#oh well at least logan would be a great lover

[th3w00ds]

Hey I saw your requests were open? If that's still the case then I'd love to request a Natemare x reader that has some sanders sides fic where the reader has been dating Mare for awhile so the reader decides to finally introduce Mare to there best friend of many years, Virgil. If that's possible, please and thank you.

Of course!!!

I Lie Inside Myself for Hours

@namelessmunster

Title From: Imaginary by Evanescence

Fandom: Youtuber Egos + Sanders Sides

AU: None

Content Warnings: Not proofread

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

As you were standing in front of the Sides house, it occurred to you for the fifteenth time that day that Natemare, your boyfriend, had never met the Sides. You didn’t know if they’d even get along.

The reason you were here other than introduce him to your friends was to see your best friend of many years, Virgil. He was an anxious guy, but somehow you were closest to him out of the Sides rather than one would probably expect your best friend to be, like Logan or Patton.

But Anxiety was the one who you were closest to. You’d known Virgil for around five years, since Thomas had invited you over saying that he “wanted you to meet a few people.” It turned out that those people were parts of himself. 

You sighed, and knocked on the door, then turning to Mare. “It won’t be that long, usually Roman- Creativity gets the door within a few seconds,” 

“Yeah? Wellll, I can’t help but notice it’s taking a few more than that, isn’t it Y/N?” He said sarcastically, looking around the outside of the house. Oh yeah, he’d for sure get along with Virgil. 

Around ten seconds later Roman opened the door, and he smiled at the sight of you. He called out to the other Sides, “Y/N IS HERE!!!”

Then he looked back at you and his eyes turned to Mare. “Ohh, who is this now? Your lover? What’s his name? How did you meet-“ 

“Roman!! Shut!!!” You said, interrupting him. That man never stopped with his romance questions if he figured one was interested in it. 

“Awww… fine, I’ll save them for later. But do I at least get to know his name?” Roman said.

You looked over at Mare, and he smiled.

“I’m Natemare, but if you want you can call me Mare,” He told Roman, shaking his hand. 

“Well.. come in! Virgil will be happy to see you, Y/N!” Roman said, moving out of the way. 

“Who’s Virgil?” Mare asked you as you both walked into the house.

“He’s my best friend,” You answered.

“And you’ve never introduced me to him? Shame upon you,” He said jokingly, “How dare you not introduce me to everyone you know.” 

“Shut up,” you said, laughing a little. 

“Hmm… no!” He replied. “Y’know, I am curious as to who the other Sides are. Roman was certainly a… character,” 

“That’s just how he is,” you said. You then saw Logan, Patton and Janus hanging out in the living room, playing some kind of board game.

Patton looked up first, and pretty much shouted in excitement. “Y/N! You’re here! I’m so happy, it’s been way too long,” 

“Patton, it has been two weeks since Y/N has last visited.” Logan said, placing a piece on the board. Janus looked at you, slightly smiling, and then he looked at Mare.

“Oh, great, there are two emos here now.. I’m so thrilled,” He said, and he rolled his eyes.

“You remind me of my younger brother,” Mare said to Janus. 

“Amazing,” Janus said flatly. Patton then went up to Mare.

“What’s your name? Are you human? Also, I’m Patton, Thomas’s Morality, Logan is his Logic and Janus is his… Deceit,” He said. 

“I’d suggest stopping with the rampant questions, Patton, he’s already been questioned enough by Roman,” Logan said.

“It’s okay. I’m Natemare, and no, I’m not human. I’m a siren,” Mare answered Patton. 

“Like the beings that lured sailors to their deaths in Greek Mythology?” Logan asked. 

Mare nodded, “Exactly. Most people I meet get scared when they hear that, so it’s kind of new that people aren’t.. you know, trembling and backing away just because of that.” 

“It wouldn’t be nice to judge you based on what you are!” Patton said, smiling once more. 

“Hypocrite,” Janus quietly said with anger while out of earshot of Patton. Which was true. Out of all the light Sides, Patton was the one who judged the dark Sides based on what they were the most. 

“That’s nice. It was nice meeting all of you, Y/N has mentioned all of you once or twice,” Mare said. 

“You did?!” Patton said happily. 

You nodded. “Yeah. Also, Patton, do you know where Virgil is?” You asked. You hadn’t seen the emo nightmare yet, which was odd. Usually he was one of the first to come talk to you when you came over. 

“Yes, where is that raccoon? He disappeared right when you showed up,” Janus said. 

“He’s downstairs,” Patton replied, “Probably on the couch, poor kiddo. I wonder what’s up with him today..” 

It might be the fact a new person is here. Virgil didn’t like new people, he never has. It took him a while to trust you, and even more time for him to open up to you. 

“Thank you! We’ll go check on him,” You said, walking down the stairs with Mare.

“So.. if the Sides represent things about Thomas, then what is Virgil?” Mare asked you. 

“Virgil is Thomas’s Anxiety,” you answered his question. “He’s not really a people person,” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mare said. You two reached the bottom, and entered into a second living area. 

You looked around for your best friend, and then saw him on the couch, like Patton said he might be.

He was on his phone, probably scrolling on Tumblr, with his hood up and his headphones in. The music was loud, so loud that you could hear it. It was “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance, which was Virgil’s self proclaimed “theme song” and one you two often listened to together. 

Well, if listening is counted as screaming the lyrics to it at 3am, then yes, you listened to it together. 

You went up to him and tapped his shoulder a few times. “Virgil??”

He paused his music and looked up, not taking off his hood. “What?” He said with an annoyed tone. You were stunned for a moment. He hadn’t been this blatantly annoyed with you since before you were best friends.

“Uh- I want you to meet someone,” You said, gesturing to Mare. Virgil sighed, and finally took off his hood, taking out his headphones as well. 

“Who?” That was all he said. “Don’t tell me they’re like Roman… or worse, Remus,” 

“Oh, no, he’s not like them at all. This is Natemare, my boyfriend,” You said. Virgil moved to look at Mare, looking him up and down. 

“He’s your boyfriend? Huh. Wait, first of all, WHEN did you get a boyfriend? You’ve never mention this to me before,” he said, his annoyance slightly going away. 

“We’ve been dating for six months,” Mare answered for you. 

“Six months??? Y/N, you’ve been over here  eight times in that time and you’ve NEVER mentioned this??? I would’ve thought that you would tell me whenever you got a partner, since you’re, you know, my best friend!” Now the annoyance was back. Virgil did seem mad, as he raised his voice slightly.

“Hi.. I don’t want us to bother you, we can leave if you want,” Mare said. “Also.. were you listening to MCR? They’re one of my favorite bands, and I’m Not Okay is a good song.” 

Virgil was silent for a few moments, and then spoke. “No, you guys can… stay if you want. I want Y/N here at least,” He said.

“Alright,” You said. “Can I sit next to you?” You asked. Virgil simply nodded, and moved so you could sit next to him.

You sat down, and Mare sat down too. You moved closer to him, and Virgil sort of.. glared?? Does he think that just because you have a boyfriend, you’re going to abandon him or something?

“Virgil.. I’m not going to leave you, and I’m not going to stop being friends with you just because I have a boyfriend,” You said, trying to reassure him due to his unspoken feelings. 

“Who said I thought that? I wasn’t saying that,” He said. Mare laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna steal your best friend from you or something,” 

Virgil… actually laughed at that. That was a good sign. 

That was probably the quickest time he laughed at something someone he just met said, even when you had first met him.

You could tell they’d get along great. Eventually. 

[jackslocket]

thanks for the tag @luvscharlos, mwah <3

who’s your fav driver? you guys will NEVER guess who, i am mysterious and incredibly nuanced with how i feel about my fav driver. my entire blog does Not revolve around said driver that would be STUPID. (carlos sainz)

do you have other fav drivers? oh the list is extensive - but charles is right right up there next to carlos (his wet cat energy has captivated me body and soul 💔), oscar, lando, jack doohan and logie bear too!! but also i fucking LOVE jenson button. i will never not love jenson button he is My Guy

who’s your least fav driver? i am not a hater!! i am a LOVER . peace n love on the planet earth 🫶🏽(liar. it's ocon, i just dont care for him much 🧀)

do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well? sigh. i will always be a Ferrari Girl. destined (cursed) to be stuck here forever

if you like teams, who do you pull for? FORZA FERRARI SEMPREEEE‼️🔥💯🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

how long have you been into f1? 🧍🏽‍♀️ i have been here since the beginning of the 2024 season

what got you into f1? i followed the natural pipeline of cars (2006) starring owen wilson -> fast and furious -> making my Entire personality abt fast cars -> eventually f1 (also @verstap-it really solidified it for me, she was like 'hey WATCH THIS bitch' and threw media at me until i fell down the rabbit hole with her)

do you enjoy fanfic/rpf? is this even a question.

how do you view new fans? i am a New Fan™ so.........

if you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why? i should not be allowed a leadership position of any sorts, that would be irresponsible (*rattling the bars of my enclosure* FERRARI LET ME INNNNNNN) but actually, put me in williams, im sick of williams. logan deserves better #justiceforlogansargeant2024

are your friends and family into f1 as well? my mother grew up a schumi girl but refused to watch the sport after he stopped racing . ithink the fact this is My Thing now puts her off significantly because she sees me scream at the tv for ferrari and sees her a little 😭 - my brother is a rbr fanboy, loves max verstappen but Refuses to watch the races too because..... i am insufferable about them !! i have a few f1 friends, and they're all just as insufferable as i am - i also yap about it to my non-f1 friends and make obscure references constantly, theyhate me its great :)

are you open to talking to other fans/ making friends? ALWAYS. pls hit me up i love talking to new people and i need more f1 moots!!

tagging w/ no pressure: @verstap-it, @mclarengirlie, @sai-lec, @starsainz, @leclair-leclerc, @chilling-seavey n anyone else <3

[imaginethatwolverine]

“So, Logan...want to tell me what’s up with you and (Y/N)??”

Requested by: Anon

These are not my gifs!

[naminethewriter]

Brothers and Secrets Chapter Two: Tales of Europe

Masterpost | Previous | Next

Summary: Remus set out on his backpacking trip across Europe with a route in mind but no set time frame. So when he suddenly calls Roman as he's about to go to bed and demands to be picked up from the airport, Roman is rightfully caught off guard. As it turns out, Remus has experienced more in those two years than his brother had thought, not only getting himself a boyfriend but also a house to live in with said boyfriend.

There are many things Roman finds suspicious about this new set of circumstances and as time goes on, the mysteries pile on. Remus is hiding something, but what? And how will his secrets impact not only Roman's life but that of their friends Patton and Janus as well?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus slept till way after noon. Whether it was truly the jetlag’s fault though Roman couldn’t say. His brother had a habit of staying up for over 24 hours and then crash for almost just as long. Once he had been asleep for 30 hours, Roman would have worried about him dying if it wasn’t for the obnoxious snoring that just wouldn’t stop.

 He got up about 20 minutes before Roman had to leave for rehearsal. The first thing he did was look for coffee and while Roman had some left over from the morning, it had gone cold by then. Not that that stopped his brother from chugging all of it in one go and then burping loudly. Roman had grimaced and shooed him into the bathroom to shower. Remus already seemed more awake but didn’t struggle too much, though he loudly complained about the lack of a bathtub in the apartment.

“A shower is more environmentally friendly!”

 “But I can’t soak! I want a soak!”

 “Too bad! This is all you get!” Remus wasn’t even back for a day yet and they were already yelling at each other. Lovely.

 “This place sucks.”

 “It’s all I can afford.”

 “Yeah, I know. You still at the theater then?”

 “Yeah. And I need to go to rehearsal soon. You can raid the fridge but clean up after yourself. I dug out your phone, it’s charging in the kitchen. You remember where the washing machine is?”

 “Yup!”

 “Good. I’ll see you later.”

 “I’ll try to contact Janny and Pat. See if we can hang out later.”

 “Alright. I should be back ‘round seven.”

 “Bye, Ro-bro!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Remus got their friends to come over to dinner at 8 o'clock. He had no idea how his phone still worked but he didn’t feel like asking. At least that gave Roman some time to change and rest a bit. His brother had insisted on cooking himself, some recipe he learned from the dude he’d been travelling around with. Whose name was apparently Logan. Which didn’t sound like a name from a German speaking country (which is another thing he’d learned, this time from googling. Though he still couldn’t pronounce the name).

 Roman joined his brother in the kitchen shortly before their friends were due to arrive. Something was in the oven and it actually smelled quite good. His twin was setting the table as he entered and grinned at him.

 “See, I can do it by myself without setting anything on fire!”

 “I’m surprised and kinda impressed but I’ll wait with the final judgement until I tasted it and it doesn’t poison me.”

 “Oh, come on, Ro-bro. I wouldn’t make it that obvious! If I would kill all of you, I’d get myself an alibi first.”

 “As far as I know are we the only people who know that you’re back in the States. If that lover boy of yours has as much money as you make me believe he does, I’m sure he could make your records of entering the country vanish.”

 “When did you get so morbid?” Remus grinned and jumped up and down, overflowing with excitement. Roman rolled his eyes.

 “I spent too much time with Janus over the last few years. He talks about getting away with murder disturbingly often.”

 “I know! That’s why he’s so great!” As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Remus squealed and sprinted past Roman to open it. A few moments later, he could hear his brother calling through the entire stairway down to their friends. Hopefully his neighbors wouldn’t complain later. With a sigh, Roman moved to finish setting the table, as Remus abandoned the task halfway through.

 It took a bit for the three of them to arrive in the kitchen, probably because Remus hugged them and wouldn’t let go for at least a minute. He still hung on Janus’ back when they entered.

 “Hi, guys. Good to see you.” He hugged Patton who beamed at him.

 “You, too! I was so happy to hear Remus made it back in one piece!”

 “I wouldn’t mind sending him back right now,” Janus hissed, trying to get Remus to let go of him.

 “You don’t mean that,” Remus grinned. Janus rolled his eyes but Roman could see the fondness behind it.

 “It smells so good in here!” Patton said and walked over to the oven to peek inside. “What is it?”

 “It’s Nudelauflauf. It’s a recipe I learned in Liechtenstein. I hope none of you are vegetarian now.”

 “We don’t have meat much, but we aren’t fully vegetarian,” Janus explained and took a seat as Remus let go of him to check on his dish. “So, what is in this… what was it called again?”

 “Nudelauflauf. It’s a casserole but with noodles!“ Remus went off on a rant about how to prepare the dish and Patton listened with rapt attention while Janus, despite being the one to ask the question, picked at his nails out of boredom. Roman sat at the table and he couldn’t help the fondness that overcame him at seeing his brother being so excited. He’d really miss him. Not that he’d ever admit to it out loud.

 It didn’t take much longer before Remus pulled the dish out of the oven and placed it on the table. Patton took his seat, bouncing up and down from excitement until Janus gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, while Remus got a big spoon to serve them with. He also got a glass of apple sauce from the fridge. Janus eyed it suspiciously.

 “Apple sauce?”

 “Yeah, the two go great together! You don’t have to though.”

 “I’ll try it!” Patton almost yelled and Remus grinned. He served them their portions and then passed the glass of sauce to Patton who put some on the side of his plate. He then passed it to Janus who immediately gave it to Roman who also decided to try it first and put a spoonful on the side of his plate. Remus slapped to big portions on top of his casserole and mixed the two thoroughly before taking a bite, humming in contentment. The others also started eating and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Remus definitely hadn’t been as good a cook before he left.

 “It’s quite good,” Janus remarked. Patton nodded in agreement.

 “And it mixes so well with the sauce!”

 “Yeah, it’s delicious, Re.”

 “Aww, thanks guys.” They ate in silence the rest of the time, savoring the new flavors. Patton demanded Remus teach him the recipe as soon as he had cleaned his plate. Remus chuckled but agreed. Roman volunteered to clean up while the other three got situated on the couch which was free since Remus had bundled his sleep stuff up and put it in a corner to use again later.

 By the time Roman joined them, Remus was showing off the sketches he’d been doing during his last stay in Liechtenstein and even with a short glance Roman could tell how much his brother had improved. The shading was excellent and the lines drawn with purpose showing a scenery that Roman could easily imagine looking stunning in color. But he was more curious about other aspects of Remus’ journey.

 “So, we’re all here now. I think we’re all owed some stories, from the top. So, how was Portugal?”

 Remus grinned and started talking about his travels. His plane from the states had taken him to Lisbon where he stayed for two days before travelling along the coast for a bit. Then he went to Spain, over the Pyrenees and into Andorra, to France, then England, Wales, Scotland and both Irelands before working on a cargo ship going to Iceland, where he stayed the longest time so far, two weeks. Another cargo ship took him to Norway from where he went to Sweden, then Finland. Estonia came next, followed by Latvia and Lithuania. That was all within the first three months of his travel.

 Patton and Janus listened intently and while Roman certainly was interested and Remus was a great storyteller, always had been, he couldn’t help but anticipate the part of the story where that Logan fellow came into play. Apparently, that would still take a bit.

 Lithuania led to Poland, then Germany, then Denmark. Another cargo ship took him to the Netherlands. After that came Belgium and Luxemburg followed by another small trip through France to get to Switzerland and finally Liechtenstein.

 “You know, you meet all kinds of people if you travel like I did and quite a few told me to visit this club when I got to Liechtenstein. So naturally I was curious. And it was great, the drinks were on the cheaper side, the music was fire and the people friendly. I found one especially kind fellow.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Janus rolled his eyes.

 “Let me guess, he was so kind and took you home with him?”

 “You know me so well, Janny.”

 “But he wasn’t the best thing to come from that evening, right?” Roman asked and Remus pouted at him.

 “Don’t spoil it!”

 “Spoil what?” Patton asked curiously. Remus grinned.

 “His roommate was way hotter.”

 “I hope you didn’t start a fight between them,” Janus commented, giving Remus a knowing look.

 “Did not! Lucas and I both agreed to a one-night stand, and it was good but nothing either of us needed to repeat. Logan on the other hand is a different story.”

 “Oh, you got a boyfriend, Remus?!” Patton squeaked, getting excited like he did every time he heard a love story. Even if he didn’t have much interest in romance himself, he always loved hearing about them. He’d told Roman once that it was because it made the one telling the story glow with happiness most of the time. But before Remus could start gushing, Janus cut in.

 “Is he the one who gave you that ring that seems to be an engagement ring of some kind?” Immediately Roman and Patton’s heads snapped towards Remus’ hands. Indeed, while he wore a few rings, one stood out as being of a far higher quality then the others. A silver band sat on his right ring finger and on it was a silver skull with two seemingly glowing eyes though it were just two gems set in the sockets. One blue, the other green and if what Janus was guessing was correct, they were probably real gems and the rest was real silver.

 “Spoilsport!” Remus whined. “I wanted to see how long it would take Roman to notice!”

 “You got engaged?!” Roman shrieked, staring wide eyed at his brother. “Not only did you travel around with a guy you only knew for two months, but you also got engaged to him?!”

 “Dude, calm down.”

 “How do you expect me to-“

 “He can hardly explain himself if you continue to panic,” Janus chimed in, laying a hand on Roman’s shoulder. He guided him to take a few deep breaths and only when he seemed a bit calmer did he motion for Remus to continue.

 “We aren’t actually engaged. It’s just a tradition or something in his family, like a symbol that we’re in a relationship. Apparently, many of his family members are scattered around the globe and they’re not in contact with everyone so this is necessary.”

 “Why do they need to recognize you? If they’re not in contact then isn’t it all the same to them who Logan is dating?” Roman asked, his brows furrowed. Remus just shrugged.

 “I’m not going to question traditions. Or getting a cool new ring. Plus, this is kinda the thing that’ll let me enter my new home.”

 “New… home?” Patton asked, cocking his head.

 “Yeah. Logan’s family has estates all over the world apparently. One isn’t super far from here. So, when I mentioned to him that I didn’t really want to stay in Liechtenstein permanently and rather stick close to here, he offered us moving there. Apparently, the guy who’s managing it at the moments been waiting for someone else to take over and since Lucas wasn’t really keen on moving, we decided to come here.”

 “Just the two of you?”

 “Yep,” Remus said, popping the ‘p’. Roman stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

 “You’re moving in with him?! Already?!”

 “What? We’ve been living together for months already; this isn’t anything new.”

 “I also don’t see the issue, Roman,” Janus added in a tone that suggested he was incredibly bored by the discussion. “From what he told us so far, he met Logan over a year ago and has spent most of that time since in his proximity. Not to mention that as he said they’ve already been living together and nothing has happened so far. Plus, if they move closer to here, it will be easier for Remus to get away from him in case anything was to happen. Remus is an adult and a decent judge of character. Have more faith in him.” For a few seconds there was stunned silence before Remus threw himself into Janus’ lap, giggling.

 “Thanks, Janny. You’re the best.”

 “I am well aware.”

 “I agree with Janus, kiddo,” Patton chimed in before Roman could protest. “We don’t know Logan and if Remus already spend this much time with him, I can’t imagine he’s a bad person.”

 “I trust Remus! But you must agree that it seems kinda weird, right? Some random rich dude takes Remus home from a club – how did you even get into a famous club looking like you do? You were practically living on the streets then, right?” Remus just shrugged and Roman continued. “A rich guy takes him home and it just so happens that his roommate, cousin? Brother?” Again, Remus just shrugged. “Takes a liking to him, lets him stay at their house, accompanies him on his travels, paying for all of it and now offers to come live with him here, in our shitty small town? It doesn’t make sense!”

 “Sure, that’s a lot of happy coincidences but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, right?” Despite his words, Patton seemed unsure. Janus waved him off.

 “It’s rare but it does happen. Being at the right place at the right time isn’t that unheard of. You sound a bit paranoid if you ask me, Roman.”

 “Paranoid? Me? How dare!”

 “Look, I get why you’re concerned,” Remus spoke up, slipping off Janus’ lap and closer to his brother. “But I swear Logan’s chill. He’s smart and kind and interesting and I really like him. Give him a chance, for me?” This was a side of his brother Roman rarely got to see, so sincere and certain. It was this part of him he couldn’t really say no to. It was the same when he talked about going on this trip in the first place. Roman sighed.

 “Alright, alright. Stop making me sound like the bad guy, I’m just worried.”

 “We weren’t trying to-“ Patton started but Janus stopped him from continuing. This was something for the brothers to figure out.

 “I get that, Ro-bro. I would’ve been the same in your shoes. You know no one’s allowed to mess with you besides me.”

 “I would prefer if you didn’t mess with me either.”

 “No can do, it’s too much fun.” Roman rolled his eyes but with a fondness that made Remus grin. “How about this: I’m gonna check out the house in like a week or two, I haven’t made all the arrangements yet. But when I do go, I want you to come with me, okay?”

 “Sure. Hardly can let you go alone lest you burn it down before you even have a chance to move in.”

 “Oh, oh! Can I come, too?” Patton asked, jumping up and down in his seat.

 “I don’t mind as long as the current caretaker doesn’t. You too, Janny?”

 “I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Someone needs to keep you three in check.”

 “Alright! It’s a field trip!” Remus cheered. Patton joined in while Roman and Janus sighed in false annoyance.

 “What’s Logan’s family name anyway if they’re so old and rich? Maybe one of us has heard about them before.” Roman spoke up again.

 “Well, his last name is Croft, so is Lucas’, I think. But I don’t think they all have it because the guy I’m supposed to contact about the house is called something else.”

 “What’s his name?” Remus stood up to grab his backpack and rummaged around in it until he pulled out a piece of paper and read a name from it.

 “Remy. Remy Fontaine.”

[addictedtojmanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - otome game isekai

So, after 10+ years reading shoujo manga, I’ve read over 1k titles, admittedly, a reasonable amount is one-shot (or at least a collection of), but nonetheless, over time I had to expand my interests.

Lately, I’ve started reading the otome game isekai genre, and decided it’d be nice to share the ones I thought were best.

Most of them are pretty much the same, but the best ones usually have a twist, so...

! Warning: You’ll most likely want to beat up 1 or 2 characters from each one, but worry not, so do I and the other characters

1. Fiancée's Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Crown prince Cecil was so brilliant that everything in life was easy to the point of boring him, then one day, his fiancée Bertia suddenly said "Prince Cecil, I am a villainess!" Claiming that this world is the same as that of an "otome game" from her past life and that she is playing the role of the "villainess" in it, she aims to play her part well and have their engagement annulled. With that goal in mind, she sets about causing turmoil in Cecil's daily life.

This one definitely takes the gold for me. Super sweet and pretty funny.

2. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play. Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Katarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny. However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

This one takes 2nd place! It has a different result than others, and the FL is great - everyone is, to be fair.

3. Of Course I’ll Claim Palimony

"I'll annul our engagement!" My fiancé suddenly declared?! Apparently he's in love with the recently transferred count's daughter and is planning on making me the villain in order to annul the engagement. Although I have no lingering attachments about the engagement, I do have to claim a hefty consolation fee don't I?

This is sooo good. The FL is spectacular and manages to stand out - even if just a bit - from the rest of the genre.

4. I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

Avoid the BAD END! That's the goal of the villainess in this plot-twisting story!! She has been reborn into the world of an otome game as the villainess, Irene. Using her memories of her former life, she recognizes flags indicating she's en-route to the bad end, so she makes a plan to conquer the last boss (the evil king Claude), make him her lover, and see if she can open up a new route!

Pretty funny, and the FL is bold. Also, the ML is a bishounen.

It’s one of the few mangas from this genre that has been completely translated, and since it only has 13 chapters, it’s a good way to start out.

5. The Plain & Unnoticeable Me is No More

Elaine Lana Norris, who was born at the top of the aristocratic daughter, was declared abandoned by her second fiancé at the school's founding party. Lana, who has been made a villain daughter, is driven out of her home by a strict grandfather. But there is a secret in Lana that everyone doesn't know about?

I don’t want to give out any spoilers, however, it suffices to say that she accepts her role as the villainess.

Ok, I think these 5 are my favorite, but the ones below have been selected as well, so they’re still pretty good and worth reading.

6. The Villiainess Is Adored by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom    

Tiararose was supposed to be disengaged and exiled from the country. “This was the Otome game I had played!” She realized on the day before the story’s ending??……. Shall I wait for the judgment? But, I did not do anything too cruel……. Thinking so, the ending continues. But, during the judgement??something that was not possible in the game happened. The neighboring crown prince courted the villainous daughter Tiararose.

ML: 10/10 FL: 8/10 (too insecure for my taste)

7. Endo and Kobayashi’s Live Commentary on the Villainess

She’s always putting on that grumpy face even though she’s not actually that upset! Oh, why can’t she just be honest with herself…!??? She is a tsundere, after all? When her embarrassment levels exceed a certain limit, she will explode into anger. However, the point that she’s suppressing under the surface is that she wouldn’t mind that sort of thing if it were in a less public place.? As Endo-kun passionately reacts to the antics of Lady Liselotte, the villainess of an otome game, Kobayashi-san provides a painstaking breakdown of her tsundere behaviour. Suddenly, one person could hear their voices; Liselotte’s fiancée, Prince Siegward. That is where this story begins.

8. I’m the Villainess, but the Capture Targets are too Abnormal  

The villainess, Mystia, remembered her past life on her 10th birthday and has unwittingly turned the characters in the otome game "Kyun Kyun Love School" into yanderes! In order to avoid becoming the love rival of the "heroine" who will lead her to her downfall, she starts making every effort to break off her engagement with her "prince-like classmate"! That’s was what supposed to happen...But, because of her kind personality, her favorability increased instead!

It’s still in its beginning stages, but seems pretty solid.    

9. Though I May Be a Villainess, I'll Show You I Can Obtain Happiness!  

A collection of one shots.

Great way to start out, it has quite a few options, so if you don’t like one, give another one a try!

10.  The Villainess, Cecilia Silvie, Doesn't Want to Die, So She Decided to Cross-dress!      

I was reincarnated into the body Cecilia Silvie, the villainess of an otome game. According to the plot, what awaits me in the normal route is either a slow, painful death or an instantaneous one... Essentially, every route leads to my demise. Then I'll change my fate! And that's why I decided to become a man. However, I made a mistake during a certain event, and the story began to head down an unexpected path...?

I haven’t seen any other like this, and if you like gender bender, this one’s for you!

11.  I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History ― The More of a Villainess I Become, the More the Prince will Dote on Me

Alicia is the eldest daughter of the noble Williams family—a bloodline that excels in dark magic. Her jet-black hair and golden eyes command a powerful presence, but her most unique features are, without a doubt, her sharp tongue and malevolent nature. By all means, she is a villainess, but also a fictional character from an otome game!

12. I’m Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn’t Mean I’m a Bad Person!

The novel The Saint Beloved by the Prince is set in the land of Lacia, where spirits control the elements, each of which is overseen by a "Spirit King." On rare occasions, these Spirit Kings may bless a single human, granting them immense magical control over their respective element. The heroine, Amelia Logan, and the villainess, Claudia Leitzya, are two sides of the same coin, blessed by the Light and Dark Spirit Kings respectively. However, while Amelia is beloved, Claudia is hated and rejected due to her dark skin, ebony locks, and aptitude for dark magic. After dying in modern-day Japan, Sakura is reborn as an infant Claudia. While difficult at first, Claudia tries to adjust to this new life, all the while accompanied by the Dark Spirit King Gerald. But even this task is far from easy; people fear her at first glance, no matter how she acts toward them. Still, Claudia is set on changing her fate from the novel, proving she is a good person and breaking free from the shackles of a "villainess."

13. Rebirth of the Villainess: The Life of Letizia after the Engagement Annulment      

For some reason, the duke's daughter, Letizia, was plotting to break her engagement with the prince. Her plan succeeded and the prince, none the wiser. But shortly after the engagement was terminated... The King collapsed! In that moment, she recalled her memories of her past life as a nurse and she fully utilised her knowledge & experience as a nurse, to save the King's life. Thinking she had achieved what she wanted, she thought she could finally relax, drinking her favourite beverage and leisurely spend her time, she instead somehow keeps getting involved in incident after incident. The slow and peaceful life is now nothing but a dream!? Lazy daughter, busy seeking freedom and laziness!

14. I Won't Become a Villainess. I'm Just a "Normal" Duke's Daughter!

A Japanese person reincarnated into an otome game chock full of death flags for the villainess, Rosalind. "I'm going to live an enjoyable life in this world!" Making full use of the game knowledge to avoid death flags, for some reason events keep happening one after another?! Contracting with spirits, helping her father (the prime minister) with his work using her modern day knowledge, taking a walk with the holy beast... and on top of all that, even starting up the heroine's event...? Will Rosalind be able to smash through every unknown death flag that comes her way...?! And will she be able to be fluffy lovey-dovey with the supporting beastkin character she liked from her previous life?!

Cute. Has beasts.

15. Milady Just Wants to Relax      

She worked herself to death in her past life, but then she was reborn in another world as the villainess Ronia! As expected, her engagement is broken and she's expelled from society, but now she takes that chance to live peacefully, and even opens a cafe with the help of her fairy comrades, which is becoming unexpectedly popular with beast-kin...?

Also cute. Also has beasts.

16. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!            

Violette, a proud and beautiful daughter of a duke, commits a crime out of jealousy towards her half-sister. Convicted, Violet faces her own heart with sincerity in a prison cell and regrets her sin. Then time rewinds to a turning point—to her first meeting with Maryjun one year ago. Violette makes a decision. She will not make mistakes this time. Without committing a crime and bothering anyone, she will live an ordinary, plain and inconspicuous life...! However, incidents contrary to Violette's expectations occur one after another...?!

17. I Became a Villain Daughter

On her 15th birthday, Hinase Kaede, a young girl who was working as a part-timer, perished in a traffic accident. Upon her death, a self-proclaimed “God” appeared, declaring that Kaede would be brought back to life. However, Kaede’s happiness was short-lived and her soul was thrown into Erika, the villainess of an otome game! In the original game, Erika became a saint candidate alongside the heroine, committed evil deeds over the course of the candidacy, and ultimately faced condemnation. Thus, Kaede decides that she will not get close to the main characters of the game so as to avoid the bad end, but yet——?

[hazel-light]

Chapter Word Count: ~7,400

Total Fic Word Count: ~30,000

Genre: (Wedding) Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers, lots of bed sharing and every self indulgent fluffy trope possible.

Warnings: None? Lots of fluff? Occasional cussing? Some suggestive themes, moments, and jokes I guess. No smut or anything!

Disclaimer: I am not Daniel Sharman, and I do not pretend to know how he would act, speak, etc. This is fiction okay, there’s a lot of creative license, and potential to be OOC. Ricky isn’t mentioned because I started writing this before we knew he existed, so apologies for that. Also, if you’re DShar himself, please do us both a favor and don’t read this, okay???? Same if you know him 🙈

Title taken from the song Yellow Lights by Harry Hudson which suits this story quite a bit!

A/N: You thought I'd skip all the possibilities and tropes that come with the holidays?! Of course not. This is the final part to Yellow Lights. Thank you all for making my return to writing and posting so wonderful. I am so, so, grateful. I hope the ending lives up to your expectations. <3

The next month and a half passes by uneventfully. I try not to spend all of my time thinking about how great Rachel's wedding was, and equally try to ignore the wistful feeling Henry’s wedding left me with. Having Daniel be my fake boyfriend in front of my family showed me everything that I’d ever wanted; someone who fit in seamlessly, who loved me for me, with the perfect balance of romance and friendship. Whatever crush I had successfully buried when Daniel and I first met is now achingly hard to avoid. I curse my active imagination and optimism for letting me indulge in the moments of pretend, leaning too comfortably into our façade.

As a result, I don’t talk to Daniel much. He is busy finishing filming his project in London, and I try to focus on my life in LA. I’ve become paranoid that every text I send him is one too many, too annoying, or too bothersome. I figure I can reassess things when Daniel comes home from filming, and try to find my footing in our friendship again.

This seems like a solid plan until I’m on Zoom with my family for Thanksgiving. Since I’ve already flown back once this year for the wedding, and I’m planning to fly back again next month for Christmas, staying put for Thanksgiving was the economical choice. The call is mostly uneventful until the subject of Daniel comes up.

“Where’s that boy?” Aunt Judith crows from her spot at the dining table.

“Hmm?” I ask.

“She means Daniel.” Ryan rolls his eyes, bringing the iPad closer to her.

“Oh! Right.” I try to recover. “He’s still away filming his new project, actually, but I was able to fly out to see him at the end of September for another wedding, actually.”

Aunt Judith frowns. “That’s a long time to not see someone that handsome—” I start to laugh, “Are you sure he’s not cheating on you?”

Oh shit. It’s in this moment that I realize Daniel and I had never “broken up” as far as my family knows. I hear the rest of my family start sputtering in the background.

“Aunt Judith— you can’t just—”

“That’s awful, I—”

“It is kind of a long time, huh?—”

I try to keep a straight face. “Guys! It’s okay. He’s an actor, it comes with the territory. I expected this.”

“So you aren’t sure that he’s not cheating on you?” Ryan frowns.

“That isn’t what I meant, Ry. Daniel and I are fine. We’re really good, actually.”

“Well I certainly hope you’ll be bringing him home for Christmas then.” Aunt Judith huffs.

“It would be nice to see him,” Rachel speaks up for the first time, and her husband Nick nods. “I didn’t get to talk to him a whole lot at the wedding.”

I clear my throat, my mind racing. “You know, we haven’t actually talked about what we’re doing for Christmas yet; I’ll have to see what he’s doing— if he’s going to spend it with his family.”

“But you’re still coming home,” Ryan states.

“Yes, I am still coming home, no matter what.”

Ryan and Rachel’s mom, my auntie Kim speaks up. “I think it’s pretty common for a boyfriend to defer to his girlfriend’s family for the holidays. I mean, Ryan splits the day with Katharine of course, but Nick always came here with Rachel.”

“I hear you, Auntie Kim, but Daniel never gets to see his family so I’m not sure— all I’m saying is I’m not sure. He may very well come, and I will let you all know as soon as I know.” I smile tersely.

“Well hurry up, and find out,” Auntie Kim chastises. “Christmas is only a month away.”

When I hang up with them, it’s 7pm and I’m feeling antsy. How could I have forgotten that my entire family still thought Daniel and I were together? I’m not sure how to get out of this one. Tired of panicking alone in my head, I pick up my phone and dial Daniel before I can talk myself out of it. It rings and rings, and my anxiety that he won’t answer grows with each tone.

Eventually I hear rustling on the other line.

“Lauren?” Daniel’s voice crackles through the phone.

“Hi.”

“Are you alright?”

“What? Uh— yeah, I just needed to talk to you about something—” I glance at the time on my phone. “Oh god, no. What time is it there? I’m so sorry— I didn’t even stop to think about the time difference, I—”

I hear him suppress a yawn. “Lauren. It must be pretty important if you’re calling me AND rambling like this.”

“No, no, it can wait, I’m sorry— uh, go back to bed. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Lauren,” he stops me softly and firmly. “Stop apologizing. What’s going on?”

I sit quietly, feeling like an absolute idiot.

“Lauren, come on. You can tell me.”

“I— we… we never broke up?”

He laughs. “Sorry, what?”

“We never broke up.”

“Am I still asleep, is this a dream?”

“My family still thinks we’re together and they asked me if you’re coming home for Christmas.”

We’re both quiet for a moment.

“Oh.” is all he says.

“I talked to them for Thanksgiving, and they were asking about you. I realized too late that they thought we were still together— because I never told them we broke up. I didn’t think it through this far.”

“Right, I didn’t either.”

My phone starts ringing, telling me Daniel’s trying to FaceTime me.

I accept, and I’m faced with a dark screen.

“Why are we FaceTiming?”

I hear a lamp click on and suddenly Daniel’s face is illuminated as he lays in bed, lines from his pillow still on his face.

“Figured we should at least be able to see each other if you’re going to break up with me in the middle of the night,” he teases.

I shake my head. “Not funny, this is serious, D.”

“I know, I know.”

“If I break up with you, they’re going to yell at me and tell me I’m a stupid idiot.”

Daniel laughs.

“And if you break up with me they’re going to hate you, which means they’ll hate that we managed to ‘stay friends.’ And if it’s mutual…..” I shake my head, thinking. “They’ll think we were lying.”

“Which we were.”

I sigh, “Which we were.”

“So,” Daniel pulls his blanket up higher. “What are our options here?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I called you.”

I watch him stare off into space and reminisce about when I got to see this sleepy Daniel firsthand in Cape Cod.

“I could come for Christmas…” he trails off and I frown.

“That seems like asking a lot. You’ve already given up a lot of your free time this year for me.”

He shrugs into his pillow. “Do you not want me to come for Christmas?”

I pause. “I mean, that isn’t really the issue here. You have to be tired of being in love with me by now.”

He laughs loudly — a stark contrast to the quiet of his room. “Yes, being in love with you is very exhausting.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I’m kidding. Being in love with you is not exhausting. At all.”

I roll my eyes and say nothing. “I don’t think I can bear to break your family’s hearts at Christmas of all times.”

“Man of the year.” I drawl. “What are you supposed to be doing for Christmas? Going home?”

“No, usually I travel somewhere, but I hadn't decided yet.”

I hum in response.

“Kind of leaning towards traveling to Massachusetts now, if I’m honest.”

I look at him incredulously, only to see a playful grin on his face, but I know he’s serious.

“I’m not going to stop you if you really want to come. But I—” I swallow. “Eventually we’re going to need to plan for whatever happens after Christmas.”

He nods. “I know, we will. Let’s just enjoy Christmas together, first.”

I smile. “Okay. We can enjoy it. Together.”

He clears his throat. “I hope I’m not too rusty at this boyfriend performance, it’s been a few months.”

“Daniel Sharman has performance issues… I hope that doesn’t get out to the press.”

His eyes flash. “Bold, for you.”

I shrug. “You walked into that one, baby.”

“Well, you’re lucky you’re cute, darling.”

We look at each other for a moment, and I hope my eyes don’t give away how fond I am for this man who is willing to commit to fake-loving me, and putting up with my family, and who is setting the bar way too high for any actual real relationship I could hope for.

So much for reburying my feelings.

I break eye contact first. “I’ll let you get back to sleep. Sorry again for waking you up.”

“Do Not Disturb doesn’t apply to you, Lauren. Call any time.”

I smile softly. “Sweet dreams, I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

—-

I’m standing in the Boston Logan airport waiting for international arrivals; specifically Daniel’s flight from London. According to the board, his flight landed 15 minutes ago, so he should be coming to the lobby any time now. I bounce on my feet, simultaneously eager and nervous to see Daniel for the first time since parting ways after Henry and Claire’s wedding.

Eventually I see the hat and sunglasses I recognize from a selfie he sent me earlier, and I can feel my heart race. I begin walking towards him, and feel my pace quicken as I get closer. Eventually he sees me too and he’s grinning at me with his signature toothy smile that I missed so much.

When we come into contact I don’t know what the appropriate response is, so I simply grin up at him.

“Hi,” I breathe.

“Hi,” he smiles back, and before I know it he’s closer than he was before and he’s ducking down to kiss me.

It surprises me but I respond quickly, leaning up to meet him.

When it’s over he pulls back just enough to nuzzle his nose with mine.

“Missed you,” he says softly.

“Missed you most.” I smile.

He stands up straight, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder, threading his other hand through mine.

I can’t see his eyes, but I assume he must be looking around when he speaks.

“Oh, are you by yourself?”

The question catches me off guard.

“Yeah— well, Ryan’s in the car, circling so he wouldn’t have to pay for parking,” I roll my eyes.

He nods, “Sorry, then—“ he makes an inconclusive gesture. “Suppose I didn’t need to kiss you quite yet.”

My stomach drops and I smile tightly, “That’s okay— better safe than sorry. I get it.”

He tugs on my hand pulling me into a hug.

“I did miss you, though.”

“And I still missed you most.” I tease.

Daniel shakes his head, but doesn’t argue, pulling back from me and reaching for his suitcase with his freehand.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

—-

I bring Daniel upstairs to show him around, and so he can put his suitcase in my room.

“Welcome to my childhood bedroom,” I announce, opening the door and leading Daniel inside.

“Wow, where little Lauren grew up,” Daniel teases looking around. When I first arrived home yesterday, I was quick to tidy up, and hide anything that was too embarrassing, but my room is more or less the exact same as I had left it when I was 18 and moving to college.

I nod. “Yes, many secrets to my backstory can be discovered in here.”

Daniel laughs.

Ryan appears in my doorway leaning against the doorframe.

“Just so you know, Daniel, my bedroom is on the other side of this wall,” he nods to his right. “I can hear everything that happens in here. The walls are thin.”

I frown, blushing, “Ew, Ryan.”

Daniel just laughs and smirks, “Got it, bro.”

I look at him incredulously, “Don’t encourage him.”

The two share a look and shrug, seemingly equally enjoying my discomfort.

“Dinner’s ready!” Auntie Kim calls up to us.

I use that as my cue, brushing past both of them to go downstairs, leaving their laughter behind me.

—-

After Christmas Eve dinner, Katharine stops by and the four of us decide to watch the classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’m the last to arrive in the living room, and when I enter I immediately notice that Ryan is cuddled up with Katharine, and sprawled out over the entire couch, leaving Daniel sitting in the only other seat— the armchair.

I narrow my eyes at them, “Are you guys for real?”

Ryan looks at us and hums innocently, “What?”

“You took the entire couch.”

I see Katharine bite her lip in amusement, as Ryan shrugs.

“I assumed you guys would cuddle anyway. Can you not share the armchair?”

Daniel intervenes, “Of course we can. C’mon Laur.”

He pats his lap. I hesitate briefly before nestling into his lap, tucking my head into his neck.

“Am I crushing you?” I whisper.

“Not at all, you’re keeping me warm.”

I huff a laugh as he puts the blanket over us and Ryan starts the movie. The steady rise and fall of his chest brings me a sense of peace and I have to try not to fall asleep, especially when his fingers gently caress my arm and my leg where he’s holding me to him. I exhale, turning further into his neck and nuzzling into him.

“Tickles,” he breathes, just shy of a whisper.

“You smell good,” I tell him, letting my eyes close.

His chuckle reverberates through his body. “Thanks, darling.”

I feel my eyes shut and sleep take over. I start to come to when I hear the ending song come on, and it drifts into whatever dream I’m having.

“She asleep?” I hear Ryan ask.

“Think so,” Daniel answers.

“You need help waking her up?”

“No, I’ve got it, thanks though. Nice seeing you, Katharine.”

I hear footsteps retreat and feel a series of kisses pressed to my shoulder, as Daniel’s long fingers brush hair away from my face.

“Time to wake up, pretty girl. You can go back to sleep once we’re in your bed.”

I shake my head no, clinging to him tighter.

“Like this bed.” I murmur drowsily.

He laughs softly. “Promise we can cuddle there too.”

“Promise?” I ask, peeking one eye open.

“I promise,” he confirms, pressing one more kiss to my shoulder.

I lift my head to look at him, rubbing my eyes.

“There she is,” he smiles gently at me.

I smile back sleepily, the words coming out before I fully think them through.

“Wanna know a secret?”

“Tell me.”

I swallow, letting my gaze flicker down to his mouth for just a moment. “I like cuddling with you.”

“You do, huh?”

I nod.

“Well the feeling’s mutual. Let’s go upstairs and brush our teeth so we can cuddle more in your bed.”

“Okay,” I relent, getting off of him. He stands up after me and I instinctively lace my fingers with his, leading us back upstairs. When we’re brushed and changed, we settle ourselves in bed and I claim my spot tucked into his neck again.

“Sweet dreams,” he says, kissing the top of my head. I echo the sentiment and gently kiss the spot on his neck I’m closest to. His arms tighten around me and I’m falling asleep again.

—-

For once, I wake up before Daniel. He looks peaceful as he sleeps on his stomach, his arm across my waist, face half smushed into the pillow. I turn my head to look at the clock to see it’s about 9:30 and know the others will be waking up soon. I turn back to Daniel and card my fingers gently through his hair. Eventually his breathing changes and his eyes flutter open, still clouded with sleep.

“Merry Christmas,” I whisper, our faces just inches apart.

He pulls himself closer to me, nuzzling into my side and closing his eyes again. “Merry Christmas.”

It’s quiet for a moment before he speaks again, voice raspy with sleep. “Is everyone else awake?”

“No, I don’t think so. I haven’t heard anyone up and around… they might be soon. Usually we kind of wander downstairs around 10, and it’s just past 9:30.”

He hums in response.

“You can go back to sleep for a little while if you want,” I offer, still running my fingers through his hair. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to go downstairs.”

I start to think he’s drifted off to sleep again when he opens his eyes and looks at me. “No, I can get up. I want to give you your present.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I told you not to get me anything; you coming here like this with me— twice— is more than enough.”

He rolls his eyes, detaching himself from me and rolling out of bed. “And look like the asshole who didn’t get his girlfriend anything for Christmas? Not a chance.”

I sit up. “We could’ve lied about it—”

“Lauren,” Daniel looks back at me exasperatedly, leaning over his suitcase. “It’s Christmas. Please just open your present.”

He pulls out a neatly wrapped, thin rectangle and places it in my lap, sitting next to me on the bed.

“Merry Christmas, Laur.”

I carefully unwrap the package to reveal a framed art print, with a circle of stars in the middle; underneath it says “The Night Everything Changed” with the coordinates of what I assume to be Los Angeles. I look up to him with soft eyes, and he gives a one shouldered shrug.

“Saw an ad for this online— where you can get the night sky documented of any night you want, anywhere you want. I thought it would be nice to commemorate this past year, for us…” he trails off, and I hug the frame to my chest.

“Daniel, I love it— Really, really love it. It’s so thoughtful.” I reach out and thread our fingers together. “I’m going to hang this in my room. I want it somewhere I see every day.”

He smiles and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you like it. I actually wanted to talk to you about something— in relation to this. I—”

We’re interrupted by a light knocking on the door, and we both turn.

“Are you guys awake?” Ryan’s voice calls.

“Yeah, we’ll be out in a sec!” I answer.

I turn back to Daniel who squeezes my hand and moves to get up, but I pull him back.

“They can wait; this is special. I want to hear what you have to say.” I smile at him warmly, but he shakes his head, lifting the back of my hand to kiss it.

“It’s alright, I’d rather wait and tell you when we have more time to talk.”

I frown. “Promise me you won’t forget?”

He laughs. “Trust me, I won’t forget.”

He moves to stand, pulling me up with him to go downstairs, but I stop him, wrapping my arms around him tightly.

“Thank you, D. It means a lot to me.”

He returns my embrace, placing a kiss to the top of my head.

When we pull apart, I take his hand again. “Time for Christmas. Your present is under the tree, by the way.”

Daniel laughs. “A present double-standard.”

I shake my head and lead him out of the room.

—-

I think we’re done with presents when Ryan surprises me, coming over to Daniel and I on the loveseat.

“This is for both of you, kind of.” He hands me a thin, narrow gift.

Daniel looks up, surprised. “Thanks, man. That was thoughtful of you.”

He looks at me, silently asking, did you know about this?, and I shake my head no.

I unwrap the package to find a small frame, with a one hundred dollar bill matted in the middle. I look at Ryan and furrow my eyebrows.

“It's the hundred bucks I said I’d give you if you brought a real date to Rachel’s wedding. Seeing as the same guy is here for Christmas I figured you earned it. Thought I’d frame it— but you can take it out and spend it on a date or something, I don’t care.”

Auntie Kim squints. “Sorry, you told her what?”

I roll my eyes and try to avoid the way my stomach sinks at the reminder of how this all started.

I feel Daniel’s hand on my knee. “Clever, Ryan.”

I look over at him to see him flashing his polite interview smile, and I instantly know he knows exactly what I’m feeling.

Auntie Kim stands and stretches. “I don’t get it, but I’m going to go start breakfast. Your sister and Nick are picking up Judith soon and then they’re coming over. Katharine isn’t coming until dinner, right, Ryan?”

As Ryan confirms, she walks out of the room. Ryan turns back to us. “Mind if I shower first?”

I shake my head no, still lost in my thoughts, and I hear Daniel tell him to go ahead.

We’re left alone and I feel Daniel’s thumb brushing my knee.

“Thank you for my presents.”

“You’re welcome— I’m glad you like them; they don’t beat your present for me though.”

He rolls his eyes and we sit for a moment, the framed hundred dollar bill still in my hands.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I look at him and shake my head. “I don’t know. Just an odd reminder of how this started, and that it’s going to have to end soon, I guess.”

Daniel frowns. “We haven’t really gotten to talk about that. Why don’t we table that for later— we still have a nice day ahead of us. Those are problems for tomorrow.”

I nod and smile at him, and he pulls me in to kiss my temple, and I hear the click of an iPhone camera. I look up to see Auntie Kim in the doorway.

“Sorry, I just wanted to tell you that the coffee’s on. It was too cute not to capture.”

Daniel stands up, offering me his hand. “Make sure you send me a copy. I’ll have to add it to my collection.”

I chuckle as I stand. “Let me guess; the album is called ‘Cute and Shit.’”

He grins. “How’d you know?”

—-

Christmas flies by. It’s filled with good food, wine, and everyone I love. It’s hours after dinner, and Auntie Kim has already driven Aunt Judith home before going to bed herself.

Ryan, Katharine, Daniel, and I are all still seated around the dining room table playing some kind of team card game, and everyone’s faces are red from laughter and wine.

I can’t help but watch Daniel, who is in some kind of hilarious argument with Ryan over some card he pulled. His eyes shine from the light of the chandelier, and his smile is big and bright, taking over his whole face.

It hits me in this moment that I’ve surpassed unlabeled romantic feelings; I am truly in love with this man. The realization consumes me until Katharine knocks her shoulder into mine giggling.

“Can you believe we love these idiots?”

“Sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow,” I tease, giggling, catching Daniel’s eye mid-argument. He winks at me and I feel my already red cheeks flush even deeper.

“You two are so cute,” Katharine continues, watching our interaction. She lowers her voice, whispering to me behind her wine glass. “I was kind of worried that when you got a boyfriend he wouldn’t mesh well with our dynamic, ya know? But it kind of feels like Daniel’s always been here.”

Her words vocalize the thoughts that have been ringing in my head all day. “I know what you mean.”

Katharine dramatically clears her throat. “Are you two done? Is it our turn yet?”

—-

We part ways from Ryan and Katharine in the hallway, giggling and shushing each other in the wee hours of the morning. I shut my door behind me and waggle my eyebrows at Daniel.

“Uh oh, there’s trouble,” he teases. “Planning to seduce me?”

I shrug exaggeratedly and he laughs before looking around. “Fuck, where are my sweatpants?”

I giggle. “They’re literally right behind you on the chair.”

“Oh, thanks.” He grabs them before looking at me. “Can I change in here tonight?”

I flush. “Yeah, sure.”

After sharing a room together all this time, this is the first time we’ve changed in front of each other and the thought makes my skin tingle. I make my way over to my dresser, pulling out my own sleep shorts and t-shirt. I wiggle out of my pants and pull on my shorts, glancing over my shoulder to see Daniel, shirtless, adjusting his sweatpants on his hips. My throat runs dry, and I turn around to pull my own shirt over my head, reaching behind me to unclip my bra once it’s on. I bundle my discarded clothes in my hand, walking over to toss them in the hamper. I turn around to find Daniel already looking at me. He’s still shirtless and my eyes drift to his defined chest. He looks down as if noticing for the first time.

“It’s really, uh, hot in here.” He speaks again. “Would it bother you if I slept shirtless?”

I shake my head, mentally screaming. “No, it is warm,” I agree, reaching up to put my hair in a bun on top of my head.

He watches me intently, and I laugh self consciously. “What?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about how this was the best Christmas I’ve had in a while.”

My face lights up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I see his grin quirk up, and know something else is coming. “I’d say it was almost perfect.”

“Oh?” I question, finishing my bun. “Go on.”

“We fit in a lot of classic traditions today, but we missed one that I’m quite fond of.”

I look at him, trying to think of what it could be, as he takes a step closer to me.

“There wasn’t any mistletoe.”

I swallow. “There wasn’t.” I pause, my mind racing. Before I can fully think it through I find myself offering, “But we could pretend?”

“Hmm?” He murmurs, taking a step closer to me so he’s right in front of me now. I know he’s giving me a chance to take it back, or make a joke; I’m nervous, but I don’t want to take it back. I just really want to kiss him.

“I’d really like it if you had a perfect Christmas.”

“And you?” He questions softly. “What would make it a perfect Christmas for you?”

Instead of answering him, I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss him for a moment, pulling back to look him in the eyes. His eyes meet mine in some unspoken understanding, and then he’s dipping down to kiss me again.

He kisses me softly, delicately, like all the kisses at the wedding. He pulls back briefly to look at me, as if he still expects me to change my mind. I kiss him again, wanting there to be no doubt in his mind, and he kisses me back with purpose and passion, and I’m caught off guard by the weight of it. I gasp, and Daniel uses this opportunity to deepen the kiss, pulling me closer. It reminds me of our very first kiss back on his couch. My arms move around his neck, pulling our bodies flush together.

Daniel pulls away first, but barely, breathing hard, kissing down from my jaw to my neck.

This is definitely new territory for us.

I move my hands to his hair, and he groans at the feeling. I can’t help myself as I sigh breathlessly, a shiver running down my back. He grins against my neck, his teeth scraping at my skin and I moan softly.

“Wait,” I say breathlessly, a thought somehow flitting through my mind. “Earlier, didn’t you say there was something else I should know about my present?”

“I can tell you tomorrow,” he murmurs into my neck between kisses. “It’s time for bed.” He tugs me down onto the bed so I’m underneath him, resuming his kisses on my neck.

“This doesn't seem like going to sleep to me,” I tease.

“It is, shhhh, you’re dreaming.”

“That I’d believe,” I laugh, and Daniel smirks, moving so we're eye to eye again.

“Dream about me often?”

“Shhh.” I pull him closer, turning his words back on him. “You’re dreaming, go back to bed.”

“Happily,” he murmurs, kissing me again.

I bring my hands down to his bare shoulders, feeling his warm, toned skin against my fingertips. I gently drag my nails down his chest to his stomach, and I feel his muscles clench at my touch. I can’t help but smirk to myself as he pulls away to rest his forehead on my shoulder, letting out a shuddering breath. I bring my nails around his back, tracing up his taut muscles and across his shoulder blades.

I feel one of his hands come down, pushing my shirt up, his mouth pressing hot kisses to my abdomen. His nose takes over pushing my shirt up, exploring every new inch revealed with his mouth, his hand now running over my thigh, fingers squeezing occasionally, slowly climbing higher. As his hand reaches the bottom of my shorts, he lightly tugs at the fabric. He pauses, his blue eyes tentatively peering up at me.

“Can I…?” He looks nervous, like I’ll reject him. As if I have ever rejected him, or could ever manage to deny him. I’m not even entirely sure what he’s asking but I find myself nodding quickly. As he goes to tug my shorts down we hear a bang on the wall we share with Ryan followed by a crash, a “Shhhh” and a “Shit.”

We both startle and look over toward the wall, before looking back at each other and laughing softly.

“Ugh, I don’t want to know,” I say, shaking my head.

“You probably, definitely don’t.” He smiles at me before pulling his hand off my shorts, and my shirt back down, letting his fingers trace along the waistband of my shorts before he clears his throat. “We should, uh, get some sleep.”

I blink at the abrupt change in mood before nodding awkwardly. “Okay, sure.”

He rolls off of me, and I reach over to shut the lamp off. I’m hesitant to cuddle up to him, unsure if what just happened changed something between us, but I’m relieved when I feel his arm wrap around me the way it always does. Neither of us say anything, and I try not to think about the last few minutes, the firmness of his body behind mine, or the way my body’s buzzing— closing my eyes to try and get some rest.

—-

The next two days with my family go pretty much the same way as Christmas did. Daniel gets on swimmingly with everyone, and my heart aches every time I realize that once the holidays are over, our charade is going to come to an end—a permanent end— this time. I try to ignore that thought and enjoy my time, basking in the coupley moments in front of my family, and leaning into every touch we share.

I never get a chance to ask about my Christmas present; the time never feels right, and Daniel doesn’t bring it up either. Nothing happens between us like Christmas night; when bedtime rolls around we change in the bathroom and go straight to bed. We cuddle, but there’s no after-dark kisses or wandering hands. I wonder if Daniel feels as self-conscious about that night as I do; if he does, he doesn’t show it.

—-

We’re in my room packing to go back to LA in an effort to try to beat the inevitable New Year’s rush at the airport.

“I need to find something to wrap this in so it doesn’t break in my luggage,” I frown, holding up Daniel’s present. “It’s my new prized possession— nothing can happen to it.”

Daniel looks over and laughs. “Want me to wrap it in my sweatpants? That's what I did on the way here.”

“Okay, thank you.” I pad across the floor and pass him the frame, our fingers brushing in the process.

“Of course.” His lips quirk up as he carefully arranges the frame in his suitcase.

A moment passes, and I wonder if now is a good time to ask about my present .

“Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask—“

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you—“

We both stop mid-sentence and Daniel laughs, “Sorry what were you saying?”

I shake my head, courage gone. “No— sorry, go ahead.”

He looks at me curiously but continues, “Henry texted me; he and Claire invited us to their New Year’s Eve party. They’re having it in LA this year.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Us? They want me to go?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, Claire apparently requested your presence specifically.”

“Oh, that’s nice of her. I usually stay in for New Year’s.”

“It could be fun— if you aren’t sick of me yet,” Daniel teases.

“Ha!" I laugh, "If you aren’t sick of me yet, more like.” I shake my head. “And don’t mind sharing your friends with me.”

“They’re basically your friends now, too,” he argues.

“I’m not sure one wedding constitutes that, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“You should come.”

I stop and look at him.

“I’ll call a car and pick you up on the way.”

When I hesitate, he softens his voice. “Please come.”

I swallow, “Okay.”

I’m not a big party person, but I also know I don’t have it in my heart to deny him, especially after everything he’s done for me.

He grins. “Really?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Cool, I’ll, uh, let them know we’re coming.”

I bite my lip to suppress my smile and start planning my outfit in my head.

—-

When we arrive at Claire and Henry’s house on New Year’s Eve, I try not to gawk at the size. It’s massive and sits high on one of the tallest hills in LA, away from the noise of the city.

The first person to spot us as we walk in is, unfortunately, Eleanor. I’d hoped she was in London, and away from us, but alas.

“Daniel!” she squeals, throwing her arms around him. “I was so hoping you’d be here.”

“Hi, El,” he placates her with a strained smile. “You remember Lauren?” He gestures back to me.

“Laura?” she asks, disinterested.

“Lauren,” I correct, forcing myself to smile. “Nice to see you again.”

“Eleanor,” Daniel intervenes. “Could you point us in the direction of Henry and Claire, perhaps?”

She frowns, but quickly covers it up. “They were in the kitchen last I checked— we have just got to catch up later.”

“We will!” He agrees graciously. “Let us get a drink, and I’m sure we'll have plenty of time to talk later.”

Daniel puts a hand on my back, guiding me forward and into another room, which turns out to be the kitchen. He’s immediately drawn into a series of bro hugs and handshakes by Henry and some of his other friends.

“Lauren! I’m so glad you came!” I turn to find Claire by a table of beverages.

“Claire! So nice to see you, thank you for inviting me.”

“Thank you for coming,” she says, pulling me into a quick hug. “I told Daniel he just had to bring you.”

I laugh. “He told me you were quite persistent— I usually have a low key New Year’s at home, but this is a fun change of pace.”

“Can I get you a drink?” She asks, already reaching for a bottle of champagne.

“Sure, thank you.” I catch Daniel’s eye across the room; he’s being clapped on the back and led out of the kitchen. I smile reassuringly, hoping to communicate that I’m fine here. He seems to understand, as he smiles back and nods before turning back to his friends.

Claire giggles, bringing my attention back to her.

“You look at him with such heart eyes, it’s cute.”

I try to keep my face from panicking. “Sorry?” She laughs like my reaction is the funniest thing in the world. “Oh don’t worry, he looks at you just the same, so you’re fine.”

I chuckle nervously. “I think maybe you’ve got the wrong impression—”

She shrugs like we’re talking about something commonplace, like the weather.

“Maybe, it’s possible... but I don’t think so. Now come! There’s some other girls I’d love for you to meet.”

—-

I spend a good portion of the night talking with Claire and her friends. They’re all very kind to me, but eventually I excuse myself to get some air out on the balcony.

I’m looking up at the sky — it’s dark, dotted with faint stars and a distant passing plane — when I hear somebody come out and join me. As they settle next to me against the railing I immediately know who it is just by how comfortable I feel.

“Whatcha doin out here, LaurLaur? The New Year’s only a few minutes away.”

I grin at him. “Just getting some air and admiring the stars. From up here you can actually see them.”

He hums, looking up with me.

“It reminds me of a certain piece of art a certain someone got me for Christmas.”

He chuckles. “I’m glad you like it so much.”

“It was very thoughtful…. I wonder if any of the stars are in the same places as they were that night.”

“Which night?”

“The night everything changed. Your birthday.”

Daniel leans against the railing facing me, and looks like he’s about to say something before he changes his mind.

Eventually he speaks again. “Things are going to change again soon, right? You said you’re sure about the break up?”

I swallow, scoffing my shoe against the balcony floor.

“I mean, we still need to figure it out, but you can’t keep fake dating me forever. That isn’t fair to you.”

He smiles wistfully. “It’s not like there was anyone else I was trying to date.”

“I’m a lucky girl,” I lament, and Daniel blushes and shakes his head. “It’s a real shame we’re over, though," I jest, trying to lighten the mood. "I’ve never gotten to kiss anyone at midnight.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise. “Never?”

“Nope,” I pop the p and look down at my feet.

“Well.” He clears his throat conspiratorially. “We can agree not to bring our fake relationship into the New Year if you want, but if the kiss starts before midnight, I think we’d get by on a technicality...”

I laugh. “You really want Eleanor to hate me, don’t you?”

He grins cheekily and shakes his head. “Nah, I think I saw her latched onto some other poor bugger inside. We’re in the clear.”

I roll my eyes, looking back up at the sky. I feel his finger trace my arm, gently using my elbow to turn my attention back towards him.

His voice is softer now, “It’s up to you, but there’s no one else I’d rather kiss at midnight.”

I look into his eyes and realize he’s being sincere. My heart’s beating out of my chest. Yes, I want to kiss him, but I want it to mean something. I keep giving in because I know one day this is all going to go away, and I’ll be left with just my memories and heartache.

He must see some hesitance in my eyes, because he’s taking a step back.

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. Really.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Not trying to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.”

I shake my head. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just…” I trail off, looking over the balcony, trying to swallow my feelings, which have manifested as anxious tears in my eyes. I feel a tear escape, and I hastily reach up to wipe it away.

“Hey,” Daniel says gently. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” I let out a watery laugh. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m…”

I feel his steady stare, and I come to terms with the fact that I’ve really gotten myself into a mess that I can’t just smooth over. I’m going to have to tell him.

I take a minute to compose myself, and Daniel stays quiet giving me time to put my words together as I look anywhere but at him.

“I do want to kiss you, D,” I start slowly, trying to keep my voice steady, “but I can’t if it’s just another part of our fake relationship.”

He tugs me closer by hand, gently, so I have no choice but to look at him. I swallow the lump in my throat. “I… know this wasn’t supposed to be real. But it has been, for me.”

He shakes his head and squeezes my hand. “So then stop trying to break up with me.”

I blink at him, and he continues.

“The night everything changed— your star map— I wasn’t referencing the story we told your family about my birthday.” Daniel looks at me long and hard like I’m missing something totally obvious. “It’s actually the stars from a night a month or so later.”

A month or two— Oh. OH.

“The night Ryan FaceTimed me?” I whisper, afraid to be wrong.

He takes my other hand in his, lacing our fingers together. “Listen— Fuck. I’m in love with you, Lauren.” He looks at me so intensely and my head is spinning. “I love you, and I’m in love with you.”

“What?” I ask dumbly.

He licks his lips. “A wise woman once said to me, you don’t confess to ‘kind of like someone’ when you’ve already been friends as long as we have.”

I stare at him for a second, my cheeks burning. “Well your friend sounds pretty smart.” I swallow. “Because I love you, too.”

He laughs, relief flooding his features. He pulls me to his chest, crushing me and squeezing the air out of my lungs. Eventually he pulls back, hands cupping my face.

He grins and shakes his head. “She is smart, so, so smart, but I don’t want to be her friend anymore.”

“What do you mean?” My brows furrow in confusion, worried that somehow I’ve misread this whole interaction, my relief quickly being replaced by panic.

“Well.” He steps forward, keeping our faces incredibly close. “I’m hoping she agrees to be my very real girlfriend— that is, if she doesn’t break up with me first.”

I hear everyone inside start the countdown to midnight. I’m still looking into Daniel’s eyes in disbelief, my hands clinging to the front of his shirt.

When the countdown hits one, I’ve finally found the words I want to say.

“Happy New Year, boyfriend.”

He’s grinning as he kisses me, and I am too. It’s not our most elegant kiss, a mess of teeth and giggles, and whispered “I love you”s. We never stray too far from each other’s lips, kissing again and again like we can’t get enough— and maybe we can’t.

Eventually, we calm down a bit, and when we kiss this time it’s all-consuming, sucking the air out of my lungs. It feels like my love is fizzling to the top of my skin, and I feel it. ‘It’ being every indescribable emotion in our kisses this past year, but this time I know what it is: true, unadulterated, uninhibited love. I am in love with my best friend, who is now my boyfriend, and I don’t care who knows it— as long as he does.

His fingers press bruisingly into my hips before he pulls back just enough to look at me.

“Can we go home?” He whispers sheepishly, brushing some hair out of my face tenderly. “I’m kind of tired of sharing you with the public.”

I huff a laugh. “I know exactly what you mean.” I lean forward to kiss him one last time before pulling back to lace our fingers together, squeezing tightly. “Please— take me home, D.”

I don’t have to tell him twice.

---

tagged: @rogershoe @heyrowena @yunsh-17 @trenko-heart @dylxnshxrmxn

[edwin-payne-enthusiast]

Okay gimme a like, either enemies to lovers or like a great underused logince au/trope

All The Life That I Can Offer

Ship: Logince

Summary: Logan was one of the city's most famous vigilantes; independent, skilled, and resourceful, he rarely ever got caught, until one night he found himself caught off guard and behind the bars of a holding cell. All he had was a single phone call, and a man who owed him a single favour.

Word count: 3328

Warnings: Mentions of police, fire, choking, smoke, assassination, death. Tell me if I missed anything!

Note: I can't tell if I strayed too far from the request or not but I hope you like it either way!! <3

(I'm still taking logince requests if anyone else wants to leave me one!)

Logan liked being a villain… most of the time. Don’t get him wrong, there are downsides for sure, but when you can command fear by simply walking into a room and snapping your fingers life seemed to just fall into place, or at least it usually did. At first, Logan didn’t like to call himself a villain, though menace to society felt a bit long and unprofessional, and vigilante never seemed to catch on like he thought it would, so he settled for villain, though it never felt right to him. Logan was there to help, he fought for the little things that eventually would spin out into bigger things, because no one knew how to manage a breaking system once a part of it was broken off. If anyone were to look past that villainous alter ego that society had painted for him, they’d see he fought for good rather than bad. They’d see that the people he was hurting had hurt more people than anyone could dream of, so much so that they were barely people any more. He didn’t hurt civilians, he didn’t hurt them even though the blame always seems to stick to the people walking down the streets rather than the ones sitting at the top of their multimillion dollar office buildings, able to hurt thousands with the press of a button or the click of a keyboard, or the dialling of ten simple digits, a phone number belonging to just the right person. A single phone call could change lives.

And a single phone call was all Logan was offered in the holding cell he found himself in, the statement being made by some uptight cop, drawling out each word with a fake menace. It was clear to Logan that the officer was trying to make himself seem scary and failing miserably. The shake of his hands and the sweat beading on his pale face was enough to tell the villain that this man was afraid of him. Even here, behind bars and completely unarmed, he commanded some sort of fear. The thought almost made him smile.

“The call’s gonna be monitored and timed alright punk? So you can’t try anything.” The officers words held no proper heat, like his brain wanted to spit venom but his common sense was holding him back by his pathetic blue collar “You’re gonna be held here until further notice-“

“Until I’m bailed out” Logan corrected simply.

“Oh yeah? And who’s gonna do that? Everyone knows you aint got no crew” The officer spat.

Logan shrugged in an unbothered fashion and the officer turned away, muttering obscenities under his breath as he walked out of the holding cell room. The villain was pretty sure that the officer failed to disclose the rest of his rights, but that was fine, he knew them off by heart. This wasn’t the first time he had found himself on the wrong side of the law, though he rarely ever got properly caught, and even if he did, he usually had a pretty solid escape plan on hand. But right now Logan had nothing, well, not nothing; he had a phone call. One, five minute phone call. He really was in a tricky situation huh…

He could call Virgil or Janus. He was the face of the crimes, but those two made up the brilliant minds that worked behind the scenes. They would know what to do, they would have the resources to help him out, but they were in London at a conference on his behalf, it would take too long for them to get back into New York in time to get him out of here.

He could call his brother, even though Thomas barely approved of his life of villainy as it is. Of course he came around eventually after he found out, mostly because he could see what Logan was doing was technically morally right, even though he didn’t like the way he went about it. But he was already so stressed with everything going on right now with his job and this new guy he was seeing, Logan didn’t want to add more stress on top of that, and besides, he had a strict no family involvement within his job, no matter what the situation calls for. Thomas had better things to do, and surely Logan had other options.

He could call… no, he couldn’t call him. God no, what was he thinking? That dazzling smile and those deep brown eyes had made their way into Logan’s mind plenty of times before, but he always knew how to ignore it, after all they were against each other.

After all, Roman was a hero, and, however indirectly, the reason he was here tonight.

It was Roman’s crew who managed to track Logan’s laptop back to his apartment, he had just moved in, he hated the idea of having to move again now, it was such a hassle, especially with the whole fake identity thing and all the boxes and packing. It was Roman’s crew who ambushed him in the middle of the night. He wasn’t even caught in the act! He was watching a nature documentary for goodness sake! It was Roman’s crew who put up a spectacular fight, he was pretty sure he would have a good few bruises show up in the next few hours. He would have beaten them though, if it wasn’t for a neighbour overhearing the struggle and calling the police.

Roman wasn’t there, he had no idea if he even knew about what his crew was up to tonight, but Logan was owed a favour from him, he hadn’t forgotten, he had burned it into the back of his brain that night all those years ago, and he might just cash in that favour tonight.

Logan cleared his throat. It took a few tries to get the officers attention though, he figured he was purposefully ignoring him to get a rise out of him, honestly Logan could not care less. When the officer finally begrudgingly walked over Logan addressed him “I would like my phone call now” he stated simply.

The officer scoffed and murmured something under his breath that Logan didn’t quite catch. Even so he walked over to the desk in the corner of the holding room and grabbed an old cell phone out of the drawer. He passed it through to Logan and leaned against the desk, listening in to monitor the conversation “You’ve got five minutes, make it quick”

Logan fought the urge to roll his eyes before dialling the numbers that took a bit of remembering to recall, he had hacked them out of a network system quite a long time ago after all. He had to get this right; he pressed the call button.

The line rang once, then twice, then three times. He doubted the officer would allow him to dial again if no one answered. He held his breath; the line rang four times, then five-

“Hello?” The voice that finally answered sounded groggy, coming from someone who had been woken up by their ringtone. Logan hadn’t even noticed how late it was, he cast a glance over to a faded digital clock on the wall, it read 2:09 AM. Logan winced.

“Hello Roman. I do apologize for waking you at this hour” Logan replied sincerely.

Roman’s voice seemed to carry a bit more energy when he next spoke, knowing that this was an old acquaintance, rather than someone he barely knew calling to bother him about something he barely cared about “Well well well” Logan could practically here Roman grinning on the other end of the line “If it isn’t the old trouble maker himself, you miss me already? We only fought like, last week-“

“I need a favour” Logan responded quickly, not having time for Roman’s antics “Your crew picked me up tonight and I’m stuck in a holding cell with no one else to get me out” He spoke quietly, the officer was on the other side of the room and the traffic coming from outside was loud, but he couldn’t risk being overheard.

Roman went quiet for a moment “A favour huh” Logan knew he remembered what he owed, it was the reason no one ever really walked away a winner from their fights. Roman couldn’t hurt Logan, and Logan wouldn’t hurt anyone if he didn’t have to. “I’ll be there in ten. Don’t move and don’t cause any more trouble while you’re at it” the line went dead and Logan slid the phone back through the bars of his holding cell. Ignoring the officer’s questioning about who he was talking to and what he was going to do from here.

Eventually, the officer got tired of his silence and left the room, taking the battered old cell phone with him.

As much as he knew Roman would deny it, he would probably feel guilty for letting his crew ambush Logan like they did. They didn’t know the unspoken agreement the two of them had, they didn’t know what Logan had done for Roman all those years ago.

Logan could have left him for dead. He knew that, even in that moment, fire blazing around them from a plan gone wrong, though it still wasn’t clear who’s plan it really was. He could have left Roman in that building, he could have walked away and taken the city right then and there, no hero left to stop him.

Logan saved Roman’s life that night. He still remembered the way the smoke curled around his lungs as he fought his way back into the building, back towards Roman. He could still recall that stunned look on Roman’s face as he lifted him out of the debris, pulling him forwards and out of the fiery wreckage. He still remembered how he felt, frantically dialling emergency services, and practically shouting in the phone for an ambulance, while Roman struggled to breathe and move. He could still picture the nights, suspended by a rope outside Roman’s hospital window, watching him sleep from outside as he knew he wouldn’t be allowed in, but he just needed to see him breathe, he needed to know he was alive.

Weeks later, when Roman finally recovered, he tracked down his previous address – Logan had since moved, can’t have a hero knowing where you live after all – and visited him. He breathlessly thanked him, asking what he could do, whatever he could to do repay him. Logan just shook his head, insisting that he was owed nothing, but Roman went on to insist that he owed him more, he owed him his life. They compromised on Roman owing him nothing but a simple favour, and then he left. Logan hadn’t really spoken to the hero before then, and Roman had never seen that side of the villain, but both knew that no matter the situation, from then on it would be impossible for the two to hurt each other, there was too much history now, too much left unsaid.

Logan had hacked government systems, assassinated corrupt political leaders, pulled intricate threads to unravel whatever part of society he had chosen, but for some reason, somehow, in that one particular moment, nothing meant more to him than the safety of his enemy, or rather, the person who was supposed to be his enemy.

Logan looked up at the empty space between the holding cell and the wall, sensing someone’s presence. In a small flash of light, a person materialised in front of the cell. He had always admired Roman’s knack for manipulating technology. People often doubted whether he came up with it himself, but Roman was the smartest person in his little team, and he was more intelligent that he seemed, even if he was so very dumb most of the time.

Roman stored the little device away in his pocket and fumbled for a lock pick, turning to the lock on the cell door “I bet you’re glad to see me” he looked up at Logan with a smirk and started to pick the lock with a practiced ease.

“In your dreams” Logan responded, watching as Roman’s hands skilfully turned the lock pick until the lock clicked open. Roman opened the cell door slowly, wincing at each creak. Logan was able to slip through after a moment and Roman smiled at him, closing the door, and replacing the lock, making it look as if Logan had just disappeared.

Roman took the device back out of his pocket and Logan watched his hands, avoiding looking in his eyes right now. The silence was too loud and he needed some fresh air to set his head straight. Roman turned a dial on the device and both of their bodies faded slightly “This decreases visibility” Roman explained, still fiddling with the little machine “It’s handy, but doesn’t last long, we better get out of here” Logan knew full well that Roman could just walk out of here with him, but he had a reputation after all.

Logan nodded taking a moment to observe his faded appearance “Alright then… let’s get going”

Roman nodded as well and stopped fiddling with the device, he held it in his left hand and held the door of the room open with his right “After you” he said, Logan couldn’t discern his tone.

Logan left the room first, looking around at the hallway cautiously, just in case he had fallen for some kind of trap. But of course, it wouldn’t make sense for Roman to lead him into a trap right now, and he knew that the deal meant too much to Roman for him to do something like that anyways, so he walked down that hallway in front of Roman, a million thoughts swirling through his mind, none of them able to make it past his lips.

He silently lead them through another hallway, past offices, and rooms full of cops. If he had more time here he’d probably find a way into the system and break this place down from the inside, but there was more on his mind that just that, and he doubted Roman would let that slide, deal or no deal.

Once they had snuck past the officers and handful of civilians in the lobby, only stopping as Roman nearly bumped into a sergeant on his way out, he lead them through the door to the building and out onto the street. The device flickered off and the two of them came back into view as the door shut behind them, and after a quick shared glance, the two of them broke into a run down the street.

No one was chasing them, but the adrenaline was too great, Roman was laughing and Logan had a huge grin on his face, he barely even noticed that Roman was holding his hand to pull him along with him.

When they were far away enough from the station, and that initial excitement of a successful plan had faded into a happy buzz, and their lungs burned from running so fast for so long, and their laughter came out in short puffs of air, they began to just walk in silence, still hand in hand, drinking in the night and the others presence.

Hours could have passed by, that moment stretching on for the duration of them. Neither man wanted to speak up and break the peace they had created together, neither of them pointed out the time, or their closeness, or the bite of the cold night air. Neither man wanted to create an excuse to leave.

The pressure must have gotten too great at some point, as it was Roman who finally spoke up “Why did you do it?” he said quietly, as if Logan might not hear him and they could continue on in this moment.

Logan didn’t look over at Roman, but he knew what the look on his face would be. He knew what he was asking him “I don’t know” he responding, his voice coming out more as a breath of air than words. He knew his answer wasn’t good enough, he knew if he didn’t say more he would regret it. God Logan hated regretting things “But I do know I couldn’t have just left you there to die. I would have hated myself for it. You’re too… you’re just so good” Logan took a breath “The world needs more people like you”

Roman laughed, but there was no humour behind it, Logan could almost feel the hurt in his voice “It’s haunted me for so long you know, what you did, how you saved me. I never knew why you let me live after all I had done was take apart your plans for so long” Roman exhaled shakily “And then you go on to tell me that I don’t owe you anything more than a favour? I don’t… I don’t get it” he said, pulling his hand away as he stopped walking, facing away from Logan to try and pull himself together. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I’m not a monster Roman. We both fight for what we believe to be true. Just because we have our disagreements from time to time does not mean I wish you to be dead. The people need you just as they need me, they only see us in different lights” Logan responded, facing Roman now. Roman turned back to look at him, his eyes were red with tears.

“And what if I told you that I love you? Then would you wish me dead?” Roman’s tone held a kind of anger he had never heard before, but it wasn’t threatening, it was sad, like he finally gave in to the words he had so desperately wanted to say for so long.

Logan paused and shook his head, Roman’s words cut through the night air like a sharp knife but did nothing to wound him “I would wish you all the life that I can offer, so that I may spend it with you” he responded quietly, almost a whisper.

Roman blinked. He took a deep breath, and then another, trying to pull himself together. Of course he failed, letting out a relieved sob. It was unclear who fell into whose arms, but they pulled themselves together for a desperate embrace either way. Logan fit into Roman’s arms so neatly, he didn’t even care if Roman’s tears left damp spots on his shirt, it was perfect in its own imperfect way.

“I’ve loved you since the moment you stupidly ran back to save me” Roman said between his sniffling and Logan laughed softly, trying and failing to supress his own tears. “I sometimes wished you would cause more trouble just so I had an excuse to see you”

Logan smiled ever so slightly, ignoring the way his tears slipped down his face, simply because he didn’t care that he felt like this, it was the nicest he had felt in a long time “I don’t know how long I have felt this way for you, at first I thought I only cared for you because I don’t want to hurt those who are innocent, but it became more than that. I wanted to be there for you for the little things. I wanted to spend time with you in the mornings and the evenings, and comfort you when you watched a particularly sad episode of whatever show you’re watching, and laugh with you when one of us tells a bad joke or messes something up” Roman laughed shakily and nodded, bumping his forehead against Logan’s gently “I wanted to be a part of your life… I want to be a part of your life”

“Oh darling” Roman said, brushing a piece of hair out of Logan’s eyes and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead “You always have been”

[scabopolis]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Hope that I do this properly 🙃

I would adore a XO between Veronica Mars (LoVe) & Once Upon a Time (C/S).

PROMPT: "I’m really competitive and drunk and I just told a rival that my relationship is way better than theirs, but they don’t believe you exist (but I’m too stubborn to admit they’re right)" OR really anything you'd like. Honestly, I'm dying to see Logan and Killian interact/co-swagger.

And / or another installment of "Come Rain or Come Shine" from In Lovers Meeting because I love it with my whole ❤️.

Thank you so much for doing this. You made my day,

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Oh @jjmazzy��� you bring my heart so much joy! I didn’t feel quite up to the task to do a crossover between OUaT and Veronica Mars so I went straight for a OUaT AU. I hope that’s okay? 

This is just a silly little thing that I am realizing only fulfills about 40% of the prompt, but I think it’s cute??

ANYWAY! Enough hemming and hawing xx *** Title: Of Expats and Onion Rings Rating: PG Fandom: Once Upon a Time Pairing: Killian Jones/Emma Swan (mentions of Robin/Marian and a smattering of other characters) Additional Tags: Two out of three of my OUaT fics feature Killian as a bartender, silliness and only half a prompt, probably way more fluff than is medically recommended Word Count: 1,500

Every Friday night, Emma Swan sits on the same barstool at the same bar in the same restaurant. This Friday night has her staring into space as she lets the sounds from the kitchen and the bar swirl around her. It’s busier than usual, with almost all the booths and tables filled and the bar area half-occupied. In fact, when she first walked into the bar, she worried there wouldn’t be a seat for her. But the bartender caught her eye and waved her over, a menu and a glass of water waiting for her in her usual seat at the end of the bar. 

Said bartender slides her an Old Fashioned, extra maraschino cherries on the toothpick per usual. 

She takes a small sip of the drink. “Why is it so busy?” 

Killian’s eyes roam about the room and then come back to rest on her. “Some magazine labeled us the best kept secret in Portland, Maine.” 

“And in doing so—”

“Assured that we would never be a secret again. Yes.” 

“The pitfalls of fame.” 

“Burger or chicken sandwich?” 

“Burger. Any chance—?”

“Aye, probably a very good chance, but only because Graham is sweet on you.” 

Emma feels her cheeks redden. “He’s not sweet on me.” 

“Sure he isn’t.” 

She watches Killian step away from the bar and into the kitchen to talk to Graham. How Graham can manage to listen to anything given the noise of the dining room and the kitchen she’ll never know. Graham and Killian both look over at her. Graham rolls his eyes but nods, and Emma raises her glass in thanks. 

“Okay,” she says to Killian when he’s back at the bar. “He might be a little sweet on me.” She takes a long sip of her cocktail. 

Killian’s brow is knit with concentration. “Long day?” 

She nods. “I had a run in with Zelena.” 

“Ah. The wicked witch of the northeast. What’d she do this time?” The ticket printer next to Killian’s till spits out a long drink order, but he listens even as he mixes drink and pours glasses of wine. 

“She got engaged over the weekend and hasn’t shut up about it. And today, she took great pains to ask me, in front of everyone in the faculty lounge, if I’d be okay if she didn’t give me a plus one.” 

“Bit rude, isn’t it?” 

“Right? But then she kept going on and on asking how long it’d been since I dated someone, and did I know that after 35, forty-five percent of women’s eggs are considered genetically abnormal and her fiancé is a very wealthy furniture manufacturer and she’s certain he has some less attractive less wealthy friends he could introduce me to and on and on and on.” 

“Does she truly want you at her wedding?” 

“Oh, yes. She said she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She runs her finger along the condensation of her glass. “Which is when I did something very very very stupid.” 

“Smacked her?” 

Emma snorts. “I wish. No I—” Her explanation is interrupted by the arrival of her burger and the plate of special order onion rings. Onion rings which are technically available only as an add-on to the steak sandwich but that Emma has a 80% success rate of cajoling the kitchen to make her a plate of. 

She eats her meal with one eye turned to Killian, waiting for a long enough lull in the drink tickets to finish her story. She’s almost finished her burger when Killian slides another Old Fashioned in front of her.

“What was this very stupid thing you did?” he asks, leaning towards her. 

“I told her I was dating someone.” 

Killian remains where he is but she notices the clench of his jaw. “Ah,” he says. “I was unaware.” He seems to hear his own words as he says them because he cringes. “Not that there’s a reason you would tell me. I mean, we’re friends, but friends in that way that I get you drinks and —”

Emma rests a hand on Kilian’s to stop the rambling. “I’m not. Dating anyone, that is.” 

“Then why—?”

“It just popped out. I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or Zelena.” 

“So, this fake boyfriend of yours. Just who is he?” 

“Well, okay, so this makes sense when you remember it’s Friday, and I knew I’d be coming here.”

“Right,” he says, equal parts cautious and curious.

“I told her my boyfriend was British.” 

Killian shakes his head. 

ExPats has been her weekly haunt for close to a year now and while not everyone who works there is a British expatriate, with Killian as bar manager, Robin as front of house manager, Graham as chef de cuisine, and Phillip as pastry chef, it kind of feels that way.

“And that he had blue eyes,” she continues. 

“Ah, I see,” he says, teasing her. “Are you telling me you’re sweet on Graham too?” 

“Not Graham.” 

“In that case, Marian is likely going to have a big problem with you trying to date her husband.”

“And, uh,” she clears her throat, “I told Zelena he has dark hair.” 

Killian wings an eyebrow. “How dark?” 

“Uh, right about your color probably.” 

“My color?” 

“Probably. I said probably.” 

“Interesting.” Emma takes a sip of her drink. There’s a delicious, hazy feeling brought on from the second cocktail washing through her veins. “So, you and I are dating?” he asks. 

“Stupid. It was so stupid.” 

“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I’ve been meaning to ask you out for months now. This might be just the little push I need.” 

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you just say?” 

“What now?” he asks in return, the picture of innocence. 

“You’ve been trying to ask me out?” 

“Not as such, no.” 

“Oh.” She sinks back in her seat, disappointed.

“I didn’t want to risk you running scared and not being here every Friday night.” 

Emma perks right back up again. “Oh?” 

“You already said that, love.” 

Emma looked down at her plate, the remnants of the crispy bits from her onion rings on her plate. Something occurs to her then. “Graham doesn’t give these to me because I want them. Does he?” 

“Excuse me?” 

If she’s not mistaken the tips of his ears have gone a little red. She loves his little elf ears. “He makes these for me because you ask him. Don’t you?” 

“I might have told him they bring you an inordinate amount of joy.” He scratches idly at a spot on his arm. “And that it brings me an inordinate amount of joy to see how happy they make you.” 

“Did you know my weekly ExPats date used to be on Wednesdays?” 

She can see him try to mentally adjust to the change of direction in the conversation. “Really?” 

“I only came in a few times, but then one week, I had parent/teacher conferences so I came on Friday. And there you were.” Emma shrugs. “Your Old Fashioned is better than Will’s.” She bites off one of the maraschino cherries from the toothpick. “Your smile is better, too.” 

“Emma, darling, are you flirting with me?” 

“What? Suddenly it’s a crime to flirt with my boyfriend?” 

Killian laughs and it makes her heart hum. She likes the clean line of his throat as he tilts his head back. “Your boyfriend? I don’t suppose you’d want to go out on a date with, then?”

“I’m free on Wednesday.” 

“Funny that,” he says. “That happens to be my day off.” 

“Is it?” 

Emma would be content to sit at this bar all night and let Killian smile at her and make her drinks. It seems like Killian is having similar thoughts, until something seemingly flies out of nowhere to hit him in the back of the head. 

Killian reels around to find Robin standing there, arms folded across his chest. 

“What’d you throw at me, you git?” Killian asks. 

“A dinner roll.” Robin gestures at the drink ticket printer. A ticket printer which has at least 10-tickets waiting to be fulfilled. “Pardon, Emma. Mind if he stops flirting with you long enough to fulfill the drink orders?” 

“You’re fired,” Killian says. 

“For the last time, mate, you can’t fire me. My name is on the lease right next to yours.” 

“Murder it is, then.” 

“Make the nice customers their cocktails and then you can murder me.” 

Robin walks away, and Emma notices it’s not just her at the bar who finds herself charmed by the whole display between the two men. She thinks she might see a small group of women sneakily taking a cell phone video, giggling as they watch it through.

“Emma, I’m sorry, but I—”

She waves him off. “Do your thing. I’ll be here.” 

“Yeah?” he asks, and when she nods, he beams. “Good, because if we’re in a committed relationship I’m probably going to need your phone number.” 

“Pour the drinks, you goon.”

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

*Cackling* Now rank your ot3's!

*long sigh*

SECTION 1:

Yes, there are sections, this is a list of 20 things. I like to be organized. These ones I seek out. I like them. I actively enjoy them on purpose.

1. Roloceit: My BOYS. Are these my 3 favorites? perhaps. You can't prove anything (you sure can, just look at my goddamn Ao3). Something about the dynamics here is just...so good for me? The combination of fluff/angst/multi-talented braincells is wonderful. I need these three to watch a documentary and tear it to absolute pieces. Also they would be so good at...actually having methods of supporting each other??? I love them.

2. Analogince: in the same vein, the SNARK. THE SASS. THE GROUPCHAT THAT WE ALL KNOW EXISTS THAT IS SOO OVERLOADED WITH SALT THAT IT'S A DEHYDRATION RISK. Also healthy communication??? supportive signifs??? good shit

3. Anxcietmus: The Dark Sides™. Again, I think these three just get each other. That means great fluff and great angst possibilities ABOUND and especially when it comes to being a menace in the rest of the mindscape. Yes. Good. Have fun.

4. Intruloceit: Someone please make this nerd take a fucking break for once. The chaos of leading what you THINK is a stuck-up buttoned-up nerd only to feel such an odd mixture of pride and mortal terror at discovering a TRUE mad scientist. Yes. Logan deserves to go ape-shit. Let him.

5. Analoceit: Did someone ask for some amused gay judgement? You got the whole scale here, Distinguished, Functional, and Disaster. They don't need the group chat because they can do it with just a look. Perfect. Wonderful.

6. Intruloxiety: slightly less snark, which is why it's ranked lower, but I don't think it would be any less supportive. Between the three of them I think they'd have a conversation about boundaries right up front and constantly be checking in with each other. Which is good!! Please do this!!

7. Loroyality (am i making up some of these names as I go? yes): The Light Sides™! The reason this is ranked lower is because I think they've got some in-canon struggles that would take some time and effort (from errybody) to sort out before I would consider this relationship healthy, but after that? Forget it. We vomiting sushine and rainbows and our teeth hurt from how sweet they are. I have faith in them.

8. Royaliceit: *sniff sniff* did someone say ANGST??? This is the only one I put up here that I mainly look for to get angst because BOY HOWDY. Especially post-POF? Roman you poor thing why do I project so strongly onto you, my god. This is a MESS and they need to do WORK to FIX IT but it's all about the misunderstanding and the healing and oh my god please someone tell Roman his worth is not based on how well his work is received please. Also if you're like me and you subscribe to the headcanon that the last time Patton and Janus agreed on something it was to stay in the closet as long as possible...*choo choo bitches angst town here we come*

SECTION 2:

These ones I don't actively seek out but you know?? For a headcanon post? They seem pretty chill. Haven't devoted a lot of brainpower to 'em, just think they're neat.

9. Moloceit (my keyboard is so confused you guys): Now THIS. THIS is the obnoxious trio of philosophy majors that ALWAYS hog the good library table. Someone will say ONE GODDAMN thing and they'll be talking about ontology and subjectivity for hours. It's impossible to tell whether or not they're being serious when they do it. As a most-definitely-not-a-philosophy-student, no. I mean, yes but no.

10. Anaroceit: you know those fucking divas that strut into the mall like they own the goddamn place? These bastards. They are the Heathers (except actually decent people) and you will not get between them and their purchases. If you come after one of them the other will overprotective the fuck out of them and rip you to shreds. You might be worried sometimes that they're hurting each other but they do actually talk about their boundaries. solid 7/10.

11. Analogicality: (whoa, we're halfway there...): These three just seem like they'd be super domestic. Not that it wouldn't also be adorable, but just kinda...routine? Virgil doesn't like new shit, Logan likes a schedule, and Patton enjoys doing things together in 'traditions.' Some spice but they're all fairly level-headed so...the most they get is screaming out songs with the windows down (WHOA LIVIN' ON A PRAYER)

12: Intrulogicality: You know those scenarios where you got Person A who runs headlong into crazy bullshit, Person B who likes to pretend they're not as into the crazy bullshit as Person A but is, and Person C who gets dragged into shit? There you go.

13: Anxmoceit: I think once they all sat down and had a conversation they might actually be decent??? But I can't stop seeing Patton and Janus coparenting Virgil so it stays platonic in my head. (listen i don't kinkshame but i am aroace, that does limit me a bit when it comes to this bag of nonsense)

14. Intrumoceit: Again, LONG conversation, but it's better to have one crazy dumbass whom you both love but please stop giving up heart attacks every two seconds bb we can't deal with these palpitations. I think this would require SO much work on Patton's end to make this healthy that I can't see it very clearly.

15. Intrumoxiety: This one I put down here because while Janus isn't the best at being straightforward (or straight) he DOES understand himself enough to actually have a productive conversation when he has to. I think Virgil would be too caught up between the dynamic of Patton and Remus for it to be healthy for him, especially at the beginning. It would end up dumping too much of the conflict resolution into his court and uh...no. No thanks. Do I think they COULD make it work? Yes, of course, but I wouldn't seek it out.

16. Anaroyality: Uhhh yeah they exist. Y'all gotta do some work to establish good boundaries but yeah, I think you could do it. Have a makeup day where everybody just fucks shit UP at a Sephora or an Ulta and try crazy looks on each other. You could do it. I believe in you.

SECTION 3:

These are the ones I will actively avoid, more often than not. If they're not handled carefully--which is not the responsibility of other creators, I take full blame, this is just how I personally interpret them--they can squick me out. The ones with Roman and Remus are down here, and as a disclaimer, this isn't because I view poly relationships where not all parties are dating each other as inherently inferior, not at all. I just think that within a relationship where both Roman and Remus are dating the same person, that has the potential to go REAL bad REAL quick.

17. Intrulogince: Do I want to see Roman and Remus playfully competing to win the favor of our favorite nerd? yes. Do I think it would end up aggravating the rivalry they already had to really bad places? Also yes. Either with Roman backing off and internalizing the idea that he's not good enough or by exploding on both of them. It's a bad time. No. That being said, I have seen things where Logan is just spoiled by incredible things made in the Imagination and those are very sweet. a good time.

18. Intruprinxiety (that looks so weird when it's spelled out, oh my god it sounded so much better in my head): Again, exacerbating a pre-existing rivalry, oh dear me, and this time poor Virgil's caught in the middle? a mess. There is also the potential for them to be childhood friends to lovers which would be very sweet but the overlap with all of their combined histories are...a lot of baggage. Like so much.

19. Intruroceit: The only way I can see this happening is Roman's inadequacy issues and abandonment issues going THROUGH THE FUCKING ROOF and it would force Remus into being a pseudo-therapist for them and Janus your habit of messing with Roman needs to gtfo right the fuck now.

20. Intruroyality: is anyone surprised that this one is my least favorite? Between the squicks I get from Patton as a character, the relationship between Patton and both of the twins in canon, and how much baggage Roman and Remus have...no. Absolutely not. I have horrible memories of some very toxic relationships that I can absolutely see here and no.

*phew* that was a long one. you're welcome.

EDIT: thank you @shinekittenace for names seriously this post is a mess

[davidpastrsnack]

drive (pt. 1) - matthew tkachuk

a/n: slow burn friends to lovers is my shit and so is matthew so here we are. the name is inspired by the song drive by halsey, a classic friends to lovers anthem. i hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!

After three months of freedom with you friends and family, the summer was finally coming to an end. To celebrate, you and your close group decided to rent a house on the lake for the weekend, clear of all parents and responsibility. When Friday morning rolled around you finished packing your bag before heading off with your two partners in crime, Matthew and Brady. 

You grew up in St. Louis, quickly becoming acquainted with the Tkachuk family when your dad accepted a position within the Blues management with Keith. For as long as you could remember, they were your best friends, but especially Matthew. He was the closest in age to you and since day one you were inseparable.

There was no denying that his move to Calgary took a toll on your relationship. You texted every now and then, but it was obvious that you had two seperate lives that the other wasn’t a part of. But despite this, every summer it was like you were still those twelve year olds running around as if nothing had changed.. Except now you two got into a lot more trouble together. 

Matthew was driving and you sat in the passenger seat, always forcing Brady in the back for as long as you could remember. They were bickering about Matthew’s choice of music and you started to zone out, getting lost in the scenery as you traveled further and further from the city. 

The reality of summer ending was starting to hit you. You had graduated college just a few months ago, yet nothing career wise seemed to be panning out. Your parents reminded you not to worry, that you could stay with them until something came together, but it made hearing all your friends’ plans for the year that much harder. You were over the moon for them, but each time it felt like a reminder of your failure. 

You were suddenly pulled out of your trance by the pest in the backseat, feeling him poke your shoulder repeatedly. 

“Hello? Earth to Y/N,” Brady joked. 

“Sorry,” you shook your head. “What?” you asked, turning to face the blonde. 

“Can you go on aux? I can’t listen to his shit any longer.”

You laughed, rolling your eyes as you connected to the bluetooth in Matthew’s far too expensive car. 

“Will you relax?” Matthew muttered to you. “You promised me you wouldn’t stress about anything this weekend,” he pleaded, placing his free hand just above your bare knee. 

“How long have you known me? Seriously, when am I not stressing?” you retorted, raising your gaze to meet with his ice blue eyes. 

“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “But just try, please.”

“You two are something,” you heard from the backseat, shifting to glare at Brady.  

Just like that, Matthew’s hand slipped from it’s post on your leg, moving to turn up the music to shut up his brother. 

-----

After finally arriving at the lake later that evening, you all decided to go out to the local bar, a classic, dingy spot that always seemed to make the best memories. You were sharing a room with your close friend Emma, right across the hall from the boys. You got ready with the other girls, opting for a simple outfit of jeans, a white top, and sneakers. The air was hot and thick as soon as you walked in, and you moved straight to get a drink. 

Hours later, everyone was having a great time, letting loose for one last weekend before reality struck. You had just enough alcohol running through your veins for a fun buzz, but you weren’t too far gone yet. You and Emma were dancing, totally lost in the beat of the music when your face suddenly dropped. 

There was no way. 

But unfortunately your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. Your ex-boyfriend had just walked in with his posse, catching your glance right away and sending you a sick smirk. You hadn’t seen Logan in over a year, but of course here he was the night you were finally able to relax with your friends. Your buzz seemingly disappeared instantly, and you left the girls to go sit at the booth with the guys. You slid in next to Matthew, his arm instinctually wrapping around your shoulders as he kept listening to the conversation. 

It didn’t take long for him to figure out that something was off with you, he could feel the tension in your body beneath his grasp. 

He lowered his head to be level with your ear, “You good?”

You didn’t want to tell him what was wrong, knowing he would have no restraint. To put it simply, Matthew never liked Logan, but especially not after what he put you through during the breakup. 

You nodded, giving him a soft smile. “I just need another drink,” you deflected, slipping from under his arm to get up. 

“Wait,” he grabbed your wrist, “I’ll come.”

He didn’t know what was going on, but he had a gut feeling that he shouldn’t let you go alone. 

And he was right. As soon as you guys made it to the bar Matthew locked eyes with Logan. 

“Y/N, is that…” he trailed off, not wanting to freak you out. 

You turned to look where he was, sighing as you saw Logan standing across from you two. 

“Yup, it is,” you said, letting out a nervous laugh. 

Matthew’s energy shifted immediately, exactly how it does when he’s on the ice. His light eyes darkened and he visibly stood taller, glaring in Logan’s direction. 

“Matthew,” you warned. “It’s fine. Just leave it alone. Please,” you begged, wrapping your hand around his bicep in hopes of calming him down. You didn’t want anyone to make a scene, and you knew that’s exactly what would happen if the two of them got any closer to each other. 

Just like you thought, your touch made him snap out of his trance, looking back down at you. 

“Fine, but if he comes any closer I make no promises,” he declared. 

After getting your drinks the two of you stayed put, listening to Matthew ramble about the upcoming season. Logan hadn’t moved, but your back was turned to him so you couldn’t see.

But Matthew could, and he most definitely noticed that he seemed to be inching closer to you, his destination obvious. 

The gears in Matthew’s mind started moving right away. He needed to get him away from you but he knew you would kill him if he made a big deal about it. 

You were mid-sentence when he panicked. 

“Kiss me,” he interrupted. 

You were stunned, the shock evident on your face. “What-”

Before you could get another word out, Matthew was grabbing your face and bringing your lips to his. Despite being beyond startled and confused, your body took over and you melted into him. Your lips moved together like they were made for each other, his tongue working perfectly with yours. Your hands moved up his chest and circled around his neck, gently tugging his curls. One of his much bigger hands dropped to your waist, urging you to arch into him. 

Matthew was so lost in the moment that he forgot why he kissed you in the first place. He just couldn’t seem to pull himself away, a fire ignited deep within him by your touch. But finally he slowed his lips, gently separating from you and lifting his eyes to scan the bar. It worked, Logan was sitting on a stool with his back facing you both. Message received, loud and clear. 

You slipped your hands from his neck, quietly trying to catch your breath as Matthew leaned over your shoulder. After a few seconds he looked back down at you, a cocky, but sweet, smile on his face. It took everything within you not to stare at his lips, pink and swollen, but you quickly snapped out of it when it hit you what had just happened. 

You hit his chest, making him stumble back slightly, not expecting it. 

“What the hell was that?” you questioned. It wasn’t that you were angry, but now you were forced to confront your feelings for the man in front of you. You obviously weren’t blind to his looks and charm, but you had always admired them from afar, never challenging your status as friend. And you were truly at peace with that, but now that you had a taste of him you wanted more. 

His face was laced with nerves, realizing he might have really crossed the line. But then again, you didn’t seem to mind. 

“I’m sorry, I-, Logan looked like he was coming over and I didn’t want him to but you didn’t want me to make a scene so I thought if I kissed you he would leave you alone,” his word vomit was in full force, letting everything out in one breath. “I think it worked though.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you, I guess,” you laughed. 

And just like that, Matthew was back to his usual self. 

“Trust me, no problem,” he winked with his classic smirk on, grabbing your arm to guide you back to the booth. 

You rolled your eyes at him, grateful that he couldn’t see your blush. Now you were just hoping that no one saw. The last thing you wanted to do was have to explain that to anyone.  

Nearly an hour later you were standing outside the bathroom waiting for Emma to come out. As much as you tried to act normal with Matthew, you were struggling to say the least. Any feelings you previously had were now infinitely amplified and it made him leaving again that much harder, not that anything would happen if he wasn’t leaving. 

You were scrolling through Instagram as you waited when you saw the silhouette of a big body heading towards you. You assumed it was Matthew, but you were horribly wrong, looking up to lock eyes with Logan. 

“Well hello there, Y/N,” he slurred. Of course, he was beyond drunk. 

“Logan, leave me alone. Please,” you pleaded, head glancing at the door wondering what was taking Emma so long. 

“Relax, I just want to catch up a little.”

You didn’t respond, rather you went back on your phone, hoping he would just walk away if you ignored him. 

“So, you’re finally fucking that asshole Tkachuk, huh?”

Your heart sank at his words, but the anger quickly followed. 

“Excuse me?” you were genuinely stunned at how bold he was being. “Who I’m fucking is absolutely none of your business,” you hissed. 

Just as you went to enter the bathroom in search of refuge from his harassment, another body joined you, but this time it was one you welcomed. 

Brady headed towards you the second he caught eye of the situation, making it just in time to hear Logan’s words. 

“Everything okay over here?” He challenged Logan. He pulled you into his side, his arm snaking around your shoulders. He might have been younger, but he towered over both of you. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Logan asked, puffing his chest out. You rolled your eyes at his actions, not understanding how someone could be so dumb to mess with these two. 

“I’m the asshole’s brother,” he calmly responded. 

You had to stifle your laughter at his comment, turning to hide your face in the crook of his arm. 

At that Logan gave up, storming off back into the crowd. 

“Thanks, Brades,” you smiled up at him, giving his torso a squeeze before letting go and leaning against the wall. 

“Of course. But I have to ask, are you fucking the asshole?” He raised his brows at you, a silent way of saying ‘don’t lie to me.’

“What? Are you crazy?” You exclaimed, trying to deflect as quickly as possible. 

“Y/N,” he warned. 

“No. We are not fucking. Jesus, Brady.” 

“Alright, but you two need to figure your shit out,” he murmured. 

Before you could give him your rebuttal the door swung open and Emma emerged. 

“Hey!” You yelled, grateful for the distraction. 

You grabbed her hand, walking side by side towards the door to head home. Brady trailed behind you and you knew you needed to say something to him before you were back with the group. 

You turned your head back to face him, “There is no shit to figure out. Drop it,” you snapped. 

He threw his hands up, acting like he was totally innocent. But even though you and Matthew were clueless, Brady knew it was only a matter of time before you two came to your senses. 

-----

The next day was spent on the boat with the music blasting and the alcohol flowing. Despite everything within him telling him to stop, Matthew couldn’t help but stare at you in that bikini. He prayed that his sunglasses hid the way his eyes dragged over your frame every chance he got. It felt dirty to look at you like that, but last night was like a slap in the face, awakening him to how far gone he truly was for you. 

The day ended with a bonfire back at the house, everyone cozying up around the pit reminiscing on another summer together. You were laughing at someone's story and once again, Matthew’s eyes betrayed him. He was in the chair next to yours, so enthralled in watching you so happy. You had been so stressed out about graduation and finding a job that you deserved a weekend of freedom.  

He couldn’t help but notice how you started to shiver as the sun went down, only wearing your still-damp bikini and a pair of shorts. He moved to get up to grab you something, but you stopped him. 

“Matty? Where are you going?” 

His knees almost gave out at the nickname. You had called him that ever since you were kids, but everything had a new meaning now that his feelings were all he could think of. 

“I’ll be right back,” he assured. 

You nodded, joining back into the conversation. It was dumb, but you already missed having him there. 

He was back within minutes, handing you one of his sweatshirts. You thanked him, pulling the soft material over your head, taking your time so you could hide the blush that you knew covered your cheeks. It smelled just like him, and you had a feeling that he wasn’t going to be getting it back anytime soon. His gaze lingered over his name and number on your shoulder, noting how good they looked on you. 

As it got later and later, people started going up to their rooms, eventually leaving just you and Matthew alone. 

“Come here,” he quietly gestured towards himself. 

“I’m right here,” you laughed. 

“And you’re also freezing. So come here,” he repeated. 

You couldn’t deny that you were still cold, your bare legs not helping much. You slowly stood up, walking to his chair. He moved his arms from his lap so you could sit down, your body resting across his thighs. His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him, and you already felt yourself warm up from the heat he was radiating. 

You sat in a comfortable silence for a while, your head lying on his shoulder as you both watched the fire die out. 

“You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but hear me out,” he mumbled, finally breaking the silence. 

You lifted your head to meet his gaze, “What are you up to now?”

“Come to Calgary with me.”

part two here

[resident-fungi-fren]

Rainy Gays

Summary: Virgil hosts a radio station with Janus, and since it’s the only station that runs in their small town, just about everyone listens to it. 

He still didn't expect one of those people to be his soulmate.

Ships: Intruxiety (Virgil and Remus) and hints at Roceit (Roman and Janus)

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning gaybies and gentlethems, you’re listening to Rainy Gays Radio, and we’re your hosts, I’m Janus,”

“And I’m Virgil, clearly the superior host, and that’s why it’s my turn to talk about the weather. Let’s see, looking outside, there’s some clouds, oh shit is that a bird? Nope, false alarm, it’s just another cloud. Rude little shits, pretending to be birds. That’s false advertising. Anygay, it’s supposed to rain later this week, so we really will be rainy gays then.”

“Wow, what an original joke Virgil, you totally don’t use that one every time it rains.”

“Nope, never in my life, shove off Janus.”

“Why Virgil, I’m wounded. I thought we were friends, and now you betray me? I never thought you’d be the one to stab me in the back, my dearest friend, how can I go on without you?”

“Perish.”

“Well, just for that, I’m not paying for coffee later. You can buy your own latte.”

“Rude, how dare you revoke my caffeine privileges, and on today of all days!”

“Wow, what a subtle transition into today’s caller topic, you’re a master of subtlety.”

“Shut-“

“No. Today’s topic is what everyone’s talking about. The new drink over at [INSERT COFFEE SHOP NAME HERE], the only coffee shop in town, and therefore the lifeblood of said town.”

“What would we do without it?”

“Perish.”

“Bite me, you’re not allowed to use my tactics against me.”

“I just did darling~. Now listeners, here’s your chance to burn no more than ten minutes and call in, tell us all about your thoughts on the new drink, Virgil dear, remind me of the name?”

“Black Hole Latte, I think it’s supposed to be blackberry or somethin? I haven’t had my coffee yet today, is it showing?”

“Yes dear, you look like shit.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Anytime darling. You know the drill by now, we’re taking callers starting, now.”

“Here’s our first caller, that’s quick, people must be extra bored today. You’re on air now, spill the tea. Or the latte.”

“Hey, it’s Thomas, have either of you tried the latte?”

“Not yet”

“Negative Thom-a-roony.”

“Well, it’s not bad, it’s definite blackberry, but honestly I’ll be sticking with my usual, I’m not a huge fan of branching out.”

“You gotta mix it up sometimes, keeps things exciting.”

“Indeed, variety is the spice of life.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind, but for now me and my regular coffee are going to chill in the nice safe bubble.”

“You know man, that’s such a mood.”

“Thank you for calling Thomas, lovely to hear from you again.”

“Anything to burn a little more time away from work. Speaking of which, I’ve gotta go there now. Later!”

“See ya. Say, we’ve known Thomas for a few years now, does anyone know what he does for work?”

“Of course we do, he’s uh, hmm, actually, I don’t think we do. A real enigma, that man.”

“Yeah, he’s a real tough walnut to crack.”

“Here’s our next caller, you’re on air now.”

“Hey kiddos!”

“Hey Pat”

“Hello Patton, aren’t you at work right now?”

“Yeah I am, but I just wanted to let you both know how proud I am, you’re doing great! And I tried the new latte on my way to work, it’s super yummy! I think you’d like it, Virge, it’s got some nice fruity notes! Just make sure you don’t drink it too late or you’ll never sleep!”

“Will do Popstar.”

“That’s all, love you both!”

“Love you too Pat”

“I do as well.”

“See you both later tonight!”

“And that was our resident puffball, Patton.”

“At least she didn’t drop another pun, I’m not sure how many more Logan can take.”

“Yes,  we might have been in need of a new soundboard tech had Patton not resisted the temptation to pun.”

“Oh shit there’s been another caller waiting.”

“Oh dear, sorry for the wait, you’re on air now.”

“Really babe, keeping the sole provider of coffee waiting?”

“Oh it’s just Remy.”

“Just Remy? Careful Virgil, or you’ll be getting decaf for the next week.”

“Please forgive my sins, oh merciful coffee god.”

“Relax, I didn’t call just to blackmail you. I just wanted everyone listening, which we all know is pretty much anyone, that if I hear any shit about my new latte I have no qualms about putting you all on decaf for the next two weeks, so think carefully before you call.”

“Remy, I do think that’s considered censorship, which is in fact, illegal.”

“So is fishing off a giraffe in Idaho, that didn’t stop me then, and this won’t now.”

“Wait, you went fishing off a giraffe? In Idaho? When exactly did that happen?”

“A story for another time, I’ve got a coffee shop to run, later babes.”

“Alright, later-“

“Oh, one more thing, some weirdo came in and ordered it and poured in half a bottle of green Gatorade, and it was the most interesting thing that’s happened all day.”

“Did you say Gatorade?”

“I did, and now I’m saying bye, see ya, sianara, farewell, later bitch.”

“Wait who- and they’re already gone. Well, now I know there’s someone new in town, no one here would ever add anything to one of Remy’s coffee.”

“Excellent deduction Virgil, you should start a true crime radio.”

“You’re right, I should.”

“That was sarcasm, you’re not allowed to quit on me now.”

“Yeah yeah I know, but a guy can dream.”

“Dreaming is for the weak and the innocent, and you are neither.”

“I’d get mad but you’re right.”

“Did you just admit that I was right?”

“Oh look a new caller, how convenient-“

“Virgil answer me damnit- hello you’re on air now.”

“You know, I thought the coffee was good and all, but it was much better once I added my usual shot of Gatorade.”

“Did you just say- oh dear I think Virgil might need a trashcan.”

“Wow Virgil, do always make that wonderful gagging noise? I’d like to see what other noises you can make, with that lovely voice~”

“Dear random stranger, I think you broke my co-host, and possibly my back as well, seeing as I just fell out of it”

“Is that what that thump was? I was almost concerned for a moment.”

“Who the hell puts Gatorade in their coffee?!?!”

“Oh Virgil, glad to see you’ve recovered.”

“Don’t you play innocent, I will end you on air.”

“Wow, the sexual tension between the two of you is reeling right now.”

“Uhh, no thanks. Janus and I go way back, there’s no romance there, plus, we’re not soulmates.”

“Yes, Virgil is a dear friend, and while I love him, it’s purely platonic, and we’re happy with that.”

“Cool cool, does that mean Virgil’s single?”

“That’s what you got from that?”

“Yeah, you sound like you’re pretty hot.”

“I think you broke Virgil again, Gatorade stranger.”

“Oh, my name’s Remus! Though Virgil can call me whatever he wants, lover, dear, daddy, all acceptable.”

“Dude, you’re on the radio.”

“Oh, I’m very aware of that fact emo.”

“How do you know I’m emo?”

“You sound like it Gerard Gay.”

“Fair point.”

“As riveting as this conversation is, I think my brother is gonna stab me if I keep talking, so bye for now!”

“Why is your brother- and he’s gone, okay.”

“Final caller, you’re on air now, please don’t flirt with Virgil again”

“Is that what he did? I’m so sorry about my brother, Remus has zero filter.”

“Dude it’s fine, surprisingly we’ve gotten weirder calls.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, one time we got a telemarketer for a lingerie company.”

“That is weird, but trust me, doesn’t even touch on what Remus is capable of.”

“Good to know.”

“If he turns out to be a frequent caller, will you keep calling to apologize? You do have a lovely voice, so I wouldn’t be disappointed with the arrangement~”

“Oh I, um,”

“Stop flirting with the callers.”

“Callers? Do you do this often?”

“Only when they sound like a sunrise personified.”

“I’m hardly a sunrise, but yes, I wouldn’t be opposed to calling in again, Remus’s contributions aside.”

“Oh my god, I know the show is called Rainy Gays, but please stop flirting before I vomit again.”

“Apologies Virgil, we’re almost out of time anyway. Any chance I can get a name before we have to go, my dear?”

“Oh, Roman, my name is Roman.”

“A name fit for royalty~”

“Janus I swear to god-“

“And that’s all the time we have, for now, tune in later for your daily traffic report and water cooler conversation.”

“We’re not done talking about this-“

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil glared at Janus as he packed up, the smug bastard smirking every time their eyes met. They had no right, looking so self-satisfied, how dare they flirt so smooth when Virgil was cursed to be an eternal gay disaster?

He huffed, and Janus snorted, and he threw them a glare.

“You could at least pretend to be sorry.”

“But Virgil, that would be a lie, and I would never lie, it’s a blatant mark on my character!”

“We both know that’s a load of bullshit.”

Logan walked out of the sound room, rolling his eyes. “With the way you two carry on, it’s no wonder the listeners think you’re romantically involved.”

They both gasped and spluttered, grievously offended. “How dare-”

“Just try not to flirt with the callers so much? You’re both incorrigible.” He straightened his tie, and slung his bag over his shoulder, heading out. “Don’t forget to lock up, we don’t want another raccoon breaking in.”

“Logan, don’t say such things about Virgil, his eyebags and crummy food choices don’t warrant name-calling!”

Janus just smirked when Virgil hissed at them.

“Plus, his hissing is distinctly cat-like.”

“You little-” was all he got out before he threw his balled-up scarf at them, which they caught with ease. Smug bastard.

He ruffled through his bag, then his coat pockets, then his bag again. He sighed, and scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Have you seen my keys? I can’t find them, and Joan will skin my alive if I lose another set.”

Janus sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose. “Virgil, have you ever considered getting a keyring? Or something to keep track of them?”

“Hey, I do! I got the stormcloud one, remember!” He protested sheepishly, “but then I lost that too. It’s with my keys, wherever those are.”

“Virgil, you are a disater, how are you still allowed to live on our own?”

“I have you and Pat as neighbors.”

“Fair enough, your keys are hanging on the key rack, right where you hung them up when you got here.”

“Oh.” He sheepishly proccured his keys, and then held the door open for Janus once they were ready, and the two headed home together.

“You taking the bus?”

“Not today, it’s quite nice out and I have the energy for it, a walk will be good for me, and for you too, a little vitamin D won’t kill you ya know.”

Virgil gasped dramatically, feigning offense. “Exxxxxcccuuussseee you! That bright motherf***er,” he pointed to the sun, “is absolutley trying to kill me. Skin cancer, sunburns, heatstroke, cataracts? All from the sun!”

“Virgil the sun doesn’t have an vendetta against you, it has one against all of humanity.”

“Bold of you to assume he’s human!”

The voice came from behind them, making them both jump, and Virgil couldn’t help what blurted out of his mouth, truly it wasn’t his fault.

“MOTHMANS LITTLE HOE! WHo the F*** STILL SNEAKS UP ON ME!?!?!”

He spun around, and dropped his jaw as he layed eyes on the most drop-dead gorgeous man he’d ever seen. Was showing that much skin even legal?

The man gasped and looked down at his wrist, and his eyes widened before he looked back up at Virgil, grinning. “Well well well, looks like you’re my soulmate, Gerard Gay!”

Virgil sighed, “f*** me and my big mouth.”

[greenninjagal-blog]

I really like your fic recs and I don’t really keep very up to date with the latest sanders sides stuff on ao3 so, favorite fics from the past week?

Oh uh... lets see today is 8/5/2020... and I’ll do my fav fics that have just been posted or updated this week: 

Swept Away - Part Three of my favorite Sirens au, where Logan gets swept up in a storm and wonders if anyone will miss him (they will).

The Variables -  Logan bought a house in the middle of nowhere so he could avoid having to ever talk to anyone else ever again. The ghosts have other plans.

You Can Picani Family You Want - Emile fosters two kids and quickly learns he’ll do anything to see them smile.

Atypical Destiny - LAMP soulmates are determined to make their polyamory work, even if no one else thinks it will.

‘Cause Every Time We Touch, I Get This Feeling - Touch starved Janus falls for touchy-feely Patton.

Rays on My Skin - Virgil is six when he discovers that he has multiple soulmates and absolutely none of them speak his language. Oh and also three of them don’t know he exists.

If You Give a Side a Lion - Remus and Roman have some things to work out, but first it looks like theyre gonna have to save the universe, along with three other guys, an alien prince, and his assistant. A Voltron AU that I didn’t know I needed.

The Story of Emile the Seer - Emile is unfortunately born with the ability to see the future. Theres a lot of awful things people would do about that.

Alleyway - Logan finds a baby in a dumpster in an alley and decides to keep it.

Slower Than Words - Virgil can’t see. Patton can’t hear. But theyre stuck in a cell together while people conduct unethical experimentation on them, so maybe they can learn to communicate?

Old Scars, Future Hearts - Virgil has a problem asking for help when he’s overwhelmed, but this time? This time the others are already angry at him. And they wont want to help him if they’re angry at him, right?

the shapes in the silence - Virgil turns into a cat-sized Dragon when he gets overwhelmed which only becomes a problem when Patton finds him hiding in the pantry and thinks he’s a figment from imagination and not another side. And if the Light sides like him so much as a dragon....well maybe he should stay that way.

breathing and other rhythms that used to be easy - A Nightmare brings Virgil back to the dark side of the mindscape, just to check, just to make sure, just to see that Deceit and Remus are still breathing and thats it. In and out. They won’t even know he was there.

Road Trips and Missing Persons - Patton goes out for groceries and doesn’t come back home because he gets kidnapped by a child with a knife. Virgil is on the run from his crazy mother after she killed his father. Janus will do anything to get to his brother before his mother does. Remy isn’t actually dead. And Logan will strangle his entire family for not answering their phones.

Bounty - A sequel to Abduction in the Space Family series: Space, aliens and Virgil is a human in the middle of it all. Excellent series, 20/10 and I will cry about it. thanks.

The Curse of Hanahaki - In which Remus plays himself by cursing Imagination so that anyone who falls in love will cough up flowers. Aka Hanahaki but with a tangible plot.

fall out of in love with me - Deceit asks Remus to make him a potion to dilute his intense feelings for Virgil before they crush him at the absolute worst possible time for Virgil.

A Wager. - Virgil meets professional gambler and they mage a wager they both come out winning in.

i’ll sink for you - Deceit can hypnotize anyone, but Virgil is all to willing to be his plaything. 

Save the Moment - Patton takes pictures of everything. Janus notices more than he should.

Lavender - Patton can’t handle the sound of Logan and Roman’s argument, but thankfully Janus steps up to the plate. 

Mind Over Matter - Being a human in Space is just asking for trouble. Being forced to fight in fighting ring just makes Virgil another sad statistic. However, choosing not to fight his clearly harmless opponent....that makes him different.

The Apartment - Virgil moves into his first apartment and becomes best friends with the elderly man who lives next door and tells fond stories of his numerous grandkids that can never seem to make time for him. Virgil is unaware this is how to get himself adopted into a new family.

sweet tea in the summer - Roman and Patton are the sweetest of lovers through the years.

How two exasperated doctors adopted three robots - Rival Scientists Janus and Logan both have the great idea to see what their company is hiding on the same night. They were not prepared for the answer, but they can definitely get used to it. (Bickering Loceit? uh hell yeah.)

Breathe Out - Virgil will become minion for one chance to get out of the closet, thanks. aka: The other darksides are terrible, and Janus thinks that he and Virgil might be able to work well together, and somehow that puts Virgil on track becoming a Light side whether he wants to or not. (And I gush because everything this author writes is amazing)

The Debate - Part of The Other Side of the Mirror au, where Janus, Remus, and Virgil are Thomas’s core sides and big bad scary Logan shows up to ruin everything. Except that he’s actually helping and Janus might have to reconsider if the other sides are actually as bad as he’s made them out to be. 

And It Fell Away - Patton and Virgil are part of the Earth Kingdom army. Janus is part of the Fire Kingdom infantry. It seems that the only thing they all have in common are their need to escape the current battle and then the war itself, if just to save their own lives.

Come Alive - Patton tries to end it all but not-so-friendly vampire Janus stops him. Now there’s just an agreement: Patton spends one year as a vampire in the underworld city for the supernatural, and if they decide living still isn’t worth it they can take a stake to themselves, but...Janus is willing to bet they can find at least one person whos worth it. Ft: everyone falls in love with Patton at first sight, as it should be.

by the book - Librarian Virgil runs the adult section of the library, but his most interesting visitor is the tiny child who talks too fast and has really super attractive dads.

Pen Pal - Logan’s roommates all get together and Logan doesn’t think he has a place there with them, so he withdraws and turns to his pen pal for company.

Wedding Crashers -  While standing at the alter for his arranged marriage to a princess he will never love, Logan doesn’t think his really lovers are coming for him. He’s pleasantly surprised.

You Haunt Me And I Like It - Ghost Virgil has had a lot of roommates before without ever needing to show himself, but this one is just too skeptical for him to leave alone.

Wow that is a lot more than I thought I had! 

Looking for more fics? I’m got more lists here on my Fic Rec Masterlist!

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter Five:Sensory Integration 1

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: A Friday full of teasing for Shane ends in a steak dinner with a blue-eyed beefcake. If you don’t finish this chapter hungry for one or the other, if not both, I haven’t done my job! Lol! (For inspo on Sy’s date outfit, think back to that one Men’s Health photoshoot Hen did and just imagine his hair shorter. That’s what I did. lol!) 

Click me to catch up on the story and other stuff by Hannah!

Word Count: 4k (This date got away from me! Lol! And it’s only half over!)

Warnings: Mostly this is utter fluffy fluff, but I’m gonna put the following warnings on, anyway. Language, mature themes, alcohol consumption, borderline food worship (Shane may have a problem, I definitely do! Lol!) Also, pretty much every Sy fic I’ve read says that his given name is Logan, so...should his given name be used henceforth, that’s what I’m going with because it seems the most cannon and I like it and if it’s good enough for Wolverine...

Author’s Note: So, guys, this is crazy. First off, the reaction and love Sy and Shane’s story has been getting has taken me completely off guard and utterly made my day/week. (I’m serious. Every note makes my heart do a happy dance. A like, a reblog, a comment. It all means the world to me. Thank you for your feedback and for sharing this story.) Second, YOUR FEEDBACK MATTERS TO ME! Because initially, idk what I was thinking. I was going to skim over their first date and like…not write it…and I kept getting notes as I worked on further chapters to the tune of “can’t wait for this date!” and I thought…hmm…well, the date must be written! So, here it is, the first half-ish, of Shane and Sy’s first date. I hope it’s all you were expecting…or at least half of all you were expecting! Lol! More to come in part two of Sens Integ! (BTW, fun fact, these chapter titles are all named after treatments that therapists actually use on their patients sometimes! Lol!)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

Tags:

@onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive @summersong69 @titty-teetee @bloodyinspiredfuck @agniavateira @oddsnendsfanfics @omgkatinka@thisismysecretthirstblog

@misslaland @speakerforthedead0@tumblnewby @suavechops

Friday morning. She was up with the sun. And a bit before, really. Today was the day. Her first date with Sy. She’d taken extra care in the shower, less clumsy, thank God! She shaved her legs because she had chosen to wear a knee-length blue dress with a scoop neck and cap sleeves in wrinkle-proof Jersey knit since it would be in her tote bag all day. She was not shaving because she thought anything would happen tonight with Sy. She didn’t think she was ready.

That is, she was ready, but, only physically. Emotionally, mentally, she would need to prepare for him a bit longer before taking him as a lover. She hoped he was on the same page.

He had an appointment in the early afternoon. He greeted her with his warm “Hello, sunshine.” Following it up by telling her how pretty she looked today, causing blush to burn in her cheeks. She’d reciprocated, even though he was in his typical tee and shorts look. It was still true. They got on their usual bikes to warm up for about 15 minutes, and then took to the leg press to try to advance his strengthening.

“I’m really proud of your progress! You wouldn’t have been able to do this much weight two weeks ago!” She encouraged him.

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely. Now, we are going to do some drills next. Simple ones, but they aren’t going to be fun for you. I’ve chosen to do them on your last day of the week for a reason. You may be sore. Ice and whatever you take OTC if you must. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen. But try the ice first. It shouldn’t be too bad.”

“Okay.” He conceded, dejected.

“Stretching afterward.” She promised.

“Okay!” He pepped up. She knew he just loved an excuse to have her hands on him.

Later, as he lay on the mat, sweaty from the exertion of the drills, with her up there with him having to use her whole body to leverage the proper stretch out of his hip flexors, she felt the heavy weight of his gaze. She tried to look anywhere but those sapphire eyes below her. They were too vulnerable. She couldn’t handle that right now. Not here.

“Shane?” Dammit, he was gonna make her.

“Hmm?” She looked down at him, smile meeting smile.

“I just…” he couldn’t seem to get out the words. But she thought she understood what he was feeling.

“I know, Sy. I know.” She gently patted his outer thigh where she had been bracing her hand for the stretch, and let his leg back down, while dismounting the mat, as well.

“Well, that’s about the hour. Any questions before I let you go?”

“Are you as excited for tonight as I am?” He asked. She chuckled. She couldn’t imagine him being more excited than she was!

“Yes! Hehe! But I still kinda meant about therapy, Sy.”

“Oh, right. Are you excited to finish up with your therapy patients at therapy today so I can pick you up from the therapy clinic and take you on our date?”

“Just because you say therapy 20 times doesn’t make it about therapy.” She laughed.

“Okay, I do have a question for you, since I’m here.”

“Shoot.” She encouraged.

He stood and held her face, taking it into a kiss so devastatingly and painfully tender, she could not process what to do next. She was leaning toward fainting. But then tackling him onto the mat again seemed an attractive option. She settled for placing her hands on his waist, ready to control the situation as need arose. But after a brief moment of slight deepening, he broke away, still holding her face in his large strong hands.

“Ahem. That’s a good question. Why don’t I have you a reply later this evening?”

“Sounds good to me, sunshine.” He grinned widely, and waved a quiet goodby to her.

She walked to the doorway of the small room to watch him walk out…his gait still uneven from his injury but improving enough that she could tell he once took very…confident strides. She could almost picture it. She sighed, forgetting herself for a moment until Anita came up behind her walking her elderly patient with a gait belt and front wheeled walker.

"Is that a bit of drool on your chin, Shane?" she said quietly, but still startling the younger therapist from her reverie.

"Oh, uh, hey." she checked her chin, absentmindedly, late in getting the joke, and rolled her eyes. "Funny, Nita. Do you need anything?"

"Nope, Gladys and I are just headed to the gym for a few minutes on the NuStep to round out her treatment." Nita grinned at Shane.

"Who was that handsome young man that just left, Shane?" Gladys asked her, as women of her…demographic tended to do.

"He's just one of our patient's Miss Gladys. But I can't tell you his name. It's against the privacy policy." She explained.

"Oh, okay. Well, if I was a few years younger, I'd let ya give him MY name…and my telephone number." she smirked with pride in herself. All three ladies giggled.

"I'm pretty sure he's spoken for, Gladys." Anita broke the news to her randy patient, smirking at her coworker.

"Shame! Well, that's one lucky young lady!" Gladys hobbled on with the walker as Anita cued her not to let the device get too far ahead of her feet. Shane was beet red from the whole interaction. At least she wouldn't have to wear blush tonight.

Her day finally finished, notes done, and final communications sent,  the most important (in her opinion, probably not her employer's) message of them all was next. The text to Sy that he could head toward the clinic to pick her up.

She touched up her eye makeup, applied another coat of mascara, and dabbed on some of her favorite lipstick in a deep red that complimented her skin tone. She also spritzed on a bit of her favorite Armani perfume before slipping on her dress and black ballet flats and sliding on a pair of simple hoop earrings. She'd had her hair pulled up all day in a clip, so it should be pleasantly wavy when she took it down…and with a bit of flipping, shaking out, and finger diffusing, it was.

She looked in the mirror. She was ready.

Was she ready? She examined herself in the full length mirror in the empty locker room at the clinic. The dress and the shoes suddenly seemed all wrong, both together and as individual pieces for the occasion. She looked great, it wasn't that…but…was it right for tonight? Should she cancel? Was she being ridiculous? Clearly she was, as she'd already sent the message telling Sy he could come get her. But the closer she got to being ready to go, the less ready she felt. Those butterflies were suddenly clawing at her esophagus, disrupting the bile in her stomach, and threatening to choke off her air supply. They were no longer pleasantly fluttering. She felt like she had a boot against her windpipe.

She was snapped out of the panic attack when she heard her phone go off. A message from Sy.

Your chariot, m'lady. Should I come in and get ya?

She grinned like a lunatic. How could she have considered calling tonight off?

Nay, m'lord, verily the gates be locked. I shall use the rear exit and meet thee around yonder forsooth.

Wow, you ran with that one. *laughing in tears emoji*

I have that tendency. Lol. *monocle wearing emoji*

She grabbed her bags, walked out the back door, and tossed the one that wasn't her purse into her vehicle, which was parked nearby and walked around to the front. He was standing on the sidewalk near that edge of the building.

The sun was just setting, and the light from it hit him so bewitchingly that it took away her breath. Not in the frightening way of the panic attack she'd just had, but in the nice way, like right before you surface from a deep dive and you know the sweet relief of oxygen is imminent. She assessed his ensemble with approval. Black books, sleek dark blue jeans, and a sapphire v-neck polo that even in the low light of near dusk made his blue eyes dance with vibrant intensity against his fading tan. His hair was starting to grow out ever so slightly, but it was still very close cropped. His beard, she could tell, had been finely groomed, combed, and styled. He looked…well, she'd never looked up the word "handsome" in the dictionary, but she imagined it would describe the image before her quite succinctly. And alternatively, Sy's image could be used as an illustration in the reference book, itself.

The best part, though, was the look on his face when he saw her.

She felt like he'd never properly looked at her, perhaps. Maybe he wasn't expecting a dress, or loose hair, or red lips. Or maybe it was a combo of the whole Date Shane package he was seeing before him. As his eyes beheld her, he almost looked confused. As if she was a stand-in. Or maybe an alien. Some body-snatcher. Only he wasn't frightened. She was having a hard time working out his expression as she'd really never seen it before, and particularly, never aimed in her direction. He said one word.

"Wow." It was reverent. Not a whisper. But barely a decibel above.

Again, her cheeks required no artificial pigmentation.

"Hey. You look…you certainly scrub up good, mister." she giggled nervously, feeling immensely awkward at her inability to properly compliment the chiseled image of Adonis before her. His every muscle hugged to perfection by the fabric covering it. How did you even begin to tell such perfection how perfect it was?

"You…Shane, I don't remember the last time I saw anyone look so beautiful." he frowned, as if trying to recall, then giving up with a smile, and leaning in to kiss her cheek. He lingered a moment to hug her, hold her as the day faded, breathe her in. She did the same. He was freshly showered and wearing cologne, as he often did, but it rarely hit her so solidly as it did tonight. She loved this scent. Woody, but earthy, with notes of bergamot, a kind of musky scent similar to amber, but more masculine, and something spicy that she loved. The combination exploded like an olfactory fireworks display.

The shirt was an unthinkably soft cotton (blended she thought perhaps with kitten, she could not stop touching it.) and the warmth of him radiated into her as his chest rose and fell over the course of his numerous breaths as they stood there holding each other and enjoying this feast for the senses.

"You ready for supper?" he asked, a faint but distinct rumble from his abdomen indicating that he most certainly was.

"Yes." she smiled up at him as he took her hand in his and led her to his truck. A Ford F150, the same sapphire blue as his shirt and his eyes. She was sensing a pattern, here. It wasn't the newest vehicle, but he had taken immaculate care of it. She felt shame for her own treatment of her Explorer, Bessie, which often functioned as storage shed, trash can, and sometimes, hotel, when she felt like a road trip on a shoestring budget. He walked her to the passenger side, opened the door for her, and helped her in, as the truck sat a bit higher than what she was used to.

"So, I have us a table saved at this great steakhouse just down the road. And then, it's supposed to be a nice night, I thought we could take a walk by the lake?"

It sounded perfect to her. Quiet and simple.

"Amazing. As long as your knee is up for a walk?"

"I've got all weekend to rest before getting tortured again." he smirked at her as he pulled the truck out of the parking lot and on the main road toward the interstate. "B'sides, who better to have with me if I start hurtin' than my PT?"

The emphasis he placed on the possessive pronoun, claiming her as HIS PT sent a delighted shiver through her that she blamed on the AC, which he promptly turned down.

He had his Spotify shuffling Kings of Leon at a low volume as they conversed lightly and pleasantly. Since it was an earlier model, even well equipped as it was, it wasn't quite ready for auxiliary or Bluetooth sound, so he'd bought one of those radio receivers that tune into an unused frequency and connect to your phone or iPod. She'd retrofitted her 2003 Ford Explorer in a similar fashion.

They were both caught a bit off guard when "Sex on Fire" came on, and tried valiantly to keep talking. But it was hard to hear anything but those lyrics. Singing of exhibitionism and dangerous sex acts that were definitely moving violations…and simply the sex being on fire. She was thankful, for once, that this song that she'd always found catchy without paying much attention to the actual lyrics, was now fading into the night as they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.

She remembered to wait for him to get the door for her, even though it had been ages since she'd been on a date or had any kind of romance whatsoever. He helped her down from her perch, giving her a gentlemanly moment to adjust her skirt before taking her hand and leading her into the building.

He opened the door and led her in by that lumbar lordosis that made everyone tremble and swoon. She was no exception just because she knew that part of your back was not actually called "the small" and she got perturbed when she heard it referred to as such.

"Welcome to Mark's, how can we help you?" the host greeted warmly.

"Reservation for Syverson." Sy piped up. She was used to being the voice in these situations. She was thankful not to have to for once. It was a small thing, but it was still nice.

"Right this way, folks." he grabbed two large menus, a mid sized one, and a small one, and led them to a cozy but still spacious two-top in a quiet corner of the dining area. The warm light was low and ambient, and there were real kerosene lamps on the tables, which she loved. It had the rustic ambiance of a cabin with all the refinement of any four+ star restaurant she'd ever been to. Not that she'd been to many.

"Here you are, the table you requested, and your menus. Have a look at them, and Katie will be out soon to answer questions and take your orders."

As he walked away, Sy pulled her chair out for her, and aided her sitting. His gentility was so refreshing to her, because it was so sincere and kind, and in no way oppressive or domineering, as some men seemed to use such gestures. Wielding them like a club rather than a feather. She was just used to seeing a certain side of him, teasing and silly as he was in therapy that this side of Captain Syverson, or as she may end up calling him one day, Logan, his given first name, if it pleased him, had taken her off guard.

"Nice place." she approved, looking around at he exposed beams of the ceiling and the iron and copper chandeliers and light fixtures on the wall. She also noticed quite curiously a copy of American Gothic by Grant Wood on one wall and The Kiss by Gustav Klimt on another. Such different styles to be displayed in one room. She really liked it though.

"It's one of my favorites. I try to come in every couple weeks or so." The fact that he liked steak on the regular was definitely a point in his favor. She loved it but rarely went out for it on her own. Eating out alone wasn't so bad, but it was hard to enjoy a steak dinner by one's self.

"What's your favorite cut?"

"Oh, I've tried most of them, and you can't go wrong." He assured her.

They had a crazy selection. Ribeyes, filets, sirloins, prime rib, all seasoned, smoked, topped and wrapped in every way you could imagine…it was like staring at the Netflix menu of steak. And much like she tended to do with Netflix, she relied on a classic favorite. After all, who goes for an obscure choice their first time at a new steak house?

"I'm keeping it simple and going for their prime rib and a baked potato."

"Ah, that's a perfect choice. We're getting some of their lobster mac and cheese to start, though. Unless you're allergic or something?" he added the disclaimer when he saw her eyes widen.

"Not at all, that sounds…"she was thinking "sexual," but decided instead on "heavenly."

Soon, Katie, a peppy, slender young redhead in black jeans she'd been poured into and a white T-shirt she had outgrown some time ago, descended upon their table with gusto.

"Howdy, I'm Katie and I get to take care of you fine folks this evening. What drinks and appetizers can I start y'all off with?"

Sy looked at Shane to prompt her to start.

"Sweet tea?" she half stated, half inquired. Katie nodded and jotted.

"Sure thing! Sir?" she thought her eyes sparkled when she looked at Sy…she couldn't blame her. But…she thought she could take her if she tried anything. She was certain there was a very sharp knife in the black napkin set-up at her right hand.

"Same for me, Katie. And we are also gonna need an order of your lobster mac to start and a bottle of your house cab."

"Fantastic. I'll be right back with the teas and wine after I put in for the lobster mac for ya, and then I'll take your meal order." she smiled brightly. Sy looked at Shane, though, as he replied "Wonderful."

~~~~~~~

Her instincts about the lobster mac and cheese had been spot on. She couldn’t contain her yummy noises of enjoyment which amused Sy to no end. She couldn’t imagine the steak any better.

About that, she had been completely wrong. It was so succulent, tender, and flavorful, she debated on whether or not the provided au jus and horseradish were even needed. They were also too good to resist, though.

Her potato, twice baked to the perfect tenderness had a salt brined skin, and a garlicky butter that just sung with the sour cream and chives. She was in food heaven, and even if that meant she was dead, it was fine.

He’d ordered the same entrée as she had, but took his baked potato…a bit differently.

“You don’t like sour cream?” She asked, nonplussed.

“Nah, I mean, I can eat it, but…it feels weird in my mouth. I prefer the au jus and butter, instead. It’s much more tasty.” He said, waggling his eyebrows.

“I guess I’ll take your word for it.” She laughed.

“You’re welcome to try mine when I get it all doctored you how I like it!”

She did, right from his fork. And he was right about it being so flavorful, but she preferred the mild, creamier texture of her own side with the savory notes of her steak.

They ate and enjoyed each other’s company and conversation.

“Ya know, Sy, I totally had you pegged as a beer man, instead of a wine guy.” She said, as she brought her own glass of the deep red liquid to her mouth and nose, inhaling the bouquet before she took her sip.

“Normally, you’d be right. With a burger, pizza, sometimes tacos or what not, definitely. But I can’t do beer with steak. It’s gotta be wine. Red. And full-bodied.” He held her gaze as he drank from his own glass. Why did he have to look at her like that when he said those kinds of words? Her cheeks were warm from more than the booze.

For desert, they shared a decadent marbled brownie/blondie a la mode. He’d had the idea to slide his chair so he was sharing a corner of the table with her, rather than looking across it at her. Purely so they didn’t have to keep sliding the dessert…not so their knees would brush against one another now and then, or so they could feel the heat radiating from one another’s bodies…but actually, exactly for those reasons.

“Last bite is to you, Sy.” She set her fork down, full to bursting.

“Are you kiddin’? My mama’d tan my hide if she knew I took the last bite from my date.”

“You’re being gallant, actually! Rescuing me from a certain belly ache.” She patted her small but slightly rounded tummy. She did like her food, and was no gym rat, after all. He didn't seemed to mind. Yet.

“How 'bout we share the last bite?” He suggested.

“Technically that’s not physically possible. Becau…”

He interrupted what was going to be an intellectual explanation of why no matter how small you cut up a bite, the remaining bit was still technically one bite, and couldn’t be shared.

“No. Shh. I know you’re smart. You got nothin’ to prove here. I’m gonna cut what’s left in half until I get a bite you’re willing to take. Okay?” She nodded.

He only had to take the fork to it twice before she conceded, also letting him feed her, feigning paralysis from the food coma. She held the fork tightly between her lips, making him work to pull it from her mouth. She looked innocent, but she was an intentional little shit.

“You're so cute when you eat.”

“Said no one ever!” She held her hand over her face.

“You are, though. You enjoy the food. Experience it. It’s like you’re…getting a story from it, or something. Like it’s…almost like it’s entertaining you, I don’t know. It’s just…beautiful.” He leaned his elbow onto the table, supporting his head in his hand as he looked at her.

"Well, sometimes I think I like food a little TOO much for my own good." she lamented, reaching for the cabernet only to have it snatched by her date. He uncorked it and dispensed a generous pour for her, and topped off his own glass, killing the bottle.

"No such thing. Like I said about the wine, full bodied is the way to go. Nothin' wrong with a little cushion." he winked at her. She could not resist finishing a rhyme she'd always heard about the desirability of curvy girls…for the pushin,' and hoped the flush in her cheeks from the wine was enough to disguise the deepening color from the current blush she was feeling thinking of Sy…pushin' her cushions…but something tipped him off to her distraction.

"What's on yer mind, sunshine?"

"I'm wondering if you're prepared to carry me on this walk we're planning, actually." It was possible to think more than one thing, after all. "I don't know how I'll ever even walk again."

"Ah, give it fifteen minutes. Finish up your sweet tea, and by the time we're done with our walk, you'll want an ice cream cone."

"Ha, doubtful." But she was ashamed to admit, ice cream already didn't sound bad. Vanilla…maybe pistachio….no, coffee! In a waffle cone…with fudge drizzle…and almonds…maybe she had a problem.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded. He flagged down Katie and gave her cash, and what one might call a benevolent tip. They left the warm steakhouse, and entered the breezy late summer evening, the humid air seeming thick with promises.

Up Next: Chapter Six-Sensory Integration 2

[talk1about7seventeen]

☂ Paradise In Somberville ☂

Summary: Mansions and lore is all ancient history, yet not for the rather faint heart of Virgil who stumbles upon a great secret that may just change his life forever.

Warning: Angsty Virgil, cursing, detailed descriptions of death, violence, talks about violence, mentions and depictions of blood, creepy Remus, uncomfortable situations involving sexual tones, just general vampire stuffs.

Characters: Virgil, Remus, Janus, Roman, Patton, and Logan.

Word Count: 3238

Ship/ Paring: No real ship, just general Remus flirting/ being creepy with Virgil, hints of Prinxiety (Virgil x Roman)

AU: Vampires! 

Song Inspiration (Author’s Note): I was inspired by two songs: Vampire Banquet - Fox Academy and BERNADETTE - IAMX. This story is generally based off of Diabolik Lovers (Specifically the anime - WOAH, I JUST FOUND OUT IT WAS A VISUAL NOVEL ON THE PLAYSTATION???? WHAT???) because I’ve been watching a lot of it recently ^^ I should probably check the game/ novel to fully understand the story...I bet plenty of fanfics have been made on this topic and this is just for fun so yea! 

I hope you enjoy! ( ◜◡◝ )♡

꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷

It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Virgil to skip school, especially on gloomy days. It made him want to walk around and explore with his thoughts alone. Today was no exception. He found himself traveling down the same road he always did, enjoying the well needed time to himself. This hour was usually filled with cars, or at the very least animals scattered about. Nothing. Just gloom and quiet; oddly so. It hadn’t really crossed Virgil’s mind. His surroundings were as significant as the millions of other times he made some irrational decision that would shake the course of his day. 

A steady tune played in his ears as he felt like a character in a TV show. “This is the part where something unexpected happens....right?” He commented to the air. Tsk!! “Oh, how scared I am...” His sarcasm was as apparent as the eye roll he gave to absolutely no one. Who knew the reason for his pessimism, or his sour tone. It had become who he presented even alone; his character. Lemons had more of a sweetness to them than he did, and he was aware of that. As the guitar slowly died in his head phones, he felt the vibrations of the road under his feet. This was odd. He wasn’t ever really aware of his surroundings when music was playing but something pulled him from his haze. There was a sound that roared in the distance, probably a car or a truck.

He wouldn’t have cared much normally but it startled him. Besides his own breathing, it was the only sound in the atmosphere. Such a loud contrast to the once silent road. Like a flash of lightning, a beam of sunshine through a window, the only thing in sight....came so fast. The car reared it’s ugly head in view, uncontrollable....untamed. Right at him. 

He felt frozen, anxiety blooming from him like a poisonous plant. Closer....louder....it was angry....the noise! Eyes wide and unprepared for the worst, the horn of the beast ringing out in the air like a siren, a warning call. All of the sudden it came to him in slow motion....the impact. Thankfully, he wasn’t hit face on by the car, only getting clipped in the side. This was enough to send him crashing down to the ground behind him....or...where there should have been flat ground. Instead, Virgil found himself tumbling backwards down a steep slope on the side of the road. 

Every hit to the uneven ground made him let out a groan and shaky breath until he landed on something flat. The ground was so much kinder to him once he stopped rolling. His hand was missing his phone, and the head phones once placed in his ears were suddenly ripped out on the way down to....wherever he was. Laying on his back, he stared at the gloom, the sky. The deep trees like hands reaching out for it. Virgil felt numb emotionally, the anxiety had turned to acceptance....this was how he would die. It made sense. The miserable would find misery. He just had wished someone could have found him before hand. Maybe then he could have made it out with only a few broken bones. 

His lips pressed into a hard line as he pictured all that would occur after this. He would decay here, his flesh peeled off of his bones by the vultures, devoured by the maggots. Maybe he would end up on Buzzfeed Unsolved. He could see the headlines now.....

18 year old boy, found dead in the woods. Was it murder? Here, we will uncover the tale of Virgil, the boy who probably deserved it in the end.

To be fair, only Virgil would classify himself that way. He breathed in once, the knot in his chest ever present. As he began to breathe out for what he imagined would be the last time, he heard a twig snap. His eyes shot open and the anxiety turned into agony. Tears instantly streamed down his face. This was really over.....the man who drove that death machine had found him, didn’t he? Coming to finish the job...

There was a voice but not soon enough spoken. Just as the person was about to say something....anything, Virgil blacked out.

---

“Logan! We have to do something!!”

“Quiet yourself, it doesn’t do any good to shout.”

“Nerd over here is right, Pat. Shut your fucking mouth, babe!”

“Remus! This isn’t helpful, I---oh...”

Virgil began to regain consciousness. His head was spinning and it was surely the people....whoever was around him’s fault. People.....wait...

He sat up faster than he should have because a sharp pain coursed through his lower torso. “Fuck!” He groaned, cupping his side. No one moved in the room and he could feel multiple eyes on him. “Where....” Looking up, his eyes focused on the figures in front of him, now clearer than what his vision had been before. In the room were five other people. The tallest was a lean man with glasses pressed against the bridge of his nose. He looked calculated, smart...it was probably just the glasses though. Or his uncanny expression that looked like he hadn’t slept in months. Virgil knew what that was like, being an insomniac and all. His hair was black and slicked back neatly. He wore more dressed up attire, including a button up shirt which was a dark blue, almost navy and dress pants. He had a vest on that was black, matching the pants he wore, but his eyes....were blue...deeply so. The kind of blue Virgil hadn’t ever seen in eyes before. It was beautiful....alluring. 

The second tallest was also fairly lean, yet he had broader shoulders. His appearance almost made Virgil jump. One side of his face was scarred completely. Something you might only see in comics. He dawned a hat and dressed similarly to the blue eyed man on the other side of the room, yet not as neat. There was a kind of ruggedness to him that made him stand out from the others. His eyes were also oddly bright, taking the form of a yellow hue with a lime green around the iris. Little blonde hairs poked out of his hat almost like bangs. The man looked Virgil up and down and turned to the others, presumably looking for some kind of reaction. 

“Are you going to say anything?” One chimed in. His voice was the equivalent of a broken vinyl on a record player. Virgil nodded, recognizing him as the third voice to speak when he was waking up initially. He was drastically different from the first two, standing at the third tallest next to another man who had the exact same face as him. He was a twin. His clothes were torn and stuck to him like a death threat on the front of a door. What seemed to be a repeating theme was the man’s scattered aesthetic, likewise, his hair was unkempt and silver in color. There were bandages on his right eye, covering what lay underneath. The eye that did show was wild...it had seen murder, or at least that’s the only comparison Virgil could give to how the man looked at him....as if he were prey and he, a hunter. They were green, like a vile of chemicals. 

“Speak then, bitch!” He growled. “Remus!” The smallest boy exclaimed. Remus was his name....he recalled hearing it when he awoke. Out of all of them there, the first voice seemed less threatening, soft even. He had light hair, almost peach looking and it curled freely around his softly framed face. He had the softest features out of all. The rest of the group were so jagged. His eyes were a light blue, almost white. 

“I....” Virgil tried to speak but the words got caught in his throat. “Stop, you’re scaring him!” The soft one spoke again, looking agitated at Remus who crossed his arms in response. The tallest walked up to Virgil with such a stride that would reveal confidence. The man grabbed the sides of Virgil’s chin and turned his face, letting go after a moment of calculation. “How do you feel?” His tone was cold. “Uhm....I---OW! FUCK!” He grasped his side as the pain started to set in. “Where...am I?” 

“My apologies, I am Logan Sanders. You are currently residing in the Somberville Mansion.” Logan looked Virgil dead in the eyes, his almost emotionless nature almost...frightening. “Mansion!?” Remus snickered at the confused boy’s reactions. “Welcome~” He said sensually. “You aren’t helping!” Said his twin. Virgil looked over Logan’s shoulder to see a boy who he would have expected to mirror the dumpster fire of a person but no...he was greeted to a regal, dare even say, royal man. His hair was also silver, but less of an ash color and more of a pearl shade. The beautiful stranger was wearing an eye patch on his left eye which was embellished with red roses and rubies. And oh, his eyes....an orange and red mixture like fire blazing right through him. The passion in his eyes was that only read in stories. “Roman, Remus, leave at once.” Logan ordered, not looking away from Virgil. Roman....that was his name. 

“What is your name?” He asked as the two now out of sight. “Virgil...” The smallest boy came up to the table he laid on. “Hi! I’m Patton! A pleasure to meet you.” He smiled widely. His teeth looked almost like they had fangs. “I really did hit my head hard, didn’t I?” Virgil asked out loud, receiving a small giggle from Patton. “You smell,” He inhaled. “Amazing!” 

Virgil looked down at his now ripped attire, sniffing in the scent. “If you like muddled cologne---uh---sure..” Logan finally turned to the last person in the room and muttered something Virgil couldn’t really hear. “Do you guys have a phone I could use?” The room he was in was decorated accordingly to how each person dressed. It was polished, almost Victorian, with a fireplace in the corner which was surrounded by bookshelves that held knowledge unbeknownst to outsiders. “Don’t think so. But trust me,” Patton cupped Virgil’s hands in his palms and looked into his eyes with the utmost optimism. “You’re in good hands.” His cheerful giggle rang out into the air once more. “I think I dropped my phone somewhere in the woods....if I could just get to that, I---” 

“No worries, we already got it covered.” The yellow eyed person said, handing him over his phone. The screen was damaged which was no surprise. Virgil sighed. “Thanks...” Patton let go of Virgil’s hand “Great job, Janus!” 

“If you follow me, we can get you proper clothing and make sure you’re seen off momentarily back to your home.” Logan walked up to the dark oak double doors with golden handles, pulling it gently and moving through. “C’mon, cutie!” Patton beckoned him out of the room.

---

If not for the fact that he was being directed into different hallways, up different staircases, he could have gotten lost. They weren’t kidding when they called this place a mansion. They finally came upon a door that opened up to a room with a plush bed, a vanity, and a large wardrobe and other objects that Virgil doubted were considered an necessity. It was all fully furnished and it looked expensive. “I hope you find the selection most suitable. We’ll leave you here to change. Come out when you’re finished.” And with that, Logan closed the door behind him leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts. Though, his thoughts were anything close to what he wanted to be alone with. He didn’t know these people which would normally spike his nerves. Yet, these people were somehow inviting despite their intense appearance. Even if not, they were all he had at the moment. He didn’t know where he was and his phone was busted. The five people in this crazy maze of a house was the ticket to his survival. If he didn’t die out in those woods, he was certain he wasn’t going to die now. Not like this anyways. Not with his fresh wounds. He couldn’t get away even if someone was chasing him. There was no telling the condition his legs were in let alone his entire body. The risk was too great. He was forced to blindly trust these people. So far they had been seemingly kind. But that was only now. What about later? Especially with that Remus guy....he looked like a wild cat ready to pounce. Virgil didn’t trust the blood lust in his eyes. But he was safe for now. In a room. Alone with his thoughts.

Might as well find something to wear. There wasn’t any more time left to waste. The sooner Virgil could get out, the later he could contemplate and better yet, process everything that was happening. He opened the large wardrobe and gulped. Clothes sat untouched of the finest material. Skimming his hands over a blouse, he gasped. This thing had to be a couple hundred dollars at least. This was definitely out of his comfort level, but this may be the only time he could feel and look expensive. He chose a long sleeved blouse that was white and shined under the light. It was cut into a V shape at his neck, exposing some of his chest. The sleeves fanned out at the forearms and tightened around his wrists, a part of the shirt covering the back of his hand. The shirt went along with a set of black pants which weren’t ripped unlike what he normally wore. Lastly, the shoes were black and had a slight heel on the bottom. Walking away from the wardrobe he got a good look at himself in a full-body mirror that sat next to a window. Outside of the window shown the sky darkening as rain came falling down from the sky. He had to get out of here. 

“Uh....Logan?” Virgil called, leaning on the bedroom door. The door swung open and instead of Logan and Patton was Remus. “Oh...uh...” He began to stammer. “I think Logan was supposed to be out---”

“What do you get out of teasing me like this?” Remus glowered. “What--?” The man took a step forward, causing Virgil to take one back. “You’re smell so....addictive, my pet~” He began to walk backwards until he hit the bed behind him, falling onto it. With a quick motion, Remus jumped on top of Virgil, straddling him. “Dude, what the fuck!?!?!” The bigger man placed a hand forcefully on Virgil’s lips. “Shhhhh.....shhh....” He cooed. “You can’t wear such a....revealing piece of clothing....” Remus leaned down to Virgil’s ear and took in a deep breath. “Delicious....I’ll take immense pleasure in you...” For a quick moment, Virgil looked into Remus’ eyes and saw death in the face. Panic....nothing but panic! Thoughts flooded into his head like a cry for help. Please!!!! It can’t end like this. Then suddenly, a strike, almost like a needle, dug into Virgil’s exposed skin. He let out a yelp, trying to make any sound he could to grab someone’s attention, anyone! He felt a sucking sensation which burned the side of his neck. Remus lifted his head, blood trickling down his lips and exposed teeth. They were sharp.

“REMUS!!!” Patton gasped. The man groaned and got off of Virgil, cursing under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Vir---!” Patton tried to say and caught a sight of Virgil’s neck. Patton went and yelled for someone but Virgil wasn’t sure who because he felt his vision fade and his consciousness leave him.

---

He awoke to sun in his window. Virgil sat up and laughed to himself. What an odd dream he had. There was pain....and a hot mystery man...and vampires....but it was all a dream...it was all---

“Good morning!” Patton cheered. “It....it wasn’t fake!?” 

“Clearly not.” Logan readjusted his glasses. “Since Remus was, for lack of better words, crudely inappropriate last night, it has come to my attention that you know about him, about us. And knowing our secret, we cannot permit you to leave Somberville.” Virgil’s eyes widened, tears starting to form. “I-I--no! I need to get out of here! I have a family! Friends! I---can’t be here!” 

Patton turned away, too solemn to look Virgil in the eyes. “I do not blame you for his....mistake.” Logan’s words cut like a knife as he glared towards Remus who was unphased by this. “However, you must pay the consequences for such. We can do one of two things, make the public presume you dead,” he paused. “Or, we can come up with a more....kind explanation to your sudden disappearance.” 

“We’ll let you decide, of course.” Patton said, his once cheery voice now as gloom as yesterday’s sky. “Let us know in exactly fourty-eight hours.” Logan checked his watch and with a small nod, exited the room. “It’ll be....okay...you’re in good hands...” Patton tried to be optimistic as he once was, but nothing could shake the emotion that coated his voice. Janus pulled Remus out of the room, too cautious to leave Virgil and him alone again. Virgil wiped the tears that poured down his cheeks. A figure sat down on the side of the bed, sinking into the plush mattress. It was Roman.

“Uh...I’m sorry about my, rather ignorant brother. He was dropped on his head as a kid.” Virgil let out a small chuckle. “No kidding....soo...you guys..are--” 

“Yea...” Roman sounded sympathetic for the boy who wasn’t quite sure if he was just a boy anymore. Virgil rubbed against the side of his neck, pressing against the bite marks that remained from Remus. “I don’t think I ever introduced myself. I’m Roman, pleasure to make your acquaintance....though I wished on different circumstances.” He held out a hand. Virgil shook it, making eye contact with the one eye that was showing. There was silence between them now. The breeze drifted into the room and birds began to chirp. Roman wasn’t so scary....not that he expected him to be...but after last night, there’s no saying who could be deceiving Virgil. “Well, I’ll leave you to your own devices. If he ever does anything like this again, call for me. I’ll be your dark prince, always at your service.” He planted a kiss on the knuckles of Virgil’s fingers. He stood up and took a small bow. Virgil felt his cheeks flush. “The rest of us aren’t so bad.” Roman promised. “Hopefully.” Virgil responded, null of hope.

Roman stopped at the door and gave one last nod and vanished out of the room. The sky was shining today. It was warm and glowing. The atmosphere was light and everything they didn’t seem to be. A facade in the form of living. Such a happy place for the name Somberville. But even still, all Virgil could feel was the gloom and the aching of his body and where the bite marks remain....and he was more aware of himself than he ever was before, and afterwards...

[witchcraft-in-wonderland]

Logan's Birthday (3/7)

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

Logan Atalanta was an odd variation of merfolk. Not in the physical sense, though, no, he was odd because he didnt seem to see the difference between merfolk and humans. Of course he recognized the obvious difference of humans having legs and merfolk having tails, but other than that they seemed almost the same. Though this had made finding friends. . . Difficult. . . To say the least. Not that Logan minded, that just meant he had more time to research the history between humans and mermaids.

But Logan had an even bigger secret, a secret that had a burn scar on the left side of his face, spoke with strings of words so sweet they could tug at Logan's heart with ease, a secret, that went by the name of Janus.

"Tell me another poem Jan, please?" Logan had his head resting in Janus' lap, Janus running his fingers through Logan's soft brown curls.

"Alright my lovely sapphire, one more, but I've really got to go soon," Janus said, pulling his poetry book back out and moving to the next poem. Logan closed his eyes and let the words flow through his head.

"Alright Lo, I really have to get going," Janus said, gently moving Logan's upper body back into the water.

"Are you sure?" Logan said sadly. Janus gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'll be back tomorrow my sapphire, dont worry," Janus said, running a hand along Logan's cheek before leaving. Logan lay there for a while, watching as Janus disappeared into the horizon, back to the nearby college.

"I just dont get it Logie, of all the men to go with you pick a human? I'm not saying you're wrong but- I just dont want you getting your heart broken," Logan had been talking with his brother Patton about Janus, again.

"Oh but Patton if you'd only meet him once! Hes just so- so-" Logan let out an elated squeal and held his arms close to his chest. Patton laughed slightly and went back to watching the seahorse that had decided to chase a swirl of bubbles around Patton's head.

"You're really smitten for this Janus fella hm?" Patton said, smiling.

"Maybe I am, and what of it?" Logan replied, rolling his eyes and setting his hand down on a nearby rock.

"But you know we're not allowed, you'll get caught eventually, I dont want you getting hurt over a boy," Patton replied sadly.

"That's rich coming from you," Logan muttered, Patton gave him an offended glare.

"Well I have Virgil now and we're very happy together, so I got over it," Patton replied, swimming out of the cave and leaving Logan alone. Logan felt a twinge of guilt, he hadnt meant the comment to sting, but he supposed he could see now how it wouldve hurt.

Then he heard a yell, a very distinct yell, almost like a hiss. He rushed up and out of the water, directly into a net.

"Thanks again for introducing us Janny, it'll look great dad's aquarium," a sneering voice said. Logan looked up, and there was Janus, the burn mark on his face bleeding a vivid red. Surrounding him were three other boys, and two girls.

"He. Isnt going in any aquarium," Janus said, attempting to reach the net that Logan had found himself trapped in, only to get shoved back by the two burly men in the back.

"Oh dont worry, you'll be able to see him whenever you want, provided you can spare a fifty or two," the boy at the front laughed and hopped into the boat, pulling the net containing Logan onto it. Logan began to trash in an attempt to capsize it, only to feel a sharp pain in his neck soon after.

"Good job son, a real mermaid, now this's make money, we'll need to slim it down before it can perform though, no one wants to pay to see that," Logan blinked as he heard voices, he had a sinking feeling in his gut. He felt sick, he wasnt sure what water he was in, but he was desperate to keep it out of his gills.

"Ah! Its awake!" He couldnt see, the water was a weird fuzzy blue color, all he could make out was dark figures at the front of it. He tried to reach the top of the tank, only to slam his full body into it. It stung, it stung so badly, like his entire body had needles through it.

"It cant see very well can it?" Said another voice.

"Explains why it thought Janus was so interesting," replied another voice. Logan rammed his body into the glass, he heard a crack. The room went silent.

He hit it again.

"Restrain it!" Someone yelled. Logan kept on charging into the glass, until finally, it shattered. Logan attempted to crawl out, he could feel things trying to claw at his tail,, could feel glass all around him. But he was fast, faster than he looked, and within moments he was flinging himself off of a balcony and into a pool of water below.

And at the bottom of that pool, tied to the grate, was none other than Janus. Logan couldnt see him, his eyes still felt fuzzy, but he could tell very clearly, from just the outline.

"Janus!" Logan rushed over to him, ignoring the quickened reddening of the water in favor of trying to free his lover. He dragged Janus to the surface, holding him close as he lay his upper body out, shoving Janus up to the surface. He blinked, once, twice, three times, until his vision cleared again. He struggled to pull himself all the way out, and tried his best to get the water out of Janus' lungs, but very quickly he noticed something very wrong.

Janus' legs were beginning to look not so separated.

And a few moments later, they were a pale yellow, with swirls of black throughout them. Logan screamed, a loud, guttural scream, mixed with a cry and a wail. He shook Janus, over and over and over until he blinked.

And then he awoke.

"I'm so sorry. . ." Logan buried his face in Janus' chest, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Theres no time for that now my sapphire, you're bleeding you poor darling, you need to get home," Janus seemed to slither away from the pool with ease, almost to much ease.

And then they were back in the ocean, Logan crying in Janus' arms, Janus whispering those same pretty words to him over and over.

They were together, yes, but the cost would haunt Logan for eternity.

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

Tag list:

@thefivecalls

@willowaudreykeyes

@pricklyfish777

@the-sad-strawberry

@private-snippers

@extercs-experiences

@theonetruebeepboop

@mycatshuman

@teamplutoforlife

@melodiread

@meowthefluffy

@frawkeye

@cemmy

@nerosdayinhell

@thecolorfulolive

@frog-candy-bee

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

I Taste Honey but I Haven’t Seen the Hive - Chapter Six

Ao3,   Masterpost,   C.1   C.2   C.3   C.4   C.5

Relationships: eventual queer-platonic intruality. platonic dukeceit, creativitwins, and dlampr.

Yet again there are no italics. its new years eve sue me. oh also happy 2021 nobody question my priorities thanks <3

Warnings: so much softness, implications of self-isolation, swearing, Lots of Feelings, sympathetic everybody, descriptions of the sides having non-human features.

Word Count: 3,962

Something Remus came to realize was that he, a bit paradoxically, was not used to people being in his space.

It was weird. Not weird in the way that people usually felt when he was the one interrupting- he wasn’t scared by it, or disgusted, or even really annoyed. It was just… surprising, to have somebody else hanging around him, unprompted by anything. 

Remus wasn’t known for having boundaries- or respecting them, for that matter- but he’d at least been attempting to restrain himself just a bit after being accepted by the others. Out of courtesy, if nothing else. 

And apparently he didn’t need to. Not after what happened with Patton, anyway. Now that Patton had deemed the two of them ‘close’- something he was absolutely happy to agree with, for the record- Remus’ world had flipped sort of around. Back to no boundaries, only he wasn’t the one crossing those lines, and nobody was running screaming. Least of all Patton!

Remus ran the thoughts over in his head, feeling like that day was shaping up to be a great example of the change:

He and Patton were sitting side-by-side in the living room, content, with the rest of the sides spread around in different seats and configurations just the same. The unlikely pair were at the fringe of the circle, close enough to be part of things but far enough to zone in and out at will (as both were prone to do). It was nice, amiable.

 But minutes before- forty of them at most- Remus had been up in his own room, happily dissecting some gooish creations and only vaguely aware that there was a meeting that day. His attendance to group meetings varied from week to week- sometimes he was bored and could use an argument, and other times he was having fun on his own and knew that it wouldn’t be all that important if he ditched. He joined more often than he used to, sometimes he was even asked for, but he was optional still. A favored option, suggestions taken now, sure- but still not mandatory. 

He was going to stay upstairs for that one, but Patton had come to get him. Had dragged him down in that sweet, puppy-dog way of convincing that worked so well and, knowing him, was totally unintentional. And even if Remus didn’t care about arguing his way through content production right then, Patton had promised that it was important for him to be there.

That was the word he’d used for Remus. Important.

How the hell could Remus say no to that?

At least the meeting was going by without a hitch, for once. He assumed it was- Remus was honestly paying very little attention- but the lack of anger or tension was practically palpable. These things were usually so spiteful that even Remus, renowned lover of chaos, could almost taste his headache when everybody started shouting and hissing and fighting. It just got sad.

But not that time, apparently.

As Logan went on his third ramble of the evening, smiling widely at a surprising lack of interruption, Remus turned to Patton. He whispered:

“Okay, when are they gonna snap? Did they all finally get lobotomized?”

Patton frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean where’s all the screaming and crying? Specs and Prince Priss haven’t had a single one of their horny yelling matches, what gives?”

Patton smiled in a way that said he was trying very hard not to laugh, rolling his eyes.

  “These meetings have calmed down a bit, I guess,” he shrugged.

Remus glanced around the room with narrowed eyes. While that certainly seemed like the truth, he couldn’t buy it. 

“Yeah, I give it until one of them vaguely insults the others,  and then everybody’s gonna shut down for the next week. That kinda tension doesn’t just go.”

Patton didn’t say anything. Half-gazing at the carpet, he didn’t look like he’d even heard. He was smiling, but it was one of those jumbled up expressions, the type that tried to span a hundred different feelings. He had so many expressions like that, that seemed bottomless and swirling and so intricate on a humanoid face that, in reality, wasn’t built to display something like that. It was uncanny- not like an eerie doll, but like something with unearthly beauty. This face, though, had tones of upset.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been around everybody,” Patton said.

It wasn’t a question and it didn’t need to be. While Remus wasn’t exactly known for keeping to himself, he couldn't be called sociable either. He dropped in to say something, usually random, and then he was gone as soon as he’d visited. Even before the first Patton incident, fuck, it had been weeks since he’d actually stuck around through something.

Since The Acceptance, now that Remus thought of it, he’d been spending more time alone than ever. Not all of  his time- he remembered being surprised at Logan talking to him, willingly, like friends, and after that had even come Virgil and Roman. He saw people, talked to them, yeah. The time spent was friendlier, more welcoming, but it was so much less. 

Well, it was obvious why: they visited him, but- like he’d mentioned, he’d been trying to give them some space.

“Sure, it's been awhile,” Remus admitted, “But I never expected shit to change so much around here, still.”

The haze on Patton’s face thickened like fog on the moors, a soft and sympathetic mist over his eyes that Remus knew was aimed at him (even if it was pointed more to a sort of middle distance). 

“I don’t think I did, either,” Patton’s mouth barely moved, his voice less of a whisper and moreso a fragile breath. “I was hoping for it, but… I’m still trying to get used to stuff being allowed to change, you know?” He picked at a loose thread along the seam of the couch. “I haven’t done this stuff in a while, either.” 

Remus’ head shot up, and he almost forgot that they weren’t the only two in the room. Somehow, he stopped himself from shouting:

“You- it has?”

A tiny smile. Something built up behind Patton’s eyes; a wave, dark and lonely and filling his bright blues with cloudy gray. “I just needed some alone time, after everything changed so much so fast. I still feel, I dunno, weird. I don’t know what’s wrong with me- but…” he swallowed, his head lifting. “I’m really happy for them,” he was staring- so very loving- first at Logan, then Roman, then Virgil and Janus. It was a wonder none of them felt his gaze on them, Remus thought, because he was sure if anyone looked at him that way, he’d burn up like a fae upon iron. “They deserve it so much. I know that not everything is perfect still, but, I’m just so proud of us anyways. I- I think maybe-”

He cut himself off, blinking rapidly. Remus gave the room a quick once over to make sure nobody was looking their way- and nobody was: Virgil was very resolutely trying to get everyone to stay on topic despite Janus and Logan’s continued tangenting, and Roman was scribing furiously on several different pieces of paper- before he inched close enough to curve his arm around Patton. Touching like that had steadily become familiar to both of them, and it didn’t take long for Patton to fall untense against his side. He leaned into him, muttering: “I mean, they’re all doing a lot better than me, that’s for sure. I- I don’t even know what I’m for anymore. Maybe that’s why I’ve been… ditching, really.”

Remus squeezed his shoulder. There were so many things he could’ve said and done, but all of them loud and fervent and definitely not subtle enough to go unnoticed by everyone. So, for the sake of Patton’s privacy, he settled on this:

“That makes two of us, Morey.”

 The meeting that was planned to take two or three hours took the entire day, just as always. Hours and hours were spent in a room filled with excited conversation, of which the subject oscillated wildly between relevant topics and complete nonsense- which Remus and Patton did, eventually, tune back into (and contribute to as well, mainly in the nonsense department). Eventually, even Virgil gave up on trying to keep anything in order. 

But the meeting ended on a good note anyway. Lots of good notes, actually, if the stacks upon stacks of paper they’d scribbled up were any indication. Mess, the sides had come to believe, was usually a measure of their productivity: if crumpled pages were strayed across the room, if forgotten pens and pencils balanced on every surface from coffee table to TV stand, and if- in the process of snacking- they’d accumulated enough dishes to fill the sink for days on end? Shit. Got. Done.

Remus stared over the chaos with unfocused eyes. He felt distantly proud of the stormish state the living room was in. Draped over the back of the sectional, he gnawed idly on a wood pencil, stripping its yellow into beige. The paint fell off in bitter chunks, and the taste made him think of grabbing some non-acrylic dinner before closing the night off. Maybe he’d steal some of whatever saccharine sweet Patton usually made in the late evenings, and then spend the rest of the night with him, anyway. Remus debated what would be the most fun (or if he was tired enough to sleep yet), partially aware as he did so that he’d chewed and swallowed the metal-eraser end of his pencil.

“Ugh,” a drawn out groan broke his thoughts, petulant and whiny. “Do you have any intention of helping us clean up this, the common area?” 

Roman was kneeling beside Janus on the carpet, the pair surrounded by papers and binders and trashbags, the former of which they were sorting into either of the latter two, depending on how useful each page was. Roman had stopped working, however, to stare up at Remus indignantly. Remus glared right back.

“I’ve never had an intention in my life,” he answered.

Janus shrugged, smiling in that I-told-you-so way at Roman. But Roman, ever the nuisance, wasn’t letting it go. 

“Come on! It’s not like you’re even doing anything!”

“I’m doing something,” Remus’ words were wide and wobbly as he stripped another line of paint off the pencil, breaking some splinters off into his teeth.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes,” another chunk of wood, down the hatch. “I’m flaying all these leftover pencils until they’re lead-sticks.”

Roman hopped up from the floor and dropped himself onto the couch, shoving himself into the way so jarringly that it reminded Remus of himself. 

“Well, now you’re going to help us clean.” 

Janus rolled his eyes, not even glancing up. “Roman, just leave it alone, we-”

“We are all parts of this whole now, including him! Remus-” Roman rounded on him again, “If you’re going to come down here and help us make all this mess, with all of your numerous contributions that we have to write down, you’ll help clean it like anybody else. Do you think that I like any of- of-” he gestured, flamboyantly, at the room, “This? Ugh, please, I’m a prince! But, fair is fair, and fair means everybody.” 

And that was the point of the conversation in which Remus would cackle, push Roman backwards off the couch, and proclaim how much it’d go against his very being to clean a mess instead of cause it. He’d tell Roman how funny it was that he thought he could boss him around, because it always had been- that full-of-it Older Brother kind of attitude that had never worked. The Prince had never once managed to get him to do anything, and each attempt only got funnier than the last. 

He didn’t say any of that, though. 

Roman was bitching at him, not to go away this time, but to stay. Stay and help the group, because he was a part of said group. So he was asked to help them, the group that he was a part of, because he was part of it. That group. 

“Okay,” he blurted, “Okay, I’ll- alright.”

Roman blinked at him, a look of disbelief spreading across his face. “You- oh!” he smiled, utterly baffled. “That was- very easy?”

Janus, too, was looking up at Remus with bewilderment, his task of paper-sorting all but forgotten. Remus couldn’t blame either of them, but he still huffed, trying very hard not to be embarrassed by that whole… moment.

He shook it off, rolling off the couch and standing up, jittery. 

“Whatever, just- tell me what to pick up, okay?” 

They seemed not to hear him, the gawking continuing on until he started working unprompted, and longer than that still. Each time he (begrudgingly) shoved something into a trashbag, it earned him another Exchange of Glances from the pair. 

They got over it eventually, though, because there was a fuck-load more to clean than there was room to stare. So they cleaned.

Remus thought it would get old after a minute, and he’d finally gather up the guts to bail on them, but it just… never happened. It felt unnatural to be getting rid of a mess- like an animal having its fur brushed the wrong way, continuously- but by some point the sensation was distant. The rest of him was still busy processing, experiencing, maybe possibly overthinking this kind of recognition he’d never gotten before. It was handed to him now like it was something normal. The three of them worked together, and it was normal. 

Acceptance, as it turned out, wasn’t synonymous with ‘soulless assimilation’. In fact, it was pretty fucking great, getting to watch his brother and best friend find documents from the floor with his ideas on them, then tucking them into a binder marked important, instead of a trashcan marked to burn. It was… surreal. 

But the tidying was over in just an hour and a half- oh wow, never in a million years would Remus have thought an hour and a half of cleaning would be too little for him. He made a note to absolutely destroy something big and important later, to balance the universe out again. 

Roman sank through the floor as soon as they were done, complaining loudly about how very exhausted he was. Remus teased him on his way out, but it was just for the habit- he was way too mushy to think of anything properly mean at the moment. 

Janus watched him go, silent. He sat beside Remus on the couch, and despite his obvious tiredness, he waited a good few minutes before saying anything. 

“Thank you,” he murmured. 

Remus shivered. Janus pulled him up into a hug (one that maybe dragged on for a little too long, but who was counting?), and it spelled out all the pride and care that he’d never been good at verbalizing. With that, he gave Remus a short nod, and then was gone as well. 

Which made everyone else upstairs, probably in their rooms and halfway asleep. Then there was Remus, antsy in the living room, itchy with feelings. 

Everyone but Patton, of course, who could still be heard humming in the kitchen; who never went up until he knew everyone else was in their rooms, true to the protective parent persona. Remus suddenly didn’t think he wanted anything else but to see Patton after what had happened, to talk to him, to… 

He walked to the kitchen.

“Pat.”

Patton looked over his shoulder at Remus, up to his elbow in sudsy sink water. A smile fell naturally across his face.

“Hi,” his voice was low, delicate. “You about to head up?”

Remus watched his friend work, trailing into the room slowly.  He grinned, “Are you kidding? I could stay up all night, if I wanted.”

“Do you want to?” Patton asked him.

Remus thought on it for a moment. He shrugged, iunno, leaned against the counter by the sink. Patton turned away again.

It was so quiet. No wind. No footsteps. Not a muffled voice upstairs, even- just the sound of water and ceramic hitting ceramic. Everything was still.

Remus hated it. Silence was fragile, and he crawled with the need to break it. He felt it get tense as it stretched out, and he just wanted to tear the air apart with sound. It felt like nothing mattered anymore, when peace was so easily able to drown it all out. Cold and alone. He hated it.

Sometimes, Remus imagined that if the silence went too long, he’d never be able to make a noise again. There were few things that made him so unhappy, but the quiet… 

“What’s on your mind?” Patton asked.

Remus jolted. Patton was staring, concern gathering in his eyes the longer he did. Remus took a deep breath- he remembered something, something small and unimportant that Janus had told him once. 

When one is so intensely happy, they can fall to agonizing upset even quicker than if they’d been mildly perturbed in the first place, because of the ferocity of the feelings. Something like that. 

“A lot more than I’m willing to throw on your shoulders, Pops.”

Patton pouted. Actually. Fucken. Pouted. The worst part was, his puppy-face was actually working.

“Ugh,” Remus rolled his eyes, “Just- could I- I dunno, have a hug, or some shit?”

If Patton was surprised, he hid it well. God knew, that wasn’t exactly the kind of thing Remus would ask for. He almost never asked to get attention- taking it was much easier, and much more entertaining. Besides, if he’d ever asked before that point… well, he already knew what answer he would’ve gotten. 

Patton’s smile only widened, until it was positively melting. “Of course you can,” he shut the sink off. “Of course.”

He reached haphazardly for a hand towel, to dry his arms. Remus, riding the high of that enthusiastic permission, absolutely could not wait that long. He latched his arms around Patton’s middle before the side had even finished talking, burying his face between his shoulder blades and hugging tight. 

Patton went still, like he didn’t know what to do. After it became clear that Remus had no intention to move, Patton laughed, dreamy and soft, and shook his hands as dry as he could. He patted Remus’ forearm; bead-bracelets clattered under the Duke’s sleeves. 

“Hey,” Patton said.

“Mmh?”

“Not that this isn’t lovely,” he laced his fingers with Remus’, squeezed them, “But I’d like it better if I could hug you back, ya know?”

Remus let go, reluctantly. In the true fashion of intrusive thoughts, there was a second he was so convinced Patton would run, now that he was freed. Make an escape from him, an escape from his claws.

He didn’t. He spun right around and pulled Remus against his chest- one arm linked around his torso, the other winding into his tangled hair. Anyone, at a glance, could see that Patton was huge- but up close the difference was dizzying: his wide chest, encircling arms that seemed to be made of nothing but muscle and padding, and that height, all made him so… comforting. Big and strong, a body that disguised power in soft edges and fat. If he squeezed just a little too tight, in fact, Remus wouldn’t be surprised if Patton could make splinters out of his bones. Which Remus definitely, definitely wouldn’t mind, but the knowledge that Patton not only could do that but also wouldn’t ever do that- that was what really did him in. 

And he’d hugged Patton before- months ago, and somehow Patton had seemed so small then, when everything had started- but being hugged? Properly, too, not underwater while one of them was drowning- it was a world of difference. No panic, no breakdowns, just a real, solid hug.

He could just ask for this and then have it. He could smell sugar cookies and candle wax, and feel somebody- a willing body- pressing in. It was weird. He thought that someday, he might get used to it. He wanted a chance to get used to it. 

“Do you wanna talk now?” Patton prompted, forcibly reminding Remus that he had a bloodhound’s nose for emotional distress. 

“I don’t know.”

Patton hummed, his fingers scratching through Remus’ hair. “Today went better than I thought it would.”

“You didn’t have to bring me, if you thought it was gonna be bad.”

“I wasn’t worried because of you! I was worried because of me. Things have been… a lot for me, lately.”

“Oh,” Remus angled his head to the side, looking up at him. “Yeah. I feel ya.”

“But they were all so much more patient, weren’t they,” Patton’s eyes went a little misty, the way they always did when he talked about his family. “Everything’s different now, and I guess that scared me, but I think that now… it’s a good different, you know?” 

“Like us, right?” Remus laughed, “This is the craziest difference, if ya think about it.”

Patton chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest so that Remus felt it more than heard it. 

“I don’t think I would’ve gotten through with today without you, you know that?” 

It was deeply honest. There was a beat. 

“I-” Oh fuck, Remus was choked up, when did that happen? “I wouldn’t have even had a day like today, without you, so. Do with that what you want.” 

Remus buried his face in Patton’s sternum, just to avoid the sad understanding in his eyes. 

He- he wasn’t exactly made for the care he was getting, not the kind of softness in that face. Not when Patton was still patiently untangling his matt of hair while they hovered in the stillness of the dark, empty kitchen, and Remus desperately didn’t want to cry. 

Patton gave him a minute to breathe, at the very least, before:

“They like you, though. Janus loves you.”

“Yeah, okay, but it’s not-”

“I know how you feel,” said Patton, and did. “Like they couldn’t actually care about us, even though it doesn’t make sense for them not to. It’s one of those things that’s easy to forget,” Remus could hear the smile in his voice. “So it’s good we have each other, when we need to get out of our own heads. At least, it’s like that for me, I don’t know if you even-”

“No,” Remus curled his claws in the back of Patton’s shirt, something dark and emotional flooding like tar through his chest. “Nah, you’re right, Morey. This is good for us.” 

Remus shook his head at nothing in particular. He forced his hands unballed, pulled back, and wormed his way out of Patton’s hug after way too long. 

His skin felt like paper from the affection, like he’d been electrocuted, and while that was fun- was amazing- for a while, he didn’t think he could handle much more in one sitting. 

Patton let him go, smiling warmly, leaning back against the counter. His eyes were shiny and wet, but he was content. 

“Thanks,” Remus said.

“What for? The hug?”

“No- I mean, that too, but I was saying ‘thanks, for caring’. For giving enough of a shit about me to try and help.”

Patton smiled, solemnly.

“I told you so,” he breathed, “I promised I would like you when I got to know you, and then I did. I do!” 

Remus felt a grin returning to his face, sliding across his lips more naturally than anything else he’d had to deal with that night.

“Yeah. You aren’t too bad yourself, Pat.”

Chapter Seven

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