look at him and immediately hisses at the pressure on his arms.

"Figured you went to bed already." he says, trying to settle back in a position that doesn't leave him in pain.

"I am." Nik says moving towards the bed. John frowns confused. "What you doing here then?" he asks, tracking Nik as he moves around the room. "Sleeping?" "Not in your room?"

Nik sounds amused when he sighs. "It's a two bedroom cabin, John."

John blinks. He hadn't actually given it much thought the first night. He'd been drunk and tired and just fallen into bed. But-

"Where'd you sleep then?" he asks.

"Couch. But my back is old, this seems more comfortable, no?"

Nik seems to consider something for a moment, looking a little unsure of himself as he says, "If you are not comfortable, I can-"

"No, it's fine. Just-" John breaks off, suddenly unable to meet Nik's eyes "Hadn't thought about it." he finishes lamely.

They sit there awkwardly for a moment.

Nik passes over a tube. "For your arms. Jen said it would help."

It's some kind of moisturiser with 100% natural aloe vera, apparently. He clicks open the tube and gives it a sniff. It's not unpleasant, oddly reminding him of the smell of clean laundry and rain.

It's stickier than he anticipated, though, as he massages it into his forearms.

Price sucks air through his teeth as he twists to get the back of his biceps. The angle is awkward and pulls at the skin, which even with the cooling lotion feel too heated and tight.

"Let me." Nik offers, holding out a hand. Price shakes his head.

"I got it." he insists. Nik shrugs and leans back.

He doesn't 'got it'. After stubbornly trying to shift his shoulder forward only to feel further irritation, he growls and offers the tube out for Nik.

Nik, to his credit, doesn't laugh at him. Just nudges him forward to get a better angle.

John jumps at the first touch of cold cream, Nik murmuring an apology before focusing on the task at hand. Given the size and general way Nik carries himself, his hands are surprisingly gentle.

The thought makes John's stomach twist in a way that he doesn't particularly want to examine too closely

It maybe takes all of a minute, but it feels like an eternity before he hears the click of the cap being closed. He lets out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding, jumping when Nik pats him on the shoulder.

“Helped?" he asks, raising his eyebrows while John shrugs back into his shirt.

"Yeah, ta." his throat feels tight. His skin feels flushed, wholly unrelated to the sunburn coating his arms. The bed shifts as Nik gets up and busies himself in the bathroom.

Wanting to prevent another awkward conversation, and desperate to ignore that melting feeling in his chest, John makes the very mature decision to avoid the entire thing and just go to sleep.

It nearly works.

The bed dips under Nik's weight as he settles in, snuggling under the blanket before idly asking if John was awake.

John feigns sleep and after a few minutes, he hears Nik's breathing deepen and even out, interrupted by the occasional snore.

Sleep is illusive though, and instead his eyes track the shafts of moonlight shift on the wall, as his mind refuses to settle.

There'd been an awkwardness between him and Nik as of late. Which he desperately wants to fix. They'd had an easy, close friendship for years. But now there were sudden stumbles in their conversations. John could never anticipate them, thrown off every time by the sudden surge of emotions that he couldn't seem to identify.

It left his stomach in knots, blood rushing under his skin and palms sweating. Like he was anxious, but there shouldn't be any reason as to why. He trusted Nik, hell he might trust Nik more than Kate and that was saying something.

It wasn't fear, or caution. But it made him feel skittish in a way that unsettled him. And part of him, didn't want to deal with it. Instead, shoving the emotions away, and desperately trying to steer them back towards normal. Though, he often ends up throwing them further off course, over correcting and stumbling over words.

A heavy sigh leaves him as he burrows into the pillow, hissing again at his arms brushing the cotton.

Maybe he'd talk to Kate about it.

She might at least knock enough sense into him to get him back on track. Stop him putting his foot in his mouth at every opportunity.

--------

Kate has that thousand yard stare she usually gets when he talks about Nik.

"You're very stupid sometimes, John." she says eventually, taking a long sip from her cocktail.

"Bit early innit?" he nods to the mimosa

"I'm. On. Holiday" she says, flicking drops from the glass at him with each word. Price flinches away, but smiles warmly at her. It's nice to see her more playful side, normally hidden under the sturdy persona of competence and intellect.

Though a lot of that is due to Jen, who's very presence seems to immediately thaw Kate's icy exterior. Jen is dancing away in the kitchen, singing off-key to the radio as she washes the dishes.

Kate glances over and smiles in a way that makes Price feel like he's intruding. Like a secret, kept hidden, soft and warm lighting her eyes from within.

He smiles into his coffee.

"Glad you're happy, Kate." he says softly. Kate looks over to him, raising an eyebrow.

"You could be too, you know?" she says coolly, but the shine in her eyes lingers as she glance towards the kitchen.

"I am happy." he argues, frowning. Kate gets that look again, eyes faraway before they focus back on him, intently.

"I used to think I was happy to. But it wasn't happiness. Not really."

"What was it?"

"Status quo." she says simply. "Nothing lost, nothing gained. Until Jen." she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "When I met her. I realised that what I'd called happy…it couldn't even compare. Like stepping into the sun after only having a candle to light your way."

She idly draws patterns with the on the table, condensation having slipped down the edge of the glass. "You deserve the sun, John."

"Reckon I had my fair share yesterday." he jokes, gesturing to his arms. She rolls her eyes and flicks another drop at him.

There's the sound of footsteps as Nik shuffles into the room behind them, jaw cracking from a yawn.

"Morning." he says sleepily, eyes still heavy lidded.

"Sleep alright?" John asks, turning back with an elbow over the back of the chair. Which he regrets immediately as the sunburn stings.

"Suffering still, Captain?" Nik teases, pausing on his trek to the kitchen.

He's in agony.

"I'm fine." he smiles, even if it feels a little forced. Nik doesn't call him out on it.

When John turns back, Kate is giving him a very searching look.

"What?" he asks.

She just sighs and pats his hand. "Try enjoy the weather, John." she murmurs, going back to her drink.

-------

There's a nice restaurant in the nearby town. It's got good ratings, the food is apparently a local speciality and the drinks are cheap. It sounds like a good night. That John definitely can't take part in.

Over the course of the day, the skin on his arms had gone from a shiny red to angry and peeling. He feels disgusting and grumpy, patience wearing thin at the constant tug and pull of flaking skin.

Now that night had fallen, he'd set himself on the deck out back with a supply of whisky,   deciding he'd earned it after the annoyance of the day.

He can hear the click of high heels in the kitchen, Jen most likely, as she peeks around the door.

"You sure you won't come along?" she calls out. He can hear Kate and Nik speaking from further in the house, words muffled by the walls.

"Nah, I'm good here. Not the best company right now. Reckon I'll turn in early." he smiles, toasting her with his drink.

Jen smiles softly, walking over and dropping a kiss onto his head before calling goodbye as she headed back inside.

Price settles back, gazing at the night sky above him. This far from the city, he can make out some constellations.

The breeze off the lake is cool in the night air as it brushes over him. The amber liquid in his glass delicately swishes against the ice as he eagerly welcomes the smoky heat over his tongue.

For a moment, he closes his eyes and just lets himself exist for a moment. His nerves are still raw, irritated from the pain and constant push and pull of his mind trying to untangle his thoughts.

Kate's words ring in his mind. Was he happy? If he was really honest with himself. He was proud of his accomplishments, grateful for those close to him, his squad, his friends.

He was lonely, though. They'd attended Gaz's wedding last year, and the space beside him had felt emptier than normal. It felt more pronounced when he caught Ghost and Soap being drawn to each other like magnets, like they were the only ones in the room. With Kate and Jen, he wished he had that kind of warm, gentle joy they shared.

Which brought the trail of his thoughts back to Nikolai. The sudden choking awkwardness, the moments he didn't know where to step in case he lost his footing on the precarious edge he found himself perched on.

Kate said it was like having a candle before seeing the sun. He didn't know how to fix that. There was no sun at night.

"John?"

"Christ!" he jumps, knocking the glass over as he spins to look where Nik is sheepishly peeking around the door.

"I did call out, you didn't respond." Nik moves over, settling in the chair next to him.

"Didn't hear." John says, hand over his heart where it's doing it's best to beat out of his chest.

"Didn't mean to scare you." Nik apologises, pouring a fresh whisky after righting the glass.

"You don't scare me," he says without thinking, mind still tangled in the weeds of his thoughts.  Nik looks over to him, tilting his head.

"I should hope not." he murmurs, still staring at him with that odd look in his eyes. "You sure you're okay?" he reaches forward, gently touching John's hand, mindful of the angry skin at his wrist.

"M'fine, Nik."

That clench deep in his guts is back again as he feels callused, warm skin against his own fingers.  He feels torn between pulling away or turning his hand over to trace the lines on Nik's palm.

"Thought you were going to dinner." he asks instead.

"I thought I should stay." Nik hesitates, and draws his hand back as though something has just occurred to him, "Although I am now realising perhaps you wanted to be alone?"

"No, it's...don't mind the company." he urges. He doesn't mind, truthfully, he just can't imagine he's good company right now. Still turning over Kate's question in his mind.

"Are you happy?" John finds himself asking suddenly. Nik's eyebrows raise in surprise, not expecting it. Neither had John, truthfully, it had just spilled out of him. Nik seems to consider it for a while, his hand shifting so the skin brushes against John's.

"Yes, I would say so. I am on holiday, in a nice cabin with good company." he breathes deeply, staring up at the sky scattered with stars. "I am where I want to be."

The urge to turn his hand, to capture those broad fingers between his own, is strong, but there's still that little dissenting voice at the back of John's mind. That wonders if there's not something better, someone Nik would be better off spending time with than his sorry self.

"Not enjoying a good meal in town?" He can't help it, the need to check, to push, to try to remind Nik of the options he has.

"The food would be pleasant, yes. But I'd rather spend the time with you."

"You- Oh." he swallows, tongue suddenly feeling thick and useless in his mouth. "You came out here to spend time with me."

"That was in doubt?"

John doesn't know what to say, instead taking a long pull from his drink to try to loosen his tongue.

"That was in doubt." Nik repeats, but not a question this time. He leans forward, "Have I done something to upset you?"

"No, no!" John is quick to reassure him, that swooping feeling of being on the wrong foot is back with a vengeance. He scrambles to put it right, hating that he can hear the barest hint of hurt in Nik's voice. "Just...been thinking.  "I just - There are better things to spend your time on, right?"

"No." Nik response is sudden, John turning to look at him. There's a conviction in his eyes, a solid, unwavering truth glinting in the dark. John holds it, but still feels confusion drawing his eyebrows down.

"I mean, we're not young men anymore, Nik." he tries, trying to summon the words to get to the heart of what he means. That Nik deserves the world, deserves happiness, Nik deserves the sun.

"You're right. We don't have time for waiting." Nik says softly. John nods, and pulls his hands away.

"Kate was telling me to be happy. Thought maybe someone should tell you, that you deserve that too. More than what you've got now." he mumbles around the glass, staring out at the dark water.

"To have a happiness to share with someone?" Nik rumbles beside him.

"Yeah." he feels relieved, he's gotten that across at least. Even if the snare in his thoughts still won't unravel, it feels like he's at least made sure Nik can be happy. Even if it does feel like his stomach is going to drop out of him. "I wanna meet them first. Make sure they're worth your time."

"I do have someone in mind. " Nik murmurs. John turns to him, surprised. He recovers quickly, nudging him with an elbow before grunting at the sudden chafing on his skin., muttering angrily.   

"What are they like?" he asks, settling back and picking up his drink.

"Well, " Nik rubs at his chin. "They're very stubborn. Annoyingly so. But, it makes them dedicated to things they believe in."

"Suppose, still sounds like a pain in the bollocks."

Nik chuckles at that. "Yes, true. But i find it quite charming."

John shifts a bit. His gut clenching oddly. He clears his throat.  "S'at all about them then?"

"Sometimes they can miss the point." Nik sighs.

John laughs at that, "Reckon you need someone that can put 2 and 2 together."

Nik hums in agreement. "Hints don't work either."

John sets his glass down, the ice clinking with the motion. "They sound like a pillock." he says.  Nik barks out a laugh at that.

"Da. But I find it endearing, even if it is frustrating."

John rests his chin on his hand. It hurts, not just the sunburn, but hearing Nik talk about this person he hadn't known existed. That he's clearly interested in, wants more from. It feels like losing something, he realises. Something he isn't sure he realised how badly he wanted until it was already slipping away from him.

As much as the realisation leaves him reeling, there's a stronger truth beneath it, that he wouldn't let anything stand in the way of: Nik deserves to be happy.

"Why haven't you told 'em then?" he asks, looking at his feet where they're splayed out in front of them, slumping in his chair.

"I'm trying to." Nik says, also looking down at his feet.

Price nudges him, trying to lighten the mood. "Not gonna manage that wasting the night with me." he smiles.

Nik stares at him blankly, running his hand through his hair and sighing in irritation.

"You really are an idiot." he says simply. Before John can put together what he said to set him off, Nik tugs him forward by his collar and kisses him.

John had thought about kissing Nik before. In brief moments before his mind snapped shut and pushed the idea away as something he didn't deserve.

He'd thought it would be different from his past, that he'd have to learn. That it would feel strange with someone else taking the reins, that it would be aggressive and claiming.

But it's not. It's at odds with itself. The thumb stroking along his jaw is firm but gentle. The night air has further chilled around them, but Nik radiates heat. It makes John think of summer and the way light strikes off windows, golden and bright. It feels like the sun.

Nik's teeth scrape against his lip, he tastes like the whisky they'd been sharing, like smoke over water. He can feel the rumble deep in Nik's chest, the heavy weight of an arm around his waist and his head spinning from the lack of oxygen.

It leaves him reeling, unable to do much, unable to reciprocate as his mind runs over the conversation that led them to this point. The person Nik had been talking about. The sunlight shining bright in the middle of the night that Kate said felt like happiness.

Nik pulls away, resting his forehead against John's shoulder, while he's left struck dumb and blinking.

"Oh."

"You're very stupid sometimes." Nik says to his collarbone.

"Been told that a lot lately." John mumbles. His face is radiating heat, not just from the sunburn but the sudden flush that's overtaken him. His hands feel shaky as his heart thunders in his chest.

Nik just waits.

"I don't take hints." he says to the top of Nik's head.

"Nyet. But it is endearing."

John huffs, Nik's hair ruffling with the air. They sit there for a moment, Price trying to find a position that doesn't irritate his arms before Nik captures his hand and holds it instead, pressing a kiss to the back of it.

"How long were you going to wait?" John asks, looking down at him. Nik rests his chin on his chest, slumped over him. It can't be comfortable but he doesn't think there's a force on Earth that could move Nik from where he is.

"As long as needed." he says, voice warm and eyes soft. John feels his cheeks heat again and looks off to the side, grumbling as he can feel Nik chuckle.  There feels like there's something Nik isn't saying. John thinks he knows though.

"Kate?" John guesses. Nik stills for a moment, nodding with a sigh.  

"Da. Threatened to castrate me if I didn't do something about it. She said you would not realise."

"That all she said?" John asks, unable to stop the smile.

"She may have also mentioned the cabin is cheaper than the therapy from seeing us dance around each other." he pauses, "And that if we didn't sort this out by the end of the week it was remote enough to hide the bodies."

"Lake is deep enough for that." John muses.

"Mhmm." Nik agrees, the vibrations settling into John's ribs. He glances down at where their hands are joined, and slides his thumb along the ridge of Nik's hand, before tugging it upward.

Nik looks up confused.

"C'mon. Can't be comfortable down there." John tugs on his hand again, and gets them to their feet, knees cracking. Nik pulls him, hand spanning over John's jaw as he kisses him again. This time, it feels like John has both feet on the ground. No missteps or stumbling, instead knowing the path to take.

"I like being able to do that now." Nik beams at him. John scoffs, but feels a boyish grin that refuses to shift from his face.

"Shut up, you."

-------

When they wake up the next morning, Kate is giving them a smug look above her coffee cup and Jen giggles somewhere in the kitchen.

Nik's hand is warm in his under the table and his eyes are bright whenever they catch each other's gaze.

He goes to help Jen in the kitchen with the dishes, Kate leans forward, tapping John on the hand.

"Are you happy, John?"

He steals a piece of bacon off her plate, winking at her as he chews.

"You were right." he gives her hand a squeeze, "It's like finding the sun."

~End~

[kacievvbbbb]

So the thing is with Shinsou and his place in the ErasMic family he is so middle child coded to me. Like he just has so much middle child energy it’s insane.

Like my two most favorite ErasMic fics; Wards of AU by FeckedSpectrum (one of the all time pieces of literature I have read truly) and A Heart Grows Fonder by Laroyena both have Shinsou playing the youger sibling to Mirio and Shigaraki respectively and that’s when it clicked for me. It just felt so natural so easy for him to slip into this middle child role.

And it’s because he has all the bitchy confrontational energy of a younger sibling but with enough of the care and consideration of an Older sibling and so putting him against this older figure he doesn’t have to be as soft with as he is with Eri and he can really develop other aspects of his personality is so natural. H is such a bitchy constantly rolling their eyes sarcastic little brother I love it so much.

And this isn’t me saying I have anything against the Eri Shinsou dynamic ofcourse not I love them as siblings but I don’t know the dynamic just feels powered up when Shinsou’s a middle child there’s a more grown child figure kind of buffering a lot of Shinsou’s more abrasive tendencies so we still get to see that familial bitchy banter. A Heart Grows Fond described it perfectly with his relationship with Shigaraki. Shinsou gets a support system but he also gets someone he can practice his responsibility on without the fear that he might fuck it all up irredeemably because Eri is 6 and can’t pick herself up the way a 21 year old Shigaraki can of Shinsou miscalculates (it was explained so much better) but yeah that’s like the crux of it.

An older siblings is a much less pressured relationship that Shinsou really needs and god I just fucking love it. Middle child Shinsou you will always be famous to me.

[forest-hashira]

also fuck it LEMME GET A DRABBLE TOO WHY NOT….. >:3 kenji + flying ehehehehe 🤓🤓 mwah mwah congrats once again <33

EEEEEEE TY LOGAN!!! kissing u on the forehead ily smmmmm 💜 the randomizer i used rlly said "hmmmmm. i know this is for logan. give her The Boy" AHAHA so i hope u enjoy ur lil romantic gojo drabble 🥺

“Toru?” you called, stepping into the apartment you shared with your boyfriend; the lights in the entryway were off, and it seemed like only the kitchen was dimly lit. Odd, you thought, knowing he usually steered clear of the kitchen. You’d had a long day at work, though, and decided not to dwell on it. Instead, you toed off your shoes, tucking them away into their proper spot, and hanging your keys on their designated hook by the door before stepping further into the apartment.

Before you made it more than a few steps, though, Satoru was in front of you, a bright grin on his face and a bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hands. “Hey, sweetheart!” he greeted cheerfully, though he dialed back his enthusiasm a bit when he saw the exhaustion that weighed your body down. “Bad day?”

You gave a small shake of your head. “Just long.” You gladly accepted the flowers as he offered them to you, leaning in and closing your eyes for a moment as you gave them a sniff. “Thank you, baby. The flowers are nice.”

“I made dinner, too,” he told you with a smile, placing a hand lightly on your back and guiding you towards the dining room.

“You… cooked?” Satoru tried his best, you knew he did, but cooking was not his strong suit, which is why he was generally relegated to prep tasks when he helped you in the kitchen. Because you loved him, you’d eat at least a few bites of whatever it was he made, but you were already mentally running through your options for places to call and order something for delivery.

“No, I know better than that,” he replied with a small chuckle. “I’m not very good at cooking without supervision.”

As you stepped into the dining room, you saw that the table was set, with candles lit in the center, and this time it was your turn to laugh. The dinner your boyfriend had “made” for you was still in its little white takeout boxes, each box placed neatly in the center of a plate, with chopsticks and a glass of wine on either side – well, you thought it was wine at first, but them you noticed the bottle of sparkling grape juice Satoru had placed between your place settings.

“It looks delicious,” you said, looking up at him with a soft smile. “Thank you, Toru. I really appreciate it.”

Just then, your stomach decided it was the perfect time to make the most ungodly gurgling noise, making heat rush to your cheeks with embarrassment.

“Maybe you should stop appreciating it and start eating it,” Satoru teased, kissing your cheek and taking the flowers from your arms. “Sit, eat. I’ll put these in a vase and then join you.”

Finding no reason to argue, you did as he said, taking your seat at the table and picking up your glass, taking a small sip of the sparkling beverage as you turned to watch your partner move around the kitchen, looking over your small collection of vases before picking one, carefully trimming the stems of the flowers, then placing and arranging them in the vase once it had enough water in it.

You’d never felt luckier to have him in your life.

for my 100 followers milestone event!

[surelysilly]

sock puppet storyboard 80% completed and submitted, more nonsense at 11

“Wanna hug it out?” the kid offers, opening up his disarmingly skinny, toothpick arms. At Jason's guarded look, he adds unsurely, “... No homo?”

[silentwalrus1]

in all my random tag/fandom hopping years i have never encountered the sheer incoherency of star wars fic. It’s amazing? Like, most top kudosed stories will have nice staid comprehensible paragraphs tracking perfectly well from sentence to sentence but once you’re like 700 words in you start to feel like you’re in some kind of funhouse mirror dimension. Nothing makes sense. It’s like the authors somehow built a story without any story in it. It’s the storytelling equivalent of hearing that one song where all the lyrics are in a fake language meant to sound like english in order to show native english speakers what their own language sounds like to those who can’t understand it. It’s the narrative equivalent of simlish. Is it all written by AI? Am i having a stroke? I have to understand how this is done

[romanscool]

FINALLY! I've started properly working on the second part of which could mean nothing (but does it ever?)!! Dan's pov is so fucking fun to write

about to tease y'all some of it cause I'm the nicest girl ever <3 (joking im just dying to yap about it,,,)

[soupbtch]

ummm. my fic is done.

[mikalilys]

ruegard, ruegard, ruegard

i chant in front of my bathroom mirror

you will become canon

i whisper while i turn off the lights

everyone will make edits and write fanfics

i say as i begin to light candles

[tommylovingho]

writing fanfic is hard :(

[lulublack90]

Prompt 25 - Makeovers

@wolfstarmicrofic May 25, word count 720

Sirius and Remus had received many strange gifts from their friends over the years, but when Marlene handed over a gift card for two drag makeovers, she really took the biscuit. 

“I’m excited,” Sirius remarked on their way to the club. “I’ve already come up with my name. Sue Knuts.” Remus nearly lost control of the car he'd snorted so hard. 

“Christ, Sirius, are you trying to kill us?” Remus gasped as he tried to catch his breath. 

Sirius’s fingers were digging into the padding of his seat. Remus tried to get him to calm down. “What about me? Have you thought of a name for me?” Sirius slowly relaxed his fingers as he thought. 

“Lycan Madix,” Sirius finally came up with. Remus had to pull the car over before he actually crashed the car. 

He had to take a few minutes to calm himself before he pulled back into the traffic. 

They had a wonderful time being led around the club. They got to see the stage and the chaos of the dressing rooms. 

There was makeup and wigs everywhere. Remus felt nervous as he was led to a relatively clear area. Sirius, on the other hand, was in his element. He gushed to the Queen, who began to apply his makeup, asking for the brightest colours she had. 

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ve got you.” He was spun around and makeup was spread across his face. 

He was spun again once the makeup was on, and he had to admit it wasn’t half bad. His artist had used blue and silver on him. He looked severe, almost dangerous. She led him over to the dresses and wigs and picked out a few things for him to choose from. 

He opted for a black number that pooled to the floor and was covered in sparkles, like the night sky, and a white wavy curled wig.

“You look like the night goddess herself.” Sirius purred at him, already decked out with his own dress and wig. They were red and gold, he looked like he was on fire, especially with the orange wig he had over his black curls. “Remind me to thank Marlene for her gift.” He grinned. 

“Hey, darlings, are you ready to hit the stage?” Sirius’s queen asked them while she closed her makeup box. 

“Wait, what?” Remus, froze. Nowhere on the gift card had it said they were going to perform. “What am I even meant to do?”

“You could sing. Duets are popular for first timers. It takes the pressure off. I’ve got you babe, don’t go breaking my heart, stuff like that,” She shrugged. He looked at Sirius and thought about what she’d said. 

“Do you have under pressure?” He asked, staring into Sirius’s eyes. 

“Sure do.” They followed her out and onto the stage. They were handed microphones and the crowd cheered. That had surprised both of them, as the club had been empty when they arrived. He reached out and took Sirius’s hand. Then the iconic opening chords started, and the crowd cheered again. 

“Pressure, pushing down on me,” Remus lip sang uncertainly. Sirius was more confident. 

Remus took on the darker Bowie lyrics while Sirius took Freddie's lighter ones. It matched their outfits perfectly. As the song went on, Sirius’s easy movements brushed off on Remus and made him relax.

By the final part, he and Sirius had wrapped their arms around each other and sung. 

“Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?

'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word.

And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night.

And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves,

This is our last dance.

This is our last dance.

This is ourselves,

Under pressure,

Under pressure,

Pressure.” 

He was breathless and Sirius’s wig was tippling sideways from his exuberant performance. But Remus felt amazing as the crowd whistled and clapped at them. They took a bow and disappeared into the dressing rooms where they changed back into their own clothes and used half a pack of baby wipes to get all the makeup off their faces. 

“Yeah, we really need to thank Marlene,” He said as he pressed a kiss to Sirius’s lips. 

[nostalgia-tblr]

i nearly anon'd the thorki non-con fic out of SHAME but in two weeks it's become my third most clicked-on fic of the year, behind only a multichapter fic and a bit of angsty sifki porn lololol

[sisterdivinium]

Now is the time to place your bets on whether or not this hyper self-indulgent doctor superion Vampire the Masquerade AU fic will or won't get to 100 handwritten pages...

[sinorim-pisani]

Ok but like!!

Danny Fenton's Obsession \!(*0*)!/

I know a lot of us in the fandom like to describe Danny's Obsession as having to do with protection, or having to do with space. I love it! It's a good choice for the building blocks that the show gives us!

But.

(This is a long "but" folks, strap in)

(It also may be half incoherent, my thoughts were just thrown all over this post)

I had a little idea biting at me, for a possible fic that I may or may not be attempting to write, about an Obsession for Danny.

In this metaphorical fic, the trio (sam, danny, tucker) are all in the portal accident together, and their Obsessions are formed based on their strongest thoughts at the moment of their half-death. Sam's is fleshed out, I've moved the Protection Obsession to Tucker, and Danny's has been puzzling me.

I'm thinking of basing his Obsession in the idea of Success. It might not make too much sense, but hear me out:

I'm planning on having Danny's strongest memories and thoughts be about how badly he had wanted to see his friends' dreams come to life, and how badly he had wanted to see his parents (initially) succeed in their research. Of course, this would be very brief and emotionally driven, but these are the under lying thoughts I want to be working with.

Danny and Sam and Tucker all experience the accident, and Danny dies thinking something like "They'll never get to chase their dreams again" (this is a work in progress T.T) Boom, an obsession with seeing others chase/succeed with their dreams.

Could there be any component of this that applies to Danny himself? Is it too much to add in a note about how Danny is also thinking about how he won't ever get to make his family proud again? Then shove that into the Obsession and make it so that he's obsessed with seeing himself succeed alongside others?

The angst side of this would be that he doesn't have much to succeed at outside of the ghost fights, because no matter how hard he tries he can't seem to balance school life and ghost life, and he's this close to flunking out, being expelled, disappointing his parents and Jazz - He's only succeeding by winning the fights. Perhaps also by something silly like playing and winning in Doomed? It becomes super difficult for him to manage achievement for himself, and fighting to protect the achievements of everyone else. Maybe he starts to seek the fights out more? Which would be Super Dangerous for him, and everyone?

Or would it be better to have it only apply to others, so that there is even more of a self-destructive flavor to his character development? Like a "Why are you wringing yourself out like this, fighting and failing in school and continuing to live in a home that harms you?" "Because this is the only way I can think of to help my parents (ANGST ALERT) and my friends and all of the people that live here succeed in life" kind of flavor.

And then when the ghost fights come along - fighting the ghosts would technically be "satisfying the Obsession", because he now has the chance to physically protect the dreams of the people of Amity Park, and he consistently chooses to fight and to burn out, because he loves his friends and his family and he loves this community and he just wants them to have the dreams he can't have anymore.

IDK I just like the idea of Danny having an obsession that's different from protection and space at first, and this is what my brain came up with!

[sky-squido]

i, like every other fic author in existence, love getting comments from people who enjoyed my work. i don't care if your comment is "late" (that's so weird to me like it's literature—do you apologize to homer for being late to reading the odyssey?) or "unintelligible" (late night commenters, english language learners, people who feel like they "just aren't that good with words", believe me, i entirely understand what you mean and appreciate it immensely), or anything else that you feel might make your comment 'not good enough'. i love all of the comments i receive and i am eternally grateful to all of you for your continued support.

and yeah, i've read fics where i felt like adding a comment would be doing the fic a disservice because there was nothing that could be said that wouldn't cheapen or patronize the magnum opus i'd just witnessed. in instances like this, that is exactly what i say in the comment: "there's nothing i can say that doesn't do this work of art a disservice. thank you for writing this."

actually, now that i think about it, there are a bunch of ao3 comments i've gotten that i still haven't replied to because i felt any thanks i could give would be inadequate. i should really get around to replying because i want them to know how spellbound they left me. i love you all, have i ever mentioned that?

all of that being said, i would like to make a public service announcement!

at least under default settings, ao3 authors do get notified every time you edit a comment. i've accidentally hit send too early before, or realized i forgot something i wanted to say, i get it, i really do. i have edited many comments in my day.

but you don't have to do this. really, it's okay. most of the time i honestly can't tell what the difference is. i'm not going to think worse of you for having typos in your comments because i guarantee that there were more in the fic you just read sfkljghsl

also these edits were over the course of twenty full minutes. i got another email while writing this post and had to update the image. please do not spend 20 minutes agonizing over your comment and changing the capitalization and adding a few words. it's okay, i promise. i love your comment, and i'm very very grateful for it, regardless of how "polished" it is. i'm not your english teacher in disguise.

tl;dr, i love you all and i hope you don't feel anxiety or a compulsion towards perfectionism in my ao3 comments section. i won't judge you, i promise <3