#normally i just need to fight for space with pigeons and it really gets too much when i need to fight with tourists too

[firstservepercentage]

man i have a LOT to say about tourists

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Lepidoterophobia Prt. Three (Finale)

Shinobu Kochou x She/Her Reader

A/N: A couple of y’all asked real nice for kisses and you know what, that’s valid. Shinobu is such a tease though so she’s gonna make you work for it! Just not in the way you’d expect. It’s all fluff but get ready for some loving caresses and a massage at one point! It gets a little frisky, but nothing too explicit and sorry for the sub bottom energy but, come on, its Shinobu. I think this will be it for this little series. Thanks for liking it so much! <3 (Part One) (Part Two) Word Count: 4,977

(Y/n) had been recuperating within the Butterfly Estate for only two weeks before she felt as if she was about to lose her mind.

She still hadn’t been allowed to leave her bed. Only limited movement and changes in position to partake in very simple exercises and to avoid bed sores were permitted. What made it even more depressing was how the small movements would take the little energy she had right out of her. Then there was that disgusting medicine as well. (Y/n), quite literally, almost threw up the first time Aoi had given it to her. Aoi had scolded her good after that, going on about a special brewing process and rare ingredients; how Shinobu had worked tirelessly to make it for her.

Shinobu... Now, if (Y/n) had to assemble a list of reasons for the impending mental breakdown she felt coming on, Kochou Shinobu would be at the tippy top of that list.

She was an absolute tease! Lingering touches, no regard for personal space whatsoever. Then there was her downright devious way with words that could make (Y/n)’s skin heat intensely and her brain short circuit, leaving her completely out of commission for the rest of the day in some cases.

That was to be expected though, especially since this was Shinobu they were thinking about, and (Y/n) was fine with that. She wouldn’t want her any other way. However, despite all of the teasing, or because of all of the teasing rather, Shinobu and (Y/n) had yet to kiss, unless one counted nose and cheek kisses of course. There was no shortage of those sweet affections.  And it wasn’t like (Y/n) hadn’t attempted on quite a few occasion to initiate a kiss herself, but her attempts had always been thwarted. If not by the sweet little girls of the estate interrupting the moment, then by Shinobu herself turning her head so (Y/n)’s lips would meet the soft skin of her cheek instead.

There were a few close instances, such as last night when Shinobu had come by to bid (Y/n) goodnight. She hovered over (Y/n)’s face, close enough that (Y/n) could feel the air leave Shinobu’s lips and wash over her own as she spoke. Unfortunately, (Y/n) had forgotten to actually pay attention to what Shinobu was saying, which led to more teasing.

After Shinobu had thoroughly roasted (Y/n), she delicately cupped the side of (Y/n)’s cheek, her cool and calloused thumb had skimmed over her lower lip, pulling it to the side slightly as Shinobu came closer still. Their noses brushed and (Y/n) almost forgot to breathe, her head muddled with the dizzying wisteria scent that clung to the other woman. (Y/n)’s eyes slid shut and her heart beat pounded in her ears. The feeling of Shinobu’s thumb as she made another pass over her lip was electric, fire, leaving a tingling feeling in its wake over the trembling flesh.

And then, a sweet yet chaste kiss to (Y/n)’s hairline and Shinobu rose back to her full height, an undisguised smirk and gleaming, mischievous eyes filled (Y/n)’s vision as her own eyes snapped open to look over the Hashira with a barely contained sense of betrayal. Shinobu’s pigeoned laughter rang in (Y/n)‘s ears for hours after the Hashira had retired to her own bedroom and (Y/n) awkwardly maneuvered herself in her own bed to yell into her pillow.

“(Y/n)? (Y/n), are you sleeping with your eyes open? What an unsettling habit.”

“Hm?” (Y/n) blinked, turning her head to see the devil herself smiling down at her. She looked unfairly angelic in the soft sunlight that was streaming through the window. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Shinobu asked, taking a familiar perch on the edge of (Y/n)’s bed.

“Meh,” (Y/n) shrugged, willing the beating of her heart to not betray her, “Nothing. What were you saying earlier?”

Shinobu leveled a look at (Y/n) that could be clearly interpreted as saying something along the lines of, ‘I could easily grill you for the answers I want, but I’m feeling merciful at the moment so I’ll let it be’. “I had said good morning and asked you if you were ready for your light exercises. It was strange to see you look so focused. I’ll admit, I didn’t know your brain could work so hard. Don’t strain it too much though, okay?”

“Shinobu!” (Y/n) huffed, pursing her lips while Shinobu laughed at her cute expression.

“Oh don’t take it too hard, (Y/n). You know I’m just teasing. I think you’re quite intelligent,” Shinobu praised, leaning over to land a quick peck to (Y/n)’s forehead before pulling back up. “Now how about we sit you up, okay?”

“Okay,” (Y/n) couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at her lips in response to Shinobu’s affections, “I’m ready.”

(Y/n) strained her core, and with a little help from Shinobu pushing at her back, she managed to sit upright in bed without much fuss. Still, (Y/n) felt a little light headed from the excursion.

“Take a moment to focus on your breathing.” Shinobu said. She had noticed (Y/n) swallow thickly and rubbed her back in soothing circles. “Let me know when your ready to move to the edge of the bed.”

After a minute passed, (Y/n) nodded at Shinobu and slowly but surely they worked together so that (Y/n)’s legs dangled off of the side of the bed and her arms hung loosely at her sides. It had really surprised (Y/n) how quickly her health had deteriorated in the wake of the butterfly demon’s attack. Even her legs which had been her best asset to her survival that night, felt like lead now. Heavy and weakened like the rest of her body as her energy was sapped away to heal the most damaged areas.

“Let’s begin with your arms, shall we?” Shinobu spoke almost in a whisper, her mind undoubtedly returning to that hard night as well. “Can you lift them for me?”

(Y/n) fought against the heavy feeling in her arms. Thanking the gods for the absence of the snug slings she no longer had to wear constantly. Though she had to fight hard, the burn she felt as she raised her arms felt kind of good, like stretching a sore muscle. She only managed to raise her straightened arms so that her hands were about level with her navel before they started to tense and shake.

“Good, Just hold.” Shinobu coached. (Y/n) held the position for almost fifteen seconds before she let her arms fall back to her sides in a sharp exhale of air. “Well done. Take a couple breaths and try another rep, okay?”

(Y/n) made it through three more repetitions. Blood thrummed in her ears and a light sheen of sweat covered her forehead but she had done better than yesterday and that was all she could ask for. Next were the wrist rotations which were a welcome relief despite the slight discomfort (Y/n) felt reverberate in her elbows. Then the finger flexes and shoulder rolls solidified the poor slayer’s exhaustion, but at least that signified the end of her light stretches. Or so she thought.

“We should really stretch your legs a bit. They feel stiff, don’t they?” Shinobu inquired, inspecting (Y/n) from where she stood in front of her, a finger tapping against her chin as she spoke.

“They have been feeling rather stiff,” (Y/n) agreed, “but I’m sure if I tried to stand up right now I’d buckle over like a sack of rice.”

“No need to stand. Usually I’d get the younger girls to help with such things but it won’t take long, lean back,” Even as Shinobu spoke, she didn’t give (Y/n) enough time to move on her own, pushing her flat on her back with a gentle hand pressed firmly against (Y/n)’s chest near her collarbone.

“Wah- wait. Aren’t you going to talk me through it or— eep!” (Y/n) choked on her words as Shinobu worked her hips between (Y/n)’s legs which still dangled off the bed. (Y/n) felt her blood pressure skyrocket as the space between them completely disappeared.

One of Shinobu’s hands moved slowly, excruciating so, over (Y/n)’s thigh in a way that was entirely unnecessary.

“Are you alright, (Y/n)? I’m not hurting you am I?” Shinobu cooed while her hand disappeared under the backside of (Y/n)’s thigh.

“No!” (Y/n) squeaked, cursing the way her voice rose another octave above her normal cadence.

“Good, I hope we can keep it that way. Let me know if it gets to be too much, okay dear?”

It should be a crime to have a voice that can hold such power over a person like that. Shinobu could have told (Y/n) to climb to the top of Natagumo Mountain and jump off and she’d have done it, no questions asked. (Y/n) released a shuddering breath and nodded her response, unable to trust her own voice to reply without risk of further embarrassment.

Shinobu hummed and pushed up on the back of (Y/n)’s thigh, her hand naturally sliding up to the crook of the slayer’s knee as the leg rose up. Slowly, she began to push the knee inward towards (Y/n)’s chest. (Y/n) winced slightly at the stretch, but it hardly registered in comparison to Shinobu’s extremely close proximity.

Shinobu placed her once idle hand over (Y/n)’s knee cap, her other hand sliding further up to cup (Y/n)’s calf, gently squeezing while she raised the rest of the leg and began to slowly stretch it over (Y/n)’s torso as far as she could get it to go.

(y/n) sucked in a breath, “Okay, that burns a bit!”

Shinobu paused her movements and held the leg in position, “Not bad flexibility, (Y/n). With a little bit of work I bet you could go even further. I think I’d like to see.”

What was (Y/n) supposed to say to that? She made some uncommitted sound and tried not to think too intently about how Shinobu was pressing into her. After a few more moments of holding the position, Shinobu moved the leg outward to stretch it from another angle. The limb cracked near the base of her hip and (Y/n) sighed with relief. This was a lot more gentle than what the younger girls put her through during recovery training all those months ago.

“Oh? Does that feel better, (Y/n)?” Shinobu asked, her voice like honey and silk. Her hands slowly massaging the muscles of (Y/n)’s calf and thigh. (Y/n) nodded, her eyes nearly closing as she focused on Shinobu’s ministrations. “I’d like to hear you say so, just to make sure.”

“Yeah, it feels awesome.” (Y/n) sighed again, unabashed. Shinobu giggled.

“Wonderful, let’s move on to the other one then, shall we?”

“Gods, yes please!” (Y/n) responded eagerly, rubbing her free leg against Shinobu’s side until Shinobu took hold of it and gave it the same treatment as the other leg which was now hanging loosely over the edge of the bed.

By the time Shinobu had brought (Y/n)’s other leg back down, (Y/n) was trying to fight off sleep. However, the loosened and relaxed state of her muscles after the stretches clearly were beating out her efforts.

“Wow, (Y/n). Tired already? You haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.” Shinobu commented while she absently ran her hands over (Y/n)’s thighs, the motion felt comforting.

“I know,” (Y/n) groaned, “It's your fault for being so good at your job. I feel like a limp noodle, a very sleepy limp noodle.”

“Oh?” Shinobu chuckled. Sliding her hands purposefully upward until they rested at either side of (Y/n)’s ribs. The shift in her weight had her resting on her elbows, her chest resting just below (Y/n)’s. “Perhaps I could find a way to liven you up.”

“What do you have in mind?” (Y/n) asked slyly, hoping Shinobu couldn’t hear how fast her heart was racing. She wrapped her legs over Shinobu’s hips, locking her in, in hope to distract her, but also to egg her on.

Shinobu grinned at (Y/n) and shimmied closer. One of her hands came up to cradle (Y/n)’s jaw. She leaned even closer and landed a quick kiss to (Y/n)’s chin, then she pressed another one in the crook of (Y/n)’s neck, making the injured slayer laugh as she nuzzled closer.

“Oh!” (Y/n)‘s eyes shot wide open as the feeling of teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her neck.

“Hm? What is it, (Y/n)?” Shinobu asked, smiling against (Y/n)’s neck. “You seem to be perking up already.” she added, punctuating her words with a quick swipe of her tongue over (Y/n)’s neck, making the girl beneath her shiver.

(Y/n) whimpered quietly, much to her embarrassment, while Shinobu lavished her neck with attentions. Shinobu slowly worked her way upward, kissing her jaw and cheek before connecting her line of vision with (Y/n)’s.

The lovestruck look in (Y/n)’s eyes quickly morphed into an indignant glare as she perceived the familiar, mischievous glimmer in Shinobu’s plum colored irises.

“No.” (Y/n) said, her tone disbelieving. “No.” She said again, this time with a little more force behind it, shaking her head while Shinobu grinned down at her. “Shinobu!”

“I’m sorry (Y/n), but my meeting is starting soon so I must be off. Aoi will be by with breakfast soon. Make sure you eat it all so you can get stronger, okay?”

“But—!” (Y/n) tried to hold Shinobu to her body by tightening her legs around her but they did nothing to help her in her weakened state. Shinobu easily slipped free and (Y/n)‘s legs dropped back down over the edge of the bed in defeat.

“No buts! Let’s get you turned around quick, alright?” Shinobu grunted as she hoisted (Y/n)’s lower half and twisted (Y/n)’s body to lay fully on the bed with very little help from the dumbfounded, disgruntled girl. Then with a quick, teasing squeeze of (Y/n)’s knee, she was gone.

(Y/n)’s arm shook as she painstakingly pulled one of the pillows behind her free and pressed it as hard as she could over her face. “What the fuck?! AHH!” (Y/n) screamed, her voice muffled by the dense material.

***

The next time Shinobu walked into her room, (Y/n) had decided that was going to kiss her. She was going to kiss her full on the mouth or die trying because if she knew one thing, it was that she couldn’t play Shinobu’s games any longer.

For the rest of the day (Y/n)’s head was filled with thoughts of Shinobu getting a taste of her own medicine. (Y/n) had it all planned out. First, she was going to tease and flirt. How hard could that be? Shinobu made it look as easy as breathing. Then, once Shinobu had been thoroughly charmed, she would be practically begging for (Y/n) to sweep her off her feet, metaphorically of course, at least until (Y/n) wasn’t on bed arrest anymore. Then she’d kiss her and it would be Shinobu who would short circuit, Shinobu who would be at (Y/n)’s complete mercy! A foolproof plan!

(Y/n)’s chance came around midday four days later. Shinobu had been sent away on a mission soon after her meeting, giving (Y/n) plenty of time to think of how to execute her plan of action. The slayer sat upright in her bed now that she could do so herself without too much strain. She stared the door down with a determined gaze, gently scratching behind Mochi’s head while the bird stood in her lap. Any minute now she would come through that door. Prepare to be seduced, Kochou Shinobu!

A knock resonated off the door before it slid open a moment later and Shinobu glided in. Mochi cawed happily, flapping off of (Y/n)’s lap to fly around the Hashira in greeting. Shinobu simpered at the overly enthusiastic raven and told the bird about a fresh meal worm cake with his name on it. Mochi screeched and Shinobu laughed, ducking her head as Mochi flew out the door and towards the garden at mach speed. Then Shinobu closed the door behind her. Then, when she turned back and smiled a most dazzling smile that was all for (Y/n), every suave thing (Y/n) had thought to say flew right out the window. Four days of planning, completely down the drain. And all that remained was one lovestruck idiot.

“H-hey... you.” (Y/n) greeted, returning Shinobu’s smile although she was definitely screaming at herself on the inside.

“Hey yourself. You already look so much better than the last time I saw you! You’ve been keeping up with your medications and stretches, right?” Shinobu sat herself down on the edge of the bed. Her back was tilted away from (Y/n) and one leg was tucked and bent over the bed sheets while the other swung off the bed. (Y/n) also noticed that curiously, Shinobu had one hand hidden behind her back.

“Of course I have. I want to get better as soon as possible.” (Y/n) nodded resolutely. “Now,” (Y/n) tilted her head and eyed Shinobu warily, “what have you got behind your back?”

“I have something I want to test with you, a game of sorts, (Y/n).” Shinobu grinned devilishly.

“I have a feeling I don’t want to play this game if that look on your face is anything to go by.”

“Oh don’t be like that, (Y/n). I think it will be good for you. Won’t you please do this? The reward should you succeed will be very sweet.”

“Hrrrmmmm,” (Y/n) winced as she adjusted herself on the bed to sit a bit straighter and looked at Shinobu suspiciously. The Hashira’s eyes gave nothing away and (Y/n) sighed. “I suppose I could humor you. I’ve missed you after all.”

Shinobu simpered, and bounced a bit closer to (Y/n) on the bed, jostling her somewhat. Her hand was still behind her back as the other one lovingly brushed at (Y/n)’s hair. “(Y/n), you’re too sweet,” she cooed, “I missed you too.” She came even closer and nuzzled (Y/n)’s nose with hers, giving it a quick peck before withdrawing. Her face appeared to have morphed into a more serious disposition that had (Y/n) feeling both confused and filled with a sense of apprehension.

“Uh, I don’t usually associate such serious expressions with games.” (Y/n) laughed nervously.

“Perhaps I misspoke earlier,” Shinobu amended, a bit sheepishly, “It’s not a game, I should not have phrased it as such. I’m sorry. I was belittling you without you even knowing, without me realizing. I didn’t mean to, I-“

“Shinobu,” (Y/n) covered the Pillar’s free hand with her own, “it’s okay. What is it?”

“Remember what I said about exposure therapy a while back?”

“Shinobu, no.” (Y/n) backed as far as she could against the headboard, her heart beat picking up pace.

“(Y/n), I think it would be good for you. I’m not saying you have to love butterflies, I just want to help lower the distress and anxiety you feel when they are near.”

“Maybe you should focus on your own fear of furry animals before you start trying to fix my problems.” (Y/n) shook her head, her eyes flickering between Shinobu’s own and the Hashira’s hidden arm.

“I told you, it’s not a fear. I just can’t stand the mess all that shedded fur makes. Need I remind you that I’m allergic to the dander left by most of those furry beasts?” Shinobu easily countered.

(Y/n) thought back to earlier last week when Naho had smuggled in a stray dog to feed it. Kiyo and Sumi had gotten an idea in their heads that if they could hide the dog from Shinobu, they could keep it. Unfortunately, they were not very good at keeping their excitement to themselves. They had already led the dog through most of the estate, including the infirmary just before Shinobu made her morning rounds. By the time they reached (Y/n)’s room to show her the sweet pup, Shinobu was already there, trying to find some solace from the irritants that ransacked her senses. Her eyes were irritated, puffy and watery. Loud, unrefined sniffles and sneezes practically had the poor Hashira gasping for air. (Y/n)‘ s heart went out to her, but the way Shinobu’s voice sounded while she was so congested was insanely adorable.

Shinobu had admonished the girls as gently as she could between ferocious sneezes that seemed impossibly loud coming from such a small woman. (Y/n) felt bad for the girls, for the dog, but at least the dog hadn’t been a stray after all.

Fortunately, it had belonged to the Wind Pillar of all people. Giyuu had apparently been charged with watching the dog while he was away on a mission. He had lost sight of it and had been looking for the fluffy white dog all morning. (Y/n) couldn’t help but chuckle as she recalled how Shinobu shit talked Shinazugawa and Tomioka while sitting at the desk in (Y/n)’s room while she mixed herself some medication between wiping her nose and dabbing tears from her eyes.

“You were so cute!” (Y/n) thought gleefully.

“There was nothing cute about it. I felt disgusting.” Shinobu disagreed, the vein in her forehead pulsed faintly. “Now, back to the subject at hand. (Y/n), behind my back I have a specimen jar. In this jar is a butterfly that is so small, it’s wingspan is only about half the size of my pinky finger,” Shinobu slid her free hand out from under (Y/n)’s and stuck out her pinky finger, “See how small that is?”

(Y/n) had wanted to say something snarky, something along the lines of every part of Shinobu being small, but she smartly kept that comment to herself and simply nodded instead. Shinobu put her hand back down over (Y/n)’s.

“The butterfly can’t get out unless you untwist the lid. All I want you to do is hold the jar for a minute. This is a completely controlled, safe environment for you to explore your responses to butterflies. If you really don’t want to try, I won’t force you. I’m only suggesting because I really wish for you to be more comfortable here, to feel more at home.”

(Y/n)’s heart warmed at Shinobu’s admission. Yes, Shinobu had an air about her that (Y/n) felt powerless to deny, but Shinobu would never want to take advantage of her nor anyone else. Though she provoked and teased like a demon, Shinobu was endlessly kind and compassionate where it mattered.

(Y/n) gave the Hashira a nervous smile and shakily presented her hands over her lap, “Don’t mess this up Kochou. I’m only doing this because I like you so much.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Shinobu said, sincerely. Finally, she produced the specimen jar from behind her back, cupping the bottom with her opposite hand while the other held firmly from the side. She gauged (Y/n)’s expression and observed for any intense discomfort in her body language as her hands made their approach.

(Y/n) immediately locked on to the small butterfly fluttering against the glass and swallowed hard. Her throat suddenly felt unbearably dry. Despite this, she kept her palms, now slightly sweaty, upturned in front of her, waiting.

(Y/n) jolted, feeling Shinobu’s knuckles slide against her palm. The only barrier left between the glass and her skin was slipping away.

“Oh gods!” All too quickly Shinobu’s hands were gone, hovering at either side of the glass, and (Y/n) was left holding the jar. “WhoooeeeEEAH! nooo nonono fuck-!“ (Y/n) scrambled to adjust her hold, only allowing the very tips of her fingers to hold on. Of course she realized that there was a layer of glass between herself and the insect, but she couldn’t help but hastily adjust her fingers every time the small insect fluttered too close. “Shinobu!”

“It’s okay, you’re doing great!” Shinobu encouraged. “Try focusing on telling me what you notice about the butterfly.”

“It looks like it’s out for blood!” (Y/n) exclaimed sharply, not taking her eyes off the specimen jar. Her fingers still dancing clumsily around the glass.

“How about you tell me about what you can physically see that is scientifically sound.” Shinobu tried again.

“It’s blue with black edges that have little white dots and it’s fast as hell! I think it’s tongue thing is flexing at me! Why is it doing that?!”

“That’s the proboscis, (Y/n). Butterflies use it to drink the nectar from flowers.” Shinobu provided helpfully.

“I bet it would drink my blood like a mosquito if it had the chance!” (y/n) thought bitterly.

“It physically can’t, (Y/n). The proboscis is too weak too pierce skin.”

“Is that true?” (Y/n) asked skeptically, “There’s not a single butterfly that would suck me dry if it could?”

“There is not a single butterfly in all of Japan that could do that to you, (Y/n).” Shinobu assured. Of course, she had read about some species of butterflies and moths overseas that did have the capability to drink blood and even presented the salty nutrients to their mates. She wasn’t going to tell (Y/n) that bit of information anytime soon though.

“Okay, that’s actually kind of reassuring, but it still freaks me out!” (Y/n)‘s fingers had finally found purchase on the rim of the metal lid. The butterfly inside had finally calmed down and settled at the bottom of the jar, it’s wings flapping intermittently.

“That’s okay, do you think you can tell me anything else about it? Our time is just about up.”

“Its legs bend weird. Its eyes are soulless. It looks like it’s resting now but it’s just biding its time.”

“Biding it’s time before I let it back out into the garden perhaps, but it has neither the desire nor the means to harm you.” Shinobu assured.

(Y/n) pursed her lips. She was staring so intently at the insect that she hardly registered Shinobu’s movements until she was fully straddling her thighs.

“What are you doing?” (Y/n) mumbled, not taking her eyes away from the jar despite Shinobu’s change in position. The Insect Pillar did not speak, instead lifting (Y/n)’s chin up. “Hey!” (Y/n) exclaimed. She tried to keep her head down, unwilling to let the butterfly out of her sight lest it suddenly disappear. Yet, Shinobu persisted, taking either side of (Y/n)’s head in her hands, drawing closer until all (Y/n) could see was purple. “Shi-“

(Y/n)’s mind went delightfully numb, filled with a fuzzy warmth that radiated all the way down to her toes. She leaned further into the kiss, reveling in the softness of Shinobu’s lips nipping against her own. After a few more moments, (Y/n) could feel Shinobu’s lips part into a smile against her own and (Y/n) couldn’t help but do the same, resting her forehead on Shinobu’s.

“What was that for?” (Y/n) giggled breathlessly, her hands had somehow made their way to Shinobu’s neck, her fingers laced behind her head threatening to pull the Hashira back in at a moment’s notice.

“Hm? Can’t I kiss my girlfriend?” Shinobu teased, landing a quick, a more chaste, kiss to (Y/n)’s lips.

“You can, and you have, but never on the lips. What changed? I thought you were going to tease me about it forever.”

“As entertaining as that sounds, I was actually trying to do you a favor.” Shinobu grinned.

“How do you figure that?” (Y/n) asked, looking at Shinobu incredulously.

“Because now that I’ve got a taste of you, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

“Mm!”

Another kiss more fiery and involved than the last. (Y/n) actually had to slip her hands down Shinobu’s chest and push her away so she could catch her breath.

“Not that I mind, and I really don’t mind,” (Y/n) spoke between breaths, “but what changed, why right this minute?”

“It was your reward.” Shinobu stated plainly.

“For...?”

“Oh my, you really did forget already, haven’t you? I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized I had cut off the oxygen supply to your brain so effectively.”

Suddenly (Y/n)’s eyes snapped down to her lap and yelled loud enough for Shinobu to wince and lean back a smidge. How had (Y/n) forgotten? She picked up the discarded specimen jar by the lid using her index finger and thumb and scanned the inside, shivering once she found the butterfly still inside. Then she reached to place it on the bedside table, it made a little clattering sound as she quickly removed her hand as if the glass had burned her. Pulling Shinobu closer, (Y/n) buried her face in her chest and groaned while Shinobu laughed and patted (Y/n)’s head.

“You distracted me.” (Y/n)’s muffled voice accused.

“Perhaps, but didn’t it feel nice? And look, you are no worse for wear. In fact, I might even say you looked even more relaxed than before we began.”

“So what, are you going to kiss me every time I see a butterfly? Hardly seems practical.”

“Mmm but what a lovely idea. There are certainly enough around that I could get several kisses every day. If we make a habit out of it, sooner or later when you see a butterfly, your first reaction will be to pucker up rather than screaming.” Shinobu mused.

“Can’t you just be satisfied knowing that you’re the only butterfly I have ever, and will ever like?” (Y/n) paused, “Well, you and Kanao, Aoi, Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi.”

“I’m so honored.” Shinobu smiled and rolled her eyes, still stroking (Y/n)’s hair.

“You should be. It’s a very exclusive list. But there is an even more exclusive list that only you have access to.” (Y/n) said, returning to an upright position to face Shinobu once more.

“And what list would that be?”

(Y/n) tilted her head and stole another kiss from Shinobu who eagerly reciprocated, chasing (Y/n)’s lips even as she pulled away, giggling.

“The list of butterflies that I could not be happier to kiss.”

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 32

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope that you enjoy this treat. Sorry this took so long to write out. This one took a few rewrites to get it where I wanted it to be.

Plus, Real life stuff got in the way So hopefully this will be a nice little treat for you all.

(Master Post)

__________________________________________________________________

Marinette watched in horror as she watched her best friend struggle on the floor.

She dashed to her side, and tried to help Alya get that weird mask off her face.

“By all means go right ahead. Its already too late.” Masquerade laughed as she watched Marinette struggle. “Soon enough she will be helping me take you down.”

The designer pushed the words of the psychotic akuma out of her mind. She refused to let her friend get turned into a mindless drone like before.

“It wont come off!” Marinette grunted as she tried so hard to remove it.

Masquerade watched her bracelet, waiting for a change to occur.

Alya’s muffled screams and frantic movements stopped.

“Alya?”

Marinette jumped up as she watched her friend transform, her casual clothes transformed into a familiar black and white costume. The Wi-Fi symbol on her chest. Lady Wifi has returned.

Masquerade’s bracelet gained a new charm, one looking reminiscent of a cell phone.

“And now she is my friend.” The villain stated as she watched Marinette start stepping away from the enslaved akuma.

“Alya… you need to fight it. You can’t let her control you.”

“Sorry Marinette, but Alya is unable to answer.” Masquerade mocked. “But I can take a message for you.”

Lady wifi stood silent, like an inactive robot, awaiting orders from its master. The inner machinations of the mind are not shown with the emotionless white mask covering her face.

Marinette turned her eyes toward the mask themed akuma, anger burning in her pupils.

“Let her go Lila. Let them all go before things get serious. Your plan will fail, Ladybug and Chat noir will arrive and beat the akuma out of you. Then you will have to answer for this too.”

Masquerade’s smile faded when she saw the fierce look. Marinette was not a sniveling mess, she actually looked even more defiant then before!

“Acting all high and mighty. I think I will enjoy turning you into my helpless puppet next.”

Masquerade lifted her hand towards Marinette, waiting to unmask her deepest secrets, and break her down.

“When I get a peek at what is hiding behind all of that fake courage, it will all come crashing down. Now let’s see your greatest secrets.”

Marinette looked around, trying to think of something. If Lila figured out her big secret, it was over. Ladybug would be exposed. She needed a way out, until she noticed something. Masquerade wasn’t doing anything.

“Huh?”

Marinette was perplexed by the akuma simply standing there.

“Ummm... are you going to do it now or...”

“Why can’t I see your secrets? My powers should allow me to see what you’re hiding and allow me to exploit it. It worked on everyone else I used it on, why not you?”

“Maybe I just don’t have any secrets to hide.” Marinette commented, watching with a bit of satisfaction as the akuma’s smug look shift.

Masquerade felt her frustration and anger boil at the comment. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Hawkmoth!” She cried out in rage.

A purple butterfly outline popped out.

“What is it?” The dark voice connected in her head.

“Why can’t I read Marinette’s secrets?” Masquerade angrily questioned.

“What?”

“Her secrets! I was able to zero in on everyone else I’ve used the ability on. Why does it not work on her!? Of all people I want this power to work on!”

Marinette felt both concerned and a bit flattered that she was the one Lila wanted to defeat the most. It was sort of mutual.

“Your power works on anyone I’ve akumatized, regardless of who it is.” The butterfly villain communicated. 

“So… your saying you didn’t akumatize her before? How is that possible?”

“I haven’t gotten to every single person in Paris.”

“You’ve akumatized that stupid pigeon man 26 times! How have you not gotten everyone!?”

“Paris is a big city, even if I akumatized someone every day, I doubt I would have hit 1/10th of the population. Besides, it takes strong negative emotions for me to send out an akuma. And that man seems to just be the easiest target for it. “ Hawkmoth defended himself. “Its not like I WANT to akumatize him every other day.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Just get the miraculous. That is your focus, the girl can wait for later.”

Masquerade’s butterfly outline dispelled as hawkmoth was finished with that conversation.

“Well that sucks. I guess I can just go back to plan A. Having you watch as I turn everyone against you... aren't here. What!”

Masquerade frantically looked around for the teen she had been antagonizing and found that she was no longer in the same spot. In fact, she was no longer in the office!

Marinette had decided to slip away from the akuma while she was having her little tantrum to the evil butterfly man.

“Why didn't you do something!” She shouted at Lady Wifi.

“You did not give me an order.” Lady Wifi answered robotically. 

Masquerade glared at the akuma servant. She would almost think it was rebelling against her.

“Even as a mindless servant you still find a way to ruin things.”

She looked around and noticed the other akuma in the room that was still on the floor.

“Dark Owl get up!”

The owl themed akuma got up from the floor. Removing parts of the broken pot from his costume.

Masquerade snapped her fingers. Catching the attention of Dark Owl and Lady Wifi. 

“Both of you, I want Marinette brought back to me right now! I want to make sure she stays quiet and sees everything we have set up. I don’t need her causing trouble.”

______________________________________________________________________

“…and that is everything.” A young woman said with a mixture of relief and excitement. She had finally finished setting everything up in the school infirmary. She had organized the files, restocked the bandages, changed the sheets on the resting cots, and put her personal decals on the desk. She was starting her first day as the school nurse, and things have been going up.

She put herself back out there and started dating Curtis, the sweet guy she met last week despite what would’ve normally been a deal breaking misunderstanding, she got into the med school program she wanted to get into and will be attending part time, and she managed to get a job at the school she went to when she went to Lycee.

She heard a ding from the front of the nurse’s office just as she was about to sit down.

“First student of the day. I better see what they need.”

She exited the small office area in the infirmary to see a blonde student who was clearly impatient

“What is taking so long!?” The teen shouted.

“Hello there. How can I help you?”

The blonde looked up a bit to see the nurses smile, she rolled her eyes.

“Who the hell are you? Isnt there supposed to be a different woman here?”

“If you are referring to the previous school nurse, she retired officially last week. I am the new school nurse. You can call me Nurse Angela.”

Angela never really liked using her last name, it made her sound old. So, she would be fine with the kids calling by her first name. It also helps with psychology, allowing more for a social dynamic based on mutual respect rather than authority.

“Whatever.”

Angela felt a twinge of frustration at the girl’s dismissal. But she kept her smile.

“And you are?”

The teen smirked.

“Chloé Bourgeous. And before you ask, yes, the daughter of the mayor.”

Angela felt a shiver go down her spine. She remembered from what the previous nurse told her. That Chloé was the mayor’s bratty daughter who would use her father’s influence to get anyone fired if she got angry enough.

‘That at least explains her rude attitude. She is a spoiled Brat.’

Angela was not going to let this bother her. She was going to take it in stride. She would be kind and courteous as she planned to be with any student at the Dupont.

“So, Chloé. What brings you here?”

Chloé walks in.

“My chair broke because someone sabotaged my chair. I ended up bruising my… anyway I need some ice, and anything to numb the pain.”

“My goodness! That sounds terrible. Who would do such a thing?”

“It was probably Marinette, that nasty little rat. Adding insult to injury now that she is dating Adrien.”

Nurse Angela moved to get some ice from the freezer for the bruised bottom of the Mayor’s daughter, listening to the girl vent. She was sure that whoever this Marinette girl was, probably didn’t do it. And if somehow, she did, it was likely because the annoying blonde deserved it. But that was not something Angela felt was worth mentioning. She kept that bit to herself.

“She is probably blackmailing my adrikins with something. There is no way he would be dating her without some sort of reason.”

“Is it possible that maybe he just likes her?” Angela inquired as she presented the bag of ice to Chloé.

Chloé looked at the nurse as if she had just told her that she had 3 eyes and a scorpion tail.

“Adrien liking Marinette?! That is ridiculous, Utterly ridiculous! There is no way that Adrien would…”

Chloé felt her mind flash through moments. Adrien and Marinette about to kiss for that movie, Adrien and Marinette dancing at her party? The photos she found of them running from fans, that kiss at the picnic during heroes’ day. Adrien taking Marinette to that interview instead of her… The stubborn blonde felt as if everything clicked into place.

“Chloé? Is everything okay?” The nurse called out, trying to get the spaced-out teen’s attention.

“He might actually LIKE her!”

Chloé felt her own skin crawl as she made her realization.

Angela didn’t know how to respond to this situation.

“I am going to straighten Adrien out right now! I am not going to let him make such a foolish mistake!”

The nurse could tell this could be bad if the mayor’s daughter was so heated, what if she got this innocent girl expelled? If she stood by and did nothing then her time at the school would be internally marked with the regret of not stopping such a potential disaster.

“Wait, Miss Bourgeois.”

Chloé stopped.

“What is it?”

“I… I just noticed that you’re limping. The injury might be more serious than you think. Let me have a look at it closer before you leave.”

The mayor’s daughter would simply have left without a second thought. But having a limp would make her walk much less dignified and lacking the power she needs to intimidate, but mainly that she would look lame with a limp.

“Alright, just make it quick.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“I don’t get why you felt the need to leave.” The cat kwami rolled his eyes. “If you want to be rebellious Adrien, we could leave the school and head to the movies. Though if we do, you should invite your girlfriend.”

“Plagg, this isn’t about rebellion or future date ideas. Something isn’t right with this whole situation. I just want to sneak a peek in the office, make sure Marinette and Alya get their story out, and then I am headed right back to class. No problem.” Adrien summarized as they kept walking.

Plagg noticed someone headed their way and went to hide in Adrien’s pocket.

Adrien took notice that it was his homeroom teacher. Perhaps he could ask her.

“Hey Ms.Bustier. Can I ask you a quick question?”

The red headed teacher walked past the teen without acknowledging his question. Her eyes focused on what was ahead.

“That’s weird… She would always stop to help a student.”

Adrien could feel that his favorite teacher may have been affected by something sinister.

“Ms.Bustier, can you hear me out for a second?” He asked as he touched her shoulder to try and get her attention.

The mirage of her appearance shifted from the homeroom teacher to the stylized patchwork costume of a familiar akuma enemy.

Adrien was surprised to see the true form of the imposter. The kiss zombie maker, Zombizou.

The akuma turned to show the face mask that hid her face. Her attention was now firmly on the boy, whether he wanted it or not.

Adrien backed away, nervously keeping his eyes on the teacher as he carefully backed up.

“You know, I think I will just ask someone else.”

Adrien took down the next hall running.

______________________________________________________________________

Masquerade reclined in her chair, her frustration was growing as she wondered what was taking those two minions she sent out to capture Marinette so long.

“They shouldn’t be having that much difficulty. She is just one person!”

She heard a ring, and knew her sentimonster was trying to contact her.

“What is it Simulare?”

“The illusion I had on Zombizou was broken. Someone is on to us, and the minion is in pursuit.”

Masquerade felt a headache forming. She didn’t have time for a wild goose chase. She needed to move on to phase two of her plan, making her army of akuma.

“Track down Marinette and this other  person that found out about Zombizou, keep them busy as long as possible. I am going to move on to phase two. Make sure no one is on to us.”

“Understood. I’ll get them back in the office and make sure neither of them escape.”

“Good”

Masquerade ended the call and felt her head ease a bit. The sentimonster she was given was obedient and competent. It was based on her mindset, so it would make sense that it would be capable of handling this problem.

“Now, let’s get that army.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“Give me a break.” Marinette muttered to herself.

She thought she would have time to transform once she escaped the office, but the two akuma were right out of the office before she had time to make sure everything was clear.

In her rush she cut a corner down a hallway and ended up colliding with another person.

“Ouch.” They cry out in unison, both looking to realize who they bumped into. Their faces turned to relief.

“Marinette!” “Adrien!”

The two called out in unison.

“Why are you running?” “Why are you running?”

“An akuma!” “An akuma!”

“An akuma?” “An akuma?”

They both look behind the other to notice the incoming akumas approaching them.

“As cute as this is, we need to go.”

Adrien Grabs Marinette’s Hand and they both head to the open area and try to get to the main entrance.

‘I need to get Adrien somewhere safe, then I can go transform into Ladybug.’ Marinette thought to herself, unaware that Adrien was thinking the same thing.

They make quick movements down hallway, moving up and down staircases to confuse their pursuers. They managed to give them the slip as the controlled akuma seemed to not be able of basic reasoning and quick fake outs and movements.

The two make their way down to what appeared to be the front of the school.

“The entrance!” Marinette called out. “Okay, we split up at the entrance and try to get help. They can’t catch us both.”

The run to the entrance only for them to stop short, colliding with some invisible wall.

It was only after making contact did the front entrance of the school shift back into a wall. The layout of the entire school seemed to shift instantly. The school had been put under an illusion to trick them into thinking they were escaping.

“It’s an illusion. Which means Lila must be involved with that group of akumas.” Adrien exclaimed.

“More like she is the cause. She is the one controlling the akumatized mask wearers. She got the Principal and Alya.”

“Wait, does this mean that Lila’s power is to make akuma!?”

“From what I saw, she can only akumatize people that have been akumatized before using her face masks. You haven’t been akumatized right?” Marinette questioned.

“No, and since she didn't get you, you haven't either right?”

“Yea, though I have had a few close calls.”

“So, if Lila’s power is akumatizing people, what akuma made this illusion on the school?”

“That would be me.” A third voice calls out.

The two turned to look and see a familiar fox themed villain smiling confidently.

“Volpina!”

“Not exactly.”

The Volpina impersonator looked around to see if the other akumatized servents were going to arrive.

“Seems you both are quite clever when it comes to annoying Mistress Masquerade.”

“Masquerade?”

“That’s what Lila’s calling herself.”

“Oh... cause of the masks.”

The villain rolls her eyes, encapsulating the personality of the arrogant volpina that it was pretending to be.

“Masquerade realizes that you two are both quite difficult to snag with mindless servants, so she requested I handle this.”

“No, you won’t.” Marinette grabs Adrien’s Hand and tries to run away only for the Faux Fox to flip in front of them

“Yea, I am not letting you out of my sight. Now be good and come along peacefully.”

Adrien moves in front of Marinette.

“Go, I’ll hold her off.”

“But…”

“Go. I trust you.” Adrien smiles as he looks to her for a moment.

Marinette wanted to stay and fight with him, but she knew that she needed to go and transform. Ladybug will be needed before this blows up.

“I’ll get help.”

Marinette runs away from the two as fast as she can. Adrien making sure to block the way should their foe get any ideas.

“She won’t get far, she will get captured before she even gets a chance.”

Adrien shook his head.

“You would be surprised with how just how amazing Marinette is.”

Marinette rushed out of sight and into the closest bathroom, quickly making sure it was a safe place to transform.

“Coast is clear. Time for Ladybug to step in.”

“Let’s hope we can get to Adrien in time before things get worse.” Tikki commented.

“Don't worry, I trust he’ll be okay. Tikki! Spots on!”

______________________________________________________________________________

“Can you believe it Juleka?” The peppy perfume enthusiast squealed. “Marinette and Adrien are finally an item.”

“Yes, I was there rose.” Juleka commented with an eye roll and a smile.

“I know! I am just so happy for them both.” Rose calms herself a bit. “Though… how will your brother take it?”

The purple haired teen reflected on the comment.

“It will be an adjustment, but I am sure Lulu will be fine once he gets a couple songs out of it.”

“I’ll be sure to be supportive.”

Juleka patted Rose’s head, smiling sweetly at the blonde’s caring attitude. She decided now would be a good time to spring that surprise on her. She was planning on showing her during lunch, but since Ms.Bustier wasn’t in class. Now would be the perfect time to show Rose the earrings she got her.

She casually reached into her bag, sliding her hand into her lunch bag, trying to find the earring box, only to notice it not there. Her hand moved frantically searching.

“Is something wrong?” Rose inquired, a bit of concern on her face.

“No, nothing. Nothing is wrong, just…” Juleka dismissed as she kept searching only to know for certain that her gift was not in there.

“Are you sure?”

“I just need do something really quick.”

She quickly grabbed her phone and calmly while hoping that her brother would see her text.

In her quick movement, she failed to notice the door of the classroom opening.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Psst, Luka. Luka!” A dark-haired teen whispered, trying to get the attention of the teal-tipped hair guitarist that was hiding his sleeping face with an open science book.”

“Hmm?” The tired teen responded with his eyes still closed. He was barely awake. He had been up all night working on that new song that was stuck in his head. He could still hear it playing in his thoughts as he tried to shake himself awake.

“Your phone vibrated, seemed important.”

“Oh, thanks Theo.” He moved his hand to take a look at his phone.

The science teacher was rambling on about molecules or something, clearly unaware of how disinterested everyone in the class was with his boring lecture.

Luka looked through to see a few text messages from his sister.

‘Hey, can you check your lunch to see if there is a jewelry box in there? Rose’s gift is in there.’

‘If you find it, can you swing by around your free period to bring it to me?’

Luka quickly snuck his hand into his backpack and sure enough he felt the small box. He was about to text a response. But stopped when he read the last two texts.

‘Sh*t there is an akuma in the class!’

Luka’s eyes shot open, his sister was in danger. Which also meant his band was also in danger. He needed to get there.

He shot up from his chair. And started making his way to the door.

“Mr.Couffaine, where do you think you’re going?”

“Family emergency.”

The science teacher was about to tell the young boy to wait until his parent calls, but he remembered who is mother was and what she did the last time he held up her kid when Anarke wanted to pick him up early. The teacher proceeded to held back his response.

“Proceed. Just be sure to get the notes from today’s lesson.”

Luka was out the door before the teacher could finish.

______________________________________________________________________

A car speeds down the road, the driver cursing to herself as she tries to move faster.

‘Get in, get Adrien, and get out before everything hits the fan.’

Nathalie mentally repeated to herself. She knows that pushing herself too hard was also dangerous. She couldn't risk feeling weak right now.

The driver slammed the break as she arrived at the school. She needed to hurry. She parked the car and opened the door.

“Lets hope that this akuma hasn't gotten to Adrien yet.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Ms. Bustier’s class had diverted all their attention to the costumed individual in the front of the classroom. The eerie masks that adorned her costume seemed to unsettle everyone.

Juleka put her phone away and joined in on what everyone was staring at

Alix was the one to say what was on everyone’s mind.

“Who the f*** are you?”

The akuma smirked.

“Excellent, a volunteer.”

Raising her hand and pointing towards Alix, her charm bracelet began to glow.

“Interesting, seems that you have quite a soft spot for cute things.”

The class turned to look at Alix with confusion.

Alix kept her cool.

“And? Is there a point?” Alix rolled her eyes, ignoring the akuma’s attempt to get under her skin. It would take more than that to actually do anything to her.

“You pretend you have this ‘Devil may care’ attitude, that you are too cool to care about what people think, but really you are more obsessed with how people perceive you than anyone else in here.”

Alix felt her smirk falter for a second.

“You are really sensitive about your height and anytime someone brings it up you are in a bad mood for the rest of the day. But what really gets to you is your ‘Family’. You hate how your brother is a laughing stock because of his crackpot theories and your greatest fear is that no matter how much you try to be this punk rebel, you will always be cast as ‘The Conspiracy nut’s sister’.”

“Shut up! You don’t know my life!” Alix yelled.

“Not so fun getting exposed, is it?”

The class realized immediately who this mysterious akuma was.

Masquerade smiled as she flung a mask right at the pink haired teen. Causing her to fall down. And struggle to get the mask off, but before anyone could help her. It was too late.

The class could only watch in horror as their classmate transformed into their Akuma persona. Before standing up.

The class tried to make a break for it. They knew full well the dangers of this new akuma.

“Timebreaker, guard the door.”

The akuma skated to the door and everyone jumped back. They knew that touching Timebreaker was not a good idea.

“Lila, this isn’t cool. Let Alix go.” Nino called out.

The Mask akuma shook her head.

“Lila is not a thing anymore. She was unmasked and dismissed. But now I have a new mask, I’m Masquerade. Soon enough, you will all be unmasked and given a new mask that better suits you. Alya knows that very well.”

Nino’s his eyes flared at the statement.

“What did you do to my girl?”

Masquerade pointed her hand at him just as her charm bracelet glowed, now with a rollerblade charm added to it.

“The same thing I am about to do to all of you.”

______________________________________________________________________

Will the rest of the class fall victim to Masquerade’s evil plan? Will Ladybug be able to save Adrien from the Sentimonster? Will Nathalie get to Adrien before its too late? Will I ever update consistently?

Fine out all these questions and more in the next part.

Thank you all for reading the most recent addition to Soulmate Survey.

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and if you really liked it. Reblog it. (Sharing is the only way my story actually gets out.) Plus, tagging has been kind of glitchy for me, so until that gets straightened out, I can't tag people for the story at the moment.

[misscrawfords]

17+32, Catherine and Henry (Northanger Abbey)?

War AU + Pregnancy fic

My anon, are you sure about this? Because this sounds hella angsty and if Catherine and Henry are anything, it's not angsty!

So I'm really sorry for completely ruining your desire for angst here.

*

Catherine goes to war in maternity leave.

Not literally, don't be ridiculous. She's an English teacher; what on earth would she be doing in a war zone? (She did once fancy herself a member of the Royal Navy but she had been 13 and mostly inspired by going on a high ropes adventure course on a school trip. The craze had not lasted.)

No, maternity leave is simultaneously boring and freeing. Since she started as a teacher, she's never had so much free time to just think. Henry's around some of the time, of course, but he has sermons to write and parishoners to see and tedious parish council meetings to chair. She flits in with cups of tea (waddles, really, at this point) and homemade cake that they at least pretend to like. (Sometimes she likes to give in to all the stereotypes of a vicar's wife. It makes her feel strangely cosy.) But when she isn't baking, she's at war.

At war on the internet. With the dog over her feet and a cup of tea at her side.

It started with a fun looking show on Netflix. Henry pointed it out to her one evening. "It's aimed at people who really loved Twilight when they were teengers and now lead depressingly generic lives in suburbia. People like you," he added pointedly.

Catherine narrowed her eyes and didn't let on that she'd already seen the trailer. "You're going to make fun of it."

"I mean... yes... obviously, but also, I really want to see whether the Dawn Angel gets together with the..." He squinted at the summary on his phone. "Immortal Night Demon or with her high school ex-boyfriend turned firefighter, Jordan. Golly, tough choice there, right? It's going to be compelling drama - breathtaking fight scenes, symbolic dark and light imagery, the epic highs and lows of high school football. You name it!"

They binged the whole thing in two days. Henry's next sermon, on the possibility of redemption even for demons and the devil himself, had been written in a fever dream by both of them at 2am after staying up far too late on Saturday arguing over the fate of the Night Demon and other related topics.

Old Mrs. Evans was heard to mutter sourly to her daughter Carys after the service, "That'll put the cat among the pigeons, that will alright. Too much Milton, not enough St Paul!"

"I always find Milton very inspiring!" Catherine replied bravely and loyally, as she helped them to a cup of tea in the church hall. She smiled at Carys, whom she'd taught Paradise Lost to at A Level a couple of years earlier. "St Paul too, of course," she added quickly, quailing under the mother's righteous glare. "Very inspiring."

But without marking or admin or driving to and from the high school in the large town half an hour away and without groups of teenagers to debate books with on a daily basis, Catherine found herself bored.

So she booted up her tumblr once again, abandoned since teaching had taken over her life and spending time with her wonderful, clever, funny, loving husband had seemed more interesting than scrolling aimlessly through social media, and discovered to her gleeful pleasure that fandom had not changed much and neither had she.

Or so she thought. Nowadays, she realises, everyone is moralising. The prevailing view seems to be that teenage girls in fandom aren't capable of distinguishing fact from fiction, that if they want a fictional heroine to rule hell with a sexy demon overlord at her side that must mean that that's what they want in real life. That the only moral thing to do here would be to marry the nice but boring guy who's been there for ever.

Catherine is an English teacher married to a vicar. If anyone knows anything about morality and fiction, it's her. This is all sounding very similar to the male critical outrage at women's novels in the 18th century. It seems nothing ever changes except that this time it's girls doing it to each other. Catherine writes several essays explaining all of this. She gets sent death threats and called an abuse apologist.

"It's so strange," she muses to Henry, as they eat homemade Thai curry in front of the aga.

"What is?" he replies. (She's told him everything, of course.) "The teenagers sending you anonymous death threats on tumblr? Because-"

"Nah, that's just standard for tumblr. I mean, it's so strange that anyone would want Griselda to be with Jordan. He's just so... normal and not in a good way. Just always going on about football and how great he was in high school. He really peaked then and he's a firefighter so that should make him brave but he never seems to actually do any fire fighting. He just talks about it as if we're meant to be impressed. We all know a Jordan and nobody wants to date him."

She'd know. Her first boyfriend had been a Jordan. They'd dated for five minutes. (Literally five minutes. Then she'd realised she'd been asked out and not to do a singing gig. Thorpy had been so subtle as to be unintelligible. Then she'd run for the hills, more disappointed in not having her vocal talents finally recognised than in being asked out by such a bore.)

"So a literal demon is a better bet?" Henry asks. "Just asking for clarification. Next year's Halloween costume depend on it."

"He's interesting and sexy and treats Griselda as an equal. What more do you want?"

"Well, speaking as a clergyman...." Henry begins with faux pomposity as he often does, his expression very fond.

She leaves him to do the washing up and lecture the dog. (She frequently hears him discussing doctrinal issues with the dog from the other room. It's adorable. She wonders if he'll be like this with the baby too. She can't wait.)

Back in her study, she boots the kitten off her chair and settles down for a long evening of defending a fictional relationship against antis, maybe reading a bit of a 52 chapter fanfiction where the Night Demon owns a tattoo parlour in New York City, and continuing to work a little on her new scheme of work for Year 9 when she eventually returns to work. It has the working title of "Sexy villains through history and why we should stan them".

She might need to edit that before she pitches it to her Head of Department.

There's a wonderful smell coming from downstairs: Henry is spontaneously baking apple cake. If she glances behind her computer monitor to the window, the graveyard looms dark and comforting in the autumn night, illuminated just by one of the outside lights on the old church. On a cushion by the bookcase, the kitten is lightly snoring and twitches in her sleep. She feels the baby shift slightly within her.

Shipping wars and the thrill of being so engaged in a fandom once more might fill a current space in her life, but goodness, she knows the difference between fact and fiction! Why would she want anything other than what she already has? Life is good.

[cabinofimagines]

Lester’s ABCs

A/N: We be loving one awkward, human god -Danny

Warnings: A bit of swearing bc I can’t stop myself

Word count: 1,330

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

I think that he’s pretty chill, he’s a new person now, and enjoys the little things more than he used to, Lester is happy camping in your living room or eating pizza at the park while feeding pigeons. Only when the occasion is really special he would do something more god-like

Beauty - What do they admire in their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He likes your smile, and your singing, even if it’s not great he’s jokingly offered to turn you into a muse but he’s not actually joking and that worries you lmao

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He sings to you, usually pours a bit of his own powers to make the song ease you and help you sleep, the next morning he usually welcomes you into a whole day of self-care with your favourite meals and facemasks while binge-watching your fave shows/movies

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

If you don’t want to live forever as his godly partner, he probably will turn you into either a beautiful melody or a constellation. If your time will be limited by mortal boundaries he’ll make sure to give you the most beautiful experiences and gifts anyone could ever ask for.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He’s a wonderful simp. Very passive and would live happy the rest of his life if he could just stare at you for the rest of his existence, you make all the decisions and he really doesn’t mind one bit

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He whines a lot when he’s tired or hungry, but really apart from that he just??? is never angry??? When you’re angry he gives you space and lets you do what you have to do to feel better but you guys never have big fights

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

I think that we can all agree that after the hell he went through Lester is one of the most grateful boys out there, he’s just so so happy you chose him to spent your WHOLE life with him. Him. You want to live the only life you got with him? That’s amazing.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

He’s open even about the things you really don’t want to know lmao like the partners he used to have to the weird shit he used to do as a godly teenager. If you think normal teens are weird imagine one with mighty power.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

He’s afraid to forget what he’s learnt as a human, you make sure to keep him humble, he’s helped you to learn to love yourself, every little flaw is a spark of singularity now, he makes you feel unique.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He’s the kind of guy to crush on the same people you have crushes on lol I wouldn’t say he’s jealous once you guys are together, he’s more the type to be like ‘Oh gods, did you see that? They smiled at you– Love you should ask them out. What? I know we’re together but c’mon you can’t just say no to that??’ He’s aware that you’re cute and that he can’t stop others from noticing. 

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

The first kiss was all shy and sweet but don’t worry, he definitely got better at it with time

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Probably blurted it out while you were training and he just couldn’t help himself. He falls in love to easily, the poor idiot

Memory - What’s their favourite memory together?

When you compliment him with that bright smile of yours, whenever you two dance around late at night and you look at him like he’s your entire world he MELTS

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Very classy and old-fashioned names. He can’t help it, he’s been alive for too long and ‘babe’ simply doesn’t cut it for him. Only the best types of nicknames for you. 

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

A lovesick fool just like Leo, but he’s more devoted to you that he is to his own duties, will try to spend every waking minute of his life serving you. Others wish they were dating a god if only just to be treated the way Lester treats you.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

He’s a very touchy boy, hardly ever stops himself before kissing you in front of others, it may be awkward for your friends but honestly who cares, enjoy those smooches honey.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Maybe the fact that he’s a literal god lmao

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

VERY CLICHE BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN IT ISN’T GREAT. He’s cheesy and melts at your feet and will elope with you no questions asked if that’s what you wish to do.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

If you want the moon he’ll make sure you get it. If you want to go to college he’ll support you and pay your tuition if you want, actually what’s harder is to convince him that you don’t him to help you all the time

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

He likes the easy routines, the mortal lifestyle is comforting. However, if you ever make the mistake to say ‘Man I wish i could see Area 51 from the inside, like, I just need to SEE’ in front of him... yeah, that was an interesting wednesday

Understanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He always knows exactly what you need when you need it. Empathetic is saying too little. 

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

He’s lost so many partners already that treasures every minute he gets with you, you’re worth every little irky bad thing that could ever happen. He protects you like it’s his duty.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Lester learned to cook the ‘mortal way’ just so he could give you a nice birthday surprise. It went terribly but at least he took you to your favourite restaurant afterwards.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Again, very touchy fella.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

When he’s got to attend some Olympus business or when you have to go on a quest, he’s always worry about you, he hates that this is the life you’re destined to have, but the love you have for each other makes up for it.

Zeal - are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

He’s a god, he’s an extra little shit of course he’s willing to sacrifice everything.

______________________

Taglist:   @beneaththeiceandsnow,  @bandshirts-andbooks

[a-pretty-nerd]

Tomura Shigaraki x AllMight!Daughter!Reader

Chapter 9

Premis:

When The League of Villains discovers that AllMight has a daughter, they are quick to snatch you up and hold you hostage. Shigaraki had a careful and thought out plan, but that was before you got there. Now you’re in the mood for some not-so-healthy rebellion.

Word count: 2,756

Warnings: Cursing

A/N:

Oh dear lord I'm slow at getting these out. Life's been kickin' my ass lately. But thank you to everyone who's been giving me feedback on my stuff, I really love to hear from you guys!

Taglist: 

(So sorry, I forgot when I originally posted!) 

@craftybean13 @babayaga67 @imjustverable

@bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love

@kamenoyaki @hentaiqween101 @skzero-99 @justanotherlifeff

@witch-o-memes​

Chapter 8 Chapter 10

Two months. You've been "missing" for two months now. The days flew by, your time occupied by quirk training Shigaraki insisted on but never told you why. The times you tried to ask he'd brush it off, or say something like:

"So you don’t throw another fit." His words were harsh but he said them with a flat and bored tone. Like it was a poorly acted line.

So now you had better control. You could move things on command, you knew basic combat, you certainly knew how to kick Dabi's ass by now, that didn't take too long. You were being allowed more and more freedom. Even allowed to leave for a convenience store runs with Toga once or twice. No one policed you, told you what you could and could not do anymore. You could have easily ran away by now. You supposed they really didn't need you either. For their plan to work all they would need was some blood and Toga could easily pass as you.

That idea sent a shiver down your spine. You're sure Shigaraki has thought of that already, so why hadn't he? Why was he training you? Would he use your quirk against the heroes in some way? Was he grooming you to turn and fight your father? You wouldn't. No matter what you wouldn't fight your father. Would you? You shook yourself of this thought as you walked down the ally to the back door of the hide out.

Toga unlocked the door and you stepped in, greeted by a dark and dingy back room. You made your way through the dark halls, following closely behind her as she led you up the stairs that finally led to the parts of the building with power. Soon you found yourself walking to the familiar living space where a few people rested. Dabi laid himself out on one of the couches, Spinner sat fiddling with his burner phone, and Twice had started yelling at the TV before you arrived.

"Luuuunch!" Toga shouted. Toga was often used as the errand girl, she brought back necessary supplies, oftentimes food. Today Toga asked you to tag along and help out, and there wasn't a single objection to the hostage going out on the town. You sat the heavy bags down on the coffee table, taking out the contents as you spoke.

"Where are the others?" You asked.

"Mr. Compress was sent on an errand of his own. And Shigaraki's probably pouting in his room. He'll come out when he's hungry." Dabi groaned as he took his meal from your hand.

"Oh. I'll just bring it to him." You said, absent-minded. All eyes turned to you, looking confused and shocked. "What?" You asked.

"Nothing! It's just-"

"He doesn't like to be disturbed." Toga and Twice spoke. You paused and looked at the box in your hand. It would get cold if he didn't eat soon, and besides, none of you had had much to eat lately, you were sure he was hungry. You knew you were.

"I'll just leave it at the door and knock. It'll get cold and then he'll be in an even worse mood." You told them. They watched you turn and walk up the stairs to his "room". You stood in front of the door, with such thin walls you could hear furious typing on the other side. Loud clicking of a mouse, and the sound of a computer's fan. You took a deep breath and softly knocked on the door. Suddenly the sounds abruptly stopped, followed by a bark.

"What!?"

"Foods here." You called back. You heard footsteps on the other side growing louder and louder until the door flew open. You stared up at the tall man as he looked down on you. His hair hung over his face, his eyes hardly visible. Your heart rate quickened the longer you looked at him. What the hell is wrong with you?

"Give it to me." He held out his hand, his pinky holding out in preparation to receive the box.

"You said you liked spice stuff, right?" You asked as you placed it in his hand.

"Yeah."

"We got you their spicy special. I hope it's not too much. The sign said 'caution' on it." He scoffed at you, turning the box and looking at the writing on it. He fell very quiet. Inspecting the box, you suddenly worried that something was wrong with it. That maybe you'd messed up somehow. But before your anxiety could reach its peak-

"Thank you." His voice was low and soft. You could hardly hear him. Then before you could respond he closed the door and left you alone again. Did he really say that? You never heard him say that to anyone. Granted, you hardly knew him but still, the way he said it, it made you feel... special in some way. You shook yourself from your train of thought and shuffled down the hallway, pausing when you heard movement and the door to Shigaraki's room open. You froze.

"Wait a minute." He barked. You turned too look at him. He hung out of the doorway to stare at you.

"W-What?" You asked. Shigaraki had a way of making people feel like they were in trouble. His ability to easily become an authority figure was something you were beginning to understand now.

"You...went out?" You nodded. He paused and looked away, his eyes shifting as the gears spun in his head. He turned back into his room as he spoke, "come here for a second." He asked. You slowly made your way to his room, the door left wide for you to peak inside. A dark room lit by portable light fixtures and a laptop computer which sat on an old desk. A cot thrown to the corner covered by the same old and tattered blankets the rest of you had.

"Am I... in trouble?" You croaked.

"What? No. Close the door behind you, you'll let in a draft." He ordered, seeming genuinely confused by your question. You closed the door behind you, leaving you completely alone with him in his space. Your heart raced.

You watched him turn and look up at the wall which he had decorated with plans. Pictures of heroes and villains cut out and pinned. Newspaper clippings, printed out articles and research essays. He was planning something, but what it was was difficult to determine. You did notice however, a cut out of an empty figure with your name on it pinned to the center of it all. You stared at it for a second before he broke you from your train of thought.

"Well?"

"Huh!?"

"What do you think?" He asked. His attention turned to his meal, he picked at it, taking a few bites.

"Of what?"

"...the plan." You looked back at the wall, puzzled you tried your best to gain any sort of information from it. Only being able to find bits and pieces. You knew it involved you, your father, and the take down of hero society. A cut out piece of article said something about the rise of villains, that more and more people were turning to villain work. How those rates have a correlation with classes. You slowly turned back to look at him.

"I'm sorry you're gonna have to explain this to me." You told him. He rolled his eyes and stood, directing his attention to his work as he spoke.

"This is the second part of the plan."

"What was the first?"

"Taking you as a hostage."

"Right. But, didn't you say the plan was to expose the heroes after they weren't able to rescue me and not only expose the faulty heroes but also my father as a neglectful and flawed individual not worthy of the hero title?" He paused.

"Yes."

"But that didn't go as planned."

"....."

"Didn't you say something about making a video to broadcast outing myself as All Might's daughter and causing panic? What happened to that plan?"

"It became leverage. If they attempt to come for you, then we'll go with that. But if we do that now, they'll come for you now and we'll be forced to fight."

"Isn't a fight...a good thing? You'd get news coverage and You'd no doubt gain supporters."

"Normally it would. But a fight isn't what we need right now. The heroes have us surrounded. If we make any move at all, we're in their hands. We won't be able to win."

"Not even with your quirk? Couldn't you-"

"Not with everyone here. As strong as I've gotten, I'm not strong enough to keep them from getting swept up and dusted too."

"Right."

"We're in a tight spot. One wrong move and we'll be wiped out."

"What about your supporters? Couldn't you get help from the outside."

"I could, but the heroes would see it coming. They have our signal tapped. Any sort of communication has to be verbal or written."

"Homing pigeon?" You offered. It made him smirk.

"Right now we're like a fox trapped in its own hole by hunters."

"So... we dig?" That made him smile, wide.

"Dig. If we could smuggle ourselves out of the city, we could reach a clear spot where we can call for backup to get us."

"Why not send one person to smuggle themselves out? Toga could easily disguise herself and leave."

"They have a barrier."

"What?"

"Part of the city is closed off until further notice. They know exactly where we are. If one gets out, they won't hesitate to come for all of us. We all have to get out at once and they can't notice until it's too late."

"But how the hell are you gonna do that?" His smile widened. He looked truly excited and happy. For the first time you saw your capture seem truly excited about something.

"We have a few secret recruits in the city. Spies." He turned his attention back to his meal box, reaching in to pull out the inner box that held the food, to reveal a piece of paper sitting underneath in the flimsy take out box. "I didn't know they were letting you out of the base now." He spoke as he opened and read the note within the box.

"I thought, you knew. I thought you were the one that said I could. Dabi said it was fine." He read the note and stood to pin it up on the wall before speaking.

"I've been too busy with this to worry about you. You shouldn't believe everything that Dabi says. I told him to make sure you just don't have another episode and cause a scene before we leave. I thought assigning him babysitting duty would keep him busy." He chuckled. "There's just one thing I don't understand." He turned back to you. "Why didn't you leave?"

"I...I..."

"You had the opportunity, but you're still here. Why?" You froze. Why? Why didn't you run?

"I was scared I'd be killed." You lied. He laughed at you.

"Don't lie to me. You lost that fear a long time ago. You know that's not true. If I wanted you dead I would have killed you a long time ago."

"You've kept me alive to use me as bate. To, to expose the truth." You argued.

"With Toga, we wouldn't need to." You swallowed hard. You knew he had thought about this.

"I'll tell you why I stayed, if you tell me why you've been training me." He scoffed.

"To keep you busy, to keep you from having another episode."

"That doesn't make sense. You could have drugged me, killed me, you said it yourself. But you kept me alive, you kept me busy. You could have kept me on my meds, unable to use it at all but you insisted I learn my quirk. You trained me yourself. Why?" His smile faded and his expression became dark.

"I asked you first." He growled. You looked away from him and thought for a moment before gaining the strength to answer. You knew the truth for a while now. You never wanted to say it out loud. You refused to look at him as you spoke.

"I don't wanna go back. But you probably already knew that by now. You just wanted to hear me say it, huh?" His smirk returned.

"Had a hunch." He snickered.

"Now you answer me."

"Why don't you wanna go back?"

"We had a deal. Answer my question now." You barked at him. It took him a long pause. A full minute of waiting in silence felt like agony.

"I thought it would help you feel better." He muttered in a surprisingly husky tone. "Keep you from asking me to dust you again." That's right, during your episode...

"I'm sorry." You blurted.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I... I asked you to kill me." You hid your face from him. He shifted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"It's not a big deal, I dust people all the time."

"No, I know. But like, I can't imagine being asked to by someone having a fucking break down happens all the time too. I kinda...kinda put you in a shitty position." When you looked up, he looked confused. Comically so. "What?"

"I took you hostage." He reminded you. You couldn't help but chuckle, that made him more confused.

"Shit, yeah, you're right. Guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself huh?" He looked away. "Still. My intentions weren't to upset you."

"You didn't upset me."

"It seems like I upset you." You toyed. His guard was down, he was vulnerable, and allowing you to be there.

"Shut up. You didn't answer my other question!" He shouted in an almost playful tone. You couldn't help but smile, only to have it slowly fade as you thought about your second answer.

"I don't want to go back because..." you stopped, the words getting stuck in your throat. You were unable to speak. He looked down at you, waiting for an answer. He seemed almost relaxed. He seemed normal. Like a normal guy leaning against the wall of his bedroom with his arms folded across his chest. Your eyes wandered up to his scarred neck, bright red scabs forming. Inflamed and fresh. He had recently scratched at it again, clearly in an upset state too. When he blinked you got a clear view of the scarring around his eyes.

"Boss!" A familiar voice shouted from outside the door. "Boss!" Before you could move the door was thrown open, Spinner's wide eyes finding you standing there. He shook his confusion loose before turning back to Shigaraki who quickly changed his position to attention. "Come quick!"

You followed him back to the living space where the old television sat. The news playing loudly as everyone gathered around to watch in panic. Swat teams and heroes decorated the screen as shot after shot showed them surrounding your building. Fear ran from your toes to your head, making you feel nauseous and dizzy. Shit. Shit. Shit. They're here for you. But you...you weren't ready to leave. And what about-

"Not again! - We can take 'em'!" Twice shouted at it like a sport was playing.

"Tomura, what are we going to do!?" Toga asked, frantically bobbing up and down in panic. He watched the TV intently listening in.

"After receiving a tip from an anonymous source, police and heroes found missing tourist Y/L/N Y/N being held captive by The League of Villains in this abandoned office building. Officials are working now to safely rescue the hostage."

Suddenly a loud voice was heard both on TV and through the halls of the building.

"League of Villains. We have you surrounded. Please let Y/L/N go and no one will be hurt." A cop shouted through a megaphone.

"C'mon Shigaraki, what's the plan?" Dabi asked, clearly starting to get uncomfortable. Before Shigaraki could respond, you spoke.

"Well, looks like this is it for me." You began walking away, only to be stopped by a strong, four-fingered grip pulling you back.

"Where do you think you're going!?" He growled.

"The jig is up, Shigaraki! Let me go! I'm not useful anymore. All they want is me, if I'm out of your hair you'll be able to escape easier." His grip tightened, pulling you closer as his red eyes bore into yours.

"So long as you're here they won't dare make a move. You're still my most valuable player. You're staying right here."

[wannajointhecrabcult]

Masks and Music

(Part 1)

Part 2

I didn't think that my last post would've gotten ANY notes at all, so imagine my surprise when I find out that people actually liked it. After that suprise I thought why not and make another one so here we go! This is a Miraculous/Batfam crossover.

Imagine that Damian gets sent to Paris because the fam doesn't want him to become an emotionally constipated sad boi like Bruce and think that a change in scenery would help.

They don't know about the whole Hawkmoth situation because SOMEONE from the justice league decided that the while thing was a prank DESPITE that it was an ENTIRE CITY calling instead of a single person.

Like, aren't you guys supposed to be the world's greatest heros or something?

Who hired you?

Damian being the grumpy lil kid that he is holds a grudge and decides to not accept any calls or video chats from his family or tell them about Hawkmoth because that's what you get when you send someone across the world against their will.

(and because of plot convenience shhh)

Anyways, Damian goes to school as instantly adds Lila onto his mental list of people he needs to get rid of.

I mean, seriously, he's only been is the room for what, 15 seconds and he's already getting a migraine?

Great. Juusssttt great.

He sits in the back of the class with what seems to be the only person with brain cells in this room.

The dark haired girl just looks over and sees the disgust at Lila written all over his face and gives him a silent empathetic nod.

'This is unfortunately normal here.' she tries to convey through the small action.

He just nods back to show his understanding before turning around to observe the others.

In a few minutes Ms. Bustier walks in the room and asks him to introduce himself to the class.

It looks like the teacher never told the class that they were getting a new student because they all have to do double takes when they realize that there's a new face in the room.

He gives them the bare basics, telling them that his name is Damian Grayson, he's from America, and that he doesn't want any of them to talk to him before sitting down.

Clearly the teacher wanted him to say more or scold him for being so rude but a glare shut her up.

Later during a break period Lila tries to flirt with him and brags all about how she's met so many different celebrities and her achievements.

He tells her off and tries to move away but her nails are digging into his arms as she tries to convince him that he should stay away from Marinette.

Before he can maim her, the dark haired girl comes out from behind him and starts spraying Lila down like an unruly cat with some sort of strong smelling liquid from a spray bottle.

Lila screeches and stomps away.

When he turns to his hero the girl explains.

"It's a mixture of shredded lemon, expired maple syrup, vinegar, and pomegranate juice. I call it People Repellant but Thot Begone works too. Oh, and I'm Marinette by the way."

He eyes her hand before shaking it.

"Damian, though I assume you already know that. Can I get some of that by the way? I know a couple insufferable annoyances that would benefit from a spray down.

Marinette just blinks for a second before she bursts out laughing and that was the start of a great friendship.

Together they:

Make fun of Lila in the back of class.

Help eachother with homework (they only cheat off eachother when they REALLY need help)

Prank Lila in odd ways (Hey, just because she found hundreds of furbies hidden around her house that turn on one by one in the middle of the night effectively scaring the crap out of her when she's trying to sleep doesn't mean that it's their fault. She had it coming.)

Break a couple laws (shhhhhhh. Those toy stores don't need those furbies anyways).

Dare eachother over stupid things (they still insist that the cereal incident was caused by the other).

And overall become closer as friends.

They bring out the overdramatic chaotic gremlin child in eachother.

One time when Damian goes over to Marinette's place to work on a project he finds her singing a Disney song to herself on her balcony.

This isn't the first time they've caught eachother singing.

One time Marinette caught Damian in the art room at school humming one of the many annoyingly cheesy and catchy songs that Dick likes to listen to.

Despite him explaining the embarrassing situation to her she still teased him for weeks after.

He'll never get to live it down.

Damian shakes his head to get rid of the flashback when a devious smirk spreads across his face as a revenge plan comes to mind.

After carefully placing his stuff on the floor he sneakily makes his way across the space until he's right behind her.

That's when he joins in.

Screaming at the top of his lungs at first, effectively giving her a mini heart attack before eventually quieting down to a normal singing volume.

She glares at him, annoyed by his loud and obnoxious entrance before she starts singing again.

They eventually end up full Disney movie dramatically performing around her balcony with dance moves and over dramatic acting.

Is it bad that actual birds and other animals are appearing and joining in?

Damian totally kept one of the pigeons.

He named it Dolores.

(He later trained Dolores to attack Rossi on sight.)

When they're finished they end up on the floor out of breath.

They stay like that for a few minutes before Damian sits up.

"That. That was fun. I don't think I've actually ever sang before."

Marinette jolts up in suprise and turns to face him.

"Really? I never would've guessed. You have a really nice singing voice."

He would deny till his dying breath that he blushed when she said that but he covers it up with a smirk.

"Well I guess that's just because yours is so terrible in comparison."

He squawks when she jabs a finger in his side.

"Pshh. As if. Besides, my singing skills can't be worse then your gaming skills." She challenges with a cheeky smile.

"ExCuSe mE?!"

And that's how they spend the rest of the day playing video games, leaving the unfinished project to be completed on a later day.

Good thing it isn't due until 2 weeks time.

After a couple of hours playing video games, creating many possible Lila murder plans, eating pastries, and joking around, it's time for him to leave.

As Damian left for his place he got a feeling that something big was gonna happen.

Marinette also got the feeling but they both ignored it.

Little did they know, someone just happened to walk by and starstruck by the amazing singing they recorded the performance before posting it on the internet.

Imagine the duo's suprise when they wake up the next day to find themselves trending on the internet.

Luckily the video quality was pretty trash so their faces weren't identifiable but the audio was loud and clear.

The world was talking about the cute couple singing to their hearts desire on a balcony. If that's not cliche and adorable then the world doesn't know what is.

The assumption about their relationship status left them looking like tomatos but that didn't stop them from wonder why they didn't notice a creep recording them.

Damn Disney songs and their unnatural ability to distract people.

Of course Lila took advantage of the rising popularity of the video and talked about how she taught the two people in the video how to sing and gave them tips.

The two just walked past the idiot squad and sat down in their seats, making a mental note to come up with a prank later, when the akuma alarms came on.

They fall into their normal routine of Marinette running out to find a place to transform as Damian covers for her.

Oops did I forget to mention that Damian found out her identity because she crashed through his window in the middle of the night still transformed and asked him what's the answer to question 24 in their science homework because she just defeated an akuma by herself and was running on 20 minutes of sleep?

My bad.

Anyways it turns out today was the day Marinette had officially had enough of Chat's bullcrap.

It was gonna be a normal akuma situation.

Ladybug trying to fight the poor butterfly victim while chat noir either doesn't show up, tries to do everything on his own to impress her and ruins the whole plan, or just watches and complains about how she needs to get over her denial and date him BUT

This time he decided to actively try to push her in the akuma's way therefore putting her in SO MUCH MORE DANGER than she was already in.

Now she had to dodge out of the akuma's way AND CHAT'S!

WhAt ThE fUdGe?!?!

You think possibly killing Ladybug and trying to force her to beg for you to save her is gonna make her like you?!?

Just how hard did you hit your head when Gabriel dropped you on the floor when you were 2?

After the akuma was eventually defeated Ladybug told Chat to meet her on an abandoned rooftop that night because they needed to talk.

Chat being the oblivious person that he is (I swear I don't actually hate chat noir, this is for the plot I'm sorry) thought that it was for a love confession and became overly smug before leaving.

Making sure that he isn't following her, Marinette meets up with Damian at his place (school's over because of the attack) and asks him to help.

Later that day when the two miraculous holders meet up Ladybug distracts the Catboy by flirting with him while Damian uses his ninja skills for something other than sneaking up on her and giving Marinette mini heart attacks.

From behind he quickly hits a pressure point causing the other boy to fall unconscious.

Using her ALMIGHTY GUARDIAN OF THE MIRACULOUS powers, Ladybug takes Adrien's ring away and places a spell on him that makes it so he will never be able to use another miraculous ever again.

After they take Adrien home Marinette gives Damian the ring and Night Prowler is born.

He promises to do everything in his power to make sure that Selina and his family doesn't find out for the sake of his pride.

We'll see how that goes.

Night Prowler first officially appeared during an akuma named 'Break Dancer'.

Ironically, she was a ballerina that had to drop out of the finals in a competition because she broke her right leg the day before the show.

She could turn civilians into back up dancers and forced them to perform against their will.

They also worked as minions who would attack the duo for her while she stayed a safe distance away.

It was pretty obvious that the akumatized item was the music box held inside the bag that Break Dancer had slung around her shoulders but the real question was how could they get to it without becoming attacked by the backup dancer or becoming one of them.

Luckily (eheheh), a car with an open window playing music just happened to pass by before driving off.

Before it drove off, the music coming from the car was loud enough to play over the music box which caused some of the minions to become free again and run off.

Ladybug called her lucky charm and a Bobby pin landed in her hand.

As she looked around she noticed a store a couple blocks away that had a couple radios.

Unfortunately, the store was locked and closed.

Fortunately, she knew how to pick locks and a Bobby pin did come from her lucky charm soooo......

Who is she to deny literal gods.

They break into the store and grab a radio, and a speaker and rush over to where the akuma was causing chaos.

They turn on the radio, connect the speaker and turn the volume on as loud as it can go before flipping through the stations for a good song.

If they're gonna fight with music in the background they're gonna be picky about it and wont settle for anything other than epic.

While fighting they eventually get swept up in the music and end up singing along.

It's nothing less than full on majestic.

When the fight is over and the akuma is purified they find out that someone recorded it and posted it on the internet as well.

Now everyone knows that the beloved hero of Paris and her new partner were the two people singing on that balcony.

Ummmmm.....

Good thing that the video quality was trash right?

If it weren't for that their identities would've been busted the moment they started singing in hero form.

Luckily there aren't many people other than Damian that know what Marinette's singing voice sounds like so they're okay.

Well.... They WERE okay,

Until a certain rockstar and his agent came across the two videos and put two and two together.

So now King Sting (bee!jagged) and Peridot (turtle!penny) have joined the team.

Poor Penny, now she has to deal with two gremlin children and a some sort of bizarre man-child.

The next akuma confused the group quite a bit.

He didn't really do anything but sit on a rooftop waiting for the miracle team to show up.

They were all suspicious of him at first but when they did reveal themselves to him he explained his situation.

He was akumatized because his favorite rock band broke up but he didn't really want to take their miraculouses away.

He just asked if they could perform another song for him and he would give his akumatized item to them.

They all sorta looked at eachother and collectively went 'screw it why not' and sang another song.

If they were great before, they are absolutely AMAZING now.

Well that's what happens when you add a famous rockstar to a team of singing superheros I guess.

The akuma was blown away and true to his word handed over the rolled up picture in his pocket and was purified despite of Hawkmoth's nagging.

Haha screw you Hawky.

This time the ordeal was recorded by a news station and the 'hand over the akuma in exchange for a song' thing became a trend.

There were still normal akuma's that didn't follow follow it but those were far flung between.

It seems like Hawkmoth was getting annoyed by this so there started being less akuma attacks over the months.

Because of this some people were actively trying to get upset to attract one of the purple butterflies.

They traded one good thing for another I guess.

To stop that from happening the group started performing in public as superheros during concerts and festivals.

Because of this they became quite well known outside of Paris as well.

Is it ironic that more people know them as a band rather than a superhero team now?

When Marinette learned that they could change what their superhero costumes looked like if they put enough will into it she squealed.

Marinette designs superhero performance costumes for them whenever they have a festival to play at.

Whenever asked about their outfits they always reply with MDC.

Marinette's business gets really popular after that.

And since no one knows who MDC really is, she doesn't have to worry about the whole "Oh no me and my family are gonna be in danger!" thing

It's a win win!

Overtime they basically become a second (or third for some people) family to eachother.

Damian becomes more 'kid like' and open to others,

Marinette becomes more confident and overall happier,

Jagged gets to hang out with his awesome niece and her 'maybe more than just a friend',

And Penny gets a new outlet for stress and has so many more crazy stories to tell people.

One day while she's in the living room on the sofa watching 'The AristoCats' Damian just barges into the room and dramatically flops over onto of her.

He just lays there with his head in her lap and the rest of his body sprawled on the couch.

After everything that has happened this is normal for them now.

Without asking any questions or talking at all they just watch the movie together with the occasional remark or quip between them.

Around half way through the movie Jagged kicks down the door, effectively scaring the crap out of the two teens, while Penny follows behind him with an apologetic look on her face.

At first Jagged was yelling about something having to do with'Fang' and 'Dragon' and 'Miraculous' but after taking in the domestic atmosphere of the room he just sits down on the floor and joins in on watching the movie.

Penny, shaking her head in both amusement and exasperation, sits down on another chair and does the same.

While combing through Damian's hair with her fingers Marinette looks around the room.

'My life can't get any more complicated, can it?'

Oh boy, she just jinxed it.

This is just an idea I've had bouncing around in my head for awhile and I couldn't resist the urge to write it out. I AM planning on making a part 2 so if you like this keep an eye out for that. I'm by no means a fast writer though so it will take a while. But then again not many people will probably read this soo.... Yeah.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 9

First

Previous

Next

Chat laid back in his bed but, for once, he wasn’t tired.

He was set to go on patrols that night, so he’d pretty much done everything he’d wanted for the day earlier. He’d gotten all his sleep, watched every video, finished his skin and hair care routines…

Only to find out that, hey, he didn't actually need to do that because Hawkmoth had chosen today to akumatize someone.

So patrols were out of the question. Hawkmoth had a recharge time of a few hours it seemed, but he usually didn’t do multiple akumas on the same day. They were always less powerful when he did too many in quick succession.

Well, at least he could go fight the akuma, right?

Wrong.

Because it was quickly brought to his attention that he actually couldn’t go, because the akuma was Mr. Pigeon and he quite famously had a bird allergy.

So the three women had all headed out (Carapace had stayed behind to finish an essay) and Chat had been left behind.

He scrolled through TikTok for a while. The app was definitely watching him, because almost all the content on his For You Page was animal videos…

Not that he minded.

But he could only handle so much cuteness at once, so that only worked for a few minutes.

Next, he went on Twitter to see what everyone was currently arguing about. That was bound to be entertaining…

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone in Paris was more concerned with the akuma than anything else at the moment. He didn’t need action shots of his housemates or to know more about Mr. Pigeon’s new plan to take the birds to space or whatever so he can… feed them? What?

The only other notable app on his phone was Instagram, but he wasn’t about to go on that. He was supposed to be in Tibet at some fancy private school, if people saw he was active he’d have to come up with answers to the millions of questions he’d inevitably get.

Now what…?

He pushed himself up to a sitting position with minimal groaning and attempted to run a hand down his face despite his mask.

Screw it. He was bored. He’d go bother Carapace.

He shuffled two doors down. He knocked twice…

There was a scrambling sound before he got a yell to come in.

When Chat actually did so, he found Carapace fastening his mask to his face. He was sitting at his desk, the area around him littered with crumpled pieces of paper.

“Salut?”

Chat batted away some with his feet as he made his way towards Carapace. “Salut. Chloe would kill you if she saw how much paper you’re wasting.”

“Paper is biodegradable, isn’t it?” Said Carapace with a slight grin.

“True.”

“... is there a reason you’re here?”

Chat didn’t answer, instead he slung himself over Carapace’s lap and laid there like a giant housecat. Which he pretty much was.

Carapace wasn’t even all that surprised.

All of the miraculous holders were well aware that the miraculous had side effects for them. They seemed to have attributed his constant need to be in contact with others as one of the side effects.

Chat knew that wasn’t the case, he was just Like That, but who was he to tell them they were wrong?

Carapace reached down and gave his hair a tiny ruffle and then went back to work.

Chat pulled out his phone again and started scrolling idly through Twitter for something to do (also he was kind of curious about the space pigeons now). The sound of Carapace’s pencil on the paper and his tiny sighs and curses were the only noises in the room for a while…

His eyes slid over the room. The bed looked untouched, there were a few empty energy drink cans strewn about, but other than that...

“So, wait, is homework literally all you do when you’re in here?”

“It’s all I have energy for outside of working out and patrols most days. Why?”

Chat rolled over to look up at him. “It’s just… you’re so…” He tried to think of a way to phrase it nicely, but when he couldn’t he settled for: “boring…?”

Carapace frowned a little. “And you’re so annoying!”

Chat flinched. As most people do when someone insults them.

His face softened and he groaned a little. “... sorry. That wasn’t… I’m just a little stressed out about school. This paper is due at midnight and I don’t know what to write.” He cracked a half smile and motioned to all the wads of paper. “As you might have been able to tell.”

He relaxed as well. “Yeah. I hear school is stressful.”

“You hear…?”

He hesitated. They were supposed to keep most things about their lives as civilians a secret, but… there was no way he could figure out who he was from this piece of information, so: “I was homeschooled.”

Carapace raised his eyebrows, thought about it, then nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Huh?”

“You have sheltered rich kid vibes.”

“... thanks?”

“No problem,” he responded easily. He set his pencil down and stretched as much as he could with someone still laying across his lap. “So. You had to have had a good education. Have any tips for my essay?”

Chat yawned and closed his eyes. “Depends. What’s the subject?”

“Film history.”

“... I don’t know anything about that, I don’t think, sorry. Ladybug or Rena might, ask them when they get back.”

Carapace laughed a little. “I don’t need information, if I did at least then I could just look it up, I just don’t know how to… write?”

He blinked his eyes open and then looked at him. “I can help if you just need to get your thoughts in order.”

“Really?” Said Carapace, his face lighting up.

Chat groaned a little as he stretched out. “Sure. Let me get a whiteboard.”

“We have paper…?” He said, watching his housemate get up and start walking out of the room.

“Shhhh, it’s for the aesthetic.”

Chat walked to the fridge and grabbed the whiteboard and markers from it.

He took a quick picture of the board so he could put everything back on it when he was done. Rena had apparently been doing some calculations on it. He remembered, vaguely, that she had mentioned calculating Hawkmoth’s height…

Holy crap. That’s tall. Sure, Hawkmoth was tall, but was he really THAT tall?

He shook his head slightly and erased, then returned to Carapace’s room. He smiled as he held them up for him to see.

“Tada.”

“So… what are we doing?”

“You --” Chat pointed a marker at him. “-- are going to talk about everything you know on the subject. I --” He pointed at himself. “-- am going to put everything in categories and we can go from there.”

Chat very quickly discovered why he was having so much trouble getting anything down. Carapace was… let’s call it ‘passionate’. The moment he started speaking his words tumbled out so quickly that Chat had had to scramble to pull the cap off of the marker so he could start sorting.

But, really, it always is nice to hear someone ramble about something they’re passionate about. Chat had to fight an urge to just watch and listen to Carapace as he talked about how ‘absolutely insane the textbook is for not going that much into eastern theater when there’s so much to talk about about kabuki theater alone --.’

Two hours and many struggles to fit so much information into such a compact space later, Carapace had run out of things to talk about.

“... is there a page limit?” Said Chat as he tossed over a water.

Carapace caught it without even really looking and took a few sips before speaking again: “Uh… yeah. Five pages max. That’s… my main problem.”

Chat looked at the board. What was on there alone was probably two pages in itself and that was just the general names of the topics…

He tipped his head from side to side and then circled a part of it. “Behold. That’s probably around four, and then you can do a bit of extra plus an introduction and conclusion.”

Carapace looked like he was going to cry.

“Are you… okay?”

He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Where have you been all my life?”

“Uh… being homeschooled?”

“Oh. Right.”

Chat slung himself over Carapace’s lap again as he got to work. He scrolled through his phone for a while.

He jumped a little when he got a text. Still not used to that.

He opened the message.

Ladybug: We’ve washed off and changed clothes so your allergies won’t be irritated. Heading home now.

Kittychat: Thanks :D

He got left on read by three people, but that’s fine.

“They’re on their way back.”

Carapace grinned. “Wow, they beat Mr. Pigeon? Shocker!”

When Chat laughed a little, Carapace’s grin got a little more mischievous.

“Seriously, though, imagine losing to Mr. Pigeon. Couldn’t be me.”

“I am allERGIC --!”

He was cut off by Carapace’s laughter and, after a moment, he joined in.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence…

Then Chat got an idea. A small smirk made its way onto his face.

“You said that your account was going to be showing the world that we’re all normal people under the masks, right?”

“Among other things…?”

“Want to mess with the others and get some footage?”

“You complete me. C’mon.”

Carapace snatched his phone off his desk and they headed down to the living room to prepare.

~~~

Taglist

@nathleigh @mialuvscats @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen @woe-is-me0

[anon-rebel-writes]

Heavy Rain, Warm Feelings

Hello everyone! This story is kind of different than what I tend to write, but I wanted to branch out and try something new!

I hope you all like it as much as I do! Being someone who tends to write fluff, I’m pretty happy with how this piece turned out :)

The story begins under the cut! Ao3 Link

In theory, being a superhero is amazing. You’re adored by citizens, get free gifts, and have amazing powers. Everyone who was graced with a Miraculous seemed to love the life it gave them. Every superhero seemed to have a great relationship with their hero personas.

For Chat Noir, it brought freedom and a new sense of life. Rena Rouge and Carapace saw the powers as a way to get out of their comfort zone. Ryuko and Viperion took pride in being asked to help save people.

But for Ladybug, being a superhero wasn’t always a good thing. While she got amazing powers, she also had a lot to deal with. Being the guardian took a lot of her time and gave her more stress than freedom. She often found herself in her suit rather than her normal clothes.

Her days lately seemed to consist of coming in late for school, having to deal with akuma attacks afterwards, immediately having to go back home to do any homework/commissions, then going on patrols (which may or may not be interrupted by a certain pigeon-themed akuma), and coming home late to take a short nap before having to repeat the cycle.

Some days, she was able to finish her work in class, or have time between commissions to hang out with her boyfriend, Luka. But lately those days seemed to be far apart. When she couldn’t see him, she would video call him while she worked on any assignments to talk about their days.

Marinette had confessed to Luka about her superheroine identity shortly after becoming the new guardian. He understood her responsibility and seemed okay with being on the sidelines from time to time, but guilt still ate at her everytime she had to see him through her phone. ‘This is fine. We can make this work,’ she told herself. Even if it wasn’t ideal, Marinette would take any time she had to spend it with him.

On one specific day, Ladybug found herself pulled thin. Chat and herself had to deal with a particularly hard akuma and it left them both exhausted. She could feel the bruises forming beneath the suit already. Her muscles were sore and aching as she swung herself home.

Her homework had started piling up and suddenly she found herself drowning in  commissions. After sending a quick text to Luka telling him that she couldn’t call today, she began on the pile of work sitting on her desk.

Getting lost in her assignments, Ladybug realized she was late to patrol. So after apologizing to Chat for leaving him alone, “I’m so sorry, Chat! Work had been piling up and I couldn’t call my boyfriend and I was really stressed out. But then I totally forgot the time and I’m such an awful partner! You must hate being paired with me!” And Chat being totally understanding because, “Sometimes life happens, Bug! Don’t worry about it! This cat could handle patrolling alone for a bit!” She eventually convinced him to let her patrol the rest of the city today alone in order to make it up to him.

But after a long day of fighting akumas and patrolling the city, all Ladybug wanted to do was rest in her bed and maybe call her boyfriend to tell him about this last akuma. ‘Who am I kidding, he’s definitely asleep and I would definitely be bothering him,’ she thought. A long, exhausted sigh left her as she swung on different roofs trying to head home. Unfortunately, that’s when she felt the first drop of water.

‘Great. Because I totally needed it to rain too.’

Her eyes scanned around for shelter as the rain quickly started to pick up. Seeing no other option, she landed in an alleyway. Ladybug felt her body sink to the ground as rain poured on top of her, seemingly pulling her down until her body was resting against the wall. She shut her eyes tightly and held her knees close to her chest. The sound of the rain got louder and her spirit grew dimmer. “Could today get any worse?”

“Ladybug?”

The superheroine’s eyes shot open as she looked at the opening of the alleyway. There was only one boy that voice could belong to. Luka stood next to his bike, his hoodie tight against his body, completely soaked from the rain. He quickly took off his helmet and ran to her side. “L-Luka? You’re wet!”

He kneeled down by her side and put the helmet on her head. “Me? You’re soaked. You should get out of here, I don’t want you to get sick.” Luka cupped her cheek and wiped under her eye. “Did something happen?”

Ladybug’s eyes glanced from him to the street connecting to the alleyway. “What? Luka, why were you out here?”

Something flashed across his face as his eyes widened. He removed his hand and turned his head away from her. “Sorry. You just- My girlfriend was busy so I took a stroll. Guess I forgot the time, huh?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, seemingly confused. “Your girlfriend?” He met her eyes again. His pink lips turned into a smile and he adjusted the helmet once more. “I’m sure you don’t need a- random - civilian to take care of you.”

Ladybug’s eyes began to scan over him. Luka’s clothes were soaked and pulled tightly against his skin. She glanced over his face and saw how even as he tried to play coy, his eyes still showered her with love. His soft smile made her stomach dance. His hair had some wet strands stuck to his forehead. Unconsciously, she swiped the wet strands across his forehead and placed them behind his ear.

His eyebrows rose and his love-sick smile turned sly.

“Come on, you should go home. I heard ladybugs aren’t huge fans of water.” His smirk wasn’t hard to miss. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the comment. “Oh and you are a fan of water?”

He looked over her shoulder and reached a hand out to play with one of her pigtails. “You’re asking me, Luka Couffaine, the guy who literally lives on a boat, if I am a fan of water.” His sly expression grew in size and Ladybug couldn’t help but laugh.

“Right! I forget that I’m dating a pirate’s son,” she replied with a smirk of her own. But her smirk quickly disappeared as she realized what she said. “I- I mean! Not dating! I’m not dating you! You- random citizen!” She tried to quickly move away from him, which resulted in her getting more wet. His hand moved away from her as she began swatting his arm.

“I mean- You live on the water! And you are a boy- friend! I mean friend! Not boyfriend! You are a boy! And also my friend! NOT FRIEND! I am NOT friends with a random citizen!”

Luka let out a peaceful sigh as he leaned in to kiss her check. Ladybug’s typical ‘Marinette Freakout’ stopped as her mouth fell open. All previous thoughts left her as her cheek grew warm despite the cold air blowing on their wet bodies.

“Wow,” she whispered. His smirk returned as he held out his hand. “Wow indeed, Lovebug. Do you think you could detransform so I can take my girlfriend home? I think she needs a bit of relaxation tonight.”

Grabbing hold of his hand and getting pulled up, Ladybug quickly muttered her detransformation words and suddenly she remembered what feeling ‘wet’ was like. “Ah!” Her clothes were suddenly increasing in weight and sticking to her uncomfortably. “Maybe I should’ve just swung us out of here?! It would’ve been faster!” He let his head fall back as rain continued to pour over his smiling face. “Nah, then my bike would’ve been left here. Besides, I think Marinette needs to just be Marinette for a while.”

Her face scrunched up in a pout. “I don’t think being Ladybug for five minutes would’ve changed anything.” She quickly rubbed her arms in order to gain any warmth. Luka looked back at her and quickly pulled her to his bike.

A hardy laugh left him and filled the space around them. Suddenly, the wet feeling didn’t matter. They jumped on the bike and sped away, laughing together as the rain continued to bear down on them. Being a superhero may have its perks, but as the young couple rode off, Marinette realized that she might love everything that came with being a civilian more.

[kindasadwriter]

This turned out to be way longer than I expected so I put a cut in.  Hope you like this anon! 

While he had no clue where you were he knew you were nearby thanks to Hattori’s absence.  The bird who had been loyal to him and only him for years developed a weakness for you at your first meeting, irksome at times but he had no right to judge considering his own feelings.  Though he couldn’t help but wonder if Hattori would be so enamored if you processed a different devil fruit power or none at all.  

He’d never get an absolute answer but he was fairly certain if you were anything other than a bird Hattori would be far less interested.  

Turning a corner to cut through a nearby alley Lucci’s frown deepened when he realized there was still no sign or trace of you.  If he was searching for anybody else he’d have more patience however this was you and it was very likely you were not only already aware of his presence but knew he was searching for you as well.  Which meant you were purposely avoiding him. 

Which was beyond infuriating.

Emotions aside, while the two of you have fought in the past he’d never managed to seriously injure you and during your more recent meetings he made no effort to do so.  If you noticed the change in nature you kept it to yourself, and if that was the case he was thankful for your silence as it kept his pride completely intact.  Regardless of what he told himself or how he looked at it, falling in love with an unaligned informant was embarrassing and dangerous considering his own occupation.  

There was nothing he could do though.  The government could try to send others but you were very particular with those you interacted with and rather than waste resources to find another lesion to work with you, it was easier to just send him.  

 Watching him from the sky you chuckled as Lucci continued to search for you.  You were well aware he knew you were here however revealing yourself like that was no fun.  Well that and it was strategic to remind the house cat that you couldn’t be found that easily, though you would admit thanks to his keen senses and Hattori’s infatuation he was the one that found you with the most ease.  Glancing at the bird that’d was peacefully perched on your shoulder, you could admit to yourself that you’d developed a sort of soft spot for the house cat over the past few years.  You had a hunch he’d developed something similar for you but he was a difficult man to read. 

Wings getting tired you glided down to a nearby building and transformed back to normal.  Wings turned back to arms and talons turned back to legs.  You’d consumed your devil fruit as a child and so your bird like abilities had become second nature.  Wanting to have some fun with him you found a nearby fire escape and stealthy made your way down to the ground.  Arguably you were putting yourself at a disadvantage considering Lucci’s power-both physical and devil fruit ability but the opportunity to sneak up on the man or at the very least surprise him was far too good to pass up. 

Spying on the spy, you followed him around careful not to make a sound.  Every so often Hattori would notice how close you were to Lucci and would try to fly back to the man but you made sure to keep the bird in place by using your left arm to anchor him down onto your shoulder.  If he were to return to Lucci no doubt he’d know just how close you were.  

Hattori really was a peculiar bird.  They had no devil fruit and yet they could find Lucci and yourself as if the two of you had trackers that led the bird to you.  At first you believed the bird to be a very realistic robot but an accident between you and Lucci proved otherwise.  You still felt a little guilty but time had healed the birds wounded wing and neither Lucci or Hattori seemed to hold a grudge over it.

As Lucci stepped out of an alley way and back into the public you let him get a little further before stepping out to continue your stalking.  Humming softly you had to wonder exactly what the man needed this time.  It hadn’t been all that long since you’d last met and it was rare for him to need more information so soon.  Had you unknowingly come across valuable information or had the house cat docked on the same island as you by chance? If it was the latter there was no guarantee he was actually searching for you right now and even if he was it was of his own will rather than orders.  

The possibility brought a small smile to your face.  So distracted by the thought your grip on the pigeon loosened and sensing the opportunity to return to Lucci and alert him to your presence Hattori launched himself off your shoulder and was back with Lucci in moments.  

“..Ah..” You observed as the man eyed the bird before turning his head slightly to look back and scan the area, “Not great.” You added as the two of you made eye contact.  

Well, this was fine too.  

Transforming back into your half bird form you gave the man a wink before taking off into the sky.  Regardless of where you went he’d be able to track you now so you might as well go somewhere more private to talk or fight.  Really you’d prefer the former but every so often he’d ask for information you weren’t willing to give the government and that’d result in a fight between the two of you.  Him trying to force the information out of you without killing you(because let’s face it you were a valuable resource) and you trying to push him back and look for a proper means of escape.  

Spotting a fairly secluded area you landed but didn’t bother transforming back.  It didn’t take much longer for Lucci to arrive.  

“Hey house cat.” You greeted with a smile.

His frown deepened at the nickname but he said nothing regarding it, “How long were you following me?”

Innocently humming you tilted your head to the side, “No idea what you’re talking about.” You replied, “I definitely didn’t follow you all the way from that restaurant, through the alley ways for a good hour or so and then through town for a little bit.”

Trying to keep his brow from twitching Lucci took a deep breath before letting out an exasperated sigh.  How was it one woman could be so irritating? Not wanting risk playing any of her games, both for professional and personal reasons Lucci cut straight to the point, “What do you know about the country of Dressrosa?”

Now that was a..complicated subject.  The country had changed drastically since Doflamingo took it over and getting information about what happened was..difficult if not confusing.  You’d visited it on several occasions but talking to people and some of the strange toys had only made things more confusing.  Stories seemed to contradict or end without reason.  Citizens had blank spaces in their memories, photos they couldn’t explain, and other odd occurrences.  

You’d wanted to go back to investigate more, simply to satisfy your own curiosity but the heavenly demon had sent you a very clear warning that if you returned to that country you wouldn’t leave it.  While you didn’t doubt your own strength you also weren’t foolish enough to put yourself in a situation where an entire island could be easily turned against you and so you’d taken his warning to heart and never returned.  

“Not that I doubt your strength but if you’re planning on taking a trip to Dressrosa I’d advice you to be more cautious than you were today.”

“Care to expand on that?” He questioned.

Not all that protective over Doflamingo or the country of Dressrossa you were happy to tell him a majority of what you knew, which unfortunately wasn’t nearly as much as you’d like.  The underground SMILES, green bit, Doflamingo’s odd rise to power, the human like toys, and the citizens odd behavior at times.  

Lucci wasn’t surprised by a majority of the information you gave as CP0 had already gathered the same though there were some loose ends that were tied up by what you said.  If he thought you were holding out on him he would’ve said something but by the time you finished talking you had an unsatisfied expression, it was the same look you had when he refused to tell you how he loss to straw hat.  Actually it was the same look you wore whenever you didn’t know as much as you wanted to, it was amusing and cute and at times it made him wonder if fate had originally intended for the both of you to consume the others devil fruit.  

“I thought you’d know more.” He finally said, earning himself a warning glare.  Shamefully and painfully aware that you’d probably been stalking him for quite some time before he found you he continued to push your buttons.  His words really weren’t all that insulting if you thought about it, the fact you knew anymore than CP0 was beyond amazing especially considering you worked alone for the most part(your only-ally other than himself to a degree-being the media that protected you and had far too much leverage over the government for anything to be done to you without facing a wave of backlash that), well you really were something else.  

“Well if it’s not good enough you can always go ask some other world class informant.” You snapped.

“I might have to.” He casually agreed.

Fingers involuntarily twitching, you took a step towards Lucci.  Jabbing your index finger directly into his chest you glared daggers as you spoke up, “I know for a fact there isn’t anybody else like me” You paused before adding, “Anywhere, Lucci.”

Were you defending your profession or simply stating a fact?  It was true for both but he wouldn’t admit it to you right now.  If he did your conversation would be over and the two of you would have to go your own ways.  It was impossible to avoid, the two of you really weren’t meant to be close or have any sort of relationship and yet you did.  Lucci still recalled the shocked looks and surprised tones when he returned from his first meeting with you.  He supposed he was lucky you took an interest in him because he’d gotten more information out of you than anybody else had and since then you’d become a part of his job to the government.  And what did you get in return? 

Looking up at the sky, or rather the news coo that had been circling above the two of you for some time he really couldn’t help but wonder.  He’d tried questioning you before but so far it had been the one thing you refused to answer him about.  Never the less, moments like this were more than enough for now.  This kept the two of you alive and allowed you to continue meeting and until he could find out exactly what your relationship to the media was, what you were getting and they had over you and you over them-there really was nothing more you could do.  

[jawritter]

Twelve Days Of Christmas

Chapter 1 

Summary: Dean never realized that Y/N missed Christmas until he turned off an annoying Christmas song on the radio on the way home from a hunt, now he will make it his personal mission to give her the Christmas he misses so much, and if he plays his cards right, maybe he will give her what he has wanted to give her for so many years, himself.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Written For: @spnchristmasbingo

Square Field: Twelve Days Of Christmas

Word Count: 1110

Warnings: None really for this chapter.

A/N: This is to help me catch up on my SPN Christmas Bingo card lol. I knew chapter will post every day until Christmas! I know I’m insane lol. This is a real time fic collection and all mistakes will be my own! Please do not copy my work! Hope you all enjoy these!!

**SERIES MASTERLIST**  **MASTERLIST**  **BECOME A PATREON**

“On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love game to me!” 

“Oh for fuck’s sakes!” Dean growled as he turned the radio off with enough force to make Sam jump in the passenger seat next to him. You chuckled in the back seat knowing damn good and well Dean hated Christmas music. 

“You okay dude?” Sam asked, looking from his cell phone to his brother who was growling at the road with an amused yet concerned look on his face. 

“Yea, I’m fine,” Dean said, still growling at the road ahead of him. “It’s just every fucking year around this time of year all every radio station in America seems to be able to play is that God awful Christmas music!” 

You had to bite back a chuckle in order to not agitate the annoyed Winchester further than he already was. It had been a long hunt, and Dean had been shifting through the local radio stations in hopes of catching some news on whether or not people had noticed that the Pigeon God they had just tracked down and destroyed was gone, or if life would go on for the little town as it always did. 

The fewer people outside of this life noticed, the better it was for everyone involved, and while most of the time you’d just do the job and walk away, he wanted to be sure things would go off without a hitch so that you didn’t all end up right back down there to do more clean up when people started to ask questions. 

“I’m looking at all of the local news reports this morning right here on my phone Dean. Everything is fine, we can go home. I promise,” Sam tried to soothe his brooding older brother. “Just stop torturing yourself, and let’s get home before the snowstorm decides to make the roads impassable.” 

Dean grumbled but said nothing audibly. You hadn’t thought about it until that annoying song had come on the radio that it was only twelve days until Christmas. Time could get away with you when you were hunting, and you hadn’t even realized the holidays were as close as they were. 

As Dean drove through little towns with little shopping malls, lights strung up in windows, and people happily shopping and getting ready for the impending festivities, your heartfelt a little heavier in your chest than it had just a few minutes ago. 

You knew Dean never really wanted to celebrate Christmas, but honestly, it was the one normal thing about life that you missed the most. 

Of course, you would never tell Dean any of that. Not a chance. He had his reasons for not wanting to celebrate, and who were you to force it on him. 

The rest of the ride back to the bunker went in a comfortable silence. Dean’s eyes would filter to the back seat in the rearview mirror every few miles, even though you felt him staring at you, you never returned his gaze. You didn’t want him to see that something was bothering you. Why should he be bothered with the issues of your own nostalgia? 

When the car pulled back up in the bunker garage you were one of the first to stand up out of the back seat, but Dean wasn’t far behind, grabbing you by the hand and stopping you from retreating when Sam walked towards the heavy bunker doors, leaving you alone with the gorgeous green-eyed Winchester. 

“Spill Y/N/N,” Dean said, once it was just the two of you, and no one else could hear. “You were laughing at me one minute, and the next you were spending the rest of the ride back looking like someone kicked your puppy.”

Damn him, he was a little too observant for his own good. 

“It’s nothing Dean, Just got dropped in my own head. I’ll be fine after a shower and a drink. Just need to relax a little,” you try, but Dean is not so easily swayed in his pursuit of what’s really gotten under your skin. 

“Come on Y/N that’s bullshit and you know it. Did I say something to upset you?”

He hadn’t really, it was just you and your own weird attachment to a holiday. It shouldn’t bother you, so why does it? You don’t even really know how to answer him. 

“I just, I just didn’t realize it was only twelve days left until Christmas. Time got away from me, and it bothered me okay? You happy now detective?” you asked him, being a little sharper than you intended. It really wasn’t his fault. 

“I’m sorry,” he stepped back a good two paces, giving you some space and not wanting to overstep his bounds more than he felt like he already had. “Sweetheart I forgot you used to have a normal life and that things like that may still matter to you. I’m a little harder than what I probably should be.”

“It’s not your fault Dean, you tell him honestly, leaning down to grab your duffle bag and signal the end of this conversation. “It’s something I will get past. It’s just old memories ya know? They tend to pop up at the worst times.”

Dean nodded his head knowingly, giving you a soft smile as he. “Yea, I get that. How about you go ahead inside, and as soon as I take care of Baby you and I can watch shit TV, and drink our way into early liver failure,” he said jokingly, adding the most adorable smile on his face and forcing one out of your own. Dean was your sunshine, whether he knew it or not. The reason you got up in the morning and kept fighting even on the days when you really didn’t want to. If he could still smile like that after everything he’d been through, who the hell says you can’t do the same.

“Sounds great De,” you tell him before heading towards the big iron doors of what was now your home. 

Dean smiled as he watched you make your way up towards the warmth and safety of the bunker with his wheels turning in his head. He bites back a grin as he pulls his keys out of his pocket and gets back in Baby’s still warm interior. This could backfire on him badly, but then again it could work too. He had to try, this was something he’d never done before, but you were a girl that made him feel like he never had before, so what’s life if you don’t take any chances right?

Forever Tags: 

@deandreamernp

@forgetthisbull

@miraclesoflove

@deanwanddamons 

@rvgrsbrns 

@chevyharvelle 

@onethirstyunicorn 

@i-love-superhero 

@lyss-dw79 

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@lemondropirwin 

@squirrelnotsam 

@hobby27 

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@mrsjenniferwinchester​ 

@defenderrosetyler​ 

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@thecreatiivecorner​  

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@busy-bee-angel-misska​ 

@justanotherwinchester​

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@idksupernatural​

@lyarr24​ 

@amandamdiehl​ 

@miraclesoflove​ 

 @emoryhemsworth​ 

@dean-winchesters-gardian-angel​ 

@softsebastian 

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Jensen and Dean’s Babes

@akshi8278​

@love-jackles-37-blog​

@supernatural-bellawinchester​

@bobbie3939​

[oneofyatosfollowers]

Yatori Week 2021- Day 2

@yatoriweek2021

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32090953/chapters/79500055

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13905660/1/Yatori-Week-2021

Most other creatures that walk the Earth didn’t know this but pigeons were a very proud species. 

Being adopted from a long line of pure-blooded carriers and messengers, he had been given the very honorable names of Coo Phone, Smart Phone, and Smart Ho. After a spirit with glass over his eyes tied on his uniform- a white piece of cloth- he was handed off to another creature of the other side. One of the native existences of the other side who was brimmed with natural and unnatural power. When Coo Phone was first handed off to this existence, there had been another tiny spirit at his side with a similar power and a regular human female.

When Coo Phone had first settled in the large wooden bird house, it was clear he would have to serve two powerful spirits and two human souls. With ruffled feathers, Coo Phone carried out his job with pride. The tiny female spirit with the curly hair, the one called Kofuku, would often send letters to spirits on other pure lands. Hers often came in envelopes with many stickers that would fall off if the wind was too fast. Her human kin, called Daikoku, did not send letters very far, in fact he only sent them to her. At first Coo Phone was wary around this one’s massive size and booming roar, but he quickly proved to be a gentle soul. The spirit of the young human child was Coo Phone’s favorite. His name was Yukine and he was a sweet thing that actually appreciated Coo Phone’s services properly. Like the rest, he often sent messages to other pure lands and spirits in the metal and glass forest. The boy was also the only one who gave food on a regular basis and a snack after every hard mission.

It was his actual master that Coo Phone could not figure out. For starters, this powerful spirit was similar to Kofuku in that his existence was more sinister. Only instead of simply bringing misfortune, this being was made up of bloodlust and death. He was the one the others in the nest called Yato and he was typically loud and often moved with frantic, grand gestures. There were times Coo Phone sensed the underlying predatory instincts of his existence, but it was rare and he never acted on it. As such, it was Coo Phone’s duty to deliver the messages of this peaceful creature.

Despite receiving the majority of the messages, Yato only wrote one person: the human girl that frequented the nest. The others called her Hiyori. She would come, sit with Yukine, pet Coo Phone’s head and shoulders, then be on her way. As she walked away at the end of every day, the evil spirit was already leaning out the hole at the top of the nest, watching her closely. Being the brilliant messenger than he was, Coo Phone would start ruffling his feathers and prepare for the trip to Hiyori’s nest. Personally, Coo Phone found it rather normal, birds were often chittering in the tree until they fell asleep. It was odd the female just didn’t move it but it was possible she didn’t like Yato’s voice. Coo Phone should teach him to properly sing and dance so that they wouldn’t have to keep sending presents back and forth.

Especially since, at first, Hiyori didn’t seem to enjoy the messages Yato sent her. Once Coo Phone delivered the paper, she would glance over it as she gave Coo Phone some of her seeds. It didn’t take long for her to drop it. Even Coo Phone knew that if the present was not taken into the nest, that meant it wasn’t desirable. She would avoid Yato when she came to their nest during the day but she didn’t attack him when he approached so that was a good sign. At least, that was how it was at first. Eventually, the human didn’t look as irritated by his presence as she used to. Communicating with less of a growl than before, letting out a noise of joy and contentment more often at his chatter.

“I’m serious, Hiyori!” Yato was crowing, “I’ll show you if you don’t believe me!”

“I do believe you can do it! I just can’t believe you can!” She chirped back. They continued to twitter with each other, sometimes touching as they swayed back and forth. It was like they didn’t even notice Yukine had left ages ago. Meanwhile, Coo Phone watched from a comfortable spot in the opening, cocking his head at their strange swaying, trying to find the rhythm in their mating ritual.

That was around the time she started accepting the gifts he sent. Looking over the thin white leaves and their markings with careful attention to detail. Coo Phone remembered how delighted he was when she sent one back. Not only did it make the trip worthwhile but it showed the two were having somewhat of a proper correspondence. Hiyori didn’t answer often- Yato was always the last to send something anyway- but it did become more frequent. It eventually got to the point where Coo Phone would be tired from flying back and forth and have to spend the night in her nest, much to Yato’s annoyance.

“Hey Smart Ho,” the dark being suddenly approached. Coo Phone startled, wings fluttering as he hopped away. Being surrounded by so much evil made Coo Phone’s natural senses weak to it but he refused to fly away. Even though Yato seemed more jittery than usual.

“Can you send this letter for me?” He offered it kindly instead of just signalling Coo Phone like he normally did. Yato didn’t need to say where he was supposed to go, it was already implied. Either way, Coo Phone hopped forward and prepared for the trip to the human female’s nest. But Yato didn’t put it on right away, instead the letter was lowered and it stayed there. Coo Phone stared at it with one eye.

“I messed up.” Yato continued, “she must really hate me now. I promised her I wouldn’t leave but,” with a sigh, he stared out the window with a longing expression. Coo Phone glanced out the window to ensure there wasn’t a threat before he looked back at Yato. Perhaps the being was thinking of going on a journey again, as he often did. He was a migratory creature, Coo Phone’s come to realize, leaving for one natural reason or another and coming back after some moon cycles. When that happened, the nest seemed to dim and grow quiet. The others were not migratory and did not travel with him. Therefore they were rather lonely when he was gone, Yukine and Hiyori even more so. Coo Phone had tried his best to sing- to fill the house and cheer them up- but his song was hardly as loud, nor did it seem to help.

Recently, Yato had come back from his migration brutally injured and it had greatly upset Yukine and Hiyori. It was the most aggressive Coo Phone had ever seen them. However, this flock was strong, and they eventually lulled back into their routine. This was the first message Yato had sent since then and Coo Phone was ready to continue on supporting their courtship. With another ruffle of his feathers, and the gift secure, Coo Phone took off into the winter air on the usual route. But alas! Hiyori had locked all her windows and closed the curtains. Coo Phone had taped his beak on the clear barrier, but she did not answer, despite the fact he could hear her moving around. This wasn’t the first time Coo Phone was not allowed in the nest. At least she didn’t put up those wretched metal thorns again. Untying the letter, Coo Phone left it on the upper entrance to her part of the nest, then returned to a disappointed Yato. He didn’t send another gift after that.

Days later, Coo Phone was on his way back from delivering a message from Kofuku to one of the older spirits when he spotted his master and Hiyori along the stone path of the metal forest. Their tweeting was raised in pitch so Coo Phone had no choice but to stop and listen, alert for any danger to flee from. Hiyori attacked Yato- a common occurrence- and was prepared to walk away when Yato reached out and grabbed her. Coo Phone flapped his way towards a closer tree, hopping along the branch as the members of his flock squabled.

“Hiyori, please, I just wanted to protect you!” Yato squawked.

“No, you just wanted to take the easy way, where only you would get hurt!” Hiyori answered harshly.

“Exactly! That way no one else would need to get hurt! Ever!”

“You would!”

“That’s okay! I would reincarnate. Neither you or Yukine can do that. It’s for the best!”

“I didn’t make you that shrine so that you could reincarnate!” Hiyori’s shriek echoed throughout the area. Coo Phone flinched and ruffled his feathers at the sound. Water was leaking from the girl’s eyes and she appeared to stop fighting, realizing Yato wouldn’t let go of her skinny wing. When he noticed she stopped pulling, Yato took another step.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted- I was just trying to-!” another step “I didn’t want anyone else to die because of me.” He sounded so miserably sad, the type of sorrow only someone who lived forever would know. Hiyori turned to look at him, but only slightly, her wet face quickly turned to the ground.

“It was not for the best. You reincarnating is not for the best. You- this you- dying, will never be for the best. Yukine and I keep telling you it’s not okay when you get hurt, we don’t care if it’s for our sake or someone else's. We don't like it. We are not okay when you get hurt and we will not be okay if you were to die.” She cried, “I would not be okay.” Turning her body fully towards him, Yato’s hold on her loosened as the space between them closed even more. More water fell to the stone beneath them and she sniffed loudly a few times.

“I’m not okay.” Hiyori said. There was a long pause as Yato looked at the water splotches by his feet.

“I’m not okay either.” He admitted quietly after a long pause. When Hiyori finally looked up at him, his hair was covering his eyes. Instead, Coo Phone watched their wings drop slightly.

“Hiyori, I’m sorry, I messed up. It's my fault. Just-”

“It’s not your fault,” she clucked sharply, “well, it is and it isn’t but I know you learned your lesson.” She watched his head bob. It was unclear who stepped closer this time, but Hiyori’s head was just barely brushing his chest.

“And remember what you promised us?”

“Don’t kill anyone.”

“And?”

“Never to wander off again without asking.”

“We’re stronger together,” she nodded, “we’re safer together.” By now her head was fully resting on his chest and Yato watched the sky. Keeping watch for danger like a proper mate, Coo Phone was proud.

“You know, I wouldn’t be okay if you went away either.” Yato let his wings wrap around her gently, waiting for her to take the final step forward instead of pulling. She let her wings do the same.

“I know,” Hiyori sniffed, “please just stay with me.” She had her face buried as he took in a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly towards the sky. Coo Phone wondered if he wanted to fly away again, but he most likely wouldn’t anymore. Finally, after enough time had passed where Coo Phone was able to get comfortable, Yato looked down at her. The tips of his wings brushed under her hair and tried to wipe away the water. He nudged her eyes up and she blinked.

“I want nothing more.” He cooed. Yato continued to do his best to preen her face, eventually helping it to dry while she worked to stop sniffling. The air seemed lighter around them.

“But you know, I get mixed signals when you say things like that, then cry when I’m around,” Yato eventually clucked. She huffed and whacked him. As he warbled- considerably weaker than his usual noise- Hiyori looked back at the ground under them.

“How about I make it clearer then?” Before Yato could reply, she rose and let her beak rub against his, their mouths connecting. Coo Phone’s feathers fluffed up in embarrassment as he sunk his head into his shoulders. His eyes shut just as Yato’s did, Hiyori already in the moment. Coo Phone wondered why Hiyori accepted Yato’s advances without any sort of dance or song, the creature of darkness was hardly colorful, but some things were just meant to be.

“Does this mean you’ll let me in your room whenever?” Yato chirped when they separated.

“No it does not.”

“What about accepting gifts? Or going on dates every night instead of studying?”

“No, no, Yato, if you push it, not only will I jungle savate you but I’ll ignore all your messages.” At Hiyori’s call, Coo Phone got up and started to stretch. It seemed pointless for them to continue to share gifts when they were already together, but a proper carrier never questions the mission.

“What? All of them?” Yato whined, “even from our adorable precious baby Smart Ho?” He summoned Coo Phone again and the bird spread his wings and took off towards his master.

“Yes. Even them, if you take it too far,” Hiyori glared at him. They stared for a second before Yato let out a snort and twittered something at her, which she happily replied. As Coo Phone approached, Yato had her head in his wings again, his stubby beak preening her lovingly. She let out that same noise of happiness, louder and stronger than before as she covered his wings with hers. Their mouths pressed a couple more times, but it became difficult with their loud warbling. Yato managed to grab her, lifting her up in the air and spinning her around as she continued singing. Happy for them- and unable to properly land on his master- Coo Phone circled above them and cooed in celebration. He was so happy, in fact, that his insides clenched with joy and rippled with excitement.

“Oi bird brain!” Yato cawed from below. Frightened at the tone, Coo Phone looked down to see his master glaring up at him and waving his wing, a new spot of white dripping off his black head. With the threat in the spirit���s blue eyes, Coo Phone frantically flapped his wings away, deciding it was best to leave the two lovebirds alone.

[emcon-imagines]

Let Each One Hear Her Own Thoughts

gif

words: 1665 notes: based off of this post I made after the Wandavision finale. for those of you unfamiliar with my OC Willow featured in this story, you can read about her here, or just dive right in and enjoy this little post WV fic! Willow and Wanda share a sister-like relationship after meeting at the compound years ago, when Wanda took Willow under her wing pre-Civil War. summary: Wanda receives a regular visitor at her cabin, someone repaying a favor they owe her from years ago.

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

It was still sunny when Willow cleared the mountains and started over the lake, the late afternoon light casting golden shadows on the waves down below. She hadn’t heard a quiet like this in a long time, perhaps in five years, and back then, the quiet was more suffocating. This one wasn’t. It was freeing.

She could see why Wanda had retreated here.

On the opposite shore, the cabin came into view and Willow began her descent, her back aching from the long flight and her heavy backpack. New York City felt a long way away—try as she might, she could never make the trip in a single day. Maybe it was for the better. Time spent in the city was chaotic, busy, full of responsibilities she didn’t feel ready for yet. She still felt herself looking to someone like Natasha for the answers, only to remember that she wasn’t there.

Wanda was sitting on the porch, cup of tea in one hand and the other shielding her eyes from the sun as Willow approached. Her feet hit ground, the grass just poking through the melted snow, the air smelling like spring and dirt. “Hey,” Willow said, stretching her wings out one last time before folding them in, though not all the way. Another reason she appreciated the cabin. There was nothing to hide here, no strangers spying on her every move. Her wings could touch daylight.

“Hey,” Wanda said, standing and turning towards the house. “I hope the trip—”

“It wasn’t bad,” Willow answered quickly. “It’s nice to… you know… get away from everything right now.” She followed Wanda into the cabin, the smell of dust and pine had almost become a comfort to her. On the table, she set down her backpack, unzipping it and pulling out several plastic bags. “I think I got everything—except for the cereal, they didn’t have that brand, so I went to another store, and even asked but they didn’t have it either.” She passed a box to Wanda. “So… this is similar?”

“You didn’t have to do all that,” Wanda said, and the corner of her mouth lifted as she set the box down. “I’m not picky.”

Willow shrugged. “I am.” She nodded at Wanda. “You know, in case the roles are ever reversed, the brand does matter to me…”

“I get it.”

“Bread,” Willow said, handing the bag to Wanda. “I hope it’s not squished. It got bumpy over the mountain pass.” She pulled a few more plastic bags from her backpack. “Oh! And look!” She held up one of the bags so that Wanda could peer inside. “I forgot which spices you said you needed, so there’s like… an assortment… there.”

“What’s in here?” Wanda asked as she searched through one of the bags with produce. “Are these… baby carrots?”

“Yup.” Wanda gave Willow a questioning look and Willow rolled her eyes as she zipped her backpack up and slid it against the wall. “Oh, come on. The Scarlet Witch or whatever still should eat a vegetable once in a while.” The joke rolled off her tongue easily enough, and she hoped it would be received that way as well.

“Now you sound like Natasha,” Wanda said, and she began to put away the items Willow had brought.

“Well, someone has to,” Willow said, the weight of her own words settling uncomfortably as she thought over the last few weeks. “Anyways…”

“You all right?” Wanda asked, turning back around from the cabinets. Willow had taken to wandering the cabin, tucking her wings in further as she navigated the small space.

“Well, you know. It is what it is.” Willow paused, trying to put what she was feeling into words. “It’s a weird time to be alive. You?”

Wanda didn’t respond, half-smiling as she shut the cabinet door, though there was no joy in the smile, just exhaustion. Willow sat down on the couch, wanting to say more, and yet not knowing what to say. She stared out the window at the darkening sky, the mountains disappearing into the clouds and the purple horizon. Where do we go from here?

Willow leaned over the back of the old couch to face Wanda, who was still heating a pot of water on the stove. “You know you can talk to me, right?” Willow asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Wanda said with a sigh.

“Oh. Oka—”

“No, I’m— sorry.” Wanda looked up at Willow and leaned back on the sink, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her sweater as she thought. “I’m pretty sure I used to tell you the same thing, a long time ago. I know you’re just trying to help.” The pot on the stove began to simmer and Wanda turned her attention back to it, opening a box of pasta that Willow had delivered the previous week, and dumping enough of the shells into the pot for the both of them. “I’m glad you’re here,” she finally said. “After everything… you still…”

“You’d do the same for me,” Willow said. “You did the same thing for me. Remember when I first showed up at the compound?”

“Mm. It was like trying to tame a feral cat.”

Normally, Willow would have a retort back, but she only smiled at the memory, and then started laughing. “Yeah. I was really… scared, actually. When SHIELD found me, I thought my life was over.”

“How are the others?” Wanda asked. “I… well… I’m not sure they’d…” She gestured around at the cabin and shrugged helplessly.

“No, they’re just busy,” Willow answered. She laid her head in her arms as she continued to lean across the back of the couch and yawned. “Sam is with Bucky… I haven’t even begun to look into what they’re doing and honestly, I’m not ready to. But I have a feeling it’ll catch up to me eventually. It always does. Rhodey’s still at Stark’s, helping them sort through things. Clint’s home. Same with Scott, he’s home too. Remember Scott? He was at the airport. He was the one who came up with the whole time travel thing. Sort of. So, I’d say things have quieted down, but I don’t want to jinx it.”

The pasta finished and Wanda carefully used a spoon to hold back the pasta as she strained the water out before splitting the shells into two bowls and opened a jar of sauce on the shelf to pour over each one. “Cheese is in the fridge,” she said, and Willow got up to get it, also getting out two forks and two cups from the cabinet.

They sat on the floor, in front of the fireplace on the other side of the room, the cabin lit by a warm glow.

“You really just buy the cheese for yourself, huh?” Wanda asked as Willow screwed the top off of the bottle to shake out the Parmesan cheese faster. “I’m pretty sure you’ve gone through two of those in a month, and you’ve only been here for a few nights.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s called living deliciously,” Willow said.

For a while, the two of them ate in silence, the only sound the scraping of their forks against the bowls and the occasional press of wind rocking the cabin. It reminded Willow of the late-night dinners they used to make at the compound, long after everyone had gone to sleep, as they tried their damn hardest to not burn anything or set off the smoke detectors, which happened a few times too many.

“I saw a rat drag an entire burrito across the street the other day,” Willow said suddenly, finally tiring of the quiet.

“What?” Wanda asked.

“A rat. Like the size of a rabbit. Dragging a burrito across the street in Hells Kitchen. A fully wrapped burrito, filling and all. And it didn’t spill even a little of the filling. I stood there and watched the whole thing; I mean it took this rat like five minutes and cars were coming both ways.” She paused to scoop up a clump of sauce and cheese.

“Well?” Wanda said. “Did he make it?”

“Oh, he did,” Willow said. “I mean, it was close, the burrito got grazed by a tire once or twice, but he got it across the street. At one point he started rolling it on its side… now that was really something. It was like I was watching evolution in real time.”

Wanda smiled for the first time that day, a real smile, and it made Willow’s heart swell just a little, proud of the victory, no matter how small. “Hmm, we’re going to see that rat signing the Accords in a few weeks then,” Wanda responded with a small laugh.

“Yeah, right after the pigeon I saw take what I’m pretty sure was a deliberate poop on a cop car yesterday.”

They finished dinner and Willow cleaned up, washing the bowls and utensils in the sink and leaving them out to dry on the counter. She was exhausted, exhausted from the flight, the past week, and she was almost certain that if she wasn’t doing the dishes, she’d fall asleep standing up. She heard the crackle of static as Wanda turned the radio on, beaming in a signal from a lonely public radio station somewhere in the mountains. With a yawn, Willow climbed back over the top of the couch, plopping down and stretching as she tucked one of the pillows under her head.

“Oh, there’s no way you’re going to be able to stay awake for ten,” Wanda said, referencing the time their show started, some true crime radio show that they had been tuning into in lieu of a television and their usual fight over sitcoms, reality television, and documentaries, the latter which usually won out.

“No, I’ll make it,” Willow said. “Creature of the night and all.”

“Have you still been having them?” Wanda asked, laying down across the armchair that cornered the couch.

“What? No,” Willow said. “Not in a long time.”

“So, you’ve been sleeping?”

“Yeah.” Willow knew she didn’t sound convincing, but Wanda didn’t say anything else on the matter, the two of them sitting and listening to the radio as fuzzy alternative music came gently through the small speaker.

In Willow’s mind, there were plenty of other problems beyond stray nightmares, and besides, she knew she’d sleep just fine that night.

[dreamnap]

[fic] oh, i miss when we first met (take me out baby)

pairing: onesided sapnap/dream (dreamnap), background dreamnotfound

rating: g

genre/tags: angst and unrequited love babey! oh, and did i mention pining?

notes: me and @dream-not-found ​are twinning with unrequited dreamnap. go read her fic and weep. special shoutout to mitski, who i listened to exclusively on loop over and over again while writing this fic

summary:  It was as much of a confession as he was going to give.

ao3 link 

It could be love. 

Sapnap stared at the phone, the remnants of Dream’s voice still echoing in his mind. It had been the first video call they'd done in a while— a celebratory thing, really, where he had popped in with a quick happy birthday as the clock rolled over to midnight.

Dream’s face, though blurry from the dark lighting, was still clear enough for Sapnap to get a good look at him. The last time he had seen him on camera must have been years ago, and Dream had changed immensely since then. His body had filled out some, from what he could tell, broader than before, and he now held himself with a sort of modest confidence. 

It could really be love: churning, heavy, pooling into his gut.

He was handsome, in a way that still retained that characteristic boyishness Sapnap had grown familiar with from when they were kids. Handsome in the way his smile stayed in his thoughts even hours after he’d hung up.

They were friends⁠⁠—best friends, even. Nothing more than that. 

It shouldn’t have been anything more than that, and yet Sapnap had been grappling with the idea for a while now, turning the words over and over in his mouth as he lay under the covers, remembering the way Dream curled up into himself a little when he’d laughed, tucking his face in the crook of his elbow as he wheezed out some stupid joke he’d seen earlier that day. 

Love isn’t what he wants. It shouldn’t be love. And anyways, Dream had been mentioning a girl he'd met recently, seemed to have really hit it off with her.

It would pass. Sapnap would make sure of it.

⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠— 

Two weeks before high school graduation he gets asked out.

“I know it’s kind of late,” she said, so quietly that he almost didn’t hear. “But you should go out. With me.”

He did his best to remember who she is, but all he could think of was one of his woodshop classes, where she camouflaged into the crowd in the back. She had brown hair. Green eyes. Not memorable in many ways, but the relaxed smile she had given him on occasion when they walked in together had left Sapnap with all sorts of strange, familiar feelings. 

She left him her number this time instead.

He pulled open her contact, and stared at the text box.

They had joked about it before, sometimes. 

When you come down to my place, where should I take you out?, innocently thrown into the recording. Like as a date?

It was too flippant to be real but it had always made Dream happy, even if he cut it out from the final video, and so Sapnap knew it was never a big deal, really. Besides, it was fun to joke around with him, and everytime he laughed there was a tide of affection that rose through Sapnap⁠— slow, crashing, like the way a wave rolled into shore. The idea of love⁠—forsaken as that was⁠—always gave him a little rush of hope, almost pathetic in a way, that made him wish he’d get an answer out of him one of these days.

What kind of flowers should I get you? Roses? They’re your favorite, aren’t they?

He thought about the facetimes at midnight, where the room was so dim that his hair had looked brown, and the green of his eyes; the way he grinned so bright whenever he talked about his girlfriend.

It wasn’t his to take.

So, he texted. When would you be free?

He could work this out.

⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠— 

“I don’t think this is working out.”

She was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, the car parked outside of her house, quiet as radio played some generic pop song that melted into the next.

“I know.”

She wasn’t looking at him, which made it almost worse than it already was. She wouldn’t say a word, she was staring out the window. Her gaze was almost unfocused, as if she were watching something very far in the distance. The reflection glared back at him in the dark of the evening. 

And maybe it was cruel but he couldn't help but feel indifferent at it all. There was pain, sure— the same kind of pain that came with letting anyone go, but it was lighter. Different. It was mutable in a way, easy to ignore, and he found himself thinking about what to make for dinner instead, or if he had any homework due before his lecture tomorrow.

The car door opened. Closed. She never even said a goodbye. 

He couldn’t blame her for that.

The music in the background kept going until the words and the melody faded into a dull static, and when he got home he crept up to his room.

He debated checking Teamspeak to see if anyone was online. There was no way he was going to be able to find Dream that night: he’d messaged him about big plans and she’s gonna love this gift I got her as they’d chatted aimlessly in his discord earlier. 

I’m thinking maybe a fancy restaurant but— how fancy is too fancy, do you think? he’d asked. A dinner date, then. Sapnap couldn't help but close his eyes, and thought about Dream dressed all slick, and as the heat gradually rose to his face he knew he'd never be satisfied. 

But Dream had a girlfriend who he loved very much; he stood no chance, regardless.

He glanced at the monitor. Maybe if he stayed up long enough he’d catch George and convince him to do a quick PVP match, if he woke up early. Sapnap’s first class tomorrow wasn’t until sometime midafternoon, anyways, so he could afford to stay up late.

His phone remained silent from its perch on his desk. She didn’t call or text him back, and he never did either.

⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠— 

>i don’t think this is working out.

Dream’s message startled him awake as the small notification went off in his headphones.

There were papers scattered all over his desk, layered over the top of his keyboard and everything around it. It was normally never that bad, but now, knee-deep in midterms, organization has taken its role as the least important thing to worry about. Sapnap shoved them aside into some poor, forlorn pile to his right as he grabbed his mouse and opened up Discord to type out a reply.

>what??

He rubbed a hand over his eyes, glancing at the clock in the corner of his screen. One in the morning, which meant he had dozed off by accident over an hour ago. Another sound went off as Dream finally sent something back.

>how did you get over your breakup?

Breakup.

Breakup?

When had they broken up? Dream had seemed fine just yesterday, from what he could remember. He’d never come to him about any fights before, seemed happy. He sat there and looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember the last year, but all he could think of was the sound of Dream’s voice.

>just stay strong man

>it only hurts for a week 

>or two or three

Sapnap watched the three dots fall as Dream stopped typing, and waited for a bit for a response. Minutes passed, and then an hour, and Sapnap went back to looking at his notes. He knew Dream better than almost anyone else, and he knew when he needed his space.

⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠— 

“Don’t you think George is kinda cute?” Dream had asked one day, while they were playing on Hypixel together.

Sapnap's first thought is what?, and he sat there, dumbfounded, until he realized that it deserved to be said out loud.

“What?”

“You know what I mean! Kind of like a cat!”

Sapnap, in fact, did not know what that meant. He hadn’t even really known George all that well up until about a year or so ago, when Dream had pulled them in a Teamspeak channel together one day while brainstorming ideas for his new video.

Objectively, George was no cuter than a pigeon or something he’d pass on the street. He was fine, really, but Sapnap couldn’t see anything overly remarkable about him. Sapnap loved to bicker with him, and he was funny⁠—a little crazy, even⁠—but Dream thought he was hilarious even doing nothing at all. Dream waxed terrible poetry about his smile, praised the way he programmed, and always talked about the way his eyes had looked the one time he did a face reveal for a video.

Sapnap wasn’t really sure what to do with this information.

Dream likes him, he thought to himself later that night after George had joined the channel. Dream tried goading him into saying I love you while he was tossing him a stack of roses in-game, and George’s face flushed a funny shade of red as he finally said the words to get Dream to stop.

Sapnap looked at the two and buried his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a very long time.

⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠— 

Eventually he had hit a breaking point. 

They were streaming together, that’s how it went. They were streaming together, and Dream was riding off on another horse he’d picked up somewhere out in the near distance of their survival world. He was on his way to gather some more wood while he chatted with the viewers on Twitch in a relaxed lull.

Sapnap had been quiet for the most part, contented in his own small journey traversing the stripmine. He hummed along to some song from the chill beats playlist he’d pulled up half an hour ago as he tossed out andesite from his inventory. They had put George in charge of fixing a ruined flat of land near the tree farm, where it had only recently been wrecked by some creepers and poor timing. The battered holes had remained in the ground for about a week, until everyone was tired of being lazy and finally decided to do something about it. George sat there, where he complained for what must have been the last ten minutes about the lack of cobble to make stone bricks with and, well, Sapnap had figured he might as well get some more iron for all of them while he was at it.

“⁠—thank you for the dono,” Dream’s voice cut in, the rhythmic lilt of it so jarring that it snapped Sapnap out of his near daze as he dug along the grid patterns cut through stone. “Hi there. I love watching all of your videos! Can you tell George that you love him? And can you get him to say ‘I love you Dream?’ too?” 

Sapnap looked over to the second monitor on his left, the donation box fading from the screen by the time he glanced at it. Dream’s stream silently continued to play in the background. He was towering up to reach the farthest edge of a large oak tree, inching towards the last log buried somewhere within the leaf blocks. The chat picked up as some fans started to bicker amongst themselves. Dream didn’t mind them—never did, really—and plowed on through with his reply. 

“Haha, thank you. I’m glad you love watching them,” he said, not even missing a beat. “I tell George I love him all the time! He’s the one who never says it back. Geooorge, I love you.”

Suddenly how all of his collected material was sorted became the most interesting thing in the world to him. Sapnap took his time as he meticulously lined up the stacks for what felt like an hour. A second passed. George gave some kind of stilted laugh, the kind that he lets out when he feels too embarrassed to properly respond. Sapnap’s only thought was about the singsong way Dream called out that name in. 

“See guys? It’s not my fault, I have no problem saying it! C’mon George, do it so they don’t waste their money. Just say I love you Dream.”

“I’m not saying that,” George butted in, his mic crackling a bit. His video was off but even then Sapnap could tell from how he said it that he was practically squirming in his seat. Coward. It wasn’t as if he’d never said it before, but he was always so camera shy⁠, especially with his crush— 

Dream was still play-pleading for an answer, and so Sapnap decided to indulge him. 

“Aww, Dream, you know I love you. You’ll always have my love, even if Georgie hates you.”

That got a reaction. Dream burst out in laughter as he breathily wheezed out a silly, off-tune heart been broke so many times while George started sputtering, trying to deny it. 

Those two idiots. Sapnap’s been around them enough to know what flirting looks like. He thought about Dream, with his late night calls, where he bounced ideas off of Sapnap on what would get the best reaction from him in his newest video, and the way he had been doing it on and off for the past few months, now; George on his tiptoes until he ultimately stumbled into Sapnap’s DMs on Teamspeak, flustered over something Dream told him. 

Coward, Sapnap thought, as he watched the two of them do their dance. He and George both were, he’d give him that.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

It was as much of a confession as he was going to give.

[dalgikiss]

Catch-22 // h. iwaizumi

index

part 15

You don’t show up for class the next day or the day after that and the day after that. Iwaizumi wonders if you’re avoiding him, too scared to ask his friends where you might have gone. 

He wonders if you told them what happened but judging by their normal behavior and ordinary teases, it’s safe to say that you had kept your mouth quiet. 

Not even the teachers seem to question your disappearance, teaching the classes the same way they always have- quick and concise. As though it wants to test how long Iwaizumi can be patient, the universe tells your teacher to switch around the seats one more time, for the sake of feng shui, she tells you all and puts you near the windows on the other side of the classroom while Iwaizumi sits all the way in the back, closest to the back door.

The space that separates the two of you is only a few meters but it feels like it’s much more. 

x.

You know you look worse for wear, puffy eyes and red nose. 

You’re pretty sure with every moment you sit in this stuffy lecture hall, more and more people give you pitiful or strange looks. You rub your head, mussing up your hair even more so and slump far down in your seat. 

Stupid, dumb, idiot Iwaizumi 

If you fucked up your entrance exam results, you would blame it all on him 

The professor at the front of the room clears her throat, effectively silencing the room and you rearrange the writing utensils on your desk in front of you. 

“You have three hours once this exam starts. If you have finished before time is up, please come up to the front of the room with your exam paper and test ID”

The exam paper sits in front of your desk, the words HITOTSUBASHI UNIVERSITY written on the cover page, loud and bold. You swallow nervously at the sight. 

The professor glances at the clock, setting the timer so it’s been projected onto the screen in front of you. With one final look to check everything was working, she clapped her hands twice. 

“You may now begin”

x.

“Why are you following me home?” 

Iwaizumi’s eyebrow twitches when Oikawa walks next to him, swinging his arms back and forth without a care in the world as though he didn’t just walk past his block.

“I’m not following you home, Iwa-chan” The setter looks up at the sky, making motions as though he was setting a ball, “I’m going to cutie-chan’s house to water her plants and bring in their mail for the next few days”

They near your block, Iwaizumi blinking in surprise. “Where’d she go?”

“She didn’t tell you?” 

“If I have to ask, obviously not dumbass” Iwaizumi snaps, hiding his embarrassment behind rough words and Oikawa sticks his tongue out in response, dodging when Iwaizumi tries to kick him.

“Well, she always did like me more, it only makes sense that she’d tell me and not you” 

Iwaizumi raises his fist threateningly but Oikawa doesn’t bother to pretend to hide from it. “She’s taking her entrance exam for Hitotsubashi University. Her family’s in Tokyo for her brother’s judo tournament so she’s going to spend a few days with them before coming back”

Oikawa bends close to Iwaizumi’s face with a knowing grin, “Why? You miss her or something?” and Iwaizumi pushes his face away from him pretending to be annoyed but Oikawa already knows the answer and lets himself be flung far away. 

“Wanna come with? It’ll be faster if we both were there” 

When Iwaizumi hesitates, Oikawa glances at him before putting his arms around the back of his head. “She won’t mind, if that’s what you’re wondering”  

He pretends to be annoyed at his old friend, face setting into a scowl and he takes his bag to whack Oikawa in the back with it. He’ll never say it out loud, but Oikawa always did know him like the back of his hand. 

The rest of the walk is silent, Iwaizumi gripping the straps of his bag in hopes of calming himself down. You wouldn’t be there, he tells himself, you’re not there and he’s only going to make sure Oikawa doesn’t magically end up burning down your house somehow or creating a hole in your bedroom wall.

However the silence is short lived. 

“Why didn’t she tell you?” Oikawa wonders aloud, watching Iwaizumi tighten his grip from the corner of his eye, “Is it because you’re ugly? That’s never stopped her before though”

Iwaizumi wonders if Oikawa practices how to annoy people in his spare time. 

“We got into an argument a few days ago, guess that’s why she never told me”

“Ah, so it’s your fault as usual”

They stop in front of your front door and Iwaizumi resists the urge to take the skateboard your brother has left out on the porch and smack it into Oikawa’s face. Oikawa peers into your mailbox, a large hand reaching inside to grab a bundle of mail while Iwaizumi glanced around before crouching over to reach inside the bucket of beer bottle caps, sifting it around to find your spare key. 

“Man, you come here too often to know where the spare key is” Oikawa teases as Iwaizumi sticks the key into lock

“Shut up, don’t act like you didn’t know where it was”

Your house looks just the same as he remembers, albeit a bit messier since you had been rushing to pack for your miniature trip, evidence of it in forms of various jackets strewn around in random places and the mismatched pairs of shoes around the entrance. 

Oikawa set down the mail on your kitchen table, shaking his head when he saw the dishes in the sink, reprimanding you for not cleaning up and instructing Iwaizumi to begin watering the plants while he cleaned up your mess. 

“Why’d you two fight?” Oikawa asks out of the blue, startling Iwaizumi

Iwaizumi let out a wry laugh “and here i was thinking about how nice it was in our relationship that we’ve reached a point where we didn’t have to talk all the time”

“Do you wanna hear my theory about how aliens are actually observing us through pigeons? If you think about it, you never see the same pigeon twice and what does a baby pigeon look like? You don’t know because you’ve never seen one, so my theory is-”

“Alright alright, I get it, shut the fuck up”

Oikawa beams proudly, hand quivering slightly under the weight of the heavy cup he was using to water the plants

“I said some stuff to her about Ryuoko” He admits defeatedly, watching the dirt of the aloe plant take in water “Might have told her she was attention needy”

“You did what? I can’t believe you said that to our precious baby- oh man, she’s definitely really upset”

Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa, long and hard, who stared right back. 

“She definitely told you, why are you playing dumb?”

Oikawa doesn’t bother to fight back against the accusation, only turning back to water the Chinese Evergreen plant that rested by the windowsill. “She didn’t tell me a thing” He says as the last drops of water were used, “She was crying”

Oikawa headed back to the kitchen to put away the cup he had been using, a hand taking the one that Iwaizumi grasped. 

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why she’s upset, even when she doesn’t tell us”

x.

You feel Iwaizumi’s stare before you can see him, uncomfortably shifting in your seat as you try to copy what is in your textbook.

Moving your seat away from him was a blessing in your favor, or so you thought. You had been relieved when you first heard about your new seating arrangement, no longer needing to feel on edge when Ryuoko walked in and being able to avoid talking to Iwaizumi after your fight was just a perk. 

At least, it was until you couldn’t shake away this nagging feeling that Iwaizumi was constantly staring you down.

“He’s staring at you again” 

You looked at your new seatmate, Kumatsuka Kirin who pointed towards the back of the room with her pen. 

“I think it’s been the third time since this period started” She whispered, giving you a little grin, “I think he might liiiiiiikeee you” She drags the word out, rhythmically tapping her nose with her pen to a beat only she can hear. 

You crinkle your nose, throwing your eraser at her. “He has a girlfriend”

“Just because there’s a goalie doesn’t mean you can’t score!” 

She laughs at your expression, “I’m kidding, i’m kidding! Homewrecking is never the answer” 

She winks at you, answering the question the teacher throws at her with ease and you marvel at her casual attitude.

“By the way,” She writes something in her notebook before holding it up so you could view it. “I’ve been keeping score of how many times he’s looked at you” 

There’s a total of four tally marks from this period and a few more from the periods before. 

“This is gonna be fun” She grins and you shake your head because no this is not fun

x.

You’ve been getting better at this avoiding-Iwaizumi game, taking it one step further to even avoid the rest of the third years as well, an unintended side effect that Iwaizumi now bears the consequences of every time Oikawa decides to open his mouth and complain about your missing presence with passive aggressive words and pointed looks.

“Maaaaaaaaaaan, things have been so quiet lately” Oikawa cries out, “I wonder why that is” 

Iwaizumi pretends to not see the look that’s thrown his way, cursing under his breath when even Hanamaki and Matsukawa give him a certain look

Really guys?

“It sure feels like someone is missing, doesn’t it?” 

Another pointed look at iwaizumi’s direction

He furrows his eyebrows at his friends, turning the corner sharply after their third jab at him. “Alright! I’ll apologize tomorrow. It’s just a bit hard when she keeps avoiding me” 

His friends don’t seem the least sympathetic, Matsukawa only making use of the extra few inches he has on Iwaizumi to tower over him

“You have to atone for your sins”

‘What are you, some creepy priest? Stay away from me”

x.

[Iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

are you home?

[Iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

 i know you’re reading my messages

[Iwaizumi] [Hajime]:        

cmon please answer

When your phone rings again, your brother looks up sharply from the kotatsu on the floor and angrily throws his eraser at you. 

“If your phone goes off one more time, I’m throwing it out the window and then you’re going out after it” he threatens and you roll your eyes, sticking your tongue out at him. When he picks up your phone and makes a motion to chuck it out the window, you panic, tackling him into the ground. 

“Okay, okay! Give me- Ow! Stop digging your knee into me!”

“Move, you’re too close to my- I SAID MOVE”

You snatch your phone out of his hand, hobbling away on one foot as he curled into a ball on the floor. “I’d say sorry but you deserved it” 

Your phone lights up again with another message and you chew your lip before responding.

[Me]:

not home rn, why 

[iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

oh nvm then, im outside ur door

The bubble tea he had been holding as a peace offering is starting to sweat in his hand, water droplets dampening the welcome mat he’s standing on. Hanamaki was right, he should’ve texted you before he walked all the way over. 

[Surname] [Name]:

what why 

[Me]:

wanted to talk to you

[Surname] [Name]:

lol i dont think we need to talk about anything. u said what u needed to say & i got the message loud and clear

He couldn’t even argue with her, sighing deeply through his nose. The rustling of a curtain caught his eye, blinking twice. Was someone else home?

[Iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

is someone else home?

Shit, you cursed underneath your breath, flattening yourself against the wall when he had turned his head towards you. He definitely saw the curtains moving back into place. 

Your brother, who had finally sat up, watched you curiously, homework forgotten on the table. “You look stupid, who’s outside?”

“Haji”

“You don’t wanna let him in?” 

“No”

He shrugs, none of his business why. “Well I have practice. What’s your plan of action from here?”

You give your brother an inquisitive look before narrowing your eyes. “You’re not gonna try and do anything?”

“Do my chores for the week and I’ll do anything you ask me to for today”

You decide you’ll take him on his offer, fully knowing it was because he was too lazy to vacuum and mop the floor.

“Tell him I’m not home when you go out”

He doesn’t seem bothered, picking up his duffel bag and slinging it onto his shoulder, giving you a thumbs up sign and then he’s left and you hear the jangling of his keys and then his voice floating in through your open window. 

“Hey Iwaizumi”

Your brother closes the door behind him and Iwaizumi stares up blanky. He always forgot how big your brother was, tall and buff after years of working out accompanied with judo training. 

“Iwaizumi?” Your brother waves a calloused hand in front of his face when he doesn’t respond, too caught up in his own world, “You there?”

“What? Yeah, sorry” Iwaizumi thrusts your bubble tea into your brother’s hands, who barely catches it in time before it hits the ground. “This is for your sister” 

There’s an unreadable look in your brother’s eyes as he regards Iwaizumi, brown eyes studying him as though he’s become an opponent on the mat and if you were there, you’d tease him for thinking so hard, the vein in his forehead was beginning to pop out. 

The gears in his head are turning ridiculously fast, putting two and two together- the way you were avoiding Iwaizumi, the look of guilt on Iwaizumi’s face, you two definitely had a fight. But, your brother, even though he annoys you to the very core of Earth and back is loyal to his family and his promises and doesn’t bring it up. 

Before Iwaizumi can voice his discomfort over being scrutinized, your brother’s eyes relax and he nods, turning around to put the drink on top of the shoe closet of your entrance way. 

“You know she isn’t home right?” Your brother asks, beginning to walk towards the train station and Iwaizumi follows him quietly. “Is everything okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, everything’s fine” Iwaizumi bites on the inside of his cheek to distract himself to the growing feeling of guilt that’s settled itself nicely in the crevices of his body. The words you said to him sting like miniature paper cuts all over his body, each one amplified when he looks into your brother’s eyes, it reminded him too much of yours. 

“You sure? You seem a little on edge” 

“Nothing. We had a disagreement over something and we’ve both been busy. Haven’t seen her in a while”

The pieces click into place and your brother nods understandingly. “It’ll work out. She’s always been like that, she just needs to figure things out on her own and then come back to you” 

Yeah, Iwaizumi knows

“You should still try to apologize though, we know how stubborn she is”

He knows that too

“Try calling her or texting her. She might cry if she sees you in person”

They stop at the end of the street, your brother waving his hand before they separate. 

“Good luck Iwaizumi”

x.

[Iwaizumi Hajime]:

 I’m sorry

[iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

You probably don’t want to hear or see me rn

[iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

It’s fine tho, i just want to apologize about what I said the other day

[iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

I really don’t have an excuse for what I said and I hope you forgive me :/ 

You stare at your vibrating phone, watching the messages come in, one after another. The bubble tea he had bought you sat on the table, straw popped in and waiting to be drank. You stared longingly at the drink, battling yourself over wanting to drink it because yes, it is Jasmine milk tea with bubbles and grass jelly but no, he bought it and I’m angry at him

The petty side of you was definitely fighting a losing battle. Placing your mouth over the straw, the drink was just too good to be ignored, effectively helping you drown out the vehement shouts of anger inside your head for giving in so easily. 

Of course you were angry at Iwaizumi, fuck him for saying such horrible things to you. You let the straw pop out of your mouth with a sigh, shoulders sagging at the reminder that of all the people you knew, it was Iwaizumi that had said those things to you. 

It wasn’t your fault, you reminded yourself, not your fault

Why did you feel the need to apologize then?

Your phone rings with another message from Iwaizumi, your fingers gripping the side of your phone as you contemplated whether or not to text him back. 

[iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

talk to me soon, miss you

[Iwaizumi] [Hajime]:

I really am sorry. Please forgive me when you’re ready

You were never really good at staying angry at him

[Me]:

yeah i know. focus on getting to nationals and we can talk after

[toasty-coconut]

Me, My Wife, and Alcor

Summary: Ah, yes. Me, my wife, and her £500, four-foot tall Alcor plush. Rated: G Words: 2460 Characters: Akko Kagari, Diana Cavendish Note: I saw this picture that @blee-bleep drew and could not help myself. I had to write something.

Read on AO3.

Purchasing birthday gifts for Akko Kagari was a relatively simple task. She had always been vocal about what she wanted—the 15th anniversary Shiny Chariot World Tour bluray set, a particular polishing kit for her broom, or a trip to the new amusement park outside of Blytonbury. This year it happened to be a certain £500, four-foot tall plush of Shiny Chariot’s crow familiar, Alcor.

Diana’s original response to the request had been a firm, ‘no, absolutely not’. However, when Akko got that look in her eyes and that pout on her face akin to that of a sad dog, Diana would find herself going weak in the knees.

To say the least, her wife ended up having a very happy birthday.

While the look on Akko’s face upon seeing the large, stuffed bird sporting a big red bow was completely worth every pound spent to Diana, after a mere three days, the novelty of it was beginning to wear off. Alcor was taking up more space in their bed than Diana was, making for rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. He was also getting more…  physical  affection as well.

Not that Diana was jealous.

It would be silly to be jealous of a doll, of all things.

No, the most important matter at hand was the amount of  sleep she was losing because of this. Their bed, as large as it was, was not meant to accommodate two fully grown women and one oversized bird plush. Her back and shoulders were sore from contorting her body to make room for Alcor. She was freezing at night since Akko  insisted  he ‘needed blankets, too’. She was awoken at 3 AM when his ungodly amount of weight was shifted right onto her face.

By the Nine, she was exhausted.

Perhaps that was why she woke up later than usual that morning. Typically, she was awake by no later than 6 AM, but today she had awoken at the completely unreasonable time of 8:30 AM. Upon sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she realized that, much to her surprise, there was no Akko (or Alcor) in sight. Seeing Akko out of bed any time before 10 was unusual.

Shaking the thought away, Diana pulled herself off of the mattress, slipping on a bathrobe as she made her way downstairs. The aroma of grilled meat and eggs hung heavily in the air on the first floor. Normally, Diana would have made her way directly into the dining room, but the sound of Akko’s humming voice in the kitchen caught her attention, and she turned on her heel to enter the kitchen doorway.

Under normal circumstances, she would have expected to find members of the Cavendish family staff moving about the kitchen. Instead, Akko stood in their place, her long hair still messy with bedhead, keeping a careful eye on some eggs that were cooking on the frying pan in her hand. Diana had to admit that it was an odd sight, but somewhat endearing in its own domestic sort of way.

Akko perked up as Diana entered the room, setting the pan down on the stove. “Oh! Morning, Diana!”

“Good morning, Akko,” Diana greeted, raising a brow. “You’re up early.”

Akko giggled, stepping forward and slinking her arms around Diana’s neck. “And  you’re  up late,” she noted, giving her wife a chaste peck on the lips.

“Restless night,” Diana briefly explained, causing Akko to knit her brows in concern. Deciding it would be better to change the topic than address the massive bird in their bed, her attention focused on the stove. “What are you doing in here? Where are Anna and Carter?”

“Kicked ‘em out!” Akko flashed her a toothy grin. “I thought it’d be nice to try making breakfast myself for a change!” She removed her arms from Diana’s neck, returning to her unattended frying pan. “There’s hot water on the stove if you want some tea.”

“That would be lovely.”

As Diana removed the hissing tea kettle from the stove, she wondered how much of a fight Anna must have put up to keep Akko out of her kitchen. But what she wondered about even  more  was how Akko convinced her to actually leave. Shaking the thought away, she poured the hot water into the tea cup sitting in wait for her on the counter.

That was when she noticed it.

No Alcor in sight.

She glanced around the kitchen, and sure enough, the massive stuffed animal was nowhere to be seen. Diana almost sighed in relief. She inwardly hoped that Akko had wisened up and finally decided to keep him where he belonged—in a separate room with the rest of her Shiny Chariot collectables. A smile graced her lips as she lowered a tea bag into her steaming cup.

“Here you go!” Akko announced, thrusting a plate full of food into Diana’s hands.

Diana nearly dropped her teacup from the sudden jerking motion, but managed to compose herself as she accepted the plate. “Thank you,” she managed, nodding to the dining room. “Shall we?”

Akko nodded eagerly, bounding ahead of her wife into the other room, food in hand. Diana followed close behind. It had been a while since she and Akko had breakfast alone. Usually they were accompanied by Aunt Daryl, Merrill, Marill, or the wait staff when they ate. She supposed it would be nice to spend some quality time over breakfast. Perhaps they could—

...Alcor was sitting in her spot.

Akko had happily taken her place at the dining room table and began munching away at the eggs and bacon on her plate. Diana, however, stood frozen. Her eyes were locked on the four foot tall toy sitting at the head of the table—the spot where she usually sat.

Diana cleared her throat. “...Akko?”

Akko looked up, her mouth full of bacon. “Hm?”

“Your… stuffed animal,” Diana gestured to the seat—her  seat. “Would you mind moving it so I may sit down?”

“Wha? No way!” Akko gaped, bacon falling from her mouth onto her plate. “He was there first while you were busy being a sleepyhead! You can sit next to him instead.” She turned her nose up. “And he has a  name , by the way.”

This was really happening. Diana Cavendish was really being kicked out of her spot at the head of the table, by her own wife, no less, in favor of a toy. She let out a long, restrained breath through her nostrils.

It was too early for this.

“...Fine.”

Plate and teacup in hand, Diana made her way around the table, choosing the spot across from Akko. She sat down, Alcor’s heavy presence looming over her, but she ignored it. Picking up her fork and knife, she began to cut into the eggs Akko had prepared.

But that was when she felt a different kind of heavy presence looming over her.

Diana’s eyes met Akko’s. Akko was staring heavily at her from across the table, drumming her fingers against its surface impatiently.

“...What?”

Akko scoffed. “For a Cavendish, I’m surprised you have such bad manners,” she snipped, causing Diana to reel back. “Aren’t you gonna say good morning?”

“I…” Diana’s face wrinkled in confusion, “already have.”

Akko puffed her cheeks. “Not to me!”

Diana twisted her lip, puzzled. She watched as Akko’s eyes flicked between Diana and the seat at the head of the table. She deadpanned.

“Surely you jest.”

“Surely I don’t.”

Diana put her fork down, rubbing her face with both hands. “Akko, dear,” she sighed, exasperated, “he’s not real.”

“He can hear you!” Akko hissed, covering the sides of Alcor’s head with both hands, as if to block his non-existent ears. His eyes bulged slightly at the pressure. “Don’t be mean!”

“Akko, please, it… it’s not even 9 AM yet.”

Akko narrowed her gaze, refusing to move her hands from Alcor’s head. Diana knew that look all too well. It was the look she wore when she absolutely was not about to back down from something. Diana couldn’t help but wonder if she gave Anna and Carter the same look earlier that morning.

It really  was  too early for this.

Diana closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “...Good morning,” she droned. When she opened an eye, she saw Akko still staring at her expectantly. Through gritted teeth, Diana added, “ Alcor .”

Satisfied, Akko’s face lit up. “Better!” she sang, retrieving her fork from off of her plate. “Now, eat up!”

The pair spent the following minutes in relative silence, only broken by the occasional sound of utensils scraping against plates. Alcor hadn’t moved an inch, simply watching Diana from his place at the head of the table with those beady eyes. It was like he was mocking her. Diana wanted nothing more than to pick up the oversized pigeon and move it away from the dining room, but the fit she was sure Akko would throw if she did kept her restrained.

“Aren’t you gonna ask Alcor how he slept last night?” Akko asked, a teasing ring to her voice.

Diana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I would imagine he slept better than I did,” she huffed, stabbing her fork into a piece of egg a little more aggressively than she intended. “He seemed rather comfortable in your arms.”

“Nah.  I  was the one who was comfy,” Akko laughed, waving her off. “He’s just so huggable.” She turned to her plush, pinching his cheek and cooing, “Aren’t you, Alcor?”

Alcor gave no response.

“Mm,” Diana hummed bitterly, taking a sip of her tea. “Well, I’m happy for you both, then.”

Akko raised a brow, looking between Diana and Alcor. Then, as if a lightbulb turned on in her head, she blinked. A knowing smirk spread across her face. “Oh, I get it,” she snickered, placing her elbows on the table.

“Get what?”

“You’re jealous of Alcor,” Akko declared, the smug grin on her face widening.

Diana nearly spat out her tea at the accusation. Clearing her throat, she lowered the cup. She met Akko’s gaze with an unamused one of her own. “I said no such thing.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face,” Akko remarked, reaching over to tap Diana lightly on the nose. “You’re jealous that I’ve been spooning with Alcor at night instead of you.”

“I’m not. That would be ridiculous,” Diana dismissed, swatting Akko’s hand away with a light swish. “You are welcome to do as you please. I merely believe that it—” Akko’s eyes narrowed again and Diana hesitantly corrected herself, “—  Alcor —takes up more space in our bed than necessary.” She picked up her teacup, huffing, “It can make sleeping rather difficult.”

Akko tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I  mean that it is arduous to attempt sleeping when a four-foot tall crow is covering half of the bed,” Diana explained plainly, taking a sip of her tea.

Akko blinked, her brows shooting up in realization. “You’re losing sleep ‘cause of Alcor?”

“I suppose that’s one way of putting it,” Diana murmured against the rim of her cup as she took another sip.

Akko frowned, slumping in her seat. “Oh, gee, I’m sorry, Diana. I didn’t realize,” she apologized, pressing her fingers together. “You could've said something.”

And just like that Diana’s heart sank.

The pout on Akko’s face was enough to make her feel as though she had just kicked a kitten. As guilt washed over her, Diana realized just how soft she had actually become. Several years ago she would not have tolerated having a 50 pound stuffed animal taking up so much space in her sleeping quarters, but now all it took was one look from Akko to make her flip like a switch.

She let out a long breath, rubbing her temples. She was pathetic.

“It’s really nothing to fret over,” Diana assured, reaching across the table to place her hand on top of Akko’s. “If it makes you happy I’m sure I can… adjust.” Akko peeked up at her and Diana offered a small, reassuring smile. “Besides, at £500, I would certainly want you to get the most out of him.”

A smile graced Akko’s lips once more. She glanced at the ceiling, humming in thought. “All right, how about this, then?” she started, nodding to Alcor. “Alcor gets to sit in bed and cuddle with us before we go to sleep. And then when we’re ready to call it a night, I’ll put him in the armchair next to the bed.” She grinned devilishly and held up a finger. “That way, he can sit up and keep us safe at night from any intruders!”

Diana held back a small laugh at the childish suggestion, but before she could make a remark, Akko’s expression softened and she intertwined her fingers with Diana’s. “As much as I love Alcor, I don’t want you going into work unrested, you know? So, let’s try that instead.”

A light laugh escaped Diana’s lips and she tightened her grip on Akko’s hand. “...I can live with that solution.”

The smile on Akko’s face twisted into something more smug. She raised herself from her seat so she could lean across the table, her face inches away from Diana’s. “Be honest with me though, Diana,” she started, raising a brow suggestively at her, “were you at least a  little bit  jealous of me hugging Alcor all night?”

Diana could feel the heat rising from her neck all the way up to her ears. She shifted her gaze away from Akko, choosing to look at Alcor’s stupid, plump figure isntead. “Perhaps I missed your…” she coughed, tensing, “embrace…” Her gaze returned to Akko as she added, “A little bit.”

Akko snickered, teasing, “I can read you like a book.”

With that, she leaned in to press her lips softly against Diana’s. Diana rolled her eyes, but gladly returned the favor, lifting her hand from Akko’s grasp and using it to cup her cheek instead. She had completely forgotten about Alcor’s empty stare watching them from only a few feet away.

The sound of a door opening forced a crack in the moment, alarming both women who rapidly pulled away from each other. Looking to the source of the sound, Diana saw her Aunt Daryl standing in the doorway. Her normally icy eyes looked tired and hollow as they flicked between the pair and the massive white bird sitting at the head of the table.

For a moment, she said nothing—her stare locked on Alcor. Then she let out a resigned sigh, rubbing her temple. “...Anna?” she called into the hallway behind her. “Bring me the good wine. The whole bottle.”

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

End.