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mythicalmongoose · 3 years

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Does anyone want to read some rambling and potentially biased meta on Robby and Johnny’s relationship largely based on my own experience with shitty parents?

No? You don’t want to read me over-analyzing the silly karate show? That’s fair... I’ll put it under a cut.

So, like, right off the bat I’d like to say this isn’t aimed at anyone in particular. (No, not even you. Don’t flatter yourself.) This is something that has been bugging me since before I made this blog and was solely composing tl;dr replies about it on Reddit.

Secondly, Cobra Kai isn’t prestige television. It’s a karate soap opera that doesn’t take itself too seriously and exists in a heightened reality where kids become black belts in a month and take to the streets in rival gangs, terrorizing the innocent civilians unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire. I’m not holding it up to real-world logic or laws. I can’t. The police that exist there are mostly powerless and largely theoretical. Watching them arrest Kreese was like seeing a cryptid in the wild.

Thirdly, I’m not 100% sure who these Johnny apologists I keep hearing about are, but I apologize on behalf of no one. All my favs are problematic trash fires. I dumpster dive for my favs. I love me a mess as long as the show acknowledges them as such. Which this one does constantly. It’s fiction, and I’m really sick of seeing people make the leap that liking a character means you endorse their actions... Tangentially, I’d also argue that Daniel is his own trash fire. But, like, a classier trash fire? One that’s like a controlled burn in a metal barrel after you called the fire station and asked if it’s okay. But that’s a weird metaphor and an overly long meta post for another day.

Finally, don’t come for me, y’all? Feel free to reply and disagree, but I just got here. This is my comfort show. It’s fun. It’s binge-worthy. I love talking meta and over-analyzing with folks, but a lot of people online seem to get weirdly heated about all of this, and I just don’t have the energy for that.

With all that out of the way... The number of people I see complaining that Robby forgave Johnny too easily kinda irks me. He didn’t, and this repeated assertion that he did feels like an over-simplification of ambiguous grief and the cycle of abuse/trauma.

Robby might be the most emotionally intelligent teen on the show. He’s pretty darn level-headed and thoughtful when he isn’t letting negative emotions dominate his decision making.

S4 feels like the writers have finally started to address that rather than the character just being, for me personally, an unlikable mess. AND NOT BECAUSE OF HOW HE INTERACTS WITH JOHNNY. Can everyone in the back hear me? He is the child in that relationship. He’s valid in feeling what he feels and avoiding who he wants to avoid.

My problems with the character stemmed from his interactions with his peers. Sam, especially. God, if I see another person act like she owed him something, I’m climbing over my desk and through the monitor I’ll do nothing. But boy will I be miffed. Watch out. I’ve got a soapbox and I’m not afraid to use it... If I have the spoons to... Maybe... We’ll see! ...but probably not.

Anyway, this is all an extremely roundabout way to say that anger is exhausting. Especially when you’re using it to put up walls.

Robby and Kenny paralleled Johnny and Robby this season. But the point wasn’t that Robby is analogous to Johnny; it’s that he sees himself in Kenny. It’s not 1:1 and it’s only their relationship in extreme miniature, but it clearly disturbs him.

The cycle of abuse that started before he was born is flashing in front of his eyes, and its weight is immense. He needs someone who understands to help shoulder that and, instinctively, he goes to his dad.

He’s giving himself permission to be vulnerable. To shed that anger and lower his defenses. I said it before, but I’ll say it again, that shit is so exhausting it’s life-destroying.

I can identify with Robby but, honestly, I can identify with Johnny more.

Both of my parents were fucking awful. When I was 14, I was hospitalized. My dad didn’t want to deal with that, and I never saw him again.

My mother, meanwhile, kept tracking me down even after I packed up at 17 and skipped town... and the county... and the state.

And, boy o’ boy, abusers that won’t stay out of your life or even acknowledge they were abusive are just the best, huh? And you WANT that relationship with them. That’s the worst part. I feel Johnny letting Kreese back in. Because you want to do what Robby did. You want to give yourself permission to be vulnerable and let your walls down and let them be the parent to you they never were.

But people like that can’t be there for you if they won’t even admit their mistakes. They can manipulate you and they can gaslight you and they can even genuinely love you and think they’re telling the truth, but they can’t be there for you. You can be there for them, and they’ll take that and run with it until you’re all used up and feeling like an idiot. And then you feel like an even bigger idiot when you give them countless additional chances. It’s, like, the slowest lesson to learn and the easiest to forget. But you’re just so desperate for that specific kind of relationship. And you’re so afraid you’re never going to be able to let go of that soul-crushing anger because you can’t get closure. They have none for you. They don’t think there’s anything to close.

Robby isn’t quite in that place yet. He has his mother that is turning her life around for him and he has Daniel who desperately wants to be for him the kind of mentor he had as a child and he has an undependable father that wants to be there for him.

They’re all far from perfect, (Johnny especially.) but they all recognize they fucked up. They’re not denying it. And, to bring it back to the scene at the end of S4, Johnny stresses that Robby didn’t do anything wrong and that he should blame him as the root of so many of his problems. We’re seeing history repeat with Robby giving Johnny another chance like Johnny did with Kreese. But Kreese is a manipulator you’ve got to drag kicking and screaming to even the smallest revelation in how they hurt you.

With Robby and Johnny there is the possibility of a relationship. There’s a chance to break that shitty cycle these guys are all in.

And, good Lord, can I extrapolate on Robby and Johnny’s relationship without people crying apologism? Because there are other factors we see in the show and implying that abuse/trauma is straightforward and easily traced back to a single, obvious root is the kind of shit that keeps kids from realizing the situation they’re in.

Shitty parents are still people. They’re still a pile of cascading failures that led to things being like they are.

The show leads me to believe that Johnny and Robby have had a father/son relationship. A consistent one? God, no. Obviously not.

But we see pictures Johnny kept where Robby drew both of his parents. We see a soccer photo on a fridge. We see that Robby wants to upset his dad and knows him well enough to do it, giving Daniel the relationship with him that he knows Johnny wants but is always failing at.

And because it’s been a minute since I stressed this, please don’t come at me with pitchforks: JOHNNY IS NOT A GOOD FATHER. HE IS BARELY A FATHER. NOT HAVING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON IS HIS OWN FAULT. WE KNOW THIS. THE SHOW KNOWS THIS. IT IS KNOWN.

That said, there are contributing factors that didn’t fucking help. Shannon had an extremely unhealthy, codependent relationship with her son at the start of the series. Parental alienation happened. Shannon explicitly states that it did. We see it happening in the first season when Shannon lets it slip that Johnny wants Robby to come live with him.

Robby is actually considering it; he seems cautiously optimistic... But then he sees Johnny and Miguel hugging in a parking lot and that idea is tossed out. Which is super irrational but completely understandable for an angry teen that resents (And is 110% justified in that resentment) his dad.

And, boy, I could go off on a whole tangent about how Shannon is basically Laura Lawrence, but that’s yet another rambling meta post for another day... which has passed. That day is in the past. That is to say, it’s already on my blog somewhere.

And, yes, leaving Robby with Cobra Kai is ridiculous. So is deciding on the fate of the Valley through a fucking tournament arc. So are warring children’s karate dojos caused by Vietnam. So are all the other things we just kind of handwave so the show can get from point A to point B and let the plot happen. The show needs to go go go. We’ll lampshade it next season. First hand that child a set on nunchucks and chuck that one in a cement mixer. So many ridiculous things to do; so little time; so few ways to explain it that sometimes we just don’t. “Police? What police? Oh, right, um... Sam didn’t want to draw things out. Does that sound plausible? No? Fuck it, that’s what happened. Now go, honey. Go with the nice alcoholic, and parkour off a roof.”

And also... oh, Jesus, this is a bunch of text. This is entirely too much text. Imma stop myself here before I get started on something else and this goes from slightly unreadable to completely unreadable.

#robby keene #johnny lawrence #cobra kai #ramblings #finishing a chapter of a fic was the fannish thing i meant to get done to day #fans plan and fandom laughs i guess #oh well #what's done is done #and what's done is a meta stream of conscious novel that no one asked for

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24hlevi · 3 years

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Alone Again

Levi Ackermann (Attack On Titan) X Gn!Reader

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Major Character Death, Language

Summary: "perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone"

Word Count: 4.4k

A/N: italics means flashback, some levi angst for the levi stan community/ me mhmm

Season 3 Spoilers !!!

Levi Ackermann was the one man that had been with you since the start. Both of you were born in the Underground and were always beside each other after your first meeting. When Kenny found Levi and you sitting in front of Levi’s mother’s bed, he decided he would at least attempt and raise you two since he tried to take just Levi but the young boy said he wouldn’t go if you didn’t. You were taught how to use a knife, how to talk to others, and how to get your way by violent acts.

When Kenny left you both, you two had decided to stick with each other even when you got out of the Underground, and that promise was

kept.

You two were in your late twenties by the time you had joined the Survey Corps even though Levi argued that you shouldn’t join because you would get hurt. Obviously, you didn’t listen.

Shortly after joining the Corps and after your first expedition together with Levi, he knew that he would have to protect you from the dangers outside the walls. But he didn’t know why. The thought of him having to protect you brought many unanswered questions to the male. So he decided to ask about it to Hange, who was both your and Levi’s good friend.

“Oi, four eyes.” Levi said as he walked into the Section Commander’s office, closing the door behind him.

Hange looked up from the paperwork on their desk and at Levi, “Oh, Hey Levi!” They smiled at the other. “What’s up?”

“I need an answer.” Levi started. “There’s this feeling I have that I need to protect Y/n from anything dangerous or outside the walls. I need to know what it is.” He finished, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh.” Was all that left Hange’s mouth before their eyes widened. “OH. I see, now. Well, do you have any other types of feelings or thoughts that correspond with that?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know that?” Levi sighed, shaking his head.

Hange kicked their legs up onto the desk as they looked at Levi, “It’s not easy for you, obviously I know that. But do you feel or think anything else about Y/n?”

“Tsh, obviously.” Levi scoffed. “I’ve known them since day one. Of course there are other thoughts I have about them.”

“Say what they are, then.” Hange smiled at the male.

Levi let out another sigh before responding, “I just feel like...like I’m the only one who’s there for them, and they’re the only one who’s there for me…” His voice went quieter as the sentence went on. “I don’t want them to possibly get hurt and…” He didn’t finish his words as he looked back up and at Hange who was grinning like an idiot. “Got something to say, four eyes?” He questioned.

“Indeed, I do.” Hange nodded as they stood up, walking over to Levi and putting their hands on his shoulders. “Levi, I think you like Y/n more than a friend.”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly, not much, but enough to show that he was clearly shocked at their words. He didn’t know what to do with that information, and for once, he was speechless.

“Oh.”

Levi thought about Hange’s words for multiple months, not knowing what to do about it. Levi liking someone? It didn’t even sound right to him. After a year or so, he realized that Hange was right, he did have feelings for you, and not just friendly feelings. He had no clue what to even do about it. You were practically the exact opposite of him, so why would you like him? He couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t enough for you, not emotional enough, not funny enough, not good looking enough.

It wasn’t until another year later that he told you. But definitely not in the way either of you expected.

It was yet another expedition outside the walls, and Levi made sure to keep an eye on you the whole time which was easy since you two were in the same squad. He also told Hange and Mike to watch you in case he was off fighting a Titan and couldn’t see you. Sure, the two teased him about it, but they listened nonetheless.

You were riding on your horse beside Levi as he spotted a Titan not so far away, “I’m going for that one.” He said to you before jumping off the horse and using his ODM gear to attach to the trees, swinging himself around closer to the Titan.

You watched him with awe, seeing how his raven colored hair flew around in the wind and how he always had a certain look on his face whenever he was going to kill a Titan. You knew he was much better than you at killing Titans, which is a reason why you were lost on why he was still your friend. He was already one of the best in the Survey Corps while you were just average.

You looked away from the man and realized there was a Titan in front of you, “Shit.” You said to yourself, jumping off the horse and using your ODM gear to grapple onto a tree. You drew your swords and swung around the Titan, readying yourself to kill it when suddenly it grabbed you in its hand, its grip so tight you could feel the air instantly get knocked out of your lungs. When it started moving you towards its mouth that was wide open, your eyes grew wide as you tried to free yourself, but ended up unable to do so. “Shit, shit, shit.” You said quickly before yelling Levi’s name, hoping that he would find you.

When Levi heard your yell, his eyes widened as he quickly killed the third Titan he was on and made his way to you as fast as he could, mentally praying that this wouldn’t be the day that he would lose you. When he spotted you in the hands of a Titan, his gaze turned into a hard and angry look as he swung faster to you. Upon reaching the Titan, he grappled onto the nape of its neck and using his blades to slice through it and killing it. The Titan let go of you, resulting in you starting to free fall which made Levi quickly swing by and grab onto you before swinging up onto a tall tree.

You opened your eyes once you realized you weren’t flying around anymore and when you did you looked at Levi, who was still holding onto you tightly as if you were going to disappear. “Uh, Levi? Are you okay?”

Levi looked at the ground before back at you, clear evidence through his eyes that something was wrong. He shook his head before speaking, “No, I’m fine it’s just…”

“Just what?” You questioned, completely confused. “Do we need to get you back to the HQ?”

The male shook his head again, “No it’s not that, it’s just.” He paused again, looking back at the ground. He was mentally cursing at himself, how could he not even say three simple words? He wished he could just write it out and hand it to you, but Mike had told him not to since it would take away the actual meaning of it. Levi took a breath before looking at you, “I love you, Y/n.”

“I love you too, Levi!” You said happily before realizing what he meant. “Wait, do you mean that love?”

All he did was nod in response, glancing back at the ground, worried that you would take it badly and he would lose you.

You had a wide smile grow on your face as you kissed his cheek, “Obviously I love you too. I have for years now.”

A blush spread on Levi’s face as he looked to you once again, “You do?”

“Of course, I do.” You nodded, still smiling.

Levi didn’t think hearing you say that you loved him too would make him happy. Nor did he even think that you would love him back. As much as he didn’t like people, for some reason you were different. You were his friend since the beginning, and that friendship blossomed into love along the way. The only person he loved, was you.

When Levi lost Furlan and Isabel, and almost losing you, he became even more cold and emotionless. It was the worst moment of his life, losing his two best friends and almost the love of his life. He stayed with you until you were back to normal health despite your arguments on why he should be at other places.

“I don’t give a shit if you think I should be somewhere else. I’m staying here.” Levi told you for what felt like the 100th time.

“And I don’t care if you think I need you here like I’m dying. I’m getting better, and besides, I’ll be able to leave in two days.” You argued with him.

“And? I’ll stay with you until you’re out in two days.” Levi crossed his arms over his chest.

“Ugh!” You groaned, sliding more down the bed so you were laying down. “Can you at least lay down with me, then?” You asked afterwards.

“Fine.” The dark-haired male stood up from his chair and laid down on the bed next to you.

You rested your head on his chest which caused him to tense up for a moment before relaxing into the touch. Levi slowly wrapped his arm around you, a small smile on his face as he used his other hand to run his fingers through your hair.

“Thank you for staying, Levi.” You said quietly.

‘I should be saying that to you.’ Levi thought to himself before he responded to you, “Of Course. I’ll always stay.” He whispered so only you could hear.

As the years continued on, you two had always stuck together, and everyone quickly knew not to mess with either of you despite the clashing personalities. Everyone knew that you two were together fairly quickly as well, mostly because you were the only one Levi could tolerate and it was noticeable. The only reason why everyone didn’t mess with the both of you was because Erwin had told everyone that you two were humanity’s strongest soldiers, and that no one could even try and get to your level. Levi was an Ackermann, and you were the partner whom he taught everything he learned to, there was no way anything could tear you two apart.

When Wall Rose was breached by the Colossal and Armored Titan, you were with Levi and the rest of the Survey Corps for your 56th expedition and when you returned, it was hell. There was someone who changed into a Titan, and Erwin instructed Levi and you to take care of the teenaged boy named Eren.

“I hate teenagers.” Levi grumbled out as he sat down next to you on the bed you shared with him. “Thinking they’re better than us adults.”

“We were teenagers once too, Levi.” You chuckled lightly, resting your head on his shoulder. “But you can’t blame them. They think because they’re younger that they have more agility, strength, endurance, but we’re humanity’s strongest for a reason.”

“You’re right.” Levi agreed with you. “Besides, the 104th year of the Cadet Corps coming into the Survey Corps seems to all be like that. Why don’t we show them who’s stronger?” He glanced down at you.

“Embarrass some teenagers? Obviously I’m in.” You smiled up at him.

He flashed a small smile at you before pecking your lips, “They’ll learn not to mess with us soon.”

Everything seemed to be going fine. That was until the 57th expedition outside the walls. With the new recruits to the Survey Corps along with the rest of you, Levi had some doubts, as did you. Both of you were still in the same squad along with Petra, Eld, Oruo, and Gunther as well as Eren for the time being. When you had to change course towards the Titan Forest, you told Levi to take the central route and he told the rest.

When the Female Titan appeared, everyone in the squad started begging for orders from one of you. Levi didn’t respond and neither did you as you both continued to go forward. When Levi split apart from the squad, you made sure to keep Eren next to you in case the Female Titan wouldn’t get caught.

And when the Female Titan reappeared, you could feel your blood run cold upon seeing it. You tried your best to keep Eren with you as your squadmates died right in front of your eyes, but even then, it didn’t work. When Eren was taken you found Levi with Mikasa, before the three of you got Eren back.

Upon returning to back inside the walls, the Survey Corps were welcomed back with a very negative response, obviously. But you ignored it, as did Levi, you did every time. You were shaken up by seeing your entire squad get killed by the Female Titan and Levi could tell.

The two of you returned back to your shared room as you immediately fell onto the bed, not saying anything. Levi noticed quickly that something was wrong with you because you had no smile that was usually on your face nor were you talking.

“Y/n?” Levi said as he sat down on the bed. “Are you okay?”

You shook your head and crawled under the covers, pulling the blanket up to your chin as you rolled over so you were facing the wall.

The male let out a small sigh. Clearly you weren’t okay, why did he even ask? He got under the covers and laid down beside you, reaching his arm over to you as he draped it around your body, gently pulling you closer to him. “Everything will be okay. We’re humanity’s strongest for a reason, remember?”

A smile crept up on your face upon hearing him repeat the words you had said before and you nodded, “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Get some sleep.” Levi quietly said to you as he closed his eyes, “You’re gonna need it.”

Sleep was hard to get after everything, for both you and Levi, who always had a problem with sleeping. You tried to sleep but all that you would think about or see was your comrades dying, so many of them. But you expected it. You were in the Survey Corps, obviously you were going to see your friends dying at any minute. You just didn’t expect it to be so many people that you would see die. As much as it affected you, you didn’t show it unless you were with Levi, not wanting people to think one of the best soldiers was starting to go downhill.

When the time came to retake Shiganshina, you felt more nervous than going outside the walls for some reason. Mostly because it was overrun by Titans and who knows what other types of them could be there. But of course, something terrible had to happen.

Reiner was in the walls and it sadly was too late by the time everyone realized. The Armored Titan was back, and it would only be so long until The Colossal and Beast showed up. Everyone knew how badly this could go, and how quickly it could take before even more people died.

Erwin looked at you and Levi who were standing next to each other before speaking, “Levi, go wait for my signal to attack The Beast. Y/n, help Hange and Moblit with The Armored Titan using those Thunder Spears.”

“Wait what?” You asked before you realized. “You want Levi and I to be separated?”

“Yes.” Erwin nodded. “You both are our strongest, and we need help from both sides. Trust me, everything will be fine.”

Levi looked at you before back at Erwin, nodding. “Okay.”

You sighed, not wanting this to happen but you knew it had to. “Okay.”

You and Levi went your different ways as you stuck with Hange and Moblit for the time being while fighting The Armored Titan.

“Hey guys, you know Bertholdt hasn’t come out yet.” You said to the two as you flew around from building to building using your ODM gear.

“Yeah. It’s weird.” Hange agreed as they and Moblit flew beside you.

“You think he’ll be here soon?” You asked.

“Probably.” The two answered in unison.

As the three of you neared closer to the Armored Titan and the Scouts from the new Levi Squad, Hange yelled, “Thunder spears now!”

You flew around to the nape of the Titan’s neck, throwing the thunder spear into it as did everyone else before flying back and pulling the pin. Multiple explosions went off as you landed on the roof next to Hange, your eyes widening when it worked. “Holy shit. It worked.”

“Hell yeah!” Hange exclaimed, jumping up and down.

“Bertholdt! You don’t have to do this!” You heard Armin say.

You turned your head to see Armin and Bertholdt talking and your eyes widened more. “Oh no. Armin! Get out of there!” You yelled to the blonde boy.

All you saw was Bertholdt shaking his head before using the ODM gear he still had on to launch himself into the air before shifting into the Colossal Titan. You quickly grappled to a building and flew away, trying to beat the explosion that reached incredibly far.

You spotted Hange and Moblit and you glanced back, seeing it come closer. “Fuck.” You said to yourself, going faster towards the two. “Get out of the way!” You yelled to them which caused both of them to look at you.

You flew as close as you could to them before pushing them into what you hoped was a hole deep enough for them to survive.

“Y/n NO!”

The explosion hit you shortly after as your gear got torn off the building it was attached to and you went flying. It felt like everything was going in slow motion. Were you about to die? Probably. But at least you had saved two of your friends while doing so. All you could think about in those last minutes was Levi. How would he react to you dying? Would he close himself off even more? Most likely. You couldn’t believe that this was the way you had to go. From the damage of the Colossal Titan forming. Not even from fighting. But maybe it was time for you to go. Even if you nor anyone else thought so. A small smile rested on your face as tears welled up in your eyes while you thought about all the happy moments you had with your friends.

“Y/n!”

You heard your name and you turned around seeing the new Levi Squad all looking at you. “Yes?” you asked confused.

“We wanted to know something!” Sasha said with a smile.

“Are you and Captain Levi uh...you know.” Jean added on.

You immediately knew what he was talking about because of how awkward the boy seemed while he was talking about it. But you decided to fuck with them a little bit just to have some fun. “Are we what?” You questioned.

“You know...Like...You know.” Connie said.

“I don’t think I understand.” You replied, internally cackling.

All of them looked at each other as if they were talking to each other in their minds before looking back at you.

“What they are trying to say is, are you and Captain Levi uh, well, uh.” Armin spoke before stopping entirely.

“You guys are terrible at this.” Mikasa sighed as she looked back at you. “Are you and Captain Levi partners?”

You let out a laugh which caused them all to look at you confused. “Yes. We are. We have been for years now.” You told them.

“YEARS?!”

You started to fully laugh as you buckled over, completely loving the fact that they were so surprised to hear you say you had been with Levi for years. Once you stopped laughing, you looked back at the teens before speaking, “I have known Captain Levi since we were kids. We started dating a couple years after we joined the Survey Corps.”

“I told you so!”

“You owe me half your food at supper!”

“How is this possible?!”

As much as you didn’t want to admit it, those teens gave you hope that the Survey Corps would remain as strong as ever when you veterans died or left. You were happy that there were still kids who wanted to dedicate their lives to make sure life inside the walls remained safe. Yes, you may have had a soft spot for the new Levi Squad, but who wouldn’t? They had so much determination running through them and love for each other that it reminded you of your own friends.

“Y/n! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Hange exclaimed as they ran up to you.

“Hello to you too, Hange.” You chuckled. “What do you need?”

“Is it true?!” They asked with wide eyes and a bright smile on their face.

“Is what true?” You asked.

“That you and Levi are together!” Hange grinned.

Your face turned bright red as you let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, that. Well, uhm, yes.”

Hange’s smile grew even wider as they hugged you, “Oh my gosh I’m so happy for you and shorty! You two are gonna be the best couple ever!”

“Thanks, Hange.” You responded, a blush still resting on your face. “But how did you know?”

“Mike.” Hange answered.

“I fucking knew he would say something.” You sighed.

“Yep!” Hange smiled at you. “But don’t worry! Your secret’s safe with me!”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” You asked.

“Possibly.” Hange nodded with a laugh.

“I figured.”

At least you saved your comrades, right? You died for the sake of others, which meant you had completed your goal as a soldier. You just couldn’t believe it would happen so soon. But it didn’t matter anymore. You were going to die, and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

Your body hit the side of a building as you spit up blood, falling to the ground from at least 30 feet up in the air, hitting the ground with a loud ‘thud.’ You were barely breathing from the fall, your ears were ringing and your whole body felt as if it were on fire. You wished you could have been with Levi in these last moments, but you knew he was doing more important things than mourning over you dying. He was saving the world you lived in. You didn’t want him to be distracted by you and possibly end up dying himself. You couldn’t even feel the tears fall from your eyes as you stared up into the sky, thinking about Levi.

“I will always love you.” Levi said to you quietly. “Even if you think I don’t, I do.”

“I know, Levi.” You smiled at him. “I’ll always love you, too.”

He flashed a small smile at you before leaning in and pressing his lips against yours. Every kiss felt like it was the first one all over again, from Levi’s anxious movements, to how surprisingly soft it was to kiss him. After a few seconds, the male pulled away and rested his forehead on yours, whispering out, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Levi.”

You let out one last breath and then you didn’t breathe again. Your eyes became lifeless and emotionless as you laid on the ground, your head resting against the stone while looking up at the sky.

No one told Levi you had died until after they gave Armin the Titan serum and had him become the Colossal Titan. It was a stupid idea.

Levi was standing on the rooftop of the building, not saying anything after Erwin died just moments before. The new Levi Squad along with Hange and Moblit all looked at each other before Hange walked up to Levi. “Levi, I have to tell you something.” They said to him.

Levi looked up at them and responded, “Is it about Y/n? Where the hell are they?”

“Uh, yeah it’s about them.” Hange nodded, their usual smile on their face was gone and replaced with one of guilt and sadness. “Y/n is gone, Levi.”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at Hange in shock, “What?”

“When Bertholdt transformed into his Titan form, Y/n pushed Moblit and I away to safety. But, when we found them. They were already dead.” Hange said, looking down at the ground.

The black-haired male didn’t respond as he looked at the ground, not moving an inch. He had just lost Erwin no more than 15 minutes ago, and now he was told that you were gone too. He couldn’t believe it. You two were supposed to be together for at least 4 more years, depending on whether either of you left or not. But hell, the man wanted to marry you. In fact, he had already bought rings, but he was waiting until it was a good time and not involved with all of this different types of Titans bullshit. But now, he regretted not doing it sooner. He regret not even being with you in your last moments like he promised he would, all because of these Titans that had decided to fuck up human’s lives. He felt like utter shit once again. Except this time, you wouldn’t be there to help him cope with it. He was alone once again.

“Let’s go.” Levi said in his usual voice, walking away from everyone.

Levi was never the same after your death. No one knew, but all he did was feel grief and mourn over you whenever he was alone. But to everyone else, he was the same old Levi just without you by his side. He didn’t think that he could lose any more people, but of course, he had to lose everyone he ever loved or respected. He never got close to anyone again, as he didn’t want to make the same mistake over and over again. He gave it one too many changes, and now he was alone again.

#attack on titan #aot #attack on titan x reader #aot x reader #shingkei no kyojin #snk #shingkei no kyojin x reader #snk x reader #levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader

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naktergalen · 4 years

Text

Rivamika Fic Suggestions List 2

Hey there again! It’s been a while since my last rivamika post and I apologies for that. I caught the reading bug and have just been hitting book after book. I might be doing a book of the month suggestion starting in March. I’m still thinking about it but if that is something your interested in let me know. Or if you just want book suggestions just message or ask me. But for now, I’m back with my second Rivamika Fic Suggestions List.

First of all, I want to thank you for all the comments and messages I received from my first list! I think it has over 150 notes now which is crazy for me. I was going to be ecstatic if it got like 10 likes or something hahaha! I’ve enjoyed talking to some of you about fics and other snk stuff. Feel free to do the same after this post! I know I take awhile to respond but swear I get there eventually.

Same rules as last time. I’ve split this list up into four categories. I wanted to let people know the status of some of these fics in case they did not want to start an incomplete or in progress story. All of these fics can be found on AO3. I’m going to try to link them but we will see how tumblr acts today. If you have any fic suggestions for me, feel free to message me with them and I can add them on to the next list. If any author sees their story on here and wants me to take it off the list, please let me know I don’t wish to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Also, last thing, I highly recommend leaving comments and kudos to the authors. I know that they greatly appreciate it and it helps them with improving their writing through feedback. Okay shutting up now, ON WITH THE LIST!

DISCLAIMER: I know that not all of these stories are not for everyone, these are just my opinions and suggestions.

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Completed:

- Thunder Clouds

Author: K_Lionheart

Rating: Mature

Sometimes I like to go to the very back of the Rivamika archive on AO3 and look for fics that have gotten buried over time. Low and behold what I have found lol! I enjoyed the emotional roller coaster when I was reading this fic, though sometimes I wanted to pull my hair out. Set after the titans are gone, humanity has to repopulate so arranged couples by the monarch are made to be wed. While this new order is being enforced, Mikasa and Levi are trying to work out their strained relationship. A slow burn with angst that will have you staying up till 3am dying to know what happens next. I know that there is a sequel to this fic called Nimbus and I’m slowly working my way through that one. Honestly, it will probably go on my next list.

- Red is the Only Colour

Author: mongoose_bite

Rating: Mature

A cute fic that was a quick but wild ride. A Little Red Riding Hood type of AU where Mikasa is a hunter of some sorts traveling through a town. I don’t want to say how Levi plays into all of this since it gets border line spoilers but just know that he is there. It is an opening ending fic for the author to come back if they plan on doing so but it can be interpreted in different ways. All in all, a fic worth of the quick read.

- Sing Me a Song

Author: LazyTrash

Rating: Mature

First I have to get this off my chest, I love the author’s name hahaha! I freakin wished I would have thought of that for mine! Anyway, this fic is wonderful but I will warn you that its a gut punch. If you like hurt and angst put together, then this is the story for you. I love these types of fics because I adore them so much but they hurt me in my soul. I don’t know what that says about me but whatever. I don’t want to delve into the story too much for spoilers but I would suggest rivamika fans to check this one out.

- Midnight Musings

Author: Raewyll

Rating: Teen

I just started to read Raewyll’s fics so I’m slowly working my way through all her works. This one caught my eye and I had to read it. This is a cute take on a chance meeting through texting the wrong number. I love the way Levi and Mikasa’s relationship blossoms into something more serious after causally texting back and forth. It’s one of those stories that I can only describe as being cute as shit! I’m definitely going to be checking out more of Raewyll’s fic in the future.

Ongoing:

- Beyond the Walls

Author: helena3190

Rating: Matue

If you love RIvamika angst, then look no further than this baby right here. This is currently my favorite ongoing fic. It was supposed to be a shorter story, but the author keeps adding more chapters so I’m not complaining hahaha! This fic is pretty much how I would *personally* picture canon Mikasa on how she would deal with realizing that she’s falling in love with someone. Its mostly told in the perspective of Mikasa as she is dealing with the after effects of war and trying to figure out what should she do with her life now that she is no longer a solider. Her feeling for Levi come with a lot of confusion as she’s discovering emotions that she has never felt before. She has a hard time pinpointing on what exactly describes her relationship with him. I’m anxiously waiting for the final chapter for this fic and dying to see how it will end for Mikasa and Levi.

- After the War

Author: loneackerman

Rating: Mature

I am loving this rivamika slow burn fic right here. Its similar to Beyond the Walls but I think the author adds their own taste of the 1920s into it. Set after the war is over (obviously), Mikasa and Levi have to figure out what they are going to do the rest of their lives. It has great tension, a perfectly paced gradual romance and just the right amount of humor to combat the emotional turmoil it puts you through. Again in my opinion, this is close to how I would realistically perceive Levi and Mikasa’s relationship evolving. I’m really enjoying this story and I’m looking forward to more updates to come!

- The Sound of Lightning

Author: LycheeGreenTea

Rating: Mature

A new fic that is just getting started but I can tell that what the author has in store is going to be interesting. Set several years after the end of the war, Levi and Mikasa are loving parents to a single child. Their peaceful life comes to an end when the family has a threat against them. There are not many long fics about Mikasa and Levi being parent so I was very happy when this one popped up on the AO3 feed. An exciting adventure awaits the Ackerman family now and I can’t wait to see where this fic goes in the future. There are three chapters as of now so head over there and check it out.

Incomplete:

- Home

Author: MissErikaCourt

Rating: Mature

One of the gems I found when diving back into the Rivamika archive. Ugh I HATE that this fic is incomplete!!! Its a good long fic but I’m greedy and I need more! I will give a warning first that this fic does contain heavy themes. Mikasa and Levi are in the underground to fight against a criminal ring. This story is a slow burn with action and emotional trauma. There is a wonderfully written OC that you easily get attached to its not even funny. Even though its not completed, I would highly recommend checking it out. I still have three more chapters to finish but I had to put it on this list. I know that I’m going to be pissed once I reach the last chapter written. If someone know MissErikaCourt, let her know that she needs to comeback to finish this masterpiece!

- Shiver

Author: bornsinner

Rating: Mature

Another one that I DISPISE its incomplete!!! Ugh such a great Office AU. It’s everything that I would want in an Office AU setting. Mikasa struggles between her committed long term relationship and her growing attraction (which starts to develop into some feelings) to her boss, Levi. Its hot, sexy and intriguing and it pisses me off that its not finished! The author writes each chapter as a one-shot but collectively together they tell the whole story. Highly recommend even though its so short. BORNSINNER where ever you are in the universe I hope you come back to finish this!!!

- Two Lines

Author: Crejhov

Rating: Mature

When this was getting updated it was my favorite on-going Rivamika fic. I would find myself checking to see if the author updated with a new chapter every week! The unplanned pregnancy trope is a classic one, but Crejhov does a fantastic job on keeping readers enthralled with soo many anticipated character meet up that are bound to cause hurdles for our expecting parents. This story is told from the perspectives of Mikasa and Levi in order for us to understand where their mindsets are as they plan for their expecting child and deal with their relationship. AHHHHH I want more of this!!! I was soo excited to see where this awkward journey was going to take Mikasa and Levi. CREJHOV COME BACK PLEASE I KNOW YOU HAVE WORK BUT PLEAAASEEEE! I NEEEEEEDDDD!!!

- Cabin Fever

Author: AmayaOkami

Rating: Mature

All I should have to say about this is that its written by AmayaOkami and that should explain it. Amaya is the one that gave us the beautiful incomplete rivamika fic Romance and Rivalry. I just adore her writing. Levi and Mikasa relationship evolves as they are standing guard over the arrested Kenny Ackerman. Secrets are discover about the Ackermans and it gets pretty steamy between our two favs. Great fluff and great sexual tension that leaves you wanting more chapters! Again AmayaOkami where ever you went I hope for some miracle that you come back and complete this one too!

One-Shot:

- Jade

Author: shulkie

Rating: Mature

This one-shot feels like I read a novel, it has such a great storyline. An arranged marriage between Mikasa and Levi leaves the relationship strained in the beginning. Their relationship evolves over time as Levi patiently brings down Mikasa’s wall. With smut added for all of your one-shot needs. Definitely worth the read in my opinion.

- What Remains

Author: Mirime

Rating: Mature

This one-shot gives us a glimpse into the secret relationship that Levi and Mikasa have been having while there are still scouts. This fic is sad but I would say it has a bittersweet ending. I think this was supposed to be part of a collection but I can’t find the rest of them. Still a great read by itself.

- Agape

Author: alienheartattack (Sanneke)

Rating: Mature

This fic is cute as shit! A College AU where Mikasa and Levi are childhood friends. Levi has to deal with Mikasa being at the same college as him while he is struggling with his changing feelings towards a grown up Mikasa. Worth the read as I said cute as shit, leaves you all warm and fuzzy lol!

- As Seen in Shadows

Author: MoraLeeWright

Rating: Explicit

FUCKING MORA! LEE! WRIGHT! UFFFFGGHHH Fuck I’m in love with her writing style. I really have nothing to say more that just go read it! Its hot and sexy and the sexual tension is off the fucking charts in this one. Its just MoraLeeWright smut thats all I can say. It’s great! JUST READ IT LMAO!

- Remedy

Author: NSummer

Rating: Mature

Another hot smut one-shot coming your way! Levi and Mikasa have had an ongoing affair and this just recounts their first time together. Its just some good ol’ Rivamika smut that I think that everyone in this community would enjoy.

- Nutty: Drunk in Love

Author: Hallow17

Rating: Mature

A fun smut to read about Mikasa getting “revenge” on her asshole boss, Levi. Things don’t go the way she plans as things get a little heated in the sexy way. A quick smut that I think is perfect for a little Rivamika crave.

- Spicy: Jalapeno

Author: Hallow17

Rating: Explicit

Another fun smut to read by Hallow17. Levi has been stressed out at work and Mikasa finds a way to help him get his mind off it (if you know what i mean). Again perfect for a Rivamika quick fix.

#rivamika #rivamika fic #levimika #mikasa x levi #levi x mikasa #Levikasa #levi and mikasa #mikasa and levi

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cherriesradio · 4 years

Text

Valentines Day with Class 1-A

Monday

(Very long post, pure, tooth root, fluff)

(Divided by main groups)

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, very much unedited

Dekusquad

Deku

He gently wakes you up by kissing your cheek and shaking you a bit, giggling.

“Wake up sleepyhead. I already made breakfast, your favorite.” He says, with a gentle smile as you turn over and get up for the day.

He takes you to the park. A place you two would take walks at almost every day, whenever Deku had free time from being the number one hero.

He picks flowers off the ground, pulling gently on your shirt to get your attention. When you turn around to him he puts the colorful flowers into your hair, giggling when you pull some out and put them in his.

Then the local boba shop, the one you two would save up for and get boba every week back in high school.

He laughed when you said you two should both get strawberry ones, “because, ya know, Valentines, pink, pink and valentine????”

You would share silly memories of whenever you two would invite others to go. Like when you invited the whole Bakusquad and Bakugo almost set the whole place on fire.

He would end the day by going to the very roof top he learned All Might’s secret. He knew the view wasn’t great, and that you didn’t have much sentimental value to it even though you knew, but it was similar to you.

How it was a part of changing his life for the better, how every time he walked by it he got a little bit happier, how it reminded him of a time he was weak and how much he has improved. It made him feel powerful and like he could do anything some how, and so did you.

He leans over while holding your hand and kisses you softly, a small satisfyed “hmp” coming form your throat

Asui Tsuyu

You woke her up. You wanted to make her breakfast, but also knew how much she loved making breakfast along with you.

Once you dragged her out of bed, she woke right up by you splashing down freezing water in her face. You quickly planted millions of kisses on her face, “to warm you back up! All the cold blood, and all!”

She much preferred to stay at home, but wanted to go out some place fancy for the special day.

About two days ago she reserved a spot at a restaurant that had a frog pond and a fountain, that was outside yet felt warm apart from the cold night air.

For most of the day you stayed inside, cuddling and watching movies. Most were romace comdeys that probably no ones else knew existed.

You two face times the rest of the Dekusquad, since everyone was in differing parts of Japan.

Luckily Deku and Ochako lived pretty close by, so you two figured it would be fun to go to the restaurant with them. A double date, which you had loved since the first one back in your UA days.

You two, begrudgingly, changed out of your pj’s and changed into fancy-jet, more appointments clothing.

It made you so happy seeing the large grin on her face and glow in her eyes as she saw you in your dress/ suit/ whatever fancy wear.

You two hopped out of the car, deciding to park a little far since you two hadn’t been out of the house all day, therefore didn’t get any exercise. So, why not get a few calories off from the whole pack of oreos you ate while watching Mean Girls?

Then when you are finally there, at your seats, waited for Deku and Ochako. Saying inside jokes, poking each other’s sides and holding in giggles among with the many other couples.

When they finally arrived, five minutes late because Deku had to remind his agency that he was having the day off, ordered.

You and a great time, sharing laughs and how your life’s have been lately.

When you got home around 10 o’clock, you slept the rest of the night trying to sleep.

But as normal, you made werid noises to make the otehr giggle, keeping them up, both of you being asleep by two in the morning after giving up and looking at YouTube for a hour before falling asleep.

Ochako

You had decided to spend Valentines with her parents. You hadn’t seen each other in a while and found that it would be nice, especially because of how much Ochako values family.

They are so kind when you two walk in the door with the biggest grins and with a warm, comforting arua seemingly circulating you.

They offer food and little gifts but you deny all of them, knowing they can barely afford giving gifts with how their company is still small.

You two use your hero money and go out and buy them furniture, and clothes, and food, and everything they could ever need for months.

They are so grateful and can’t believe their little Ochako grew up to be as amazing as she is, with a loving, responsible lover by her side at all times.

That night when you get back home, you share stories you and surely already told about your childhoods and how much you love your family’s, biological or not.

Iida

He wakes you up accidentally, he was doing all the paper work he had for the day in the morning so he could spend the majority of the day with you.

The speedy scratch of the pencil on his paper woke you up, whispering in a low morning voice “Tenya, dear? Your already awake?”

He turned in his office chair, a small smile on his face seeing your droopy eye lids and messy hair.

“Yes, love. I wanted to do all the work I had so I can spend time with you. Like how I did all my school work before you came to my dorm back in UA.” He smiled, you smiling right back.

“Alright, I’ll go make breakfast. Oatmeal or pancakes?” “Eh, it’s Valentine’s. Let’s go with pancakes for once.”

He put his head on your shoulder as he hugged you from behind, you flipping the pancakes messily, most landing folded in half.

When both of you were ready and had gotten out of your sleepy states, you went to walk around the city.

You brought your wallets. You visited a indoor petting zoo first. All the goats were weirdly fluffy and soft, and you brushed at the sheep’s fur in awe. He told you tons of facts that you wouldn’t ever normally learn, like how sheep actually need to have their wool taken off or else their overheat.

Then you went a few more blocks down and found a nice smaller library, with a cottage core aesthetic.

You walked in, quickly grated by the friendly old lady at the check out, and waved.

You two spent hours sitting, researching random things you never knew you needed to know.

You would occasionally tap the otehr shoulder to show them a good piece of writing, or something interesting.

After a few hours you went back how with him carrying you, both of you tired from walking all day.

You went home and spent the rest of the night watching documentaries, some that were funny and dumb but some that were smart and made you want to watch it again and again.

You went to bed, both facing each otehr with your arms wrapped around his neck and his around your chest.

Todoroki

Both of you accidentally wake up. He was being the big spoon, and in his sleep he accidentally used his quirk (due to his usual nightmares) and made you just a tab (WAY) to hot. You shrieked and woke him up.

You two giggled, finding that the other was awake. He quickly used his quirk and made the hot spot feel colder, but not to cold. And you told him that everything will be alright, that his nightmares aren’t real anymore. They will never be again.

You jokingly said you should do the thing where you cook on his left side like you did most mornings in UA, and he seriously said “sure”

Of course they tasted horrible because of his sweat and you two had to have an emergency trip to the grocery and got chocolate chip muffins

And of course got distracted and got a ton of other sweets as well

You spent pretty much the whole day in, goofing around, having hour long calls with friends, watching movies, cuddling, anything else you would do on a rainy Valentines Day

And of course, you had to go on Amazon and buy way to much with endeavors credit card that you went on a adventure to steal a few weeks ago and having been saving for a special occasion

As you were in the middle of a puzzle together, the rain calmed down a bit

“Hey, hey, love?” He gently grabbed your wrist in the middle of moving a corner piece

“Yes, darling?” You said, slightly surprised

“Can you and I go out for a second? I wanna try something.” You could resist and said yes, the glow in his eyes was to much to not say yes.

He grabbed an umbrella form the garage and pulled you under as you walked out, softly smiling as he wrapped his arm around your waist.

He brought you to the end of your driveway, righ next to the small garden you two had planted mostly out of boredom

He pulled you close and gently kissed your lips, softly. He let it last longer then his normal mere seconds long pecks, allowing it to last for what was probably half a minute, and pulled away

“Is that all we came out here for?” You titled your head to the side, cocking an eyebrow

“Yes.” He brightly smiled. “I read somewhere that kissing someone in the rain is romantic. And if it’s at night, or as it is right now late afternoon, it’s extra romantic.”

You giggle at his attempt of romance, which did work. How he got to doing it was odd, but that was how he found out about most romantic things.

Bakusquad

Bakugo

He definitely woke you up. He was ecstatic about the day, having big plans (*insert Kenny face*)

“SUKI WHAT THE HELL ITS FIVE IN THE MORNING WHY DO I NEED TO GET UP” “JUST GET UP I HAVE BIG PLANS OKAY GET UP OR ILL DRAG YOU” “JESUS”

He did drags you out, sadly (he drags real hard)

He then throws you on the couch while putting one of your favorite movies, and goes to make bacon eggs and pancakes

You eat, sitting inbetween his legs leaning onto him and watch the movie, maybe a few more until most normal people would be up

He occasionally title your head back so he can kiss your forehead, hair kisses feel werid on his lips

He gets the whole Bakusquad together, surprising everyone but they good

They all come to your house and Bakugo’s all “okay now we’re gonna go to the mall let’s go”

And he buys you literally everything

You can glance at it with the tinyest bit if interest and he’ll buy it

Then you all go for frozen yogurt and it’s good but you get a Brian freeze

And as probably the only in character thing he did all day, he made fun of you for it

Everyone goes home, thanking you two for the good Valentine’s Day

You two go to UA, right in front of the closed building (it’s a weekend, only the employees would be there)

You two remember how you first meet here, how you bumped into him while talking to a friend, and he was ready to yell at you, but he was to star struck by how beautiful you were to say a word.

He blushed

He asks you to turn around

You think it’s just something he secretly bought you back at the mall while you weren’t looking

It wasn’t

“Y/n, you can turn around now.”

You turn around back to him, and at first see how the sunset is perfectly on him, making him look better then ever

Then you notice his pose, his sweet yet needy expression, his hands… what he’s holding

“Will… will you marry me?”

You cover your mouth, quickly collapsing into a tight hug around his shoulders, kissing his cheek

“Yes, stupid! Of course, Jesus, I’ll gonna beat you up as soon as we get home! I love you so much!”

He laughs at how your words don’t match whatsoever

He kisses you passionately, glad that he asked Kirishima to secretly take a video ;)

Kirishima

He was so excited. He tried so hard not to wake you up, but the light sizzling woke you.

You woke up and walked into your kitchen. There stood Bakugo and Kirishima, Bakugo teaching Kirishima how to cook something. Bacon, maybe?

“No, shitty hair, you gotta flip it when the sizzlings a “ssss”, not a “zzzzzz” Bakugo stupidly said

“Kiri? Bakugo?” You said, rubbing your tried eyes, still in one of the large collection of stolen shirts, looking like a huge mess

“Hey dumba-“ “Mornin’, Pebble!”

Kirishima made Bakugo help him make you breakfast, like before, eggs bacon and pancakes. He added a large amount of butter to grease the pan, so they were extra good.

You smiled and waxed to Bakugo as he walked out, just barely seeing him have a small smile at how happy Kirishima and you, two of his best friends, were together

After breakfast you had one of your normal “concerts” where you scream-sing to recent songs you’ve taken a liking to, recently being more trendy songs like “driver’s license” “snowman” and some more odd ones like “Hadal Ahbek” and “good at loving you”

You then go to every dog cafe and cat cafe you can run/walk to, each of you loving the bright and happy look on the others face seeing all the cute animals

You run alariund town, seeing and talking to other couples who honestly kinda envy how helathy and great your relationship is

At late noon you two went back to your apartment

You took a shower together cause you were both sweaty and smelly from running so much and the dog smell wore off on you

He loves when you help wash his hair, wcshing it from the front and kissing his forehead every once and a while

You two get out and change, wearing a shark and dog onsie because your amazing people

You have the dinners night you could ever have

Having adventure time aka the show that you and rewtcahed a thousand time playing softly in the background, tickling each other, giggling at weither or not the neighbors could hear, prank calling the Bakusquad, trying to make a good looking cake, failing bust at least it tasted good?

Overall the best night in you could have after a dog and running filled day

Mina

She wakes you up, a happy grin on her face because she knows you planned something; because you always talk about how you want to pay her back for being so good to you

She’s clearly excited and you grin, some how bigger than her, happy to see her so excited already

You lift yourself from bed, quickly covering her face in kisses before getting up and ordering Uber eats for breakfast

You took her to her favorite shop, a small known one right on the corner of a safe street, only having a villain go through every couple of months, if at all

It was a nice shop, being something that. Colorful animal prints, pro hero merch, etc…

It somehow even played her favorite songs, which isn’t as surprising as it should be because she usually listened to normal, trendy songs

You two bought what felt like the whole store, then went back home to have a good old fashioned at home fashion show

You giggle and laugh, at some point falling on the floor because of how she tried to make you laugh.

You stayed inside and goofed around for the rest of the day, which honestly wasn’t to long.

Around eight you gently tugged in her wrist. “Yeah honeybun? What’s up?” She said, still having a large smile plastered on her face

“Come outside with me for a second, okay? And let me cover your eyes!” You grin, her quickly nodding a yes.

You walk outside of the house, stopping right in front of the fence lining your yard.

You take your hands off her eyes, smiling at her loud gasp.

All of class 1-A, together, for the first time since you graduated. Of course there had been many times you tried to get everyone together again. But with how almost all of the class was in the top 50 hero’s, having Todorki Bakugo and Deku being the top three, Mineta being the only one not in the top 100, it was difficult.

“Y/n! I can’t believe you! This is amazing!”

She turns and hugs you, quickly going back and running towards the others, giving them all giant hugs and chanting how much she missed having them all together.

The class played board and video games, tackled each other, and drew faces on whoever fell asleep for the rest of the night.

They all slept at yours, it was a lucky barrels everyone could fit.

Before you two, the last ones awake, went to bed she turned you to her and kissed you.

“Thank you. This is better then I could’ve imagined. I love you so much, and I’m so glad Im going to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Denki

You both woke on your own pretty much at the same time, Deki accidentally hitting you with his forearm when he moved to sit up.

You laugh, making him make breakaways for punishment. He, knowing you were still in bed and would probably prefer it over his crappy cooking, went out and got donuts

You did like it more then his *unexperienced* cooking

You were still pretty sleepy during and after breakfast, so he gave you the usually little shook to wake you up.

He goes to work because he was unlucky enough to be stuck on duty on VALENTINES DAY

but, he still wanted fro show you how much he loved you even when he was gone, so the night before you left tons of silly love notes around the house.

As you cleaned the house because it had been drover since your last off day to, you found notes around the house

Stupid stuff like “Love, you make my knees weak arms spaghetti” and “Do you believe in love at first sight? If not I need to walk by you again”

It made you laugh and blush, then continue to your normal cleaning

Once he got home, he looked tired and annoyed

“Babe you wouldn’t believe how sucky the boss was today-“ He started, ready for one of his normal rants. You pull his face down, kissing his forehead.

You hugged him tightly, running your hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. ‘Bout this, I missed you all day. Those notes were funny, and sweet. Thank you.”

He instantly melted to you, burying his head in your neck and mumbling a quick “it’s okay, I really like it…”

His breath was hot on your skin, and… oh god he fell asleep

You carried him to the couch, took his shoes off, blanket… the shebang

You made dinner quickly, not wanting to wake him or make him anywhere he could get annoyed again

Once all of dinner was ready and just needed to cool a bit, you tapped his shoulder to wake him up. He’s such a light sleeper.

“Huh? Sparky? What… where am I? Wasn’t I… wasn’t I being all, ya know, in love with you?” He said, face squished up on a throw pillow.

You chuckle. “Yeah, you fell asleep so I put you on the couch. Dinners cooling off, so yeah.”

He smiled up at you and got up, full of energy from the good nap. He sprung up and kissed your cheek as he walk-ran to the counter, wanting to find what you made

“My favorite!” He cheered with a large smile. “You remember everything! You most love me so much.”

“I do. And you love me lots as well.” You said, sitting on the counter.

You ate dinner like that, you sitting on the counter and him standing, probably talking to you even with a mouth full.

You two decided to go out by night, since you spent the whole day at home or work.

You go to bar but everyone is extremely drunk, so figure it’s best not to

You then go to a all-times Walmart, deciding tonight was a time to be crackheads

They take some carts and ride around the parking lot, inviting Kirishima and Sero to come be weirdos

They come in like 2 seconds

“YOOOOO CARTS” “CARTS MAN”

That’s my Ted Talk

Sero

He wakes you up by hanging off the ceiling, and tapping your back

“Huh? Oh, spidey.” You laugh, hopping off the bed as he sways on his tape.

“Was that a good aka up call, sweetheart?” He said s with a cheeky grin

“Yes, stupid.” You ruffle up his hair and go to brush your teeth, now used to not eating breakfast because neither does Sero

( worry he didn’t make you stop, you just got out of the habit stemming from him)

He kissed your cheek as he went off to water your small flower garden handing on the apartment balcony.

Once he came back, you two watched a few romance comedies and tried to find out what in the world you neared to do that day.

“Maybe… oh, we havnt gonna roller shaking in a while?” (I headcanon that Sero likes roller skating lol)

“That’s sound great. Maybe invite the gang? Or would you rather it just be us?” You tutored your head, away from the characters you didn’t really care for because neither of them were that good. At least the bad people go together.

“No, going with the gang sounds great! I’ll go call them and see if they’re free!” He said, climbing out of the nest you had made around you two.

When you got there most of the group was already there, everyone else coming only minutes after you.

You have a great time exhausting yourselves, Sero pulling you around with his tape, you using your quirk to go faster, and generally goofing around.

Once you get back to your shared apartment, your both tired out and ready to cuddle while on the edge of sleep, watching random shows on Netflix.

And you did just that, Sero just barely staying awake enough to turn the tv off right before he fell asleep.

Extra’s (aka ones that a simp for that are rarer)

Aoyama

He ADORES valentine day

He goes all out, the most cliche thing you could imagine

Chocolate, overly expensive roses, cards, the whole shebang

Ojiro

It’s not the biggest thing for him

Like, he loves you everyday and wants to express that everyday, why reserve one day for doing it but being extra with it?

Kinda just takes the day off and does the normal, but the whole day sorta thing

Like, take a walk, cooking together, cuddle a bit, normal stuff

Kouda

He tries his best

He thinks that the classic “be publicly affect, give lots of gifts” kinda thing

But he doesn’t like (aka has a burning hate) for pda

They say it’s fine that he doenst want to go out, and that they can stay in all day

Fin.

#mha #bnha #mha valentines #mha x reader #deku x reader #ochako x reader #tenya x reader #bakugo x reader #todorki x reader #denki x reader #sero hanta

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theangrycomet · 4 years

Photo

Sana Saturday

The baby of the family, Sana is just as passionate as adventuring as her father was. The only problem? Trying to get out on the field to prove her skills, both as a scientist, and a Saturday.

Long-range combat specialist, she believes what she see’s and doesn’t have time to try figure out “magic”. She’s got Cryptids to take care.

Details below the Cut

Personalty

Optimistic

Friendly

Empathetic (leads her to being screwed over more often than she’d like)

Kind

Stubborn

Reckless

Passionate

Quirks

When she’s not wearing her hijab she nibbles the ends of her hair while thinking

With her hijab, this transfers to the nearest writing utensil

She also fiddles with her pin when she’s nervous

Likes

Adventuring with the fam (duh)

Archery

Quirky Food

Experimental cooking (like combining Cryptid ingredients to meals)

Pow Cards (avid collector)

Soccer

Bio-Chemistry

Training

Rock music

Pretty/sparkly pins (seriously will stop dead in her tracks if she sees a really nice one for sale)

Dislikes

Being babied by the rest of the family

When Solomon goes “Sherlock” on them

When people don’t respect her diet choices

Power wedgies at 6000 ft (don’t ask)

Stringing her bow (its an intimidating feat, okay?)

Appearances:

Height: 5’3”

Eyes: Amber

Skin: Dark mocha, with white markings starting at her left eye, forming a sort of mask stretching across the right side of her face onto the entirety of her ear and down the right side of her neck.

Hair: Black but for the right side (white) and a white floof at her left ear. Thick and wavy, she once straightened her hair and it reached her belt. Right eyebrow is mostly white but for the innermost part which is black.

Medium-thick tapered eyebrows

Nails: Painted nicely

Built: Average

Tends to wear more modest clothing

Friends:

Kenny

Violeta

Rajadilil

Notes:

The Scientific mind if you will

Magic is just a term for the unexplained

Vegetarian

The Bow of Neith shoots unlimited arrows of energy that can be used as grappling lines, netting, or just plain bolts

Her accuracy is her own, and it’s a pain in the butt to draw and restring

Retains some of Kur’s powers (mostly dealing in communicating with Cryptids than controlling them out right) so she has to work more with persuading them to do what she needs them to

Was abducted with her Fraternal Twin, Zora, when only a couple months old

She was recovered but Zora was not

This leads to her parents being SUPER overprotective, especially Zak, who blames himself

She’s getting really tired of him going ballistic every time she gets hurt in a fight with a Cryptid

(He doesn’t actually go ballistic, it just seems like that because he’s mellow more of the time than not)

Bisexual, she thinks. Baby’s still figuring herself out.

#The Secret Saturdays #Secret Saturday OC #Sana Saturday #MY OC #My OCs #My Art #My Work #Forgive the Photo Quality #Zora is Amber #CN Gen 2 #CN Multiverse #TheAngryComet ART

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sweet-xoxo-thatcares · 3 years

Text

Just found out Grandma has cancer and she's moving in with the hospital bed package I helped put together today at the house.

The lady says she weighs less than 100 pounds and needs an oxygen tank.

This don't even feel real.

I'm helping the lady setup the bed, lifting stuff, and cleaning out the bunch of clothes and junk that nobody uses and it really didn't kick in...

It still hasn't.

My heart Andy hand was shaking as I had to sign the delivery note.

Not even a "Good luck with your Grandma" or "Condolences to you and your family" I told the delivery lady she had cancer and we're talking about it like its a happy topic on the news. She had music to keep her going as she picked up stuff off the truck. I wanted to tell her come back, wait...like are you sure you got the right house?

Like are you sure mom and dad or grandma isn't playing. Cause I haven't seen her in like a month. My clothes and stuff is still at her house in Grand Rapids.

And I don't wanna run into any arms. Like I don't wanna hear nothing but silence for the next 3 or 4hrs.

I'm trembling, shaking, paranoid.

I almost had a panic attack after that lady left. Well let's be real, I did.

But the fact that everybody else in this family is acting like this shit is normal and everybody wants me to behave....I can't say or do shit about it.

Like my room is connected to her room. Imma have to get used to walking past her bed just to use the bathroom. And eat?

I don't even know if I will, cause here's the thing....mom and dad are most likely gonna put me on duty. And last time when I spent a week with her, taking care of her...I was so stressed out, that I didn't even eat.

And cancer did pop in my head as a worst case scenario, because we had no clue what she had and she seemed ok when I got kicked out in March.

She avoided doctors and the hospital for years after her surgeries. I just....

I don't even know if I wanna know what stage she is at. Cause last time I stayed, when we had that argument, she wasn't eating too good, cheeks sunken in, I knew something was wrong. Even her house, her dishes were all piled up with black mould on em from being in the sink of dirty water too long. It felt like we stepped into a resident evil house from that one in the country. Even momma said that's not like her, because old ocd Clara, does not play about cleaning dishes. Soups did her no good and she was only getting down like 2-4 pieces of watermelon that daddy had brought. And her house in the summer is hot as heck, so I'm glad daddy had bought her that air purifying fan. She just did not go to the hospital. She said no for the longest when we offered to take her.

I'm glad she finally said yes.

But I don't know how far along she is. Everything has changed so much in less than a year.

I don't even know if I'll be the same after this. And I got a giant ear and toothache that keeps creeping in when I get too stressed like this.

I pray I stay away from drinking. Cause my hallucinations get worse after drinking...I really need to see a psychiatrist about that.

I just hope mom and dad don't start fussing again at home, it's already tight, mom is still going through alzheimers grief with our other grandma. Like she forgot her name already once. And these two strong black women that I grew up on are near 70. Clara, with cancer 67.

I don't even know what my father feels about this and that's what scares me the most. Cause he's mostly been the type to say he's okay, doing fine or alright if I ask him how he feels, buy he doesn't ever really change unless something super pisses him off...like cars parking too close when there's empty spots, drivers doing wide turns, people walking 8 ppl wide on the sidewalk at an amusement park or public event.

Or if he gets into with momma, but they haven't fought as much since I left in March...

But idk. With those two both on edge, the only time they can talk about emotions in a calm way is when they drink or go out to the bar, eat some wings, and get some drafts going while watching the game.

But that was younger dad, and this is now. Now...I assume he's gonna do a lot more golfing...

Idk how they're gonna manage us helping out.

But I pray I find my own job and apt soon. I wouldn't wanna live in chaos. Nor do I wanna fight about it either with my family, that have been known to push duties on me without really helping or noticing the people pleasing problem I learned from serving them all these years. I've never been allowed to say no to my mother and father. They always get upset with me when I do.

I don't wanna go through this alone, but as God showed me the ppl who really were a bad influence on my life, I don't have many friends to rely on to support me and pour my heart out too. After being hurt even when I dealt with the aftermath of that fight with mom, I found myself alone much more often than I thought. Missing the wrong ppl.

I'm not making that same mistake again. I'm not gonna make that silly mistake and call a guy only for him to take advantage of me sexually. I'm not having sex or making out with anybody unless we're committed to each other and he's already proven he's with me for love and not just sex.

Cause there are nice guys who try to outsmart women who would rather have sex after commitment, only to play them after giving the gf title.

How the fuck did I get to this topic, and I just found out Grandma Clara has cancer and we don't know how long for or what stage she's at?

See how far my mind overthinks in critical situations like this?

Now I'm off to watching Kenny Rogers cause I'm feeling a country craving right after I just cried my tears and helped clean her room, assembled her bed..

Ppl don't usually prepare for having a family member you didn't expect to take care of for cancer, it sorta feels low, because I don't know what to expect when she comes tomorrow...I don't know exactly what's gonna happen, but I pray I get a job close by so I can at least have a place to stay away from my already crazy home, and get moving on goals and dreams.

But I know why I feel so obligated to leave and to stay for grandma in flint...because I don't know what's going to happen to her or to me. And she's been apart of me for such a long time. She used to be the only person who understood me when I would get to sensitive or have depression, separation anxiety, seeing or feeling dead people, reading dreams intuitively together. Me and her was like the grandpa off of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka story. She was the older version of me, and nobody understood me like her. Everybody else in my family would make fun of me for being like her. Whenever mom thought I did something that reminded her of Clara, she'd called me by her first name "Clara." Cause she raised me awhile when dad and sometimes mom went to work. Daddy at football games in college, but I think he had to drop out after me....I kinda thought back and thought I was a burden as the reason why they always seemed to overwork me so young as the oldest. Put a smile on your face and go to your room to cry. Kinda like cinderella. Well grandma Clara said it....she always worried about that when she visited.

Her personality was similar to how Ms. Lisa was on Sister Sister. Ms. Talkative, except her favorite color was purple 💜 and she always had an ego, and intuitive perspective on alot of things. She could see things as if she knew what was gonna happen next, like predicting a chess move. Very determined, independent, she hates being wrong, and she'll bark her mouth off if you tried to debate with her. She liked dressing up and going out. But when she's frugal, she'll cook something at the house. Oh, and she loved sweets. And she loved to talk.

I mean lots. I would say our usual was 2hrs, but that was so long ago. I definitely feel the change settling in. Only time will tell.

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darlinrogue · 4 years

Note

He and Adam don’t spar often. But Kenny’s teasing (that was perhaps a bit too real) about the go home show before the Stadium Stampede match while sitting in on Adam’s work out session led to Adam, sweaty and smiling, spearing him to the mat. And off they went—until Adam groans low in his throat, knee almost buckling from what Kenny recognizes as pain. "Shit." He grabs Adam’s shoulder, forcing him to lean against him to ease the strain. "I know your knee’s bothered you before. I’m sorry—"

Sol and Gina Ignore Their Muses Going Off The Deep-end By Reminiscing On Better Times

Adam and Kenny

Metal struck metal and the bar returned to the rack. Face red, sweat soaking his skin and abdomen, Adam huffed, lungs compressing to catch his breath. He slapped his palms against his chest, a satisfying ache working in his muscles and bones as he sat-up. Blood in his veins, heartbeat on the upswing. Adam pawed down at his side for his water bottle. His blind fingers gripped the plastic bottle and he lifted it to his parched lips to take a swig. Bright morning light spilled into the hotel gym and ignited the dust flurries, stirred-up by the whirling fans. The weight room smelled of sweat, disinfectant, and that weird, rubber scent that came off the floor mats. Adam glanced at his partner, perched on a weight bench a few feet away. Sweat beaded at his hairline and his chest red from exertion.

Unladen by a hangover, Kenny had woken-up before Adam, hit the weights before Adam, and finished his work-out before Adam. According to Kenny that meant he had earned the right to heckle as Adam, twenty minutes behind, finished his own reps. Instead of getting breakfast or attending to any important EVP duties, of course. It was like Adam had a personal peanut gallery of one. In the middle of some lunges that Kenny commentated on like it was a live match, Adam had thrown in Kenny’s face the accusation that Kenny had better things to do. An idea Kenny denied with gusto. The early bird got to throw the potshots, as they say. This was partner bonding time and Adam would have to put up with it.

"You know,” Kenny began with a laugh, all grin, teeth flashing white. He rested his hand on his knee and a quick jitter shook his finger. “I can’t believe you were late to save me last night! Me, your tag-team partner of--” Kenny counted on his fingers, brow furrowing, lips moving and muttering under his breath.

“Seven months?” Adam supplied and almost smacked himself for being helpful.

“Seven months! Seven months! And you were late!” Kenny exclaimed. “All because you had to make a dramatic entrance. You may as well have ridden in on horseback, or something!”

“Now there’s an idea,” Adam muttered, as he pressed to his feet.

It was quite the image. Adam Page, in chaps and cowboy boots, chasing down the Inner Circle astride a noble steed. Like the lone ranger or a real John Wayne type. It was the kinda thing that made his inner child ecstatic. Shit, his inner twenty-nine year old was excited about it. A chuckle and a shake of his head dislodged the thought. Adam exchanged his water bottle for the towel folded at his feet. He mopped sweat off his back and neck. As he walked by Kenny he weaponized the towel to swat at his partner.

“Hey, a little sympathy here!” Kenny protested. His hands and arms lifted, but he dipped back on the bench so the towel whiffed. Kenny clutched at his stomach. “Didn’t I get kidnapped last night? Held down while I was savagely beaten by the vicious and cruel Inner Circle? They had a baseball bat!”

“Didn’t I see you doing deadlifts earlier?” Adam returned. From a stack on the back wall, he grabbed a couple of plates. He returned to add the extra weights to the bar. An eyebrow lifted as he glanced over his shoulder at Kenny. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re just milking it for the pity, Kenny.”

Kenny giggled, a low rumble, deep in his chest as his hand smoothed over his mouth. Mischief glinted in his eyes, playful. Missed that grin and Kenny’s crooked tooth. Missed human interaction in general. Human brains were hardwired to be around people and Adam was no exception. Isolation didn’t settle him even if it was quieter, safer. Twenty-four hours after his return to civilization and Adam felt, better. He was grinning more, his head clearer, his thoughts sharper, and his energy higher. Like his whole mood was on the upswing. Made him want to gather the boys and go chill in a hotel room like they used to. Talking trash and shooting the breeze over room service. But, he couldn’t and he wouldn’t because that was a terrible, dangerous idea. Because it wasn’t like it used to be and it never was going to be again.

Didn’t mean he didn’t miss it.

Adam left for a couple of weeks to have an existential breakdown in the woods and everything goes to Hell in a handbasket. He returned yesterday morning, unaware and blissful, to attend medical checks and production meetings. Everything he had to do to clear him for TV next week. Adam had crept the halls, careful to avoid his entire stable, who’d been collectively on mute for a whole month. It wasn’t personal --well, in the Buck’s case it kinda was-- his brain was just fried dough at the start of April and answering a phone required a lot of emotional labor he was not capable of. Then, fresh out of the doctor’s office, Adam heard by the grapevine that his partner was tied to a goalpost in the football field and getting the ever-loving crap beaten out of him. Like any good cowboy, Adam hitched his britches and scooted down there to kick ass. Kenny was mostly unharmed, thanks to the prompt efforts of the Bucks and Matt Hardy, of all people. At best, Adam got the cool satisfaction of hitting Jake Hager with a fifty-yard buckshot lariat. Even if he almost pulled his leg in the process. Now, Matt Jackson summoned him for a big, crazy match the Elite had cooked-up to put the Inner Circle down for good on Saturday. If Chris Jericho had hit anyone else with a baseball, Adam may’ve said ‘no,’ but he hit Kenny.

And that just would not stand.

Adam squeezed the clamps tight and secured the extra weight. He planted his sneaker on the edge of the bench and pushed it out of the way, the legs dragging on the concrete. Adam stepped under the bar and settled the cold, biting metal across his shoulders. He adjusted his grip, inched his feet-out past shoulder width, and tightened through his core. Adam lifted the bar off the rack. For a second he stood there, letting his body accustom to the weight. Then he sunk down, knees bending, center of balance tipping into his heels. He counted the reps underneath his breath, as he exhaled on each squat. On nine, he dipped, and at the bottom, his knee clicked. A pull in what felt like the muscle atop the joint, that bit with pain. Adam shifted his stance and widened his feet as he pushed back up. Kenny, quiet now on the bench, watched him, expression placid, inspecting. Adam rose and he completed his final squat, but he didn’t fall as low. The bar returned to the rack and Adam rolled out his ankle. He massaged his knee and rubbed his hand down his thigh, soothing the tense muscles. Adam straightened, walk it off, moving on, it was fine.

“You know, they basically tortured me, right?” Kenny intoned, suddenly, breaking Adam’s fussing thoughts over his knee. Kenny stood, gesturing broadly and dramatically. “That had to violate some international agreement, cruel and unusual punishment. Maybe I deserve that pity, c’mon, Adam, at least a little sympathy.”

Adam slipped out from under the bar. He had some bicep curls he was supposed to do and then he’d be done but he was noticing the open mat behind Kenny. Black, two inches thick, only a little more forgiving than the concrete underneath it. Probably laid out to do calisthenics on. Kenny and Adam had taken bumps on harder surfaces. Adam hooked his thumb in his waistband, and he chuckled, shaking his head.

“I must have the cruelest tag partner ever!” Kenny whined. “I get hit with a baseball bat and he doesn’t even care!”

“I’m starting to think you’re never gonna let this go,” Adam said, he picked up his water bottle and took a swig. He stepped closer to Kenny, closing the gap between them. “Just because I wasn’t first to save your dumb ass, how did Chris even catch you in the first place?”

“I was following a trail of figurines,” Kenny elaborated. Adam chuckled, ducking his head, thumb running over his mouth to hide his grin. “Leading right out to the field. You didn’t even ask if I was okay before you left?! Some knight in shining armor you are.”

“Are you okay, Kenny?” Adam asked, glancing-up. There was genuine concern in the question even if Adam’s grin was half-cocked.

Kenny’s bottom lip jutted out, obviously not pleased with this. “I told you I’m hurt, Page.”

Adam wasn't sure if he was talking about physical or emotional wounds, maybe both. A couple hits to the gut wouldn’t put down Kenny Omega. Not when he could see them coming and brace. This morning Kenny said he was fine if a little sore. Adam decided this was typical Kenny antics and dramatics. If he was able to whine like this, Adam had to assume he was fine.

“You want me to kiss it and make it better?” Adam asked.

“Don’t make fun of me!” Kenny put his hands on his hips. He wagged his finger. “For that, you owe me a real kiss.”

“Yeah, ok,” Adam said. He jutted his chin out. “Just close your eyes. If you start to look at me I’ll get embarrassed, or something.”

Kenny grinned, nodded his head, and tapped his finger against his cheek. He closed his eyes, and interlaced his hands in front of him, waiting for Adam to plant one. Instead, Adam bounced on his toes, braced his back leg, and broke into a sprint. Adam tackled Kenny around the middle. One arm hooked around Kenny’s abdomen and the other scooped his leg. An absurd, squawking noise, ripped from Kenny’s throat akin to a chicken caught with its leg in a bear trap, as Adam tackled him. The two men crashed to the mat in a heap of limbs. Adam hooked Kenny’s far leg and rolled him up, his full weight bearing down on Kenny’s shoulders.

“One! Two! Three!” Adam barked and then broke from the pin. He fell back on his hip, laughing. There were tears in his eyes and his chest hurt. He swung his leg around into a kneel, hand pressing against his knee to balance himself.

“I hate you, you son of a bitch!” Kenny flipped upright, arms flailing and cursing up a storm. “You son of a bitch! You son of a bitch!”

Adam shoved at Kenny’s shoulder, while Kenny smacked at his shins. Adam cracked with more laughter. This was the kinda shit that was going to get him in meetings later. Kenny caught Adam’s hand by the wrist though and turned it over, twisting Adam’s arm all the way to the shoulder. Kenny slipped under Adam’s arm and rose to his feet as he locked Adam’s elbow, hand braced on Adam’s tricep.

“Ah-ha!” Kenny laughed, that noise turned into a strangled, “oof,” when Adam drove his shoulder into Kenny’s stomach.

Adam stepped into the armbar to leverage the limb from Kenny’s grip. He reached over his own head to hook the back of Kenny’s neck and then scoop-up Kenny’s far leg. Adam stood as he drew Kenny’s full weight across his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Kenny squirmed, and wiggled, shoving his hands against Adam’s head to free himself. They separated, hands up, skirting away from each other with quick and frantic footwork. For a second, Kenny and Adam stared at each other, both frozen, eyes locked, breathing heavy and faces flushed. Adam shifted his weight left and Kenny shifted right. Then to the right and to the left-- Kenny rushed in, leading with an open hand jab. His palm swiped Adam’s cheek before Adam reacted. A quick guard, skirting under Kenny’s hands, he tapped him twice in the ribs before darting off to the side.

Kenny was so quick, staying on his toes, darting in and out. Adam used his elbows to stuff kicks thrown for his sides. It was nothing but a quick round of open hand slap boxing, small taps, or pokes to find opportunities. When Adam stepped in for a hook though, Kenny dropped in front of him like a sack of bricks, long before Adam made contact. Kenny rolled from a low kneel onto his hip. One foot hooked behind Adam’s ankle and he wedged his heel against the top of Adam’s thigh. Adam’s leg locked and he fell back, arms pushing in front of his chest as he tucked his chin for the fall. There was a laugh in his mouth as he flattened against the mat but the twinge that ran up his leg registered as pain. That muscle or tendon, or whatever, in his knee had pulled again. He vocalized it, grunting low in his chest. Suddenly, all the pressure on Adam’s joint abated. Kenny was at his side, pulling at his shoulder, elbow wedged in the mat so he could cup Adam’s cheek.

“You okay?!” Worry bit Kenny’s tone, he searched Adam's face. He adjusted his hand to grip at Adam’s neck and shoulder. “Did I hurt you?!”

“It’s fine-- I’m fine,” Adam sat-up, waving Kenny off. Kenny’s arm hooked around his shoulders, pulling Adam against his chest. Adam’s hand reached down for his knee and it pulsed beneath his touch. Not too painful, just stiff, and a little pulled he decided. An old injury flaring up again. “Just tweaked my knee is all, I’ll be fine.”

Kenny held tight to Adam’s shoulder, nails blunt against Adam’s skin. He pulled Adam across his lap so that Adam rested against his thighs. Pawing for a grip, Adam braced his hand against Kenny's leg and sat-up further. He watched as Kenny relinquished his grip on Adam to reach for his knee. With a discerning eye, Kenny investigated the injury, jaw worked tight. Despite himself, Adam scowled, lips pressing thin as Kenny worked his fingers over the joint, the top of his calf and thigh. He grunted when Kenny pushed his thumb into the sore tendon. Adam flinched and cursed under his breath. He jerked his leg out of Kenny’s grip. "Ah, Jesus man."

There was an apology at the tip of Kenny's lips.

“I’m fine, it’s fine, it’s no big deal,” Adam breathed. He hooked his good leg under him and rolled onto his hip. Careful not to flex the pulled leg, he pushed onto his feet. Kenny’s hands were on his shoulders, under his arm to keep him balanced. “Kenny, you’re overreacting.”

“Heck, no I’m not, you’re like a cat, dude,” Kenny snapped. Adam’s brow furrowed as he looked up at him. “You know, like a cat? A cat gets hurt or sick, and they act like nothing’s wrong, you know play it cool, you can’t tell the difference, but they’re not okay. They’re just acting like that so they don’t get--” The crease between Adam’s eyes had only depended. “Oh, never mind! I’m taking you back to your hotel room, so we can get some ice on that.”

“Kenny, seriously,” Adam said. He put his hand on Kenny’s bicep and drew to his full height. Even as he crooked his leg under him to avoid putting his weight on it. He could feel it, this was a sleep-it-off thing. No big deal, he’d be fine for Saturday, and there was no reason to care about it beyond that. “It’s cool, I’m fine, chill out, man. I’ll walk it off. Look, I’ve already done cardio, weights, everything today, and I’ve been fine.”

“Mhmm, no, nope, I don’t think so,” Kenny countered, he shook his head. He had already swiped-up Adam’s towel and water bottle in one hand, handed Adam his shirt with the other. “I can either carry you back, bridal style, right across the lobby, or you take my arm and we limp back together.” To emphasize his point he offered his arm.

“Oh, really?” Adam asked. He yanked on his shirt

Kenny was in a mood, eyes locked on his face, and not moving from his position in front of Adam. When Kenny got an idea like this, there was no stopping him. Even a slight press of weight on his knee though and an ache spread through his thigh. Adam could make it back to his room but he’d be doing it on a limp. All while making an entire ship of hardened sailors blush. Which would suck but Adam had had much, much worse, in his time. Not that the image of him, cradled in Kenny’s strong arms, as he marched across the crowded lobby to the shock and awe of the guests, wasn’t appealing-- but Adam would rather take the arm.

“Alright, fine, okay, but you are making too big of a deal of this, for the record,” Adam said, yet, he hooked his hand around Kenny’s opposite shoulder. Kenny wrapped his hand around Adam’s waist, pulling him hip-to-hip so Adam leaned his weight on him. In his head, Adam told his stuttering heart to shut the fuck. “As soon as you leave I’m just going to go about my day, like normal, you know that right?”

“Guess I can’t leave you alone all day then,” Kenny joked, as he took the first step. He watched carefully as Adam leaned into him on the second stride, avoiding his right leg. “Don’t we deserve a rest day?”

“Don’t you have a job?” Adam countered. Kenny used his hip to push open the door of the gym and they limped together across the lobby. A couple of kids by the check-out desk watched them pass. Adam stuck out his tongue and the little girl stuck out her tongue back. “You know production, for a big pay-per-view, this Saturday? Ringing any bells? Hitting Chris Jericho with a trash can, maybe?”

“Eh, they’ll call me if they need me,” Kenny shrugged.

At the far end of a hall Kenny pressed the call button for the elevator and a second later the doors chimed open. In the confines, of the small, empty space, Adam and Kenny could untangle. Instead, they stood there, watching the floors rise. Kenny tightened his grip on Adam’s hip, fingers pressed into his side. The gesture was almost possessive and demanding, that Adam stay. Adam was wondering if all this was more for Kenny’s benefit than his own.

It wasn’t like he had his phone out in the wilderness. The improvised camping trip was a spur of the moment, making use of a couple of weeks of vacation he had saved up. All the suits knew where Adam was and what he was doing, it was all above board. Kenny would just do some singles stuff. And, Adam, would get time to sit by a running creek with a cracking fire, with nothing but his thoughts. This past year had been shit. He’d been a bad friend. He’d screwed up, he’d become tag-champion. But in the woods, it was just Adam and that tiny frog he spotted on a log before he went to bed one night. Just a tiny frog, doing tiny frog things on a log. Tiny frog did not care about the Inner Circle kicking the shit out of the Elite or title defenses. It just wanted to eat some flies. Adam wished he could be more like that tiny frog.

Without the eating flies bit though.

Maybe, maybe, Kenny missed him and this was his way of making up for that lost time. Hanging around while Adam worked out or by taking care of his ‘injuries.’ The guilt that he should’ve been in the street fight with Kenny, or on the field first, blunted by Kenny’s concern. They’d been apart for a while. Maybe, this was what they needed before they walked face-first into a brawl.

The doors opened and they traded spots with a businessman in a three-piece. Adam had no idea his hotel hallway was this long, but it took forever to reach his door at the end of it on his bum leg. Kenny only relinquished his hold on Adam long enough for Adam to open the door with the card key. Adam worked the key back into his wallet and the wallet back into his pocket. Before Kenny could grab him again though, Adam shouldered open the door and walked into the room. He flinched on the first step, growling to himself as pain shot up his leg. Prepared for the hit though, Adam’s next stride was more confident and he was about ready to turn around, to joke it wasn’t that bad, to assuage Kenny. Two hands landed on his shoulder.

“Oh, no, not on my watch,” Kenny grunted, “no, sir.”

He hooked Adam’s arm around his neck and all but carried him the last couple steps to the bed. Even as Adam rolled his eyes almost out of their socket. Adam sat down on the covers, swinging his leg up to cross at the ankle, brow lifted. He interlaced his fingers on his stomach, and looked-up at Kenny with resigned exhaustion. As if to say, ‘ok, now what?’

“You stay, I’m going to get some ice,” Kenny said, pointing at Adam. He pulled back a step. Eyes locked on Adam, still pointing, backing-up slowly. “I mean it, stay, don’t move, if I come back and you’ve moved a muscle, a singular muscle, one iota of a muscle, oh, ho ho, you’ll be in big trouble!”

Kenny had backed all the way to the door, not taking his eyes off Adam, and he pawed at the handle behind him. Adam watched his hand miss and Kenny admit that he had to turn around to open the door. Yet, even then Kenny still turned back and made a double-eye gesture between Adam and himself.

“Hey, Kenny,” Adam said. He removed his wallet from his pocket and flashed the card key. “Think you might need this? You know, so I don't have to get up and let you in when you lock yourself out."

Kenny paused, then marched back into the room to snatch the card key. “Thank you very much-- and no moving!”

“Will, you just fucking go?” Adam snapped.

The door closed behind Kenny. For a second Adam laid there, braced-up against the pillows and hand pattering a random rhythm against his thigh. He listened to the traffic outside, the tick-tock of the wall clock, and the distant murmur of voices elsewhere in the hotel. Last night, in his exhausted stupor, Adam had left his phone to ‘charge’ on the dresser. Except he forgot to plug it in and so this morning -- shockingly-- the phone was not charged. He had left it in his room to juice-up while he worked-out and now, his eyes flicked to where it sat on the other side of the room. Adam slid off the bed, limped over to the desk, cursing his leg again, and picked-up the phone. He flicked through some Twitter notifications, messaged his mom. Adam braced his foot on the chair, and rubbed at his knee, scowling to himself at the bursts of pain. If he had been smart he wouldn’t have done squats today-- or did fewer weights. Instead, under the watchful eyes of his crush, Adam had decided to show off.

It wasn’t a big deal. He’d fought through way worse, and at best, this was annoyance that would put a slight hitch in his step for a day. If he went to the trainers they’d put him in a compression sleeve and tell him to dial back. A small pulled knee wasn't anything to fuss over.

The latch on the door clicked. With a pep to his step, Adam hurried back to the bed. He settled down just as Kenny pushed open the door. A bag of ice swung from his far hand and he stepped into the bathroom to grab a towel. Adam laid his phone down at his side and pressed the off-button as Kenny crossed the room over to him.

“You didn’t move did you?” Kenny asked. He sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped the towel around Adam’s knee.

“Uh, no,” Adam said. Kenny’s eyes flicked to Adam’s hand and the phone tucked against his palm.“Not a muscle.”

Kenny placed the bag of ice on Adam’s leg. “How’s that?”

“That’s-- fine,” Adam murmured. “Thanks, man.”

“Hey, no problem, that’s what partners are supposed to do, right?” Kenny asked, grinning. He straightened and rolled out his shoulders.

Adam scooted over on the bed and patted beside him. Kenny stared at him for a second, blinking kinda like a goldfish, before he swung his legs up and settled on the mattress next to Adam. They sat elbow-to-elbow, shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the blank TV and far wall together. They both smelled like sweat and generic guy, not a pretty cocktail of scents. Yet, the camaraderie, the closeness, the human contact, set Adam’s skin on fire, fingers tingling. Like he’d been sober for too long and taken his first drink-- totally overwhelming. Adam scrubbed his hand down his face. Then he nudged Kenny with his elbow.

“Seriously, though man, you okay?” Adam asked. “Like, no bullshit, and not just about last night. I know I’ve been, I’ve been out for a bit and kinda left you in a lurch.”

“I had my first street fight,” Kenny commented. He hooked his leg underneath him.

“How’d that go?” Adam asked.

“Evidently, it looked like my first street fight,” Kenny laughed. “I hate to admit it, but I'm not that hardcore. But, no, I’ve been good, fine, missing you-- missing this thing we had. I mean Matt Hardy’s wonderful and all, and it’s not like I would ever turn down the chance to tag with one of the greats but-- it wasn’t the same. We really have something special, Page.”

“I fought Matt Hardy in a TLC in 2013,” Adam noted. “Weird to see him again now-- being so, weird.

“Really, how was that?” Kenny remarked.

“Oh, he kicked my ass,” Adam said. It was an impossible match against a man who’d been fighting longer than Adam had been alive. Small town boy dreaming big, he had really believed going in that he had a chance. “The promo I cut for that match? That’s how I pissed off the Decade.”

Adam paused, he remembered how Jimmy Jacobs verbally cut him down for daring to reach higher than Ring of Honor. The way BJ kicked his ass and insisted that Adam was squandering his potential. The first time Adam limped on a pulled knee and and how instead of an offered hand, Adam got a closed fist. Those old guys were brutal, violent, but they taught him. He learned, he learned really good, and evidently, those lessons stuck. Stuck better than anything his high school teachers or professors ever taught him. Never shake a hand of someone beneath you, or above you. Never show weakness. Never show fear and if you’re scared, get angry. Never turn your back on a friend, but especially not your enemies. Sometimes, it was so much, Adam needed to go into the woods to hide because he couldn’t wrap his head around all the crap he had learned.

Crazy, how those lessons stuck, four, almost five years later. How he lived them out with his partner, here, now. Trying to walk on a pulled leg and dismissing his pain. Dismissing the swirling thoughts in his head.

“It was strange though,” Adam admitted, it sounded like a sudden topic shift but it didn’t feel that way to him “Like the whole time I was out there, on my own, camping --And I mean, I was just in the Appalachian, I’d been camping there my whole life-- all I could think about was coming back. I should’ve been relaxing, but I just, I wanted to come back. It was kinda like, I don’t know-- there’s just been so much shit this past year, maybe, I thought I wouldn’t want to. I don’t know.”

He hoped Kenny knew because Adam didn’t know how else to explain it. Sitting out there with the frogs and crickets, listening to the stream babble. Hiking a few miles, setting up camp on a new rise, until he slogged back to his car, a slightly different man. For a day or two Adam could focus on the birds, the sky, the vast expanse of an empty woods. Then, his brain turned around and he was back in Jacksonville, Florida. Reliving those matches, thinking about his mistakes. The Bucks, Kenny, his destructive losses and his self-destructive responses. An eight ounce of Whiskey didn’t last him longer than a small shot a night, but by the second week he was out. Right now, with Kenny, he was probably the most detoxed he’d been in almost eight months. Stuck with his incessant thoughts and pounding heart, like the jaws theme was playing in the back of his head. Take another sip, ease the pain, and wonder, why the hell had he come back?

Why did he keep coming back, like a masochistic, glutton for punishment.

Adam picked at the fabric of his shorts. Losing to Chris, losing to Mox, united by their losses, divided by their victories. Coming together in this tag-team felt like a desperate move to stem the bleeding of their hemorrhaging hearts. Adam wasn’t sure it was ever the right move. Right, he was going to step out of the shadow of the Elite by tagging with the leader of the Elite. Sitting next to Kenny, felt right, but holding gold felt no different to Adam than being without it. He really thought a title would change him. It didn't, he was still Adam page, selfish and mean, and carrying more baggage than he cared to admit. Now though, he just had a stupid little hallow, accomplishment to his name.

“Yeah, I mean, if AEW didn’t come around, I’d have retired, quit, left,” Kenny said, shrugging. “I was just so broken down after Japan-- but I found something worth fighting for, worth sticking around for. So, I get it, it’s hard, coming back after a loss, but I think that’s why this team was good for both of us. You’ll get back on that horse, Adam. Long as I’ve known you, you always have.”

Adam grinned and admitted, “Yeah, and we’ve had a helluva a run, I wouldn’t mind keeping it going. Never thought we'd get this far and at this point I just wanna-- I wanna see how far we go.”

“I told you we had something special,” Kenny said, he patted Adam’s thigh. He pointed at his temple. “I have a sixth sense for this kinda thing.”

A sixth sense, a knowledge that there was more to things than what they appeared at face value. For a moment Adam speculated on what Kenny saw in him. If he started with the alcohol, the empty whiskey bottles, and crushed beer cans. Or, if he started with his behavior towards the Bucks, the way that his supposed best friends brought out the worst in him. The meanest, most vicious, and selfish parts of Adam, poisoned by his own inferiority complex. The way he couldn’t break this cycle of arguments and running off alone. Because Adam didn’t know how to express the problem in a way Kenny and the Bucks would understand. That it hurt when they set themselves above him. Gave him tag-titles runs --or maybe just used him-- and gifted him ‘Matches of the Year.’ Like he was a charity case. Then, turned around and said, ‘no, we don’t look down on you!’ Maybe, Kenny just saw someone who’d be a good partner. Adam had been tagging for years, he and Jason Blade were tag-champions in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. Adam had stood at the ring post with the Young Bucks, watching and learning from the best of the best. He had the skill, the knowledge, the power, to help carry a tag title belt. Maybe Kenny saw his determination, his drive, his skill, the softness of his heart and how he bled red at the slightest provocation.

What Adam wanted Kenny to see was that he was worthy of gold. That on his own, standing on his own two feet, he could carry a title. Not just a regional title, but world, international, the best-of-the-best. That there was that spark, that fire in him, that he could push the boundary. That he wasn’t content one step over and two behind. Relegated to the background shot. Adam didn’t want Kenny to have to look over his shoulder to see Adam. But just a little to the left and Adam was right there, next to him. Even if the most vile parts of himself called for Adam to push in front of Kenny and the Bucks, that wasn’t what he wanted. He just wanted to be their friend, like they were friends with each other. Equals, belonging, good enough, for the title of the Elite.

And he could feel it, he wasn’t good enough yet.

That was why he came back-- to prove he was good enough.

When the tag team ended, did this, this moment constructed in a hotel room with ice and towels, crumble too? Even worse, Adam wondered if this great accomplishment -- AEW tag-team champion with Kenny Omega-- stood alone. That all his success and legacy amounted to the bones the Elite threw him. Because they happened to include him in a BTE bit or because they held his hand through a tag-title run. The sick, twisted part of Adam wished that it was just him, holding this title, and that Kenny wasn’t here at all. And yet, Adam couldn’t kick Kenny out of this room, or out of his bed. Because he didn’t want Kenny to move from this spot, elbow-to-elbow. He missed the ring, he missed the fight, and he missed the chance to prove what he could do. Because Adam could spend years in the wilderness, and he’d still wander out, beard overgrown, eyes wild, itching to write a story that was his own.

But most of all, maybe, he had missed Kenny.

“Okay, Kenny, this is great but I want breakfast,” Adam said. He glanced over at his partner. “And listen, I get-- I get you’re worried about my leg, but I promise it’s not that bad. I can walk, man. It’ll be fine. Just, trust me? Yeah?”

Kenny paused, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I mean, yeah, of course, I guess, I really can’t keep you here all day. That’s a little unrealistic but, you’ve been away for a while. You can’t blame me for trying to make up for lost time by fussing, a little right? And you have a history of talking down when you’re hurt.”

The look Kenny gave him told Adam that he knew exactly why that was. Which was kinda nice, because Adam wasn’t sure he could tell him or even apologize for the way he fell back on old habits. Years later and he still couldn’t shake hands. Yet, as much as the Decade had changed Adam, he liked to believe that the Elite changed him more. Yeah, BJ taught him to not show his injuries and to patch his own wounds, but just as much, Adam didn’t want his friends to worry. Mostly because, it always shocked Adam that he was worthy of that worry.

“So, yeah,” Kenny said. “I guess I can let you out of the bed, but listen, let me know if you’re in pain or injured man? We’re partners, we’re in this together, and you-- you can trust me. I’m not going to look down on you or anything just because you’re hurt, I want to help. So, please, man, trust me. This shit has to go both ways.”

“Do I get breakfast if I say yes?” Adam asked. He leaned over a bit, pressing his shoulder against Kenny and offering him a soft smile. If it got him bacon, Adam was willing to try the puppy dog eyes.

Kenny chuckled, then nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, I’d say.”

“Then, yeah, I got it,” Adam said, nodding. He flipped over the hand on his leg and offered it to Kenny. Kenny took it and squeezed, strong but reassuring. Felt better that way than when it had just been his hand alone, and Adam hated it, but he loved it. “I’ll-- try.”

Kenny released Adam’s hand with one last squeeze and slipped off the bed. Adam swung his legs off the edge the mattress and took the half-melted bag of ice off his knee. Even just that little time had made it feel better. “Let me get a shower and I’ll meet you down in the lobby-- And, Kenny?”

Kenny paused, at the entrance of the hall leading out of the room. He turned, glancing back at Adam, quizzical.

“Thanks, man,” Adam said. He ducked his head and eyes, suddenly bashful.

Adam ran his fingers through his hair. Small tangles caught and his golden curls unravelled from knots. He had something else to say but the words stalled out there as Kenny placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder, suddenly back at his side, and planted a big kiss on his cheek. A real lip smacker, exclaimed with a, “Mwah!”

“To make it better,” Kenny stated, simply, as he straightened. “Haha, I’ll see you downstairs in ten.”

Adam gaped as Kenny escaped the hotel room. The door closed behind him and all Adam could do was place his hand on his cheek where Kenny kissed him. Felt the warmth of a budding blush that darkened his face. That was the exact wrong kinda positive reinforcement. Because now all Adam could think about was that he should get hurt more often.

#ofgrief #‘The Hangman’ || Adam: IC #‘Deals with God’ || Adam: Verse #‘Beloved’ || Adam and Kenny

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shawnssongs · 5 years

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Bastille!!!

Top 10 songs ever...

Okay, so I can’t answer this because I’m really indecisive, but here are 10 that popped in my head, plus a list of a bunch of people and groups I love below, but if you want a better/more specific list, I’d love to make a top 10 list for certain genres or decades of music. Examples being 80’s, today’s hits, 2000’s, R&B, chill, country & such.

Misery by Maroon 5: Honestly this has always been one of my favorite songs. I love anything that was from old Maroon 5z I’m not a huge fan of their newer stuff.

Because I Had You by Shawn Mendes: I’m not sure why I love this song so much. Maybe it’s the vibe. The key it’s in is perfect for Shawn’s voice, and it is absolutely amazing live.

Gravity by John Mayer: Tbh anything John Mayer is great. Gravity has great lyrics, soothing music, a nice guitar solo, and it’s definitely one of my favorite songs to listen too when I’m in a chill mood.

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac is just amazing in general, but the chain is probably one of their most catchy/most popular songs, and it definitely isn’t overrated for no reason. (Also does anyone else think Miley Cyrus sounds like Stevie Nicks? Or is that just me?)

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen: Yes, this is obvious, but as overplayed and annoying as it gets, it’s definitely one of the greatest musical compositions of its time. As a music nerd, it’s hard not to love that song and everything that went into it. (Honestly, if I just want to listen to some good Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls is probably my go to song lol).

The Scientist by Coldplay: Honestly anything by Coldplay is absolutely amazing. One of my favorite groups of all time. That’s really all I have to say.

The Way You Make Me Feel (or literally anything) by Michael Jackson: I grew up listening to him. He was just such a talented person, and I really respect all of his music.

Blow by Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, and Bruno Mars: Okay, this is new, but honestly I’m just recommending each of these three artists. When you look at the three of them, you would not expect a collab at all, and you definitely wouldn’t expect it to work out, but somehow they made an amazing song and I really respect and love the voices of all three of them.

Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield: Okay, obvious again but I’ve always loved this song, and I saw Rick in concert a month ago and he is in his 60’s I believe, and he still sounds exactly the same as when he was younger. I truly love and gain so much respect for any artist that sounds just as great live as they do in their recordings. Rick is amazing, and he’s a great actor too lmao.

Best Day Of My Life by American Authors: This song is just a great summer uplifting song, and honestly I’m mostly putting it on here because like I said, I respect anyone that’s just as great live as they are in the recordings, and when I saw them, they were absolutely amazing.

These are definitely not my top 10 songs of all time, and I honestly don’t think I could EVER pick 10. This is kind of just a list of the first few I could think of. Anyway, some more songs I love are any song by any of the artists I mentioned above, as well as songs like, are you gonna be my girl by jet, anything by U2 or Journey or Men at Work, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, The Weeknd, Nickelback (yes I love them), Kid Cudi, Daughtry (No surprise is great), Usher, The Beatles, The Script, Tame Impala, The 1975, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and way too many more to think of. Khalid (Another Sad Love Song is my favorite), some of the Jonas Brothers songs (Happy When I’m Sad is one of my favorites).

I’m missing a ton of people, of course. This is so hard for me to even think of everyone honestly.

I have a WIDE music selection range, so it might be easier to pick songs if I had a certain genre or time period to pick from. If you want a better list or a top 10 list of a certain genre of music or music from a certain decade, please let me know.

#ask!

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floatingtoad · 6 years

Text

The talk.

Title: The Talk.

Pairing: Clementine x Louis.

Summary: Clementine and Louis have the painful talk about where babies come from with AJ.

Requested by: @psych-kitten thanks for requesting again lmao <33

Warning: Nothing, just painfully awkward.

A/n: This was really painful to write, but I did it and it was really fun. I hope you like it and please excuse my errors in my grammar (: Any feedback is welcomed.

A wooden door busts open forcefully-- a loud bang making its way from the feet of a 17-year-old girl who looked ready to kill anything that came her way, tension radiating through the air as another teenager about her age and a little boy look around with caution from inside the building they were raiding for any supplies they could find, Clementine holding her sharp knife out as Louis holds Chairles in his hands tightly with so much confidence one could possibly have.

“Safe?” Louis asks, brown eyes glancing over at Clementine as she slowly stumbles in hesitantly-- ready for anything as her shoe crunches on broken glass. He gently grabs AJ’s shoulder’s looking down at the boy who looked nothing but afraid, a hardened look on his small chubby face. Lucky for Louis the kid trusted him enough not to literally punch him in the balls for doing that.

Taking in her surrounding, Clementine turns around facing them and crosses her arms. “Looks like it,” She replies, her hazel eyes going down toward Louis' hand protectively keep AJ from walking in.. just in case.”We can stay here tonight, I’ll go check upstairs for anything.. Watch him?” Her last words were more in a questioning tone than anything, and as much as Louis wanted to go up there with her, he nods his head in response.

The past couple of days for Team Fun was.. not so fun. While they were out hunting they almost got mauled by a herd of walkers, leading them to have to go off somewhere else until heading back to the school was safer-- The three just hoped the others were doing okay, which it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were. Violet was a great leader.

“ Go ahead, while you're up there doing whatever Aj and I will be having a great time.” He says teasingly, AJ only excitedly nodding in response.. this making Clementine’s heart flutter with happiness, it was a new feeling but she hid it perfectly with her emotionless face.

“Thanks, call me if you need me..” She replies, turning around on her heel before walking upstairs slowly-- Her knife held out as she makes it up there.

The girl was up there for 30 minutes before coming down with a bag full of useful stuff they could use, some mostly for her but she found some toys for AJ that’ll most likely keep him busy for the night.

AJ looks around the living room they were standing in, his eyes going over old pictures of a family that seemed happy-- they had bright smiles on their faces while looking at a baby in one of their arms lovingly. It makes him smile, picturing them as his own blood parents that were sadly gone. AJ’s mind then goes to the baby, narrowing his eyes before questioning how they'd even got it.

“Clem?” He asks, still staring at the picture. Clementines conversation with Louis breaks, all her attention on her boy as her hazel eyes look over at him with question, dropping Louis’ hands from hers before slowly walking over.

“What, Goofball?” She questions curiously, eyes following where he was looking. Her heart plummets to the ground at the picture, the only thing on her mind being that those people were most likely dead... which took the happiness out of the picture completely.

“Where are babies from?” The innocent 6 years old asks, looking away from the picture and back at Clem who’s eyes widen from the shock of that question.

Louis sputters out a laugh, covering his mouth as he holds back cackling at the question before she kills him. How does she explain this? It’s not like she can lie and say people get babies from the dollar store or something... It's the apocalypse.

“Uh, well..” She breaths out, looking back at Louis nervously as he gives her a wink. That gesture makes her cheeks grow red, if she wasn't so flustered at the moment she would've totally killed him just for that. Clementine herself barely knew anything about baby making, only having it explained by Kenny once. It wasn't very helpful either. “ Babies are made when--” Clementines eyes go to Louis, silently asking for help.

Clementines dork of a boyfriend gets the gesture, noticing her embarrassment while stepping up closer toward them before speaking, “ When a mom and dad do things??” He says uncertainly, oh he certainly knows where babies come from for reasons you don’t wanna know.

AJ scoffs at the answer, not getting it.”What does that mean?” He crosses his arms, looking at both of them now with furrowed eyebrows from confusion.

“They touch each other,” Clem speaks up, glancing at Louis before back at her kid. “ And then a couple months later.. there’s a baby.”

“Like... Kissing stuff?” AJ queries, Clementine wanting to facepalm.

“A little bit, yeah.” Louis nods his head, letting out an awkward chuckle.

“But you guys kiss and touch each other a lot, does that mean you guys are going to have a baby?” The question leaving his lips makes both of the teenagers blush, Louis, letting out a cough as Clementine's eyes widen.

“Uh, no AJ. We’re not.” She replies, Louis nods-- They don’t plan on making a family anytime soon. Both of them thinking its selfish to bring a baby into a world like this where not a chance it could survive even a day. Plus they’ve only just started dating, the two only share kisses right now.

Clementine looks outside the window, seeing nothing but darkness which gives her an idea that its time for him to sleep. “Hm.. looks like its time for you to go to bed.”

Aj frowns, nodding his head luckily getting them out of the situation.

“Okay but.. don’t do any kissing stuff, I don’t wanna take care of a baby.”

@orphic-days ((: hope you enjoyed.

#clementine twdg #twdg #the walking dead game #the walking dead game season 4 #twdgs4 #clementine #clouis #loumentine #clem x louis #clementine and louis

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shawnjacksonsbs · 2 years

Text

I.S.O. a stronger, more powerful descriptive word for gratitude. 9-10-22

"Ev-er-y town

Has its ups and downs

Sometime ups

Outnumber the downs" - Alan-a-Dale (Roger Miller)

Okay . . .

Did you sing the lyrics above? Don’t lie. Lol I can’t read ‘em, like ever, without hearing, “but not in Nottingham”.

Anyways . . .

For those who don't already know, our apartment building had a pretty intense fire back on the 1st. We live(d) in the bottom front left. The fire started in the top back right of our little, and odd shaped, six-plex.

We had the least amount of damage, mostly just smoke.

But . . .

They condemned the whole building.

So . . .

The rest of the tenants are, and will remain, in our hearts and in our thoughts.

Since . . .

We’ve been back and forth with insurance, and the apartment complex's management more than I wanted to be. Things were not looking good for us on either front at first, but when we realized this, we started making phone calls, talking to others who have been through similar things, and taking time to make each decision. We had to stop letting them make us feel pressured into making snap decisions. So, we did.

And . . .

Smoke damage, except to the furniture, wasn’t, or isn’t (?) detrimental, at least in our case.

Now . . .

Things are starting to turn around, I think. Getting our things cleaned, and getting relocated, which is all happening in a way that suits us, is the priority.

I am grateful that no one was hurt or killed, and as I said before my heart goes out to all those affected by this in ways much worse than we got, and are dealing with.

We are hoping to be back to a regularly scheduled life, already in progress before mid-October. Fingers crossed that it's much, much earlier.

We were shown love by, and from so many people for which I am also grateful. Thank you to any, and all, that reached out in their own way.

“Look for the helpers” right?!

I didn't use to be made for taking on so much, or for taking on much of anything really, but these days . . .when situations like these happen, I just prove to me, again, I am strong enough to get through. Literally built this way now. *((Here’s to hoping that never changes.))*

Couldn't have happened at a stranger time either, because this month marks 9 years off that shit!

9 fucking years!

It's still so surreal(?) to even think about. I have memories of myself in my mind, but they almost feel like they belong to some other guy. Lol no lol Today I am surviving shit that 10-20 years ago I could, and probably would, have been responsible for causing. Again, lol no lol. As a matter of fact, it's Sunday after next for that anniversary. A holiday, that's shared twice over with other important pieces of my heart, and my life.

Save a little bit for next week, but life does have downs but the ups always outnumber them.

Always.

Plus, the downs are for learning and turning, so they help us to appreciate all the love in this beautiful world.

And gratitude doesn't even come close to describing how I feel . . . as I wrote this piece from a hotel room with not much in it, aside from personal hygiene items, a few clothes, * a lot of donated books for Pawpaw's story time, and of course that feeling of love. Then I drove to work on this early Saturday morning to make up for lost days, to a place I am partnered in, underneath a beautiful full moon while listening to Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins (if that song doesn't give you goosebumps, we might not be the same generation), so no . . . gratitude doesn't even come close.

It just . . .It just doesn't.

Granted there are some down feelings, but I can't really call them negative.

I miss my family, my momma, my grandkids, and I've really been missing my kids lately, even before all of this happened. Grown up and living lives makes it hard to spend time with them, at least like we used to. And I imagine a great deal of our upcoming weekends are going to be busy and full, but it won’t last forever. Right?!?!

So, it's a type of . . . sadness, but it's not considered a negative since the feeling attached to this emotion . . . is love.

Love.

Please keep sharing your very specific, very beautiful smile, along with your love and laughter with the world around you.

Remember also, to be kind to everyone as always as you can. They could be in a down day and you may be the deciding factor in how the remainder of their day goes, maybe even how the rest of their life goes.

Until next week;

"I see trees of green, red roses, too,

I see them bloom, for me and you

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,

Are also on the faces of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"

They're really sayin', "I love you."

I hear babies cryin'. I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world" - Louis Armstrong

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bxbydcll · 6 years

Text

i can never be on time to these things wow but hello i’m home from work and now i’m here to introduce you to my genderqueer little baby.... doll kennedy. ( will also respond to kenny, ken, and definitely baby asjkals ) ! i’ve played them only once before so i’m really excited to be bringing them back to life with a whole new lil story and everything !! without further ado, here’s kennedy!

tw neglect, manipulation / abuse

[ MITCH GRASSI, TWENTY TWO, & THEY/THEM ] KENNEDY TATE is known as the BABYDOLL around denver. they’ve lived here for FIVE YEARS and are a BEAUTY/FASHION YOUTUBER. SLEEVES DANGLING PAST THEIR FINGERTIPS, ROSE GOLD EYESHADOW, HAND-WOVEN FLOWER CROWNS, SANDPAPER KITTEN KISSES, AN APARTMENT FILLED WITH FLOWERS . [ NAT, SHE/HER, 18+, CST ]

kennedy didn’t grow up in a BAD household so to speak. their parents were just lowkey stoners who kind of forgot they had a child

so they’d just??? wander outside at like 5 years old and come back with a snickers bar like it was nbd?

became gifted at petty theft and doe eye blinking their way out of trouble

lowkey a perfectionist and has to have things neat and tidy

was kind of bullied at school because, self raised, kennedy had no sense of discipline and/or social norms so they were constantly wearing inappropriate things bc gender roles exist but not to them and their parents couldn’t really be bothered to y’know… help???

grew a tough backbone through the exploration of their own gender identity and kind of said fuck it to all the other kids

fast forward to a 15-16 year old kennedy getting into their first relationship. this individual was older and exciting and for once in their #yung life, kennedy was being paid attention

felt important and pretty!

felt POWERFUL!

but they were being groomed and as soon as this boyf had kennedy wrapped around their finger with his charm and his wit, things turned toxic

it was hard for kennedy to piece together what was going on. they hadn’t really a stable relationship to base their own experience off of and it was so nice to be wanted. it didn’t occur to them that a) they were too young to be in this serious a relationship and b) this person was a total jackass

lots of verbal put downs, possessiveness, pressure to be perfect and always available, essentially treated as an accessory to him instead of a person of their own

their boyfriend kind of stifled the self expression they’d been starting to explore through fashion and makeup so they felt like they had to keep it a secret? stealing highlighters and lippies from the local drug store, that kinda thing.

they were willing to put themselves on the backburner if it meant staying in this “great” relationship but something felt wrong about it. it knocked their self esteem back a few pegs.

momentarily, they were able to forget it when, at 17, their boyfriend relocated them to denver!!

they were in a new place with new people and it was really exciting. they didn’t have many friends at home ( see, the bullying and the control this guy had over kenny as the reasons tbh ) so they were hopeful this would be the fresh start they needed.

once they were settled in, they were determined to branch out! it was difficult at first but eventually the independence they exhibited as a little tot resurfaced -- it helped that their boyf was out a lot

kennedy met someone about six months into their stay in colorado who changed everything. they opened kenny’s eyes to the manipulation they were undergoing at home with their boyfriend AND the neglect they had experienced as a young child. basically, this person was kennedy’s best friend and the kind of gentle influence someone like them needed this whole time. (potential plot but also fine as an NPC)

i have it headcanoned that at one point this person was a little in love with soft and pure little kennedy but it never went anywhere.

ANYWAYS

this person convinced kennedy to break up with their boyfriend and let kenny live with them for a little while!! eventually kennedy started up a youtube channel doing the one thing that brought them more joy than anything else : makeup!

the fashion part came later, once they found a pinch more confidence and felt comfortable saying ‘no thank you’ to gendered stereotypes

personality wise kennedy is literally a soft child? hence the babydoll label. i’m opting for the interpretation that doesn’t have the sexual connotations attached and instead kennedy is just like gentle and pure and seeking love and attention. they love makeup and fuzzy blankets and oversized clothes and piggyback rides. like everyone’s pesky little sibling, they’ll ask really untimely questions about really personal things

LOVES to flirt. loves telling people they are pretty and loves like platonic kisses? often gets into trouble by kissing pretty people in bars and having no intention of following through (bc of their shit relationship tbh) though they will give but not receive if you follow

their youtube channel is actually flourishing. they do videos mostly about makeup, fashion and apartment hauls but they also touch on lgbt issues and have become a queer icon in their community. drama free and very sweet.

the only time they are not this little bucket of love is when they are lost in their thoughts. i mean, they really did have a rough childhood and an even rougher relationships. kennedy can get really down in their own head sometimes but they’ve been using their job and all the perks its slowly earning them to make it a little better

money can’t buy happiness but it can buy some very pretty things instead!!!

that was really long and i’m running on empty but i’ll put a few quick lil facts below as well as some possible connections!!

BLONDE they are very blonde and love to keep their hair bleached platinum

kennedy’s bedroom is where they film so that’s fully furnished and decorated but the rest of their apartment is pretty minimalistic

fills the empty space with TONS of flowers and plants because they like to feel like a woodland nymph (same) and it smells lovely

they’re a pretty decent baker and enjoy making baked goods for people in their apartment. can’t cook tho

very trim in frame and small in stature

wears lots of pastel colors or whites most of the time but likes a good black outfit too

has a munchkin kitten named venus

interacts with fans / followers constantly ; even though their channel is swiftly growing, they don’t want to become one of those lofty unobtainable yt celebrities. they especially like to help out fellow queer makeup wearing folk or those going through abusive relationships as well

is currently in therapy now that they are in a place to afford it

hasn’t dated since their ex but definitely... has an interest. kind of a hopeless romantic in that sense.

sexually uncertain but sexuality predominantly interested in men or masc individuals

genderqueer for sURE but pronouns wise they’re... predominantly they/them but can feel masc or fem some days and so pronouns wise it’s a non issue if you slip into something different. they’ll just refer to themselves mainly with them/them

CONNECTIONS !?

BEST FRIEND & CONFIDANT/ former roommate

maybe a current roommate ana

follower / fan

unrequited crush nic

platonic kiss partner

childhood friend ( from new york )

someone who knew their ex

makeup model / someone they help style

someone they brush paths with on the daily

an almost hookup could be fun

catsitter!

protective friendship

bad influence

#squad / helping kenny branch out

movie buddy

OKAY THATS ENOUGH FROM ME if you made it this far a) tell me and b) love me & plot with my baby please and thank you

#denver:intro #i didn't... tag this #manipulation tw #abuse tw #also this is just COPIED AND PASTED

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redvsvblue · 7 years

Text

For @achievementtooth! Merry Christmas!

(Some SFW, non-shippy FAHC, Ryan-centric.)

Ryan glares bitterly at the people shooting him sharp, judgmental glances, stuffing his hands further in his jacket and ducking his head to avoid attracting any attention. He doesn’t want the cops on him now.

He must look quite a sight, he thinks – the remnants of face paint still smeared around his hairline and under his eyes, blood dripping steadily from his busted lip and a bruise blossoming over his jaw, aching dully with each step. He’s shoved his hands as deep as he can in his leather jacket but the cold still seeps through him, drying the blood on his chin and breezing up the back of his shirt.

Ryan huffs irritably as he slips into an alley – a shortcut – scanning the dim surroundings as he stomps down the trash-riddled path. His phone buzzes in his jeans – probably one of the others letting the rest know they’re safe. Ryan doesn’t check it, and no more buzzes follow, so it’s not likely to be bad news; it’d be vibrating right out of the pocket if it was.

Ryan supposes he should consider himself fortunate for escaping without the cops – heists go sideways all the time, but at least this time he’s not running. Still, it’s cold and all he wants to do is get home and not worry about the crew for at least a few hours.

A tiny rustling in a back doorway draws his attention. He glances halfly at the darkness pooled under the frame and keeps walking and – and stops dead in his tracks when a tiny, quiet mewl sounds from the doorway. He sighs. Drops his head. Looks over at the black ears poking out of a crumpled newspaper, the green eyes studying him curiously.

He can’t leave it out here.

“Okay,” he sighs, mostly to himself, and turns to slowly crouch in front of the cat, taking out his hands to show he’s harmless.

The cat blinks at him. He extends his fingers and stays very very still, watching as the cat steps out of its newspaper home to carefully sniff his hand. When it butts its head against his knuckles, a quiet chuckle slips out of him and he gently pets its matted fur, eyeing it up for any obvious injuries. There’s no collar. He gently rubs a thumb over its neck – no bump of a microchip, either.

It’s thin, too, black fur matted down over the faintest outline of ribs, and Ryan switches to stroking along its back, eyes drifting up to its tail, bent in the middle at an unnatural angle.

“You’re a stray, aren’t you?” He murmurs. The cat meows and wanders closer, a little unsteady on its feet. Ryan sighs again and carefully lifts the cat up, cradling it in his elbow as it jerks and tries to escape – when it realises what’s happening, it calms down again, burrowing against Ryan’s jacket and trying to bite him when he pets for too long.

“Okay, okay,” he laughs, playfully stroking its ear. He cocks his head at it. “You seem like a Maisie.”

The cat tries to bite him again.

“Not Maisie, then,” Ryan laughs as he continues down the alley, keeping the cat close to him as the wind rips through them. “Polly?”

A hiss.

“Midnight?”

Another hiss.

Ryan bends down to release the cat into his flat before stepping in and locking the door, toeing off his shoes as Violet wanders curiously away, sniffing his hallway and the guns leaning against the wall.

“No, no, get away from that,” he scolds, gently nudging her hind legs with his socked foot on his way to the kitchen – he glances back to see Violet following him, her eyes intent on his ankles.

Ryan strips off his jacket on the way and hangs it up on a hook – he’ll have to scrub the dirt off it later, but that’s for later. Right now, though, he heads to the cupboard under the sink and pulls out the food bowls he keeps in there – the last one to use them was Edgar, the bulldog he adopted off the streets a few months ago and gave to a nice family just down the road.

Ryan finds the cat food – leftover from Kenny, the previous kitten he sheltered – and pours some out for Violet, fills the water bowl and leaves her to entertain herself while he goes to shower and bandage himself up.

Later finds Ryan in a staring contest with Violet on the sofa, his bowl of Cheerios forgotten in his hand as he reaches out to pet her, her broken tail flicking against the cushion.

“S’ppose I’m keeping you, then,” he says, breaking the eye contact to swallows down another spoonful of milky Cheerios, gently encouraging Violet to come sit next to him. He’ll have to go to the vet tomorrow – he sighs and shakes his head, stroking a hand down Violet’s back as she curls up.

“Takin’ all my free time, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Ryan says, pressing the phone to his ear as Violet winds around his ankles, meowing loudly for the food he hasn’t managed to put down yet because of Geoff.

“You sure? Don’t hide another damn broken rib from me, Ryan - “

“Yeah, I’m fine, Geoff. Just a little beat up.”

“Okay. Because we, uh, need a little help with clean-up, if you can come by tomorrow.”

“Clean-up?” Ryan asks dryly, clumsily resealing the bag of food and glancing down at Violet, who starts up another round of loud meowing.

“Yeah, I – is that a cat I hear?”

“No,” Ryan says immediately, setting down the food bowl and backing away the moment Violet leaves his ankles alone. “I’m – outside.”

“Outside? You’re supposed to be laying low.”

“I am!”

“I better not see any damn news stories about the Vagabond, Haywood. Come by tomorrow, noon.”

“You got it, boss.”

Ryan breathes a sigh of relief when he hangs up, slipping the phone into his pocket and touching the tender skin of his jaw while he watches Violet munch away on her breakfast.

“I’ve got a reputation to keep,” he says to her, narrowing his eyes. “You better not fuck it up.”

Violet’s bandaged tail twitches.

“What’s that? You’re all cut up,” Gavin says, peering curiously at Ryan’s forearm – Ryan grunts and rolls his sleeve down more, pulling it down to his wrist to cover the scratches. Violet hadn’t appreciated the bath he gave her last night.

“Nothing,” he bites out, shooting Gavin a glare. Gavin shrinks back a little, but he’s lost the petrifying fear he had of Ryan when they first met, and sometimes Ryan misses being able to just scare him away with a look.

“Y’should cover those up,” Gavin says. “Keep ‘em clean an’ all.”

“And you should mind your own business,” Ryan says.

Before Gavin can reply, Geoff claps his hands, staring down the room until they all settle down and look at him, standing at the head of the table.

“Warehouse. We need it gone,” Geoff announces, dramatically flipping the whiteboard over to reveal a poorly drawn stick figure plan. “Gavin, Jeremy, you’re taking the inside.”

He swivels to point to Ryan.

“Michael and you are taking the outside,” he says. “Get the cars and whatever crates they’ve got out back. I want it all in smithereens, you got me?”

“Loud and clear,” Michael says.

“What if someone was caught because the cops found their fingerprints in the person they killed the night before?” Michael asks. Ryan cuts him a questioning glance.

“Inside?”

“Yeah, like, if they fingered someone and then killed them, could the cops see the fingerprints?”

Ryan frowns at him and Michael shrugs.

“Gavin asked it last night,” he explains. “He wanted your opinion.”

“I think there’s too much – movement of – fluids and whatever for them to stay there,” Jack says over the crackly comms, the chopper blades whirring in his background. “Ew.”

“Yeah,” Ryan agrees, crouch-walking to the next car to wire it up to blow.

“Okay, what if they fingered their ass or something and they didn’t take a shit or anything before they died.”

“Don’t you empty your bowels when you die?”

“Yeah, you do,” Ryan replies calmly.

“Isn’t there a way to do it anyway?” Michael asks. “Some fuckin’ - nerve or something that makes you shit yourself?”

Jack laughs brightly over the comms and Ryan merely blinks at his hands, dumbstruck for a moment.

“Like Geoff does?” Jack chuckles.

“Yeah, but we’re not – pinching his nerves,” Michael says. “He’s just a shit machine.”

“I mean, if you ask him we’re probably pinching his nerves,” Ryan mutters.

“Could we get the shit nerve, though? Where even is that?” Michael asks, planting a bomb on a car window.

“I’m pretty sure it’s in the intenstines, right?” Jack offers.

“Yeah, base of them,” Ryan says. “It’d be messy to get to it, but we could do it. Just have to cut him open first.”

“Jesus, Ryan,” Jack gasps – Ryan shrugs and fixes his mask before taking out another batch of bombs from his bag.

“You asked,” he says simply. “You’d either go in from the front or from the back; it wouldn’t be clean in any way - “

“God, you’re so fuckin’ creepy sometimes,” Michael says.

“Man, I wish Gavin would hurry the fuck up,” Michael grumbles, popping his collar up to protect himself from the chilly breeze sweeping Los Santos. He glances at Ryan again. “You can go inside, you know.”

Ryan glances up at his building – they’ve walked there from a quick dinner together, and now Michael’s just waiting to be picked up.

“Nah,” he says, rolling his shoulders in an easy shrug. “Someone needs to make sure you won’t kill Gavin.”

Michael chuckles good-naturedly and looks at the street, scanning it for any sign of that dastardly purple Blista.

“Take any longer and I might fuckin’ kill hi - “ Barking interrupts them, abruptly dragging their attention to the dog barking at Ryan, a bulldog pulling on its leash and the kindly lady walking him over to them.

“Ryan!” She says, opening her arms for a hug which Ryan gives with an easy smile and a warm laugh, crouching to pet Edgar as well. Michael gives him a bemused look and eyes the lady up.

“How are you, Ms. Edwards?” Ryan asks, growling playfully back at Edgar before pushing himself up to stand, tugging his jacket closed again.

“Call me Jane, how many times have I told you?” Jane scolds gently, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “I saw your latest stunt on TV, you know,” she continues in a conspiratorial whisper. “That was quite a close one, that was.”

“Ryan?” Michael asks, shooting puzzled looks between them.

“Uh, this is Jane,” Ryan says, awkwardly gesturing between them. “Jane, this is - “

“Oh, yes, you’re the feisty one!” Jane declares. “Mogar, is it?”

“Michael,” Ryan cuts in. “His name’s Michael.”

“Michael! What a nice name,” Jane says – Michael shoots Ryan a glare and Ryan shakes his head. “Yes, you nearly got caught up in that great big explosion, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Michael says slowly, smiling politely. Edgar barks again and Jane shushes him with a quiet down, Edgar as Ryan leans down to scritch behind his ears.

“So, uh, how do you two know each other?” Michael asks.

“She lives down the hall from me,” Ryan says.

“Yes, and he was sweet enough to give Edgar to me,” Jane says, smiling down at Ryan and Edgar.

“Give him to you? Ryan, I didn’t know you had pets,” Michael teases.

“Oh, no, he took him in as a stray,” Jane corrects. “Got him all healthy again and gave it to me.”

“Oh?” Michael asks, smirking at Ryan.

“He was almost roadkill,” Ryan says in his defence, rising to talk to them at eye-level again.

“Back in my day, he would have just been turned over to the pound,” Jane says, tutting to herself. She catches sight of something and gasps quietly, reaching out to finger a hole in the shoulder Ryan’s jacket.

“Oh, let me sew that up,” she says, running her thumb over the fraying edges with a frown.

“It’s okay - “ Ryan starts to protest, but Jane clicks her tongue and shakes his head.

“I know, I know,” she says. “I was just like you, remember? I know how to fix bullet holes.”

“You really don’t have to - “

“I insist,” she insists. Ryan sighs and nods and glances down at the bulldog nudging against his leg – Edgar’s gotten bigger since he’s last seen him, rounder around the ribs and hips, so far from the starving, half-dead creature Ryan found on the road all those months ago. Jane turns to Michael and lays a bold hand on his arm – Michael jerks but doesn’t shake her off, and Ryan struggles to hold back his smile as Jane starts speaking in a low, secretive voice.

“See, now that I’m – retired from that lifestyle,” she says, patting Michael’s arm, “I’ve got plenty of time for pets and chatting to nice young men on the street.”

Michael goes pink and Ryan stifles a laugh.

“I, uh, I - “ Michael starts, flustered and out of his depth and Ryan’s never been more satisfied to see him so caught off-guard. “Lifestyle?”

“Oh, yes, I used to be a criminal, too,” Jane says, matter-of-factly. “Young and spry. Dealt drugs over the border. Lucrative trade, drugs.” She curls her fingers around Michael’s arm and leans in and Michael’s helpless to it, eyes widening ever-so-slightly.

The squeal of wheels saves him from whatever Jane was going to say next and Michael abruptly breaks apart to see the Blista screeching to a stop by the curb, Gavin grinning and waving at them from behind the wheel.

“Oh, that’s my ride,” Michael says, gently pulling his arm from Jane’s grip to wave back. “I should go. See you tomorrow, Ryan?”

“Yeah,” Ryan agrees, flashing Gavin a little wave as well.

“Well, I’d sure love to see you around more,” Jane says, and taps a finger to her lips. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell any of your secrets.”

“Thanks,” Michael says with a little laugh. “It was – nice meeting you, Jane.”

“And the same to you,” she says. “Now go, off to go stir up some trouble,” she adds, making a little shooing motion with her hands that makes Michael laugh before he jogs to the Blista.

“You’re terrible,” Ryan says, waving the little car off as it speeds away.

“Mhm,” Jane agrees, and opens her palm in front of Ryan. “You want to crack it?”

Ryan looks down to see – a fortune cookie – Michael’s fortune cookie, sitting pretty in her palm, the plastic wrapper crumpled and shiny.

“You little thief,” he chuckles, plucking it from her palm to tear it open.

“Mhm,” Jane agrees again, giving him a sly, mirthful little glance as he cracks the cookie. Edgar barks at them.

Knocking wakes Ryan up from his accidental nap – Violet startles on his chest and snaps her claws out reflexively and they sink right into his skin. He hisses and nudges her off and she leaps to the floor before scampering away to hide somewhere – probably the kitchen, like last time, or maybe his bedroom. Ryan rubs his eyes and groans, muttering obscenities under his breath as the knocking continues.

It must be his crew. There’s no one else who would knock so persistently at – Ryan checks the clock – at two in the morning.

“Coming!” He shouts irritably, shoving on some shoes and grabbing a gun in case it’s an emergency. He doubts it, though. Emergencies tend to have a way of just busting in somewhere, not knocking and waiting.

It’s Jeremy on the other side, dressed head-to-toe in an uncharacteristic black that makes Ryan frown as he opens the door, leaning against the frame as he crosses his arms.

“What,” he asks flatly. Jeremy, cheerful, optimistic Jeremy, just grins and shoots him a finger gun. Ryan raises an unimpressed eyebrow at it.

“Need to talk to ya,” Jeremy says, gesturing to Ryan’s flat. “Can I come in?”

“No,” Ryan says.

“Well I can’t do it out here,” Jeremy says. “Unless you wanna come with me?”

Ryan considers it for a moment, turning the thought over in his mind, but he needs to change Violet’s bandages in an hour and he has no idea how long Jeremy’s thing’ll take.

“What is it?” He asks.

“It’s important,” Jeremy insists. “Can you just let me in?”

When Ryan doesn’t move, Jeremy does the boldest thing Ryan’s ever seen him do and he steps forward to push Ryan aside – it’s so unexpected that Ryan doesn’t even think to shove him away, and Jeremy walks in like he belongs there, when in fact he’s never even been inside the building before.

“Wow, this is a lot more homey than I would’ve expected,” Jeremy says.

“Get the fuck out!” Ryan exclaims, but a flash of black comes zooming around the corner and he hurriedly slams the door shut to end Violet’s dreams of seeing the outside world. Yet. She needs to at least heal first before Ryan entertains the possibility of her running away and never coming back.

Violet meows angrily at him and starts nipping his ankles, growling at she bites his sock and pulls at it – Ryan gently scolds her and reaches down to nudge her away. Jeremy’s jaw is on the fucking floor. Violet tries to bite his hand and Ryan frowns at her, pushing her a little more forcefully and walking away to lead her down the hallway – she gives up her bitter growling to dash to the sofa instead, plopping down on her favourite cushion and only hissing a little when Ryan sits down beside her.

“Yeah, yeah, you wanna be where the people are,” he sighs.

“You have a cat?!” Jeremy asks, coming over to hesitantly sink down in the armchair.

“It’s temporary,” Ryan snaps, annoyed and disgruntled and goddamnit, all he wanted today was a nap.

“What, is – I can’t believe it!”

“Shut up. What did you want.”

“I – well, it was about Gavin’s birthday.”

“Really?” Ryan growls, glaring at Jeremy. “You came over to talk about that?!”

“You’re not busy!” Jeremy protests. “It’s just you and – and - “

“Violet,” Ryan says, stroking Violet between the ears. He sighs and tips his head back against the sofa. “Don’t tell anyone about her.”

“What, that big bad Vagabond actually has a pet cat?”

“She’s not my pet,” Ryan says. “She – I found her. I’m going to give her up when I find a good place for her.”

“...well, uh, that’s – actually what I came to talk to you about,” Jeremy says quietly. Ryan’s head jerks up to look at him and Jeremy fiddles with his fingers, glancing at the floor, the wall, and Ryan in turn.

“Gavin’s birthday,” Ryan prompts.

“Yeah. Yeah, his – birthday. He’s always wanted a cat over here. He, uh, he used to have one back in England and I thought – you’re the best at keeping secrets, I thought you could help me – get one?”

“You trust Gavin with cats but not your car?” Ryan asks incredulously.

“That’s different! He knows the limits of a car!”

“Pushes them a lot.”

“Yeah, but – I’ve seen him with Lindsay’s cats! He’s fine with them!”

Ryan gently pets a knuckle under Violet’s chin and looks her in the eye. Her ear twitches and Ryan shifts to stroke her flank, listening to her purr under his palm.

“Does he want any particular cat?” He asks, glancing at Jeremy.

“Not that I know of.”

Ryan studies Violet again. Pets her soft little ear.

“He can have Violet,” he says.

“I – I didn’t mean – I meant adopting a cat from a shelter or something, it doesn’t have to be - “

“I need to give her away anyway,” Ryan says. “At least if Gavin has her, I can keep an eye on her.”

“I – oh. That’s – That’s really sweet of you.”

“Don’t tell him she’s from me,” Ryan warns, shooting Jeremy a glare.

“I won’t,” Jeremy promises.

“I mean it,” Ryan adds. “I’ll key your goddamn car if I have to.”

“I won’t! I promise!” Jeremy exclaims.

“Hm. Okay,” Ryan concedes, turning back to Violet. She meows at him and Ryan hears Jeremy’s soft huff of laughter from behind him. He glances at Jeremy. Swallows a little nervously before gently lifting Violet up at setting her down on the floor, pointed towards Jeremy.

“Go on,” he croons, nudging her towards him.

“Can I - ?” Jeremy starts, looking up at Ryan. Ryan nods and Jeremy leans down to pat his shin and lure her over – his entire face lights up when Violet pads towards him, nosing curiously at his arm and sniffing his hand before letting him pet her.

“Mind the tail,” Ryan offers. Jeremy nods and pets carefully down her back and she arches at the attention, purring happily when Jeremy settles her on his lap.

“How’d you choose the name?” Jeremy asks, laughing when Violet rolls over.

“Listed some until she stopped biting me for ‘em.”

#fahc #fanfic #mine #my other

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southhighsucks · 7 years

Text

Secret Santa

Secret Santa Fandom: South Park Pairing: Kyman Word Count: just shy of 5k

Summary: The Park County High School Seniors are celebrating their Christmas with a good 'ol fashioned secret santa! With Wendy and Heidi in charge of the match ups, somehow, Eric Cartman really isn't surprised he's gotten Kyle Broflovski as his giftee. Implied long term pining, some really lame Christmas Romance Cliches, and some heart warming fluff by the fireside.

This was written for the Kyman Secret Santa 2k17 [ @kymanss2017 ] for user @kylebblog!! I know it’s not a very angsty confession, but I really tried to do something nice for ya! Merry Christmas!!

Continue reading below or on Archive of Our Own!

“Alright everyone, listen up!” Wendy’s voice echoed around the common area of Park County High School. She and Heidi stood at the middle of the tables, Wendy with a clipboard and Heidi with a large stack of envelopes. Most eyes were on them.

“Oh jeez.” Kenny McCormick looked over at the guys sitting at his table, gagging and rolling his eyes. Clyde snorted, punching him in the shoulder.

“Don’t be a dick, McCormick. This’ll be fun.” Kenny sighed again, giving a smile. Clyde was right. This would probably be a lot of fun.

“Okay,” Wendy started again, “As most of you know, today we’ll be passing out the letters for everyone's secret santa!” There was a small chorus of cheers, “The envelopes will have the name of the person, and also the paper they filled out earlier in the week, that way you know what they would like, what they’re interests are, all that.” Wendy turned to Heidi for a minute, grabbing one of the envelopes off the top of the stack. “I’ll be running around all day handing these out to you, alright? Everyone was matched up as anonymously as possible. If you did sign up to be a part of the exchange and don’t get one of these guys from me by the end of the day, please let me know! You can always text me or call me if you don’t get a chance to see me at the end of the day.” She smiled wide.

“Why aren’t you just handing them out now?” Eric didn’t bother looking up from the book he was reading while he asked the question.

“Because, you’re all a bunch of nosey assholes and if I hand these to you right now you’ll rip them open and everyone will be looking over your shoulders.” She answered back. Eric snorted. “Fair enough.” “As discussed earlier, we’ll be having the exchange at Clyde’s house the Saturday before Christmas. If you can’t make it, let either me or Heidi know and we’ll work something out. Is everyone in understanding?” There was a hum of affirmation through the crowd. Kenny looked to Clyde.

“Does that Sparkle with you, Donovan?” Clyde snorted, nodding.

“It fuckin’ sparkles, dude.”

Eric Cartman made his way through the hallway, backpack slung over his shoulder, his books under his arm. AP Government was probably one of his favourite classes. It was a relentless back and forth between himself, Wendy, and Kyle. It was the Debate Team Part II. A stupid little smile pulled its’ way across Eric’s lips as he leaned against the wall, early to class.

Just thinking about their bullshit made him grin.

“Eric!” Cartman looked up at the sound of his name, turning to see Wendy walking a little faster, holding up an envelope. He arched a brow, giving her a little wave.

“Didn’t think you’d be so eager to see me, Wends.” He held out his hand expectantly, the girl slapping the envelope into his grip.

“First of all, shut your face, second of all, I figured now would be the best time to get this to you. You’re always early for Government.” “That’s because I don’t Dilly-Dally after the lunch bell.” He pushed his thumb under paper flap of his envelope, sliding it across, the glue easily splitting apart and popping open. Eric pulled out the paper inside and unfolded it, his eyes scanning over it.

Wendy smiled.

“Think you can handle that?” Eric looked up from the paper, his eyes narrowed at her.

“I thought these were all picked anonymously? Random matchups?” “Oh they are. Luck just wasn’t on your side. Or maybe it was.” She shrugged, a knowing smile playing across her lips. Eric sneered some, feeling his face flush. He put the paper back in the envelope, sticking it into his backpack.

“You’re a real piece of work, Testaburger.” The girl stuck her tongue out.

“Don’t thank me, Heidi was in charge of the pair ups.” Eric groaned.

“Of course she was.”

…. He’d have to thank her later.

“Cartman, who’d you get?” Kenny leaned against the lockers as Eric shut his, grinning some. He held up his own envelope, shaking it. Eric flipped him off.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” “Did you get Tucker? Is that your subtle way of saying you got Tucker?” They both laughed and Eric shook his head, patting his bag.

“No, asshole, I didn’t. Aren’t these supposed to be secrets anyway?” Kenny rolled his eyes, shrugging some. “Nah, not really. It’s just a secret from whoever you got. Why, did you get me~?” Kenny winked, “but really, I think we can tell other people. Like, oh hey, I got so and so, this was their list, do you think they’d like this?? Ya know what I mean?” Eric nodded, pointing to the somewhat crumpled envelope in Kenny’s hands. “Well then, who’d you get?”

“I’m not saying if you won’t say!” Ken stuck out his tongue and Eric pulled on it, earning a yelp. He wiped his hand on his pants, nose wrinkled some.

“I got Kyle, of course. Somehow.” Kenny instantly burst into a fit of laughter, shaking his head. Eric got Kyle? By what grace of God? “Oh my God, that’s fuckin’ amazing. What are you even going to get him? A gag that says “Mute Button”?” They both snorted, Eric covering his mouth to keep himself from howling. Kenny McCormick was such a fuckin’ nut case. “No, asshole. I have a pretty great idea, actually.” Eric looked smug all of a sudden, crossing his arms, “I think it’ll be real nice, what I’ve got planned.” He nodded back to Kenny’s envelope, “And you got who?” Kenny held the envelope up, wiggling it some.

“I got Jimmy. I’m not all too sure what to get him though. Like I feel kinda bad I can’t really spend a lot on something, ya know?” He shrugged his shoulders, smiling, “It is what it is.” Eric waved him off. “Dude, no one's expecting anything big and grand. I wouldn’t worry. You could get Jimmy a whoopee cushion from the dollar store and he’d still love it.” Kenny snickered, smiling and nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll thinka something. His list was really simple actually, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” Kenny winked again, shifting his ratty old backpack to rest better against his shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, Fatass!” Eric rolled his eyes.

“Fuck you too, Poor Boy.”

The month of December went by without much of a hitch. Most everyone had figured out who had who within the first week, but some still managed to keep the secret from their recipients. Between midterms and the early release days, the last week had flown by, and before long it was the day of the party. Clyde’s dad never really minded when he threw big parties, mostly because the football star was a surprisingly responsible boy and his friends typically helped clean up. That’s was the deal pretty much. If they stuck around to help clean, there could be another party.

No one argued that.

Wendy and Heidi came over early, along with Token to help decorate. Most the house had already been festively dressed, but the girls had a couple more things to put up, and with a little elbow grease and help from the boys, they’d have everything in tip top shape.

“Token, are you sure you don’t mind running up to the store?” Wendy was on a ladder, Clyde holding it steady as she hung garland around the trim of the living room.

“No, not at all! I’ll just grab some of the deli platters. No one actually plans on eating real food, right? And we said it was pot luck anyway, so I’m sure someone else will bring something.” Token picked up Wendy’s purse, rifling through it for a moment, “Is your rewards card still on your keyring?”

“Don’t worry about that hun, they just need my phone number.” Wendy scaled back down the ladder, grabbing a scrap of wrapping paper and scrawling her phone number on it, “Here, it’s easier than having to search through your contacts. Thanks again Token!”

He smiled at her, shaking his head.

“It’s never a problem. I’ll be back in a few.” He pulled on his heavy jacket, ducking out of the doorway. Heidi came out of the kitchen, already dressed for the party.

“Clyde? The lemon bars just beeped in the oven, should I put them in the fridge?” She asked, swaying some, feeling a bit like she wasn’t doing enough to really help out. Clyde waved a hand.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, they have to cool themselves before being refrigerated. They’ll crack otherwise.” He gave a big smile, sticking his hands in the pockets of his letterman. They were an interesting crew to say the least, but somehow, these were the people Clyde seemed to hang out with the most. They were their own happy-go-lucky crew of misfits in a way. It was weird, to think of the star quarterback as a misfit, or the student council president as one, or any of the four of them, really, but they felt the term suited them.

Clyde looked around at the group, smiling.

Tonight would be fun

The kids of Park County high school started showing up around six, all with thick coats, wrapped gifts, and big smiles. The gift table was right near the front door so the neighborhood kids could be as sneaky as possible with their gifts, most of them genuinely trying to hide their surprises in case their secret-santee was already in the room. Heidi stood at the table with a clipboard, making sure to check off each student as they came in and set their gift down, trying to keep track of everyone.

“Well hey there Heidi, you look awfully cute tonight!” Butters stood in the doorway with a big box in his arms, the gift wrapped in blue with little ducks all along it. Heidi laughed some, taking the package from Butters.

“Why thank you , Leo! You don’t look half bad yourself!” The party was supposed to be an ugly Christmas sweater party, too, but not everyone seemed to have gotten that memo. Most who showed up looked like they were wearing their christmas best, save a few ugly sweaters from Walmart here and there, and whatever the Hell Kenny McCormick was wearing.

“Gee Heidi, thanks a million!” He gave a real wide smile, waving at her again before disappearing into what crowds had gathered.

Heidi looked over the list, tapping the clipboard as she went down the line of names.

“Hey Heidi!” She looked up, eyes meeting Kyle’s as he shut the front door behind himself. He held a large green bag behind his back, eyes looking over the crowd to make sure he wouldn’t be caught by whoever the gift was for.

“Kyle! Awesome! I think you’re one of the last ones on my list!” She ticked off his name, taking the bag from him with care, setting it amongst the rest of the gifts, “Stan and Kenny are in the kitchen I think, and Eric just went out on the porch to see who’s around the bonfire so like, ya know. Find some friends, make yourself comfy.” She swayed some.

Kyle smiled back at her, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Alright, I’ll go see what everyone's up to. Thanks Heidi.” He nodded his head as a goodbye before heading out to the porch, standing in the open glass doors. Eric was leaning against the wooden railing of the deck, watching Token and Clyde toss a football back and forth.

“How’s the bonfire lookin’ ?” Kyle asked, coming up beside Eric, leaning against the rail as well. He looked over at the small stack of wood in the fire pit that barely looked like it was burning.

“Apparently they’re gunna wait until it gets a little darker. Stan was trying to tell ‘em it’d be better to start it now so it could build up and burn but everyone’s stubborn.” Eric looked over at Kyle and smiled some, “You were running a little late, what happened? The Jalopy wouldn’t start?” The Jalopy was the oh so endearing name Kyle’s shitty car had gotten from McCormick many moons ago. It’d just stuck.

Kyle shook his head, thumbing to the house.

“I had to pick up my gift.” Kyle sighed and Eric arched a brow, gesturing for the other to elaborate. He sighed again, “Okay, so I got Craig, right? And like, I didn’t know what to get Craig! What does that kid like? Aliens, Indie Movies, Guinea Pigs? So anyway, the book store in the mall sells records now, right? That’s super indie, and they had a record of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and last I checked, Craig loves Moulin Rouge. I had to special order it ‘cause it was a website promo through some 3rd party from the UK thought I guess? And listen, it was only like twenty bucks, but I really thought it wasn’t gunna get here in time.” Eric laughed some, shaking his head.

“Was there actually a backup plan incase the thing didn’t get here?”

Kyle nodded, snickering.

“Yeah, I got him some little round guinea pig stuffed animal. I just threw it in the bag with the vinyl.” He shrugged, “So that’s why I’m late.”

Eric shook his head, taking a sip of the punch he had in his hand.

“You’re always so colourful with your excuses.”

“It’s not an excuse, asshole!” Kyle sneered and Eric only laughed harder, standing up straight, cracking his back.

“C’mon, do you want a drink?” Eric asked, starting to make his way back into the house. Kyle nodded and followed after, yawning some, “Kyle, you cannot already be tired. The party hasn't even started.” Kyle stuck out his tongue.

“Hey how about ya fuck off.”

“Alright, I’m just going to start handing out gifts, does that work for everyone?” Wendy was standing at the front of the gift table, a majority of their senior class around her, some sitting on the end tables and couches, most standing and bouncing like giddy children.

“THAT SPARKLES, WENDS!” Clyde hollered from the back, earning a whoop of agreement from everyone else in the room. Wendy rolled her eyes, picking up the first gift, checking the tag on it. It was a plain brown envelope with the name ‘Cartman’ on it. Wendy passed it onto Eric who caught it between his two fingers.

“How are we doing this, Testaburger? Are you handing them all out at once, are we watching one by one?” Eric asked, looking over the gift.

“We’ll just go one-by-one to see what everyone got, okay? So go ahead and open up!” She didn’t have to tell him twice. He tore the envelope open, pulling out a card. It was simple, looked like something from the dollar store, with a little cartoon moose on it, decked out like a wannabe reindeer. Eric grinned, opening the card, a handful of gift cards sliding out. He caught them before they could fall, looking over them, his eyes slowly narrowing.

There was one for five bucks to KFC, another for McDonalds, and a last one for ten bucks to Denny’s. He didn’t mean to look disdainful, but somewhere in his chest it felt like someone was making a joke.

“Uh…” His nose wrinkled up but he played it off, trying to read the inside of the card and keep his anger in line.

His eyes blinked.

“Stan?” Eric looked over at the boy who perked up some, smiling.

“Yeah dude?”

“Why the Hell did you sign this card? It’s supposed to be annonymous, you shit head.”Eric held the card up for all to see. It was signed, plain as day, “Merry Christmas dude! -Stan” and the entire room lit up with laughter.

“MARSH YOU DON’T SIGN YOUR SHIT OH MY GOD.” Clyde doubled over, spilling some of his soda as he laughed.

Stan’s face turned beet red.

“Oh shit. Sorry, I kinda thought we’d end up telling everyone who got who what at the end so like, it wouldn’t matter?” He scratched the back of his head and gave a charming little smile and a shrug. Wendy rolled her eyes, playfully crossing her arms. “Okay, did anyone /else/ sign their gifts that I need to address before hand? Like, if ya’ll wanna tell your people who you got what, go right on ahead I guess.” She was having a hard time keeping a straight face. She couldn’t believe he signed the God damned card. Stan grinned.

“Okay, so I dropped the ball. But ah, Merry Christmas, Cartman. Didn’t really know what to get ya’ but I figured you can’t go wrong with money and food, so combining them has to be good enough.” Stan’s sheepish face more than made up for the gift. Had it been someone like Tucker, Eric probably would’ve thought he was being made fun of, but Stan? Nah, the guy didn’t mean anything by it. Knowing it was him made Eric feel a lot better. He grinned back.

“Thanks man. Merry Christmas.”

“Alright, alright, how about this next one?” Wendy picked up a rectangular gift, wrapped perfectly in silver, a thick black ribbon woven around it and tied like how they showed presents in the movies. Wendy looked it over.

“Kyle, this one’s yours hun.” She handed it off to him. Kyle took ahold of the gift with a big grin, fiddling with the ribbon some.

“It’s so pretty though? Like, I’d feel bad ripping into it.”

“Just hurry up already.” Eric rolled his eyes, tapping his wrist watch impatiently. Kyle flipped him off, pulling the ribbon loose.

“Shut the fuck up, assface.”

“Assface, that’s a cute one.” Eric muttered to himself, watching intently as Kyle held the gift. Just rip it open. C’mon. Hurry up!!

Kyle’s fingers delicately pressed under the taped edges of the wrapping paper, peeling it back as best as he could, some of the paper ripping as he went. He stuck his tongue out, methodically opening the package.

“Dude, seriously? All this papers gunna end up in the trash, just rip into it.” Token took a sip of his drink, shaking his head. Kyle paid him no mind, pulling out a black box, opening the lid.

“What the Hell?” Kyle’s brows furrowed. He pulled out a dark green button down, fingers running over the soft fabric. Beneath the shirt was a darkened pair of jeans, a plain black belt, and a pair of black cap-toe Oxfords. Kyle pulled each item out, inspecting it with knitted brows. Everything looked to be in the right size. At the bottom of the box was an envelope with his name written across it in a stunningly dramatic cursive.

Honestly, he was kind of scared to open it.

He opened the envelope with a lot less care than he’d used on the box, pulling out a card, opening it up. It was plain and simple, a small gift certificate the only thing in it. The certificate had the insignia of a fondue restaurant in Denver and read ‘Dinner for two. Enjoy date night on us! Experience the full four-courses of flavour at any participating location. Non-transferable. No cash value.’.

Kyle swallowed some, looking at the actual words in the card, face brightening up. There wasn’t anything substantial, just a date and a time.

“... Dude. That’s real gay.” Stan snickered some, elbowing his friend, shaking his head, “You got a date for Christmas. That’s some Hallmark level bullshit.”

Kyle looked around the room, trying to gage peoples reactions, trying to figure out who would’ve possibly gotten him something like this. The gift was well beyond the set cap of fifty dollars for the secret santa, everyone in the room knew that. All of his classmates looked either shocked or amused, and no one was piping up to say they’d be the one taking Kyle on the date.

Wendy looked around the room, too, her eyes stopping on Eric for a moment before continuing along the group.

“Well, is anyone going to own up to the gift? Or is it just going to have to be a mystery until date night?” She asked, smiling to herself. Still, no one spoke, so she shrugged, reaching into the packages on the table once more, grabbing the blue one with ducks on it, “Well, alright then, Kenny, this one’s for you.”

Kyle stopped paying attention right then and there. He kept staring at people, trying to read them, trying to figure out who would’ve gone so far out of the way and put so much out of pocket for him. Who would even want to date him? He tried to listen in as everyone else opened their gifts, trying to keep a tally of who outed themselves as Santas. By the end of the gift-giving, he had a handful of people he knew it couldn’t be: Stan, Clyde, Kenny, Bebe, and Butters. Those were the only people who’d owned up to their gifts, at least, the only ones he’d heard.

“So,” Kenny bumped against Kyle, startling him, a squeakish ‘yelp’ tumbling out of his throat as he held the button down close to his chest. Kenny arched a brow and chuckled, “So, who do you think it is?” He held a can of soda out to Kyle. Kyle took it without question, popping it open and chugging it before shrugging.

“I have no idea. I can’t even begin to think of who would waste that much money on me. The dinner alone has to be close to a hundred bucks. Hell, those shoes!! When I worked at Macy’s those kind of shoes were stupid expensive...” Kyle ranted, fingers tapping a rhythm on the soda can.

“So you’ve got no guesses at all? Any hopes at least~?” Kenny winked at the other, laughing at the deadpan expression he was given.

“Listen, if I had to guess? Maybe David? He and I always joked about being your stereotypical, modern gay couple. I don’t think he’d go this far for a gag though.” Kyle sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I don’t know man. I guess I could go around and ask everyone who they were Santa for? See where the stories don’t match up? But that’s so obsessive…” “Kyle. Your best bet is to just not worry about it.” Kenny ruffled his hair, “I’m gunna go out to the bonfire and help start it up. You gunna sulk around here?” Kyle nodded, giving a little smile. “I’m just gunna hang around the food for a bit, alright? I’ll meet you guys out there soon.” Kenny shrugged, giving a two fingered salute, ducking out onto the porch. Kyle sighed, making his way to the kitchen. Heidi was the only one in the room, casually munching on the fruit salad Bebe had brought.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Kyle.

“Hey you!! So?? Did you like your gift?” Her lips were pulled in a wide smile. He walked over to her with eyebrows raised.

“You seem awfully excited about it. Don’t tell me you and I are going on a date.” She laughed, winking at him.

“Maybe we are!!” -- “C’mon Kyle, let's go try to be social.” Heidi pulled the boy by his hand, leading the way out to the porch, where most of the party goers had retreated to. She quickly made her way across the deck, going down the stairs two at a time, making her way over to the fire that was starting to grow. Kyle staggered behind, staying on the deck, Eric once again leaning against the banister, watching the party.

“.... Hey.” Kyle came up beside him again, smiling some, “Why are you all the way up here? It’s probably warmer by the fire.” Eric shrugged his shoulders, sipping on whatever drink he’d picked up now.

“Eh. I’m observing. Why don’t you go down there, huh? You look like you need to warm up more than I do, you’re shaking. You should’ve worn more layers, you fuckin’ skinny-mini.” They both laughed, Kyle wrapping his arms around himself.

“Listen, asshole, no one told me it’d be an inside-outside party. I figured if I dressed too warm I’d regret it.” Eric rolled his eyes, shrugging out of his leather jacket, offering it up to the other. Kyle’s eyebrows knit together and he opened his mouth to argue, but something stopped him. The way Eric held the jacket out to him, a sigh in his chest, eyes averted, face slowly starting to turn red. Kyle shut himself up, taking ahold of the jacket, sliding into it.

“You’re fuckin’ swimmin’ in that thing.” Eric snorted, looking over Kyle. The other boy laughed back, burrowing himself into the leather.

“... This is really lame, dude.”

“Shuttup, Kyle.” Eric pushed the other boys shoulder some, smiling at him, one of those warm grins from the heart. Kyle stuck his tongue out. They stayed there for a few minutes, quiet, watching their classmates run around in the grass and play by the bonfire.

“Who’d you get?” He suddenly blurted out in their silence, catching Eric off guard.

“What?” “For the Secret Santa. I got Craig. Who’d you get?” Eric laughed some, shaking his head.

“No way dude. You’re just trying to narrow your options. I’m not gunna make this any easier on you.” He winked at him and Kyle stayed quiet for a moment.

“... You didn’t have to spend that much money. We could go mini golfing and I’d be happy.” The statement caught Eric off guard.

“Excuse me?” He spluttered some, laughing and coughing. Kyle looked to the side, eyes meeting Eric’s.

“I don’t know where your money comes from, and I know you won’t tell me, but you’re the only one who’s going to drop that amount on something like this. This has Eric Theodore Cartman written all over it. I’d be surprised if anyone but you showed up for this date.” Kyle bumped against the other, trying to smile at him.

Eric rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Kyle. Wishful thinking won’t get you very far.” they were both smiling now.

“... Heidi told me.”

“Well fuck.” Eric’s smile dropped and Kyle snorted, resting his chin in his hands.

“You didn’t have to be so extravagant. You coulda just asked.”

“No, no, I know…” Eric sighed, trying to smooth his hair out, “I guess I just wanted it to be a surprise? I figured you’d think I was just showing up as a gag since we all saw that date and time, ya know? I guess I’m just getting tired of this game.” He let out another breath, swallowing, chewing on what to say next, “We’ve been playing this game our whole lives it feels like, and I’m done with it. I’m not sure if you are or not, but I’m tired. I want to be happy, man.”

Kyle’s throat went dry and he let out a nervous laugh, anxiety vibrating in his fingertips.

“What, our arguments not doin’ it for ya anymore?” Somewhere, a part of him knew that probably wasn’t the best thing to say, but it’s what came out of Kyle’s mouth. Eric rolled his eyes, leaning into Kyle some.

“You know what I mean.” Kyle could feel his breathing hitch. He turned away from Eric, laughing again, his nerves getting the best of him. Most all of him wanted to lean against Eric and be an adult and have this conversation, but there was still something settling in his stomach and fluttering in his chest that made him pull away from the other.

“So we’re going on a date then? I guess now that I know it’s you we can just carpool, right?”

“Kyle. Breath for four seconds, your voice is getting so high I’m starting to think someone kicked you in the balls.” Kyle straightened up, coughing as a means to clear his throat, his face flushed. He never knew what to do in these kinds of situations. Somehow, he always found himself in them with Eric. The other boy would openly imply his feelings and make fun at Kyle’s expense, but Kyle couldn’t ever reciprocate. Even when they were laying together at sleepovers, the second Eric leaned into him to try and see if they could get away with cuddling up, Kyle would be a giggling disaster, trying to squirm away.

Eric knew him well enough to know he wasn’t reading him wrong. He knew Kyle had feelings for him. He knew they could be something. Kyle just either hadn’t come to terms with it yet or was letting his anxiety get the best of him.

“Eric?” The boy looked over to Kyle, watching as he chewed on his cheek, scratching at the heat burning on his face, “... Thank you. I uhm… I’m lookin’ forward to it. Ya know?” Eric snickered some, clapping the jewish boy on the back.

“You’re a piece of work. C’mon. Let’s get some champagne and see if we can’t accidently catch ourselves under a mistletoe or something.” Kyle spluttered out a laugh, letting Eric lead him down into the grass to mingle with their friends. He braced onto the jacket and breathed in the warmth and the smell of Eric’s pomegranate cologne.

He shut his eyes, standing beside Eric in front of the fire, not putting up any sort of a fight as he felt the others fingers testingly wrap around his own.

The holiday season had been great, but more than anything, Kyle was looking forward to what the New Year would be bringing.

#South Park #Kyman #kyle broflovski #Eric Cartman #KymanSS2k17 #Secret Santa #My Stuff #South Park Fanfiction #fanfictions

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