#okay this is what happened I am currently watching sap on kick

[tinamybeloved]

okay here's what actually happened: jack made a video about dttwt's 'fuck jm' joke where they blame him for everything. it's hard to tell if he was serious but it was bad and it did mention sapnap joining kick, claiming they blamed him for that (which didn't really happen dttwt was mad at sapnap and each other). then someone mentioned sapnap boxing jm in stream and sapnap said something about not mentioning people unless they were important or smething. that part i'm less sure of.

⬆️

[a-simple-lee]

Late nights

Spencer Reid, Reader

A/n: Please just take this it’s been lying around in my drafts for months

Synopsis: You’re trying to get better at asking people, you swear - but Spencer makes it so much more embarrassing than it needs to be.

____________________________________

Hey, can you-

Um hi so-

Hello I don’t know how to say this but-

It’s been two minutes. You’ve been ‘typing’ for two minutes. This is not looking good. Sure, you don’t know how Spencer’s going to react, but asking him in person later seems ten times more daunting. At least texting saves you from having to say that word out loud.

You’re very glad Penelope’s too busy raving about Star Trek with her boyfriend to notice how freaked out you’re getting. Emily and Derek are over by the bar, fortunately, so you don’t have to worry about your blatantly nervous demeanour that much. 

You take a deep breath, type out a message, & press send.

Hey, ykno how you’re coming over for LOTR tonight? could you maybe tickle me later? Please? 

It’s done. You put your phone on the desk. He’s not even here yet, anyway, it’s not like you have to see him open-

Oh no.

It’s just your luck, really, that Reid would be walking through the door to the bar just as his phone receives the notification. 

You duck your head and try not to give anything away with your body language. It’s fine, this is fine, you just-

Spencer shakes his head fondly in the corner of your eye, and not a minute later your phone makes a noise. 

Be ready. 

Well, shit. It’s 8, and the plan is to leave at 9. What were you thinking? You fight the urge to hide your head in your arms, and turn back to Penelope, resolutely blanking Spencer as he approaches the table.

“There you are!” Garcia’s all welcoming hugs and smiles and excited fangirling, so you take your opportunity to slip away, muttering something about getting drinks, and giving Spencer a small wave so as not to seem rude. Talk about awful timing.

You take extra care to approach the bar at a safe distance from where Prentiss and Morgan are sitting, because you are not ready for a conversation with those two. It crosses your mind that you should probably order something stronger than water if you want to get your act together, so that’s what you do. You allow yourself a brief glance over your shoulder whilst you wait. Derek’s looking at you - he knows something’s up, you can tell, which is exactly why you’re not going to approach him. 

The drinks slide across the counter on a tray, and you swiftly take the opportunity to walk away from Derek and back over to the table, brushing off the internal panic when Spencer smiles at you and joining in on the conversation, which has moved on to DC’s comics. 

You’d completely forgotten, honestly. The bar was noisy; the evening had blurred into fond memories and enthusiastic chatter, and once you’d arrived back at your place, comfy pajamas and a mountain of blankets had been there to remind you that hey, maybe you were more tired than you’d realised. 

Spencer shifts from where he’s got his arm around your waist to look at you, voice quiet. “So do you still want me to tickle you?”

Oh. Oh no.

You sigh. “Uhm...I…You know you don’t have to-”

“I know. You're avoiding the question.” He’s smiling. The nerve.

"Spencer." You look at him despairingly.

"Mhmhm?" 

"Spencer."

He raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I. I haven't changed my mind. Does that count?"

Spencer pauses, and there's a split second where you worry you're going to have to spell it out for him.

But then he smirks, tightening his grip around your waist, amusement dancing in his eyes, "Yea, it'll do."

What happens next is a bit unclear; somehow Spencer manages to shift you; you feel your back hitting cushions, some of the air leaving your lungs in a gasp, then, almost immediately after, Spencer's hands latching onto your sides.

The giggles start before you can even think to stop them, and at that point it's too late; your surprised yelp and following hysterics just encourage Spencer, and he darts his hands up to your ribs, slotting his thumbs in just above two of the lower ones and gently squeezing, over and over, until your back's arching and your legs are kicking out in protest. Your hands have been holding onto his wrists the whole time, which didn't stop him at first, and certainly won't now, since your strength is being sapped away by your own hysterics. 

"Spehencer!" You manage to say, narrowly avoiding letting out a surprised squeak when he moves his hands further back along your ribs. "Wahait, wahait, ah-!" Your hands decide they'd be of more use covering your mouth to suppress the uncontrollable giggles, so that's where they go, although you notice straight away that it also stops you from being able to talk back. You try anyway.

And then Spencer finds the spot right near the back of your ribs that makes you let out a small shriek, and your arms come flying right back down to push at his shoulders.

"Wait- Wait SpencER-" You tilt your head back, laughing too hard to finish the sentence, because he's also laughing, head dipped down slightly, hands poised still on that spot whilst he tries to get his composure back.

"Sorry, you caught me off guard there. I thought I'd- I thought you were hurt for a second-"

"No, no, I’m fine….SSSPENCER-" He twitches his fingers once, twice, and you both dissolve into giggles again. Reid’s got the biggest grin on his face as he waits for your anticipatory giggles to subside slightly.

"Oh, right here's really ticklish, huh?"

"Shush, shhhhhh-" you break off into nervous giggles, one hand coming up to cover your face again. There's a shift in Spencer's expression; the fondness on his face shifts, his eyes taking on a mischievous glint. 

"Did you just 'shush' me?"

"Um-"

"It's because I'm flustering you, isn't it?"

“Uh-”

“You’re avoiding eye contact~” One of his hands moves to gently scribble across your side, and you try to block him, but he just sneaks his hand under your jumper, which sends you into another fit of laughter.

“No, no, I’m not--I-”

“No? You’re a terrible liar, you’re blushing way too hard for me to buy that.” 

“Shut up!” you mutter, managing to grab part of a blanket to hide under. This doesn’t change the fact that Spencer’s still got you trapped, and you realise not being able to see him actually makes things worse. Still, at least he can’t see you getting even more flustered.

“You don’t mean that, you just don’t know how to react to me teasing you.”

“Spencer!”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

You hesitate, moving the blanket aside in annoyance and looking up at him; he’s got this knowing grin on his face, and if he didn’t currently have his hands over two of your ticklish spots you’d absolutely reach up and push his smug face away. 

“Am I?”

“...Maybe.” 

“You’re cute, yknow that?” He grins, eyes meeting yours - you’re just about to put him in his place with a well-aimed squeeze to his side when he darts his hands back to the spots near your ribs, and you’re lost to laughter again.

You’ll get around to watching Lord of the Rings, eventually.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

(Prompts with boxes have been taken, highlighted have been written)

Requests for this card are closed, thank you to anyone who sent in requests! If you don’t want to see these you can block the tag #false bthb. As always shoot me an ask if you wanna be tagged in future stories, whether it be for bad things happen bingo or any of the other series, one shots or in general!

I’ve been picking at this particular request since early December as the person who requested it had a lot of details they wanted put in making the writing process a bit more challenging. As a disclaimer, note that the chapter is split between present time and the past; with Logan recalling things in his past in an attempt to make the details requested for the story flow better. I received this request from AO3.

General taglist: @im-an-anxious-wreck

Experimental Socialization

Summary: Logan was raised by the government to be nothing more than an experiment and a weapon, utilizing his unique abilities as a mutant. When he finally escapes things are much different than he imagined they’d be but thankfully finds others like him willing to help guide him right where he needs to be.(Happy Ending)

Warnings: allusions to abuse, physical punishment and human experimentation, tw for weapons and fire, panic attack. If there are more please let me know

Prompt; Not Used To Freedom (requested by AngstyEmoGal on AO3)

Ships: Intrulogical, Logan x Remus

WC: 3432

“You just gotta breathe, Logan. In four, hold seven, out eight remember? You’re doing great, just keep going.”

Logan felt himself slowly coming back to reality as his breathing evening out, the raw panic that had gripped his chest easing slightly as Virgili continued coaxing him through the exercise. He felt the other slowly rub up and down his arm in a slow, steady beat that helped ground him further in reality and he smiled up at his friend gratefully and nodded to let xem know he was okay. Gripping his knees as Virgil’s voice trailed off he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and let out one last calming breath.

“Thank you, Virgil. I-” He struggled to find words, gesturing flippantly in the air making Virgil grin.

“It’s okay. Take your time, L.”

Logan puffed his cheeks out in frustration, thoughts swirling too quickly for him to comprehend anything but the apprehensive fear he held for the plans Remus had made for them later that evening. “I am- not used to being outside. Given my history and the threat I pose as a potential compromise to our place of hiding I fail to understand Remus’ reasoning for going out when we could just as easily celebrate our relationship here.”

“Hm.” Virgil leaned back on xyr hands and looked up at the low ceiling of their underground paradise. “Can’t really see the stars from here, no matter how many stickers Princey finds and puts up it can't really be compared to the real thing.”

Logan had made the mistake of going on a tirade of space facts a few months into his stay in the hideout, Remus patiently listening to the extensive infodump of constellation facts and space physics and planetary rotation. Having a limited amount of books to entertain oneself with for extended periods of time meant memorizing entire books on one subject, which Logan had used all too happily as a figurative escape from his situation in the past until he had actually managed to escape when he was 16. Hearing Logan speak so passionately about the subject had apparently made his mind up that he was taking Logan outside for their first “official” date to view the stars, which had then landed Logan in his current state of panic as he realized that date was today and he was decidedly not ready for what might lay in store outside of safety of the hideout.

“I can stay close by if you want. I won’t spy or anything and Remus won’t have to know.” Logan looked over as his thoughts were interrupted by the offer, Virgil turning invisible and reappearing a couple seconds later to emphasize xyr point. Smiling Logan shook his head, knowing the other derived as much joy from going outside as Logan felt about going himself.

“Thank you for the offer though, you’re very kind.” Letting his thoughts drift again he idly wondered when Virgil had discovered xe could disappear and reappear at will and if xyr parents had tried to hide it before the government had found out. His own parents-

-----

“Logan?” A very small Logan turned at his mother’s voice, losing his concentration which made the hidden jar of Crofters fall from its suspended place in the air and smash to the floor. His parents hadn’t known he possessed any sort of powers, and even as small as he was he still understood the position he’d put them in if they ever found out. Fearfully his hands dropped to his sides as his mother covered her mouth in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks as she took a step back.

Men in suits and long coats were there just a few hours later, speaking in hushed voices while both of his parents cried and he was ushered out the door and into an unmarked car, quiet as he understood yelling and crying would do him no good now. What’s done was done, all he could do was be compliant and hope to be treated gently.

-----

The room suddenly brightening with a flickering light brought him back out of his thoughts, Roman entering with his signature bright flame held proudly in his hand. The image of him in his rather scrapped together Princely outfit posing subconsciously in the doorway was almost enough to make Logan roll his eyes but he didn’t want Virgil to think it was because of xem so he managed to restrain himself.

“My dearest brother has been pacing in the same spot for two hours now and I haven't been able to calm him down soooo I thought to check on our resident nerd.” Roman declared with his usual flare. Logan actually did roll his eyes this time but Virgil did as well so he figured it was fine.

“The ‘resident nerd’ is doing fine, Roman. Though it's concerning to hear Remus is nervous as well considering he’s the one who suggested the date.”

Roman waved his hand at Logan dismissively. “He’s just a sap- moreso than me surprisingly. He doesn’t want to do anything to put you in danger but he wants to do something nice, so he’s worried that’s all. Remus is an idiot but I trust him with my life; believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about except his terrible sense of humor.”

Logan merely hummed in response, staring at the way the flame moved around as Roman gestured with his words.

-----

He panted as he rolled out of the way of another flamethrower, singeing the tips of his hair in the process but he couldn’t afford to slow down enough to worry about that. Years of training with different fighting styles had earned him incredibly fast reflexes but a good portion of his accuracy in knowing where to step and when was owed to him working even harder to focus his powers. Thoughts from others constantly surrounded him on a regular basis, getting more and more prevalent the older he grew. Learning to block out the constant string of stimuli was a useful skill to keep him sane but learning to hone in on specific thoughts to predict actions was what had kept him alive.

He ducked below another bullet and brought up his leg in the same motion, kicking a throwing knife to the side and sending it to clatter harmlessly between one of his assailants feet. A twirl to the side and a tilt of the head let another bought of flame boil the air beside him while another knife just barely brushed his ear. The constant bang of bullets and roar of flames and whistling of knives was overwhelming and made the air so thick he could barely draw a breath and it was becoming a struggle to concentrate the way he needed to and-

A high pitched alarm sounded one, twice, three times- a blaring flash accompanying it that left him blinking painfully. His shoulders slumped as the barrage finally ended, another successful training day completed. He watched as everyone began putting their weapons away, laughing and congratulating each other, clapping themselves on the back and discussing whatever they had planned after this. No one even spared the thing they had been firing at seconds before a spare glance, save for the director of the branch, who took long steps forward to stand in front of him only to snap his fingers and motion forward no doubt to see him back to his room until dinner. Absorbing the sounds around him he drank in as much praise as he could that wasn’t his and would never be for him; people rarely congratulated weapons after all.

-----

“Is this where we all decided to hide today?” Logan looked up to see Patton sitting cross legged on one one of the beams in the ceiling, grinning happily down at them even as their fluffy ears twitched nervously and even fluffier tail whipped back and forth in agitation. They must have come back from trying to calm Remus as well, Logan mused; Patton had never done well being in the same room as Remus who tended to voice his thoughts abruptly and without much care to how they might sound to others which always managed to set Patton on edge no matter how hard they tried not to show it.

Patton was a rare mutant in that as opposed to being born with abnormal traits or abilities they had been a science experiment from the start- an effort to create super soldiers rather than stealing them away from families and training them. Even rarer was the fact that the DNA splicing had taken extraordinarily well by pure chance as Patton was born with a mutation that left their DNA incredibly malleable- a mutation that never would have been discovered had cellular manipulation not been the reason for them being in the experimental branch that they were. They had tried cloning Patton at first to see if their power could be duplicated but when that failed to work they began trying to combine them with different animals to see if desirable traits would come forward. By manipulating them on a physical and anatomical level they were able to change some parts of them to be more cat like, intending, Patton had guessed, to turn them into a kind of stealth soldier but they got away before they completed it, leaving them with heightened agility and surgically coaxed cat ears and a tail. They were only a child when the lab had done this but somehow they were never bitter, simply preferring to leave their past alone and embrace whatever future they could make- a trait Logan greatly admired them for even if their unending optimism could be somewhat grating at times.

“Did Janus brush your tail out Pat? It looks fluffier today.” Patton preened at Virgil's compliment, their tail beginning to wave in a more relaxed manner as their mind was distracted from whatever it was Remus had been ranting about.

“He did! He found a cat brush and got it for me so I could finally get the undercoat out!” Jumping down and landing lightly on their feet they posed a little and flashed another wide grin.

“Beautiful as always, Patton.” Roman said genuinely as he lowered his hand into a barrel to light up the paper scraps and wood in it for the night, the dim sunlight that had filtered through the grated having long since died. The home was a modified branch of a sewer system, thankfully the part most removed from the city where it flowed without the stench and was sealed off inconspicuously enough that in the ten years Janus and Remus had been using it no worker had ever found it.

-----

It had been Janus and Remus who had found him, beaten and bloody from an escape attempt he had made just days before his real one. He had made a weak attempt to coax the scientists into a false sense of security, holding back the full scoop of his powers during training for a year in anticipation for his final escape. He had punished severely but had simply thrown him in his regular cell, assuming he wasn’t strong enough to do any more damage than they had seen him do already and trusting that they had beaten him down enough that it would be a while before he tried again- if he ever did. Not six days later the mangled metal of the front of his cell was tossed into a group of guards, walls torn apart in a straight line to the exit and the huge buzzing gates leading to the outside world thrown open wide and stuck there with varying amounts of heavy debris.

The outside world, as it turns out, was a lot bigger and louder and downright terrifying when you weren’t being sent out as a personal assassin or field missions or training sessions- all controlled on some level to keep him from being killed and compromised. Without the begrudged protection from the labs and moreover having to hide from said lab was another story entirely. The times they searched for him and how closely they came to his spots were random and made it incredibly hard for him to pick out their thoughts from anyone else’s in the city and figure out how close they were. On more than one occasion they passed right by him crouched under piles of garbage or laying low under a hedge, his breath held as he tried desperately to keep himself as still and quiet as possible, thoughts of what they would to him once they found him pounding against his head and making him squeeze his eyes shut to keep his terrified tears from falling.

That was how Remus had found him. It had been dark and hours had passed since the searchers had left that park he had been hiding in. He had still been hiccuping down his sobs as he rolled out from under the hedge that he hadn’t bothered to scope the area for anyone’s close by thoughts, having shut out as much as he could after they had left to try and block out any other hate fueled thoughts that may send him spiraling again. His heart had leapt in his throat so high his breath caught painfully, immediately shifting to offense as he tensed, ready to fight as long and hard as he could. He couldn’t go back- he wouldn’t. No matter what they did or promised him or punished him with; he’d go down fighting or not at all.

But Remus had only raised his hands in the air in a motion of peace, eyes widening as he locked onto the government issued bracelet that marked him as an experimental mutant. He had grinned impossibly wide then Logan remembered, briefly disappearing from his sight and reappearing a moment later, setting him even more on edge but curious nonetheless.

“I’m like you.” Remus had said quietly. “Basically I run real fast and the government hasn’t figured out how to get me yet.”

Logan had watched as he jiggled his wrists a bit for emphasis, bare save for colored chords that he assumed didn’t associate him with any government branch since they didn’t look official.

“Are you okay?” Remus had asked next and mutely Logan nodded, unsure of how to react to this fellow mutant who had never been caught by any sort of lab, apparently living as free as one could when you were as different as they were. He stepped back as another man appeared behind him, Janus he later learned.

“Liar.” Janus had hissed, making Remus reach around and smack the back of his head.

“It was a polite thing to ask that he tried to dismiss Jan. Let the adults speak for a second.”

Logan had noted the faint pout on Janus’ face though he was still trying very hard to look intimidating. And then all at once his eyes had turned cold as his attention was once again focused on Logan, glaring menacingly from beneath a black bowler hat. “I’m younger than you and yet I’m the one that has to put my foot down. He’s being chased clearly; we are not bringing him back with us.”

Remus has turned, Logan seemingly forgotten for the moment. “That’s not how it works! He needs help and we’re not leaving him to starve or be found in the middle of a park! What would Patton say?”

“Patton is a soft fool who needs to figure out where their morals stand. I myself am choosing not to compromise our place of hiding and three other people that you know those power hungry idiots would love nothing more than to get their hands on!”

Remus rolled his eyes so hard his head had lolled with it, face going pale as he watched something in the sky. It was then that Logan heard the telling sound of a helicopter flying low and getting closer but he had barely tensed before he found himself gripped around the middle and held vertically with the ground flying underneath him. They stopped abruptly and he was set down, blinking in rapid confusion as Remus grinned sheepishly at him.

“Welcome to the hideout?”

Logan’s eyes had widened and his breath had caught yet again, chest tightening as he shook his head vehemently. “You can’t- I need to go back! They’ll do anything to get me back-!”

He was stopped from going forward with a finger to his chest, his blue eyes locking with beautiful brown as Remus held his gaze. “And we will do everything to keep you safe.”

Safe. With that one word Logan was his. He hadn’t known why and he still didn’t quite understand it but he had trusted Remus with everything he had- and he still did. Even as Janus had stalked off grumbling and Virgil and Roman had kept their distance at first Remus had kept him close and showed him how much better his life could be, even if they were living in a modified sewer system.

Back in the present he looked up as a hand was thrust under his chin, smiling softly as he took Remus’ hand and let himself be led away from the others’ idle chatter. He counted himself extremely lucky in the end that Janus had eventually come around to him, seeing how happy he made Remus and how Remus made Logan feel it had been him to finally talk to Logan about it and get the two to officially talk about how they felt, going on about the being “hopeless gay idiots” when they had finally started to date officially. Logan wasn’t sure what he’d do without Remus at this point, just a year later and he was so attached to their small group of hideaways he wouldn’t trade for the world.

They approached the exit to the sewers, Remus swinging their hands between them. Logan held his breath right before they crossed the threshold, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly as his feet met grass and he opened his eyes to the darkened field. There were a few tunnels that lead out to different places depending on where they needed to go and this, Remus had told him, was his favorite because of how empty it was. The city lay far in the distance so there was almost no light pollution to block out the sky. Soft grass and flowers brushed his ankles as he scanned the area carefully, seeing nothing but trees lining the far end of the field with a road so far away he could barely, make it out in the darkness. Remus tugged his hand softly to get his attention, searching his eyes for any hint of discomfort.

“Is this okay?’

Logan took another breath and let it out, the last of his nerves fading away as he took in the quiet. “It’s perfect Remus.”

The other grinned and tugged a little harder this time, walking fast to the middle of the field where he stopped suddenly and raised Logan’s arm up to lead him into an impromptu twirl. Logan laughed quietly and then louder as he was dipped, secure in Remus’ strong hold as he reached up to grip the back of his neck. He was safe. He was free and safe and happy finally with someone who truly loved and cared for him. His breath caught in his throat again but this time in awe, Remus chuckling as he was laid down carefully tucked into his side, till with his arms around his neck.

The stars shone bright and winked lazily while swirls of color dusted faintly behind them. The moon was waning, a barely there light that let the beauty behind it show fully as the wind whisked away any clouds that dared to try and cover it. It was everything Logan had ever hoped it would be and more, excitement thrumming through him as he squeezed Remus tightly in an attempt to convey it. He felt Remus grin against his scalp where his face was buried in his hair.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Logan looked back at him, light from the stars reflected in his eyes and wild brown hair framing his face. He leaned up slightly and kissed him, a faint brush of their lips that left them both grinning like the idiots they were. Placing a hand on Remus’ cheek Logan smiled at him, thumb brushing over his cheek in adoration.

“Absolutely stunning.”

This work and others are also available on AO3!

If you like this, please consider reblogging, as sharing a creator’s work is very encouraging to us and helps our creations reach more people!

[celiaxan]

Looks of Love (Saiouma Fic)

He wondered why no one else could see it.

See the way their gazes follow each other sometimes subconsciously. See one's glance linger far too long to be considered platonic. See how one of them looked when the other laughed. See the soft looks they would give each other when the other wasn’t looking.

Or: a really self-indulgent fic based on my obsession of how lovers look at each other bc it's so soft istg

(whole fic under read-more and ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30140310)

A/N: listen to reflections by the neighborhood for mood music!

Kokichi Ouma loved the way two people looked at each other when they were in love.

(Not that he would admit that to anyone, but still…)

No one else seemed to get it.

But the small lingerings of stares after the other has already looked away. The faintest traces of red still on their face, quickly fading to pink. The mouth formed the smallest of smiles, because how could you frown while around them?

It was sickening at first.

Then it became addicting.

No one (from his group of Rantaro, Miu, and Tsumugi) believed him when he called out Kaede and Maki.

He wondered why no one else could see it.

See the way their gazes follow each other sometimes subconsciously. See one's glance linger far too long to be considered platonic. See how one of them looked when the other laughed. See the soft looks they would give each other when the other wasn’t looking.  

Plus, the way Maki glared at him when he talked to Kaede said a lot.

He wasn’t even surprised when they announced their relationship to the class.

(And he won’t deny collecting some pocket cash from the group in the process, but it’s their fault for not believing him and betting in the first place!)

Kokichi doesn’t know when it started.

If he had to guess, he’d say it happened in two parts.

The first being his first real crush. He had just turned 13, not yet even knowing the urge of strong feelings, hormones controlling his every action.

Still being young, unknowing, and everything, he got over his other ‘crushes’ and ‘relationships’ as quickly as he got into them. He still hadn’t known what was wrong with scanning classmates in the room, picking the girl he thought was prettiest, or the girl that had helped him pick up his pencil, or the girl that he had thought reminded him of himself, a sort of kinship, and told his other friends that he liked them.

Oh, how he regretted leading on whatever poor girl he ‘liked’, just to run away from any sort of sign of confession. It was a cycle of sorts. Pick a girl, say that he liked her, run away or watch her confess to another guy, pick another girl.

Tiring. It was tiring.

He didn’t even remember half of their names.

He did remember someone though.

A boy in the corner that read books during recess.

Kokichi didn’t know his name.

All he knew was that the boy was interesting in his own little way.

It was the first time Kokichi actually looked forward to speaking to someone. It was the first time Kokichi had wanted to know more about the boy. It was the first time Kokichi actually waved someone down in the hallways when their paths met just to say hello. It was the first time Kokichi cared about another person’s opinion.

It was… the first time he felt his face heat up to something as weird as the boy finally saying Kokichi’s name instead of calling him ‘You’.

He still didn’t know his name.

Only the gleam in his eyes when he looked up at Kokichi.

But that only made him more interesting.

They talked quite a bit.

When Kokichi was kicked out from playing soccer with the other boys for cheating and bribing other players. When Kokichi purposely faked an injured knee to talk to him. When Kokichi brought him to his house to study (and oh, the little brat told his step-brother, Rantaro, his name, but not Kokichi).

He loved it.

The boy brought a puzzle one time for Kokichi, who mentioned that he liked them. He started bringing two grape juice boxes instead of one. They would read together. They would bring out harder puzzles. The boy somehow understood Kokichi, knew which part of the homework he would struggle with, even if he lied and said he knew it all.

The boy moved away.

Kokichi didn’t cry.

He wasn’t even sad.

But even he knew that was a lie.

Glancing at him, the boy told Kokichi he was moving. Kokichi had been so used to tossing away random friends, random girls, he thought that’d be the same, he was okay with it.

He wasn’t.

A year later, after a big realization (and six ‘Am I Gay’ quizzes), he told Rantaro.

Rantaro choked on his tea. “Oh, cool. That means I’m not the only gay in the family. But uh...”

“What, spit it out, dear sibling. I have to rob a bank in Russia later!”

“I already knew,” Rantaro continued, ignoring Kokichi’s arson plans. “It was kind of obvious after I met your little friend,” Rantaro suddenly raised an eyebrow, smiling into his tea. “Or boyfriend?”

Kokichi’s world shattered with another revelation. “He wasn’t my boyfriend! Also, I didn’t like him.”

Or did I?

“No, you totally did.”

“Did not.”

“Whatever,” Rantaro muttered as an end to that conversation.

Kokichi sat there in silence, contemplating. Finally, he started again. “How did you know?”

Rantaro hummed for a bit before deciding on an answer. “If I had to pick a deciding factor, it’d have to be the way you looked at him. Especially when you thought no one was looking.”

“Really?” Kokichi asked, suddenly interested. “What did I look like?”

Rantaro smiled one of his ‘I Know More Than You’ smiles. “Figure it out yourself.”

That was the first part.

Kokichi had forgotten about it for a bit after screaming curses of ‘ fucking asshole! ’ and ‘ your days are numbered, dusty bitch ’. He had never truly forgotten, of course, but instead, it was just pushed to the back of his mind.

But like most things, his problems were solved due to social media.

And TikTok.

Scrolling through gay TikTok, he saw a ‘gay couples through history’ one. Suddenly gaining his interest, he actually tried to watch this one.

Pictures.

Pictures of gay and lesbian couples flashing through the screen, both of the people looking extremely intimate.

But- their looks- the way they looked at each other. It was mesmerizing. Kokichi couldn’t get more of it.

It was a look of fondness, so soft, that he could feel the attraction through the screen. The photos themself were black and white, but their impact was still strong.

Kokichi looked at them and knew - swore on his life- that he wanted something like that. Small glances full of affection. It held so little but meant so much.

He had always thought that people looked the brightest when they looked at the one they love.

And the eyes.

The eyes were soft, dreamy looking, dare he even say- beautiful.

He wanted that.

He already gave that.

That was the second part.

“So, get it, Shumai? That’s how I called all the class couples before they got together! It’s because I’m super observational and very good at connecting these pieces.”

“...It actually sounds like you’re a sap.”

“What?! Shuichi, you’re so mean to me!”

Now, Kokichi was sitting in a classroom with his current crush, Shuichi Saihara, on the roof. Their hands almost connected on a desk.

And as Kokichi looked closer, Shuichi began looking increasingly nervous, like he was going to break something if he wasn’t careful enough.

“So, do you know where your friend, uh- ‘Boy’, you called him, do you know where he is now?” Shuichi asked suddenly.

“Huh? Nope, I don’t!” Kokichi responded. They were both drinking grape juice boxes. “Why, jealous? Have you finally fallen for me after all?”

Shuichi stiffened, moving the topic along more. “Then...what would you say to him if he was here right now?”

Sighing, Kokichi sank down in his seat, thinking intensely. “I don’t know. I would tell him I want to be friends again. Maybe if I was bold enough, I would tell him that he was my first gay crush.”

A small chuckle before Kokichi continued. “That’s got to be an honor! First crush from Kokichi Ouma himself!”

Shuichi laughed awkwardly. “Who knows. Maybe they’re closer than you think.”

“What’s got you so optimistic?”

At that, Shuichi stood up, and picked up some of his books with one hand, turning around to reach out a hand for Kokichi. “Take a guess?”

Kokichi only looked Shuichi in the eye as the sun shined behind him. A familiar pair of amber eyes with some sort of gleam shined down on him.

Oh.

And wow. How stupid was he to fall for the same person twice?

Not grabbing Shuichi’s hand, Kokichi stood up on his own on an impulse. “You-!”

The boy- Shuichi’s eyes sparkled with a familiar look. It was the look that Kokichi had seen variations of over and over again. It was a face Shuichi looked at him with the most. He felt foolish for not recognizing it earlier.

Shuichi interrupted him- because he’s the only one that can without being told off by Kokichi- with a soft smile and everything. “I also loved the way you looked at me, because... I looked at you like that too.”

[darlingimawitch]

hello! merry Christmas to those who celebrate it <3 this is my secret santa gift for @assassinatingtearribly !! i hope you like it❤

also linked to my ao3

best birthday yet.

Karma woke up to the empty feeling beside him as he roamed around for his human pillow. He cracked an eye open as he aimlessly tried to search for a certain someone that was supposed to be in bed with him.  He was dissapointed  to find it empty. The red head slowly sat up after that, rubbing his eyes before registering the bright light that had entered their room from the open window. 

The bedroom door was slightly open, letting the fresh aroma of pancakes fill the air almost instantly. His stomach growled immediately, waking his sleepy body up. 

With a grunt, he shoved the covers away and trudged out of their shared bedroom with a huff. Sure, he was used to early mornings for work but it was a holiday today and he wanted to spend it cuddled up with his soulmate for the rest of the day. 

Though the thought of pancakes wasn't really a bad idea. 

But still. Cuddles. Why can't he get that?

His footsteps must've been loud enough for the other occupant of their apartment to turn their head from the stove, still cooking up those delicious pancakes he couldn't want to get his hands on. 

That's not the only thing he can't wait to get his hands on though. 

"It's 8 am, why are you up?" Karma groaned, wrapping his arms around the shorter man, his chin resting on his head as if it always belonged there. 

"Can't I do something special for today?" Nagisa said, completely unbothered by his lover that was draping his body over his own. "It's not everyday you turn 25, honey." 

"Mhm and it's not everyday I have the day off. Let's just spend the day in bed?"

Nagisa scoffed. "And let my hard work go to waste? No way."

"But it's my birthday," Karma whined, hugging his love tighter," lemme do what I want."

"After we eat." Nagisa flipped the piece of pancake before turning his head around. Karma lifted his chin off of him, looking into his eyes with a small smile. Nagisa pecked him on the lips unexpectedly though it wasn't really a surprise for Karma. He loved it when his boyfriend was spontaneous in showing affection towards him. He was lucky to be the one to receive it in the first place. 

"Fine, but nothing but cuddles after we eat."

"It's Christmas and your birthday and you want to spend it cuddling? Where's the adventurous Karma I knew in high school?"

Karma hid his face in Nagisa's neck. "He grew up and wants to spend it with his boyfriend."

"Loser." he chuckled. 

"Yeah but your loser though." the devil incarnate pecked the shorter man's neck. "Fine, you win. But we're watching Home Alone for the rest of the day, alright?"

Nagisa chuckled. "Of course you'd pick that movie. Alright, sounds like a plan." 

Karma ended up eating half of the pancakes, stuffing them in his mouth immediately after the bluenette set them up on the table. Nagisa only shook his head in response, taking a seat in front of him and eating his own portion. Silence filled the air but somehow he was still filled with warmth. Somehow he still felt comfortable and happy and he wouldn't want to be anywhere else except for right here. 

A domestic life with Nagisa wasn't what Karma had in mind back when he was still a teenager. Though if you asked him now, he couldn't really imagine life without him. Seeing his face in the morning, walking in on him singing in the shower, pecking his lips right before they part ways for their respective jobs — it felt like a routine he can never get tired off. 

The young couple found themselves on the couch after breakfast, the red head acting as a body pillow for the bluenette cuddled next to him. A bowl of popcorn was conquered by the birthday boy but he'd still feed his lover some anyways. They were 3 movies in now, two being of Karma's choice and the current one of Nagisa's. It was a classic rom com, one he's seen over a billion times before. He doesn't mind it though. Cuddled up with the love of his life, what can get better than that? 

Although romantic comedies weren't his forte, he couldn't help but pay attention to this one as he munched on his snack. Watching the protagonist declare her love for the boy of her dreams reminded him of when he first confessed to the man settled by his side, up on the hill where they spent their best times together. When the autumn leaves fell down her hair as she embraced the main lead in a bone crushing hug, it reminded him of himself and Nagisa with the man's head on his lap, his fingers running through  his blue locks as they sat underneath the tree located at the once abandoned assassination classroom. 

As he watched them kiss, it reminded him of his first kiss with Nagisa which sort of happened out of a spur moment but he wouldn't want it any other way. Even if it did happen when Nagisa fell on him when he stayed over in his childhood home and kissed him without even planning to that night. Even if he was a flustered mess, Nagisa only giggled and kissed him again, this time fully aware of what's happening as he kissed him back. 

And when he watched the movie reaching its peak and the couple were wedded, he couldn't help but feel a sense of want by seeing that. 

"What's on your mind?" Nagisa's voice penetrated his wandering mind. 

"Nothing." he quickly answered.

Nagisa rolled his eyes. "I've known you for ten years, Karma. I think I'd know when something's on your mind."

"Yeah? Well what if I was criticizing her wedding dress?"

"You barely care what you put on for work, babe."

"That's not true." he replied stubbornly. 

"You get ready for work while you're still half asleep and your suits are all the same."

"I'm making a fashion statement."

"You don't know a thing about fashion." Nagisa turned his body fully towards Karma now, his chin resting on his chest as he peered up his golden eyes. 

Karma grunted, knowing he couldn't resist those big blue eyes as he gazed upon the man that tugged on his heartstrings. Nagisa smiled knowingly, already knowing he won the game between them. 

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

"Do you...want that?" Karma said, his head nodding off to the screen.

"You've got to be more specific." the shorter man replied softly. Karma grunted and Nagisa decided to take pity on the man as his eyes followed his lover's gaze towards the TV and spoke again. "Do I want what? A new TV?"

"A marriage."

The bluenette stilled in his spot and Karma could feel his body tensing for just a second before relaxing in his arms again. 

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it." Nagisa spoke softly. 

"Did you think of having one with me?" 

Nagisa looked at him like he's grown another head. "Who else would I think of having it with?" he shook his head slightly, shifting his position so he was now straddling his lovers  lap. "You do know I'm in love with you right?"

"I mean, I thought you were with me for my looks and my money — ow!" he was cut off when Nagisa pinched his right ear. 

"I'm being serious here, baka." he huffed, though a trace of his smile was still present. 

Karma pursed his lips as his arms found their way around the bluenette's waist, pulling him closer so that they were chest to chest. "I do know you love me. And I love you too."

Nagisa smiled softly as the red head continued. "But do you want to be with me forever, though? Marriage is like — you're basically bound to that one person forever. You'd be bound to me forever."

Nagisa furrowed his eyebrows at that. "You make it seem like that's a bad thing."

The young bureaucrat bit his lip, a habit he picked up years ago. "You won't have an out."

"So?" he replied, his head now resting on Karma's forehead. "We're in this together, aren't we? Through thick and thin, that's what we told ourselves years ago, remember?"

He does. He still remembers their last year of high school where he knew this was when they would need to part ways to pursue their respective courses in college. He knew he'd be moving to another city, far away from his boyfriend if he wanted to chase his dream. And he knew Nagisa understood all of that and he was always encouraging him to go. He never once held him back. 

He remembered tears were shed that night before catching his train. He remembered denying he was crying in the first place when Nagisa pointed it out. He remembered the long awaited goodbye hug he dreaded having because he didn't want it to be the last hug from him he'll ever receive. 

"You better do a good job or I'm kicking your ass if you don't." Nagisa said, chucking through his glassy eyes. 

Karma couldn't help but smile. "Kick my ass? Nagi, I'd love to see you try."

"Hey," the bluenette said, his arms hugging tightly around the taller man's torso. "Through thick and thin, I'll always be here for you."

"Through thick and thin, Nagi. I'm always here for you too."

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" 

Translation : Don't forget me. 

"I couldn't if I tried." Karma replied as he pecked the top of his head. "You're too important to me."

You're always important to me. 

His golden hues caught sight of his piercing blue ones again, his soft breath fanning over his face as they were centimeters apart. He couldn't help but smile as warmth overwhelmed him, the presence of the man before him making his heart leap uncontrollably. He's never felt like this about anyone before and he sure as hell doesn't want this feeling to ever go away. 

"Marry me."

Nagisa chuckled in response. "I thought you'd be more of a romantic when it comes to proposing."

"Screw romance. I wanna marry you, Nagi." he said, his words toning down to a murmur but to Nagisa he could hear everything so clearly. "I want to do this every day, do nothing and everything with you and never leave your side. I want to wake up to you and think ' wow this is what forever looks like'. God, I sound like such a sap." he heard the bluenette chuckle. " I can't even be mad at you for that because you're you."

"You make it impossible to not love you, you know that?" Karma said, his eyes never leaving his lover's. "Marry me, Nagisa."

The blue eyed man shook his head with a smile as he pulled his face away only to descend back to capture his boyfriend's lips with his own. Karma kissed him back just as eagerly, holding onto the shorter man's hips to steady himself as he continued to straddle his lap. Nagisa tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss with his hands tugging his messy mane of red hair, which made the man beneath him let out a small whimper. 

Sometimes he hated the fact how good of a kisser his boyfriend was. It was unfair. It should be illegal that he had the ability to turn his knees into jelly just like that. 

Eventually, oxygen was needed and they pulled away slowly as if to savor the moment. His eyes fluttered open and he was yet again met with those beautiful bluebell eyes that never fail to remind him he had someone as beautiful as him to love. 

"Yes." Nagisa pecked his nose," Yes, I will marry you."

He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, his arms immediately swooping the man of his dreams into a bear crushing hug. Kisses were peppered all over his face before he captured his now fiance's lips with his own once more. 

Out of all the birthdays he's had, this one wins it all. 

[vanilladyfics]

Pack Animal - Ch 2

Read the first chapter here!

Ship: Wolf!Kastuki Bakugo x Fem Hiker!Reader

Genre tags: Hurt/Comfort, childhood friends to lovers, omegaverse themes because wolves, aged up

Warnings: Sex reference, swearing, hording reference, divorce reference, slight angst

Word Count: 1.2k

Authors Note:

I had a plan and did not stick to it.  This is looking to be a four or five chapter fic.

Summary:

The reader meets up with Katsuki after their one night stand to explain why she left as a teen.  Turns out, wolves have never heard of divorce.  This chapter is relatively safe for work.

Do not repost.

You stopped by the laundromat before your visit with Katsuki.  Your father had a washer and dryer at home, but they were currently being used for storage, for rocks of all things, and likely needed to be replaced.  After checking that no one was looking, you gave Katsuki's borrowed shirt a deep sniff.  It still smelled like him, but what could he smell?  Wolves were known for their keen senses-- would he be able to guess the state of the house from smelling it?  You dropped the shirt in the wash, added an extra splash of bleach to the tub to be on the safe side, and pressed start.  The countdown started at thirty minutes.  You checked the time.  By the time this last load would be dry and folded, you would have three hours before your father got home.  Factoring in the drive and hiking time, you'd have two hours to talk with Katsuki.  More than enough time.

You slouched down in one of the cheap laundromat chairs and went over how you were going to have that conversation.  You decided last night that you needed to keep it simple.  Tell him only what he needed to know: Your parents divorced, you moved away with your mom, and didn't know how to contact him. You would not give any details he didn't ask for.  Under no circumstances would you mention the hoard.  With the fresh laundry safely locked in your rental truck, you went to the bathroom to change your clothes and slathered on so much sunscreen you looked three shades lighter.  You grimaced at your reflection, feeling guilty for going to the same lengths an alcoholic would to hide the smell of booze after their last bender.  You had no reason to feel ashamed.  It wasn't even your mess.  Maybe the guilt came from lying by omission.  Maybe because your father was hurting and you abandoned him in his time of need.  You pressed the thought down, taking practiced breaths.  On your way out, you noticed the battered condom dispenser by the door.  The conversation you were about to have would surely squash any chances at getting lucky tonight.  You bought two, anyway, and stuck them deep in your front pocket.  You didn't want a repeat of last time.  Well, you did want a repeat of last time, preferably with protection.

---

About half an hour later, you sat next to your old friend at the end of the fishing dock, your jeans rolled up to your knees, ankles dragging in the water.  You hugged your backpack to your chest as you apologized for the umpteenth time.

“Stop fucking apologizing and just spit it out.”

“I'm sorr--” You clamped your jaw shut, catching yourself.  You rehearsed this so well on the drive here, but something about seeing his face ripped your perfect monologue into shambles.  “This went so much better in my head.” What's worse is that he's being so nice about it.  Nice for him, anyway.  Seeing how much he had grown as a person only made the time you spent apart feel so much bigger.

You recalled your breathing exercises and tried again.  “My parents got divorced.  We tried to do the split custody thing, but it didn't work out.  When I went to my mom's that last time, I thought it was just going to be for a week, but then we moved further away, and I didn't know how to contact you. I'm... I want to say I'm sorry, but I know you don't want to hear it.”   Katsuki had been unusually quiet for a long time.  Anxiety seized in your chest.  “Please say something.”

You stared at his profile, trying to gauge his expression.  He seemed... confused.  His brow furrowed. “You lived at your father's den, and then at your mother's den.”

“Mm hmm”  You nodded, not bothering to correct his lupine word choice.

“Separate dens.”

“Yes.  Mom moved out after they got divorced.”

His nose wrinkled.  “What's 'divorce'?”

Your jaw dropped as you repeated his question in your mind. What's divorce?  This is not where you thought this conversation was going, but at least he wasn't asking about the house itself.  “Do wolves not have divorce?”

“Would I be fucking asking if we did?”

That's fair.  “Maybe you just have a different word for it.  Divorce is when... Divorce is...”  Your nose stung, and you could feel the tears coming.  You kicked your feet in the water to distract yourself, watching the fish scatter as you made waves.  You sighed.  “My parents were married-- you'd say mated-- and now they're not.  That's divorce.  Mom's with someone else now.  He's nice, so that's good.”

You could feel Katsuki still beside you.

“Kacchan?”

“Did your father die?”

“No, they're still alive, just--” You gestured vaguely, “separate.”

The wolf man stood abruptly, and started pacing the length of the pier.  “They were mated, and now they're just... un-mated?”  Bile rose in his throat.  He might be sick.  Wolves don't just up and un-mate their mate.

You watched him grow more agitated. “Close. ‘Un-mate’ would be an annulment.  Divorce is more like... ‘stop-mate.’  If that makes sense.”

“You have more than one kind?  No, it doesn't make any fucking sense!”  He raked his fingers through his hair.  Katsuki was pissed, and he didn't know who he should be pissed at.  He wanted to howl at the injustice of it all.  His quirk fired off in his hands, but he barely felt it.  Un-mate. Stop-mate.  It was complete bullshit.  He could have lived his whole life without hearing those words, and now he couldn't un-hear them.

You chased after him, “Katsuki! It's okay!  It was years ago.”

“It's not okay, it's fucked up!” He grabbed your shoulders and pulled you into a hug so tight your ribs ached.  You squeezed him back, tearing up again.  It was a hug that came almost a decade late, but you needed it the same, burying your face in his neck. “That shit should never happen.  I am so fucking sorry.  Fucking un-mate--” He spat out the distasteful word, combing his fingers through your hair.  “[Y/N], I would never un-mate you.”

Something about his scent sapped the fight right out of you.  Your father had mentioned something about certain wolves having calming effect.  Was this it, or part of his quirk?  You had been running on stress for so long; without it, you deflated against him.  He spoke as if you were a couple, but you didn't have the energy to argue.  He smelled so good, like the smoke rising from a snuffed-out candle.  You absently wondered if he tasted good, too.  “Kacchan...”  You turned your head, nuzzling against the same spot on his collar where he bit you last night.  You could do the same, you thought, licking your lips.  He'd probably let you. You could barely keep your eyes open.

“Don't go falling asleep on me now,” he warned, threading his fingers through your hair.

Too late.

[wordsfromthesol]

Panic

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Summary:  You have a panic attack at your friend’s birthday party. Jason is there. Warnings: Panic attacks, Language, alcohol Word Count: 2.6k A/N: Most requested when I polled you guys!

“Gaby, I’m not going to know anyone there!”

“Well, it’s my birthday. So, you’re coming. Oh! I’ll invite Tim! You’re friends with him!”

“Yeah,” you rolled your eyes, not that it did any good since you were on the phone with her, but it made you feel better. You knew that Gaby secretly wished you two would end up together, despite you warning her that you were just close friends. Nothing more. “Alright, fine. I’ll meet you at yours at 10 and we can head out from there?”

“Girl, drinks are expensive! We are pre-gaming, come at 9 so we can do some shots before we leave!”

“You will be the death of me…see you at 9 Gabs.” You hung up the phone and immediately dialed Tim.

“Hey Timmy, I have a favor to ask.”

“Why am I not going to like this?”

“Because you’ll have to pry yourself away from that computer for like a night. But you have to come to Gaby’s birthday with me. I will loose it around all those sorority girls without you.”

“I think you can handle them, Y/N/N. You are very good at making friends.”

“I know I CAN handle them, but I’d rather have you there to help out. Maybe you’ll end up meeting someone? Come onnnn.”

“For some reason, I don’t think I would click with any of Gaby’s sorority friends.” You hear his older brother, Jason in the background.

“Timbers, someone is inviting you to hang out with a bunch of girls and you’re saying no?!”

“It’s just Y/N.”

“Oh gee, thanks Tim.”

“You know what I meant,” he mumbled into the phone before turning back to his brother. “Jay…she wants some company. You should go.”

“DO NOT PAWN ME OFF ON YOUR BROTHER, I SWEAR TO – HE DID NOT JUST HANG UP ON ME.” You realized that you would be facing this party on your own. If you had just told Tim why you wanted him to go, you knew he would stop everything and accompany you, but you didn’t want to be a charity case. Who knows if it will even happen? It’ll be fine.

Finally, 9 pm rolled around and you walked up to Gaby’s front door. You could already hear screaming girls on the other side. You took your key out and walked in, hearing Gaby yell at the top of her lungs, “Guess who’s 22, bitches!” Before turning on the infamous twenty-two song by Taylor Swift. It was the obligatory 22nd birthday song, after all. Gaby screamed once again when she saw you enter the kitchen.

“Y/N! You look amazing and I love you. We are going to have so much fun!” She turned back to pour a round of shots for everyone. You pulled your phone out and sent a text to Tim.

Timmy, if you love me at all you will come out tonight. We are going to Zia’s at 10.

**

Tim looks up from the computer as his phone buzzes. He reads the message and runs his fingers through his hair. He knew that you wouldn’t be asking…twice…if it wasn’t important. He got up from the computer, went to get more coffee and hopefully run into his brother. Thankfully, both a fresh pot and Jason were in the kitchen.

“Jason, Y/N texted me, the party is headed to Zia’s.”

“You want me to go to a party – without you – that your best friend is going to? Care to explain further, Timbers?”

“She asked me to go…twice and I’m really deep into this case…but she never asks twice.”

“Awe, little Timmy is worried about her.”

“Please Jason.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll head there and keep an eye on her.”

Tim nodded as he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.

**

You got to the club, still waiting for Tim to even acknowledge your message. You knew how enveloped he got researching and whatever else his father had him doing on that dang computer. You would be surprised if he even checked his phone at all. Leaving Gaby, you headed to the bar…in desperate need of a drink.

“Sorority girls too much for you?”

You glanced up, immediately recognizing the voice, and then the person standing next to you. “Please tell me Tim didn’t send you to babysit me.”

“The sap was worried about you. Don’t yell at him too much.”

“At least he didn’t send Damian…” you grumbled, trying to get the attention of the bartender.

“Heh, the little demon would find a way in and cause a scene, wouldn’t he?”

“Probably just drag me out, kicking and screaming, so he didn’t have to watch people having fun.” You leaned over the counter and ordered your standard drink before looking to Jason and motioning for him to order something.

“Make it two,” he said before turning back to you. “So, I don’t take you as someone who needs back-up at these kinds of things.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Your drinks were brought out, but as you reached for your card Jason stopped you to hand the bartender his own. “Thanks, Jay. So you dance?” You asked with a mischievous smirk growing on your face.

“I’m going to have to –” His words cut off as you grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the center of the group of girls you came with.

“GIRLLSSS, look at who I just found. Isn’t he just gorgeous?!” Jason swore your voice went up two octaves. All the girls surrounding him squealed as they took turns trying to get him to dance. He looked over at you with a ‘I’m so getting you back for this’ look in his eyes. The girls, he didn’t mind, the attempts to dance, he did. After a few songs, you needed a refill, and began to fell guilty for Jason’s current predicament so you carefully moved over to him.

“Jayybirdd, I sooo need another drink. I think you do to, doesn’t he girls?” Queue all the girls shrieking in agreement. You grabbed his wrist and led him back to the bar. “Sorry, I had to…but remember I also saved you.”

“I can see why Tim likes you.” He grins as you roll your eyes. As if you needed another person shipping the two of you together.

“He’s one of my best friends, like a brother.” You said with a definitive look in your eyes, willing him to understand that you and Tim would never be romantically involved. In fact, not that you would tell a soul, but the two of you did try one night and it just felt wrong. The two of you kissed and then spent the rest of the night laughing about it.

“Well I don’t want to be your brother.” Jason quipped back at you, as you summoned the bartender and ordered two more drinks.

“Don’t worry. You aren’t.”

“Good.”

Once the drinks arrived, you were dragging Jason back to the dance floor. He resisted a little less this time.

A few more songs had passed, and you felt that pit in your stomach starting to rise. You made your way back to the bar, in hopes of finding an unoccupied corner. Your eyes searched frantically around the club, to no avail. As you tried to begin regulating your breathing, you made your way to the door. Not the smartest thing to be on the streets of Gotham alone, but you couldn’t stay in there anymore.

**

Jason looked up and watched as you headed to the bar, hoping you would bring him back another drink as well. Looking down at the girl who grabbed his waist, he wriggled out of her grip and headed for where he last saw you…only you were no longer there. Okay, maybe she went to the bathroom. He knew Tim would kill him if anything happened to you, so he made his way to the bathrooms, stopping a girl about to enter.

“Hey, can you check if Y/N Y/L/N is in there?”

Thankfully the girl was not completely plastered and noticed the worried look in his eyes. She nodded and pushed open the door. Jason heard muffled calls before the girl came out and shook her head no.

“Fuck. Thanks.” He waved her along and made his way to the exit while searching the crowd for your Y/H/C hair. He steps outside and looks up the street, seeing you turn into an alleyway. What the fuck is she thinking. He broke into a run.

**

Going into an alley probably wasn’t the safest thing, but your mind was racing and thinking straight was not on the agenda. You counted your breathing in your head. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. You slunk to the ground, not caring about the dirt and trash that would coat your favorite skirt. Pulling your knees to your chest you tried to keep counting as you slammed your eyes shut blocking out as much of the outside world as possible. Eventually, you gave up on the counting and were hyperventilating in an alley, in Gotham, alone. You thought you heard your name, so you opened your eyes and saw Jason kneeling in front of you.

“Y/N, what the fuck. What are you doing?”

You jumped to your feet. No no, he can’t see me like this. No no no. You tried to run, but Jason grabbed your wrist and spun you into him. His fury melted as he saw the panic in your eyes. You looked up at him and without thinking pressed your lips against his with desperation. He pulled away and looked at you, confusion glossing over his face. You didn’t care and pulled him back in. You felt your breathing steady and tore your lips from his.

Barely able to form words, you looked at him, “I…panic…attack…” was all you could manage to get out. He nodded and picked you up, walking over to a cab. He opened the door and set you inside before walking around the car and climbing in next to you. He rattled off your address to the driver before pulling you next to him.

As you arrived, you opened the door and climbed out of the car as Jason rushed to your side. He looked at you, as if to ask ‘you okay?’ You nodded, but grabbed his wrist to follow you upstairs. Without saying another word, you opened the door to your apartment and went into the bedroom, you could feel your breathing start to become erratic once again. I just need to take my makeup off and get out of these clothes. Suck it up, Y/N. You can do this.

You stood at your bathroom vanity for far too long, staring at yourself, trying to will yourself to relax and calm down. You didn’t even notice when Jason came up behind you and put a hand on your shoulder, but you instinctively turned around and tucked yourself into his chest. He began to move to the bedroom but you planted your feet in place, determined to at least get out of these disgusting clothes. Taking a deep breath, you released yourself from his grasp and walked to the dresser to pull out an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. At this point, you didn’t care and you stripped off your club clothes and pulled on the clean ones as Jason stood in the doorway of your bathroom.

You crawled into bed and curled into a ball before noticing Jason still staring at you. You reached out your arm, motioning for him to join you. You noticed him sigh before crawling beside you, unbeknownst to you it was because he thought Tim would kill him for this entire situation. Letting you run out of the club and now falling asleep with you in his arms. Surely he was a goner, but he had always liked you. Ever since Tim brought you home all those years ago, but he never had a reason to hang around too much. After having you to himself all night, he knew he had legitimate feelings for his brother’s best friend.

***

You woke up the next day still entangled in Jason’s arms and devastation struck you as you remembered the disaster that occurred the night before. I kissed my best friend’s brother. Shit. Though, you had to admit, you had wanted to for awhile now. Carefully slipping from Jason’s grasp, you searched for your phone and immediately sent a text to Tim.

Don’t hate me. I may have kissed your brother last night.

What the hell happened?

Ugh, I had another stupid panic attack. And my mangled mind was all like, didn’t you read something about kissing helping to regulate your breathing.

I’m sorry, I should’ve been there. I knew there was a reason you asked me to go.

It’s okay Tim.

So…did you like it?

Tim! Wtf!

That’s not a no, Y/N/N!

Grow up!

You plugged your phone into the charger and went into the bathroom to see the state of your makeup. It was a disaster, as you guessed. After washing your face, you exited the bathroom to see Jason sitting up in the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better now that I’m not freaking out in front of my best friend’s brother.” You dragged your hand down your face. “I’m sorry about everything. You shouldn’t’ve had to deal with that. They’ve just been really bad lately…that’s why I wanted Tim to freaking go…but I didn’t want to disappoint Gaby, since it was her birthday –”

“Y/N. Relax. It’s okay. I was just worried about you. Why on earth would you not get me? Instead you go into an alley, by yourself, in fucking Gotham City.”

“I know,” you moved to sit next to him on the bed. “I just, most people don’t understand or know how to handle them. And I didn’t want to worry you…or Gaby. So, my mind just needed an exit strategy.”

“I’ve handled way worse, don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“What, you still wanna hang out with me?”

“Oh, uhm, well it’s not like we hang out much to begin with.” His tone turned almost sad.

“Well, you never ask.” You said blatantly.

“Neither do you!”

“Okay, fair. Well, since you’re here…and you paid for my drinks last night, I think I owe you breakfast. I think Tim even has some –” You stop short realizing that Tim’s clothes would never fit his brother and wave your hand at the thought.

“Tim has what?” He asked, slightly concerned.

“Oh, just some spare clothes here…but I realized you wouldn’t fit in them.”

“He’s going to kill me, by the way.”

“Probably.” You let out a chuckle as you rummage through your dresser for some clothes.

“Mind if I at least shower before we head out?”

“Not at all.” As Jason goes into the bathroom you change clothes and head into the kitchen to make some coffee while you wait.

***

Jason turns on the shower and dials his brother.

“Tim?”

“Where are you Jason? What happened last night? Gaby texted me saying you and Y/N went missing halfway through the night!”

“She had a panic attack, so we got out of there.” Jason opted for a half-truth in order to avoid being hit and/or berated by his younger brother when he got home.

“Hm, so where the hell are you now?”

“I’m still here. At Y/N’s.”

“What the fuck, Todd. Why are you still there?”

“I just wanted to make sure she was okay!” There was a long silence, one that Tim was sure drove his brother crazy. “We kissed.”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“If you like her, I’ll back off.”

“Nah, I was messing with you Jay. I already knew.”

“Bastard.”

“And I already see how the two of you look at each other. I say go for it…But I will kill you if you hurt her.”

“Deal.”

[dauntless-cakeneedstobe-eaton]

Jeff x Annie Song Fic-One Shot AU: Extended Version of Ending in Pascal’s Triangle Revisited (Season 1, Ep 25)

Song-Fic (Inspired by “I Want Crazy” by Hunter Hayes and “Clarity” by Zedd ft. Foxes)

“High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life...Fight fear for the selfish pain it was worth it every time.” (Clarity)

Well, that went..unexpectedly to say the least. I like to think that it’s hard for me to get thrown off my game. From watching my father leave, to getting kicked out of the firm, I like to think I’ve seen it all. I like to think about myself a lot, which with my overall charm and muscular physique, shouldn’t come as a surprise...who wouldn’t? I say all of this ironically, considering that there are two women in there who--for whatever reason--think about me...a lot. 

I know what you’re thinking: Jeff, stop being every girl in every teen rom-com that gets stuck in the middle of a love triangle. I’ll be the first one to say that this isn’t necessarily a love triangle. At least, I don’t think it is. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love with anyone ever. All that sappy crap makes me want to throw up. That’s why I made sure to stay at least one hundred feet away from it--more like one hundred and five just to be safe. The whole “I want to be with you for the rest of my life” trope is a bunch of BS the entertainment industry sells us in order to make our expectations ridiculously high. So. Not. Worth. It. 

I made sure to make every woman I have ever been interested in a fling. Nothing more, nothing less. When I made things official with Slater, I thought I would give this whole “commitment” thing a try, but that obviously didn’t end well. I never put any serious thought into Britta before, but I’d be lying if I said I was never curious about it. Standing out here just avoiding them wasn’t solving anything, but besides drinking, running away was the only thing I knew how to do.

“No I don’t want good and I don’t want good enough...I want can’t sleep, can’t breathe without your love.” (I Want Crazy)

In the middle of all my thinking, I saw a figure in a blue dress in my line of vision. Annie. I felt my lips curving upward, with a weird sense of relief as she approached me. 

“I thought you left?” I asked quizzically. Annie put her bags down beside her. She sighed before answering. 

“I couldn’t go…” 

“Why? What happened?” 

“I honestly don’t know,” she started, with a soft laugh, “As we were driving off, I finally started living in the moment, but at the moment I realized that Greendale is where I belong.” She shrugged her shoulders at me with a smile. I smiled at her in return, admiring her big, blue eyes. I once told her that she had dangerous doe eyes; I still stand by that statement. There was something about her--not just her eyes--that made me want to be a better person. She could force me into ridiculous situations, but they always felt natural as long as I was with her. 

“What about you? What’re you doing out here?” Good question. What exactly was I accomplishing by being out here? 

“Well...Britta and Slater just told me that they loved me.” Saying it out loud solidified it into reality. There you go universe. Happy now? I studied Annie’s reaction...for no particular reason. She looked shocked, as expected. 

“Did you decide what you’re going to do about it?” I laughed.

“Not even close.” She giggled. It was nice to hear a comforting sound amidst all the chaos in my head. 

“You can’t keep them waiting! You need to make a decision. Oh! I can help you!” she nodded excitedly. 

“Oh? And how do you plan on doing that milady?” I asked mockingly. She gave me an offended glance to which I laughed. 

“Hey! As long as it’s for you, I’m willing to help in any way I can!” she stated indignantly. When it actually registered what she said in her head, she blushed bashfully. I felt my palms start to sweat. “Anyway,” she continued calmly, “Tell me how you feel about Slater.” Another good question. 

“Slater feels like a good choice to me. She’s intelligent and put-together. She makes me feel like I can leave my horrible past behind and become a new person.” Annie gives an impressive nod. 

“Okay, so how do you feel about Britta?” Oh boy. 

“Britta...she makes me feel like I’m good enough. She feels good enough too. Like I can be myself around her, flaws and all. She makes me feel like my current self is someone worth being.” 

“Jeff you are in a pickle of all pickles.” 

“Thanks Captain Obvious Annie.” She fake saluted at me. I genuinely didn’t know who I liked better. I didn’t know who I could stay committed to. I didn't know who I had more of a spark with. Maybe there were a lot of things I didn’t know.

“If our love is tragedy why are you my remedy? If our love’s insanity why are you my clarity?” (Clarity)

“Hmmm. Maybe you could reach a decision more easily if you could practice saying what you just said to their faces. Maybe once you look them in the eye and say how you’re feeling, some spark will fly?” I thought about it for a moment...it could work. Seeing that I didn’t automatically reject her idea, Annie perked up. “Okay I’m taking your pondering as a yes! Now all you have to do is say what you just said to me. Except this time, I’ll pretend to be both of them for the most authentic experience possible!” Normally, this is where I’d reject her idea, but I decided to humor her. “Alright Jeff, look at me and pretend I’m Slater.” 

“Okay I’ll try.” I opened my mouth to start, but as I looked into Annie’s eyes, all words left my brain...and I don’t know why. 

“Earth to Jeff?” She waved her hand in front of my face, taking a step closer to me. I was suddenly aware of her close proximity. Why couldn’t I focus? Why was it impossible for me to see her as anything but Annie? I looked up at her eyes again. Same as always. Big and...beautiful. She was beautiful. I scratched the back of my head. 

“I...uh...sorry about that. For some reason, I can’t play pretend when it comes to you.” Annie blushed and looked away before nervously asking, “What do you mean?” It was hard for me to put a finger on what exactly I meant by that. She was just so different from both Britta and Slater that it was hard to pretend that she was them. When I tried to explain this to her, she asked “Is that a good different or…?” 

“Of course it’s good.” I replied quickly, cutting off any more of her hesitation. I didn’t want Annie to think that I thought about her in any sort of negative light. I was convinced that she didn’t have a single bad bone in her entire body. It would hurt me to think that she thought otherwise. 

“You’re different because with you, it’s like I can see clearly,” I started. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes capturing the last light of the darkening sky, amplifying the oceans of blue I saw. “With Britta, and even Slater when we were officially together, I always felt...blurry. Like I was walking on eggshells. I had to try so hard to not mess up around Slater...to be this perfect boyfriend. Around Britta, I felt no need to improve on my current self. I like that she accepts me for who I am, but I feel like I’m not growing at all around her. Maybe that’s another reason why I’m so confused about this whole thing.” Annie gave me an understanding nod. 

“I don’t think you should feel that way about yourself. You’re capable of more than you know,” she said, giving me one of her award-winning Annie smiles. I smiled in return, feeling a certain warmth grow in my chest. “I know you’ve gone through a lot growing up, and that you try to shield yourself from pain and commitment with this cool-guy persona, but I hope you feel that you can be yourself around me. Because I think about you a lot. I want you to know that someone’s always thinking about you even if you feel like no one cares.” 

I think this is when I saw it...when everything made sense. I was always able to see and think clearly around Annie because she let me be myself around her...but being around her made me want to be a better person. She always pushed me to be the best version of myself, but not a completely different person. If there was one thing Britta has ever been right about, it was me being jealous of Annie and Vaughn. I didn’t like the idea of someone taking away our adventures together. I hated to admit that to myself. I didn’t want to admit that helping Annie with her Halloween party and debate team was actually a lot of fun. I didn’t want to admit that we made a really good team. I didn’t want to admit that I liked being the reason for her smile. Because admitting all of that would make me a sap--something I swore to never be. 

“I didn't know that you thought about me a lot,” I tried to ask casually. Little did she know how fast my heart was beating right now. I saw her rub her arm uncomfortably. 

“While Vaughn was driving away, there was still a piece of my heart left at Greendale. I felt it tugging back the farther we went,” she said cautiously. She shyly looked back up at me. At this point, my brain wasn’t functioning I swear. 

“Did that piece happen to be me?” I looked at her earnestly. I always knew that Annie was genuine. I wanted to know whether or not whatever I was feeling was reciprocated. Evidently, her brain must have not been functioning either because she leaned timidly leaned forward and touched her lips to mine. I found myself on the verge of getting lost in her, but she pulled away too quickly. Way more quickly than I would have liked. It was a sweet kiss, one that I have never felt before. In that brief moment, I knew which choice I wanted to make. No hesitation. I brought her lips to mine once more for a more passionate kiss. She kissed me back. And it felt like the best thing in the world. My arms encircled her waist and moved to her hair as I felt her pull me closer. This is what I wanted. This is what I needed. She was a choice. And in this moment, I chose Annie above anyone else. This felt right. This was the way it was meant to be. 

[forever-rogue]

The Edge of Thirty - Part 9

Summary: Everyone seems to be getting married, having babies, or “growing up.” Except Y/N. Suddenly at almost thirty, reality seems to be crashing down on her – and hard. Nothing seemed as daunting as turning thirty…until she met Gwilym Lee anyway.  

A/N: Hiya! Thanks for reading and supporting this story. I hope you enjoy! Taglists are open! xx

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader

Word Count: 5.5k

Warnings: None...plot twist?

MASTERLIST

The next few weeks were spent in an isolated haze, where days blurred into nights and time became a thing that was completely irrelevant. Nothing seemed to matter anymore; she was basically out of a job, and Gwilym was out of her life, for good this time. What was the point to getting up and pretending things were okay when they were anything but?

After their altercation at Lucy and Rami’s wedding, Y/N had made a swift getaway, as Ben went and told everyone she had become overcome with sickness. No one needed to know that Y/N and Gwilym had left separately in moods that were a mixture of anger and hurt. She wanted nothing more than to feel sorry for herself and to be angry with Ben for letting her secret slip, and to be angry with Gwilym for how he reacted.

But she couldn’t. She only blamed herself. So she spent the next several weeks wallowing in misery and self pity, refusing to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. The only company she kept besides misery was Deacon, who seemed to understand her sorrow, barely leaving her side as he smothered her in extra kisses and cuddles. It was just the two of them against the world, as it had always been.

Stretching her arms over head and relishing in the popping and cracking of her joints, Y/N slowly got up from her spot on the couch, in search of something to eat. She’d spent the last several hours in front of the television, giving in to hype and finally watching Lucifer. It had been fairly captivating, at least enough to where her mind was occupied and not every thought was consumed by Gwil.

Deacon huffed in annoyance from the couch, where he was currently wrapped up in a bundle of blankets, as her phone started to vibrate, sliding around on the soft cloth of the sofa. Sighing lightly, she trudged back into the living room, swiping up and seeing that it was Ben, calling for his usual daily chat. He’d made it a habit and a point to call and check in on her everyday, even if she wasn’t the most over joyous about it. Sometimes she’d just put it on speaker and let him carry on, not giving much input except for a few words here and there.

“Hello my good man,” she answered, putting the phone on speaker as she rummaged through the cabinets, in search of anything of sustenance, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your call today?”

“Very funny, love,” Ben’s voice was between a chuckle and a sigh, “just calling to see how you were. Do anything interesting today? How’s my favorite pup?”

“Your favorite pup is okay, he’s a little annoyed that his afternoon nap has been disturbed,” she glanced over at Deacon who gave her a dismal look before tucking his nose back under the cover, “Deacs, Ben loves you! And he’s going to come and see you soon.”

“Oooh, when can I come over?” he asked eagerly, and Y/N wondered for a moment if he was more excited to see her or the dog. After a few little more searching, she gave up on her crusade, giving into the fact that there was nothing decent to eat in the entirety of kitchen, “I miss you both.”

“I miss you too Benny, but it’s only been like two weeks,” she sighed, leaning against the counter, “besides I’m coming back to work on Monday, so like two more days. I’d wager you could survive without me until then, but unfortunately it appears I need you.”

“What’s wrong, what’s happened?” she could tell he was on the edge of his seat at her words and decided that she probably could have chosen a better set of words, “are you okay?”

“Calm down, love, calm down,” she reassured him, snickering a little bit, “I’m out of food and I need to go to the store. I don’t want to go by myself, and I could use the company.”

“I’ll be over in ten,” he said, hanging up the call without another word. Y/N chuckled, her heart feeling a little lighter than it had the last two weeks at the prospect of seeing her best friend. She had missed him much more than she had thought, secluding herself in exile while she tried to straighten her own head out. It was lonely at times, and after a while it seemed like even Deacon grew tired of her moping.

“See, you get what you always get what you want,” she told him and he just wagged his little tail at her, “be lucky everyone adores you so Deacon, just like your reclusive namesake.”

“Just how on earth have you been surviving?” Ben’s eyes were wide with questioning and amusement as he looked through the cabinets and fridge. Y/N gave him innocent eyes and shrugged, “when’s the last time you even left the apartment?”

“This-”

“And I don’t mean to take Deacon for a walk,” he cocked at eyebrow at her as he and Deacon exchanged glances, “like to do something, anything besides wallowing in self pity and rewatching the Office...again.”

“How long have Luce and Rami been married now?” she giggled nervously, rubbing her hand up and down her arm nervously. Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed dramatically.

“Oh, Y/N, you can’t just mope about forever,” he teased, nudging her side gently, “I know it’s hard right now, but it’s going to get better, I swear it. I know words are wind but trust me, you’re strong and you’ve gotten through so much. Oh, and text Becca and Tessa back, they’re tired of your one word answers - don’t shoot the messenger!”

“I know, Benny, I know,” she agreed, hanging her and nodding slightly, “I just wanted some time alone to get my head together and get all the sadness out of my system. I want to be ready to go back to work and have a clear head. And I’ll call them both back, okay? I don’t plan on shutting you out again.”

“H-have you heard from him at all?” he opted to tread lightly around the question, desperately wanting to know the answer, but not wanting her to retreat deeply into herself and shut him out. He did blame himself to an extent, having honestly believed that Gwilym was fully aware of everything regarding James.

“No,” she replied, letting the answer linger in the air for a few tense moments. Ben wondered if she was about to start an argument or go off on him, but she just leaned against the counter, folding her arms across her chest. A part of her had clung onto the hope that Gwil would soften and he’d give in eventually, but there had been nothing but radio silence from his end, “I’ve texted and called him a few times, but I haven’t heard anything back from him. I’ve come to terms with the fact that he’s not coming back.”

“There’s always hope, Y/N,” he put his large, strong hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. She nodded, giving it only a moment before wrapping her arms around him and clinging onto him for dear life. No matter what happened between them, at least she always knew she could turn to him. She closed her eyes and held back her tears as best as she could, a few small sniffles escaping regardless, “it’s alright, love, it’s alright. I’ve got you.”

“I just really am kicking myself over this one,” she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, “he was a good one, maybe the one. And I lost him, but it’ll be okay. Life goes on, and I will be okay. Besides, my focus is going to be on getting back into work and making sure I present the picture of perfection to Crickle. And Becca, she’s going to need us more the further along she gets. That’s plenty to occupy my mind and throw myself into.”

“You’ll be alright,” he promised her, kissing the side of her head gently, “you’re so strong, and wonderful, and you deserve the world.”

“Thank you,” she whispered as he pulled back from her, putting his hands on her shoulders, “what?”

“As much as I love sap and cheese,” he grinned at her, “I think it’s time we went to the store and got you some food. You’re living like a frat boy at this point.”

“I’d get mad at the assertion, but you present a fair point,” she agreed, “let’s go and get this over with before I change my mind and slink back into bed.”

“Ben, the cart’s more loaded with vegetables than anything else,” Y/N groaned as she looked at the colorful rainbow of fruits and vegetables that stared back at her. He looked at her pointedly and tilted his head to the side as if to ask so what, “you’ve gotta give me some leeway and let me have some junk food!”

“You’ve got a bag of crisps and cookies,” he pointed to the snacks at the very bottom of the cart, “and don’t even argue, that’s plenty of snacks! Besides, it’ll be good for you to get into cooking, and it’ll keep you busy in the evenings. You used to love cooking.”

“When I was young and carefree,” she rolled her eyes in fashion dramatic enough to make Freddie Mercury jealous before pouting at him and steering the cart towards the ice cream, “please let me have my microwave meals for one that I can eat in front of the television with a glass, or perhaps bottle of wine.”

“Why are you the way that you are?” he couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up as he shook his head at her, “you’re almost thirty-”

“Don’t remind me please-”

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m stating facts!” he chided her, “you’re almost thirty and you can do a little more than just putting a meal in the microwave.”

“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed, as she started to look around at the various cartoons of ice cream, trying to narrow it down. She opened one of the cases and grabbed a couple of containers out, comparing them thoughtfully. Eventually selecting one, she added it to the cart before turning  back to him, “I’m going to be annoyed about it the whole time, but fine. I’ll try your recommendation.”

“You’re so dramatic, acting like I’m making you do something so horrible,” he stuck his tongue at her as he steered the cart, casting glances down the remaining aisles. He paused by the end, noting that it was hygiene products, “do you need anything else?”

“Actually,” she mused as she walked down the aisle, tapping her chin as she looked at the various shampoos and conditioners and body washes, “I do need a few things.”

“Aye, well, get on with it then,” he watched as she walking up and down, trying to narrow down her options. Making a quick selection wasn’t her strong suit, and he knew if he didn’t her a little bit, he’d be stuck there for another hour.

“Calm down there, Benny Boy,” she grabbed her usual items off of the shelf before turning around and coming face to face with the long row of tampons and pads. She put the shampoo and body wash into the cart, before deciding to stock up on some tampons since her period was due soon. Reaching over to grab her normal supply, she stopped, hand halfway raised as she realized she hadn’t needed any tampons in quite a while. A suspiciously long time...

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” Ben noticed her hesitation, as she put her arm back down, an unreadable expression on her face, “Y/N?”

“I-I can’t remember the last time I got my period,” she whispered quietly, finally realizing what the words could mean. Ben’s eyes widened as he looked at her nervously, “oh fuck.”

“Y/N,” Ben’s voice barely reach her ears as she paced anxiously around the kitchen, tears of frustration running down her face. He reached out a hand to stop her, gripping onto her wrist tightly, “I know you’re nervous and anxious, but pacing won’t help.”

“How did this happen? How could I let this happen? We were always so careful,” she ran a hand through her messy hair feeling more exasperated than anything else. Why, why, why? Was the only thing running through her head. Why her? Why now?

“Whatever method of safe sex you practice is never completely fail-proof,” he hoped giving her the facts would help, but the glare he received in return suggested otherwise, “it happens to good people all the time. It’s just unfortunate that it happened to you. Which we’re still not positive it did.”

“In a few minutes we will be,” she took a peek at her watch, and noticed that it there just a few minutes left until she could check the multitude of tests that were sitting on the bathroom counter, “Ben, I was drinking during all of this! I could have already done so much damage because my dumb ass had no clue. What am I going to do? I-I don’t know if I could ever live with myself knowing I-I’d done something to this...maybe baby.”

“Right now all you can do is relax,” he suggested softly, “what’s done is done, you can’t go back and change anything now. I know that sounds harsh, but it is what it is.”

“I know,” she huffed as she started to walk to the bathroom, dragging him closely behind her, a trembling starting in her core, “this is just a bit of a huge surprise. But how did I not know? How could I have missed all the signs? I mean, my period’s normally like clockwork and I should have been more aware. I guess I just got so caught up with everything I wasn’t aware...”

“Whatever happens, just know that it will be okay, love. I’ll be here for you, we all will,” he ducked into the quiet, still bathroom before she could and swooped up all the tests before she could examine a single one of them. She threw her hands up and glared at him, “I’ll tell you what they say. You’re too worked up to be dealing with this right now.”

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed, flopping down the edge of the tub and holding her head in hers, letting out a long, drawn out breath, one that she hadn’t realized she had been holding in, “tell me, Dr. Jones, have I completely fucked up my life?”

“I think that’s a bit of a dramatic overstatement, don’t you think?” he tried to tease, but a smile hadn’t worked it’s way back onto her face. His own heart was thumping about wildly in his chest, as he realized the implication of the knowledge that currently only he held, “ready Freddie?”

“I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said nodded quietly, trying to keep what little composure she had left. Almost as if he knew she needed some comfort, Deacon made his way into the bathroom, his paws making soft sounds on the cool tile of the floor. He nudged her with his soft, pointed nose before sitting at her feet and leaning against her legs, “what a support system, my two favorites.”

“Well,” Ben said quietly, leaning against the bathroom counter, “this confirms what you already knew, or thought you knew. I think you’re going to have a call to make.”

“Oh no,” tears almost immediately started to run her face as Ben handed over one of the tests. She took a look at the plastic stick which clearly spelled out the word pregnant and ran a thumb over it, taking in a shaky breath, “what I am going to do?”

“I’d start by calling Gwilym,” he suggested quietly, and he could see her shoulders tense, “and then going to the doctor, and make a plan. I-I know it’s hard, but it’s important to be rational about all of this. I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”

“You’re right, you’re completely right,” she set the test down and wiped the salty tears off of her cheeks, “there’s no time to lost in my head and feelings.”

“You’ll be okay,” he promised her, “you’ve been able to get through so much, you can get through this. There are other options you know, if you don’t want to have this baby.”

“I know, I just...don’t know how to feel or think about this right now,” she admitted, still trying to process the gravitas of the situation. It was hard enough for her to believe that there was a little person coexisting inside of her, a baby that would soon grow strong and large, “it’s just so surprising. How am I even going to tell Gwil? Hey, I know we ended things on a very bad note, but by the way I am actually pregnant. Remember when we joked about it, haha, turns out it wasn’t actually a joke. Not sure how well that’s going to go over. Do I text it to him or call him?”

“Y/N, I think we both know the answer to that one,” they exchanged a knowing look and the two of them laughed in spite of the grim situation. He raised an eyebrow at her and she gave him a small nod, “I know it’ll be hard to face him and tell him, but it’s what’s right.”

“Oooh, boy,” she sighed as she subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, “this is going to be interesting. You know, I avoided this situation for years and yet here I am, almost thirty and going through it.”

“At least it was with someone you love,” he said as if it suddenly made everything better, “and not a stranger. Besides, Gwilym is a good man, I’m sure he’ll support you no matter what.”

“I hope you’re right,” she stood up and gripped the stick tightly, gnawing on her bottom lip so harshly she was sue the skin would break and blood bubble to the surface, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before.I hate this, but it’s the reality of the situation.”

“Hey, we’re a team,” he said as he pulled her into a hug, “it’s going to be okay. Whatever happens, it will be okay, I promise you.”

“Pinky?” she asked quietly, putting her pinky finger out and waiting for him to twist his with hers.

“Pinky,” he concluded, wrapping her own finger around hers. It had become a tradition of theirs, and one neither of them would ever break. A pinky promise was basically an unbreakable vow, and these best friends never did that.

Monday morning had rolled around much faster than she had anticipated and she found herself more reluctant than anything else to go back to work. She thought she’d feel relieved, excited to see the young, bright faces of her students, but she felt almost none of these emotions, just a deep pit in the bottom of her stomach.

She didn’t know what the day would hold, but she wasn’t necessarily eager to find out. There was a nagging sensation that wouldn’t leave her alone, and she wished she could just crawl back into bed and watch Netflix with Deacon. But her three weeks were up, and she had to go back and face the music, and she if she still had a job. After a hazy three weeks, caught in between blissful moments and the heartbreaking situation that was her reality now.

As soon as she got into her classroom, she spied a cup of tea and a bagel sitting on her desk. There was no note, no indication of who it was from, but she immediately knew Ben had taken the time out to do this for her. A small smile worked its way onto her face and walked over, setting her bag down and gratefully grabbing the steaming cup, and taking a long swig of the piping liquid.

A knock came at her door, and she was ready to greet Ben with open arms, but her heart dropped when she saw that it wasn’t him, but Crickle instead. His expression was unreadable as he stepped into the room and regarded her curiously, taking in her appearance - she was glad she had put in the extra effort to present the picture of perfection.

“Good morning, Headmaster,” she plastered on a smile as the knot in her stomach seemed to tighten even more. He gave her a curt nod as he leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his broad chest as his gaze never wavered.

“Miss L/N,” he parroted quietly, “welcome back. I hope the last several weeks have treated you well. I hear congratulations are in order-”

“What?!” she blurted out as her heart started to race. How could he have found out so quickly? She hadn’t told anyone but Ben, and she knew he wouldn’t have told anyone.

“I believer your close friends just got married? Benjamin took a few days off for the festivities,” a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized her secret was safe for now.

“Oh, of course. It was a wonderful wedding indeed,” except for getting dumped by the love of life, “Lucy’s been our best friend since we were just children.”

“I’m sure it must have been just lovely,” he gave her a small smile, and it was the closest thing to a real expression of emotion she had ever seen from him, “I will let you get back to you, Miss L/N. You don’t have to worry about your position being in jeopardy - I spoke to your good friend and we’ve come to conclusion that you are a great fit here. I know your students are very eager to have you back. Especially young Ms. Lee, she’s been very excited for your return.”

“Thank you, sir,” she didn’t know if it was all the emotions, or perhaps her pregnancy was starting to hit her, but she felt a wash of feelings as she grabbed the back of her chair, “I’m...happy to be back. I’ve missed the lot of them as well.”

“Good luck,” he said quietly, giving her a small nod before making a quick exit from the room. If she didn’t know any better, she’d wager it was almost an attempt from him to be nice to her. She didn’t know where any of it was coming from, but she wasn’t about to complain or argue - she was willing to take whatever she could get at this point.

Reaching into the desk drawer, she pulled out her planner, hoping the substitute had left her some notes to go off of. If not, she’d have to wing and hope everything turned out well, but she had a sneaking suspicion that her kids wouldn’t mind easing back into a normal curriculum.

Looking at her notes, she heard a set of small footsteps echo through the room, and looked up to find Jenny standing there, wringing her hands nervously. Her heart melted at the sight of shy, sweet girl with the smile on her face. She stood up and leaned down, stretching out her arms to the young girl, “hi Jenny! I’ve missed you so much.”

Jenny almost fellow into her arms, wrapping them around Y/N as tightly as possible. Y/N felt more comforted than she had in a long from the hug, glad to see the smiling face of her favorite student.

“Miss L/N! I’m so happy you’re back,” she beamed at her, “the substitute has been no fun, and she didn’t have a cute dog either. You’re the best and we’ve been waiting for you to get back! Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“Vacation,” she let the word roll off of her tongue and didn’t like the bitter taste it left. She knew they wouldn’t tell a group of young kids that she was suspended, but to play it off like it was just a vacation seemed a little silly. But who was she to argue with them? She was finally back in Crickle’s good graces and she wasn’t about to slide back, “it was okay, my love bug. I missed you guys though, especially you, but don’t tell your classmates. It’ll be our little secret! Deacon missed you all, maybe on Friday I can bring him to class, how does that sound?”

“Deacon!” she shouted excitedly, pulling back as she clapped her little hands with excitement, “I can’t wait to see him again! I’ve been trying to convince my mum and dad to get a doggy now. Uncle Gwil’s helping too!”

“That’s lovely, Jenny,” her insides jolted at the sound of Gwil’s name. She had yet to go to him, but she knew she had to do it sooner rather than later. Sometime that week, she had determined would be the best. She just needed to gather up a little bit of courage, and hoped a little bit of bravado would accompany that, “I hope you’re able to get a doggy that you like.”

“Me too!” she giggled as she bounced to her set, while her classmates started to file into the classroom, smiles on their faces as they realized Y/N was back.

“Miss Y/N!” the sound of their cheerful voices was enough to bring her back to reality, as she looked at her bright eyes little faces.

“Hello my little loves,” she exclaimed as they all rushed up to give her hugs, throwing their little arms around her, as they welcomed her back. She had missed them terribly, more so than she had ever thought - that was enough to tell her that she had made the right decision to come back and not just give up on everything.

They all toddled to their seats, pulling out their notebooks and various writing instruments. Glancing down at her lesson plans for the day, she tapped it thoughtfully a few times before deciding to show it all out the window.

“I know it’s my first day back, and we really should be focusing on working hard,” she took the papers and ripped them in half, causing them to ooh and ahh, “remember what we learned a while back? That life rarely goes according to plan? That’s what we’re doing, we’re taking the plan and getting rid of it. We’re going to have fun instead.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Well,” she moved to the front of her desk and hopped onto it, “as far as I see it, we’ve got a couple of options. We can start the next Harry Potter book and take turns reading, or we can watch some movies, or we can go outside and work on the school garden. It’s such a nice day outside, maybe we can do a little bit of everything and end the day outside. What do you guys think?”

“I think that sounds like the best class ever,” little Brian’s curls bobbed up and eagerly as a smile spread across his face, “it’s nice to be able to get a little bit of everything!”

“I think that is a very wise way of looking at it, Bri,” she smiled at the shy boy, “maybe we’ll even find our little hedgehog friend!”

“I hope so,” his eyes widened at the prospect of getting to see the little hedgehog he had so lovingly named Freddie. He was always on the lookout for them, and often spent his recess periods looking for the little creatures, Roger usually trailing after him.

“Alright then, that settles that, unless anyway has another idea?” they shook their heads at her and turned to get the Goblet of Fire out of her bag, “now then, chapter one. Who would like to start?”

The rest of the day passed in relative quiet - as much quiet was possible with a classroom of six and seven year olds anyway. They had eagerly read several chapters, enthralled and easily captivated by getting a glimpse into Harry’s world. Making good on her promise, she’d let them pick a movie, after much debate they settled on the Princess and the Frog.

During her lunch break, she had bypassed Ben and told him she was on a mission and went to pick out some new flowers and plants so all the kids could have their own to add to the school’s garden. It wasn’t much, but she knew that they’d enjoy it and that’s all that mattered to her at that point.

“I like sunflowers so much,” Jenny smiled as she dug her hole and making sure to make it plenty deep so the roots could take hold and grow strong.

“And why’s that?” Y/N asked as she sat next to her, not caring that she was in the middle of a dirt patch. She clutched the flowers and as she observed her work. Jenny was the last of her students that was still there, waiting for her dad to come and pick her up.

“Because they’re yellow and pretty,” she smiled, looking at her hole with apparent satisfaction, “and yellow is a happy color, it makes me happy. Do you like it?”

“I do like it,” she smiled at the young girl, reaching out and gently touching one of the soft petals of the tiny plant. She hoped it would grow large and strong so that it would always serve as a reader of the sweet girl that hand planted it, “happiness is important, don’t you think?”

“I think so too,” she placed the little flower that Y/N handed her into the dirt, packing it tightly to make sure it would root properly, “my uncle’s been really sad lately. Maybe I should get him some sunflowers, I want him to be happy.”

“O-oh,” the lump that rose in her throat was almost immediate and hard, and she struggled to keep her composure. Knowing Gwil hadn’t been happy struck a deep nerve within her for some reason, “I’m sorry your uncle is sad. He’s very lovely, and deserves all the happiness in the world.”

“I know,” she nodded in unequivocal agreement as she leaned back to observer her handiwork, “I hope he gets better soon.”

“I hope so you too, Jenny, I hope so too,” she reached out and tucked one of the small, loose curls behind the girl’s ear, giving her a fond look. She hoped if she ever ended up with a daughter, which seemed to be about a fifty-fifty chance at the moment, she prayed the little girl would end up like Jenny - sweet, kind, generous. Whatever child she was carrying had some of the same genes as Jenny, so she hoped that gentle personality would transfer over.

“Jenny? There you are, lovey,” the sound of Gwil’s voice was almost enough to bring her to tears. She gnawed on her bottom lip, wondering if she should make her appearance known or just duck away and pretend she was never there. She decided against that option - she was no longer going to run from all her problems, but face them head on, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Sorry Uncle Gwil,” she gave him an innocent smile before gesturing to the freshly planted blossoms, swaying gently in the afternoon breeze, “I was finishing planting my sunflowers! Miss L/N got us all flowers to plant today! It’s her first day back!”

She swore she could hear a sharp intake of breath as Gwil took a step closer and his eyes flicked over to her. She looked away, her cheeks heating up, but refused to feel like a small child under his gaze.

Y/N looked back to him, and took in his pseudo disheveled appearance. He was dressed like he had just gotten off of work, slacks with a nice button down, but the bags under his eyes were dark, his hair messier than usual, a large amount of stubble covered his face, that somehow had taken on a more gaunt look. He looked worn out and tired, like he’d seen better days and hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“Y/N,” his voice cracked as her name rolled off of his dry, chapped lips. Feeling the prickle in her eyes start to sting, she nodded gently before standing up, and starting to gather the small shovels and trowels that were left behind from her students.

“Sorry to worry you about Jenny,” she whispered quietly, “she just wanted to finish and I couldn’t say no to her.”

“’s okay,” he croaked out as Jenny pulled on her sweater and grabbed his hand, ready to head home for the day. She tugged softly, trying to get his attention, but he was too captivated by Y/N, who was trying to keep herself occupied.

“Uncle Gwil!” she pouted at him, wanting his attention on her, “can we go and get a treat? Mummy doesn’t have to know!”

“Sure Jenny,” he agreed, wishing Y/N would face him, “thanks for taking care of her.”

“No problem,” she squeaked out, her heart thumping wildly, and she was almost sure that he could hear it, “have a good night Jenny, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye Gwil.”

“G-goodbye, Y/N,” he said quietly, letting Jenny lead the way.

“Gwil,” she suddenly blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer. It was now or never, completely imperfect, but completely in character for her. He turned around to face her with a curious, unreadable expression on his face. Giving her a nod to go on and she closed her eyes for a moment before just confessing.

“I’m pregnant.”

Permanent Taglist: @ruinerofcheese @courtneychicken  @santa-crew@supernatural508 @ssweet-empowerment@nerissa98@jamesbarnesappreciationsociety@buckybarnesappreciationsociety@wearegoldeninthenight@mannatgalhotra@prxttybirdz @piensa-bonito@mightyhemsworthy@shewalksinanotherworld @jems8241@bookaddic@fairyxxfighter@asguardiansoftheavengers @esoltis280@the-bright-lights@artisticlales @loislp @dixonsbugaboo@sleepylunarwolf@patzammit@thisismysecrethappyplace @princess-evans-addict@bookgirlunicorn@makapaka11 @bornfortherainydays@avipshamitra@clumsy-clara @justanewqueensfan@yourealegendroger@anna1523@queenficarchive@thesecondlastjedi@bitemerog@rogernroll@secretsweetscollectionblog @sheridans-dynamos@dinkiplier @deacontaylormercurymay @starrystarrybabe@nicholasbich @musical-prostitute-my-dear @onexlittlespark @benhardyseyes @marvelstuck @thickthighsandbasicbrowneyes@whenthe-smokeisinyoureyes @wonderwich

TEOT Taglist: @geek-and-proud@everybodyplaythegame@anchoredbylove @m0etenchandon @lv7867@queentrashcanfics@bohemian-war @bnhvrdy @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming@metaphorical-love-for-a-car @ramibaby @another-life-addict@queentrashcanfics @rosedeacy @softbenhardy@totallynerdstuff@rachelweiszs-areawoman @lelifesaver @live-at-the-rainbow @kerstin-p @i-cant-remember-my-old-login @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @booksaremylife602 @daisy-chains-over-diamonds @littleliv1 @punygodd @doctorscompanian @yourealegendroger @r-edspecial @ixchel-9275 @dessert-hardy @ezmina98 @ispewglitter @totallynerdstuff @joefucksdonuts @danamaleksworld

[mittensmorgul]

Today on the TNT loop, we went through 9.10, 9.11, and 9.12, and it was a lot, considering the themes of what’s happening in current canon while waiting for 15.05 to air tonight.

Full disclosure, I started typing up this post this morning while watching 9.10, and then my computer helpfully did a windows update and restarted itself, so I lost everything I’d been typing. It wasn’t too much, but heck if I can actually remember what I’d written exactly, but I think looking at all three of these episodes together is possibly more useful anyway, so here we go.

We’ve just been talking about 9.10 and the “imaginary” cheerleader case Gadreel had Sam working on inside his own mind, in relation to the vampire case Sam and Dean worked in 15.04, so we’re already primed to look deeper at what was going on in this episode. For anyone who doesn’t recall, this was ALSO the episode during which Dean completely confessed to a freshly re-angeled Cas exactly why he’d kicked him out of the bunker back in 9.03.

At that time, Dean was being horrifically manipulated by the angel he’d trusted on false pretenses and Cas’s word, in a perfect storm with his own desperation to do anything to save Sam. It took this long for Dean to realize the full extent of Gadreel’s betrayal, and it led directly to Kevin’s death.

So we have manipulation, a larger cosmic power essentially holding Sam hostage, Dean and Cas finally mending this situation between them and confessing the truth and the reasons behind the lies and anger. Obviously the situation is not exactly the same in s15, but the themes are all there. Here, have a few quotes from the episode to show you what I mean.

[DEAN stops his packing and his face melts in emotion as he looks to his friend. Camera pans behind CASTIEL's back and when it comes out on his other side the men are sitting at the table and DEAN has just told CASTIEL the long, hurtful story.]

DEAN:Sammy was dying. What was I supposed to do? CASTIEL: You let an angel possess him? DEAN: He said it was the only way, and I believed him. Now Sam's gone. Kevin's... CASTIEL: Dean, I'm sorry. DEAN: Yeah, well... Sorry don't pay the bills, does it? It sure as hell ain't gonna bring Kevin back. We got to find that son of a bitch. CASTIEL: Dean. If the angel possessing Sam isn't Ezekiel, then who is it? DEAN: A dead man walking. CASTIEL: What, you're gonna destroy him? DEAN: Damn right. CASTIEL: You kill an angel, its vessel dies, too. DEAN: Think I don't know that? If I don't end Sam and that halo burns him out and I... God, I was so damn stupid. CASTIEL: You were stupid for the right reasons. DEAN: Yeah, like that matters. CASTIEL: It does. Sometimes that's all that matters.

They’re still not completely getting to the heart of this issue, though, because there was still Plot™ to deal with that would require them to have this unresolved-- Dean would need to continue to blame himself for everything, Cas would need to feel compelled to stay by Sam’s side to ensure his healing, feeling that he could be “useful” to Dean by taking over Sam Protection Detail, and Sam will need to fully feel the betrayal and not even begin to understand the core issue that led to all of this in the first place to drive that wedge deep enough for Dean to take the Mark, sacrificing himself to protect the ones he loves.

Which is thematically what Cas felt he did trading his own life for Jack’s in 14.08, which of course Dean still doesn’t know about. But the most important thing underlying all this s9 drama is the element of manipulation. Because Dean (and Sam, and Cas) right now believe they are making their own choices in a world without Chuck’s influence, and yet the narrative as a whole is probably being more actively manipulated by Chuck than at any time in their history. It’s this unawareness that’s giving Chuck’s influence the power to manipulate them in the first place.

GADREEL spits out angrily:  How many more lives do I have to take? METATRON: It's not your place to ask questions. It is your place to obey. You want to be my second in command? Prove you're ready. Prove you're loyal. Or don't. Walk away. Go back to being Gadreel the traitor, the sap, heaven's longest-running joke.

Aah, and all along Gadreel had been manipulated by Metatron, s9′s answer to s15′s Chuck.

GADREEL: You have changed, Abner. ABNER: Yeah, well, I was a crappy angel. I was petulant. I deserted my post. I spent 700 years in heaven's lockup. I... No. Doesn't matter. We're a long way from Thaddeus now. GADREEL: I killed him, Abner. I got our revenge. ABNER: I w – I wish you hadn't done that. GADREEL: But why? He tortured us – you most of all. ABNER: I remember. And I remember you were always there to put me back together. GADREEL: We were friends. ABNER: We are friends. And the fall, it's our second chance. We can forget our old hates, who we were. GADREEL: It's not that easy. ABNER: Yes, it is. Look at me. I'm happy. GADREEL: And your vessel – is he happy? ABNER: He was an abusive ass. But I love my family, and they love me. I'm not a wise man, Gadreel. But I know this. The key to happiness? It's getting the one thing you want most and never letting it go. GADREEL: And what if there's a price? ABNER: There's always a price. But it's worth paying.

Abner paid with his life, because Gadreel had been manipulated and lied to by Metatron. Gadreel thought this was part of a grand plan, but it had been Metatron’s demand for loyalty and obedience, forcing Gadreel to literally kill possibly his only friend in the world, the one angel who knew his true story and loved him anyway. TO MANIPULATE GADREEL SPECIFICALLY into doing Metatron’s bidding, cutting off all other avenues to freedom and vindication.

Which... is kinda what Dean’s going through right now, you know? He thinks he’s free, and has cut ties with Cas in a horrific way. I mean, he didn’t literally kill Cas in 15.03, but tell me that wasn’t a metaphorical stab to the heart?

DEAN: Why are you doing this, huh? We fought together. And I trusted you. I thought you were one of the good guys! GADREEL: I am doing what I have to do. DEAN: Well, so am I.

Poor Gadreel, like Dean now, was doing what he thought he had to do. Like Rowena dying to heal the rift into Hell, because she thought it’s what she had to do-- right down to her belief in the prophecy that Sam would kill her being the entire reason the spell worked at all. Like all of them believing that Chuck is gone, because it’s what they feel they have to do to “move on.” And AAARGH.

*hears Dean’s voice yelling in the distance from 4.22 IT’S ALL A BUNCH OF LIES, YOU POOR, STUPID SONOFABITCH*

CASTIEL: Uh... I'm okay. DEAN: Good. Good. That's, uh... So, what, you just change the batteries out, power back up? It's that easy? CASTIEL: It wasn't easy, but I didn't have a choice. DEAN: Yeah. Well, that's usually how it goes. Cas... I'm sorry. CASTIEL: About what? DEAN: Kickin' you out of the bunker. That's, uh... You know, not telling you about Sam. CASTIEL: You thought his life was at stake. DEAN: Yeah, I got played. CASTIEL: I thought I was saving Heaven. I got played, too. DEAN [with a weak smile]: So you're sayin' we're both a couple of dumbasses? CASTIEL [gently smiling back]: I prefer the word "trusting." Less dumb. Less ass.

And then Cas learns the truth of who Gadreel is:

CASTIEL: It's his fault – all of it. The corruption of man, demons, hell. God left because of him. The archangels – the apocalypse. If he hadn't been so weak, none of it would have happened. [CASTIEL gets white hot with anger and starts to shake the unconscious GADREEL] You ruined the universe, you damn son of a bitch! DEAN [grabs CASTIEL and swings him around to face him.]: Cas! Cas! Hey! CASTIEL: Dean, he – DEAN: I get it. But you got to chill.

And obviously NONE OF THIS was actually Gadreel’s fault. He was manipulated by Lucifer, and really, who among them HASN’T been directly manipulated into doing terrible things by Lucifer? And really, can we now say that all of this-- every last bit of it-- was Chuck’s original manipulation, and just another go-around of his favorite horrific story?

Because Gadreel may have been the one to stand aside for Lucifer to enter the garden, but in addition to all the pain and guilt, this was the beginning of Humanity making their own choices and bearing the consequences of those choices. You can’t have true joy without true suffering, and only humans can experience either. The “paradise” of the garden that Metatron had used to lure Gadreel into his service, the promise of the return to that idealistic utopia, was about OBEDIENCE and never about FREEDOM. This is what Abner had tried to show Gadreel, and he was killed for it. And isn’t that just the way Chuck’s stories always go?

Crowley tells Dean that he’s not willing to die for any of them, but then... he literally stands between Sam and Gadreel:

GADREEL: Hello, Sam. SAM: Who are you? CROWLEY: His name is Gadreel, the original chump. GADREEL: Was a chump. And now? I'm going to be the one that leads my kind back to heaven. I'm going to be a hero. But you, demon, for all your chatter, you will always be a coward. You should be running. [CROWLEY punches GADREEL in the face and GADREEL swings back hurling him over the table. GADREEL starts to kick him and SAM comes to his rescue only to be thrown backwards over the table himself. GADREEL straddles him and starts to strangle him.]

Gadreel tries to manipulate Sam, warning him that he still might die if Sam casts him out, but Sam does it anyway.

SAM: So what? I was willing to die. And now... Kevin... [His eyes fill with guilty tears] DEAN [strongly]: No. That is not on you. Kevin's blood is on my hands, and that ain't ever getting clean. I'll burn for that. I will. But I'll find Gadreel. And I will end that son of a bitch. But I'll do it alone. SAM: What's that supposed to mean? DEAN: Come on, man. Can't you see? I'm... I'm poison, Sam. People get close to me, they get killed...or worse. You know, I tell myself that I-I – I help more people than I hurt. And I tell myself that I'm – I'm doing it all for the right reasons, and I – I believe that. But I can't – I won't... Drag anybody through the muck with me. Not anymore. [DEAN looks pleadingly at his brother] SAM: Go. I'm not gonna stop you.

And there we go, in a season that began with Charlie’s voiceover saying something to the effect of, “There’s nothing the Winchesters can’t do if they stick together” over the opening chords of “Who Do You Love.” Which, at this Midseason Finale point  had to be so completely broken. Dean is convinced they can’t work together.

Wait, who wrote this episode? OH RIGHT, ANDREW DABB DID.

Can we see his pet themes at work in s15 yet? I think we can.

With the MoC apparently set to make a reappearance in 15.05 tonight, I’m thinking 9.11 will offer us some valuable insight into what Chuck is up to here. But also we know that Sam will be working with Cas even if Dean is still too messed up for a while, and this was the episode that really began to establish a friendship between Sam and Cas outside of Cas feeling responsible for Sam because of Dean.

And 9.12? Garth had abandoned them, abandoned Kevin, because he’d been bitten by a werewolf on a hunt and had been prepared to give in to that fate. And yet he’d been saved, found love, and found a family and purpose despite having believed he’d lost everything. He was still one of the good guys, even if he was a monster. And we saw the beginnings of the family theme that wouldn’t really have a chance to flourish until Dabb era:

Garth: Um...I know this may sound a little crazy, but... Maybe I could come back and hunt with you. I mean, with my werewolf mojo, we'd have an advantage. Dean: Yeah, look, Garth -- Garth: No, Dean. I want to make this right. I never should've left you guys, especially Kevin. Kevin was my friend. Friends don't do that. Dean: Well, hey, you said it -- you know, who cares where happiness comes from? Look, we're all a little weird, we're all a little wacky -- some more than others -- but...if it works, it works. You got something here. Okay? Even though they are werewolves. Or lycanthropes -- whatever. Don't let that go. Okay? You'll never forgive yourself. Besides, somebody's got to live to tell this damn story someday, and who better than you? Now shut up and come here.

 There was more I wanted to say as I was watching, but I think this covers most of the important stuff for now.

[timelock97]

Love Without A Name

Chapter Thirteen: We’re Live Love

Word Count: 3577

Masterlist

Warnings: Fluff, IMPLIED SMUT AT THE END

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

"You're going to dig a trench in the carpet if you keep pacing like that, mate." Harrison laughs, causing Tom to flip him off while he waits for his manager's list of options of what we can do to address what had happened on Friday.

Tom had kept the two of us inside the day after the incident to focus on us, and relaxing. We watched movies, cuddled, and had lots of take-out. He had even gone out and let our family and friends know that our phones would be off the whole day so no one would worry. It had been well needed.

"Okay, thanks Brian. We will discuss it and I will let you know what we decide before going further," a pause, "You too, yup, bye." Tom ends the call with a huff raking his fingers into his hair.

"What he say?" Harry asks, sliding his mug between his hands against the counter of the kitchen island.

"He said it was up to me if I want to discuss what happened to (Y/N); which obviously I do." He runs a hand through his hair as he walks further into the kitchen, "He said I could tweet about it, Instagram it, or try and work it into an interview within the next few months-" He lets out an annoyed groan. "It needs to be discussed, and I hate that it has to because it never should have happened. But it did, so now we do because I don't want it to happen again."

"You can't just post on it; it'll look like you are trying to cover something up." Harrison mutters as he takes a bite of a cookie that I had baked earlier. "(Y/N), these are amazing-"

"Thanks, Hazza," I giggle, swinging my legs and lightly kicking the kitchen drawers.

"Yeah, no posts; maybe after discussing it we can because I want the world to know that you are mine, lovey." Tom gives me a soft smile, causing the boys to aww and gag. Tom strides in to swipe at the boys, who laugh. Once the laughter dissipates, he continues. "Waiting for an interview won't be an option. It needs to be addressed soon; I don't want you to feel like you aren't safe to go out of the house because of what happened."

"What if you did a live?" Sam put into the air, "Then it's something that is out now and you can tack it to your page for those who miss it-"

"People will screen record parts too and put it places: YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, wherever." I add, looking over at Sam who nods back.

"And as people have questions, you can add to that story so that they can get some of their questions answered." Sam continues, looking back at Tom.

Tom takes in a breath, I can tell that he really doesn't want to address it this way, but we didn't know what else we could do. I stand slowly and walk over to him and wrap my arms around his torso and hug him. "We can even write down some questions that we know we can answer, and discuss that we also won't be telling them everything. And the best part," I look up at him with a goofy grin, "We can finally post our wedding photos. I know RDJ would love to see the comparison picture between him and Sue kissing versus us."

Tom chuckles, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. He leans his forehead against mine before letting out a soft breath. "Who has a pen and paper?"

Tom and I are settled on the couch, rechecking through our list of questions that we know might be asked and make notes at what else might be good to talk about.

"I can't think of anything else that needs to be discussed." I whisper as I tap the pen on the paper.

"Neither can I." He sighs, laying his head against my shoulder, pressing a kiss there. "Are you ready to do this?"

I nod, kissing the top of his head. "You want me to be in here when you start?"

He shakes his head, "No, I feel like I should talk about it first without you in here."

"Do you want me to be in the chat until you are close to when I should join you?"

"Only if you want to, I can call for you when I think I have talked about it enough if you don't want to."

"I'll stay on chat; if any questions come up I can jot them down." I lift my head away so he can lift his head. He looks at me gently before leaning forward and kissing my lips, deepening it gently while his hand comes to cup my cheek. When I pull away, he lets out a small whine. I run my hand through his hair, messing it up slightly before fixing it. "I'll see you in a few, handsome." I stand slowly, stretching before grabbing the notebook and walking out of the living room.

"I loooooooove you!" He calls, making me giggle and call back and echo of his words which causes him to laugh as well.

Once I am settled in our room, I flop on the bed and wait for the notification to come through. When it does, my heart picks up a bit as I join the chat. Everyone that has joined are sending hearts and saying hello.

Tom gives the people watching a soft smile before speaking, "Hey everyone, how is everyone doing?" Most of the chat really doesn't answer, there are a few that do, but most don't. "I'm back home; the new movie I'm filming is in London to finish up some scenes. But that's not why I am doing a live." I hear him take in a breath before looking back at the screen. "What I want to talk about happened a few days ago. I was still gone, and someone who is very close to me, who is very special to me, had a run in with some of you guys. I don't know if any of those people are watching, but what happened that day cannot happen again."

Questions begin to pop up in the chat.

What happened?

Are you going to talk about that girl?

There weren't full details on what happened.

She was walked out by Haz, I saw.

Tom sighs, looking down for a minute while he is collecting his thoughts before continuing. "On Friday, I found out that my wife was mobbed at our local mall. It was bad, so much so that she had a panic attack. I flew home a few days early to make sure she was okay."

Wife?

Did you just say wife??

But you aren't M A R R I E D??? Show me a ring!

"You heard me correctly, the girl that has been in recent photos that have been popping up is not my girlfriend, she is my wife. What happened is not something I ever wanted her to experience; no one ever wants to feel that way. So that is why I am coming out about this, because I want her to feel safe to be able to roam around and do things that she would normally do without fear of that happening again." He runs a hand through his hair, the annoyance and disappointment evident on his face. "This whole thing is very new to her as well, and we had planned to make it known when we both thought it was a good time. At this point," he shrugs, "Nothing seems better than the present."

Is she okay?

THE FUCK?!

Is she the girls from the photos? She's pretty

I smile turning off my screen, slowly crawling off the bed and making my way down the hall to the living room.

"She is the girl from the photos, her name is (Y/N), and we actually wanted to give you as much information as we are willing to give about our current relationship, as well as talk about her social media platforms-"

"Those will remain private." I say as I pop into frame, causing Tom to jump. I let out a laugh as he whips his head to the side.

"You scared me-"

"I wasn't trying to!" I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his nose before letting go and walking around the couch to sit down. "Uh, hello." I wave a little at the camera, "I'm (Y/N)."

"The love of my life-"

"You are a sap."

"Your sap," Tom lifts swaps his phone into his right hand so he can lift his left into frame to show off his ring, "forever-"

"Maybe we shouldn't have binged Big Bang Theory yesterday." I giggle, swatting at his hand before relaxing back into the couch.

"No, it was a good thing to binge." Tom chuckles, shifting his phone again before clearing his throat. "We came up with a list of some of the questions we thought you all might ask, so we will go through those before we take any questions on here."

"And Tom will tag this into a saved story so anyone who wants to go back through our answers can, as well as we will add answers as life goes on too. But we won't tell you everything, because we also want our life to be private."

"Well, it'll be on my account, but she will tag the story. You all know that I am basically ancient when it comes Instagram." He and I giggle before I wiggle the paper in my lap.

"Let's get started."

Tom and I talk about Heart Haven, about how we had been together for almost two years now (only recently married), and some of the smaller details that we were willing to share. The chat was mostly positive as we discussed everything. However, there were a few who did make some comments, but they got buried in the amount of positive comments. Most saying that they were glad that Tom and I were happy, that they were excited to see where our lives would take us, and eventually asked if there were any plans of little Tom's and (Y/N)'s running around anytime soon.

"I don't think there will be any anytime soon, some day, but not soon." I muse leaning my head on his shoulder. "I personally love kids, so it will happen eventually. But we have plenty of time to talk about that in the future."

"I will say one thing, they will be cute babies," Tom chuckles, bumping my head with his chin. "I mean, look at her-"

"Look at me, look at yourself." I roll my eyes, letting out a squeal when his fingers brush against my neck to tickle me. "Meanie."

"I'm not a meanie! It's not my fault you're ticklish." He chuckles as I stick my tongue out. "Well, guys we have been chatting with you for what, an hour and a half?" He checks the time stamp and nods, "Yeah, we have been on here for a long time. We are going to sign off. If you all have any more questions, I will post a little chat and (Y/N) and I will look at answering more questions within the next few weeks. Thanks for everyone who tuned in, and we will talk to you soon." Tom throws up a peace sign as I wave. Once his phone was off, Tom collapses in my lap, causing me to laugh. He groans loudly as I run my fingers through his hair and tug on the strands slightly while also massaging his scalp.

"I think it went okay."

"I do too; I just hope that nothing else bad happens to you."

"We won't know until it happens." I watch as Tom's eyes dart underneath his closed eyelids. I push his hair out of his face more before sliding my hand down his neck and press it over his heart. "How about I cook lunch then the two of us go to the pub tonight with your family, or friends. That good?"

His eyes flutter open as he smiles at me, "That sounds like a nice night. You took Monday off right?" I hum as I nod, "Good, cause we need a day out and I don't start filming until Wednesday."

"Whatever you are thinking, Holland, I am in."

~

The next few weeks fell into a quiet bliss. Work continued as normal, Tom was out filming, and nights closed with us crawling into bed and falling asleep curled up together only to wake up separated.

But today was different.

"Tom?" I call from the guest bedroom, standing with my arms on my hips as I stare up into the closet.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen the box that has my textbooks in it? I need it to look up some treatments." I wait a few moments to see if he responds.

"Uh, I thought it was in our closet."

"Is it?" I call as I walk down the hall back to our room.

"Yeah, it should be on the right side, next to some of my dress shoes." He calls down the hall, "Love?"

I pause in the hall, turning and looking at him standing at the opposite end. "Yeah?"

"I am going to be on a conference call for about an hour, then I'm all yours for the rest of the day." He smiles at me, leaning into the wall.

I smile widely back before clapping like a little kid. "Yay!"

He chuckles, shaking his head. When his phone rings, he pushes himself back off the wall before disappearing into the kitchen.

I turn and make my way back to the bed room, shutting the door behind me as to not bother him while he is on the phone. I walk into the small walk in closet, scanning the top shelf to see if I can find the box. "Ah-hah," I muttered as I walk over to Tom's side where his dress clothes are hanging up. I smile as I stand on my tip-toes to grab the bottom of it and pull the box forward. When the box tilts forward, another box slides off the top plummeting toward me. A small shriek leaves my lungs as I let go of the box I was retrieving and basically jumping into Tom's dress clothes as the two tumble to the floor with a loud thud. I curse under my breath before running to the bedroom door, seeing Tom moving into the hallway with a worried expression, his phone pressed firmly to his ear. "I'm okay, just dropped the box." I giggle, giving him a small thumbs up.

Tom chuckles, sighing gently. "What? No, my wife dropped something in our room and I thought she hurt herself, she's fine. What were you saying?"

I turn back into the room and into the closet. I place my hands on my hips, looking at the books and lose paper scattered across the floor, "(Y/N), you are still a mess." I crouch down and begin repacking my textbooks back into the box to be moved into the office across the hall. As I reach for one book, I notice the other box that had fallen.

It had been months since I had seen in, it's slightly open from falling off the highest shelf. I reach forward and pull the box toward me, placing it in my lap. I pull the lid off, noticing the bodysuit was disheveled, whether it being from falling or from when it had been shipped back to the apartment alongside my wedding dress and Tom's tux.

I pull the piece out, holding it in the light. I wonder how this would look on? I turn and look at the door, "He will be on that conference call for a while, I got time." I look back at the piece again, biting my lip. I let out a small laugh and stand, pulling my shirt over my head and shimmying out of my navy sweatpants. Once completely undressed, I pick the piece off of the floor, slowly pulling the piece up my bare legs and shimmying the straps over my arms. I glance at the box and notice a peach ribbon folded at the bottom. I take it and tie it around my middle, directly over the sheer fabric. I turn and look at myself in the mirror, a small gasp leaving my parted lips. "Damn, Hazel. How did you know this would look this good?" The piece hugged all my curves, making my waist look smaller, and breasts look fuller. I turn a little to look at all my assets, giggling to myself as I tug my hair out of its clip and fluff it around. I blush at my reflection, running my fingers over the lace that is over the bust while my eyes look at where it shifts into sheer fabric over the skin of my stomach only to go back to lace for the thong. I turn and look at my backside, looking at how it makes my butt look a little more plump, lace, sheer, lace fabric pattern repeating until it reaches the top where the criss-cross, spaghetti straps begin. I feel nothing short of gorgeous and dare I say it, sexy.

I walk over to my sweatpants and dig out my phone from the pocket, and turning on the camera, posing in front of the mirror to look back at later. While posing I turn so that my back is facing the mirror with my face peeking over my shoulder to take the photo. Only then do I make eye contact with Tom, who he is perched leaning against the door frame with his arms folded over his chest, a smirk painted on his lips. I squeak as I spin around and look at him, my cheeks burning hot, so much so I can feel the heat coming out of my ears. "Tom! What- I thought you had your conference call."

Tom chuckles, his own cheeks tinted a soft shade of pink. "Uh, I was, but it ended early, so I came to see what you were doing?" He pushes himself of the door frame and slowly strides toward me, smirk still plastered to his lips. "What I didn't expect you to be doing was to be dressed up and posing in this." His hand falls on my waist, tugging me toward him, my hands flying to his chest. "You look gorgeous, darling." Tom leans down and presses a soft kiss to the base of my neck, causing my eyes to flutter shut at the feeling. I shift so my neck is more exposed, causing him to press softer kisses up the column of my throat.

I swallow, taking a minute to let my clouded mind form coherent words. "I, uh, found it when I was trying to get my textbooks down. Decided I was curious how it would look on, and, uh," my breath hitches as his teeth brush against the skin below my ear, my nails clawing into his shirt as he tugs at it gently, leaving a mark that I would have to cover up later. "I didn't think it would look that good on."

"Well, darling, you definitely pull it off." He mutters against my ear before turning his head so his lips can meet my own. The kiss is slow, and passionate, like we have all the time in the world. When he pulls away, he goes back to kissing my neck, sucking more marks into my skin that scream that I am his.

"God, I can't think when you do that." I sigh as I feel his hands travel south to cup my cheeks.

"Well, maybe that's the plan." He chuckles into my skin; I place a hand under his chin, lifting his head from its place against my neck and press my lips against his in a rush, deepening it quickly. Tom groans into my mouth as he leans into me, grasping at the back of my thighs as he lifts me, my legs wrapping around his waist. Tom carries me out of the closet, only pulling away when we fall back onto the bed causing a small shriek to fall past my lips. The two of us laughing a bit, his forehead pressing into mine. "God, I love you."

"I love you too. I'm so glad I met you, so glad I get the chance to be able to spend the rest of my life with you." I whisper, pressing another kiss to his lips.

"I think I got a little ahead of myself here," Tom chuckles, shifting so that he has his knees on either side of my hips instead of his previous position. "I don't want to force you to do anything you aren't comfortable with-"

"Tom," I whisper, causing him to shiver as I place my hand on his cheek, "I wouldn't want anything else. Just, go slow, I'm more than a little inexperienced." I giggle, watching as Tom's soft expression darkens, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

"Love, all I want you to do is lay back, relax, and enjoy." He mutters against my lips before pressing into me, my hands flying into his hair to pull him impossibly closer.

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

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, we are almost to the end! ONE MORE PART, AND ITS A TIME SKIP! Reblog and comment!

@revenantwriting​ | @bellagrayson-wayne​ | @jackiehollanderr​ | @snowxbarryxendgame​ | @let-me-luve-you​ | @mybitchborky​ | @linnyalou​ | @fanficscuziranout​​ | @literallytrashhhhhh​ | @akweenbitch​ | @marveltomjunkie​ | @infinitycaprogers​

[elysiumwaits]

Weekly Werewolf Sitcom: Grocery List God

Part of my ridiculous fluffy pack-as-family, everyone-lives-nobody-dies AU called Weekly Werewolf Sitcom. They can all be read as standalones, because they’re all just fluff with no hurt. 

Grocery List God on AO3

Tags/Warnings: AU - Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, Pack Mom Stiles, Pack Dad Derek, Derek is a Good Alpha, Stiles is 18, Shenanigans, Unconventional Dirty Talk That Isn’t Really Dirty, Banter

Notes: Inspired by me attempting to grocery shop this morning - I thought about writing this instead of focusing on all of the insane people and noise around me at Wal-Mart after church on a Sunday.

“Why the holy hell are you all here?” Stiles asks when he and Derek climb out the Jeep to find half the pack waiting in the grocery store parking lot. “Oh no. No, nuh-uh, we’re not doing this. Get back in your cars and go away, you will eat what we buy, and you will be happy with it.” He’s pretty sure that, although Derek is doing the stoic thing with his face, his eyes are smiling behind his sunglasses. 

In front of them, leaning on the bumpers of two different cars and looking like a ragtag group of hooligans out for trouble, are Jackson, Scott, Erica, Boyd, and Isaac. Jackson seems annoyed as ever, scowling with his arms crossed next to Boyd. It’s a tactical move, Stiles knows, because Boyd is the calmest of the bunch - Isaac, Scott, and Erica can easily build on each other and end up doing headache-inducing things like racing IKEA carts or climbing trees. Boyd won’t usually talk them out of it like Allison or Lydia will, instead opting to watch with blatant but quiet amusement, but by standing next to Boyd, Jackson is less likely to get goaded into doing something dangerous or dumb. 

Scott, Erica, and Isaac all turn pleading eyes on Stiles. “Stiles,” Scott says, apparently having been previously appointed as their spokesperson. “It’s Sunday! We always hang out on Sundays. This way we can hang out and be productive at the same time.”

“Uh-huh.” Stiles doesn’t buy this one bit. “You just want to come grocery shopping with us because you think you’ll get a say in what goes in the cart. You won’t get a say, Scott, we have a list.” He gives the paper in his hand an emphatic shake. “We are not deviating from the list. So go home, or to the loft, or go work on the house, or something far away from here.” He makes a shooing motion, and steels himself against three matching puppy dog faces (plus Boyd’s grin and Jackson’s scowl). 

What he absolutely isn’t prepared for, though, is for those three puppy dog faces (and Boyd’s grin and Jackson’s scowl) to shift from him to Derek. He barely has time to realize what’s happened before Derek buckles under the pressure and shrugs, which is pretty much a surefire yes in Derek-body-language.

Erica whoops, and she, Scott, and Isaac take off running for the cart corrals, presumably to get a headstart on wreaking havoc in the local grocery store, while Boyd and Jackson follow the terror trio at a leisurely pace.

“Don’t race the carts!” Stiles calls, rolling his eyes. “We can’t get kicked out, we live in this town!” He turns a glare on Derek. “You’re weak. You caved so hard. In like a second.”

Derek shrugs again, pushes his sunglasses up to the top of his head. “They’re all going to college in a couple months, might as well get some time in before they go.”

“I am nineteen years old, Derek,” Stiles says, like he’s not grinning because Derek is such a sap, deep in his little werewolf heart. “I don’t think you’re allowed to have any kind of empty-nest feelings before the age of thirty-five, at least. They’re going to make a mess, and they’ll probably try to sneak junk food and god knows what else into the cart when we’re not looking. Your bank account is going to suffer from this, you know it will.” 

He’s not serious anymore, and they both know it. Derek has a good point - though everyone’s colleges are relatively close and Stiles is going to be taking online classes rather than going to a campus in the name of working on his Spark for a couple years, he’s going to miss his pack. Maybe that’s worth the headache of wrangling six werewolves into acting like people at the grocery store. 

He leans over and bumps his shoulder into Derek’s, grinning when the wolf looks over to catch his eye. “We’re going to end up with three carts of groceries, and you know it.”

“We have the deep freeze,” Derek says. “I’m gonna have to buy a fridge for the house anyway.”

Stiles snorts. “You don’t even have electricity at the house yet. You’re going to have two refrigerators in your loft, because you’re soft and you can’t say no to your betas. It’s going to be ridiculous, and they will love it.”

Derek nods, smile quirking at the corners of his lips. He’s so reserved in public sometimes that Stiles has a hard time reading him. “Jackson’s going to talk you into getting everything you need to make lemon bars, and Isaac’s going to just carry around craisins and salad mix until we tell him to put it in the cart.”

Stiles stops walking to watch as Scott takes off running - at a normal human speed, thank goodness - with Erica in the basket of a shopping cart. Jackson is currently being talked into pushing a cart with Isaac in it, and is clearly wavering from his safe place next to Boyd. This will probably end in blood or property damage. 

“No more than three packs of those M&M cookies for Erica, or she’ll make herself sick again,” Stiles says, looking at Derek. 

“Boyd likes that caramel popcorn stuff.” Derek nods, and snags the list out of Stiles’ hand and the pen from behind Stiles’ ear. He starts writing, and Stiles resigns himself to his fate. “He won’t ask for it, so it has to be on the list already.”

“Lydia and Allison aren’t here, but we’ll have to figure them in too, or we’ll never hear the end of it. Do we need to factor Peter in this week?”

Derek shakes his head. “He’s doing that thing in Nevada, so we can skip getting that coffee he likes. What about Scott?”

Stiles snorts again. “Scott wouldn’t know shy if it bit him in the ass, you know that. He’ll throw what he wants in the cart.”

They look at the modified list together for a long moment. 

“Alright, lowkey goal is to get everyone out alive and without bloodshed.” Stiles gives a fond sigh. “Highkey goal is to not get temporarily or permanently banned from this fine establishment, because I don’t want to have to drive to the next town over to grocery shop every two weeks.”

“Tall order,” Derek jokes. “We’ve only been banned from two places in town, babe, I don’t think the grocery store will-”

There’s a sudden loud crash, the distinct sound of a cart smacking into another cart, followed by a yelp, a thump, and then the loud blare of a car alarm going off. Stiles and Derek resolutely stare at each other instead of looking over at what is sure to be another hit to Derek’s wallet.

“Well, we can always have groceries delivered off the Internet,” Stiles says with a sigh. “You want to rock-paper-scissors to see who has to deal with that?”

Derek shakes his head, but still doesn’t look over. The car alarm is still going off, and the betas are suspiciously silent now. “Take the list and run. Maybe they’ll let us check out before they ban us if it’s already in the cart.”

“I don’t want to look,” Stiles mutters. “I talked Isaac off the top of a telephone pole a couple weeks ago, Derek. Erica and Scott are banned from three IKEAs. I hate to say it, but I think Jackson and Boyd are the good children.”

“We still have Allison and Lydia.” Derek looks over at whatever mess awaits him and gives a barely-imperceptible sigh. “Good news, no one is bleeding.”

“Bad news?”

“Erica appears to have rolled across the hood of a Toyota Camry. She and Scott look pretty guilty, and she hasn’t gotten off the ground yet. I think she may have dented something. There’s an upside-down shopping cart.”

“Where are Jackson and Isaac?” Stiles still doesn’t look. He’s not sure his blood pressure can handle it. “Do I want to know?”

“I think they left the scene of the crime, there’s an abandoned shopping cart near the front of the store.” Derek scans the parking lot. “Boyd is standing far enough away to indicate he wasn’t involved, but he’s definitely doing that thing.”

“The thing where he’s laughing but he’s not? Erica’s probably not dead, then, at least.” Stiles rolls his eyes and blows out a huff. “How’s that empty-nest thing going for you?”

“It’ll be quiet,” Derek says, and squares his shoulders as he prepares to go deal with whatever the hell they’ve just done to that poor Camry. “I’m not sure if that’ll be a blessing or a curse yet.”

“Little of both, depending on the day.” Stiles works up the courage and glances over, and, yep, that sure looks like Erica’s managed to dent a car they don’t even own. She doesn’t have good luck with cars, that’s for sure. “Okay. You go be the big bad Alpha, I’ll go start the shopping. Bring ‘em in if they promise to behave.” He leans in and presses a quick kiss to Derek’s face. “I’ll get you that weird carbonated water you like so much.”

“Get the kind I like,” Derek says quickly. “Not the berry kind.”

A grin spreads across Stiles’ face. “I will only get ‘the kind you like’ if you say what flavor it is.”

Derek glares a little, pretending he’s not about to break into a smile despite the chaos awaiting him across the parking lot. “Pamplemousse,” he says quickly. “You’re ridiculous. It’s a real fruit.”

“I just like hearing your badass, model-hot voice saying nonsensical words. It turns me on.”

“Collywobbles,” Derek says, low and seductive. “Bumbershoot. Lollygag.”

“Oh, baby, you get me so hot,” Stiles deadpans.

“Flibbertigibbet.” Derek finishes with a wink no one else can see, and then turns away, dropping his sunglasses back over his eyes to hide how amused he really is, putting a scowl on his face instead. “Reconvene in twenty minutes?”

“I’ll shoot for a speed-run.” Stiles starts heading toward the entrance of the grocery store they probably won’t be allowed into again after this. He does, however, take a moment to check out just how nice Derek’s jeans fit him, before he goes inside with Boyd following from where he’d been standing and witnessing Erica and Scott’s crash-and-burn. 

“There’s always online grocery delivery,” Boyd offers. “You know, for when we get banned.”

“You are all conspiring to give me grey hair,” Stiles says. “Come on, let’s go get your popcorn.”

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke [Part 12]

Can we beat the game using Nuzlocke rules and only battling against trainers?

The current answer is leaning towards no. Still, we shan’t give up or in.

Four badges in. Next stop?

Uh. Haven’t decided yet.

So things did not go what I would call according to plan with the Grimer. Ideally, it would have been a higher level than 30. It wouldn’t need me to hold its hand through a bunch of leveling. It would immediately be an asset. Life would be beautiful. Nothing would hurt.

Only it’s level 30.

I have a Ground, Water, Electric, and Normal Type in rotation. Grass has historically been a problem, but it is much less of a problem with a Snorlax. Oak isn’t always the most useful, but he’ll be receiving a huge power boost come Surf collection.

Bark and Trunk are going to be wanting all the Attack EVs I can feed them. Sap is going to want Attack as well. And HP.

Its move pool is a huge plus, and I would be happy to have it available, but to make it available, a lot of switch training would have to happen. When Sprinkle went through that, experience gain dropped to a slow crawl. Sprinkle was only level 25, and at an even later stage in the game, but the approach taken with this round was intended to be geared towards a minimum of pokemon.

Other things to consider would be that in the first run, I lost two pokemon, and a lot of work went into making up for that. The two runs can’t be compared fairly with what levels to expect further down the road. ...I. think.

By the first Elite Four fight, Po was level 46. My highest level pokemon was 49.

It did not go well.

I need this one to go better.

Does it go better with Sap, or does it go better with maxing the heck out of the other four.

I really, really want to use Sap.

Having a status-reliant choice instead of a pure powerhouse makes me more comfortable with everything else. Minimize is good. Screech is welcome. Sludge Bomb is welcome. Acid Armor is welcome. Muk is a kickass thing to have available.

But I’m not sure splitting the exp is going to do me any favors this late in the game. Silph offers a lot of lenience, I guess, but. Cycling Road is going to go to Trunk. So is a lot else, and what doesn’t should help out Bark.

Five pokemon starts to be a lot.

Fuck.

I’m trying it out.

Sap, welcome to the team. Don’t die.

In happier news...

Good job making it this far, buddy.

Route 16, what are we catching here today?

Doduo!

Sap, prove your worth by failing to kill it.

Damn it, Sap. +123 to you and Bark. -_-

Siiiiiigh. I need 30 pokemon for the Itemfinder.

Now Trunk is just going to claim. As much of Cycling Road as possible. Bark will help when possible. ...Or do I want to go deal with Silph? Hey, past me, wtf is the best way of doing this nonsense?

..hm.

I’m going to do Silph for the sheer heck of it, I think. I don’t want to get as far as my Rival yet, but. I don’t know. I’m just not feeling Cycling Road right now. Video games are supposed to be fun, right? Let’s chase some damn fun.

And I don’t think I ever got my Route 7 thing. Let’s do that, too. Hi Growlithe.

SAP WHAT THE HECK. WE WANTED THAT.

Did I misremember how much damage Sludge does???

...

Oh.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I very much did.

...+130 to Sap and Acorn. -headdesk-

With that in mind, actually, Sap, you and Bark want to try your hands on the dojo next door to Sabrina? Trunk can’t touch any of those guys thanks to the Super Effective problem.

..And Bark can barely touch any of them thanks to her low Defense.

Yeeeeeah, after that short experiment, we’re just gonna go straight to Silph. Where the Rockets are not a thing to be too afraid of.

Beautiful building.

Hellscape place.

...

I don’t wanna do this, either. Uh. South of Lavender, maybe?

Out of order ALL the things.

Route 13, let’s catch a thing.

The thing is a Venonat! We now wait and watch to see if it will end up dead like other recent catches for totally unpreventable reasons.

Caught!

Its name is Oak.

Route 14, in the middle of all these trainers we’re beating down largely out of order.

...Gloom’s technically not viable because Oddish and species clause, but screw it, it’s not going to be used, I’m too lazy to look up what else is here, and I just want this part done and over with. I know that’s really bad form. but. I am not a rules lawyer. once, maybe. not anymore.

Caught. Its name is Oak.

So far with trainers, the way I’m keeping my sanity with exp division is that the Bikers go to Trunk, and Bark and Sap get the Bird Keepers.

It is slow and tiresome. I do not care for thinking when I am playing my video games.

We’re in Route 18 now, and doing the same nonsense to a Raticate. This is it. This is the point. This is where I stop caring about any of the rules except the no grinding thing. Everything else is irrelevant.

Bark ffs. Stop. Sigh.

+414 exp. Route 18 officially dead.

(Also, this looks like I should have known that she would kill it, but Bark still knows Mud Slap. It does as much nothing as anything on my team can. Still not enough nothing when critical hits are involved.)

Good Rod get so that Fuchsia might have a happier ending.

Back in the realm of completely legal catches, we have a Poliwag!

Throwing a Great Ball proves the best strategy. In that it works. Poliwag get! Its name is Oak.

In other, trainer-related news, Sap hits 34 and learns Acid Armor.

We have also cleared out the section of trainers that is not Saffron and not Cycling Road that comes pre-Koga. Naisu.

-time passes-

So, post-Cycling Road, Trunk is level 41, Bark is level 42, Sap is 35, Oak is 37, and Acorn is 40. I think what makes the most sense in terms of safety is to go clear out the Silph building, then deal with the dojo and assorted Gyms.

Unfortunately.

I hate Silph Co.

So, so deeply.

Deep breath time.

Oh, wait, I want Oak to have Surf first. Never mind, we can still delay this party!

Let’s do it.

Hey, and while we’re at it, we have a chance at a Parasect!

-gasp-

We caught it!

Its name is Oak.

I don’t remember if it was me or someone I knew, but as a child, I have distinct memories of the timer flat-lining just a handful of squares away from talking to this guy. It filled me with enough sadness that I think maybe I was the one having the issues.

The Safari Zone is a lot harder when you have no idea what you’re supposed to do or where you’re meant to go.

Oak learns Surf!

We also give the Warden his teeth back, so Strength get.

I’m gonna see about catching a Route 19 thing. Due to it being something I can do that doesn’t involve the Silph building.

Yes, a Krabby. As we learned from Heero’s run, they make for excellent HM slaves.

Caught!

Its name is Oak. Sadly, I think it will be replacing Oak in the party.

Sigh.

I think we’re. back to the sad part.

(Route 17 option: Doduo. Status: caught. Name: Oak.)

UGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

Granted, it’s much easier without having to record every single fight, but the memories of the most recent time I did this are harsh and painful and I don’t like them.

Several floors later, yeah okay, this isn’t so bad.

I still hate it.

However, I can safely say I know who the best character in the Pokemon multiverse is.

Best. Girl.

She’s on floor 9, future self. Sorry about your life.

Because there are so many vitamins hidden around the building, I’m starting to really panic about how my team is going to handle the final parts of the game. I of course love all my children equally, but losing the first team was rough, and I can’t imagine that I’ll continue to engage with my pokemon on any level if things consistently fall to pieces in the very last sequences.

In a funny way, I think the EV training I’m softly tripping through might be hampering things a little. The balance is more sideways than my usual in-game teams have, because I’m focusing a lot on who’s fighting what. There are no random bursts of Defense being distributed, for instance. Oak is the closest to balance, and that’s because Oak had to do most everything before we had a real team (no offense buddy, you rock).

I don’t know. I’m paranoid. Things did not go well with Heero and friends. I think I want to invest in some of the X [stat] items, you know, like the way of the speedrunner, but the way I usually play these games involves brute force.

Full stop.

I can’t repeat enough how little I enjoy thinking in my video games.

But what that means is that I’m not used to using X items. And spending a turn on something I haven’t spent years of background noise thinking about could have disastrous consequences.

The disaster is something I fear. Clearly.

Sigh. There’s not helping it right now, so. Silph.

LOOK MAN, CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF TRAINERS I HAD TO BEAT TO GET UP HERE

I kind of love that your Rival doesn’t appear to do anything at all about Team Rocket. He just shows up because hey, Red will be doing the hero stuff over there! Time to throw down!

Then he loses and just goes back to worrying about his League quest.

He’s almost like a real ten-year-old.

Acorn thank you for existing.

Wait. Crap, what deals with the Venusaur? Did I decide to just throw Trunk at that? Because that’s what I’m doing?

Yeah, fine, that works.

I got a Lapras.

Its name is Oak.

Sprinkle, I miss you.

Oh whoops. Acorn’s still in front. I don’t think I want that.

Kangaskhan without a Fighting Type is weird. Not a problem weird, because yay, Trunk exists. But weird. I keep expecting to have something super effective against it.

One Master Ball for me. Yay.

Now off to the dojo.

Where I’m going to try not to get Sap killed by letting him have this fight for great exp. I trust Sap’s moves. I trust the concept of their usefulness. Then I see critical hits and tragedy everywhere.

Sap.

Do not die.

Does my hat look black to you.

Level 37 Hitmonlee.

You know. I have the post that says this involves a level 37 Hitmonlee open in another tab. And yet. This still comes as a horrible shock and my brain is already playing taps for Sap.

!

The pain of one Hi Jump Kick. Not bad. I think we might make it, little guy.

We won!

And no one died!

Yay!

I guess that means it’s time for Koga.

Boo. But we’ll let Trunk punch through. Maybe with Bark, too.

Or Oak can eat a Kadabra. That works.

Trunk makes it through all the pre-Koga peeps with little trouble, and we move on to the man himself.

-gasp-

Awesome. More awesome is how everyone’s still alive. Oh happy day before we go forth and fight Sabrina.

Toxic get.

Trunk is level 46, as seen above. Bark is 44. Acorn is 42. Oak is 41. Sap is 37.

Oak’s job is to eat Sabrina. With any luck, Oak will continue to be a help with Blaine, though Bark and Sap will want some of that sweet exp too.

...Basically, what this all means is that I’ve stopped worrying about most of what’s going on with my team. I’m now just watching the levels and letting my dread run the show.

Dread and Oak. The dream team. Oak’s hit 44. I have faith.

.....Ooookay things are going awry because a Calm Minded Alakazam packs a wallop with Psychic, so I’m switching in Acorn under the assumption that he can survive one Psychic and will outspeed the thing.

Pictures taken just before disaster, fyi.

Houston, we have a problem.

Trunk wraps things up.

But. Uh.

Gyarados damage control is gone.

Acorn is gone.

What even is life without Acorn.

That critical hit would have been the end of Oak. Your oldest friend. I know we both wanted things to go differently, but I’m sure you understand why this is the end result.

I will miss you.

So much.

The lack of your warm presence will be a loss for us all.

I also no longer have something on my team with Thunderbolt, so. The script is no longer clear. I guess I can be less worried about levels, but. This right here might be the end of this round.

With a heavy heart, we head to the oceans where Acorn should have reigned supreme.

And stop Sap from evolving so he can learn Sludge Bomb at 43. Hopefully doing that won’t lead to another unfortunate accident, but if it does happen, I’m sadly resigned to it.

I don’t know how many times Sap has hurt himself in confusion in this fight, but it’s too many.

Then the Tentacruel comes in when this is finally over, and Sap hurts himself in confusion.

Yeah.

Sap’s just eating every single confusion problem of the entire run. He’s taking it all for himself.

But. we. get. through. it. As a family.

Hit Route 20, and now I have a level 8 Tentacool. Its name is Oak.

Supersonic is hitting everything and it is absolutely miserable.

Seafoam Island gives us.... Golbat! Apparently we already had a Zubat, so whoops, but in any case, its name is Oak. And needs to be moved from the D E A D box because whoops.

Does Oak want to learn Fly and help greatly with things not being awful?

Boy howdy do I.

And I am at 30 pokemon in my Pokedex, so it’s time for me to go grab my Itemfinder and Leftovers.

...Oh. Golbat doesn’t learn Fly. Well fine then. Another Oak will help me.

After all.

He is

Oak’s Aide.

Got one Leftovers. Two Leftovers. Awesome.

-many minutes later-

Sap gets Sludge Bomb! Do you know what that means?

Sap! We’ve done it! We’ve kept you alive! You’ve made it through your trying times as a Grimer!

Now let’s go into that non-haunted mansion that makes up most of Blaine’s island’s real estate.

I’m just going to shove Bark in front and. idk. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I’m just waiting for Victory Road, the day of reckoning, and. Maybe better than last time.

Growlithe caught in the mansion. Its name is Oak.

Secret Key get.

Blaine, why must you be so sketchy.

Okay, so for this Gym, I think I’ll be using Sap more than expected. Bark and Oak will deal with a lot of Giovanni, because they don’t have to worry about Ground really causing an extra problem. That makes this a better place for Trunk and Sap to level up. Agreed?

Yeah sure, whatever.

I guess the other thing to consider is if Bark will really be a help in this endeavor.

She’s very, very fast, and will learn Earthquake naturally. But she can’t take a hit, and with the loss of Acorn, I’m thinking what I have to do is just have Trunk, Oak, and Sap tank everything; lots of X items, lots of Full Restores.

Most of the time, Bark can’t afford to take a second hit of anything.

If I really want to optimize, Cutting down to three out of my four might be the better call.

Ugh, that’s such a dangerous number, though.

Sap has an amazing move set. I really could just...

Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, Lance, Rival.

Trunk could probably handle Lorelei. Sap could do the Fighting half of Bruno, and the other half isn’t really a problem. The plan with Agatha was always to teach Po Shadow Ball, but then Zaft needed Thunderbolt, so I couldn’t afford it. Lance is hell, but not one a Dugtrio is likely to improve by much.

I have no idea what to do for Oak.

But if I can set Sap up, a lot of problems become manageable. I can’t brute force this. I keep saying that, and I keep ignoring it because that’s not how I play these games. I need better strategies. Bark’s Attack stat isn’t up to being a glass cannon. She’s a glass rifle, maybe. Fantastic, but eating up resources without serving an extra purpose. She’ll be just as dead in two hits if I keep on giving her exp. Leveling could remove that weakness, but I don’t have anything to work with there.

I have to focus on three.

Damn it.

For now, let’s finish Blaine, shall we.

Got the badge.

Bill Gaiden?

So he says.

So ends the post, because I just can’t.

[books-and-dragons]

Congratulations on 400 followers! If you're still open to taking prompts, I got an AkiRyu idea in my head of Ryuji sending Akira text messages and voicemails while he's in prison after Christmas, just like general things of how things are going with him and the rest of the gang and of course telling him how much he misses him. Don't feel obligated but I thought I'd give it out!

THANK YOU!! And g o d when I read this prompt I fell in love with it, I am really sorry if it reads disconnected or anything along those lines at all…..this was such a good prompt and wow thank you for sending it to me!

Fandom: Persona 5Summary: Maybe, if he rang Akira’s number, he could pretend that it was all okay….that Akira could hear him, listen to him from Juvie. That he’d respond with snarky comments and carefully calculated plans to escape. Instead, he gets the same message every time.

‘You person you are calling is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone’

The attic of Leblanc was empty, the only sign someone had been living there the odd trinkets lying around the room. Bedsheets folded neatly at the end of a bed, all properties orderly and clean. Crafting tools hidden away.

The one thing lying out of place was a phone, plugged in to the wall, abandoned.

Accidentally left on sound.

The first time it rang was just a matter of hours after the phone’s owner had left, gentle chiming breaking through the silence of the attic, past the loud outcries and sobs from downstairs.

“Hey, Akira? This is just some stupid prank, isn’t it- well you can stop it now! Come on dude it’s Christmas- let up the jokes for one day. We’re all waiting on ya- well, I am- but you’ve really convinced the others, they’re cryin’ and all. Talk about a harsh prank dude. Just get back here already, we’re waiting with your presents!”

The next time the phone rang, the voice on the other end wasn’t so cheerful.

“….Boss wasn’t joking, was he?…. DAMN IT! Why the HELL do you always have to turn yourself in?! Who gave you the right to decide what was right for the entire team?! We’ve just killed a God and now you’re leaving? To make some shitty police officers happy, are you kidding me?! Why do you ALWAYS have to do things on your own- did you ever even think to talk to us about it. Hell I was with you last night- what do you not trust me?! Is that was it is?! I-“

Another voice interrupted. Higher pitched, more feminine,

“Ryuji? RYUJI! Come on hang up-”

“No, Ann, get off!”

Something thudded to the ground, there was a flurry of rustling. The sounds of a struggle, a fight.

“Can’t you see we’re all upset-”

The line was cut off.

“A-Akira? S-sorry for the call earlier….I-I guess I got a bit worked up, huh?….Geez…”

A shuddering breath.

“Dude, this is my third call today….your voicemail’s gonna get totally packed….when’re you even gonna get to listen to them….”

A sniffle.

“Talk about a shit Christmas. We could barely focus, nobody was really in the mood for celebratin’….”

He took a deep breath, when he spoke again his voice was thick with emotion.

“Why did you have to go?”

“Hey….it’s me. Again. We held a meeting today, it’s not the same without you at the head of the table. Makoto keeps stopping to hear your confirmation but-” Another deep breath, “But you weren’t there. Between you and Morgana….the thieves feels empty.”

“We’re gonna get you out of there. Even if I’ve gotta do it myself.”

“Futaba asked me to go talk to her today, we met at Leblanc for coffee and curry. I think Boss has been hiding how much he misses you, today when he was serving us he went to tell you it’s your turn on dishes-”

There was a pause.

“He didn’t say much after that, but apparently he’d been all ‘mopey’ too- Futaba mentioned adoption. I dunno if it was a joke or not, but I think he should. And not just because that would mean you’d stay with us- with me- once you’re back. I mean…there’s still your parents, but you don’t mention them at all. I know we already talked about this, but I mentioned it to Ma and….well….dude, do they even know what’s happened to you?”

“Anyway, Futaba’s apparently been going through your phone and she saw all my voicemails. I thought she was gonna laugh at me, but she just wanted to talk it over, she reckons it’s a good idea, and promised she wouldn’t mention it to anyone else.”

“She’s called for another thieves meeting tomorrow, apparently it’s about what she found on your phone. But you know Futaba, she’ll not say anythin’ just to watch us suffer…..I’ll call back tomorrow and tell you what she says.”

“We’re getting you out.”

Unhesitating, the words rushed out in a flurry of excitement.

“Futaba found the contacts of all those friends of yours on ya phone, and we’re gonna try recruiting them to help out! By the way dude, just how many people do you know?! An effin’ fortune teller? Really?”

The laughter was light, relaxed, a tone completely contrasting from past calls.

“Apparently Makoto wants ‘words’ about that guy from Untouchable, but I dunno why she was so surprised. Maybe it was when Futaba mentioned he probably had been in the Yakuza- by the way, if that’s true, you gotta tell me everything!…Right after I kick your ass for associating with the Yakuza to start with.”

“We’re all meeting up tomorrow to make an actual plan.”

There was a long pause.

A deep breath.

“It’s New Years tomorrow.”

When the voice returned, it was back to the heavy, emotive tone the voicemail system had been receiving so frequently

“It’s New Years and you’re stuck in a jail cell. Cold and alone. It’s complete BULLSHIT!”

Something clattered in the background.

“We were supposed to spend New Years together! Share one of those stupid kisses that all couples do for the new year, and you’d get all blushy about it because you’re such a sap for romance, and we’d be together and happy and for FUCK SAKE IT ISN’T FAIR!”

Choked sobs broke him off, before the message was promptly cut.

In the pitch-black of the Leblanc attic, the screen of a phone broke through the darkness, chiming ringtone cutting through the silence.

A minute passed, and the alert of a voicemail pinged.

“Happy New Years, Akira!”

The voice, initially cheerful, fell flat. Dull and tired.

“….I miss you. It was worse, being in Shibuya, watching all the other couples kiss with the New Year, knowin’ you’re not there. Knowin’ that your miles away, locked awa-”

The voice hitched. A deep breath.

“No. I’m not going there again. Our plan!  Let’s focus on the plan….” Another heavy sigh, before his voice lightened, “We’re all goin’ to track down and talk to your ‘friends’, try persuade them to campaign for your release. Hell it’s you, as if they’re gonna say no. How can anyone say no to you….”

In the background, cheers of merriment echoed.

“I swear Akira, we’re going to get you out of there.”

“It took us a few days- but we found everyone! And they agreed to help! Dude, this is great!”

A light chuckle and whooping cheer of victory.

“I dunno what stuff you’ve been up to, but they all claimed they were in your debt- you’re incredible, ya know that?  You’re finally gonna get outta that hell hole!”

…

…

“Hey….Makoto mentioned something today, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it….the police, they’re treatin’ you okay, right? I-I mean, last time they had you-”

A hitch of breath, ragged breathing,

“I-I can’t take that again Akira, I can’t. Every time I think about it all I see is you, all bruised and brok-broken-”

A cry,

“This is all my fault. I shoulda stayed with you that night, stopped you goin’ the next mornin’. I knew somethin’ was wrong and I said nothing- godDAMMIT!”

A dull thud cut through the sobs, as if something had just been kicked.

“Some shitty boyfriend I am, can’t even protect you from this. How useless.”

There was a soft flump, as if the speaker had taken a seat.

“I miss you. Shit Akira I miss you so much. Nothing’s the same here with you gone. Shujin’s so much more quiet, sure there’s Ann and Makoto and Haru, but it’s not the same. I never know what to do with myself, I can’t go the the gym because we always train there together, the Arcade is too empty without you there….I forgot how alone I was until I had you, and now I don’t know what to do without you.”

More sniffles, a muffled whimper,

“I’ll get you back Akira. I promise.”

The January chill was only broken by the sun breaking through the windowpanes of Leblanc’s attic, the cold being of little deterrence to the functionality of the phone on the workbench, as it began to ring again.

“Hey man, you wouldn’t believe the gossip at Shujin right now. Apparently, word got out about you bein’ in juvie, and at the same time as people started hearing that you were testiyin’ against Shido. Those rumours started last week, but it’s gotten worse…..everyone’s pretty much convinced you’re leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Briefly, there was a jingle, as if something were being fidgeted with.

“It got outta hand before we could do anything about it. Besides, since those rumours people are lookin’ at us even more weird than usual- it’s kinda creepy. At least you don’t have to be dealin’ with that right now…. Makoto says it’s only a matter of time before someone asks us about it though. Geez can’t people mind their own business….”

A loud bell chimed, deafening even across the phone.

“Well, that’s the end of classes. I said I’d meet Ann, we’re gonna go check up on the progress with that weird doctor round the corner from Leblanc. By the way, we’ve gotta talk about that when you get back, doing shady ‘clinical trials’…. what the hell man….”

“It’s been a week since I left you a message….sorry about that man. Everything’s been so busy, plannin’ the whole campaign and shit to get you outta juvie, never had time to make a call….but it’s all worth it, because once that journalist finishes her article, the campaign will be finished! All those friends of yours really pulled through. Hell, you’re all buddy buddy with a politician?! Dude!”

“I can’t believe it’s nearly over.” They sighed, “We’ve been working to this for weeks. Once Sae hands over the case file, there’s no way the judge won’t overturn your arrest! She doesn’t know much about what they’ll do with the whole ‘record’ thing, but still….”

“I can’t wait to have you back.”

The attic of Leblanc was spotless, polished and dusted surfaces, fresh linen sheets over the bed in the far corner of the room, ordered stack of ‘borrowed’ DVDs on the side. Various trinkets reflected the light from the sun streaming in through the windows.

All ready for the return of its inhabitant.

The only current occupant of the room grinned around at it, slumping onto the worn sofa as he dug out his phone, one hand tapping onto the phone number was was all too familiar, the other running through his bleached locks, fingers lightly tugging at strands as he hit the green call button.

Ironic, he couldn’t help but think, as the phone rang just feet from him, that default pinging sound Akira seemed to use for all his alerts. He let it ring.

Eventually, he was sent to voicemail.

“Well dude, today’s the day! You’re gettin’ outta juvie!” Ryuji grinned, “Everyone went all out, we’re gonna surprise you when you get here- Boss is already on his way. He’s gonna be hours early but when Futaba pointed that out he didn’t really seem to care. The sooner you get your ass back the better, if ya askin’ me!”

Ryuji played with a loose hem on the sofa, “It’s just gonna be the thieves, and I mean don’t get me wrong I love those guys but….is it selfish for me to wish they weren’t coming over? That it was just you and me?”

He sighed, pulling at the thread, “I haven’t seen you in nearly 2 months, all I wanna do is pull you close, and spend all night cuddlin’ and holdin’ you under the blankets, make up for all them days we lost while you’ve been gone…but no. I have to share. I’m your effin’ boyfriend, don’t that mean I get boyfriend privileges? Like the privilege to kick our friends outta Leblanc?”

Ryuji dropped the thread, a soft smile on his face.

“Suppose if you were here you’d tell me to be patient right? Well, I’m done being patient! When you get here, I ain’t lettin’ you go! Screw anyone else feelin’ uncomfortable or shit!”

It was at that moment that a chime rang throughout the cafe, and Ryuji groaned.

“Bet that’s Yusuke, why the dude always turns up early I dunno…..”

Slowly, one thumb ran over the back of his phone.

“I suppose I oughta go say hi, right? Fine. But only cos I know next time I talk to you, it’ll mean I can hold you, you’ll be here, with me, back where you belong…..and I ain’t ever letting you go again.”

[lynnsimagines]

Live

Prompted: Hey! If you’re taking requests I was wondering if you could do one where Lynn’s girlfriend is a YouTuber and they do a girlfriend tag?

and.

Prompted: Can you do one where Lynn does a live video with the reader?

//

"Hi friends!" You waggle your fingers in a wave, smiling at the love hearts that immediately begin filling the left of the screen in the comments-section. It doesn't take long before there's hundreds of people watching, and your smile only grows as comments begin rolling in.

Beside you, and out of view, Lynn's got her lower lip caught between her teeth, eyes moving between the screen, yours, and the drawing at her feet. There's charcoal all over her fingers, and there's the cutest little smudge on the tip of her nose.

"Hold up, guys," You tell your viewers, and you lean over to swipe your thumb over Lynn's nose. She bites at your finger, and you lean over a little further to kiss her grin away.

"Sorry about that," you say, as you lean back, wiping lightly at the smudge of Lynn's chapstick at the corner of your mouth, and watch the comments rolling in. 

(Who's there with you? / Who's that? / What are you doing? / Hiiii! / I'M SO GAY) 

Lynn watches from beside you, and a tiny laugh escapes her lips as she watches your fans interact with you.

She's not unfamiliar with your fans-- your channel on YouTube is a little too famous for you to go unrecognised when you go somewhere, something which definitely shows when you travel around the States with Lynn during tour. It's not so bad now that you're overseas, though.

However, Lynn's international tours mean you've got less time to make videos, so livestreams on YouTube become the next best option to deliver content to your fanbase. And that's exactly what you're doing today.

Having wrapped their shows in eastern Europe, the band has a couple of rest days before kicking off shows in the UK, and you're taking advantage of it.

"Good morning, everyone, welcome to the livestream!" You say again, offering a little wave before looking at your watch for the time, "It's currently 10:30 am and I've got some cool things planned for today's little content drop."

"As you may know, I'm currently on tour with PVRIS and we're in--" You glance over to Lynn, "Where are we again?"

"Prague," she says, rolling her eyes, and your grin widens in response. On your computer, the comments start dinging again with fans guessing who the person to your right could be. If only they knew.

"We're in Prague today, and it's a rest day, so I thought I'd do a Livestream to make up for the fact that there won't be a video. Soooo-- let me introduce you to today's special guest. Drum roll please--"

You do a drum roll on your crossed knees, and Lynn slides into view beside you. "It's Lynn Gunn!" You say, and watch as the comments on your phone blow up.

(IT'S LYNN OMGOMGOMG / CALLED IT! / GUYS I'M SO GAY / QUEEEEEN )

You laugh in response to the comments, leaning forward to read them as they scroll across the screen. Behind you, Lynn shifts into a more comfortable position, leaning back against the couch and kicking her feet up beside your laptop with a half-smile on her face.

You watch her settle, then clamber up the couch to sit yourself down beside her. "We're gonna do the Girlfriend Tag today," you announce, and it's a damn good thing that you're sitting so far away from your laptop, because the caps lock overload in the comment section is truly astounding.

If you thought your fans were excited about Lynn being your guest, the surprise revelation that she's your girlfriend is enough to freeze the screen for a couple of seconds as the internet connection scrambles to catch up to the overload.

"Holy shit," Lynn whispers, and a tiny giggle curls out from between her lips. You tangle your fingers together, drawing strength from the contact, and raise your eyes from the screen for a moment to meet hers.

There's a quiet sort of wonder about the moment-- something that you didn't predict would happen when you proposed coming out to the world. You'd have expected it to have so much more fanfare, but this just feels like a natural progression.

All the pieces fall into place when you look at her.

"Ready?" you ask, and Lynn nods. Her nose twitches (just the tip)-- but her hands squeeze yours with the assurance that she's okay; that's she's ready to share you with the world.

"Question one," you announce, and toss a quick glance towards the screen to see whether your fans have recovered from the bombshell yet. They haven't.

(MY IDOLS ARE DATING YAS / this is the best day of my life!! / you guys are the cutest couple out omg / I KNEW IT I KNEW IT)

You look back at Lynn. The floundering butterflies in your stomach settle a little whenever you look at her. She makes it easier to breathe and process it all.

"Where did we meet?" You ask, and let the question hang in the air before gesturing for Lynn to answer. You feel an extraordinarily sappy smile crawl over your lips the moment she begins to speak.

"We met at an Ally Coalition Event," She says, and her cheeks dust with red when she blushes, "Way back in 2016. We sat at the same table and talked for like, the entire evening."

"And then after the event, as well," You add, and Lynn nods in agreement. She turns towards the camera, and a smirk edges out the right side of her mouth.

"Y/N was so beautiful that I couldn't keep my eyes off her," Lynn admits, and now it's your turn to blush. She's never told you the story like that before. On the screen, the comments-section is still going crazy.

(is this even real?? / that story is the cutest thing okay / THIS IS DOUBLE GAY / omgggggg)

"Question two," You say, and hand Lynn your phone so she can ask you. When your fingers brush, her answering grin is enough to pull a matching one from you, and you're just sitting there, grinning at each other like idiots.

"Where was our first date?" She asks, and you tilt your head to the side for a moment, pretending to think.

"It was Montreal, right?" You say, and feel another grin pulling at your lips, "Back in February?"

You turn towards the screen, and quirk an eyebrow to lapse into the story.

"It was like, 28 degrees Fahrenheit and super cold, and neither of us could sleep." You say, "And in the middle of the night, Lynn and I snuck out of the tour bus and went to this local Denny's. It was absolutely deserted, but we ordered the single most delicious pancakes I have ever tasted and then went up Mount Royal to watch the city."

Lynn surprises you by bending forward and pressing her lips to your cheek. She turns towards the screen. "It was super romantic," she says, and supresses a chuckle to kiss your cheek again.

You turn towards her as she bends away-- watching her arched eyebrow, and the curve of her smirk. You feel another blush break out across your cheeks.

You squeeze your joined hands, and she squeezes right back.

"Alright," Lynn says, and tosses your phone back over, "Hit me with question three."

Neither of you have looked at the screen in a while; you're both caught in the pleasant spiral of happy memories. You feel immensely lucky that there's so many-- that you get to call Lynn your girlfriend.

The morning has become less about creating content and more about sharing your relationship with the world, and you're happy that it's developed like this. There's nothing forced about your intimacy; nothing forced about the way you interact with Lynn and your fans.

"Where, or when, was our first kiss?" You say.

"Up on Mount Royal," Lynn admits, and her voice is small and vulnerable and beautiful, and she keeps her eyes firmly on yours. "It’s the moment I became obsessed with Y/N forever."

You huff out a laugh, and pull on Lynn's hand to bring her closer to you. She resists, but only slightly, and melts willingly when she realises that you want to kiss her.

You cup her jaw with your free hand and press your lips together, and hum a happy little note in the back of your throat when you can taste the curve of Lynn's smile with your lips.

"It felt a little like that," You say, leaning away seconds later, and Lynn laughs as she sits herself back down beside you.

"Question four," You say, and Lynn takes your phone.

"Who said 'I love you' first?" She asks. You look at each other for a moment, before you burst out laughing.

"I did," You admit, raising your hand like you've been caught stealing cookies from a jar, "I'm such a huge sap-- Of course I was gonna say it first."

"Y/N was so cute," Lynn says, turning back to the screen and adding seamlessly to the anecdote, "She got all quiet and blushy and adorable."

You feel yourself closing in on the moment, all quiet like Lynn said, with a blush developing rapidly on your cheeks. You look at Lynn, and she looks at you, and a deep tenderness settles in your bones.

"I do love you," You say, and your voice only comes out loud enough for Lynn to hear. She looks down at her hands, fidgets with one of her rings and tries to keep herself from smiling-- but fails.

"I love you, too," she says, when she raises her head again, and shuffles forward and little to tangle your hands even further. It feels hallowed; holy. You look into Lynn's eyes, and see everything you've ever wanted.

For a moment, you forget your viewers exist.

"Question five?" Lynn asks, and you nod. You're still a little dazed at the overwhelming feelings of love and belonging that cascade inside your bloodstream to respond.

"Okay," she says, and picks up the phone again, "When's my birthday?---"

//

"Baby," Lynn sing-songs from beside you, and you pull the covers a little tighter around your shoulders with a huff, "Wake up."

You groan something between clenched teeth, too sleepy still to open your eyes properly. Lynn's quiet chuckle puffs into your shoulder, followed up immediately by the press of her lips. She must be sitting up, because when you open your eyes a little, you can only see her legs under the covers.

You release another grumpy moan, and decide to show Lynn exactly how displeased you are by reaching for a warm leg, and hugging it tightly to her chest. You press your face into the outside of her thigh and snuggle closer.

Lynn laughs this time, and you feel a hand tangle in your hair. She pulls your hair out of your eyes, strokes along your temples and untangles the knots, and runs her hand through your hair until you're well and truly dozing off again.

"You'll have to forgive Y/N's sleepiness. It's still pretty early over here," Lynn says, but her voice isn't turned towards you. It's what ultimately unseats you from the pleasant haze of sleep, and you raise your head above the covers to look at her.

"Who are you talking to?" You ask, and Lynn answers with a grin. She glances away from her phone for a moment to press her lips to your forehead, and the pieces fall into place as soon as she turns back.

"Are you live?" You ask, straightening your shirt and sitting up next to her. You're wearing one of Lynn's shirts, an oversized black tee with the sleeves cuffed to your shoulders, and you wonder whether any savvy fan will be able to tell.

Lynn nods, and shows you her Instagram, the camera turned to show your face-- little hearts flow in on the right side, comments scrolling down below. There's around seven thousand people watching.

"Good morning, everyone," You croak, clearing your throat straight after when Lynn huffs another laugh. You run a hand through your hair and smile at her, and Lynn watches you for a second before turning back towards the screen.

"Today is our last day in England, so I thought I'd thank everyone for watching the Livestream we did last week," she explains, and you take a moment to wipe the crusts out of the corner of your eyes.

"And I wanted to thank everyone who's come and seen us on tour! It's been incredible," Lynn's smiling; watching you wake up with the sappiest grin on her face. "We're all so humbled by your enthusiasm and your support, so a big 'Thank You' to everyone who's been so giving on this stage of our tour."

You hum your assent, glancing back at the camera before looking back at Lynn. "So what's next?" You ask.

Lynn grins, and launches into a little spiel about what PVRIS is going to be up to in 2018; new music and another stage to their tour, as well as new and exciting opportunities she can't share yet.

You watch her with a growing admiration; love and deep emotion settling in between your heart and your lungs, pulsing hot in your bloodstream. You put your head on her shoulder, and wink at the screen, watching the comments rolling in as Lynn continues.

She carries on a conversation with her fans for a little while, and you pipe up every now and again to contribute to the conversation, but otherwise stay relatively quiet. It's Lynn's Live video, after all; you're not going to take that from her.

Eventually, sleep pulls at your eyes again, and you suppress a big yawn by bringing your hand up to cover your mouth.

Lynn's onto you straight away. "Still tired?" She asks, and you nod up at her. She smiles at her fans.

"We're gonna go back to sleep," she announces, and lifts a hand up to stroke your cheek. You hum, and arch your head into the contact, and lift your hand to wave at Lynn's fans as she goes about shutting the live video down, "Thanks to everyone who tuned in this morning. We'll see you all soon. Bye!"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Lynn sets down her phone on the bedside table, and when she looks back at you, she's looking rather sheepish.

"It's okay," You wave another yawn away, and snuggle a little closer to her, "You know I'm happy to do whatever."

Lynn hums, and kisses the top of your head. "I love you, Y/N," she says.

"I love you, too," You say, and close your eyes as your heartbeat begins to settle, "I'm so happy we get to do this being-famous thing together."

"Famous?" Lynn laughs, "You bring in all the income in this relationship. I just bang some drums from time to time."

It's your turn to laugh, and the wonderful levity of the moment, the sheer ridiculousness of it, takes you over until you're both giggling quietly beside each other.

"Thank you for coming with me," Lynn says, "I know it wasn't easy."

You lift your head and look at her, and smile so wide your cheeks begin to hurt. "I love you, baby," You say, "Of course I'd come with you."

Lynn's silent, but only for a second, because she lifts her hands and cups your face, and brings your lips together. Butterflies still explode in your stomach when she kisses you, even though you've been seeing each other for years, and the hum that escapes from her throat when you kiss her back still sends shivers down your spine.

Her fingers stroke along your temples, over your cheeks and behind the ridges of your ears. Your skin tingles wherever she touches you, and you melt in her hands. In your chest sits a hot, fuzzy ball of good feelings; love, belonging; security.

Lynn pulls away and kisses your forehead, and you lay your head on her chest when she slides across the mattress to put her head back down on her pillow. From here, you can hear every strong pump of her heart, and the rhythm soothes you beyond words.

"Hey, look," Lynn says, after a moment of silence, "The sun's coming up."

You lift your head from her chest and follow the finger she's pointing out towards the window, and the outside world comes flooding back into the little haven of a room.

The sun peeks above the English horizon, red and gold spreading out across the shoreline and refracting off the water. A gentle breeze puffs in from the open window, and the curtains flutter. The air tastes like salt; you can hear seagulls calling over the rush of the ocean.

"Good morning, Y/N," Lynn says, and glances down at you before gently kissing your lips. You’re smiling when she pulls away.

"Good morning, Lyndsey," You say, and watch the sunrise together.

[jadekitty777]

Troika - Chapter 2: To Think Good

Troika - (Noun) Russian in origin, meaning “set of three” or “three of a kind”. It is a three-way dance between people.

Summary: Taiyang has a bad dream, Qrow has homesickness and James has a headache. Not necessarily in that order.Or, a series of snapshot events at different times of this trio’s relationship together.

Rating: T

Pairing: James/Qrow/Taiyang

AO3 Link: Chapter 2

Notes: Tai’s turn this time around; Qrow will be next!

~

Tai used to have very vivid dreams.

So vivid, in fact, that there had been times he had woken up thinking Raven or, more often, Summer was sleeping next to him, only to turn around and find the bed empty, and the loss would rip out his heart all over again. It had been the most difficult obstacle of his depression and the thing that would most often set him back from recovery. Yet, eventually, he moved past those days and his mind stopped playing cruel tricks on him.

He curled his legs up closer, hands covering his mouth tightly to quiet another sob.

(It’s okay. Everything’s okay.)

So why, after all these years and with his bed fuller then ever before, was it happening again?

Tai sucked in soft breaths, trying to get a handle of himself as he blinked away tears, shooting his gaze up at James. The man’s face was still smoothly lined with sleep. Over the curve of his shoulder, Tai could see the digital clock reading it was a little past 2 AM. But the man would have to be up in a few hours to start getting ready for the meeting he’d be running early this morning. He couldn’t accidentally wake him up over a stupid dream; he’d be exhausted for nothing.

(Not nothing. You’re not nothing.)

He immediately realized what a poor train of thought that was in his current state of mind, guilt stabbing him like daggers in his chest. He shut his eyes, feeling more tears running down the knuckles of his hands.

He was too afraid to even try and look at Qrow, whose back was brushed up against his own. His only reassurance that the other hadn’t awakened were his light snores. The former bandit had never liked feeling boxed in and James preferred to sleep on his right side and face the both of them, so it always left Tai in the middle. He never really minded, feeling secure and warm between the two of them.

The only problem was if he needed to get up first – which, being an early riser, was often the case – he could never escape the bed without waking one of the trained Huntsman. On a normal day, once they’d made sure it was just him, they’d generally just drift back off or sometimes James would get up too and they’d spend the morning hour together. Very, very rarely, Qrow would slink down the stairs after them, drawn in by the smell of breakfast and coffee.

But, he couldn’t get up and let them see him like this. How was he supposed to explain this? How could he even think to tell them about…?

(You can tell them. They’d understand.)

As the dreams played back on rewind, a sob startled past him and Tai bit down on his lip. Minute trembles worked their way down his limbs as he struggled to stop crying, but as the pain in his chest only seemed to increase, crushing down on his lungs, another wrecked noise tore from his throat.

It was just as he felt a shift behind him that he realized the snoring had stopped, and suddenly the room flooded with soft yellow light as Qrow turned on the lamp. “Tai?” He said, voice still thick with sleep.

Though a hundred responses ran through his mind, Tai didn’t speak, still struggling to remain quiet. A warm hand pressed against his shoulder blades, rubbing gentle circles there while a long leg wormed its way over his own – and then kicked James in the shin.

The general gave a surprised snort, eyebrows pinched together as he slurred, “Wha?” He blinked blearily as he adjusted to the light. When his gaze fell on him, Tai closed his own eyes, shame and guilt warring inside of him like vicious vipers. A hand brushed along his forehead. “Tai?”

The touch, more tender then one would believe it could be from such a strong man, broke him and he started to cry. Hard. “I’m sorry.” He got out between hitched breathes.

“Ssh, ssh it’s okay.” James rumbled softly, reaching out to take one of Tai’s hands and squeezing it gently.

“We got you Tai-guy,” Qrow said, slinking an arm around his waist to hold him.

(They’ll always have you.

Everything’s going to be fine.)

He wasn’t sure how long it took him to cry himself out, but by the time he had, the top of his head was resting against a metal breastplate while James wiped away some of his tears with his thumb. Qrow was spooning him from behind, pressing gentle kisses along his back. At some point, Tai’s hand had found the one at his waist, their fingers now laced loosely together.

“What happened?” James asked.

Tai swallowed against the soreness in his throat, rasping, “Bad dream. I thought it was real.” He stared intently at the grooves of metal in his peripheral. “Used to have them all the time after…”

“After?”

He took a steadying breath. “When I lost Summer. Would wake up a lot thinking she was still… alive.”

Qrow froze. “What?” Had he not known him as long as he had, he might have mistaken the slight bite to his tone as anger. But, he’d learned a long time ago it was actually one of hurt. “You never told me about that.”

He curled up a little tighter. “Didn’t tell you about a lot of things.” Not even close.

James shot a warning look past him, his voice still soft but commanding, “We can talk about that some other time.”

After a moment, he felt another kiss against the nape of his neck. “Right, right. Sorry.” There was a momentary pause, and when Qrow came back he sounded more uncertain, “So, you dreamt about her?” When Tai only shook his head, he pressed further, “Then?”

Though anxiety reeled his insides up like they were on a fishing rod, he managed to carefully untangle himself from the two so he could sit up and face them instead. After a moment, they did so as well, watching him with a mixture of concern and curiosity. “When this all started, you guys remember how I told you I was feeling kind of insecure about the whole thing?” He held his wrist, rotating it nervously, “Back then, I said it was because I’d be with Huntsman again, who I could lose at any moment. And that is true but… it wasn’t really, the whole truth.”

Qrow made a sharp motion, just the faintest jerk his way as if he was going to reach out for him. He knew like he knew his own last name that his former teammate would never hurt him, but the movement made him flinch all the same.

(There was a smack. A shout. Red eyes so like Qrow’s but less like gemstones and more like blood as the woman who bore them ordered him out of the room.)

James grabbed his shoulder before he could get very far, solid grip keeping him in place as he leveled Tai with a gaze both stern and open. “What’s the whole truth?”

He looked between them, steeling himself like his more cybernetic lover. “When we first started out, one of the reasons I felt so uncertain was because you two had already been together so long. And it wasn’t like our first encounter was a date.”

It had been a tryst, really. A wonderful, amazing, best-sex-of-his-life tryst.

But when he had awoken and found his bed empty, it had left a tear in his heart he hadn’t even meant to let be there. Even when he found them minutes afterward, both still a bit hungover and laughing as they poorly tried to make muffins, the tear struggled to mend and did so messily. The love that had been between them was so genuine and he felt selfish for wanting to be part of it. For wanting the two of them when they were already so right for one another. Yet greedily, he still yearned for it. For them. So much so that when the offer came to the table for them to become polyamorous, he hadn’t even hesitated.

“Yeah, that was our bad.” Qrow agreed apologetically.

Tai shook his head, “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret it. I’ll never regret it. Ever.” He said with emphasis. He exhaled slowly, looking down at their bedsheets. The sight of them and the happy yellow Chinese dragons spread among them that, on a whim, James and Qrow had bought on a shopping trip for him – because they wanted to make him happy – only spiked another wave of guilt and he almost choked around the words he said next. “But back then I couldn’t help but wonder: If you guys were doing so well for so long without me, what did you really need from me?” His arms curled around his midsection, unsure if his stomach or his chest hurt worse at this point. “That’s what I dreamt. That you two had finally gotten tired of me and… and left.”

A hand found its way to his knee and he looked up, meeting James’ earnest gaze that sparked a sense of déjà vu – it was the same look he had given him five months ago, locked in that interrogation room together, when he’d apologized for something Tai had never blamed him for in the first place. “You know that we would never do that, right?”

“I do.” He answered, and it was an honest one. “I don’t know where this all came from. I hadn’t really had these thoughts for awhile now but, I guess my subconscious did.”

The smile he gave him made him look unfairly handsome and comforted his soul. “Well let me tell it something then: You’re not some extra ornament we’re going to just put away when we don’t need it anymore. You, like Qrow, have become someone I cherish beyond any measure I ever thought I could possibly feel for another person, let alone two. And I feel so fortunate to have you in it. I love you, Tai.”

Tai reached up, running a hand through the other’s short hair, whispering back, “I love you too.” He would have kissed him, if not for a sudden sniffle that made them both look around. “Qrow?”

The man coughed, discreetly wiping the corners of his eyes. “Just all the dust mites in the air. And the saps in the room.” When they both silently lifted an arm to him though, he came, folding himself in between both of them. Nested there, secured by them, Qrow murmured, “Sometimes, I still wake up and wonder: what in all the Gods’ creations do you two see in me? But when I come home and you two just look at me as if I’m the greatest thing in your whole entire universes, it’s just… a really good feeling. And, because I suck at expressing myself, most days I just hope you guys can tell you’re my entire universe too.” He turned his head up some from where it was nestled against Tai’s collarbone, mumbling, “Insecurity’s a bitch, huh?”

“Lil’ bit.” Tai chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He could see James had caught Qrow’s hand this time, tracing soothing patterns along his knuckles.

“And you said it just fine.” The general added.

“Mmm, good.” He paused, seeming thoughtful for a moment, then looked up at Tai. “Sorry, I stole your angst spotlight.”

He snorted, winding his arms around Qrow’s thin waist. “Don’t worry, always plenty of room in my spotlight for you.” He dipped down, dropping a few feather-light kisses along his neck that made the other squirm and laugh at the playfully ticklish feeling, before he dove up to catch his smiling lips in a chaste kiss.

James was watching them with a fond expression, but neither of them missed the way he hid a yawn behind his hand.

“Uh oh, Jimmy’s battery needs to be recharged.” Qrow teased.

He rolled his eyes some. “Ha, ha. Because that joke never gets old. Though,” He yawned again, “If everything is indeed alright, maybe a little extra shut eye would be a good idea?”

They both looked to him and the whole thing made Tai feel incomparably warm. “Yeah, I’m alright now. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” James said and he didn’t doubt he meant it.

“Hah, doesn’t matter for me anyways.” Qrow said, carelessly falling back on the bed, the springs bouncing him a bit. “I’m not getting up until one.”

“No,” Tai said as he stretched out beside him, feeling James’ weight settling on his other side. “You’re getting up at seven. You promised Ruby you’d go to that Schnee breakfast thing with her and Weiss, remember?”

He groaned, reaching for the light. “Why do I have such a conniving niece?”

“She gets it from her uncle.”

“Definitely.” James agreed, already half-asleep.

“Well, at least she learned from a master.” He joked.

As they settled back in, Tai sighed happily from the reassuring touch of Qrow’s body resting against his and the solidity of James’ arm coming around him. He drifted off to sleep, content knowing they’d both still be there tomorrow and for many, many days onward.