#ok but in all seriousness there's stuff i need to work on since it has a deadline so i probably post doodles more

[mai-mai-lim]

so i uhhhh probably have gotten into a game a little too much and my brain doesnt feel like drawing so have a doodle of rupert and henry tension, which is also a redraw from this doodle from 2020:

[mixingandmelting]

Ok so there comes a time in every relationship where your partner annoys you and then you have to decide if staying with them is worth it cuz you love them more than the person’s flaws? Now for the batboys, what normal annoying things from their partner do you think would annoy them? And on the flip side, what do you think the bat boys would do to annoy their partner without meaning too? (Example: One of the things about Dick is that he has organised mess and he gets incredibly stressed out if someone moves his stuff around without telling him. It’s as basic as his shoes being cleaned and placed a couple of feet in the open from where they were for him without telling him, he feels like an asshole and apologises after once he cools down, but this actually upsets him in canon comics.) (for example for reader: it can be he has an annoying sneeze that goes through you when you sit next to him)?

His Pet Peeve vs His Bad Habit

A/N: Ended up making this somewhat a two-part post since let's be real, all of them would be guilty with crashing unannounced which i posted here😂

Dick:

Pet peeve that you do: touching his stuff

Others have said he's terrible at putting things away, he simply calls it an organizational mess. It works for him so why should it matter to anyone else? 

Can’t handle anyone moving his things. Absolutely, genuinely, no matter who it is

Called and texted you multiple times before over this whether it’s his shoes being placed a few inches away where he usually places them, his cereal boxes in the wrong order compared to how he usually has them placed

“Where are my keys? What? Why would you place them in my desk’s drawer? They belong on the couch-”

There are reasons why he placed things the way they are. It’s not hard to not touch and leave them be

Vents out his frustration and irritation but never to the point of crossing the line since you only move things when you’re helping him out with cleaning his place out especially if he neglects doing some house chores ( laundry, dishes, making his bed, everything)

Bad habit that annoys you: naming things after his vigilante code name

He’s known to be witty and charming with his word play, most of the time being cute or funny. But when it comes to naming, in general, it’s a mess

The name he gave to his boat, motorcycle, car, and weapons are of the following: boat wing, wing cycle, nightbird, wing dings. Yes, this is all canon and it should be telling how great his naming senses are

You swore and even made a bet against his friends that he was the one to give the name Bitewing to the cute pitbull. You later called Tim and Babs to express your disappointment towards them, saying they knew better 

You tried not to shed a tear from how proud you were for Dick to name Bitewing with a reasonable and normal civilian name: Haley. It wasn’t Nugget or Gray - it was an actual memorable and good name

Begged him to not have the plane he planned to have either “night” or “wing”. No Wing Plane, no Night Flight, please. Something normal. He never listens and goes it for it in the end

Jason:

Pet peeve that you do: Incorrect grammar and messes

He’s special because he has two: incorrect grammar usage and his place being messy

Unlike Dick who hates people touching his stuff in general, Jason’s more keeping his space clean

Seriously, anyone who breaks into his room should know how meticulous he is, where even his weapons are hanging on the walls in fancy oak wood frames with red velvet cushioning underneath for aesthetics

He’s gentle but looks like a cherry when he reminds you to make sure you’re not leaving your laundry on the ground or used napkins on the table - like there’s a dirty hamper and trash can for a reason and it’s not for decoration

Irritates him to no end when people misuse words and grammar where he’ll annoy the other person until the correct it including you

Yes he will do the cliche can vs may (“Can you? As in are you able to? Or may you as in you need permission”), use asterisks below your text with the correct word because if it annoys you think about how he feels when you make those errors

Bad habit that annoys you: Messy eater

With him being a fan of eating hand-held foods, favorite being hot dogs and ice cream, he frequently gets food stains on his clothes

Slouches on his chair or couch, ketchup slipping off and onto his shirt and munching without a care while you’re staring at the guy who’s also a clean freak regarding his private space

Lost track how many shirts he ruined, annoying you and himself 

Though sometimes it was appreciated when he’d get up and take off his shirt to wash out the fresh, new stain at the kitchen sink ;)

But most times you threaten to get him a bib or be those pretentious, stereotypical rich people where they stuff a corner of their napkin into their shirts while shaking the numerous shirts you had to wash in a single week

Tim:

Pet peeve that you do: not following directions

He already gets agitated and stressed when no one follows the plans he spent three weeks perfecting without sleep. What makes you think he won’t be the same when you don’t read the package inserts or the directions?

Most of the time everything goes smoothly when reading them. And do you know how much time it must’ve taken to write the instructions while considering all the people they’re selling their product to?

He does admit a some are BS and make no sense

Doesn’t express his annoyance and instead stays on the sidelines, slurping from his can of Monster and lets you do your own thing knowing you’re going to fail. Then once you do and get frustrated as to why nothing is working, he rubs it in how you should’ve read the instructions

“You sure that’s right? It says here you need to insert that part first.” “I know what I’m doing Tim, I’ve done it a thousand times.” Cue the Ikea frame falling. “Maybe you should’ve read the package insert.” “Shut up.” 

Bad habit that annoys you: Napping locations

Where he takes his naps is just as bad as his caffeine consumption and lack of sleep in general

When he’s tired, like really tired, he can sleep anywhere. In the classroom, in the conference room, on the floor of the living room

You found him sleeping on the kitchen table once. As in his whole body lying on the table. How and why neither of you know other than Tim remembering he wanted to rest his head on the table

You’ve begged him so many times to nap on the bed or couch out of concern he was going to get hurt

He still doesn’t listen so you started a collection of taking pictures of the oddest places he sleeps at and on, proceeding by sending them to the group chat. It does work but only for a while since he’ll end up falling asleep after not sleeping for another whole week

Duke:

Pet peeve that you do: common sense

When leaving the room, turn the lights off. When done washing your hands, turn the faucet off. In other words, common sense

He really doesn’t get how it’s so hard to do just that. It should be natural, automatic response

After becoming a full time vigilantes, the bigger things he scratches up as the per usual daily problems but it’s the little things that get to him

Found you reading in the dark once without having the lights on before. He went on about vision impairment after flicking the switch up. He wasn’t amused when you joked how he could’ve sat next to you so you’d get both a reading lamp and body-sized pillow

Don’t get him started with dishes and how they should’ve been washed after a meal not leaving them in the sink for who knows how long

Also cereal. He believes it’s cereal first then milk, reasoning you can control the amount and ratio of cereal to milk 

Bad habit that annoys you: biting pencils 

Does it whenever he’s thinking about something deeply but can’t solve the issue

Whether it’s working on a plan, trying to figure out a case, doing homework

Problem is pencil paint isn’t all that healthy or safe to consume. Also having a pencil have smell like one’s breath isn’t that appealing 

Doesn’t matter what part of the pencil though there seems to be actual indents near the eraser end which once made you asked if a pencil tastes good

You’ve gotten him mechanical pencils and eraser toppers. Somewhat worked only for him to go back using his usual wooden pencils and bite them again

Tries to stop after you went on how harmful biting pencils are, still finds himself doing it time-to-time

Damian:

Pet peeve you do: calling him short

Don’t ever bring it up. Don’t ever mention it. He. Is. Not. Short

Height is not everything when it comes to crime fighting. Skills, abilities, and strategy beats pure physical prowess

He’s not the shortest either. He’s still growing. Drake is only 5’7” at his current age while Todd was 4’6” when he was Robin. Being  5’4” is a perfectly, acceptable height

This also includes all synonyms and phrases. Tiny, small, fun sized. His personality coming from the fact shorter people are closer to hell- 

He fumes and bursts whenever it happens. Literally will get ready wage a battle of a lifetime 

Whenever you do it, he gives you hell by pranking you in every way until you wave the white flag and admit you’re wrong. Usually that never happens and the adults end up having to step in to get both of you two stop

Bad habit that annoys you: tongue clicking

Does it to express so many emotions, so it gets confusing as to why he clicked his tongue without the full context

It could be from annoyance, dissatisfaction, or disagreement. At least you know it’s used for a negative response

Not as bad when he does it because he got stumped since then you’re just smug and getting to gloat you were right while he scowls back

But when he does it to avoid answering you out right or when he refuses to agree- like come on, use your words not onomatopoeia

Ask him if he’s doing it because he’s sulking and it gets him to stop only for it happen again as it’s part of his habit

Cue another reason for a childish war between the two of you where one has to one-up the other

[sweet1delusi0ns]

Haikyuu Boys calling you ma’am ──☆*:・ﾟ

Team ! Karasuno

Btw I’m working on the rest of the cuddling headcanons😋

Characters: Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Nishinoya, Daichi, Sugawara, Tanaka

Hinata✿

Respectful boy! Most of the time- he has so much courage and respect for you so he calls you ma’am normally when your ‘leading’ such as giving him a pep talk or showing him how to do something

“I’m telling you! Stop running with your arms down it makes you slower. Understand?” “Yes ma’am! I’ll try!” “You literally did the opposite of what I said, raise your arms up it’ll make your body more aerodynamic…do you even know what that means?” “No ma’am I don’t…BUT I’ll run with my arms higher!” He literally runs with his arms straight in the air, that’s not what you meant either-

Kageyama✿

Sassy but not intentionally, most of the time hes not trying to be sassy but sometimes he just says things that can be viewed as such. He does call you ma’am as a nickname but the way he says it sounds like hes trying to back talk you-

“Do you mind getting me some water baby?” “Whatever you say ma’am” “excuse me?” “What?” He asks, handing you the water “why so sassy?” “I wasn’t…huh?” “The ‘ma’am’ wasn’t you being sassy?” “Uhm no I genuinely wanted to call you that?” “Oh….thanks baby-”

Tsukishima✿

Sassy.on.purpose. He thinks he’s so funny teasing you with names that aren’t really fitting at the time, calling you ma’am or miss is him trying to penalized you, but most of the time he fails since you don’t mind being called it. He ends up flustered instead but he doesn’t tell you

“HEY! DID U TAKE MY BOOK?” “What? Oh no ma’am I would never~” “well… I guess I can’t be mad when my baby calls me silly names~” “heh…what..?” “Your so cute when you call me names like that how can I be maddd?” You kiss his cheek causing him to turn red “w-whatever” “but seriously give me my book back or else your ‘ma’am’ isn’t gunna be happy.”

Yamaguchi✿

Only calls you ‘ma’am’ and stuff when he’s either scared of you or in trouble. Normally he tries to calm you down with empowering names and normally it works!

“How can you make such a mess and not clean up. Seriously I don’t care if you make your own food but why do you leave the ingredients EVERYWHERE!” “I-I’m sorry! I’ll clean it up right away ma’am!” “Hmm…well I guess I can’t be mad at that cute face and respectful talk huh~ I’ll help” “no ma’am it’s my mess! Let me!”

Nishinoya✿

Hes a Flirt to He calls You things like ‘ma’am’ ‘miss’ ‘mama’ n such all the time. But normally follows it up with a compliment, or sometimes he uses it as a compliment itself

“Wow is that a goddess I see infront of me?!” “Uh are you expecting something in return?” “No ma’am just wanted to let you know you are lookin foxy today~” “…ok weirdo, can you tie my shoes for me though?” “YES MA’AM!” He feels like he’s slipping on Cinderellas shoe anytime he helps you with yours LOL

Daichi✿

Respectful! Yk how his team is scared of his authority? Well he’s more scared of yours. And since he is the respectful man he is he doesn’t try to test you. He agrees in fear of ticking you off

“Daichi.” “Uhm…yes…” “the trash.” He forgot to take out the trash “OH MY GOD. I am so sorry! Itll Never happen again maam I promise!” “Wow ok, take your time no need to get scared-” “oh thank god your not mad-”

Sugawara✿

He’s scared to ask for the simplest things, he tries his best to be as nice as possible when asking. Not to butter you up so your more likely to say yes but so you think he is still respecting you and all you do

“Y/n..uh I mean- ma’am, could you possibly help me with something. If you are to busy that’s ok-” “no babe it’s ok, what do you need help with?” “Thank you ma’am-” “that’s not necessarily suga~ just let me help” “oh…ok uhm could you help me find my favorite sweater i don’t remember where it is” “cuz I stole it” “what?”

Tanaka✿

Like noya, he just calls you it to flirt OR to butter you up, probably because he’s going to ask you the craziest thing after and he hopes the name would make you say yes

“So my beautiful, sexy and charming y/n what chu uh…doing?” “….you want something huh?” “Yes ma’am~ I was wondering if I could-” “no.” “OH CMON!” “Nope.” “PLEASEEEE” “dude im not rocking you to sleep again, your not a baby.” “YOU DID IT BEFORE!” “It was a ONE TIME THING!”

Yes I stole this prompt from my previous naruto post😋

Again not proof read 😌

[bexalert]

Stardust crusaders having a crush on you

(Jotaro Kujo, Noriaki Kakyoin, Jean Pierre Polnareff, Mohammed Avdol)

Stardust Crusader stuff because I just finished part V and I miss them 😔

Also, I started this a WHILE ago, and it’s just been sitting in my drafts, so here you go.

I’ll also probably be making something for part V soon because I love them all. My accounts about to just become Jojo I’m so sorry 😭

Jotaro Kujo:

• He’s such a sweetie (he will literally ignore you)

• He doesn’t know how to just care about people??? So he won’t say anything

• But he will be very protective of you

• Atleast he’s not insulting you 😭

• He’ll just be watching you at all times, making sure you’re ok.

• He gets flustered, and then gets more flustered since he’s flustered

• Not that most people would notice

• He just starts sweating a bit and looks away.

• but you know who’s NOT shy???

• Star Platinum will not hesitate to play with your hair, stand by you, stare at you

• Obviously Jotaro will try to control him, but sometimes it just subconsciously happens

• He gets frustrated because people (POLNAREFF COUGH COUGH) will tease him

• But he bluffs well enough so you can’t tell

• When he does ask you on a date (if he does)

• It’s short, and almost a demand 😭

• “Go out with me.”

• He moves his hat so that you can’t see his face

• But he’s lowkey shaking

• Bro could defeat dio, multiple other stand users, and stop time without breaking a sweat, but when it comes to you?

• He’s just very out of his element, give my boy a chance

Noriaki Kakyoin:

• He’s just naturally so charming

• Especially if you’re around Jotaro and you’re a woman 😭

• He’ll comfort you if Jotaro makes any rude remarks

• “Pay him no mind.”

• He acts like you don’t affect him as much as you do

• But not to the point of being rude to you.

• He tries to impress you, but might not even realize he’s doing it

• Like he’ll do something cool and then immediately look to you to see if you saw him

• Might act just a smidge more charming

• Oh you need to walk through this door? He’ll open it for you. You’re having a seat? Here, let him pull your chair out for you. There’s a puddle? Oh, don’t get your shoes wet! He can carry you across- for your safety of course!

• He’s very polite, and respects you so much

• Always want to hear your input

• What do YOU think is the best route? Which hotel do YOU like?

• “What do you think, Y/N?”

• Just cares about you very much.

• He’ll be confident but humble when he asks you out

• “Y/N, I like you. Would you go on a date with me?”

• He’s shaking in his boots

• He just always has this content smile when he’s with you.

Jean Pierre Polnareff:

• Oh brother we got ourselves a yapper 😭

• Everyone knows he likes you

• It is absolutely not a secret

• You just assume he’s joking, or think he doesn’t really mean it

• But he is DEAD serious

• Shameless simp- he doesn’t care who makes fun of him

• “Ah, Y/N, do you need help with that? I’ll help!”

• You didn’t need help, he just can’t stand to see you working

• “Mon amour, someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t have to do work like this. Hohoho! leave it to me!”

• He’s incredibly corny and will say the cringiest things at any time.

• “Ah! You’re eyes are as beautiful and shiny are Silver Chariots armor!”

• and you’re just like thanks???? I guess???

• He will ask you out constantly. Just got done fighting? He’ll ask you out to cuddle in his sleeping mat (and also proclaim his undying love) you’re hungry? Please! Let him take you out to eat (and proclaim his undying love) you said you’re tired? He’ll ask you if he can carry you (and of course proclaim his undying love)

• When you finally take it seriously enough to give him a chance, he is over the moon

• He’s telling everyone

• “they said yes! We’re dating!”

• He’s so head over heels and just adores you

Mohammad Avdol:

• Dude he is SWEATING

• Like you won’t notice because he’s very calm and collected, but he’s freaking out

• It also doesn’t help that Magicians Red always comes out when you’re around, and he just keeps getting hotter.

• Like if you’re having a long conversation with Avdol, it will just progressively get more hot

• He tries desperately to keep Magicians Red under wraps, and for the most part he does

• But he gets so embarrassed when he cant

• He’s super respectful, like feels bad for even liking you

• He thinks he’s being gross for thinking of you like that especially if he doesn’t think you like him 😭

• He feels embarrassed outright asking to just have a conversation with you, so he always tries to cover it up with something else

• “Y/N, do you mind helping me read this?”

• HE COULD READ IT!!! He just wanted an excuse to talk to you ☹️

• Since he’s also the groups stand teacher, he’ll use his knowledge to his advantage

• Like you’ll made some off comment about ���hmm wonder why that happened.” And he’s going into nerd mode

• 🤓☝️ “Actually when a stand user…”

• Like it was not necessary for him to go off like that, but the way you listen so intently makes his heart flutter.

• if you take his advice into account or say something reminded you of him, he is DEAD

• You actually thought about him, even just for one second, and that is wild to him

• He is also a simp, but no one would notice. Pouring your tea for you, helping set up your mat, bandaging your wounds, etc.

• You just think he’s being a good friend

• When he finally asks you out, he’s so flustered, but tries to keep calm.

• “Y/N, when this is all over I would like to take you on a date. Is that ok?”

• He’s just the sweetest nicest big ol’ teddy bear.

[unknownati]

xi. christmas!

a/n: guys part of this was supposed to be the PROLOGUE to a 12 part sfw and nsfw winter/christmas themed drabbles (mini fics?) but i got too busy 💀 literally had 4 days left to write but then the 12th went by and i was like... damn

its ok tho i might upload the finished days just as separate fics

while we're here why does nle choppa have a christmas song

warnings/tags: none rlly, just fluff, SO corny, SO sappy, no use of y/n, no description of reader's features, gn!reader, decorating w/ ekko 🎉, reader is a THIEF, pre-arcane plotline (choosing happiness)

_______________________________________________

christmas in zaun was nothing close to ideal. it was never if people celebrated, but more if they could afford it, which most of the time was a no. unless people had kids, they weren't going out of their way to make it a whole thing. not only that, but people didn't really care for it, anyway. they had other things to do. sure, maybe you'd see some extra lights around, or maybe a few lopsided wreaths hanging on a weathered door, but it was always the bare minimum.

but ever since you snuck into piltover as a kid right at the tail end of december, your world was absolutely rocked by the blinding lights and stars and bows and garlands and wreaths and the huge tree sitting smack dab in the middle of the city, illuminating the night sky.

after that, you were obsessed with the idea of christmas. you never had the funds, nor the time, nor the energy, nor enough friends or family to make anything happen all by yourself. but the dream stuck to you.

and then came ekko, and with him, a chance. a huge tree? with an abundance of people living there? it gave you the best idea.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

cool november air was giving way to the first hints of winter, the sharp bite of cold nipping at the cheeks of zaunites. warm colored leaves were shriveling into themselves and trembling down onto the concrete, scattering through the town. settled in uneven piles, nestled in corners, where the wind could push them no further. christmas has long began to be advertised in piltover, and your excitement was uncontrollable.

quiet as a mouse, you slipped into ekko's work room. he's sat on his stool, elbows rested on the table with his figure shadowing over his work. your fingers glide across his biceps, chin resting against his right shoulder.

"hey handsome," you chirped, working your digits over the curves of his muscles. your lips curled into a grin you were incapable of withholding. "y'got a minute?"

"for you, always." he turned, hands hoisting the weight of his upper body on his knees. his eyes softened upon looking at you. "what's up?"

you slid on his lap, feet swinging back and forth, pendulum like. "soooo," you begin, leaning back on his shoulder. "i'm sure you know what christmas is."

"yeah, why? want me to get you something?" his fingers twisted at the hem of your sweater. you shake your head—not the goal right now.

"no. well, yes, but not what i'm asking you for right now," ekko's head tilts in response. your voice dropped into a playful yet unsure murmur. "iiiiii wanted to know if you'd maaaybe be willing to decorate the base and celebrate it this year?"

his thoughts stutter, and then he laughed. "baby, you know i'd love to, but i can't. don't have the time or the money."

a pout formed on your face, lips jutting out. "we don't have to spend money, we can use what we have lying around! and i have some extra money on the side. we're not flat broke."

"doesn't solve the whole time thing."

"oookay, make time. we'll have the kids help, too! you won't even have to do much, like—seriously, think about it. we don't even need to get a tree because the firelight tree, duh. we can use big cardboard boxes to look like fake presents, we can steal lights 'n' other stuff from the pilties—"

you rambled on, every idea you've ever had since childhood resurfacing and bubbling out of you in an unstoppable torrent. each thought, each plan, all of it spilled out, an overflowing pot.

"hey, hey—" he interrupted, thumb stroking your thigh. "listen, those ideas are great. but we can't. and you have got to stop stealing from topside."

your smile faltered. "but why!? think about the kids, think about me!" ekko hesitates to speak, eyes darting around the room as your face transitions into a pleading pout. "please? pretty please? i'll do the dishes for a month?"

"fuck," your eyes filled with stars. ekko groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "fine! fine, jeez."

the squeal that exited you entered directly into his ears, lips pressing kisses into his face in rapid succession.

"thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! oh my god, it'll be great, we can have the kids make little snowflakes, we could have a little fucking wish box to get gifts for some of the kids—" you gasped loudly upon a realization, planting your hands onto his shoulders. "—you can be santa!!!"

he scoffs, brushing a loc of white hair out of his face. "don't push your luck."

you sigh in mock defeat. "fine, hiemerdinger's got that. i'll take what i can get."

"isn't he kinda short for santa?"

you shake your head. "don't height shame."

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

ekko rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, a small groan rumbling in his throat as he reached over on the bed to find you.

empty.

his head flipped. you've left a now cool dent in the bed in your wake, blanket left in a wild mess.

he frowned, sitting up and looking around. you're nowhere to be found.

maybe you got up to use the bathroom, he thinks, standing up to search the place for you.

the second his feet hit the floor, his brows furrow.

'...glitter?'

his gaze lifts, and his eyes widen as they follow the specks of glitter scattered across the floor, which caught the faint morning light that bled through the curtains.

he followed the trail, small drops of glitter turning into discarded cardboard scraps, which turned into unfinished rolls of ribbon, which lead him to his workroom, where the door was slightly ajar.

he slowly pushed the door open, finding you hunched over a box that you were decorating to look like presents. you tilt your head up to look at him, a smile spreading ear to ear.

"w'ssup?"

he glanced at the small clock on his desk. "it's...five in the morning, why are you up so early?"

you gestured towards the pile of finished boxes in the corner. "working!" the sound of tape ripping off of the roll fills the air as you took a strip, taping the box shut. "i already collected a bunch of paper for the kids to make snowflakes, borrowed some lights 'nd garlands from topside, aaand i'm almost done making all these boxes."

a lot done considering you had had that conversation just the night before.

ekko crouched down to your level, eyes meeting yours. "but...you're gonna clean all this up, right?"

silence.

"right?" he repeated.

your eyes narrowed. "yes?"

"why is that a question?"

you scoff, pressing an empty roll of wrapping paper into his chest. "why are you asking me so many of 'em? get to work. and i need you to use your hover board to fly around and get those lights up," you nod towards a pile of lights on his desk without looking away from your box. he opened his mouth to reply, but you cut him off. "thank you!"

he rolled his eyes and stood, tossing the wrapping paper roll into the recycling bin.

at a more appropriate time in the day, you stood at the top of the firelight tree after capturing everyone's attention. public speaking wasn't exactly your thing, but ekko insisted you do it since everything was your idea.

you cleared your throat as the crowd settled into silence, all eyes on you. you shifted your weight onto your other leg.

"um—wow, okay, hi guys. so, i'm sure you've all...heard of christmas. and i know it's usually kinda lame, but truuust me, this year i'm gonna make sure it's—" you gather your fingers, kissing the tips of them and flaring your hand out. "—chef's kiss."

eyes leave you to glance at other's reactions, the silence lifted by an excited murmur.

"yeah, but i'm gonna need help. i have a bunch of paper that i need to be made into snowflakes, so that by the end of the day this place can look better than it already does."

you shifted their focus to scar, who carried a large bin of scissors, string, and paper of various colors. (earlier, scar questioned how you got all these supplies. you just smiled at him.)

after a quick tutorial, children started racing to gather around him, picking their colors and scissors. within a few minutes, the kids were gathered in groups on the floor, cutting out their best attempts at snowflakes.

pride swelled in your chest and you looked up into the bulk of the tree's leaves, ekko's form flying around in circles with lights being strung along behind him. with fists on your hips, you beam. "i'm amazing," you praise, making your way back inside.

everything came together surprisingly quick. ekko had never seen you that focused—hanging up lights, making paper bows to place at the points where lights held, and placing those big fake presents around the tree. of course, other people helped too, which made the work lighter.

you mostly left the mural alone, only placing a few extra candles and waving to the colorful portraits.

by the time night fell, the project was close to finished. it wasn't perfect, but to you, it was. the entire base was illuminated in warm, white lights, paper snowflakes dangling from the branches and twisting in the wind. the beat in your chest stuttered. it all felt...magical.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

over the next few weeks, you kept adding and adding to the scene. and it was all finished just in time for today, christmas eve.

by now, you'd forced ekko into so many christmas activities, some more enjoyable than the others. he thoroughly enjoyed making matching pajamas with you and drinking cocoa that was overflowing with marshmallows—being constantly tricked into mistletoe kisses, not so much. at least, he acted like he hated it. he secretly adored accidentally walking right into your trap of a hidden mistletoe and being attacked by an onslaught of messy kisses.

ekko finds you at the balcony again, glancing out into the scene below. "hm. not bad." he leans against the railing, hips bumping into yours.

"yeah, cuz it's awesome. i did that, thank you."

warm lips meet your cold cheek. "mhm. you did." he paused, tongue running over his molars. "i-um...got you something."

you perked up at his words, head whipping around to face him. "ooh, you just reminded me that i have to finish making your gift, i—"

as you're speaking, he pulls a little box from his coat pocket, black with a messy red bow.

"it's not perfect, but...y'know," his voice trails off. he pops the box open and offers it to you.

inside rested a delicate necklace, light reflecting off of the silver metal and glimmering into your eyes. the chain was thin, the links very neatly melded together, and a little circular locket hanging off the center.

you take the box and reach in, mouth agape in awe, gently pushing the locket open. inside was a tiny picture of the two of you, laying in bed, with you sound asleep on his shoulder. ekko's eyes were shut as he was in the middle of pressing a kiss to your forehead.

you smile down at the picture, warmth flooding your chest. for a long moment, you're just staring at it, ekko awaiting your reaction. your lips press together, your vision starts to blur, and a tear rolls down your face and into the velvet lining of the box. then they just kept streaming down.

ekko's face drops, immediately reaching to wipe your tears. "hey, it's okay, if you don't like it i can get you something else."

you hiccup, shaking your head. "shut up, i love it so much, this is just everything i've ever wanted for my whole life, and it's so stupid but you've literally made this the best christmas i've ever had a-and this necklace is really cute and this was so worth doing the dishes—"

you could've kept going but your joyful sobs cut you off. it was all too much, all the decorations and all the traditions you once wished for finally coming into fruition. ekko's arms wrap around you and you return the gesture, fingers twisting into his coat.

"i'd do it again in a heartbeat." he whispers, moving to peck your wet cheek. once, twice, three times.

"boo," a voice calls below you. "get a room."

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

[yuri-is-online]

Ok so jadeyuu! Jadeyuu? Jade is an eel. Jade has never been in a relationship- never even got the urge. So he's kinda panicking when he finally snaps out of his little domestic daydreams only to realize. He has no idea how to actually get to those daydreams.

How do humans court? Fuck humans for a second how does his own species court??? He only know surface level (ha) shit he never paid attention beyond that cause it was "irrelevant" (he wants to go back in time and punch himself so bad. For several reasons).

So now he's trying to figure it out but heres the thing, he only has super cheesy media to work with. Bro is taking it so seriously but some of the stuff is just???

Why is sharing clothing so important?

Are flowers really that big of a deal?

Why do all these couple fight all the time? He doesn't want to fight with yuu he just wants to feed them mushroom dishes and cuddle and "cuddle" He doesn't want to fight! Why do couple always fight in these movies is it necessary?? Is it a love language??

What's a one night stand?

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? WITH SOMEONE YOU JUST MET???

... has yuu had any? They told him once that most of their past relationships were "situationships" and he had to laugh and pretend he wasn't about to simultaneously raise hell and profusely thank your exes for fumbling so hard.

What's this about your father's consent? Does he need to get your father's consent? Would any parent work or just your father? Do you even like your father- shit you haven't even seen your father since you've been here and he's a literal world away. ....shit.

Someone stop him he's about to create an entire world wide scheme to invent otherworldly communication just to ask his not-parners dad if he can even court them in the first place-

Oh it's not that important in modern day?? Oh. Thank goodness.

At what point in this can he ask you to be his officially?

At what point can he start indulging himself in all his somewhat ugly jealous urges in public without scaring you off?

Would it be considered a "red flag" to ask you to only talk to him? He knows it is he's just holding out hope that maybe you'll agree to be kept in a large terrarium of his and be completely his and-

You would never agree to that. Oh well, an eel can dream. If Ace gets all clingy with you again he's going to break his arm off.

How long does he have to wait until he can show you to list of names he's already thought about giving your future children?

CAN HE PLEASE JUST HOLD YOU??? PLEASE!!!

Idk where I'm going with this I just got the mental image of jade watching titanic (something something convenient potion accident) and hurriedly scribbling down notes every time something romantic happens and I wanted to share that image.

I like the idea of Jade doing research about human courtship. I really really like it I think it's so stupidly funny to picture Mr. Suave, one hell of an eel butler reading human x merfolk fanfiction and going O: that's me (˶ˆᗜˆ˵) Or watching romcoms and taking notes that's hilarious. He watches titanic and nods "yes this would never happen with us, I would simply drag them into the sea and then we would live together happily ever after while everyone else drowns- ah or is that too fatalistic?"

But yes he doesn't know much about courtship in general. He can "flirt" but its not intentional on his part, he's just being snarky. But with you he has no idea what to do. The clothing thing makes no sense to him, is it to stake a claim? Then why not bite you? That would get the point across faster... is it a him thing to want to do that or is it a mer thing? One night stands are too complicated, there's too many ways for that to go wrong the only reason Jade could think to have one is if someone has information you want to steal and he's not interested in obtaining things that way. They don't owe you anything that way.

Jade with soft yan! urges he tries to tamp down because he knows they're not healthy but he just wants to protect you form the dangerous that exist in the coral sea. Even if you become a merfolk you still used to be human, soft, fragile, and so naive... really there's no end to the things that could steal you away from him. Like Ace! Now if you could please look the other way while he disposes of this pest- he jests. He would never rob you of your friends, everyone needs them and he needs you to need him the same way humans need air.

Also the sheer irony of Yuu complaining all of their past relationships being situationships when that's what they have going on with Jade right at that very moment. Maybe that was intentional huh Jade ever think of that? Maybe the pretty human was huffing at you and batting their eyes because they are frustrated that history is repeating itself and the sketchy guy their friends don't approve of is being unclear about his feelings again. He figures that out once he finally finds out the definition and he feels so so stupid

[julymusings]

Can we also get a desi reader for Tim, Bruce, and aged up damian, please?

Bruce Wayne x South Asian!Reader

ok i did say whatever you ask is yours...but tbh i'm not much of an anyone-other-than-jason-or-dick girlie (i knowww i'm sorry). maybe in the future i'll write for the others but for now here's some bruce content. hope it's okay pleeease don't hate me. also sorry this took literally 50 years i was going thru some stuff💀

batboys x south asian!reader masterlist

I think he’d try really hard to impress you by taking you to those super fancy Michelin star Indian fusion restaurants. They’re good but don’t have quite the same charm as home cooked Indian food, so you bring him back to your place and cook for him.

I’m gonna be real here…all that man really needs is a kiss and one of grandma’s recipes. You feed him a bite straight from the pot and the softness and intimacy of the action alone almost has him in tears, never mind the love and warmth of a home cooked meal

You two come back to your place late one night after an event and you’re craving some comfort food, so you heat up some leftover rice with ghee and jaggery, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction when he tries it, but when you guys have a fight that results in you not seeing each other for a few days, when you finally return to the manor Alfred informs you that was the only thing he ate because it reminds him of you and he missed you😭

I imagine not being very used to how much money he has, so some of the wealthy stuff he does is kinda weird to you. Seriously, this man has been a billionaire his entire life, so you can’t tell me that at least a morsel of Brucie Wayne’s financial out-of-touchness isn’t a tiny bit real

You tell him that in your culture, it’s common to gift gold at really special milestones/occasions. But he gets carried away.

He buys you a bunch of gold jewelry, like for every occasion and it’s like…real, solid, 22k gold. You try to tell him that it’s too much and you don’t need anymore and please stop buying it but he’s just like “why🤨🤨? That gold necklace was only a thousand dollars that’s so cheap” and you make him stand in the corner

I think he’d feel so weird about not wearing shoes at your place but you make him get used to it🤷‍♀️

He’s a genius fr so he picks up your language very easily

You love the super extra Uber-dramatic soap operas and it’s a guilty pleasure of yours to watch them before bed. I can just imagine the two of you huddled together in bed watching them on your laptop. He makes sure all the TVs in the house have all the channels you like. Eventually he can’t sleep without watching them either😭

I think he’d love certain perfume scents that are from South Asia, and he’d buy you fancy those perfume oils

I’m sorry but…I can NOT see this man wearing a kurta. Like I just don’t think he’d do it.

Lighting incense in the batcave. That’s all

incorporating this ask bc it's relevant:

One day you’re making chai, and you ask him to bring the pot from the stove to the counter for you. That thing^ is lying next to the stove, but he doesn't know what that is. And since he can withstand intense levels of pain without flinching he just. Picks up the boiling pot with his bare hands and brings it to you.

"Why didn't you use the clamp?!" "How was I supposed to know what that thing was!!" You show him how to use it but he's kinda petty ("Why can't you just use a normal pot with a normal handle?! Why are you making more work for yourself?") so he refuses to use it and just keeps handling the pot with his bare hands.

But one day you're deep in conversation while making chai. The pot is boiling and he handles it anyway, but you're distracted and you forget that he can do that. You assume it's not hot so you touch it and burn yourself and he feels sooo bad. He's kissing all over your hands and pampering you for the whole day. He finally gives in and just starts using the stupid clamp.

I hc Bruce as being a consistent meditator. He probably spent a lot of time learning about it while training across the world and it helps him feel grounded and calm. He tries to get his kids to do it too, but they don't all like it as much as him. So if you meditate with him every now and then he really appreciates that.

You try to get him into yoga along with it and he's like...scarily good at it. He's not super flexible like Dick, so he chooses to opt out of the super bendy poses, but his core strength is unmatched. He can balance his entire bodyweight on one limb no sweat. He's not wobbling, shaking, or tipping over. He's still as a statue and he can last for hours. (😏)

If you get married, I don’t think it would be a huge event. Like there would probably be some kind of reception that’s more of a formality/business event than anything else where he puts on Brucie Wayne, but for the actual ceremony I think it would just be the family

He'd fly you to your home country to have the ceremony there at some super fancy historical attraction. Even if it's just you and some other close people, he's getting the whole place shut down for the day just for you.

I can’t imagine needing to step into a stepmom role for anyone? Except maybe Cass, Duke, and Damian when his mom isn’t around. The four of you DEFINITELY gang up on Bruce all the time and make fun of his whiteness.

You’d also totally gift them traditional wear

The first time you make dinner for everyone, you make it spicy and everyone loves it, but Bruce is just sitting there SWEATING

He’s so good at keeping a poker face that you wouldn’t have even been able to tell it was too spicy for him if not for the beads of sweat on his face. You give him milk to help soothe the heat but he never lives it down

But you actually are so mothering to the kids, you make them turmeric milk when they’re sick and chai with biscuits when they come home from school🫶and it's so sweet it makes Bruce fall for you all over again

When you move in the whole wearing shoes in the house still bothers you, but you can’t stop everyone else from doing it, so you declare your bedroom a no shoes zone. Bruce can wear shoes anywhere else in the house but NOT your bedroom.

And if you still feel weird about wearing shoes around the manor, he'll buy you a bunch of pairs of home slippers and stash them all over the place

Whenever you stay over he brings you chai in the morning. Once you're married and living with him, he brings it to you in bed every morning. At one point he's like "You know Alfred can bring it for both of us" but you insist it tastes so much better when it's from him, and he can't say no to you.

me personally i like to support women's organizations in south asia, i.e. access to education and better healthcare which means things like menstrual products & obgyn care so i am going to hc that after you share how passionate you are about those, WE partners with an existing charity for those issues, both in south asia and other parts of the world and raises tons of money to donate...take that if you like it (world so bad we writing fanfic about equality now😭)

Since he's a famous billionaire playboy he 100% has an internet presence (likely curated to fit Brucie) and there are tons of edits and memes about him. When the world finds out his partner is south asian, brown people probably go a little insane and there's definitely tons of those memes where they photoshop his face over someone in traditional wear and caption it "Bajju Wagle" or some other name with his initials LMAO

[satoruhour]

do you have any headcannons for gojo comforting reader when they start their period? (If i already sent this ask, ignore the first one! i couldnt remember if i asked this already or not)

a/n: hi darlaaa thank you for waiting teehee i love the gojo asks you’re giving me / i tried to keep it as general as possible even tho i only use pads! gn!reader, a little brief n*sfw at the end

i think we have all established that gojo is actually like . crazy in love with you and because of that he hates that you’re hurting so much bc of it :(

gojo likes to be at your command (even on normal days but) so he’s noting down every small thing you mention

“a tub of ice cream would sound so good rn…” or “think im running out of heat pads”

and he’s on his feet instantly. when youre sick or on your period he just declares it an off day, or at least on the first day when it’s the most painful

doesn’t really care about blood since he’s seen his fair share but he sometimes panics if your period comes during the night and he sees that the sheets are red

gojo lightly turns you over and sees that it’s coming from your centre and breathes a sigh of relief bc he’s had one too many nightmares about you getting bloodied and torn to shreds by a curse and he’s too late to save you

anyway. enough of the dark stuff, you freak out the first time you stay over and your period comes (the timing is so shit truly) bc his sheets are so expensive and you just “oh my god i just ruined my chance w this beautiful man”

but gojo doesn’t bat an eye, rather jumps up to comfort you, rubbing a soothing hand over you before you head over to the bathroom to clean up

a bit of blood got on him tho, thru cuddling and gojo makes a joke about how you’re “marking” him and you just roll your eyes and shove him away with a smile lol

he gives you everything you need to clean up most of the time and lets you do your thing

doesn’t let you change the sheets w/ him and rather makes you sit down to watch him, as with other things

changing the channel? gojo is there to do it. u want another snack from the pantry? he’s teleporting that short distance in his house because he doesn’t want you to feel that disgusting rush of blood whenever you stand up. hes so dramatic i swear

has made pms jokes before but he’s changed and he’s a better man now fr. gojo has gotten a lecture from utahime and then didnt take it seriously and then REALLY got told off by shoko after 💀

now whenever you’re moody he just shuts up and comforts you quietly <3

gojo willingly straps on those devices that mimic period cramps and then just when he wants to boast, you turn on the device to the highest setting (he told u to give him ur all) and he SCREAMS the most high pitched shriek ever it’s hilarious

tricks yuji into trying it out and poor yuji gullibly smiles even when gojo hasnt explained what it’s for and the way yuji grits his teeth omfg. you swear you hear sukuna ask gojo to never fuckin do that again

never disrespects you again

reluctantly gives you his sweet things 😭 he gets a little sad when he returns from a mission and his cheesecake is gone and you’re just sitting in front of the tv going “what?” LMFAOOO

he loves you too much however and lets you do whatever!

praises you even MORE during this time it’s kinda adorbs lol — “oh! you worked out on your period, love that for you, darling!!!!”

“my baby stood up from the couch! yaayyy!!!” he’s so annoyingly cute bye

learns so much about your favourite pad and tampon brands but also has that first time funny moment where he calls you and says “babe what size pussy you have?” and 😭😭

memorises the lengths/thickness and different uses but sometimes he still buys the wrong thing (it’s ok he’s cute enough that u forgive him)

has the biggest gasp when he finds out some brands put in chemicals to make ppl w/ vaginas bleed more so they buy more sanitary products

is fully motivated to go to the offices to protest 😭😭😭

buys SO MANY packets of sanitary products and just makes the excuse of “i’m rich“ and “doesn’t hurt to have more of it in case you run out”

you gesture incredulously, “yeah but not TWENTY PACKETS????? ARE YOU INSANE?”

your sweet boyfriend is just worried for you

gives the higher-ups shit cause they make you go on a mission while on your period and it’s so disgusting to exercise, much less exorcise and run around on a mission and tells them he’ll take it instead.

gojo doesn’t tell you he did tho, just comes home a little later than usual to find u already asleep

would love to make u soup but we’ve also established he sucks in the kitchen so … he just buys you those soup packets from the soup spoon and tells you he made it himself

you believe him once. and then the next day u catch an email notifying him more packets of soup is coming the next morning 💀

you two ended up eating soup for the next few days

tells you about his missions or days if you don’t want to say or do anything. he can talk your ear off for hours and you’re glad for that but sometimes you slip in little hums or nods and he can’t help but smile hehe

gojo rubs his hand on your tummy and womb when it hurts :( it’s endearing :((

sometimes also asks you if you’d like it on your core if it hurts, and his hand cupping your cunt feels nice at times.

also wiggles his eyebrows too much asking if you need his help to cum or something bc he heard it calms cramps LOL

suggests helping you to rub one out if you want but really it all depends on you if you want it <3

all in all a very sweet guy to be around and sometimes you have to tell him to quiet down cause he’s a little too hyper but he takes care of you extensively :3 you’re his baby !!!!

[alittlebitofloveliness]

The Outsiders as Modern Fast Food Employees

Based on stuff I have seen/done at work

-The management very clearly have a 'brand' about who works out front, so stereotypically 'pretty' people are usually interacting with customers and everyone else gets banished to the grill (this is a real thing that happened at my work. We have one token dude who works at the front and the rest of us are all rosy cheeked young girls with long hair. Seriously, put me and most of my female coworkers together we look scarily similar) POINT IS Soda, Ponyboy, and Angela would all get to work front of house

-Steve works grill and he's the coworker everyone likes for no reason, he's just chill and good at what he does and helps out when front of house is swamped without needing to be asked or being a dick about it

-Every fast food place has one good manager and one evil manager (it's a canon event ok) and as long as the evil manager isn't working Steve lets everyone working eat some of the leftover fries before he chucks them each night

-Ponyboy found a mouse in the walk in pantry once and took it home in a cup to keep as a pet. Darry wouldn't let him, so Curly agreed to foster it for him, and now they relentlessly refer to it as 'the baby'. Newly hired coworkers are always confused and a little concerned because are they actually gay teen parents? No, they're just dumbasses, but no one tells the new hires that because it's fun to see how long it takes them to figure out they're cooing about a pet MOUSE not a human child

-Everyone chats and shit talks over the headsets all the time, even though they're not supposed to. Since Curly and Angela speak spanish but no one else does, they shit talk about the evil manager when she's there, and tell her they're talking about their brother if she ever asks what they're going on about

-Sodapop hates working drive through but gets it almost every shift since he's one of the few people trained to do it

-Two-bit is that guy who's technically employed but has like...one scheduled shift a week and still calls in all the time

-Theres a group chat where the schedule gets shared but only Soda and Steve ever use it, and never for it's intended purpose

-Angela can cry on command and anytime a customer starts to complain about anything she immediately bursts into tears. As soon as the customer leaves she stops

-Angela's customer service voice is already high pitched (we love customer service voice woohoo) but when she's working drive through it's so shrill its a wonder anyone can understand her

-Darry has his other jobs so he definitely wouldn't work where the rest of them work but he's that family member that stops by all the time and chates to soda and/or pony for half an hour and everyone else is annoyed 'cause they gotta pick up the slack.

-Dallas also wouldn't work with them because that man could NOT do customer service but him and Tim could drop by all the time and be really nice to the workers but yell at other customers. Someone is letting their kid run wild in the lobby? Tim's scolding that kid AND their mother. Some old guy is bring curt with the staff? Dally's gonna be more than curt to him

-Johnny would be a doordash/skip driver but he's at the store so often that everyone greets him by name and kinda treats him like an honorary employee

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

Potential TW ::: Difficulty conceiving. & for my vomit-sensitive friends, here's a mildly changed version: PUKE FREE EDIT

A/N ::: I am so tired tonight that this was not super proofed. This was an ask that came via my messages. They wanted a story with the spicy and the sweet parts of Kats & F.reader tryin' for a baby. I hope it has all the elements you wanted and that you like it!

C/W ::: Aged up Kats x f.reader, several mentions of vomiting & other facial fluids being discharged (snot, tears, puke). Oral M->F Quite a bit of P->V. Lovey dovey stuff, sweet moments between 2 people who just want a freakin' baby. Ok? 😭

WC ::: 4,923 (Jesus christ, I'm so sorry. This totally got away from me and I don't even know how.)

"Hey babe, it's me." Katsuki said in his usual growly voice. "I guess you're still at work or somethin'. Anyway, I'll be home tomorrow night. Also, I'been holdin' back. So, be ready for me. I love you, call me if ya want."

Katsuki was out of town on a job. He's been gone for almost a week now, the longest you two have been apart since you got married, almost 2 years ago. You missed him, sure. But when he came home, stomping through the entryway, yelling for you, it was the best feeling to be wrapped up in his arms and smooshed into his chest.

The two of you have been leaving yourselves open to having a baby for about 4 months now. It hasn't been constant trying, but the longer it goes that you're not getting pregnant, the more you feel like you're needing to take this more seriously. You started reading up on the most productive positions to get the result you're looking for, studying what you can do before and after you do the deed. How to check your basal temperature. When doctor intervention becomes more than a discussion and an absolute necessity.

The phone beeps, alerting you to your missed call and voicemail. "What ... oh, damn it." You listen to the message Katsuki left you and couldn't help the soft pink blush that spread over your face and chest. No man had ever made you feel the way he has. You had been pretty reserved until he helped you tap into your inner slutty girl. It sounds bad, but you've not looked back once since he brought you out of your little sexual shell. And why should you? Every time you're with him you swear it's the best sex you've ever had. Point being, you got really lucky to have him love you and be able to love him.

Pushing #1 on speed dial, you hear the other line ringing and start praying to whatever gods would listen to you that he'd answer his phone.

"Hey brat. Y'ignorin' me now or some shit like that? The fuck ya think ya are?" You could hear him choke out a laugh. The background noise was almost louder than he was.

"You know it, you caught me. Trying to ignore you. What're you gonna do about it?" You giggled when you heard his breath hitch in his throat. Your voice got low and breathy, "You gonna punish me, hm? Good luck catching me, Kats."

The phone crackled a few times before you heard him, "Hey! Y'there? Babe!? Goddamn it, this shit ass fuc---" and then you heard nothing.

"K-Kats? Hello? Are you ... are you there? Oh." You tossed the phone on the couch and pouted. "Things were just about to get good, too." You whined to the cat. But you knew they didn't care. They were Kats' anyway. They merely tolerated you until they were hungry and then they were your biggest fan.

A chime rang out into the quiet room and you pounced on it. A text from Katsuki, "Sorry, shit reception here. I'll try to call you from the hotel later. XXX"

It was about 6pm. Too early for bed, too late to go anywhere. So you curled up on the couch and watched your wedding video. You laughed and cried about how stupid you felt for missing him so much. He's only been gone a week and he'll be home tomorrow. Less than 24 hours and you would be together again.

You woke up to the sun forcing its way through the edges of the window coverings. "He's coming home today! He ... is finally coming home today!" A contented sigh heaved its way from your chest as you stood and stretched the uncomfortable position you slept in from your body. And then immediately a wave of nausea washed over you. "The f-," you covered your mouth and ran to the bathroom. Lifting the toilet lid, you took pause and started praying that you wouldn't puke. "Mmm ..." Your eyes roamed to the bathroom cupboard. The nausea faded and soon your body followed your eyes' lead and you started to crawl to open the door and pull out a pregnancy test.

You peed on the plastic receptacle and set the timer you'd bought specially for the bathroom, only to hurry up and wait for the next 3 minutes.

"Oh." You tried so hard not to let yourself get wrapped up in the hope that all of your fun and hard work had finally paid off. But it still hurt. It always hurt. It was a relief though, that Katsuki wasn't here to have to go through this again. He always somehow got more excited than you at the prospect of you becoming parents. 'There's plenty uh’time, ma,' he always says to you whenever the result is another negative.

It would be several hours before he'd be home, so you put yourself together and set out to grocery shop. You decided to stop by your favorite little boutique and look around at the lingerie. Maybe that would help cheer you up and raise moral to romp around with your husband. You laughed at the stupid thought. It was always fun to be with Katsuki.

You managed to knock all of your tasks out in a couple of hours and drove home to get stuff put away. You still wanted to shower, put on the new lingerie you bought and figure out what to do for dinner. Take-out was calling your name tonight.

In the shower, you started to think about how much you loved Katsuki. And a familiar, warm, tingly feeling started to bloom in the pit of your stomach. Unconsciously, you began rubbing your thighs together trying to alleviate the pressure - however pleasant it might be - building there. It was a dangerous game you were playing here. If you rubbed them too much, you know you'd get beyond frustrated and have to take care of this on your own. And there was nothing you wanted more than for him to be the one to alleviate this pent up tension in your body. Seeing as he was the one causing it, it only seemed fair.

Hurrying to finish washing up, you managed to get out of there with only a little bit of lingering agitation. Perhaps agitation was too strong a word. But you missed him so much there was no other word you could think of to replace it.

All wrapped up in a towel, you went to your room and looked over the clothes you had laid out for tonight. The dress you chose was newer, you picked it up a month or so ago, but haven't had the chance to wear it. It’s so new that he hasn't even seen it on you. The lingerie was a strappy black 1 piece and it looked so confusing to you. But you wanted to look nice for him. You knew he would love it for the whole 30 seconds it was on you before he tore it off. Yet you couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous about his homecoming.

It all felt so new to you for some strange reason.

His Jeep pulled into the driveway and your heart all but stopped beating. Your face got hot and you felt like you were going to puke again. "Jesus, calm yourself, y/n. You're married for Christ's sake. Have been for over 2 years. He is your husband. He already loves you." But you didn't believe a word you said to yourself.

You ran to the bedroom to take one last quick glance at your appearance. Smoothing down the dress at your stomach, you noticed it didn't sit quite like it did when you first bought it. You just chalked it up to a little bit of stress eating with Katsuki being gone, and you trying to stay cool about (not) getting pregnant. It just caught up to you. No matter. He's home.

The front door opened and you heard his heavy footsteps. Music to your ears. "Babe? 'M home. Get yer ass ov-", You peeked your head out of the bedroom and gave him a sassy smile. "There you are, fuck, missed you so much. Don't move." He tossed his keys onto the kitchen table and walked toward you like he was hunting you. Like if he moved to quickly you'd get startled and run away from him. Little did he know that it would take a lot more than him running at you to make you even flinch.

"I missed you too, Kats. So much." You whispered as he got closer. He reached out for you and pulled you flush against him, his mouth immediately finding yours. His lips were so soft and warm and he smelled so good. You couldn't resist the urge to kiss him deeper, and you let your tongue brush his bottom lip. He growled and held you tighter.

"Fuck, y’taste so good. Yer gonna kill me. I can't wait for you any longer. All of you. Every part of you." He kissed your cheek and then your ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth and tugging on it with his teeth. You moaned and ground your hips into his. The sensation of his hardness rubbing against you made you ache with need.

"Oh God. Please. I need you so much." Every brush of his fingers against your body left a trail of raised, peach fuzz hairs in their wake. You were panting now, trying to catch your breath from his lips on your skin. He pulled back and looked at you, his eyes shining with love and lust. "I love you so much, babe."

"I love you too, Katsuki." Your voice was breathy and quiet, almost like you were afraid to say it.

He leaned in and kissed you again, this time with more heat and intensity. His hands found their way to your ass and he squeezed, eliciting a whimper from your lips. "Let's go to bed." He grabbed your hand and led you to the bedroom.

You walked in and he pushed you onto the bed. You squealed and giggled as you bounced. He stood over you and started to unbutton his shirt. His abs and pecs were on display for you. You couldn't help but lick your lips at the sight of his muscles moving as he shrugged his shirt off his shoulders. He moved to unbuckle his belt and you got a little nervous. He was so hot and you felt like you couldn't keep up with him. But he always managed to make you feel like the most beautiful woman on earth.

As he took his pants off, you got up and stood in front of him so he could unzip the dress. "You make this dress look so fuckin' beautiful, babe. Goddamn. So sexy. But y'know, 's much as I love this, 'm dying to see what's underne- Hoh fuck. Th- you- fuck that's hot. This new?" He asked as he covered his mouth with his right hand and shook his head slowly.

"You like it?" You blushed hard.

"Do I fuckin' like it. C'mere. Fuckin' c'mere and I'll show you just how much I like it." He pulled you close and kissed your lips, your neck, your chest. You could feel him hard and throbbing against your lower stomach. It was driving you wild.

He turned you around and began to kiss your shoulders. He moved the straps of the lingerie down and bit your skin gently. "Ah! Katsuki, please. Please touch me. I need you."

"Patience. G’na take my time with you. Got about 6 days to make up for, darlin'. Lemme have this. Lemme have you."

He turned you back around and kissed you deeply. He held you close and you could feel the heat radiating from his body. "I am so glad you're home, Kats." You whispered while you pulled him to the bed.

You laid there and let him take over, let him do what he wanted. And what he wanted was to drive you crazy. He kissed every inch of your body, making sure to pay extra attention to your most sensitive parts.

"You work out this week or somethin'?" He asked between kissing your hot skin. He moved down to your belly. "Fuck, you're just so ..." he growled against your skin as he breathed you in. "Your tits look fantastic. You're so ... gah ... I dunno. You're just so soft." He ran his hands over your curves and squeezed your hips.

You pulled his hair and guided him to your core. "Katsuki, need ... need your mouth." He obliged and licked a stripe up your slit, his tongue pressing firmly against your clit and you jumped back. "Hohmygod, Kats! Fuck!!"

"S'sensitive for me," he dove back in and started to suck on your clit, swirling his tongue around it and then flattening it and moving it side to side, "Fumkin' lub et." You felt like you were going to burst. The feeling was overwhelming and you felt yourself get close to the edge faster than you could ever remember.

"Katsu- kugh, ohmygod, I'm gonna ... I'm gonna ..." You grabbed his head and pushed him further into you. He moaned and his hands dug into your thighs as he kept working your swollen cunt.

"Cum for me, baby. Show me how fuckin’ hard y’can cum for me. Lemme see that pretty pussy cum for me." He moved back down and started sucking and licking your clit again, his fingers sliding inside you and hitting that spot you love so much.

Your whole body tensed up and you felt yourself explode all over his fingers and tongue. "Katsuki!!!" You screamed and bucked your hips against his face, chasing your orgasm. You could feel him smiling against your skin as you rode out your pleasure against his face and hands. You didn't know what you were rubbing yourself against but there was no part of you that could stop it from happening.

"G'girl. Fuck, you taste s'good, babe. Kinda diff’rent. More tart. Lemony." He kissed your thigh and then crawled up to kiss you. "Gonna fuck a baby into you now." He smiled down at you, much more sweetly than his intentions actually were and held your legs open so he could slide himself inside you.

"Mmmm, yes ... please, want you … in me." You whined as he started to push himself in. He was big, you were used to it. But tonight you needed a minute or two to adjust to his size. It felt like you were clenching down on him, almost purposely. Making it more difficult for him to push himself entirely inside of you. 

"Jesus fuck, you sure you weren't doing some pussy push-ups r'somethin'? You're so tight, babe. Feels so fuckin' good. But … Jesus."

You couldn't control your laughter at him calling kegel exercises 'pussy push-ups'. It was so stupid, but it made you feel warm and loved that he cared enough to notice things like that. "I've been practicing, yeah." You smirked and he leaned in and kissed you again.

"Good. So fuckin' good. Now, g'na fuck you 'til you can't stand it. I'm gonna cum in that hot pussy and make you the sexiest ma on the face of the planet." He growled against your lips as he started to move inside you.

You lost track of time and your body just reacted to him. He was rough and tender. Everything you needed and more. The two of you singing this song of moans in unison sounded better than any of your favorite songs ever had. His grunts and growls filled the room, as he fucked you harder and harder, so too, did your moaning and muttering of how good he felt get louder.

"Kats ... gonna cum again. Pleasepleaseplease ... you gotta cum first! It w- oh god - it works better if you cum first ... I think! Hurry up!" You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him deeper into you. You could feel your walls tightening and pulsating around his cock and it was the most exquisite feeling.

"Bah, fuck, I'm close babe. Gonna fill you up so good. Fuck, gonna fill you up with my cum." He grabbed your legs and pushed them back so your knees were against your chest and your ankles were at his ears. He held onto the back of your legs and pounded into you with all the strength he had left in him.

"Yesyesyes! Katsuki! Cum in me!" You were on the edge of your orgasm and you couldn't hold it at bay any longer. You felt the hot wetness of his seed filling you up and you let yourself go, your pussy clenched around his cock.

He stayed inside you for a minute or two, panting and kissing your forehead. Droplets of sweat fell from his face to yours. It was disgustingly intimate. You had never felt closer to him. Physically or emotionally.

"I love you." He whispered, his breath warm against your skin.

"I love you." You whispered back.

And with that, he rolled off of you and snuggled up against your back, his hand resting on your stomach. The two of you fell asleep a short time later. Still happily tangled up in one another.

The next morning you awoke to Katsuki gently rolling his cock against your ass. You turned your head as best you could to see him, but when you managed to, you saw that he was still fast asleep. It didn't diminish the arousal that began to creep its way through your body, though.

You rolled over and kissed his face, whispering sweet nothings to him as you tried to wake him. "Kaaats, you wanna go again?" Running your hand down his chest and stomach, stopping about halfway down his happy trail, he opened his eyes slowly and gave you a half smile that looked so sexy on him.

"Mornin' babe. Wha' was I doin'?" He asked, looking down at his erection. "Ah. Was havin' a really ... really good dream 'bout you. Wan' me to show ya what we were doin'?" He flopped onto his back and pulled you on top of him so you were straddling his waist. "Y'so fuckin' wet already. Damn woman. You could put out a fire with that pussy. Hm-hm. Let's start one first though, yeah?" His hands dug into the plush of your hips and pushed/pulled you over him.

Your cunt wrapped so perfectly around him made him let out the most guttural of moans that caused you to clench around nothing. But he felt it and moaned again. It was becoming a vicious little cycle: He'd moan, your body would react, so on and so forth.

He pulled you up, grabbing underneath your ass and lifted you so you were hovering just over his cock. You rolled your head forward to look at him as you slid down, putting just the head inside of you.

"Don't be a fuckin' tease." He growled at you and tried to pull you down, his cock twitching at the denial of the possibility of complete envelopment. "Fucking hell, you're so bratty. Gonna make you pay for this," he laughed.

"Sorry, can't hear you over how good just the head of your cock feels while I'm bouncin' on it." You smirked at him as you wiggled your hips side to side.

He reached up and grabbed your neck, pulling you down to him as he thrust up into you. "I said, don't be a fucking tease," he hissed out through a clenched jaw.

You felt your eyes roll back and your body tense up as he filled you completely. It was almost too much to handle. "Katsu ... ki ... ah, fu-ughh, fuck! Don't stop!" You couldn't hold on anymore. You ground your hips against him as you came, your pussy fluttering and gripping his cock so tightly he couldn't help but follow you over the edge.

All of a sudden, you stopped riding out the last waves of your orgasm. Sitting on top of him still, you put your hand over your mouth and you looked down at him with pure panic in your eyes. "Hmph ..." you shook your head when he asked if you were ok. "Hmphhuh," you gagged again. He helped you off of him and all but dragged your post-o, jellied, naked body to the bathroom and lifted the lid on the toilet for you.

"Y'fuckin' sick'er somethin', babe? Got the flu? What the hell's goin' on?" His brows furrowed and he scowled at you. You knew it was out of concern, not frustration.

You shook your head, trying to compose yourself after something so icky. Hating yourself for doing this right now. Right after such an intimate moment. While he was standing there, staring at you. Puking your guts out. Naked. "Don' knoooohhhh fuck, leave, Kats. Get out! Ple-!"

He squatted down next to you and held your hair back with his right hand and rubbed your back with his left. "'M not fuckin' leavin' you. Not for pukin', not for fuckin' nothin'. Y'fuckin' hear me? Better or worse. Sickness and health and all that other shit. Just shut up and finish. 'L be right here for ya."

The amount of fluid that left your face was disgusting. You'd never had such floodgates open like this before. Puking, crying, snot running from your nose. You were an actual mess. But he stood by you through all of it.

"Hey, babe ... d'ya ... ah shit. D'ya think yer pregnant?" Katsuki asked as you stood from the floor, moving slowly toward the sink to wash your face off. The sparkle in his eyes was undeniable. And it killed you that you had to tell him you weren't.

You leaned over the sink, your face in your hands, and started crying. "I ... oh, Kats. I'm ... I'm not. I took a test a couple of days ago. I didn't w-", his hands on your back silenced you. They were, to date, the most important hands in the world to you. They were strong. They were soft and warm and they are all encompassing. If there were any kind of god, you would live out the rest of your days under his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me? I don't want you carryin’ this all by yourself, y/n. What we don't succeed in doing together, we share the hardships and overcome that ... together. I'm so sorry, babe. I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I shouldn'ta left ya for so long." He spoke to you so quietly. Like his words would be the thing that finally throws you over the edge. The thing that finally breaks you.

"Maybe I ate something." You ran your forearm across your dry lips and hobbled back to the bed to bury yourself in the blankets. "I'm sorry, Kats. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I won't do that again, promise." He walked over to you and sat down on the edge and brushed the hair from your face.

"G'na get you some 7-up 'n a cold washcloth. Be right back, babe." You watched him walk out of the bedroom and turn down the hallway. His butt jiggling ever so slightly. It made you smile. And it made you feel something else.

"The hell ...?" You sat up in bed and realized that you were horny. Again. Katsuki came back a minute later with what he promised you. Something to drink and a cold, wet cloth for you to put on your face. Smiling as he handed you this stuff, you pulled him in close to you and kissed him on the cheek all the way down to his neck.

"Oh, babe. Yer jus' so ... hah. No matter what. Even with your hair matted to your face and your eyes puffy and red. I love you." He leaned over and kissed your forehead.

"Don't say it." You smiled at him. It was almost like you knew what he was going to say. And you couldn't bear to hear it. Not right now. You had no idea where you two stood in that department. You weren't ready to admit that to each other. Not yet. Not right now.

He smiled back and laid down next to you, spooning you from behind. He ran his hand along your waist and stomach, over and over. It was relaxing. And it was a little bit arousing, but you managed to keep yourself at bay. You had just thrown up, after all.

"I'm sorry, Kats. I'm sorry I can't give us the baby we want. I'm sorry I'm so fucking broken." You choked on your words as tears started to well in your eyes. "I'm so sorry."

He shifted behind you and held you tighter. "Babe, you're not broken. 'Sides, who says it ain't me? Maybe we should make a doctors appointment, yeah? Get my count tested and all that shit. Whatcha say?"

You sniffed and wiped your face with the washcloth. It felt good against your hot face. "You - Kats, you'd do that? You'd have your sperm count checked?" Rolling over to face him, you took his face in your hands and held it there while the two of you just stared at each other.

"Fuckin' never said I wouldn't! Course I will. 'F we ever wanna get to the bottom of this, we hafta explore every possibility, right?" He ran a rough finger along your cheek to collect the freshly fallen tears and wipe them on the sheets. You made an ick face at him and he told you to pipe down, they need to be changed anyway after the night you two just had on them.

***

A couple of weeks past and he had his appointment with the fertility specialist where they ran a count on Kats. They called and said his sperm was 'abnormally high and active'. Their exact words were, "We have never seen anything like it in our careers." He didn't shut up about it for 3 days.

This left you in a fog. Surely, you were the reason you two couldn't conceive. It made you feel like absolute shit. No matter what he said to you, it didn't lift the guilt you were trying to carry all on your own. You thought he shouldn't have to hurt when he wasn't the problem. This complex was exhausting you and you could feel yourself slipping deeper into sadness.

You went to the clinic at the end of the day that Friday, the last appointment they had for the week. They drew your blood and told you they would be in touch on Monday or Tuesday about the next step after they had a chance to evaluate the sample for any obvious

It was Saturday morning and you were both sitting on the back porch eating breakfast when your phone rang. "It's the clinic, Kats. You answer. I don't want to talk to them. They probably found a plastic bag where my uterus is supposed to be." You pushed your phone across the little glass tabletop and got up, carrying the dishes into the kitchen to wash them off.

"Yeah babe, on it. Hello? N-no. You're trying to reach Bakugou? Well, shit. Yeah. That's me, I mean ... I'm her husband, Katsuki. Yes! The man with incredible sperm!" He laughed, you cringed. "Wait, what? No, that's not ... I mean ...," his voice got quiet and he got up, walking across the yard to mess with a fence piece.

You watched him out there fiddle with the broken wooden slat and felt your heart breaking into even smaller pieces. "Fuck." You whispered, looking down at the tiny bubbles popping on the soaking dishes. A tear dripped from your chin and landed on your chest, darkening a spot on your gray Dynamight shirt.

Katsuki came walking into the kitchen and came over to you, putting his hands on your shoulders, he turned you to face him. "Hey, ma?" Getting down on his knees, he put his hands on your waist and smooshed his face into your tummy. "Ma?"

"Are you having a fucking stroke or something? What are you doing, dumbass?" You wiped your chin and huffed out a short, insincere laugh. "Kats, what did - what'd they say. Is it me? Am I ..."

"Yes, babe. It's you. It's you … and the little grenade you're carrying. You're ... we're ... having a baby, y/n. You're fuckin' pregnant." He beamed up at you, tears in his wide eyes. 

"It's you, babe. You and me. And … and … and a little us in you. We did it, y/n. We're gonna have a family!"

You covered your mouth with your hands and cried. Not just a few tears, but a full-on ugly cry. You were going to be a mom. Katsuki was going to be a dad. And this was just the beginning of your lives as a family.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe in us. I'm sorry I let myself think for a second that it wouldn't be us. Us. Just us. I'm so happy it's us." You bent over and kissed his forehead. He stood and wrapped you in his arms and you both just stood there letting this new beautiful reality sink in.

The future was yours and yours alone … well, and Kats’ and the babies, of course. 

Taglist ::: @dreamcastgirl99 @viburnt @arlerts-angel @darkstarlight82

[horoscope1078]

Pau sat in the corner of the locker room. His head hanging low as he fidgeted with his phone. His teammates Hector and Lamine were chatting animatedly nearby but Pau wasn’t really listening. His mind was somewhere else, specifically, on you. He had been crushing on you for months now but he just couldn’t work up the courage to tell you how he felt. Every time he thought about confessing his nerves got the best of him and he chickened out.

He let out a heavy sigh, catching Hector’s attention.

“Yo Pau, what’s up with you?” Hector asked tossing his towel over his shoulder as he walked over to him. “You’ve been quiet since training ended.”

Lamine who had been joking around with Hector moments ago joined them. “Yes man. You look like you’ve got something on your mind. Everything alright?”

Pau looked up at his friends, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “It’s this girl…”

Hector and Lamine exchanged a knowing look. “Ah... the girl. We’ve heard about her before” Lamine teased raising an eyebrow. “Still haven’t told her, have you?”

Pau shook his head feeling his face heat up. “No. Every time I get close.. I just.. I don’t know.. I freeze up. I want to tell her but I don’t know how to do it without making a fool of myself.”

Hector leaned against the lockers, crossing his arms with a grin. “Man.. you’re overthinking it. Just be confident and go for it. Girls love confidence.”

Lamine, however seemed to be more excited about giving Pau some advice. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Alright alright.. listen up. I’ve got the perfect plan for you. It’s simple. Write her a love letter.”

Pau blinked confused. “A love letter?”

“Yes man!” Lamine said nodding eagerly. “It’s old-school, romantic. Girls love that kind of stuff. You write something like ‘Dear crush, you light up my world like the stadium lights on game day. Every time I see you, my heart does a bicycle kick.’ ”

Hector snorted shaking his head. “A bicycle kick, really?”

Pau couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I’m not sure that’s the right vibe Lamine.”

Lamine crossed his arms looking proud of himself. “Hey.. I’m just saying, it’s poetic. It’ll make her swoon.”

Hector rolled his eyes as stepping in with his own idea. “Forget the love letter. You need to do something bold, something that’ll get her attention for sure.” he thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Got it! Challenge her to a penalty shootout.”

Pau stared at Hector, half-amused and half-confused. “A penalty shootout? Seriously?”

“Yes! Hear me out” Hector said clearly excited by his own idea. “You invite her to the field, you both take turns shooting penalties and if she wins, you tell her your secret, you’ve been in love with her all along. If you win, same thing. Either way, you’ve got to confess. It’s a win-win!”

Pau rubbed his face with his hands, laughing but also groaning. “Guys.. I don’t think I can confess my feelings through a football match.”

“Why not?” Lamine piped up. “Football’s your thing Pau! It’s how you communicate with the world.”

Hector nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Make it fun. Girls love a guy who can make them laugh and doesn’t take himself too seriously.”

Pau chuckled, feeling a little better despite their ridiculous ideas. “Ok.. but what if she’s not into football? What if she doesn’t want to kick penalties against me?”

Lamine waved him off. “Then we move to plan b. Serenade her.”

Hector’s eyebrows shot up. “Serenade her? With what Lamine? You’re not gonna tell Pau to sing, are you?”

Lamine grinned unbothered by the scepticism. “Why not? I bet Pau has a decent voice. All he needs is a guitar and a few romantic lines. Something like ‘Girl, you dribble through my heart like Messi in his prime.’ ”

Hector burst out laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re killing me man. Messi in his prime? Pau, please don’t do that.”

Pau leaned back, laughing so hard his sides hurt. “Yes.. I think I’ll pass on the serenading idea.”

Lamine pouted though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “Fine fine. No singing. But seriously man, you’ve got to do something. The longer you wait the more you’re going to psych yourself out.”

Hector nodded clapping Pau on the shoulder. “Yes bro. Just be yourself. Talk to her like you always do but maybe.. y’know.. throw in a compliment or two. Tell her how you really feel but don’t overthink it.”

Pau sighed feeling grateful for his friends even if their ideas were totally out there. “You guys are ridiculous but thanks. I think I just need to figure out the right moment and go for it.”

Lamine leaned in with a grin. “And when you do, remember.. ‘bicycle kick of the heart.’ ”

Pau shook his head laughing again. “I’ll keep that in mind, Lamine. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

With his friends by his side, Pau felt a little more confident even if he wasn’t ready to challenge you to a penalty shootout or sing about dribbling hearts just yet.

[lonely-ey3s]

With All My Love : Chapter 6 | with all my love

Chapter 6: With All My Love

Pairing: joel miller x f!reader, no outbreak

Word count: 15.9k

Chapter Summary: After being medically discharged and promoted, you are finally going home and can’t wait to tell Joel. What you don’t know is Joel has an elaborate plan for your arrival and when it happens and you are finally with him, you fall even further in love with him as he does with you. 

Chapter warnings: anxiety, mentions of combat/war, mentions of injuries, language, SMUT (18+ only, MDNI), fluff fluff and more fluff, use of Y/N, mentions of deaths, if I missed anything, please let me know!

Dividers by: @saradika-graphics

A/N: this one is what we've all been waiting for, i'm so in love with these two, please enjoy and comment with your favorite part below ❣️

Main Masterlist

Joel’s POV

Tommy had told him that Maria was coming back home due to her injury and that he was taking a trip to NC to visit her. As much as he was happy for his brother and Maria to be back home safe, he wished deep down you were coming with her. He began to think how you might be dealing with the change and he didn’t even think that besides Reggie, you would be all alone. 

He was making dinner for himself and Sarah when she came downstairs and sat at the table, “You doin’ ok Dad?” she could see he was lost in thought. 

Joel looked up as he was stirring some red sauce in a saucepan and hummed, not hearing what she said. 

Sarah smiled softly, “What’s goin’ on in that head yours? Y/N is back, she’s safe, right?” 

Joel nodded and smiled softly to himself, “Yes, she’s back, and I’m very happy that she’s safe. I just…” 

“You wish she was coming home with Maria.” Sarah took the words right out of his mouth. 

He nodded and shrugged, “Is that bad of me to want? I feel selfish for it.” 

Sarah shook her head and stood up from the table, coming to sit by her dad on the counter to offer him more comfort, “I don’t think it’s wrong for you to want the person you can’t have in your life right now to be here. If I’m being honest, I think that’s the most selfish thing you’ve wanted for a while, Dad. You aren’t one to put yourself and your wants first.” 

Joel let out a soft chuckle, “That’s not true… I do stuff for myself.” he raised his eyebrow at her. 

Sarah deadpanned him, “Name three times this week…” 

Joel stuttered and racked his brain, then sighed, “Fine… but that doesn’t mean I don’t do stuff for myself. I… I watch football every Sunday, and I sometimes go out for a drink when you’re with friends.” he looked over at Sarah, trying to reason with her. 

“When’s the last time you’ve wanted somethin’ and got it?” she asked seriously. 

Joel bit the inside of his cheek and shrugged, “I’m not sure…” he looked back at the sauce, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy. You make me happy baby girl…” he looked at her, worried he said something wrong. 

Sarah smiled softly at him, “Dad, you never have to remind me of that. I know I do.” 

Joel smiled softly at her and then held the spoon up for her, “Here, taste test…”

She tasted it and thought for a second, “Needs more hot sauce and just a tad more salt.” she smiled at him. 

He did as she said. 

“When Y/N gets to come home, will she come live with us?” she asked. 

Joel stopped stirring and looked at her, “What do you mean?” he questioned. 

“Well… doesn’t she want to come be with you? I mean Maria is moving to live with Uncle Tommy after she settles in, doesn’t Y/N want that with you and me?” she said softly. 

Joel moved the sauce off the heat and turned his full attention to Sarah, “What would your thoughts be if I did ask her to live with us?” he looked at her in her eyes. 

“I want her to live here! I… I want her to be our family.” she admitted, “She makes you so happy and you’ve changed since you met her… you’ve taken care of yourself more. You work less… I see you more now that she’s with you, and I mean that in a way she’s brought you back out of your shell. You were in one for so long after mom left us.” She looked down at her hands, “You are brighter, you smile more, you just… she helps you feel more yourself I feel like.” she looked at her dad, “Plus, I want a mom… or stepmom… person… thing…” she giggled. 

Joel chuckled and then put his hand on her cheek and smiled at her, “I didn’t know you felt that way.” 

She shrugged, “I’m good at hiding my feelings… I wonder who I get that from?” she teased. 

He chuckled lightly and then kissed her head before going back to the sauce, “If I’m being honest I’ve not asked her to move in with us yet. Not because I don’t want her to, I just, it’s hard to look forward to something that you have no idea when it’ll happen… you know?” 

Sarah nodded, “Yeah, I think that’s the hardest thing is we don’t know when she’ll get to come back. Does she have any family like Maria she’d go back to?” she questioned.

Joel shook his head, “Her parents passed a while ago, and she was an only child.” he moved to prepare a salad he was making over on the island. 

“So, before the army, she was just all alone?” she followed and helped him put things in the salad to toss. 

Joel shook his head, “No, she uh… she was with another man for a while, but he was someone that hurt her… she left him… she joined to escape him.” he said sadly. 

Sarah looked at him, shocked, “She was abused?” pausing what she was doing.

Joel nodded, “I only know a little bit but I know he hurt her, and that she ran away from him because she wasn’t able to get help from the authorities, I guess her ex had friends in high places.” he scoffed. 

Sarah nodded, “That’s sad. I’m sorry she had that happen to her.” she put some croutons in the salad. 

“Me too baby girl.” he chopped some red onion to put in as well. 

“Dad?” she started to grate some cheese next to him. 

Joel hummed to acknowledge her. 

“When she does come home, can we have a barbeque for her? I want her to meet all my friends…” she smiled at him. 

He smiled and nodded, “Of course baby girl. We will throw a huge barbeque for her.” he nudged her playfully with his elbow softly, chuckling, she giggled and nudged him back. 

Reader’s POV

You walked out of that office in what you swore was slow motion. It hit you a little too hard. 

You’re going home. 

You looked down at the envelope in front of you and opened it in the middle of the hallway, reading through it. It said the same thing that was told to you inside and gave you a boarding pass and flying instructions for back to North Carolina. You looked up and smiled, “I’m going home.” 

You ran out of the office towards Maria, looking like a bat out of hell, “Maria! Maria!” you shouted, smiling ear to ear. 

She was standing, getting her daily steps in around the tent. She looked up and saw you running, “What? What happened?” she knitted her eyebrows together. 

You ran up to her and hugged her, picking her up, giggling. 

She laughed but winced, “Stitches, honey, stitches!” she giggled. 

“Oh shit, sorry…” you softly set her down and smiled. 

She looked at you, then saw your patch on your arm, gasping “You’re kidding me!?” she squealed and grabbed your arms and then did mini jumps in the air but then stopped “Shit sorry…” She then stood to attention and saluted you. 

You chuckled, “No, no none of that, you’re at ease- forever.” you waved your hands at her. 

She looked at you and smiled brightly, “I’m so happy for you, that’s great!” 

You smiled and held up the envelope slowly in front of your face, giggling. 

She grabbed it and started reading it. She then looked up at you and teared up, “You’re coming home…” 

You nodded, smiling softly, tearing up, “I’m going home.” you let out a small laugh. 

“What… wait, have you told Joel?” she questioned. 

You shook your head, “No, I just got out of the meeting. I… I kind of don’t know what to say.” you chuckled, looking back down at the letter. 

“You tell him you’re coming home, duh!” she smiled and nudged you. 

You smiled at the letter and then looked up at her, “We’re going home…” You then moved the letter to lay on her bed and pulled her into a gentle hug. 

After helping Maria pack up her things since she needed some help lifting things and had an early morning, you messaged Joel around 7 am his time: 

‘Hey cowboy, can you talk? ❣️’

It was a work morning so you weren’t sure if you caught him before he went to work. 

You left your laptop open while you started to gather your things, eager to pack. When you heard the call ring from Skype. 

You rushed over to your laptop and grabbed it, taking it over to your bed, pushing answer. 

“Hey darlin’, how’s your day goin’?’ Joel asked as he smiled brightly, he was running around the kitchen, and he looked like perhaps was late for work. 

You chuckled, “You running late baby?” 

He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee, starting to put on his belt, pulling his shirt up to see, “Just a little… what’s up? Everything ok?” 

You smiled and started giggling, “I’m coming home, Joel.” 

He had his shirt tucked under his chin while he was doing up his belt, he looked up at you and stopped everything he was doing, in shock. 

You chuckled at his reaction, smiling uncontrollably, nodding at him, letting him absorb and process the news. 

He dropped his shirt from his chin and immediately tears filled his eyes, he smiled, “Tell me you’re bein’ serious. Like, ‘pinch me I’m not dreamin’ serious’?” he came closer to the camera, his brown eyes brightly looking at you. 

You smiled brightly and teared up, holding out your arm and pinching yourself, “Pinch me I’m not dreamin’ serious cowboy!” you giggled. 

He chuckled which then turned into a belly laugh then he started jumping up in the air, “You’re comin’ home!” 

You giggled before putting the laptop down on the bed and began jumping in the air with him, “I’m coming home!” 

You both stopped jumping and laughed together for a few more seconds before you came back to sit on the bed. 

“So when is this happening? Are you coming back home with Maria?” Joel started to get anxious, that was less than 48 hours, and he would have so much to do. 

You shook your head, “No, she’s coming back with the Specialists and trainees.” 

Joel raised his eyebrow, “Isn’t that your rank too baby?” he was confused.

You grinned and shook your head slowly. 

“You got promoted?!” Joel almost shouted. 

You chuckled and leaned back, hitting your head on a bar above you, “Ow fuck!” you laughed holding your head, and Joel did as well. 

You leaned back forward and smiled, “I am officially Sergeant Y/N of the United States Army.” you blushed. 

“Darlin’ that’s amazing, I’m so proud of you. So, wait, when do you come back?” he sat down at the table, taking the laptop with him. 

“I leave here in 3 days, so I’ll be in North Carolina on the…” you looked at your boarding pass, “17th at 3:50 pm.” you smiled. “I uh… I was thinkin’, could I grab my car and then come to Austin?” 

He was just about to protest and tell you he would meet you at the airport when he held his tongue. He would surprise you, especially now that he has your arrival information.

“Yeah, that’d be perfect baby.” he smiled and his mind started racing, thinking of everything he needed to do, things he needed to book, everything that he wanted to get ready for you. 

You smiled softly, “I’m so excited to be with you.” you chuckled happily. 

“You have no idea how excited I am to be with you darlin’...” he looked at you lovingly. 

You took a breath, “Ok you’re late for work, we will have plenty of time together soon.” you wiped some tears that came down your cheeks, smiling.

“I love you...” Joel said, still looking at you lovingly, his world was finally going to have you right where you belonged, with him and Sarah. 

“I love you, cowboy…” you smiled and bit your lip. 

He smiled and then went back to doing his belt, “I’ll try to give you a call later tonight, we can iron out the details, ok?” he looked up at you. 

You nodded, “Hey honey?” 

“Yeah sweetheart?” he came closer to the camera, big brown eyes looking at you like a puppy dog. 

You giggled, “Um… your shirt, it’s on backward and inside out my love…” You pointed and hid your smile behind your hand. 

He looked down and took it off, “Is it? Damn it…” 

His body was beautiful, shoulders broad, his skin blessed by a sun-kissed tan, and his biceps flexed when he pulled it up to look at it closer. 

You grinned, “Maybe I was wrong, sorry baby.” you bit your lip. 

Joel looked at you and his eyes went dark with lust, “Oh darlin’, you’re a naughty girl.” he chuckled lowly and put his shirt back on. 

“What can I say? I wanted a sneak peek and I’m usin’ all my get outta jail free cards while I still have ‘em!” you giggled. 

He grinned, “I’ll remember that one… and we’ll call it payback…” 

You bit your lip and looked down shyly, “Get to work handsome… I’ll talk to you later.” you looked up at him smiling softly. 

He kissed his fingers and touched the camera, “I love you, I’ll talk to you later darlin’...” 

You did the same, “I love you, have a good day!” 

He smiled and then the call ended. 

You sat there, and thought, ‘How the hell am I going to wait 3 days!?’ 

Joel planned everything out to the T. He booked a flight to Columbia Metropolitan Airport for himself to arrive 2 hours before you would get there and then booked a flight back to Austin for you and him. 

He also went out and went shopping with Sarah for some clothes for you, he knew you wouldn’t have anything but your army gear when you got to his place, so Sarah helped him pick out some jeans, shirts, pajamas, and relaxing clothes for you. He also found a few sun dresses for you and then called Tommy when Maria landed and asked her what skin and hair care products you used and went out and got them for you so you would have everything he could think of when you got to his place. He put your clothes in a drawer or his closet and then lined up everything for you in the bathroom. He even got you a new toothbrush and had it next to his. 

Additionally, he sent out an invite to have a barbeque at his place that following Saturday and had Sarah make a list of everything he would need to get from the market when he got back with you from the airport the next day. 

Sarah helped him shop for a few new outfits for himself as she said all he had was work clothes and he needed something new for the airport and date nights. For the airport, she found him a nice jean jacket and T-shirt he liked, along with some nice new jeans, and said to wear his nice boots with it all. He felt he would be overdressed for the airport, but he felt good about himself in the mirror at the department store. On top of that, he wanted to look his best for you.  

She also convinced him to go get his hair trimmed and styled. She knew he wanted to look his best, he just needed some help knowing what to do as it had been forever since he felt like this. 

On the day of your flight, he heard from you when you left the base. You told him you would call him from a payphone when you got to the States, which would be a layover in Newark around 7 am his time. 

That morning, when he heard his phone ring on his nightstand, he rolled over, seeing an unfamiliar number, he instantly woke up knowing it was you, that was his alarm clock. 

“Hello? Darlin’?” he said with sleep in his voice. 

You giggled, “Morning sleepy head!” 

He chuckled, “Hey baby, you in the States?” 

“I am, I just landed and went through customs.” you smiled hearing his voice. 

“How was your first two flights?” he asked starting to get out of bed. 

You chuckled, “I’ll take anything over the flight I came over on.” 

He chuckled lightly, “Oh, I bet. I forgot you didn’t go over commercially…” 

“Yeah, worst flight ever. This one, the one from Dubai, I got a pillow and a single breath mint… I’ve never felt so special!” you joked. 

“Wow, aren’t you just so spoiled!” he smiled through the phone. 

“I got some sleep though, which was nice. But then when I woke up, I was sat by this older lady who kept thankin’ me for my service, which got a little overwhelming. You can only say you’re welcome so many times…” you chuckled.

He chuckled and nodded, “I agree.” 

He heard someone behind you say ‘Thank you for your service’ and he let out a laugh. You said, ‘My pleasure’ to them and then chuckled, “Joel I can’t wait til I am out of an airport, they all keep staring at me.” you giggled. 

He chuckled softly, “They mean well baby… if I didn’t know you, I’d be doin’ the same thing.” 

“Yeah but you’re cute, there’s a difference…” you teased. 

He bit his lip, “So if I asked you out, you’d be ok with that?” 

You blushed, “Cowboy if you just so much as looked my way, I’d die a happy woman.” you giggled shyly. 

He grinned, “I feel the same way when you look at me sweetheart, I’m a lucky man.” 

You sighed and then heard an announcement over the intercom, “Shoot that’s me. I gotta make it to my gate. I’ll call you when I land in South Carolina ok?” 

He smiled and nodded happily, thinking of his plan, “Ok baby. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.” 

“I love you too. Have a good rest of your morning cowboy.” 

Joel got up and got in the shower and then started getting ready. He needed to be at the airport in a few hours. After his shower, his nerves were everywhere. He scrambled around the house making sure everything looked good and even went to the car wash to vacuum and clean his truck before heading to the airport. He was stressed, but he couldn’t wait, he was so excited to see you. 

He flew from Austin to South Carolina and then ran around the airport to find a local flower shop before you landed.

Around 3:30 pm he started to feel it sink in. He watched the arrivals and departures board like a hawk and saw that your flight was going to land a few minutes late. He saw which gate you were coming from and ran there to wait where family and friends could pick up their loved ones. He looked around and found he was in a swarm of people, all with signs and banners for their soldiers returning home like you. He knew would need to do something to make himself stand out so he could see you to get your attention. 

He felt overwhelmed and his heart started to pound, his breathing became fast and he felt lightheaded. He took a second and took a deep breath through his nose, and then out through his mouth, like Maria taught him on that Skype call they had. 

He felt his anxiety start to melt when he heard, “Flight 235 from Washington DC, now landing” over the intercom. He smiled and then shook out his hands and then stood in an area where he could see the escalator you’d come down perfectly. 

He felt like it was an eternity he waited before he felt his phone buzz, he looked down at it and put it back in his pocket. He wanted the first time he heard your voice to be when you were in his arms. 

He also knew if you knew his plan, you’d probably feel the same way and forgive him for ignoring your call. 

A moment later he had a voicemail, he pushed to listen to it, holding it up to his ear, “Hey cowboy it's me, I arrived in South Carolina safely. You must be away from your phone or busy, I know you have that big project goin’ on at work…” he smiled and teared up, you remembered the smallest parts about his day, he loved how you loved and saw him. “...Anyway, I’ll try calling you again later, I’m going to grab something to eat, I’m starving, they didn’t have any snacks on the plane…” Someone in the background said ‘Thank you for your service’, you covered the phone a little and said ‘You're welcome’. “Where was I? Oh snacks, what plane doesn’t have snacks? A crime, right?” he heard you giggle and he chuckled and kept his eyes on the escalator, “Anyways, I’ll call you when I grab a hotel or am by another pay phone. I love you. Bye!” 

He saw 3 army personnel come down the escalator so he quickly put his phone in his pocket and then straightened himself up, huffing his breath into his palm to check his breath didn’t stink, and then he bounced anxiously on his toes, his excitement at an all-time high. 

He was holding a bouquet he made himself at a little flower shop downstairs. A mix of white flowers, some sprigs of lavender, and lots of greenery. All were things he remembered you mentioning, here and there, white flowers were your favorite, didn’t matter the type, your favorite color was green, and loved the smell of lavender. These were small things, but he knew they meant so much to you when he remembered them. 

Family and friends started cheering and crying around him when their loved ones came to greet them, and more and more military personnel kept coming down. He kept his eyes fixed on the escalator and then there you were, his heart slammed against his ribs, his hands became clammy and he had never felt the amount of butterflies that just erupted in his stomach until now. 

You had your sleeves rolled up a little, your hair up in the traditional bun, and were wearing the army traditional hat with your army attire, you had your bag in one hand, a backpack on your back, and then were also holding onto a bright pink suitcase by your left side.

His heart started pounding excitedly, and he smiled widely, waiting for you to look his way. As you rode down you were talking to a little kid while his mom held him behind you, you were making faces at him, making him giggle loudly. Joel smiled and watched lovingly, he knew he wanted to have a family with you one day. You’d be a great mom and he loved thinking of you carrying his child, it made his heart soar thinking about that in his future now that you were home. 

As you got to the bottom you hopped off dramatically to make the kid laugh again and your smile was so bright, his heart almost burst at the sight. You then helped the mother with her suitcase that you were holding by you as you rode down before she thanked you for your help and service and walked the other way. You grabbed your bag from the floor and started walking towards the exit, trying to get out of this crowded area. You were walking on the other side of the waiting area that Joel was on. 

Joel watched you, “Shoot, there’s too many people” so he shouted, “Y/N!” realizing you weren’t going to see him. 

You stopped and looked around, frantically looking around, “Joel?” you said to yourself then you saw him and he saw you. 

You both smiled at each other at the same time and you let out a chuckle, breathing excitedly as you started to walk towards him then started to walk faster wanting to get to him quickly. 

He did the same and started walking towards you, maneuvering through crowds of people, keeping eye contact with you, you both had tears in your eyes and were smiling brightly. 

As soon as he was close enough, you dropped your bag and took off your backpack, and then walked a few more steps towards him. He chuckled as he grabbed you by the waist with his free hand, pulled you close to him, picking you up, spinning you around in his arms. 

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders loosely giggling then as he set you down slowly and softly, you both kept eye contact. “I… what are you doing here?” you looked at him lovingly and touched his cheek gently, making sure this was real, tears spilling down your face, chuckling happily. 

He leaned against your hand softly, eyes full of so much emotion, and smiled, “I came to surprise you but also, you ain’t drivin’ 15 hours my love… not on my watch.” he chuckled lightly and then looked into eyes and then at your lips, and his breathing became quick and excited, he lightly licked his lips and swallowed, “But also… I couldn’t wait a whole other day to do this…” he gently put his hand on your cheek and stroked it with his thumb softly before he leaned in slowly. He brushed his nose against yours, smiling lovingly before you both leaned into each other and closed your eyes, connecting your lips in a soft but passionate kiss. You kept your hand on his cheek for a moment and then moved it slowly to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer and to keep kissing you. He slowly moved his hand from your cheek and your waist and pulled you closer to him continuing to kiss you deeply and with every ounce of love he could pour into them, smiling when he changed the angle of his head to get better access to you. 

You smiled and slowed down your kisses and pulled back inches away from his lips and whispered, “I couldn’t wait for that either…” you looked up into his eyes and then looked back down at his lips “Joel?” you looked back up into his eyes. 

“Yeah baby?” he held you close to him, rubbing his thumb gently on your waist, softly dancing his nose across yours, smiling as you giggled “You have the most beautiful eyes…” you reached back and touched his cheek, “You’re so handsome…” you licked your lips, “I… I lo-” he cut you off by catching his lips in his and then whispering against your lips, “I love you.” he kissed you again, this time with a deep and slowly, gripping onto your waist to pull you as close as you could to him before gently pulling back after a couple of kisses and looking down at you, breathless, “I’m sorry but you got to say it first over there, I get to say it first over here.” he grinned as you giggled and nodded, reconnecting your lips to his, softly saying against his lips, “Ok cowboy, deal.” he picked you up again, you giggled against his lips as he spun around, kissing you slowly and lovingly before setting you back down and pulling back slowly, his lips swollen, cheeks flushed. 

You smiled and chuckled, “I love you so much.” you felt his heart pounding against your chest, he was just as excited as you were. 

He kissed your nose and then forehead, “I love you more than you’ll ever understand darlin’...” he gently pulled you to lay against his chest and hugged you, wrapping you in his arms. You’ve never felt so safe and loved. 

He smelled of mint and sandalwood with a slight hint of eucalyptus, ‘Sarah was right’, you thought smiling to yourself. The scent was intoxicating and instantly made you feel warm inside. It was now your comfort, your security, your home scent. You wrapped one arm around his waist and kept one hand on his chest. For a moment you felt like it was just you and him, nothing else. His heart began to slow down and you could hear him hum contently.  

You pulled back slowly and smiled at him then tilted your head, took a small step back, and looked at him up and down, grinning, “Cowboy, did you go shoppin’ and get a haircut for me?” you bit your lip, as he looked delicious. 

He blushed and nodded, “I wanted to look my best baby, just for you.” he smiled, loving that you noticed, and by your reaction, he knew you enjoyed it. 

You looked up at him grinning and touched his hair gently then gently traced your hands down his jacket and gently tugged his collar towards you, “God damn, you’re so fuckin’ handsome for me.” you bit your lip and then brought your hands to his cheeks and pulled him to your lips once more, giving him a deep and slow kiss, gently pulling on his lip when you let go. 

His cock instantly started to become hard and he narrowed his eyes at you, biting his lip, tasting you, “Mmm, you can’t do that to me right now baby…” he closed his eyes and swallowed, leaning his head against yours, “I want you so bad, but I don’t want it to be in an airport…” he pleaded, gripping your waist with his hand, letting out a shaky chuckle. 

You giggled and moved your nose against his, “I don’t want that either handsome, I just wanna keep you on your toes…” you looked into his eyes and batted your eyelashes. 

He smirked, “Honey, I’m a fuckin’ ballerina pointe shoe dancer right now, I’m on my toes, believe me…” he chuckled down at you and brought his hand up to your cheek, gently stroking it and then tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. 

You giggled and then gave him a quick kiss before pulling back from him “Wanna give me a twirl then?” you teased. 

He chuckled and then gasped, “Oh, these are for you!” he smiled as he pulled out the bouquet from behind you as he had held onto them the whole time. 

You looked down at them and tears clouded your vision, “Joel… they’re beautiful.” you gently took the bouquet and looked through the arrangement, “Did you make this?” you looked up at him and he nodded proudly, a tear fell down your cheek, your heart so full.

He immediately touched your cheek and smiled sadly, “Oh sweetheart, please don’t cry…” he wiped the tear from your cheek. 

“No, it's happy tears, I promise!” you said chuckling as a few more tears streamed down your cheeks, “I… I don’t know what to say, you…I…” you were lost for words, you looked down at the bouquet, suddenly feeling shy, smiling like an idiot.

He moved his hand down from your cheek and gently grabbed your chin between his thumb and finger, pulling you up to look at him. He leaned down and kissed your forehead, then nose, then cheek, and stopped inches away from your lips and whispered, “What did I say about hidin’ that beautiful smile from me?” you looked into his brown eyes, filled with so much love, adoration, devotion and loyalty, you melted. 

“Never to do it…” you whispered back, bouncing your eyes back and forth between his eyes and lips, you were putty in his grasp, you’d never be the same now that you’ve felt this type of love. 

He ran his thumb over your lips slowly, looking at your lips hungrily, “Never to do it…” he whispered breathlessly back before he leaned in again and kissed you gently before pulling back for an instant to smile before returning to your lips and devouring you. 

Your hand that you held the flowers with dropped to your side and the other pulled him closer by his jacket before it slid up his chest and cradled his cheek and jaw. You lightly let out a moan as his tongue parted your lips, he chuckled lightly and slowed down, gently pulling away, keeping his eyes closed, smiling as he pressed his forehead against yours, “Sorry, I… god you’re addicting…” he was out of breath, starting to get wound up. 

You kept your eyes closed as well for a few moments, leaning your forehead against his, giggling. 

He had both his hands on our waist and absentmindedly rubbed his thumbs against you, soothing you. “I think before we get a ticket for public indecency and kicked out of the airport we should get outta here.” he said softly as he opened his eyes chuckling. 

You opened yours as well and nodded, adding a small giggle as you nodded, “I think that would be best cowboy…” you gently kissed his nose and then slowly parted yourself from him, turning around to grab your bags. 

He cleared his throat, “Baby, what do you think you’re doin’...” 

You grabbed your backpack and swung it over your shoulder, confused, “Gettin’ my bags?” you smiled innocently. 

He shook his head and came over and softly took your backpack from you and kissed your cheek, “My girl doesn’t carry anythin’ she doesn’t need to…” he smiled and swung it onto his back and then grabbed your duffle with his other hand before holding out his right hand for you to take, “Where do ya wanna go get a bite to eat? We have an hour before our flight…” he smiled down at you. 

You blushed and bit your lip, never having someone treat you like this in the smallest fraction, you felt so special and cared for. You gently grabbed his hand and intertwined your fingers with his, smiling softly, “I um… I’ve been eating rice and beans for the longest time and there’s too many choices for me to pick from, so you choose!” you looked at him, he pulled your hand to his lips and kissed it gently before leaning down and pecking your lips, “How does a burger and fries sound?” he said after pulling away from your lips. 

You let out a moan and rolled your eyes, “Oh god, yes please that sounds delicious!” 

He turned red and chuckled at your reaction, “Darlin, you can’t say and do things like that, you’re gonna drive me mad.” he said as he started walking with you towards the exit. 

You giggled to yourself, “Sorry cowboy, I’ll tone it down.” you gently squeezed his hand and leaned against his arm as you walked. 

Joel took you to a burger joint in the food court that smelled divine. You ordered the ‘Guac-O-Clock’ burger which had guacamole, pepper jack cheese, and crunchy jalapenos. Joel ordered the same, curious about the flavor as well, and an order of large fries for you both to share. He looked at you and asked what you wanted to drink and you said that water was fine, but he knew you wanted something else, you just weren’t sayin’ it. He looked at you and kissed the side of your head as he looked up at the menu as you were still ordering at the counter, “I want somethin’ to drink but don’t know what, what do you recommend baby?” 

You looked up at the menu, “Can never go wrong with a Coke and if you’re feelin’ real frisky, a vanilla shake to dip your fries in!” you smiled and looked at him, he was already looking at you, smirking. He turned to the cashier, “Two of what she just said please.” 

You can’t believe you fell for that, you huffed and gasped, “That was some bullshit reverse psychology there Miller!” you waved your finger in a circle towards him and giggled. 

He gently grabbed your finger and leaned in close, “You don’t ever need to hold back with me darlin’, tell me what you want and you’ll have it, yeah?” he pecked your lips and then smiled, “Wanna go find us a seat while I grab our food?” he asked softly, then turning to pay the cashier. 

You nodded and reached for your bag in his hand, he pulled it back, and you chuckled, “Honey, you’ll need both hands, let me just take it back to the table, then you can be my noble steed for the rest of the day.” you kissed his cheek, “I promise, I won’t fuss.” you winked.

He smiled and pecked your lips back, moving his hand back and handing you the bag, “Ok, you’re right. Thank you.” 

You took the bag and went to find a table. You found one in the back that was not so noisy. You set your bag down and then went over to get straws, napkins, and a few little cups of ketchup in case. 

Joel watched you and smiled happily, he felt so full of life right now and it felt so right having you here, being yours. He felt his heart swell with so much love and now you were here, he’d never let you go, he wanted forever with you. 

After his order was called he made it over to your table and you met him there with what you had gathered. 

“Thanks for grabbing all that darlin’...” he smiled at you as he took your backpack off him and set it next to your bag before pulling out your chair for you. 

You kissed his cheek as you sat down, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

He came around sat across from you, and smiled at you, “Dig in!” he chuckled as you separated the food out and then started slowly eating some fries, you closed your eyes and hummed, “It’s been so long since I’ve eaten actual like food ‘food’.” you giggled and took a sip of your Coke. 

He smiled lovingly as he watched you eat, he took a bite from his burger and paused, looking down at it, shocked. 

You looked at him and smiled, “Is it good?” you chuckled. 

He nodded and rolled his eyes back in his head, letting out a groan and chewing, “That’s the best damn burger I’ve ever had holy shit…” he said with his mouth full, “Mmm…” he covered his mouth, “I’m so sorry darlin’, where are my manners?” he chuckled. 

You smiled and shook your head, “Nah, good manners go out the window when it comes to food that good handsome.” giggling and then you took a bite paused as well, and looked at him, he nodded and chuckled. 

“Right? It’s so good…” he took a sip of his Coke. 

You nodded and chewed, then swallowed, “Mmm nice fun fact about me… I love guac, like I make it homemade all the time, so this burger, it's gonna make me cry, it’s perfect.” you took another bite and smiled to yourself, doing a little dance happily in your seat. 

Joel smiled at you and chuckled, “Happy dance baby?” he took another bite as well. 

You nodded and giggled, chewing and swallowing before taking another bite. 

You two ate like this for a few more minutes before your burgers were gone and you held each other's hands across the table and shared the fries and had your shakes making small talk, catching up on the last two days you two haven’t been able to talk much due to traveling. 

You grabbed a fry and went to dip it into your shake when two people approached your table, “Excuse me…” an older man said, he had crutches and was in army attire as well, except he was wearing the decorated ceremony wear. 

You turned your head to look at the person and immediately dropped your fry in your shake and stood up, standing to attention, saluting the man in front of you, “Sir…” 

He looked at you and teared up, “Are you… are you Specialist Y/N of Delta 30?” he then saw your patch, “I’m sorry, Sergeant Y/N?” 

You knew exactly who he was. “Yes sir.”

Joel sat there confused by the interaction, but proud you were being recognized. 

The man’s wife behind him was in tears, Joel smiled softly at her. 

He slowly saluted you back and then spoke, “At ease.” 

You stood with your hands to your side respectfully and smiled gently at him, “Captain Williams, it’s good to see you, sir.” 

Joel immediately remembered the name, this is who you and Maria had saved.

He chuckled as tears fell down his cheeks, and lunged forward and hugged you, “Thank you. Thank you for what you did, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and your partner.” 

You hugged him back and smiled as you pulled back, “It was an honor sir.” you smiled at him. 

His wife came forward, now sniffling, chuckling, “I’m sorry, may I hug you as well?” 

You chuckled softly, “Of course ma’am…” you brought her into a hug and held her tightly. 

Joel stood and watched the interaction with so much pride and love for you. 

Williams turned towards Joel and smiled, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, you must be her husband.” he offered Joel to shake his hand. 

Joel smiled, and took his hand, “I’m her boyfriend, Joel, but I’ll be gladly and proudly taking that title one day, sir.” 

His wife held onto you and cried, “I can’t thank you enough, you will always be a part of our lives, you brought him home.” 

You rubbed her back gently and nodded, “Thank you, ma’am, I am honored.” 

Williams looked at you, “I tried to look for you on the plane, they said we were going to be flying back together.” he chuckled, “I had to say somethin’... I mean… the last thing I remember was your face, and then I think you carried me?” he asked and chuckled, “My fat ass… you carried?” 

His wife pulled back from the hug and wiped her eyes with a tissue. You put your hands in front of you, respectfully, and chuckled at his remark, “I did carry you out of the combat zone into the building we exited on top of sir, but then my partner was shot while she and our combat escort were attempting to make it to safety as well behind me. I handed you off to Private Jack Coleman, he carried you the rest of the way to the plane while I went back out and got my partner sir.” you smiled gently as you explained. 

His wife looked at you, “You went back out there… willingly?” she looked shocked. 

You looked at her and nodded, smiling proudly, “It’s my job ma’am to protect and aid those wounded in battle. It was my job to get your husband out safe - but also my team, I didn’t think twice about it…” you smiled and looked down briefly, “Plus she’s family…” you looked up, “There was no way between high heaven and hell I was going to leave her there.” you chuckled softly. 

She shook her head and chuckled, “You’re crazy! We were told missiles were being dropped and gunfire was everywhere, I don’t know how you got back alive…” 

Joel piped in, “I like to think she had some type of protection watchin’ over her… she has avoided death more times than my heart could count…” he winked at you. 

You smiled at him and pulled out your necklace placing it out of your attire then looked at Mrs. Williams, “I’m also annoyingly stubborn… so that helped too.” you winked at his wife and she laughed softly, along with Joel and Cpt. Williams. “But yes, a lot was going on… there were missile sirens while we ran your husband up to be rescued… and I did end up getting clipped while getting my partner into the plane but nothin’ too bad.” you cleared your throat. 

“I was told you and Coleman went back to Delta 30 afterward to rescue some of your people, I was sorry to hear about your loss.” he gently said, touching your arm. 

You looked down and took a breath before looking back at him, your eyes changed slightly, and you started to fiddle with your bracelet, “Thank you, sir.” you nodded and offered a small smile. 

Williams chuckled and then hugged you again, “Thank you again, I don’t know how I will ever be able to express my gratitude fully…”

His wife came over and hugged Joel, then pulled back and looked at him and nodded towards you with her head, “Just nod… are you gonna?” she raised her eyebrow.

Joel knew exactly what she was asking, he leaned in a little closer and whispered, “I have the ring and everythin’ planned, just waiting for that perfect time.” he smiled and winked. 

She leaned in closer, “When you do, I expect an invitation, you hear?” she patted his arm softly. 

Joel chuckled and nodded, “Yes ma’am, of course.” he smiled and looked lovingly back at you, you were laughing at something the Captain said. 

His wife came over and gently touched her husband's arm to get his attention, “We should let them get back to their meal honey...” 

He nodded and then pulled something out of his pocket, handing you an envelope, “Just a little somethin’, for my gratitude. And… I know how hard it is after you get back. My contact info is in there if you need someone to talk to…” he gently put his hand on yours, “It was so good to finally meet you. Welcome home.” he nodded and then turned to walk away, his wife touched your arm and smiled before walking away with her husband. 

You stood there and watched them walk away, it was good to see he had made it. After seeing his condition and how weak his pulse was, you weren’t sure he’d make it, but it was good he did, he seemed like such a kind man. 

However, it brought up flashbacks of Z and you were all of a sudden overwhelmed by the noise and stimulation around you to stop those memories from flashing in your mind. Your breathing became quick and shaky, starting to panic.  

Joel could tell you were somewhere other than here and then saw how you were breathing. He quickly rounded the table and gently pulled you into his chest and hugged you, kissing the top of your head, “I got you, sweetheart. I’m right here.” he held you tightly. You let tears fall and began to softly cry, grabbing onto his chest. 

He started whispering that he had you, to let what you needed out, he continually kissed your head and gently rubbed your back.  

You took what time you needed to let out the emotion you had held back for so long before you pulled back a little and wiped your eyes, “God, I didn’t expect to have an emotional breakdown in the middle of an airport food court.” you lightly chuckled. 

Joel watched you and rubbed your arms softly, as you regained yourself. 

You let out a breath and then shook your hands out, letting go of all the anxiety, he pulled up your chin to look at him softly, “Hey, lemme look at ‘cha…” 

You smiled up at him sweetly and he smiled back at you, “I know that was a lot, and I’m sure brought up some stuff, just know I’m here for you to reach out to now, m’kay?” he searched your eyes and rubbed his thumb against your chin softly. 

You nodded and he pulled you up to his lips and gently kissed you then pulled back “Mmm vanilla shake…” he kissed you again faster, then pulled back, “My my aren’t ya a sweet treat…” 

You burst into a fit of giggles against his lips and he smiled and he continued to kiss you but slowed down and the last kiss was deep and slow, savoring you the moment just a little while longer moving his hand to your cheek to hold you close. 

He gently pulled back, leaving you breathless. 

“Flight 753 for Austin, now boarding.” 

He chuckled and kissed your nose, “We gotta go, baby, we got a plane to catch.” he backed away, grabbing your bags, leaving you there, stunned and speechless. 

You giggled to yourself and then shook your head, “I’m never gonna get used to the way you make me feel…” you admitted as you went to the table and grabbed your flowers then took his hand as you both ran to the gate. 

When you boarded the plane and it took off, the flight attendant asked if you and Joel wanted any refreshments, Joel asked for a coffee and you about jumped out of your seat with excitement, “Oh, yes one for me too… please…” you beamed. 

When she walked away, he chuckled, “Didn’t have coffee on the other flights?” he took your hand and kissed it. 

“We did, it was just awful, I just tasted like that instant stuff, you know?” you messed with his fingers as you talked, and then looked up at him when after he kissed your temple. 

“How do you like your coffee, are you a sweet or bitter drinker?” he looked down at your hands together. 

“You gonna make me coffee tomorrow morning cowboy?” you smiled, blushing. 

“That and breakfast my love.” he looked over at you, lovingly. 

You looked at him and then leaned up and kissed him, softly and gently a couple of times before pulling back. 

“I like my coffee with just a splash of milk and a tiny bit of caramel sauce, and during Christmas time I like peppermint creamer.” you giggled. “You like yours black right?” you looked at your hands again and leaned your head on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, black… like my soul!” he joked, chuckling. 

You chuckled with him and then the flight attendant came back with your coffee’s. 

You perked up and gently took yours from her, she gave you a few sleeves of sugar and creamer- you put one creamer and two sugars and then took a sip, you did a little dance like you did at the burger joint. Joel smiled and started chuckling, “You do that when you like your food or drink, don’t ya?” 

You looked at him, “Do what?” 

“That cute little happy dance, I’ve noticed you do it when you eat something really good or eat something you really like… it’s adorable.” he smiled down at you and then wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side.  

You shrugged, “I didn’t know I did it that often, but as long as you think it’s cute, it’ll keep happening.” you chuckled as you nuzzled into his side. 

Joel hummed and rubbed absent-minded circles against your shoulder, keeping you close to him.

When you saw it was about a 4-hour flight on the TV in front of you, you immediately got sleepy, your eyes started to close and before you knew it you were out. 

“I forgot to tell ya but Sarah went to a friend's house for the night so we will have the house to ourselves, you wanna rent a movie and order in for dinner?” he kissed the top of your head. 

He didn’t hear you answer back so he moved a little in his seat and saw you asleep, he smiled at the sight, happy to know that he made you feel safe enough to fall asleep on him. He kissed your head again and turned on the TV in front of him, put some earbuds in, and turned on a movie while you slept.

A few hours later you heard the dings of the plane asking everyone to please be seated as the plane was about to descend. You sat your head up and looked around, slightly confused, you felt Joel squeeze your hand, “Hey sleepy head, good nap?” he leaned over and kissed your cheek. 

You chuckled and nodded then took your hand from Joel and put your arms above your head to stretch, “How long was I out?” you asked and then put your arms down and rolled your shoulders back and forth. 

Joel smiled and began putting his tray up, “About 4 hours, maybe less… but I’m glad you got some sleep, I know it’s been a long day of traveling.” 

He gave yours and his trash to the flight attendant as she walked past and you looked out the window of the plane, “We’re already here? Damn… that was a fat nap.” you giggled and then took Joel's hand and leaned back in your seat. “When we land, how long of a drive is it to your house?” 

Joel looked down at you, “If traffic is ok, about 30 minutes, but no more than 45.” he kissed your forehead then brought your hand to his lips and gently kissed it. 

“I didn’t know you were asleep when I asked this earlier but I forgot to mention that Sarah is at a friend’s for the night, so we have the house to ourselves…” he tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “Would you like to rent a movie and order in something for dinner?” he smiled at you. 

You nodded and smiled, “Yeah, that sounds good to me. You uhm… you mind if I take a shower when I get there? I’ve been flying for about 40 hours, I feel and probably smell gross…” you chuckled. 

Joel smiled and shook his head chuckling, “Of course. I’ll order us some food then while we wait for it to get there, you can take a shower, how does that sound?” he leaned down and kissed your cheek gently. 

You nodded and blushed. 

The plane landed and you and Joel grabbed your baggage then got in his truck and drove back to his place. 

Traffic wasn’t bad so it was a little less than a half-hour drive.

He kept his hand on yours the whole drive and when he would stop at a light he’d lean over and ask for a kiss or he’d kiss your hand. He was intoxicated by you and couldn’t believe you were here. He felt so at peace in your presence and finally felt like he found someone who cared for him as much if not more than he cared for them. It was refreshing, thrilling and he had never felt so happy to be next to someone.  

He had the radio on low and as you drove he’d show you small things here and there that he thought you’d like to know about on the road - whether it was a historical or famous landmark or had a fun memory with Sarah attached to it. 

It felt so easy between the two of you, there were never awkward silences or moments where either of you felt weird filling the space with conversation, you both felt so relieved to have someone that you connected with on the level you two shared. 

When he pulled into his driveway you perked up and smiled, “So this is where my letters have been comin’... the famous 402 Rancher Street.” you giggled and when he parked you went to get out of the truck, and he gently grabbed your hand to stop you. 

“Nuh-uh, you sit here, I’ll come ‘round and get your door baby.” he leaned over and kissed you quickly then got out and ran behind the truck to get your door, and you chuckled. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, chivalry lives! It’s alive!” you did in a funny voice as you hopped out of the truck. He chuckled as he shut the door then he was immediately on you, hands on your waist, gently pushing you up against the door “Come ‘ere you goof…” 

You giggled and found his lips, kissing him gently and slowly, moving your hands up his chest to tangle in his hair and pull him in closer as he deepened the kiss, pushing himself against you, whispering between kisses, “You’re gonna be treated like the goddess you are…” he began trailing his hands down to your ass and grabbing a handful, you let out a soft moan and he grinned against your lips, “Mmm I like that sound…” he then moved his head and trailed his lips against your jawline then began kissing your neck. You leaned your head back and closed your eyes, “Joel…” you said breathlessly. He chuckled against your skin then he pulled back and came back to look at you, “Yeah baby?” 

You were about to say something when you both heard, in a lighter southern accent “Joel Miller is that you?” as his older neighbor came down the sidewalk, and around his truck, catching you both in the action, “Oh, oh dear I’m so sorry.” she said and turned away, “Joel there are children around, behave!” she waved her hand at him. 

You giggled and leaned your head back, letting out a louder laugh, Joel turned bright red and then looked at you laughing and then Mrs. Rose his neighbor, who was this older lady who was for the love of all things holy, so damn nosey. He sighed and put his head against your shoulder, “Mrs. Rose… I…” he said trying to find what to say. 

“Ma’am I’m so sorry you just walked in on… well that…” giggled and then you gently slid out from under Joel and came up to the woman, “I’m Y/N, it’s lovely to meet you.” you smiled and stuck out your hand.

She turned to look at you and she exclaimed, “Oh my god! You’re home!” she shook your hand gently. 

You looked at her confused and chuckled, “I’m home, yeah! Did Joel say somethin’ or was it just in the community newsletter?” you joked. 

She gasped, “Oh you're right! It needs to go in there!” she didn’t catch onto your joke and was serious about adding it. 

You giggled. Joel came up from behind you and wrapped his arm around you and kissed your cheek, “It’s not goin’ in that damn newsletter Rose…” he said grumpily, clearly blue-balled.

Rose looked at Joel “Oh pfft you big grump!” she swatted at him. 

You smiled at him, “Yeah you big grump!” you chuckled and looked back at her, “Is everything ok ma’am? Did you need Joel for something?” you smiled gently at her, putting your hand on Joel’s around your waist. 

“I was wondering if he could come put batteries in my smoke detector quick, the damn thing won’t quit beepin’...” she smiled at you kindly. 

You pulled yourself away and looked up at him, grinning, “Oh Rose, he’d be happy to help! Plus, I’ve got to take a shower anyway, he can come to do it while I’m doin’ that.” you kissed his cheek, Joel was biting his tongue, and from the bulge you felt behind you, clearly frustrated. “You mind if he helps me inside real quick then he’ll be over?” you smiled at her. 

“Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much dear!” she started to walk away, “Joel you know where the key is honey, just let yourself in!” she said as she walked. 

You grinned and then started to walk to the front door, giggling, “You comin’ cowboy?” 

Joel grinned and bit his lip and then looked at you, “Get inside, you’re in trouble…” he tossed you the keys. You caught them and giggled as you used them to get inside. 

He hurried and grabbed your bags in the bed of his truck and then ran inside after you. 

He closed the door quickly, set your bags down, and then picked you up so your legs were around his waist and pinned you up against a wall, knocking down a photo frame, and immediately devouring your lips with his. You giggled when he grabbed you and let out a moan as you started to kiss you. Your hands immediately made their way into his hair, tangling your fingers through his locks, pulling him closer to you. 

Both of you were clearly out of breath, you began trying to take off his jacket, and he set you down on your feet softly and aggressively took it off then threw it behind him, he untucked your button-up and began to impatiently unbutton it, he got it undone and began taking it off your shoulders, you helped him and then threw it behind him as well, he pulled back a fraction, “Arms up.” he said desperately, you did as he asked and he lifted your tank up and off your body, before putting his hand on your cheek and kissing you slow and passionately. 

You kissed him like that for a few moments before you pulled back gently and put your hand on his chest, out of breath, “Mmm wait…” he moved down to your neck and you chuckled, letting out a small moan as he began to suck on the soft spot between your jaw and ear, hands on your jaw and waist, addicted to you, you swallowed down another moan, “Joel… what are the chances she’ll come back over and knock on your door?” you let out another moan as he began to suck softly on your earlobe, breathing fast and excited. 

He whispered, “Right now, I’m more concerned with makin’ those sweet noises continue to come outta you, not what noises are comin’ out of her damn smoke detector.” he kissed up your jawline and then drug his hand that was on your cheek slowly down your body, lightly over your breasts and stomach, to land on your belt, and start undoing it. 

You swallowed, you didn’t want to stop this but you needed to shower first, you knew you smelled like the airplane and you didn’t want your first time with him to be rushed. You smiled and then put your hand on his cheek and made him look at you, you kissed him gently and then pulled away, “As much as I want you to take me into that bedroom and keep makin’ those sounds come out of me… I smell like an airplane, I need to take a shower…” you kissed him again, he was completely drunk on you, “I also know you like to take your time, and baby… I want you to take your time…” you kissed him slower this time, “I want you to pull every ounce of pleasure out of me tonight…” you kissed him again and let out a moan against him as he slid his tongue against your lip, “Mmm baby, this can’t be rushed…” you gently kissed him again, and then pulled back and looked into this eyes. 

He smiled out of breath and touched your cheek then leaned in and kissed you slowly, taking his time before pulling back “You’re right, I’m not gonna rush this. I wanna take my time with you now that I’ve got you.” he gently kissed your nose and then pulled away and stood up straight, biting his lip as he looked over your body and nodded, “Shower is upstairs, last door on your right darlin’...” you blushed and took a step and reached up and fixed his hair, “If you hurry back… you can join me if you want…” 

His eyes widened, and then he sprinted out of the house towards Mrs. Rose’s. 

You giggled and ran upstairs. You started the shower, to warm it up, and then you took your hair out of the bun and let it loose, you sat on the end of the bed to untie your boots, you were looking around as you were unlacing and noticed products in the bathroom that looked familiar and then saw two toothbrushes. You slid off your boots and then walked slowly into the bathroom and picked up a few things, they were all brand new. 

You didn’t even hear the front door close and Joel running up the stairs and then immediately throwing off his boots in the hallway. He then started taking his shirt off when he got into the bedroom, tossing it in the hamper like a pro. He walked up to the bathroom panting softly and saw you by the counter, he paused unbuckling his belt, “Darlin’?” 

You turned around slowly, “Did you… how did you…” tears in your eyes as you chuckled looking at him.

He saw what you were looking at and smiled softly, then stepped towards you and took the face cream, and set it down on the counter behind you, then gently touched your cheek, “I told you I was gonna take care of you.” he found your eyes and gently rubbed his nose against yours before saying, “I called Maria when she got home, got a list of everything you used, down to the toothpaste brand.” he moved his hand down and gently started to unbuckle your belt, keeping eye contact with you, “I got you all that stuff you see on the counter…” he kissed your nose, “I got you all the shower stuff you use…” he kissed your left cheek, starting to unbutton your pants and slide them down your legs, “I went shoppin’ with Sarah and got you new clothes cuz I knew you left everything when you left Charlie’s… they are in the closet or in your drawer in the dresser…” he kissed your other cheek, as you stepped out of your pants, tears falling but you smiled at him lovingly the whole time, you put a hand on his cheek gently, “I got you a new phone, it’s downstairs, we just need to set it up…” he started to move his hands back up your body and unclasped our bra, letting it fall down, your breath hitched and you looked down at his lips then back up to his eyes. He kissed your forehead gently, starting to unbuckle his belt, then pulled back and looked into your eyes. He let his pants fall to his ankles and then he grabbed your waist and picked you up to wrap your legs around his waist, he kicked both of your clothes out of the way and put you to sit on the bathroom counter. You gasped at the coldness against your skin. 

He grinned and then looked up at you, putting your cheeks in his hands and wiping the tears off your cheeks before moving them to the back of your leg and waist to pull you closer to him, you could feel his hardness against your core, “I’m gonna take care of you… every day, for the rest of our days… I’m gonna love you unconditionally and with every piece of me…” he looked at your lips and then back up into your eyes, “One way I’m gonna show you how much I love you is by worshiping you and this perfect body you have, every chance I can get…” he then leaned in and captured your lips in his in a deep and passionate kiss. 

You moved your hands to loosely wrap around his neck then when he moved his hands to your waist, you tangled your fingers in his hair as you kissed him for a few moments. You moaned quietly feeling him pick you up again and set you down on your feet. He tucked his fingers under the band of your panties and gently pulled them down. You moved your hands down his body slowly, and made your way to the band of his boxers, tugging it gently, you whispered against his lips, “May I?” you fell against his lips again. 

He nodded and grinned, “Never need to ask my love…” he touched your cheek and then he moved down to mark your neck with love bites. 

You panted and let out a soft moan then dipped your hand into his boxers and felt his cock, hard and thick, the size alone was slightly intimidating, but you wanted nothing more than him inside you. “Fuck baby, you’re so big…” you began to stroke him in your hand gently, and he groaned against your neck “You’re gonna feel so good around my cock darlin’, gon’ fill you up.” he used his hands on your waist to walk you up against the bathroom wall, pinning you up against it softly, moving his lips down to kiss your breasts and gently suck on your nipples as he removed his boxers and knelt on the cold bathroom tile before you, kissing down your stomach and lifting one of your legs to lay on his shoulder, kissing your inner thigh gently, whispering “You’re so soft, so beautiful...” 

You looked down at him, “W-What are you doin’...” you moaned feeling his lips getting closer to your cunt. 

He grinned and looked up at you, “Takin’ care of you…” he then kissed your clit gently and kept eye contact with you before using his tongue to press against your bundle of nerves, you let out a gasp followed by a breathy moan, “Fuck Joel…” your body flooded with goosebumps and your back arched, your head fell back against the wall as he continued to devour you, using his tongue to drink up your sweet pussy. 

Your breathing became fast and you quickly felt yourself on the edge of a climax, you reached your hand down and took a handful of his hair, then looked down at him as he continued to flick his tongue against your clit relentlessly, watching every reaction you gave him to study what you liked best. 

“Right there, fuck… Joel… I…” you gasped and you felt yourself cum harder than you ever have been able to before, moaning and arching your back again off the wall, legs beginning to lightly shake. 

Joel grinned and slowed his actions down, careful not to overstimulate you, he moved his lips to suck love bites into your inner thigh, then looked up at you, “You’re so beautiful when you cum on my tongue baby…” 

You looked down at him, chest heaving, you chuckled, “C’mere cowboy…” You bit your lip, wanting to taste yourself on his lips. 

He stood up slowly to help you keep your balance and then let your leg go slowly and softly, towering over you, touching your foreheads together, you looked up at him and batted your eyelashes, “You weren’t kidding about making sure I was satisfied first…” 

He chuckled “No… I wasn’t” he bit his lip and pulled his head away a little to look down at your necklace, “You never took this off, did you?” he put his finger through the chain and gently pulled it towards him, effectively pulling you towards him, he looked up at your lips as you whispered, “It never came off, not once…” you breathing became slow and controlled, you placed our hands on his chest and looked at him focusing on your lips. “Kiss me…” his eyes met yours, “Take care of me, Joel…” you looked down at his lips hungrily. 

He then looked back at your lips for less than a moment before pulling you by your necklace to his lips, humming against them as you slid our hands up his chest and put one in his hair to bring him closer to you. The other stayed on his jaw, holding him to your lips, kissing him lovingly and slowly, walking him towards the shower, turning you both around, and then parting from his lips slowly and stepping into the water and giggling as you let the water run down your body, he stood there for a moment, watching you lovingly, being in the moment. 

You turned around and put your head back to wet your hair. 

Joel stepped into the shower behind you and closed the door behind him, gently putting his hands on your hips, leaning down to kiss your bare shoulder and then another in the crook of your neck, “May I wash you?” he said softly and lovingly. 

You turned your head towards him and then turned around slowly, him keeping his hands on your hips, “Only if I can wash you too…” You found his eyes and smiled softly. 

He smiled back at you and nodded, then stepped closer to you, drops of water falling off the tip of his nose onto yours. “May I wash your hair first?” his eyes danced across your features. 

You nodded, “Would you like me to turn around or fa-?” he cut you off.  

“Face me. I was access to your lips.” he whispered softly and then leaned down and kissed you deeply a couple of times, then slowly pulling away. Looking over at the shelf and grabbing the bottle of shampoo, he squirted some in his palm and then brought it up to his nose, taking a small sniff, he smiled, “Vanilla coconut?” 

You smiled and nodded, “Good nose baby…” 

He smiled and then lifted his arms and rubbed the shampoo into your hair, massaging your scalp gently. 

You close your eyes and lean into his touch, humming softly at how good it feels. 

He leans in and presses a kiss to your nose then cheek then slowly moves towards your lips, teasing you with how close he is, you open your eyes and peek at him grinning above you, he bites his lip, “Can I help you?” he asks you innocently.

“Just wonderin’ what mischief you’re up to…” you chuckle softly and then close your eyes again. He rinses your hair and his hands in the water softly and careful not to get water in your eyes and then runs his thumb against your bottom lip, “Tell me, where do you like being kissed the most, my love…” 

You smiled against his thumb, “Why don’t you use those lips and I’ll tell ya when you’re close…” Your eyes danced between his and his lips. 

He grinned and then kissed your cheek, you giggled and nodded. He then moved to your jaw, you hummed in approval. He moved down to your neck and you put your hands on his shoulders, “I like it there…”, he moved to the spot between your neck and ear, and you softly moaned, “I really like it there…” 

He chuckled, “Noted.” he continued down to your collarbone, you bit your lip and looked down at him, breathing slow and heavy. He gently kissed your breast and then your nipple, you sucked in some air and blushed deeply at your reaction. 

“Mmm, there’s another spot…” he then moved down and trailed his lips to the inner part of your groin where there was soft flesh, you softly moaned and then giggled, keeping your hand on his shoulder. 

He looked at your core then back up and grinned, “I think we’ve established that you like it when I kiss you there…” 

You giggled and nodded. 

He picked up your foot and then trailed his lips down slowly, you giggled when he went by your knee, “Ok I’m just ticklish there…” you admitted. 

He looked up at you and chuckled, “Noted…” he said in a low-toned voice. 

You giggled at his reaction. He continued down your calf and then kissed the inner part of your ankle, you hummed and smiled down at him. He looked at the outer part of your leg and saw where you were shot, he softly let your leg down and then gently kissed it, and you bit your lip. 

He looked up and smirked, “Turn around for me my love…” 

You blushed and slowly turned around. He kissed the globe of your ass, and hearing you let out a soft moan, he mentally noted that spot. He continued up and kissed your love handles, making you moan a little louder, he smirked. He then trailed up your spine with his lips, eliciting goosebumps as he did that. He stood behind you and moved your hair to your right shoulder, then kissed your left shoulder, you leaned your head to the right side and hummed, he then trailed his lips slowly up your shoulder and earned a moan as he touched closer to your neck. He smirked, “What about here?” he kissed your pulse point, and you let out a breathy moan, moving back against him, pressing your ass against his cock, “Joel…” 

He slid his hands to two locations, one to knead your breast, and the other between your legs, starting to rub your clit, “I showered this morning… I need you…” he whispered in your ear before sucking on your earlobe, groaning softly as you started moving your ass against his cock.

You started moaning softly as he rubbed lazy circles on your clit, “Fuck…” you turned around his arms and caught his lips in yours and kissed him slowly a few times, whispering against his lips, “I love you…” before picking up the pace and biting his bottom lip gently, moaning softly. 

He reached over and shut off the water, “Wait here…” he parted from your lips and got out to grab two towels. He handed one to you and you started to dry your hair quickly as he began to dry himself off. He was then on your lips as you dried off your body and the moment he saw you were dry he chuckled against your lips and grabbed you, picking you up to wrap around him, “C’mere you…” 

You giggled and held onto him as he carried you both to his bed, continuing to kiss him as he walked. He turned on a table side lamp and it gave the room a warm glow about it. 

You parted from his lips and were softly panting. You looked at him lovingly and brushed your hand across his cheek and into his hair, combing his hair back. “You’re so handsome… so strong… I’m so lucky…” you brushed your nose against his and then he set you down on your feet and looked down at you, adoringly, he swallowed and went to say something but then smiled and wrapped his arm around your waist and connected your lips to his once again, kissing you deep and with so much love, he then picked you up to lay you gently on the bed behind you, then hovered over you as he continued to kiss you. 

He lowered his hips into your core, his cock pressing against your clit, then he began slowly moving his hips, sliding himself through your folds. 

You moaned against his lips, subconsciously moving your hips along to the same rhythm, eager to gain more friction. 

Your hands were on his chest and one on his waist to pull him closer to you. His hand was planted above your head and the other started moving down your body to the back of your knee, pulling it up and around his waist, opening you up wider for him. He pulled away from your lips and began kissing your neck, groaning as he continued to grind against you. 

You moaned and panted, “Joel, please…” you begged, hand on the back of his head as he continued to kiss your neck. 

He made his way back to your lips and kissed you slowly, deeply, taking his time, then he leaned back a little and reached into this drawer, you put your hand on his chest, “You don’t need one, I… I have an IUD…” you said softly, lips swollen, chest heaving. 

He nodded and smiled brightly coming back to your lips and kissing you gently but slowly, “God I love you so much… you’re so perfect…” he reached down and grabbed his cock and slid it through your folds, whispering against your lips as he praised, “You’re so wet for me… such a good girl…” 

You moaned softly and held his cheek as you kissed him. He pulled back gently and looked down to help himself aim, then once he notched himself at your entrance he looked up and and kissed your forehead before he put his forehead against yours, “I’m going to take this slow, if you need me to stop, or it hurts, all you need to do is tell me and I’ll stop my love…” he rubbed his nose against yours, you nodded. 

“Joel, I need you… please…” you softly begged. 

He slowly pushed his way through your entrance, watching your reaction, making sure if he saw any hint of pain to pull back. You gasped and kept your eyes on him, “Oh fuck…” you moaned smiling at him, putting a hand on his cheek and shoulder, gripping his shoulder in pleasure.

He gently grabbed your hand from his cheek and kissed your palm and inner wrist before he intertwined your fingers to his and pushed it into the mattress, pushing himself further in, slowly, he groaned, “God, you feel so good darlin’... you’re takin’ me so well…” he moved down and began kissing your neck, inhaling how sweet you smelled which drove him to want more of you.

You moaned and held onto his hand, you felt so full of him, it felt so good, “More… please…” you said out of breath, “Oh god please more…” 

He bottomed out and groaned when he did so, “Look at you… you were made for me baby…” he kissed up your neck then your jaw, and hovered over your lips, “You feel so good around me…” he started to slowly move his hips, breathing heavy and quick, pulling soft and light moans from you, “God I’m so in love with you…” he crashed his lips onto yours and letting out a groan as you fluttered around him, slowly egging him on to picking up the pace. 

You moaned against his lips and you fell drunk to his cock, whimpering and whispering “Oh my god, you feel so good…” and “I love you so much… please… don’t stop…” against his lips. 

He wrapped his hand around your waist to keep you where he wanted you, keeping a steady pace, rolling his hips at a rhythm that made your pussy pulse around him, pulling him in, making love drunk on you. 

“I… I’m… fuck baby, don’t stop…” you moaned as you arched your back on the brink of climax. 

He parted from your lips and watched you come undone, “Let go baby… come for me…” he said before reaching down and rubbing lazy circles on your clit, while he whispered into your skin as he kissed your shoulder and up your neck, “Fuck… you feel so good…” 

Your breathing sped up and you leaned your head back into the pillow, gripping his hand and the sheets under you as you came, moaning his name like a prayer. 

He smirked and picked up the pace faster, groaning as he felt he was close as well, but he wanted to pull one more out of you. He kissed your lips once and then he pulled out and let go of your hand, starting to crawl down between your legs. 

You lifted your head and then before you could say anything he licked up your cunt, lapping up what you just gave him, your head fell back against the pillow and you gasped before moaning his name. 

He grinned and pulled his lips from you, dragging a finger through your wetness, “Can you be a good girl and cum again on my tongue for me?” 

You bit your lip, and nodded, “Oh god… yes sir…” feeling a heat rise up your spine from unbelievable pleasure. 

Something in Joel switched when you said that and it was like he was starved for you as he immediately latched back onto your clit, sucking and flicking his tongue against it before adding a finger into you. 

You couldn’t help but chuckle lightly and moan at how good it felt, “Oh baby you’re so fucking good to me…” 

He watched you to gauge what he could do make you beg for more, he wanted to tease you a little bit, make it more enjoyable. 

He pulled himself off your sweet cunt and kissed your inner thigh, softly biting into your flesh as he added a second finger, you gasped and let out a sweet whimper, chest heaving up and down, “Joel…” 

He smirked, “Yes darlin’?” he kissed your clit and then dragged his tongue up it adding some pressure, slowly pumping his fingers in and out. 

Your breath hitched and you looked down at him, eyebrows knitted as you moaned, “Oh god, I need more… I need you…” you moaned again as he continued to flick his tongue against your clit. 

He grinned and added a third finger, making you curse under your breath, he watched as your brows knitted together again and you swallowed, “Oh baby like that, keep doin’ that…” you breathlessly cried. 

He kept up what he was doing and then sucked your clit and let it go and lightly tapped it a couple of times with his other hand, beginning to pump his fingers faster into you. He watched as your breathing became faster and you grabbed your breast, pinching your nipple to throw you over the edge, he noted that detail for later, “Fuck, that’s hot…” he muttered under his breath. 

You moaned as you came hard, gushing around his fingers, “Oh fuck… fuck… b-baby…” he grinned and flicked your clit with his tongue a couple of times before kissing slowly, using his tongue to lap up what you gave him. 

You gasped as a second wave hit you, a broken moan leaving you as you fell back against the pillow, in sweet bliss. You lost your vision for a moment as you came so hard you felt yourself vibrating afterward. 

You were out of breath, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm yourself down, you chuckled and then sat up on your elbows and looked down at him, and bit your lip, “I want you to fuck me like how you described the night I got back from Delta 30…” you smirked at him, knowing it would push him over the edge, it was your turn to take care of him. 

He sat up and swallowed hard, “Baby… I ain’t gonna last long if we do that…” he came up to meet you back at your lips, kissing you softly, “I wanna make this last a little longer than that… I’m still wanting so much more of you…” he touched your cheek and pulled you up against him with his other hand on your waist as he settled between your legs again. 

You grinned against his lips and then pushed him off you and onto his back before rolling onto him and straddling his waist, grinding against his cock, “Then is this a good middle ground cowboy?” you put your hands on his chest and continued to coat his cock with your pussy. 

He was speechless at the quick motion so he nodded and for once was breathless, “Fuck yes, god that feels so good baby…” he put his hands on your hips to follow your movements. 

You leaned forward and sat up a little, reaching between you and softy grabbing his throbbing cock, guiding it towards your entrance then slowly sitting down, taking him slowly, closing your eyes, and throwing your head back as you did, moaning, “Oh fuck… you’re so fucking thick…” you began to grasp the girth of him at this angle. 

As soon as he felt you on his cock he grunted and watched your reaction, grinning, breath heavy and fast, his heart pounding from how good you felt around him, gripping onto your hips. 

“Mmm you feel so perfect on my cock baby, you look so fucking good…” he grinned as he started to pump his hips a little to give you some stimulation, you put your hand behind you onto his thigh and moved your hips back and forth, he was so deep that he was rubbing against your cervix and it felt oh so good coupled with the stimulation you were getting against your clit you were approaching another orgasm quick. 

He looked up at you and if he could, he’d take a photo of how fucking delicious you looked riding him. “Fuck baby… I’m close…” he whined and swallowed as he felt a pull and the tension started to build, “Where do you want me?” he clenched his jaw and shut his eyes, trying to hold on a little longer.

You bit your lip and moaned softly, feeling close as well, “In me… I want you to cum in me…” you let out a shaky breath, “Fuck I’m gonna cum…” You picked up the pace a little, making Joel let out a moan and grip your hips tighter, feeling his orgasm fast approaching. 

Just as he felt your pussy begin to tighten around him he sat up quickly and wrapped his arm around your waist and took your nipple in his mouth, sucking on it, throwing you off the edge, barreling towards an intense orgasm. 

You snapped your head forward and grabbed onto his hair, holding him onto you, knitting your brows together, moaning loudly as you came, rolling your hips on his cock whispering out of breath, “Oh fuck baby… you feel so fucking good, so fucking deep…” you moaned and he removed his lips from your nipple, moving to grab your lips in his and kiss you deeply as he held you down on his cock. 

His heart was pounding as he thrusts up into you a few times, spilling deep inside you, moaning and preaching how much he loves you, how he loves your body against his, how good you feel with him inside you, rambling his love for you against your lips and in between kisses, out of breath and but still unable to get enough of you, making your hips milk every ounce he has to give you. 

You couldn’t help but smile against his lips as he rambled, combing your fingers through his hair gently, absorbing every word he praised. 

He slowed down his breathing and slowly laid back down, pulling you with him, keeping his lips on yours, slowing down his kisses, gently tracing his hands down your back. You pulled back from his lips and looked into his eyes lovingly, “Easy there cowboy…” you put a hand on his chest to feel his heart racing.

He let out a deep chuckle and reached up to tuck your hair behind your ear, lightly licking his lips, tasting you still on them. He smiled up at you, “You’re so beautiful… I love you so much…” he touched your cheek and you whispered back, “I love you more…” he chuckled, “Impossible…” and leaned up to steal another kiss, letting it be slow and sensual. 

You hummed happily and pulled back slowly, then laid on his chest for a few minutes. He drew slow shapes and love letters onto your back with his fingertips, holding you close, slowing coming down from your highs. 

You slowly sat up after several minutes and looked at the time and kissed his chest softly, “I’ll be right back handsome…” and went to get up off him and off the bed when he grabbed your hand and looked at you, “Where do ya think you’re goin’...?” he kissed your hand and up your arm softly, keeping eye contact with you with those big brown eyes. 

You giggled and touched his cheek softly, “I’m just grabbin’ some medicine that I’m taking for my injuries baby… I’ll be right back.” you blushed at his eagerness to keep you close, “I promise…”

He sat up on his elbow, “Is it in your bag?” he kept your hand and kissed it gently. 

You nodded, “Yeah, I’m just running downstairs quick…” you leaned down and kissed him gently then went to pull away when he grabbed you by your waist, making you squeal and giggle. He pulled you back in bed onto your back and leaned over you, continuing to kiss you slowly and softly a few times then he pulled away, “Mmm you stay here, I’ll go get your stuff…” he smiled and sat up and got out of bed. 

You giggled and sat up on your elbows, “I’m never going to be allowed to lift a finger with you, am I?” 

You watched him put boxers on real quick as he chuckled, “Not when it’s something I can do baby, not when I can take care of you…” he winked at you and then came back and stole another soft kiss from you, “I’ll be right back my love.” 

He walked out of the room and went downstairs, grabbing both of your bags and then the phone he got for you from the kitchen. 

While he went downstairs you got up and used the bathroom, putting the shirt he had in the hamper from earlier on you, and then brushed your teeth quickly. You started to brush your hair while it was still somewhat damp, humming a song to yourself. 

He picked up the clothes you both had discarded downstairs and put the fallen picture back up in case Sarah got home early, he didn’t want her to see the warm-up mess to your… activities. 

He came upstairs, with a water bottle as well, hearing you hum. He set down your bags next to his dresser and the bottle of water on the nightstand, and then came and leaned against the doorway, listening to you, watching you lovingly. 

You saw him in the mirror and smiled, turning around slowly. He came up and put a hand on your waist and another on your cheek, “Can’t Take my Eyes off You, yeah?” he guessed what you were humming. 

You nodded and smiled, he started softly singing to you, looking down at you, starting to dance with you slowly, slowly rubbing his thumb across your cheek, smiling as he sang:

“You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off of you

You'd be like Heaven to touch

I wanna hold you so much

At long last love has arrived

And I thank God I'm alive

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off you

Pardon the way that I stare

There's nothing else to compare

The sight of you leaves me weak

There are no words left to speak

But if you feel like I feel

Please let me know that it's real

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off you” 

He then spun you around and dipped you down, kissing you softly once while humming the horn section before grinning and belting the next part, making you giggle and smile, then start singing along with him:

“I love you, baby, and if it's quite alright

I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night

I love you, baby, trust in me when I say

Oh, pretty baby, don't bring me down, I pray

Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay

And let me love you, baby, let me love you…” 

You both danced and sang together in that bathroom to the rest of that song, completely, utterly and stupidly in love with each other. 

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taglist: @sarahhxx03 , @blahkateisdone , @sunnytuliptime , @herebriefly, @pedroscurls

[heloflor]

Ok so last week I saw the videos/screenshots talking about fop Peri which got me a bit curious about this show, and after seeing “Battle of the Dimmsonian” and especially the Cosmo-Wanda-Peri part of “Lost in Fairy World” (there’s someone on Tumblr posting clips of all the Peri-centric moments since his debut), I was genuinely impressed with how the characters were written and I wanted to gush about them! On top of doing some overanalysis of those characters. Btw I also saw some clips from “Operation: Birthday Takeback” (again the Cosmo-Wanda-Peri side of it).

So here’s a post talking about Cosmo and Wanda’s relationship with Peri, Peri in general, Peri with Dev and a few other random thoughts about the early episodes given this made me start to watch the show (ended up making it its own post), though I haven’t gone far yet (I’m on like episode 5-6, which is episode 4a or something). On that note, take what I say in this post with a HUGE grain of salt since I don’t have the full context for Dev’s character arc.

Tl;Dr: The Fairywinkle-Cosmas are adorable, loving but also realistic in their portrayal.

Peri is the definition of “20 years-old who recently left his parents’ home” and I love him for it.

Dev and Peri are a terrible match due to Peri’s inexperience, Dev not taking him seriously, and Dev’s daddy issues making it hard for him to connect with a fairy who has loving parents.

(Btw on top of the characters moments, what made me start to watch the show is also the fact it’s apparently incredibly wholesome and fun + apparently the writers of “Infi//nity Train” worked on it (and if that’s true it’s crazy how nobody is talking about it to bring in new fans; I mean remember when the Duck//tales reboot came out and everyone pointed out how the writers of Gra//vity Falls worked on it? We should do the same thing here, at least again if it’s true) + Hartman isn’t involved and it’s hilarious how the creator of those characters not getting involved is a good thing)

Oh and spoilers for “Battle of the Dimmsonian”, “Lost in Fairy World” and “Operation: Birthday Takeback”! (4.6k Words below)

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Ok so “Lost In Fairy World” and why I love its characters’ writing so much. I’m actually going to start by the lesson at the end and build from there as it seems like the best way to get a train of thought going.

So the lesson of the episode for me was basically a “new hire vs experienced employees” with a second layer added due to the three fairies being family, and that’s already something I really appreciate!

By the end of the episode, Cosmo and Wanda learn that they need to back off and let Peri do his thing. He’s an adult, he got hired for a reason, let him do his own trial and error and learn his own way. But at the same time, Peri shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help or advice if he needs it, the more experienced people are here for that! And again, there’s the family layer to that discussion that I really like, with Cosmo and Wanda being particularly clingy bc Peri is their son, while Peri is particularly embarrassed to ask them for help because they’re his parents, probably not helped by the fact he likely very recently left their home and seeks his independence.

And that’s another thing I absolutely love after watching this episode and “Battle of the Dimmsonian”, with “Operation: Birthday Takeback” adding to it as well: Honestly, Peri has to be one of the most realistic depictions of “20-something who just left his parents’ house” I’ve ever seen (yeah I don’t watch much stuff outside of cartoons, working on that). They somehow managed to make him very clearly be an adult with adult responsibilities, all the while giving him a level of inexperience and immaturity that reminds you he’s still young.

Giving some examples, the way he talks in general makes it obvious he’s an adult, and when introducing himself to Dev + telling him he can’t visit Fairy World in “Lost in Fairy World”, he has that suave put-together personality to himself. But at the same time this suave personality crumbles the second Dev opens him mouth.

And on top of that, Peri’s one day into his job and his already exhausted, spends the entirety of his debut episode worrying about what his parents will think of his career choice, and in stressful situations tends to turn towards others for help very quickly (reading Da Rules, low-key panicking a bit and looking at his parents in “Lost in Fairy World”, hiding when facing Vicky, moments like those).

There are also those moments where he either acts or sounds childish (with his voice even getting a bit higher), like when Wanda asks if he has a godkid plus him hiding behind his wand right before that, and earlier on when he didn’t want them to see him, the “my wand is missing” line and tracker line in “Lost in Fairy World” (the “sowwy” when telling them his tracker is off tho), the ending of this episode as well when he apologizes to them, also when his parents tell Jorgen that Peri did nothing wrong and he lets them take the fall, or that moment in “Operation: Birthday Takeback” when he goes “moooom” with a whine.

That’s actually something I absolutely love about those interactions, and why I find them realistic. It could have been SO easy for the writers to make Peri act like an adult all the time while his parents are the coddling cringy kind that make him look like a kid. But instead, it comes from both sides. You can clearly tell from how Cosmo and Wanda act that he’s their baby boy, but you can also see from Peri’s dialogues and actions that they are his parents. And I am so happy they took this direction!

So yeah, Peri is the most “young adult who just left the nest” ever and I absolutely adore this characterization. He’s an adult with a job and responsibilities, but he’s still young and can find himself relying on his parents or talking to them in a childish way. Such good character work!

Another thing I love about their dynamic that we see very well in “Lost in Fairy World” is just how much those three love each other. That’s something I did hear about this show, that it was a lot more fun and sweet (compared to the og which could be very cruel and cynical when it wanted), and you can really see it with those three.

With Cosmo and Wanda taking over Peri’s job, you can tell they’re not doing it out of any malice or feeling that Peri can’t do it. Heck if you pause at the scene where Peri tells Dev he can’t go to Fairy World, after he’s done talking and right before Cosmo takes another picture, you can see Cosmo and Wanda looking at Peri with the biggest smile (and it’s adorable!). And it’s the same with the rest of the episode. If anything, they’re so used to taking care of godkids that they just do it out of habit, without realizing they’re causing an issue.

Heck I’d even theorize that their behavior is partly due to their time with Timmy, hence it being a force of habit. For a long time (possibly 50 years if that one secret wish is canon), Poof/Peri was with his parents helping with Timmy, but he wouldn’t do much besides granting wishes. Poof couldn’t talk, so most of the time he’d just stand there while his parents did all of the talking. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this was the reason why Cosmo and Wanda are straight up talking over Peri in “Lost in Fairy World”, they just got used to do so when taking care of Timmy and are now getting back into this habit.

On top of that, Cosmo and Wanda are just excited to finally be with their son again after their 10 thousand years-long vacation. Plus, when Peri does call them out, by the end of it they acknowledge their mistake and apologize, promising to back off. And while they remain cuddly towards him, from the looks of it they did stop coming in-between Peri and Dev, letting their son do his thing.

Also worth noting that, despite doting on Peri, they still very much talk to him like they would talk to an adult. Yes they hug him a lot (and I mean a lot) and call him pet names, and they were definitely excited to see him again in “Lost in Fairy World”, but other than that they clearly respect him as an adult, listening to him and trusting him. I’m not going to list examples because it’s basically every dialogue in which they don’t “baby” him. That being said I feel like “Operation: Birthday Takeback” displays it the best from what I’ve seen of it.

As for Peri’s side on this, he’s annoyed by his parents stepping in but it’s obvious he doesn’t hate them at all, quite the opposite. He just wants them to take him seriously as an adult, which is understandable. Also the fact he isn’t afraid to call them out is a very good sign. On that note, I love how when telling them his tracker is off, he actually apologizes (though he doesn’t have to, his reasoning for turning it off is understandable, and I appreciate he tells them those reasons!).

Also I live for that scene at the beginning of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” when his parents ask for a tour of the house (btw love Wanda telling him they’re ready to get him out of there if needed), they show interest in his suggestion, which makes Peri smile sheepishly. It’s such a cute moment and to me really shows Peri wanting to be seen as an adult and enjoying being seen that way by them, but also how he’s clearly attached to them! Idk it’s just a very cute moment! I love those three!

Also kind of a last minute addition before moving to Peri and Dev but looking at “Operation: Birthday Takeback”, I can’t help but laugh at how at the very beginning, the second the godkids are doing their own thing, Cosmo and Wanda throw themselves at their son. It’s very sweet. Also I love the implication that they’re here bc they’re Hazel’s godparents and need to stay with her, but also they really wanted any excuse to see their son!

And the reason why I say last minute addition is because this made me realize that Cosmo and Wanda do act pretty differently towards the godkids compared to Peri, which I find to be an interesting detail that makes their characters more complex in a way. Like yes, Cosmo and Wanda are very parental types, but to an extent you can see a line between them being with their godkids, who they are here to mentor and steer in the right direction for a few months until the kid is happy, and them being with their son, who they raised from infancy and isn’t going anywhere.

Now that’s not to say that Cosmo and Wanda don’t love their godkids, it’s obvious how much they adore those kids and care for them and probably remember each and every single one of them, but yeah you can still see a bit of a difference. At the very least, from what I’ve seen so far they can’t help but hug Peri literally everytime they have an excuse to do so, while having a bit more boundaries with Hazel.

But again, that’s a last minute thought and I’ve only seen a handful of episodes, so I might be wrong on that. Take it with a grain of salt. Still, I find it interesting to have those characters who are basically social workers and how there’s a bit of a difference between the kids they take care of for their “job” and the kid they have in their personal life. Again, that’s not to say they aren’t attached to the godkids, they are.

But yeah, all of this to say, the way the Fairywinkle-Cosma family is written in “Lost in Fairy World” honestly blew me away and really got me invested into watching this show, with “Battle of the Dimmsonian” and “Operation: Birthday Takeback” only adding to it (and I’m probably looking way too much into this and making it sound like the writing of this episode is much deeper than it actually is; I’m obsessed with this disaster (affectionate) of a family, help).

As for the part about Peri and Dev, basically there’s an element of Cosmo and Wanda talking over Peri in “Lost in Fairy World” that I wanted to explore, but then “Operation: Birthday Takeback” came out and there’s that moment in the “breakup” scene where Dev talks about his father not noticing his fairy while Peri is being hugged by his parents in the background. And while this is a visual gag, Cosmo and Wanda’s action in this scene actually fits very well thematically and made me realize something about how Dev might feel about Peri.

So now you’re getting a whole section about how Dev and Peri are a terrible match for each other, due to three main reasons:

1. The one everyone already talked about, Peri is severly underqualified. While you could say he’s been a godparent since he was a baby, back then all he did was grant wishes while his parents dealt with the talking + emotional support. Not only was he doing a small part of the job, he also had his parents, other more qualified fairies, helping him. Also the scene with Vicky tells us that Peri doesn’t have the best memories of his time as a baby, which is fair enough.

(note that I believe he was 7-8 years old when he had to say goodbye to Timmy, so he does remember him. As for Vicky, Timmy’s parents likely stopped hiring her once their son was 13-14, hence why Peri only has blurry memories of her, he would’ve been a toddler at best by then)

So yeah, Dev is Peri’s first kid, and Peri is not qualified for him. He loses his patience with the cupcakes, bites back when Dev is short and snappy with him (the classroom scene at the end of the “under//tale” episode, yeah I haven’t watched this one outside of this scene; and the beginning of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” with the flying shoes) and don’t get me started on Peri telling Dev in “Battle of the Dimmsonian” to give the staff back because “what will my parents say if my first godkid dies on me!”

Like PERI??? MAYBE DON’T SAY TO THE KID WITH ABANDONMENT ISSUES THAT YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT HIS WELLBEING BECAUSE YOU WANT TO IMPRESS YOUR PARENTS??? JUST A THOUGHT???

(note that I do believe Peri cares for Dev, it’s just that what he says here really comes off as him not caring, and since Dev is the one hearing what Peri says in that scene...)

Also obviously there’s the ending of “Operation: Birthday Takeback”. Tbh I don’t blame Peri much for this one since, again, he’s severely underqualified, but yeah his response to Dev’s wish was not the right one, which is reflected by Dev reacting with a frustrated scream which honestly made me feel bad for this kid. Peri going “as you wish” is just too distant and “professional”. That’s a kid in a vulnerable state! He needed comfort! Sure Peri had to go because Dev literally wished for it, but a more qualified fairy would have known what to say, if only something along the lines of “take all the time you need, I’ll be there for you once you feel better”.

So yeah, Dev is deeply hurting and a complete newbie who doesn’t have the patience or positivity for it was not going to make things better.

2. What I originally wanted to say about “Lost in Fairy World” before 3. showed its head: I think Cosmo and Wanda being around inadvertently makes things worse for the duo.

Thing is, Dev is a difficult kid. Because of that, I think that in order for him to open up to his fairy, said fairy needs to earn his respect so to speak. And not to say Dev’s fairy should be full on authoritative, but yeah they definitely need to be someone Dev respects and listens to, which is not the case for Peri. And I think the main reason why has to do with Peri’s relationship with his parents.

Basically, kids are smarter than we give them credit for and are observant as well. And what did Dev see his fairy do? Spend the first day on the job being terrified of meeting his parents who turned out to be incredibly sweet people. Then in “Lost in Fairy World” it honestly looks like Peri, Cosmo and Wanda just wanted to catch up and brought the kids for the heck of it, and Dev gets to see his fairy being babied by his parents, along with said parents talking over him. Then as said before there’s also Peri going “mooom” in front of Dev in “Operation: Birthday Takeback”.

And about “Lost in Fairy World”, there’s that moment in the beginning where Cosmo and Wanda tell Dev he can’t go to fairy world, only for Peri to step in and basically repeat the exact same thing as his parents (the “trial” part from Cosmo and “I can’t let you go” from Wanda). And while this line is a joke, I do think it’s important for Peri to put his foot down like that.

Because yeah, Peri is the one Dev should be listening to. It’s not just a question of “this is Peri’s job”, it’s also about Dev seeing Peri as an adult. But with Cosmo and Wanda, it’s a bit more complicated.

This is also another element I really like about this episode, Peri needing to be the one doing the talking so that Dev can take him seriously as a potential guardian.

But yeah, the thing is, it’s not working. Peri’s immaturity shines with his lack of patience for the kid, which Dev picks up on, leading the two of them to get snappy with each other on “even ground” in a way, which doesn’t help Peri’s case. And on top of that you have Cosmo and Wanda, who even with their eccentric side remain mature adults (and I love how them being eccentric doesn’t make them seem any less adult; love adults being allowed to have fun and be themselves without being shamed or called childish for it!).

Now as far as I’m aware the show never really talks about this, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Cosmo and Wanda being around played a role in Dev’s perception of Peri. Not only because of them being mushy parents as previously discussed, but also because they are clearly older and more experienced than Peri, making it harder for Dev to take Peri seriously. Hopefully this makes sense?

And speaking of Dev with Cosmo and Wanda, I actually get the feeling he somewhat respects them? At least more than Peri? And on that note, there’s that scene at the very beginning of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” that I find both adorable but also pretty depressing when it comes to Dev.

When Cosmo, Wanda and Hazel show up, they ask if Dev’s dad is here, to which he mentions “Project H”. And at that Cosmo makes a comment about this project being a big surprise party, and yeah this moments gets me.

Because for a second there, Dev actually smiles. He knows that what his dad is doing has nothing to do with the party, he says so himself in response to Cosmo, but he still smiles, because he understands that Cosmo is trying to cheer him up and appreciates the effort. Idk this gets me, especially also seeing the way Wanda and Peri are looking wary as Cosmo keeps talking, clearly unsure of how Dev will react.

Like am I making a big deal out of a ten seconds moment? Probably. But there’s just something about this sad kid closing himself off whenever his problems are brought up, acting like an entitled brat most of the time as a coping mechanism, yet when this random adult he vaguely knows tries to cheer him up, he’s able to understand it and appreciate it. Idk, again, it just gets me. And sadly it really shows how bad of a match Peri and Dev are. Peri hasn’t been able to get any sort of progress with this kid, but the second his dad shows up and talks a bit suddenly the kid is giving a sincere smile. Yeah…

Now granted in regards to Dev respecting Cosmo and Wanda more, it might also have to do with them not being his godparents, considering Dev is basically using Peri as some sort of servant at times since he’s a spoiled brat and all.

Finally for this part, I want to bring up that scene in the secret lair with Vicky showing up, because to me this is a very good example of Peri actually failing Dev, which in this case will make the kid not take him seriously (on top of not earning his trust and being frustrated with him).

Now I will say, I can’t blame Peri for panicking the way he does upon seeing Vicky (btw I forgot to mention it earlier but the way he goes “lalala” and continues while turning into a drone and looking at the banging door in horror is so real. Again Peri is peak young adult energy). He’s had to deal with that woman since he was a literal infant, of course he’s going to be traumatized!

Still, Dev doesn’t know that. All he knows is that there’s this scary lady his and Hazel’s fairies know about, but he has no idea what history is between them outside of “she was terrible to our previous kid and scares us”. Also he’s 10 and has a bad home-life making him selfish, I don’t think he can fully understand the adults around him being traumatized.

But yeah, all this to say, in this scene, Peri is completely paralyzed, hiding behind the others waiting for Vicky to leave, letting his parents do the talking. And yep, we yet again go back to Cosmo and Wanda being the mature adults around here. Also worth noting that once Vicky puts on the nice act, Hazel stops being afraid of her but Dev still looks intimidated!

In that moment, Peri should have been there to protect Dev. That’s his job as a godfairy. His kid was scared and in potential danger. Yet Peri did absolutely nothing. Instead he stayed hidden, technically behind his kid which means using Dev as cover, and who came to both his and Dev’s rescue? Cosmo and Wanda, the other two fairies in the room, who are clearly more mature and are Peri’s parents.

And again, I don’t blame Peri for being paralyzed in fear like that, but how do you explain that to Dev? How do you tell that kid that he’s braver than his adult magical all-powerful fairy? That while he had to stand and somewhat confront Vicky, that adult fairy that’s supposed to protect him went hiding behind mommy and daddy? Hell from what I’ve seen, earlier in the episode the kids do stand up to Vicky, which makes Peri’s actions worse!

So yeah, hopefully this whole part makes sense as it feels a bit like a mess. The main takeaway here is that Dev needs a fairy that he can see as an almost parental figure, someone he clearly views as an adult and respects as such, that way he can have someone he can trust and be comfortable with, easing him into breaking down his walls. But Peri isn’t any of that. He’s a young adult which makes him still quite immature, and on top of that his parents basically live next door, thus leading Dev to see his fairy getting treated like a kid. It just can’t work out between them as long as they stay like that.

3. Finally, the part related to that moment of Dev talking about his dad while looking at the fairies: Dev has some serious daddy issues related to his father never paying attention to him on account of being a piece of shit who only cares about himself. And the thing is, Dev doesn’t have anyone he can relate to on that front (saying this since it’s hard for him to open up, so having someone with similar issues could be a bit of a push for him).

Hazel has caring parents whose main issue is being busy, on top of her fairies who clearly love her and spend a lot of time taking care of her. Now I haven’t seen much of the school kids but also Dev isn’t exactly close to any of them apparently? Meaning that in any case he can’t relate to them.

Then there’s this fairy that shows up, meant to cater to him but also help him emotionally, and wouldn’t you know this guy talks about wanting to impress his parents and being afraid of them! No but seriously, thinking about it, I can’t help but wonder if for a moment Dev thought he and Peri could bond over family issues, at least subconsciously. But nope! As soon as Peri reunites with his folks, turns out they’re the sweetest most loving parents ever.

I’m actually surprised that from the looks of it the show doesn’t draw a parallel between Dev and Peri on that front. I mean you have a kid with an incredibly absent parent who wants nothing more than to get his dad’s attention, being taken care of by a fairy who finds his parents’ attention suffocating and just wants them to leave him alone. There’s interesting storytelling potential here, especially when taking into account how much those two struggle to get along (basically Peri’s family situation making Dev feel worse in a way due to his confusion as to why Peri puts a bit of distance between himself and his parents)

Which loops back to that scene at the end of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” with Peri getting hugged by his parents while Dev is opening up about his daddy issues and how this visual gag fits the theme of the scene. Dev is feeling like shit about his father not loving him meanwhile the fairy that’s supposed to take care of him is being cuddled by his incredibly loving parents who adore him.

On that note, there’s an element I haven’t touched on in this episode, and it’s the fact that Hazel and Dev were in trouble with Vicky but didn’t have their fairies to protect them due to the trio visiting the house. While this scene is another example of Peri failing Dev, what I find most interesting about it is the fact that Peri “abandoned” Dev to spend time with his parents. Idk, I can’t help but think that this detail twists the knife even further for Dev. Not only was his fairy not here to protect him, but his absence is due to him hanging out with his parents who love him and wanted to spend time with him.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Dev is also angry at the fact that Cosmo and Wanda are able to take care of Hazel and be there for her whenever she needs while still finding the time to hang out with their son and be involved in his life. In a way it’s further proof that Dale is an atrocious parent, at least when taking into account Dev’s pov since I doubt a kid his age spends a lot of time hanging out with other parents, so Cosmo and Wanda are basically the only couple he can compare his father to. Basically I could see Dev noticing how much Cosmo and Wanda do and it making him feel even worse about why his dad doesn’t love him the same.

But yeah all this to say, just like everyone else in his life, Peri can’t understand Dev’s issues with his father, issues that are the core reason why he has a fairy in the first place. On top of that, Peri not only has the one thing Dev wants, but the kid sees him push it away on numerous occasions.

And that’s the end of what I wanted to say here. Hopefully this isn’t too much of a mess since I’m writing this while sick + sleep-deprived due to illness + haven’t watched much of the show past a few episodes and the clips on Tumblr.

On that note, yet again please take this post with a grain of salt, especially the Dev-Peri part. I originally just planned on gushing about “Lost in Fairy World” and how much I love the Fairywinkle-Cosma in it, but seeing the ending of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” made me want to talk a little more about Dev. That being said given how little I’ve watched there’s probably a lot I’m missing about this kid, so by no means do I think this analysis is perfect (also, the fact I’m writing this while ill…). Now Dev does seem to be a “predictable” character, hence why I feel somewhat comfortable writing this despite seeing so little, but again I might be wrong.

(Btw when I say Dev is predictable I’m in no way saying it negatively, quite the opposite! I love that him getting a fairy low-key made him worse, and I’m very curious as to how they’re going to resolve him spiraling the way he’s currently doing.)

In any case, thanks for reading!

[peachdues]

I understand that this might sound really silly but I am SO invested in the world building in Compass. It is SO well done and had left me with so many questions, not because it's incomplete or vague in any way but because it's genuinely peaked my curiosity. Is there a hierarchy amongst the Hashira? Is Sanemi somehow less respected then, say, Tengan, since he seems to have more privileges and a nicer hideout? Is it because Sanemi does more "dirty" or less profitable work? What jobs do the other Hashira control? Will we see more of Genya in the story? Feel free to ignore this, but I love your writing and this fic even though I'm not even a huge Sanemi fan.

NO NO NO NOT SILLY AT ALL?? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS KIND KF ASK IS EVERY AUTHOR’S DREAAAAM AHHH

Ok ok, I’m calm. I’m so calm. THANK YOU SO MUCH??!?😭😭😭 I’m do questions first.

1. Is there a hierarchy among the hashira?

Not in any significant way except for when they’re all called together for a meeting, Uzui tends to lead — but I also think that has more to do with personality. Orders for jobs tend to come from the “higher ups” (*cough* Ubayashiki family). Other than that, they each help out on jobs for the others if the opportunity arises. Sanemi might be a little unique in that his job tends to be enforcement of the other Hashira’s jobs, which is why you see him doing a lot on behalf of the others. Future chapters will show him working jobs with other Hashira, though — namely, Iguro.

2. Is Sanemi less respected than the others because of his title?

Nah, Sanemi plays an important role for them, in that he’s able to hunt down/collect what the others can’t. Him living in a shit hole has less to do with his title and more to do with his personality. Uzui might have more properties, but they *all* live in the Silo, except for Rengoku. Part of that is convenience, since most of their activities run out of that end of the City/that’s where base is. For Sanemi, too, he doesn’t really need anything nicer — it’s just him, after all, and he puts most of his money into Genya’s (and now Reader’s) savings.

I could add in that Sanemi also doesn’t think he’s allowed to have better than what he’s got. That’s an ongoing theme with him, and it bleeds into his living arrangements, too.

3. What other jobs do the Hashira control?

So far, we’ve seen that Kanae ran a very profitable drug operation (RIP the Kochos) that’s now up in the air since her murder. Uzui runs nightclubs that are largely for sex work purposes. Iguro deals with stolen goods (like, high priced items), and Rengoku does white collar stuff. More details will come next chapter, as the Hashira will come together for a meeting. Note that one canonical Hashira is not a Hashira in the Corps in this story — in fact, they’re not a Corps member at all, but a civilian.

4. More genya??

lol, yes, Genya will come back!! He has a much bigger role to play later on/near the end of the story.

Okay, now I can say alsmsosmskskasm thank you so, so much. Not only did your ask make me feel all giggly and happy, but it truly made my day. Being asked about these kind of details is seriously every author’s dream — there’s so much I have that went into making the world/setting for Compass that might not ever make it onto the page, so to have someone ask about the dynamics and the background of the story just makes my heart sing. Thank you so fucking much.

[friccafracc]

DROP THE FIC OR IM COMING FOR YOUR KNEECAPS

ALRIGHT OK BUT I NEED IT TO BE KNOWN THAT I HAVENT WRITTEN ANYTHING SERIOUSLY SINCE HIGHSCHOOL OK

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

“Something is after me. I know it is, I’ve seen it. It looks like a man, but I know that it’s not. It…. It’s face is like a mockery of something human- like- like if you asked someone who has never seen a human to draw or model a person’s face, their smile. No… I don’t think any human would be able to get it that wrong.”

“And I’m not crazy, alright? God, y’all probably get that a lot here, don’t you? You people specialize in crazy. Not that I’m anyone to judge anymore, given the shit I went through before coming out here. I didn’t even know a place like this existed outside the Usher Foundation. I just…there’s some weird, crazy shit out there I guess, and when I heard about y’all, I figured I should probably pay a visit. At least let someone know before I die.”

“I know I’m gonna die.”

“I suppose I should start from the beginning. My name is Joshua Nelson, I’m originally from the States–Memphis Tennessee. Now, if there’s one thing you should know about Memphis, it’s that nobody in their right mind should EVER move there on their own accord, ‘cause you’ll either get mugged or stalked or both. I was born and raised there, so I never really got the choice during the formative years of my life. I’ve learned to live with it, though.”

“I worked retail in a gas station before…well, everything. It was a shithole. The kind of building where, no matter how hard you scrubbed and no matter how much bleach you used, the stains and smell of smoke would never leave. Instead just…mingled with the citrus of the chemicals. It paid the bills, though, and I was never witness to a robbery, so I couldn’t complain too much. The customers were docile and if I noticed anyone shoplifting, I kept it to myself. I wasn’t getting paid enough to give a damn.”

“We had regulars that would come in on a schedule and regulars that wouldn’t. People who were just passing through the city or visiting family or friends. You get all types in that kinda place, and if you’re placid enough to any asshole who’s having a bad day, everyone gets along just fine. There were a couple of regulars who were friendly enough, though, that I remember their names. Miss Kelly was an older woman, short and heavyset–she was one of the friendlier ones. We’ve got a lot of talkers in the south and boy did she make sure I knew every exact reason for what her kids were getting up to, or what was going on in a reality show she was hooked on at the time.”

“George Michael, a thin man in his 40s, maybe, always came in whenever he needed a new pack of cigarettes, I think he was a chain-smoker, cause he was in there a lot.”

“And then…then there was Hunter. Now Hunter was a younger man, maybe college age. A little older than that? Poor bastard was hooked on something, that much anyone could tell. He was gaunt, a little twitchy, you know, telltale signs of drug abuse. I could never tell what specifically he was on, but then again, it was never my business to know. I treated him the same as every other customer, we all knew he wasn’t gonna cause any harm, he usually came in for food, chips and hotdogs and stuff and he never caused a fuss.”

“I think… I think Hunter is dead.”

“One day he came in, I think it was a Wednesday or something cause it was slow that afternoon, and he burst through the door. Well–maybe not burst, but he came in the building like he was racing to get indoors first before someone else. The guy was usually jittery and, I’ll admit, a little shifty usually, but this was full blown paranoia. It startled me at first, his intensity, and he made a b-line towards the back of the store and ducked behind one of the shelves. Maybe not duck completely like ducking for cover, but it was obvious he was hiding. It almost made me expect the police or some drug lord to come storming through the door, but nobody else came.”

“Hunter stayed pacing in the building for a good 20 or 30 minutes, periodically lifting his head to crane his neck and peer out the window or the glass of the door. I checked once or twice as well, but if someone was out there, I didn’t see them. Eventually the guy calmed down enough to buy something and when he approached the counter with his bag of Doritos he looked almost like he was going to be sick.”

“I asked him if everything was alright, but he just shook his head and left.”

“I didn’t see him again for another week or two after that. Obviously I assumed the worst. I theorized that someone was after him and when he didn’t show up when he usually did it was more than enough to confirm my suspicions. Be it cops or some random person on the street, I couldn’t decide which fate would be worse, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel for the guy at least a little bit.”

“Hunter was almost completely out of my mind when I saw him again. I was surprised. By all accounts, it didn’t look like anything had changed about him. Maybe aside from the fact that his posture was way better than it usually was when I saw him, but other than that, nothing was out of the ordinary.”

“Business went on as usual and when he came up to the till with a liter of coke, I offered him a ‘Welcome Back’ and rang him up.”

“When I turned back to him, he was smiling. For some reason it was like a pit opened in the bottom of my stomach. I couldn’t understand why, though. It looked like Hunter–patchy, unkempt stubble, greasy hair, thin face, sunken eyes. His appearance had never bothered me before, so I was struck with confusion that mixed in with the undefinable, sudden sense of dread.”

“‘Thank you,’ he said as I handed him his change. And he walked out the door. It sounded like Hunter, too.”

“Hunter returned the next day, and the next. Each time he was polite and quiet, and each time he smiled when I rang him up. I counted his teeth. They were straight and flat. When I counted mine in the mirror when I smiled, I saw 17 or 18. Hunter’s counted 24.”

“Maybe he has a dental problem that I didn’t notice until now, I told myself. Human bodies are weird. Sometimes you have more teeth than usual.”

“The fourth day he came in a row, I saw his eyes and his pupils were…swollen, is the only way I can describe them. I know what people’s eyes look like when they’re high. This was not that. It was like they almost swallowed up his irises completely, and they were dull. Dull in the sense that the fluorescents overhead did nothing to cast any reflections onto them. It made me want to writhe and squirm whenever he looked at me.”

“I called in sick the fifth day. I knew Hunter would be back in that gas station to see me. I knew it was to see me. And I knew that thing. That..whatever it was. It wasn’t Hunter.”

“I guess a part of me was always dreading that day. I had always heard stories about people being stalked from friends of friends. It was only a matter of time before it happened to me, right?”

“I saw Hunter at the grocery store the next day, posture straight and face split open into that smile with too many teeth. I didn’t have the mind to be polite. I turned completely around and walked the other way, trying to fool myself thinking that he hadn’t seen me. I kept a pocket knife on me after that encounter. I probably should have been before, but hindsight is always 20/20.”

“Each time I saw him after that, it was worse. On the street to my apartment, his eyes were too wide and his grinning mouth was slightly agape. A crude facsimile of delight as I rushed past him. I stopped going into work when I started to spot him everywhere I went. Every destination no matter how far or random, he was there, grinning at me. He knew where I lived, that I had no doubt. So I went to a friend’s one night hoping to throw him off. Maybe I could move out and lose him. Lord knows I didn’t have the money to break my lease early, but I was desperate.”

“My friend suggested I call the police, but for some reason I was convinced that wouldn’t help. Cops usually only made things worse in that town, and I had a sinking feeling going that route would only waste my time.”

“The final straw was the second night I was crashing on my friend’s couch. I was exhausted, the past few weeks spent sleepless and paranoid and I was ready to finally pass out when I heard a light, rhythmic tapping on the window behind my head.”

“It’s just the wind, I thought to myself. A tree branch or something scraping against the glass. The exhaustion was completely gone, my pounding heart and pumping adrenaline overpowering any lame excuse that I would be stupid enough to be reassured by.”

“I didn’t move from where I lay. Tap. Tap. Tap. Came through the window once again.”

“I don’t know why I laid there for so long, unmoving, convinced that if I didn’t turn around, whatever it was outside would lose interest and leave. I really, really wanted it to leave.”

“I lay still for what felt like hours, every muscle in my body wound up and tense and ready to leap into action at any given opportunity. I was praying the opportunity would never come.”

“I don’t know how long it was when the tapping ceased, but it was long before I finally managed to relax. It seemed like my strategy worked. What an idiotic thing to think. Like I was a child hiding from an imaginary monster in the dark. Like the logic of not giving a stalker any attention so it would go away was sound. No. I think it was that false hope that landed me in this situation.”

“Because when that tapping came again, I wasn’t prepared to turn around. But I did. I turned around and what I saw in the darkness through that glass was… I don’t know what it was. I know it had eyes and teeth. It was grinning, but its teeth stretched well beyond what would be the borders of its face. God, I couldn’t see its face. I knew it was Hunter, though. It had those same lightless eyes that stared back at me every time I closed my own. Dead and dark and dull and staring at me–eating at me, wide and gleeful and spilling into the shadow that I could only assume was a part of the creature, itself. Its form took up nearly the entirety of the window, blocking the outside world. It didn’t move.”

“I screamed. I screamed and closed the curtains and I hid. This woke my friend of course, and she came stumbling out of her room, looking bleary but alert. I tried to signal to her not to go to the window or do anything or to call the police. Thankfully she got the message and the cops were there within the hour.”

“They didn’t find anything. Or anyone, for that matter. I left out the…the monster bit, because I assumed it might land me somewhere I really didn’t want to go.”

“They were about as helpful as I thought they would be. Told me to call them again if I noticed any suspicious activity.”

“I booked my flight here that very night. I wasn’t going to stay in that goddamn city with whatever the HELL that thing was. I don’t want to end up like Hunter. I don’t want it to wear my skin.”

“It will, though. I know it will and it scares me more than anything in the world. And I know I can’t escape it, either.”

“It followed me here. I saw it. It was still grinning at me and it was still. Wearing. Hunter’s. Skin. The shadow that was cast over it made it so I could only see the whites of it’s eyes....its teeth.”

“I don’t want to die.”

[yuri-is-online]

Missed Connection Section of the NRC Gazette (Floyd, Leona, and Ruggie)

While cleaning the Ramshackle guest room, the prefect occasionally finds items that remind them of their guests. Sometimes that is because those items actually belong to them and need to be returned, other times it's just a happy coincidence. Either way, the item needs to be delivered, might as well invite them over again? Or just chase them down, whatever is most convenient.

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, Yuu is implied to be short, based off the personal items you can find in the guest room and a line from Floyd's dormwear card, title inspired by a country song that has nothing to do with the subject of the fic. I got a request for the 300 followers event, but since it's closed and I had this kicking around for Floyd anyway I added the other two requested characters. If you liked this you can read my other fics here.

Grey Scarf

"Floyd." Azul has a boring look on his face, all grimacy and angry and not worth Floyd's attention. Unfortunately he is very close to his face making it a tad impossible to ignore. "Where is your scarf?"  

"Dunno." He says. "I ain't wearing it." 

"I can see that." Snaps Azul. "You need it for your shift, you look sloppy enough as it is.  You scarf is a part of your uniform!  How can you be so careless with it?"

Because it's ugly.  Sure, it matches his dorm uniform kind of but his socks get to be a snazzy purple with a cute octopus pattern, why'd the scarf have to be such a boring grey?  Rules are rules though, and he does need it to work so he drags himself back over to his room and starts looking around. Normally, he would just steal Jade's and wait tables until he figured it out and forced Floyd to take the kitchen off his hands, but Floyd really didn't feel like cooking today. He didn't feel like waiting tables either, but money was money and Azul paid well. Only if he could find his stupid scarf apparently which was nowhere he could see, and he was far from happy about physically looking. Jade opens the door as he's halfway through emptying his bedside drawer on top of his bed, alongside all the laundry he'd had scattered across the floor.

"Looking for your scarf?" Floyd throws a pillow at him which is quickly returned with a pointed look that dares him to escalate things further just obviously enough Floyd doesn't want to do it. Instead he falls face first into the pile of laundry and nick nacks he'd been sorting through, making Jade sigh in disappointment.

"'s not here." Floyd grunts, muffled by an ok smelling t-shirt.

"Have you tried retracing your steps?" Jade is saying it just to be annoying but it is ok advice. Floyd tries, he doesn't usually wear his dorm uniform outside of school stuff, so it would have to be somewhere on campus. He hauls himself up from the pile and shuffles past his brother, the walk out of the mirror and towards the main campus passing by in a blur. There's a vague memory of club practice, but that could have been from any day this week, and it's not like he wears it to classes. Floyd chews on his lip in annoyance, he feels like he remembers where the last place the scarf was, but his bad mood is keeping him from sorting through his memories intellectually. It also keeps him from looking where he's going, smacking him directly into a very tiny, very familiar looking person who pointedly ignores his angry snarl to shove something in his face. Something very familiar, very boring, and very clearly the only reason either of them had left their dorms this evening.

"Seriously," the little shrimp has to stand up on their tip toes to throw the scarf around his shoulders "you have got to stop leaving your things at my dorm!" He thinks they're angry. That would explain the look on their face, but it's making his heart do weird flips between his chest and his stomach that keep him from thinking straight. A smile finds its way to his face, wide and unbidden coupled with outstretched arms that can't catch them fast enough, like he's reaching through honey even though he finds his mark and tugs them thrashing into his embrace.

"Awww," the words that come out of his mouth don't really feel like his "was little shrimpy wooooried about me?" He should say thank you. That's what Mamma Leech would say, and it's not that he doesn't want to, it's just there's a weird weight to the words he can't quite figure out. Something that wants to be said, but not just yet. They deserve a better tone, a better mood.

"No!" Yuu yells, muffled by his squeeze and unaware of how struggling is only going to make his hold tighter. "You just always burst in and whine about being bored-" Floyd nuzzles his cheek against theirs, trying to ignore the pushing against his chest as he sets them down.

"It's ok little shrimpy, you don't have to be so modest. Good shrimpies get rewards, I'll make sure to bring you something after I get off work, make sure to leave the door unlocked for me~" Or maybe don't, he could find his way in anyway he's sure of that but there's something about the fantasy of them wanting to see him (it's not a fantasy, they've invited him over before he knows that they don't fear him as much as they should) after work that's going to get him through the shift. Maybe he'll ditch the scarf again and make them come running after him on purpose this time, he thinks to himself with an uncharacteristically gentle smile.

Grand Wallet

Contrary to what he would say out-loud, Leona does think that the Ramshackle Prefect is quite smart. You do not survive as a magicless student from a different reality without some flexibility and raw intelligence. The consistency with which they could pick up on things and see through concealed intentions demands respect. But, he supposes as he idly thumbs through his bill fold disappointed to find it just as thick as when he left it, they are also... he decides to go with nice. The concerned way they stare at him is nice, Leona likes positive attention. He just wishes it wasn't from the nicest person he knows, is it so wrong to wish he had some reassurance that there was someone willing to be only nice to him? There's an ugly sort of suspicion they might have refused to steal from him out of fear, he's certainly more of a threat to them than he is to Ruggie.

"Well I guess I owe you a reward huh?" They jump, not helping the accusation (unvoiced) that they're only doing this out of fear.

"No?" Yuu says, looking around them probably to make sure that bratty cat monster isn't within earshot. Leona doesn't care about rewarding Grim, this is between him and the prefect, not some gluttonous bastard who is half the reason he was expecting to be stolen from in the first place. "You- Just stop forgetting things at my place!" He smiles slightly at that choice of phrasing just as they cringe at it. It almost makes him sound like a normal guy, if a Prince was leaving things around someone's place that would invite speculation; and Leona knows better than anyone that speculation invites scandal.

"Real shame no one ever does things out of the goodness of their hearts these days." His voice drawls as embarrassment settles over their face. They look almost mouse-like, if they try to speak Leona just knows they'll squeak and they clearly know it too. "You're really twisting my arm here, pretty shameless, prefect." That does it, the deep breath they take does nothing but really accentuate the harsh contrast of the squeaking to their normal voice.

"I did not," Yuu is so mortified they can barely get the words out, if he can't be the only recipient of their kindness he will satisfy himself with batting them around in his paws until they can pull together some nerves and force him to stop "return your wallet just for a reward. It's yours it belongs to you and now it is back where it belongs. Which isn't my guest room on top of a fucking couch seriously Leona-" Mice still have claws, even if the dent they leave is just a little scratch to such a big cat, he finds himself pleased with the annoyance of Yuu finding their voice. "It was like you were practically begging to be robbed. What if one of the Leech twins found that huh? Would you be getting it back?"

"Only after I paid the finders fee." He can ignore the tickle caused by the unsavory image of an eel inviting itself into your personal space. "Which is what I am doin' now, you're demanding it remember?" He tunes his ears to their footsteps as he walks towards the cafeteria, content with how quickly they jump to follow. The typically steady beat of their heart is skipping in tune with the directions of their thoughts. Good, the mouse is smart contrary to what the trapped lion thinks, so let them; they'll realize the hold they have over him soon enough.

Empty Lunch Box

This was really starting to annoy you, but no matter how much you turned the whole thing over in your mind you couldn't figure out why. You had been tempted to try and ask someone about it, but you could already tell what the general reaction to the situation would be.

The "situation" being that simply put, Ruggie liked to hang out in your guest room. That wasn't the issue. You liked having Ruggie over, it's actually really nice. Sometimes he brings small projects from some odd job or another and you'll work on them together while having a chat. He likes to ask you things about your world, it started as just small talk about the sort of jobs you'd had in your world but evolved into much more meaningful talks about your hobbies and the family you missed. You had even had a lengthy conversation about death and the difference between cultural beliefs about where you go after you die. Yes it was very nice and domestic even but then you made the mistake of trying to be nice.

Ruggie liked to bring a lunchbox with him when he visited. Sometimes it had food in it, and while he hadn't shared it with you at first, but then you started talking about your families and he had slightly warmed up to the idea of sharing snacks. You hadn't taken anything from him until he explicitly offered, and when he forgot the now empty lunch box you had pulled some of your personal savings to get him something from the Mystery Shop. It was supposed to be a cute surprise for him to find when you returned the lunch box, and it worked. Granted you had intended for him to find it after he got back to his dorm, but he had sniffed it out as soon as you handed it over. His reaction was cute, he was cute, it was almost like he thought he was dreaming with just how excited he had been to receive some packaged pastries. When he came over later in the week and left the lunchbox again you had done the same thing. Fair is fair, he gets you jobs and shares his food and you give a little food back in return. Lately though something has been different. Ruggie has still been coming to hang out, he still brings work, you still talk, and he still leaves that damn lunch box. But he hasn't been sharing anything, meaningful; personal information or foodwise.

Maybe it was the death conversation. If you had revealed you were an orphan and that you never knew your mom to someone you had a crush on (not that Ruggie like likes you no matter how much you might might want that) you would be pumping the breaks too. But it still kind of hurt, it felt like a rejection of something that you knew hadn't existed in the first place.

"Y'know you don't have to give me stuff." Ruggie had come over today too, with shitty plastic garbage that needed packed into boxes. He's either read your mind or noticed you brought the remainder of the packaged goods out to snack on while you work. You try to asses him from behind your pile of card stock, he's overly focused on his task. Reflective maybe? He is almost pouting.

"I wanted to." You decide to stick with honesty, sure Ruggie might be sneaky but he deserves that much, doesn't he? "You share with me, I share with you. Fair's fair, right?"

"Right." Ruggie says, audibly disappointed to your confusion. You have never seen him so... gloomy over the concept of someone owing him a favor. Especially one paid back in food. "You do that for everybody, yeah?"

"Yeah?" You say, pausing in your work for just a second to try and collect yourself. Up until a few seconds ago you had been under the impression that had been one of your better qualities.

"So like," he isn't looking at you and his ears are saggy, tugging at your heartstrings painfully though just a tiny part of you is starting to hope- "if Leona left no that doesn't make sense. If Jack left his lunch box here and it was empty would you buy him a snack?" You think for a second.

"Did he share his lunch with me?"

"Yes." Ruggie's looking at you again, like he has a bone to pick.

"Maybe." You don't really have to think about the answer, as much as you like returning the favor Jack would probably just be happy to find his lost item and leave it at that. "If we were hanging out and he wanted something from a vending machine I'd spot him."

"But you wouldn't go out of your way to get him something?" Ruggie's stopped working now, he's really staring at you almost like he is trying to sus you out as if he hasn't been friends with you for a while now. As if he doesn't know more of your secrets than anyone else.

"I-" for some reason what you want to say gets stuck on your throat, maybe it's because Ruggie leans across the couch to get a bit closer to your face. Maybe it's because you are suddenly a lot more aware of what your little actions might have meant to him as your previous conversations play over in your mind "no. You're the only person I've really gone out of my way to get food for. Well except for maybe Grim but he doesn't really count..." You both let out sharp breaths, your eyes fall down to your work, hands going back to the task out of habit and desire to distract yourself.

shishishishi

Ruggie is silent and back in his perch across from you once your head snaps up to look at him. His small grin is intoxicating, his tail is swishing in pride like he's just won a great victory in some war you had no idea he was fighting. It is a smug look, too smug for someone who just put you through a few days of mental torture.

Maybe you'll make him some food next time, you'll see who is smug after that.