#not complaining just making an observation

[waitimcomingtoo]

Built A Fire Just To Keep Me Warm

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader enemies to lovers

Synopsis: you and Peter are in the same friend group but never got along. That doesn’t keep him from making sure you never get cold

Masterlist

“Guys, why is it so damn cold in here?” You groaned and rubbed your arms up and down. The thought of sitting in your lecture class for the next hour with your professor with the dullest voice imaginable somehow made you even colder.

“I told you to layer up.” MJ shrugged. “But you never want to listen during layer talk. You know this guy always cracks the AC.”

“I always listen during layer talk.” Ned mumbled and threw his scarf over his shoulder.

You looked at your professor in the front of the room and then up at the vent above you.

“Why though? It’s the middle of December. My arm hairs should not be standing up.” You said and held your arm up for MJ to see.

“Maybe you should wear a jacket.” Peter interjected, making you all look at him.

“What was that?” You asked him. Ned signaled for him to stop talking but Peter had a point to make.

“I was just saying. You know this professor always has the AC on. But you always come to class in thin shirts and then complain that you’re cold.” Peter said. You sat up in your chair so you could fully face Peter and narrowed your eyes at him.

“So?”

“So,” he mimicked your tone, “You know its going to be cold in here. But you still never wear a jacket. Maybe you should put one on next time so you won’t have this problem.”

“And maybe you should mind your business. I wasn’t even talking to you.” You grumbled and slumped down in your chair. Peter watched you rubbing your arms to keep warm and rolled his eyes a little.

“You were talking to the group.” Peter pointed out. “I’m in the group. So it was my business.”

“No, I was talking to MJ.” You stated as your annoyance for him grew.

“You said “guys, why is it so damn cold in here?”. That implies you were asking all of us.” Peter corrected. Ned and MJ exchanged a look as you glared at Peter.

“Okay, but I didn’t say ‘Peter, I’m really cold. Please give me your professional opinion on how to prevent that’. I was just making an observation.”

“But that’s not really an observation though, is it?” Peter asked. “It’s a declarative statement. We were in Linguistics together. I’m surprised you don’t remember that.”

“Oh my God.” You groaned. “Why do you have to be such a know it all?”

“I don’t know. Why do you insist on wearing the flimsiest shirts to class and then complaining that you’re cold?” Peter retorted.

“There’s about to be an active threat in this classroom.” You mumbled under your breath.

“What do you mean?” Ned asked you.

“I mean I’m about to beat Peter up.” You told him.

“Knock it off you two.” MJ warned. “Can you guys go one day without going at each other?”

“Tell Peter that. He started it.” You reminded her.

“I don’t care. I don’t want any bickering at my party tonight.” She said. “It can’t be like Friendsgiving. Because that was giving enemies instead of friends.”

“If you don’t want any fighting then you’ll have to uninvite Peter.” You told her.

“I can’t. He’s the only one with an ID. We need him for the alcohol.” MJ replied.

“I’m right here.” Peter pointed out

“Unfortunately.” You mumbled.

“Speaking of alcohol, I can’t go with him to get it.” Ned cut in. “My Lola has a sixth sense for this kind of thing. If I even look at a bottle of alcohol, she’ll know about it and strike me dead.”

“Then you’re going to have to go with him. I’ll be busy setting up.” MJ told you.

“What?” You whined. “I don’t want to go with him. Why can’t he go alone?”

“Again, right here.” Peter stated and waved his hand.

“Because of the Buddy System.” MJ answered. “Remember when we sent Ned alone to the bodega to get Sun Chips? He almost got kidnapped.”

“The only reason the man didn’t take me was because he thought my choice of chips was disgusting.” Ned whispered.

“That’s valid.” You shrugged. “I wouldn’t kidnap you either.”

“Can you guys just go together this once? For me? For little mixed drink loving old me?” MJ pleaded and held your hand to her heart.

“Fine.” You sighed and rubbed your hands up and down your arms. Peter watched you doing this and then looked up at the vent above you.

“Don’t act so excited about it.” Peter mumbled to you.

“I’m not.” You scoffed and gave him a look.

“I was being sarcastic.”

“So was I.” You said as Peter got up out of his seat.

“Where are you going?” You asked him.

“To pee. Is that allowed?” He sassed you.

“Go piss girl.” Ned called after Peter as he walked down the steps of the lecture room, earning many stares from other classmates.

“Ned, no.” MJ whispered. “That’s not relevant anymore.”

“Oh shit. Um, mama a hawk tuah diva behind you?” Ned asked to try and fix his mistake.

“Just stop while you’re ahead.” MJ replied with a pat on his knee. She then turned to you with a devious smile.

“Peter totally likes you.” She whispered.

“What?” You laughed. “No he doesn’t. We’re barely even friends. I only tolerate him since he’s friends with Ned. And I mess with Ned heavy.”

Just then, Peter came back from the bathroom and stopped at the professors desk. You watched them curiously but you couldn’t hear what they were saying. When Peter walked away from the desk, your professor went over to the thermostat and turned the AC off. You felt the vent above you stop spewing cold air just as Peter came back to where you were all sitting. He didn’t look at you but his cheeks were pink as he sat down. MJ and Ned hadn’t noticed what happened so you leaned over to him to whisper.

“Why did you do that?” You asked him.

“You said you were cold.” He shrugged, still without looking at you.

“So? Why do you care if I’m cold?”

“I don’t. I was cold too. Not everything’s about you.” He said quickly. You decided to drop it but you found the interaction strange.

Later that day, you and Peter kept a distance between you as you walked towards the nearest corner store. You had your arms folded to keep your hands warm and Peter was fighting the urge to comment on your lack of preparation for the cold.

“Do you have the list?” You asked Peter as you neared the store.

“I do. But it just says “alcohol” so we’re going in blind.” He answered. You couldn’t help but laugh at MJ’s lack of instructions as you rubbed your arms up and down. Peter noticed this and was about to offer his jacket when you reached the store. Instead, he held the door for you and you smiled in surprise.

“Thanks. Let’s just get what we need and get out of here.” You said, feeling awkward now as you walked past him into the store. You were never really alone with him so you weren’t expecting him to be so civil. You split up and went down each isle to collect a few token party items. As you browsed, you kept feeling Peter’s eyes on you but you never looked up to check.

“They don’t have MJ’s favorite vodka here. She’s gonna kill us if we don’t come back with it.” Peter came up to you to tell you.

“Damn. We could try the store two blocks down. They usually have it.”

“All right. Let’s go.” Peter said and nodded towards the door. As you started to walk to the next store, the frigid New York air hit you and sent a chill through your entire body. You shuddered and blew hot air on your hands before holding your arms to keep warm.

“Are you cold?” Peter asked you.

“Of course I’m cold. It’s brick out here.”

“How come you never wear a jacket if you’re always cold?” He asked. He didn’t sound accusatory, just curious.

“Because I thought we were just running to the store by the dorms. I didn’t think I’d need one.” You replied. Peter fought every instinct in his body that told him to stay silent and unzipped his jacket.

“Take mine.” He offered and held it out to you.

“What?” You laughed in surprise. “No way.”

“Come on. Don’t be stubborn. You’re freezing. Just take it.”

“I’m not taking your jacket. I’m fine.” You insisted and continued to shiver.

“Just take the damn jacket.” He sighed and put it over your shoulders. You wanted to be stubborn, but you more so wanted to be warm. You gave him a look and slipped your arms into his jacket. You instantly felt better and smiled a little at your new protection from the cold. Peters jacket hung a little big on you but kept you perfectly warm.

“Thank you.” You said timidly. “But aren’t you cold?”

“Nah.” He waved his hand. “I run hot.”

You had reached the next store by that point and he opened the door for you once again. You flashed him a quick smile and went inside to get the drinks for MJ. You found it quickly and joined him at the cash register.

You hugged Peter’s jacket tightly around you as you walked back to the dorms together. He felt better now that he wasn’t watching you freeze to death and you felt better now that you were safe from the bitter wind. You dropped Peter off at the boys dorm before going back to yours and MJs room. As soon as you walked in, you were hit with a familiar scent that made you suspicious. You looked around the dorm until you found what you were looking for.

“Oh, hey. You’re back.” MJ smiled when she found you.

“What’s this?” You asked and pointed to the mistletoe taped to the ceiling of the kitchen.

“Nothing.” MJ said quickly. “It’s basil.”

“You have basil taped to the ceiling?” You asked skeptically.

“I’m Italian.” She shrugged.

“No you’re not. I’ve eaten pasta you’ve made. It was like chewing a pen cap. There’s no Italian in that blood.”

“You got me. It’s mistletoe.” She admitted. “Arranged beautifully due to my floral arrangement class, may I add. I hung it incase you wanted to kiss any boys tonight.”

“I knew it. You’re still trying to set me up with Peter. It’s never going to work so give up now. Now matter how much basil you hang up.” You said and snatched the mistletoe down.

“You fight it but my lesbian instincts tell me that you guys are meant to be.” MJ said and held her hands up in defense. “And you better hang that back up because that was my only bushel of mistletoe.”

“The same lesbian instincts that made us get on that bus to Long Island? I can never un-go to Long Island, MJ. You did that to us.”

“It was dark. All the buses looked the same.” She defended herself. “But trust. My instincts are right about this one.”

“They’re not.” You stated. “I don’t like Peter like that. I don’t even like him as a friend.”

“Okay. Sure. I believe you. Nice jacket, by the way.” She smirked before walking away. You looked down and remembered you were wearing Peter’s beat up winter jacket. You quickly followed her into the kitchen area to continue the conversation.

“That doesn’t mean anything. I was cold.”

“Yeah. I bet he was too. Especially after he gave you his jacket.” She said smugly.

“He said he runs hot.” You insisted.

“Yeah. Hot for you. Ayo.” She grinned and held up her hand for a high five.

“That’s not getting a high five.” You said flatly. “There better not be any more surprises. Don’t try to intervene tonight, okay? Peter and I would never work.”

“I thought you said you and Peter would never happen. Now you’re saying it just wouldn’t work? Sounds like someone’s having a change of heart.” MJ clicked her tongue as she finished setting up for the party.

You rolled your eyes at her and didn’t respond as you helped her put out snacks. While setting a bowl of chips out on the table, you caught a whiff of Peter’s cologne coming off the jacket. You instinctively smiled at the scent before you caught yourself. You had never thought about it before, but now that MJ put the idea in your head, you couldn’t help but wonder if there was a deeper reason that you and Peter never got along.

An hour later, the party was in full swing. You made your rounds and greeted people as you filled their cups up some more. You would never admit it, but you were a little disappointed to not see Peter in the crowd yet. MJ noticed you searching the room every so often and took a place by your side.

“Looking for Peter?” She asked with a smug expression.

“What? No. Like I care if that doink shows up. I’m looking for Ned. He’s supposed to bring the…. Sun Chips.” You lied to cover up what you were really doing.

“Right, right. Of course. And how do you feel about Sun Chips?” She asked sarcastically.

“I need some air.” You said quickly and walked away from her. To get away from the crowd, you went out to your room and crawled out the window to sit on the roof. You hugged Peter’s jacket tightly around yourself and stared up at the night sky. The sound of the party coming through your open window sounded a million miles away. You drew your knees to your chest and rested your chin on them as the cold wind sent a chill through your body.

“Hey.” You heard behind you, making you turn around. You saw Peter coming through your bedroom window and come join you on the roof. You got a new feeling in your chest as he sat beside you.

“Hey.” You smiled softly at him. He returned the smile before an awkward silence settled between the two of you. You didn’t know how to interact after he was nice to you on your trip to the store.

“Thanks for walking through my bedroom with your dirty converse on.” You said to break the silence.

“Like my shoes were the dirtiest thing in that room. I’m pretty sure I saw a rat eating your homework.” He mumbled. You stared at each other as you both tried to read the situation. You were bickering like usual, but there was a playful sense to it this time.

“That’s just our third roommate, dummy.” You replied, adding to the teasing nature of the conversation.

“Ah, I see.” Peter chuckled before looking down shyly. The awkward silence returned but you found yourself hoping he didn’t leave.

“How come you’re out here? You’re not having fun?” He asked after a beat.

“It got a little overwhelming in there. I needed some alone time.”

“Oh, I could go.” He offered and went to stand up.

“You could stay.” You said and stopped him from getting up by placing your hand over his. You watched Peter turn bright red so you quickly withdrew your hand. It was quiet again and you both looked anywhere but each other.

“How come you’re not in there with Ned and all them? Didn’t you just get here?” You asked to break the silence.

“Oh, yeah. Ned and I just got here. But I walked by your room and I saw the window open. I was going to close it until I saw you out here.” He answered a little too quickly.

“Why were you by my room? The party is in the kitchen area.” You wondered. Peter was flushed again and a smile tugged at your lips.

“Were you looking for me?” You asked in a quiet voice. Before Peter could deny the allegations, a gust of wind hit the two of you. You shivered and rubbed your hands together to stay warm.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked you.

“You know what’s wrong.” You said with a slight roll of your eyes. Instead of pointing out that you were purposefully outside on the chilly roof, Peter took both your hands in his. You watched him curiously as he rubbed his hands up and down yours to generate heat. It occurred to you both at the exact same time that this was the first time you’d ever touched. You locked eyes with him and thought he’d let go, but he instead leaned down to blow some hot air on your hands to warm you up.

“Thanks.” You said softly. “That feels better.”

“You’re welcome.” He said in just as timid of a voice. The awkwardness returned and you turned away from each other to avoid it.

“I’m sorry about before. In class, I mean. It was none of my business. You can wear whatever you want.” Peter said after a minute.

“It’s fine.” You waved your hand. “Maybe you kinda sorta possibly had a point. I knew it would be cold. I should’ve worn a jacket. Besides, we always go at each other like that. Don’t be sorry.”

“You’re right. We do always fight.” He agreed. “Do you ever wonder why?”

“Oh, um. I don’t know.” You shrugged. “I assumed that’s just how we are.”

“Yeah, it is.” He nodded. “But how did it start? Did we just meet one day and decide we hated each other? I was trying to think about it the other day but I couldn’t remember.”

“Well, I remember MJ telling me she made a friend in her floral arrangement class. Which I told her not to take, by the way.”

“I told Ned the same thing.” Peter sighed. “I said it was a waste of time and credits. He didn’t listen. But he did make me a beautiful bouquet for my birthday.”

“MJ failed so she got me a gift card to Staples.” You replied, making Peter laugh.

“Why Staples?”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure she found it on the ground.”

“Did you ever use it?” He asked.

“I did. And guess what I got.”

“Staples?”

“Yep.” You nodded, making him laugh again. You never realized it before, but Peter had the kind of laugh that made you want to say the most random things just to hear it again. His eyes crinkled when he laughed or smiled, another thing you hadn’t noticed before.

“I remember Ned introducing me to MJ, and then MJ introduced me to you. But I don’t remember how our dynamic started and why we fight all the time.”

“Hm.” You hummed. “It’s funny.”

“What is?” He wondered.

“The one time we’re alone together is the one time we’re not fighting.” You pointed out.

“You’re right.” He smiled shyly. “Funny.”

The silence that followed wasn’t awkward this time. You felt like you were talking to a completely different person than who Peter usually was. This version of Peter didn’t get under your skin or make you roll your eyes. This version was sweet and warmed you up from the cold.

“You kept my jacket.” Peter pointed out, making you flush in embarrassment.

“Oh, you can have it back.” You said and went to take it off.

“No, no. It’s okay. I want you to keep it.” He insisted and pulled it back around you. For extra measure, he zipped it up to your chin before patted both your arms. You smiled at the action and tilted your head down so the jacket would cover your chin.

“It looks better on you anyway.” He added without looking at you. You picked your head up and looked at him but he was busy fussing with the her of his shirt.

“Thanks. It’s really warm.” You said in a soft voice.

“Good. You need it. You’re always cold. And never prepared.”

“We can’t all be hot.” You replied. “Run hot, I mean.”

“Did you just call me hot?” Peter asked with a devious smile.

“Shut up.” You groaned. “You know what I meant.”

“I wish I had your problems. My hands are always sweating because I’m always so hot.” Peter said as he looked at his hands.

“Gross.” You grimaced. “Keep that to yourself.”

Peter looked sad as he didn’t realize you were joking. You found yourself feeling bad that you hurt his feelings despite all the times you intentionally tried to hurt them.

“I was just kidding. Let me feel.” You quickly assured him and took his hand. You ran your fingertips along his palm to see what he was talking about while Peter stayed perfectly still. You let out a soft laugh which sent chills up Peter’s spine.

“What do you think?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“It’s like touching a Swedish fish that’s been in a toddlers hand for too long.” You replied, making him laugh as well.

“Thank you. That was a really lovely description.”

“Seriously, how do you walk around with these things? Do girls ever complain when you hold hands?” You wondered as you slipped your hand into his. He instinctively rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand as the comfortable silence returned. You stayed like that for a moment, holding each others hand on the cold rooftop. The only warmth Peter had was from your hand so he wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

“Aha! Holding hands!” MJ suddenly exclaimed from behind you. And was standing in your room and pouting at you through your open window. You turned around and quickly dropped Peter’s hand.

“What? No we’re not.” You scoffed and stood up. Peter felt an overwhelming wave of disappointment wash over him as you left the roof to follow MJ. It hurt him that you were so quick to drop his hand and deny what was happening, and even quicker to leave him.

“Lesbian instincts.” MJ said as she tapped the side of her head.

“Shut up. We weren’t holding hands.” You insisted as you led her back towards the party.

“I may be a little drunk right now but I know what I saw.” She stated. “And you can’t deny something I saw with my own two eyes.”

“What did she see?” Ned asked as he came to your side.

“Nothing.” You said quickly. “She didn’t see anything.”

“Nothing except her and Peter practically having full on intercourse out on the roof.” MJ replied, making Ned gasp.

“Oh my God.” You groaned. “We were not doing that. We were just holding hands.”

“So you admit it!” She clapped her hands at the confession and nearly fell over.

“Girl, how are you so drunk already?” You asked her. “The party only started an hour ago.”

“Not the point.” MJ held up a hand. “Why were you and Peter holding hands? I thought you hated each other?”

“Peter doesn’t hate her.” Ned laughed like it was ridiculous. You were about to question what made him sound so sure when you realized you had left Peter out on the roof. You left MJ and Ned behind and quickly ran back to your room. The window was shut but Peter was nowhere to be found. Guilt building up in your stomach now, you went back out to the party and searched the crowd for him. When you didn’t see him anywhere, you went back to the kitchen to find Ned.

“Did Peter come in here? I can’t find him.” You asked him.

“You just missed him.” Ned answered. “He said he wasn’t feeling well so we wasn’t going to head back to our dorm.”

“He left?” You asked sadly. You looked at your front door before looking at MJ for help. She tapped the side of your head again and you knew what you had to do.

You ran out to the hall but didn’t see Peter anywhere. The hum of the elevator gave you an idea where he might be. You got to the elevator just in time to see the doors closing. Without thinking, you wedged yourself in between them to get them to open back up. They bounced off either side of your body but opened up enough for you to get inside. Peter caught you as you stumbled in and helped you stand up straight.

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” He asked as you held your aching body.

“I think I just went down a cup size.” You wheezed out.

“Why didn’t you just tell me to hold the door?” Peter asked through a laugh.

“There was no time.” You waved your hand. “I had to talk to you. You’re leaving?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m not much for parties.” He lied.

“Neither am I.” You told him as you stared into his eyes. He stared back and you could see a sadness in them that you knew was probably your fault.

“Before you go, I just wanted to apologize for before. I shouldn’t have run out on you like that.”

“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “We did look pretty incriminating.”

“We did.” You agreed. “And MJ was thrilled to see it. She has this dumb idea that we only pretend to hate each other to cover up the fact that we like each other.”

“She thinks that? Wow. That’s quite a theory.” Peter said as a blush painted his face a warm pink.

“Right? I don’t know where she gets it.” You shook your head and slid down the wall of the elevator. Peter decided to see the situation out and sat down beside you. Neither of you had pressed any buttons so the elevator stayed in place.

“Ned has a similar theory, actually.” Peter told you. “He thinks I’m totally in love with you and I don’t know how to express it outside of teasing you or making sure you’re warm.”

The silence that followed Peter’s statement was almost more incriminating than the hand holding. In your head, you replayed every time he had done something to keep you warm. Just the week before, Peter had wordlessly dropped a blanket beside you during a movie night at his dorm. Another time, he insisted you drank the tea he brought to class because he decided he didn’t like it anymore but didn’t want it to go to waste.

“Also quite a theory.” You said to break the silence. “But wait, if you run hot, how come your dorm has been perfectly toasty everytime MJ and I came over this winter?”

“It’s not usually like that.” He admitted. “But I take out the space heater when you and MJ come over because I know you get cold easily.”

“Oh. Well thank you.”

“For the teasing?”

“For keeping me warm.” You corrected. Peter flushed again and looked down at his lap.

“It’s all right. Winter will be over in a month. You won’t need me to keep you warm anymore. Then we’ll go back to being enemies.” He said without looking at you. You could hear a sadness in his voice and moved a little closer to him.

“You’re not my enemy. I just never really liked you.” You admitted.

“Yeah. I had a feeling. But how come?” He asked with genuine curiosity.

“Well, because I got the feeling that you never really like me either.” You shrugged. “Once our friend groups merged, you and I were just kinda there. We never really gelled like Ned and I or you and MJ.”

“Yeah, we didn’t.” He agreed. “The only times we would talk to each other is when we were fighting or something. That’s the only reason I kept teasing you.”

“Because you wanted to talk to me?” You smiled teasingly. Peter didn’t smile back and just stared into your eyes.

“I didn’t know how to talk to you.” He said quietly. “I never wanted us to fight. But if we didn’t, then we would never talk. And I really, really wanted to talk to you.”

The way you had felt about Peter just that morning had completely changed for the better. You were now hanging on his every word and desperate to hear what he had to say next. You turned a little to face him better and tilted your head to the side.

“What did you want to say?” You asked him. Peter’s eyes darted around your face and eventually landed on your lips.

“That I think you’re really cool. And really pretty. And really smart. Even though you never wear a-“

“Don’t say it.” You cut him off by leaning in the rest of the way and kissing him. Peter turned his body so that he could slip a hand in your hair to kiss you back. He took the chill right out of your bones as he kissed you as if he’d been waiting his entire like to do so. You pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt and kissed him until you ran out of breath. He had a dreamy smile on his face when you pulled away. You smiled shyly and sat back down on the elevator floor. Peter started to sniff the air suddenly and looked around.

“Do you smell basil?” He asked. Your smile dropped and you looked up to find the source of the smell. Sure enough, taped to the ceiling of the elevator was a makeshift mistletoe MJ had crafted out of basil and ribbon.

“Freaking lesbian instincts.” You muttered and stood up to snatch the basil down.

Tag list 🏷️ 🧥

@thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling

@whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings

@imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101

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@emmamarshmellow @unbelievableholland

@sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @eridanuswave

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[aestherin]

KEEP MY HEART

goal 40: good luck

NOTE: another christmas gift hehe 💞 happy holidays everyone <3

PS. i love them (scarayn) your honor :((

You felt a little bad while wishing Kazuha his good lucks when you went with him to the stadium.

Half of the reason was because you felt traitorous wishing him good luck when later, he might find you on the opponent's bleachers. Half of it was because you knew your wishes of luck for you brother were half-hearted — because half of you hoped that your lover could win this time.

You let out a big sigh as you two walked towards his team, which caught Kazuha's attention.

"Why are you sighing like that? You're even more nervous than the one who'd actually play!" He joked, attempting to lighten up your mood.

"I'm not nervous!"

"You are."

"Am not!"

"Are."

You rolled your eyes, having long forgotten the conflict you were feeling just seconds prior. "I told you, I —"

"Captain! There you are!" Venti exclaimed as soon as you and your brother got close enough to them. "Oh, [Name], hi! Long time no see!"

You smiled and waved at them. The team reciprocated your gesture, but you noticed a particular dark green-haired man with golden eyes avoid your gaze.

"Xiao!" You called out. "Good luck!"

He stiffened. At the specific mention of his name, he had no choice but to turn to you. Venti tried to stifle a laugh, but his weird facial expression right now is a proof of his failure.

"You're so cruel," Xiao mumbled. Really, he was finally trying to move on from his suppressed feelings, and now you give him his own 'good luck'?

You are so cruel. And the worst part is that you don't even know.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." He managed to flash a small smile. "I said thank you."

"Oh, okay!"

You noticed Venti patting Xiao's back apologetically while still holding back a laugh before you turned away. You started observing your surroundings — Xiao swatting away Venti's hands, your brother occupied by his teammates...

Now was the perfect moment to sneak away.

Making sure you were not seen, you slowly distanced yourself from your own university's varsity team. You put on a white baseball cap, which goes perfectly with your boyfriend's jersey that you've kept perfectly hidden underneath your oversized red jacket.

'Ugh, the lengths I go to!' You complained. 'Why do they belong in different teams?'

If you had known your future boyfriend would be from University of Inazuma's football team, you would have done everything to convince your brother to accept the university's offer after he had passed their entrance examinations.

If he and Kuni were in the same team, would they be friends like your boyfriend is with Heizou and Aether?

Unfortunately, the halls in the stadium were not sufficient to accommodate your musings. Soon enough, you found yourself welcomed by navy blue cheering balloons and bleachers displaying waves of blue with occasional whites — a stark contrast to the abundance of maroon placards and shirts from where you originally came from.

Although being aware that you aren't as popular as your brother, you still feared the possibility of someone recognizing you. You made another effort to lower your cap more as you unzipped your jacket, letting your boyfriend's jersey be visible.

People kept giving you weird glances, perhaps due to your jacket being red despite being in the blue team's wing.

But you couldn't care less.

You wanted to also somehow show support for your brother, even in just small ways.

After faithfully referring to the ticket that Kuni had previously handed you, you soon found the section where you were supposed to be settled in.

A familiar long, braided purple hair demanded your attention right off the bat as you went through the VIP gate. Around her, several men clad in navy blue varsity jackets and a few already in their jerseys were huddled around.

You smiled, admiring how your boyfriend's brows were furrowed. Not in frustration, however. This time, it was in concentration.

As Coach Ei took her time giving her final reminders, you sneakily made your way into your seat, which you noticed was directly right behind a player's seat currently occupied by a very familiar sports bag.

You busied yourself with your phone, first texting your brother and then his friends one final 'good luck'. Your seemingly endless loop of scrolling through your feed then came to a stop as you heard some shuffling.

"Hey."

You looked up, only to see your boyfriend looming over with a grin, one knee kneeling on the seat right in front of you. His right arm resting on the seat's backrest, and the other on his thigh.

"Hey," you breathed.

"My jersey looks the best on you."

"I know," you jokingly replied.

"Don't we all know?" A certain maroon-head butted in. "He's been telling us that nonstop ever since he gave you one of his jerseys!"

"Hi [Name]! Nice to finally meet you," said the sunshine-haired boy. "I'm Aether, Scara's friend. Also a midfielder."

"Hi!"

Kuni's other friend grabbed your hands and shook them aggressively. "Hi [Name]! Nice to finally meet you! I'm Heizou, Scara's friend and a defender. Also the one your brother blocked because he thought I was your boyfriend!"

"What?" Kuni turned to look at you. "Your brother thinks that?"

You laughed. "He does."

A scowl was now plastered onto your lover's face. Heizou, also noticing this, shivered. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Maybe, he should now start preparing for the repetitions his captain would make him do once they finish this game. Maybe, he should take what he said back and tell Scara that it was a lie, and that he was just joking.

"Uhm—"

"They're calling for the players now," Ei announced to the team. When her eyes spotted you, she gave a subtle smile and wave before getting back to work.

Heizou let out a sigh of relief as Aether laughed next to him, the two already heading out to the field.

You placed your attention back to your boyfriend who's still in front of you, still maintaining his position from earlier. His earlier grin was already replaced by a frown, though.

You lowered your cap again.

Scaramouche swore his heart dropped when you cupped his face using both of your hands, gently tugging him closer.

"Why is your face like that, hmm?"

"What? Handsome?" He feigned ignorance.

You smiled. "Well, yes. That's true. But you look annoyed."

"It's nothing."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

You took a quick glance towards his teammates. Seeing as most of them have already left for the field, you knew you had to settle this fast.

"Kuni." You called.

"What?"

You replied with nothing.

Nothing aside from closing the distance between the two of you — eyes closed, skin touching, lips intertwined; deep breaths the only thing audible upon parting.

"You—"

You put your index finger against his lips.

"Good luck!" You grinned.

KEEP MY HEART — scara x reader smau

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[quadrantadvisor]

From @phantom-dc

I love this actually. Danny realizes that he can pull this and decides he can't miss his chance, but immediately after the title passes he starts feeling guilty. Not guilty enough to take it BACK, though. Maybe he runs off at first, but then starts imagining the Observants trying to contact this random guy and how confusing that would be, and comes back to explain things.

Jason HAS in fact been very confused by the glowing green stationary that shows up no matter how well he burns his safe houses and covers his tracks when he moves. Confused, and totally not scared out of his mind. The file boxes full of fantasy paperwork are the weirdest and most threatening prank anyone has ever pulled on him. He'd like to blame Tim, but he already asked Barbie, and she wouldn't let him get away with that. He keeps reading through the stacks, looking for some sort of code, something to make it make sense, but no, it's just, territory disputes between skeletons and yetis, complaint forms from Satan, something about allocating resources to restore the Greek sector. Jason does not get it at all.

And then there's a knock on his door, and it's that weird guy who laughed when Jason kicked the shit out him a couple weeks ago. He's crouched over, picking up another one of the file boxes from Jason's stoop. The guy straightens up and gives him a wry look. "Sorry about all this," he says.

So Danny starts explaining to Jason what happened, and obviously Jason just gets pissed and doesn't believe him at all at first, but Danny is able to convince him with facts and logic and a few strategic displays of the powers that he super didn't use when he threw that fight (Jason is very embarrassed to realize that).

And Danny helps Jason out. He explains what Jason's new responsibilities are, he sorts through the papers with him, he complains about the Observants and all the other officials in the Ghost Zone, and he drops a lot of mindblowing lore completely casually. Just by letting Danny ramble on, Jason learns what ectoplasm is, that it makes up the Infinite Realms, and that it must be part of his own makeup, or else he wouldn't have been able to inherit the throne.

Danny keeps helping out, Jason keeps not ceding the throne to someone else, and before the two of them know it, Jason is the feared and respected leader of the Realms for his ability to take no shit and get shit done, and Danny is his trusted right hand, advisor, and cultural liason. The Fright Knight title just seems natural, at that point. Danny is still doing a lot of the work that he despised before, but at least it's split between the two of them, and Jason is happy to make the tough and unpopular decisions that paralyzed Danny. And Danny is also deeply invested in keeping Jason safe. No reason. Not like he's deeply in love with him after all the time they've spent together or anything.

Ghost King Jason

Danny gets into a fight with The Red Hood. The Red Hood says the words "I challenge you, You M--F--" Danny looks him square in the eyes and says "Challenge Accepted." before promptly throwing the fight.

Now being the Ghost King is Jason's Problem.

[toast-on-dandelioms]

Ehat if reader got captured and turned into a Talon by the court of owls? Lets say they heard a scream for help and went to investigate but it was a trap and the got captured . Lets assume readers spider powers are still used as extra help . Maybe the batfam finds out when the court sends reader to a place that batfam was in. What would be the reactions and what would they do?

Songbird's Eulogy

I'm gonna be honest, I loved this ask and this will become a serie if you guys want to read it!

Dividers made by @thecutestgrotto

W.C: 8k

Tw: blood, description of dead bodies and their wounds, probably bad description of Alzheimer in a character

The air in the Batcave was so thick with tension that it could be cut with a knife, most of the family present except for Alfred, who was upstairs cooking dinner and Cassandra, who was in Hong Kong at the moment.

Tim was at the computer next to Bruce, who was observing Tim working while the younger vigilante was typing away and looking at several screens that played what looked like the same videos all at the same time, trying to find anything different in it even if the video kept showing the same things over and over again while mumbling stuff with Bruce, exchanging theories as to what was happening or if one of the two found anything that the other missed.

Dick and Damian were sparring but both were distracted, as they were both doing the same moves over and over again, their eyes unfocused as their minds were thinking of the case while Jason and Duke were both working on their bikes, exchanging tools and also sharing information of the case as Jason had some information thanks to the Crime Alley kids, even though it did cost him a lot since many of those kids had contradicting stories so knowing which ones were true or not was difficult and time consuming.

Stephanie was the only one who was sipping on some tea Alfred made her a few minutes ago while reading the same file of the case to see if the police missed anything or to see if her reading it for the 20th time would result in her finding something she didn't notice before, her eye twitching as she kept hearing the same ominous whistle from the speakers on the batcomputer, making it even more annoying and creepy.

The yet another ominous whistle is her breaking point. She suddenly slams the cup on the hard wood of the table, as if she wants it to tremble. Luckily the cup didn't break. As everybody realises where the sound is coming from their head snap towards that direction, as if snapping out a trance. This unexpected event pulled Dick out his alert mode, and as Damian's punch hit his side he falls down in pain, loudly complaining about the hit being "too strong" while Damian ignores him to walk up to Tim and Bruce. Jason and Duke also both looked up from their bikes with a concerned look, they were both tuning out the audio from the batcomputer for the twelfth time, and almost jumped at the sharp sound.

Bruce looked at Stephanie without saying anything as the girl glared at him and Tim, who just looked like he was on the bring of a nervous breakdown as he was replaying the videos at the same time to find anything that could be useful for the case, even though he was doing that for at least two days and nothing showed up, even though he sent all those videos through all kinds of analysis software the batcomputer had and even the Justice League had in the Watchtower.

"Can you please stop replaying that damn whistle?! I've been hearing that shit for the past week and I swear to god, if I hear that one more time I will kill you Timothy Jackson Drake and no Lazarus pit will be able to resuscitate you after I am done with you."

And Stephanie did look ready to kill, her eye twitching as she glared at Tim, who just sipped on a cup full of an overly caffeinated drink with eye bags so prominent that the girl wondered for a few seconds how long he'd been awake to study the security feeds from Babs, autopsy records, police reports and any leads the detectives had at the moment and whatever the vigilantes could find.

The girl kept glaring at Tim, ignoring Dick's groans and Damian's voice as he told him to stop being a baby, while Duke and Jason went back to take care of their own bikes while still talking.

In her frustration, she threw all the files that she was reading on the table, ignoring how all the papers and the photos in the files scattered on the table and made a mess.

"How the hell are we supposed to find this supposed killer?! The only thing we have is this fucking whistle" she started, her frustration clear in her face as she hadn't slept in days thanks to the extra hours of patrol and her refusing to go to sleep to help with the case, "and this!".

She stopped her rant to quickly search through all the files and photos for a specific one, stopping once she found two that she deemed good enough and grabbed them before walking up to Tim and Bruce since they were the ones who were the closest, ignoring Dick and Damian who were walking up to them to see what was happening.

The moment she showed them the pictures, everything fell silent. Faint breaths were felt in the air, like oxygen was slowly running out as tension and discomfort slowly grew as everyone stared at the pictures. The photos were horrid, whoever did that was full of rage as both bodies on the photos were scratched, especially on their sides, arms and chest, like the killer was scratching them while the victims were trying to cover themselves with their bodies as other areas of their body, like their chest and stomach was ok with no scratches present. But the most horrible thing that caught everyone's eyes just like the first time they all saw the bodies was that both victims sported the same killing method, with both of them having their necks cut open in the most gruesome way possible as the killer scratched the necks of the victims.

Everyone shuddered, except Stephanie, as they stared at the photos since the girl was showing them to everyone around her to make a point and to show how crazy it was to find any clues just from those wounds.

The older man stared at his kids without saying anything as Damian and Stephanie started arguing once again about who did it, with Stephanie accusing the League for all the murders happening in Gotham while Damian was defending the League as he explained that no good assassin trained under the League, and especially under his grandfather, would kill their targets in such a stupid and sadistic way since they were trained to kill efficiently and quickly while this killer acted like they were playing with their victims and wanted their deaths to be slow.

Bruce just sighed as he recognised how exhausted his kids were from the stress of the case while they kept fighting, with Dick joining Steph's side and Tim joining Damian's, knowing that they wouldn't listen to him if he told them to take a break or to stop fighting, especially since he was always the first one to ignore that suggestion when offered.

He quickly grabbed his phone once he heard it ringing, thinking and hoping it was Gordon or Barbara with any news about the case before looking confused and worried when he saw that it was Alfred calling him. He picked up and could hear a woman's voice in the background talking to someone as Alfred just said "Master Bruce, Miss Amelie has arrived with Boris and she wants to see you, it seems that she's having an episode" before hanging up, most likely to make some tea for the unexpected but not unwelcome guests that arrived.

He sighed before noticing Tim looking at him alongside the others who stopped fighting once they heard what Alfred said on the call, making him sigh once again since he knew he couldn't ignore Amelie to keep working on the case so he just started walking to the elevator to get upstairs faster instead of using the stairs.

He looked a bit surprised when both Jason and Damian also got in the elevator but didn't say anything to the duo, knowing how close the two have gotten to the woman after years of her coming to the Manor looking for him. He thanked Tim patience for managing to convince Alfred on getting a smartphone so he could call and text the rest of the bats without having to get down to the cave every time due to his old age, which proved itself useful as now the older man had now a folder full of recipes he and Jason share to each other, plus all the passive aggressive messages towards everyone or someone specific when he found them not taking care of themselves.

As the trio walked to the room designated for her when she decided to come they could already hear the woman talk to a man who was trying to calm he down, before stopping to look at the door once she heard Bruce knocking and then entering. The woman immediately ran to Bruce in tears, her beautiful hair in the messiest bun that made Bruce wonder what happened as he knew how attentive she was with her hair as a model, something that she now didn't do as much after the accident, and her eyes almost fully red from her tears.

"Bruce! Bruce you have to listen, my baby is out there, I know that [Y/N] is not dead! The hospital keeps telling me that my little star is dead but I know that they're lying! Bruce please, find our little star". She started crying once again, her face on his chest with her hands holding his shirt as she cried about [Y/N] not being dead, that her little star was out there and to not listen to the hospital and the police, begging the man to help her.

Bruce looked at Boris, who just sighed when he locked eyes with him and shook his head, looking exhausted with bags under his eyes that were challenging Tim's, before looking down at Amelie once again. He only now noticed that she was in her pajama, one of her slippers missing, and holding one of [Y/N]'s old plushie to her chest with one hand as she kept her tight hold on his shirt with the other hand, her hand trembling like she believed that he wouldn't believe her if she let go of him. "Amelie, it's ok, we're searching for [Y/N] along with the police, we'll find them soon" he murmured softly as he managed to untie her hair and brush it a bit with his fingers to help her relax, smiling softly as she visibly started to relax when she felt his hands in her hair and massaging her scalp.

"Find our baby, please" she mumbled, her hold on his shirt starting to loosen as he kept massaging her scalp, making Bruce hum and reassured her for a few minutes, knowing that it was helping as she slowly let go of him and just hugged the plushie close to her chest.

Once he knew she was calm enough after all the reassurance, he gently put his hands on her shoulders to lead her to the couch, where Damian and Jason were already sitting and waiting for her and Bruce. On the table in front of the couch were a few albums and after helping her sit down on it he handed one to her, opening it to a random page and pointing to a random photo of [Y/N], who was giving their biggest smile while on the car, their mouth and cheeks covered in ice cream. "Why don't you tell them who [Y/N] is, I'm sure Damian is curious to know about his older sibling," He suggested softly, smiling to her as she immediately started to talk about [Y/N] while leaning on Jason, the plushie now in Damian's arms as the two boys listened intently to the woman even though they probably heard the same story almost every month, but they didn't seem to care especially when the woman would remember new stories every time she came.

Bruce got up when he knew Amelie was fully engrossed in talking about [Y/N] and walked up to Boris, knowing the man was her caretaker and most importantly, he was the only person who knew her best. "Boris what happened? Are you ok?" he asked, mostly wanting to know if she was getting too hard to handle for him alone as he saw a bruise on his cheek and if he needed help, knowing how much he was already doing for the poor woman since the accident.

"I was making her lunch when she went in [Y/N]'s old room and started to call for them but I was too busy to hear her and distract her. She started crying and started to remember that night, I'm sorry Bruce but I can't do this alone anymore." was what the man said out of exhaustion, his eyes filling with tears as he tried to keep it together while in the same room of Amelie, probably not wanting to cause her distress if she saw him crying.

Bruce just nodded and patted the man on the shoulder before walking him to the kitchen, smiling at Alfred when he already had some tea ready for them and few sandwiches on a plate. He sat down on a stool next to Boris and offered him some of the little sandwiches, knowing the man probably skipped dinner to come to the Manor with Amelie at such late hour.

"Boris, we've been friends ever since Amelie came here for the first time after what happened, and you know I wouldn't say this if I didn't believe you could do this alone, but you need to hire another caretaker or at least a house keeper so she can help you with normal activities." He started, knowing the man was stubborn and also felt responsible of taking care of Amelie after the accident. "I mean look at you! Did she hit you or?" He asked, noticing that the bruise was already fading, which meant that it happened some time ago but still made it concerning since Amelie was never violent before.

Boris sighed once again, making Bruce wonder if that was the only thing the man did all day, before explaining "It was my fault, I entered the house late at night after having to run to the store to grab a few things that I needed badly for Amelie and for lunch but she thought I was an intruder, she didn't recognise me," he stopped for a second to take a deep breath, tears slowly running down his eyes as he remembered the look of fear in Amelie's face as she didn't recognise him, "I managed to take off my hat but she did manage to throw a small statue we had in the living room at my face" he finished.

Bruce patted the man's back when he heard Boris's sigh and offered him a few tissues, knowing the man was tired and would finally accept his help in the form of a caretaker or house keeper that he would pay for, even though he's already paying for his mortgage and every single bill without the Belarusian man knowing, not wanting him to feel indebted to the richer man than he already felt.

"Maybe a house keeper can help me, the house is honestly a mess and I can't keep up with it, plus I can't keep looking out for her when cooking, it's just impossible for me only" Boris said before starting devouring all the sandwiches on the plate, stopping once or twice to drink some tea so he wouldn't choke. He blushed when he noticed Bruce watching him "I haven't eaten in two days, Amelie has been incredibly difficult and I never found the time to eat" he explained and thanked Alfred when the older man presented him with a plate full of pasta that he made for the starving man once he heard his stomach grumble loudly when he entered the kitchen.

Bruce smiled at him and patted him on the back once again "it's ok Boris, I'll hire someone and pay for it, you just relax here for a bit and eat, you look spent" he said before suddenly hearing Barbara's voice in his ears, telling him that another body was found in an alley thanks to a few cameras around and she already notified the police but he should send someone there before the police ruins the crime scene.

The man quickly got up and escused himself out of the room to use the comms in his ear to tell Damian and Duke to go, telling both boys that this was top priority and to go immediately, ignoring Damian's complaints since he was with Amelie and she was finally telling him and Jason a new story about [Y/N]. He once again ignored the boy's complains and ordered him to go with Duke as he needed him to protect Duke while he was using his meta abilities as all the previous crime scenes didn't reveal anything so they needed Duke's abilities to know something.

As he finished speaking to Damian and receiving confirmation that he was going with Duke he went back into the kitchen to smile at Boris, who was at his second plate of pasta and absolutely devouring the dish, and gave him a quick excuse "sorry, some problems at the WE, make yourself comfortable and Alfred will take care of everything" before leaving to the batcave, sending a quick text to everyone currently in the Manor to not leave anything bat related upstairs as there were guests staying in the Manor. He sent the text as he entered the elevator, the doors closing in front of him as his thumb pressed sent on the text.

When the doors of the elevator opened again to show the familiar cave he quickly ran to the batcomputer to check the video that Babs sent, a bit surprised when he saw that Tim wasn't on the chair right in front of the computer like he expected but he quickly found him once he scanned the room, sleeping on the floor with Stephanie on top of him as she sipped on her tea and using her phone like she didn't do anything when she noticed Bruce looking at her with his usual dissapointed stare.

"Hey I warned him, he's the one who played that whistle again so I just executed on my threat" was the only thing she said before going back to using her phone like nothing happened, making Bruce sigh but he didn't do anything about it since Tim was sleeping instead of focusing on the case and drinking ungodly amounts of coffee and energy drinks. "Just move him to his room afterwards, don't want him to sleep in the cave" was the only thing he said as he sat on the chair and focused on the multitude of screens of the batcomputer.

He opened the new video once he finally received the notification from Babs, keeping his line with Duke and Damian open to be ready if anything happened to the two while at the crime scene, before sitting back to watch the video, hoping that it wouldn't be as useless as the others they had.

Duke was in his bike with Damian behind him with his own helmet, talking with Babs on the comms as she guided him to the crime scene, breaking so many laws as he drove since he knew that if he got there after the GCPD then the crime scene would be ruined and it would be difficult for him to use his ability with police officers walking around the crime scene.

As he took a very sharp turn he quickly switched his comms line to talk with Damian and asked "you ok there little man?", knowing that he was driving very dangerously but he couldn't afford to waste a single second by following the law at the moment. He laughed when he just heard Damian click his tongue and then just lightly hit the side of his helmet to say that he was ok.

The duo quickly got off the bike when they finally reached the alley and Damian quickly went around it to close off the alley both ways so the GCPD wouldn't enter it without his permission and mess up the crime scene while Duke set his bike in the other side of the road in another alley before finally walking inside the right alley, stepping over the yellow tape Damian quickly put before going to the other side of the alley, taking many pictures of all the blood he saw on the floor in small puddles, alongside a phone that he quickly put in an evidence bag so Babs could see if there was anything that could be useful.

He found a gun with only one bullet inside while the bullets rounds were lying around before the body, and as he grabbed it to put in an evidence plastic bag, alongside the used bullets rounds in another bag. He quickly found the bullets that were fired in a small pile next to the victim's body, all covered in blood and obviously having been taken out of whoever got shot, making him shudder when he saw them as he wondered who was crazy enough to actually pull the bullets out of their body and leave them on a pile like they were returning them.

When he finally reached the body he had to give himself a minute at the sight of the man's slaughtered throat, feeling bile coming up his throat as he couldn't manage to look away at the man's body, the terrified expression on the poor man's face as he died still impressed on his face, his clothes tattered and in some parts torn that Duke's first thought was that he got attacked by a wild animal but the clean cuts on his arms and cheeks showed that it wasn't an animal.

As he stared at the corpse his hand slowly travelled to his throat as he felt pain from it, like he was experiencing the same pain the man felt when it happened and he didn't even use his powers to see the past, making him even more horrified at what he was seeing.

With trembling hands he raised his phone to take some photos of the body and the black veins that showed on the side of his neck, making Duke think that the man probably got poisoned but he couldn't pinpoint the exact poison used just from the black in his veins and skin.

As he kept taking photos he noticed that the black travelled down to his right arm, probably where the man got poisoned with a needle or knife but he couldn't see it from where he was standing so he slowly encouraged himself to move, trying his hardest not to puke as he put on some gloves so he wouldn't leave any prints that could incriminate him or ruin the crime scene.

He slowly raised the torn sleeve of the man's shirt to hopefully find the knife or needle wound but instead he saw something that made him connect his mask camera's to the batcomputer so Bruce could see what the boy was seeing, as he was sure the photo wouldn't be able to capture everything he was seeing.

The right arm of the man had a bite mark that was obviously made by a human mouth, making Duke feel sick and almost puke as he could see how deep the bite was just by the skin around it broke, showing signs of struggle from the man but that didn't do anything to stop it or making it let go of him.

Duke got up and made a signal to Damian to stay alert as he was gonna use his powers and needed the boy to be ready since he would be vulnerable while watching what happened, afraid of what he was gonna see after seeing the man's wounds and bite. He also turned off his mask's camera to not worry Bruce once it all turned black from his powers.

He sighed and started using the shadows of the alley to use his Ghost vision, his eyes turning white completely as his body froze in place to watch and finally know who the killer was.

(this is what happened, it will be written with italics)

Duke opened his eyes and saw that he was now in the same alley and was standing right in front of the guy, now alive and animatedly talking on the phone with someone as he paced back and fort in the alley while smoking a cigarette.

Duke ignored the man's conversation with whoever he was at the other end of the phone call to slowly walk around the alley, mostly to see if there was anything suspicious that wasn't there when he first came to check the body but unfortunately everything was the same as when he arrived for the first time.

He kept looking around for a bit before stopping when he heard an ominous whistle, the same one he heard from all the videos Babs sent them, making him grab his eskrima sticks to defend himself and the man out of habit before remembering that this already happened and he couldn't do anything to stop whatever happened next.

Duke looked back at the man when he heard him stop talking after he heard the whistle, his face turning into a terrified expression, his phone dropping on the floor as he tried to grab his gun with shaking hands, making it more difficult for the man as Duke could see how nervous he was. Both men froze as they heard the same whistle from the same being but with more insistence to it, like they were asking permission or calling for someone with how insistent the whistle sounded to the African-American teen.

Both men quickly looked to the other side of the alley, showing a badly illuminated street thanks to a broken streetlamp that kept going on and off, showing an empty street but once it went off and on again a kid, maybe 14 years old or less was standing in the alley under the streetlight.

As they both stared at the kid, Duke tried to study the kid since the alley wasn't that big but could only see up to the kid's face, even though most of it was hidden by a white mask that was familiar but he couldn't really see it perfectly from that distance while the man was cursing under his breath in Italian, making Duke wonder who the kid was and how the man knew them and especially wanted to know why he was so scared of them.

Then, all of the sudden, a low whistle came from the rooftop of one of the buildings around them, making the kid jump up in joy before getting in position, making Duke curse under his breath as he managed to understand that the kid was he killer from how scared the man was after he heard the other whistle.

Everything else happened in such a blur that Duke thought Flash was in Gotham by how fast the kid was that even he had difficulty see them, before seeing that they were biting the man's arm, their teeth so deep in the skin that blood was already trickling out the kid's mouth and into the floor to form a few small puddles.

In panic and from the pain of the bite, Duke witnessed the man shoot the kid in the leg for two times and three times on the sides when he saw that the kid didn't even flinch from being shot in the leg but the kid remained attached to his arm, black slowly spreading around their mouth to the man's skin, making him drop the gun.

Once the kid finally pulled away from the man, Duke could see that the venom was already spreading from the black spreading through the man's arm and was slowly going to his head.

Duke kept watching in horror and in guilt as he could've been there to save the man but instead of patrolling the street he was back at the cave to help the others solve the case of these killings while the actual murderer was watching one of their many victims cry and beg for their life while smiling with their mouth full of blood of the victim.

He thought that would be the end of it, that the kid would kill the man by tearing his throat open but instead the kid skipped over the man, making the man stumble back before falling on the floor, claws coming out of their fingers like cats, and just started scratching the poor man body with no objective, their smile the worst thing Duke was seeing as he could see how the kid wasn't being forced or controlled by someone.

No, they were doing this because they liked it. They thought it was fun.

As the vigilante watched, he heard another whistle from the same person but it was shorter, like the person was calling the kid like it was time to go home and to stop playing since the kid looked annoyed when they heard that whistle since their smile got replaced by a pout.

Duke watched as the kid huffed and looked down at the man before smiling once again and leaned down as the man kept begging to be let go, that he wouldn't work for The Penguin anymore and that he was sorry for everything he did but the kid just kept smiling as they put their hand on the man's neck, their claws slowly retracting but not going fully back.

The kid kept smiling as the mask stared right into the man's eyes as he calmed down, thinking the kid was gonna let go of him, like he was spared and got lucky before his eyes got wide in fear and pain as the kid's claws came out and the kid tore open his throat, his hands trembling as he tried to cover the bleeding wound, his fingers and hands already covered in blood by how fast he was losing blood.

Duke just watched as the man's eyes filled with tears as he watched the mask of the kid and their smile, knowing that his death wasn't an act of revenge or because he was a bad person. His death was just the sick ending of a game the kid was playing and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He kept watching as the kid then used a wall as support as they used their claws to pull out the bullets like nothing happened, leaving all of them on a small pile near the man, making Duke wonder once again what even the kid was when they weren't reacting to pain normal people would be screaming and crying from.

The last thing he saw before the vision stopped was the face of the kid staring directly at him, like they knew he was there since they gave him the biggest smile possible and even waved at him before his vision went black, their mask the only thing he could see as he was still trying to remember where he saw a mask like the one they were wearing.

(end of flashback)

Duke gasped as he finally woke up to the real time and not watching the murder happen before starting to hyperventilate and move around in the alley like he couldn't see as he couldn't figure out what was happening around him and he couldn't stop seeing the kid's smile and the man's face filled with terror as he couldn't do anything to help the victim and was made to watch a slaughter.

In his panic he didn't see Damian running up to him and calling his vigilante name but could feel someone pushing him and moving him before feeling himself getting carried somewhere, surely by Damian as he knew he was the only one there that could help him.

Everything else happened in a blur, he could feel himself being carried somewhere via grappling hook as he could feel the wind on his face and then the cold bricks of the rooftops under his fingers, making him calm down as he could feel that he wasn't in the alley.

He did relax a bit once he knew he wasn't in that alley but just couldn't calm down, his mind too focused on what he saw and wouldn't let him remember any of his calming techniques that Bruce and Jason taught him, his eyes slowly filling up with tears as he felt like he was gonna pass out as he kept gasping but felt like no air was entering his lungs.

Duke was still gasping for air when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Bruce's face without his cowl, making the poor boy surprised as he knew the man's strict rules on the masks when out on patrol before seeing the man breathing and gesturing the boy to copy him and after a few tries where Duke couldn't focus enough and started crying he managed to copy Bruce's breathing, his mind slowling down as oxygen finally started entering his lungs.

He smiled at the man when he finally calmed down enough to not need to copy's Bruce's breathing and just hugged the man, too grateful to care that they were on patrol and that he had important information about the murder that happened in the alley. No, he just needed a moment in his father's arms, even though his real father was still at the hospital but Bruce was there and he needed to feel protected and safe and he knew that Bruce's arms where he felt the safest.

As the two hugged, he looked at Damian and just smiled when he saw that the boy was standing next to them, hand on his katana to be ready if anyone suddenly came to attack them, making a mental note to hug the younger boy when they would go back to the Cave.

[Damian Pov]

He was annoyed. He was angry.

Those were the only two emotions he felt as he waited in the alley while Duke used his meta abilities for the case. He should've been home with Amelie, listening to another story of his older sibling and how they would climb stuff just to grab something because they refused to admit that they needed the small ladder they had in the kitchen that was there specifically for them.

But instead he was on a smelly alleyway in Gotham and waiting for the police while playing on his phone, acting distracted but he was still high alert and ready to strike anyone with a small batarang if they were going to attack Duke while he was watching.

While waiting he did feel watched but even after doing a quick check around the alley and the rooftops near the alley showed that there was no one the younger vigilante considered a threat to him and the yellow vigilante, making him even more frustrated as he was craving for a fight just to relieve some stress.

After a bit he noticed that the GCPD had finally came with Jim Gordon in one of the two cars so he quickly walked up to the detective so he could start the investigations right after Signal was done using his abilities, discussing with the older man about the murder and how the police should take care of the evidence as he saw in the other case files the detectives didn't take everything around the victim and there was some missing information because of the missing evidence, which didn't sit right with Damian and made him even more annoyed that the police wasn't doing its job right.

While talking he suddenly heard some noises from the alley and as he turned around he could already see Duke in distress by the way he moved and breather that he immediately ran up to him and after assessing the situation and how Duke was too much in distress to answer him he managed to pick him up and grapple away, using the comms to call Babs and how he needed someone to come help him as he didn't know how to calm Duke.

Once he reached a rooftop that Babs said was safe since it didn't have any cameras around, he quickly put Duke down and tried to calm him down using Dick's lessons but couldn't manage to get Duke focus on him as he kept moving and pushing him away whenever he touched the older boy and didn't listen to him.

As he kept trying to calm down Duke he started to grow frustrated, not towards Duke as he knew he probably saw something that shocked him deeply which caused the panic attack, but he was frustrated with himself as he couldn't remember Dick's advice and seeing how he couldn't help Duke made him feel helpless.

He was an assassin, he knew how to kill a man with just a pen and leave no traces. He knew every poison known and unknown to man and was incredibly smart for his age but couldn't manage to help one of his family out of an panic attack.

He felt useless but when he saw his father land on the rooftop he couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief as he knew Duke was in good hands now that he was here to help and moved out the way to stand guard and protect them as he wanted to do something and feel useful in his own way, walking around the roof to check if anyone could get there to attack them.

As he stood guard, a hand on his katana ready to grab it if needed and the other on a pouch that contained some batarangs in case, he suddenly felt a presence from behind him, making him quickly unsheath his katana and attack whoever managed to get behind him before standing there in shock as a Talon, more precisely a kid was standing in front of him and blocking the blade of his katana with their hands. As he stared he noticed that they weren't using their hands but some sorts of talon that were coming out of their fingers.

He glared at the kid and let go of his katana when he knew that it wouldn't be useful to fight and decided to use it as a distraction by letting go of it, smirking when he saw the kid look at the katana falling and used the few seconds to turn his body around to kick them on the chest with all his strength to push them away, watching as they tumbled a bit before falling in another Talon's arms in a dramatic way that Damian didn't notice, too occupied to stare at the other Talon who just arrived to think that the kid was being dramatic.

He quickly grabbed his katana and put it back in its sheath, keeping one hand on his birdrangs while he watched the masked kid and Talon look at each other via their mask before the kid started signing stuff that Damian couldn't understand as he recognise the sign language they were using.

As he watched them sign he turned to look at Bruce and Duke and was shocked to see Duke looking like he'd seen a ghost as the vigilante stared at the kid who was furiously signing to the Talon and looked frustrated when said Talon signed something that they didn't agree with.

He looked at Duke and Bruce and made a hand signal to Bruce to keep an eye on the duo as he checked on Duke, wanting to see if he was ok and could keep his posture if the two Talons decided to fight the three vigilantes, confused as to why they were there as they managed to take down the Court just two months ago and sent many Talons to a secret building out of Gotham, where they could be fee from the Court's influence.

Damian quickly walked up to the African-American male and grabbed his arm, forcing him to get up "Signal, report on what you saw in the alley, make it quick. We don't have time to useless details" he demanded, needing to know if Duke had some useful information to use in the upcoming fight and especially if the two Talons thee were involved in the streak of murders happening around Gotham.

Duke looked down at Damian as he was still looking at the kid and the Talon who were still fighting in their own sign language, his face looking like he swallowed a very sour candy before starting to talk "a Talon obviously but they're different from the other Talons we fought Robs." He took a deep breath to think about what he was supposed to say to be useful for him and Damian in the imminent fight.

"You have to be on your guard when fighting against that kid Robs, they're the ones who have been killing people in Gotham" he started, taking a deep breath as he tried to remember what he saw and staying calm, knowing he could seriously put Damian and Bruce at a disadvantage if he had another panic attack. "They're fast and have talons on their fingers that can be retractable. Their bite is venomous and it seems like the venom is very quick to spread if you get bitten." he explained, shuddering as he remembered the kid biting that man's arm.

The trio froze when they heard the kid whistle happily and jump around like they won something big while the Talon looked defeated, a hand on his shaking head but the three vigilantes could see by his body language that he was amused by the kid celebrating even though his whole face was covered by a mask.

Damian immediately got in fighting position with his katana and signalled for Duke and Bruce to do the same as he knew that the kid wanted to fight before watching, confusion clearly written in his eyes, as the kid started taking off parts of their armour like their chest plate and throwing it on the ground until their only piece of armour were two metal pieces on both arms and legs while everything else was left open and was just covered by some black clothing that looked too big on the kid.

By the way they were taking off most of their armour, it seemed like they wanted to feel every hit on their body like a sick maniac who is eager to feel anything that brings them joy or even just a thrill of excitement and the adrenaline that comes with it.

Duke was ready with his eskrima sticks in hand and stood next to Bruce, unsure on who the assassin wanted to fight first but he was ready to help if they suddenly attacked either Bruce or Damian. The older man grabbed his batarangs and glared at the two Talons, unsure on what they wanted but ready to fight if they tried anything to hurt his family.

Damian watched in silence as the kid finished taking off most of their armour before staring back at Duke and Damian with the same smile on their face, a bit confused when he saw them frowning as he watched them. He was too late to realise what was happening when the kid whistled two tunes at the same time and stood next to the Talon.

The youngest vigilante barely had time to warn his father before the Talon suddenly attacked the man, pushing the man to a part away from the kids on the rooftop while the kid applauded as he watched the two fight. He turned to glare at the other Talon and barely had time to raise his katana to protect himself as the kid was suddenly in front of him and used his talons to scratch his face.

He struggled a bit to hold his katana, his arms shaking as the kid was pushing their talons to reach his face. Fortunately for Damian, Duke was there to rescue him by kicking the kid on the stomach, making them stumble away while holding their stomach.

But they didn't back down as the Talon quickly recovered in not even a minute and this time attacked Duke with their talons, who was ready with his eskrima sticks and defended himself before pushing their talons down and managing to punch them right in the face.

As the three fought, Bruce was fighting with the older Talon before noticing that he wasn't trying to kill him like every other fight he had with his association but instead he was trying to keep him away from his kids and the shorter Talon that was with him, making the bat vigilante confused as to what their relationship was as he never knew that Talons could form familiar relationships in the Court.

Damian frowned as he and Duke weren't strong enough to capture the kid or not even manage to make them falter slightly. He glared at the kid who was looking at their nails while waiting for the two to regain their breath, making Damian even more angry as he knew the kid was obviously making fun of him and Duke by the way they were acting.

He made a hand motion towards Duke to tell him to get ready as he ran towards the kid, starting to fight them and keep them occupied as Duke made his eskrima sticks connect to turn them into nunchaku, starting to whirled around to gain speed until Damian managed to push them away and distract them for enough time so he could hit them in the face, and in the process made their mask fall off alongside their hoodie from the way they fell.

Damian stared as the kid laid down on the rooftop floor, completely frozen as their eyes were closed before suddenly opening them and getting up with a sick smile on their face, not caring that the two vigilantes could see their face, pushing some of their hair away from their face as the hoodie let their hair free.

Damian watched in shock as he was standing right in front of [Y/N], their older sibling who was believed to be dead or missing after they disappeared 8 years ago from a car accident while on their way home after attending the kid's dance recital. The same kid who was now standing in front of him, looking no older than 12 and wearing the Talon's uniform.

He couldn't do anything as they whistled and looked at the other Talon, who pushed Bruce away and walked up to them, grabbing their stuff in the process before picking them up and walking over the rooftop edge.

He finally managed to move once he realised that he was about to let his older sibling go without doing anything and started running towards the Talon, ignoring Bruce and Duke's voices before yelling out a "[Y/N]", reaching his hand out to grab them but was too late as the Talon jumped off the roof and as he looked down they already disappeared into the night.

The only thing that he could think as he thought of everything that happened was 'I need them back', especially now that he knew that his older sibling, the one he heard so many stories about and dreamed of hanging out with them. He refused to let them leave now that he knew he would have the possibility to have them in his life.

And he would do anything to have them back.

[redtsundere-writes]

Gifts | Sukuna Ryomen

king!sukuna ryomen x servant!reader

Sypnosis: Sukuna wants to keep you warm and you warm up his heart in return.

Contents: Merry Christmas. Fluff. Hugs. Gifts.

Word count: 1817 words.

Beginning. ← Previous |

AO3/WATTPAD VERSION

Sukuna could do whatever the hell he wanted with his servants. If he wanted them all to sing a song every time they saw him, he just had to order it. If he wanted them all to participate in a pitched battle in the forest, he could ask for it without a problem. If he wanted them to run around the courtyard to serve as targets for his archery practice like deer in danger, he could do it. Lately he was liking to ask you specifically for things since out of all the servants, you always tried to do it with a good attitude even if the tasks were repetitive or meaningless.

The white season of the year had finally arrived, which meant that Christmas was right around the corner. You watched the snow fall from the window of the king's hall, the corners crystallizing as you spent hours washing the floor. You were on your knees with the bucket at your side. You dipped the rag back into the ice water to scrub the soapy floor. Sukuna had asked you to clean the floors by hand even though you had mopped the floor yesterday, a mere excuse he had come up with to watch you for hours comfortably from his throne.

The two of you were alone under the lights of the hundreds of candles in the chandelier. The only sound you could hear was the wind gently hitting the window. You were so focused on your task that you didn't see the king observing your figure without any shame. Your hands went numb from the cold. You cupped them against your mouth to blow warm air in a sad attempt to warm yourself. You had trouble swallowing, your nose was red, and you were starting to sniffle. The signs couldn't be more obvious, you were getting a cold. Before you could return to your task, you sneezed. The first went unnoticed, the second caught the king's attention, and the third worried him.

"What's wrong?" Sukuna asked you angrily.

“Nothing, my king.” You answered, but then sneezed again.

“That doesn’t sound like anything.” Sukuna inquired.

“It’s just the change of season. A cold, that’s all.”

The servants wore the same uniform all year round, so it was common for servants to get sick from wearing such thin fabrics during the off-season. Sukuna rested his head on his fist as he admired you washing the already clean floor of his living room. He never cared that any of them got sick or died from the cold, but for some strange reason, he couldn’t let that happen to you.

“I’m cold.” Sukuna complained loudly. You immediately dropped your task to assist him.

“Do you want me to make you some tea or bring you a comforter, my king?” You offered.

“Come,” he ordered you.

You dropped the rag on the bucket and ran to see what he needed. Sukuna sat properly against the throne. You were about to ask him what he needed again, but he pulled you roughly towards him. Before you knew it, you were sitting on his wide lap. Sukuna wrapped you in his robes, pressing you against his strong chest. You completely forgot about the cold as your face immediately warmed up. “It’s warm,” you thought in surprise.

“She’s freezing,” Sukuna thought as he felt you shiver under his arms. He stroked your head as if you were a dog, rubbing your hands between his and hugging your body tightly to warm you up. You weren’t shivering from the cold, it was the involuntary reaction of your nervousness at being so close to him. You didn’t even have the courage to speak to break the tension.

“I’m going to use you for my own comfort.” Sukuna whispered in your ear, excusing himself again.

“Y-yes, my king,” you stuttered.

Sukuna glanced at you to see if you had bought his lie. You didn’t even deign to look at him, your gaze fixed straight ahead as if seeing him would turn you to stone. He smiled and closed his eyes to enjoy having you all to himself. “Why did he say he’s cold if he’s actually hot?” you wondered, melting against him at his sweet touch. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye as his fingers continued to run through the pattern of your hair. He looked happy. “Did he do it for me?”

You woke up on Christmas morning hugged by another servant to survive another cold night in the dungeon. You had barely been able to sleep because you had spent the whole night finishing the gift you had prepared for the king. Your fingers were full of stings from not being able to see clearly. You worked with the subtle glow of the night coming through one of the windows as a light source. But you didn't mind, as it was your way of thanking the king for being so kind to you. In his own way, but kind.

Like every day, Uraume forced them to form a line to take attendance, only this time, the line moved slower than usual. It turned out that he was handing out black scarves with matching gloves, something unexpected for everyone considering that the king doesn't care if they die of pneumonia. When it was your turn, Uraume pulled out of another box a pale pink scarf with matching gloves. You noticed that it had the initials "S.R." embroidered with white thread on one end.

"Why is mine different?" You asked curiously as you put on the gloves to cover the scars from the night before.

"No idea." Uraume lied. They knew it was because the king had asked for that set especially for you, and that all the others were to mislead his favoritism towards you.

"And what is today's itinerary?" You put on your scarf, tucking the ends into the hole in front of your neck to ensure it wouldn't move from its place when it was time to do your chores.

“The same as always,” Uraume replied monotonously.

“But today is Christmas. Isn't there going to be a special dinner for the king? Isn't he going to open presents? Does he even have cookies and milk?”

“King Sukuna doesn't celebrate Christmas,” Uraume shook his head.

“Oh, that's a shame,” you commented before continuing down the hall to start your hallway. You looked at the scarf and gloves made of wool. “Did he do it for me?” You wondered with a silly smile on your face.

Sukuna called you to his office. You ran in so as not to make him wait a single minute. The king ordered you to organize his books from A to Z. You got to work immediately while he went through documents. Occasionally, Sukuna would look up to see how you looked with his little gift. The scarf fluttered every time you walked back and forth to get all the books out of their respective places. His initials were exposed on your chest, causing his lips to curl for a second.

“You’re not sneezing anymore,” Sukuna noticed.

“I feel better now, my king. The scarf and gloves you gave us have helped me,” you told him with a smile, still working.

“You seem to like them,” he said.

“I love them. Especially the scarf, because it can also be used as a hat.”

You pulled the back of the scarf, placing it over your head like a hood. The scarf matched his hair, your hands caressing your face delicately to shape the gloves along with that innocent smile that killed his tough personality. Sukuna was mesmerized by how cute you looked. If that was the effect you had on him with a simple scarf and gloves, he had no idea what was in store for him if he saw you in long dresses, gorgeous heels, and fragile tiaras. He could already imagine it. That was when he decided he was going to spend all of his gold coins so he could make his fantasy a reality.

You finished rearranging his books perfectly after a couple of hours. Sukuna had shuffled through all the books to make sure you took longer than you should so he could see you longer. You ran a duster over them to make sure everything was spotless. It was the little details that made you his favorite out of all the servants.

“Do you need anything else?” You dusted your hands off after another job well done.

“You can go now.” Sukuna had run out of excuses to keep you locked up with him. You bowed and turned around to leave.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” you thought out loud before returning to him. Sukuna arched an eyebrow at your strange comment. “I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, but I still wanted to bring you a small token of my affection.”

From your apron, you pulled out a black handkerchief with small white daisies embroidered on it. It had some loose threads and the pattern of the flowers wasn’t well-defined. It wasn’t fine work like what he was used to, but it was adorably homemade. Sukuna recognized the fabric from somewhere.

“Where did you get the fabric?” He asked without taking his eyes off his gift.

“It’s from the kimono we had to throw away because we couldn’t get the blood stains out.” You answered timidly. “I know how much you liked that kimono and the flowers, so I made this for you.”

“Get out,” Sukuna ordered without looking you in the eyes.

“Yes, my king,” you stammered at the direct order. You bowed and hurried out.

As soon as the door closed, the king hid his blushing face behind the handkerchief. “Why are you so cute?!” He growled against it.

He had never received anything like this in all his years of existence, not even from Uraume. Something unique that couldn’t be replicated unless it was made by that special someone, not because of the object itself, but because of the meaning behind it. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, but it only got worse because the handkerchief smelled like you. “A small token of my affection” he repeated in his head as he admired your craftsmanship.

A pink spot on the white blanket caught his eye. He turned around in his chair to look out the window. You had gone out to the courtyard with a broom to go to the weapons storage, Uraume had given you the task of finding the rat nest. Sukuna smiled to himself as he watched you shake the snow off your boots and head like a little field mouse.

“A delicate daisy hidden in the snow,” he whispered to himself. His smile widened as he watched you steel yourself to face the rats with your improvised weapon.

Masterlist.

[parkerloves]

PERFECT PLAN || JMM21 x Fem!READER

paring: pepe martí x gaby's bff!reader

request?: nope!

trope: strangers to lovers, blind date

summary: you're gaby's bestfriend and he is Christian, so of course they only rasonable thing to do was to set you two up together... as a surprise

word count: 1,8 k

fc; n/a

warnings: pepe is a confused puppy half of the time, use of y/n, some threats as much and akward moments also english is not my first language so probably misspelling

[masterlist]

There wasn't a day that went by that Gaby didn't talk to you about her boyfriend, and obviously you didn't mind, Christian was a very nice guy and you had already met him several times when the three of you went out to make any random plan and Gaby didn't want to miss the opportunity to also spend time with you knowing that the two of you got along well.

It was just the same for Pepe, who over the last few months had been practically adopted by the couple, after all Gaby had always made him feel welcome and he loved spending time with one of his best friends.

It was in the middle of a conversation between Gaby and Christian when the names of your best friends came up, and just remembering plans they had made with the two of you separately, they came to the conclusion that you two had a lot in common, and in your best friend's mind that could only have one solution

“Do you think Pepe would want a girlfriend?” Were the words that came out of Gaby's mouth after a few seconds of silence.

“I mean I guess s-” Christian cut himself off when he understood what his girlfriend meant at that moment ”You want to pair them up?”

“Think about it” She said as she sat up on the couch leaning on her boyfriend ''We could have so many cute double days plus they wouldn't feel like they're third wheeling all day” She explained him trying to convince him, since he didn't seem very much in favor

Christian grimaced a little, but it was impossible for him to say no to his girlfriend, especially not when she was making that pout that they both claimed not to take seriously but no doubt the effect was there

“And how do you plan to do all that?” He gave up throwing his head back with his eyes on Gaby, waiting to hear her little plan.

━━━━━

That same afternoon you received a message, which as usual proposed you to go out to dinner together, which you and gaby always used as an excuse to dress up more than usual, and this time you decided to wear that red dress that your best friend had just given you for your birthday a couple of months ago.

The name of the restaurant you were going to didn’t ring a bell to you, it wasn't one of the typical places you three used to go to, but you had had time to look up the menu and you weren't going to complain about what they had.

You were surprised not to see your friends already at the entrance of the restaurant, not because you had arrived late, but because they both insisted on arriving early every single time, but just at that moment a message came to you

from: gabss<3

we're almost there, sit yourself, it's under your name i think

The truth was that the two of them were already seated, just at a different table than the one you would end up sitting at, willing (or rather Gaby) to admire the result of their “amazing” plan, although you were just confused by your friend's weird message, but you decided not to give it much importance.

“Hello, good night” You greeted the hostess once you finally entered the restaurant “I believe there is a reservation for y/l/n?” You added, still not completely sure of what you were saying yourself.

You observed the hostess looking at the list of reservations, and you noticed a small laugh coming from her lips before giving you her attention once again, standing up indicating for you to follow her. 

“I must say, that your friends hope that you like their little surprise” you wrinkle your nose a little at the lady's words but everything made sense when you arrived at a table where not only were your friends not there but a boy was seated at the table. 

“Imma kill them” You mumbled to yourself, missing the opportunity to hear that the guy didn't know anything about what was going on either. 

“Look” You thought that boy was going to ask you for a chance and for some reason you stayed to listen to what he had to say, but the hostess's intervention cut him off.

“If it helps… the bill will be covered by those friends” The woman tried to help a little in that situation, and you noticed the look of the unknown guy on you, who was waiting for your opinion of this situation before saying anything.

A free dinner was still a free dinner, so after thinking about it for a few seconds, you sat down in front of the boy.

“I'm y/n” You offered him your hand with a smile on your lips, making him shake you hand almost immediately.

“Pepe, pleasure to meet you”

“I guess you can tell the waiter to come around here whenever they want…?” You said with your eyes on pepe, looking back at the hostess when he nodded “I assume you are a friend of Christian?”

“Yeah, and you're gaby's friend?” it was his turn to ask, to which you nodded with a small smile.

It was at that moment when you heard behind Pepe a little laugh that you knew perfectly, and when you looked a little over his shoulder you found a few tables away the two people to blame for that situation.

“Don’t be too obvious, but I bet you will never guess who is sitting almost behind you” You whispered to the catalan, leaning gently in his direction, causing him to laugh softly.

“No shit, really?” He said with the intention of turning around to look, but with a little swipe of your napkin you stopped him in time.

“Do you not know what don't be too obvious mean?” Pepe in response simply raised both arms in surrender, looking back at you

“Alright alright sorry” He himself cut off his own words with his laughter, which could be kind of cute “Why do you think they are here?”

“Gaby definitely just loves the gossip, the drama”

“And she dragged Chris here”

“Yeah basically” You said denying with a small laugh leaning back in your chair once again ”We could mess up with them.”

Your words didn't take long to catch the attention of your "date", who raised both eyebrows. 

“In a good or a mean way?” asked Pepe tilting his head to the side, trying to guess what was going through your head.

“In the only way they would leave” Let's say that your answer was not very clear to the driver, who tilted his head a little more even without understanding what you were referring to.

A small chuckle came out of your mouth and you simply leaned in to leave a kiss on his cheek, not only catching him by surprise but your friends as well.

“If they think this is going well, i'm pretty sure they'll leave” You mumbled against his skin before returning to your original position.

What started as a little performance for Christian and Gaby, ended up being a great night for the two of you, it turns out that Pepe was not only cute, but also very funny and charismatic, so you were about to miss the fact that your personal spies were leaving while you were listening to another of the stories the boy was telling you.

He obviously didn't complain at your words, and quickly shook his head, causing you to laugh a little before continuing with the dinner, letting the topics of conversation continue to come up almost randomly, which made it all the more interesting.

After dessert he offered to drive you to your car, and when you told him you had come by uber he offered to pay for your ride back.

“Or I could also take you...?” He added not too sure if he was going too far.

“As long as you don't kidnap me, sure” You joked as you stood up, looking at the guy as you put on your jacket. 

“Bummer” He grumbled making you roll your eyes with a smile, walking out of the restaurant beside him, it being your turn to talk as he listened delightedly.

The ride in the car was peaceful, listening to random songs as Pepe followed your every indication to get to your house.

“Thank you for the ride” You said as you arrived, waiting for some kind of action from the guy, but seeing no movement you decided to jump in “What about i give you my number for a second date? A normal one this time”

The catalan's mouth went dry at your words, nodding almost instantly as he pulled out his phone so you could type your number in.

“Maybe i won't kill Gaby, you're cute” You said before giving him another kiss on the cheek and handing him back his phone, getting out of the car to get into your house.

Pepe stayed until you entered your house, wanting to be sure that you arrived safely even if his car was only a few meters from your door, and maybe he was also doing it to process a bit what had happened that night, because if it wasn't weird enough as it had started, the end wasn't far behind either.

It wasn't that he hadn't had a good time with you, quite the opposite, you two had clicked very quickly, but he hadn't expected it to be reciprocated... after all you had agreed to stay for a free dinner, or so it seemed.

But now he had your number, which he had added to his contacts the moment you gave him back his phone, playing a little with his keyboard thinking about what he could send you as a first message, although he could better think that from his house and not from the door of yours like a stalker.

What he did know was that he now had the group he had with Christian and Gaby full of messages asking how the date had gone.

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@iheartmonaco

(lmk if you want to join the taglist!)

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Secret Santa

A/N: Written for @the-slumberparty's December Daze Challenge.

Prompt: secret santa but somehow nobody picked me

A/N2: I hope you don't mind, I'm kinda gonna cheat again because I really like doing the full cast of characters in the same prompt. But I'm going to cheat even further by going with "Each of the Tech Tuesday cast as your Secret Santa".

Bucky Barnes

Bucky is far more observant than people think. You might think he's the type to get you a random gift from the thrift shop but no. He gets you something he knows you'll like. Something that requires thought.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Curtis Everett

Gift cards are Curtis's go-to for these things. He already knows more about the people in the department than he cares to know. If he's got your name for Secret Santa, you're getting a gift card to a popular place. If he knows anything about you, you're getting a gift card for a place you've mentioned.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Geralt (of Rivia)

Bemoans the fact that Secret Santa even exists. He only participates because he knows it's important to others. He doesn't bother looking at the price cap because whatever he gets you is going to be something he made himself. Most likely something small you can use as decoration. Curtis still has the kikimora figurine on his desk.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

God (the bounty hunter)

Also hates the fact that this is something that happens. But where Geralt makes his gift, God goes ahead and buys you something he likes. Complete with a gift receipt.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Jake Jensen

Let's face it, it's Sunshine who's making you whatever gift Jake gets you. But neither you nor Sunshine are gonna complain. Jake's the one everyone wants as their Secret Santa because you'll get some really amazing homemade thing(s).

One year Steve got a few dozen Christmas cookies. He promised himself he'd just eat one or two and share the rest. He'd eaten over half of them by the time he left for home!

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Johnny Storm

Johnny definitely got a last minute big bag of candy for you. And, really, he got it for himself since he knows you keep a bag of that exact candy to bribe him to leave you alone when he gets to talking.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Jonathan Pine

Honestly, he might be the reason there's a price cap on the gifts. It's not that he'd buy a lot of things for you, rather he'd find one item, that would be an incredibly great gift, and not even look at the cost. It's not that he's rich, per say. He just takes his gift giving a little seriously and wants to put the recipient ahead of the price. Also, do him a favor and help make sure Rose doesn't see how much he spent on her?

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Lloyd Hansen

He ain't doing this bullshit game. It's for small-minded peons who---wait? Maestro wants him to partake? UGH! FINE! But she owes him.

Most likely to gift you something that just takes up space. Like a paperweight that caught his eye.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Mike

He's getting you swag from his college (that he gets for free). In his defense, he's a college student. In your defense, his family is rich. Really he's about as bad as Johnny.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Ransom Drysdale

Before Bubbles came along, Ransom was a lot like Curtis in terms of gift giving. You get a gift card to place you maybe like.

After he and Bubbles become friends, though, he asks for her help in getting something. He regrets it soon after because he's inundated with questions about his recipient that he doesn't have answers to. He didn't realize how much thought could go into gift giving. But, with Bubbles' help, you'll get a good gift.

And now Ransom knows how to get Bubbles a good gift.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Steve Rogers

You're getting something handmade. Probably a small painting of something you like. Not a lot of people know Steve's got skills with physical media and he's happy to surprise them. Syverson still has the portrait of Lily hanging in his office.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Syverson

Like Bucky, Syverson is a better gift giver than people think. There's a reason he's such a good manager for his department. He knows what his people like, dislike, or need in order to get their work done. It might more on the practical side of things, but it'll be something you actually like and use.

🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️🎁❄️

Walter Marshall

He's very much another "gift cards" kind of guy. The primary difference between him and Curtis is that Walter prefers to get you a card from a local business as opposed to a national/international corporation.

He actually prefers to get Bucky's name because he knows the coffee shop Bucky frequents is nearby and he can grab the gift card on his way into work.

Tagging:

@alicedopey; @changenameno; @darsynia; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @kingliam2019; @late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82; @ozwriterchick; @ronearoundblindly; @stellar-solar-flare; @thiquefunlover63

[aloysiavirgata]

A Mulder-Scully child/children in an interfaith household. Chag Urim Sameach, Virgata Family!

From here, darling. Merry (late) Christmas and Chag Sameach! https://www.tumblr.com/aloysiavirgata/761731982784888832/loved-your-skinner-pov-i-am-the-ultimate-sucker

***

Baby Matilda, dimpled and blue-eyed with a thick shock of cinnamon hair. Baby Matilda, fat as a soup dumpling, blinking curiously as her siblings and parents and grandmother gaze down.

“Chag sameach,” say William and Fiona, Hebrew-school mindful. Their ch- careful as their father’s Bar Mitzvah lessons.

Silas and Clara, less confident, mumble Merry Christmas to her, though it’s two weeks away. Mulder palms their glossy heads, beaming. The tree lights are tacky and bright and gorgeous. They make stained glass circles on his children’s faces.

Margaret, chamomile-warmed and still a little baffled by the existence of these children, cuddles Tilda close.

Salt-dough handprint menorah ornaments on the Christmas tree. Cocoa and dreidels by the fire. Latkes and dripping goose fat and boozy sweet fruitcake. Marzipan and mistletoe and sufganiyot.

William retreats to the big leather armchair with his illustrated book of winter holiday traditions from around the world. Silas and Clara head off to find the cats, and Fiona sneaks another marshmallow into her mug.

Mulder does not believe in god because the notion of an interventionist deity like Scully’s is a Lovecraftian horror to him. But Scully still wants to. Scully cannot look at herself and her five children and not believe that there must be Something who loves her, at least a little.

***

2 AM.

Mulder brings Tilda over to the bed, warm in a deep blue flannel sleep sack with silver moons on it. She is complaining loudly. She is the mottled pink and yellow of a Rainier cherry, with flailing round fists.

Scully takes the unhappy baby to her breast and sighs as the milk lets down. Tilda, already the fiercest of her children, latches on with something like aggression. Tilda has the fattest cheeks of all their babies, the plumpest dinner-roll feet.

“I think maybe she was also a twin but ate the other kid in the womb,” Mulder observes. “I’m going to see what Si and Clara think. As the house experts.”

Scully adjusts the baby. “That’s great, that’s exactly an appropriate question for preschoolers.”

Mulder stretches out beside them on the bed. He loves these lost hours. “Ahhhh, these modern kids are too soft. When we were babies they just gave us bottles full of lead paint and sent us off at six to the asbestos factory.”

She looks at him in amused disbelief. “Mulder you were wearing Brooks Brothers at birth. Your mother had a night nurse for you and Samantha. There’s a picture of you at like 6 eating latkes with crème fraiche and caviar.”

“Okay well first of all those were blini and that’s how they’re traditionally served so pardon my cultural sensitivity.”

Even Tilda pauses nursing to look at him.

“Oh you too?” Mulder pokes his daughter in the belly. “Watch it kid, because she won’t be making all your meals forever.”

Scully sticks her out tongue, switches Tilda to the other breast.

Mulder begins to doze when a blood-curdling shriek splits the night from down the hall. He jumps up, reaches for his hip out of habit.

Fiona, still shrieking, races into the room and launches herself into the bed. She clings to her father like a koala, sobbing. “The Yule Cat,” she wails into his neck.

Tilda, born into the whirlwind, remains unperturbed by her sister.

“I DIDN’T DO IT!!!” William yells, racing in after, hair sticking up everywhere like his father’s

Scully narrows her eyes at that. “William what-“

“SHE STOLE MY BOOK I SAID IT WAS TOO SCARY FOR HER!”

Fiona, tear-stained but no longer howling, points a finger at him. “I didn’t steal your dumb book I just was LOOKING at it while YOU sneaked another sufganiya!”

William scowls back. “Well I wasn’t going to tell but I saw you ate four more marshmallows!”

Mulder peels Fiona off his chest. He looks sternly at both of his children. “First of all we do not narc in this family.”

“Tattle,” says Scully, exasperated.

“We do not tattle in this family,” Mulder amends. “Unless someone is making a choice that will endanger them or someone else. You only tell us to HELP not to HURT.”

Fiona’s lip starts to tremble again. “He eats you up,” she whispers. “Daddy the Yule Cat eats you all up.”

“Oh, honey, it’s not-“

William takes her hand. “Fee?”

Her eyes are brimming again. “Yeah?”

“Come in my room and we can read about Saint Lucia’s Day. The oldest girl gets a special dress and a crown.” William’s face is earnest, excited to share something new with her.

She brightens, Yule Cat seemingly forgotten. “Yeah? Daddy can I have a Saint Lula dress and crown?”

“Sure,” Mulder says, yawning.

Fiona hops down, still holding her brother’s hand. They head to his bedroom and his reading light goes on.

Mulder takes the baby, tosses a blanket over his shoulder, and gives her a few solid thwacks. She belches like a sailor.

Scully laughs, delighted. “God, remember when you first tried with William and I had to explain the goal was to burp him, not put him to sleep?”

Tilda is already out cold and Mulder returns her to the bassinet. “Listen if I broke the miracle baby you were going to be really, really pissed. Now that we have a basketball team…eh.”

Scully curls against him when he’s next to her again. “Mulder, I feel kind of awful, but I’m glad William took her because god help me, I did not have the energy for that child in the bed tonight.”

Having Fiona in bed was a lot like having a bag full of ferrets in bed. “No, no. Me too. Little narc.”

Scully pinches him. “Let’s sleep while the sleeping’s good.”

They nestle into the pillows, exhausted. The white noise machine, the scent of the fire, of jam, of cinnamon…Scully drifts into a gingerbread dream.

Little feet on the hardwood. “Mama,” Clara hisses. “Silas got scared when he heard Fee and now I’m scared too.”

“Got scared,” Silas echoes. “Me and Clara.”

Mulder barely wakes as he heaves his children into the bed. They jostle and squirm but eventually curl together, safe from the Yule Cat.

[mahojelly92]

Ask and you shall receive! This one's short n' sweet. (Lmao see what I did there)

18+ for smut, fem!reader

Schlatt could tell by the way you were belting Sabrina Carpenter's lyrics that he'd have to deal with this for a while. Whenever you discovered a new obsession, you would latch onto it like a wild animal latched onto its prey. Your infatuations would last for weeks at a time, until one faded into oblivion and another replaced it. He didn't complain, though, because he loved seeing you all happy and excited over something you liked, even if that meant his ears would bleed from how loud you sang.

Last week you forced Jay to watch TikToks from Sabrina’s recent tour, endlessly scrolling and grinning at the screen.

“Isn't she just the best?” You beamed and looked up at him expectantly, observing how he'd react to her promiscuous dancing. He just rolled his eyes and smirked at you.

“Babe, you really like this? I mean, it's good music, but I can't see why you….” And then she performed her signature Juno pose, causing his cheeks to flush.

You laughed and egged him on, gushing about how great she is and that he needs to listen to her more.

This led to present day, where you both listened to her whole album on a road trip, much to Schlatt's protests. He grumbled and stayed quiet in the beginning, painfully enduring each song. But when Juno came on, Schlatt glanced from the road to the passenger seat, smiling as you passionately performed the lyrics. You weren't far from home when the song came on. Little did you know, you wanted this. You planned for this.

The lyrics were playful and fun, but just freaky enough to where Jay would notice and… well, you know.

I know you want my touch for life

If you love me right, then who knows?

I might let you make me Juno

You know I just might

Let you lock me down tonight

One of me is cute, but two, though?

Give it to me, baby

He pulled into the driveway, putting the car in park, turning towards you and smirking as you chant the lyrics proudly. You pulled on his shirt during , “lock me down tonight “.

You make me wanna make you fall in love

Oh, late at night, I'm thinkin' 'bout you, ah, ah-ah

Wanna try out some freaky positions?

Have you ever tried this one?

As you sing, you stare into his eyes, bending and arching your back as far as the front seat could allow you. Schlatt chuckled and raised his eyebrows, staring back at you in amusement.

This was getting good.

You wrap your arms around him as you sing the next verse. You giggle and lean into him, almost daring him to kiss you right then and there.

Adore me, hold me, and explore me

Mark your territory

Tell me I'm the only, only, only, only one

Adore me, hold me, and explore me

I'm so fuckin' horny

Tell me I'm the only, only, only, only one

You flip your hair back and forth, staring up at him and making sexy, silly faces. Needless to say, Schlatt was turned on by your air of confidence and goofiness. His arousal grew with each word that came out of your mouth, making him feel like you were singing just for him. As soon as the song ended, he couldn't help but take you inside and fuck you right in the living room.

Juno was ringing in both your ears as Schlatt pounded into you on the couch. The song drifted between your moans and whimpers. What can you say? It was super catchy! You smile to yourself as Schlatt thrusts into you, realizing that he was becoming a Sabrina fan just as much as you were.

I wrote this in like 30 minutes at 1am so please forgive me for any mistakes, haha. T'was fun!

i need a schlatt fic based on juno by sabrina carpenter so bad,,, i would write it myself but Y’ALL ARE BETTER AT WRITING THAN ME PLS

[marsixm]

i dont rly ever acknowledge it outside of the moment but man so much of my job rly is just emotionally supporting a ton of my coworkers and im happy to be there for them but sometimes i wish it wasnt only me. idk. i dont rly have a point just reflecting

[speakofcompersion]

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

the doctor isnt neurodivergent or autistic or adhd or nonbinary or genderqueer or asexual. what the doctor is, is Not From Here

[thinkanamelater]

Synthesizer V looking at voicebanks previously released for other engines:

[dollie-ollie]

everyday i scroll the mumscarian tag like i’m searching for an oasis in the desert to keep me alive, but alas, all i find is sand

[redtsundere-writes]

Extra: Christmas Special

King!SukunaRyomen x Servant!FemReader

Summary: You used to be just another servant among the army of humans operating under the command of the terrible king, Sukuna Ryomen. An ordinary human who only knows how to wash, clean and cook. Until one day, he notices something in you that you hadn't seen before.

Tags: MDNI. +18. Murder. Blood. Cannibalism. Sukuna Ryomen Is The Warning Itself. Nudity. Sexual Display. Vaginal. Fingering. Sometimes fluff, sometimes angst. NOT Beta read.

Word Count:  1817 words.

Beginning. | ← Previous | Next →

Sukuna could do whatever the hell he wanted with his servants. If he wanted them all to sing a song every time they saw him, he just had to order it. If he wanted them all to participate in a pitched battle in the forest, he could ask for it without a problem. If he wanted them to run around the courtyard to serve as targets for his archery practice like deer in danger, he could do it. Lately he was liking to ask you specifically for things since out of all the servants, you always tried to do it with a good attitude even if the tasks were repetitive or meaningless.

The white season of the year had finally arrived, which meant that Christmas was right around the corner. You watched the snow fall from the window of the king's hall, the corners crystallizing as you spent hours washing the floor. You were on your knees with the bucket at your side. You dipped the rag back into the ice water to scrub the soapy floor. Sukuna had asked you to clean the floors by hand even though you had mopped the floor yesterday, a mere excuse he had come up with to watch you for hours comfortably from his throne.

The two of you were alone under the lights of the hundreds of candles in the chandelier. The only sound you could hear was the wind gently hitting the window. You were so focused on your task that you didn't see the king observing your figure without any shame. Your hands went numb from the cold. You cupped them against your mouth to blow warm air in a sad attempt to warm yourself. You had trouble swallowing, your nose was red, and you were starting to sniffle. The signs couldn't be more obvious, you were getting a cold. Before you could return to your task, you sneezed. The first went unnoticed, the second caught the king's attention, and the third worried him.

"What's wrong?" Sukuna asked you angrily.

“Nothing, my king.” You answered, but then sneezed again.

“That doesn’t sound like anything.” Sukuna inquired.

“It’s just the change of season. A cold, that’s all.”

The servants wore the same uniform all year round, so it was common for servants to get sick from wearing such thin fabrics during the off-season. Sukuna rested his head on his fist as he admired you washing the already clean floor of his living room. He never cared that any of them got sick or died from the cold, but for some strange reason, he couldn’t let that happen to you.

“I’m cold.” Sukuna complained loudly. You immediately dropped your task to assist him.

“Do you want me to make you some tea or bring you a comforter, my king?” You offered.

“Come,” he ordered you.

You dropped the rag on the bucket and ran to see what he needed. Sukuna sat properly against the throne. You were about to ask him what he needed again, but he pulled you roughly towards him. Before you knew it, you were sitting on his wide lap. Sukuna wrapped you in his robes, pressing you against his strong chest. You completely forgot about the cold as your face immediately warmed up. “It’s warm,” you thought in surprise.

“She’s freezing,” Sukuna thought as he felt you shiver under his arms. He stroked your head as if you were a dog, rubbing your hands between his and hugging your body tightly to warm you up. You weren’t shivering from the cold, it was the involuntary reaction of your nervousness at being so close to him. You didn’t even have the courage to speak to break the tension.

“I’m going to use you for my own comfort.” Sukuna whispered in your ear, excusing himself again.

“Y-yes, my king,” you stuttered.

Sukuna glanced at you to see if you had bought his lie. You didn’t even deign to look at him, your gaze fixed straight ahead as if seeing him would turn you to stone. He smiled and closed his eyes to enjoy having you all to himself. “Why did he say he’s cold if he’s actually hot?” you wondered, melting against him at his sweet touch. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye as his fingers continued to run through the pattern of your hair. He looked happy. “Did he do it for me?”

You woke up on Christmas morning hugged by another servant to survive another cold night in the dungeon. You had barely been able to sleep because you had spent the whole night finishing the gift you had prepared for the king. Your fingers were full of stings from not being able to see clearly. You worked with the subtle glow of the night coming through one of the windows as a light source. But you didn't mind, as it was your way of thanking the king for being so kind to you. In his own way, but kind.

Like every day, Uraume forced them to form a line to take attendance, only this time, the line moved slower than usual. It turned out that he was handing out black scarves with matching gloves, something unexpected for everyone considering that the king doesn't care if they die of pneumonia. When it was your turn, Uraume pulled out of another box a pale pink scarf with matching gloves. You noticed that it had the initials "S.R." embroidered with white thread on one end.

"Why is mine different?" You asked curiously as you put on the gloves to cover the scars from the night before.

"No idea." Uraume lied. They knew it was because the king had asked for that set especially for you, and that all the others were to mislead his favoritism towards you.

"And what is today's itinerary?" You put on your scarf, tucking the ends into the hole in front of your neck to ensure it wouldn't move from its place when it was time to do your chores.

“The same as always,” Uraume replied monotonously.

“But today is Christmas. Isn't there going to be a special dinner for the king? Isn't he going to open presents? Does he even have cookies and milk?”

“King Sukuna doesn't celebrate Christmas,” Uraume shook his head.

“Oh, that's a shame,” you commented before continuing down the hall to start your hallway. You looked at the scarf and gloves made of wool. “Did he do it for me?” You wondered with a silly smile on your face.

Sukuna called you to his office. You ran in so as not to make him wait a single minute. The king ordered you to organize his books from A to Z. You got to work immediately while he went through documents. Occasionally, Sukuna would look up to see how you looked with his little gift. The scarf fluttered every time you walked back and forth to get all the books out of their respective places. His initials were exposed on your chest, causing his lips to curl for a second.

“You’re not sneezing anymore,” Sukuna noticed.

“I feel better now, my king. The scarf and gloves you gave us have helped me,” you told him with a smile, still working.

“You seem to like them,” he said.

“I love them. Especially the scarf, because it can also be used as a hat.”

You pulled the back of the scarf, placing it over your head like a hood. The scarf matched his hair, your hands caressing your face delicately to shape the gloves along with that innocent smile that killed his tough personality. Sukuna was mesmerized by how cute you looked. If that was the effect you had on him with a simple scarf and gloves, he had no idea what was in store for him if he saw you in long dresses, gorgeous heels, and fragile tiaras. He could already imagine it. That was when he decided he was going to spend all of his gold coins so he could make his fantasy a reality.

You finished rearranging his books perfectly after a couple of hours. Sukuna had shuffled through all the books to make sure you took longer than you should so he could see you longer. You ran a duster over them to make sure everything was spotless. It was the little details that made you his favorite out of all the servants.

“Do you need anything else?” You dusted your hands off after another job well done.

“You can go now.” Sukuna had run out of excuses to keep you locked up with him. You bowed and turned around to leave.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” you thought out loud before returning to him. Sukuna arched an eyebrow at your strange comment. “I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, but I still wanted to bring you a small token of my affection.”

From your apron, you pulled out a black handkerchief with small white daisies embroidered on it. It had some loose threads and the pattern of the flowers wasn’t well-defined. It wasn’t fine work like what he was used to, but it was adorably homemade. Sukuna recognized the fabric from somewhere.

“Where did you get the fabric?” He asked without taking his eyes off his gift.

“It’s from the kimono we had to throw away because we couldn’t get the blood stains out.” You answered timidly. “I know how much you liked that kimono and the flowers, so I made this for you.”

“Get out,” Sukuna ordered without looking you in the eyes.

“Yes, my king,” you stammered at the direct order. You bowed and hurried out.

As soon as the door closed, the king hid his blushing face behind the handkerchief. “Why are you so cute?!” He growled against it.

He had never received anything like this in all his years of existence, not even from Uraume. Something unique that couldn’t be replicated unless it was made by that special someone, not because of the object itself, but because of the meaning behind it. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, but it only got worse because the handkerchief smelled like you. “A small token of my affection” he repeated in his head as he admired your craftsmanship.

A pink spot on the white blanket caught his eye. He turned around in his chair to look out the window. You had gone out to the courtyard with a broom to go to the weapons storage, Uraume had given you the task of finding the rat nest. Sukuna smiled to himself as he watched you shake the snow off your boots and head like a little field mouse.

“A delicate daisy hidden in the snow,” he whispered to himself. His smile widened as he watched you steel yourself to face the rats with your improvised weapon.

Masterlist.

taglist:

Tag list: @bbnbhm @pxnellian @kbirdieee2540 @konigswifeyforlifey @kyo-kyo1 @calico-cheriies @imas1mpp @alone-the-honored-one @vlads-dracula3 @bigraga-sk @neeke-lilac02 @shaazd @airandyeah @energiepie @awkward-walking-potato @delightfully-studying @danniwerner @paradisestarfishh @missroro

(let me know if you want to be tagged in next chapters!)

[endiness]

can i just say how much it fucking annoys me when show haters bring up geralt punching jaskier — A COMPLETELY RANDOM STRANGER WHOM HE DID NOT FUCKING KNOW AT THE TIME (and with the circumstances under which he punched him being jaskier positively calling him "the butcher of blaviken") — as proof that the show didn't understand their friendship at all though. like what friendship. what the fuck are you talking about. they met like five fucking seconds ago! what friendship! (and how does this """logic""" work anyway when geralt was still willing to basically die for jaskier a few hours later anyway!?!?)