#oh heck i just realize that i forgot to tag this as

[khrysteensart]

HEY how about that finale, huh??? Here's an alternate ending.

Original comic from Hark! A Vagrant

[pixlokita]

Painful wing fanart incoming but you already knew about it and colored it so like -w- hiding it for the gore and blood tho >>

I feel like it was less gory in black and white but honestly 👀✨ aight don’t mind me I’m going to the tag now

BEHOLD!!! AN ART TRADE!!! @pixlokita it is time!

Caution, do not click read more if you do not intend to read. This is 12,192 words. And no, I'm not kidding. This is so much longer than most of the stuff I write. That being said, enjoy!!!

Evan said Michael was sick, which worried Jeremy. Being sick should not mean Michael would try so hard to avoid Jeremy, especially since he knew it would make Jeremy worry about him more.

But the main part Jeremy was worried about was the way Evan’s new wings kept fluffing up. Was Michael mad at him?

Don’t worry about it, Jeremy, he told himself. If Michael’s mad, he’ll tell you eventually.

It just stung. Evan and Gregory were wandering around the house, trying to see if their wings would allow them to do various things. Evan’s were too small to do much, and Gregory still hadn’t gotten used to them yet, but at least they had something to do while Mr. Emily tried to figure out what could possibly cause this.

“Ugh!” Gregory exclaimed, plopping down on the sofa next to Jeremy. He took the soda from Jeremy’s hand and took a giant sip. “These things suck.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, unsuccessfully trying to retrieve his Coke.

“I mean,” Gregory scowled, taking another sip, “that wings are stupid. They don’t even bend the way I want them to.”

“Well…” Jeremy said thoughtfully. “They are just extra limbs, right? With bones and joints and stuff?”

“I guess so.” Gregory finally gave Jeremy his soda back. “But they don’t move how I want-“

“You couldn’t do much when you were a baby right? Learning to crawl?” Jeremy chugged the rest of his Coke before putting the empty can down. “It’s an accomplishment when babies get their heads off the floor on their own, you know. And rolling and stuff.”

“Oh.” Gregory clearly hadn’t thought about it that way. “But Evan’s got excellent control already.”

“He’s had them longer.” Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe he’s just a quick learner. Or maybe, there’s less wing to work with. Could be a bunch of things.”

“But…” Gregory sighed. He inched closer to Jeremy on the couch, his wings refusing to bend in a natural way.

Jeremy awkwardly looped a comforting arm around Gregory. “You’ll get there eventually.”

“They just hurt. All the time.”

“I can’t help with that,” Jeremy chuckled.

“Sure you can! Mike did this thing once, where he…” Gregory chewed his lip. “Well, I’m not exactly sure what he did.”

“You want me to pet you?” Jeremy said in disbelief. “Nuh uh. Go ask Evan. That’s not… No.”

“Why’d you make it weird?” Gregory shook his head. “It was like…”

“Like a shoulder massage,” Evan interjected helpfully. His wings flexed, expanding fully as he explained. They barely went past his shoulders, but the point got across.

Jeremy admired the confidence with which he showed them. He’d personally be too worried about people calling him a freak. Which, thinking about it, was not likely to happen in this house. Everyone was too nice here.

“Mikey went like this,” Evan said, pulling Jeremy’s arm back to get to Gregory’s wings.

Gently, Evan messaged the inner edge of Gregory’s wings, right where they extended from his back. Gregory’s wings convulsed, the claw on one nearly hitting Jeremy in the face. “I think they get itchy,” Evan mused. “We might have to just do this more often.”

“No kidding,” Gregory said with a sigh, his eyes closing and his shoulders relaxing. “But Mike’s still better at it.”

“Wonder where he got his practice,” Jeremy replied. He didn’t mean to sound bitter, but it still came across that way.

Evan winched, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he kept focused on his task. Gregory sighed absently. “Wings are a lot of work.”

“Seems that way,” Jeremy replied.

Gregory folded and unfolded his hands while Evan worked. “I just…”

Jeremy spared him a glance as he went to get another can of Coke. “Something on your mind?”

“His girlfriend,” Evan said absently.

“Cassie’s not my girlfriend!” Gregory said, straightening. His wings fluffed up as he said it.

“Oh.” Jeremy had no idea what to make of that. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know!” Gregory replied. He ran a hand through his hair to try to make it lay flat. “She was at Evan’s party, and she looked really bad. I think Mike took care of it, but he didn’t really say anything about it afterwards.”

“She’s probably at the hospital, Gregory,” Evan replied, trying to be soothing. “We can visit her once we figure out what to do about this first.”

“Stupid wings,” Gregory grumbled. “Making everything harder.”

Jeremy didn’t know how to reply to that. He cracked the can open and took a sip. “Have you asked Mike?”

“He’s sick,” Evan answered for Gregory. His wings fluffed up again.

“Maybe we should check on him then. He’s been resting all week right?” Jeremy asked, trying to be casual about it. Evan had been very guarded about his older brother this whole time.

Jeremy came over every day, and every day, Evan said the same thing. “Mike’s sick. He can’t see anyone right now.”

It had been happening since the day Gregory’s wings had burst through his skin. Jeremy was more than a little concerned. Sure, he hadn’t reacted well to the wings at first, but none of them had. He’d been more supportive when Evan’s had burst through later that same day.

But Michael’s expression became very guarded for the rest of the day, and the next day, he was “sick” and couldn’t see Jeremy. And Evan was very good at shooing Jeremy away when he tried too hard to see him.

“Shouldn’t he eat something?” Jeremy asked.

Evan frowned. “Mikey told me that there’s not much he can stomach right now.”

“Crackers always work,” Jeremy mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he tried again. “What about water? Maybe he’ll start feeling better with some fluids.”

“I… guess…” Evan seemed less sure. Conflicted, he looked at Gregory and then glanced at the closed door to his cousin’s room.

“I can get it. You keep helping Gregory,” Jeremy said quickly. He didn’t want Evan to change his mind.

Evan relented, nodding slightly. “Okay. Make sure to get him a big glass. And don’t be loud. And-“

“I know how it works when someone’s sick, thank you.” Jeremy set his Coke down and rushed back to the kitchen to grab a glass.

Evan had not been exaggerating. When Jeremy crept into the room with the glass of water, Michael was curled into a tight ball on the bed.

“Mike?” Jeremy whispered into the quiet room.

Michael groaned in response. He rolled over to face Jeremy, exposing the hair plastered to his face with sweat.

“I um.” Jeremy swallowed. He felt a little foolish now. Michael was just literally sick. He wasn’t mad at Jeremy or anything like that. “I brought you some water.”

Michael opened his eyes, feebly reaching for the glass.

“Are you strong enough to hold it on your own?” Jeremy asked.

Michael had to consider that for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“Here-“ Jeremy sat next to Michael on the bed, helping pull him into an upright position so he could drink the water.

Michael leaned heavily against Jeremy, eagerly drinking the water. Jeremy had to brace himself against the wall to support the extra weight. Then abruptly, Michael pulled away.

“J… Jeremy,” Michael whispered weakly. He gripped at Jeremy’s jacket, burying his face in Jeremy’s shirt. “I…”

“It’s okay, Mike-“

Michael seized in Jeremy’s arms, sobbing heavily. His hold got tighter and tighter as his body shuddered with pain. Jeremy tried to set the glass on the bedside table, but he barely had it on the edge and water soaked into the carpet as he pulled Michael the rest of the way into his lap. “I got you,” Jeremy said into Michael’s hair.

“It hurts,” Michael cried, still shaking.

“You’ll get through this,” Jeremy mumbled.

A tearing noise broke through the sound of Michael’s sobs, even as they intensified. “JEREMY!!!” Michael wailed.

“I have you, Mike. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

Dimly, Jeremy registered the large wings erupting from Michael’s back. Oh. Oh. This was happening now. Bloody feathers spread out, wrapping around Jeremy to return his comforting gesture.

Gradually, Michael’s crying ceased, and Jeremy was left holding an exhausted teenager with bloody wings. “I am sorry,” Michael whispered, pulling his hands back, the wings retracting slightly. “I did not mean to, uh…”

“It’s okay, Michael.” Jeremy tried to smile at him. He was determined not to squirm in discomfort from all the blood currently soaking into his jacket.

“I… should go shower,” Michael said awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Jeremy wriggled uncomfortably in his jacket.

“Sorry,” Michael said. “I can wash that if you want.”

“It’s not the biggest deal,” Jeremy said.

“It is if you go home wearing a jacket covered in blood,” Michael replied. “It’s only fair that I clean it, since that’s my blood.”

That wasn’t how Jeremy saw it, but he figured he wasn’t getting out of this. “Okay.”

Michael shifted carefully, putting his feet on the carpet. Almost instantly after taking his weight off the bed, he completely lost his balance. His wings flew out, trying to redistribute the weight, but Jeremy didn’t realize that as he caught Michael by the waist. Both of them tumbled off the bed, Jeremy hitting the carpet with a soft ‘oomph.’

“I am sorry. This was not my intent,” Michael said from above Jeremy.

“They take some getting used to, huh?” Jeremy replied, trying to ignore the heat rising to his face.

It hadn’t been much on the bed with Michael clinging to him like a lifeline. But on the floor with Michael on top of him, pinning him to the ground, Jeremy was suddenly aware of how close Michael was to him.

Michael smiled ruefully. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk on my own right now. I don’t know how I’m going to wash all this blood off by myself.”

“Maybe your uncle could help?”

“He’s probably back at the library again,” Michael mused as he crawled off Jeremy.

Evan wouldn’t be able to handle it, Jeremy knew that much. And he couldn’t ask for Gregory’s help without alerting Evan to the amount of blood that coated them both.

“Do you want me to help?” Jeremy asked, feeling the heat more intensely in his face. Please say no. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it.

“Really?” Michael chewed his lip, considering it. “I would not want to be a bother… But if you are offering…”

Jeremy’s heart quickened at the prospect. “R-right.”

“Help me up?” Michael asked.

Jeremy pulled Michael to his feet, unprepared for the wings to wrap around him again. “Um.”

“Sorry. I don’t have much control over them yet,” Michael replied sheepishly.

“Do they want me to carry you?” Jeremy gauged the idea of carrying Michael to the bathroom. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever come up with.

“It’d probably be less awkward than walking there like this,” Michael agreed.

“So I’m just going to…” Jeremy twisted around in the space the wings allowed him. Michael hissed out a pained breath, but soon he was behind Jeremy. “How well can you jump?”

Pretty well, apparently. Jeremy barely needed to adjust for the weight of Michael on his own back, hands linked beneath Michael’s knees. “Okay. Let’s get you taken care of.”

“I am not a child, Jer,” Michael said wearily. Still, he pressed the side of his face into Jeremy’s hair. “I am sorry to be such a burden.”

“You’re not a burden, Mike. You’re my friend. I’m absolutely willing to help you out when you’re in need.”

“Mmmmm,” Michael sounded almost mournful. But he didn’t argue.

“Okay,” Jeremy said. “So, I’m thinking they might need a decent soaking, right? Birds like to be fully submerged when they clean their wings right?”

Michael blinked at him from where he sat on the toilet lid. “What are you even saying?”

“The blood.”

“It is not dried yet. Not completely anyway.”

“So what? You were planning to just wing this whole thing, weren’t you?” Jeremy shrugged off his jacket.

Michael snorted. “I was planning to shower, Jeremy. But I guess I was planning to wing it, considering how I have wings now.” His wings stretched as he spoke, emphasizing his point. “I just don’t have the strength to stand there long enough to wash them off.”

“I-“ Jeremy sputtered. Clearing his throat, he tried to skip over the accidental pun he’d made. “Just going to let the water do the work?”

“That’s the goal.” Michael frowned. “There’s just a few problems.”

“Such as?”

“My shirt isn’t going to come off the same way it went on this morning.”

“Are you particularly attached to that shirt?” Jeremy asked.

“Not really. Could try to just-“ Michael pulled at the collar of his shirt.

“I’ll go grab a pair of scissors,” Jeremy said as Michael pulled experimentally at his shirt again.

He had to be careful walking by the couch, noticing Evan curled up for a nap. Gregory was nowhere in sight.

Returning with the scissors, Jeremy nearly dropped them upon seeing Michael. “What happened? I was gone for two minutes!”

Michael’s shirt was hanging off his body in shreds. When Jeremy looked closer, he could see sharp claws on Michael’s hands. “I…” Michael shrugged sheepishly. “I thought I could tear the fabric and take it off myself.”

Jeremy’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t let himself laugh. “Okay. I don’t think you did a very good job of it though.”

“It seems as though I failed…”

“Here, let me just…” Jeremy carefully reached around Michael’s head, one knee resting between his legs. It felt strange to be cutting through Michael’s shirt, but as the fabric gave way, Michael seemed to relax a little more.

Jeremy recalled Gregory and Evan both sitting on the couch as Michael measured the shape they needed cut from their shirts for the wings. Perhaps Michael needed a few of those done as well. Something to keep in mind for later.

“Hey, why is there blood all over-“ Gregory’s eyes widened as he peered into the bathroom.

Michael straightened quickly. Jeremy pulled back, hiding the scissors. “Hello.” Michael waved awkwardly, his wings stiff and very clearly exposed.

“You… you have them too?” Gregory’s voice seemed so small.

“Yes, it appears as though we will match.”

Gregory swallowed harshly. “I can help. I know how to get blood stains out of fabric.”

“I would really appreciate it. Thank you, Superstar.” Michael beamed at Gregory, who flushed a deep red.

“It’s no big deal…”

“Not to you,” Jeremy said softly. “But it helps more than you realize. Thank you.”

Gregory opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He scratched his neck as his wings fluffed up, finally saying, “I’ll be quick. It probably won’t be good if Evan finds out.”

“It would be best if he did not know how messy the process is,” Michael agreed.

Gregory nodded, smoothing his hair down before hurrying out of the room.

Michael wadded the scraps of his shirt into a ball and tossed it to the floor. “Now that that’s sorted…”

Jeremy determinedly kept his eyes from wandering as he helped Michael stand. His friend leaned heavily against him for support as he attempted to undo his pants.

Jeremy belatedly realized that the only way this whole thing would work was if the shower ran over both of them. I’m going to be drenched, he thought sorrowfully as Michael muttered to himself in frustration.

“You could probably just sit while I wash the blood off,” Jeremy said when Michael finally stood there in his boxers. “Since it would be less exhausting for you.”

Michael blinked. “I suppose you are correct. I should have thought this through more.”

“It’s no big deal, man. You’re probably dealing with blood loss or whatever.”

“Still…”

“Hey, it’s fine. You spend all this time taking care of everybody. Maybe it’s time someone took care of you, right?”

Michael chewed his lip. “I suppose.”

“Okay. We’ll get you cleaned up in no time, Mike.” Jeremy said, smiling supportively. Michael tentatively smiled back.

As it turned out, it was a lot harder to clean up Michael than Jeremy initially thought. He kept twitching away, hissing out noises of pain at Jeremy’s touch.

Michael clenched his fists in his lap. “Okay. Clearly this is not the proper solution.”

“I can’t do this when it’s clearly hurting you, Mike. I just…” Jeremy leaned forward to rest his head against the back of Michael’s.

“This is nothing. I have endured much worse before.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

“Jeremy.” Michael said calmly, wringing water out of the washcloth. “I am sure it has become clear to you that things are not how they should be. The wings are only one part of it.”

“Yeah? What I’m hearing is that your father is abusive.” Jeremy wearily took the washcloth back, dabbing it gently against the space between Michael’s wings. At least like that it didn’t seem to hurt him.

“Well, not in the way you would think. Actually, I was thinking more of the comparison between growing limbs and losing organs. I think losing organs is still a more painful experience than this.”

“So you want me to just ignore your pain?” Jeremy asked, trying to decipher Michael’s meaning.

“I am saying I can handle it. I can be a man about this.”

No one is doubting that, Jeremy thought grimly to himself. “Maybe I can’t.” He tentatively rubbed at a clump of blood in the inner edge of Michael’s wing.

Immediately, it swung at him, throwing him against the sink. Pain flared throughout Jeremy’s entire body as he hit the floor. Faintly he registered that his face was bleeding.

“Jeremy?” Michael asked, twisting around. “Are you alright?”

“Nnnnngh,” Jeremy groaned. “I don’t think I broke anything.”

“I am so sorry. It appears that the wings are more sensitive than I thought.”

“No kidding.” Jeremy pressed his fingers to his cheek. He was lucky. The clawed joint of Michael’s wing had hit him just below the eye. Any higher, and he might’ve lost it completely. “Now what?”

“I suppose I should just sit under the water and hope for the best.”

“I think Gregory and Evan mentioned messages working out the soreness. Maybe I could at the very least-“

“I think we should avoid that for now,” Michael replied, his voice sounding stiff. “You have already been hurt once today.”

“Michael.” Jeremy tried to make his voice sound stern. “I knew the risks when I offered to help. So let me help.”

“Fine. Just do not do anything that will put you in danger again.”

“Don’t lie about how much it hurts next time,” Jeremy shot back. “Still gotta get all that blood out of your wings, you know.”

Michael clenched his jaw, but he only stared down into his hands. He couldn’t face Jeremy with the nasty cut on his face any longer.

Jeremy was lighter after that. He knew that even pressing a little too hard would make the wings spaz, and over the course of the next few hours, he succeeded with minimal interruptions.

Gregory popped in near the end to check on the progress. “Henry’s back. Do you want me to tell him about this?” He gestured at the entirety of the bathroom.

“I believe he should be informed. Please ensure that my brother does not come to investigate before we are done here.”

“And maybe grab him a dry set of clothes while you’re at it,” Jeremy said. As an afterthought, he looked at himself. “Maybe grab me something too, if you would.”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How much does it hurt?”

“I suspect that I should be in more pain than I am,” Michael said, considering the question. “But Jeremy has done an excellent job of making sure the process is less than agonizing.”

“Uh, okay?” Gregory shot Jeremy a look.

“I can’t hardly touch him without the wings reacting,” Jeremy explained. “Nearly lost an eye the first time I did that.”

“So it’s bad.”

“It’s bad,” Jeremy agreed.

Gregory shot Michael a look loaded with concern, but he gave Jeremy a thumbs up. “I’ll ask Henry if he can get you guys some dry clothes. Maybe I’ll just imply that something else is going on in here if Evan asks.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that made Jeremy’s face burn.

“Gregory-“

But Gregory had already ducked out of the room, laughing quietly to himself. Jeremy sighed, preparing himself for the inevitable glares he’d get from Evan.

Michael sighed softly once Jeremy finally went to smooth out the wings. “That feels really nice.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jeremy said softly. “I think we got all the blood out.”

“Is it time to turn the water off then?” Michael asked, his eyes closing.

“I’d say so.” Thank goodness, Jeremy thought as he turned the dials back and pressed the tab down. “Now you need to dry off a bit.”

“Mmmmm….” Michael hummed to himself as Jeremy stepped into the tub with a towel and started rubbing Michael’s head with it.

Michael’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at Jeremy. “You really do like taking care of me, don’t you?”

Jeremy huffed out a sigh. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, would I?”

“I thought you just stuck around to steal our Coca Cola.”

“That too. But I do enjoy your company, Mike.”

The smile broke into a full grin as Michael tugged the towel out of Jeremy’s hands. “That is wonderful news, Jeremy.”

Did he really not know? Jeremy wondered.

Before he had a chance to answer, Henry peered into the bathroom, assessing the pool of water on the floor. He raised a tired eyebrow as he observed the two boys in the bathtub. “I wasn’t inclined to believe Gregory before, but seeing it for myself…”

Jeremy’s face ignited with heat. “I was just helping clean blood from his wings. Nothing else happened, I swear.”

“I was referring to the fact that Michael grew wings. What did you think I meant?” Henry’s eyebrows scrunched, and Michael gave Jeremy a funny look.

“I thought Gregory might’ve said something else,” Jeremy replied, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

“Are you alright, Jeremy? You look a bit feverish…” A frown tugged at the corner of Michael’s mouth.

“I’m going to go grab some more towels. And you two will be wanting a dry set of clothes, won’t you?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy nodded quickly.

Henry hummed at them before walking back out of the room.

“I am grateful for both you and Gregory,” Michael said, using the towel to dry the rest of his body. He slowly rose to his feet, finally able to stand on his own.

Jeremy determinedly did not stare. Instead, he wrung water from his hair.

“I would offer you the towel, but I believe it is too wet to be any real help. Seeing as your clothes are also drenched, the best course of action is to wait for Henry to return.”

Jeremy smiled weakly. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Michael stepped out of the tub, hanging the towel back on the rack after he went. Jeremy could admit that the wings looked pretty good on Mike. He’d been weary of it when he’d first seen the wings on Gregory, and he knew that Gregory was defensive about it now. But maybe seeing him help Michael would help.

“Do you need a bandage for your face?” Michael asked, making eye contact with Jeremy through the mirror above the sink.

“Oh, I uh.” Jeremy blinked at him. “It doesn’t… It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Michael’s mouth twitched. “I understand that me being like this must be unpleasant for you, but that does not mean you do not need assistance with that cut.”

Being like this? Was Michael phrasing things like that on purpose? Was he talking about the fact that he was in his boxers or the fact that he had wings? Jeremy crossed his arms before remembering that his shirt was soaked. He uncrossed them and simply said, “There is no problem. I just don’t need a Band-Aid.”

Michael walked back over, and Jeremy tried to take a step back before remembering he was standing in a bathtub. Trapped, Jeremy stood stiffly as Michael ran a thumb over his scratch. Don’t flinch, he told himself, but it still stung. The cut was pretty deep.

“You likely do need a bandage, despite your claim otherwise,” Michael replied. “I can help, if you need assistance.”

Michael gently wiped blood from Jeremy’s face and went in search of medical supplies. It stung when he cleaned the wound, but Jeremy found himself too fascinated by Michael’s cautious care to really notice. The tiniest furrow in Michael’s eyebrows appeared when he put the bandage on Jeremy’s face, and his hands lingered on Jeremy’s jaw for just a moment too long.

He almost seemed sad when he stepped back from Jeremy. “All better. See?” Michael smiled so quickly Jeremy wondered if he’d imagined the pain in Michael’s eyes.

“Y… yeah. Um. Thanks.” Jeremy touched the bandage, surprised by how big it was. “I didn’t realize the scratch was that big.”

“I still feel terrible for doing that to you. Is there any way I can make it up to you?” Michael asked.

Unable to come up with anything to say other than a request for Michael to kiss him, Jeremy shook his head and turned his attention to Michael’s wings. “Do they still hurt?”

“Not as much as they did,” Michael flexed them experimentally. Jeremy smiled faintly, recalling that Gregory was having immense difficulty controlling his own wings. Perhaps the size made it easier.

Michael made a face. “It appears that moving them still hurts, however.”

“Evan mentioned something about messaging the muscles earlier. He was doing it for Gregory.”

Michael brightened. “I suppose I shall have to ask for Evan’s help with that endeavor then. Thank you for the reminder.”

I could do it for you, Jeremy thought desperately. He didn’t want to just have to leave after everything. This was the most time he’d spent with Michael before, and the guy was just so chill about everything. But being in the same space as him, watching him interact with his brother and Gregory made him want to stay so much longer. Michael Afton was the most compassionate person Jeremy had ever met, and he wanted to be able to help the man who tried so hard to help everyone else.

It didn’t help that Jeremy was also hopelessly in love with him.

As Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, Henry returned with the changes of clothes. Michael turned his attention away from Jeremy to thank Henry and apologize for the water all over the floor, and Jeremy was left to awkwardly collect the pile of bloody clothes on the floor to offer them to Henry.

Henry stared at the rags for a moment, his face paling significantly. “These were Michael’s clothes?”

“Yes.” Michael was separating the clothes to split between himself and Jeremy, and he was hardly focused on Henry. “I could not find a way to safely remove my shirt without causing more pain, so Jeremy helped me cut it off. I am afraid blood does not come out of denim very easily, so my jeans are also a lost cause.”

Brightening, Michael put a bundle of clothing into Jeremy’s arms. “You can change in Charlie’s old room.”

“Why can’t you both change in here?” Henry asked, sounding confused.

Pressure built in Jeremy’s throat as he tried to answer that question. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of himself. Not by any measure at all. He just knew it was dangerous, what he was. People didn’t exactly approve of people like him, after all. Especially not here.

Michael gave Henry a scathing look as tears built up behind Jeremy’s eyes. “Maybe we don’t want to change in the same room.”

Henry blinked in surprise, but he glanced between the two boys for a moment before making his exit. Michael patted Jeremy’s shoulder. “I can go to Charlie’s room instead, if you would prefer to change in here.”

Jeremy still couldn’t speak, so he just nodded. The gentle way Michael nodded back at him filled his body with a strange warmth. A few moments later, Michael was gone, and Jeremy could finally change out of the sopping wet layers he’d been in this whole time.

Half-way through changing, Jeremy noticed that most of the clothes were baggy and easy to layer over each other. There were almost too many options. A jolt ran through him when he considered that Michael had sorted through the clothes. Either Michael was very particular, or he knew.

Hurriedly, Jeremy finished changing and practically ran to the bedroom where Michael said he’d be changing. He basically flung the door open to a startled Mike, who had jeans on but no shirt. “Is something wrong?” Michael asked.

His wings and hair fluffed up, like he’d been expecting a threat, but his expression was one of concern. Jeremy knew he was shaking, knew he wouldn’t be able to speak for a moment, but he stood there and just stared. Why did Michael have to be adorable in everything he did? The way his mouth curled into a frown made half of his mouth seem to vanish, like he was biting on it constantly distracted Jeremy from what he wanted to say.

He let his eyes wander over Michael’s bare torso as he tried to find the words to speak. The worst of his secrets was surely out already, and if Michael figured out his feelings, it would be less painful than him knowing the other secret.

Fascination over the jagged scar across Michael’s chest sprouted in his heart. Jeremy had seen it before, of course. He’d seen it in the bathroom, but he’d been trying not to stare before.

“Jeremy?” Michael looked worried now. “Are you alright?”

Maybe Michael didn’t know. Maybe he just hadn’t grabbed a shirt at all, since they had to be cut specifically for the wings anyway. Jeremy was probably just overreacting. And even if he wasn’t, it seemed that Michael wasn’t going to bring it up. “Uhmm. I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Michael relaxed. “I’m quite alright, Jeremy. I’m not as weak as I was before. The shower certainly helped.”

“You’re um. You’re very fluffy right now.”

“Am I?” Michael ran a hand through his hair, feeling where it stuck up all over the place. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thanks for talking to Henry back there.”

“It was nothing.” Michael blinked at him, wings twitching. “Gregory did a good job cleaning up.” He gestured at the carpet and the bed.

The bed was made very neatly, corners tucked so much better than Jeremy could do on a good day. There were only faint hints that someone had been bleeding there, and they were only visible because Jeremy was looking for them. “Yeah. He certainly did.”

A fond smile crossed Michael’s face at that. “He’s so sweet.”

Jeremy didn’t really believe that, but he nodded anyway. He didn’t want Michael to stop smiling for anything. It was so much better than his frown in every possible way.

“We should… I um. I think we should probably head back to the living room,” Jeremy said awkwardly.

“Right, yes. I suppose it is almost time for you to head home too.” Michael blinked, like he was shaking himself out of a daydream. “Or maybe you could stay for supper?”

Jeremy smiled. “I would love that.”

Evan was awestruck when he saw his brother’s wings. “They’re so big!”

“Soft too,” Jeremy said, trying to encourage Evan’s excitement.

Gregory made a noise in the back of his throat before saying, “You would know, wouldn’t you?”

Jeremy stared at him, mouth opening and closing without words coming out.

“No softer than yours, I’m sure,” Michael said, trying to keep the peace. There wasn’t even a hint of a blush on his face at Gregory’s words. Were the jokes just going over his head? Maybe Jeremy was reading too much into it.

Shaking his head, Jeremy plopped down on the couch beside Gregory. “What happened to your face?” Gregory asked quietly.

“I wasn’t careful enough,” Jeremy answered, glancing at the two brothers as they talked about Michael’s new wings. “And Mike’s wings pack quite the punch.”

“Oh.” Gregory’s eyes widened with understanding. “That could’ve been bad.”

“You’re telling me, kid.” Jeremy shook his head, taking a sip from his can of Coke. “What were you and Evan up to today?”

“Videogames mostly,” Gregory replied. “Although everything here is so old.”

“Old?” Jeremy wrinkled his nose. “Nah, my parents are worse. You’re probably just picky. A bunch of this stuff is newer than anything my family could afford.”

“Your motorcycle is cool though.”

Jeremy smiled. “It is pretty cool.”

“Can you take me on it sometime?”

The smile faltered slightly. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“C’mon, please? All the stuff here is pretty boring, and I know Evan tries to be fun, but you can only play the same game for so long before it’s lame. And I don’t want to have to tell him it’s lame. It’s awful when he cries.”

Jeremy didn’t know what to make of that. “Maybe we could play a board game or something.”

“I wanna go on your bike sometime.” Gregory stuck out his chin stubbornly. “Or I’m going to tell Mike you have the biggest crush on him and-“

“Okay, okay! I get it. But you’ll have to wear a helmet,” Jeremy said, looking away and tugging at his shirt. “And long pants. Just in case.”

“Okay, Dad.” Gregory rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re the one who said it’s awful when Evan cries,” Jeremy shot back. “And I’ve already seen how Mike cries, and I don’t want to see that again. No thanks.”

Gregory flinched at that. “I…”

“Not to frighten you, but it can be dangerous.” Jeremy sighed. “There’s only so much you can be safe. Not to quote my mom, but ‘I’d rather you be late than dead.’ It’s just that kind of thing.”

Seeing Gregory’s expression, he softened. “I’m a firm believer in the fact that both of us are going to get lectured by Michael when he finds out. So, when he tries, we’re going to tell him that I already told you all the risks and you still wanted to do it. Unless I’ve changed your mind.”

“No, haven’t changed my mind.” Gregory scooted closer to Jeremy. “I bet I’d survive a crash better than you.”

“No way,” Jeremy laughed. “With the way you’re built? No offense, but you’d be a splatter on the cement.”

“Rude.” Gregory scoffed. Not subtly at all, he tried to steal Jeremy’s Coke from his hand.

Amused, Jeremy let him. Gregory immediately started downing what was left in the can. At that moment, Michael glanced over and gasped. “Gregory! Is that Coke? Are you encouraging this, Jeremy?”

“He took the can out of my hand. I didn’t do anything,” Jeremy smiled cheekily. “Not my fault he’s so fast.”

“Mmmmm,” Gregory squinted skeptically at the can. “This is Coke?”

“Yeah?” Jeremy looked confused. “Why? Does it taste weird to you or something?”

“It’s better than I remember.”

Michael sighed, removing the can from Gregory’s hands. “That is because Coca-Cola has different flavoring in it than you remember.”

“Are you talking about the whole cocaine in Coke thing? Because I thought that was a myth.”

Michael shot Jeremy an exasperated look. “That is not what I am talking about. Anyway, Gregory does not need caffeine in his system at this time of day. He won’t get any sleep at this rate.”

“Whoops?” Jeremy held his hands up in surrender. “Look I-“

“It does not matter.” Michael shot Gregory a meaningful look. “So long as he doesn’t keep Evan up with his extra energy, it should be fine.”

Evan peered at them all from behind the sofa. “How did he even take it from you? I thought you kept a tight grip on those at all times.”

“Caught me by surprise?” Jeremy shifted his weight as Michael gave him a skeptical look. “He’s faster than he looks, I swear.”

Evan snorted, climbing over the back of the sofa, much to Michael’s despair as he said, “Well, that gives him a one-up in physical games I guess.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I totally crush at Fazblock!” Gregory crossed his arms. “I had more blocks than you did.”

“Gregory, you’re supposed to get rid of the blocks, not keep them on the screen.” Evan shook his head despairingly. “I would’ve explained the rules if you’d asked-“

“It was different than what I’m used to, okay?” Gregory rolled his eyes. “I could totally beat you at Fazzy Kart.”

“I don’t even know what that is,” Evan replied. “I still think you made it up.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Okay, that is enough.” Michael shook his head, smiling faintly. “Gregory did not make it up. Fazzy Kart just has not come out yet.” He ruffled Evan’s hair before walking away with the empty Coke can. “And I have something for you two to do when I get back!”

“A task?” Gregory asked.

“A task.” Evan snorted. “Ah yes, my brother typically assigns me tasks. No, Gregory. He’s sending us to do chores or something. Usually he’s more mean about it though.”

“No one understands my jokes.” Gregory’s wing twitched irritably.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeremy replied. “He still laughed, even if he didn’t get it. Be nonsensical! Nobody cares as long as you’re funny.”

“That’s a terrible line of logic. I refuse to believe that people willingly follow your example,” Michael said, returning with a sheet of paper. “Evan, Gregory, I am trusting you two to find everything on this list and bring it back here.”

“We don’t have money,” Gregory said, but he still took the list from Michael’s hands. “And aren’t we supposed to stay inside until we figure out what to do about our wings? And wait, is it safe to-“

“You worry too much, Gregory. We can just ask Uncle Henry for help.” Evan peered at the grocery list. “What are you making, Mikey? This looks like spaghetti sauce, but you don’t use half this stuff normally.”

“Wait and see,” Michael said cryptically. His own wings twitched as he spoke, even seeming a tiny bit ruffled.

“With the overabundance of clothes Henry seems to have, maybe he has jackets you can just throw on over the wings or something,” Jeremy said, slowly rising from the couch as Gregory and Evan stood to examine the list closer.

“We can handle this,” Evan said with full confidence. “And we’ll try to be fast so you can get started sooner.”

“Thank you, Evan.” There was a deeper tone of relief in Michael’s voice at that. “My heroes.”

Jeremy smiled wearily at them all. “I should probably get going.” It felt like intruding to stay this long. Sure, they all tried to include him, but Michael probably had other things he planned to do while Evan and Gregory were gone. Perhaps he needed to talk to his uncle more or something. Regardless, Jeremy had overstayed his welcome.

“I thought you said you could stay for supper.” Michael sounded wounded. “Are you feeling alright? Do you need to lie down?”

He pressed his hand against Jeremy’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“I’m fine, Michael. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome, you know?” Jeremy ducked away from Michael’s hand and kept his gaze on the carpet. “Especially if you’re all going to be busy.”

“I won’t be busy until they get back,” Michael replied as Gregory tugged on Evan’s shirt to lead him away. “And even then, I won’t be too busy to talk. You can sit with me in the kitchen while I cook.”

“Yeah but…” Jeremy hesitated, combing a hand through his hair. “Look, I just don’t want to be in the way.”

“You won’t be,” Michael insisted. He sat down on the sofa where Gregory had been sitting before. Patting the cushion next to him, he waited for Jeremy to sit back down.

When Jeremy sat down, Michael gestured for him to scoot closer. “What are you doing?” Jeremy asked nervously.

“Your hair is a mess,” Michael replied. “I’m going to fix it for you.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy frowned, patting his hair self-consciously.

“It’s all tangled. That’s going to be a nightmare to brush out tomorrow if you don’t take care of it tonight.”

“Oh.” Jeremy looked away. “It shouldn’t be your responsibility-“

“My wings shouldn’t have been yours,” Michael countered. “Let me do a nice thing for you. Please.”

“I helped with your wings because I wanted to spend time with you. Not because it was a burden, Mike.”

“This isn’t a burden to me either. Let me help. Maybe I want to spend more time with you too.”

Jeremy didn’t have a counter to that, so he reluctantly sighed. “Just… be gentle on it, okay?”

“Of course.” He blinked, seemingly surprised that Jeremy gave in so easily. “I do need to go grab a brush and a comb.”

“Naturally.” Jeremy shifted uncomfortably on the sofa as Michael got up.

What was he even supposed to say to Michael? He hadn’t expected to get this far, and now faced with the opportunity to have a casual conversation with him, Jeremy panicked.

When Michael got back, the hair brush he carried had long strands of dark brown hair in it, and both the brush and the comb were shining with water. “I hope you don’t mind,” Michael said awkwardly. “But I know that hair gets really, really tangled, so I just wanted to make sure I could get the tangles out without hurting you.”

Oh. That was… surprisingly considerate. “And the water is supposed to fix tangles?”

“Better than a dry brush.”

Jeremy just stared. The most he’d been able to do with his hair was to throw it into the world’s worst ponytail when he needed it out of his face. All this talk of the more effective way to brush through his hair without making it hurt stirred something in his chest. There was nothing Michael would do that could possibly hurt more than the way he was currently doing his hair.

Michael sat back down and got to work. It was strange. Jeremy hadn’t had anyone brush his hair in a long time. His mother had been too busy with work to even notice that he needed help with his hair. Or anything really.

“You have really thick hair,” Michael mused softly.

“Yeah. Makes it a real pain sometimes,” Jeremy replied.

Michael was so gentle with it, apologizing softly when the brush scraped his ear or a snag was too rough. Eventually, though, he set the brush aside and started dividing his hair.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you with your hair,” Michael replied as he started braiding it. “I assume you don’t have a hair brush for yourself, or maybe you just don’t have much time to do your hair every day. But at the very least, braiding it back at night prevents most tangles from getting worse.”

“How do you know so much about this stuff, dude?” Jeremy wondered. “Like, you know more about this than I do.”

“I…” Michael hesitated. “Evan’s not my only sibling. I had a sister. Elizabeth. Her hair was more of a nightmare than this.”

“Oh.” Jeremy fidgeted. He didn’t know what to do with that information.

“And, there!” Michael twisted a ponytail into the end of Jeremy’s hair. “Less problems for later, see?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy touched a hand to the braid, smiling softly. “Thanks, man.”

“It’s nothing.”

“But I say it is something. Come here, Mike.”

Michael’s wings fluffed up ever so slightly, but he did as Jeremy asked, unprepared for the tackle-hug Jeremy gave him. He gasped in alarm as they ended up on the floor, but when he looked up at Jeremy, it was with what Jeremy could only describe as adoration. Then he was suddenly pressed completely up against Michael as his wings wrapped around them both.

Of course, that was also the moment Evan and Gregory came back from their shopping trip with the supplies Michael had asked for. Letting Jeremy up, Michael immediately accepted the groceries from Evan and went straight to the kitchen. Gregory and Evan were left staring at Jeremy, who was sitting with a ridiculous grin on his face.

“Might need some help preparing this!” Michael called.

Before any of them could move toward the door, however, Henry walked by to go help Michael. Which left Jeremy to get teased by the two younger boys.

“What was that about?” Evan asked, picking a long blue feather out of Jeremy’s hair.

“What were you doing on the floor?” Gregory asked.

“Mike did my hair,” Jeremy replied, gesturing at the hairbrush that now had long strands of gold intertwined with the brown.

Evan looked thoughtful as he fiddled with the feather. “I didn’t know Mikey knew how to do hair.”

“Didn’t you tell me you had a sister?” Gregory asked, picking a smaller, brown feather from Jeremy’s shirt. “He could’ve done her hair once or twice.”

“Maybe…” Evan didn’t sound very sure. “Mikey wasn’t… I don’t know. Maybe he did. I never knew, though.”

“He did mention it when I asked…” Jeremy said, suddenly embarrassed to know more than Evan.

Evan fiddled with the feather more. “He seems to like you a lot.”

“Mike?” Jeremy asked, even more embarrassed now.

“Yeah. He smiles when he talks to you.”

“Except that one day,” Gregory interrupted. “He came inside and cried.”

“That was something else, I think,” Evan responded. “I think the Nightmares finally got to him.”

“So I take it Mike doesn’t usually talk about his issues then?”

“Not usually.” Evan squirmed, his wings puffing up. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah sure,” Jeremy shook his head and finally got off the floor. “Do you want to try playing Kings in the Corner again?”

“Ugh, that’s so boring,” Gregory replied, but Evan was already rushing off to get the cards.

“I need a second. I’ll be right back,” Jeremy said, slipping into the kitchen to grab another can of Coke.

Michael glanced over from where he was cutting an onion and just sighed. “Jeremy-“

“I know, I know. It’s bad for me or whatever. But I need it, okay?” Jeremy took a long swig from the can. “Better than some habits.”

“Still…”

“It’s fine dude. Cut your onion or whatever.”

Henry said something that Jeremy didn’t catch as he rushed back to the living room. “Okay, are we ready to start?”

“This game is stupid,” Gregory grumbled. He was holding his seven cards, and Evan had already laid out the board.

“I dealt, so Gregory goes first,” Evan replied, ignoring Gregory’s comment.

“Lucky,” Jeremy said, eyeing the board.

“I don’t even know how to play,” Gregory complained. “This game is for old people.”

“I guess we’re old then.” Jeremy’s eyes twinkled. “You have to play a card from your hand onto one of those four cards.” He pointed at the two of diamonds, the king of spades, the four of diamonds, and the seven of diamonds respectively. “You want it to be a lower rank, or less points than the card on the stack. And it’s gotta be the opposite color.”

“Oh.” Gregory stared at his hand for a moment.

“You gotta tell him about the kings, Jeremy.” Evan shook his head. “If there’s a king, you can move it into the spaces between the four other cards, and put a new foundation card down.”

“Huh.” Gregory frowned. “This is too confusing.”

“It really isn’t,” Jeremy laughed, taking another sip from his Coke. “If you really want, you can add your cards back to the foundation pile and watch me and Evan play a game.”

“I’m just going to do that.” Gregory stuck his cards back in the bigger stack.

“Suits don’t matter,” Evan said helpfully. “Only color does.”

Jeremy set off to move the king, and the game begun. Evan went out on his first turn.

“Okay, that was a bad example,” Evan said with a grin.

“You didn’t shuffle very well,” Jeremy said accusingly.  “That was- arghhh. We’re playing another game so Gregory can actually see how the game works.”

“Are we doing points?” Evan said innocently.

“We will once Gregory joins in,” Jeremy replied, collecting the cards from the board. “These are warm-up rounds.”

“Riiiiight,” Gregory replied with an amused snort. “You just got destroyed.”

“Thank you for the obvious and accurate commentary, Gregory.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.

When he flipped the four cards over, three of them were kings. Jeremy let out an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing and Evan grinned at the board. Just like that, he was down to one card. Jeremy scowled at his own cards as it became his turn.

“All four kings on the board in the first turn,” he grumbled.

“Now who’s bad at shuffling?” Evan replied, watching Jeremy’s hand drop to three cards.

“Oh, shut up.”

Evan snickered as it became his turn. “I almost wonder if you were trying to let me win.” He took the ace of diamonds and placed it on the two of clubs that Jeremy had missed during his turn. “Do you have the hang of it yet, Gregory? We may need a third player or this are going to be some very quick games.”

“Ha ha.” Jeremy said as Evan gathered up the cards again. “I’m just used to people who aren’t paying attention nearly as much as you do.”

“I’m just playing the game,” Evan said with a cheeky grin. “You had a six of spades in your hand? You could’ve played that on the seven-“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Jeremy sighed, exaggerating his grief as he drank from his can. “You have eyes like a hawk.”

Evan just hummed at that, his eyes twinkling as he shuffled the cards again. “What do you say, Gregory? Want to try and give it another shot?”

“Sure. Can’t be any worse than Jeremy, right?”

“Alright, I get it.” Jeremy shook his head. “I guess this game isn’t as awful as you want to claim it is, huh?”

“We’ll see.”

Evan pulled out a baggy filled with little red chips and shook it for a moment. “I didn’t have a chance to grab paper, so we can just play with chips, right?”

“Let’s give Gregory one trial run first,” Jeremy said as Gregory stared blankly at the chip bag. “Let him get a feel for the game.”

Gregory’s first round went okay. He managed to play half his cards in the first go, but he failed to notice that he could’ve moved the king to the corner right away, and Jeremy took advantage of that. Humming to himself, Jeremy quickly went through his turn and waited for Evan.

“That is absurd,” Gregory said, watching Evan put down cards and move piles around rapidly. “There’s no way you’re not cheating.”

“It’s all natural, Gregory,” Evan said cheerfully. “You’re just mad because I’m better at games than you are.”

“Grrrrrr….” Gregory scowled as Evan tapped his own card against the table. He put down his one card and waited for Jeremy to go.

Adding another person really did slow down the game a lot, Jeremy thought to himself. This was the first round someone had actually had to draw a card. Evan hummed, but he also needed to draw a card. Unlike Jeremy, however, Evan couldn’t play his. Finally, the game was even again.

Gregory scowled at his cards. “What do I do if I can’t play?”

“Draw,” Jeremy said. “We’ve both done it.”

Grumbling, Gregory drew a card. He brightened as he realized he could play it, and then it was Jeremy’s turn. Jeremy sighed in relief as he was able to play a card on Gregory’s queen, and then move a ten on top of that. Moment of truth, he thought to himself as Evan studied his hand. Michael’s brother shook his head and drew another card. And promptly played it.

Gregory and Jeremy both groaned at that. “See, but now things get interesting,” Evan said cheerfully. “We’ve all been drawing cards and actually have to pay attention to the board.”

“Don’t you always have to pay attention to the board?” Gregory asked as he drew another card. “Ugh.”

“Depends on how close,” Jeremy said smugly, laying down his one card. “I win this round.”

Evan sighed wearily, but he said nothing as Jeremy collected the cards to shove them at Gregory. “Your turn to shuffle.”

Gregory pushed the cards back at Jeremy. “I don’t know how.”

“I guess I can do it for you. But you’re still dealing, alright? Seven cards to each of us.”

Gregory nodded as Jeremy shuffled, and Evan quickly explained how chips worked. Everyone put one chip in at the beginning. Then, when you drew a card, you’d put another chip in. Each card at the end of the game still in your hand was another chip, except for kings. Kings were ten chips.

They all put one chip in the middle as Gregory passed out cards.

“Ready for your first real round, Gregory?” Jeremy asked, looking over his cards.

Gregory huffed, but he nodded anyway. “This is still dumb.”

“What if we made it a bit more fun?” Evan asked. “I’ll put in this feather.” He held up the blue feather he’d picked out of Jeremy’s hair.

“We’re playing for feathers?” Gregory asked. “But we both have feathers.”

“Not just any feathers. Michael’s feathers. I know him better than you do, trust me. He wouldn’t just give those away.”

Gregory considered it for a moment as Jeremy bit his lip. It seemed plenty easy to get feathers in his opinion. Michael shed two of them while Jeremy hugged him before. “Deal. I’ll put in this one.”

Gregory set the brown feather on top of the three chips. Evan did the same with the blue feather. Both of them glanced at Jeremy expectantly.

“I don’t have any. You both took those from me in the first place.” Jeremy rolled his eyes. The feathers were cool, though.

He kind of wished he had some of his own, maybe to braid through his hair or something. But that required winning this game. And since Evan was really good at Kings in the Corner, and also used all the chips in the box, it was really unlikely that he’d win them at the end.

“How about…” Jeremy put twenty more chips in the pot. “I know it doesn’t balance out at all, but you two seem to really want those feathers.”

Evan grinned, and so, the game began.

Gregory surprised them all by nearly going out in his first turn, but Evan still won the first game. They played in relative silence, too busy concentrating to hold a proper conversation. Evan crushed them in the first few rounds, but Gregory eventually got a win when Evan had 6 cards in his hand, resulting in a somewhat decent counter-balance.

It did nothing for Jeremy though. He looked nervously at his dwindling pile of chips every time the game ended and knew it was very unlikely that he’d win. It wasn’t impossible, sure, but it was incredibly unlikely.

“This is eight, Gregory,” Evan said absently, after Jeremy had already played his first turn. “We can play it, but you should pay better attention.”

Jeremy bit his lip at that. He was losing really bad. He really needed a win, and he needed one where the other two were struggling. Accidentally starting a round on eight cards was not a great way to start that.

“How did you even notice that?” Gregory asked.

“Eight feels thicker than seven.”

“How much do you play cards? Jeez,” Jeremy asked as it became Gregory’s turn.

“Enough,” Evan said with an amused smile. “I usually play alone.”

“This doesn’t feel like a game you can play alone,” Gregory muttered.

“You can. It’s just not as fun. But I don’t play this,” Evan said as Jeremy had to draw yet again. “I play Solitare.”

“Right, silly me.” Gregory shook his head. “Dude, how are you losing the game you suggested?”

“It takes a lot of luck, Gregory.” Jeremy sighed, having emptied his can of Coke long ago. “I’ve already accepted my fate. Now it’s just a matter of wondering who wins overall.”

They all fell quiet again as they settled back into their concentration. A few tense rounds went by as they all drew cards. When Evan finally played a card, Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d last another round.

Or… maybe not. It was a close thing, that balance between drawing and playing. “Are we going to go through the whole deck?” Gregory eventually wondered.

“Maybe,” Jeremy replied wearily.

The pot was massive at this point. Evan’s brow was continuously furrowed, and even his wings were stiff with concentration. There’s no strategy that trumps the good cards being at the bottom of the deck, Jeremy thought to himself with grim amusement.

“Ha!” Gregory shouted his delight as he finally laid his last card.

Jeremy sighed sorrowfully as he glanced at his four chips. He would only have two left for another game after this. If only it had been Jeremy who’d drawn the card to end the game.

“I don’t even remember who shuffled that one,” Jeremy said as Gregory gathered the pot.

“It was Gregory. He started us with eight cards,” Evan replied. “You shuffle next.”

“I’m not going to make it through this game,” Jeremy muttered.

“Then we’ll just play it out, and you can be done after,” Evan shrugged. “Who knows, maybe you’ll win?”

“For every draw you have that you can’t play, I’ll put in a chip,” Gregory offered as Jeremy put his last chip in the pot. “It’ll keep things fair.”

“I’m sure,” Jeremy muttered.

“Awww, you are a grumpy old man. Evan look! He’s so grumpy.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

Evan put his last card down, and Jeremy shook his head. “I’m out. Good luck, Gregory.”

He wondered what Michael and Henry were up to in the kitchen. It had been two hours of this, after all. Surely preparing a meal wouldn’t take that long, especially since Evan implied Michael was making spaghetti.

“Okay, I gotta know. What spaghetti takes three hours to make?” Jeremy said, sitting down at the kitchen table with Henry.

“It’s not the spaghetti that takes so long,” Michael replied from the stove. “It’s the sauce.”

“But why?”

“The flavor has to soak in from the leaves.” Michael shrugged, moving to sit down with them. “What were you playing in there?”

“Cards.” Jeremy shrugged. “Gregory said it was for old people.”

“Then he must have never played cards before,” Henry commented.

“Maybe it’s his age,” Michael suggested.

“Nah. Your brother got really into it. He’s been beating both of us.”

“THAT’S SO STUPID!!!” Gregory shouted from the other room.

Evan laughed and said something in response, as they all glanced toward the hallway.

“No way,” Gregory said, his voice still projecting from the other room. “That’s so stupid!”

“I think the sauce is about done,” Michael said, rising from his seat again. “I should probably begin on the actual spaghetti.”

“I appreciate you deciding to cook for us, Michael,” Henry said. “And not that I’m complaining about your food, but this seems more complicated than some of the other stuff you’ve made.”

Michael just blinked at him, filling a pot with water. “It’s just spaghetti.”

Gregory and Evan walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “It smells great in here,” Evan said.

Michael glanced at his brother and at Gregory for a moment. “Who won?”

“Evan,” Gregory grumbled crossing his arms. “But he cheats.”

“I do not! Withholding cards on my turn is within the rules of the game. Just because it means you have to draw more doesn’t mean it’s cheating!” Evan argued.

“He’s right, Gregory. If he’s withholding cards, it’s still a risk to him since you can easily draw a card at any moment and win the game yourself. There’s a reason it’s ten chips if you’re holding a king at the end of the game.”

“Hmph,” Gregory scowled.

“Jeremy, do you need a new bandage for your face?” Henry asked as Gregory and Evan glared at each other from across the table.

“What? Oh, I’m sure it’s fine.” Jeremy hadn’t realized that the edge of his bandage was peeling off.

“We’ll get that taken care of later,” Henry said. “Were you planning on staying over tonight?”

“I…” Jeremy glanced around the room. “I don’t know.”

“If you decide to stay, let me know so I can tell your parents,” Henry replied, seemingly satisfied. “And would you like another can of Coca-Cola?”

“Yes please.”

“Don’t encourage his addiction, Henry.” Michael crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter.

Jeremy responded by sticking his tongue out at Michael. Michael shook his head and rolled his eyes, but Jeremy saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Can I have one too?” Gregory asked.

“Absolutely not,” Michael replied. His wings twitched slightly. “You’re done with caffeine for the rest of the night. If you’re this loud after half a can, I shudder to think of what would happen if you got a full can of Coke.”

“You’re not my mom,” Gregory grumbled.

Jeremy’s mouth twitched. “He tries to act like it though, doesn’t he?”

Michael made an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing. Evan giggled too, adding, “Mama bird Mike.”

All three of them broke into bad laughing fits at that one. Henry and Michael just exchanged an exasperated look as Michael stirred the spaghetti. “I can act like it if you really want me to,” Michael eventually said. “But I don’t think you’d like the response, seeing as you two are baby birds in this analogy.”

“What do you mean?” Gregory asked, bewildered.

“I think what he’s getting at,” Jeremy said, amusement glinting in his eye, “is that mother birds regurgitate food into their chicks mouths.”

“Ewwwww,” Gregory gagged.

Evan snorted. “Mikey wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Michael raised an eyebrow. “I’ve certainly done worse.”

Evan froze at that. He seemed to be considering Michael’s point. “He totally would…” Evan sounded horrified.

“And with that terrible mental image, it seems that the spaghetti is done!” Henry said, putting a can of Coke in front of Jeremy before going to fetch everyone plates.

“I just need to strain the noodles, and we’re all set,” Michael said. “Could you grab the strainer please?”

Henry nodded and retrieved the strainer. Evan hummed to himself as he fiddled with the two feathers he’d won in the card game. Gregory said nothing, but Jeremy could tell it he was still bitter from his loss. Surely Michael wouldn’t be unwilling to give up feathers if they asked, Jeremy thought to himself. Maybe he’d be uncomfortable with the idea, but if Gregory said how much he really wanted them, Jeremy was sure Michael would give in eventually.

“It’s going to be hot.” Michael warned, carrying the pot of spaghetti to the table.

Henry quickly placed a potholder beneath it, and Michael went back to retrieve the sauce for the spaghetti. “Do you want to get cups out, Evan?”

Evan nodded and got up from his spot. “Gregory, you can get the plates.”

The whole group cycled around the kitchen like a little family, and Jeremy felt a little self-conscious about his place in everything, so he went and grabbed forks for everyone. It was the least he could do.

Michael dished out the food, putting just enough sauce on their spaghetti that they could avoid it if they wanted to. All of them were a little skeptical of the meal, but they all trusted that Michael knew what he was doing. Gregory and Evan both seemed startled by the taste, but Henry simply raised an eyebrow as he took a bite. Michael didn’t seem particularly concerned about their reaction, though.

He was too busy observing Jeremy when he tried it.

It was… spicier than he expected. Jeremy glanced at Michael, suddenly suspicious of him. Michael blinked at him, casually taking a bite of his own spaghetti. Jeremy glanced at him again before moving his plate to the saucepan full of spaghetti sauce and adding more to his plate.

Michael’s slow smile made Jeremy feel even more confident about his decision. Somehow, Michael had figured him out yet again, almost without effort. Jeremy stuck another forkful in his mouth and smiled back at him.

“Gregory, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick,” Evan said.

“It’f, fine.” Gregory swallowed hard.

“Careful you don’t choke,” Henry said warningly.

Gregory set his fork down quietly, his eyes watering. He coughed a little bit, causing Michael to turn to him with concern. “Gregory? Are you alright?”

Gregory fanned himself, and Jeremy immediately figured out what was going on. “Too spicy for you? You barely had any!” He shook his head and poured Gregory a glass of milk. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

Gregory eagerly took the glass, draining it in less than a minute. “Mmmmm.”

The rest of the meal went in relative silence, with Evan and Henry occasionally teasing Gregory for eating too fast and being unable to handle spicy food. Michael seemed oblivious to the main conversation, smiling softly to himself.

Jeremy knew he was staring, but he figured it wouldn’t be the biggest deal. Plenty of people stared at their friends, right? At the way they twisted spaghetti noodles onto their forks and brought their forks to their mouths. At the way their eyes glowed with joy at making something new successfully.

Michael caught his eye, and the smile widened. Jeremy felt himself smiling back easily. He’d already finished his food, and Evan and Gregory had finished half the spaghetti by themselves. There wouldn’t be many leftovers anyway.

Henry was the first to move from the table. He collected plates from everyone to take to the sink. When Michael moved to help, Henry waved him off, insisting that since Michael made the meal, he shouldn’t have to clean it up, with a meaningful look toward Evan and Gregory. He stopped Jeremy when he tried to get up too, insisting that guests shouldn’t need to help.

“But I thought we were guests,” Gregory grumbled when Evan tapped his arm to help him get up.

“Jeremy, that bandage really does need to be changed before you go,” Henry said quietly, gathering the leftovers into different containers.

“I can help him with it,” Michael said.

“Michael, you’ve done enough today. Especially with how you were feeling this morning-“

“I can help,” Michael interjected stubbornly.

Jeremy raised a confused eyebrow at the way Michael’s wings and hair ruffled.

“You need rest,” Henry said in a tone that brokered no argument.

Still, Michael persisted, the feathers now completely refusing to lay flat. Jeremy wondered how this could possibly be something he’d need to be so defensive about. “Hey, maybe Henry’s right. You have done a lot today.”

Michael scowled at that, and he grabbed Jeremy’s arm and practically dragged him out of his chair.

“What- Hey!” Jeremy stumbled into Micheal, expecting him to apologize or something.

“There’s the old Mike,” Evan mumbled quietly.

Michael’s face was right in front of Jeremy’s as he spoke. “I know my limits.”

“Do you?” Gregory challenged. He didn’t seem frightened in the slightest, which was very different from the atmosphere surrounding Michael at that moment. “To me it seems like you keep going until you drop. Maybe you should just get rid of that chip on your shoulder and let someone else handle it for once!”

“Like you did?” Michael snapped, and at that, Gregory actually flinched. “Sometimes, you can’t trust that help will come, Gregory. You should know that better than anyone.”

Gregory’s grip on the plate in his hands tightened. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have a family who took care of me like you do! So just suck it up.” Jeremy heard tears behind those words, and Evan mumbled something gently to him and tried to get him to turn his back on Michael.

That seemed to break something in Michael’s resilience. His wings twitched, and he let go of Jeremy’s shirt. “Right. Sorry.” He sounded just as torn as Gregory. “I…”

Jeremy figured nothing would be helped by Michael sticking around in the kitchen, so he tentatively put a hand to Michael’s shoulder. “Hey, you can help with my bandage. Maybe just tell me how to put it on so I do it right tomorrow morning, yeah?”

“So you aren’t staying then?” Henry asked, looking worriedly between the four boys.

Michael’s ashen expression was not particularly reassuring. “No, I mean. If it’s okay for me to stay, I plan to. I just… Maybe it should be my responsibility to fix that?” Jeremy gestured at the scratch on his face. “Seems like all I’m doing here is making more messes anyway. Might as well try to clean one up myself, right?”

Henry frowned but he said nothing.

Jeremy leaned close to Michael’s ear. “Come on then.”

“I didn’t mean to… I hurt his feelings,” Michael mumbled as he mechanically peeled the rest of the bandage away from Jeremy’s face to wipe at the scratch with a wet cloth.

“Energy was running high. Maybe you are a bit more overwhelmed then you thought? Frayed nerves break way for anger sometimes. Or so I’ve heard.”

“I still shouldn’t have done that.” Michael couldn’t even look Jeremy in the eye. He was too distraught.

“Why did you get so defensive, if you don’t mind me asking? And I’m not just talking about Gregory. You were adamant about helping me with my bandage.”

“I just…” Michael hesitated. “I haven’t had a chance to see you in days, and I wanted to get every moment I could?”

“An afternoon together wasn’t enough?” Jeremy teased, even though he knew exactly how Michael was feeling. “Look, that’s okay, Mike. But you gotta take care of yourself too.”

“Yeah, but-“

“What do you want? I know you think you have to help everybody all the time, but you’ve gotta have desires too, right?”

“Maybe I don’t deserve to have my desires realized,” Michael replied. He still wasn’t looking at Jeremy. “Maybe I’m just a rotten person who doesn’t deserve joy or anything that doesn’t directly benefit anybody else.”

“Michael Afton.” Jeremy said, trying to sound stern. “You are a human being just like everyone else. We all make mistakes. And you sound like you’re trying to atone for yours. I don’t know about you, but someone who tries to learn from their mistakes sounds like someone who deserves to have what they want every now and again.”

Michael completely froze at that. When he met Jeremy’s eyes, he looked utterly shattered. “I…” He swallowed. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“That’s okay, Mike. No one is asking you to do everything-“

“No, you don’t understand.” His voice was hardly a whisper. “I’ve… That scolding��� You’ve said that to me before.”

“I have?”

Michael nodded mutely. “It was right before…” His wings stretched their full length as Michael squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t.”

“What can’t you do, Michael?” Jeremy asked softly.

A pained noise rumbled in Michael’s throat, and he dropped the cloth, yanking Jeremy forward by his shirt. Their mouths crashed together, and all Jeremy could think was finally. His own hands went behind Michael’s shoulders, and he gently guided the wings back into a folded position before stroking them gently.

He didn’t want to stop kissing Michael. It was freeing and exhilarating at the same time. Michael tasted like bubble gum and smelled like clean laundry. He was the weirdest man Jeremy had ever met, but maybe that was what made him so alluring. Or maybe it was something else. Something about all this just seemed so… right.

When Michael broke away, Jeremy tried to follow. Michael looked at him fondly and laughed. “I thought you said I needed to take care of myself.”

“I can’t be that addicting,” Jeremy said impulsively.

Michael snorted. “I need air, Jeremy. We were both going to pass out if we kept that up.”

“Can we do it again?” Jeremy didn’t care about air. He just wanted to be close to Michael, wanted to make him smile, wanted to make him laugh.

Michael laughed again, a brilliant sound, before Jeremy pressed their lips back together. It was completely perfect.

[sunny-reis]

Hi, may I ask you about write Ayato x reader who like be affectionate but only with Ayato? For example they don't like be touched or when someone use pet name or nickname but they like when Ayato do this? They are like this grumpy cat which only one person are allowed to pet haha.

Good day/night

headcanons - ayato with a grumpy(?) reader

credits to @/SodaPuff3 on twitter for the ayato icon :3

sorry, i can't take your touch; it's not that i don't want you...

notes: woohoo first request !! i've never written headcanons like this so please feel free to tell me what you think :)

i now realize that this is a lot longer than it needed to be .. oh well 🤠

tags: i was DEFINITELY projecting while writing this LMAO, reader isn't implied to be fem or masc in any way ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

���� there are a whole bunch of reasons you might not be that welcome to physical affection or touch from others

🧋 maybe you're just not comfortable? let's assume so for now lmao

☔️ anyways !! you're going about your day in inazuma, maybe running some errands, when you realize you forgot to get rice flour 🧍

🫧 for SHAME how could you forget the flour !!

🧋 now you have to go all the way back to the tsukomono grocery shop when you're already out of the city 😟 yikes

☔️ yeah that isn't gonna be a fun trip GOOD LUCK

🫧 anyways you're back at the grocery shop and - just your luck!! - it starts raining

🧋 why. does the universe hate you 😶

☔️ sigh. anyways

🫧 you do the mental gymnastics of realizing you have to walk back to the kamisato estate ... yeah lmao there's no way that's happening

🧋 you look back from under the little awning and see that it's now pouring cats and dogs

☔️ today's really not your lucky day huh 🫠 you're just standing there like a fool, watching it rain and holding your little bag of produce and (now wet 😟) flour

🫧 a few minutes later you see the one and only

🧋 your saving grace, the (now) light of your life, your reason to get up in the morning, the apple of your eye, your good samaritan,

☔️ your savior,

🫧 thoma !! you've never been happier to see the man

🧋 waving at him like a madman, he looks your way, eyes wide, and rushes over to you to ask you what the heck you're doing out here in the rain

☔️ you recount the whole flour situation (albeit embarrassed), and thoma, being the amazing person he is, offers to share his umbrella with you

🫧 you thank your lucky stars and gladly accept, now walking back to the kamisato estate as the rain pitter-patters over the polished paper umbrella

🧋 which is great ! you're really thankful and all that ! but there's a small, itty-bitty, minuscule, tiny problem

☔️ he's WAY too close for your liking 🧍

🫧 it's not that you're worried about good ol' thoma flirting with you or ayato being over-possessive or anything !!

🧋 you just Don't. like touching/being touched by other people (which is understandable !!)

☔️ but you don't know how to explain it to thoma without sounding like an absolute asshole (ﾟｰﾟ;

🫧 like he did offer to take you back home in the rain and he's a really good friend and all that

🧋 but every second that passes by with his arm brushing just a little too close for your liking drives you INSANE for some reason

☔️ by the time you reach chinju forest, you're overstimulated and frustrated and grumpy and slightly wet and your robes are clinging to your body and you can feel the water in your soggy socks and

🫧 OUGHHHH you feel like a steaming pile of trash ((´д｀)) at least the kamisato estate's just above the stone steps in front of you

�� after a few minutes of carefully climbing up them, drying off with a warm towel from furuta (the sweet old housekeeper), and a change of clothes, you plop down on your and ayato's shared bed

☔️ god the past hour's been .. something

🫧 you don't know if you're being dramatic (although you feel guilty .. so maybe not), but you still feel overstimulated after that sensory nightmare

🧋 so you curl up under the covers and try to sleep it off 💤

☔️ and you do !! you get a solid two hours of sleep (my eepy ass could never) before you're woken up by a tired ayato slipping under the blanket with you

🫧 neither of you say anything, but he understands everything by the look on your face

🧋 he knows about how sensitive you are to touch and proximity with other people, and has helped you get through many a sensory overload before

☔️ so you both just lay down in silence, lights dimmed, and you start to feel a little bit better :)

🫧 at the end of the day, you do think you need to work on setting boundaries with other people when it comes to things like physical touch

🧋 but that's all for another day !!

☔️ right now, you're focused on nothing but the shared warmth between you and ayato and the soft sound of your breathing

🫧 all is well now :)

[lifblogs]

Tagged by: @sindar-princeling

Are you named for anyone? Nope, not really. I have a name I might switch to irl, which is my name here, Lif. So really I just named myself after the human woman who survived Ragnarok by sleeping through it.

When was the last time you cried? Last night at midnight. I had to hold in my sobs so hard, and it was literally just over a character death. It really hits me.

Do you have kids? Does a very needy kitty boy count? I'm on mom duty with him for hours every day, and I lost sleep in high school doing all the mom stuff: feeding him, burping him, giving him medicine, giving him baths, reading to him so he could sleep okay, singing him to sleep (these were all vet recommended, and they helped his temperament a lot [he's mentally ill]). I do want kids someday. Almost had one in 2020. I still think about her, especially as May is coming up, and she was supposed to be born then. I don't bring this up to make anyone sad, or feel pity. It's just, part of my life, you know?

What sports do/have you played? Archery!! I haven't been able to do it since an injury in 2013 (yes, I realize this happened forever ago at this point), but it was fun. I should maybe try getting back into it. The lanes are expensive though, and I would need a lot of good places to sit down in between shooting.

Do you use sarcasm? That I do.

What's the first thing you notice about people? Same as sindar-princeling, I think. Probably the facial expressions. Next I look for something to compliment them on.

What's your eye colour? Really dark brown.

Scary movies or Happy endings? I feel like these are not opposite ends of a spectrum or anything. I want to say happy endings, but my favorite Star Wars movies are the tragedies: Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, The Siege of Mandalore.

Any talents? Oh heck yes! I can play the clarinet, sing, compose, act, write, cat photography (trust me, it is a talent and a skill), edit pictures, and bake (I'm better than average at decorating though, but still kinda suck at it).

Where were you born? New England, USA.

What are your hobbies? Right now it's mostly reading, watching TV and movies, listening to music, playing video games, and writing.

Do you have any pets? I have 2! A maine coon girl named Alley Cat who will be turning 17 this Saturday! She's so silly, and a sweetie, and just full of love. Sometimes she annoys me because she thinks I'm her littermate (we were kids at the same time). She also still snurgles (suckling while kneading at the same time)!! And she loves food. She’s just so stunning and adorable. And then there's Loki! That's my baby boy. He picked me to be his mommy when I was 15. I've been there for him through almost everything (sadly couldn't be there for a scary hospitalization when I was in college a few states over). He's silly, he's lovable and loves giving love, he loves kissies, he likes to be brushed, he loves making biscuits. He loves playtime, and he loves getting into trouble. I have the best kitties.

How tall are you? 5'4 (I still want to cry about somehow growing an inch in my early twenties)

Favourite subject in school? PHYSICS AND BAND!!!

Dream job? I really don't know anymore. I wanted to be a professional clarinet player, but that couldn't happen, I wanted to be an actor, but that wasn't able to happen, I wanted to be an editor: again, nope. Screenwriter? Maybe? Author? I don't know anymore.

And here are my kitties!

Alley is on the left, and Loki is on the right. I forgot to mention that he’s an American Ringtail.

Tagging: @miss-mouse99, @feeling-uncomfy, @evilwriter37, @cascigarette, @knowerofuselessfacts, @err404r, @poisonedyouth, and @vanillachip101.

[the-himawari]

A3! Troupe Event Translation - Journey to the Colours (7/11)

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Kumon: … (Huh… I was supposed go to the riverside. I made my way all the way here without even realizing it…) The gate’s open…? (Maybe it’s because they’re doing renovations right now…) —.

-pause-

Juza: …

Tenma: …He’s not answering.

Izumi: It’s gotten this late and he hasn’t come home yet. I wonder if something happened.

Muku: I’m going to go look for him!

Kazunari: Mukkun. I’m going with you.

Misumi: Same here~!

Tenma: Then count me in too.

Yuki: We have no idea where to even search. This guy. I’m worried so I’ll tag along.

Izumi: Everyone—.

Juza: I’ll keep lookin’ too.

Izumi: In that case, let me—.

Kazunari: Director-chan, Hyodle, you two wait at the dorm for when Kumopi gets back. It’s not safe for a lady to be out at this hour~. And Hyodle, you can welcome Kumopi home.

Izumi: Kazunari-kun…

Juza: …Okay. I’ll leave Kumon to you.

-pause-

Misumi: Kumon, where are you~?

Kazunari: Kumopi~!

Tenma: Did you find him?

Muku: No…

Yuki: We’re just wasting time searching blindly.

Tenma: Where the heck did he go…

Muku: If only I had been a little more attentive to Kyu-chan…

Misumi: It’s not your fault, Muku~.

*ring, ring*

Muku: Ju-chan?

Juza: “Have you found him?”

Muku: …No. We’ve searched all the nearby places that we thought Kumon might’ve gone to…

Izumi: “Azami-kun said he might have an idea of where Kumon-kun went.”

Tenma: Eh?

Azami: “I’m not sure… but have you taken a look at Tsuku High’s baseball field? He seemed pretty interested in the renovations goin’ on the other day…”

Kazunari: We haven’t tried Tsuku High’s sports field yet! We’ll head there now!

Izumi: “Be careful, okay?”

Misumi: If it’s Tsuku High, then leave it to me~!

Yuki: Oh right, you used to be a Tsuku High student.

Misumi: I haven’t been there much, but I know where that is~.

-pause-

Kumon: … (It’s been a while since I’ve stood in this field. This might be the first time since I quit the baseball team…) (It hasn’t changed since back then… I wonder if it’ll change after it’s been renovated.) (To think I used to feel so scared. But now I can stand here feeling calm as can be.) —. (A baseball… they forgot to put it away.)

*flashback ends*

Kumon: …

Yamaguchi: …What’re you doing squatting down over there?

Kumon: It’s just… we could’ve won today’s game for sure. If only I didn’t mess up in the bottom of the 7th inning…

Yamaguchi: That wasn’t your fault, y’know? Geez, don’t sweat it. —Here.

Kumon: What’s that…?

Yamaguchi: A fist bump. It’ll reset your mind.

Kumon: …Ahaha, what the heck. Does that actually work?

Yamaguchi: If it works as a trigger, then anything will do. It’s normal to regret things that have passed. We lost today. That’s not gonna change. It's not like it's going to change the outcome of the game, so if you have time to regret, then it's better to face forward towards what you can do from here on out.

Kumon: Face forward… I see… you’re right about that. Thanks, Yamaguchi. I feel better now! Next time I’m depressed, I’ll ask you again!

Yamaguchi: No way. You get depressed way too quickly. It’s a pain.

Kumon: Hey, why!

*flashback ends*

Kumon: (That’s right. Back then, right here—.)

Misumi: There he is~!

Kumon: Sumi-san…?

Muku: We were so worried, Kyu-chan…!

Yuki: Good grief… what are you doing? You weren’t answering our messages.

Kumon: Ah—Sorry, I had my notifications turned off.

Kazunari: So that’s the reason~?

Kumon: What are you guys doing here though?

Tenma: There happened to be a teacher around who remembered Misumi, so we got a permit to come inside.

Yuki: I don’t think he’s asking about the procedure we used.

Kazunari: Azamin told us you might be here since it looked like you were interested in the sports field. Kumopi, are you okay?

Kumon: …I’m sorry for making you worry.

Yuki: I don’t know what’s bothering you, but you can’t keep brooding over it by yourself.

Muku: You don’t have to hold everything in, Kyu-chan.

Tenma: Sometimes it feels better to let it all out.

Misumi: If something is bugging you, then we can think about it together, okay~?

Kazunari: I’ll accept whatever it is you feel. That’s why I became your co-lead, y’know!

Kumon: You guys… thank you. (Yeah, that’s right. All of them are here for me.) (There’s no point regretting about the past. Instead, I’d like to cherish the present, and the future, that I’m facing with all of you.)

Kumon: …The other day, I ran into a friend from my little league days. After that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the baseball team. Like what would’ve happened if I continued. Or if I could’ve also played in the intra-squad game with Yamaguchi and the rest of them. I wondered if I should’ve tried harder on the baseball team. Stuff like that—. I felt discouraged in junior high, but I joined the baseball team in high school thinking it would work out this time. And I met some good friends. Yamaguchi and I had amazing chemistry as a battery. I had my share of hard and painful times, including with my health. But I also had the same amount of fun. Baseball was everything to me back then. I honestly believed that I was going to play baseball forever. But now, I love Summer troupe even more than that. I love this theater company, and I want to continue doing my best as an actor. Yet, I really hated myself for thinking about the baseball team because it made me feel half-hearted.

Muku: So that’s what you were thinking…

Kumon: But, you know, the reason I could even wonder what it’d be like if I continued playing baseball is because I’ve been acting with all of you. If I hadn’t joined the theatre company, and if I hadn’t met Summer troupe, then I wouldn’t have gained confidence in myself. I never would’ve thought I’d be able to play baseball again… I realized that thanks to Muku. Yamaguchi also said this to me back when I was on the team. If I have time to regret what’s passed, then move forwards. And he’s right. I’m sorry for making you worry so much. I’ll be fine as long as I’m with all of you. Of course I love baseball and all my memories with the baseball club are important to me, and that’s not going to change. But now I’ve come to love acting and the theatre just as much, if not more than baseball—because I have all of you in Summer troupe!

Kazunari: Kumopi… thank for you sharing with us. Kumopi, you can tell that you really cherished baseball and that you put lots of effort into it. So you don’t have to feel sorry about your feelings and for reminiscing about it. I’m sure you would’ve been the coolest ever if you kept playing. But I’m happy that you joined Summer troupe. I’m so glad that you’re here.

Muku: Kyu-chan, thank you for joining Summer troupe!

Yuki: Anyways, if that’s how you felt, then you should’ve told us sooner.

Tenma: There’s no way we’d get mad at you over something like that.

Kumon: Ehehe. I love you guys!

*rustling*

Muku: !?

Yuki: What’s that sound?

Tenma: Shouldn’t it be a construction worker?

Yuki: They’re not going to be doing construction at this hour. That’d be a nuisance to the neighhourhood.

Kumon: There’s no one over there though…

Kazunari: Could it be~.

Misumi: A ghost~!?

Tenma: GYAHHH!

*runs away*

Kazunari: Ah. Hold on, Tenten!

Kumon: Where are you going!?

---

previous | next

[drjdorr]

Fun fact, when I was younger I decided that when I died I wanted to be buried with a seed so my body could be used as nutrients for the tree

[deepspacedukat]

Thanks for the tag, @toebeans-mcgee! 💙🥺

Last Sentence Tag Game

Rules: Write the latest line from your wip (or wherever you last left off in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog.

~*~

Oh heck, I almost forgot about this! So I’ll do the last couple of paragraphs I wrote for an upcoming request fic. It’s a Mestral (ST:ENT) x Reader fic called “Drizzle.” For anyone tagged, you’re absolutely not obligated to do this.

--

She looked over just as he knelt beside the arm of the chair and rested his chin on the soft fabric.

“I was wondering if you’d get home or if you’d simply be washed away,” she murmured as his hand rested lightly on her thigh.

“You realize of course that such an occurrence would be illogical, my wife,” he replied, but she just let out a little laugh. “Ah, I see that the rain has encouraged a pleasant mood.”

--

Tagging: @horta-in-charge @azorastarr @bigblissandlove1 @vegawriters @maybeamultiverse @emilie786

[the-grass-with-dreams]

I'm sorry, but if you're willing to share with the audience, what the heck did you mean by "attempted bald eagle murder is on my resume" (from your tags on the Cow Behaviors poll)?

AHAHAHAHA I'm so glad this is my first ever ask I'm dying rn

So there are two stories here, one is the actual bald eagle, the other is an osprey, both still very large birds of prey. I'll start with the eagle:

I'm from WI and in northern WI eagles are like pigeons, everywhere. I was driving on some backroad up north and there was an eagle chilling on the side of the road munching on roadkill. Well I'm cruising and say to myself "what a nice eagle I sure hope he has spacial awareness and flies away as I approach his part of the road"

He did not.

He realized at the last second I was approaching, and tried to take off but didn't do a great job and I PLOWED INTO THIS DUDE WITH MY CAR. Bro bounced off my hood, left a lil dent, then onto my windshield and rolled off into the road. I pulled over and was like AHHH AHHH I HIT THIS POOR BIRD, and was abt to run over and check on him but BRO didn't seem happy so I got back in my car and waited until he flew back into a tree and was off the road.

The OSPREY. I fought an osprey. After trying to kidnap her children. Now, I know this sounds bad, but I worked at a boy scout camp. In my camp there was an osprey nest across from our ecology center where I worked. This mother osprey, had three lil osprey babies. About a week into their lives one of the babies fell out of the nest. That night from the staff tents everyone heard the baby osprey screeching and calling and the next morning I went by the nest and there were bloody remains. Poor dude got mauled. Probs by a bear.

Now when the SECOND baby fell out you can imagine I was very displeased. I didn't want it to die!! They are just little guys!! So I did what any sane person would do and would throw fish and some raw meat at the baby to make sure he was fed! (P sure lil homie was eating off his siblings corpse too) Mama osprey did a much better job of keeping #2 alive, he lived for abt four days on the ground. I called a few wildlife centers and they said there was nothing they could do bc it was Scout property.

So on the fourth day I was like: "I will kidnap this child." And hatched a plan. Scout camp was run by a bunch of 15-23 year Olds so ofc everyone was in on it. I rode my bike to the nest. I stare down #2 and say. "HEY bucko, you're coming with me" and start walking towards him. I got within like, three feet?? And the mom fuckin DIVE BOMBS me. Straight from the nest. I had my bike helmet on and thicc gloves and stuff to protect me from the baby, but forgot abt the mom. So she smacks my helmet and starts flying all around me. I'm realizing how bad an idea this is suddenly and am trying to get back to my bike. She gets my helmet a few more times, and one of the times she grabs on, so I reached up and fuckin punched her to get her off me. She let go and I ran away. But I consider that a solid fight I got a good punch in on an osprey.

#2 got eaten by bears two nights later :((

#3 I got to watch take his first flight and fly away :)

So that leads me to the resume. When I applied for my (county) park ranger job, the guy interviewing seemed very funny and I said "you know, I'm somewhat of a wildlife warrior." Hes like "oh? Please do tell me how" and I tell him I fought an osprey and made it out without a scratch. Dude found that hilarious and said I should put wildlife warrior on my resume.

Depending who I'm working with I like to say I'm a felon too bc I almost killed a bald eagle. That usually gets lots of laughs.

[wandapinkay]

HIIIII it's friendly anon back again!! ヾ(ゝω・)ノ

the pleasure is all mine, i assure you! :D i was a bit apprehensive to drop in your inbox at first - since i'm not well-versed in self-shipping culture and ask culture on this site is tragically dead - but i got a cool new parasocial friendship out of it and i discovered a new and exciting way to consume media and enjoy characters, so i'm glad that i did!! \^o^/ it took me a long time to realize it, but i truly think self-shipping was the last piece of the puzzle that i was missing in my previous hyperfixations. so what if that man is fictional, what do you mean he can't be mine??

in other news, i've already gotten four of my friends to watch steins;gate and i also recently convinced my sister and her husband to give it a try! i have rewatched the entire show three times alone this month, i am fully insane 🙏

WAITTTT THOSE CATBOY EDITS ARE SO CUTE ACTUALLY 🥺🥺i'm so impressed with how authentic they look, how did you capture the steins;gate style so well?? the second one on particular looks so real, suddenly i'm convinced daru was a catboy the whole time and i just never noticed lol

MAD respect for that 200-unit daru pic collection btw, i've been deep-diving in the darkest corners of the internet for fanart of okabe and i have found some amazing comics featuring daru that made me think of you ( ¯ ³¯)♡! on that note, i've also seen some very sweet drawings of daru with baby suzuha which, out of curiosity, made me wonder what your thoughts on them are together as father and daughter! i adore them honestly, but i'm curious to know if you feel differently about them since you self-ship with daru! i've seen a couple selfshippers in another fandom i frequent who have drawn fankids with their f/o's before and that got me wondering since suzuha is a unique case :)

ASDFJAKSFKSF YES THAT WAS THE NAME OF THE VN idk why i called it that, i think someone else called it that in a reddit post-

nevertheless, my point stands. i cannot even begin to express my disappointment that we didn't get to see daru OR okabe in a maid outfit. heck, we didn't even get to see daru in his penguin suit (though the fact that he was really popular in it made me cackle)! i mean it when i say that if the devs hadn't been cowards and gave us frilly daru and okabe, i would not have looked even twice at the girls. the men yearn for the frills!!! \o/

wahhhh you really are so nice, i appreciate you a bunch :) :) and wow, i thought for sure you'd been part of the community for longer than a year, you seem so comfortable here! was it easy for you to get settled in the community? you've been so nice, but i'm a bit scared to dip my toes in the self-shipping tag if you have any advice👉👈 (thank you again for being so kind and accommodating!! ^^;)

I DID, I SAID THE LINE!! WHERE IS MY PRIZE

your message has been delivered and summarily ignored except for the kiss which he accepted with dignity :3

to sign off, i am blowing both you and daru a pair of friendly kisses! i wish you both a very good night AND OH MAN I ALMOST FORGOT IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY IN TWO DAYS??? in that case, i wish you both a good night AND a wonderful valentine's day if you have any plans!!

thank you again for reading!! i will most assuredly be back if i am still welcome! (ᴗ͈ ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

OMG HI ONCE AGAIN!! SO SORRY IF I TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER YOUR ASK, I WAS BUSYY 😭 Still so happy for the fact you're enjoying your new hobbie, I think everyone should try selfshipping at least once in their lives.. and woAHH amazing steins;gate propaganda you've done there! Wish I could do that to most of my friends but some have already seen it ages ago and some aren't just interested so I just kinda gave up HFH ALSO HOOOLY and I thought finishing the series in like,, 2 months was mental but you got me there I'm honest /lh I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW HOW I DID IT?? I just kinda went with it by using a small brush with no pressure and blurring out everything a little bit so it matched the og pic's quality I suppose?? I'm happy you think they seem legit, I did my job well then ; u ; <3 OMG THAT'S SO SWEET OF YOU THOUGHH 🥺🥺 now you got me curious on which ones you're referring to waa.. ALSO UMM.. ABOUT SUZUHA- I had a few concepts for how my relationship with Daru would work in-universe.. so I made a couple of them: one is the "good" ending I guess, while another is just "angst™"

.. yeah, can you tell I felt awful while coming up with the second one? GDGSFGFSD IT'S FINE THOUGH, I'M OK NOW But this is besides the point; I actually really love Suzuha's character and I prefer her over the other girls.. and my favorite dynamic is hers with Daru and Yuki (ironically).. seeing Daru being a dad melts my heart because sometimes I wish I had a father figure as sweet as he is aaa I prefer to see myself with Daru than project myself onto Yuki though, because I'd treat him differently than he does sometimes if I gotta be honest Still, hope you like the silly ideas- WAIT,, UH?? DARU HAS A PENGUIN SUIT?? I NEED TO SEE IT SO BADD 😭😭 Also fr, why can't they just satisfy the boy's fans for once,, I feel like they're leaving us out on purpose at this point- /j

Btw, for the selfship community part, I didn't really do much! I just started to post my artwork in the tag and started following and interacting with some peeps, although rarely because I'm still akward about it, but the people in it are so nice!! In my opinion, it's worth a shot!

Also thank you so much!! I hope you had a great Valentine's day with Okabe as well, sending you kisses as well! I posted a fanart that is kinda vday themed but nothing selfshippy unfortunately, but me and Daru would have probably chilled at home, exchanging eachother chocolates and stuff like that! Idk, I'm not a very "outside" person but if we had in plan to go somewhere like the May Queen to get something together, I wouldn't have minded either!

Of course you're welcome to come back, it's always a pleasure! Since I don't get asks often, it brightens up my day to see something in my inbox once in a while, so thank you still for feeling comfy enough to come back! Have a great day/night! 💕💕

[h2bakugou]

hitoshi x reader where denki and reader have been friends their whole lives, and after introducing the two, both hitoshi and y/n start going to denki about their feelings for each other and how much they struggle

denki eventually gets sick of it and starts finding different ways to get them together (eventually ending with them being like "oh i didn't think you liked me" and finally dating

maybe a bonus scene of denki's reaction to seeing them together and being like "hecking finally"

- 🪶

a/n: hii love!! this is a really cute idea omg i love this sm <3 i hope you enjoy it!!

summary: denki's been your childhood friend since, well childhood. when he introduces you to a certain lavendar-haired boy, you find yourself opening up to denki about your crush, and so does someone else.

key: (y/n) - your name / (f/n) - first name / (l/n) - last name / (e/c) - eye color / (h/c) - hair color / (y/q) - your quirk

warnings: swearing, fluff

word count: 2.1k

;cut for length;

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The electric blonde has been your childhood friend for years. You grew up together, you told each other pretty much everything. There was the occasional talk about crushes, boys, girls, and whatever else you could talk about while growing up.

You'd always been there for each other, and now you were both attending U.A., and being in the same class had been proven to be a bit of a task for Mr. Aizawa.

The day had pretty much just started, and Denki had asked you to come with him on your first break. You were almost always hanging out with him anyway, so you were a bit confused as to why he'd wanted you to come with him.

"Hitoshi!" Denki called out, alerting both you and the lavender-haired boy of your presence.

"Oh, hi Kami-" Hitoshi falls silent as he stares at the person beside Denki. You.

Shinso feels the world stop for a few seconds as he stares at you. He's honestly speechless.

Much like you are. You'd heard about this boy now that you've heard his name, and staring at him, you can feel your heart swell in your chest. He's so handsome.

"I thought I would introduce you two! Maybe we could all go hang out together this weekend since we won't have classes." Denki's sudden plans that would include this cute boy makes your face heat up. You begin to feel self-conscious, flattening your uniform, or tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you glance at Denki.

"We're off for once?" You question.

"Yeah! We could go do laser tag, or watch a movie in my dorm?" Denki offers, grinning. His intentions had been pure, just wanting to introduce two friends.

"Oh, I totally forgot! Hitoshi, this is (Y/n), (Y/n) this is-"

"Hitoshi, Shinso." Hitoshi speaks up, and your heart throbs in your chest at the sound of his voice. It's oddly charming. And so is the soft scent of sage and teakwood that surrounds him. It had to be his cologne, whatever it was though, you enjoyed it.

"It's nice to meet you." You speak up, extending a hand to shake. Shinso glanced own before placing his palm in yours, giving you a gentle handshake. His touch is electrifying and sends sparks coursing through your veins as you pull away.

"Yeah." Shinso looks back at Kaminari, who's beaming at him, a shit-eating grin on his lips. Kaminari was reading Shinso like a book.

"Well, we've got to get back to classes! We'll talk our plans over later!"

And with that, Kaminari is yanking you back down the hall, running to make it back to class on time.

During lunch, your phone pings, signaling you've been added to a group chat. You immediately recognize Kaminari's number, his contact labeled 'kami :D' popping up followed an unknown number.

who's that?

The number asks. You see Kaminari typing a response.

It's (y/n) dummy, add them into your contacts🙄🙄

You realize this number must be Shinso, so you decide to type a reply.

it's shinso right? i'll add u too ^^

You quickly add Shinso's contact into your phone and put a purple heart beside his name. Kaminari glances over at your phone and giggles.

"A heart already? You just met!" Kaminari teases and you're plastering your hand over his mouth to keep him from speaking too loud.

"Shut up! I just think he's sweet! Besides do we need to talk about your contact info for-"

"Okay! Okay!" Kaminari quickly shushes you, not wanting his current crush to find out about whatever their contact info is.

A few days go by, and after your hangout session with Kaminari and Shinso, you find yourself falling for him more and more.

But Shinso is the one that drops the first hint to Kaminari.

"So is (Y/n) seeing anyone?" Shinso asks, helping Kaminari clean his cartilage piercing.

"What like romantically?" Kaminari asks, sitting up with his ear turned to face Shinso while his cold fingers brushed against his ear.

"Yes, you idiot. Do they have like a boyfriend or girlfriend?" Shinso asks. He's nervous.

"Nope! (Y/n) hasn't talked to me about a crush or anything. They're always showing me these fictional people though. Why? You know someone that likes them~" Kaminari wiggles his brows at the purple-haired boy.

"Shut up. 'm just askin'." Shinso is finally done with the cotton swab and tosses it before letting Kaminari go, his fresh piercing all clean.

Suddenly a knock on the door pulls them away from the conversation and Kaminari is on his toes opening it to reveal you in some goofy pajamas.

"I'm ready for pizza and mario-" Your face contorts in horror as you stare at Shinso on his bed, out of uniform in something dark and mysterious, a loose dark plaid button-up and dark jeans.

"Nevermind! Sorry for bugging you!" You yell and run back to your dorm, hiding your face in embarrassment.

"Wait! I wanted pizza!" Kaminari calls out to you in the hallway but you don't turn around.

Shinso's face is red when Kaminari turns back to look at him.

You looked so cute, and so effortlessly- You weren't trying to impress anyone, yet you looked stunning. In nothing but some silly matching pajamas that Denki most likely had a pair to match, you looked so cute.

"You didn't tell me you ate pizza and played Mario Kart..." Shinso says, faking hurt in his sentence.

"Oh shut up! Go to their dorm and see if they wanna come back up, I'll get it set up." Denki sighs.

Shinso's on the move, making his way to your dorm thanks to Kaminari's excellent directions. Knocking on your door, he feels nervous, anxious even. His heart's pounding in his chest and then cool air washes over him as you open your door.

"Kami I'm sorry I-" You freeze as you stared at the boy in front of you.

"Ohmygod." You say quietly, quickly hiding yourself behind your door.

"Hi!!" You speak up, glancing at him from behind your door.

"Why are you hiding behind your door?" Shinso asks, a small smile on his lips.

"Your pj's are cute."

It echoes in your head, over. and over. and over again.

Your pj's are cute.

You slowly reveal yourself and look away.

"So, did Kami send you down here?" You ask quietly.

"He did, he wants you to come back up, and if it's alright with you, I'd like to hang out too, though I don't have any cool pj's to wear."

Shinso's voice calms you down, though your heart still seems to beat faster and faster.

"I actually, um, hang on. You can come in!" You allow him into your dorm, and he doesn't decline.

He glances around, admiring the pictures of you and Kami. He giggles about how silly young Denki looks with his hair all crazy and spiked up.

"You guys have been friends for a while it looks."

"Since kindergarten! He shocked me on accident, and when he apologized, we just sorta clicked. Been besties ever since." You search through your drawers and eventually find a kitty onesie that was a bit too big for you.

"I think this should fit you."

"It's kitty onesie, though you don't have to wear it!"

"Did you say kitty?" Shinso's ears perk up and you nod. He graciously takes it and the two of you leave to return to Denki. Shinso changes in his bathroom.

It smells like you, and Shinso has to stop himself from smelling the hood every five seconds as he leaves. You just smell so sweet, it's kind of alarming how soothing it is.

You all play and it's a great night, until Denki decides to play a scary movie after. You're sandwiched between the boys but begin to doze off about halfway through the movie.

Your head leans on Shinso's shoulder while you doze off, and he notices right away. He glances at Kaminari who only gives him a reassuring wink.

"You're stupid." Shinso whispers.

"They like to cuddle~" Kaminari suggests.

Shinso graciously lays an arm over you, hugging you to his chest as you readjust in your sleep. You're so warm, and Shinso begins to doze off too.

When you wake up in the morning, you've been covered up by a fuzzy blanket, but the warmth radiating under you is the most alarming.

Your sleepy eyes open to see the purple-haired boy you have a crush on, under you. Your eyes widen but you don't move away. Instead, you lay back down, not wanting to wake him.

His arm rests around you, and his breathing is so calming. It lulls you back to sleep.

You don't talk about that night much afterward, until you're knocking on Kami's door at one in the morning after a bad dream.

"Is Shinso single?" You ask quietly.

"Yeah, why ya askin' me though?" Kaminari hugs you, your head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm too nervous to ask him." You giggle.

"So you like him?"

"Yeah. He's really sweet, and super cute too." You admit, pulling away to stare at your best friend.

"I'm totally not his type though."

"I'm going to beat you up." Kaminari jokes. You shake your head and laugh.

"He's gotta be into like super hardcore goth punk rock-"

"You're so oblivious." Kaminari interrupts you. You roll your eyes and get comfortable on the edge of his bed, snuggling with one of his plushies.

"Just go to sleep, you idiot." You throw another plushy at him.

"You're in my dorm! I can and will kick you out." Denki huffs.

"As if. You need my snoring as your white noise." You tease him.

"You're so mean to me." Denki pouts.

By the same time next week, Denki's heard Shinso's confession about his crush on you, and every little detail about what both of you had to say about the other.

And Denki was honestly tired of it, endearingly of course. So he was setting you two up.

"I need you to meet me here at two. Wear something cute." Is what the text had said. You repeated it as you put together a cute outfit.

Shinso had received the same text and was just wearing something casual like he usually did.

However, when you both spotted each other and not Denki, you began to realize what was happening.

"He's not coming, is he?" You spoke softly, staring at the attractive boy in front of you.

"I guess not." Shinso looks over at the cafe you're standing outside. It's a cat cafe.

"Well, if you're not busy, wanna grab a bite to eat?" Shinso offers, nodding toward the cafe.

"I'd really like that, actually. Thank you." You smile. He offers his hand and you take it gracefully, smiling at how warm it is.

Shinso's phone pings halfway through your piece of cake with a message from Kaminari.

nows ur chance dude, ask them out

Shinso swallows his fear and looks up at you. You're so beautiful, even all dressed up, you look adorable.

You're petting an all-white kitty that's laying in your lap.

"Hey, (Y/n)?" Shinso gets your attention.

"Mhm?" You hum, smiling at him.

"Do you wanna, maybe do this again sometime?" He asks, a blush on his cheeks.

"Like, as a date?" You ask, your own face heating up.

"Yeah. As a date, and as a couple." He glances over at a pretty black cat that begins to nudge your arm for a few pets as well.

"I'd like that." You smile, your heart swelling.

"Then it's settled."

Afterward, neither of you can contain your excitement. Walking back to the dorm with your hand in his, Kaminari is elated.

"Finally." He sighs.

"Finally?!" You both say in unison.

"You should've confessed the day you met. I had to listen to you two being sappy about one another for two weeks straight."

Both you and Shinso feel flustered at Kaminari's comment.

"But it's okay. I love you two so I'll tolerate it. But you two better get along or no more pizza and Mario Kart. You'll have to deal with Bakugou, and I don't think you'll enjoy buying a new controller every time you want to play."

Kaminari was genuinely happy to see you both together, and both be happy.

"Thanks, for you know." You nudge him while sitting on his bed, Shinso was gone, using the bathroom.

"What are you talking about. I didn't help. You two just finally confessed. You did that on your own."

"Yeah but, you made me feel confident about it." You smile.

"That's what I'm here for!" Kaminari smiles.

You couldn't ask for a better friend, or a better boyfriend.

»»————-　★　————-««

masterlist

[pankowfruitsnackswriting]

losing sight of you (p.h)

My work is NOT to be transferred, translated, reposted or copied to any other sites without my permission. That is plagiarism. But you can re-blog the heck out of it on here :)

paring(s): pope x maybank!reader

summary: Pope makes a surprise visit to Outer Banks to see if the girl he's been talking with for months feels the same. (part one in losing sight of you)

warning: none

(master list) (tag list)

"What is that you want to do after school?" Kie asked, standing in the back of the kitchen. The pair had been discussing their futures while taking orders.

Y/n pushed her hair over a single shoulder and tilted her head."I don't know. I don't mind just working, but I really want to travel. See what's out there."

It was a nice dream, but most people from the cut barely left the island. Let alone a maybank. Kie kept it to herself though. "Anywhere in particular?"

"I'd love to see the Rocky Mountains in Colorado."

Kie grinned. "Plan on making any pitstops in Aroura." Pope had a co-op learning program for school there. He was loving it, always making sure to text or call y/n to keep her updated. She was one of the only people who weren't somewhat pissed that he left so abruptly.

"He's never suggested the idea and I would never go unless Pope himself invited me." Kie agreed softly before y/n turned away to hide her face. She always had wistful look in her eyes when Pope's name was brought up. When Pope left, y/n had just realized how deep her feelings went for her long time friend. She didn't say anything, not wanting to be the reason to hold him back. But the two corresponded daily, getting to know one another on a deeper level.

Y/n had been busy preparing a batch of fries when she saw him. She had no idea when he arrived or how long he had been watching, but Pope Heyward stood in the doorway with a smile on his face. "How did you-"

"I texted Kiara when I landed. Asked her to keep you busy." She stood in awe.

Four months! It's been four months since she last seen him. She hasn't heard his voice in person four months.

"I can't believe you're here." Her words were scrambled and flustered. No matter how many times she practiced what she would say none of it was coming out.

"Please, take a seat. I get off in ten minutes." He nodded and went out front to wait.

Pope couldn't believe he was there. Requesting time of from the work program was extremely difficult and it was very last minute.

After the girl clocked out, she made her way to his table. Her nerves getting the best of her. Y/n wasn't sure how to handle herself. Pope could see the girl physically shaking when he place a hand over hers. "Y/n." He spoke tenderly. "It's me, Pope."

She physically stilled at his touch. Something only he could do. With everyone else, it took time. But pope spoke directly to her heart. He always had that affect on her. "Oh, pope. I miss you."

The boy leaned across the table, gently stroking her cheek with the backs of his fingers. Y/n heart melted.

"I was gonna be so witty and charming when you came. Here I am making myself look stupid."

"I don't think your stupid." His hand was wrapped around hers once more.

They decided on taking a stroll along the beach as the pair caught up. "So what are you doing here?" She simply asked in a moment of quietness.

"I had to come." Pope turned to her, pulling both her hands to him. "Wanted to make sure the girl I've been texting was real."

Y/n felt the heat spread out her body. "Is she?"

"I'm thinking so."

Y/n just looked at him. "I forgot how handsome you were, pope. You look really good."

"You were about eight pounds lighter last time I saw you."

"I was a little upset."

"You were a little more than upset." Pope dragged the girl closer, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry I was so insensitive to how you felt."

"You were beyond thrilled to receive the learning position and I felt utterly crushed. I couldn't really just tell you about it."

"I understand."

"And now," she sighed. "You've come to find the girl over the phone, but im not sure you will. I get so nervous when you're really here. I can't seem-" Pope placed a finger over her lips to calm her.

"Listen to me for a minute. Can you do that?" Y/n nodded. "My heart is changing. I think and hope yours is too. I'm here to see if there's something between us, Y/n, not to pressure of hurt you." Pope gently place a hand on the top of her head, allowing it to trace the side of her face. "I just wanted to be upfront with you."

"Thank you."

—

"And this is a camellia flower." He grinned placing the item behind her ear. "I remember you talking about how they are your favorite."

"They are." Y/n had spent the last four days with pope and the pogues. As much as they wanted to be mad at him, the missed him and were very proud of him. It just hurt he left so quickly.

Y/n noticed pope staring. She simply bowed her head and began playing wit the hem of her sun dress. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" She replied.

"Get busy with your hands. I mean it's every time I look at you." He tried to keep a level, light hearted, and upbeat tone.

The girl stopped all movements, but still never had the heart to meet his eyes. If I look at you and think I see love when there's not, I would just die. The thought alone kept her silent.

"Can't answer," he coaxed sweetly, "or don't want to?"

"I'm afraid for you to know how I feel. If you look at me for too long, I won't have a thought or secret left."

"You tend to carry your emotions in your eyes. Can't hide too far, from me at least.

The pair took a seat on a log overlooking the ocean. "Did you happen to get into it with JJ today?" He asked her.

"Kind of. He just said I'm spending too much time with you, but he's with Kie way more. It's a double standard.

"Maybe he's just scared."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Of what?"

"Your his little sister, his number one friend." Pope pulled her head to rest on his shoulder. "He doesn't want to see you hurt. JJ notices the way I look at you."

"How do you look at me?" Her voice was sincere.

"Like a flower. You know looking at them is cool and all, but at some point you just want to be up close with them, touch them, and experience them. You want to hold them. I love looking at you, but JJ knows what attraction can do to a man, let alone add feelings into the mix. He knows very well how much I want to hold and kiss you."

Y/n panicked. "You never talked about that before."

"I wanted you to see my face when I tell you." He kissed her forehead once more. "One day, I want to kiss you, but not til you know for certain. I know I am."

"You can't know if you love me in five days time."

"Wanna bet? Because I'd take you with me right now, forever and ever. Till death do us part." Y/n buried her face in his chest. "I love you. And just because I'm leaving tomorrow, doesn't change that."

(next part)

tags: @pogueslandia​ @1-800-brain-and-heart​ @novxturient​ @samxslaughter​ @wannabestarkeysgirl​ @mazzelloswannabegirl​​ @maybankforlife​

[my-mt-heart]

guys if you're worried about a spinoff happening, just ask yourselves: "what's more likely to happen? A daryl-carol spinoff that was already announced officially or a daryl-connie/leah spinoff that was never ever mentioned?"

where does the anxiety keep coming from? only listen to the people that matter from the sources that matter. I don't mean any disrespect, you guys are wonderful but some of us sound like an insecure partner in a relationship, constantly needing affirmation that the guy loves you or thinks you're pretty.

dan mcdermott (that's the president of AMC studios people) gave an official statement about the daryl carol spinoff that I can't link for some reason. But you can find it fastest on the #caryl tag on twitter. he specifically said that they realized there's still so much story to tell in the world of twd just like disney has multiple stories going on in its universe. he told us what the tales of twd would be and how they are doing it in a way to engage the audience in a new way. Then he said that the can't speak about caryl spinoff but said "creatively and conceptually, it's going to be a significant evolution in the walking dead universe. As you say the ratings are what they are but we're still the number one rated show in cable right now. There's still a dedicated fanbase." I think that means a lot. he's the president of amc studios, they are being secretive about the spinoff for caryl because they have big plans for them and us, daryl and carol actually get the most attention of people asking for them, too. Stop letting every little thing get you down. the spinoff is happening because they want to explore the universe they are in and see caryl as the perfect pair for it. they know there's still one heck of a fan base that will tune in and connie, leah, or the few people that ship them with daryl can't stop those plans.

for the record the ratings are not because of carol and daryl. Its the different venues open to people to watch twd, less people are watching the old way. and twd has killed a lot of the old cast. many people did stop watching especially after carl.

Oh, I forgot about that statement, thank you! Very true about the ratings. I also have to agree that the anxiety is a little confusing to me as well. Don't mean that to be condescending.

[honey-coloured-passion]

Surprise! (Sapnap x Reader)

Request: “Sapnap X Reader where he surprises the reader while she’s streaming”

Words: 1.5k

“Hello chat how are your days going? Good, bad? Finals!? Oh my gosh I hate finals dude I’m so sorry f to pay respects,” you paused to stretch and adjust your headset as you had just started your stream. “I’m kinda just bored today chat so what should we do? Mods can you all run a poll or something?” You glanced at your discord and saw messages from Sap.

“Hey angel!”

“Oh you’re streaming!”

“You look cute on stream” 

You rolled your eyes but chat caught you blushing and saw that Sapnap was viewing the stream, and immediately lost it. They’d been shipping the two of you for months, but little did they know you guys had been dating for three months, since you met up in person for the first time. It hadn’t felt like the right time to announce to the world and you’d wanted to establish your relationship privately before telling the fans, but that didn’t mean you’d had a couple slip ups leading the fans to theorize. 

This included you calling Sapnap various forms of babe, bubs, Nick, love etc. Same went for Sap who gets teased for endlessly rushing to your defense on the SMP and responding casually when you call him a pet name, almost like he does it all the time... yeah, chat was on to the two of you. 

“Shut up guys and tell me what we’re doing today! We could go grind netherite tools and chill? How does that sound?” the SMP always got a resounding yes, and just like that you were off, the SMP had won the poll anyways. 

You messaged Sap in discord, “wanna call for the stream?” and quickly he was on the call with you. 

“Hello Mr. Sapitus Napitus, how’s your day going on this fine Friday?” you laughed as you ran through the nether, having just collected enough wool and planks to make beds. “It’s going, I was bored as heck so I wound up here, what about you?” You knew the longer end to that story, his family was out and he thought editing would take longer but now he was stuck at home. “Same same, I’m chillin and got bored after scrolling on Tiktok for like two hours so now I’m here!” You moved on, blowing up the nether hunting for netherite scrap while talking with chat.

A familiar notification went off, “water check from, um ,GogySupremacy420,000, oh my god what a username. Alright everyone drink some water! This is good I haven’t drank water since like breakfast.” you heard Sap pipe up, “you’ve eaten since breakfast right?” you rolled your eyes, “nope I’ll eat after stream don’t worry Simpnap” tacking on the nickname earned a scoff from the simp himself. “Not a simp,” he answered, giving you a punch in the game making you hit him back. After a mini fight ending in you threatening to place a bed and effectively kill the both of you, you were back to mining. 

“Hey I’ve gotta go drive and grab something want me to stay on call though?” your head whipped to discord to look for another message, knowing Sap didn’t have anywhere to be tonight. But there was nothing. “Oh I don’t mind, chat and I enjoy your company!” you said with a grin. You’d made it to enchanting now, having found all the netherite you needed.

As you sat on the spider spawner you heard Sap get in the car, the familiar beep of him unlocking his car and the revving of the engine making you laugh, “you’re car is literally so old I’m surprised it starts,” you heard Sapnap scoff, “old?! don’t you dare speak to her like that, she’s beautiful,” you rolled your eyes, Callahan who must’ve been on your stream quickly piped up in the game chat “Y/n is jealousss!” now it was your turn to be offended, “you think I’d be jealous of a bucket of rusty bolts and oil? No chance,” you laughed, checking chat as they were spamming JealousChamp. “Whatever you say ba- Y/n,” Sapnap played it off with a cough and you quickly changed the subject to how much XP you would need for all your tools. 

“Hey I’ve gotta go on deafen real quick be back soon!” Sap’s voice flooded your mic, he must’ve brough the mic close to his mouth because his smooth and deep voice curled around the mic perfectly, sending shivers down your spine as his warm tone filled your headphones. “B-bye” you choked out, pretending to adjust your headset as you continued killing mobs. “So chat, got any questions to pass this alone time?” you watched the chat speed up, hoping your mods would filter out poor questions. “Favorite. color? Easy who knows? Yup! You guys know me too well. Ooh favorite fast food place? This is hard cuz I don’t wanna say something you all don’t know but I can tell you guys my McDonalds order because it’s immaculate. Do I know Sapnap’s order? This is a good test you guys, I’m pretty sure it’s like an ungodly amount of spicy McChickens and a Dr. Pepper but I swear he changes it like every day.” you laughed, reading out other people’s orders then moved to debating if the icecream machine is actually broken or if the workers are just lazy. They’re lazy, confirmed by workers in chat apparently. 

“I’m back but I have to go in like five minutes, did you miss me?” Sap’s voice flooded your headphones again. As you adjusted his volume you teased, “hmm nope!” to which he began pouting making you laugh at his “baby rage”. Just as you were finishing with enchants on your axe he had to go. “Don’t miss me too much I’ll talk to you later, chat behave yourself I know you all will miss me but just leave y/n open in a muted tab,” he teased making you roll your eyes, “whatever we’re gonna have a super secret conversation after you’re gone about how we only let you on the stream out of pity right chat?” you couldn’t stop smiling and laughing through the teasing. “Okay okay, I actually gotta go, see you soon,” you bid Sapnap farewell and returned to joking with chat, turning on media share to pass some time as you reacted to animatics, hilarious compilations, and the occasional y/n x sapnap video making chat light up as you laughed through the videos. 

As you watched the videos and killed cave spiders you got a text from Sapnap. 

You still streaming?

Yup! Where’d you end up going? you replied.

Open your door and find out

Your breath hitched. “One- one minute chat,” you pulled your headset off and heard a small rustling in your hallway. As soon as you tabbed out of the game you stood up, rushing off camera to fling your door open and,

There he was. His smile was infectious and you couldn’t help yourself from screaming and running into his open arms. As he held you, rocking back and forth, you heard him mumbled. “I missed you”  Into your ear while you clung to him. “I missed you more,” you whispered back, Finally, you released him enough to peck his lips, unable to wipe the grin from your face. “I got food cuz you said you didn’t eat and I figured if I had time I wanted to spend it with you!” your heart practically melted, taking a bag of food in one hand and holding Sapnap’s hand with your other you realized you forgot to mute or end stream.

“Um, so I’m still streaming... what do we do?” you glanced up nervously but Sapnap just started laughing, “oh my god I guess I can say hi so chat doesn’t lose it’s mind,” you swallowed nervously, glancing down at your phone you had been tagged in endless clips of you running off camera then screaming about 15 seconds later. “Yeah better give them an answer,” you giggled.

Rushing back to your setup you saw chat blowing up as you put your headset back on. “Heyyy guys! So yeah, um I guess I can just show you that, we have a special guest!” You gestured to Sapnap to come into frame, pulling up a chair as he sat down next to you. “Yeah I gave y/n a visit cuz I was bored. Hi chat, hello, hello! You guys are going really fast dang,” Sapnap gripped your hand under the table, you squeezed back, leaning into his embrace. “So um, I think Sap and I are gonna hangout, right?” you glanced at him and he nodded, he really hadn’t stopped smiling since he got to your place. “Yup! Maybe if there’s time we’ll go live again I’m not sure! Kinda spur of the moment yeah?” you finished your thought. Saying goodbye to chat you ended stream just a few minutes later.

“We’ve really gotta tell people soon, I wanna be able to hold your hand on camera not just off,” Sapnap said between bites of food. “Yeah, I think it’ll be okay right?” You had always been nervous about stans hating you or people trying to get in between your relationship. “As long as I’ve got you I’m more than fine, I’m- I don’t know I guess I’m pogchamp,” you shook your head, “god you are such a dork,” Sapnap scrunched his nose with a laugh, “I’m your dork though so I’m so special!” and you couldn’t agree more. <3

[bbysamu]

Bandaid

Like I need U series 

⭑ part II ⭑ 

part I ; part III 

⭑ Song: Bandaid by Keshi

⭑ Warning: Minor angst 

⭑ Pairing: Oikawa  x f!reader (slight Tsukishima mention)

Tag list (by request - thank you all for your support): @nachotrash; @whateverfeelz

Oikawa Toru, renowned pretty boy of Aoba Johsai, captain of the volleyball team is known for several things: his fluffy brown hair, charming smile, charismatic personality and killer volleyball skills. 

Less known for his hard work ethic, love for aliens, and crush on one of the Karasuno’s volleyball manager. 

It was a Tuesday, Iwaizumi had texted the captain reminding him of a practice match with Karasuno, where Tobio Kageyama was currently setter. All day Oikawa had been looking forward to this practice match, where he could see Kageyama again to see if Oikawa is still the better setter. After all, he’s been working so hard to make sure he can beat Kageyama. So despite being placed on a break by his coach, Oikawa was sure nothing could stop him from at least playing a little bit in the match. 

When Oikawa arrived, he stood at the door, watching the match, in which Karasuno was currently leading. Annoyed, he did a quick survey of the team. Sure, Karasuno got some tall players and their raven-haired and blonde managers are just as beautiful as rumors but thats it. Karasuno was just another volleyball team. 

Oikawa suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around to find a black-haired girl politely smile up at him. Oikawa’s breath caught in his throat. 

“Excuse me, do you mind letting me through? I’m one of Karasuno’s manager and I’m running a little late” (Y/N) smiled apologetically at tall boy blocking the door. 

“Oh yes, of course of course, sorry about that” Oikawa quickly moved out the way, watching the beautiful manager make her way over to her team. He didn’t miss the way she first glanced around her team before shyly blowing a kiss at the tall blond middle blocker, who pretended to catch it, making her giggle. 

Oikawa was surprised by the disappointment he felt in his heart. He was constantly surrounded by his fan girls, many of whom are pretty, so what was this new feeling? Why was he disappointed to see this beautiful girl, a stranger no less, have a boyfriend? 

The match went by quickly, though still playing at his best, Oikawa’s silly self rivalry with Kageyama took a backseat, as he kept glancing over at her. He saw the way she bit her lips in anticipation when it was Karasuno’s turn to attack, the worry in her eyes when Tsukishima held his fingers, re-adjusting the tape on them, and the smile of relief when he reassured her he was fine. 

After the game, as all were cleaning up, he felt his eyes being drawn over to her again and couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation. He saw how Tsukishima came over to (Y/N), one hand slightly ruffling her hair, the other clutching his waterbottle, asking “hey (Y/n) why were you late today hm?” 

“Sorry babe, Hinata forgot something in class so I had to go back to get it for him”, (Y/N) answered, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. 

Tsukishima playfully yelled out to Hinata, “hey tangerine head, stop forgetting things and making my girlfriend late to watch me”. 

Oikawa watched as (Y/N) giggled, before playfully hitting her boyfriend, asking him not to be mean to Hinata, as the tiny middle blocker jumped around apologizing to (Y/N). 

Oikawa watched as Tsukishima tenderly pick up (Y/N)’s hand and led her out of the gym, following the rest of the Karasuno. 

“Crappykawa if you keep looking your eyes might fall out”, the familiar sound of his best friend’s voice called out, followed by the snickers of the other Seijoh four. 

Suddenly an eruption of “Oikawa senpai!!!” rang out as girly giggles echoed throughout the gym. Oikawa turned his attention to his fan girls, trying to stop his thoughts from wandering back to Karasuno’s manager, who is clearly in a happy relationship. 

A Few Weeks Later

“Oikawa please stop bouncing around, why the heck are you so twitchy today” Makki called out, trying to get his captain to stop moving around so much. 

“I heard we have a new manager and she used to be from Karasuno” Oikawa sang out loud, “i’m just glad we have a manager after Sana-chan had to leave, or else the team would be a mess!” 

Makki pouted “no need to remind me about Sana, I’m happy for a new manager too”, who’s ex-girlfriend is the previous manager. 

The door suddenly opened and there (Y/N) stood, as beautiful, if not more, as Oikawa remembered. The gym suddenly fell silent, as the rest of the team stood gaping at their new manager. 

A slow blush rose to her cheeks, her eyes shyly cast down for a slight second, before clearing her throat. “Hi boys! My name is (Y/N) and i’ll be your new manager!” She smiled brightly and suddenly everyone was encouraged to approach her. 

Kindaichi bounced up excitedly to her “Hi (Y/N) senpai, thanks for being our manager!” The other boys nodded in agreement. 

The captain stepped forward and couldn’t help the blush rising to his cheeks as Y/N focused her eyes on him. “Has her eyes always been this big, her lashes so long? She’s cute, she’s super cute, oh but she has a boyfriend argh” Oikawa thought to himself, before clearing his throat realizing he stepped forward without saying anything for the past ten seconds. 

After introducing her to the team and making sure she’s settled in, the captain returned to the team for practice, glancing over at her frequently to make sure she’s okay. 

While the other players only noticed her beauty and friendly personality, Oikawa saw a lot more, the way she stared off into space for the tiniest of moments, eyes suddenly glassy before blinking and taking a deep breath or the way she seemed to force herself to smile at nothing. Oikawa frowned, wondering what was going on. 

A few weeks passed, Y/N became more and more comfortable with the team and the team more comfortable with her. Oikawa and Y/N also became much closer friends. It was easy for the two of them to get along, both of them with easy going and optimistic personalities. 

♫ You should have told me I don't know what to say Why are you sorry How did it get this way ♫

Oikawa found it weird that Y/N never mentioned Tsukishima, until one day after school. Y/N, Oikawa and the rest of the Seijoh four decided to stop by Starbucks after school for a quick pick-me-up after a long, tiring day before heading back for practice. 

Oikawa watched Y/N furrowed her brows in frustration. 

“Argh I don’t know what to choose! Mattsun what would you rather have ? matcha latte or strawberry frapp?” Y/N asked 

Matsukawa wrinkled his nose in disgust “ew neither”. 

The rest of the boys laughed as Y/N hit Mattsun out of frustration, laughters quickly drowning out Mattsun’s protest “Y/N why are you hitting me for your inability to choose!!” 

As sudden as the laughter began, it died as the boys looked at the clear look of shock on your face. Oikawa following your eyes saw the tall blonde middle blocker hand-in-hand with another girl (who was wayyy not as cute as Y/N ,Oikawa thought to himself). 

He saw the way Tsukishima’s shock mirrored Y/N’s, before his girlfriend, with a slight smirk, pulled the tall player down to herself to give him a quick kiss. 

Oikawa whipped his head to look at Y/N’s, who now with slight tears around her eyes, quickly wiped them and said to the captain “just get me a matcha latte please, i’ll..um...wait for you guys outside”. Putting on a brave smile, Y/N walked past Tsukishima and Yuki before heading outside. 

Oikawa looked at the rest of his friends in shock, before running out after Y/N, leaving the rest of the Seijoh boys to throw nasty looks at Tsukishima and Yuki. 

The pretty setter found Y/N in the alley outside the coffee shop wiping tears from her eyes. As soon as Y/N sees Oikawa, she threw him a feeble smile, nose red from crying. Without thinking, Oikawa threw his arms around her and drew her close. 

“He cheated on me, I don’t know why. I’m sorry” Y/N whispered against his chest. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault” Oikawa replied. 

The two stood there in a tight embrace, one heart broken, one heart breaking for the one broken. 

♫ I'm afraid That bandaids Are no good For heartache ♫

“I like you Y/N” Oikawa murmured, unable to stop himself from confessing. 

Y/N stiffened at his confession, trying to pull away but the setter pulled her tighter. 

“It’s okay, I’m not expecting anything. I just want you to know”.

Y/N looked up at him, eyes wet with tears. “I’m sorry Toru, but i’m afraid.”

Oikawa smiled “Don’t worry I’m here for you, I’ll wait for you for as long as you need”. 

Bandaids are no good for heartache, but Oikawa Toru doesn’t want to be your bandaid, he wants to be your heart. 

[nincompoopydoo]

PAIRING, BAGELS, REPEAT

— HYMN OF THE LOVESICK ; PART 5 / ?

( gif from this beautiful gifset by @knightwayne )

PAIRING: Bruce Wayne x reader

WORD COUNT: 2k

SUMMARY: Alfred definitely knows something about Bruce that you’re not willing to think about and Bruce has an epiphany that changes the way he sees you.

A/N: Guess who forgot which day pbr is usually posted? This idiot here. God, I’m sorry and this chapter can be boring. Next chapter will have a lot more going on, I promise. Also, this might end in the next chapter or two. Enjoy, folks.

WARNINGS: Kinda dramatic because I’m dramatic.

MASTERLIST ; MASTERPOST

Driving through the Wayne estate gives you a sense of much-needed peace. The never-ending tunnel with walls of identical colossal pine trees as you faintly hum to Aretha Franklin over the low whirring of the running engine. It’s a quarter to noon, and the sun doesn’t seem to shine in the city of Gotham—clouds of grey constantly shield its optimum shine, only to ever allow rays to seep through the gaps in the moving Autumn wind. You don’t mind it and you never did, growing up in the city left clouds unnoticed to you unless it signified the arrival of a thunderstorm. Weather and nature are the least of your concerns but you would appreciate it now and then.

The tunnel of trees comes to an end as a clearing of extensive fields emerges into view. What is left of the Wayne Manor still stands with ostentation, despite its skeleton along with its dignity rotting away to be eventually consumed by mother nature herself. There’s a sense of eeriness to it; you find it odd how a building could seem so alive at times, like it's watching you, despite its apparent decay.

You turn your head away and focus on the road.

A glance at your hand on the wheel, you’re reminded of last night, when his hands held yours—it burns at the mere thought of his gentle touch. And the drive home, silent with the occasional glances and small smiles. You recall how the passing streetlights cascade hues of orange on his wearied expression and how his eyes were bright when they flit to your figure in the passenger seat for just a moment. Something must have changed between the two of you, but you can’t quite tell what. Maybe it’s your undying love for Bruce. Maybe he feels the same way. You snort to yourself, alone in your car, one can only dream but it doesn’t mean they all come true. Bruce may love but he doesn’t commit. You can’t commit too. Now, you’re starting to believe you’ve been lying to yourself.

The glasshouse comes into view as you steer around the bending road and into the driveway. It contradicts everything the manor was but only shared its sense of glory. You like the glasshouse, less deafening and structured with the purpose of bareness and vulnerability but its dark furnishings keep it grounded and secure. Its sense of balance tricks your mind into thinking you’re stable. His car is still around, parked by the porch but you don’t see him, ambling around the household.

Switching off the ignition, you snatch the paper bag from the passenger seat and clamber out of the car. Darker clouds begin rolling from afar, your hair flying in the strong wind. A storm is coming, you’re sure of it. One of the rare times it rains during the season. You dread the thought of having to drive back into the city and across Westward Bridge. Driving over bridges built over the water in the rain scares the heck out of you.

As you swing the car door to a close, you hear the shuffling of feet amongst leaves behind you. Alfred, with a barrel of chopped wood—stocking up for the winter. There’s a glimmer of amusement in his eyes albeit startled by your sudden presence. He mentions your name with endearment; you greet him with a small smile. You always liked Alfred. You enjoyed his company.

“What a pleasant surprise seeing you here,” he says, pushing the barrel aside as he nears you. “I’m afraid you just missed Bruce. He left for Metropolis an hour ago—duty calls.”

You nod, ignoring the clench in your heart. He hadn’t told you anything but frankly, you weren’t expecting him to anyway.

“Well, I just came by to drop off this,” You lift the paper bag, swaying it a little within your grasp. “As a thank you gift, you know.” Alfred smiles at this, gestures towards the house in a beckoning manner. “Come on in, I’ll make you some tea.” Before you could even protest, he’s gently guiding you to the door by the shoulder. It’s hard to say no to Alfred, especially when he offers tea.

-

Your mind wonders as you watch the drizzle of rain form ripples in the lake. You sit on a chair with a contemporary structure to it; it digs into your lower back, due to your bad posture. Uncomfortable but nice-looking and great armrests. Contradicts everything a chair should be. Alfred emerges from the kitchen with a black ceramic mug in hand, steam from the brewed tea lingering above it. He holds an identical mug, for himself. With two hands, you clasp onto the mug with acceptance, a radiant appreciative smile upon your lips. “Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth.” Alfred shoots you a look of disdain, “I’ve told you many times, Alfred is fine.” Taking a sip, you shake your head, a smile still lingering. “No way. I have too much respect for you to call you by your first name.” Alfred mirrors you, settling for the chair to your right, swiftly sliding the scatter of papers to the corner of the table. You find it easy to fall into a natural conversation with the older man—the two of you are mutuals after all of a certain billionaire. Yet, Alfred is more of a father figure, having practically raised Bruce and you, well, it’s complicated. It always is. You don’t know where you stand in his life, and you're not sure if you want to know.

“Anyway, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in weeks.” It’s true. The usual sight of the butler sauntering around the glasshouse or somewhere in the Wayne Estate was absent during the last two weeks. Alfred is always around, his disappearance was glaring, impossible to go unnoticed.

He shifts in his seat, placing his mug on the table, teaspoon moving with a soft clang. “I was visiting family back in England. I appreciate that you have noticed my absence,” An eyebrow raises, your laugh comes out more like a huff. “Always, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Family. Mother. Dinner—you remember the dinner with your mother on Sunday night, and you’re the host. The host hasn't decided on the menu for tomorrow’s meal. Oh God, it’s tomorrow. Procrastination is your friend but your family’s expectations for you aren't. If you pop enough wine bottles, maybe she'll be too drunk to be disappointed by the end of the night.

And the wedding. The mere thought makes you sick. You don’t want to bring a date, but you don’t want to be alone. Weddings, love, couples—it makes you tick. It’s a glaring reminder of how your love life is an absolute disaster and your inability to maintain relationships. It’s hopeless, you’ll die a spinster and everyone lives happily ever after.

“Are you alright?”

It’s funny how those three words have been the most frequent words you would hear from those around you. You appreciate the concern, really, but you can’t help but feel there’s a stronger and deeper meaning to those words. It’s a question of assurance, a reality check, and a realization that you might be broken. Everyone is broken—in their own ways.

Although you seem reserved to some people, your tendency to open up about your issues to those close to you contradicts that though you instantly regret it. Especially when people tell you to change. You hate change. It’s terrifying.

You pause, suddenly feeling...fidgety. Yet, in the words of Bruce: In Alfred, you trust.

Remember, keep it light. You don’t want to haul all this luggage of yours onto an aging man. He’s already got Bruce’s luggage.

“My cousin’s getting married in two weeks and,” you sigh, he listens intently. “And as pathetic as this sounds, I really don’t want to go to it alone.”

Your words are direct, straightforward and you sound like a whiny teenager or the main character in a Wattpad story but truth be told, there’s an underlying meaning to it and you know, Alfred knows it. You just don’t want to admit it.

He takes a beat, assessing your sentence like he’s a therapist, wanting to select his words carefully. “Well, I don’t think you’re pathetic. It’s...understandable,” he flashes you a pointed look and you find yourself straightening your back. “Why don’t you ask Bruce?”

Your brain must have short-circuited at that moment.

Oh, hell no. Not in a million years.

You’re shaking your head, laughing nervously. “No, no. No. Never. I couldn’t possibly ask him to do that. He’s already done so much for me—”

“You’ve done a lot for him too.”

A pause, words stuck in your throat. You just look at Alfred through confused eyes. You’re not sure what that means. He’s staring at you with a knowing look. You sigh, shaking your head in denial once more. “No, that’s...that’s not true.”

It’s almost infuriating how stubborn you can be sometimes that it’s even irritating yourself. You’re staring at your fingers, playing with the tag attached to the teabag by a thread. As far as you’re concerned, Bruce is...the greatest friend you’ve ever had. Through thick and thin, he’s been there for you. He’s always there. It’s partly the reason why you have fallen for him in the first place. Hard. He’s easy to love when he wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s rare but it’s beautiful. You almost feel ashamed to be allowed to see him in that light.

“Bruce will do just about anything for you,” Alfred says calmly as he watches you avoid eye contact. “And I know, you’ll do the same for him.” You throw your eyes at the older man as he cops you a look. Your heart is beating so fast, so thunderous, you hear it in your ears. He’s right and you know it. That accidental kiss to your forehead on the night you asked him to come for the play comes back to mind in a flash. It feels like a mark on your forehead, it feels like it’s burning.

“Would you like a scone with that?” He’s pointing to your tea and with that, he’s off to the kitchen once more, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

-

It’s late—a quarter to four in the morning. He spends most of his nights in the Batcave, hidden away from all the sounds and tumult of the world, shrouded in the darkness as the light of the computer screen cascades on his tired eyes. He ambles through the glasshouse, weary feet against hardwood floors, body begging to lay on grey sheets though he dreads a vacant bed.

He strains his eyes peering into the gloom when he perceives a paper bag, sitting idly on the table by the window. Nearing it, there’s a yellow post-it note stuck onto the bag and under the gentle light from the moon that reflects against the lake, he can make out words written on it.

It’s from you.

Thanks for coming to the play. I would have bought you something else, but I’m really broke. Sorry. I owe you one.

A drawn heart follows it. It’s tiny. His chest feels warm.

He should have recognized the paper bag because inside, there are four bagels. Four Asiago bagels. He laughs, it comes out more like a puff of hot air, feeling the warmth that resides in his chest spreading throughout his body.

Then, it hits him like a bullet to the heart. The impact is strong, powerful. Your impact on him is strong, powerful. There’s no mystery to his feelings for you but at this moment, he’s completely certain. For the first time in life.

He loves you.

Bruce staggers into the chair, hand carding back the strands of his hair. He can’t keep doing this to you. Whatever the hell is going on. Your friendship, the...stupid agreement. He wants none of it because it feels like he’s constantly going around in circles.

But what do you really want, Bruce?

TAGLIST

@raineeace

[mountainsluna]

a little jealousy | part two

PART  ONE

pairing: San x Seonghwa x Reader (female)

genre: smutttt oh my god smut

word count: 3.6k

✩ [author’s note] so….this is my first attempt at a threesome of any kind, i hope it meets all of your expectations! please read part one before reading this, some references may not make sense without reading the first part (its linked above) thank you! :)

✩ masterlist

✩ requests : check bio or masterlist ♡

smut warning: exhibitionism, pet names, dirty talk, threesome, vouyerism, sub!reader, dom!ateez, reader in subspace, drunk sex, unprotected sex, oral sex, alcohol, daddy kink, car sex

No matter what he did, San couldn’t get the thought of you and Seonghwa out of his head. He  enjoyed the night you two had shared after the incident so much but…did he maybe enjoy it too much? He never wanted to think about you with another man in any way but why was he suddenly imagining you underneath Seonghwa, moaning his name the way you were the other night for San. When you and Seonghwa would pass each other in the dorms, why was he hoping Seonghwa would push you up against the wall and kiss you? Even when you hugged him goodbye San would watch Seonghwa’s hands to see how far down they dared go on you. He didn’t understand it and it was driving him crazy.

You on the other hand still hadn’t told San what had happened the other morning. He was already so possessive with you and he was also dangerous when he was angry. You felt what Seonghwa did had crossed a line and if San found out, you’d probably never see the older boy alive again. You had noticed over the past few days that whenever you came in contact with Seonghwa, your boyfriend was surprisingly nonchalant about it. If Seonghwa hugged you a bit too long, nothing. Even when he referred to you as “kitten” when he said good morning to you yesterday, San acted like he hadn’t heard despite being only inches away. It’s like he kept pushing his luck with San and you had no idea how to react.

The weekend had arrived and San was feeling a restless. You ran your fingers through his hair as his head laid in your lap. “We should go to a bar tonight! We can have a few drinks, maybe dance a bit and then get a hotel so we can spend some alone time together. A change of scenery would be nice too. ”

Your face lit up at his words and you couldn’t agree fast enough. “Oh my god yes!! What time should we leave? What should I wear?” The thought of dressing up alone already had you excited and then being able to have actual alone time with San afterwards made your heart flutter. Your boyfriend was smiling from ear to ear at your eagerness, you were so adorable.

“Calm down my love! Go home, get yourself ready maybe have a snack and I’ll pick you up at 8? Is that okay?”

You almost didn’t know what to say, the night already sounded so perfect and it hadn’t even began. You left the dorm already eager to see San again for your date night.

8pm rolled around quickly, you were already waiting on your sofa, heels on and purse in hand. You decided to wear your favorite black dress and San’s favorite black lingerie set underneath. The sound of knocking at your door made you jump up.

You opened it and nearly gasped at the sight of San. He was wearing a dark gray dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up halfway. His slicked back black hair accentuating his black pants and black belt so nicely.

“God, you’re gorgeous baby girl.” he said, pulling you into a kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck, already wanting to rip his shirt off of him.

“You clean up pretty well too, handsome.” You said turning to lock your door, San extending his arm so that you could wrap yours around his.

He pecked your lips softly before opening the car door for you. “I forgot to mention, I have a surprise for you baby girl” he said as you sat down, closing the door before you could reply.

“Hey beautiful.” Your eyes snapped to the rear view mirror making eye contact with Seonghwa who was sitting in the back seat.

Your heart felt like it was beating in your ears and you instantly regretted not telling San about the other morning. But why was Seonghwa here in the first place? The boys tagging along on your dates did happen on occasion but San always made sure to ask you first.

“Seonghwa wanted to come along last minute, I hope that’s okay, kitten.” San said, narrowing his eyes at you as he used Seonghwa’s pet name for you on you himself, when you turned to look at him you swore you saw him wink at the man in the backseat.

The ride to the bar was hell to say the least. You sat silently as San and Seonghwa chatted about god knows what, you honestly couldn’t focus on a word they were saying.

When you finally arrived, you three sat in a small booth near the wall. San left you and Seonghwa to seat yourselves as he went to order drinks. You sat across from Seonghwa, who began to talk to you casually about the music they were playing, a smile on his face the entire time. You cut him off almost too loudly.

“What made you want to come with us tonight? Does San know what you told me the other morning?” Seonghwa’s face looked back at you feigning shock and confusion at your questions.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about beautiful.” he said, looking you dead in the eye, you scoffed at him in disbelief. An amused grin slowly forming on his lips as San returned to the table with three gin and tonics for you all.

He took his seat next to you smiling sweetly but the feeling was off. You took a few small sips of your drink before excusing yourself to the bathroom. Passing by the bar on your way to the ladies’ room you stopped to get yourself a shot of whiskey to calm your nerves. You paced in the bathroom for a few minutes letting the liquor slowly warm you up, coming to the realization that you were here and all you could do now was go along with whatever those two devils were planning. As you made your way back to the table you stopped at the bar again for one more shot…for luck.

You nearly passed out when you reached the table to see three shots of a clear liquid sitting on the table. “Love! Seonghwa got us shots, he said the drinks I got are too weak!” You shot Seonghwa a look that could kill but it didn’t phase him in the slightest. Instead, he stood up to make a toast with his shot glass, trying his hardest to hold in his laughter. “To a fun night together.” He said, a little closer to your ear than to San’s.

After almost an hour you were finally starting to loosen up, only sipping on your drink the rest of the night not wanting to intoxicate yourself after those three shots. You had just sat back down after dancing a few songs with San who now had his arm draped over your shoulder, you leaning back onto his chest slightly as you talked with Seonghwa. You suggested he go talk to some of the single girls at the bar when you felt his hand riding up your thigh, pulling up your dress as he went. “I don’t think I want to, I kind of have my eyes on someone else…maybe she hasn’t noticed yet.”

Your heart was racing again and you turned your head towards San who merely smiled at you, placing a soft kiss on your shoulder. Seonghwa’s hands now spreading your thighs apart just enough to allow his hand enough room to start rubbing circles on your clit underneath the table. You inhaled sharply leaning back even more onto San, catching his attention.

The feeling of his eyes on you causing you to force your legs shut. You moved to stand up just as San’s hands came down on your shoulders holding you in place, allowing Seonghwa’s hand to return to your clit. “Baby…Hwa told me about his little crush on you.” He said, peppering soft kisses on your earlobe as he spoke. “So…I told him you had a little crush on him as well…You don’t mind do you?”

Your drunken mind was clouded with the feeling of San’s breathe on your ear and Seonghwa working your clit so intensely. His fingers sliding up and down your folds before pushing them into you instantly sending you into your subspace. Your droopy eyes moving from Seonghwa to the drink in front of you unable to focus on anything but the feeling of his fingers inside you. As his movements quickened you felt a familiar knot forming in the pit of your stomach. You were letting out soft moans that were covered by the loud music, but your tightening grip on San’s thighs didn’t go unnoticed. San turned your head to kiss you roughly as your moans got louder, your orgasm making your legs nearly shake as you came undone around Seonghwa’s fingers. San didn’t end the kiss until you were struggling to breathe against his lips, Seonghwa now slipping his fingers out of you. You blinked slowly coming back to your senses as you made eye contact with him, his lips now around his fingers that had been inside you seconds ago. “You taste amazing, kitten.”

San was growing impatient behind you, his erection getting worse by the second. He cleared his throat loudly before downing the rest of his drink and standing up. “I think it’s time for us to go, are you ready baby girl?” You nodded, grabbing his hand as he helped you up, your legs too weak to hold you. Seonghwa kept his hand against the small of your back the entire walk to the car, stabilizing you so you wouldn’t fall over.

When you got to the car you went straight to open the passenger door but before you could reach for the handle, Seonghwa was pulling your arm away. “How about you keep me company in the backseat, babe?” He said, already motioning you into the car.

You stared at San as he got into the driver’s seat, starting the car and looking back at you as he reversed. “Be a good girl for Hwa, my love. It’s only a 20 minute drive.” He smiled at you like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Seonghwa wasted no time, kissing down your neck as he pushed you back slowly. You started moaning against him and San turned the radio off completely, wanting to hear nothing but the sound of your voice. Seonghwa’s lips finally made contact with yours and you realized this was the first time you had ever kissed him.

You may have melted into the kiss even more if his hands weren’t roughly pulling your dress above your hips and your panties down your legs. He manuevered himself between your thighs, his tongue coming down to swipe against your folds briefly, your back arching at the feeling. He sat up as much as he could to undo his belt and zipper pulling his throbbing cock out of his pants. You moaned as you watched him, the sight making you spread your legs as wide as you could manage in front of him as he lined himself up with your core. “Fuck if I knew you looked this good underneath me I would’ve asked San to let me fuck you sooner.”

You heard San snicker from the front seat. You glanced over to see him staring at you through the mirror. Seonghwa pushing into you at the same time, your boyfriend watching as your expression turned to pure lust.

Seonghwa felt so insanely good inside of you. Leaning down to kiss you heatedly as he fucked into you. You were moaning like crazy, the alcohol in your system giving you confidence. You weren’t holding any of your noises back and San and Seonghwa were thanking the gods. Seonghwa’s cock wasn’t as thick as San’s but it was longer, going deeper than you were used to. The new feeling was simply euphoric.

“How is it beautiful? Is it what you expected?” Seonghwa asked between thrusts, watching how your body reacted to him.

“So…sooo fucking good so good. Fuck Seonghwa!” you answered him frantically. He absolutely loved the way his name sounded falling from your lips. He was already getting close to his release, the feeling of your warmth around him as you moaned for him was too good to handle making him groan even louder. “Hwa, I think…I’m gonna cum”

“Me too baby, me too - oh fuck” the feeling of your walls clenching around him nearly throwing him over the edge.

Hearing him, San slammed on the breaks at a red light, causing you and Seonghwa to fall forward a bit. He turned around in his seat grabbing Seonghwa by the collar. “You cum inside her pussy and I’ll kick your ass.” The sight of San being so possessive had you throbbing, Seonghwa moaned, his hips bucking back into you involuntarily. San watched as your orgasm washed over you, his friend fucking back into you as your back arched off the seat. San released him and Seonghwa’s attention was back on you holding your hips so tight, mustering all the self control he had to not cum in you. San’s eyes never leaving you two. As soon as you were done Seonghwa pulled out of you, you switched positions quickly. Your head going straight to his cock as he laid against the door. Taking him into your mouth, you started sucking immediately, wanting him to cum as soon as possible. He let out a breathy groan as he felt your tongue around him. His hand gripping your hair as he thrusted into your mouth repeatedly. Just as you started to moan around his cock, his cum began filling your mouth, almost choking as you swallowed around him. You licked around the entire base and tip, cleaning off any cum before sitting back up.

“Come here baby.” San beckoned, cupping your face as he pulled you into a kiss, his tongue dipping into your mouth a few times. The taste of Seonghwa’s cum on your lips had him nearly palming himself over his pants. “Good girl.”

He pulled away from you, putting the car back in drive, only a few minutes from the hotel parking lot. After you and Seonghwa finished fixing yourselves in the backseat, you leaned your head on his shoulder to take in the last few minutes of peace you had, his hand reaching up to play with your hair.

The walk up to the hotel room was just a bit awkward. The suspicious look the receptionist gave you three as she handed San the room keys surely didn’t help. You made your way into the room plopping yourself down onto the bed, cuddling up to the pillows as you pretended to drift off to sleep. San came up behind you to slap your ass, you giggled in response. “What do you think you’re doing princess?” He asked, grabbing your arm to flip you over as he crawled on top of you. You pulled him into a passionate kiss, missing his lips and the way he felt between your legs. His hands moved to hold yours above your head as he moaned softly into your mouth. You were absolutely addicted to San’s lips, no matter where they were on your body. Once he started kissing you, you never wanted him to stop.

His tongue was making it’s way down your jawline when you felt the bed dip as Seonghwa sat down, leaning back against the pillows. His hand already around his cock again as he watched you and San. San picked up his head to glance at Seonghwa before sitting up between your legs, pulling you up with him. “Are you ready, baby girl?” he asked as he unzipped the back of your dress. “Yes, daddy, I am.” You looked up at him as he helped you off the bed to let your dress slide down your body. San looked up to see the black lingerie set you were wearing. His favorite one. He caressed your cheek as he turned to Seonghwa.

“You have no idea how lucky you are that I’m sharing my Princess with you.” he spat at Seonghwa who had sped up his movements on his cock after seeing your dress hit the floor.

“Fuck I know how lucky I am. She’s a goddess. I’ve always known that.” San could respect that answer.

You looked up at your boyfriend, waiting for his permission to help Seonghwa. His eyes narrowed, smirking at you seductively as he reached around to unclasp your bra letting it fall between you two. He caressed your breasts a bit before whispering in your ear, “Go ahead baby girl.” nodding towards Seonghwa. You pecked his lips before turning around, crawling across the bed to kiss Seonghwa, your hand replacing his on his cock.

You felt San behind you pulling your panties down your ass, kissing down your lower back. You bent down even lower, lifting your ass higher as San started to lick your folds from behind. You were moaning into the kiss, getting Seonghwa off even more. 

San slapped your ass harshly making you break away from the kiss. He grabbed your hips roughly, pulling you away from Seonghwa. His cock pressing against your folds and clit enough to have you pushing back onto him craving more friction. “You’ve cum twice tonight and you’re still so impatient baby.” San teased, still rubbing against your entrance, caressing your ass with his other hand.

“Mmm but I haven’t cum on your cock yet.” You said, still desperately pushing your ass against him.

“You’re right baby girl.” He began pushing his cock into you slowly. “So while I fuck your pussy I want to watch you suck Seonghwa’s dick until he cums again. You hear me baby?” His hips already snapping into you as Seonghwa positioned himself in front of your mouth. “I don’t want your mouth to leave his dick until I’m done with you, do you understand me?” San’s cock pounding into you harder as he questioned you. You couldn’t do anything but moan loudly around Seonghwa’s length. The vibrations from your throat making him buck his hips into your mouth.

The feeling of having both men wreck you from both sides felt surreal. You felt like you could cum at any moment but you didn’t want it to end yet, you clenched yourself around San to help you hold out a bit longer but the feeling made him get even rougher with you. His moans getting louder and his pace quickening. You were nearly screaming around Seonghwa as you attempted to suck him off at the same pace that San was fucking into you.

A thin layer of sweat was starting to form on San’s body as he fucked into you, the grip he had on your waist was sure to leave bruises on you. He brought one hand up to his lips, sucking on his fingers before bringing them down to rub your clit hastily. The sensation leaving you breathless as your jaw went slack around Seonghwa’s cock.

Seonghwa pulled your hair up into a messy ponytail as he fucked your mouth, nearing his climax, his voice sounding so pretty as he let out high pitched breaths mixed with his soft moans. Meanwhile, you were moaning so shamelessly and loud, unable to control your own movements, the hand Seonghwa had in your hair was the only thing keeping you up as you came around San’s dick.

San looked up from your ass as he felt you pulsing around him, he watched as you brought Seonghwa to his climax, the sight effecting him even more than he thought. You looked like such a whore, between them taking their cocks so well. “Fuck baby you’re so fucking perfect.” He moaned out as he released inside you, watching his friend also releasing his cum into your mouth.

The feeling of San’s cock throbbing inside you helped you ride out your orgasm so deliciously while Seonghwa’s cum was also filling your mouth. You let out a few soft moans as you latched your lips onto his dick, making sure you swallowed every drop of his release before pulling off of him. San rocked his hips into you slowly a few more times before he pulled out of you, loving the way his cum looked dripping out of your pussy.

San motioned to the taller male to fetch a towel for you from the bathroom as he pulled your body into his embrace, making sure your head was resting comfortably on the pillows. “You did so well tonight, princess. I love you so much.” he said into your hair as he kissed your head, tucking a strand behind your ear. Seonghwa returned with two damp towels, running one up your legs softly, being as gentle as possible as he wiped your sensitive area clean. He used the other to lightly clean your face, wiping off your smudged makeup in the process. Once he was done, You cuddled into San’s chest, already drifting off to sleep from exhaustion.

San stared at you lovingly as you slept, his thumb caressing your cheek lightly. Seonghwa pulled a spare blanket from the closet, covering you three as he settled himself behind you. After a moment San glanced up at him, noticing how he looked at you. It was the same way San was looking at you.

A thought entered San’s mind suddenly, maybe he was being selfish keeping you all to himself…