#nope I only you guys get the details about my crushes and stuff so uh you’re welcome and I’m sorry 🥺

[mymelodyisme]

Is it annoying hearing about the people I find attractive in town 🤔

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC’s half Demon, and they look AWFULLY familiar...

‘Kay guys, I got a different kind of stupid Headcanon to throw at you. Get ready!

Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Part 2.5 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

*ahem* picture if you will, it’s the day the exchange program is set to start. The student council (nix Mr. Kill All Humans, Weeb-supreme, and our Scummy Sweetheart) have assembled to welcome the new human student. All is going according to schedule, the portal opens up at eight am sharp, they hear the pitiful screams of the selected human who was not given a heads up about the whole thing, and the poor little human falls straight onto the marble floor.

There’s something a tad... off about this human don’t you think? After they’ve peeled their sorry ass off the floor they observed the assembled student council with an air of sophistication and self importance that no one expected. Their posture was perfect, their eyes sharp and calculating... they bared a striking resemblance to-

“Lucifer,” Diavolo looked to his right hand man, then back to the human. “The human kind of looks like you!”

And out popped four pitch black wings from the human’s back and two small horns out of the sides of their head, one horn was a bit bigger than the other. They even still had some of their down feathers! How cute!

((Content warning: Swearing (I have a potty mouth, forgive me), but that’s it.))

Luci-dad

So, the MC is Lucifer’s kid! Of course Mr. Prideypants immediately tries to recall exactly what little romp in the human world uh... spawned this half-human half-demon child of his. Good thing MC’s got the other parent on speed-dial.

“Please note, MC,” Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose upon hearing Asmo take even more pictures of his newly discovered hellspawn. “I was not aware of your existence, if I was I’d-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not upset.”

Lucifer blinked a few times in surprise. “P...pardon? You aren’t upset?”

“No, my parent told me that my father was a high ranking demon, and they bare no ill will against you. Though, I am looking forward to this whole... exchange program thing.”

Oh wow, that was easier than Lucifer thought. Damn. Well, he was a father... (let’s be real, he’s been parenting his brothers for thousands of years, and a good chunk of you sinners call him daddy)

MC is probably the most protected student at RAD, despite the fact that they have no visible security detail whatsoever. They didn’t want to be seen as... weak and pathetic.

Something about this human just... set the lesser demons on edge. Any talk of eating them was stamped out on the first day when they walked by. It’s like Lucifer himself was staring at them, daring the demons to try and bother the human. MC’s powerful presence kept them protected and feared.

...at least until dear uncle Asmo decided to do their hair one morning. All those ribbons may have looked adorable but they kind of ruined the intimidation factor.

MC loved to mess with the other students, keeping their lineage a secret for the first little while just made it so much funnier when the other demons tried to scramble out of MC’s way without looking like they were running from the ‘weak little human exchange student’.

Oh wow, what a sadist. Like father like child

Flying lessons are a must. Poor MC isn’t terribly good at controlling their wings, and their horns are still growing in so when they pop into their demon form the first thing they get is a sore skull. Ow... it sucks that Lucifer isn’t outwardly very sympathetic.

“Ow!” MC crashed face first into the grass in the backyard of the House of Lamentation. “Father! My wings are cramping! Can’t we practice this tomorrow?”

The sight of seeing his dear child crash face first into the ground had lost its hilarity after the first three times. Lucifer slowly lowered himself to the ground and crossed his arms as he stood over his incredibly grass-stained kid.

“MC, we’ve been ‘practicing this tomorrow’ for the past month. If you want to learn to fly you’re going to have to actually manage to stay in the air for more than three minutes.”

MC shot Lucifer a withering glare that only preteens were capable of, Lucifer matched it with his own much more sophisticated glare.

“You’ve been flying for over a thousand years! Don’t you have any tips that can actually help other than ‘don’t panic, you’ll look ridiculous’?”

Lucifer dragged a gloved hand down his face and looked around, the two were alone as far as he could see.

“MC,” Lucifer began. “When I was a young angel, I needed to learn how to fly with someone else.”

MC perked up. “Who?”

“Michael. The smug bastard picked up flying quicker than I did.”

“What’d you do?!”

Lucifer smiled at his child’s intense investment. “I practiced flying every day for five extra hours until I could do everything that Michael could do, just better.”

MC’s starry eyed interest died almost instantly upon hearing about the extra five hours of practice. “Humph, I bet I could outfly younger you and Michael with only two hours of practice a day.”

“Really now?”

“Yes! Watch!” MC shook off their wings and took off in a running start before shakily making it into the air. Their form was decent enough, and they weren’t shaking as much as the previous attempts. “SEE?!”

“Yes MC,” Lucifer smiled. “I can see.”

You know what else Lucifer could see? MC crashing right into a tree.

“Ouch...”

Okay... maybe they could halt practice a little early and order a treat from Madame Scream’s. A little sugar to refuel is needed when the end goal is crushing a mutual rival beneath their heels. Just some good old fashioned father/child bonding time!

MC has a smaller seat right next to Lucifer’s seat in the Assembly Hall. I will not compromise on this one.

For all your fluff needs, I give you: Lucifer teaching MC how to play the piano. He has a proud little smile on his face when his kid finally starts getting it. That’s all. Enjoy the image.

That one Uncle who gives you Alcohol at Family Gatherings (Mammon)

Yeah, when Mammon burst in late to the party and whining about everyone’s spamming him with texts to haul his scummy ass to the Assembly Hall, the last thing he expected was to see a mini-Lucifer.

“What the fuck am I lookin’ at?!”

The glare the two Lucifers gave the poor Avatar of Greed was enough to make him want to turn tail (uh, wing) and book it down the hall.

“Mammon, this is MC. They’re my child.”

“Hello.”

“...whaaaa..?” Mammon looked between the two, same glare, same intimidating aura, same annoyingly good posture.

Mammon scratched the back of his neck and looked over at his older brother. “Do I uh... still gotta babysit em’ if they’re not human?”

“The lake of Cocytus will melt the day I let you babysit without supervision.” Lucifer grumbled.

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

Despite Lucifer’s initial denial, Mammon and MC ended up spending a lot of time hanging out when Lucifer was busy with paperwork. Of course Mammon’s first thought was ‘how do I profit off this situation?’

MC is now Mammon’s designated babysitter after they caught him picking up their feathers that had fallen off with the intention of painting them white and claiming they were Lucifer’s from back in the Celestial Realm.

Mammon does end up spoiling MC a little. Just a smidge. They’re the kid of his totally not his favourite brother after all! How could he not? Whether or not these gifts are obtained legally or are legal at all is subject to scrutiny.

“Mammon, I can’t drink this!” MC placed the bottle of Demonus back on the counter of the kitchen.

“Why not? That’s a bottle of the good stuff! We gotta celebrate you gettin’ an A on that test somehow!”

“I’m underage! Incredibly underage. I’m not legally allowed to drink.”

Mammon wordlessly plopped a silly straw into the bottle. “...does that help?”

“No.” MC then inclined their head to the bottle. “And I don’t want to get hung from the ceiling, that bottle was in my father’s study yesterday, I’m above theft.”

“How old are you s’posed to be anyway? Never mind... uh...” Mammon wracked his brain for something else he could do for MC that didn’t cost anything (don’t judge him, the poor bastard was flat broke!). “I could... teach you to drive!”

“Driving?”

“Yeah! Drivin’ is awesome! We can take my car!”

The bills for the damages done to the car and the Devildom were mailed to Lucifer the next day, and MC and Mammon got to keep each other company as they hung from the ceiling. Ah well! At least MC wasn’t upside down!

Mammon wasn’t that good of a flight teacher either, he also crashed into a tree (the same tree MC crashed into, actually) when he was cheering for MC. They were finally able to do a loopdy loop! He was proud and distracted! Okay?! Lucifer! Stop smirkin’ at him! It’s not that funny!

At least the vantage point from the tree was decent and the branches didn’t scratch him up too badly. Oh hey... that person walking by was wearing a very nice watch... he’d be right back-

That Uncle That is Always Absent From Family Gatherings and When He is Present He Leaves Early (Levi)

He missed everything. That is not an exaggeration. He was in the middle of an online raid battle and couldn’t look at his phone! No Lucifer he can’t pause an online game! That’s not how it works!

Okay, the human exchange student is half demon? WOAH! THAT’S JUST LIKE THAT ONE ANIME- W A I T. THE LITTLE NORMIE IS LUCIFER’S KID?!

Okie doke, he was fully convinced that MC just had to be an anime protagonist.

They binged every series that Levi compared them to. Sure MC might have missed a few assignments because of late night anime binges, but they were too good for this school crap anyway, right?

Nope. Lucifer put a ban on the two watching anime until both their grades improved. Surviving that hell brought the two together.

“Ugh!”

The sound of a pencil case being haphazardly thrown across the room made Levi peek out of his bed-tub. If his figurines got knocked over so HELP HIM-

“This is stupid!!I shouldn’t have to catch up with this!” MC crossed their arms and gave their Demonology textbook their best disapproving glare.

Lucifer Lite (tm) was having a hell of a time trying to claw through their missed work, and Levi sympathized, he really did, it’s just... he was playing Animal Crossing-

Levi paused the game to placate his anime-buddy when their wings popped out and he feared for his rare merch’s safety.

“H-hey, MC? Do you need help?” Levi’s offer was met with a bone chilling glare that lived rent free in his nightmares ever since. He had pulled a Mammon and forgotten he was talking to Lucifer’s child. Lucifer’s allergy to help must have passed down to MC.

“No! I don’t! It’s just... dumb!” MC hissed, she turned and looked over at the fish tank. “Right Henry 2.0?”

Henry 2.0 did not respond.

“MC, you need to finish your homework or we can’t watch anything together,” Levi sighed, he had finished his work over an hour earlier. He had mastered the art of all night anime binges and managing to do most of his work in the fifteen minutes between the time he woke up and the time school was supposed to begin. “We haven’t even binged all of volume 4 of TSL yet!”

“Mmm...” MC grumbled. “Fine...”

MC picked up their pencil case and began continued their work. Levi breathed a sigh of relief and went back to Animal Crossing.

The tiny normie did in fact finish their work, only after they caved and asked Levi for help. Swore him to secrecy, they did... very intimidating, they were.

Just saying, he most definitely sent that one Keanu Reeves meme with big Keanu and little Keanu but with Lucifer and MC to the wrong group chat. Poor bastard.

Flying lessons? No. Levi hadn’t flown since his time in the Celestial Realm, he had no advice to give other than: “Flap your wings!”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING YOU-”

MC didn’t get to finish that thought, they lost their balance and fell right into RAD’s fountain. Ah well, Levi had a head start on running for his life that he squandered by laughing at MC. RIP.

The Uncle/brother/whatever the fuck that Starts a Fight With Your Dad at the Family Reunion. (Satan)

Oh... another Lucifer? Eugh. Gross.

Satan gave the kid a wide berth when they first met. Everything the kid said or did ticked him off. “Tsk. Look at MC. Making an omelette. So annoying.” “Oh wow, MC vacuumed? Roll out the red carpet, we need to celebrate their existence!” “Look at them. Breathing. Disgusting.”

MC’s pride wouldn’t ever let them admit it but... they knew Satan didn’t like them, and it hurt their feelings.

“Shhhh,” Satan whispered into his backpack.

“Meow.” The backpack replied.

“I said shhhhh.”

The backpack did not reply after that, which was a good thing considering the little princet of the HOL was nearby.

“Satan?” They asked. “Who are you talking to?”

Satan coldly brushed past them as he made his way to his room. “No one you need to concern yourself with.”

When the little calico kitten was safe in his room, Satan quickly realized a mistake in his foolproof ‘sneak a cat into the house’ plan. He didn’t have any toys for the kitten, and he didn’t want his books getting scratched...

It was alright, he’d just rush out to the a store that sold cat things and rush back! Five minute trip tops!

Well when Satan got back the cat was no longer in the room. Oh dear. He discreetly tore apart the house looking for the poor little thing until he ended up finding it in the library, happily chasing around a loose feather being held up by MC.

“Oh, hello Satan.” MC chirped as the kitten batted it’s adorable little paws at the feather.

“My... my door was closed. Did you let the cat out?”

MC shrugged. “I heard meowing.”

Satan ran a hand through his hair and grumbled. Stupid smaller Lucifer. Stupid original Lucifer. Everyone sucked.

“Let me guess, you’re going to run to Lucifer and tell him all about the meowing and the rule breaking.”

MC shook their head and glared at Satan. “Of course not. I’ve already gotten way too attached to this little guy anyway. We’re co-parenting this kitten like mature adults.”

With some coaxing, Satan did sit down and play with the kitten, maybe MC wasn’t... so terrible.

The two watch Unsolved Mysteries together, that’s their show. “This guy did it.” “Satan, we’re two minutes into the episode-” “Trust me.”

Thirty minutes later.

“He did it.” “See MC, what’d I tell you?”

Lucifer did find out about the cat, but with enough pleading, MC and Satan managed to warm up the cold spot in Lucifer’s chest where his heart should have been. The cat’s name is Detective Toe Beans (or just Bean).

Satan can’t fly, he has a tail, but he did read up on wing anatomy and how flight actually works in demons, his advice would be good in theory, but it’s full of so much technical jargon that MC can’t understand it.

At least MC didn’t crash into something, they barrel rolled through one of the HOL’s windows. Good thing it was the window to their room. The broken arm still hurt like hell.

The Best Dressed Bitch Who Brings The Booze to The Reunion. (Asmo)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lucifer’s kid was SO CUTE! A thousand pictures commemorating that adorable moment needed to be taken! Wait- Lucifer- GIVE BACK THE PHONE-

Asmo, surprise surprise, absolutely adores little MC! So cute! So small! He was just so excited to announce to all his Devilgram followers that Lucifer was finally a certified DILF.

That post disappeared five minutes after it was made but the damage had already been done.

Asmo made sure MC looked their best at all times, if they needed help talking to anyone? Asmo’s got their back!

Sure, maybe he’s a little pushy, but pushy’s a good thing sometimes, right?

“Asmodeus-”

“No, these shoes wouldn’t fit you...”

“Asmo-”

“No, not these ones either...”

“ASMODEUS.”

Asmo squeaked and jumped upwards, Geez Louise... little MC’s voice could sure be scary when they wanted it to be...

“I don’t need any fancy new shoes.” MC huffed, sitting up straighter in one of the chairs in Asmo’s room. “I thought this was supposed to be a sleepover.”

“Hmmm...” Asmo pouted. “Makeovers are an essential part of sleepovers... what’d you do with your human friends up in the human world that could possibly be better than a make-over?!”

MC began to list things off. “Ordered junk food, talked about people we hated, watched movies,”

“Greasy food is so bad for your skin...” Asmo cringed and shook his head violently. “But I’m totally down to watch a movie and bitch about people I hate!”

“Ah yes, human sleepovers, a tradition I never quite had the chance to enjoy.” Solomon said from Asmo’s bed. “Who are we bitching about?”

“Remind me what Solomon is doing here.” MC muttered as they sat down in front of Asmo’s TV.

“Because, I wanted to hang out with my two favourite humans.” Asmo cooed, reaching over and trying to pinch MC’s cheek, which they awkwardly dodged.

“Can we watch The Exorcist?” Solomon asked, propping his head up with his hands.

“Ew, no.” Asmo made a face at him. “That scene with the vomit? Hell NO.”

“Mm.” MC mumbled. Asmo turned to look at them.

“MC? Are you doing okay? You don’t look like you’re having any fun...”

“I’m fine.” MC grumbled.

Asmo pursed his lips, as much as it made his little narcissistic heart break, he nudged MC. “Why don’t you pick the movie, sweetie. I’m sure Solomon and I will like anything you pick!”

MC noticeably brightened. “Let’s watch Scream!”

The strangled noise that came from Asmo was... concerning, but to his credit, The Avatar of Lust held his tongue about his distaste for the movie, and the three slumber-party goers had quite the lovely time.

After the movie ended, MC went back to their room, sure it was a sleepover but their bed was right down the hall.

Good for Asmo and Solomon. Horny fuckers. We stan.

Asmo just claps and tries to cheer MC on when it comes to their flying lessons. (The idea that Asmo came up with to wear his cheerleader costume from the previous Halloween was immediately shot down by Lucifer)

“You’re doing wonderful, MC- WATCH OUT FOR THE POWER LINE!”

MC didn’t hit the power line, but Asmo’s scream of terror caused them to fall butt-first into a dumpster. Their injured tailbone served as a tragic memory of the incident.

Oh well, good thing Asmo had nice smelling soap to give that could mask dumpster-stink.

The Uncle that eats everything and tells you to eat your veggies while you angrily pick at your broccoli at the kid’s table. (Beel)

Lucifer... has a kid?! Beel choked on the cheetos he had snuck into the Assembly Hall when the kid’s wings popped out.

Oh wow, that’s nice :) maybe they can eat together. Belphie would probably like them.

Wait what is the gender neutral term for Niece or Nephew?

...Nibling? Uh... let’s not say that around Beel. We don’t need him to get hungrier and begin associating MC with nibbling on things.

The Underground Tomb incident probably went a little differently, but after all that nonsense, the two are closer than two peas in a pod!

Mmm... peas...

“Beel?” MC stepped into the Avatar of Gluttony’s room.

“Hi MC.” Beel was doing push-ups in the middle of the room, on the ground right beneath his head was a massive bowl of spaghetti that he bit into every time he completed a push-up. “Can you come stand on my back? I need the extra weight.”

“On your back?” MC padded closer. “Are you sure? It’s not going to hurt?”

“No, it’ll be okay.” Beel assured them. “Belphie and I did this all the time. Except Belphie is normally asleep.”

MC tentatively stepped onto Beel’s back. It was a balancing act to say the least, they eventually gave up on standing and ended up sitting cross legged between Beel’s shoulder blades.

“You did this with Belphegor?” MC asked.

“Yeah,” Beel sighed. “He was always too tired to exercise, but he’d let me bench press him sometimes...”

MC frowned and hugged their knees to their chest. Knowing full well that Beel’s twin wasn’t in the human world like Lucifer said was absolutely ripping them apart from the inside. Guilt felt just as rotten as their pride did when they were being belittled...

“Maybe you’ll see him again sometime soon.” MC whispered. “Maybe my father’ll come to his senses and let him come back down to the Devildom.”

Beel paused his push-ups for a brief moment, then nodded and went back to his eating exercising combo. “I hope so. He’ll like you, MC. I’m sure of it.”

MC nodded. “I... hope so.”

Beel’s a pretty decent flight teacher, but his wings are just so different from MC’s that it renders any tips he had next to useless.

“MC, maybe your wings aren’t flapping fast enough.”

“Beel, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not a hummingbird. Or a fly. I don’t need to flap my wings a million times a minute to stay afloat.”

Ah well, MC tried to take some of Beel’s advice, but their lower right wing cramped up and they ended up flying in circles until Beel was able to catch them. Ah well, better than the dumpster incident the previous week.

The Uncle That Passes Out in The Basement and You’re Not Allowed to Wake Him Up Even Though All Your Toys and Video Games Are Down There. He Also Picks a Fight With Your Dad’s New S/O Before He Passes Out. (Belphie)

Sitting in the attic was quite a drag, and this supposedly weak little human was quite the annoyance to try and call out to. It took a lot longer than expected, but when he heard little footsteps coming towards his prison, Belphegor nearly jumped with joy.

Oh... it... looked like Lucifer. Smelled like Lucifer. Stood like Lucifer. Quacked like Lucifer. Or... trilled..? Whatever sound a peacock made, this brat sounded an awful lot like Lucifer.

A... half-demon. Hmph. Belphie honestly thought Lucifer had actual standards. Not anymore, he guessed.

(Man I could fill a whole-ass fic with the Belphie betrayal thing, but for now let’s skip to post attic nonsense)

Okay so maybe MC wasn’t disgusting. They made a good nap buddy. It was cute when their wings came out when they were sleeping sometimes. Well... it was cute when they didn’t hit him in the face and make him wake up with his mouth full of feathers.

What Beel said had been true, Belphie made a good substitute when weights weren’t available, but Beel didn’t want MC to feel left out, so Belphie and MC ended up sitting on his back while he did push ups. MC once got bored and started playing Go Fish with Belphie on Beel’s back while he exercised.

Yes. MC is still a member of the Formerly-Anti-Lucifer League.

“Are you sure he’s not going to be too mad at us?” MC asked for the dozenth time that day. Detective Toe Beans was wrapped around their neck like a scarf (he had gotten so big!!!) while MC nervously sat in one of the Library chairs.

“Positive.” Belphie said with a toothy grin. “Besides, he’s like putty when it comes to you. Just give him your best puppy eyes and we’re not guilty on all charges.”

Putty..? Really..? Lucifer..? How strict was he before MC got there... they wondered.

“Sh! He’s coming!” Satan stuck his nose into a random book, it was the Oxford English Dictionary... and it was upside down.

Belphie pretended to pass out and MC decided that the best course of action was to stare deeply into their cat’s eyes. Yeah... that looked casual and not weird.

“Satan, MC, Belphie.” Lucifer nodded to the three of them as he walked towards the entrance to his study.

“Lucifer.”

“Afternoon, father.”

Belphie let out a cartoonishly loud fake snore that nearly caused both MC and Satan to break cover and start laughing.

Side note, Bean had adorable widdle eyes! That cute little face was just to die for-

“You three..!”

Belphie, Satan, and MC peeked their heads into Lucifer’s study, their handiwork was perfect. Everything was covered in red post it notes. Perfectly not harmful, but SO inconvenient!

“You’re all cleaning this up or so help me-”

“GO!” Belphie and Satan each grabbed one of MC’s arms (Satan also grabbed Bean) and sprinted out of the House of Lamentation. Maybe they’d move back there in twenty years... they hoped that Solomon and The Angels would let them crash at Purgatory Hall...

Belphie had used up his physical energy supply for the next four years. He passed out the moment they stepped into sanctuary. Time for a nap...

Flight practice? Ha. Belphie’s napping. Though, he was suspiciously awake and filming whenever MC did something stupid.

“Try not to suck so bad.”

“GO TO HELL BELPHIE!”

“I’m already there. Hell is every second I’m stuck here watching you fail.”

“YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT FOR THAT!”

Well... MC mastered the dive bomb that day. Lucifer bought them a cake.

Bonus! Your Dad’s New Husband! That Has Managed to Somehow Make Everyone Hate Him Despite the Fact That He’s A Cinnamon Roll. (Diavolo)

A mini Lucifer? A mini Lucifer!

Diavolo dotes on MC like he’d dote on his own kid. MC wants a crown? They’re getting a crown! A damn nice one too! MC wants a title? Here! MC is now... idk Ruler of the area between Majolish and Hell’s Kitchen.

Poor Uncle Mammon’s got some financial insecurity, he’s still the cool uncle... right?!

He is very much that ‘how do you do fellow kids?’ Meme.

He tries to do stereotypical ‘dad’ things but he’s not very good at them. Once he tried to host a barbecue...

Barbatos saved the day, but Mammon’s hair was still singed, Solomon’s cooking still gave Beel food poisoning (SOLOMON EATS TOXIC WASTE I SWEAR-), Luke still got hit in the face with a frisbee, and Simeon got an unhealthy dose of DAD NERVES and got so stressed everyone was almost blinded by the holy light he suddenly started blasting. We do not mention the water guns.

(Seriously whose bright idea was it to give Belphie and Satan water guns while they were in Lucifer’s presence?)

Praise Barbie. He’s too good for them.

“Um...” MC awkwardly held up the baseball, trying to look at it from all angles like it was a completely alien object. “Lord Diavolo... are you sure you want to play catch?”

Diavolo clapped his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes! It’s a thing human fathers do with their children, correct? We must make up for lost time between you and Lucifer, right?”

Lucifer massaged his temples and nodded. “If you two would like to play catch...” Lucifer grimaced. “I will too.”

“Okay! MC, throw the ball to Lucifer!” Diavolo instructed.

Lucifer half heartedly held up his baseball glove as MC tossed him the ball. He caught it, and looked over at Diavolo, who was applauding like he just witnessed the greatest feat in sports history.

“Okay! Throw it to me!” Diavolo waved his glove in the air, Lucifer rolled his eyes and smiled. He threw the ball at Diavolo with... a lot of force. Enough force to probably dent steel... Diavolo caught it like it was nothing.

MC suddenly feared for their safety.

“Okay MC, catch!”

Diavolo threw the ball with enough force to break the god damn sound barrier. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the ball sailed way over MC’s head and crashed right through a window.

“Oh my...” Diavolo put a hand on his hip and surveyed the damage to the window. “This isn’t so bad, I believe in human world TV shows this happens quite often. Look! The glass broke in a perfect circle!”

“Yay... property damage...” MC murmured.

Lucifer sighed and pulled out his DDD. “I’ll phone someone to replace the win-”

“Lucifer no! Now according to human world customs we must,” Diavolo took a deep breath, rushed forward, grabbed both Lucifer and MC’s hands and started sprinting away from the Demon Lord’s Castle. “RUN FOR IT!”

“Di- Diavolo!” Lucifer gasped.

“Who are we running from?! That’s your castle!” MC squeaked.

“I don’t know! Just run! That’s what the human TV show says to do!”

Weirdly enough, Diavolo was the best flight instructor. MC’s ability to fly increased tenfold after Diavolo found out that MC was learning to fly.

“You’re doing amazing MC! That was a perfect turn!”

“Thanks Lord Diavolo, I’m surprised I haven’t crashed into anyone or fallen yet!”

“Well, I highly doubt you’ll be crashing into anyone anymore, your flying is practically perfect now!”

Mammon proceeded to fly past them holding what looked like Lucifer’s wallet.

“M-mammon?!”

“Oh... I wonder what he’s doing. Look, MC! It’s Lucifer! Hello Lucifer dea-”

Lucifer ended up colliding with the two of them and sending them all crashing to the floor.

That was the last time MC fell during flying practice.

(We currently have a Go Fund Me set up for Mammon to get the funds necessary to flee the Devildom after that incident. Please donate to save- oh shit hi Lucifer-)

[allforhader]

Our Little Secret

Officer Slater x (F) Reader

Requested by: @berkmansbabe

Warnings: Langauge, Some Smut

“Hey, you finally fucking show up” Y/N laughs at the three finally joining her at the park.

“Well unlike you, we have a schedule that isn’t in our control” Seth states sitting on the picnic table on the bench while Y/N sat on the table itself.

Fogel sat on the other side of her with a nervous smile. Little does she know that he likes her. But Y/N only saw the three as friends, nothing more.

“I gotta get a new lighter if we’re gonna pass this shit around” Y/N smiles twiddling with a joint container before getting up. “Anybody wanna go to the liquor store on the corner with me or am I walking solo?”

“I’ll go!” Fogel got up from the table stumbling a bit making Seth and Evan groan. They know he likes her but won’t say anything about it.

“Alright. I’ll get drinks while I’m there as well. I know the owner” Y/N smiles walking with Fogel to the liquor store.

Y/N opens the door for them as the jingle of the bell caught the owner’s attention.

“Y/N!”

“Sup pops” Y/N smiles high fiving the owner over the counter leaving Fogel confused.

“Is he your actual...?”

“No my good man, no I am not. And thank god for that one” the owner laughs as Y/N rolls her eyes going to get what she came there for.

Fogel waited with the owner while Y/N not only went in the back to snag a few drinks without pay cuz the owner is used to it with her, but grab a lighter.

“McLovin’??”

The owner’s attention draws to the two officers stepping in as he quickly grabs his permits and such.

“Oh hey! What are you doing here?”

“Beer run my guy” Micheals pays his shoulder. “Then yknow. The usual with cops on a break”

Fogel nodded pretending he knew what he meant.

“So what are you doing here McLovin? Not here for alcohol yeah?” Slater laughs with Micheals.

“No I’m here wi—“

“Y/N NOW YOU GOTTA BUY THE LIGHTER IF YOU’RE GOING TO USE IT” The owner yells as Y/N steps into the isle to the door lighting the joint already before freezing when she noticed the cops.

“I am gonna buy it old man...just uh. Who called the cops?”

“No one ma’am, we’re off duty” Micheals smiles as Slater locked eyes with Y/N while she took a hit with a smirk on her face.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer” Y/N laughs catching Slater off guard.

“OH! Yeah. Officer Micheals. Officer Slater. This is Y/N. She’s who I came here with”

“Oh is she a lucky lady?” Micheals teases while Slater straightens himself still getting a longing look from Y/N.

“Nope. I am very...single” Y/N smiles handing the owner the money she owes for the lighter. “Now, we are out.” She grabs Fogel’s arm pulling him out of there as the two watched them. “Later officers...”

“See yeah...”

“A college girl. He’s aiming high” Micheals laughs going to the beer with Slater.

“College?”

“Yeah man. You didn’t seem the college lanyard hanging out of her pocket?”

“No...but did you get the name?”

A few days went by and Y/N sat outside of her class’s building finishing up a note from the previous class when a few whispers caught her attention along with a pair of black boots meeting hers.

“Well. I would ask where you get your boots but I don’t have to now” Y/N smiles looking up at Slater. “Now how did you know where my college is?”

“Officer Micheals has a great eye for detail” Slater points to her lanyard now hanging out of her backpack. Y/N laughs a little smiling.

“Anything I can do for you officer?”

“I uh, wouldn’t mind taking you out on a date”

“Oh?” Y/N smiles closing her notebook and leaning forward. “How about coffee first? See if you actually like me...cuz I really like you”

One coffee later...leading to four dates later...and they can official say they’re dating. Or well. Keep it to themselves.

“Sneaking off somewhere ma’am?” Slater smiles leaning against his cop car as Y/N had just reached the parking lot to her complex.

“No sir, my boyfriend awaits at his place. Or so I thought” Y/N smiles walking over to Slater and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Are you off?”

“You don’t see Micheals with me now do you?” Slater brought her close before kissing her lovingly.

“So, the cop car being here?”

“Mm. That one thing you told me”

“Oh?”

In an empty parking lot, Y/N sat on the hood of the cop car smiling at Slater. He likes to admire for a moment and so does she.

“You gonna keep standing there looking pretty?” Y/N smiles grabbing the sides of his shirt the second he got closer to her.

“I’m admiring the beauty here, love” Slater smiles kissing her lovingly before getting more heated.

Y/N pulls away a bit to get her shirt off and Slater instantly planted his lips on her neck enjoying himself. She ran her hands through his hair smiling more.

“You going to make me feel good baby?”

“Mmm...yes yes I am”

A few moments later...

Y/N gripped onto Slater’s back with her nails and her legs around his hips simply enjoying themselves in the backseat of his cop car. He made sure not to go too hard with his thrusts since her bare back is against the door. But she didn’t care and begged for him to go faster.

“Slate I—“ Y/N moans getting close as Slater kept an arm wrapped around her waist and one pressed against the window while he thrusted.

“I’m almost there” Slater got rougher shaking the car.

“Kiss me, kiss me baby” Y/N begged grabbing his face the second he looked toward her pressing her lips against his.

Slater deepen the kiss the moment he climaxed along with Y/N both moaning into each other’s mouths. He parts from Y/N kissing her cheek and neck before calming down.

“Jesus Christ....”

“Hm?”

“God you’re amazing...” Y/N pants laying back as Slater opens the door behind him knowing no one is out there those late slowly pulling out.

“You’re the amazing one here” Slater took a deep breath saying so, pulling the condom off and tying it off.

Y/N brought herself up taking Slater’s shirt and putting it on before seeing the mark ups.

“Well you truly like to show that I’m taken” Y/N laughs talking about the hickeys on her thighs, neck, and chest.

Slater laughs putting his pants back on before handing her her panties and shorts. “I want everybody to know you’re mine” he smiles sliding back in and kissing her once more. “You wanna head back to yours or mine?”

“Mine, since I’m hanging out with the three stooges tomorrow” Y/N says with a frown knowing she’d reschedule if he had the day off since it was hers off school and work.

“I can sleep over still right?” Slater smiles making Y/N’s returns with a nod. “Your cat isn’t allowed in the bed though”

“Awww come on Tiger bites you that ONE TIME” Y/N laughs kissing him once more.

The next day came around and Y/N sat on the hood of her car waiting for her fools to get out of school. She was a little upset that she had to give Slater his shirt back but she knew she’d seen him tonight so she has all the time to steal it back. But the only clean shirt she got was a tank top and it fully revealed what he left on her besides her jacket covering the few on her shoulders.

“Y/N! Yo” Seth smiles doing a handshake with her as did Evan.

The moment Fogel joined his eyes obviously trailed elsewhere. Y/N caught on but didn’t think it was toward the hickeys.

“Hey” Y/N snaps with a smile. “My eyes are up here Fogel”

“Oh! Yeah sorry sorry”

It didn’t take long for Fogel to find Officer Slater and Micheals that evening since he just checks where they’ve been before. Fogel practically can get into the bar without getting ID’d because they’ve been with him before and not every bar is smart enough to double check.

“McLovin what the fuck are you doing here?” Micheals laughs setting his beer down as Slater looks up from his phone over to the distressed Fogel.

“Dude you good?”

“NO I AM NOT!” Fogel got into the bar stool now having both of their attentions. “So you know Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“We were hanging out earlier right? And she was like...a little revealing”

Keep it cool Slater

“Okay? Aren’t a lot of college girls revealing?”

Micheals you fucking bastard

“ANYWAY—She had all these fucking hickeys and stuff but like I didn’t know she was seeing anybody! I really like her and I don’t know what I’m going to do about it”

“Is there...anything you really can do? She’s seeing somebody” We can’t be subtle for shit.

“I mean you can jump the gun and think she’s...a whore but I know she’s not! She’s too classy for that”

“College does shit dude. You don’t know what she be doing” Micheals laughs again as Slater laughed along even if he wanted to punch his partner. “You should just be straight up with her if you really like the girl”

Y/N stares at Slater after he told her what happened. She couldn’t help it. She started laughing at the fact that Micheals would say that about her and that Fogel likes her. Like it’s cute that he has a crush on her but she thought the obvious disinterest in the three would’ve stirred that away but guess not.

“You take this super well”

“Well Slater, other than you. I’ve only slept with one other guy in my entire life. So the whore comment doesn’t affect me and you two are breaking up A LOT of college parties where some act like whores. You two see it a lot. But like I’m fucking smarter than that. I have a full ride through college, I have a decent job, good friends, and a boyfriend that I love. Yeah I get high sometimes but that’s about it” Y/N’s laughter calmed down as she moved her physics book off her bed along with her notes. She turns back to Slater moving himself to tower her. “Oh? Now what’s this?”

“You love me?” Slater smiles laying on top of her as Y/N brought her arms around him.

“I do, I love you”

“I love you too Y/N” Slater continues to smile getting many kisses from Y/N once he said that.

It didn’t take long for Fogel to find out. Well. It did. But it wasn’t...hard

Fogel one weekend went to Y/N’s school knowing she had a class on Saturday with the confidence to tell her but the second he spotted her, she was in the arms of Officer Slater.

So he did what was best in his mind.

Flip out.

“YOU FUCKING—“

Y/N’s attention immediately darts to the pissed off Fogel as she parts from Slater.

“Fogel—“

“I TOLD YOU THAT I LIKED HER AND YOU IMMEDIATELY SWEEP HER OFF HER FEET TAKING HER FOR YOURSELF”

“Okay I’m not a prized possession—“

“SHUT UP Y/N”

“Woah Fogel. Calm down don’t make a scene—“

“MAKE A SCENE?! YOU’RE A BACKSTABBING ASSHOLE” Fogel tried punching Slater as he has already kept pushing him back before he can even get in a “good punch”. But the more aggressive Fogel tried to be, Slater cant let it slide when he’s in uniform.

“Okay okay. No. This is assault of an officer and you’re under arrest” Slater states knowing this triggered Y/N at first since she didn’t know what was the plan here.

Fogel tried to fight the restraints aka the handcuffs being put on him. Slater immediately bringing him to his cop car as Y/N looked at everyone who watched anxiously before quickly following the two.

“You need to calm down”

“SLATER”

“No. Seriously. You need to calm down” Slater states putting Fogel in the back and taking the drivers not letting Y/N in until this was settled. “If she shows no interest you shouldn’t force it at all. And before you say “that’s what you did” I didn’t. She had every right to rejected me when I asked her out but she didn’t. The two of us got close and we fell in love. It’s not rocket science and I know you care about her. But shouldn’t you care more if she’s happy or not more than if she’s with you or not”

Wow.

Fogel didn’t really think that hard into it. Yeah, he has the reasons for liking her. But he didn’t think of how she’d feel about it. Only wanted to tell her everything. And after hearing what Slater said, he’s happy he’s with her. She’s got someone that loves her and will always put her first.

“Wow...I’m sorry Officer Slater, I didn’t even think about that”

“It’s fine Fogel. You’ll learn one day with the love of your life. I say that as a friend. But as an officer...don’t come throwing punches at me again or you will actually be arrested”

“Yes sir”

“Good” Slater faces forward gesturing Y/N to join the two in where Micheals usually sits. “We worked it out”

“Good. Cuz Fogel, he can’t do it because it’s wrong on so many levels. But I’m not afraid to kick your ass for throwing punches at my boyfriend” Y/N threats through the mesh cage separating the front from the back.

“Sorry”

“It’s okay, now let’s take you home”

[kats-random-writing]

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!! we made it! its been one hell of a year, but we did it, I gotta say I’m so proud of everyone! ❤️

also! looks who’s back writing agin? ME, i hope you like this fic, its a little longer then a drabble cuz I’m a wordy bitch apparently, but i like it and hope you guys do to, all art in this fic was by me too.

Happy New Year

Shigaraki X Reader

 1475 words

16+ please, theres swearing and stuff, also mention of unwanted touching. 

_______________________________________________________________________

The league was your home, you were surprised how easily you fit in, but I guess when you put a bunch of “misfits” together they all know how it feels to be an outcast.  

You joined shortly after Toga and Dabi, but not for the same reasons, see they followed stain, you not so much, you believed in Shigaraki.  You’d been following his exploits as best you could, and had seen his growth from inexperienced leader to now, a terrifying force to be reckoned with.  You believed in him.  And it had nothing to do with the fact that you kind of thought he was attractive. Nope! Definitely not! He was a good leader for a cause you believed in, that’s it, totally!

Moving in the league, was…..not what you expected, it was chaotic, loud, and perfect.  Everyone took care of each other, they also loved to annoy one another. Like you said, it’s  your home, and the rest of the “villains”, your family.

You had all been ordered to lay low over the holidays, expecting more hero movement on the surface, it was the safest thing to do. So all of you were piled in the common space before the bar, it had shitty decorations courtesy of Toga and Yourself. Nobody really argued so they stayed up, even though Christmas was over and it was New Year’s Eve. 

“So then I punched him, and his nose started to bleed!” Togas excited tone pulled you from your thoughts, “IT WAS SO CUTE! ALL THAT BLOOD, ALL OVER HIS FACE!.....he ran away though” she puzzled. 

“Yeah cuz you punched him, crazy!” Dabi threw back his head  laughing.  Toga pouted and reached out to smack him

 “HEY! Don’t be rude! He looked better with the blood, besides at least he wanted to kiss me!” She said triumphantly, “it’s not like you have people lining up to kiss you!” She threw back at him.

He rolled his eyes, and smirked, pulling his stapes in a way you thought must hurt

 “You’d be surprised” 

“NO WAY”

 Laughter erupted around the room, as you watched Dabi just sip his drink, the smirk never leaving his face. 

“Why are you all so fucking loud?” A new voice joins the conversation as your leader Shigaraki trudges into the room, “it’s almost midnight, I’m trying to sleep” 

He makes his way across the room to his empty armchair.  

“I’m sorry! ~BUT ITS NEW YEARS~”  twice manages to interrupt himself to answer Shigaraki. 

“We’re staying in tonight like you ordered”  Dabi glares “Since it’s “too dangerous”” the patchwork villain air quoted around dangerous.  

“Yeah! New Years should be out! Having fun, meeting cute people to kiss!” Toga chimed in! 

“Whatever” is the only response you get.

“Your turn y/n!” Twice near shouts, reviving the conversation, “best~OR WORST~ New Years ~ KISS~” 

Your cheeks redden at the thought of going into detail of some of your New Years of the past, 

“Um, well…...OH OKAY! Got one, so this one time a few years ago I was at the bar, right. And I’m talking with this guy all night and we’re hitting it off~” you realize you now have ALL eyes on you, and your cheeks fade back to that deep crimson. “~ and um, yeah so we do the count down and at midnight we kiss and, ok he was shit at kissing anyways so my plans for the evening are shot already, THEN! IN. THE. BAR. this motherfucker tries to feel me up! So I’m like “no let’s just kiss, Kay?” Rolling your eyes you continue 

“He’s like sure thing babe” you here a few chuckles your deepened “dude bro” voice.

“Then this asshole immediately starts groping me again” 

“Fucker” 

“No way”

“Ew~WHAT A HORRIBLE MAN”

As you could’ve predicted all your friends exclaimed in disgust.  But there’s voice you didn’t expect 

“What did you do?” 

His red eyes seem to stare into your very soul, as his left hand reaches up to start scratching his neck.  Your cheeks darken again, you swear you're probably as red as his eyes, not that you’ve taken much time thinking about his eyes, or him, totally.

“Um well….I..I...I” you stutter under his gaze, “I uh, hehe, I pulled his hand off me, and  broke his wrist, Then left” you shrug and try to sound nonchalant, a hard thing to do when Shigaraki is staring you down, like he can’t decide whether to hug you or kill you.  You don’t even hear the rest of your friends' responses to your story, not until Shigaraki nods and turns his stunning eyes from yours.

“TWO MINUTES UNTIL MIDNIGHT!! Kurogiri! Turn on the tv!” 

The shadowy man behind the bar simply nods before picking up the remote and turning on the New Years count down

“Oh great leader” Dabi begins sarcastically “what about you?  Best, worst…..or any, New Year’s Eve kisses to date.” 

The hush that fell over the small room was deafening....and if you thought your blush was bad going into your own kissing stories - you must look like a  lobster thinking about hearing Shigaraki’s.

All eyes shift between the two men, until finally 

“fuck off you burnt chicken nugget” 

“I guess that answers that question” Dabi laughs as he rises from his seat, reaching for his jacket. “ I’m gonna go to the roof for a smoke” 

“But you're gonna miss the countdown!” Toga wines.

“And? Not like I’m gonna kiss any of you.” He states as he walks down the hall and out of sight. 

While toga drags on about Dabi abandoning the group, a realization dawns on you, as though someone striped away all the clouds and the sun was shining on you for the first time, Shigaraki, you long time -totally not crush- has never had a New Years kiss.  This revelation also gives you an idea.  And whether it’s a good or bad idea you're still not sure but for now? You’ve made up your mind.  It’s the perfect time to make your move.  You look at the tv one last time, less than a minute. Your heart feels like it’s gonna beat out of your chest.  

You rise from your seat and go stand next to Toga, and try to turn your attention back to the screen.

Ten

Nine

Eight

~holy shit~

Seven

~you’re actually about to do it~

Six

Five 

Four

~shitshitshitshitshit~

Three

Two

~here goes nothing~

One

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

As Twice and Toga cheer you reach and grab Togas face to quickly press a kiss to her cheek, she quickly grabs your face to kiss your cheek as well.  She also lightly bites your cheek before releasing you, both giggling. 

You quickly cross the room to Twice, holding your hands out, letting him close the distance he places his masked face into your waiting hands.  You lean down to kiss his forehead. “happy new year~I LOVE YOU!”

                                          You swear you float across the room, your pounding heart is all you can hear, the heat in your cheeks, all you can feel and as you look up again you are standing before Shigaraki Tomura. 

He’s of course looking down at his phone.

You take a breath, then another.  Then reach down placing one hand on the chair behind his head, bringing his attention to you, your right hand you reach under to hold his chin, and guide his head up so your eyes meet.

Looking deeply for any sign he might be truly uncomfortable, but you only see shock, confusion and maybe even a hint of excitement. You gaze down to his lips, while licking your own whisper “happy new year Tomura” and bringing your head down, to finally touch your lips to his.

He’s stiff, frozen and for a moment your terrified you’ve made a mistake, you hold steady and continue the kiss, and after a few seconds he melts into your touch, tilting his head to match you and opening himself up to you, quickly you step closer to him, making him arch his back to continue the contact, you move your hands sending one  to cup his face and the other to run through his hair, his hands alternate between the chair arms and space between your bodies. 

Your both breathing heavy, when you hear “Y/N…..Holy shit” 

Snapping back to reality to realize all eyes are locked onto the two of you, Twices head snapping between you and Tomura, and Toga.  It was Toga who spoke, she’s still standing wide eyed and mouth hanging open. 

“Happy new year??” You shrug as you sit down on Shigaraki’s lap, his arms protectively wrap around you, careful not to actually touch you with his gloved fingers. You smile and think to yourself, it’s gonna be a good year!

[brandstifter-sys]

Batter Up

@dukexietyweek​ Day 5 - School 

Word Count: 2680                (Ao3)

Pairing: Dukexiety

Characters: Remus, Virgil, Patton

Rating: T

Warnings: mild innuendo

Virgil used to play softball before coming out and moving in with his brother. In this new school he doesn't touch sports, except for gym class and watching the baseball team practice, for artistic reasons, and because he has a crush on one of the players, Remus. But one day after accidentally breaking a bat and Remus' windshield in gym, Virgil gets a surprising offer from Remus, to show him a thing or two about the sport. Virgil tries to play dumb about the game and breaking the windshield just to get this kind of time with Remus, but who's to say Remus isn't trying the exact same thing to get closer to the shy emo?

---

No one seemed to think he would be capable of any great physical feat, but he didn't like to put himself out there so he couldn't blame them. Virgil was just glad that no one he particularly cared about was in his gym class.

"Oh shit," he grumbled under his breath, holding the dented metal bat in both hands. Everyone else was staring off in the distance, watching the arc of the baseball he gutted fall in the distance.

"Virgil, have you ever played on a team before?" Coach Patton asked from the mound. Virgil shook his head and shied away from the fresh-out-of-college teacher. It was a lie but he was not about to admit he played softball before he moved to this town with his brother.

"Well you have a knack for it! If you want to join the team, let me know!" Patton chuckled and pulled another ball from his pocket, "But I need you to go back inside to switch out that bat."

Virgil had never been happier to get away from class than in that moment. The ball landed in the parking lot and set off a car alarm. His classmates were starting to stare. He carried his shame across the lawn and into the gym, grateful he didn't get drafted or scolded. He didn't need that attention from anyone, ever.

Almost anyone.

Virgil could admit he liked watching the school team practicing, judging their stances and strategies from behind the bleachers. He had no problem with sketching the players in action, it was great practice, but one always stood out. Remigio Alesini, or Remus as he preferred. He wanted to catch Remus' attention.

Virgil couldn't help but notice him—he was loud, proud, and had a unique way of moving. That and he was weirdly charming, sweet and vile, a chaotic blend of energy in a handsome meat suit. He was smart, strong, kind, and he had a lot of friends. Virgil hated having a crush on him of all people.

Rather than dwell on the guy who had to repeat kindergarten and wasn’t in his gym class, Virgil flicked on the lights in the supply room and sought out a new bat, hoping that his unofficial home run wasn't the hot topic still. He would be surprised at how long it would haunt him.

---

It was after hours and Virgil was behind the bleachers, sketch pad out and pencil ready. He was working on a more detailed sketch of Remus and wanted another look at those bright features. But as the team finished running laps, Virgil caught sight of Remus' concerned expression.

"Hey Ree, what's doin'?" one of his teammates asked as they gathered their equipment.

"My windshield has a wad of ball guts jammed into it, it's not a big deal but whichever one of you chuckle fucks did it is gonna pay!" Remus laughed, and laughed harder and at the teammate's expression—sheer terror. Virgil was twice as terrified.

"Can't get your crush with a busted windshield?" a different teammate, Remy, jeered.

"You still have the hots for his brother, you have no room to talk!" Remus grinned, "Especially when you're dating my brother!"

"Alright boys and non-binary sluggers," Coach Patton said as he approached the dugout, "Save the chatter for later, we have to be ready for the game on Friday! Get in the field and have a catch while I set up the bags!"

"But we were talking about Ree's busted windshield!" Dave, the shortstop with a wild mop of hair and glasses, countered.

"So that's the car that got hit!" Patton mused. Virgil froze and prayed Patton would keep his mouth shut. He did not want Remus to be pissed off at him, or the rest of the team, but unlike them, Remus mattered to him.

"Who did it? When did it happen?"

"It was during one of my gym classes today, and I was stunned! I don't think I ever saw anyone do that in real time! He was just as shocked, I think!"

"Who was he?" Remy pressed.

"That's not important right now, it's baseball time!" Patton said, "Now go partner up!"

Virgil sighed in relief as the team split up to practice. Patton could keep quiet so he could get back to drawing.

About an hour and a half later, he was adding detail to a sketch of Remus when he was batting. Each curve had to be precise, all the proportions correct, the energy in the pose perfect before he could add those eyes and that smirk. He didn't even realize that the majority of the team was gone.

"Hey there!" Remus greeted him from behind, making Virgil jolt and clutch his sketchbook to his chest.

"Easy! Sorry for spooking you!" Remus chuckled, "Thought you might want to get out of here since all the models are gone—except me, but I don't mind modeling for you in a more private setting!" He winked, getting Virgil to turn red.

"I don't draw nudes, if that's what you're thinking," Virgil grumbled, wishing he could disintegrate on the spot. Remus beamed, his cheeks taking on a pink hue.

"Now I'm thinking about it! But I get the impression you're looking for some dynamic poses that require clothes—or you really like baseball!"

"I mean, yeah, both, but it's not a big deal. Shouldn't you be with your team?"

"Nope! They trust the gym showers and I don't! Besides, I've been meaning to talk to you since you're always here!"

"I can go if it's a proble—"

"No! It's cool!" Remus cut him off quickly, "I'd like to see what you're drawing if that's cool, and if not maybe I could show you some stuff like using a glove or batting since they're doing baseball in gym and stuff!" He was grinning like crazy and Virgil was sure his heart was going to explode. This was the perfect opportunity to get close without too much risk. He just had to play dumb to get the most out of this one-time chance.

"If you want to, you can show me some stuff, but you don't have to," Virgil shrugged and rubbed his neck shyly.

"I want to show you a lot of stuff, Virge, but let's stick with baseball!" Remus giggled and took Virgil's hand, internally screaming when the emo decided to hold it and get up.

"You can show me other stuff another time," Virgil grumbled and prayed he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

"Only with permission!" Remus laughed, a genuinely amused kind of laugh, and dragged Virgil onto the field towards the dugouts.

"So, uh, what are you showing me?" Virgil stammered, kicking himself for being so timid. Remus didn't seem to notice it, or at least he didn't acknowledge it.

"Well I was thinking about showing you how to throw, maybe pitch, and then how to hold a bat! But if there's anything you want me to show you, I can! As long as it's not too illegal—I'm not about to expose a minor to—"

"I'm eighteen. Try again," Virgil cut him off and scowled. He was baby-faced, sure, but that didn't mean he was that young. He frowned at Remus, who was digging through a storage box by the home team dugout.

"There's still other kids on school grounds! You're not stuck here alone with me!" Remus jeered and pulled out a mitt. He tossed it to Virgil and grabbed a ball.

"You know how to put that on, right?" Remus teased as Virgil stared at the mitt. He knew that he was not holding a standard glove, it was a catcher's mitt, but if he said anything, Remus might catch on that he knew far too much to need this.

"No, it's not like I have to use one in gym class," Virgil retorted wryly—he was not about to play that dumb. Remus giggled and moseyed to the dugout bench and grabbed his own glove.

"Did they teach you how to catch a ball without getting hurt?"

"Yeah, use the mit like a scoop and try to catch with the webbing between the thumb and fingers. Unless that's wrong," Virgil answered. Remus smiled at him and nodded.

"I guess Patton taught you guys how to throw too. Good. Those are the most important parts of the game!"

"I guess they are," Virgil mumbled. He hadn't really thought about it. He was too preoccupied with keeping his eyes away from Remus and not staring too long. He heard Remus jog a short distance and glanced up to see him standing on the pitcher’s mound, his glove at the ready.

“Toss it here!” Remus called, bouncing on his heels, ready to dive if Virgil’s aim was off. Virgil relaxed his shoulders and planted his feet before rearing his arm back and snapping it forward, flinging the ball into Remus’ glove without much struggle. He paled when Remus cheered and ran to him.

“Okay! Pat taught you well! And my god you have a great arm! Since I don’t have to show you the basics, wanna learn to pitch? I’m usually third base, but I can cover the mound in a pinch so I’m not talking out my ass!”

“Shit spews from both ends?” Virgil scoffed, immediately regretting it. Remus just laughed, like a hyena.

“Now that’s the kind of spunk Remy wishes he had! C’mon, I’ll show you the technique and you can show me what you got!” Remus said and dragged Virgil to the mound leaving no room for argument.

“Alright so the first thing is your stance, you gotta stand with your side kinda pointed at the plate, whichever side you have the glove on,” Remus explained and stood on the mound, mimicking his own instructions, “Keep your feet shoulder width apart and your body straight, putting your weight on your back foot. Then you bring both your arms in front of you and in one motion and lift your front leg so it’s parallel to the ground, like this. And then you’ll bring that leg down in a wide step with your toes pointed at the plate, keeping your body facing either first or third base, and your arms up about shoulder height with the back one bent upward by the time your foot meets the ground. And you’re gonna push off with your back leg to get some real power as you throw, and you want to follow through, leaning over your front leg to really drive that ball home.” He repeated all the steps in one swift motion and hurled the ball over home plate, and into the fence behind it.  

Virgil was stunned, and he wasn’t going to tell Remus it was because his form was so bad but the throw was decent. Remus could live thinking he just impressed Virgil, he looked like he just won the biggest prize at a rigged carnival game, happy and flushed as he fetched the ball.

Virgil was less stunned and more startled when that ball came straight for him. He caught it without getting hurt but he would have liked some warning!

“Nice catch!” Remus beamed and ran over to him, dragging him to the pitcher’s mound, “Now you try!” He stepped back to give Virgil room and watched with interest as the emo took a deep breath and glared at the plate.

It was like second nature, he rocked his foot back and turned his other foot into the rubber pivot to keep from sliding. He reared his leg up and snapped forward, shifting his weight and moving his hips before his shoulders, lobbing the ball into the same fence, with more force behind his throw than Remus expected.

“Holy shit! That was awesome Virge! Do you always wear the hoodie to hide those arms? They’re probably so distracting!” Remus said and wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders, “Oh yeah, you’re hiding some serious muscle under that hoodie! Lemme get you set to use them on the offensive!”

“You mean—?” Virgil muttered, willing away his blush and any latent feelings bubbling in his stomach. Remus was touching him and praising him, how was he supposed to keep his mind from racing?

“Batting! I won’t throw anything at you, but a good stance is important too! Hold that thought!” Remus giggled and took his glove. He skipped to the dugout box and swapped the glove for a bat. The same bat Virgil had to bring out earlier during gym class. He should have been more disturbed by it, but he was still a little put off enough to remember that he was the reason Remus would have to get a new windshield.

Remus dragged him to the plate and thrust the bat into his hands with a cheeky grin.

Virgil was weak in the knees, resting the bat on his shoulder as he tried not to think about Remus complimenting him over and over or that he accidentally cost Remus a trip to the mechanic. He wanted to believe there was something more there, like he wanted to pass out and not wake up.

"Alright, first," Remus said and placed his hands on Virgil's shoulders, "your footing is important," he nudged Virgil's feet into position with his own, pressing against his back, "they should be parallel like this."

"Oh—okay, um," Virgil winced. He couldn't have been that nervous! But when Remus slid his hands down his arms to his hands, Virgil wondered why he wasn't more nervous. That touch was far too gentle, almost reverent.

"You want to choke up on the bat more, like this—" he guided Virgil's hands on the bat, and didn't let go, "—and lift it off your shoulder." His breath was tickling Virgil's neck and Virgil could feel how close he was.

"Now bend your knees a bit and stick out your ass, and you'll be able to break my windshield again."

Virgil's breath caught in his throat and he dropped the bat. He was dead meat and his heart was racing.

"I—I–I'm sorry," he stammered, on the verge of tears. Remus hugged him and rested his chin on his shoulder.

"It was an accident. I'm not mad. I'm impressed! Coach told me all about it! And I thought you couldn't get any hotter!"

"What?"

"You're hot as hell and you gave me an excuse to talk to you, see how much skill you have, and ask you out!"

"Remus?"

"I've had a crush on you since freshman year! My god you have no idea how much of a spaz I was whenever I thought about you! Roman lost his shit I was so sappy and annoying! And that's saying something! I got over the craziness sorta but yeah I like you a lot!"

"Even if I—" Virgil winced and tried to keep from touching his binder.

"Even if you're not cis! You're you and I like that! So now you know what you're getting into if you agree to go to the movies with me since you busted up my car!"

"Can we get water ice and hang out instead?" Virgil asked and turned around in Remus' loose hold.

"I mean I wouldn't have the same chance to make out with you in the dark, but I like that idea!" he giggled.

"I could still kiss you if you want."

"Even if I want it right now?"

"Yeah," Virgil said and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, “but if you have time after the water ice, we can watch Zombieland at my place with the lights out.”

“That’s a dangerous compromise,” Remus giggled, his face a lovely cherry shade.

“If you try anything too crazy, I’ll show you how I really use a bat,” Virgil countered, only to have Remus pull him close and hug him while he bounced on his heels. It was hard to tell who was happier when Virgil hugged back. It was probably the coach watching the pair from a safe distance away. It was nice to see those kiddos finally getting together!

[the-writer-ofthe-fandoms]

True (Lucifer SPN)

Pairing: Lucifer (Supernatural) x Reader Words: 1.5k+ Warning(s): Shapeshifter, a lil bit of angst, some heated stuff ehehe A/N: Im rewatching Supernatural and it rekindled my love for Lucifer. What is it with me and Lucifer ahaha. I hope you guys enjoy~

-----

You grunted and winced, the fabric bag that was over your head ripped off your head. There standing in front of you was a damn Shapeshifter with your damn face. They smirked at you as you struggled against the ropes binding you. You were on a case alone that was supposed to be a simple salt and burn, and it was. But apparently the shifter in town caught wind that a hunter was in town. The guy who spoke to you before you left town at the gas station must've been the shapeshifter; before you became his new face. He was the last person you saw before blacking out. You looked around and pieced together you were in some sort of basement.

"Wakey-wakey, (Y/N)." He chuckled. "My, my... To get ahold of someone who is so close to the Winchesters. I must've won the lottery!"

"If you know anything about them you would know you can't fool them." You snarled back.

"I am currently learning everything about you." He tapped your forehead, "I already know juicy details about Sam and Dean and oh! The bunker too. I'll pay them a little visit and kill them in their sleep~." The shifter walked away from you, slipping your hunting bag over their shoulder. "I left you some food and water, can't have you dying on me! Toodles!" He chucked your knife close by you before leaving the basement.

You smirked to yourself, seems like your imposter hasn't learned everything about you yet. Like how you were in a relationship with the Lucifer, your soulmate. You had to stop yourself from praying to him, just in case the shifter would be able to access that. If the boys didn't figure it out soon enough, Lucifer would definitely tell the difference. You felt almost sick that a shifter took on your face, you just hope they would stopped in time.

You maneuvered the knife your doppelganger tossed you to your tied up hands, and slowly you began cutting away at the ropes. When the ropes were cut off you immediately started looking for a way out. The only window to the outside was way too small for anyone to enter or exit.

"Damn." You growled. You walked to the door, just in case there was a slim chance it was left unlocked; it wasn't. You sighed and attempted to kick it down, didn't work. "There has to be something the dumbass left around."

You sighed and began your search through out the basement, hoping this would all be over soon.

-----

Shapeshifter you pulled into the garage around 10pm and smirked. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to get ahold of you; one of the closest people to the all too well known Winchester brothers. He felt all too confident that he could trick the two easy-peasy. He locked the car and strode into the bunker, a cocky smirk was on his, technically yours, face.

'All I have to do is wait until they fall asleep.' He found his way to the library of the bunker and there were Dean and Sam, not suspecting a thing. The two looked up from their laptops and grinned.

"How was the hunt, (Y/N)?" Dean asked.

"Pretty easy. The ghost didn't stand a chance against me." Shifter-You grinned and sat down at the table with them.

"Good you got back in time, we found a big hunt about 3 hours from now and we want to go first thing tomorrow. We also want to bring your boyfriend too, we may need his help with some things." Sam passed over the newspaper article of whatever they want to hunt. The Shifter mentally cursed at the fact you had a boyfriend, he hadn't had enough time to learn more about you.

"Sounds good." He gulped as he scanned over the paper. He carefully eyed the two brothers as they continued talking about a game plan for the hunt and he hoped more of your memories would become accessible to him. "Well I am going to my room and catch up on some sleep, see you both later!"

"Goodnight, (Y/N)." They both waved and he got up from his seat.

"There is my one and only favorite human!" A voice the shifter didn't recognize shouted behind him. He turned around, ready to act like you, but practically froze on the spot.

'This bitch is dating Lucifer?' He internally screamed and put on his best (Y/N)-esque smile.

"Hey there, babe~" He continuously began silently freaking out when the Devil leaned in and kissed the shifter-yous forehead. Did he successfully trick the infamous fallen angel?

"You look scrumptious." Lucifer smirked.

"Ugh get a room you two." Dean grunted, causing the shifter to turn and face him.

"Don't worry Dean, there won't be anymore PDA."  Lucifer wrapped his arms around the shifter, his arms tightening. "Because this isn't (Y/N)."

"What the hell?" Both Dean and Sam grabbed their guns, keeping them at the ready.

"Lucifer w-what are you talking about?" The shifter paused for a second before struggling with all his might to break free from the practically bone crushing hug from Lucifer but he couldn't.

"Demon?!" Sam shouted.

"Nope, a shapeshifter." Luci smirked, his eyes shifting to red. "Oh you are so going to regret shifting into my (Y/N)."

"If you harm me I won't tell you where they are!" The shifter tried to bargain.

"Are you stupid or dumb? I am archangel Lucifer, I will find (Y/N)."

"Why do you want to find that bitch anyways? They think of you as a monster, Lucifer." The shifter snarled. "I have access to all their memories and thoughts. You disgust them, repulse them even. They think you are nothing. The mere thought of you touching them makes then want to burn their skin on off-"

"Shoot them, they bore me." Lucifer sighed and shoved shifter you forward. Before the shapeshifter tried running, both Dean and Sam landed two fatal shots with silver bullets. Your body fell to the ground with a thud... And the shifter was dead. The Winchesters eyed Lucifer carefully but his face was unreadable.

"Uh are you okay, Lucifer? They were saying some pretty harsh stuff as (Y/N)."

"That was rookie stuff." He shrugged his shoudlers. "Take care of this while I go find (Y/N)."

-----

You sighed and slumped against the pillar you were once tied to. It had been hours since the 'evil you' left and you were feeling exhausted. Your search for a way out was futile, but you had high hopes for a rescue. You figured that the Shapeshifter should be at the bunker by now, so you were pondering your choices.

"Ah fuck it." You closed your eyes and began concentrating, preparing to pray to Lucifer.

'Lucifer-'

The sound of fluttering wings made you snap open your eyes, Lucifer was standing right in front of you. He grinned and held out a hand, which you gladly took, and he immediately pulled you into an embrace.

"I knew you would know." You buried your face into his chest, hugging him tight.

"I will always know who the real you is. Now let's get you home." You felt the usually spinning when Lucifer teleported and next thing you know, you were in the bunker library.

"Where's the brothers?"

"They are taking care of the Shapeshifter. Let's go to our room." He took hold of your hand and you both walk down the hallway to your room. You watched Lucifers carefully, you can tell there was something wrong and you knew it had to do something with the shifter.

You arrived to your shared room with Lucifer. Once the door was closed you pulled him into a deep, emotional kiss; your body pressed against his. You break away and stared deeply into his eyes, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I am sorry if shifter-me said anything to you, Luci." You sigh,"What happened?"

"Why are you apologizing? It wasn't you." He lead you to the bed to sit down. "That shifter said you hated me basically, that I am disgusting. And watching "you" die was something else."

"Aw Lucifer, I love you with all my being and I hope you know that I could never see you as a monster." You wrap your arms around his shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Now, I was stuck in a dusty, dirty basement all day. I think a shower with my favorite Devil~"

"Oh I like the way you think." He smirked. "Let's get those restricting clothes off.~"

"No need to tell me twice." You maneuvered and now you were straddling Lucifer, you ran your hands through his sandy blond hair. You felt his hands go to your hips, and slowly they made their way to your back. His hands slid under your shirt, the light and gentle touches made you shiver.

"My favorite human, my soulmate, my love." Lucifer murmured in your ear before he kissed your neck. He held you tight while he left little hickies along your collarbone.

You felt pure happiness in that moment with your soulmate Lucifer.

[lovemesomesurveys]

What’s the last vegetable you ate, and when did you eat it? I had spinach in my homemade egg and cheese mcmuffin yesterday. 

What was your last Facebook notification for? Notifying me someone added a photo to a group I’m in.

What bands have you seen live? Several because a few of the concerts I’ve been to featured a few bands, which was cool. I don’t feel like listing them all.

Tell me an interesting fact about your mother: She wanted to go into the marines, but unfortunately life happened and her plans got put on hold and ultimately never happened. That was her dream. :/

What do you think is the most important thing to happen to you before the age of 13? Uhh. The accident I had at 7 months old that made me a paraplegic and changed my life forever?

What were you super against as a young child but aren’t anymore? Scary movies. I love ‘em now.

What are your plans later today? Stay in bed most of the day sleeping, watching TV, scrolling through Tumblr, watching YouTube, and checking my social medias. 

Are you doing anything exciting this weekend? It’s the weekend and that’s all I’m doing ^^^. 

Who do you talk to the most? My mom.

What are some things you do regularly that make you feel old? I feel old because of how I feel, health wise.

Who is your best guy friend(s)? I don’t have one.

Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? I’d like to be a little tanner.

If you had a tiny scar on your face, would you get it removed or just keep it? I do have some tiny scars on my face and I just let them be. 

Have you had an x-ray in the past year? Yes.

Do you think your first love still loves you? He never did.

What is something that is “going right” in your life? I’ve been going through a really hard time the past month, actually.

When did you feel ready to start dating? I thought I was when I had my first boyfriend at 16, but nope.

When was the last time your pet bit you? If you don’t have a pet, have you ever been bitten by someone else’s? She’s never bitten me.

Where were you the last time you made out? I think it was in his car. It’s been several years now since then, so I’m not quite sure.

When was the last time you cried tears of joy? I’m not someone who tends to cry for that reason.

How do you type your sad smileys? :(

Do you have “decorative hand-towels” that cannot be used in your house? Nope.

What was the last soda you drank? I had some Coke to take my medicine earlier. 

What was the last thing someone made fun of you for? *shrug*

Have you ever had any type of surgery? Yeah, a few.

Should kids be allowed to get tattoos/piercings without parental consent? Uh, no.

Who was the last person to hit on you? It’s been a longgg time since that has happened.

What was the last thing you decided not to do, that you were supposed to? I was supposed to make a phone call yesterday.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to tell someone? Hm.

What do you put on hot dogs? On the very rare occasions I had a hot dog I just put ketchup and mustard.

Ever fallen in the shower? No, thankfully.

Do you think that things will get better? I can’t see that right now. :/

Have you ever legitimately saved a person’s life? No.

What’s your favourite book genre? Murder mysteries and psychological thrillers. 

Have you ever walked out of a movie at the theatre? Once. I honestly don’t remember why, though.

Do dogs like you? Yes.

Would you say that you project an air of authority? Ha, no.

Have you ever jumped off a high dive into a pool? Nooo.

Do you use one towel when you shower or two? (one for hair, one for body) One.

Have you ever been to one of the great lakes? Nope.

Who do you know that had a baby recently? A few people on my Facebook.

Do you like Usher’s songs? Yeah, I like several of his songs.

When was the last time you went to a waterpark? Never. I don’t do waterslides. 

Have you ever ridden a train? Nope.

What do you eat your French fries with? Ranch.

Do you have family problems? No family is perfect. 

What’s the last food you ate that was stale? Hm. I don’t recall.

How do you like your grilled cheese? Cheesy.

What is the most challenging meal you have ever cooked? The only thing I cook is ramen, which isn’t challenging at all. I’m so not a cook. What was your favorite thing to do as a little kid? I lovedddd playing Barbies.

Have you ever been close to drowning? No, but that’s a fear of mine since I can’t swim so even with floaties or an inner tube I don’t feel safe.

Have you ever had a panic attack? Many times.

Do you like doing housework? No.

Would you ever get implants? No.

Do you own a robe? Nope. I have a Snuggie, though.

Do you have a little sister? What’s her name? Nope.

Do you like crust on pizza or do you cut it off? No, I just eat the top layer of dough on the pizza. 

What was the last song you listened to? I don’t remember.

Have any of your family members been to jail? No one in my immediate family, but some extended family members have.

Is there anyone that you feel you still need some closure with? Not anymore.

Can you remember when you first learned how to read? Not exactly.

What event in your life has transformed your personality the most? I’m sure my accident had a big impact.

Have you ever had any teeth pulled? Yes.

Do you still want to be what you wanted to be in elementary school? Noo. Back then I wanted to be a teacher, but that changed when I got to like middle school.

What’re some TV shows that you would like to get into? I have a list of new shows I want to check out, but I have yet to get around to. Oh, I did start this new show on Freeform called “Cruel Summer” that just started last week, though.

How would you feel if you were drafted for the military? I can’t due to my physical disability.

What is your favorite Queen song? I like Bohemian Rhapsody, Under Pressure, We Will Rock You/We are the Champions, and Another One Bites the Dust.

Do you know how to use any foreign currency? I’ve never had to.

Been kissed by someone who you knew was “bad” for you? You could say that.

Ever taken an at-home pregnancy test? Nope. Never had a reason to.

When was the last time you were at a loss of what to do? The past few years. Now.

What did you do on your favorite date with a guy/girl? I loved going to Starbucks and then wandering around bookstores with Ty.

What’s a movie you have seen in the theater more than once? There’s several, like the big ones I’m really excited about and into such as the Marvel movies.

What is the reason you’re still alive? My family.

Have you ever had sex in someone else’s bed/bedroom? No.

Do you ever brush your hair before you go to bed? Not usually.

Have you ever had a dream about sleeping with a celebrity? (You don’t have to give details.) Maaaybe.

Has anyone ever told you that they needed you? Do you think they meant it? Yes, I’ve been told that. I think they did feel that way at the time.

How did you feel when you woke up today? What was the first thing you thought about? I haven’t gone to bed, yet, but I always wake up feeling shitty.

Do you still tell your parents that you love them? Yes.

Have you ever said “I love you” to someone you weren’t going out with? Well yeah, it’s not something you just say in the romantic sense. I love my family and tell them so.

Would you date someone with a physical disability? Yeah. I have a physical disability.

Think of the last person you had sex with. Do you think they’ve slept with anyone else since they last slept with you? I’m a virgin.

The last time you dyed your hair, what color did you dye it? Red.

Think of the last time you went out to eat. Who paid? My mom.

Do you save at least 15 percent of your income? I try to at least.

Do you ever go on Reddit? If so, what are some of your favorite subreddits? I’ve Googled things that led me to Reddit, but I don’t go on there specifically.

Were you ever a flower girl or ring bearer in anyone’s wedding when you were little? Nope.

Are your parents in good health? Fortunately, yes.

Have you ever been a caregiver to a sick/disabled relative? Nope. I’m the one who has the caregiver.

Is there any type of medicine you can’t take? For what reason? Well, I can’t take pills unless I can crush them.

Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? What do they look like? My pajamas are also what I wear during the day, which are leggings and graphic tees. 

Do you have any interesting pillow cases? I have a Michael Myers throw pillow, a couple other Halloween (the holiday) themed ones with skeletons and stuff on ‘em that I’ve had up since last Halloween, a Star Wars one, and a body pillow with giraffe print.

If something on your body hurts, which part is it most likely to be? My back, stomach, neck.

Are you more afraid of spiders or bees? Spiders, but I’m afraid of both. I’m afraid of ALL bugs.

Have you ever worn fake nails? If so, what did the last pair you wore look like? No.

Is Russian or Native American history more interesting to you? Various topics in history are interesting to me.

[notalwaysthevillian]

My Whirlpool of a Life

Ships: Kaminari/OC

Word Count: ~2.k

I will not be doing a tag list for this fic.

Masterlist

Chapter 4: Study Group

The rest of my first day was boring compared to working on our special moves. English had never been my strong suit. There were just too many words. Math was a struggle, but at least I somewhat understood what was going on. When it came to Modern Literature, it turned out I’d already read most of the books on the syllabus.

Foundational Hero Studies was at least a little interesting. We ended up talking about my parents, by pure coincidence. All Might had no idea that I was their child until the end of class, when Midoriya whispered it to him.

He’d started apologizing profusely, but I’d stopped him.

“It’s fine. A lot of people tend not to talk about them around me, but you praised them so much for doing what they could. It was nice, hearing something so good about them.”

School was finally over, and most of us were heading back to the dorms.

Mina skipped up to my side, linking with my left arm. “So? How was your first day?”

“Kind of boring, to be honest.” I admitted, hearing her laugh. “Minus working on our special moves of course. That was super neat, even though I didn’t get quite as much time.”

“Yeah, I saw you were sparring with Aizawa!”

Kirishima stopped and turned around. “You did so good! He’s really fast, and you nailed him.”

My face flushed. “I didn’t mean to leave a welt though.”

“It means you did a good job.” Bakugo rolled his eyes. “Just accept the compliment. Keep improving and maybe I’ll let you fight me.”

I tilted my head. “Wouldn’t the water just nullify your explosions?”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

Iida cleared his throat as Kirishima held Bakugo back. “While it wouldn’t nullify the explosions, it would significantly reduce them. Perhaps if you could create ice like Todoroki, you could freeze over his gauntlets.”

“If you remember, I beat IcyHot the last time.”

Kaminari appeared on my other side, grabbing my hand. “Bakugo, lay off her.”

He growled, but walked off with Kirishima. “Whatever, extras.”

“How does his quirk even work?” I said out loud.

Midoriya immediately launched into a detailed explanation of his quirk. It seemed like he had the most notes on Bakugo, which I thought was interesting.

“How do you know so much?”

“Oh, we were friends when we were kids.” He half-hid behind his notebook. “I’ve been studying his quirk for years.”

“I’ll definitely be coming to you if I need any information about anyone.”

Uraraka showed up out of nowhere, stealing Deku away. She was a little flustered as she talked, all but confirming the crush she had on him.

Speaking of crushes, Kaminari linked his fingers through mine. “Wanna help me study?”

“God, I think I need help studying.” I thought back to Math class. “Literature is my best subject. The others…not so much.”

“Momo does a study group if you need help!” Mina flashed me a smile. “She’s really helped us improve our grades. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you joined us, as long as you don’t distract Kaminari too much.”

“Hey!”

“Your grades will only get worse if you ogle at your girlfriend when you’re trying to study.”

I batted my eyelashes at Kaminari, laughing as his face went pink. “I can’t help being irresistible.”

“How are you two this cute already? No fair.” It looked like Hagakure had caught up, and was crossing her arms. “I want a relationship like that.”

“You just gotta have that spark.” Flicking his fingers out, Kaminari sent a shower of sparks out. 

Hagakure shrieked. “Careful!”

“Oh, relax. That’s hardly enough wattage for you to feel anything but a little tingle.” He ran a hand through his hair, the static making it stick up slightly. “I have wayyyy more than that running through me on a good day.”

I blinked. “Is that even safe?”

“I can handle it, Dew Drop, no need to worry about me.”

“Dew Drop? That’s too cute!”

We climbed the steps of the dorms, heading back inside. It was refreshing to be back in the cool air. The heat wasn’t helping me regain any energy I had expended in training.

“Catch you in a bit.” Kaminari kissed my knuckles and walked off, leaving me blushing.

Momo walked up to me before I could make a break for my room. “I couldn’t help but overhear that you might want to join our study group?”

“If that’s okay.”

“The more the merrier!” Her smile lit up her whole face. “Do you like tea? I usually make some for everyone. Oh, and we usually meet about a half hour after class ends, so everyone can relax, but so they don’t forget what we learned completely.”

“I’m not too picky about my tea, so whatever you choose is going to be great, I’m sure.” I hoisted my bag up a little higher on my shoulder. “And I’ll meet you here in half an hour then? Or…”

“Oh, at the table.” She gestured to the other room. “It helps keep everyone focused. Though I suppose I’ll have to keep you and Kaminari apart. Or maybe not, you might be able to motivate him.”

“We can try a few ways, see what works?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you soon!”

I headed up to my room, glad to get a few tranquil moments to myself. The fountain bubbled away as I meditated. Once I was in a more calm mindset, I put away the stuff I didn’t need help with, before heading down to join the others.

“Oh, am I late?”

Everyone was already sitting in what I could only assume was their specific seats.

Momo leapt to her feet. “Oh I asked them to come a bit early! I was trying to figure out the best place to put you.”

“We decided here!” Mina pulled out a chair next to her, and across from Kaminari. “Near the people you’re the most comfortable with so far.”

“Thanks guys!” I took my seat, grabbing my books out of my bag. “I want to get to know everyone eventually. But for right now…”

“We get it! There’s a lot of us.” Sero gave me a smile. “Your quirk is amazing, by the way. You’d probably knock me flat in seconds.”

“Oh, thanks!” I could feel the heat in my cheeks. “I’m still working on control, but for the most part I know what I’m doing.”

“It looked like you had control to me!” Momo tilted her head.

“For now, yeah.”

I didn’t want to talk about my lack of control, which Momo must have realized. She clapped her hands together and got us started.

We worked individually and only asked a question when we got stuck. Anyone who was good at the subject we were on would jump in and help.

This led to me finishing my homework fairly quickly.

“Oh! I’m done.”

“Can you help me out with some of the Foundational Hero Studies work?” Sero looked about ready to throw his paper across the room. “Um, if you can. It’s about your parents.”

“I can try.”

“So it says they were trying to hold off this Muscular guy.” Sero pointed to a picture of said villain.

“That question, right.” I’d just finished that one. “Should they have called again for backup or held him off?”

“Why didn’t they call for backup? They were outgunned in every way.”

The pipes above me rattled as I felt my control start to slip. I sucked in a deep breath. Sero wasn’t insulting them, he was just asking a question. “There were still civilians in the way. Kids. If they had split to call for backup, there was a chance the civilians would’ve gotten hurt. Or potentially killed.”

Sero reviewed the footage again. I looked away. “By the storefront.”

“Oh!” He finally spotted them. The glare from the screen moved and I looked back to see he’d turned it away from me. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I waved a hand, accidentally sending water flying down the table. “Shit.”

There were cries of surprise until I waved my hand again, putting it back into the glass. “I’m just gonna -”

“Please stay?” The look in Kaminari’s eyes absolutely made me melt. I nodded, moving over to the empty chair next to him. He linked our fingers together, putting our joined hands on the table.

“So Momo, I’m stuck on this math question.” He changed the subject, squeezing my hand slightly.

The study session continued. I put my other arm on the table, laying on it so I could look at everyone. Mina made a face at me, making me giggle. I stuck my tongue out as retaliation.

After a while, I must’ve fallen asleep, because I woke up to gentle zaps as Kaminari poked my cheek. “Psst, Dew Drop. Dinner’s ready.”

“What if I just sleep instead?”

“Nope, come on, you gotta eat.”

He tugged on my arm until I stood up, frowning at him. “I was comfy.”

“We can snuggle on the couch when you’re done eating.”

“Fineeeee.”

Kaminari smiled at me, pulling me towards the kitchen. “You’re adorable when you’re sleepy.”

He made me sit at the table, grabbing me a bowl of stew, before sliding it in front of me. “Please eat.”

I dug in, not realizing how hungry I was until the delicious smell hit my nose. Before long I’d powered through my bowl.

“Is there more?”

“You’re the first girl I’ve seen eat like that.” Kaminari said as I got up to grab seconds.

I filled up my bowl before sitting across from him, gently sliding my foot against his. “Get used to it.”

Redness spread across his face as I played footsie with him under the table. “Uh, ye-yeah. I’ve got a lot of new stuff to get used to, huh?”

“I do too though.” I pointed out, eating slower now. “We’re in this together.”

“For better or worse.”

“Isn’t that when you get married?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He sent me a wink, making me blush. “It’s only a matter of time.”

[one-leaf-grimoire]

Catfish (2/3)

Welcome back to another chapter of this BS! Enjoy!! Our poor reader goes on a date and gets to know this mysterious “James” a little better. Anyway sorry for having no self control!

Warnings: fluff, major catfish, they kiss ew, suggestive language

“Good morning, Captain!”

“Ughhh good morning.” Yami yawned, wishing he was back in bed, before sitting down at the head of the table. His gaze swept across his squad, who were already chowing down on breakfast. Charmy was always on top of every meal, churning out good food for everyone to enjoy. “Hey, you, why are you awake? Today’s your day off.”

“Oh! I just wanted to get an early start,” you piped up in response to his questions.

Vanessa giggled as she sipped from her first wine of the day, not quite drunk yet. “I’m surprised you can get up so early when you stay up so late writing those letters~”

Yami frowned as everyone but you started to snicker at the comment. “Letters? Who’re you writing to?”

Today, you were the one with the bright red ears as you glared around at everyone. “N-No one!”

“It’s that guy from the mixer, right?” Finral asked. “Tell us more!!” 

You shook your head. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about-”

Right as you said that, a small portal opened up and a letter dropped down onto the table, right in front of Yami. He picked it up, and couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “It’s for you, Casanova.”

Everyone at the table burst into gales of laughter as you turned a shade more befitting a tomato than a magic knight. “Yami! Give me that!” 

Yami examined the letter momentarily, noticing that there was no return address. That’s a bit strange... His eyes narrowed as he spotted something curious. This symbol on the seal... it seems really familiar...

“Here.” He tossed the letter to you, and you quickly put it in your pocket before anyone else could snatch it away. “Who is this guy, anyway? He’s not the type to break your heart, is he?”

“No, no, he’s sweet,” you assured him, finally feeling your face start to cool down. “Finral’s right... we’ve been corresponding ever since the mixer. I was going to go see him today, actually.”

“Well, have fun.” Yami picked up the newspaper and flipped it open with a flourish. “Just make sure he uses a condom.”

“YAMI!!”

Ever since the mixer, you and James had been writing letters back and forth. His were always filled with questions and demands for interesting stories, as if he didn’t have enough of those in the library where he worked. You spent a lot of time detailing everything for him because you knew he wanted all the details, no matter how dull. He always responded enthusiastically, but failed to give much information about himself, claiming that he would tell you plenty in person. 

Well, today was that day. You hitched a ride with Magna to the Capitol before making your way to the Royal Library. It was located on the outskirts of the castle, a gigantic, intimidating building that towered above the rest of the city. The King was in there, and so was the Wizard King. You’d never meet the King, but you met the Wizard King a few times when you tagged along with Yami. This was the first time you came here alone, and to say you were nervous was an understatement. 

“You’re here!” A familiar, cheery voice greeted you as soon as you entered the musty building. The library was kept dark and cozy, only lit by a few hanging fixtures. But here was James... he looked exactly like he did last time, but now he was wearing a royal staff cloak over his regular clothes. One side of this glasses had a smudge on it, but you could still make out his lavender eyes. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

“Me too, James,” you replied happily, giving him a bright smile. You couldn’t help but blush as he automatically took your hand and kissed it, just like he did at the end of the mixer. It was a simple, almost chaste gesture, but somehow it sent you reeling.

Jesus... I never expected to get a crush on a guy like this! You didn’t really consider yourself as having a “type.” You liked each person differently. However, James wasn’t the usual guy you would fall for. He was geeky, scrawny, bubbly, and almost erratic. But there was something about the way he moved, the way his eyes saw the world, that made you want to stick around. “So, what are we doing today?”

“I have a whole plan, don’t worry!” he told you happily, letting his hand stay in yours. “Ready to go?”

“Oh, we aren’t staying here?”

“Nope! Don’t worry, it’s still going to be nice.” With that, he lead you out into the hall and towards the exit of the castle. His brown curls bounced with each step. Cute... he seems to be really excited, you thought, averting your eyes. I’m looking forward to learning more about him-

Suddenly, there was a sound of stomping feet from somewhere behind you. Both you and James turned to the sound, seeing that it was approaching from around the corner. Soon, a voice suddenly rang through the corridor.

“I swear!!! If you’re running off again to cause problems, I’ll have your hide! The King will, too!”

James’s grip on your hand tightened. “Uh oh... um, follow me!” You yelped a bit as he suddenly started running, right towards the window. He reached up and pushed it open, then spared no time in climbing up onto the windowsill. Before you had a chance to ask what the Hell he was doing, he help out his hand, a gentle smile on his face.

“Do you trust me?”

You hesitated only for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand once more.

With one sharp tug, James pulled you out, pushing off the window. You screamed as you realized that he had probably just doomed you both, since you were a few stories above the ground. “James!! What the-”

You didn’t have time to finish your sentence, because in the next moment you were flying, faster than you thought was possible. You screamed again, almost slipping out of his hands. James pulled you up and wrapped an arm around your waist securely. “Hold on!”

“It’s not like I have a choice!”

A couple seconds later, you slowed down and skidded to a stop. You immediately pushed him away and staggered back. “What the Hell!? Are you trying to kill me?”

“No! Why would I do that?” He looked genuinely hurt for a moment. “I’m sorry, but that guy back there is... uh... pretty strict.”

You narrowed your eyes. “I thought you said you had the day off?”

“Ah! I do! I do!” James’s insistence was suspicious. “But if he saw me hanging out with a girl on my day off, he would probably make me go back to work anyway. You know? ANYWAY-” He grabbed your hand again before you could question him further. “There’s a good spot nearby, follow me!”

You looked around for the first time and realized that you were standing by the side of a dirt road out in the countryside. In the distance, you could see the capitol, but you had to be miles away by now! “James, was that flight magic?” you asked as you followed alongside him, glancing back at the landscape frequently. “It was incredible...”

“Yes, yes, flight magic. That’s my magic,” James answered awkwardly. “And I’m glad you think so...” He laughed a little for some reason. “Thank you for coming out here with me, by the way.”

“My pleasure! I think it’ll be fun,” you told him, causing his smile to widen.

“Good! To tell you the truth... it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date. A real date, you know? In fact, I wasn’t really planning on it at the mixer, either. But hey, the best things in life are unexpected, right? So I hope you can forgive me if it seems like I’m improvising this!”

To be fair, he seems to be improvising every word he says, you thought to yourself, but you nodded happily anyway. “Of course! I love the unexpected.”

Eventually the two of you reached a small hill by the side of the road, with a few trees adorning the top. James told me that he likes the spot because you can frequently see travelers moving along the road to the capitol. “Especially on Exam day, it’s fun to see what types of people are coming to try out for the Magic Knights,” he explains as we reach the top. 

“Did you ever try out to be a magic knight? Your magic seems pretty powerful,” you asked, sinking down to sit in the cool grass.

James shrugged. “Not... really. No. It’s not for me.”

“Oh? Why not?”

He stared down at you for a moment curiously before breaking into a little smirk. “Well, why do you like it?”

You shrugged, but the answer came to you surprisingly easily. “Well, I guess I like feeling like I’m doing something important. Captain Yami trusted me with a spot on his squad, and I’m more than happy to prove that he made the right choice.” James cocked his head slightly, intrigued as you kept talking. “And if I can make even a little difference in the world... then it’ll be worth it.”

“... that’s admirable.” You looked up at James as he sat down heavily next to you, that smile still on his face. “People like you should be magic knights. I’ve seen plenty of people that should probably find other avenues of employment. But, I don’t want to wait anymore, let’s eat!” He produced a picnic basket out of nowhere and set in in front of you. “I hope you’ll like what I picked out for lunch!”

“J-James, you brought all this?” Your eyes widen as he opens it up and starts pulling out a startlingly large amount of food. “You didn’t have to-”

“Oh, I did, though. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t treat my date right?” He punctuated his phrase with a wink, obviously proud of himself as you went red for what had to be the hundredth time that day. You didn’t say another word, and started to eat. Some of this stuff is pretty fancy... I hope he didn’t spend too much money. Is he a noble? You were curious, and kept glancing over at him as you ate. “You know, I would have never expected you were like this,” you told him. “Like, uh...” He blinked slowly as you tried to express your sentiment. “You’re pretty good at making a girl blush, that’s for sure.”

“Am I? Oops!��� He laughed it off. “But, you know what they say about librarians~”

“... huh?”

“... never mind.”

You changed the subject before the awkwardness set in again. “So, what kind of family are you from? You seem like nobility.”

James swallowed his food before answering. “Yeah, my parents are from a long line of nobles. Lot’s of expectations, and everything! Sometimes I’m afraid I’ve disappointed them. Even now that I’m...” His voice trails off before he finishes his sentence. “But yeah. I assume you’re not?”

“No, not at all. My parents weren’t really important at all. We lived on a farm, actually.” You smiled a little sadly at the memory. “It wasn’t easy, but we were comfortable... until...”

James’s hand suddenly came up to rest on your shoulder, and you looked up to see him gazing at you. “It’s okay, you don’t have to go on.”

“...thank you.”

After the food is gone, you did the promised magic demonstration. James’s eyes sparkled as bright as the gems you conjured up for his. “And then...” You flicked your hand, sending a volley of the green emeralds shooting into the ground, cutting right through the grass. “I call that spell Emerald Splash!” 

“Such quick and flashy magic!!” James exclaimed, jumping up to go examine the damage. “How much control do you have over them?”

Without warning, four more gems appear and shoot right at him. However, before they hit him, each one deflects around him. It caught James off-guard and he flinched heavily. For a moment, you thought you felt a sudden surge of mana come off of him, as if he were about to deflect it. However, he relaxes once he realizes that he wasn’t in any real danger. “You can control each individual one?”

“Only a couple at a time, but yeah.” You smiled proudly as James came bounding back to you like a golden retriever. “Amazing! Maybe gem magic really is my favorite.”

“...” For some reason, his words struck some chord in you that made you start to feel sad. “James, you don’t have to say things that aren’t true, just to-”

“But, they are.” Before you knew it, he had grabbed your hand again, gazing right into your eyes. You were a bit taken aback, especially when you realized how... close your faces were together. “You... you are amazing.”

“I’m... ordinary.”

“That’s what makes you amazing.”

Oh boy. It takes everything you have to keep your jaw from dropping. Your heart quickened as you noticed his eyes drift down to look at your lips, then slowly moved back to meet your gaze once again.

“...Ja-”

Your words are instantly swallowed by his lips as he leaned in all at once to give you a shallow kiss. The gesture shocked you to your core, and you couldn’t even react. James realized this and quickly pulled back. “AH! I-I didn’t mean to do that so suddenly, I-” 

This time, you were the one to cut him off, closing your eyes and leaning in blindly. Somehow, your lips connected again, and this time James didn’t pull back. You felt his arms wrap around you, pulling you into a tight hug against his chest. 

You remembered reading about first kisses in books. “Sparks flew, “the stars aligned,” “the chemistry was explosive,” and other corny phrases were all used, but this was the first kiss where every single one of them was true.

Neither of you wanted to pull back, so you didn’t. James moved for air just once before diving back in. Wow, James... maybe your ‘fun fact’ at the mixer should have been that you’re a good kisser, you thought to yourself as you felt his hand stroke through your hair, causing you to shiver from head to toe. Maybe I should stop ignoring nerdy guys! 

The two of you laid in the grass for a long time, tongues, teeth, and lips battling it out. But eventually, things cooled off, and you finally opened your eyes to look at the boy who held you in his arms.

His glasses had slid off during the session, and you sucked in a breath at the sight of his eyes. That deep purple color was almost hypnotizing, something about it so intoxicating and beautiful, yet...

sad.

James’s eyes were tired, stretched thin over a longer time than should have been possible. They were heavy with some emotion you couldn’t quite place, as well, but an emotion that was familiar to you somehow. But above all...

These eyes... they don’t belong in this face.

“Are you okay?” You were a bit startled when you realized that he was talking to you. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, it-”

“NO! No,- I mean,” You couldn’t help but giggled as he looked relieved. “It was good... I liked that. A lot.”

“Ah... good. Me too.” James smiled and rolled off of you to lay down, his hand still entwined with yours. You rolled onto your side to rest your head on his chest, still wondering what it all meant. Everything seemed to add up about him, yet... nothing did. You were sure there was something he wasn’t telling you, but the desire to dig it up was quickly fading.

I like James just like this... I don’t need to know anything else.

“Maybe this is a selfish thing to think...” James’s voice was deeper than usual and he mumbled to you. “But you might be just what I need...”

Warmth blossomed in your chest at the admission.

“Well... then I’ll be more than happy to stick around.”

“Thank you.”

He kissed your forehead before the two of you drifted off for a short nap.

(later)

“So, how was the date?”

You looked over at Yami as you arrived back at the base. He was still reading a newspaper, but this time in the living room. Old habits die hard. “It was great, actually.”

“Good for you.” Yami turned the page. “What’s this guy’s name, again?”

“James! He works in the Royal Library.”

Yami let out a chuckle. “A librarian, huh? You know what they say about librarians~”

Huh?! That’s the second time I’ve heard that today! “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you know,” Yami said with difficulty as he started laughing harder. “Librarians are so straight-laced and all... but then you get to know them, and find out they’re secretly kinky in bed!”

You felt the blood drain from your face as Yami kept laughing at you. “AH! I-I didn’t need to know that!”

“You asked, though.”

“... whatever.”

However, nothing Yami could say could ruin today. You grinned to yourself as you headed up to your room, knowing for sure that you would be dreaming of James, and maybe he would be dreaming of you.

Is it just me or is this chapter so much more better written than the last one? IDK. Anyway send me a comment if you enjoyed it!! The next chapter will be... interesting. I’m still trying to decide if I want to include some ~spicy~ elements so let me know what I should do 0.0

[addictofsupernatural]

Spidey Senses (pt. 5)

Peter Parker x reader

Summary: You and Peter get your costumes ready for the party, and Tony gives Peter some advice.

Word Count: 2779

Chapter 1 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 6

When Peter came into his room, he did not expect to find Ned. When he did, he knew he was in deep shit. He's bad at keeping secrets as it is. And now? Now how is he going to keep your secret identity from his best friend? He's obviously going to ask.

"You're the Spiderman."

"No, no I'm not! Ned, this isn't what you think."

"You just climbed the walls!"

"No I didn't."

"Oh my God this is the coolest thing ever!" His words were jumbled together. "You can stop a moving car!"

"Ned—"

"Are you an Avenger?!"

Peter tilted his head. "I mean, basically, yeah." He then snapped back to reality. "Ned, listen to me for a second. You cannot tell anybody about this."

"Yeah, yeah. Nobody... Okay I need to tell somebody about this."

"Ned!"

"Y/n should know! She's gonna flip dude. Wait, are you in a relationship with the Spidergirl?"

"What?! No." Peter quickly shook his head. "That's, that's weird. Don't say that."

"Wait wait wait, so who's Spidergirl?"

"I can't tell you that." Peter was silently panicking as he pressed his suit center, dropping it to the floor.

"Why not? I already know your secret, and I can't tell anybody. This will be just another secret." Something then clicked. "Oh my God, this means that you know who Spidergirl is! And she knows who you are! You two know each other, and if you won't tell me who it is then that means I know who it is."

"Ned—"

The two fell silent as you climbed through the window and landed the opposite direction from them. You then took off your mask. "Peter we need to talk. Tony just saw me today and—"

You stared at an almost naked Peter and a shocked Ned. Ned then opened his mouth in the shape of an O. "Ooohhh my God you're Spidergirl! That makes total sense on why Peter wouldn't want to say who you were."

"Uhm, wow. Okay. Well, what happened to you? Did you show him, or..." You asked Peter.

"I kind of just did the same as you." Peter nervously shrugged.

"You should get some clothes on." You forced your eyes away from his abs as he awkwardly nodded.

Aunt May then came in. "Peter, I was thinking we could go out for some Tai food—oh, hey y/n! So I take it Ned knows?"

"He just found out." You said sheepishly.

She giggled. "That explains Peter being naked."

You rubbed your neck. "Yeah..."

"Well, come and borrow some of my clothes. We're going out for Tai food."

You warmly smiled. "Thanks Aunt May."

"I'll do your makeup!" She excitedly said as you helplessly looked back to Peter, who gave you the same look, and the two of you left and closed the door.

"Your aunt knows?!"

"Yeah. It was a total accident."

Peter was filming in the hotel as you two did trick shots together. After a bit you stopped and Peter had laid down. He had his phone directly hovering over his face. "Peter be careful. You're honestly setting yourself up to hitting your face with your phone."

"What? No I'm not. Even if I did, I have super awesome reflexes. Don't worry."

It was as if karma hit him, because he wasn't paying attention to the phone and it slipped out of his hands, hitting him snack in the face. There was a pause, and even though this was a perfect time to laugh, you only asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

"Nn, yeah. That just really hurt my nose." He then saw that he had accidentally sent Aunt May the video instead of you when the phone fell. "Um, no! We aren't okay! We aren't okay!"

"Woah, what happened?" You got up from the chair and looked at Peter's phone, seeing the message that was sent to Aunt May. "Oohhh we're not okay!

Then, to both your horrors, she called.

Peter then snapped out of his memories and grabbed Ned's shoulders. "Listen Ned, you cannot tell anybody about this."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I can totally be your guy in the chair."

"The what?"

"The guy in the chair. Y'know, the one who tells you where to go and what to do. They're usually surrounded by a bunch of cool stuff."

"Ned, we don't need a guy in a chair."

He huffed. "We'll come back to it."

After a while, Peter was knocking his aunt's door. "May, are you done? We're hungry."

"Almost!" She called out.

You then came out in May's bell bottom and a zip up off the shoulder crop top. You had light eye makeup and some blush. "Wow." Ned said. "You look like girl."

You laughed and patted his cheek. "What did we say about wording?"

"I meant that you look good." He said as he swatted you away, giving you a goofy smile.

You looked at Peter and saw the red on his cheeks. Was it too revealing? "You, you look nice. Really nice."

Your face felt really hot. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah." He said in a breathless daze. "You look really pretty."

You did your best to calm yourself down. You felt like your face was on fire, and being around Peter had your spidey senses buzzing. He had that same buzzing feeling, and his face felt just as hot looking at you right now. Maybe becoming a man was making him see every girl this way. Yeah. This is normal.

You then told him about Tony, and sketched out some drawings of you and Peter later that night. The next day you and him sat outside of Del's, helping each other pick out which drawing to use. That's when Tony showed up.

"Hey kids. You two ready?" Then he saw your papers. "What are those?"

"Nosey as ever Tony. They're sketches of costumes."

"Can I see them?"

"Nope. Let's go!"

You and Peter met with a designer. You showed her the pictures you wanted, and the you and Peter communicated with the her about the details she wanted to alter. You both then got measured.

When you two left her office, Tony stood up from the waiting room. "What'll it be?"

You grinned. "That's a secret."

Two days later Tony picked you two up to get fitted. He went in with Peter to stir the pot that is you having a huge crush. "So kid, how's it going? Anything you wanna share to the class?"

"Uh, can I ask you something actually?"

"Shoot."

The designer then scolded Peter for moving. "Sorry." He cleared his throat. "Did you ever start seeing girls differently when growing up?"

"Yeah, every boy does. Of course you shouldn't follow in my lead about what to do on those feelings."

"Woah, no! I meant, like, girls you knew. Ones that you were close with."

Tony held back a smile and slowly walked around the room. "Once."

"And what happened?"

"Now I'm trying to figure out when the right time is to propose to her."

"Oh." He fell silent and awkwardly twitched, getting scolded again for moving. "I'm sorry."

"So you're having those feelings with y/n?" Peter turned to see Tony look at him in the eye. Peter then looked away.

"I don't know. I feel weird around her and she's so pretty now."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I like Liz! Like, really like her. So why do I feel like that with y/n?"

"Kid, think about who's always going to be there for you. Who'll never laugh at you unless they have the right to. Who's going to stand up for you instead of quietly watching you get picked on. Who's the girl who'll do that?"

"Well—"

"I want a name. Now."

"Y/n." He surprised himself by saying your name without thinking. "But I still have feelings for Liz."

"Yeah, but she wasn't the first person in your mind." He then paused and looked at Peter's costume. "Wow. Was that y/n's idea?"

He then felt embarrassed, shifting only to apologize again for moving. "Um, yeah."

"Then she's..." Peter gave him a sheepish smile. "Oh God. Really?"

"I thought it would be pretty funny. She said it'd be cute."

"Mm." He then walked out of the room and into the waiting room that you were in. "Interesting to know you're one of those fans."

You giggled. "I'm really not, but I thought the matching would be cute. Do you like it?"

He huffed. "I guess I'll just have to see you two wearing it together."

It was soon your turn to be fitted, and once you were done the lady brought in Peter to have the two of you next to each other. Peter was in a very nice looking Captain America suit. It was in the style of his 2014 suit, and he had a very nicely done shield, one that looked very close to the real thing. He wore no face mask, as you figured this was enough.

You wore a gender bent Iron Man suit. It was a nice and detailed skirt with lines like the suit, while the fitted crop top had the arc reactor design. She gave you fake metal arm sleeves with your hands being connected to fake blasters. You had a simple red eye mask with lines like your skirt.

You grinned at the mirror. You then excitedly turned to Peter and hugged him from the side. "You look awesome!"

"Why would you make him dress up as such a boring person?" Tony asked.

"Because he's the one making me to the party in the first place."

Peter's cheeks reddened. "It was also Ned."

"You were the one who was going to follow me into the girl's restroom for it though." You giggled, and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"That's taken out of context Mr. Stark!"

"Not really. Anyways, what do you think?" You spun around and smiled. Peter dumbly didn't say anything and only slightly shook his head. "What? Why are you being weird? It's not like we're brother and sister Peter."

"No, we're definitely not." He mumbled.

"Then you don't like it?" You frowned. "You know you can be honest. It's just a costume."

"No no! I do, I really do like it! It's just that it looks so awesome that I didn't know how to explain how much I love it."

You furrowed your eyebrows but also smiled. "You're being weird right now, but I'll just assume that it's cause of Tony."

"Thanks kid." He then stepped up to you as you turned to him. He looked you over, awkwardly saying, "You look nice."

"Thank you." You grinned and rocked on your feet.

You were then brought back home and offered Peter to watch TV with you in the apartment. He agreed, and you made the two of you PB&J's as he sat on the couch. You texted Ned to come over, watching TV while waiting. It was cold in your apartment, so you brought a blanket for the two of you. You brought yourself to his side and leaned on him.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Peter asked, sitting up.

"You're not cold?" You didn't see the harm in being close to him.

"Yeah, but..."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" You asked, straightforward.

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"Cause you've been weird since last night. My spidey sense could feel it. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I've just been thinking."

He heard your small gasp and looked into your sad eyes. "About what? Our friendship?"

"I don't know. About my life and stuff..." This only worsened your fears. He saw that you looked even more hurt, but didn't get the chance to say anything before there was a knock at the door. "Wait, y/n—"

"I need to get that." You stood up with a blank face and went to your door. It was Ned, and you silently hugged him before he could say anything. "I'm so happy you're here right now Ned. You have no idea."

"Um, thanks? You know I still love your hugs, but I need context."

"I'll text you about it later. Anyways, come in!" Peter watched you with sad eyes as you took out snacks for Ned, happily engaging in conversation as if you weren't just sad right now.

"Hey, can I have some?" Peter attempted to say lightheartedly with a smile. You only nodded. He took a cookie and nervously nibbled on it. He then cleared his throat as the air had gotten thick for him. "So Ned, so you have your costume for this Saturday?"

"Yeah. I'm going as Mario. I got a cool velcro mustache and everything."

"Good for you Ned." You smiled again.

"What about your guy's costumes?! Let me see them!" You then took out your outfit hanging up in your room and plopped it on the couch nonchalantly. This was making Peter uneasy. "I'll be wearing it to that damn party."

You gritted your words out with a forced smile, but Ned was too busy fan girling over the costume to notice. Peter quietly slipped his hand in yours to gain your attention. You stared at your laced fingers, and squeezed gently before you pulled your hand back.

"Okay, guys," Ned said. "I was thinking that you two could use your powers to your advantage at the party."

The rest of the time together at your apartment felt like a building was laying over Peter. He tried to get closer to you, but you'd move away when you noticed. Once Ned went home, Peter figured that this was his chance. "I should probably go home too."

"Yeah." You began to fold your blanket, your back turned away from him.

Though he was close to just leaving he scrunched up his face worked up his courage, blurting out, "We need to talk about earlier."

"No we don't." You began to walk away to put the blanket back, but he took the blanket from you and set it down on the couch. "Hey!"

"Listen. It's not what you think. I've just been confused—"

"Peter, please. It's okay to feel differently towards someone. It's okay to not like someone anymore. I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore, just don't coddle me if you're going to leave." You voice cracked and you wanted to crumble.

"Y/n..." He stepped closer to you. "Why are you crying?" He said, almost in a whisper.

Your eyes were cloudy with tears. "Cause I'm not ready for you to leave me yet."

You then bursted into sobbing, and Peter hugged you tightly as you buried yourself in his chest. You two stood like that, with Peter holding onto you for dear life, until your tears stopped. "Y/n, I promise I'm not going to leave you. I never was."

You looked up at him with your puffy eyes. "No?"

"No. I was just wondering if I still like Liz."

"Oh." You said dumbly. "I feel really stupid now."

"No, your not stupid! Don't say that." He said cutely. "C'mon, let's go to your room." You then both sat down on the bed. You leaned on him, wrapping your arm around him as he brushed his fingers through your hair. "Honestly, I was kinda comparing you to Liz a lot."

You weakly laughed. "I bet I just embarrassed myself after crying for you, even though there was really no reason to."

Peter smiled. "I don't think Liz would ever like me enough to cry over me though."

"Mm. So do you still like her?" You felt it getting harder to keep your eyes open. Peter noticed and chuckled.

"This probably won't make any sense, but I think it would be easier if I still liked her."

"Nope. That doesn't make any sense, but I'll support no matter what. Don't worry."

"Hm. You always do."

You then fell asleep on Peter, and after a bit he called Aunt May to pick him up. When she got there, waiting for him outside, he covered you with a blanket first.

He stared at you, before mustering his strength to go over to you and kiss your cheek. You would never know, so it's okay right? No, that's not okay. Peter felt like an jerk. He shouldn't have done that. That's invading your trust. Damn.

Once he got home he texted Ned that he thinks he likes you, even though that's kind of crazy for him to realize. He then got a call from Ned, and answered. "Finally dude."

---

Tag List:

@flawlessapollo6 @them-cute-boys @lunawndrlnd @the-greatt-perhaps @babebenhardy @sofisofi1602 @smilexcaptainx @herondalism @coni-martina @youvebeenlizzed

[lloydskywalkers]

So on the incredibly rare occasion that I do write romance, I have the ability to write one (1) single romance and that is all, and that’s Dumb Fools in Love. Which hopefully fits here, because it’s Glass Girl’s namesake day, so i gotta at least try for @speedythecat, it’s what she desERVES.

(happy valentines this is disgusting fluff anyways i love u speedy)

Lloyd likes the way construction paper sounds. It’s kind of therapeutic, the sound it makes as he drags the scissors through the middle. It’s even more satisfying when he uses them to start stabbing gaping holes through the paper, because he went and ruined the stupid heart shape again, and now he’s running out of pink and red construction paper that doesn’t look like he took a vicious katana to it and went crazy.

“Stupid scissors—”

He doesn’t know if Rain even likes pink or red that much, Lloyd reminds himself dismally, as he untangles his fingers from the scissors. Just that they’re thematically appropriate to the essence of the holiday, or whatever, and they apparently must’ve been the only two colors that existed when whoever came up with Valentine’s Day was around. He hasn’t even found actual purple in any of the little cards he’s seen, just some floral lavender.

Lloyd glances down to the pile of pink and red paper strewn across the table in front of him, then back to the instructions he’s printed out for himself. Then back to the paper.

Maybe he can just like, die instead.

Lloyd is about ninety percent sure that he can’t be the only person to ever look up “how to make Valentine’s Day cards” on the internet before, but it still feels like a crushing blow to his pride and an overall dumb move in general as he does.

But he’s only slightly desperate right now, and he really doesn’t want to reach fully desperate, so he’s willing to suck up his pride if it means not totally ruining his girlfriend’s hopes and dreams by giving her a sub-par and ultimately disappointing Valentine’s Day card that looks like he doesn’t even understand the holiday in the first place.

To be fair, though, he kinda doesn’t.

Like, Lloyd knows what Valentine’s Day is, obviously. He’s not an idiot. He’s just…never really participated in it…as a person. It seems like all the others have cute little stories of getting paper cut-outs and candy hearts in grade school (which he can get behind, if there’s candy), but Lloyd’s experience in grade school was general scorn toward anything love-related at all. Valentine’s Day was well out of the question. Lloyd didn’t even know it existed until he walked straight into a street stand that looked like red and pink had thrown up all over it, before being drowned in like, twenty-dozen bouquets of roses.

He’d been an awful brat of a child then, so at the time, he’d dealt with it by kicking the stand over and being totally grossed out. Now, however, he’s left wondering if those bouquets are worth the money, or if he should invest in the slightly bigger ones they sell over on the east side stands.

How the tables have turned, Lloyd sighs miserably to himself, struggling to peel another stubborn strip of glitter glue from his hand where it’s dried there, sparkling mockingly at him.  Finally digging the glue free, Lloyd brushes his hands off and glances down at his paper.

Go for handmade.

Well, that one’s easy, ‘cause there’s no way Lloyd’s physically bringing himself to walk into a store and buy Rain some cheesy card with a bunch of generic hearts on it. This, of course, leaves the problem that Lloyd now has to come up with the card, and the only thing that’s coming to mind are generic, cheesy hearts.

Hmm. Lloyd taps the edge of the table, humming beneath his breath. He can draw pretty well, but he’s not like, an artist. Not like Cole is, or anything. Lloyd is a lot better at cartoon characters and funny little caricatures of the others than he is, say, detailed roses or something.

Rain likes cats, right? he muses. He could draw a cat, and then maybe have it holding a heart, or something. That’d be kinda cute, maybe. And then he’d get to make some awful pun like “you’re paw-sitively purr-fect”—

Lloyd slams his head down on the table. Nope. This is why he’s not allowed to come up with the idea himself. He’s worse than all the awful grocery store cards put together.

Something in his nose tickles, and he sneezes, sending up sparkly dust all around him. Lloyd blinks, then bites back a moan. Belatedly, he realizes he’s just dunked his head in glitter dust.

It could’ve been the glue, he tries to comfort himself.

Figuring he’s already doomed, Lloyd makes peace with the fact that he’s just going to live the rest of his day resembling a blond disco ball, and lifts his head to return to task, squinting at what’s next on the list.

Make it personal.

Again, that one should be easy too, because it’s Rain. But what’s supposed to count as personal? Is it like, I-love-you personal, or here’s-a-reference-to-inside-joke-number-fifty-eight kind of personal? Should he do both? He and Rain have too many inside jokes, though, it’ll take him half the day to pick one, and he’s already running out of time. Rain’s supposed to be back at noon, and Lloyd does not have that kind of time to kill.

He drums his fingers against the table-top, staring at the outlined drawing of Rain his fingers have absently started sketching out, right next to his doodles of little cats and a mini-Overlord raging terror on the glitter glue scattered across the paper.

Lloyd frowns at the last one. Oops. Well, he can’t give her this now.

“Is that supposed to be the Overlord? You can’t give Rain that for Valentine’s Day.”

Lloyd jumps half a foot out of his chair and slams his knee into the table just so that his entire leg goes dead, his shriek of surprise strangling off as he chokes on the erupting cloud of glitter dust.

By the time he winds down coughing, wiping the reflexive tears from his eyes and glaring, Kai is just staring at him, mildly concerned and whole lot unimpressed.

“A little warning, please.”

“I’ve been standing here for five minutes, bud, it’s not my fault you’re in dreamland.” Kai glances down at the table-top of scattered construction paper and glitter dust, and his mouth trembles, like he’s holding back laughter. “Are you…trying to make a card, or mass-murdering our construction paper supply?”

Lloyd feels his cheeks go scarlet, and he sputters. “I’m not — no, I’m just—” He waves his hands in the air, wishing he could disappear. “Valentine’s Day,” he finally says, haplessly. “Rain. Card.”

“Ah,” Kai says, nodding. He eyes the butchered pile of paper. “It’s going…good, then?”

Lloyd buries his face in his hands, groaning. “I keep ruining it. I’ve never done Valentine’s Day before, Kai, this is a disaster. Rain’s gonna hate it.”

“Aw, don’t say that,” Kai says, sliding into the chair next to him, patting him on the shoulder. “Rain’ll be fine with…whatever…you end up making. It’s not that big a deal.” He laughs, rolling his eyes. “I mean, it’s not like she’s going to get horribly upset because you butchered her favorite holiday and dump you for some chump with better taste.”

Lloyd freezes dead, his eyes widening. He has not yet considered this option. What if he does ruin Rain’s entire holiday with his awful gift? What if, by completely disrespecting her last name’s namesake — thing — she does get horribly upset and runs off with like, Ariya to the desert or something, and—

Kai blinks, then his eyes go wide. “Lloyd, wait — no, it was a joke, Lloyd, don’t get that look on your face — Nya!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

And that’s how Lloyd ends up cornered by his entire team at the kitchen table, covered in glitter dust and currently living out his worst life as they try to decide the best way for him not to totally sabotage his love life in one go.

“Honestly, I never really got Valentine’s Day,” Kai remarks. “I didn’t get the whole grade school experience as much, since we homeschooled for the most part. It’s just a lot of hearts and chocolate and flowers and stuff, right?”

“Um, it’s a lot more than that,” Jay rolls his eyes. “It was classroom warfare. Your like, entire life status was measured by how many Valentines you’d get. It was totally lame,” he scowls.

“I dunno, I always got a whole lot,” Cole muses. “I could never figure out why, though. I wasn’t super popular, or anything...”

They all stare at Cole for a beat, where he stands haloed beneath the kitchen lights in all his wavy-haired glory.

“Hopeless,” Jay sighs.

“This isn’t grade school, though,” Nya says. “This is Lloyd’s actual relationship, which we are helping him with, so let’s hear actual helpful stuff, please.”

“Again,” Kai shrugs. “Flowers. Chocolate. Hearts. Bam, you’re good.”

“For crying out loud,” Jay groans. “How do magazines keep labeling you the smooth one.”

“Hold on, he’s got a point with the chocolate part,” Cole points out.

“Of course, you would choose that part to focus on,” Zane sighs.

“Guys, enough,” Nya cuts over them. “I said helpful stuff, not the most generic ideas ever. I mean, chocolate’s nice, but Lloyd’ll probably eat it all before it gets to Rain anyways—”

“I would not!” Lloyd protests.

“—and the card’s gonna be the focal point, so hearts are covered.” Nya glances down the pile of butchered construction paper in front of Lloyd, and winces. “We’ll, uh, help you with that part. But first, let’s plan.” She tugs a half-torn piece of construction paper toward her, uncapping a marker. “What all does Rain like, for starters?”

“Well,” Lloyd pauses, thinking. “She does like flowers, and — no, no I am not going to ask Lief for help, no way, not a chance.”

“Just a suggestion!” Jay throws his hands up in defense. “He’s her friend, though, so he’d probably have some ideas, y’know?”

“So. Not. Worth it.”

“Okay, okay, geez.”

Nya rolls her eyes, but scribbles ‘flowers — not from Lief’ on the paper anyways. “Good, but that’s still pretty standard stuff. Anything else a little more creative? Something that really says Rain to you.”

“She likes rocks,” Lloyd nods.

The marker squeaks violently on the paper, and Nya makes a dying sound in the back of her throat. Kai breaks into snickering, and Jay whacks him on the shoulder, giggling.

“There you go, bud, perfect Valentine’s gift. Give her a rock.”

“No,” Nya says firmly, glaring at Jay. She then turns the glare on Lloyd, who immediately shrinks lower in his seat. “Rocks, Lloyd, really — okay. Okay, do you know anything else she likes? That’s not rocks?”

“Uh, she likes…glass?” Lloyd says, weakly. “And um, seashells. And tea, and — she really does like rocks, I’m serious! Like, cool ones—“

“You are not giving Rain a rock for Valentine’s Day!”

“A cool rock!”

“That doesn’t make it any more acceptable!”

“Ughhh.” Lloyd slides down in his chair with a dying moan, throwing his arms over his face. “You ruin everything. She likes those little paper cranes, I guess. And, uh…”

“You,” Zane reminds him. “She likes you. Therefore, she will most likely love anything you give her, since it’s from you.”

Normally, Lloyd would just scoff at that, but Zane’s voice is so sincere it actually helps, a little. Lloyd sits up in his seat a bit, his crossed arms loosening. “Well…”

“Yeah! So why don’t you just draw her a cat that says like, ‘you’re purr-fect’, or something?” Jay suggests. “That sounds like you.”

Lloyd slams his head against the table, once again accidentally dunking himself in glitter dust. He can’t bring himself to care this time, because the whole world apparently just knows him for terrible puns.

“Stop being so melodramatic, you’re going to remind her of her brother,” Nya clips. Lloyd chokes on his tongue, and dissolves into a fit of manic sputtering as Kai claps him on the back, encouraging him to breathe.

“—was just a joke, Lloyd, don’t take her seriously.”

“—time and place, Nya, time and place—!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It takes several disastrous attempts and more than a few marker wars — Kai in particular is sporting some spectacular pink sharpie marks along the side of his face, and Lloyd’s got streaking red marks across his forearms as the price for protecting his own face — but Lloyd end up with one brightly-colored, cursive-lettered Valentine’s card for Rain.

He’s feeling pretty confident in it, actually. It says everything he wants it to say, while looking pretty but dignified, and it’s only got one cat on it, so he’s — he’s pretty sure Rain will like it. A lot more than any of his other disastrous attempts, he assures himself. Now all he’s gotta do is grab the flowers Nya made him promise to get, and according to both Wikihow and his family, he’ll have the perfect Valentine. Armed with that knowledge, Lloyd strides confidently for the kitchen table to grab an envelope.

Only to freeze dead when he comes face-to-face with Rain, who’s bent over studying said disastrous attempts from earlier, that he’s left out in full view on the kitchen table like a complete moron.

Rain’s currently got one of his first attempts in her hands, her finger tracing the little design he’d drawn. Her hair’s down right now, all silvery and smooth and falling over her face, so he can’t see her expression.

Lloyd is highly considering running for the hills by like, hurling himself out the kitchen window, when Rain turns around, the end her nose still red from the outside cold, freckles standing out more than usual on her cheeks. Lloyd freezes in place.

She holds up one of the ruined cards. “Are all these...for me?”

Lloyd’s soul makes the executively wise decision to exit his body right then.

“They’re — I — no, they’re for, uh—”

Lloyd’s mind backfires. Shoot, he can’t say they’re for someone else, they’ve got ‘I love you’ and other sappy stuff all over them, what’s he supposed to do—

“They’re, uh, for my grandmother.”

Rain raises an eyebrow. “Your grandmother…named Rain,” she says slowly, reading the name that’s brightly plastered everywhere.

“Her name’s Rain too,” Lloyd tries, weakly.

Rain raises her other eyebrow. She wordlessly holds up one of the cards, pointing to where “Rain Allira Valentine” is highlighted. Lloyd mentally makes a note to murder Kai later as her finger slides down to the “Mr. Rain Valentine” right below, her lips trembling as she tries to hold back a snicker.

“Um.” At least she’s laughing, Lloyd tells himself. She hasn't run off to the desert yet. “I have a better one for you, I swear. Those are just — really, really bad first attempts, which you were never supposed to see, ever.”

Please forget they ever existed, is on the tip of his tongue, but Rain’s expressions softens, her eyes fond as she looks from the cards to him.

“I don’t know, these are…kinda sweet,” she admits, her cheeks going a bit pink.

“Oh,” Lloyd says, his own face heating. “That’s! That’s good, I guess. I mean, this new one’s — it’s a whole lot better, though, and uh…” He frantically rubs the back of his head, trying to get his brain back online and working properly again. Unfortunately, the action sends a tiny shower of sparkles raining from his hand, and Lloyd remembers in horror that he never got that glitter dust out.

Rain smirks, biting back a laugh. “Hold on,” she says, stepping in close. “You’ve got some — here.”

She pushes a hand through his hair, her fingers gently tangling through the thick blond strands before pulling away, leaving her fingers stained in glitter dust. She gives a tiny snicker, then brushes at his hair with her other hand, neatly sweeping a shower of glitter dust from it before carefully tousling his hair back in place.

“There,” she says. “Now you don’t look as much like a disco ball.”

“Maybe I wanted to look like a disco ball,” Lloyd says, petulantly. “Lloyd Disco Ball Garmadon, that’s me.”

“Then I’d have to make you another Valentine’s card,” Rain says, and Lloyd finally spots the envelope she’s been keeping behind her back. “Because I definitely messed up your middle name, if that’s the case.”

Lloyd blinks rapidly. “Wait, you got me one?”

Rain freezes, looking unsure. “Um…yes? That’s kind of…the point, right? You give Valentine’s to people you lo—like—um, love.”

Lloyd’s definitely red now. “I-I probably wouldn’t know,” he finally stammers. “Darkley’s wasn’t too big on Valentine’s.”

Lloyd immediately wants to hit himself, because Rain’s here being sweet and talking about love, and he’s bringing up Darkley’s like a motor-mouthed moron. And now Rain looks sad, and is it too late for Lloyd to pitch himself out the window—?

“Well, lucky for you, I know all about it,” Rain suddenly says, firmly. “You’ll just have to spend the day with me, so I can give you the run-down.”

“That I can do,” Lloyd grins brightly in relief.

“It’s a date, then,” Rain beams, before her smile hitches in laughter. “And you, um, you have more glitter. On your cheek.”

Lloyd wipes quickly at his face. “Oh, come on — did I get it?”

“No, now you’re just — okay, stop, I’ll get it, hold on.”

Rain steps nearer again, brushing her thumb across his cheek once, then again. “There,” she nods satisfied. She doesn’t move back, though, standing close enough that Lloyd can count her freckles, and see every shade of teal in her eyes. There’s a hint of a smile left on her face, and Lloyd swallows. This would probably be like, the perfect time to—

“For FSM’s sake, kiss her, you moron, she’s totally set you up for it—”

Kai’s voice cuts off in a strangled choking sound as Nya throttles him while both Rain and Lloyd go scarlet, and Lloyd makes another mental note to murder Kai a second time later.

“Wanna go out?” Lloyd suggests hastily, his face flaming. “The candy’s probably not gonna be on sale yet, but I bet we can get someone to cut us a deal.”

“Yes,” Rain nods fervently. “Let’s — out. Go out. Of here, sounds good.”

“Great,” Lloyd says, then snatches both their jackets from the hook before fleeing, Rain trailing behind him as they sprint past the others, stifling laughter as Lloyd desperately avoids making eye contact with anyone. Rain’s muffling giggles too, though, and Lloyd can’t help breathing out a laugh as he flings open the doors tumbling out into the chilly February weather.

“So, I have a question,” he says, as their footsteps fall into pace down the street. “What do you think of like, rocks as a present?”

“Hm, I don’t know. Is it like, a cool rock?”

“I mean, hypothetically? Yeah, a super cool rock.”

“Well, if it’s super cool. Then that’d be a good one, I guess.”

“I knew it—!”

[exasperatedmoron]

5+1 times Barry says he has a boyfriend and the 1 time they realized he wasn’t kidding

*1*

Cisco walked into the lounge with his arms full of chocolate, movies and those sappy scented candles. It was Valentine’s Day and him, Barry and Caitlin had a tradition of spending it together since they all had very, very miserable love lives.

“Who’s ready to cry over a dying dog!”

Caitlin was already sitting on one of the beanbags Barry placed in front of the mini-movie screen. She raised her glass of wine towards Cisco, already dressed in her sweats without makeup on. Barry, however, was dressed up in a maroon button down and hair gelled up. He was setting the stereotypical ‘ILY’ teddy bears on Cisco and Cait’s beanbags.

“Why do you look like you’re going on a date, Sonic?”

“Erm. Cause I am?”

“With who?” Cisco tried to think back to anyone Barry has interacted with recently, assuming it was someone new. The only new friends he’s made so far were Ralph and Julian. “Oh no. It’s not Ralph, is it? You always seemed to be in each other personal spaces”

Barry looked affronted, even holding up his hand to his chest. “Cisco, no! I- What- Cisco!” Barry’s face contorted as he tried to come up with words. “It’s not him! It’s... someone you guys know. But that’s all I’m saying!”

Barry stood his ground and seemed very insistent on keeping quiet, but Cait and Cisco were invested now. Barry’s last crush was on Iris and that ended years ago before she and Eddie got married. In those years, Barry has only gone on two dates - with Patty and Linda - and both didn’t work out so well. But even in those cases, Cisco and Caitlin were updated (like best friends were supposed to be).

Huh. “Why didn’t you tell us about this date?” “It was very last minute. I didn’t even know he was in town today. Turns out he was so... yea.”

“So, he travels out of town?” “Yeah, he does.”

“Huh. What’s his job?” “Oh, you know. A little bit of this and that. He deals with... uhm... artefacts? and... problem... solving?”

Wow. Pinocchio would be disappointed.

“Okay. Have fun on your date.

Barry nearly stumbled on his own two feet getting out of there, yelling a ‘Bye Cait! Cisco!”. Cisco picked up a beer from the chiller and sat beside Cait as she pressed ‘play’ on the remove.

“He doesn’t really have a date, doesn’t he?”

“Nope.”

*2*

Iris barged into Barry’s apartment, hands full of take-out and ice cream. Normally, she’d pick the lock to get in, but for some reason, Barry upgraded his lock. It was the same as before, so she could still use her key but it couldn’t be picked so easily anymore. Barry must have listened to her, for once.

“Barry! Eddie and I are fighting so I need to have a Disney marathon! Get your lazy ass out of bed!”

Iris heard him squeak, followed by a ‘thud’ as he fell out of his bed. She smiled to herself and placed the take out on the table, knowing that the speedster would be less grumpy once he saw the food. She made her way to the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer for later when he saw that his freezer wasn’t empty. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she opened the fridge and saw that it filled too.

Barry never had a filled fridge. Not even a half-filled fridge. Even before he was a speedster, he survived of ramen and pizza. The most his fridge would contain was leftovers from his junk or from whatever meal Iris brought over. It was even worse when he became a speedster, almost causing his fridge to be obsolete.

“Iris? Why are you staring at my fridge?”

Iris snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to stare at her foster brother with bed hair. “Since when did you have food?”

Barry looked confused for a second, eyes going from her to the fridge. As soon as his eyes saw the contents of it, a small smile grew on his face. “Oh. My boyfriend must have left some last night.”

Iris’s thoughts on food and Eddie were completely pushed back. “Boyfriend? Bartholomew Henry Allen, are you having secret rendezvous with a man and not telling me?” “Geez Iris, you’re almost as dramatic as he is. And no, I told you about him, remember?” 

Now it was Iris’ turn to be confused. “When?” “On Valentine’s Day? I asked you to fill my place with Cait and Cisco since Eddie had work and I had a date?”

Ohhhh. “Barry. You don’t need to use your imaginary boyfriend as an excuse to have your fridge stocked. You could just say it as it is. You finally decided to act like an adult instead of a bachelor.”

“What? What do you mean bachelor? Wait - What do you mean imaginary?”

“Cisco and Caitlin told me you made up a fake boyfriend so that it’d hurt less when you stood them up. It’s fine though, they took pity on you so they aren’t mad.”

“Fake?! I-Wha-They-”

“Barry relax. Come on, heat up your ‘boyfriend’s’ leftovers. I wanna taste it while telling you about how much of an overprotective husband Eddie is being again.”

Hours later, the two were stretched over the couch with cartons of ice cream balancing on their torsos while watching Singin’ in the Rain.

“I really do have a boyfriend, you know?”

“Sure you do.”

*3*

Barry was late for work (again) and Joe had to cover for him (again). He needed the results for a case so he sat on Barry’s chair and waited for the CSI to arrive. Soon enough, said CSI ran into the lab, clutching onto his messenger bag and a mini-cooler.

Julian took one look at him and snorted, “You sure that’s enough food, Allen? I can call a caterer if you’d like.” “Shut it, Jullian.”

“Joe! Hey I -” “You woke up sick, so I sent you to a doctor to get you checked up. I’m assuming you’re feeling better and ‘bout to give me the results for the Williams case I needed two hours ago?”

Barry nodded and tossed his bag to his chair as he frantically sifted through his desk, ignoring Julian’s comment about tidiness. He plucked out a file from the bottom of the clutter and passed it to Joe. “Thanks Barr. Now, why were you really late? Mugging? Little ol’ lady bein’ robbed?”

Barry started to scratch the back of his neck, face turning a light shade of pink as he avoided eye contact with Joe. “Ah. Actually, I overslept. I stayed over at my boyfriend’s place last night so... yeah.”

Joe’s eyes went wide, almost popping out of his head, “Boyfriend?”.

“Dear Lord, not this again,” Jullian mumbled from behind Joe as he continued writing his report. Joe turned around to look at Julian with an incredulous look. “You knew Barry had a boyfriend?”

“I knew Barry had an imaginary boyfriend. Cait told me about the Valentine’s Day Ditch.”

“Imaginary - What?! And seriously? You guys are putting a name to it?!” Barry nearly dropped the things he was holding on the floor.

“Ah. Iris told me about him too.”

“Joe, I really - “

“Barry, if you overslept, that’s fine. You didn’t need to lie. We know you’re workin’ hard on Flash duties anyway.”

“No, Joe. Really I-”

Barry was interrupted by Captain Singh’s appearance at the door, spurring the three back to work. Before Joe left though, he patted Barry on the back.

“You gotta work on your lying skills. Caitlin, Cisco and Iris saw right through you.”

Barry sighed.

*4*

Felicity and Barry were watching a movie marathon in the Arrow cave while Oliver was busy doing mayor stuff. The team needed Barry’s help with a meta who moved to Star City, so Barry ran over and even after the threat was cleared, he stayed for a while to catch up with his best friend.

Barry was finally starting to relax until Felicity just had to bring up a certain topic. “So what’s this I hear about you making up a fake boyfriend to get out of situations?”

Barry groaned into the popcorn.

“He’s not fake,” Barry asserted. “They just think he is because I won’t give out any details.”

“And why not?”

“Because he... well... it’ll be a disaster.”

“Okay,” Felicity sighed, setting down her popcorn, “I’ll play along. Why would it be a disaster?”

“They... Well, he doesn’t have the best reputation?” “Uh huh. And what kind of ‘reputation’ does he have?” Felicity leaned forward, eyes staring into Barry, trying to get him to slip.

“Well. You know, it depends. A bad but good one. But to some people, it’s a good one with a little bit of bad. He’s in the middle of good and bad? Or kinda like a see-saw, what side he’s on depends on the day.”

“Barry, this is why people don’t believe you.” "Not again.”

“You either need to work on your lying skills, or give out details that aren’t so vague.”

Barry groaned. He was so done. He picked up his popcorn and tossed one piece to Felicity’s head.

“Just eat your popcorn.”

*5*

Captain Singh was reading a report when Barry knocked on his door. “Come in, Allen.”

Barry walked into the office and placed a file on David’s desk. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned to David. “Captain?” he asked.

“Yes, Allen?” “Can I request for a day off on the 18th?” David checked the calendar on the desk and saw that most of the other CSIs will be in.

“Okay, submit a proper request and I’ll approve it. If I may ask, why do you need to take it? Albert seems to be less of a pain as he was before.”

Barry chuckled as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Actually it’s my boyfriend and I’s one and a half year anniversary. Our one year didn’t end well, so I wanted to make it up to him.”

David sighed and removed his glasses, turning to face Barry properly. “Barry, I’ve known you for over 10 years now. I think by now, you would know that excuses like that wouldn’t work on me.’’

Barry looked confused and a little bit upset at his words. “Sir? I...’’

“If it didn’t work on Joe, Iris, or your other friends, it won’t work for me too. I know you’re the Flash, Barry. You didn’t need to come up with an elaborate fib like that.” Barry looked like he was about to protest or deny any allegations, but his shoulders just slumped. Barry looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at the world. He nodded and turned again to walk out when David mentioned something.

“Also, if you ever used that excuse again, one year anniversary sounds more believable than one and a half.”

“Of course. Sure thing, Captain.”

+1

Since Joe found out Captain Singh knew about Barry being the Flash, he decided to let his old friend around the labs, re-introducing him to Cisco and other members of the team. David was slightly surprised at how many people he knew were in the team (”Albert and Dibny? You guys are involved in this?”). He was surprised at their involvement, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Barry had the type of personality that just drew people in.

Just as he was talking to Caitlin in the med bay, a series of beeps emitted from the computers in the cortex. “What’s that? Is that some kind of Flash alert?” he asked as him and Caitlin walked into the cortex where the rest were in, excluding Barry, who was patrolling the city.

“Nah, that just means the waverider landed on the roof. The Legends will probably stop by here to say hi before visiting their families.” Cisco answered as he had another lollipop in his mouth. Caitlin scowled at him and he removed the sweet from his mouth, not wanting her to go into another tirade about dental health.

Minutes later, a group of nine walked into the cortex, exchanging pleasantries with team Flash.

“Didn’t know the Captain of the CCPD is now on team Flash.”

David turned away from his conversation with Ray Palmer and saw Leonard Snart leaning against a wall, smirking. Beside him was his partner Mick Rory, who was being fussed over by Caitlin (”You keep letting your burns heal like that and I’ll cover it in ice until it reaches your bones.”) “Leonard Snart. Didn't know you played on the hero’s side now.”

“Well, I tend to swing both ways.” He turned and sauntered off to Cisco, but not before giving David one last smug look, causing him to think that there was a double meaning behind what Snart said.

“Hey, where’s Barry?” Sara asked Joe, who was catching up with Stein. “He’s on patrol. I can call him back.” Joe went over to the computers and patched in through Barry’s comms.

“Hey Barr, the Legends are here. Come over and say hi.” “The Legends?” Barry sounded excited, but team Flash thought it was because he got to catch up with his friends. The Legends, on the other hand, gave Len a quick look before returning to their conversations.

Five seconds later, a figure appeared in the middle of the cortex, followed by a lightning trail. “Barry!” Sara exclaimed as she threw her arms around the speedster, still in his Flash regalia. “Hey Sara, how was the 1800s?” “Sexist. But I kicked some bigots into a river, so I’d say it went well.” Barry and Sara exchanged a few words before someone in the corner coughed.

“Lenny!” Barry exclaimed and sped over to the reformed criminal. He kissed the thief in front of both their teams, unaware of the heart attack he gave to the members of his own team.

“Bartholomew Henry Allen!” Iris shrieked, causing everyone in the room to wince at the octave she reached, “Since when were you dating Captain Cold?!”. Barry opened his mouth to respond when Nate beat him to it.

“What the hell, man? You didn’t tell your team about it? It’s been years!” Barry sighed and put his head on his hands. Len’s arms were still around his waist, his back leaning on Len’s front. “No. I did. Multiple times. No one believed I had a boyfriend.”

The Legends half of the group burst into hysterical laughter while team Flash was still frozen in disbelief. “Wait a second. Your ‘fake’ boyfriend is Leonard Snart?!” Joe pointed from Barry to Len, taking a moment to process it. He wasn’t as mad as he thought he’d be, but definitely surprised.

“To be fair, they aren’t dating anymore.”

That caused the team to snap out of their stupor. “What do you mean they aren’t dating anymore?” Cisco questioned, trying to comprehend how this all happened. “Did you guys break up?” Caitlin asked from her position beside Mick, who was laughing so hard that he held onto her shoulder for support.

Barry blinked at all his friends and family, asking himself how massive of a situation this led to. He shook his head and removed his gloves, taking Len’s hand and doing the same.

“Guys. I've been wearing a ring for the last 2 months. I haven't been hiding."

"We thought it was part of your... psuedo boyfriend scheme..."

Captain Singh was the first to get over the shock of everything and put all the information together. "So. For the last 2 years, you actually do have a boyfriend. Who's Leonard Snart. And not only did you tell us you were dating someone, you also flaunted your ring around, showing us you're engaged, and we didn't even believe it."

"Most people think the superspeed is what's unbelievable about me..."

[dakotacrisis]

Deal’s End (10)

Marinette has a lot of feelings

(Read on AO3)

---

Marinette’s outing with Adrien the next day was nice enough. They walked around the park and talked and laughed. Adrien held her hand the entire time. He didn’t mention her confession to him yesterday and she didn’t know if that was good or bad. It must have been fine since he was still there with her.

Too soon it was time for him to leave and they said their goodbyes. Adrien placed a quick goodbye peck on her cheek and fled into his car. He was so nervous around her now it was kinda adorable.

Returning home she found Felix on her bed taking a nap.

Felix…What was she going to do about Felix? Last night some feelings came to mind that she wasn’t prepared for. She was so sure it was just a momentary thing. That once she saw Adrien and spent the afternoon with him everything would make sense again. It didn’t. If anything coming home and seeing Felix after hanging out with Adrien only made things worse. She was happy with Adrien and had fun and she still definitely thought he was attractive but...was she in love with him like she thought? She was so sure about her feelings before all of this but now she was starting to question if her crush was just that. A crush.

And now there was whatever it was she was feeling for Felix. She liked hanging out with him and he made her laugh all the time. He was nice to talk to and she was comfortable around him and whenever she had the chance she was always reaching out to him first before anyone else. Not to mention that he was handsome. He’d have to be of course being a demon. But it wasn’t just his looks. It was the way he remained stoic until you told a corny joke. It was the way his eyes would light up when he was happy. It was the little pouty lip he’d jut out when Marinette told him he couldn’t have anymore sweets. It was the sound of his groggy half awake voice when he woke up.

Oh god this is bad! She needed someone to talk to. She made sure Felix was still asleep before she snuck back down to the living room. Quickly she dialed Alya’s number.

“Hey Marinette, what’s up?” Alya answered, “How’d your date with Adrien go?”

“Good. It was nice.” Marinette said. “Didn’t do much but it was nice to get out. Listen I have something I need to talk about and you were the only one I thought I could trust.”

“You know I’m always here for you girl. What’s up?”

“Well...um…” Marinette paced around the living room. “The thing is...I…”

“Are you okay?”

“No!” Marinette flopped back on the couch. “Alya, I think I have a crush on Felix.”

“Oh dear…” Alya sighed, “I was afraid something like this was gonna happen. This is some teen romantic comedy shit going on.”

“I know!”

“But what about Adrien? Do you just not like him anymore?”

“No. I do like him but now when I daydream about dates and stuff…”

“It’s Felix.” Alya finished. “When did this start?”

“I had been feeling it for a couple days but it was last night that it hit me like a truck.” Marinette thought back to how they stood out under the stars. Felix’s sad but loving story. The soft looks he had given her. “During the blackout we were out on my balcony watching the meteor shower and I may have kissed his cheek.”

“Girl. That blackout didn’t happen until almost midnight. Why was he over so late?”

Shit. “I invited him over to watch the meteor shower.” Marinette lied. “Now I know that I like him but I’ve been making all this progress with Adrien and I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you know if Felix likes you the same way?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t even matter because he’s going to be leaving soon.”

“Leaving? What do you mean? Is he moving away?”

“Something like that. What do I do, Alya?”

“The way I see it you have three options. Option one is to stop pursuing Adrien, tell Felix how you feel and maybe try a long distance relationship. Option two is you keep going out with Adrien in case this fling with Felix turns out to be false. Or Option three is you take a break from both of them and sort your own head out first.”

“If only it was that easy.”

“Look at it this way.” Alya continued, “You have one guy that you suddenly really like that you don’t know how he feels about you and is going to be moving away. You have another guy that we established already clearly likes you and you’ve been crushing on for years that isn’t going anywhere. One could have a lot of risk and the other has virtually none.”

“I know what I should do and to an extent I want to but there’s just a lot going on in my head right now.”

“I get it.” Alya assured her, “You know I’m always here if you need to talk. Remember to do what’s best for you though. Forget about the boys and look at what you need first.”

“Thanks, Alya, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Glad to help. Bye.” They hung up.

Marinette thought on what Alya said. Maybe these feelings for Felix were fleeting. Maybe it was just a temporary obsession her mind concocted. They have been spending almost every waking moment together since he came into her life. Hell, it could be part of his demon aura or whatever that is rattling her brain.

She’s had crushes before that came on suddenly that disappeared almost as quickly. Like that one week she was intensely attracted to Max for some reason. It came, it went, and through it all she still liked Adrien more.

What if it isn’t though? What if it’s real? What if it doesn’t go away?

He’s a demon...even if he could stay it wasn’t like they could be together. Felix had said it himself weeks ago. A human and a demon cannot be. Sure he was joking but it still rang with truth.

What was she even going to do after he left? Even if she got over these feelings she still liked him as a friend and wanted to keep in touch. It was the question she had been avoiding for days now. She knew she’d have to talk about it with him sooner or later.

“Love, are you down here?” Felix came downstairs, “There you are. Have you been home long?”

“Not that long.” Even seeing him now made her heart do a flip.

“I’m hungry. Can we get snacks?” He asked.

An idea struck Marinette like lightning. A sure fire way to know if this was a good match or not. “We can indeed and I know just the place.”

“We’re not getting eclairs from the bakery?”

“Nope.”

“Well damn. Where are we going then?”

“I can’t turn off all the lights in Paris so we can watch shooting stars but I do know someplace with magic.” Marinette took him by the hand. “Come on. I think you’re gonna love this.”

It took some time to track him down but eventually Marinette found Andre’s ice cream cart at the bridge. “Ice cream?” Felix looked at her perplexed. “This is the magical place you were telling me about?”

“Trust me.” They approached the cart. “Hi Andre.”

“Hello sweet Marinette and fellow. Welcome to Andre’s ice cream, my cones are as sweet as the loveliest dream.”

“He’s rhyming.” Felix murmured.

“It’s what he does.” Marinette elbowed him lightly, “Andre, can you make us an ice cream to share?”

“You’re not going to just order what you want?”

“Shh!” Marinette shushed Felix.

Andre went about scooping ice cream onto a single cone, “Black and white is what you are. So cookies and cream will get you far. A scoop of mint makes for a perfect pair. And a cherry on top for the the bond that you share.”

Marinette took the cone. It looked downright delicious. And with it Marinette’s heart raced. A perfect pair. She guessed she had her answer. Andre was never wrong. That didn’t make it possible though.

Felix and Marinette sat down with their ice cream. The sun was setting casting everything in a golden glow.

“You were right about this ice cream.” Felix dug out another spoonful. “Why didn’t you tell me about this place sooner?”

“Didn’t think of it.” She shrugged.

“And what was with the rhyme he said while he was getting our order?”

“It’s what he does. Andre has a way of knowing people and he can create a special cone for them. It’s the reason his concoctions are known as the Sweetheart’s Ice Cream.” She looked at Felix now. In the late sun glow his eyes sparkled. She could get lost staring into them.

“Sweethearts huh?” Felix grinned and glanced back at Andre who was serving a new couple. “And let me guess, he’s never wrong?”

“I’ve never seen him make a bad pairing.” Marinette said. She plucked the cherry off the top and offered it to Felix. He gently took the cherry from her hand, his lips skimming over her fingers. Her whole body was trembling.

“Marinette,” Felix looked at her earnestly. His voice was hushed and low, “I--”

Ring! Ring!

“Ugh, stupid phone! One second.” Marinette pulled out her phone. Adrien was calling her. “I’ll call him back.”

“Oh no.” Felix urged, “You should take it.”

“But we--”

“Go on and answer it. Don’t want to send mister perfect to voicemail after all.”

Marinette reluctantly hit answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, Marinette,” Adrien’s voice rang over the phone. “Is this a good time?”

“I guess. What do you need?” Marinette handed the ice cream to Felix.

“Well, I meant to ask you during our date earlier but I completely forgot. So I thought I’d call and ask you now.” Adrien took a deep breath, “I’ve been having a great time with you these past couple weeks and with what you said yesterday about having a crush on me it put things in perspective.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I really like you and I was hoping that if you liked me too if you wanted to come to this fashion show my father is putting on next week.”

“As friends?”

“I was hoping you could come as my date.” He said, “There’s also an after party and I’d really like to take you. Would that be something you’d be interested in?”

“Oh well um…” Marinette looked at Felix. His expression was blank but he gave her a thumbs up anyways. “Uh yeah. That sounds nice.”

“Great! It’s a date. A date date this time.” Adrien sounded ecstatic. “I’ll give you the details the next time I see you.”

“Alright.” Marinette tried to sound upbeat. “I can’t wait. Bye.”

“Bye!”

When she looked back at Felix he had already downed half of the cone. “Sorry about that.” Marinette apologized, “What were you saying?”

“Nothing important. Just another idea to get you time alone with Adrien. Looks like you don’t need it though. I told you it was only a matter of time.” He handed her the ice cream, “You have the rest. I think I’ve had enough.

“Okay...” Marinette took the ice cream. They started the walk back home and she dumped the half eaten cone in the garbage. She wasn’t in the mood for it anymore.

It was actually happening. Adrien had asked her on an honest to god date and she had accepted. Sooner or later he would probably ask her to be his girlfriend. And when that happened...she needed to talk to Felix.

After they returned home she sat down at her desk working up the courage to bring it up. There was no more avoiding it. If she didn’t ask him now she never would get the chance. “Felix,” She wheeled her chair over the the chaise where he was sitting. “Can we talk?”

“You’re so serious.” He laughed as he set his book down. “What’s this about?”

“Felix, I’ve been avoiding it because I’ve been having fun but in light of what happened earlier I think we need to address the elephant in the room.” Marinette told him.

“And what would that be?”

“Felix...you know what I’m talking about.”

The playful grin fell from his face. He nodded and sat up straight on the chaise. “Is this about what happens after I leave?”

“Yes.”

“I was afraid of that,” Felix sighed. He ran his hands through his hair. “I wasn’t worried about it before since you were so eager to get rid of me. There was no reason for me to stick around after our deal was fulfilled. But...that’s changed, hasn’t it?”

Marinette nodded. “Demon or not you’re still my friend. It’s been how long now? A couple weeks? Almost a month? It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”

“It has certainly been going by fast. Your past self would probably slap you for letting me stick around this long.”

“That was before I got to know you.” Marinette clenched her fists tightly in her lap. “It’s been barely a month yet it feels like you’re someone I’ve always known. Is that weird to say?”

“No. I feel much the same way.” Felix took a deep breath. “Marinette, love, I don’t want to lie to you cause for the first time in a long time I feel like I have a friend. I feel like I have someone that cares about me.”

“I do.” her voice broke.

“I know.” He clasped her hands in his, “Which is why I need to tell you that once I leave I probably will never be able to come back.”

And there it was. The words she had so desperately not wanted to hear.

“Demons, we’re not meant to wander the plane of the living unless we’re making deals or causing chaos of some kind. I don’t want to do that with you around. I don’t want you to see that part of me and come to hate me.”

“You’re not that bad.”

“That’s because this is professional. I’m meant to blend in and assist you. But if I stuck around and did the things I would need to do to be allowed to remain here you wouldn’t like what you saw.” He grimaced, “I’m still a demon and the things I’ve done before in my life, the things I will undoubtedly have to do again, they’re not exactly harmless pranks.”

“But--”

“You’re my friend,” Felix cut across her, “but you are also my client. I cannot hurt you nor would I ever want to. I cannot say the same if I were to stick around. Even now you are in a certain level of danger being around me. My bosses know I’ve spent a lot of time around you and might think you are a prime subject for a haunting or even a possession.”

Marinette started to shake at the information. She had never thought of that. “Has your presence changed anything else?”

“My human form suppresses my demonic aura but not entirely. I can use it to draw people in but most of the time my aura emits a low level of danger. Not big enough to be alarmed but--how do I put this? People, whether they realize it or not will go out of their way to avoid me. Have you not noticed that since I’ve come along a lot of your friends have been keeping a distance from you? Outside of your interactions with Adrien, cause he’s also part of the deal and therefore blind to my aura, the class ignore us.”

“I have residue demon aura following me around because you’ve been here so long?”

“Yep.”

“This is a lot to take in.” Marinette took a moment to breathe and let the information settle on her. “I hadn’t even noticed. I suppose that outside of Alya I haven’t really talked to anyone from school.”

“See? While I don’t want to go I know that I have to. It is for your own safety and so you can get back to living a regular life.”

“Right…” Marinette looked away. “God, I feel so stupid. Of course you can’t stay. Why did I ever think you could? And I know that you’re nice by demon standards but the fact that I want to keep a demon around--I just--am I crazy?”

“Look at me,” Felix knelt down in front of her and turned her face towards him. “You’re not crazy. You’re not insane. You’re none of those things. You’re something much better than all that.” His silver eyes gazed at her softly. “You’re kind. You befriended a demon for Satan’s sake! Do you know how good a person you have to be to get a spawn of Hell to open up? The fact that you would sincerely want me to stay is amazing. To be able to call someone like me your friend is not crazy. It’s miraculous.”

Marinette had started crying now. Felix wiped the tears away. “You’re a safe haven. And there is nothing I have treasured more than being here getting to know you. I will never forget the time we’ve spent here together.”

“Promise?” Marinette whispered.

“You think I could ever forget about you, love.” Marinette slumped out of her chair and collected Felix in her arms for a tight hug. He hugged her right back crushing her to his chest. “I promise.”

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (11)

---

(tagged)

@sannsibarr @miss-mysterys-blog @maribug-adrienoir @mermaidreject @corabeth11 @goblinwhoships @symwinter  @dreaming-being  @yourgeekysister

[sariahsue]

The Open Line - Chapter Ten, Friends

Ladybug knows that if it weren’t for Adrien, she would have fallen for Cat Noir, hard and fast. And when Oblivio takes her memory, she does just that. Able to keep her memory after the Oblivio incident but still unaware of Cat Noir’s real identity, Ladybug must deal with her growing feelings for her partner, who is desperately trying to win her over. (Rated PG.)

Read Chapter One Here Read Chapter Nine Here

***

At school the next morning, Marinette made the mistake of doodling a pair of cat ears in her notebook while waiting for class to start. Well, that wasn't really the mistake. But she should have hidden it better.

"So how is Cat Noir these days?" Alya asked, sliding toward Marinette on their bench.

"I don't know, Alya. You're the one who follows him and Ladybug around all the time. Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"But I'm not the one with the massive crush on him."

"Humph." Marinette bent low over her paper and continued doodling, trying to ignore her friend.

Alya slid closer, until they were hip to hip. "I don't hear any denials," she sang.

"Only because you wouldn't believe them anyway." Why waste the energy? The cat ears on her notebook complete, she moved on to drawing whiskers and a nose. Cat Noir was going to be so excited tonight! She'd worked out all the details and was ready to surprise him. She couldn't wait to see his face! Uh... the happy look on his face. Not that she couldn't wait to see his face.  You know what? She was going to stop thinking now.

Alya bumped her shoulder, trying to get her attention. When Marinette continued to ignore her, she tried a different tactic. "What do you think, Adrien?"

"About what?" Adrien broke off his conversation with Nino and turned around in his seat. Wide-eyed and smiling, he looked up at them, glancing from one to the other.

"Cat Noir and my girl, here." She slung an arm over Marinette's shoulders.  “Don't you think they'd be cute together?"

Marinette shook her head.

"Why not?" Adrien said. "She's great, he's great."

This is a new low, Alya. 

"I don't know," Marinette said, tapping her chin. "I don't think I could stand the smell."

"The... smell?" Adrien asked, leaning back in his seat. "What are you-"

"Yeah," she continued, "because of all the purr-fume." 

Adrien blinked, then laughed. "You share a sense of humor, too." He looked overjoyed by the joke, and bouncier than she had ever seen him.

Marinette chuckled. "Yea—no. No, I just..." Had heard enough bad puns that they came naturally? Was thinking about Cat Noir a lot today? What was wrong with her?! But Ms. Mendeleiev came in, and Marinette was spared from finishing her sentence.

"Where did your stutter go?" Alya whispered, as soon as the teacher's back was turned.

Marinette bent low over her notebook, pretending to be engrossed in the class. Where had her stutter gone? She'd held a normal conversation. And told him a cat pun?! She dug her pencil too hard into her paper and ripped a hole in it.

The worst part was how terrible she didn't feel when Adrien – her Adrien – had agreed she and Cat Noir would be great together.

I'm just excited about tonight, Marinette reasoned. I wasn't giving Adrien my full attention.

As soon as she realized this meant she had been distracted from Adrien by thoughts Cat Noir, she shut down that line of thinking, claimed it must have been due to a serious lack of sleep, and forced herself to pay attention to the class. She was only mildly successful. At the end of the day, her pages were half filled with notes and half with doodles of green eyes and black masks.

She hid them all from Alya.

Ten o'clock could not come fast enough. Marinette's poor partner had been so sad the last time she'd seen him, but she was about to change that (she hoped). A full 30 minutes before she needed to, Marinette was ready to leave.

"Isn't this a little early?" Tikki asked.

"Well, yeah." Marinette took her phone out of her pocket. Everything was set, so why wait? "But he always beats me out there. I want to be first for once. Spots on." Careful not to drop her phone and the slip of paper she had prepared, Ladybug rushed to the Eiffel Tower.

Even as early as she was, Cat Noir still got there before her.

"Ladybug!" he yelled, waving. "Aww! Couldn't wait to see me again?"

"Something like that," she said, a blush already rising. What was with her today? It wasn't like she had a crush on him! They were just friends! "Surprise!" Ladybug pulled out her phone and showed him the app she had found, pushing it into his face.

"What?"

"Texting!" she said, pulling her phone back and handing him the paper. "It's what friends do instead of talking!"

He examined the string of numbers she'd handed him. "You- you're giving me your number?" He looked guarded, like he didn't trust what she was saying. "You said that's too dang-"

"It is, but look!" She held up her phone again. "It's not my real number. It's a texting app. You can download, too. And we can set special ringtones, and bury them in folders so no one will see them, and password-protect them AND we can talk in code, so it always stays secure."

"I think that might be overkill." Cat Noir was quiet and still, staring down at the paper in his hands.

Ladybug felt suddenly self-conscious. "Sorry this is kind of a lame surprise. I want to be here for you, but sharing identities is still too risky." She was not about to admit that she had considered that, if only briefly.

"Lame?" he asked, looking up. "Do I have permission to text you whenever I want?" As soon as she nodded, he said, "Then this is the best gift I've ever received!" He dove in for a hug and spun her around. "You might regret saying I can text whenever I want."

"Oh, I'm sure I will."

He set her down, but gave her one last squeeze before letting go.

"Rules!" she said, already missing his warmth. "We at least have to have a code and nicknames for each other. My best friend likes to stick her nose into everything."

"Right," Cat Noir said, suddenly all business. "I'd like you to name my contact either 'Hot Stuff' or 'Eye Candy.' 'Dreamboat' is also acceptable."

Ladybug made a show of looking him up and down. Then, in the most unimpressed tone she could manage, she said, "Well, that's too bad for you, isn't it?"

"C'mon! You know it's true!"

"Nope."

Yup. 

There was no way she would ever say it out loud, but the truth was undeniable: Cat Noir was very good-looking. She had to force her mind back to the conversation in order to distract herself from the temptation of checking him out again.

"There's two reasons we're doing this," she said. "One, it'll be easier to coordinate patrols and warn each other about akumas."

"Ooh! I have an idea for our secret code," Cat Noir said, his ears perking up. "Want to hear it?"

"No, I don't think I do."

"Okay, here goes. When there's an akuma, I'll text you that your boyfriend-" He pointed to himself, so there could be no doubt as to who he meant. "-needs some kissing action, and the monster's location is our secret rendezvous point." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

What would that be like? she wondered. Slipping away to see him, hiding from passersby all over the city, squeezing into too-small spaces together, kissing him when no one was watching, letting him tangle his claws in her hair, his lips trailing along her jaw-

OKAY! That's enough of that! 

With effort, she wrenched herself back to reality, where Cat Noir was waiting for a witty retort.

"Y-yeah, and I'll put your contact as 'Man of My Dreams' and gush about how much I love you, and my friends will TOTALLY lay off. Good plan." Smooth.

"Oh, I like that idea, My Lady. We should do that."

"I'm going to name you... The Dork."

"Aw!"

He pouted, but she didn't let herself think about the lip that he stuck out. "Second thing!" she said. "You are going to text me when something's bothering you. Got it? Let me know if you need me, because I know you're not as much of a tough guy as you pretend to be."

Cat Noir huffed dramatically and tried (and failed) to look indignant. "I'm super tough! I should be offended."

"And yet you're not," she said. "Seriously, if you need a hug or something, just ask."

"So the code," he said thoughtfully.

"I already disagree with whatever you're about to say."

"If it's not an emergency, then 'your boyfriend needs some hugging action.' An akuma remains 'kissing action.' Sound good?" He leaned in playfully, lips puckered, but let Ladybug push his face away.

"Don't get your hopes up," she said, Cat Noir's face still smushed against her palm. "I'm going to tell everyone I have to leave suddenly because my neighbor needs a babysitter."

He let out a muffled, "Aw, man! Babysitting?! That's what you think of me?" His breath tickled her hand.

"I'm happy you're taking this so well." And that he was happy again, as she'd hoped. They sat down and talked and laughed together for a while longer, and Ladybug felt that all was right in the world. Their dynamic seemed to finally be returning to normal – with the occasional addition of her furious blushing that she couldn't figure out. The only logical conclusion had to be wrong.

When Ladybug returned to her room, everything was dark and peaceful. Her parents had been in bed for ages. Even the street outside was quiet. She hadn't realized they'd been out there for that long. It was the second time that week she'd lost track of while with him.

Within seconds of detransforming and climbing into bed, her phone buzzed, just as she'd expected. Marinette checked it happily.

The Dork: I don't know if I like my code anymore. 

Marinette: I know I'm going to regret it, but I'm asking you why anyway. 

The Dork: Because how am I supposed to ask you for real kisses if 'kiss' is already a code word?  😩 😭

Marinette: GOOD NIGHT, DORK. 

Without him there, it was easier to push away thoughts of secret rendezvous and stolen moments alone.

As she snuggled under her covers, her last conscious thought was of Adrien, and wondering how it was possible that she hadn't though of him once since seeing him at school.

Read Chapter Eleven Here

***

Author's note: Marinette made that joke in class completely on her own. I had NOTHING to do with it. I just got to that part in the draft and she's like, "Hey, writer, I'm making a joke to Adrien about how bad Cat Noir smells. You'd better think of a pun that makes it make sense." And I just rolled with it. (And she definitely set his ringtone to either "Nyan Cat" or "I'm a Kitty Cat.") There should be one more (short) chapter this week!

[shirtlesssammy]

5x05: Fallen Idols

Hey all! Welcome to Hate Watch Week! We’ve picked the best of the worst and are recapping them all week. These are our personal choices, and I’m sure they all (*but one*) have redeeming qualities, we just see the bad more than the good. Enjoy our snark  --and join in if you want :) (And if you’re still trying to guess our hiatus theme, this episode doesn’t count.) 

Then:

Angst-a-thon!

Now:

We meet Jimmy and his pal, Cal, both race car enthusiasts. Well, enthusiasts for one sports car: James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder. While Jimmy runs to get the camera, Cal sits in the car, ready to start the “Little Bastard”. Only, the air gets frosty and the car radio flickers on. We hear a crash and Jimmy heads back to the garage to find Cal’s head smashed into the jagged edge of the convertible’s windshield. 

Sam and Dean are on the case! Sam wants to know why this case is so important --what with the devil and apocalypse and all. “This is what we’re doing, okay?” Dean insists. Dean highlights that they’ve been away from each other for a while (*Ahem* maybe I don’t like this episode as much because the last two episodes were just Dean and Cas having fun times together? IDK. 5x03 and 5x04 were a wild ride that I watch over and over again.) 

THE HORROR:

They arrive at the local cop shop as FBI agents Bonham and Copeland. The local sheriff shows them the video “evidence” that Cal’s good buddy Jim killed him. The brothers are less than convinced.

The sheriff applied Occam's Razor, and done and done. 

The brothers want to interview Jim anyway. He tells them what he heard from the house: tires squealing, glass breaking. The car killed Cal. It’s cursed. Jim mentions that it was “Little Bastard” that did it, and Dean’s eyes light up like a little boy at Christmas. OoooohhhHHHHooo. Dean and cars and, well, don’t tell me he never had a crush on James Dean. We all have had a crush on James Dean. Sam “I can’t be any more straight” Winchester has no flippin’ clue what’s going on. Dean insists they check out the car. Bby boy. 

They head to the car, and Dean takes a moment. Sam asks for some exposition. Dean explains that after James Dean died, the mechanic bought the wreckage and fixed the car. 

The car fell on him, and death continues to follow the car wherever it goes (Ugh, I just went down a rabbit hole of what happened to the car and am now in a weird spiral of remembering how much I loved James Dean as a teen and how much Rebel Without A Cause meant to me. I’m not 90 years old. What a weird flex for a 1990’s kid to experience. But also not, since Dean’s right there with me, right?) 

Anyway, to really confirm if the car was James Dean’s, they’ve got to match the engine number. Dean heads under the car to confirm, begging the car to not hurt him first. Dean takes his sweet ass time being nervous and writing down the engine number, but he makes it out alive. He tasks Sam with tracking down all the owners.

While Dean hangs at a bar, Sam discovers the car is a fake. 

Meanwhile, a nerdy man reflects on his day at his desk when the air gets frosty and he hears a creaking behind him. He turns and utters, “Oh my god, it’s you. You’re dead. You’re supposed to be dead.” Is it a long lost wife? An old rival? Nope. It’s a growling Abraham Lincoln. He chokes the nerd man until he becomes a victim of the blood cannon. Better angels of our nature, my ass. 

The agents meet the sheriff at the crime scene. They remark that there’s nothing strange about the victim dying of a gunshot wound where there’s no gun, no gunpowder, no bullet. Awkward. The brothers demand a reasonable explanation from the sheriff. He hunkers down and whispers, “Professional killer.” He’s thinking this is a Michael Clayton-type thing. And I love it because that’s the limit of his imagination. Sam and Dean know better but only because they live in the fringe of this world where monsters are real. 

Sam and Dean head to interview the victim’s maid, Consuela Alvarez. She’s very distressed, and can only speak Spanish. 

Sam pulls out his freshman Spanish to save the day. I only remember “Donde esta el baño?” Good job, Sam! The killer was a tall man with a long black coat and a beard. And he wore a hat. A tall hat. Dean cracks the code: A stovepipe hat like Abraham Lincoln. DEAN BEAN, so street smart he doesn’t even realize how book smart he is. Sigh. “Abraham Lincoln killed Mr. Hill,” Consuela confirms. 

The brothers continue to research. Dean watches the car video frame by frame until he finds one frame of a blurred red coated figure ---and INSTANTLY guesses that it’s James Dean ---but like Jim Stark James Dean. It’s not like James Dean wore the damn red coat outside of that movie role, lol. (Sidenote: Fun fact: Fry from Futurama’s coat is modeled after that red coat.) 

Sam realizes that they’re dealing with famous ghosts that are killing their fans. (Sidenote: I hope Misha Collins never dies.) The brothers wonder why these ghosts are haunting Canton, Ohio. They do more research. 

The brothers head to the Canton Wax Museum. They marvel at all the random wax figurines (and Sam is taller than Lincoln? Hmmm. They’re the same height. #Borisisanerd) Dean makes fun of Gandhi and Sam defends him, but uh, nope, Sam, nope. 

The museum curator shows up and the brothers introduce themselves as reporters for Travel Magazine. They’re writing an article on “how totally non-sucky wax museums are.” The curator points out that this place is unique. He points to Lincoln and tells the boys that’s actually Lincoln’s hat. Yep, he’s got real items from all the dead guys. 

He’s going to make wax museums hip again. And OMG Sam’s little thumbs up in response. STOP. 

Later, Sam loads up on salt rounds and walks in on Dean talking to Bobby about him. Dean gets off the phone fast and dismisses Sam’s questioning about the call. Dean’s not 100% with Sam yet. They head out to finish the case. 

At the wax museum Dean starts poking around. Let the tomfoolery begin!

Sam hauls out a metal trash can which they can use to torch all the priceless, one of a kind objects. (History-fan me cringes.) While he’s doing an ultra-close-up examination of Lincoln, the doors slam shut. Suddenly, Gandhi is on him! Gandhi is strong, he’s fast, and he’s out to kill. Dean torches Gandhi's watch and Sam’s attacker winks out. 

The next day, Sam mulls over the case in the motel room. Ghost Gandhi's quick disappearance has him troubled. He didn’t flame out like most ghosts, and he seemed almost zombie hungry. Sam thinks the hunger is uncharacteristic given Gandhi's tendency towards fruitarianism. (WWMGD? What would monster Gandhi do?) Dean dismisses Sam’s concerns, and Sam tells him that hunting together isn’t working. Dean doesn’t trust him. More than that, Dean’s trying to stick to their old patterns with the older brother telling the younger brother what to do. 

“Before didn’t work,” Sam tells him. That old dynamic chased Sam off into Ruby’s arms. “You’re gonna have to let me grow up.”

Dean’s phone rings. It’s the local cops, calling about another terrible incident. 

The Sheriff is…utterly at a loss with this next one. Dean and Sam head into the station to interview two teen girls. They tearfully recount the “horrible” “way horrible” disappearance of their friend who was kidnapped earlier by…Paris Hilton. 

Dean and Sam tick the obvious boxes. Paris Hilton isn’t dead, so they’re not after a ghost. Sam suits up in scrubs to do a detailed autopsy of one of the prior corpses. He pulls out two strange seeds from one of the victim’s stomachs. 

Sam fills Dean in on the excessive blood loss he discovered (something was feeding) and the seeds. The seeds are unusual, and he takes them back to the motel. There, he discovers that the seeds were indigenous to a forest in Europe, and the forest was ruled over by a god, Leshi. Leshi can take on any form and feeds on his followers. Dean hand waves the shapeshifting explanation for the audience by asking, “So how's he doing it? What, he touches James Dean's keychain and then morphs into James Dean?” Thank you, Exposition Dean!

The Winchesters arrive back at the Wax Museum, this time bearing a nice sharp axe. In a creepy closed exhibit they find the victim and…Paris Hilton. She (He?) takes out Dean and Sam quickly. When they wake a little while later, they’re tied to the fake trees in the exhibit. 

Leshi sharpens a blade slowly, excited to do the sacrificial ritual correctly this time. He explains that he’s settled in this town to stuff his face full of worshippers arriving at the wax museum. With the apocalypse nigh, there’s no reason to diet! 

Leshi grouses about the poor quality of worshippers these days. Dean fights whining with snark, and Leshi tells him that he worships somebody - his dad. “Poor little Dean. All you ever wanted was to be loved by your idol.” They fight and Sam breaks free and hacks off Leshi’s head.

The next day, we learn that the victim they rescued is going to recover. And even better? The bumbling Sheriff is putting out an APB on Paris Hilton. 

At the car, Dean admits his own culpability in bringing about the apocalypse, when he broke the first seal. He apologizes for being preoccupied with the wrong things. Sam responds with the hero speech with which we’re so familiar. “We gotta just grab onto whatever's in front of us, kick its ass, and go down fighting.” Dean’s on board. Hell, he’s more than ready to move forward. He hands Sam the keys to Baby and they roll off to the sweet sounds of Jeff Beck's “Superstition." D’awwww.

These Quotes are Hot:

We’re not your typical cops

Death follows this car around like exhaust

Christine is fiction, this is real

I'm gonna make wax museums hip again

Four score and seven years ago, I had a funny hat

You’re not the first god we've met, but you are the nuttiest

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[angelofthequeers]

Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12 | AO3 link

“Excuse me, best friend.”

Oops. Well, one can only escape from Alya Césaire’s determination for so long.

“Hi, Alya!” Marinette pastes a wide smile on her face. But she’s not fooling either of them.

“So.” Alya loops her arm through Marinette’s, locking Marinette in place as they head into the school courtyard. Guess there’s no escape from this interrogation. “You’ll talk to Chat Noir but not to your best friend?”

“Huh? How did you –”

“Adrien called me last night. He ran into Chat Noir and asked him to check on you,” Alya says. Marinette bites back a growl. Adrien, that snitch. “But, you know, when your bestie gets there, you’re just too distraught to talk to her.”

“I…don’t know. I guess because you were there, but Chat wasn’t, so it was easier to talk to him about it. And after all the times he’s visited –”

“Wait. Hold the fuck up. Excuse me?” Alya skids to a halt. Marinette just grins sheepishly. Oops. “Since when has one of Paris’ superheroes been visiting you? Multiple times? And you didn’t even tell me, the Ladyblogger?”

“Because it would’ve ended up all across Paris, Miss Ladyblogger,” Marinette says dryly.

“Excuse me! As if!” Alya says. But she deflates when Marinette raises an eyebrow. “…Okay, yeah. I’ll give you that one. Anyway, Marinette, details. Now.”

Marinette sighs, but there’s no wriggling out of an interrogation with Alya the journalist unless either a) there’s an akuma attack, or b) she’s literally dying on the spot. So, she resigns herself to telling Alya all about her realisation after the group work with Adrien and Lila, her attempts to navigate being Adrien’s friend while dealing with her crush on him, Chat Noir’s occasional visits, and then what had happened last night. By the end of her tale, Alya’s eyes are as wide as golf balls.

“This is major!” she says. “Why didn’t you call me for all this Adrien stuff? I mean, sure, I love that you got to use a superhero as a diary, but I’m your best friend!”

“I’m sorry,” Marinette says. “I guess…well, after all the effort you put into getting me and Adrien together, I didn’t want to…let you down.”

“Excuse me?” Alya huffs. “Let me down? I was putting all that effort in to make you happy, girl, not because I got off on it or anything. You think I’d have been upset if you’d said you didn’t want to chase after him anymore? I’m with you no matter what, Marinette.”

Marinette smiles down at the ground before directing that smile at Alya. “Thanks, Al. I just…my head’s been a bit of a mess and I wanted to sort it out first, so I knew what I was exploding about.”

“That, I can accept,” Alya says. “But “not wanting to let me down”. Honestly, Mari, if I’ve sat through every single attempt to ask Adrien out and they didn’t let me down, I’m not sure what you think letting me down would involve.”

“True,” Marinette says just as they draw level with Adrien and Nino, who are sitting cross-legged on the ground next to one of the courtyard walls. She and Alya flop down next to them, and while Alya immediately snuggles into Nino’s side, Adrien waits until Marinette nods before he rests his head in her lap. Her stomach does a flip-flop, but she’s not in danger of melting into a puddle, and if Adrien’s choosing to act like everything’s normal between them and he hadn’t learned of her massive crush last night, well, Marinette’s not going to complain one bit.

“I can’t decide whether that’s the cutest or most sickening thing I’ve ever seen,” Alya says, then leans up to kiss Nino. Marinette raises an eyebrow.

“You were saying?” she drawls as she starts to rake her fingers through Adrien’s hair. Adrien makes an odd laugh-cough sound that has Alya narrowing her eyes at him, but that sound quickly morphs into a long purr when Marinette scratches a certain spot behind his ear.

“Did you just purr, dude?” Nino says.

“No!” Adrien bolts upright with pink cheeks. “Nope!”

“Uh huh,” Alya smirks. “Sure you didn’t. Speaking of purring –”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” Adrien says.

“– Mari, since you’ve got a new pet superhero,” Alya continues as though Adrien hadn’t spoken, “will we be expecting kittens anytime soon?”

“W-What?” Marinette splutters. For some reason, Adrien also reacts to Alya’s question by flushing a deep red and gaping like a fish. “Alya!”

“What?” Alya grins rather devilishly. “I mean, since you’re not going after Adrien anymore –uh, I mean –”

“It’s okay, I know,” Adrien says. Marinette makes an odd squeaking sound because how does he know that? “Uh – Chat Noir told me that she just wants to be friends. Because I asked if Marinette was okay last night after Glaciator attacked or if she was upset with me. I just wanted to be sure? Sorry if I overstepped…”

“I hate each and every single one of you,” Marinette says, wondering if it’s possible to boil her brain in her skull. “Except Nino. I’m adopting him.”

“If it means I get to live in the bakery, I got no problems with that, dude,” Nino says dreamily.

“I didn’t cross a line, did I?” Alya says, the teasing smile vanishing like smoke. “If I went too far –”

“No. No. It’s fine. I’m fine,” Marinette says. “If Adrien knows and he doesn’t care, tease away. But I’m still adopting Nino.”

“Like hell,” Alya says. “I got him first.”

“You can adopt me if you give me more head scratches?” Adrien says with a pout that might have made Marinette spontaneously combust before today, but now only fills her with pleasant warmth. He knows. He knows about her crush. And he doesn’t hate her! He still wants to be her friend! He’s even lying back down in her lap!

“So long as she gets to put a collar on you,” Alya says with her evil grin back in place. “Maybe she can even custom-make it Chat Noir style.”

“Alya!” Marinette whines, once again carding Adrien’s hair through her fingers as she leans against the cool brick wall behind her.

“What?” Alya says as she pulls out her phone and flicks through her notifications. She grimaces. “Ugh. That annoying Alternative News blogger’s trying to smear me again just because I’m willing to go out and get the footage. You know, instead of pinching off other sites and then whining that the quality’s always shit.”

“Hi, guys!” A beaming Lila bounds over to them. “Mind if I join you?”

Marinette, Adrien, and Nino exchange looks, while Alya’s so invested in her drama that she doesn’t even seem to have noticed Lila’s presence. Lila’s smile fades.

“I’m so, so sorry, Marinette,” she says. “I never meant to hurt you! I’ve never had many friends and I just wanted to tease you like friends do and, well, I guess I forgot that Adrien was right there. Do say you’ll forgive me!”

Marinette wants to say no. She really does. But that’ll only make her look like the bad guy at this point, so she just shrugs. Lila beams and throws herself down next to Marinette and pulls Adrien’s legs into her lap while he closes his eyes. Marinette wonders if she’s imagining the slight stiffness to Adrien when Lila’s got hold of his legs.

“That’s so cute!” Lila says when she realises what Marinette’s doing. She nudges Marinette and sidles even closer so that their arms are touching. Marinette’s about to slide away and cite personal space, but Adrien beats her to it when Lila leans over to try and stroke his hair too.

“No!” He hisses like a cat and curls himself around Marinette, cracking one green eye open to look at Lila. “Only Marinette.”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” Lila says. “I shouldn’t have assumed! I just saw how happy you looked, and like I said, we’re very touchy in Italy –” Before she can finish her self-deprecating apology, she jumps up. “Never mind! See you in class, guys!”

“Is it just me, or does she make it all about her when she’s apologising?” Alya’s finally detached herself from her phone, just in time to catch the tail end of the drama.

“You noticed it too, babe?” Nino says. “Felt like she was trying to make Marinette feel bad.”

“I just don’t get her,” Marinette says. “She’s nice enough but…am I the only one feeling like there’s more to her than she lets on?”

“Definitely not.” Adrien pushes himself up and stretches with a groan. His shirt rides up and exposes a sliver of belly and even though Marinette’s trying to focus on being his friend rather than eating his face, she can’t help but look away with flaming cheeks. “She could just be scared of opening up. Or there could be more, because I don’t think last night was an accident. But I don’t think we can judge her until we know more about her.”

The four of them sit in silence for another minute or so, until Alya and Nino start to once again lean in closer.

“Okay, that’s our cue,” Adrien says. He jumps to his feet and offers Marinette his hand to help her up. “Wanna go for a walk and give them some alone time?”

“Yeah, go with him, Mari,” Alya says. “Both of you can go far away and get bent.”

Marinette sticks her tongue out at Alya, then follows Adrien just in time to avoid seeing the kiss that she knows is happening. The two of them escape to the courtyard’s staircase and huddle together on one of the steps, leaving enough room for people to get around them when heading up or down, and the feeling of Adrien’s arm pressed against her is probably going to make her spontaneously combust on the spot. But at the same time, why is there this tiny, nagging feeling that she’s somehow betraying Chat Noir by drinking in the physical contact with Adrien?

“Hey…sorry about yesterday.” Adrien finally shatters the silence that’s surrounding them like a bubble to keep out the chatter of the other students.

“Why are you sorry?” Marinette says. “Lila’s the one who ruined it, not you. I’m just glad to know you don’t hate me for my c-crush.” She gulps around the lump in her throat because there, she’s finally dropped the c-word to his face, and she ends up wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans.

“Wait, what?” Adrien says. “No way I’d hate you for the way you feel! I’m just glad to know why you were always so weird around me. Look…do you want to hang out this weekend? For real, since last night got interrupted? I’ve got a photoshoot on Saturday but I’m free on Sunday.”

“What if your father doesn’t let you?” Marinette says. “It must’ve been a pain to get out last night.”

“I’ll sneak out if I have to,” Adrien says immediately. “A certain friend told me that I need to stop walking on eggshells just to avoid upsetting my father because I’ve been worried about him since he became the Collector. My friend made me see that my freedom is worth more than letting my father dictate everything just because I’m worried that I’ll upset him. Part of it is keeping my head down so things don’t get worse but…that’s a reason and not an excuse, and just because I ignore what’s there won’t make it go away.”

“Your friend sounds wise,” Marinette says.

“He can be,” Adrien says with another little smirk that leaves Marinette feeling as though there’s an inside joke she’s missing. “When he’s not being a brat about everything.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were still talking about Chat Noir,” Marinette teases, giggling when Adrien rolls his eyes at her and crosses his arms.

“He can be mature and wise,” Adrien says with an honest to god pout. “But the way he gets to be so free when he’s jumping through Paris is…inspiring. He helped me see that Father’s always going to control my life no matter what I do and that I’ve got good friends who are worth sneaking out for. I guess he helped me realise what I do have rather than what I don’t have.”

“Wow,” Marinette says, at a loss for words. There’s still so much she doesn’t know about her partner and while it’s partly her fault for insisting they not talk to each other about their private lives, she’s also certain that this is the best option for now. She already cares so much about him, so if his civilian identity was someone like, say, Nino or Adrien, she’d probably spend all battle worried sick about him and maybe even slip up in the heat of the moment. “I never knew Chat Noir had that side to him.”

“Not too many people do,” Adrien says. “So…do you want to hang out on Sunday? We don’t even have to go out anywhere if you don’t want to. I…really like your house. It was so cosy and warm when we trained for that gaming tournament.”

Marinette’s cheeks heat up at the fact that Adrien had literally just said to her face that her home is awesome. “I – sure! I’d show you fashion design but of course you know all about that, since you’re a model and all.”

“We’ll think of something. I’m just super happy that you actually like me and want to hang out with me.” Adrien looks like he’s made of pure sunshine, so brilliantly bright that he melts Marinette into goo on the spot. “Hold on…you could come to the photoshoot on Saturday! It’s really boring, so only if you want, but you did design that hat that Father liked and you did just say that you’re into fashion design, so it might be something that interests you.”

“Really?” Marinette tries to process the fact that she’s got an actual invitation to be there with his knowledge instead of awkwardly skulking around to look like she’s not watching. She tries not to wince at how…cringey she was. Tikki would totally scold her for thinking that and say that she’s just a teenage girl making mistakes and figuring things out but…still. “You’d actually want me there?”

“Of course,” Adrien says. “It might be nice to have a friend along. I can text you the details. So long as it doesn’t cause schedule conflict, Nathalie won’t care. I can –”

“Ugh, move!” Chloé shoves past Marinette, despite having plenty of room to climb the stairs, even with Sabrina right behind her. Marinette yelps and would’ve plummeted face-first if not for Adrien rushing to grab her and pull her back.

“Thanks,” Marinette says breathlessly.

“No pawblem,” Adrien grins, and she groans. “I guess I just have cat-like reflexes.”

“Well, at least you know your place, Dupain-Cheng. Beneath me.” Chloé scoffs. Her whole face changes when she turns to Adrien, and she bats her eyelashes and coos, “Hi, Adrikins! When you get tired of hanging out with this baker’s daughter, come and find me, okay?”

“God, she makes me so mad,” Marinette growls once Chloé and Sabrina are gone. “I don’t even know why she still gets to me! It’s so – so old!”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien says. “I should’ve said something. I know I said I’d try and stand up to people but…the thought of telling Chloé off scares me.”

“You’ve done it before,” Marinette says. “Remember when my uncle was akumatised?”

“Yeah. I know. But that’s…different.” Adrien sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “If I push her too hard, she could decide I’m more trouble than I’m worth. And I know I’ve got you and Nino and Alya but…I just…”

“The thought of anyone leaving you is terrifying because it feels like you weren’t good enough?” Marinette says softly. Adrien just grimaces and shrugs, so she holds her hand out and lets him make the move to take it and lace their fingers together. “I get it. I don’t like it, but I do get where you’re coming from. Um…how did you and Chloé even end up friends? And how are you both so different? You’re both rich and…well, you know, you both live with your dads, but you’re so nice and she’s so…”

“It’s…not really my place to say.” Adrien scratches the back of his neck.

“Oh! Then you don’t have to tell me!” Marinette babbles. “Really, I’m just poking my nose in –”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Adrien says with a small laugh. “I can tell you how we ended up friends. I just can’t tell you anything about Chloé’s mother unless she says I can. It’s not for me to say. All I can say is…I only lost my mother recently, so she was around for most of my life.”

“I get that,” Marinette says. All anyone knows is that Chloé’s mother is world-famous fashion critic Audrey Bourgeois – a fact that Chloé loves to parade around when she feels that being the mayor’s daughter isn’t enough of an advantage – but no one knows why Audrey doesn’t live in Paris with her husband and daughter.

“Father was actually found by Audrey Bourgeois when he first started designing. She helped him make a name for himself. And…she was my mother’s friend. That’s why Chloé’s my childhood friend: our parents knew each other since before we were born. And I know she’s not the nicest person but…she was all I had for so long. I don’t want to lose all those years where she was the only friend I was allowed to have because my parents didn’t want me out in the real world.”

“True friends call each other out when they’re wrong,” Marinette says. “Alya always tells me if I mess up. If Chloé hates you because you make her take responsibility for her actions, then she’s not really your friend. Sometimes…the right thing is the hard thing, and you just have to do it, even if that means losing those years of friendship. And I’m not saying that because I don’t like Chloé,” she hastens to add. “Part of why I love Alya so much is because she doesn’t sugar-coat things, so I know I can trust her to help me be a better person.”

“Yeah…” Adrien says.

“It’s not just that Chloé’s not a nice person. I’ve met a few people who weren’t nice but were also good people. She’s a bully, Adrien. She made my life so miserable for four years before now. I didn’t have any friends before Alya because Chloé made sure of that. I’m not telling you this because I want you to stop being her friend. I’m telling you this because you’re the only person she’ll listen to.”

“Well…I’ll try. I just haven’t stood up to anyone since my father was akumatised. I don’t want to make him more upset than usual. I’m still not sure he’s forgiven me for borrowing his book and brooch.”

“Feels like you can’t ever make him happy,” Marinette mutters, then she gasps. “Did I say that out loud? Crap, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to badmouth your dad in front of you –”

“Hey, no, don’t apologise!” Adrien squeezes her hand. “I appreciate knowing that you care. Just don’t say it in front of him, okay?”

“I make no promises,” Marinette says, trying to calm down her racing heart because holy shit, she’d just badmouthed her fashion idol in front of his son! “There’s a quote by Majestia that Alya told me on our first day of school that’s stuck with me: “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing”. What it actually means is that I can’t seem to keep my big mouth shut when I need to.”

“Well, Ladybug can’t either, but everyone loves her for it,” Adrien says. “Although probably only Ladybug could get away with saying that to Father’s face, so I’d probably not do that unless you were secretly her or something.”

Marinette swallows. Oh, if only Adrien knew.

“Which is partly why I was in love with her, you know?” Adrien says, and that makes Marinette’s breath freeze in her lungs. “She’s just so…strong and independent but she’s also kind and gentle. You can tell she loves Paris and her job and she’s not just doing it because she has to or for the attention. I just love how she cares.”

“O-Oh,” Marinette forces out. “You were in love with her?”

“I still love her,” Adrien says. “I don’t think those feelings will ever fully go away. But I’m trying not to be in love with her anymore, so I can be a good friend without focusing on trying to make out with her – uh, if she ever wants that…you know, if that makes sense?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That, um…pretty much sums up how I feel about you.”

Adrien smiles and nudges her. “I’m flattered. You’re a great girl, Marinette. Whoever you end up with is gonna be so lucky to have you. So long as they can get through me first.”

“Oh, ha, ha.” Marinette rolls her eyes. “I don’t need you to defend my honour. Chat Noir would probably get in first.”

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Adrien says thoughtfully. Before Marinette can reply to that, the school bell rings, and both she and Adrien reflexively jump to their feet and laugh at the same time.

“Oh – right – we should get to class,” Adrien says.

“Yeah!” Marinette says. “For once, I’m not late!” She falls in step with Adrien and they dash down the stairs to their classroom’s corridor, laughing and weaving around the gaggle of students also swarming inside.