#okay wikipedia says this kind is called drinking chocolate

[blue-sleeps-in]

okay warning for if you ever find yourself in italy: if you try to buy a hot chocolate they will give you just a whole cup of actual liquid chocolate

[autumnsart22]

A Dream Come True: Shigaraki x Dabi x Reader part 2/2

Part 2 of the fanfic my friend wrote! 

Warning: SMUT 🔥

Dabi strode off down the hall and you started to work on putting the rest of the groceries away, and cleaning some dishes in the sink. Shigaraki stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen. He looked around before looking at you, raising the empty beer bottle. You opened the drawer that held the trash and recycling and he threw it in with a loud clunk. He stood there in the middle of the kitchen for a little while before you finally asked,

“Can I help you?” 

“You’re standing in front of the fridge.” he states plainly.  You roll your eyes and move out of the way as he grabs another beer. He makes his way back to the table and sits down.

 You both pass the time in silence as he sips on his beer and you finish cleaning the kitchen. At some point Dabi comes out of the bathroom still drying his hair with a towel wearing nothing but your brother's old pair of black joggers that look slightly too big but the strings in the front were tied tight preventing them from falling any lower. Dear god what have you done to deserve this? He switched with Shigaraki who took his turn in the bathroom while you scoured the apartment for extra blankets and pillows and threw them on the couch. When Shigaraki was done in the shower he came out in a long sleeve white shirt and your ex-boyfriend's old pair of grey sweatpants. He joined Dabi who had heated up one of the soba cups from the store. 

“Okay I’m gonna go shower, you can just...yea” you spoke out loud trailing off as neither of them paid you any attention, and you left to go to the bathroom. You peeled off your work clothes, just some black jeans and a black blouse, throwing them into the same pile of clothes as Dabi and Shigaraki’s. You took your time washing your hair and and shaving your legs feeling like you deserved to pamper yourself a little given your night. You weren’t that tired given that you basically turned nocturnal since working at the bar. When you felt fresh and clean you dried off and wrapped yourself up in a towel to head to your room. Once you changed into some sweats and a tank top you made your way back out to the living room to find Dabi, now wearing a black t-shirt, and Shigaraki on the couch both nursing another beer while talking in hushed tones which again halted the moment they saw you. They both looked at you. 

“What?” You said confused on why they were both staring at you. 

“I have more questions,” Shigaraki stated, finally averting his gaze away from you, although it seemed reluctant. 

“Okay...shoot” you said walking into the kitchen for a glass of water then plopping onto the middle section of the couch in between them. If there was one piece of furniture you splurged on it was this couch. It was a huge ‘U’ shape and could fit up to 10 people if they squished side by side. Shigaraki and Dabi were both sprawled on the two sides of the couch with you sitting in the bottom of the U. 

“What sort of art or shit do people create about us?” 

You almost choke on your water. That was not the sort of question you were expecting. 

“Why?” you said suspiciously.

“You mentioned it earlier and I’m curious,” Shigaraki said, making large hand gestures swinging his beer bottle around. He must be getting kinda tipsy. 

“Fine but if I’m answering these questions. I’m gonna need a stronger drink” 

“All out here princess” Shigaraki says, taking the last gulp of his beer and waving it towards you. 

“Same here.” Dabi says holding his beer bottle up, as though expecting you to take it. You stand up and grab both bottles and chuck them into the recycling, then grabbing a bottle of rum from the back of your cabinet. You make your way back to the couch and take a large swig shuddering as it goes down. Shigaraki motions for the bottle and you hand it over passing it to Dabi afterwards. 

“Okay so back to my question” 

“Well people write and draw all kinds of shit. Everything from just realistic art or funny art to overtly sexual” Shigaraki raises an eyebrow at this. 

“What you don’t believe me?” You ask laughing slightly cause if only they knew. 

“People think of crusty in that way?” Dabi laughs. 

“Hey like you’re any better staples. Y/N who do people like more?” Shigaraki shoots. 

“That’s gotta be Dabi. He’s pretty well known as being attractive” 

“Fuck you” Shigaraki pouts and Dabi smirks to himself. 

“Hey it’s not my fault, and trust me there’s still a ton of shit about you. And some of both of you” You said this last part quickly while taking another large swallow of rum. You couldn’t help yourself. 

“What do you mean the both of us?” Dabi and Shigaraki looked at you hesitantly.

“Well people like to put you two together. It’s called shipping, or they just pair you together as like a duo in fanfiction” 

Both of their reactions looked like they were about to gag and murder the other at just the thought of what people had had them do to eachother. 

“Okay that’s the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life” Dabi says reaching for the bottle which you hand over willingly. 

“Moving on from that,” Shigaraki says, shaking his head as though to physically erase his mind. “So Y/N you’re obviously a fan. Who are your favorites?”  

“I don’t know. I have a lot of people I like and don’t like. It depends.” At this point your brain was becoming warm and fuzzy but you didn’t want to let anything slip out that could be potentially embarrassing or would make the two men turn against you. 

“Bullshit. Spill” 

“I told you it depends” 

“On what?”  he said this with a sneer. 

“I don’t know” You said exasperatedly.  “my mood, who’s been most present in the media. It just depends on what I’m looking for.”

“What you’re looking for?” Dabi repeated confusedly. 

“Next question” You state simply. 

The two villains raise their eyebrows at you, curious at your evasion of the question, but your lips stay shut. 

“Fine we’ll come back to that one Princess.” Shigaraki complies.“What do we look like in the show? I mean do we look different in real life?” 

“Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out how to get you guys back?” you ask. 

“Not much we can do about it. I’m sure the rest of the league and Kurogiri are tracking down those thugs right now, so answer my question” 

“I don’t know. I guess you look kinda different, but I can still recognize you. I can show you if you want?” Shigaraki looks at you with affirmation. You get up to get your computer which you hook up to the tv screen in front of the couch. Dabi and Shigaraki turn so they can see the television, both laying down on their backs. You open your laptop (sorry I am basing it off my computer) and type in your password. 

“Is that Shoto?” Dabi says disgustedly. There was in fact a fanart picture of Todoroki amongst the collage that was your background screen. 

“Oh yeah. He would be in the it depends list” you say timidly quickly opening up the browser to cover up the background. 

“Why the fuck did he look like some 20 year old model?” 

“I told you, it’s fanart. People draw characters the way they see them or want to see them. Shoto is also really popular amongst fans if not the most I would say” 

Dabi makes a noise of revulsion. You turn back to start typing in Shigaraki’s name into the browser and instantly images pop up as well as the fandom wiki and regular wiki articles. You click on images and start to scroll through. 

“This is weird” Shigaraki says slightly in awe but disturbed at seeing this world's visions of his life. “Here give me that” he says gesturing towards your computer. You hand it over reluctantly. 

“Seriously?!” he says grabbing the laptop. 

“What?” you say hesitantly. Did you forget to close out of something?

He lifts the computer for Dabi to also see the two stickers on the sides of your trackpad. 

“The anger explosion boy and pro eraserhead?” Dabi said, judgement was obvious in his tone. 

“What?” you said defensively. 

“Nothing I just thought you’d be a villain girl and all” 

WTF, you think. What was that supposed to mean?

“Why do you think that? And who says I’m not?” 

Dabi raised an eyebrow in interest but didn't answer your taunts, instead turning back to the screen. Shigaraki has been scrolling through and tapping on pictures of himself making little noises and reactions. 

“This is fucking weird” He states again, the screen was stopped on a very sultry piece of fanart of Shigaraki. 

“Take that down you freak. No one needs to see your crusty dusty body like that. Hand it over.” Dabi tells Shigaraki. 

Shigaraki passes the computer over and Dabi searches his own name seeing all the pictures of him, although significantly more fanart pops up for him. He scrolls for a little bit but becomes weirded out or downright just bored at the photos of him. He then goes back to the wikipedia page and starts to read. While the two men continue to look at the screen and read information about their show, you stand up and head to the kitchen feeling peckish. You wander through the kitchen opening and closing all the cabinets waiting for something to catch your eye. You open the fridge and close it moving onto the freezer. Your eyes scan the contents when you spot the pint of chocolate fudge ice cream. You take it out and grab a spoon making your way back to the couch. When you get to the couch both Shigaraki and Dabi are staring at you again with intensity and amusement. 

“What?” you say, plopping back into your spot, struggling to tear open the plastic and resorting to using your teeth. With both of them still staring at you as though waiting for something, you look at the screen and see that your messages are open. You take a second to read the new text from your friend. 

‘Dude have you read this Shiggy Dabs fanfic? It made me 🤤🥵’

‘This ones similar to the last one you sent me, so be prepared⛓️😂’ 

Your heart sank as you saw the familiar logo of Ao3 underneath those texts. 

“What were you saying about being a villain girl?” Dabi said, smirking. 

“I––” You had no idea what to say. 

“Aww is the Princess embarrassed” Shigaraki says teasingly. 

You try to get up to leave but a hand roughly pulls you back down and you hide behind your hands refusing to look at the two villains. This was so embarrassing. What were you going to do? Now they knew that you liked them. That you were like the other people in this world that they had been disgusted by all night. They weren’t likely to just let this go. If only you could get to your room and lock the door maybe they would just leave. 

“Come on don’t be shy. Are we on your depends list?” 

They take your silence and continued evasion as an affirmation. 

“Hmm…” You hear Dabi hum lowly. “What exactly are we dependent on? What are you looking for when you search for us?” Dabi asks, already knowing the answer. 

“Come on tell us” Shigaraki coos. You shake your head. You could feel both of the boys drawing closer to you like school bullies cornering you in the bathroom,  but you didn’t dare look up at them, too embarrassed. That’s when you heard typing. Your head whips up to see Dabi replying to your friend. 

‘What exactly do you mean by similar?’

By the time you read what he wrote they were already responding. 

‘You know 😂  the usual non-con threesome with you and dabs and shigs. Kidnapping, ropes, degradation, similar to all the other fanfics 😋 tho in this one you cum four times and each a dif way😳 ’

If your stomach dropped even more. It would have touched the ground. 

“So not only are you a villain’s girl but you’re a kinky little slut too?” Dabi says chuckling. He was practically next to you staring at your frozen figure as you looked at the screen. 

“I should have known when you walked out here with these cute little things poking out” He reached over and pinched your nipple tugging on the metal barbell through it. You squealed instinctually pulling away but he caught the top of your tank top effectively pulling it down revealing your breasts, each decorated with a metal piercing. 

You motion to cover them, but your hands are once again forced behind your back, however this time Shigaraki had the pleasure of restraining you. 

“Let go of me!” you yelped at the humiliating assault. 

“I thought you liked this?” Dabi said in mock sympathy. “Just how many times have you gotten off to us?” 

You were squirming trying to remove yourself from Shigaraki’s grip. 

“Answer the question” Dabi said, pinching your nipple again. You yelped in pain but you could feel the slick starting to build between your legs. 

“A lot okay. Now let go!” 

Dabi and Shigaraki complied surprisingly. You regained your breath and pulled your tank top back up. The next few minutes passed in silence as Shigaraki took another swig of rum and Dabi continued to scroll through the different My Hero wikipedia pages. You got up still in shock taking your forgotten ice cream back to the freezer. You had lost your appetite. 

What were you supposed to do now? You were still slightly scared of them after what just happened but you couldn’t ignore the arousal that had been sparked deep within you. You had dreamt of this many times. This wasn’t much different than the different fanfiction you had read, and honestly this would be on the tamer end, but that was just fiction. But were you really going to pass up this chance? How could you? Yet why’d they stop? You were surprised and honestly kinda disappointed they had now that you were standing in the kitchen. And with that you had made up your mind. You are not going to pass up this chance you could never forgive yourself. 

You made your way back over to the couch but didn’t sit down. You stood in front of them silent staring at your feet, trying to figure out what you wanted to say. 

“What?” Dabi said as though nothing had happened. 

“Why’d you stop?” you asked timidly. 

“Hmm? Because you said so.” Dabi said as though this was an obvious answer to a stupid question. 

You looked at him surprised.

“Don’t believe me?” He said with a small chuckle. 

When you didn’t seem to get any less anxious he continued with a sigh.

“Look Princess, I may be a bastard and sadistic villain but I don’t go wishing pain on everyone, especially ones with cute tits. Of course if they’re into that then I’m down” He said this so casually it seemed almost wrong, all while he continued to watch your computer screen. You assumed it was in part due to the alcohol, but still. 

“you’re blocking the screen,” Shigaraki said annoyed. 

“Was that all princess?” Dabi said mockingly

 “Well….” 

“What?” Shigaraki spat. 

“Hurry up,” Dabi said flatly. 

“What if I wanted to continue?” You said finally looking up at them. They both looked at you intently, then gave each other a look and were smiling when their eyes fell back to you. 

“Our little Princess wants to live out her dirty villainous fantasies...huh?”

You nod. Wait did they just say our?

“Come on tell us what you’ve dreamt about?” Dabi says beckoning you over to him with one finger.

Once you’re in front of him, he pulls you down onto his lap so you're facing him. You look at him hesitantly biting your lip.

“You’re the expert of these little situations, Princess” he says holding his hands up for you to guide them. You take his hands slowly, unsure of your actions and guide them back to your breasts. He gives you a smirk and gives you a good squeeze, causing a small moan to escape your throat. You instinctually grind down into his lap feeling his member start to harden beneath you. You lean your head back as Dabi pulls your tank top over your head. You look over at Shigaraki who’s staring at you starting to palm himself through the sweats. 

“Him too princess?” Dabi asks you, giving your nipples a pinch causing you to moan all the while still staring at Shigaraki “Mmmhmmm” 

This was enough for Shigaraki to slide down the couch to where the two of you were. 

“Tell him where you want him, otherwise he won’t know what to do, I can’t imagine he’s done this before” Dabi encourages.

“Oh shut up” Shigaraki hisses, but he focuses back on you when you grab his hand and bring it to your neck. He insticutally keeps one finger raised, but you push that finger down with the rest deep into the side of your neck limiting the oxygen flowing to your brain, enough to give you that high. Flooded with pleasure you grind down again into Dabi feeling your underwear starting to become uncomfortably wet. 

Looking into Shigaraki’s crimson eyes, you could feel them boring into you just as hungry as you felt. He leans in close, lips barely ghosting over your own. You could feel both of your breaths mixing in the millimeters between you two when Dabi gives a harsh tug to both your nipples causing you to gasp. Shigaraki seized this opportunity to violently smash your lips together. Your hand reaches into his hair, gripping for support as the initial ferver and clash of teeth dies down into long passionate tangling of tongues as you explore each other's mouth. His rough lips scratching into your’s was a sensation you’ve imagined many times but none of it lived up to reality. He nipped lightly on your bottom lip making you lean into him more. 

Dabi’s hands continued their exploration of your torso, moving down your sides to your hips and around to your ass. He squeezed and kneaded them with his strong fingers. Shigaraki squeezed your neck again sending another rush of euphoria to your head making you moan into his mouth before he pulled away to attack your neck and take over teasing your breasts. You look back at Dabi with hunger in your eyes.

“What now princess? What do you want?” He says with a devilish grin. 

You grind down into his cock again which is now hard as ever. 

“Uh-uh. Use your words.” he says giving your ass a squeeze. 

Shigaraki rolls your nipples in between his harsh fingers sending waves of pleasure and pain throughout your body, causing you to roll your head again and let out a short moan. When you look back at Dabi, you speak in a low breathy tone, almost a whisper. 

“Abuse me” 

With those few words, Dabi smirks and slips his hands underneath the waistband of your sweats. “As you wish” 

Shigaraki continues his attack to your neck sucking and biting, leaving red and darkened patches curving down your shoulder and back. Dabi continued his groping, and you could feel the rough staples scratching at your flesh and his nails digging in harsher than before. His hands slide down the curve of your ass tugging your soiled underwear to the side. 

“Hmmm you’re so wet.” Dabi said, ghosting his fingers over your dripping entrance.

“You little whore. Getting so wet for a couple of villains” You shiver at the sensitive touch and degrading words. Gripping to Shigaraki’s shirt and grinding down trying to gain friction, you notice Shigaraki palming himself again. You replace his hand with your own, wrapping your fingers around his clothed cock, squeezing lightly. Shigaraki groaned deeply in your ear, sending vibrations straight to your core while Dabi’s fingers dip slightly into your needy hole but only enough to tease more juices and whimpers out of you. You try to push down onto them only for him to retreat. 

“Please...stop teasing” you whine.

“So needy Princess huh? You want my fingers in that little cunt of yours?” 

“Yes. Dabi. Please” you didn't care at this point how pathetic you sounded. The pressure in your core was building and you needed to be pushed over the edge. 

“Go on...make yourself cum on my fingers. Show me how much you want it,” Dabi said sneering at how desperate you looked. He finally allowed two fingers to sink into you as you lowered your hips again. You were always amazed at how much deeper fingers other than your own could reach, and Dabi’s in particular could reach places you could never dream of finding on your own. 

The effect was immediate. You started to roll your hips, bouncing slightly on Dabi’s fingers. You’re grip on Shigarak’s member stalls as you’re overwhelmed with pleasure. Shigaraki, displeased by this fact, guides you inside his sweats, pumping himself with your hand. You could feel the precum leaking from his slit as your fingers smear it up and down his shaft. Shigaraki continued his abuse of your flesh, moving down biting and sucking till his teeth latched onto your sensitive nipple. You whine as Dabi’s other hand had found your clit. He twirled it between his fingers letting his nail drag over it. This added stimulation drove you closer sending shivers up your spine. 

“Mm close” you whimper as your movements on Dabi’s fingers become sloppy. 

“Come on princess. Make yourself cum, make a pretty little mess all over my fingers” 

Dabi presses into your clit and you grind down hard again. Dabi wickedly curls his fingers pressing into that soft spot inside you releasing the knot of pressure that had been building in your core.Your legs shake and you clamp down hard onto his fingers which are still moving in and out of you, prolonging your orgasm. 

You weakly fall forward onto Dabi’s chest as Shigaraki releases your hand from his dick. You can feel Dabi’s fingers pull out of you and when you open your eyes you see him playing with your sticky release coating his fingers. You watch as Dabi brings his fingers to his mouth, smearing some on his lip and licking it before taking them into his mouth, sucking and cleaning yourself off of him. 

“Princess you’re delicious” He says smiling down at you making you blush at the crude compliment. 

“My turn to taste'' Shigaraki said, pulling you off Dabi’s lap. He positioned you on your back, your head resting on Dabi’s thigh. As Shigaraki did away with your sweats and underwear, you pulled Dabi’s mismatched lips to yours. The feeling was heavenly. You could still taste yourself on his tongue as he explored your mouth. You tugged needily at Dabi’s shirt and he pulled it off only breaking the kiss for a brief moment. 

You savored the wet and slow pace opposite to Shigaraki’s fast and rough, both pleasure in their own ways. You’re breath hitched and you moaned deeply when you felt Shigaraki’s wet tongue lick the length of your core, swiping up the sticky left overs from your previous release. 

You look down at Shigaraki. He had positioned himself between your thighs, knees slumped over his shoulders. He was staring up at you licking his lips before attaching himself to your clit sucking at it harshly. You could feel that ball of pressure tighten again in your stomach and you let your head fall back to Dabi’s thigh, eyes shut, focusing on the feeling of the hot wet mouth working at your sex. You’re hand threaded its way into Shigaraki’s silky blue hair, tugging lightly, only making him suck harder. 

You felt Dabi’s hand on your cheek and you opened your eyes looking up into his sapphire eyes before he turned your head. You were met with Dabi’s unclothed cock. Your eyes followed the Jacobs ladder of staples up his shaft to the head where you could see a bead of precum sitting at the slit. You smile thinking how in the hell fanfic got this detail right. 

“What’re you smiling at? Impressed?”

“Hmm...No piercing, huh? Guess they got that part wrong” 

“You people are sick” he says chuckling before directing his dick into your mouth. 

You take it gladly bobbing your head down his shaft, hollowing your cheeks before sliding back up, letting your tongue catch on each of the staples. Dabi let out a low groan, putting his hand in your hair to keep it away from your face. 

You continue to work your mouth on Dabi’s cock while Shigaraki continues to swipe his tongue through your sensitive folds. You moan around Dabi’s length when Shigaraki slips a finger inside, causing you to buck your hips, pushing his tongue deeper into you. 

The vibrations from your tight throat had Dabi pushing your head down taking his entire length. You gagged around his cock, choking for air but that only drove you further into your pleasure. Shigaraki added another finger and started pistoning into you violently while sucking at your clit once again. You moaned, tugging at Shigaraki’s hair, signaling you were close. You could tell Dabi was close too as he took control and started face fucking you, the tip of his cock hitting the back of your throat with every thrust. 

Shigaraki added a third finger stretching you wider and driving you over the edge for the second time as you gasped around Dabi’s cock, legs squeezing around Shigaraki. Your orgasm drove Dabi to the edge as he thrust into you again and kept your head down as your throat tightened around his length. Thick ropes of cum shot from the tip and slid down the back of your throat. You took it all swallowing until you couldn’t breathe anymore pushing Dabi away. You’re head lolled on Dabi’s lap as you recovered from your high. 

Dabi was leaning back breathing deeply with his eyes closed. Your brain was still foggy but it wasn’t long until you felt something back against your sex. Looking down you see Shigaraki lining himself up with your entrance, coating his cock in your juices. Your eyes widen at seeing his length out in the open. It was not as decorated as Dabi’s but it held the same presence, being about an inch longer although not as thick as Dabi’s. Shigaraki looks up at you when he lines himself up, the tip merely resting against you, and sees your nervous expression. 

“Huh didn’t think I was getting you this wet for nothing. I ain’t wasting a drop of this pussy” 

He stared into your eyes as he steadily pushed into you. The stretch was almost unbearable. You squeezed your eyes shut trying to make it through the burning stretch. 

“Shit you’re tight. Feels like my dick is in a vice... fuuuuuck… relax” Shigaraki hissed. 

You could barely register his voice let alone his request. You could barely breath focusing only on the pain as Shigaraki continued to push against your walls. 

“Hey patchwork stop sleeping and get her to breathe” 

Dabi shifts underneath you and you feel his hands run down your sides outlining your torso. Even though he didn’t have his quirk, his hands were hot and soothing as they rubbed against your skin. 

“Come on Princess.” You open your eyes slightly to see Dabi looking down at you patronizingly. 

“You’ve been doing so well,” He said brushing your jaw with the back of his hand. “And you wanna feel good right?” 

You nod meekly. 

Dabi leans down so his lips are hovering centimeters over yours. The smell of alcohol on his breath tantalizing and his minty scent making your head spin. 

“Breathe Princess. Just focus on me” He whispers before putting his lips on yours. You melt into the kiss doing exactly what Dabi says, exhaling through your nose and focusing on the way his cold staples scratch against your skin while his soft tongue dances with your own.  

When you break the kiss for air it’s only because Shigaraki has managed to bury himself to the hilt. You can feel him pressing against your cervix deep inside you. You look  at him again and find him head tilted back, eyes closed, taking in the feeling of you pulsing around him. Even though you know it’s not out of consideration but pure self indulgence, you're glad that he hasn’t started moving yet as you adjust to his length. Eventually it seems the lust of needing to rearrange your insides trumped being his own personal cockwarmer. His eyes fell on you again as you pulled out till only the tip was inside before bottoming out once again. Each time slowly pulling out only to thrust back in at full force.

You were still adjusting to his length, but soon the burning sensation of being stretched and pounded turned into addicting pleasure. You resumed your kiss with Dabi whose hands had found their way to your breast as Shigaraki increased his pace. Soon you were being knocked senseless by Shigaraki’s ruthless pace. He always has been fast on screen, so why did you think he’d be any different here. Moans and gasps escaped your mouth as the tip of Shigaraki’s cock hit your cervix. Once again the pressure began to build in your core. You began to whimper as you were pushed closer and closer to the edge. 

“Fuckkk I’m close. It’s like you're pulling me deeper. So fucking good” Shigaraki panted out falling to his hands on either side of your hips for support. You whimper again and claw at the couch cushions as you could feel yourself just on the brink when Dabi’s hand slides down your stomach and begins rubbing at your clit. You cry out and clamp down hard on Shigaraki legs shaking and eyes rolling back as Dabi’s ministrations send you through your third orgasm of the night.

You feel Shigaraki thrust once more hard and then hot thick jets of white paint your walls. You shudder at the feeling of being pumped full, your sex still milking him of everylast drop. Shigaraki finally pulls out of you and lays back on the couch catching his breath savoring the last waves of his high falling down. 

You too were recuperating and limp, unable to move. Your mind was hazy from the alcohol and the relentless stimulation.  You were so tired that you didn’t even care about cleaning up but rather drifting off to sleep right there. However you were jostled from these thoughts as Dabi had rolled you off his lap and onto your stomach. You could hardly keep up with his movements as he stood and walked around you. It wasn’t until you felt a pair of hands lifting your hips that you looked back to see Dabi fisting is dick that looked painfully hard. You couldn’t fathom another round right now but you were still so weak from your last high that you didn’t have time to prepare before Dabi thrusted into your already abused hole. 

He sighed once he was buried inside you. He leaned down so his chest was hovering above your back the heat making your skin prickle. He leaned down till his breath could be felt on the back of your neck. 

“Mhmm… ’m so close already and you’re gonna let me pump you full, aren’t you princess”

You couldn’t respond because your overly sensitive body was already reacting to Dabi's hard cock pressing into you, stretching you wider around his girth. Even though your mind was fading in and out, you involuntarily pressed your hips back to make him go deeper, seeking out the friction your body needed to overdose on. 

Dabi was the exact opposite of Shigaraki. He took his time, thrusting in and out, making sure you felt every staple and ridge of his cock dragging against your walls savoring the way they pulled him in. Overstimulation caused tears to form in the corners of your eyes only soft whimpers escaping your mouth. Dabi continued slow and deliberate, letting out low breathy grunts with every thrust. On the edge once more, never fully recovering from before, you were longing to be undone one last time.

“Please Dabi” you mewl.

Dabi snickered in your ear before snaking his hand under you and pressing his fingers to your clit which was all the stimulation you needed to moan out and squeeze around Dabi who came at the feeling of your gummy walls constricting around his pulsing length. You felt his seed fill you up and mix with Shigaraki’s inside you. Dabi dropped down next to you, rolling you onto your side so you were effectively spooning with his cock still inside you. You could hear movement apart from you and Dabi, and in opening your eyes you saw Shigaraki standing pulling up the sweats that were bunched at his thighs. He noticed you staring at him. 

“Tch. I don’t cuddle Princess and I gotta piss” His tone was crude but laced with content from having a good fuck. “Don’t let a single drop out Dabi” Shigaraki stated before walking down the hall. 

Dabi didn’t respond but seemed to have no intent on moving as you felt his member begin to soften inside you. You couldn’t be more concerned about the implications behind Shigaraki’s comment or the fact that you still had a dick inside you. You were just tired and groggy from the night's events and thankful that you were finally able to be comfortable and close your eyes. You didn’t think Dabi was really a cuddle after sex with a stranger kinda guy but you weren’t complaining. He was warm and made you feel safe despite knowing he would most likely kill you in any other context. You let your eyes close again, head falling onto Dabi’s arm, giving into the waves of exhaustion coming over you. 

When Shigaraki came back from the bathroom he found you and Dabi still in the exact same position he left you in. Dabi opened his eyes when he heard Shigaraki come back into the room. 

“Is she out?” Shigaraki asked. 

“Think so,” Dabi said, finally pulling out of you and tugging the joggers back up to his hips. He slides out from behind you, but you don’t even realize, body only curling inwards at the loss of heat. Dabi stands and looks down at you with Shigaraki. You look so worn out and peaceful. Your body exposed for them, hickeys and bruises forming where Shigaraki ravaged your neck. Your ass is still red from the pounding, and welts forming where Dabi’s strong fingers dug into you. However the best part was probably the shine of slick spread on the inside of your thighs as a stream white cum dribbled from your used hole. 

Shigaraki notices this and sits down by your feet.

“What’re you doing?” 

“I told you I don’t want any of it out. Got a problem with that?” 

“Nope.” Dabi said rolling his eyes and walking away. “I’ve learned to not try and figure out your sick mind”  

Shigaraki looked back down at you. 

“Good. I have plans for her.” Dabi rolled his eyes again and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Shigaraki ran a hand up your thigh and you flexed at his touch, still unconscious. Shigaraki ran his fingers down the length of your core smearing the juices there before scooping up the stream of cum still leaking out of you and pushing it back inside you. His two fingers easily slipped into your stretched whole, but that didn’t stop a small whine from slipping from your throat. Shigaraki moved his fingers lazily in and out of you pushing the cum deeper. His eyes shot to your face when your hips bucked instinctively against him, your face was scrunched and staggered breaths and sniffs escaping your slightly parted lips, but you were still out, lost in whatever continued fantasy your fatigued brain was conjuring. 

Shigaraki pushed into you a few more times selfishly pressing into the soft spot inside you that had you clamp down onto his fingers one last time. You gasped and curled further into a ball. When Shigaraki pulled his fingers out you hummed, face still scrunched, but he got up and left to the kitchen to wash off his hands. 

When Dabi came back he met Shigaraki in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water and leaning against the counter. 

“What do we do now?” Dabi asked casually.

“Well I don’t know ‘bout you but I’m fucking exhausted” 

“Do you really think the rest of the league will be able to figure this out?” 

“Kurogiri is smart enough, even if the rest of the league is useless with this sort of thing. However I am curious what this sick twisted universe has to offer us” 

“Whatever you say” Dabi says walking back to the couch, and lifting you bridal style. You lean into his warmth as he carries you to your bedroom plopping you down on your bed and closing the door. 

When you open your eyes the next morning, you feel your head throbbing against your skull. The bright light streaming in through your window was enough to make you want to stab the sun till it was nothing more than an ember. You closed your eyes again trying to remember the dream you were having but as you searched your brain, pieces of your dream seemed to turn into memories. You shot your eyes open and sat up. It was just a dream right? Realizing you were naked and that your skin felt sticky and dirty was enough to make your head pound harder than before. Wasn’t the fact you were hungover proof enough that last night events had taken place? No, there was still a chance you had just gotten drunk and imagined it all, but you had to be sure. You sprang out of bed and pulled on some loose shorts and a shirt, impatiently throwing open the door and speeding down the hall to where the proof you needed would be.

The living room was lit by the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains. The golden rays illuminated messy blankets and pillows strewn across the couch, an empty rum bottle, a pair of your sweats and tank top buried on the floor, but no one was there. You felt nauseous trying to piece everything together along with the aftermath of the alcohol. You rush to the sink in the kitchen and puke up the contents of your stomach. You grip the counter and close your eyes until you felt more confident in your body's ability to keep everything inside. You slowly open your eyes and look around, mind going back to what happened last night. However you get sidetracked by a bright blue sticky note sticking up from your countertop. Walking over to it you read. 

“Kurogiri is a smart man. We’ll be back Princess.  PS I want the blood out of my pants.” 

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 77 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Previously: Violet had to come to terms with Sutan’s past. Courtney got whisked away for a luxury vacation. Fame enjoyed entertaining Juju and Detox’s youngsters.

This Chapter: Courtney tries something new, Sutan and Raja chat, Violet gets an intriguing invitation, Adore and Tati catch up on the hot goss, and Dahlia has an embarrassing run-in.

***

“See anything you like?”

Bianca had just dumped the contents of a canvas bag onto the bed, and was looking down at Courtney with a half smile, clearly waiting for some kind of response. Courtney blinked, her mind still a bit addled from drinking all day, wondering what those objects were.

“What are…” Courtney trailed off, heat creeping into her cheeks as it slowly dawned on her what she was looking at: a large and varied collection of colorful sex toys. She bit her lip, touching one of them, heart pounding.

“Well?” Bianca sat down beside her on the bed, a grin deepening her dimples as she watched Courtney’s face.

“Um...I guess I’ve always wondered what a vibrator’s like,” Courtney admitted, looking closer at the various toys, taking in their shapes and textures. “I’ve never actually tried one.”

“Never?” Bianca asked, and she sounded so incredulous that Courtney found herself blushing even more.

“Well, I...I lived with my parents, and then in college I had roommates, and...I dunno. Shut up.”

“You’re adorable,” Bianca said, kissing her cheek. “But, okay...anything you see that piques your interest?”

The good thing about the liquor still strong in Courtney’s blood was that it helped ease her self-consciousness. It allowed her to blurt out the first thought that came into her head, even looking boldly up at Bianca with a naughty expression.

“Why don’t you show me your favorite?” she asked, leaning back on her elbows.

Bianca held her gaze for a few seconds before nodding, grin deepening into a confident smirk.

“Alright.” She chose one of the toys, sweeping the rest off the bed. “This...is called a Magic Wand…”

She placed the toy between Courtney’s legs, the rounded, velvety-soft top just barely touching her. Courtney arched forward, trying to edge closer.

“Uh uh...not so fast, my love…” Bianca began to kiss down her throat, smiling into her skin as she listened to Courtney’s pained whimpers.

Everywhere Bianca touched her, Courtney felt tingles on her already heated skin, a hunger for more blooming inside her as she dug her fingers into Bianca’s shoulders. When Bianca’s lips ghosted over hers in a teasing kiss, she summoned the strength to grab her hair and pull her in closer.

“You ready, angel?” Bianca moved her hand down to the wand, the back of her fingers brushing against Courtney’s thigh as she gripped it tightly.

“Yes,” Courtney breathed, praying that whatever the toy did, it would relieve the unbearable pulsing between her legs, satisfy the ache spreading in her core.

“Okay…” With one last kiss pressed to the corner of her mouth, Bianca turned on the wand, and Courtney was immediately electrified by the quiet buzzing against her, a gasp leaving her lips. “You like that, baby?”

“Y-yes…oh god…” Courtney threw her head back, her hips thrusting up again and again, unable to get enough. “More...please…”

Bianca turned up the vibration, pressed the toy harder against her, and Courtney let out a moan, full-throated and shameless, unable to hold back.

“That’s right…” Bianca purred into her ear, shifting slightly, now using her own weight to press the toy against Courtney’s clit, freeing up her hands to wander higher, fingers skating over her skin.

Courtney squeezed her eyes tightly closed, thighs around Bianca’s hips, arching up to match her rhythm. And then, something incredible happened. First, Courtney heard Bianca’s breath begin growing ragged in her ear, felt her touch change from light and teasing to intense and urgent as she wrapped her hands around Courtney’s waist.

Her hips were rolling faster now, pressing Courtney down into the mattress, choked whimpers unlike anything Courtney’d heard from her before sounding from her throat. Courtney took Bianca’s face into her hands, wanting nothing more than to witness the look on her face as she came. She watched with rapt attention, positively enthralled by the way her eyes rolled back as her whole body shivered with pleasure. She brought her face closer, brushing their lips together, swallowing up her beautiful broken moans with kisses.

When Bianca’s hips finally stuttered and then stilled, she almost immediately started squirming uncomfortably.

“Too much,” she gasped, and Courtney somehow knew exactly what she was trying to say.

She reached down and pulled the toy out from between them, switching it off and then tossing it aside before wrapping her arms around Bianca once more, holding her close.

Courtney couldn’t help but feel like seeing her fall apart like this was a rare honor, in spite of the number of women she’d slept with. She took that privilege seriously, cradling Bianca in her arms, stroking her cheek lightly with a finger.

It was awhile before Bianca spoke again, clearing her throat, almost embarrassed. “Uh, I didn’t plan on that…”

“You’re so beautiful,” Courtney responded, placing a light kiss at the corner of her mouth.

Bianca bit her lip, and the look in her brown eyes seemed adorably vulnerable, almost self-conscious, as she curled back up in Courtney’s arms, for once at a loss for words.

***

“You know, I think we need a discussion about what constitutes an emergency,” Sutan tapped the side of the coffee grinder, pouring the last bit into the porta-filter, “Because you forgetting how to work your espresso machine isn’t one.”

“Oh shut up,” Raja groaned, and Sutan chuckled, clicking everything into place and turning the machine on. Raja was hungover, the wine glasses in the sink and the empty bottles telling their clear story of what his sister and Raven had gotten up to last night.

Raven had left for the gym, which was why Raja wallowed in her misery, but Sutan had to admit that it was kind of adorable, Raja so rarely giving into her brattier side.

“All I’m saying sister dear,” Sutan took the fresh cups of coffee, Raja always taking it black, and followed behind her into the living room, “is that I might hesitate the next time you claim to be in distress.”

“Please,” Raja dumped down on the couch, holding out a hand for her cup. “Like you’re ever going to not be there.”

Sutan sat down, a little ball of warmth happily nestled in his chest as Raja put her legs in his lap. He didn’t say it often, but he loved Raja so much that it hurt sometimes.

“Mmh,” Sutan took a sip of his coffee, the beans perfectly roasted. “Have you heard from Bianca?”

“No.” Raja didn’t elaborate, and Sutan had to hold back an eyeroll. Seemed like he shouldn’t tell Raja that he had been texting with Bianca, asking her to bring back a bottle (or several) of pitorro when he had learned that she was in Puerto Rico, not that he wouldn’t share said bottles with his twin if Bianca brought them back.

Sutan didn’t have any cards in the latest game of drama amongst his friends, his position as neutral as possible since he genuinely didn’t care about the girl Bianca was dating, her name already forgotten once again, but he had to admit that he had hoped the entire thing would have blown over already.

“Where’s Violet? Still asleep?”

“Work.” Violet had kissed him goodbye after breakfast, saying that she’d text him when she left the office, but being alone suited him fine since Sutan had actually planned to work himself before Raja had called, his fingers itching with the need to truly get going on launching Gigi as a model.

He leaned back, watching Raja take one of the wrapped chocolates from the crystal bowl on the couch table, the desire for sweets truly cementing his twin's hangover.

“Actually,” Sutan drummed his fingers on Raja’s shin, the lounge pants she was wearing the softest gray jersey. “Speaking of Violet...”

[Speaking of Violet what?]

Sutan had to fight not to shrink at Raja’s instant switch to Indonesian, the conversation suddenly that much more serious.

[Speaking of Violet...] Sutan bit the inside of his cheek, wondering for a moment if he should continue. [She apparently didn’t know that I have been married.]

[What?] Raja raised an eyebrow, disbelief thick in her voice. [Seriously?]

“Yup.” Sutan popped the P. [I think I figured she had googled me, read my wikipedia or just…] He could honestly not remember the last time he had dated a woman who didn’t already know all about him, who hadn’t dived into the catalogue of his past. [I don’t know if I should feel bad about it, or if-]

[Feel bad?] Raja huffed, taking a sip of her coffee. [Why on earth would you feel bad?]

[It seems like something I should have told her,] Sutan sighed, crossing his arms. [I’m always-] He cut himself off. He had wanted to talk about Violet’s past, about how jarring it felt each time he discovered another layer of the woman he was dating, but it didn’t feel right to tell Raja, didn’t feel like his story to tell. [Do you think we’re too self absorbed?]

[Who? Us?] Raja smiled, a teasing tone in her voice and Sutan nodded. He knew his world began and ended with Raja, that she and their friends had been at the center of his universe for literal decades.

[Yes.] Sutan thought he had loved some of his past girlfriends, had genuinely believed that there was something special there, but as he continued to get to know Violet, as they continued to grow closer, the feelings of his past faded at an alarming rate.

[Well brother dear, I’m not the one who assumed my girlfriend read my wikipedia.]

“Oh fuck off!” Sutan groaned, pushing Raja’s leg, making his twin sister laugh. [Don’t twist my words!]

[Never.] Raja smirked, reaching for the remote to turn on the TV.

***

Violet swiped her card, doing her best to balance as she opened the door to the design floor.

Galactica was completely empty, a single security guard on the ground floor the only other person she had seen. It reminded her of when she was an assistant, so many of her mornings starting before anyone else was even in the building.

Violet didn’t miss being an assistant, at least not really - what she was doing now so much more creatively fulfilling, but there had been a rhythm to being in Fame’s office, a way things were done that was easy to understand and to follow, Fame consistent and even predictable in her own way.

It was simply a matter of delivering perfection, and as someone who used to dedicate her life to ballet, she understood.

Violet maneuvered her way through the door, the new crossbody Yves Saint Laurent Sutan had gifted her for Christmas perfect for when she needed her hands on her crutches, the thin layer of ice outside treacherous terrain.

She had come in to print the pictures she had found of Raja at the MET, to get started on the folder she’d bring for the first meeting that was already plopped into her calendar by Ivy before the holidays.

She had a vague idea of a color palette, and she was pretty sure she had seen some stones in the warehouse that she could maybe use, but she knew she couldn’t move forward with sketches until she had physical samples of fabric.

Violet had expected the design floor to be empty, but the light was on, the sound of a sewing machine greeting her.

She paused, looking around the floor, closing the door behind her. “... Hello?”

“Chachki!” Violet looked over, only to see Bob sitting at Maxwell’s machine, a bright grin on his face. He was wearing a patterned sweater, a gigantic cup of coffee and a half-eaten blueberry muffin next to him. “Hi!”

“Hi?” Violet smiled, the fact that Bob seemed genuinely excited for her to be there filling her with warmth. She walked over, her curiosity too great to ignore. “I didn’t know you sewed.”

“I’m a man of many talents,” Bob smirked, pushing his tortoise shelled glasses onto his head. “I can’t sew like tailoring, or even you guys, but this apparently tore the last time I wore it.“

For the first time, Violet looked at the project Bob was working on. It appeared to be a gigantic almost Barbie-like orange dress, the size of it supporting Bob’s claim that it was his own dress.

“And Maxwell won’t be back from Seattle until tomorrow, so here I am, trying to put it back together.”

“Let me see,” Violet took a seat on the edge of Maxwell’s desk, putting her crutches aside to pick the costume up. The dress was a beautiful deep orange, silver thread woven into the fabric, it ended in a mermaid tail that had layers upon layers of orange feathers, and that was where the problem was, a tear going through two of the layers which had destroyed the integrity of the entire tail. “I can help.”

“You can?” Bob shot a quick look at her cast, and Violet had to fight not to roll her eyes.

“Yes.” She pushed out from the table, Bob getting up from his chair so Violet could take a seat.

Sure, it was bulky and annoying to work a sewing machine with a broken ankle, but it was all about swallowing the pain, which was something Violet excelled at.

“You know...” She grabbed the tray of needles, quickly flipping the tail so she could redo what Bob had done, his work adequate, but she prefered things her way. “I can’t wait for people to stop treating me like an invalid.”

Sutan had gotten better at it, her boyfriend almost believing her now when she said she could do something by herself.

“Sorry,” Bob grinned, the coffee cup in hand as he watched, “but hey, if you’re not an invalid, you should come see my show tomorrow.”

“Your drag show?”

Everyone at Galactica knew Bob did drag, his drag name - creatively enough - simply Bob the Drag Queen. Violet had never seen him in action, but Jovan had shown her pictures, and Blu had entertained her with the story of how Bob had made her snort vodka out of her nose. She had never been to a drag show, but during her time at school, both at the Ballet Academy and at Parsons, several of her fellow students had been big fans, a few of the guys even dabbling in drag themselves.

“Yeah! It’s going to be great!” Bob smiled. “Comedy, dance, the whole shebang.”

He was certainly selling it, and Violet would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about what Bob was like as a performer. “Can I bring Sutan?”

“Would I ever say no to that?”

“Then yes.” Violet smiled, “Yes, I’d like to go.”

***

“Ah!” Raven moaned, throwing her head back, her legs cramping and catching Raja’s hand between them, water and bubbles splashing over the edge of the tub as she came.

Raja grinned, pressing a kiss against Raven’s temple, her thumb slowing down to lazy circles over Raven’s clit, her other hand still pinching her nipple. “Hey princess.”

“Mmh,” Raven groaned, her eyes still closed, a sated smile blooming on her lips, her nails digging into Raja’s arm a little whine leaving her as Raja pulled her fingers out. “Fuck you’re good.”

“So I’ve been told,” Raja smiled, reaching out with her foot to turn the warm water back on.

It was rare for Raja to have time like this on her hands, to luxuriate in a bubble bath with Raven, to know that she didn’t have to hurry, that they didn’t have to be anywhere or meet anyone, and Raja loved it.

***

VIOLET: Bob has invited us to a drag show tomorrow

SUTAN: Bob who?

VIOLET: Bob from work

SUTAN: Tall?

VIOLET: Yes.

VIOLET: He’s performing. In the show

SUTAN: Cool. Sounds fun

SUTAN: I’m in! ;)

***

“Ughhhhhh…” Bianca whined, flopping heavily onto the bed. “Everything huuuurts.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” Courtney giggled, climbing in after her.

At her beautiful girlfriend’s request, they’d spent a large part of the day going on a guided paddle boarding tour around a nearby lagoon. It was all very nice in theory...looking at sea creatures and enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, not to mention Courtney’s ass in skimpy bikini bottoms. But Bianca was just, simply put, not in the same shape as Courtney, and after trying to keep up with her all day, she felt like she’d been hit by a truck.

“I’m a little past my athletic prime, sunshine,” she said.

“Well, I think you did great,” Courtney said. She pressed a kiss to Bianca’s cheek, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Bianca offered only a grunt in response, making Courtney laugh and hold her tighter. The ruffles from her dress brushed against Bianca’s thighs as she slid her leg in between them, and while Bianca was not about to admit how good it felt to be wrapped up in an embrace, she did feel her muscles softening a little at her touch.

“I’m serious, it was very impressive…” Courtney added, then cooing, “My good girl…”

Bianca cracked open one eye. “Why do I feel like I’m being patronized?”

“Well…” At first, Courtney looked like she was going to deny it, but then she changed her mind, a charming smile spreading across her face. “Do you hate it?”

“Mmm...not completely,” Bianca admitted.

Courtney giggled again, holding her close. “So...do you want a special reward, for being such a good girl?” she asked.

“Yes. Alcohol.”

“We can do that,” Courtney laughed, nuzzling into her. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, how about we make tomorrow a spa day?”

“You got it.” Courtney pressed a kiss to her jaw, her lips lingering, arm tightening around her waist.

When Bianca breathed out a contented sigh, she felt Courtney smile against her skin.

“And also…”

“Yes?” Courtney asked, voice lilting teasingly.

“Use your imagination,” Bianca said, pushing her on her back, hand sliding up under her dress.

***

“Hi! Can you hear me?” Adore waved, grinning at the camera, her voice much louder than it needed to be. She wasn’t that much older than Tati, but she was an absolute Grandma when it came to technology.

“Guuurl omigod I have a headache like you wouldn’t believe. When are you back in town?” Tati asked, settling on her bed, iPad propped against her knees.

“I fly back in 2 days, why?” Adore asked, laughing.

“My cousins got the new PlayStation for Christmas and it’s been non-stop screaming and cursing from the den, which is like...literally the other side of my wall,” Tati moaned. “I was hoping I could crash with you in the city for a couple of days, at least until they go back to school.”

“Baby, you know you’re always welcome!” Adore said.

“Thanks. Tyra’s not coming back until after New Year’s and you know Morgan’s roommates are cunts about overnight guests. And Courtney...well, I’m not trying to set foot in that dungeon anytime soon.”

“Courtney might not be in the dungeon much longer,” Adore laughed, fluttering her lashes.

“Why? What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that bae has my sister wrapped around her little finger,” Adore said. “I’ve actually never seen Bianca like this. And Courtney...well...she’s fucking gone, you already know that.”

“I do, I do,” Tati laughed. “Her posts have been...extremely extra. But you really think they’re gonna be breaking out the U-Haul so soon? Kind of a cliché, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know for sure. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Courtney was moving on up to a dee-luxe apartment in the sky sometime soon,” declared Adore.

Tati laughed. “Wow, and to think we knew her when…”

“Ha!” Adore snorted, some of whatever she was drinking coming out her nose.

“But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Any hot girls on the horizon?” Tati asked, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

“I mean, hopefully,” Adore chuckled, “But nobody’s made their presence known in my universe at the moment. Well, except this waitress that I proposed to the other day. But I think that affair is over.”

“Aww, RIP.”

“Yeah…” Adore’s smile faltered slightly and she sighed. “Honestly, it’s been a bit bleak.”

“You’ll find someone,” Tati insisted. “You’re like...the most lovable person on the planet.”

“Awww, thank you baby…” Adore’s grin returned in full force, and Tati grinned back at her.

“COCKSUCKING MOTHERFUCKER!” screamed one of her cousins.

“Sorry, when did you say you’re back?”

***

It had seemed like a sexy idea, in Dahlia’s head. Showing up at Pearl’s house after her shift, still in costume, with only a winter coat thrown over it. It probably could have been sexy, if Pearl was the one who answered the door.

Instead, as she posed in the doorframe, the door swung open to reveal a bald white guy wearing an Aloha shirt over a purple turtleneck.

Shit.

It somehow hadn’t occurred to Dahlia that Pearl’s roommates would be home up and about at this time of night. She immediately straightened up, hands going reflexively to the belt of her coat, making sure it was securely tied. The last thing she needed was a tit to fall out in front of this man.

“Um...hi,” he said, a slightly puzzled but still friendly smile on his lips. “I assume you’re a friend of Pearl’s?!

“Uh, yeah. Hi.”

“Come on in. I’m Trixie, by the way.” He opened the door to let Dahlia through, then gestured to a pretty blonde on the sofa, who was sitting in front of a TV that was paused in the middle of The Nightmare Before Christmas, her lap filled with some knitting project. “That’s Katya.”

Katya waved cheerfully, calling out, “Hi!” and then, “PEARLIE!”

“WHAT?!”

“COME OUT HERE!”

“Whaaaaaat?” After a few moments, Pearl’s bedroom door opened and she appeared, looking slightly disheveled and extremely hot in that just-woke-up way she had about her.

“Company,” Trixie informed her, and the pout faded from her lips as she spotted Dahlia.

“Oh, hey!”

“Can I take your coat?” Trixie asked kindly.

“No! Uhhh...I mean, no thanks. Sorry. I just…”

“Why don’t we hang out in my room?” Pearl suggested, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Her sleepy bedroom eyes had a mischievous glint, promising an evening of fun.

“Okay,” Dahlia said, breathing a sigh of relief. Before she disappeared behind Pearl, she remembered to say, “Um, nice to meet you. Both.”

Trixie offered a still-slightly-puzzled wave as Pearl yanked her inside and shut the door firmly.

“Jesus. Sorry. I didn’t realize the’d be-”

“Whatcha got under the coat, pumpkin?”

Dahlia pursed her lips, amused at how Pearl had caught on so quickly to her game. “Well I...didn’t exactly change from work.”

“Show me.”

“Say please.” Dahlia smiled, fingering her belt.

“Please,” Pearl said immediately. She settled on the bed, leaning back to enjoy the show she so clearly expected. “Please show me…”

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Dino Albani Card story “Lend us your wisdom♪”

Translation of Dino Albani’s 4* “Sweet Chocolate Spell” card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Dino: ~~~♪

Dino: (I’ve been all over the place preparing for Valentine’s and Faith’s birthday party, but that doesn’t mean I should slack off with training.)

Dino: (I’ve been eating chocolate non-stop because of the ‘En Ciel’ collaboration too, gotta work out and burn some fat off.)

Oscar: Huff.. huff….

Dino: Oh! Encountered a wild Oscar♪

Oscar: Dino-san. Good work today, are you here to train too?

Dino: Yup yup. ….Ah, sorry for interrupting you though

Oscar: Not at all. I am finishing up my routine right now.

Dino: Right, good work then…. man, your muscles never fail to impress me

Dino: I’m gonna be doing a bunch of training too but mine get nowhere close to that…. In the end it boils down to how everyone’s different, right

Oscar: Indeed. It depends on one’s physical constitution, as well as differences in one’s lifestyle.

Oscar: I’m impressed by how you’re able to eat as much pizza as you want and maintain your physique, Dino-san.

Dino: Really? I never paid attention to how much pizza I eat though?

Oscar: Ah…. That reminds me, may I ask something?

Dino: What’s up?

Oscar: You see…. it’s Faith-san’s birthday on the 14th of February, right? Has your team planned to do anything as a celebration?

Dino: Of course♪ The LOM’s on the same day as Valentine’s but we thought of surprising him after it’s done

Dino: Which is why we’re preparing life sized chocolate as a big surprise for him

Oscar: L-life sized chocolate…..

Dino: Anyway, what about Faith’s birthday?

Oscar: Ah…. Actually, I’ve been thinking of wanting to celebrate it too….

Oscar: I suppose I should keep my distance on the day itself after all…. When I had asked Faith-san about it, he told me that there are no plans.

Dino: Eh, really?

Oscar: He hadn’t mentioned the LOM either, perhaps he thought it’d be troublesome

Oscar: There’s a possibility he was on guard in case Brad-sama would get brought up….

Dino: Oooh, you wanted to get Brad involved too, huh

Oscar: Of course. Both of them don’t quite meet eye to eye unless there’s an opportunity like this one. 

Dino: Right. The only way to get them near each other is when others make it happen, eh….

Dino: Oh, hold on. If you guys are up for it, wanna come to the birthday party?

Oscar: Eh… I mean, it is something that your team has arranged….

Dino: It’s all good. The more the merrier, as they say

Oscar: I-if it would be fine….

Oscar: However, in the worst case, something could happen between Brad-sama and Faith-san which could ruin the mood.

Oscar: Rather than just for me, it’d end up being an inconvenience for everyone present, and Brad-sama would take it into consideration.

Dino: Huum, yeaaah, that’s not easy….

Oscar: Indeed….

Dino & Oscar: Hmmmmm……

???: Oi, you two. The hell are you mumbling around for. Get outta my way

Dino & Oscar: !! Asch…!

Asch: Goddamnit…. you know we're in a gym here? If you ain’t here to train then fuck off

Dino: Perfect timing, Asch

Asch: Haaah?

Dino: Why don’t you give us your opinion as an outsider?

Dino: It’s something Brad said back when we were rookies. “With three you’ll have the wisdom of Monju”, a saying that comes from Japan.

Oscar: …..Monju ?

Dino: Yes! On your own you won’t be able to think of a solution, however with three people then it could work out… kinda like that.

Dino: I remember how Brad found out about it from a book, and at the time happily told me about how it was perfectly fitting for the three of us.

Dino: And considering the situation now, it’s perfect for us now too right? C’mon Asch, lend us your wisdom!

Asch: ……What?

------

Oscar: ----And that concludes it. I’m troubled over how I should celebrate Faith-san’s birthday.

Dino: But I think it’d be okay to just join us with celebrating it….What do you think, Asch?

Asch: Dumbasses...

Dino & Oscar: !?

Asch: Your brains are miserably tiny. Man, I swear these simple minded people…. 

Asch: Basically, you have planned a party but you’re worried about stirring trouble due involving others, right.

Asch: The fuck’s all of this…. You know you can also hold one the next day?

Oscar: ….The next day?

Oscar: But wouldn’t it be tiring for Faith-san to have parties back to back...

Asch: Tiring? What the hell kinda parties are you commoners holding...

Asch: Spending money, eating and drinking as much as you want, doing whatever you want… If it ain’t making you feel refreshed, can you really call it a party?

Asch: Well, sometimes there’s some idiot that can’t take a hint and it’s a nuisance, but you can throw them out or make ‘em a target for darts, whichever works. Heh… 

Dino: What the hell kind of parties are you holding, Asch?

Dino: But, maybe you have a point there….

Dino: There’s no need to force yourself to go out of your way on the day itself, if someone were to celebrate my birthday the day after too I’d still be super happy♪

Asch: Exactly. Holding parties every night is the way to go about it.

Oscar: I see…. Then perhaps that’s how it should be taken care of.

Oscar: Seems that I was being a bit narrow-minded. I’m glad you told us what you thought, Asch. You have my gratitude.

Asch: ...Hmph, more than your brain it’s the damn path that’s narrow. You standing doing jackshit is blocking my way, piss off

Oscar: Oh, sorry…

Dino: Amazing! Monju’s wisdom did come through!

Asch: …..What?

Dino: It’s great that as soon as Asch showed up we we’re able to get our answer but… If anything, I’m more happy about how we solved it all together

Dino: Alright, Asch, Oscar! Let’s hold a pizza party as a commemoration! 

Asch: Wha….

Dino: It dawned on me that we haven’t held a pizza party with the three of us yet. And I always wanted to do it with you guys

Oscar: That’d be nice. I had thought of how I wanted to sit down and leisurely talk with you since your return, Dino-san

Asch: Oi stop, why the hell are you telling me what to do. I’m gonna be training now-------

Dino: I’m going to train too, so around after we’re done… what about gathering at the lounge in about an hour?

Oscar: Very well.

Asch: Gh, I said that I’m-

Dino: Asch, it’s what you mentioned earlier though? Like, holding parties every night is the way to go about it♪

Asch: !?

Dino: Your favourite’s fried chicken, right. It’s on the side-menu so order lots of it

Oscar: I’ll be taking care of the orders, both of you please focus on your training. Now then, I’ll be seeing you two in an hour again.

Asch: Gah, wait Oscar! I ain’t gonna forgive you for this------

Dino: Nihi, looks like we’re gonna have fun tonight♪

-

Notes:

About Monju, copy pasted from wikipedia: Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with prajñā (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit (...). This bodhisattva is known as “Monju Bosatsu“ in Japanese. The saying in Japanese goes as “三人寄ればモンジャの知恵“, which comes down on “two heads better than one”. Shout out to this website for having a literal translation because without it, it’d be stuck on figuring out how to say it haha

[seven-oomen]

Happy Halloween, Ben!  I hope you are continuing to feel better!  Do you expect any trick-or-treaters tonight?  (Is that a thing in the Netherlands?)  I hope you find lots of good candy at the grocery store!  I myself have two bags of dark chocolate Kit Kats to hand out to all the kids I foresee coming by (*wink wink*)  Your pumpkin is adorable, by the way.  I wanted to do some cool faces with mine, but my friends that normally host a Halloween party decided to just hold their Costume and Pumpkin Decorating Contests online, and the theme was “2020”.  I thought “well, I’ll just get two pumpkins, and use one for the contest and one for whatever."  Then one of them started molding, which seemed very on brand for this year, so I just went with it, and ended up with meme pumpkins.  I included a color pic, so you can see just how gross the one got.  Fun fact: the top of it is held on by being skewered with a dowel rod and set in place along the rim.  In case you were curious (you probably weren’t, but oh well), trying to scoop out a moldy pumpkin is indeed deeply gross.  Imagine a physical manifestation of the sensation most people seem to feel when you say the word "moist”.  Just…so gross and squishy…  *shudders in remembrance*

My costume attempt turned out okay given that I managed to pull it together entirely out of things I already had.  In case you don’t recognize the symbol, I was one of the more recent comic versions of Black Canary (this one at least had proper shorts).  Let me tell you, trying to free hand draw that goddamn bird outline with no printer or projector was an adventure.  I had to do it backwards, essentially, too, because I realized that pencil marks are extremely difficult to erase off of craft foam.

And I just wanted to show off that I’m the kind of classy bitch who drinks wine out of a can (also, it’s an awesome can.)  To be fair, it was actually surprisingly decent (I say, as though I know shit about wine).  I sent a picture to a friend, and she started teasing me, and I said “it’s a rainbow can, how was I supposed to pass it up?”, and she was like “you know what, fair, I would have done the same thing."  I also got some kind of sparkling red wine to drink tonight for proper spooky effect.  The cashier commented on it being good as I was checking out, so here’s hoping.

I know what you mean about endless plot ideas, too.  I started a couple of smaller pieces to work on when my longer WIP gets overwhelming, got on a roll, and have almost finished one.  I got super excited when I finally got to a few of the lines that were among the first I thought of for it months ago, then realized "fuck, now I have to write the smut, don’t I?"  So, hopefully the wine will offer some inspiration there, too. XD

By the way, I totally wasn’t kidding about the Chris Evans/Henry Cavill rom com idea.  I totally went and found it in my FB messages and screen-shot it so that I can now inflict share it.  Buckle up, here we go:  So, Chris’s character’s great-aunt (played by Angela Landsbury) talks him into coming to stay with her along the English coast after his divorce, and help her run her mystery book shop.  Only, less than a week in, she runs off to go on vacation with her boy toy (Christopher Walken).  By this point, he’s already ended up in an unexpected rivalry with the co-owner of the comic shop next door (Henry), who’s been trying to get the great-aunt to sell him part of the bookstore’s storage space to build a table-top gaming area.  The woman (Natalie Dormer) who runs the little bakery/tea shop attached to the other side of the bookstore has a running bet with the other co-owner of the comic shop (John Boyega) on how long it will take for the two men to realize just what type of tension there actually is between them.  Chris could wear hipster glasses, and skinny jeans, and cozy sweaters/cardigans, that he could remove at strategic moments to reveal the ridiculousness that is his arms and chest.  Henry could wear tight jeans and fitted nerdy t-shirts and SET THE CURLS FREE GODDAMMIT.  And of course at least one encounter would have to happen at a dog park, because both their RL dogs are absolutely adorable and deserve a moment in the spotlight.  Please, Netflix, I’m begging you.  Make it happen.  (If you curious, this particular moment of inspiration struck during a discussion over "if Evans is America’s Ass, is Cavill Britain’s?"  My friends are also classy like me.  XD ) 

Well, on that note, I’m gonna shut up for a while, and go wash the color out of my hair, because I think it’s been on at least half an hour longer than it should be, technically.  Enjoy your sugary findings, and I hope they and your coffee give plenty of energy for writing your various projects! :D  I hope you continue to feel better, and that things keep looking up!  Take care!  *Properly socially distanced and seasonally spoopy hugs to you both!*

Okay 1: omg I need that gay wine. (Rainbow wine, whatever.) That is amazing, I love it. And I totally get why you needed that. I don’t have any wine for myself tonight. But I have some Budweiser (Or well “Bud” as it is called here), cans of coke and Jack Daniels, so I should be good.

 And I think your jacket turned out pretty well! Looks awesome. (Though I get what you mean about craftfoam. It is a bitch to work with when you only have pencils and no stencils.)

Halloween isn’t much of a thing here I’m afraid, aside from some witches who celebrate samhain and the uprising of general pop culture there aren’t many people who really celebrate Halloween like in the US. So no, I don’t expect any trick or treaters tonight (also because COVID has us on a 8 pm curfew). 

I think the Netherlands celebrates Saint Martin far more which Wikipedia explains pretty well as: Saint Martin's day, also known as the Funeral of Saint Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, as well as Old Halloween and Old Hallowmas Eve is the Funeral day of Saint Martin of Tours (else Martin le Miséricordieux) and is celebrated on 11 November each year.

The day is celebrated on the evening of 11 November (the day Saint Martin was buried) in the Netherlands, where he is known as Sint-Maarten. As soon it gets dark, children up to the age of 11 or 12 (primary school age) go door to door with hand-crafted lanterns made of hollowed-out sugar beet or, more recently, paper, singing songs such as "Sinte Sinte Maarten", to receive candy or fruit in return. In the past, poor people would visit farms on the 11th of November to get food for the winter. In the 1600s, the city of Amsterdam held boat races on the lake IJ. 400 to 500 light craft, both rowing boats and sailboats, took part with a vast crowd on the banks.

But other than that we don’t really have a holiday where children go door to door to ask for candy.

It’s getting more popular now in recent years to do so on Halloween, as well as Halloween parties, but it’s not very widespread.

I know what you mean about endless plot ideas, too.  I started a couple of smaller pieces to work on when my longer WIP gets overwhelming, got on a roll, and have almost finished one.  I got super excited when I finally got to a few of the lines that were among the first I thought of for it months ago, then realized "fuck, now I have to write the smut, don’t I?"  So, hopefully the wine will offer some inspiration there, too. XD

Yeah I was really excited to write some fanfic for Love and Monsters and then today I started doubting that. And now I’m leaning towards writing more Petopher fic where Chris gets turned?

I blame @for-the-love-of-wolves​ for that one because I read their fic and now I’m like: that’s a good idea. I want to write that too. And now I can’t shake it.

I should really finish things but urgh... part of me just wants to write more teen wolf fanfic.

I’m really curious about your wip though, I hope that when you’re ready to share it, I get to read it too. ^^

Honestly, Netflix needs to make this idea happen. I insists. I wonder if my friend who works their customer service can pitch ideas but I don’t have much hope for that. Would be pretty awesome though to see this come alive because it’s GOOD! Holy moly I want that to happen now XD. Brittain’s ass is it, UK Vs US ass fight!

Wait is that too gay?

Ah who cares XD

I’m still snivelling with a cold but it’s only stuff coming out of my nose, for the most part, I’m doing pretty good and can focus somewhat on things again. And no real pain aside from the general ones.

So I’m gonna wish you Happy Halloween, have a good night and lots of socially distanced hugs from me and Mo.

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @foolishsel!

for @FoolishSel who wanted Friends to lovers, fluff, smut, actually just them healing and taking care of themselves and generally finding happiness

I really hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3

*****

the shadows on my wall

Someone was calling his name. At least Stiles thought so, but he could barely hear it over the buzz of the electricity and Erica and Boyd’s screams.

Then his dad was there, yelling. “Stiles! Come on, wake up. Wake up. It’s just a dream, son.”

With a gasp, Stiles was no longer in the Argent’s dark basement. Instead, his dad was kneeling by his bed, breathing hard.

Once he was no longer in the clutches of the nightmare, he patted his dad’s arm.

The Sheriff sighed, and Stiles could see just how hard his sleepless nights were on him, too. “I know that you’ve probably researched the hell out of this. But is there some sort of spell? A magic talisman? A dream catcher? Anything that would stop the nightmares?”

“A dream catcher?” Stiles thought for a moment. Magic was real, there was no question about it. But Deaton had said that there was no indication that his dreams were magical in origin. “This might just be old-fashioned human trauma, Pops. I need to learn to live with the fact that sleeping will always be a nightmare. Literally.”

“Then talk to someone. This is killing you,” his dad scrubbed a hand over his tired eyes.

And Stiles would do anything to take that desperate look off of his father’s face. Maybe even take some of his friends’ advice. Even though it wouldn’t change anything. But it was okay, he was dealing.

Contrary to what everyone else seemed to believe, Stiles was fine.

-..-..-..-

“It could be psychosomatic,” Lydia said, almost as soon as she was over the threshold. “You get so worked up before you go to sleep that it triggers the nightmares. Maybe you should try to relax more.”

Stiles rolled his eyes heavenward, praying for strength. “Lyds, I don’t even know what a peaceful night of sleep is like anymore.”

She tapped the rolled up mat under her arm. “That’s way I brought yoga DVDs and face masks.”

Shaking his head, Stiles followed her through the house, watching her dim the lights and set out scented candles. Lavender. Very relaxing.

Two hours later, Stiles was feeling pretty good. His muscles were loose, and his skin felt softer than ever. Even his mind was sluggish, sleep dragging him down easily.

But Alpha Peter greeted him, with his twisted words and creepy smiles. His eyes glowed the same red as the flames that engulfed him, leaving him screaming until Stiles was screaming himself awake.

Lydia just jotted something down in the notebook on his desk and rose to her feet. “Do you want to go back to sleep or should I make another cup of tea?”

The memory of Peter’s touch on his skin made Stiles shudder.

“Tea, please.”

They ended up drinking cocoa on the porch and waiting for the sun to rise.

-..-..-..-

The next day, Kira followed him home after their pack meeting. “I know Lydia tried relaxation techniques, but maybe you need to exhaust yourself.”

It probably said a lot about his mental state, because Stiles was just about ready to try anything. Even if it meant getting his ass kicked by a kitsune.

The second they were inside, Kira threw his gym bag at him and darted up the stairs to change. They spent the day running all over Beacon Hills, then played with a frisbee in the park. By the time the sun set, Stiles could feel the heavy ache in his limbs that meant his body was well and truly exhausted.

Even Kira’s kitsune energy couldn’t compete. Fresh out of the shower, she collapsed into bed without a word. Stiles crawled in next to her and found himself lulled to sleep by her even breathing.

This time the dream was quiet. He was in the ice bath, staring at the ceiling through the water. The cold ate away at his lungs and he could feel himself slowly suffocating.

By the time Kira managed to wake him, Stiles’ pillow was soaked with tears.

“Shhhh,” she coaxed him upright and wrapped her arms around him. “It was just a bad dream. Just a dream. None of it was real.”

It took longer than usual for Stiles to pull himself together. But there was something therapeutic about crying into Kira’s shoulder while she rubbed his back and spoke softly in his ear.

Once he’d caught his breath, Stiles straightened and swiped his arm over his eyes. “Well. I can’t go back to sleep after that. I need coffee- no I need a drink.”

Kira snorted. “Let’s go watch a movie.”

Stiles caught her before she slipped down the stairs.

“Thank you,” he said. “I mean it.”

She smiled at him. Not her usual 100-watt grin, but something softer. “Anytime, Stiles.”

When they curled up on the couch, it felt a lot like family.

-..-..-..-

It took a bit for Stiles to catch on to Scott’s plan. But he knew his best friend well enough to know that at least half of his cheerfulness was forced. There was no way he would be this chipper so soon after Allison died.

After you killed her, the voice that sounded like the Nogitsune whispered in his mind.

But the Nogitsune was gone, and everyone kept telling him it wasn’t his fault. So, Stiles was going to do his best to gorge himself on junk food and play videogames until he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

He woke up screaming. Allison’s lifeless eyes were boring into his mind. “Wake up, wake up, wake up,” he could hear himself saying, sounding far away.

“It’s okay, Stiles. It’s okay, buddy.”

Scott had him pinned to the carpet, a firm grip on each wrist beside his head. Even Stiles’ human senses picked up on the metallic scent of blood. It had been a while since he’d clawed himself to the point of breaking skin.

So much for progress.

“That’s it. That’s it, just relax,” Scott crooned, and he looked wrecked,

Stiles felt like the guilt was going to drown him. “Sorry,” he whispered, voice raw.

“None of this is your fault.” Scott sounded so sure of his own words that Stiles couldn’t help but believe them.

After a moment, Scott released his hands and rolled off of him. Stiles lay panting, wondering if it was even worth trying to go back to sleep.

Seeming to read his mind, Scott hauled him to his feet. “Let’s get you to the shower, you’re covered in sweat.”

-..-..-..-

Stiles was four hours into a Wikipedia spiral when his window was shoved open.

“What, the-” he spun around, expecting to see six feet of broody werewolf crawling into his room.

Instead, Cora Hale dusted off her jeans and nodded at him. “Stilinski.”

That definitely wasn’t the Hale he was hoping to see.

“Is Derek okay?” He hadn’t heard from him in a while, and his last few texts hadn’t gone through. But he’d thought that’d meant Derek was out of range. Shit. What if-

“Breathe,” Cora commanded, dragging him out of his computer chair and herding him toward the bed. “My brother is fine. He’s with a pack up in Oregon right now, making some kind of peace treaty.”

“But why-?” Stiles let her manhandle him under the covers.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re pack too, idiot. Lydia said you weren’t sleeping.”

“How do I know I’m not actually dreaming right now?” Stiles frowned at where she was situating herself at his desk. “You’re acting really strange. Even for you.”

“Try to get some rest.” She spun away from him, then fussed with her phone.

Stiles was awake two hours later, with the image of Derek strung up and bleeding burned into his mind’s eye. Cora held him as he caught his breath, shuddering.

When he drifted off again, Cora was on the phone.

“He hasn’t slept in two weeks,” she murmured. “It’s worse than I thought.”

Stiles lost the thread of the conversation as unconsciousness claimed him.

-..-..-..-

For the first time in a long time, Stiles woke up feeling rested.

He blinked at the sunlight streaming through the window, then looked toward the door. His dad was standing in the doorway, smiling.

“How’re you feeling, son?” he whispered.

Stiles was suddenly aware of the weight at his back, anchoring him. He shifted until he saw a familiar face, brows pinching into a frown as Stiles moved.

“He showed up yesterday morning,” his dad said, “You were both out like a light.”

Derek snuffled, dragging Stiles back toward his chest.

“We’re making pancakes. Don’t take too long,” Cora shouted from downstairs.

The Sheriff rolled his eyes. “I’ll see you in a bit.” He eased the door closed behind him and clomped down the stairs.

Once he was down and trying to convince Cora to put chocolate chips in the batter, by the sounds of it, Stiles rolled to face his bedmate. Or maybe more like bed-thief.

“Hey, big guy.”

Derek twitched and tried to drag the covers over his head. Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. A morning person, Derek was not.

He watched as one green eye blinked open, then the other. Derek looked disgruntled in a soft, rumpled way that made Stiles want to kiss him. But he settled for smoothing down Derek’s impressive bedhead.

“I really missed you,” he said, the admission easy in their warm, sun drenched cocoon.

The smile he received in return was like the sun coming up. “Missed you too.”

They probably would’ve stayed curled up together for the rest of the day, if Cora hadn’t come bursting in.

“Good morning! Pancakes are ready!” She glared at Derek. “And no hanky-panky where I can hear it!”

Stiles mouthed hanky-panky while Derek laughed beside him.

“Come on, let’s get the grumpy-wolf his coffee.” Stiles held out a hand to help Derek out of bed.

Derek didn’t let go until they were seated at the table, surrounded by family.

And finally, Stiles felt like he could breathe.

[lovelyirony]

FRIDAY was meant to be the replacement AI. An Irish voice to inform Tony of what was going on, what to do. Nothing more. Nothing that could replace Jarvis. Ever. 

Well, she didn’t replace Jarvis, but she’s not just a synthetically Irish voice. She’s her own person. (Sometimes, Tony is just great at his job.) FRIDAY cares. She really does. Because Tony made Jarvis when he was young and slightly buzzed, he gets the coding right on some things. It doesn’t take her months to learn everything around her. It takes weeks, sure. But she picks up on colloquialisms, sarcasm, and phrases. 

He’s...kind of proud. When she shuts down the lab in the first two months after he’s worked nonstop for ten hours. “Your body needs a break, Boss,” she informs him. “And I’m having drinks with friends soon...” FRIDAY says it as a joke, and Tony kind of laughs. 

“What, motor oil and loose codes throughout?” 

“Even better. Long Island Teas.” Tony doesn’t know if it’s because he finds it funny or just amazed, but he laughs. 

FRIDAY becomes Friday. She’s a good woman. Always respectfully petty when need be. She turns on news reports, makes suggestions about possible business ventures when Tony gets bored, and always reads random Wikipedia pages. Tony’s not sure where she got that habit from, but now she won’t stop bugging Tony about watching Young Frankenstein starring the effervescent Gene Wilder. “It’s good, Boss.” 

“I know Fri, I was alive when it aired. Don’t sass me.” 

“I’ll beg for forgiveness,” she deadpans. 

The bots love her. They’ve never really had a sister before. Butterfingers and her bond like no one else has seen before--Friday animates a suit against orders to be able to have a dance party with him. 

“He’s my brother, we have to have fun when I don’t have a flesh sack,” Friday comments after Tony gets mildly upset. 

“Don’t ever call human bodies ‘flesh sacks’ again,” Tony says with a shudder. 

Friday worships the ground Pepper walks on. She analyzes her clothes to buy some new designer shoes and dresses that Pepper can wear on business or just for fun. 

“My girl Friday,” Tony says one day. “Thank god you got her shoes, I forgot her favorite drink. Again.” 

“Three strikes and you’re out, Boss.” 

“You don’t even like baseball!” 

“And you do?” 

“Okay fair point, it is a very boring sport. Hey, quick question, did we or did we not buy vanilla ice cream?” 

“No, we did not. You saw mint chocolate chip and decided that you must have it.” 

“Damn my mood swings,” Tony curses. “We need vanilla ice cream.” 

“I also want to see Pulp Fiction. I heard John Travolta is devastating in it.” 

“Honey, his entire career is devastating. The last time you picked a movie U had ideas. That can’t happen again, I’m not having him trying to reenact Titanic on the balcony like a lovesick teen.” 

“Well to be fair, I did play the recorder version of ‘My Heart Will Go On.’ I think it made the scene.” 

“Friday, you have the weirdest sense of humor, it’s like having a Millennial in my house all the time.” 

“If we’re getting ice cream then I demand that we get avocadoes.” 

Tony smiles. It’s good to have someone in his corner for banter alongside Rhodey. It’s nice to have just someone back. 

[drev-the-ambassador]

Can you tell us a little about food in Finland, like... What do you eat day to day? What are sweets like? Which fast food chains are the most popular? or something else you think is interesting. Thank you! :D

Thank you for the ask! I can tell you a lot about food in Finland, fortunately, because both of my parents happen to be cooks, so I can ask about stuff from them. A lot the information I’ll tell you probably came from them.

Well, first off, I want to say that today Finnish people often eat food that isn’t necessarily traditionally Finnish or anything, for example my town has at least 5 pizza-kebab restaurants, and spaghetti is very popular. This thing called “raketti-spagetti” is sold in stores, it’s just normal spaghetti but cut into shorter pieces, and the name literally means rocket-spaghetti. I’m not sure how that name came to be, but it rhymes, so maybe it just sounded funny…? I don’t know. Stuff like rice is pretty common too, even though it’s in no way traditionally Finnish. Anyway, I’m sure that a similar phenomenon (the international foods thing, not raketti-spagetti) exists in almost every country.

Also, the Finnish cuisine has gotten a lot of influence from our dear neighbours, Sweden and Russia. Especially Sweden. So anyway, if you’re from either one of those countries and I say that something is Finnish when your country has the exact same thing, please blame my ancestors for not being more original. Although I’d like to hear about foods or customs similar to these I’m about to mention from other countries, so if you’d like to, please share them in the tags!

Okay, so I think I’ll start with the fast food- part of the question.

Finland doesn’t have that many fast food chains, really. We have McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and soon a few Taco Bells. Like, three. BUT! We do have a chain of our own, Hesburger, which is my personal favorite out of these. It is the most popular fast food chain in Finland, with 268 restaurants. For comparison, McDonald’s has 65, Burger King 32, and Subway 155 restaurants here.

If you want to have a taste of Hesburger’s food, but don’t want to come all the way to Finland, that’s totally fine! There are Hesbugers in eight other countries, too: Estonia (42 restaurants), Latvia (44), Lithuania (47), Russia (34), Germany (3), Ukraine (3), Bulgaria (3) and Belarus (1). Pretty impressive for a chain from such a small country, huh?

I hope this doesn’t sound too much like an ad, this post is not sponsored by Hesburger. I just think it’s pretty neat. I don’t know where the restaurants are more specifically, but I’ve been to Tallinn and there were a few Hesburgers there. They have really good paprika-mayonnaise! Just saying.

Scratch that, I now know where is the Hesburger farthest from Finland: 

Now, for sweets, I think I’ll have to make their own post, but we do have a lot of different kinds of candy in Finland, since we have two bigger and several smaller candy manufacturers, the two big ones being Fazer and Panda. Fazer also makes bread and cookies.

Popular candies are suklaa (chocolate) in different forms - bars, slabs (?? I hear that is also called a bar sometimes? Like smaller bars like Snickers and then slabs like the one I’ll show a picture of), chocolates, like the ones sold in a box, with filling or without, you get the idea, a lot of chocolate - and, of course, salmiakki, salty liquorice. Salmiakki candies get their amazing/awful taste from ammonium chloride. Mmmm. Potentially life-threatening chemicals combined. Delicious. (pic source)

Here is perhaps the most iconic Finnish sweet: Fazerin sininen, Fazer’s Blue. It’s just simple old milk chocolate and yet is the most popular candy in the country. Is it really that good?

Yes. Yes it is. The shade of blue used in the wrapping is trademarked*, by the way.

Okay, moving on to the day-to-day stuff…

In Finland we drink the most maito (milk) in the world per capita, a bit over 360 liters. The 2nd is Sweden by the way, with around 356 liters. We also consume the most kahvi (coffee) per capita, the national average being around 2.6 cups. Seriously, people here drink coffee all the time. In the morning, after lunch, when you come to visit you can be sure you’ll be offered a cup of coffee, at weddings, at funerals, with dessert, I mean, all the goddamn time. Sometimes they don’t even have a reason I’m sure. You know when at work there are those shorter breaks? In Finland a break like that is called kahvitauko. It means coffee break, which I’m sure is a familiar concept in other countries too.

But yeah, people do drink milk at every meal - not everyone, of course, but most people - and for people who are lactose intolerant there are special kinds of milks where the lactose has been processed already, so lactose intolerant people can drink it safely.

This is our fridge. That milk probably lasts like half a week. The light blue one is fat-free.

‘There is also this thing called piimä, which is a drinkable product made from milk with Lactic acid fermentation. It’s not my favorite, but it’s okay.

Maito versus piimä. (source) 

Apparently there is a strict divide in Finland between west and east, where west likes piimä better, but east prefers something called kokkelipiimä, which, to me, sounds very suspicious, and I did not know it even existed. It’s piimä with something more solid also made from milk mixed into it. Looks like this.

I seriously had never heard of it. I do live in the western half, so I suppose the divide is real. Huh. (source)

A traditional Finnish drink, kotikalja, is often drunk at fancier occasions, for example at the Christmas meal or at some other celebration, like weddings or such. It has a bit of alcohol, but so little that it doesn’t really count as an alcoholic beverage. Wikipedia tells me that it’s similar to Estonian kali, Swedish svagdricka, Dutch oud bruin and Russian kvass. It’s not the same, but it’s similar. People drink it with food.

(source also includes a recipe for kotikalja)

 There is a Finnish word ruokajuoma, which means any drink that is often drunk at meals, like water or kotikalja or milk and sometimes also juice.

This post is getting really long, sorry about that. Anyway, we eat a lot of different keittoja (soups) here too. Most of the time they contain potatoes (perunaa), carrots (porkkanaa), possibly other vegetables, and some meat (lihaa). Kalakeitto (fish soup) can be creamy (I love it) or clear (not so good). Lihakeitto (meat soup) and jauhelihakeitto (minced meat soup)are usually clear as well. There is also hernekeitto, which is made from peas, minced meat or ham or something and some carrot. People can add mustard and onion to it. It’s often eaten on Thursdays, a habit that has spread from the army. There every Thursday is hernekeittopäivä, hernekeitto-day. With hernekeitto the dessert is usually pancake with jam. (pic source)

The pancake, pannukakku, doesn’t look like what you might expect, though. It’s like this.

(source)What is the closest relative to the other kind of pancake is called lettu here, or räiskäle, and it’s closer to a crêpe or a blin. (An actual blin, in Finland there is some misconception about blinis being small and thick… things, but maybe people would otherwise mistake them for a räiskäle?) (source)

 They are usually eaten with jam or sugar or whipped cream, or ice cream, or berries, or all of them. There are also muurinpohjaletut, which are cooked differently. (source)

A very basic dish we eat a lot here is potatoes and some kind of kastike (sauce). The sauce usually has pieces of meat, or sausage, or minced meat. We use a lot of minced meat. The picture example is made with makkara (sausage). (source)

When it comes to leipä (bread) I might be a little biased, because my parents bake a lot of bread themselves. Most households usually have at least two types of bread available, some lighter bread like piimälimppu for example, and ruisleipä. It is very Finnish, even though rye bread is eaten elsewhere too. In grocery stores you can find many shelves full of it. There are even rye chips here! Not French fries, or potato chips, really, more like nachos. But made from rye. Weird. (source of pic below)

One of the many forms of rye bread. (source)

Usually the shelves would be full but it was late and almost juhannus. That’s all for rye bread there. (Don’t mind my sister’s hand btw)

You can get rye bread in dried from too, all crunchy and pretty tough. Examples of this, dry, crunchy, though perhaps not that tough bread are näkkileipä and hapankorppu. Näkkileipä is often served in schools, since it doesn’t go bad easily. Both näkkileipä and hapankorppu are the best when they have some butter (voi) on top, at least I think so.

Hapankorppu in the front, näkkileipä in the back. 

“Which side do you put the butter on?” is a common topic of debate between Finnish people. (It’s the side without the holes, fight me)

And yet another traditional Finnish food that’s eaten like bread and has rye in it, is karjalanpiirakka, Karelian pie. It’s basically rice porridge in a crust made from rye flour. It is also called riisipiirakka. There are other versions of it as well, for example they can have mashed potato instead of rice in them. It’s traditionally eaten with munavoi, boiled egg and butter mixed together. It is heavenly. It’s the stuff in the picture way up there, actually, but I’ll refresh your memory.

(source)

Another pretty basic, and quite traditional Finnish food that is still pretty popular as I understand, is makaronilaatikko, macaroni casserole, made of macaroni, minced meat, and a mixture of milk and egg. All the ingredients are put together and mixed, and cheese is put on top, though not in traditional versions. Then the whole thing is put into the oven and cooked for some time, and then eaten usually with ketchup. It’s one of my favorite foods.

(source)

Fish is eaten fairly often, but pork, chicken and beef are probably more common. In summer we eat a lot of sausages and nakki (frankfurters) (?? I have never heard this word). Most common spices are salt, suola and pepper, pippuri. There are also a ton of prepared foods in markets, and I mean a lot. Whole aisles, many meters, of foods like makaronilaatikko or jauhelihakeitto that you just need to warm up. Convenient. One of my favorites are pinaattiletut, small lettus with spinach in them. I like them a lot. There are also the same kinds of small lettus made with carrot. Oh, and also blood. They’re called veriletut in Finnish.

(source)

Well, I’d love to tell you more, but this post is already way too long, so. I’ll end it here. If you want to know more of something specific I mentioned, ask, and I’ll try to get a post made. I’m planning on covering a few topics here more in depth in the future, but we’ll see.

Oh, also, a lot of the sources for the pictures in this post also feature a recipe, though they’re in Finnish. If you’d like me to translate one of them so you can try it out, just ask!

Thank you for the ask again!

(*edited because I, the smart person I am, mixed up copyright and trade marks. Sorry about that.)

[notminsoo]

general info

full name: rin minsoo

nickname(s): none... tbh ?

gender & pronouns: cismale; he / him

sexual & romantic orientation: pansexual, panromantic

age & dob: twenty one; 15th december 1995

birthplace/hometown: seoul, south korea

parents/siblings: no siblings, his father is in charge of the law firm he works in, his mother is a business developer and works mostly from home

astrological sign: sagittarius

dominant hand: right

handwriting style: pretty neat, he’s always been careful with writing, making sure it’s all nice and readable because he is a hipster that still writes his notes into notebooks

language(s) known/spoken: korean, english, basics of german & french

religion: atheist

current living arrangements: he’s moved out when he was 19, no longer in the mood to constantly listen to his dad’s bs, and he’s found an apartment of his own, where he’s currently living alone — it’s just got one huge room that’s both the living room and the bedroom and a kitchen

occupation/major: law student / interning at his father’s law firm

appearances

picture reference: x x

blood type: a -

nationality: korean

skin tone/color: honestly he’s quite pale because it’s not like he actually goes outside ..... for real though, he gets burned pretty easily so he tries to stay away from too much sun and keeps his ghostly looks

birthmarks & scars: he only has a few birthmarks scattered over his arms, and he has a scar on the back of his right calf from when he fell on a bike when he was 8

height: 1.84 m

build: athletic, shredded he goes to the gym frequently 

hair color: naturally dark brown, currently black

hair length: usually he keeps is shorter, just somewhat above his ears, sometimes he lets it grow a teeny bit longer

eye color: brown

diet: he tries to eat healthy when he can, and you’d totally catch him having protein shakes and bars and such, but sometimes ( quite often, really ) he just ends up having some takeout for dinner when he can’t be bothered to cook or think how bad for him a certain meal is

exercise & level of fitness: he actually enjoys morning runs ? ? ( i know right ) and goes to the gym when he can, at least two-three times a week unless he’s got too much or or something 

how’s their posture ( or lack thereof )? his father’s always been telling him to sit and stand nice and straight and that’s pretty much what he does, he has a fancy chair at work as well so really his posture is fine

typical style of dress: majority of the time he has to wear formal clothes, so suits or at least shirts and some slacks, in his free time he still wears shirts, sometime t-shirts and jeans, he only wears sweatpants when he’s not intending to leave his apartment, and he makes sure all of his clothes is good quality, he’s definitely got a bunch of designer stuff as well and would probably judge you if you wear something shabby tbh

body language and mannerisms

how does your muse walk ? he’s tall so he takes quite long steps, he’s generally used to walking quite fast as well because he’s usually in a hurry

how does your muse talk ? slowly, he used to talk quickly but he’s learned to control it thanks to his job 

what accent / dialect does your muse talk with ? he’s been living in seoul his whole life so you can guess,, 

how high ( or low ) is the tone of their voice ? are they loud or quiet ? somewhere in the middle ? again, thanks to the fact he constantly has to work with people, he’s not only learned to speak slowly, but also keep his tone timid, but he can raise it when necessary, though that happens really rarely

what is their laugh like ? it’s either low or really high-pitched there is no in between

how does your muse typically smell ? like the manliest axe you find in your local drugstore

what kind of air do they carry?are they intimidating ? honestly, yes ? he is usually in a rush, dressed in a suit and frowning, so i imagine people do not really wish to stop and have a friendly chat with him

psychology

what makes your muse happiest ?long naps, chocolate cake and successful cases

what upsets them the most? when he tries really hard and fails, especially when it comes to work-related things; like when he would work really hard on a case and it would not end up good, or when he does something he is proud of but nobody can appreciate it ( especially his father )

does your muse have any quirks? he definitely bites his nails a lot, when he is nervous or really bored he ends up tapping his fingers against the nearest possible surface, he always has to have a stash of pens on his desks because he always loses them, and actually prefers taking notes on a paper when he has to rather than using his phone or computer

what are their hobbies ? how frequent do/can they do them ?he really likes books, especially fantasy literature ( he’s got the whole discworld series at home and has read it several times, death is his favorite character, he actually has a poster of that character on of the walls in the bedroom part ... so death watches him sleep lol, he likes the history-ish kind like game of thrones, but he would read pretty much anything that he finds interesting, even detective stories ), he often goes to the movies and he doesn’t mind gong on his own, he just finds it relaxes him, he really likes to keep up with the latest Trends in the world of movies, he actually enjoys going to the gym as well and ? also he actually enjoys his work, too

do they have any guilty pleasures ? really long baths. with candles and wine and stuff. though he would never ever admit that.

is your muse an extrovert ? an introvert ? neither ? possibly somewhere in the middle ? he doesn’t really find it hard to approach people — it’s just that most of the time, he doesn’t want to and doesn’t mind spending time on his own

do they have high or low self-esteem ? what about confidence ? he can act like a total overly-confident twat when he wants to, and he often wants to

are they easily stressed ? how do they respond to stress ?definitely, it doesn’t take much, then he ends up being messy and disorganized and that stresses him even more, he drinks too much coffee and doesn’t sleep and wears sweatpants

what is your muses worst fear? failure

what is your muses biggest dream ? to be harvey specter obviously ? ? he just wants to be a successful lawyer really

is your muse an early riser ? a night owl ? he does have to wake up early for work and school, though he prefers staying up late at night because he says that’s when he can focus best

how intelligent is your muse ? do they acknowledge it ?he constantly likes to educate himself, like he would read wikipedia articles on everything that interests him, and he’s been pretty good in high school, and he’s doing pretty well in his classes now as well, and yes, he’s aware that he’s intelligent

what is their sense of humour like ? the worst ! okay, maybe not the worst, but most of the time he just doesn’t get jokes, or he doesn’t even try to, he would constantly roll his eyes over anything that he finds too silly, and it’s very rare of him to tell a joke himself, though he does use sarcasm a lot

relationship tendencies

what’s their sexual orientation ? what about romantic ? he doesn’t really deal with romantic relationships and tries to stay away from them, because he claims he is too busy for such thing, so if anything happens, it’s usually one time sort of thing, and he doesn’t really look at the gender of the person as long as they are attractive

are they currently in any sexual or romantic relationships ?not quite, he is not against casual hookups if they happen, and there are certain someones he would keep coming back to for purely such purpose, but i would not call any of that relationships

what is their experience with relationships ?he’s had his first girlfriend in high school, though they broke up after graduation, and he’s had another girlfriend not long after that but that ended kind of messily as well, since then, he hasn’t been in a relationship

how does your muse view the idea of friends with benefits ? have they ever had one, or would they ever ? as long as there are not feelings ( because ew ), he’s not opposed to it, he’s hand such ,, arrangements before

sex, is it important to your muse ? not super important — he does enjoy it when it happens

what are their biggest turn on and turn offs ?even though he might give off that aura of a dominant man, it’s actually quite the opposite, so. wink wink. anyways, he does appreciate honesty, intelligence and good fashion sense, and pretty much the lack of those is a turn off, along with stupid humor, which to him is most people’s humor

does your muse find it easy to make friends ?not really, he likes to keep his distance from people in most of the cases, unless he finds that person interesting, or they have gone through a certain experience together or such, like he is not super mean when he is being approached but he doesn’t really put much effort into small talks

how important is friendship to them ? he would say he does not care ! in truth ? he totally does care. he has friend he’s had for years and he does actually appreciate them, and he can be caring when it’s someone that is important to him

quantity or quality of friends ? quality, definitely

how important is family ?kind of eh ? sure, family is important in a way, just generally, because it is family — but the relationship with his parents was never too good and he was thankful when he could move out, he is still in contact with his parents but only sporadically, and the rest of his family he meets only at christmas and such

are they close to their family ? why or why not ?not really, because his parents have always worked a lot so he spent loads of time on his own, and he works best on his own even now, but his and his father’s opinions were always clashing and his mother was there to play the peacemaker, though it often did not work, because his father would just always find something to call him out on and minsoo even now lowkey wants to show him that he can do well on his own, and he’s just distanced himself from them

headcanons

he enjoys classical music — you would definitely find him blasting some mozart or vivaldi on a saturday while doing the chores

he is a huge star wars nerd and has star wars bedsheets in his bedroom,, two kinds

he enjoys expensive alcohol and would probably complain if you bought him a shot of some cheap vodka; he would list you all of the reasons why you should drink only quality stuff ( life is too short for crappy booze )

he loves dogs but doesn’t have one at the moment; he knows he’s away most of the time, either at school or working

he has seen all seasons of suits ... two times ... but that doesn’t really surprise anyone ( and he loves how i met your mother and futurama )

[justholdinghandsok]

Four more years

Gillovny RPF

This is for @thegatw​, who has requested a fic where Gillian and David are moved by Carrie Fisher disappearing and realize how short life can be, so they decide to finally move forward in their relationship and admit their feelings for each other. 

Note: It’s pure fluff. Thanks for the request my fellow Frenchy! :)

When he heard the news, his first thought was for Gillian. He knew she would be devastated. Not in the same way she used to be when she’d lost a member of her family, or like he was when one of his closest friend passed a few months ago, but in the way you have to live in a world where one of the major role model you ever had isn’t here anymore. Someone who gave her the strength to be more self-confident, stronger, more invested in many causes to make this world a better place was gone. With her, he knew a small piece of Gillian’s heart was gone too.

They’ve both had been grieving in the past few years. And even if they’d never managed to clearly define their relationship, there was one thing they knew about each other. They would always be there for each other when they need it. So he called her. She said she was okay, “sad but okay”. He asked if she wanted to go to the funeral. She said yes. He asked if she wanted him to go with her. He heard her smile. Of course, she would love that. And of course he would do it for her. He had done it before. He asked because it was what he had to do, but he knew she couldn’t accept his offer. He even asked if she wanted him to come over. He could buy a last minute flight ticket and be with her in the evening, if she needed his shoulder. She refused, politely.

They haven’t seen each other for a few months. It wasn’t anything personal, just work, a few days in Chicago in the summer. Of course, they managed to make it personal at some point. They always do. How could he not sneak into her bedroom in the middle of the night anyway? It’s like a tacit agreement between them. They are friends, but nothing else. They have sex, but nothing else. Actually, it’s more like a misleading tacit agreement. They have feelings for each other and it’s more than just sex, but they silently agreed not to talk about it. Why? He isn’t really sure anymore. They’re not cheating on their respective spouse or partner. They’re not hurting anyone. Themselves, maybe, but they can’t talk about it so they’re just going full circle and it lasts for years. Forever, actually.

How old was she when she passed? he wondered. 60, Wikipedia told him. 60… If people die at 60, despite all the kale and avocados he eats and the Pilates and Yoga he does, he could be gone in 4 years. What would he leave behind? A career? Great. Two beautiful and smart children. That’s a lot already. An ex-wife he’d made suffer and a lover who never knew she was loved. That’s perfect, he thought, cynically. There are things that can never be fixed and a few he still can change, even if he only has 4 years before him.

 He left without telling anyone, not even Gillian. If he had a second thought on the plane, he still could change his mind and go back to New-York. For the first time of his life, he is scared during the flight. Usually, he just reads or writes peacefully, smiles to the stewardess when she brings him food and sleeps after a shot of good Bourbon. But this time, every tremor makes his jaw clench and his stomach tighten. He never thought about death before, at least, not about his, but now, it obsesses him. Actually, the thought of her life without him obsesses him. What would she feel? Would she really be sad? Yes, of course she would, he reassures himself. Maybe she would find someone else, though. Someone who isn’t afraid to tell her his feelings. Or *Her* feelings… Who knows? And what if she goes before him? His fist clench at this thought and he asks for a second mini-bottle of Bourbon.

 After a scary ride in the freezing streets of London with a crazy cab driver who probably won his license in a lottery, he’s finally on her threshold, at 8pm, sweating and short breathing. He feels like he’s twelve and knocking at the door of his first date.

“Hi… Piper.” He says, surprised and slightly ashamed. This young girl has not only the same blond hair as her mother, but also the same judgmental and uncompromising eyebrow raising.

“Muuuuuum! David’s here!” she screams, ignoring David, but letting him in.

“David who?” He hears Gillian’s voice scream from the other side of the house. Sounds bad. He isn’t dead already, but she has already forgotten about him. “Pips?” she keeps screaming, but her voice gets closer “Pi… Oh.” she says, stopping still at the sight of him.

“Hi. Sorry, I should have called.” He says, scanning her from head to toe. She’s wearing an apron over an oversize shirt that may or may not belong to him, and yoga pants. There are traces of flour on her cheeks, fatty fingerprints on her glasses and her hair is in a messy ponytail. “You seem busy.”

“No, no, no! It’s okay. Mark baked a wonderful cake for Christmas, and I’m trying to redo it for the boys, but obviously I have two left hands and I’ll go to the bakery tomorrow morning. Anyway… What… How… I mean… Has something happened? You okay?”

“Yeah, yes! Sure. Don’t worry, nothing happened. But really, I can come back another time. If you don’t have time, it’s okay. I just…”

“David?” she interrupts. “Did you come all the way from New-York because nothing happened? What’s going on?” she asks, obviously worried.

He can see fear mixed with misunderstanding and wonder in her eyes and he starts to second-guess himself. After all, it wasn’t a good idea. He shouldn’t have done that. Not this way, at least. How can he explain it to her? And where to start? He should have invited her to a good restaurant, wait to have her full attention before opening his heart to her. He should have known interrupting her everyday life during Christmas holidays was the worst idea. But he was here, standing still in front of her. She’d been kind enough to purposefully ignore his suitcase on the threshold, but he has to say something now.

“Can I help you with the cake?” He knows she’d understood. After all those years, they don’t really need to talk anymore. She knows he has something to tell her. She knows it’s important, but she knows whatever it is, it can wait for an appropriate moment, when her kids are in bed and it doesn’t smell like something is burning in the kitchen.

 The kitchen is the kind of mess you think you’d better destroy it all and rebuild a brand new one rather than cleaning it. He hasn’t seen what Mark’s cake looked like, but he knows they’ve failed already, and he hasn’t tasted it yet. Piper offered her help many times, mostly when she heard plates break on the floor or when she smelt scents that had nothing to do with any kind of edible food, but Gillian always refused. She wanted to do it herself, to show her sons she was capable of doing it on her own. David was a devoted but clumsy clerk. He got pissed off when the chocolate didn’t melt, until he realized he hasn’t lit up the cooker and there might be one or two pieces of eggshell in the cake, but it never killed anyone, right? It’s too late anyway, the cake is slowly baking in the oven and if they don’t let it burn, they’ll taste it in the morning for breakfast. If he’s still here.

 Excited at the thought of a basketball game tomorrow afternoon with David, Oscar and Felix went to bed quietly, for once. Old enough to understand their need of intimacy, Piper went upstairs too, leaving them alone and covered in flour and sugar.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” she proposes, setting two glasses on the dirty kitchen island.

“Do you drink?” he asks, a bit surprised.

“It’s non-alcoholic wine.” She smiles.

“Grape juice, then?” he jokes to lighten the atmosphere. Something important is about to happen and it feels like humor is his only safe place now, before he completely exposes himself.

“Basically,” she chuckles, pouring their glasses with a red beverage. “So? Are you gonna tell me what you’re doing at my home in the middle of the evening during Christmas holiday?”

“I don’t even know where to start!” he says, taking a long sip of his beverage in the hope it would give him some courage, but he quickly remembers it won’t have any effect on him. He should have taken a third shot on the plane.

“How about you go straight to the point?” she encourages, resting her hand on his for reassurance.

“I’m gonna die soon.” He says with a sigh of relief. For a writer, he thinks he could have chosen his words better. At least weigh them before speaking them. Gillian’s face fades and her eyes widen.

“What?” she screams a little, her voice cracking? “Are you ill?”

“No! No! Oh god, I’m sorry! It’s not what I meant.” he apologizes, taking her hand in his. “I’m not *gonna die* but I *can* die. One day. I’m old, you now. And I’m not immortal.”

“Okay. Hold on,” she interrupts him. “Did you just come here because you’re having an existential crisis, David?”

“No! Not really. Well… Maybe.” He admits, thoughtful. “But it’s not about that. I just… I just realized something. You know, she was 60 when she died. People die at 60! And I’m 56. And there’s a few things I really want to do before I die.”

“David, if it’s a new way to convince me to do another season, that is completely crazy and inappropriate.” She frowns her eyebrows in discontent.

“Okay. Stop.” He sighs and takes a deep breath. “I’m not ill, and I don’t want you to do another season. Well, I do, but it’s another problem. I’m here to talk about *us*, Gillian.”

She was about to take another sip and stopped halfway, her mouth slightly open, her eyes intensely staring at him. Two decades ago, she was the one opening her heart to him and immediately regretting it. It took him twenty long years to return the favor and he hopes she won’t be as stupid as he was and blow their last chance to finally be happy together.

“Her death kinda woke me up.” he continues. “We’re not getting any younger, Gillian, and we both know there will always be this thing between us. So whatever it is… I think… I think we should… I mean, I think we should give it a try and see how it works, you know…” He isn’t used to search for his words, he’s always been a good orator and stuttering isn’t in his habit. This little speech sounded so much better when he rehearsed it in front of his mirror, on the plane and in the cab a few hours ago. There were so many other things he wanted to tell her. That she was beautiful and sexy, smart and funny, that he admires her for a thousand reasons, that she was unique and that she was hers and always have been. Hopefully, he still has many years before him to tell her how much he loves her. Four years, at least.

“You mean us? Together? Like for real?” she asks sincerely breathlessly. He nods. He hasn’t felt so stressed since… Actually, he’d never felt so stressed. He feels like his whole life depends on her answer. It’s not literally the case, although he knows he’d taken a big risk. If she says no, if she refuses, something will be broken forever between them. He would have lost her for good. And that’s not something he can handle. “I thought we were okay the way we are now.” she says with a high pitch voice, obviously invaded by many different emotions.

“Are you?” he asks through his tighten throat.

“Yeah, I mean… I think so. I don’t know!”

“Tell me you’ve never thought about me this way and I’ll go. Then we can go back to whatever we were, if it makes you happy.” If she doesn’t show him more enthusiasm to his proposal, he might burst into tears right here, in the middle of her kitchen, and he would rather avoid that. “Tell me, Gillian.” he pressures her.

“But you live on the other side of the world!” she protests.

“You didn’t answer my question.” he says, firmly. “Have you ever thought about us as a couple?” She stays silent, staring at him, her cheeks blushing with emotion, her small fist clenching in his hand. “Gillian?”

“Of course I have!” she says, a tear slowly falling under her glasses. “That’s what I wanted in the first place, remember?” He isn’t sure if she’s sad or angry or happy. All three, probably. He tightens his hand around hers and takes her wrist with his other hand, soothing her heart with slow circles of his thumb over her throbbing pulse.

“I’m not here to talk about the past. I want to talk about the future, Gillian. Our future. I’ve hurt you. I know that and I’m sorry. I know it won’t fix anything, it won’t change anything, but I truly am sorry. I’m not the same anymore. I just want to be with you, I want to make you happy, I want to wake up next to you every morning, I want to make you laugh, I even want to cook for you!” he says, gesturing towards the messy kitchen. “I’m not perfect, I can’t promise it’ll be easy, we have so many logistics to set up and organization to do, but I’m willing to make it work. If I only have four years to live, I want to live them by your side.”

“Would you like to stop saying you’re gonna die!” she chuckles though the tears. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then, we would have tried, and we can die without regrets.”

“David!” she frees her hand from his grip and slaps his arm playfully.

“Sorry.” he smiles. “But you gotta give me an answer ‘cause I’m dying, here!”

“Stop!” She slaps his arm again. “Stop!” Slap. “And stop!” Slap. He takes her two wrists with strength, preventing another slap and closing the distance between them.

The playful atmosphere becomes heavy again and he’s not smiling anymore. Neither is she. They stay silent, staring at each other, observing, waiting for the other one to speak first. Something has to be said, now that he has finally managed to tell her what he wanted. What he needed. He asks again, not with his words, but with his eyes, penetrating hers, whispering directly to her soul. She gets it. He knows she does. Her wrists relax in his hand and her arms wrap around his shoulders. She nods, slightly, almost imperceptibly. But it’s enough for him. She’d never been good at expressing her feelings, but it doesn’t matter, she never needed to, not with him, he has direct access to her thoughts, sometimes, it’s even scary. He smiles a few seconds before her mouth brushes his, waiting for him to capture her lips, as if she needs him to seal the deal. They’re not going to get married. They’re not going to have a baby, but they commit, right here, in a messy kitchen with a cake burning in the oven. For the first time in twenty years, they commit to each other and this kiss is the signature at the bottom of the contract. After that, nothing will ever be the same and if they’re lucky enough, it’ll last four more years, at least.