#no shirt just a hat and some pants and going to town

[beast-feast]

Every day I don't think about this video is a day not worth living

[blueboybot]

Lovestruck!

Billy didn't mean to follow Danny...

That was a lie, he totally did mean to follow him BUT he didn't intentionally make himself show up all the other times. It was just that Danny had a habit of being in the area whenever disaster struck in Fawcett City and Billy has picked up the habit of having Danny in his arms more times than not.

......

The first time he met Danny it was a Captain Marvel. A building down town had caught on fire after some faulty wiring and he managed to get everyone in the building out safely with the help of a few firefighters. He thought he did until his super hearing caught the sound of a sudden heart beat, slower than a regular human but definitely still alive. He wasted no time flying back into the building and reaching the fifth floor with relative ease where he saw him.

Now Billy could admit that this was not the time or place but as soon as his eyes landed on him his heart felt as if it was struck by lightning. There in a room was one of the prettiest boys he's ever seen with dark locks and sky blue eyes rushing to grab papers before the flames of the ongoing fire could consume them. It took Billy and embarassing amount of time to snap out of it and grab the boy before flying out of the building.

As Billy floated in the air he couldn't help but to stare at the other.Travelling his eyes down from the other's face he noticed that the boy was wearing and all black outfit, the shirt being cropped and having the design of a purple seedling, his pants were a little baggy and adorned with chains and zips all while sporting black combat boots.

"Uhh you can put me down now," A voice said pulling him out his thoughts. The other boy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, still clutching the papers close to his chest.

Against his will his cheeks started to heat up "My bad."

He quickly descended and placed the boy next to the nearest firefighter before flying off once the fire was put out.

The second time he met Danny and got his name was as Billy Batson. Billy was doing a run in the park as part of his daily exercise, because Captain Marvel shouldn't be the only strong one with muscles, when he turned his face for a few seconds to enjoy the scenery and collided with another body, sending the person backwards and onto the ground.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see where I was going and–" As he was reaching out his hand to help a pair of familiar blue eyes halted any further actions. This time he was dressed in a red bucket hat, a yellow vest with a white long sleeved undershirt and a long green pants with brown shoes.

"No worries you apologised so that counts for something," He held out his hand and Billy quickly took it, pulling him up onto his feet "The name's Danny."

"Billy."

Before another word could be said a loud explosion shook the earth followed by the terrified screams and frantic running of people around them. Billy opened his mouth to say something to Danny but when he looked all he saw was air in the place Danny was supposed to be standing. He had no time to dwell on that so sped off to more secretive place before transforming and flying off to where the trouble resided.

When he got there Billy was absolutely dumbfounded because in the villain's hands was none other Danny himself in all of his annoyed and squirming glory. The villain finally noticed him and started their monologue while holding Danny in the air, displaying him like the helpless and slightly angry captive he was.

It took a total of five minutes for Billy to knock the villain down and catch Danny before he hit the ground.

"Nice to catch you again Danny," He teased.

Danny narrowed his eyes at him "How do you know my name?"

"Uhh super hearing," He nervously replied.

"...Are you stalking me?"

"Nonono it was really super hearing, I promise."

.....

After a while it sort of became a routine for them but Danny only ever seemed to be willing to talk to him as Billy rather than Captain Marvel for some reason and he's not sure why. In all honesty Danny was much nicer to him as Billy, he would always be close and open to him as possible to the point where it leaves Billy's cheeks heated. While as Captain Marvel Danny is quick to shut down any conversation and leave as quickly as possible after thanking him for the rescue. Billy's not sure what he did as Captain Marvel to offend Danny but he hopes to figure it out soon.

Deviating from his regular patrol route to follow his crush was probably not the best option but he's working on it. As soon as Danny gets home safely he'll go back to his regular program.

Just as Danny turned the corner a nearby pillar from a building under construction started to crumble and just before the giant chunk of stone could harm Danny Billy swooped in and saved him from becoming one with the ground.

"I'm sensing a pattern here Captain." From within his arms he saw that Danny wore a teal headband, a black long sleeved shirt, teal pants and black shoes. Despite his scowl Danny really did look good in anything.

"Just doing my job," Billy smiled back.

......

This was supposed to be Danny's vacation from fighting ghost and he was not enjoying it to his fullest like he hoped. You would think that after a reveal gone extremely well with his parents and being given some promised time off by Clockwork he wouldn't find himself in no more trouble but here he is, constantly being saved by a man who refers to himself as 'The Big Red Cheese'.

On the plus side he got to meet a cute boy named Billy who he definitely is crushing hard on and will be in his thoughts for the rest of his stay here. Now back to Captain Marvel. Danny found the superhero to be weird in a creep kinda sense, sure the man is constantly saving him but that's because Danny is on strict vacation time and will not be using his powers while there is a well established hero in the area. What he means is he's caught the man multiple times staring at him and raking his eyes over his body and it makes the ecto-infused hair on his body stand up when he does it.

He hasn't done anything to him yet and despite Danny's best efforts to follow the man he can't. For someone who wears such bold colors he does manage to slip away from him very easily. If the man does try anything with him Danny will take pleasure in showing him why he picked the wrong one.

[the-froschamethyst4]

Spurs and Chaps

𖤐Pairing: Bounty Hunter! König x Outlaw! Reader

𖤐Pronouns: She/Her

𖤐Warnings: smut, fluff, language, old friend to lovers, enemies to lovers, mention of violence, guns, P in V, age gap, groping, nipple play, badass Y/n, kissing/making out,

𖤐Summary: König the bounty hunter had to bring in outlaw Y/n but does he really have to bring her in?

————

————

"Little lady you must have me as a fool?"

"No, sir."

Y/n puts the tip of her heel into the dirt as she flirts with the man in front of her. She just wanted one thing from this man, his money.

"Oh yes!"

"Fuck," loud moans filled the room, the man trying to keep his pants up as he has Y/n pinned to the wall behind her, he bucks his hips up into her, she moans, gripping his hair and kissing his lips.

They both fell on the soft bed behind the man, Y/n undressing herself, her holster on her thigh containing her pistol, she kisses down his chest to his stomach, one hand guiding down and then other resting on her gun.

He looks down at her and sees her hand on her gun.

"Hey, wait a min-" before he could speak another word, he was shot with a lead bullet between his eyes.

"Fucking disgusting," she says, getting off the guy and grabbing her skirt and dirty tank top, she digs around for his sack of gold and soon found it, she smiles and sticks it inside her shirt. She finds her boots and her long black leather coat, she heads out of the whore house and grabs her hat on the way out.

"Another one bites the dust," she says, opening the satchel on her horse's side sticking the gold sack into with all the others. She starts to sum as she gets on the back of her horse. She clicks her tongue and starts walking out of the bum rusted town.

She was acting cool and collected as if she say didn't just kill someone and robbed them.

----------

"Heard she's in Rosewood...you might want to check there...König."

"Tell me again...who am I after?"

"Her name is Y/n L/n, her bounty the highest I've ever seen, even for a woman, $790,000, not even Bonnie's bounty was this high. Was raised by her father who turned out to be Good Old Cyrus L/n, robbed the whole North City blind, was caught and rotted away in prison. Y/n was taken to an orphanage where she raised herself to become an outlaw, it started off as candy stealing then soon made it's way up from pick pocketing, now, she kills then takes." The Sheriff says.

"Sir, her last slighting was in Rosewood, now she's being on the move," his deputy says.

"Well, then, I guess you better get moving, Bounty Hunter."

"I'll see you when I have her."

"If we see you again," the Sheriff says.

König loaded up his horse, clicked his tongue and went South to Rosewood hoping he'll run into Y/n.

---------

It's been a few days, and Y/n has settled into a small town called Winslow, it was like her little hideaway, everyone knows who she is, but no one will ever give her away to the Sheriff and his Deputies.

Y/n sits on the back porch of her little home, she was in some jean shorts, and small white tank top that showed off her hardened nipples and her black boots.

Y/n was cleaning her old clothes she worn, she goes back into her lovely home and she grabs some whiskey from her top cabinet and opened the bottle, chugging some of it. Heading back outside to hang the rest of the clothes.

"Y/n..." She stops what she is doing and turns to see.

"König? How's the Bounty Hunting going?" She asked, knowing he's after her.

"Oh you know...I'm here for a little someone," he says.

"Me?" She says, her back turned to him.

"It's been a while, I just wanted to...catch up with you before, I take you to the Sheriff."

"How? Hmm? What could you have in mind, Bounty Hunter," she giggles at him, she stood up to face him, he looks down at her getting a view of her chest.

"You're a tease, just like I remember," he says, putting his hand on her cheek.

König and Y/n were old friends, even though they grew up differently, Y/n was taught to steal and be a bad person and König was taught to be a good guy. Growing up differently but still how became friends. They don't even know how it happened, and when they got older König picked up being a bounty hunter and Y/n was on the run from law enforcement.

Now did König and Y/n have some sort of relationship? Yes. Again they don't know how it happened, it was just a simple one night that turned into 3, then 4, next they they knew it 5, but it had to stop, it would look bad for a bounty hunter to be sleeping with a bounty.

It would ruin König's reputation.

"Did you take the job because of the money or to see me, again?" She asked him.

"I guess the money...I didn't know I was going after you till I was called in to help."

"Called in? You mean, you didn't see my WANTED paper? The Sheriff called you in?"

"Yeah. He asked for...the best of the best," he says.

"I see," she says, she walks past him, her hand sliding on his chest as she was heading inside. "If you want...you can come inside, König."

he smirks and follows her inside the house. She kicked her boots off at the back door.

"Take your shoes off, I don't want dirt tracked through my house."

"Since when did you ever care about the dirt?"

"Since I've lived here, I love my home, and want it clean and nice and neat," she says.

"But you kill for fun."

"And I can keep my personal life out of my work life."

"Killing is work?"

"Yep," she then turns to him. "Tea?"

"Water is fine," he says.

Y/n gave him some water and then watched him chug it, she smirks up at him, she bends down and kisses his chest down to his stomach, lifting his shirt and kissed his toned stomach.

"Liebe (love)."

"Do you think, I'll ruin your reputation?" she asks, looking up at him, he cups her chin.

"You know you will," he says.

"Good," she says, standing up and kissing his lips. She then pulls down his mask, "There's that face, I've missed...I could ruin you so easily," she teased.

"You ruining me? Doubt it," he chuckles.

König picks her up and slams her back to her wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, she then kisses his neck, he groans, he plops on her messy couch.

König then removes his jacket, and removes his shirt, he then tries to unbuckle his pants, but Y/n ends up helping him. Pulling his pants down and taking them off him, she kisses his bulge, he groans, cupping her chin.

"Fuck, I missed you," he says, leaning down kissing her temple, she moves back to laying on top of him.

"I've missed you too," she says, kissing his lips.

His hands roamed over her body. She then sits up and starts removing her clothes, König then helps her removing her tank top and kissed between her breasts. Kissing her breast and licking at her bud.

She moans, holding his head and playing with his hair, and kissing the top of his head. König then messes with her shorts pulling them off.

König pumps himself a few times, before sliding himself into her. She put her head back moaning his name and squeezing around him, he puts his hands on her waist, she starts rocking back and forth, König smirks, the sex was nice, and soft. It's suppose to be meaningless sex, but it's hard when König still loves Y/n.

Y/n looks down him, leaning over him, moving her hair on one side of head and then kissing his lips. She then starts moving a bit faster.

"No, no, keep going slow, take your time, don't rush anything," he says.

"It's just been so long."

"I know," he cups her face and starts kissing her face, then under her chin and then her lips again.

Y/n looks down at him, he slowly starts to sit up, holding her close to his body, as he bucks his hips up but she started to do the work again, bouncing up and down on him.

"God, you feel so good," König says. He loves feeling her gummy walls holding his cock inside of her.

"You do too," she moans, putting her head back. His hands then start going up her chest and squeezing her chest and playing with her nipples. She moans and looks at him.

"Are you g-going to turn me in?" She asked.

"Do you want me to turn you in?"

"No...I want you to myself, I don't want to be in jail," she moans.

"Aww~" he teases her.

Y/n then could feel herself about to cum, König smirks as cum shoots up into Y/n. Y/n smirks and then bounces a bit more and felt herself squirt on his lower stomach.

He smirks, chuckles a bit, Y/n then leans forward and then kissed his lips.

----------

König laid naked on Y/n's bed, Y/n next to him, he could turn her in so easily, but he can't do that to her. König looks over at her and moves her hair from her face.

"You can go if you want to," she says.

"No...not yet...I want to be here with you," he says.

"You can leave."

"No, not yet," he says, moving closer to her and holding her to his chest.

König kisses her forehead and kissed her lips, he holds her close and moves her hair from her face.

-----------

König was on his horse, looking at the house being light up by small lamps, he was leaving for the night, he doesn't know if he'll come back and see her again, but he wonders if he should put a small hold on bounty hunting and come live with Y/n for a little while.

He travels back to West Dale to see the Sheriff and tell him the news.

That he could not find Y/n.

Y/n woke up to no one next to her, she pats the cold empty spot next to her and thought about König, he's been gone for...so many years and now he came back to have sex with her and left, he didn't bring her in, so did he care about her?

----------

It's been weeks now. Y/n was on her front porch, she was doing some house work, putting up nice plants, around the house.

"Need any help?" Y/n stops and turns to the man's voice.

"König?"

"Have you done any killing lately?" He chuckles.

"Never," she teased.

"Could you help me with the other hanging plants?"

"Sure, liebe (love)."

[m-jelly]

The new room

Levi x fem reader

Sheriff Levi and you are having your first baby. The two of you decorate the new room together.

Levi tapped his thumbs against the wheel as he drove home from his shift at work. He glanced at the passenger's seat and saw the cake, flowers and some new paint rollers. He smiled to himself, glanced at his wedding ring and felt pride fill him. Levi had married you, his childhood sweetheart, a few years ago and was the happiest man in the world.

You met as very little kids and as soon as six-year-old Levi saw you, he said to you, your mother and his mother that he wanted you. The two of you were joined at the hip and when you were old enough, you started dating. You were each other's first in everything. You got married in your early twenties and you helped him become sheriff.

The two of you were the most talked about couple in the town, the true love married couple that was made of dreams. You had your moments where you'd have tiny fights, mainly because Levi was overly protective of you and you were incredibly friendly too.

Levi parked up and grabbed everything before approaching his perfect home. A gentle smile spread on his lips when he heard music coming from the home. He hurried inside, took his hat off and slipped his boots off. He sprinted upstairs to the new room.

There you were in all your beautiful glory wearing dungarees dotted with paint and a six-month belly standing out. He leaned against the doorway and just watched you dance around the baby room as you painted the walls.

He placed his gifts down on the painting table before approaching you. He pressed his chest against your back and wrapped his arms around you. He placed one hand on your belly and gently rubbed it. He placed loving kisses up your neck and along your shoulder.

You hummed a laugh. "Welcome home, Levi. Good day at work?"

"Mm, it was okay."

You placed your brush down before turning to face Levi. "Let me guess, it was boring because I wasn't there?"

He wrapped his arms around you. "You know me so well."

You tilted your head and kissed him. "I do."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

He picked you up making you giggle. "You're so sexy." He sat you in the window and purred. "Every time I look at you I keep thinking about how we made our baby."

You ran your hands up and down his body. "I do too." You grabbed his belt and yanked him close. "You were a passionate animal."

He kissed and sucked your neck. "You just do things to me."

You tangled your fingers in his hair as Levi covered you in kisses. "Oh, wait." You pulled from him. "What's that?"

Levi looked over at the gifts on the table. "I bought you some flowers and cake. Oh, also new rollers to help us paint."

"Thank you, that's so sweet of you."

Levi took your hands and showered them with kisses. "Shall we have some cake and tea? How many cups of tea have you had today?"

You hummed as you thought for a moment. "I don't think I've had one yet."

He lifted you off the seat and pulled you close. "Let's have a cup then."

You played with his hair a bit. "Sounds lovely." You giggled. "You'll have to let me go to do that though."

He tilted his head and kissed you over and over. The two of you melted as your tongues moved together and bodies pressed as best as they could with your bump. Levi slipped his hand into your dungarees and under your shirt.

You panted and purred. "Levi."

He released you. "Sorry, sorry, cake and tea."

You giggled as he ran off. "Thank you." You followed him down to the kitchen and sat at the island. "You're very excitable today."

He placed a slice of cake in front of you and your tea. "I'm just a man deeply in love."

You sipped your tea as you watched Levi. "What would you have done if I said no to you when we were kids. When you proudly claimed I was yours."

He ate a bit of cake and hummed. "Impossible. I'll always have you."

"You'd make it your mission to always have me?"

He nodded and gulped. "I became a man of justice for you, a sheriff. If you would have said no, I would have become a criminal for you. I'd steal you."

You giggled. "You're cute." You reached over and caressed his cheek. "Levi. I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one."

You nibbled your lip. "How about you steal me tonight?"

Levi growled. "I'd love to."

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @darkstarlight82 @emilyyyy-08 @levistealeaf @pelicanpizza @hideandgopeep @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird @searriously @anti-cupid @abiatackerman

[monsterfactoryfanfic]

I'm transcribing an interview Aaron King did with me about Detente for the Ravenous and I had to stop and clip out their answer about what they think constitutes good writing. With the story breaking about NaNoWriMo supporting AI text generators, I was just reminded how fucking good it feels to hear someone talk like they give a shit about the craft.

Transcript below the readmore.

"The first time, no, the second time I dropped out of college, I moved to a different town and I was working at an old timey confectionery and ice cream place. So four to five days a week, I would go in and put on black pants and a nice white shirt and an apron and a paper hat. And I would either be scooping ice cream or washing dishes or helping the owner's dad, an 80 year old man named Oscar make homemade chocolates and stuff. So we were on a main floor of a building. We had the ice cream shop, we had a coffee shop, and then we had a basement where we stored all this bulk candy that we ordered from people. And we had the place where Oscar would make these chocolate turtles: almonds, caramel, chocolate. And one day Oscar was like, “Hey, look at this.” And he took me to the basement stairs and he pulled down this plywood slide that he had constructed on a hinge that would cover the right half of the stairs. And he took a big box that we just received and put it at the top of the slide and shoved it down. And he was like, “What do you think of that?” And I said, “Well, that saves me a lot of time carrying stuff down the stairs.” And he was like, “Yeah, every day you try to improve a little bit. You try to make this place a little better.”

And I just like was almost crying because this man that could you know, not lift anything was so old, was still just like making these weird little changes around here and thinking of other people other than him. That's one of the things that I just carry forward in this process of making stuff is just like… I will never be a Will Jobst. I will never be “insert name of my favorite writer here.” But I'm driven to make these things. There's no reason for me not to make them. I might as well try to get a little better every single day. And sometimes that means reading and sometimes that means sitting down and doing some hard self assessment and figuring out where the weaknesses are. Or how to get better or how best to spend my time. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's really hard. But I don't… I'm not going to become fucking William Faulkner, you know? I'm not going to become Louise Erdrich. But that's poison brain, to try to like become and overcome them or whatever. I think it's just, if this is something I'm going to do, no matter what, I would like to get a little bit better at it every single time I practice it. Then hopefully someone will put that on my gravestone. “Tried a little bit every day. Here lies Aaron King.” "

[yakii-m0chi]

Inazuma Men as Fathers

decided to write a part two just because i felt like it! might go thru all the regions and characters so far!

pairings: thoma x reader, heizou x reader, kamisato ayato x reader, kazuha x reader, gorou x reader, itto x reader (gn! reader)

warnings/disclaimers: im so sorry if u have allergies to pets/don't like the animal i chose! i just thought it'd match the characters well | heizou names your pet (ish?) | slight angst warning (kazuha)

🍭 thoma

thoma was walking around town, helping out here and there as he went about his day

on his way back to the kamisato estate, he saw you with a stray dog, playing around together

he thought he was seeing floating hearts when he heard your laughter and baby talk when the dog flopped over

thoma was convinced then and there that you had to have that dog

when he made dinner, he wanted to ask you about it without being too suspicious

how was your day, sunshine? did you do anything fun today?

i did! there was this cute dog, and i swear it was the most adorable and serotonin-filled thing in the entire world! i'm going to go buy some food and spend the whole day with him tomorrow

how fun! i'm sure that you made that puppy's day.

and soon, he was going to make your day

two days later, thoma was outside your room, the stray dog in hand

he had spent the entire night cleaning him, feeding him, and trimming its mangled fur and claws. it wasn't perfect by his standards, but his skill could be mistaken for a professional

when you opened the door, you couldn't help but squeal out of pure joy and shock as you held the puppy in your hands

thoma! how did you know?!

i saw you two a few days ago, and since you seemed infatuated with the little guy, i thought we should have him as a pet. what do you think?

i love that! thank you thoma, i love you so much!

bby was blushing so bad T-T

he'd buy you a hundred dogs at that point, just to see your reaction again and again

he knew that he would be taking care of the dog as well, but he had 0 problems in doing so. thoma was good with people and animals

somedays when you were busy with work or commissions, thoma would take the dog around town to keep him company

it's like two golden retrievers were running around town now - thoma and the doggo

everyone came to know your puppy, and they always stopped to feed him something delicious or give him some head scratches

ayato and ayaka both loved your dog too!

thoma had hand-knit an entire closet of clothing for your dog. he had mittens, hats, scarves, pants, shirts, costumes - everything. hell, thoma had even given him cute shoes too so his paws wouldn't get dirty or cold

10/10 househusband and dog dad

at some point, he had attached an omori to your dog's collar, which thoma had always joked that whenever your dog was around, good luck and fortune always came with him

oddly enough, every time you went to the shrine with your dog in tow, your fortune slips would always turn out to be very fortunate

🔍 shikanoin heizou

he was a detective, there was no way he'd get a pet with how busy and active his job was

... until he saw you with a cute little cat

it was game over at that point

he caved and ended up getting you a collar to give to the cat

but he made it clear that it was your responsibility to take care of it since he was always busy and didn't have time to care for a cat on top of the other cases he had going on

but, one day, you were really busy with something and didn't have time to take care of your cat

on his way out from your shared home, he heard your cat meowing for attention, looking at heizou expectantly

the boy caved (x2) and took your cat with him to his office, where it got cozy on his windowsill

he had to admit, watching the cat loaf while sleeping in the sunlight was oddly adorable

life got busier for you, so he ended up making it a routine to bring your cat to his office, and you'd meet him there when you finally got off work

at some point, he replaced the curtains in his office with blinds that he'd open when your cat would sit on the windowsill so he could look out at the people who passed by

he also gave your cat a nickname that stuck: watson

honey? where's the cat?

watson's alseep by the window.

'watson'?

he's not just 'cat' now. he's watson

one time when your cat did something especially naughty, heizou made wanted posters of your cat and hung them around the tenryou commission's offices

it was because he had knocked over heizou's juice and it spilled on his paper, then in its shock at the loud noise, the cat had jumped off and accidentally smashed the mug too

as of today, your cat has a 40,000 mora reward on the poster

💧 kamisato ayato

do you really expect kamisato ayato of all people to have the time to take care of your new pet?

... yes. yes he would.

you are so lucky this man is absolutely whipped for you, but you better choose a pet that's easy and lower maintenance

so what did you choose?

a fish.

no, you're not dyslexic, dear reader (unless you are, then my bad). you brought him a little fish.

thoma and you were fishing, and you had caught a small little fish that looked too cute to let go

luckily, thoma had brought along a small container which was big enough for the fish until he went out into town and got you an actual fishbowl for it

so, you excitedly brought it to ayato, who had... a very clear stance on this animal

love... is... this what you were excited to show me?

yeah! look, isn't it cute?

... i don't think 'cute' would be the word i would use to describe it. do you even have a way to sustain that thing so it lives?

i was going to raise it in this tank until i can move it to the pond outside

...

yeah... he wasn't super impressed at first

but it seemed to keep you, ayaka, and thoma entertained, so it was a plus since he had more time to work without being interrupted

you had placed it strategically in a spot where ayato would have to see it before he would move along with his day

eventually, something in him wanted to try his hand at feeding it but he wasn't sure if you had already done so

so he asked you over dinner

darling?

yes, ayato?

... how often do you feed your... fish?

[feeding schedule]. why?

ah, i see. i can feed your fish in the evening. that way you don't have to hurry back.

you will?!

i suppose i can spare a minute or two for it.

when the time came to move your fish into the pond, he did kind of miss having the fish conveniently nearby

more or less, kamisato ayato became fond of your little fish friend

🍁 kaedahara kazuha

pets?! boy sign this man up

we all know he is such a sweet and soft boy

there's no way he'd turn you down

so when you came back with a white cat, you best believe he was gonna take care of it with you to the best of his abilities

also... the cat unironically reminded him of his friend :(

you best believe that both you and your cat will get absolute royalty treatment

in fact, he has a surprise for you about a year in

my love?

yes darling?

your cat was clinging onto your arm, seemingly lazing around

i have something to surprise you with.

oh really? what is it?

here.

IT WAS ANOTHER CATTTTT!!! ANOTHER BABY CAT!!!

kazuha?! another cat?

i figured that our little one would get bored so... i found it a friend.

bless this man's heart- he's such a sweetheart

now you have two cats - a boy and a girl

he did his very best and was able to bond the two of them within a few weeks

now you both had two cats to go with you on your travels around teyvat

they were so easy to travel with, and they were extremely calm

probably because they knew that their papa would always protecc them :)

a lot of times, kazuha could be found napping with the small furballs on a sunny rock in the afternoon

oh my GODDDD kazuha and your cats are absolutely the cutest

HE ALSO GIVES THEM LEAF HATS. YOU CANNOT TELL ME HE DOESN'T BECAUSE HE TOTALLY WOULD.

🐾 gorou

the most timid of the bunch

he'd probably get nervous no matter what pet you give him

bro probably goes through 100+ books a day to try and learn everything he can about the animals so he can provide the most optimal care for it

it was a dog.

and yet here gorou was, stressing over it

Y/N? do you think this is enough dog food for her?

yes, gorou, why are you so worried?

w-well... this book said we need 5 servings, but then the other one said 2 servings...

so how many did you give her?

... 3 and a half servings?

that's fine then, gorou. it's not like we can't feed her more.

yeah...

he's a general, of course he'd be worried over your lil furbaby :(

this poor man already has a ton on his plate, but he wants to make sure that your pup is well-fed

since gorou is a dog, your dog got along really well with him

she actually licks him a lot to try and groom him, especially his tail and ears

this poor man... he now takes extra good care of his hair and tail when he showers and cleans himself because he doesn't want your dog to get sick

he also got your pup a small set of armor so he felt a little more at ease

your pup was becoming more and more of a guard dog every single day hehe

one time you came home to your dog and him cuddling in bed together, and it was super CUTE because of the fact that both of their tails were moving in sync

he does get less stressed over time, but he still gets worried about your dog at times

please reassure him that your dog will be okay and won't die from a gust of wind. please.

🪲 Aratakki Numero-Uno Itto

you see your pet?

that ain't your pet no more.

that's the GANG's pet

poor shinobu LOL i just KNOW she's gonna be stressed more

you and shinobu are the only two sensible people in the aratakki gang

one day when you were exploring, you saw a small weasel who got captured by some treasure hoarders

it was malnourished and super sickly looking, and you immediately brought it home

but when you were cleaning it and making sure it was bandaged, itto bursted in

hellooooooooo baby beetle!!!!

shh! itto!

huh? what's wrong? something the matter?

itto walked over to where you were, seeing you in the bathroom taking care of the small weasel

huh? what is that furry slinky-noodle thing?

it's a weasel, i found him inside a cage.

oh... poor little dude.

itto gently patted the weasel on the head.

don't worry little guy, you're in good hands with my baby beetle. they'll take good care of you.

yeah... there's a reason why he said that your weasel would be safe with you and not with him

he liked to take the weasel out with him and the gang, and sometimes it overstimulated the poor thing to the point where it seemed to go limp from exhaustion

you and shinobu usually had to take the weasel away from itto and his gang and scold them

at some point (1 year of having your weasel), itto had finally understood when the weasel would get tired, so he'd sometimes just leave the weasel entirely with you before going out with his friends

although, whenever he was at home, your weasel enjoyed hanging around him since it wasn't too overwhelming and the little dude could hide whenever he's too tired

itto is a great dad and super attentive, but sometimes he needs to know when enough's enough :)

[dessertpanda]

New Chick In Town

Masterlist

A 2012Leo X Fem reader.... violence, Gun, Weapons, fighting, stalking (kinda) I did a pole for this on my tumbler to the PEOPLE HAVE ANSWERED

Y/N sat peacefully on the rooftop, her sketchbook spread open on her lap and her pencil running gentle strokes across the page creating the sky of New York. "Hmm... He looks perfect!" She hummed staring down at her drawing. She was new to New York... sent by her Master to find a man named Shredder. And indeed she did... however, that experience didn't go too well, his rash and violent nature left her disturbed so she left. Now that she was left alone within the city, she's been using her skills for good, stopping crime, helping old ladies cross the street, killing robots, and spying on these mutant turtles... Okay, maybe spying wasn't exactly for good but rather for her entertainment. " Now tomorrow, I can transfer this onto my Canvas!" She giggled, making a move to stand, closing her book, and placing her pencil behind her ear... However, the sudden thump of someone landing caught her attention. With haste, she moved, allowing distance between her and the unknown sound.  She stood, ready for a fight, but gasped at the sight before her. "HUH It's You" She whispered, staring at the Green Turtle that stood proudly in front of her.

"I uh... You.... You weren't supposed to see me... nor be up here" His eyes widened as she stood there, clade in a large T-shirt with what appeared to be a straw hat, PJ pants, and fluffy socks with little turtles on them, 'Cute' He thought to himself, suddenly thanking the lord for whatever instinct told him to go on patrol alone tonight. With a quick shake of his head, he cleared such thoughts, reanalyzing his situation. "I uh... What are you doing up here" He asked, not exactly knowing how to react to her calm state.

Y/N blushed softly, at the fact she had been caught and now interrogated. "W-well you see I saw these, uh Vigilantly Heros....and draw them" She was now looking down at the roof, suddenly finding a rock very interesting.  "Names Y/N"

Leo hummed, "Y-you're not scared of me?" He asked, cautious of her movements having recognized her fighting stance. 'A Kunoichi?' He questioned himself, debating whether or not he wanted to find out due to his poor interactions with past ninjas. He watched as she gently shook her head, smiling at his surprised face. "I uh... May I?" He asked gesturing to the book she had clenched in her left hand.

"Uh? O-Oh sure I guess" She shyly stood straight. Taking slow steps towards the turtle. Once she deemed it close enough she gently opened her book, revealing multiple sketches of Cherry blossom trees, Yokai, and The New York Sky.  "Wow amazing" He suddenly snatched the book from her hands, flipping through the pages.

"H_HEY NO STOP" She squealed, about to leap at him to stop his constant page turning but it was already too late... He had reached some of her most recent ones... Ones of him and his brothers. Leo stared at the portrait of himself, sitting on the edge of a building... immaculate details from marks on his shell to the engraving on his swords...

"Whoa," He whispered, only continuing to flip through... He finally stopped on one... he remembers this day... it was when he got lost in thought on a water tower.... after his event with Karai. To think, he never even noticed her presence.... seen her, heard her... How terrifying. To think if she wanted to.... she could have killed him.

"I... I saw you guys a few months ago... and Yeah... been uhh coming up here in hopes of meeting you" She sighed, giving him somewhat of her reasoning but not the entirety of it. It's true... she's been following him. She's been following them.. just trying to gauge whether or not they had anything to do with Shredder's actions.

'Meet Us' He couldn't help the boost to the ego that provided... to think such a pretty girl wanted to meet him... and his brothers. "So... you're a.. you're like a fan? or something" He questioned, watching as her face darkened in color as she shifted her look to the busy streets down below.

"I guess... I saw you and thought you guys were like super cool!" She glanced back at him quickly, surprised by his bright blue eyes that kept their stare dead on her face... "I... I was considered a weird kid... transferred to Japan my first year of middle school in hopes of finding a place I belong" She crossed her legs and quickly dropped, elegantly but not without a crack from her hip, into a crisscross seat. "While there.... I ran into my Master and began training to be a ninja... then he sent me back here" She smiled, enjoying the memory of her time spent with her master. His training methods were harsh and borderline torturous but they created the monster of a Ninja she was today. "I'm still considered weird... High school isn't friendly... but I guess I got used to never having friends so yeah" she sighed, keeping her eyes focused on the busy streets below. "Yeah..."

Leo's eyes were focused on her, the way she gazed down at the streets.... he couldn't help the soft blush that grazed his green cheeks. She was a ninja... trained in Japan, and was artistic.... and Pretty talked about a whole package. "If it makes you feel any better... I don't think you're weird" His voice was soft and calm... conveying his sincerity of the moment.

She only scoffed at his sad attempt at comforting... or what she saw as sad... "You caught me drawing you... that's weird"

He couldn't help but chuckle, a light smile grazing his lips. "I'm a mutant turtle... weird kinda comes with the territory"

"Wanna sit with me? I got snacks?" She crossed her legs and dropped into a seating position.  With a soft shrug, he took his seat next to her, folding his legs under him before glancing at her display of snacks "Hmm What kind?" He looked over the multi-colored fruits, chips, and cheese... some he did not recognize due to most of his time eating pizza or fighting crime.

"I have... Chips, Cherries, Watermelon... some gapes and ah Cheddar cheese slices!" She held back the giggle as she glanced at him.... watching as his mouth practically watered at the sight.

"Some of the Watermelon please!" He sounded like a little boy begging for his other to buy him something from the store.

"Of course!" She smiled, gently grabbing a piece, and watched as he practically buzzed in his seat 'Must have a sweet tooth' she giggled softly to herself. She smiled as he savored the sweet, juicy fruit, gulping as he swallowed it.  "So? Where is your team at?" She asked softly, not wanting to pry, she glanced at him, slowly slipping a cherry into her mouth. She watched as he placed another piece into his mouth, slightly muffling his words.

"they're elsewhere, Raph is probably punching a bag right now, Mikey is playing video games, and Donnie's probably cooped up in his lab" He glanced at her, seeing her rather confused expression from the sudden new names. "Ah, those are my brothers! Or uh teammates as you said" She only hummed, nodding her head slightly.

"So just you?" She watched as he nodded, confirming.

"Yeah, gave them the night off, but a leader never sleeps" From his knelled position he placed his hands on his hips sticking a heroic pose. She couldn't help but giggle at his goofiness.

'How cute' She smiled, but her eyes lit up as an idea sparked. "If.. If you want, you could always come get me! That way you're not too lonely" She watched with baited breaths as a soft pink hue shaded his face. He couldn't comprehend what she'd just said... that was until a boyish grin spread across his face.

"Y-yeah! That sounds amazing please!" His response was hasty, not helping his ego at all. 'Damn it, Leo... Stay cool' With a gentle run of his hand over the top of his head, he composed himself. However, that didn't last long as he watched her reach down the front of her blouse. "I uh.. H-hey" He shut up rather quickly after watcher he removed what appeared to be a... 'lego block?'

"This was my master's! As a gift he gave it to me after I became a Kunoich," She smiled, gently taking and holding the block between her lips and blowing into it. With amazement, Leo watched as this small thing began to run and form around the bottom half of her face. "He used to call me the little Oni, so the mask was fitting"  Leo suddenly felt a wave of admiration wash over him, he remembered how Master Splinter would talk about the Japanese culture. How those who would ward off evil would wear such masks. With a gentle finger, he ran his thumb down the curve of the tooth.

"Oni... Meaning a Demon no? You wore this a... as a Kunoichi?"

"Still Do! Not as often because I don't fight much but hey! If I join ya it could be fun" She smiled, suddenly sucking her air, and the mask began to slowly break down again. "I mainly use throwing stars and kuni... I'm a heavy hand-to-hand combat fighter" She shifted, moving to stand. "I fight using the Dim Mak, also known as the touch of death" She smiled, watching as Leo shifted his head in confusion. "It's traditionally a Chinese fighting style" She swiftly explained, watching as he slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"Sounds increasingly cooler the more you explain" He gently leaned against the ledge of the building. With a content smile, he watched the sky, and for the first time in a while he could see the stars through the polluted air of New York... 'Man she's beautiful' the thought took him by surprise, causing him so clear his throat in an attempt to push the thoughts away. "So... What's your name?" She asked, reaching down to pluck a cherry from the container.  "I told you mine but... never got yous"

"O-oh right" He mentally slapped his forehead, how could he have forgotten such an important thing? "Leonardo, but my friends call me Leo"

"Leo..Le...O! Hehe cute I like it" He blushed watching as she continued to pronounce his names in various voices, splitting up the syllables here and there. He couldn't help the chuckle that left his throat, his hearty laugh seemed to be contagious because she followed with a cackle.

"HAHAH" She heaved, moving to lean against the edge with him, shaking her head at the spontaneous laughter. 'This feels right...' she slowly calmed herself, catching her stare lingering on the turtle far more meaningful than it should be. She could feel the head coating her face, a dark hue as silence fell for a moment, allowing the two to just stare at one other.

'Yeah this is right' Each shows their smile at their thoughts. However, this lovely little moment was cut fast by the sound of glass shattering from a few allies over. "Trouble" Both quick to action spurred towards the sound.  With a huff from her, her Oni mask was right back over the bottom portion of her face, and her hair was tucked into her hood. 'So fast' Leo couldn't help but awe at how quick she was to react to the sound, already prepared for a fight. With quick and agile movement they stood on the rooftop overlooking the Allie from which the noise had come.

"Hm," Leo focused seeing 4 men busting their way into a shop window... He squinted seeing the large logo on the back of their leather jackets he could recognize it anywhere.

"Purple Dragons?" Y/N read off the back, a confused tone riddling her voice.

"Yeah.. not much of a fight, just a local gang" Leo explained, pulling his swords.

"Fun nonetheless... Should I kill the Street Lights?" She smirked, raising her hand, a Shuriken placed between each of her fingers. "Got the street memorized?" She whispered.

"Uh.. Why exactly are you killing the lig" He was cut off, watching as she threw them all, striking each light perfectly sending the men into complete darkness. With a jaw dropped, Leo decided to simply watch her from the rooftop... more accurately he was too love-struck to move. She was so fast in the dark, hiding as if she lived within its shadows. It took a moment to find her after she had disappeared so fast. He finally spotted her sitting on the fire escape that sat right above the window.  He watched as Y/N waited... watched as she looked around before hearing a predator-like growl.

"You think it's fun messing with other people life's?" Her voice sounded deeper, as if it was being altered by the mask. Like an Oni had truly taken control. He watched as the men frantically looked around for the owner of such a voice. Each ready for a fight, the leader finally decides to speak up.

"Who.. Who's there?? We're the Purple Dragons! Show your face coward!" He screamed, thrusting his knife randomly through the air. With a quick chuck, a Kuni crashed into a trashcan before it was deflected and grazed the man's hand, causing him to drop the knife.

'Pinpoint persuasion' Leo gucked at her ability... He watched as she dropped down directly in front of the group. The men screamed, and the teeth of the mask emitted a dark red glow, it was barely enough to illuminate the mask but it made it all the more menacing.  With even louder shrills the men recognized that symbol anywhere. The five stages of grief could be seen running across their faces. Fearful for their own lives... The younger man of the group was looking around, searching for an escape... However, his thoughts were cut short when a Kuni pinned his sleeve to the brick wall behind him."I suggest you stop thinking before it gets you killed" She huffed, watching as 3/4 men dropped to their knees, cowardly like always.

"N-No We won't go down that easily" The largest stood, pulling a pistol from his hip, aiming it at her. Before he could even think of pulling the trigger, he was already dropped, unconscious on the floor. Leo had seen it all, as if in slow motion. The second he had reached for the gun, she had already moved, hitting pressure points behind his ear and the middle of his forehead.

"You fear those Turtles... the friendly Yokai... Now you shall fear the Oni that they fear" With pleaded eyes the men begged... the turtles... they knew exactly who she was referring to.

"PLEASE, WE BEG!! WE WON'T MESS WITH ANY MORE YOKAI"  The leader reached, tugging at his knocked friend... "Just please... Leave us Oni"

"If I ever see you again... your head will be my next meal" Y/N smirked as the men fumbled and scurried, picking up the big man and making a run for it. She suddenly felt a heated body standing a couple of feet from her. "Damn... for a big ass Turtle you're pretty quiet" She giggled, turning to meet Leo's electric blue eyes.

"S-sorry got caught up watching the show" He blushed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He was still awed at how easily she had handled them... not even breaking a sweat.

"Not bad right? Partner?" She asked, lifting her fist to pound it with his. He couldn't help the wide smile from forming, meeting her fist halfway... "Partners" He whispered.

The night blew by fast, with a quick exchange of numbers and a promise to meet the next, Leo left Y/N apartment giddy and lively.

(TIME SKIPP ... Yes it's long... felt bad for leaving y'all hanging for two weeks!!!)

It was the first time in years that Leo found sleep troubling... He tried meditating, counting sheep... but nothing was helping his running mind. As a last-ditch effort, he found his way into the Dojo. 'Damn Pretty Face... And that Gorgeous laugh' He huffed, sending shadow punch after shadow punch trying to rid his mind of her... "You like her Hamato admit it" He whispered to himself. He didn't want to... to think someone as perfect as her, strong, funny, kind-hearted, and funny... never would she ever think about him in such a way. "DAMIT LEONARDO SHES TO GOOD FOR YOU" He screamed, unconsciously waking his master. "You're the leader... supposed to be level headed not love-struck.... even if she is the most perfect girl"

"Leonardo?" Master Splinter exited his room, a concerned look on his face, "My son.. what is the matter?... Who is too good for you? and this perfect girl?"

'no no no no no' He was mentally panicking.... His face burned with embarrassment... "N-No one!"

"Leonardo" his voice was stern... "The last time you were in such a state was when you were battling your feelings for Karai" Splinter watched as Leo's eyes cast downward... His face flushed, knowing he could not get out of this.

"I... I found someone" He spoke in a whispered tone...

"A Woman?" Splinter confirmed stroking his beard.

"H-hai..." He slowly trailed his eyes up to meet his. "she's a human... but she's not like Karai... no she is so much better... Prettier, better fighter... more heroic" He found himself drowning in her memories once again. "B-But she's way out of my league" Now that it was already out there he decided to tell him everything... their meeting, their picnic, the show of strength she had... "Dad..." That was Splinter's indicator that he needed his father, not his teacher at this moment... "I really like her... but I'm a mutant Ninja turtle... she's a human... a Kunoich at that!"

"My son... Never doubt yourself... when it comes to love, it knows no bounds" He sighed softly. "It sees no difference in appearance and sees no distance... go after her... nothing to lose if you try" His words were soft, sincere, and wise.

"b-but I just met her... what if" He mumbled off.

"Love is powerful... While it might be too early to declare your love... seeing if she is interested wouldn't hurt" He set a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "Don't let time waste your potential experiences.... go out and take them"

"OKAY! I'M GOING NOW YEHA" He hugged his dad, thanking him before beelineing out the dojo.

"MAKE SURE YOU ARE HOME BY DAWN!!!" Splinter called a soft smile gracing his lips.

(AHHH EXAMS, ESSAYS, DUEL CREDIT, SCHOOL... BIRTHDAYS!!!! Ah don't we all just love High school??? Nobody? good to know yall read my sarcasm.

ANYWAYS!! Sorry this took so long... To be a Hero or maybe... gosh I'm hopping gets posted soon!! I have one more exam before my spring break and an Essay I gotta write BUT I'll try to fit it in somewhere.... FINAL STREATCH OF TEH YEAR... Gosh makes me wanna cry... ANYWAYS!!!!

Thank you all for the support and love!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY AND REMEMBER TO EAT, DRINK, AND LOVE YOURSELF BYEEEEEE LOVE YOU ALL)

[keeping-writing-frosty]

Chapter One, Western WIP, still not sold on the title yet

[Author's Note: This is the only full chapter I am going to share of this story. As I really want to try and either trad publish it or self-publish it. Still, I am really proud of this chapter and want to share it.]

The sun had risen high above head, having reached its apex in the vast azure sky which stretched on and on; the nickname big sky country fits here. There came a hot, dry wind which blew across the prairie grass, rustled the hardy shrubs and mesquite trees that thirsted for just a sip of water, which was not to come that day. An enormous figure leaned against the wall of Bent Creek Sundries & General Supplies. Dressed in a seasoned linen shirt, stained by the sun, sweat, and rain. It matched the faded denim pants, now its natural color from so long under the unforgiven Texan sun. Topping this imposing figure was a wide-brimmed hat which shielded her face and mismatched eyes with a faint shadow, all covering the chin-length orange-red hair that was pulled back behind her ears.

A smoldering cigarette between full lips highlighted her fair complexion and the multitude of freckles that seemed to be painted on with a delicately-tipped brush. The tip of the cigarette lit up as she took a long drag, lungs filled with the musky, rich smoke, and exhaled in such a languid manner as if she awaited something and nothing. Across her back, slung around her with a well-worn leather strap, was a Winchester ‘73 lever-action rifled with the blue-steel plate, not the fancy brass-plated ones. And it got plenty of usage—when needed, that was. Around her narrow waist, her father’s gun belt, inherited with no male siblings to speak of, along with a Colt Frontier six-shooter. Which, along with the rifle, used .44 rounds that were kept snug in the bullet loops. Looked quite a sight to those who thought women should be more prim and proper.

Being an enormous woman, broad-shoulder and strong; for a while she even disguised herself as a young man, and quite successful at that. With the lean, hard-boned face of a desert and prairie wander—it came easy to her once she bound her chest with some tight clothes and bandages. Though Alexandra gave that up a few months ago. Not possessing an ounce of softness about her, at least on the exterior. There could not be, the western frontier would eat her up if she did. Toughness shone through in every movement, that it became so ingrained in her, so deep that it penetrated into her soul. It came without cruelty, still quick, hard, and dangerous. If any source of gentleness existed within, it dug deep into the mines of her very being—well-guarded and bottomless, beyond any measurement and reach.

Across the dirt road, a young teenager yelled out about local news. More fighting, more death as despite the Civil War being long over, the former United States had fractured and now nation-states fight border wars to expand their own. Sometimes just to raid their neighbors for pride, resources, or just for the hell of it all.

An ill-wind came on the back of the teenager’s yelling. The type that only those familiar with danger could feel; despite this, the life of the town of Bent Creek continued on as normal. Men went about their daily tasks; horses trotted up and down the dusty street, some hitched to wagons laden with goods of all sorts. Whilst women in their frontier dresses and fancy skirts had their own business to attend to. Bent Creek had come a long way since Alexandra last came through the area, and somehow, that seemed to make her smile

Alex loved the taste of tobacco, rolling the cigarette between her lips as she pulled out her wallet to pull out the neatly-folded handbill. No one paid her any attention as she read it out-loud once again:

Cyrus Jackson, wanted for murder, theft, kidnapping, attempted murder, sodomy, buggery, and rape. He has been a plague on the God-fearing people of Bent Creek and Wilson County. A bounty of $500 dead or alive, on proof. Distinctive scar on chin from time in the Mexican-American war.

-Marshall Bill Carlson

Alex studied the poster for a long while. The criminal didn’t look like much, about as nondescript as one could get. Having looked at the poster for quite some time. She couldn’t miss him if he came into town. Which, according to a reliable source, would come into town disguised and looking to buy supplies. Which the shop-keep of this store said would be once every few weeks. This time, Alexa would greet him with the barrel of her iron. Just had to wait to see him, and hope that the old man did not set her up.

At the end of it all, this incident bolstered Alexandra’s reputation as a gun-woman and a bounty hunter. Though she never quite wanted such fame and infamy, today would go down in history as some time. To become immortalized in penny dreadfuls, under the name of Five Dead In Two Minutes, which for today was just a job. A means to an end.

Coming into town on a brown and liver-spotted mule with empty saddlebags that straddled the beast and ready for a heavy load was Cyrus, unmistakable despite the multi-colored, patch-worked poncho which covered his shoulders, and the rather ridiculous-looking, out-of-fashion stove-pipe hat pulled down just enough to try to cover his face.

How did he get away dressed like this? Alexandra pondered as he rode the mule towards the general store.

Once dismounted he hitched up his beast and lit up a thin cigar between his lips. A thick, dark brown beard almost obfuscated his face. Yet as he stepped by Alexandra, his spurs jingled-jangled, and the tip of the cigar lit up as he took a long draw from it. The words of her father came to mind, “always look past the obvious, lassie.” Past that bushy beard, past all the disguise that was obvious. This was her target, but he wasn’t alone.

No that would be too easy, just a moment later, Cyrus stopped and looked out toward three other riders who hitched their own mules alongside his own. Tough-looking men, clad in rough-spun cotton clothes, rawhide vests, and unshaven faces, they bore stoic looks about them. Guns on their hips, but only revolvers, neither one wielded any other. She didn’t care, however. Alex had her man.

“Cyrus Jackson, I knew you’d be here,” Alex stated, tone low as her hand already rested on the handle of her revolver. “Now, we can do this nice and easy, and you won’t have to die today” — her gun cleared leather before he could even react, same with his companions — “or we can do this the more exciting way. I got you dead to rights. So, raise your hands. Now! Your fellas too!”

“Girly—are you actually a girl?—you’ve got no idea who you’re fucking with.” Cyrus reached for the gun which rested against his hip.

Before the three men could react, Alexandra’s shot, a sharp crack split the air, dropped Cyrus. The bullet found its mark dead center in his chest. His companions, a frantic scramble of movement and the un-holstering of their revolvers, she rushed to use his body as a shield, before being peppered with a hail of bullets. There came that familiar acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with the coppery tang of blood, which showered her in a crimson spray that scattered the few remaining bystanders. The pair paused for a moment to reload, their movements stiff and clumsy, which allowed two precise shots from Alex’s weapon that silenced them. They slumped to the dry earth, their blood seeped into the dust, a dark strain spreading across the parched ground.

“Give it up, girl!” shouted a man from behind her. “Or I’ll kill ‘em!”

A man under a black cattle-skin hat and a bushy mustache pressed his gun against the temple of the old shop-keep. Who quaked and quivered as he kept begging the man to let him go as he sobbed. Which made the man dig the barrel of the gun hard against the old man’s head. Alexandra found no fear here, and with the Luck of God herself, placed a bullet right in the man’s exposed left shoulder. Forcing the shop-keep to be let go gave Alex just enough time to splatter the shelving behind him. But that was not the end, as another man burst through the back door with rifle in hand.

Alexandra dodged behind that same bit of wooden shelving, which had one bullet left in her revolver. Holstered it and slung over the rifle from her back. The way the shop’s layout worked out had the man having to come from one direction towards her. Floorboards squeaked as his tentative steps brought him closer and closer. Until he just came into view, Alex’s trigger finger was quicker. Which ended the man’s life and threat to her and all. And that, as they say, was that.

“What the fuck is going on here? Hey! Raise your hands!” The sheriff, a stout man, sauntered up with an armed deputy at his side, but after a moment, they lowered their guns. As a smile spread across his gruff, gray-bearded face. “Alexandra, I should have known. Are you alright?”

Taking a piece of cloth from a roll, Alexandra wiped the blood off her face. “That’s Cyrus Jackson out on the porch, and the other four are his nursemaids,” she stated rather matter-of-fact. “Also saved this poor sod’s life. You okay there, sir?”

The shop-keep nodded. Lacking for words, he uncorked a whiskey bottle before he took a quaff from it. “Aye, thank you, miss. I thought I was dead. Thank you so much.”

“Not today, Samuel. I believe she’s earned a bit of a reward. From both you and Texas.” The sheriff directed his deputy to clean up the mess as Samuel packed a cloth bag full of cigarettes, matches, a few bottles of whiskey, and some cans of food. Which Alexandra accepted with a nod and a smile, a little bonus.

Sheriff Williamson ushered Alexandra outside, where a crowd had gathered to gawk at the men who were dragging the bodies off. “Well, let’s get some of that blood washed off you. I need to send a telegram to Judge Murray. Then I will see about paying you, alright? Fantastic work,” his tone seemed genuine, as he carried himself as much. There stirred about him warmth, a fatherly type that reminded her so much of her own. “Follow me. I can at least give you a little bit to cover the cost of a bath, at least.”

At the end of the long dirt road, close to where the town used to end, but now stood the newly-built train station, was the Sheriff’s Office. Larger than the surrounding buildings, on top of its roof stood an equally-as-large sign that spelled out, in big bold yellow paint, what this building was. Standing under the awning on the wooden walking, a young man in a buckskin vest pinned with a brass star. Stood there with what seemed to be a permanent scowl upon his freshly-shaved features. Obvious that the concept of helping his fellows drag the corpses of the ne’er-do-wells to the back of the building for identification.

As this man spoke, his disdain spewed forth. “A woman did in Cyrus. Bullshit,” he scoffed. “Must have gotten slow, or weak, or some shit. Ain’t no way you could have taken him otherwise.”

“Clyde, go up and help the others. I do not want to hear another word from you about it. If you like your job, that is.” The Sheriff dismissed with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, sir,” he spat out as he strutted off. More words mumbled under his breath—words toward Alexandra, but it meant nothing to her. Unkind words by insecure people.

A smile danced across her rugged face, which showed the scar down her right cheek, when the sheriff apologized for his deputy. He went on about how he had to confirm the bounty, and that could take well into late afternoon. Until he could do that, he offered Alexandra ten dollars. More than enough to get cleaned up and get a room along with a hearty lunch.

She didn’t follow him inside after he handed over some cash. Instead, Alexandra struck a match and lit herself a cigarette. At the end of every job, a headiness filled her mind, filled her body and soul, and she liked to think that it came not just from the satisfaction of a job well-done, but from the gratitude from God above for helping rid his beautiful creation of its ugly elements. Mankind was flawed by any measure of it all, and if she could help just a little, no matter how dirty the work was, Alexandra believed herself righteous.

Strolling across the road, Alex cut in front of a couple of wagons that yelled at her in protest. Filled with trade goods heading towards the train station. Her destination was up the road aways and around the bend. The Crossroads Inn & Saloon, not as nice as The Taps over by the train station, that was more for tourists, wealthy wanderers, and those with far-too-much money than sense. Even if she could afford it, Alex preferred her establishments to be far less refined. Something about the ruggedness of where the common-folk go to relax.

Despite it just being noon, there lingered plenty of men and woman about the outside porch: traders with the stench of the road on them, ranch- and farm-hands covered in dirt, mud, and who-knows-what-else, and the occasional outlaw that wished for a peaceful drink and to not cause any issues. All stood under the awning, away from the unforgiven sun. Many eyes cast upon Alexandra as she walked up, but it was to be expected—she surely stood out amongst the people.

Being the tallest building in town, the saloon stood two-story high with a wrap-around balcony that covered three sides and descended into stairs on each end. Black and red with white trim and shutters. Through a set of swinging half-doors, Alex walked headfirst into an aroma-wall of cheap, bitter beer, warm whiskey and spirits, and that hint of perfume from the ladies-of-the-night that took up residence here regardless of the time of day. They sat around dressed to the nines, acting like they didn’t know the secrets of every man here, as well as their dicks between their thighs—not that Alex could blame them. The life of a woman without a husband was not an easy one. They, too, watched her with curious and analytical gazes.

A bartender wearing a bowler cap with dull blue eyes welcomed her in. “What can I get you, miss?” he asked.

“A whiskey and beer, sir.” Alexandra leaned against the bar as the weight of the day finally landed on her shoulder; exhaustion colored her thoughts, face, and every movement.

“Seventy-five cents, miss.”

“Prices gone up?” she inquired whilst cocking her head.

A frown crossed his face, which tilted his mustache a bit. “I’m afraid so. The president raised the taxes on such vices. I had to up my prices to keep the doors open.”

Alex nodded and placed a dollar-fifty on the beer-stained bar-top, in which he gave his thanks with the tip of his cap. Before he poured a perfect measure of amber-colored whiskey that smelled of smoke and oak, which burned all the way down like liquid fire and kept the insides warm without getting too hot. Afterwards, the cool beer elongated that sense of heady joy, relaxed the muscles and any soreness her body conveyed.

There came a woman a few years older than Alexandra herself, stepped through the swinging doors with a coy look upon her face. Dressed as prim and proper as a woman of wealth, her wide skirt made from the finest of emerald-colored silk. Which matched her blouse, and the tight jacket pulled across her thin, yet ample, torso. A small Parisian-style fancy hat, with a veil that covered her face just so, as in the style of those from New Orleans last time Alexandra was down there. Her beady green eyes shone with a cunningness and intelligence many men would not expect from her gender, cast themselves upon Alex as soon as she stepped in—hard to miss her. Which formed a smile to cross her angular, sun-kissed face.

“Good afternoon, Arthur,” this unique and interesting woman spoke with a melodic tinge to her voice. “A glass of your finest red wine, please.”

With practiced ease, he poured a glass of sanguine-colored wine almost to the rim of the glass. Upon the bottle itself, it read the word Porto upon it, yet the rest was in a language she knew nothing of.

“Two dollars, madam,” Arthur smiled as he informed her.

Alexandra interjected, “on me this time,” as she tossed three silver dollars on the bar.

“Thank you so much, miss,” the woman took the glass stem between two perfectly-manicured fingers and took a languid sip with her ruby-red-colored lips. “Oh, this is fantastic. Love this vintage, Arthur. Please keep it, and I shall be here every day,” she stated, before turning her attention back to Alexandra. “I’m Katharina, by the by. Thank you again.”

“Not a problem, miss. I’m Alexandra O’Conner, and anything for a pretty face,” Alex replied with that sly charm she possessed and a toothy smile.

“I bet you say that to every pretty girl that strolls up to the bar,” Kat joked, eyeing Alexandra for a moment. “You’re the one everyone is talking about, right? Brought down Cyrus Jacksom with that big dust up by the general store.”

There passed a long moment between them as Alexandra finished her beer. She glanced at the beautiful woman and tried not to seem like a lecherous fool. “Aye, that was me. I’m a bounty hunter, both by trade and necessity.”

“Necessity?” Katharina questioned as her curiosity-filled gaze never left Alexandra, wine glass still perched between her fingers.

“Always a need for righteous people to keep the common-folk safe from the unrighteous, evil men out there. Sometimes a lawmen can’t, or most cases won’t, be able to do so. Especially those outlaws who cross over borders and complicate things. So, I go out to track ‘em down and all, usually to kill ‘em and bring ‘em back.”

“Not usually a woman’s work, right?” Katharina asked.

With a shrug of her broad shoulders, Alexandra said, “I was never normal to begin with.”

Kathrina’s smile grew ever wider and nodded. Finishing her wine, she brought out a tiny purse and pulled out a long, thin cigarette. Of which Alex lit for her before lighting her own. “Normal is boring anyway. Don’t you think so, Miss Alex?”

“Most assuredly.” Alexandra puffed out a few rings from the smoke in her lungs. “How long are you in town for, Miss Katharina?”

“I was actually raised here, even if I’ve spent the last few years between Paris and New Orleans. But know, you’ll be a hero here for the next little bit. Enjoy it, as you can.” Katharina held a look on her face so that Alexandra couldn’t quite place what. “I must leave, for now. Thanks again for the drink. I am sure we’ll see each other soon enough. Have a good day, Miss Alexandra.”

When Alexandra arrived back at the sheriff’s office, its atmosphere thick with tobacco smoke and the stench of moonshine. Sheriff Williamson gave her the four hundred dollars owed to her, plus a firm handshake. Before he leaned back in his plush, leather-bound chair, with a chewed, unlike cigar between his lip. Deep brown eyes seemed to stare deep into Alex’s soul for a long moment. Perched behind his enormous desk, covered in an unfathomable amount of paperwork, which the sheer idea caused a headache to rise in Alexandra’s forehead.

“Would you like to make a three hundred more?” The sheriff asked after a moment. “Not today but setting up a posse to go find the James Fuller gang just north of the Mexican border. Can never have enough guns by my side.”

Saying not a word as Alex lit her cigarette, she looked around the building for a moment. Rather spartan in its design, with four cells constructed into the walls themselves. Two deputies sat around a table playing a rousing game of dominoes, which included far too many foul words filled with both mirth and friendly insults and jabs.

“Sheriff, you got a deal. That gang’s been a blight upon Texas for as long as I could recall.”

“Wonderful, I’ll talk to Arthur at the Crossroads. I’m sure I can convince him to go cheap with a room and a bath. I appreciate your help; Bent Creek appreciates it as well as Texas herself.” Sheriff Williamson stood up to usher Alex towards the door. “In two days’, time, maybe three depending. Either way, I’ll be in touch when it is time.”

****

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[obsessive-ego]

Pest of the west

Toonjuice x reader

Warning cringe

Gender neutral pronouns, pregnancy is mentioned once, also reader is forced to wear a dress

A shameless episode rewrite, swapping lydia for y/n and making it into a reader insert, I can not stress this enough, I just rewrote the episode to fit what I wanted, If this goes over well i might do more episode rewrites

Toonjuice takes you to the old west to goof off, and shit gets bad when an out law named bully the crud falls in love with you

"Come to the netherworld he said, it'll be fun he said, we'll go to the old west, you could use a good time, god" you grumbled to yourself, here you were handcuffed, wearing the ugliest, largest wedding dress you've ever seen in your life, hell, the size of the dress was the second reason stopping you from running from this cruel fate, the first being the groom. Not only were you handcuffed, your soon to be husband had a vice grip on your arm, a giant bull of a monster, Bully the Crud, you had no idea why this bastard wanted you, or why beetlejuice, scared out of his wits, ditched you to fend for yourself, all you knew was that you were screwed.

...

Finally, friday, it's been a long, rough work week. Between overtime, unreliable coworkers, and your bastard of a boss using you as a punching bag, you were beat.

Home again, you kick off your shoes, toss your bag and coat on the couch, and make the mental note to tidy up later. More importantly, you make your way to your bedroom, eager for the best part of the work day, changing out of your work clothes.

Passing the full-length mirror in your room, out of the corner of your eye, you notice the reflection wasn't yours.

"Hey BJ" you say casually, not bothering to look his way as you dig around your dresser for something more comfortable.

"It's about time you finally came around, babes,"

"Yeah, overtime again," you sigh

"Gross"

"Tell me about mister 'I don't have a job.'" You laugh, turning to the mirror to see that beetlejuice was gone.

"Huh," you mumble, scooping up your change of clothes. "Guess he had things to do?" You mumble.

Just then, you jump as the television in your bedroom turns on, loud static noises buzz from the speakers before an image settles on screen.

"Beetlejuice?"

Your television lights up showing a desert like scenery, with cactus, wired fences, cow skulls, and there was beetlejuice, dressed in cowboy attire

"That's my name, and cow poking is my game,Are you tired of the same old same old boring modern breather lifestyle?"

"Yeah" you chuckle

"Are ya in desperate need for a change of pace? Then mosey on down to the netherworld's wild west rude ranch, conveniently located in tombstone scareizona"

"There's a wild west in the netherworld? Like cowboys and stuff?" The ghoul had your full attention now, maybe sometime goofing off in the netherworld could do you some good, and the wild west would seem like something new and fun.

"Cowboys, cowghouls, just spout those magic b words, and we'll be ghost town bound"

what's the worst that could happen?

"Beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice!" You shout in a hurry, and in a flash you were gone, your change of clothes now abandoned on the floor where you once stood.

...

And there you were in the scenery you saw on your television, sand, cactus, cow skulls, all the cliches of an old west movie. Your work clothes now replaced with more appropriate attire, a black cowboy hat, with a matching vest, a soft blue coloured puffy sleeved shirt, with a dusty blue neckerchief, black pants, with a big skull shaped belt, and of course some big black boots, you look liked you walked out of freddy pharkas frontier pharmacist, but appreciated the wardrobe change, it was always so fun when your clothes changed when beetlejuice dragged you into the netherworld, it was something you grew to look forward to with each trip. Your adoration for the new look was short-lived as you glanced around, unable to locate your friend.

"Beetlejuice?"

Did he ditch you?

"Oh bury me~ on the lone prairie~"

The ground next to you shakes before beetlejuice's head pops up from the dirt and unearths the rest of himself. "Welcome to the netherwest babes! I'm your ghost host with the most, should you have any questions, I'll be sure awnser them, as obscurely as possible" the ghoul proudly proclaims as he struts away from the grave he pulled himself out of.

"So this is the netherwest, it looks fun"

"Of course, babes, it has everything an old west motife should have, sun, sand, more cliches, then you can shake a stick at," the ghost hollers, shaking a stick at a cow skull

"Sounds great, beej," you chuckle, grabbing his arm, eager to see the sights, and get your mind off your work week.

"And dont you worry toots, if you're fretting on being bush wacked by bad guys, you're fretting for nothing"

"Oh? You some kind of old West hero?" You chucke, amused by his sudden confidence.

"You kidding, babes? Nobody messes with the pest of the west, I'll show ya what I mean later, " he cackles leading you into town

"Pest is right" you smile

...

The two of you were having a blast, beetlejuice eagerly showing you the sights, dragging you around town, you both were laughing and carrying on, you really needed this after such a shitty work week, you could always rely on beetlejuice to change your mood for the better.

It was all fun and games until your ghost, with the most, got kicked by a horse into a trough of dirty water. You were trying not to laugh at him as you helped him out.

"This has got to be the closest thing I've taken ta a bath in months," he grumbled

"It's surely an improvement." You laugh, hoisting your friend out of the water,

"Excuse me" an unfamiliar voice interrupts the two of you "allow me to introduce myself" standing in front of you was a man shaped like a dartboard and a tiny purple guy who's shirt was way too long for him.

"Howdy there stranger, The name's casualty, hop along casualty, I'm the mayor of this here tombstone and this is fester, we all in the market for a new sheriff, know anybody who'd be intrested in such a noble and HIGH paying job?"

"What-" was all you managed to get out before beetlejuice perked up

"DO I? Look no further, I am the slob for the job!" Beetlejuice lunges forward, eager to shake the mayor's hand before you pull him back

"Uh, beej? You a law man? Do you even know any laws?"

"Dont rob people"

"Oof, that's on me, I set the bar too low, but weren't we just here to have fun? And besides sheriff? Ya know, that's a lot of hard work, " the ghoul's one weakness. Maybe the mentioning of work would be enough for him to decline, and the two of you could go back to goofing off.

"WORK?! YUCK!" Beetlejuice shouts, you smile, there's the ghost you know and love more than you're willing to admit.

"Maybe the breather is right. Maybe the job would be too much for this tender foot to handle," casualty loudly proclaims as he and his sidekick walk away

"TENDER FOOT!?"

Great, now they had him. Beetlejuice was always a sucker for reverse psychology.

"Can a tender foot do this?" Beetlejuice proceeds to 'show off' his so-called slime shooting skills, loudly proclaiming he could shoot his hat before it touched the ground.

The hat went up into the air and beetlejuice went trigger happy, the ghost hit everything BUT the hat, you were smart enough to take cover, the ghost proved in a matter of seconds slime shooting was something he had to cross out on his resume, as he proceeded to cover the towns folk in slime.

But yet the mayor was still eager to hire him.

"Beetlejuice, come on, seriously? you're the worst guy for the job, you lie, cheat, steal, hell you're wanted in 5 different states, and 6 provinces, plus we just got here, why would anyone want you to be sheriff? There's obviously a catch, think about it, " you pleaded with him, your words fell of deaf ears, beetlejuice was too excited with all the glory that came with his new title.

"Beetlejuice, I wouldn't do this if I were you -" You try again only to be shoved aside by the mayor, who was more than ready to slap that star shaped badge on Beetlejuice's chest.

"Congratulations, son, you're exactly what we're looking for!"

"This is a joke, right?" You groaned with arm crossed annoyed over the whole situation.

The mayor dragged Beetlejuice to the group of townsfolk who gathered in the street to see what all the commotion was about.

"Attention, yall, I'd like ya to meet our new sheriff"

The crowd cheered, and Beetlejuice drank in all the attention and praise being showered upon him, while you just stood there trying to put two and two together.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, bully the crud will be here at high noon," the mayor starts

"And he's gonna do terrible, horrible things to you -" Fester continues

"Great," you grumble, there it was, so much for a fun time.

A bell gong rings through the town, and in a matter of seconds the towns folk were gone, leaving only you and Beetlejuice standing in the middle of the street, you pull your phone out of your pocket, though you had no service, it still worked like a clock, time in the netherworld worked differently, though it was evening when you left, it was day time when you arrived, your phone always acted accordingly, it was weird, and you didnt understand it, but you werent complaining.

"Noon," you say in a whisper, your stomach now turning with dread. What the hell did beetlejuice just sign up for?

The ground rumbles, you grab the ghoul's arm out of nervousness, and in a sandstorm cloud of dust a pig pulled carriage charges into tombstone, making a hasty hault in front of the two of you. The door swings open, and there stands what you can only assume is bully the crud, a big bull of a man, snarling and staring down the two of you.

"I'm looking for trouble," he growls

Beetlejuice snorts "never met 'em, you know anyone by that name babes?" The ghoul gives you a nudge. You shake your head

"That ain't what I ment, that was a figure of speech! Which one of the two of you are the sheriff?!"

You clamp your mouth shut, you werent gonna rat out your friend or take the blame. Beetlejuice did the same.

Bully huffs through his nose before grabbing you by your neckerchief

"You better spill -" in the rough movement of grabbing you, your hat got knocked off, your eyes no longer hidden in shadow.

"You better, better- why, arent you a pretty little thing" bully sets you down, and hands you your hat "why you ring my bell little meadow muffin, hows 'bout you give ol'bully a kiss" you cringe at his change in mood and utter out a "what?" More confused than anything else, not to mention disgusted.

Beetlejuice quickly pulls you away, a tad angry over how this overgrown hamburger was now hitting on you, HIS best friend.

"I'm the sheriff round these parts, and this here is my deputy." The ghoul snatches your hat from your hands and roughly puts it back on your head.

"I never agreed to that," you grumble, adjusting your hat.

"YOU'RE THE NEW SHERIFF?!" the bull bellowed, followed by a fit of laughter

"And who might you be?" Beetlejuice puffed out his chest, squaring up to the monster

"I'm bully the crud, the meanest ombre that ever licked a law man," he shouted

"Ya know you look a lot bigger than your eight by tens. Were you sick on picture day?" Beetlejuice laughs, pulling a photo from his pocket

"Enough small talk, I came to run you outta town, and that's what I aim ta do." The bully snorts

"Alright, bully, make your move," beetlejuice snorts reaching for his slime shooter

In a matter of second, the monster grabs beetlejuice with one hand, tightly wrapped about his gut, squeezing the afterlife out of him

"Nice move" beetlejuice croaks

"Wait!" You shout, dead or not, that's got to hurt

Bully drops Beetlejuice, his attention now on you

"Sweet little meadow muffin, ya change your tune about giving ol' bully that kiss?" He coos, quickly making his way in front of you and grabbing your hands. His voice was much less harsh when addressing you. It was nauseating.

"Ugh," you flinch. You'd prefer the same hostility he's shown towards beetlejuice over this 'sweet' side in a heartbeat.

As disgusted as you were, this little exchange, it was enough of a distraction to get beetlejuice back on his feet.

In a flash your ghost host with the most pulls you away from the Bull's grasp

"Back off bovine breath," he snorts, jabbing bully in his chest. "I hope you dont mind me asking, but what's your BEEF with this town anyway? Cuz we'd kinda like ya to just MOO-ve along" with each cow related joke beetlejuice pushed bully back away from you, you bit your tongue, trying not to laugh, despite Beetlejuice's confidence, you werent too sure how dangerous this guy really was, and besides, beej was doing enough laughing for the both of you.

You remained silent watching beetlejuice roll on the floor laughing at his own jokes, that is until Bully has had enough of the ghoul's shenanigans and snaps and screams.

"NOBODY MAKES A LAUGHING STOCK OUT OF BULLY THE CRUD!"

Beetlejuice hops back to his feet and laughs

"Beej, I think you should get serious here," you urge. Yes, you know beetlejuice was a powerful ghost, but he was also a dumbass.

He snorts, "Come on, babes, you worry too much. This over sized hamburger is all bark and no bite, ya know what I mean?" Beetlejuice gives you a half-hearted shrug, turning away from Bully.

Of course, Beetlejuice wasn't as freaked out as you were, he wasnt the one getting kissy faces from a cow.

"Relax, babes, remember what I told ya earlier? Nobody messes with the pest of the west-!?" Beetlejuice freezes. While he spent his time ignoring bully and flapping his gums at you, the bull took his opportunity and painted a large yellow stripe on Beetlejuice's back.

"THE SHERIFF GOT A YELLOW STREAK DOWN HIS BACK!" A voice screams

were the towns folk watching this whole mess?

"You calling me a chicken?!" Beetlejuice screams back

"Boo" bully leans into him and whispers in Beetlejuice's ear

And that was all it took to turn your friend into a giant yellow chicken

Beetlejuice scrambled and clucked away from bully, hopping on the nearest horse and riding out of town.

"Fuck" was all you could say watching your friend ride out of view, you were now screwed.

You were pulled from the spot and hoisted up into bully's arms

"Now that I ran sheriff stinko out of town, let's have us a wedding♡"

"...I just have one question for you"

"Well sure there honey"

"What's the capital on Thailand?"

"What?"

"Its Bangkok!" You shout slamming the heel of your boot into bully's crotch.

Bully drops you and screams. You quickly scramble away, thankful that stupid joke worked.

Your freedom was shortly lived, you didnt get far, no building would let you in, citizens too frightened to what Bully might do to them if they were caught harboring someone he wanted, which was fair in a sense.

Bully pulls you back into his arms and laughs. "You should be more careful there, my little meadow muffin, you dont wanna damage the family jewels, we're gonna need em"

Beetlejuice wherever you are please come back.

...

As you were being prepared/forced to marry a literal monster, Beetlejuice was in the middle of the desert not too worried about you, back to his old abnormal self, arguing with a horse.

"So your not gonna head back to tombstone? What about your friend?"

"Y/n? They're fine, they're the toughest living thing I've ever had the privilege to scare" he waves his horse off, despite all the teasing the ghoul gave you he held a very high opinion of you and just assumes you could take on bully no problem. "They could take on a whole herd of Bully the cruds, no sweat"

...

"Y/n's sure taking their sweet time, I'm beginning to worry" Beetlejuice sighs

"I told ya, bully the crud is one tough side of beef. Do you have any idea what's gonna happen to your little friend if you dont run him outta town?" The horse nags.

Beetlejuice snorts, "Yeah, like I can see the future -" in a flash, Beetlejuice's cowboy attire was replaced with to resemble swami, with a big crystal ball nestled in his lap.

The ghoul snorts out a laugh

"Now let's see if I can get a clear picture on this thing" beetlejuice focuses on the orb and what he sees makes his stomach turn, not only did you fail on rescuing yourself from his mess, you were forced into marriage with that monster, your living status was now gone, you were barefoot and pregnant in a kitchen, and all because of him.

"Y/N! SAY IT AIN'T SO! Y/N AND BULLY ARE GONNA GET HITCHED!"

...

So here you were, hand cuffed, now gagged, in the ugliest puffy dress you ever seen, standing before a minister with you future husband who had a vice grip on you and no way out, you were trapped, you couldnt run, you could barely speak, every objection from your mouth was quickly muffled by Bullys sweaty hands to the point the bull gagged you to make things easier for this mess of a ceremony, if you could manage a few words you would have said the B word 3 times before this got this far. Your time was running out, and your hopes of beetlejuice coming to save you were getting slimmer by the second.

"We are gathered here today to join these two in matrimony, be there any man, or beast" the father gesturing to the side of the church filled with what you could only assume is  Bullys extended family. "Who feels that this here wedding should not take place, let them hold up their hand, or hove, or forever hold their cud," the minister laughs nervously

This was it. You were doomed, there was nothing you could do, you stood there staring forward, utterly lost in despair.

"GET ON WITH IT!" Bully bellows tugging you in closer. This had to be a nightmare, right? Any second your alarm would go off, right? Waking you from this disaster, right?

"That's it! The only thing left to say is, I now pronounce you cow and-!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE PARSON! I OBJECT!"

You whip your head around, knowing that voice anywhere, there he was, your knight in stinking armor, standing at the entrance of the hall, rushing towards you.

"This lil' thing is spoken for" beej spats before pulling you away from Bully, with a snap of the ghoul's fingers your restraints vanish, with your new found freedom you were quick to embrace him, silently thanking the stars he came back in the nic of time.

"How dare you try and marry MY fiance!"

"Your what?" You mumble

"Your fiance?! They ain't got a ring to prove that!"

"Oh?~" Beetlejuice grabs your wrist and shoves your hand in Bully's face, "then what's this?" Placed upon your middle finger was a very large, very tacky, bright green jewel on a black and white striped band, a ring that sure wasn't there 2 minutes ago.

"I-?!" The bully stutters

"You didn't notice? were you too busy forcing my little cockroach into this mess you couldnt be asked to see if they've been already spoken for, I bet you wouldnt listen to a word they said" each word the ghoul spoke he would jab the bull in the chest, he was really laying on the country twang, you couldnt help bit crack a smile knowing the danger of you being married to that monster was gone, not to mention Beetlejuice saying you were his fiance, it was cute and it made your heart skip a beat.

This mirth was short-lived, though, as Bully had had enough of Beetlejuice's shenanigans, with a snarl and a bellowing howl.

"NOBODY CUTS OFF MY NUPTIALS  AND GETS AWAY WITH! IT'S TIME WE SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"Yeah"

"AND THAT MEANS ONLY ONE THING"

"Name it"

"SLIMESHOOTERS AT 60 PACES"

"YOU GOT IT!"

Bully stomps out of the church to get ready for the dual

Beetlejuice quickly pulls you aside

"Alright babes, let's get out of here, just say those magic b words, and we can amscray," he whispers to you.

"We can't"

"right- WHAT?! WHY?! - I mean, why? Cat got your tongue? Suddenly, you lost your voice? Or, oh no, dont tell me ya changed your mind and ACTUALLY WANT TO MARRY THAT CHUMP??" The ghoul grabs you shoulders and shakes you as if to knock some sense into you.

You brush his hands away "no, Beetlejuice, we cant leave, if we leave Bully is gonna destroy this town and everyone in it, I can't live with that on my shoulders" despite the fact that you hung around with a professional con man, you yourself were honest and kind, and to be the cause of such misery, you could never forgive yourself.

"Like I'm gonna lose sleep over that-" he grumbles

"Please beetlejuice, I'm asking you as a friend, and after you ditching me, I think you owe me" you gesture to the awful dress you were forced in, not to mention how if he was seconds late you could have been hitched to a literal monster.

"Fine" he grumbles

"Besides you're dead, what do you have to lose?"

Beetlejuice groans

"Also, can I ask one more thing of you, Beej? Can you get me out of this dress?" You tug at the tooling. You could barely move, and the fabric was quite itchy.

"Y/n! In front of so many people, and in a church! Well, if you insist, " the ghoul gingerly reaches for the zipper on your dress before you swat his hand away, clearly embarrassed

"I ment with magic." You sigh, not really in the mood for games

"Right, I knew that, just messing with ya," he chuckles sheepishly. With another snap, you were back in your cowboy attire

"Thank you, now, now what about bully?" You sneer

"Sit tight, babes, Bully's got a date with the sheriff"

"No, we can beat him together." You give the ghoul a light punch in the arm, still a little sore he left you behind.

...

Like any other western movie cliche, beetlejuice and bully square off in the center of town

"Please, for the love of god cheat," you grumble, watching this soon to be mess from the sidelines.

"That would be ideal, your friend there couldn't hit the ground with his hat," the mayor buts in to your mutterings

"But I think I have something dumb enough it might just work -" you muse before running off.

"This is it bully. It's time to separate the men from the bulls. There's no tomorrow. It's now or never, the cheese stands alone!"

"Quit stalling and draw!" Bully sneers, absolutely fed up with Beetlejuice's nonsense.

"Draw? I'm a little rusty, but I'll give it a go. " Beetlejuice snorts swapping his cowboy hat for a beret, pulling a canvas and easel out of nowhere

"Now I'm gonna need ya to keep that pose for the next few hours -"

Bully screams in frustration, ripping the canvas away from Beej and slamming it over head

Beetlejuice unfazed snorts. "I really get into my work"

"I'm gonna give you one last chance to draw beetlejerk, or else I'm gonna start without ya, NOW DRAW!"

Beetlejuice swallows the lump in his throat "I guess this is it, theres no turning back now"

"Hold it!"

"Y/n!" Beetlejuice shouts, glad to see you

"Hey Bully I've change my mind about marrying you!" You shout

"WHAT!? Babes have you lost your mind?!"

"You have?! Oh honey I'd knew youd come around♡"

You run into the center of the action and with Bully distracted, you toss beetlejuice a different pistol

"Shoot!" You shout

"OH!" Beetlejuice fumbles with the gun before taking clear aim and firing, but instead of slime, a red sauce came out, covering bully, you let out a sigh you didnt know you were holding, the fact that beetlejuice ACTUALLY hit bully was nothing other than luck.

"Huh?! BARBEQUE SAUCE?! GET IT OFF OF ME" Bully screams

"I dont know about you, babes, but I could eat." beetlejuice growls, scraping a knife and fork together.

Bully scared for his afterlife screams and scrambles out of tombstone, off into the sunset and out of sight.

"Thank god" you sigh, absolutely physically and emotionally exhausted

"We did it, babes!" Beetlejuice pulls you into a side hug

"Yeah" you chuckle

"Sheriff, we can't thank you enough." The mayor shakes Beetlejuice's hand

"Yup, bully the crud won't be bothering this town anymore, so long as you keep plenty of barbeque sauce on hand, but alas, it's about time I hung up the old slimeshooters" beetlejuice sighs

"WHAT?!" The mayor of tombstone drops to the ground and hugs Beetlejuice's knees."NO! dont quit, is it because of me, because I got you to take the job with trickery, dishonesty, and deceit?"

Beetlejuice snorts out a laugh "heck no  I like that in a guy, but no, I'm hanging up my guns for personal reasons, all this mud are ruining my boots"

The mayor sighs, "we lose a lot of them that way..."

"We should get going, Beej." You finally interrupt, desperate to get home and rest.

Beetlejuice perks up. "So babes, how's bout a thank you for your hero, huh?" Beetlejuice  leans into you, wiggling his eyebrows

"A 'thank you' to the guy whose fault I almost married to cow?" You snort out a laugh

"I came back in the nic of time, didn't I? Come on, come on, come on~" the ghoul teases, nudging his elbow into your arm.

You yank beetlejuice by his neckerchief pulling him close to your level, that was enough to get him to shut his mouth, and in an instant, you give him a quick, soft kiss on his cheek.

Letting him go, he remains stunned. You give the ghoul a light punch in the arm

"Come on, beetlejuice, let's go home"

"...Right"

It was odd, everytime you've shown beej kindness or compassion, he would always go off saying it was 'gross' but this time that wasnt that case, he remained silent, which after the day you had, you were fine with that.

Bonus

To be honest, you were exhausted, between a rough work week and that whole emotional nearly married to a monster thing. You nearly passed out when you returned home.

But now all that was behind you and you were home again, safe and unwed.

In the netherworld, the ghoul who dragged you into the situation/ saved you was laying awake in his bed, hand gingerly placed upon the cheek you so quickly kissed.

Yes, beetlejuice has kissed you multiple times, but as a joke, sort of, but this? You kissing him? With genuine feeling?

"Gross" was all he could utter, hand still holding the spot where your lips met his cold face.

[muridae3]

Cop Cutie | Harvey x Reader

After a little accident at the Spirit's Eve Festival, Doctor Harvey helps the Farmer recover from an injury.

Spirit’s Eve was not your favorite holiday.

It arrived at the crux of the harvest season– there were pumpkins to be picked, wine to age, hay to gather, and a seemingly endless amount of chores to get done before the snow hit come winter.

And yet, you found yourself dressing up to attend the very festival you swore you wouldn’t have time for.

The dressing up part was new– Lewis had insisted upon it, calling it an ‘opportunity for camaraderie’ between the townsfolk.

After rummaging through your closet, you decided to wear a blue hat, yellow and green shirt, red pants, and purple boots. Bam– you were a prismatic shard.

If nothing else, at least it would make a few people laugh. 

After checking on your chickens one last time, you left the farm, squinting to see in the dark. 

The town square was completely transformed for the festival: Gus had set out several tables absolutely heaping with food, Marlon had some sort of live skeleton exhibit, and Pierre had set up shop by the entrance of the maze, as always. 

“Hiya, farmer!” Marnie said, waving at you. 

“Hi, Marnie! Hi, Jas!” You smiled at both of them. Marnie was dressed in a feathered shirt, and she had painted a beak on her face. Jas was dressed exactly like Penny. 

“Oh! Are you Miss Penny!” You asked. 

“Mhm! And that means I’m a grown up! And that means that I can go in the maze!” Jas chirped, puffing out her chest. 

“No, Jas. You’re too young.” Marnie chided. “Come on, let’s go get some pumpkin pie.”

“Wait, I’ll take her.” You offered. “We won’t go far, I’ll keep her safe.”

“Oh, are you sure? Jas can be quite a handful…”

“Aw, I can handle her! C’mon, Jas,” You held out your hand, “Let’s go take on that maze!”

Jas took your hand and immediately pulled you into the maze. 

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” You laughed as she tugged you along.

“Woooooow, the maze is so cool!” Jas gawked. 

“Slow down, Jas. There are a few obstacles—look, that gravestone almost blends into the shadow!” You tried to keep your balance as Jas tugged you faster through the maze, her enthusiasm contagious. Your foot caught on something solid. “Wait, Jas, watch ou—” A sudden jolt, and you found yourself tumbling forward, the fake gravestone scraping your leg as you hit the ground.

“Oh no!” Jas crouched at your side. “Are you okay?”

“I think so…” You sat up, rubbing the back of your head. “My ankle…” A throbbing pain shot up your leg. 

“I’ll… I’ll go get doctor Harvey!” Jas sprinted away.

“Wait, Jas, don’t go by yourself— oh, sweet Yoba…” You sighed, leaning against the hedge wall. 

Jas soon returned, a police officer behind her. “I’m baaack!” 

You were confused– Pelican Town had no police force. “I’m sorry, sir, there must have been a mistake…”

“Um, actually… It’s me.” Harvey said sheepishly, removing his hat. “Borrowed the costume from Pierre, heh. Pretty convincing, right?”

“I didn’t even recognize you!” You tried to sit up. 

“Easy, now. Go slow.” Harvey sat next to you. “Jas said you tripped?”

“Yeah…” You laughed awkwardly, gesturing to the fake gravestone. “I think I did something to my ankle.”

“Let me take a look.” He shimmied over to your ankle. “Mind if I touch you?”

“By all means, go ahead.” 

He gently palpated your ankle. “Does that hurt?”

You winced. “A little.”

“Can you try and rotate it for me?”

Though it was painful, you managed to rotate your ankle in a full circle.

“Thank you.” He turned to look at you. “Good news– It doesn’t seem broken, just a bad sprain.”

You sighed, leaning back onto the hedges. This would certainly slow down your harvest on the farm. 

“I can take you to the clinic and wrap it for you, if you like.” Harvey offered.

“Oh, um, sure.” You snapped back into reality. “Oh, Jas, are you okay?” 

Jas’s eyes were filled with tears. “I’m so sorry you got hurt! I’ll never go into the maze again, never, never, never!”

“It was an accident.” You said. “It’s okay, really.”

“You don’t have to stay out of the maze forever,” Harvey said, helping you to your feet, “But it is important to be very careful and aware of our surroundings.”

Jas nodded rapidly. 

“Go back to Marnie, now.” Harvey said, leaning your weight on him. “I’m sure she’s wondering where you are.” 

Jas turned back towards the entrance to the maze, slowly making her way back to her aunt.

“Okay, let’s try to walk. Let me know if there’s any pain.” Harvey said, slowly moving forward.

You became acutely aware of where Harvey's hands gently held your waist, his fingers firm but careful. A flutter of nervousness bloomed in your chest—strong, yet soft, and he held your weight like it was nothing. You glanced up at him, catching the faintest smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and you quickly looked away, hoping he couldn’t feel the heat rising in your cheeks. Why was this making you so flustered?

“So… forgive me if this is rude, but… what’s your costume?”

“Oh, I’m… I’m a Prismatic Shard.” You said, a slight laugh in your voice. “I didn’t really have any other ideas.”

He brushed a stray curl out of his face, glancing at you nervously. “I’m definitely taller than Pierre…” he said with a sheepish smile, gesturing at the too-short hemline and his exposed ankles. 

“I think you look great, Harvey.” 

Harvey cleared his throat. “Um… Okay, here we are. That’s the hard part done.” He sighed as you exited the maze. “There are stairs, would you mind if I…” He cleared his throat. “Is it okay if I carry you down the stairs? Because of your ankle, I mean.”

A sudden heat rushed to your face, and you prayed the dim light hid the color spreading up your neck. “I, uh… yeah, sure,” you mumbled, trying to ignore the way your heart raced in your chest.

He lifted you onto his back, and the two of you quickly descended the stairs and entered the clinic. 

“Here we are.” He lowered you onto an exam table before retrieving a roll of athletic tape from a drawer. “Can I see your ankle?”

You swung your legs up onto the exam table. 

He quickly wrapped your injured ankle, and the pain quickly subsided. 

“It feels much better. Thank you, doctor.” You said, smiling.

“Of course, Farmer. I’m always happy to help you.”

“I guess I’m in here a lot, huh…” you said, laughing slightly.

“I believe your trips to the mines have single-handedly depleted my stock of saline and bandages for the month… I put in an order for more yesterday.” He said.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with me so much… I’ll try to be more careful.”

“No, no… I mean, yes, I do want you  to be more careful, but I don’t mind treating you. You’re my friend, this is the least I can do for you.”

You smiled. “Thanks, Harvey.”

“Now,” he said, standing, “Do you plan to stay at the festival much longer? Gus has some spiced apple cider that I think you’d love.”

“Well, I was planning to go home… but cider sounds good.” You stood, taking his offered hand.

Arm and arm, the Police officer and the Prismatic Shard returned to the festival, both a little happier and both unsure why.

[ratisangy]

Realities Of RV Living

I feel this needs to be discussed as sadly it may become more of an option for many people as the cost of living increases. I want to provide a realistic look into this life. Unless you are well off with a luxury RV, what you typically see on social media is not even close to reality.

Traveling and Long Term RV Parks

Ask about rates monthly and compare multiple parks. Make sure to ask if the rate is the same all year long. Also, ask if utilities are included. You can save a lot of money by not having to pay electricity. Some parks don't have one of the main hookups, so make sure eletricity, water and septic are all available.

This is only good when you have a new properly functioning RV. When you live in something older and in bad shape, it means a broken part, packing up your entire life, and finding a new park friendly to long-term stay. I've moved 3 times in 2 and a half years.

The first RV park was $750 a month plus electricity ($100 in summer $200 in winter) and had multiple times were we were without power or had no use of our septic. Many of the times without power it was single digits or in the negatives. We got 120 inches of snow and had to make a homemade rv skirt of a tarp and pack the snow like an igloo around the rv to stay warm.

The second RV park was $350 plus electricity ($150 summer). This park was more affordable but had a lot more issues. Our neighbor had frequent septic issues and we often had it leak onto our rv space. We also were next to the septic for the whole park. So basically the smell of shit was ever present. It got to 110 F here and we basically ran the AC until it broke as heat exhaustion always felt right around the corner.

Third park arguably the nicest park is $550 utilities included only catch is $1200 a month in summer months. (No I don't live in a high value area either most of the town and houses are literally abandoned). It's a franchise park and the owner isn't even supposed to offer long term but deals with it for the insane price he gets in summer. I haven't had issues with electricity or other people's sewage here. Basically one good employment place here and my fiancé gets retirement, so that made it worth the move.

Extreme cold

Frozen septic and frozen water lines are a huge and common issue, especially in older, less insulated models. You can put insulation around the pipes and drip water all you want its going to happen if it's cold enough. So get comfortable with the idea of taking warm buckets of water and a rag to your septic pipe and pouring warm water down into your septic. A smell you will never forget ❤️.

Insulating the rv is very important from being almost 3 years in. Here's the best way to avoid hypothermia. Get R-tech insulation board and stuff it into your windows then cover it up with a blanket. Put this behind your pillows as well so heat can stay in the bed area. Find pre-owned carpets and cut them to fit in your rv so the floor remains warmer. Get socks or cozy slippers to wear most of winter. Your floor will most likely never be a comfortable warm and you may be at risk of hypothermia depending on tempature. Dress in layers put on two pants a shirt and a sweater and socks and slippers. If you need to gloves and a hat as well. Put a blanket over your door. Making a rv skirt out of a tarp and super gluing velcro to the tarp and rv can be useful. Use concrete blocks to hold down the ends. Depending on wind speed this can be hard to keep in place though.

As much as this may sound like a joke it's currently saving me. Xbox 360 consoles make ALOT of heat if you run a DVD that replays itself in the background all night it will warm your sleeping area. If I die I will fade out to the Do The Mario theme song I guess 🥲.

Extreme Heat

Just pump up your AC and have alot of ice packs and cold water. This is going to suck and may kill your AC. The smell oh god the smell will make you want to die. Your septic will boil in the heat and make BAD soup. Less things will break on your RV than extreme cold.

Mail

If your RV park doesn't allow you to get mail at the park its going to suck ass. PO Boxes are the most annoying things on earth. UPS and certain FedEx mail will not deliver to them. Most companies will not ship to them. Even if they say they do. You will often get packages shipped all the way to your post office only for them to be rejected and sent back to the seller. The crapiness is exemplified if you live in a very rural area like I do. Just ship to a family member and pay them to ship it to you in a USPS box only!

RV Common Issues

Too high of water pressure

Get a pressure gage/regulator a park with to high of pressure can cause your lines to burst

Electricity Surges

Get a surge protector a bad surge with no protector can permanently fry your eletricial system. The protector saved me on a bad surge that literally set my plug on fire 🔥.

Eletricity Constriants

Older 30 amps don't have much power. Depending on the appliances you may have to choose to use one at a time. Want to use the heater and your Ninja to cook? Well, enjoy tripping your breaker. In fact just get comfortable with your breaker you'll be spending alot of time with it as you figure out what appliances aren't friends.

Septic

You will spend way to much time with your septic. Whether it be unfreezing, unclogging, general emptying or trying to find a product that doesn't harm it but keeps the smell down during hot summers. Get Scott thousand ply tiolet paper or just cheap thin tiolet paper. It's very similar to the rv specific tiolet paper and way less money.

Water

Pex pipes are cool and easy to repair replace your lines with them. With cold your water lines of course have the chance to freeze or burst. Keep them insulated and use the warm water wash cloth method to unfreeze. Just make sure not to leave wash cloths on the pipes for to long or they will also freeze.

Propane

Please please please check your models history with propane if you plan on using it. Some were built with manufacturing issues that cause them to blow up. There's not many left of my model due to this. It also means I have no central heating or use of the oven.

Laundry

If your park has a laundry mat awesome but this not usually the case. Locate your nearest laundry mat and take that into consideration when looking for a park.

[charles-smith-pillow-princess]

(WIP) Reunions

(prequel to Snow Bunny, follows Undisclosed Desires in terms of timeline) “So?”

Arthur looked askance, hand going to the back of his neck. 

“Aint the best of news,” he said, slowly, sucking his teeth. 

Charles’ stomach dropped, warm, tentative balloon of hope plummeting to cold, unforgiving earth. 

He swallowed, biting back the burning he could feel in the back of his throat. “Oh,” he said, small to his own ears. 

Arthur nodded, hanging his head low. His uncovered mouth was a firm, serious line. 

“Yep,” he said. Then his lips lifted in a smirk as he looked up at Charles from under the brim of his hat, lake-blue eyes dancing. “Seems the tuberculosis is cleared up, but doc said there ain’t a thing he can do about my mug. Terminal ugliness, he called it,” Arthur finished, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. 

Charles blinked, processing. 

“Thirty seconds,” he said, openly fingering his hunting knife where it hung in its sheaf at his side.

Arthur threw his hands up in surrender, actively trying to get words out around his own laughter. “Now hold on, Charles—”

“I’d take that head start, Arthur,” Charles growled, stepping towards Arthur threateningly. “Not sure you want the rest of town to see what I think of your humor, cowboy.”

Arthur flushed, his grin taking on a distinctly nervous tilt. “Right you are,” he said, then swung himself up into Maeve’s saddle. 

Charles watched him go, counting silently to ten before swinging up into Taima’s saddle. 

He was shorting Arthur by about fifteen seconds, but he didn’t feel bad for the cheat. 

Joke like that, after the two years they’d had—Arthur’d more than earned what was coming to him. 

Charles caught up with Arthur about a mile outside of town, just beyond the bridge that crossed the creek. He whistled to Maeve, grinning when the mare skidded to a stop despite her rider’s cursing. 

Maeve was a good horse, and Arthur tended to spoil her. But Charles had been the one riding, feeding, and brushing her down for most of the last two years, and the girl knew where her true loyalties lay. 

“Damn horse!” Arthur cursed, leaping to ground and taking off into the treeline. 

Charles laughed, leaping down from Taima’s back before she’d come to a stop, rolling smoothly to the ground and coming back up at a run, hot in pursuit. 

“Arthur!” Charles shouted, vaulting over a log as he flanked around Arthur’s path, listening carefully for the tell-tale sounds of his lover crashing through the undergrowth. “Get back here!”

Arthur was smart enough not to shout back, clearly doing his level best to avoid capture. 

It wasn’t enough to save him—Charles spotted Arthur just as the other man was stumbling into a break in the treeline, clearly trying to gain some ground by running through the clearing. 

Charles hit him from the left flank, tackling him bodily to the ground with as much gentleness as he could manage, given the circumstances. 

Arthur grunted as Charles bore him to the ground, hat flying out to settle in the long grass of the meadow they’d found themselves in. The two struggled together, grinning as they wrestled, crushing young stalks of grass and blooming wildflowers beneath their bodies as they rolled. 

Charles finally managed to get the upper hand, his chest pressed to Arthur’s own as his knees dug into cool, damp earth. The spring afternoon sunlight was warm on his back as he settled, panting, with his hands fisted in the front of Arthur’s shirt. 

“That was cruel,” he admonished, panting, words undercut by the wide grin stretched across his face. 

“Couldn’t help myself, darlin’,” Arthur huffed, reaching up with one hand to pet stray hairs away from Charles’ face, tucking them behind his ear. “You just looked as nervous as a cat in a rockin’ chair factory—”

Arthur’s answering grin was swiftly covered by Charles’ lips against his own. Arthur moaned, one hand tightening in Charles’ hair as his other arm wrapped around his waist, crushing his lover closer as they kissed for the first time in two long, hard years.

The trees scattered the late afternoon light into dancing lights and shadows, wind rustling their leaves in a gentle song that accompanied the soft, wet sounds of mouths meeting. The fresh, green scent of crushed grass and the sweet scent of wildflowers on the air was undercut with the sharp smell of clean sweat—sweat born of exertion, rather than illness.

Light limned Charles’ hair in a burnished halo, the light, cool breeze stirring his hair as he moved his mouth against Arthur’s own, gently nipping against Arthur’s lips, soothing the little hurts with soft lips and an eager tongue. 

Arthur broke free, panting, relishing the free, cool taste of fresh air as he sucked down a gasp, hips hitching against Charles’ heavy, perfect weight against him. 

“Sweetheart—,” he started, cutting off with a groan as Charles latched onto the soft skin on the underside of his jaw. He clawed at Charles’ shirt, untucking it from the other man’s belt and sneaking his hand up to caress his man’s smooth, warm back as Charles worked hickies into Arthur’s neck.

The chill of the air raised goosebumps on Arthur’s skin as Charles fumbled to undo his shirt buttons, sucking hungry, possessive kisses into his collar. 

The space between them was as warm as a Lemoyne morning, rising into a simmer of damp heat as they moved against one another, hips rocking as they made out slowly. Charles’ fingers made their way into Arthur’s hair, hands trembling from relief and the overwhelming joy of a horizon that stretched further than he could see. 

It felt to him that they’d made it off a mountain of fog and stepped into a valley. He couldn’t know where the road stretched out beyond the horizon, but for once in so long he could see enough to believe they weren’t about to step off into an abyss.

Charles buried his face in Arthur’s neck as he pressed one hand between their bodies, clever fingers going to the buckle of Arthur’s jeans. 

Charles grunted when strong, callused fingers encircled his wrist, pulling his hand gently away. 

“C’mon, Arthur,” Charles panted, rearing back on his knees to sit astride Arthur’s hips, frowning down on him. “Lemme make you feel good.”

“Ain’t nothin hurrying us, darlin.”

[scariusaquarius]

Hello, Lyn! Would you perhaps be willing to write something for number 71. “Kiss me, quick!” with Hawks? 👀 (I was Narnvaeron perviously, I don't know if I mentioned changing the username and avatar lol).

Of course I remember you!! I hope you're doing well, sweety! Happy New Years Day!!

Send me a Pairing and Prompt! // ACCEPTING

Keigo 'Hawks' Takami x Reader

71. "Kiss me, quick!"

Undercover missions could go one of two ways: A) No problems encountered, and the mission goes incredibly well or B) every single thing that could go wrong does.

Unfortunately for you and Hawks, the mission you both were on decided to go with option B.

Currently, you two were in the middle of a battleground; trying to weave your way in and out of the different alleyways and buildings in hopes to losing some of the villains that had caught wind of who you two were, and though Hawks could have flown the both of you out of there, he had unfortunately encountered Dabi, of whom had burned a ton of his feathers off.

So, the sky-high hero was reduced to the ground and the man was frantic. He held your hand tightly as you led him, doing your best to find a busy part of the town in hopes of losing the villains.

Coming upon a packed flea market, you tugged Hawks' hand and hissed as he stumbled slightly.

"Come on, I got an idea!"

"Really? I thought the idea was to run like hell."

He was panting slightly, sweat running down his temple and neck, and you said in earnest.

"Well, we can't hope to outrun them like this. You're wounded, I'm winded, and we need to find cover and fast. Here, take this!"

You indiscreetly stole a couple of hats from one of the clothes vendows and slipped it onto his head, making the man's golden eyes widen in awe.

"Oo, disguises? Good thinking, dove! I've always liked playing dress-up."

There was a tone to his voice that revealed his lack of enjoyment, but you paid him bo mind as you yanked some shawls from another vendor without them looking and quickly scuttled away to wrap the shawls around yourselves.

Pulling out your sunglasses, you could have laughed at the way Hawks' face scrunched and flinched as you practically smacked them onto his face.

Turning around, you scanned the crowd before cursing when you noticed the villains coming your way. Luckily, they hadn't spotted you two yet, but they would the closer they got.

So, you turned to Hawks and grabbed him by his shirt, making his eyebrows shoot up as you hissed.

"Kiss me, quick!"

You didn't give him a chance to initiate, slamming your lips against his, and Hawks swore he was going to combust from blushing so hard. His hands were hovering over your hips in shock before the man melted, pulling you closer and pressing into you.

Your hands splayed over his chest before wrapping around his neck, and the man hummed softly as your fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

It was bliss for him, the feeling of your soft lips against his making his mind reel, and Hawks could help but to smooth his tongue over your bottom lip; silently begging for entrance.

You allowed it, your tongues intertwining, and you could hear the scoffs of disgust as the villains passed you both by.

With a nibble to your bottom lip, Hawks pulled away before smirking and raising his sunglasses so his golden eyes could look down at you, his cheeks flaming red.

"Gotta say, I wasn't expecting that, but I wouldn't mind a couple more of those."

You were embarrassed, muttering.

"I saw it off of a movie and thought it would work."

"Oh, yeah? You sure you didn't just want to get some lovin', sugar?"

He wriggled his eyebrows, and you rolled your eyes, grabbing his hand and quickly guiding him to safety.

"You're insufferable."

"Give me another kiss or two, and I might stop~"

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 12

ISAT Spoilers below and Two-Hats! CW: Dysphoria

"How about this one? OH! Or this one?! No wait! This one is gorgeous!" [You practically squeal at all the lovely outfits on display in the tailor shop you found in the next town over. You were in the presence of a true master of their craft, and in awe at all of their work.]

"Vale, sweetie, you've been going back and forth for an hour and haven't even tried anything on... I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to recommend that we move it along, please." [You pout in response, it was rather clear she didn't appreciate true fashion like you, but she was right that your indecision was getting to be a bit much.]

"Fine, fine, you're right... It's just such a big decision! I haven't gotten to pick an outfit for myself in a long while..." [Your voice trails off, looking down over your star infused form. You place a hand to the star on your chest, very warm to the touch as always...]

"Vale?... You good?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, just uhh... lost in thought... I think I know what I want now~." [You say, returning to a rack you spent a while glancing through. You pull out an outfit with a lovely dark vest with coat tails, a loose shirt with puffy frills at the ends of the sleeves, a lovely pair of dress pants, and a cravat to go with it all. You also find a pair of half lightless half darkless gloves and heeled dress shoes to go with it all.]

[Several minutes later you finally emerge, all gussied up and gorgeous, flaunting about the room to show it off. Nille just laughs at your display before clapping some.]

"Okay, okay, I gotta admit you look crabbin' fantastic. There goes our whole rainy day fund with it though."

"Oh don't you worry yourself about that, we can always pick up more odd jobs here and there. Besides Vaugarde is known for it's hospitality~!" [You assure her, to which she rolls her eyes a bit but shrugs.]

"Alright alright, you've sold me. Besides wearin' that is probably the first time I've seen you REALLY smile since we met." [... You don't respond to that one, just looking away and going back to the mirror, admiring your new outfit. You glance up, looking into your own eyes to see that genuine softness Nille was talking about... Huh... Maybe we could make a life for ourselves... If not for this damned star head...]

"Heh... I guess you're right... It's so nice to be able to express myself again~."

"Glad to hear it, Vale. You ready to head out? We still gotta find Bonnie, remember?"

"Right, right, of course~! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten~!" [You reassure them, paying for your new threads and gathering all of your belongings to head out once more.]

[You stand at the edge of town... pausing for a moment. You close your eyes and take in a long, deep breath. You focus on your connection with Stardust, getting the vaguest sense of them in the direction of the right path...]

"Vale? Which way are we heading?" [You stare down the right path... your heart races... There's no harm is us taking a bit longer, right? Who knows how long we'd be searching for them either way... we can keep this going for a bit longer... we don't have to say goodbye...]

"Left, I... I don't like the aura the right path gives off~." [You wave your hand dismissively at the path, heading down the opposite way. Nille just rolls her eyes at your little display before following along.]

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

[Nille sleeps soundly in her sleeping bag while you camped out that night. You couldn't sleep... maybe it's the guilt of thinking you deserve happiness... You head over to the lake near where you had setup camp. You look down into it to see yourself... your beautiful outfit from neck to toe... and your blinding face, quite literally, staring right back at you...]

[You suddenly snap out of it, getting the ringing sensation in your hand that happens whenever Stardust calls you... Stars, why now... Against your better judgement, you bring your hand up to your head and silently listen...]

("Loop?… Can you talk to me?… Please?… I just want to know you're okay…") [Your other arm drapes around yourself, just holding yourself close as you feel shame even hearing their voice again...]

("Do you remember that time... I forgot Mirabelle's name?… I was so freaked out, all I could think to do was call you for help… Without a second thought, you helped me… you helped me remember everyone's names, their nicknames even, and why I started using them… You brought me back from the edge, and it helped keep me going… I don't think I ever thanked you for that… So thank you, Loop… Thank you for keeping me going when I thought I couldn't anymore…")

"... Stardust..." [Your hand slaps over your mouth as the words simply escape without your approval, panicking and feeling tears flowing down your face.]

("Loop?! Loop where are you?! Are you alri-") [You quickly pull your hand away and shake the gesture off, ending the connection immediately. You fall to your knees, holding yourself as tears keep pouring from your eye...]

"Stars... Stars why do I still care?! Why can't I just blinding leave you behind?!" [You shout to the lake, sobbing heavily.]

"... Vale?... Wh... What's wrong?" [Nille sits up sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. You shudder, quickly trying to compose yourself, wiping your tears again and taking a couple deep breaths.]

"O-Oh, s-sorry for waking you... just a nightmare, no need to worry about me~!" [Nille just gives you a look, clearly not buying it. She unzips her sleeping bag, getting up and walking over to you.]

"Do yah need a hug, hun?..." [She asks, offering a single arm as to not overwhelm you.]

"O-Oh, n-no thank you, I-I'm not much about... t-touch..." [You stammer out, rubbing your elbow some, wincing as you still feel tears slowly dripping from your right eye.]

"You're either getting a hug, or we're gonna talk about it, your choice, pretty they." [She teases with a smirk, holding up the other arm invitingly now. You hesitate still, taking one last deep breath and nodding.]

[You close your eyes tightly, bracing as if you were about to take a hit from a sadness, flinching heavily as you felt her arms slowly wrap around you... It almost stings at first, such an... unfamiliar sensation... but after a moment it's nice... her warm body pressed tightly to yours, like a weighted, heated blanket... Your arms very slowly wrap around them, placing your starry head on their shoulder, letting the tears pour from your eyes again.]

"There, that feel better?" [She asks, about to break the hug, but you find yourself holding her tight still... You don't know how long you stay like this, but you can tell it's far too long...]

[leebuckets]

The Forest dance (part 1)

An anxious farmer sits in the casino to cool her nerves and shrug off the feeling of dread that the flower dance brings her, but she may have found herself a partner after all.

Mr.Qi x Farmer

She/her pronouns

Nothing romantic yet, just some fluff

Light crying and depictions of social anxiety

Established friendships

No use of y/n, but no name stated either

It's a long one, comment if you want a part two ✨

Eccentric. That's what most would say about her, it was the kindest insult, the lightest jab, the most gentle ask for change. Nobody liked her, not really anyway, a recluse of sorts, bright purple boots stained with slime , bright pajama pants that you would swear changed color every time you looked away, a stupid graphic t-shirt with a fish on it, and her very odd but characteristic trash can lid hat. For the hick town that it is, a farmer in pelican town being described that way sounds... Ridiculous. A pelican town farmer, looking like that? Psh. That's what all the residents thought too, she could see it in their eyes, she had heard it from their own lips, Lewis would encourage her to be more like her grandfather and to that she would smile, trying to keep back her tears. Three years, soon to be four, of being a social outcast, it was better than working for Joja and at least she was close enough with some people now, but not many, Marnie was amazing. Smearing healthy globs of strawberry jam on her homemade bread had to be some of her fondest moments in pelican town. Caroline would also always bring over tea when she was sick, reminding her to take care of herself. She also loved having bonfires with Rasmodeus and Linus whenever they had the time, it was fun chatting with those as connected to the valley as she was. But even those memories can't starve off the one event she could never stomach, the flower dance.

It made her skin crawl, her legs shake, not even the serpants deep in the skull caverns could get her heart racing like the dance did. She would ask, every year. Why....? Desperation maybe, secretly hoping all the trash gifts she gave to the few kinder candidates would make them pitty her, but it was always lead with that gentle twist of the knife, furthering her reclusion. Her eyes fogged up with tears, obscuring and blurring the spinning lights, she rubbed her eyes best she could, the thought of tomorrow was horrifying, even the spoils of her labor wasn't enough to help her neveres. 'I could ask Marnie to dance, I’m sure she’d find humor in it' she thought, her fingers fumbling with her eyes, the lightest glimpse of purple in her sight. 'someone was bound to say yes at some point right?' her desperation was obvious, her hastily made coffees Harvey would smile through, her shitty sculptures of monsters for Leah, her awful slam poetry for Elliot... Penny was the closest she ever got to dating someone, but she only ever side eyes her, angry at the thought she'd never want kids. Star fruit.

Her eyes widened for a moment as she watched tumbling symbols fight for the right to be seen, her breath hitching. How she'd love to dance, even if she was born with two left feet, she'd watch the way the potential Bachelor steped forward, their baby blue back facing the world, only looking at her as the white fabric of her dress danced in the wind, the spirits sending along petals to flutter in the sky, a dance with nature and the love for it. Cherry. "Shit." She mumbled under her breath, her eyes pooling up with more tears. This wasn't going to fix anything, reality was flooding back to her as the adrenaline of gambling left her veins, the smell of all kinds of smokes and perfumes wafting through the air of the club and straight to her nose, making her cough a little. But if you could believe it through all the cacophony and over stimulation she could smell something sweet, it was almost like a gem berry, just a tad tart, it relaxed her mind, her eyes fluttering closed as she takes in another deep breath, huffing the air like it's a gift from Yoba themselves and soon she realized it was the only thing she smelled now. Her mind felt like it was lifted from it's haze, her thoughts drowning and sinking to the bottom of a glistening swimming pool.

"Hey, kid." His voice was soft and warm, contrast to the cold feeling that surrounded him,"it's getting late. I figure you should go home now, your drive is one I admire, but the slots are slogging your brain." she feels the tears that were suppressed suddenly roll down her face when she opened her eyes. there he was, leaning against the machine she was playing. He was another positive memory, though he's not a resident of pelican town, he's not a man from anywhere in particular but, he's... Well he's special. The afternoons with Marnie were amazing, but it was nothing like the praise he'd given her, the journey he had led her on, one to further that 'blossoming potential'. His coat hugs his knees and fluffy form like a tight dress, the black leather material sparkling with the poor stars he trapped within it, his hat was brimmed wide, his glasses a beautiful obsidian color that, in this instance, was shining a brilliant purple in the lowlights of the casino. Before she can respond he's got a hand at the side of her cheek, brushing away a tear with his blue calloused thumb,"shhh, relax. Tell me what's going on."

She pulled away a little, his hand quickly wrapping around his back, his expression not changing but the air is filled with a tinge of disappointment. "It's the dance tomorrow." She says looking down at her feet, giving off a shakey sigh and then continuing "I'm not gonna go tomorrow". Mr.qi is quick to tut, his face slowly turning to a grimace "don't look at me like that, please, not now" she rubs her eyes with her wrists paranoid at the few people looking at her, but Qi is quick to move in their way so she can't see them. "I'm not looking at you in any way, dear farmer. I'm just... disappointed others can't see greatness like I can". She keeps crying lightly and the more she does the more his stare bores into her, that knife twisting further into her chest, the people she knows are listening to her sobs helping the knife go in to the point it's at it's hilt. He leans down next to her slouched form, his hands shaking lightly "don't cry, shhh, relax." She goes to yell at him but when she opens her eyes she sees his face, his mouth slightly ajar, his brow thick with sweat, he was worried, visibley so. "I'm sorry" he shakes his head no and clasps her hands in his "crying is a reaction to stimulus, as is most any emotion or feeling. It's no less shameful then to laugh or smile"

"What the fuck kinda take is- pft haha" she laughs trying to process and decode the cryptic language he speaks, her shaky laugh bringing warmth to his cold features.

"There you go."

"Hm?" her eyes lid themselves, tears flooding her vision.

"You're laughing." his voice is matter of fact, trivial , like it always is.

"That's what I'm used to. Are you really not going to the dance tomorrow?"

"Why would it matter? No one ever dances with me and I already have the rare crow"

"That shouldn't matter, you should still attend"

"It does matter, you don't know what it's like looking someone in the eyes, someone you've known for three years and seeing them ... Glare at you... To reject and... Choose someone else over you" his hands tighten more against hers, his thumb lightly rubbing the veins on the back of her hand.

"Then ask someone you've known for two."

"Qi I don't- no one wants to dance with me."

"Who says that?"

"Everyone, have you been listening to me?" She looks angry and she is.

"That's not factual, you haven't asked me."

She scoffs lightly, pushing his hands off hers "Kay man." He stands, tipping the brim of his hat down "it's pronounced Qi" she angrily tries to suppress a laugh but she can't, Kay, key, que, quei, quaw, you name it, she read it every other way then how it was actually pronounced, and when she met him in person she was shocked to find out how badly she had mispronounced it. "You should rest. Don't forget my proposal, if you aren't up by 9am... expect me at your door."

"I hate you."

She can see him lightly smirk, his hand still rested on the brim of his hat "That's not factual, farmer." trivial, as always.

[rorywritesjunk]

Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

You decide to ask Buggy an important question but he has major doubts.

Rating: PG-13 just because of mentions of sex but nothing graphic at all. Warning: Insecure Buggy, mentions of an ex who was not nice to Buggy (no physical abuse, one mention of possible verbal abuse). There's a misunderstanding, there's tears, Buggy just isn't sure of anything. Mild angst. Lots of 'I love you's. A/N: A request from a lovely Anon wanting Buggy to be the one getting proposed to! This was sweet to write and I managed to get it done in one night. It just happened. And it was good to get it out of my system. Title comes from "Your Song" by Elton John.

All you said to Buggy at breakfast that morning was for him to dress nice and meet you on the docks after the work was done for the day. It didn’t ring suspicious to him at all, you had been talking about having a date night for a while, one away from the crew, the ship, just the two of you at some little restaurant or cafe, whatever it was you were in the mood for. Lately it had been crepes but to Buggy, that was more breakfast food than dinner. 

So he did as you requested, even washing his face to refresh his makeup, making sure the bones on his forehead were perfect, the blue around his eyes the right amount of sparkly, and even made sure the red around his mouth was applied a little thicker than usual so he could cover your face with it when he kissed you (one of his favorite things to do). He made sure his clothes looked their best (a little grubby, maybe even a little bit of blood on the front) and perched his hat on his head, his long blue hair threaded to the top and coming off the sides; you said it reminded you of waterfalls when you first saw his hair that way and he brushed off his face turning red by insisting the sun was in his eyes, even though it was evening time inside a dimly lit pub.

You’d been together for three years now, the anniversary having been just two weeks ago. The two of you celebrated with a bottle of rum, no clothes, and the two of you spent the entire day together in the captain’s quarters. Buggy wondered if this was a followup to that, but you didn’t say anything about the anniversary this morning, just that you wanted to take him out. And he was fine with it, it was a nice break from the same ol’ food on the ship. 

He only waited a few minutes down at the docks when you showed up. To you, dressing nice was your performance clothing. Loose fitting black and gray striped pants, your black ankle high boots, and a snug fitting black vest with a dark red liner. Honestly, it was Buggy’s favorite thing to see you wear and his favorite thing to take off you.

“So, where are we going?” He asked as you walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You got me all dressed up and nowhere to go, love.”

“I’m taking you out, don’t fuss.” You told him as you took his gloved hand in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze as you led him to the streets. He looked around as he followed you, taking in the sights, sounds, and smell of the town. It was like any port town, really, with the fishy smells, the movement of people, and the sounds of chattering all around. He caught a whiff of a particularly funky smell and he made a face, frowning at you as you walked.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked as you made a sudden turn down an alley. “Hope it smells better than where we just were.”

“It will.” You squeezed his hand to reassure him, glancing back with a grin. He trusted you, sure, but the alley was narrow, there were some doors, garbage, stored goods, nothing that really said romantic but at the same time, the two of you didn’t really fit the definition.

Hell, the two of you met at a bar years ago. He was drinking away his shattered heart while you were showing off your ability to swallow swords in front of a crowd, snatching handfuls of berry from the spectators and stuffing it down your shirt for safe keeping. He caught your eye right as you opened your mouth and tilted your head back, allowing the sword to safely slip down your throat. You gave him a wink as the hilt touched your lips.

He was in love and forgot all about whats-their-name.

And Buggy moves fast. He invited you to join his band of freaks while you were between his legs in his room, demonstrating your swallowing abilities in person. You called it an audition while he called it a first date. 

That was three and a half years ago. It took him six months to actually get the courage to ask if you wanted to be with him as a couple, no other hookups or things like that. Just you and him, because well, Buggy sometimes didn’t really know how to express his feelings and he didn’t know if he should just say he was in love with you or if that would come off too strong? Would it scare you off the ship and out of his life? And he got nervous when you didn’t respond, but he also chose the worst time to ask as you were practicing your technique with two swords this time, but your eyes were comically large as you stared at him in shock. 

You couldn’t really speak (Buggy thought from disgust but again, swords down your throat) so you just took his hand and gave it a squeeze to reassure him.

It felt like forever until you finally stopped in front of a door at the end of the alley. Buggy looked around, wondering where you two were, when you looked at him with a big smile and opened the door for him, gesturing for him to go in. He did so, straightening his hat before stepping over the threshold. 

The smell of something savory hit him almost immediately before the sounds of people cooking came next. The place was small, only a few tables, one of which was occupied already with a couple who were staring lovingly into each other’s eyes over candlelight. It was a little much. You led him to a table and pulled his chair out for him, still smiling as he sat down. This wasn’t really what he expected. White, wrought iron tables with doilies decorating the top. The chairs matched with pink seat cushions tied to them. Pink and white candles were lit in the middle, casting a warm glow at those seated at the table. Buggy looked over at you while a server came over with menus and water glasses for the two of you. 

“How… did you hear of this place?” He asked as he looked around while you took your seat. “It’s an interesting… choice.”

“Heard about it by chance.” You told him as you opened the menu. “Been craving crepes and they have good ones apparently.”

“That’s breakfast food.” He pointed out as he glanced over the menu. He’d just get something savory but have something sweet to take back to the ship. “You’re weird.”

“I love you too, Buggy.” You chuckled as you set the menu down, smiling at him from across the table. He tried to ignore you, hiding his blushing face behind the menu. Even after three years, he still wasn’t used to those words being directed at him. He said it back to you, of course, and showed you in different ways how he loved you, but you would just say it whenever you felt like it, catching him off guard, sometimes making him stumble over his words, but you meant it when you said it. 

When he finally set the menu down, you reached across the table for his hand. He let you hold it without much thought, your thumb brushing over his knuckles softly while your other hand reached into your pocket. Your smile looked a bit nervous now and he wondered what you were doing; your hand came up to the table with a small black box in it and he wondered what the hell was going on.

And then the box was opened, revealing a gold ring. Buggy leaned forward to get a better look at it, squinting in the candlelight. It was gold, he could see that, and the design almost looked like the blade of a sword with a stone where the hilt would be. He looked between you and the box, a frown appearing on his face as you took the ring out of the box and held it out to him.

“What the hell is that?” He asked, voice cracking nervously as you chuckled, looking just as nervous as him.

“I love you, Buggy.” You told him again. “And… and I saw this ring at our last stop and thought it would look so good on you, y’know? The stone reminded me of the color of your eyes and the design reminded me of us and and how we met… and I realized how much you mean to me and how great these last few years have been-”

“Is this a breakup ring?” He demanded angrily, jerking his hand back and knocking his water glass over. He pushed back from the table to avoid the spill. “Why the hell would you give that to me?! You should have just said something if you didn’t want to be with me!”

‘What? It’s, it’s not a breakup ring, that’s not a thing, Buggy!” You told him with a laugh; he glared at you, whether over the ring or the laugh, you weren’t sure, so you grabbed his hand once more. “Buggy, I’m asking you to marry me, you goof.”

Marry me.

Oh. So, not a breakup ring. Not that that’s a real thing anyway.

“Why?” He asked suspiciously.

“Why what, Buggy?”

He didn’t pull back this time, the glare turning into a perplexed expression as he looked across the table at you. Was this for real or some kind of joke? You never played a joke on him in the past, that wasn’t your thing. His ex did that sometimes: say something cruel to Buggy then claim it was just a joke, don’t be so sensitive, Bugs, geez when he would even look a bit upset. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No?”

“It’s not funny.” He shook his head and pulled back, leaving his hand with you as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. The couple at the other table were holding hands and smiling at each other over the candlelight. It was kind of gross. “I’m not laughing.”

“Buggy, I promise it’s not a joke.” You insisted, the nervousness gone and replaced with concern. “I want to marry you, babe, really.”

He glanced over at you quickly before looking away again. It was hard not to think of it as a joke. Why would you want to marry him? You said you loved him all the time, whether it was waking him up with kisses and kind words, over breakfast when you brought him your coffee, after practices and performances, and always before, during, and after sex. But that didn’t mean you would want to marry him. He figured that was something that wouldn’t ever happen to him. 

You wanted him to know you loved him unconditionally, that the ring meant that, but his reaction to it wasn’t what you expected. You didn’t want to draw attention to him, noting that the kitchen seemed to get a bit quieter since you pulled the ring out and the server hadn’t come by yet. You swallowed the lump in your throat and tried to smile. 

“Do… you need to think about it?” You asked as you put the ring back in the box. “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s… that’s okay. We probably should have talked about it before I sprung it on you.” You closed the box and stuck it back in your pocket before squeezing his hand once more. “Buggy, I’m sorry if I upset you.”

I’m sorry if I upset you. That… that was a phrase he wasn’t used to hearing until you came into his life. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before he turned to look back at you. He wanted to ignore the way your eyes glistened with tears as you picked the menu back up to look at it. 

“Why are you crying?” He asked. 

“Because I’m upset.” You told him with a sniff. “I’m upset that I… I made you uncomfortable.”

“Oh.” He waited a moment before saying, “D’you really want to marry me?”

You looked over the top of the menu with a nod and sniffle. “Really.”

“Really?” He didn’t sound convinced.

“Yes, really.” You said, lowering the menu and wiping at your eyes. “I am asking Captain Buggy the Clown, the Flashiest Fool I’ve ever met, for his hand in marriage. I want to marry you because I love you, Buggy.” You hesitated before reaching into your pocket and pulling the box back out. “I love you so much, you take such good care of me, of the rest of the freaks, and… I feel so lucky you chose me.”

He didn’t say anything as he straightened his hand out for you, wiggling his ring finger. You took the ring out of the box and watched him as you slowly slid it onto his finger. He pulled his hand back to look at it, tilting his hand in different ways to get the perfect view of the stone in the candlelight. Finally, he nodded, clearing his throat as he held his hand back over to you. 

“Y-Yes.” He said, voice catching, sounding just a bit higher before he cleared his throat again. “You can have the honor of marrying me.” 

“Yea?” A grin slowly started to spread across your face. “Really, Buggy? It’s a yes?”

“Well, it’s not a no.” He said with a shrug. “If you’ll have me, of course, baggage and all.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” You chuckled as you brought his hand closer, kissing the knuckle above his ring finger before looking up at him with a big smile. “I love you, Buggy, baggage and all.”

He couldn’t help but glance over at the couple. They were looking in your direction, having now heard some of the conversation. Buggy pulled his hand away from you and held his hand up, showing off the ring to them.

“Yea, I’m getting married. How ‘bout that?” He laughed. One of them looked expectantly at the other, who just scooted their chair away, looking uncomfortable. With a huff, the other stormed out, mumbling something about it’s been how long and that guy gets a ring? And well, Buggy felt pretty smug about that. Of the two couples in the place that night, two had a miscommunication but one got engaged. He glanced back over at you and leaned back in his chair. “So, when we doing it? When do you make an honest clown outta me?”

“Whenever you want, Buggy.” You smiled as he reached across the table for your hand. “I love you.”

“Yea, the ring makes it pretty clear that you do.” He replied as he took your hand in his. “We gotta get a matching one for your hand now, love. It’s naked without one.” 

“We can do that.” You assured him. He looked down at your hand in his, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the ring once more.

“You really want to marry me?” He asked, needing that assurance from you once more.

You squeezed his hand gently. “I really do, Buggy. I promise.”

“Yea?”

“Yea.” 

“Okay.” He nodded as he glanced up at you, meeting your eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Buggy.”