#reaching the end of the year like 'oh god forgot to remind people my books exist'
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haridraws · 21 days ago
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holiday gift season approaches.
do you know a FANTASY GAME ENJOYER? or someone with a YEARNING for d&d but no opportunity/ time to schedule it?
may i suggest.... my books
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Where can I obtain these: Consider US & UK indie bookstores!! But, many places, like Forbidden planet online for less than a tenner. or Target.
Into the Dungeon: FUN. SILLY. Dungeon crawl! Get loot! Get eaten!
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Into the Tower: Juicy fantasy novella vibe. Multiple unique endings. Wizard tower! Weird magic! Romance and horror options if you want!
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BOTH: Standalone, quick reads, <1 hour to play once, no experience needed
Replayable. Achievements. Easy and hard modes
Meet creatures, kiss monsters
guest art I'm OBSESSED WITH. LOOK AT IT
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Grainy VINTAGE (2018) photos of Felix Miall & Letty Wilson's inks
^ You might recognise these as the artists for many-award-winning ttrpgs including Heart: the city beneath and Wanderhome...
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into the tower pics by Shazleen Khan, Faye Stacey & Sajan rai, THERE ARE LITERALLY SO MANY MORE BUT MOST ARE SPOILERS. CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT TO WORK WITH ALL THESE COOL ARTISTS TBH
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Age rating FAQ: can I give Into the Dungeon to (or play with) nerdy children? yes. encouraged.
Number of players: solo, unless you read them aloud and get people to vote on their choices (I LOVE DOING THIS WITH CYOA BOOKS)
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You can see more info, links to buy, character previews and a lil chart comparing the books here.
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makeste · 3 years ago
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BnHA Chapter 328: Pandora’s Box of Discourse
Previously on BnHA: DEKU TOOK A BATH.
Today on BnHA: 
youtube
Also Naomasa grew a beard. Goddamn. 
please let this be a cool chapter that plays nice with my ADHD lol
(ETA: lol I feel guilty because a lot of people hated this chapter, but I’m just happy there was a lot of stuff to make fun of, and also that I have another week to work on my backlog of meta posts since the kids were MIA.)
around one month ago?? ah, okay, so we’re gonna find out what was in that Tartarus security file huh
I love that they just randomly set the place on fire
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was it necessary to do this in order to escape? no. was it a good idea to set the island they were occupying on fire while they were in the midst of still occupying it? uh. was it cinematic as fuck? fuck yeah
wow it’s a pervert!!
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that’s so great that the villains set loose this fine fellow who I’m sure is definitely not a serial rapist. truly the LoV is so noble and misunderstood. they’re just trying to free society from its chains people
oh my god??!
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SHANKED!!! oh my god I cheered for Stain before I realized what I was doing. time to have an identity crisis I guess
so he’s all “hey what’s going on.” which, while a respectable question, is something I personally would have waited to ask until I had put a bit of distance between myself and the fiery murder island. but that’s just my personal preference
Stain you really are tenacious I’ll give you that
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“what’s the point of escaping prison if you’re not gonna be smart about it” well shit. anyways yeah you’re dead right, society is in the process of collapsing and the outside world is in total chaos, good call there
oh shit
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I mean it’s not like we really expecting anything otherwise, but still. fucking brutal. I feel like these guys’ fates were decided the minute that one guy called AFO “scum” back in chapter 94. AFO is unmatched at getting long-term revenge
??
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ahh, was it the security footage??
fdsdfk he’s still alive??
and he’s immediately launching into an inappropriately theatrical monologue even as the darkness closes in on him fdlfksjdlk. you know, was it ever confirmed that the other guy back in chapter 297 was Seiji’s dad? I’m just saying
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very impressed that he’s still coherent enough to weigh the pros and cons before making the decision to gamble on giving this info to Stain, who at the very least has his own moral code and isn’t allied with AFO. it was definitely still a risk, but as we now know it was also the right call
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what a weird alliance. so Stain tells him that he’ll give it to a just person, and the guy is all,
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okay for real though I’m gonna need someone to run a DNA test on this guy. maybe it was some kind of cuckold situation?? the other guy had the family resemblance, but this guy absolutely 100% raised Shishikura Seiji and you are not going to convince me otherwise
anyway, so Stain is all,
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PRISON GUARD: “???? ??????? what the hell. what the fuck does that fucking mean. I’m dying here, jesus christ, whatever man fuck you”
(ETA: I kind of feel like this might have been Stain’s last appearance in the manga, given all the fanfare. there’s not really much else he can do for the story at this point, and he seems to have gotten all the character development Horikoshi was planning on giving him. so if this really is it, hasta la vista and good riddance I guess.)
DWLFDKSLDK MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE
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(ETA: I feel like this is meant to be evocative of that Sermon on the Mount painting, but in a really fucked up way lol.)
if it were me stumbling upon this scene I would just shake my head and walk right back into the flaming building. not getting involved in that mess. sorry not sorry. I’ll take my chances with the fire, especially given that it’s half-assed neutered BnHA fire lol
blah blah blah and so he decided to pass the info on to All Might -- HOT DAMN, HOLY SHIT
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NAOMASA HOLY SHIT. THE APOCALYPSE LOOKS GOOD ON YOU, BOY
“I really like that facial scruff thing Aizawa’s got going on, I think I’m gonna get in on that” yes sir. “also thinking of ditching the tie in favor of the bulletproof vest look. also thinking of getting totally fucking jacked.” good lord. except I’m pretty sure that’s just body armor, but also I don’t care. anyway I should probably stop staring and actually read the fucking speech bubbles here lol
“All Might first handed this information over to Nao, and then went to see Deku, and then came back to Nao” thanks for that tidy little summary Horikoshi. we are capable of piecing events together in sequential order, I just want you to know that. but thank you
“so has Deku finally gotten a bath? also, sucks that Stain saved the day, but what are you gonna do” Nao I missed you so fucking much and didn’t even realize. how am I just now realizing that you are the perfect man
for a second I was gonna ask why Tartarus’s security systems would be cut off from the outside world, and then I remembered that’s a basic security control, and then I actually got impressed by how sensible that is. like, it’s been a while since I could genuinely say that the good guys (excluding class 1-A) did something smart. not that it helped them much in the end, but still
anyway so they’re talking about how AFO was able to coordinate the attack by communicating between his horcrux self on the outside and his ugly peanut-faced self on the inside
huh
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okay you have my attention. I am taking notes here lol please continue
ah okay so he says that prior to Jakku, the transfer of information between him and his Vestige self was only one-way. but post-Jakku when Deku was in the hospital, he was able to tell what was happening inside the OFA Radical Lisa Frank Dead People Book Club Realm when he touched him. I feel like we established that before, actually. but he didn’t talk about how it actually felt, though
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boy we already know this lol. yes AFO can talk with his horcrux self. and he can also communicate with his little bro in OFA too, let’s talk about that sometime why don’t we. what exactly does that imply, based on the rules we’ve established here
my god I cannot get over Naomasa and his fucking facial hair
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no wonder All Might was in such a hurry to leave Deku and get back here
like I have no idea what this radio waves nonsense is but my god, people
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that jawline. also so it’s a quirk, I see. except last I checked Deku didn’t have a radio waves quirk, so that doesn’t really explain his connection to AFO. but whatever, hopefully we’re at least getting closer to some kind of reveal here
(ETA: since I sometimes forget that other people’s lives don’t revolve around my theory posts, here are the two relevant links if you by chance want to know my thoughts about this.
Hagakure is still The U.A. Traitor™ regardless of whether Deku is passing information on to AFO through his psychic link, which he almost certainly is.
speaking of said psychic link, Deku is a horcrux.
just posting these now, because whenever trippy OFA stuff happens I tend to get an influx of theory asks. so hopefully this will be a bit of a time saver lol.)
-- wait, what
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THAT’S what the recording was??!? holy SHIT. I genuinely was not expecting that. y’all wiretapped his fucking telepathy. fucking quirks, man. wild
AND THEY USED THAT POWER TO DETERMINE WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW, HUZZAH. GOOD SHOW
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-- oh shit wait lol, except I forgot we’re not talking about 38 days from the present, we’re talking about 38 days from the date the conversation was recorded. heh. um
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yeah that’s the face I would make too if All Fucking Might just casually told me we had eight days left until the end times
oh, pardon me. three fucking days
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r.i.p. anyone who thought we were going to have another band arc sob. I sure hope Deku is enjoying that nap
(ETA: I realize people were hoping for a longer rest period here, but given that the man warned us all the way back in chapter 306 that we were entering the final act, you can’t really blame him too much when that turns out to be true. anyway but I do recognize that we’ve reached the point in the story where this kind of discourse is going to become a weekly occurrence, simply because there’s no possible way for Horikoshi’s actual endgame to line up perfectly with the variable headcanons of millions of fans, all of whom have wildly differing and in many cases contradictory expectations which can’t possibly all be fulfilled. anyway, so I’m already bracing myself for that lol. this coming year is going to be a wild ride.)
damn, U.A. out here looking like the motherfucking United Nations
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-- is this U.A.?? I actually just realized, U.A. is four interconnected buildings, not two. wait holy shit is this Shiketsu?
wait holy SHIT
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based on the overwhelmingly powerful vibes of bureaucratic incompetence, I’m thinking this really is the (future) U.N., or whatever organization it is that deals with international hero stuff
“just let them handle it themselves I’m sure they’ll be fine” yeah okay, thanks guys. appreciate it
wait oh shit did he say that it’s not just Japan?
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soooo, what you’re telling me is that AFO is this close to bringing about the end of not just Japan, but the entire world, and you guys don’t think it’s a good idea to help the Japanese heroes stop him? so, genuine follow-up question: are you guys already planning your rich people exodus into space a la Wall-E, and that’s why you don’t give a fuck?? like, what??
omg international heroes
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these guys are from World Hoodie Mission, right? is this Horikoshi’s way of reminding me to buy tickets
(ETA: and it worked too lol.)
WHO??? WHAT???
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don’t tell me you’re introducing yet another badass new female character for me to fall in love with only to watch as you dismember them and/or blow them up, Horikoshi. I’m getting tired of playing this game my dude. don’t lie and tell me this time will be different. we’re not doing this again goddammit
noooooooooooooooooooo
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god fucking dammit lmao. [sighs and rips the previous paragraph into shreds]
on behalf of Americans I apologize for our superheroes always being Like This
I also apologize because I love her already and I’m gonna be shameless about it. so fucking shameless you guys
is her fucking hair red white and blue. it is, isn’t it
this is the volume cliffhanger, 100% lol. it will take every ounce of Horikoshi’s willpower not to put her on the volume cover. he’ll have to settle for the spine or the inner cover this time because Deku VS his class 1-a superpals takes precedence. but it will be a close thing let me tell you
tbh it’s that smile that does it for me. she’s definitely All Might’s protege. get out there and show them how it’s done girl. and maybe call Salaam and BRD and see if you can’t convince them to play hooky from their governments as well. why not. world’s ending in three days you guys. “sorry, I’m busy this weekend” ain’t gonna cut it lol
so while I am not fully caught up with Vigilantes, I have read far enough to know that there’s an American hero named Captain Celebrity whose superpower from what I recall is being a humongous douchebag. and while I haven’t read far enough to know what happens to this guy, I can’t say I’m very disappointed to learn that he’s no longer the number one hero in the U.S. (actually, didn’t they kick him out and that’s why he moved to Japan to begin with?). anyway, so my thanks to Horikoshi for having a marginally higher opinion of Americans than Furuhashi, even though we have definitely not done anything to warrant said opinion lately, and you may have inadvertently opened the door to a pandora’s box of discourse lmao
(ETA: lol I went into the tags and they don’t disappoint. “why is she dressed like a flag” because she’s an homage to Captain America and Major Victory and literally every other character on this list. again, I apologize for fictional American superheroes being Like This. “oh boy another thicc waifu to make the fanboys happy” look, tumblr fandom never seems to have a problem thirsting over Dabi or Tomura or Aizawa or Nao, lol, I’m just saying. “where is Captain Celebrity” idk, probably murdered by the exploding bee cartel, let’s just be grateful for our good fortune and try not to Beetlejuice the man.)
anyway, so let’s see if Horikoshi’s recent character development with regards to making Mineta not terrible anymore will apply to other aspects of his writing as well. I know I was making light of discourse just now, but I do think the complaints about him introducing yet another new character at the 11th hour to be cannon fodder in the final battle are absolutely valid. and again, it wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t keep maiming/killing off his female characters one by one instead of developing them and letting them kick ass long-term. but that said, I will never complain about Horikoshi adding another female character to the series, regardless of how clumsy the attempt may be. go ahead and pander away, just give us more girl power lol
anyway so we’ll see how it goes, but I think I’m gonna be optimistic and let myself hope once again, even though I’m probably gonna regret it lol. it is what it is. she is standing on an airplane just chilling for fuck’s sake. I’m only human. anyway fingers crossed
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there-must-be-a-lock · 4 years ago
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Blind Spot
Spencer Reid x (Gender Neutral) Reader
Word Count: 2640
Warnings: Hair pulling kink! Bucketloads of sexual tension but no actual sex. Gratuitous facts about bird nests. Dorks being oblivious. Lots of fluffy heart-eyed banter. Accusations of intercourse with fictional tree-beasts. 
A/N: I saw a gif that made me want to pull Spencer’s hair. That’s it. I have zero shame. 
For the “friends to lovers” square on my @cmbingo​ card! Proofread by @fangirlxwritesx67​ because she’s the best. 
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“You look like you fucked an Ent,” you commented cheerfully, stealing sideways glances at Spencer while you waited for the light to change.  
“Thanks, that’s helpful.” He grimaced, trying to tug another burr out of a snarled curl. 
“Oh my god, you’re just making it worse! I’ll help you when we get back to your place. Leave it, you goober.” 
“Did you just call me a goober?” Spencer asked, trying not to laugh. 
“You’re like the dictionary definition of a goober,” you said fondly. 
“I have three PhDs!”  
“I really wish I’d gotten a video of that tumble, Doctor Goober.” 
Spencer was blushing, grinning down at his lap as he shredded a piece of leaf. It was hard not to stare at him when he smiled like that. 
He’d essentially face-planted into a burr bush earlier, somewhere in the Virginia woods — he’d been so excited about explaining some wonky bit of Star Trek physics theory to you that he just forgot to pay attention to his feet — and he’d floundered out with half a hedge stuck in his hair before picking up exactly where he’d left off. 
In other words, Doctor Spencer Reid was a ridiculous human being. You knew that, objectively. It didn’t stop you from having a massive crush on him. 
Either he was pretending not to notice, to spare your feelings, or he was socially oblivious; you tended to believe the former, considering how well you’d seen him read other people, but you appreciated it. There was a chance you’d make it out of this — if you could just get over it already — with your friendship intact. 
You cleared your throat and told him, “You look like the bastard child of Grandmother Willow and the Wizard of Oz scarecrow.” 
“Even if they were real, the anatomical —” 
“You didn’t mention that when I brought up the Ents. Something you want to tell me about you and Treebeard?” 
“You’re ridiculous,” he huffed, trying to sound exasperated, but he could barely keep a straight face for a second before he was laughing, that scratchy sunny childish giggle that only came out when he was really relaxed and carefree. 
“Close the window before a bird sees you and decides to take up residence.” 
“How about you watch the road?”
“What, no facts about bird nests?” 
“Is that a rhetorical question?” 
“Nope.” 
“Well in that case… gyrfalcon nests are frequently re-used and passed along for generations. The oldest one that’s been discovered was in Greenland, and it was actually estimated to be approximately 2,500 years old.” 
“Seriously?” 
“Yes! In fact…” 
You had to remind yourself, yet again, to stop staring. 
Maybe someday you’d get sick of hearing Spencer talk, but you couldn’t really understand the way most of your teammates reacted to his rambling. Even if you didn’t care about what he was saying, there was something amazing about the way his eyes lit up and his hands fluttered around to illustrate his point.
You parked in front of his building and followed him upstairs. His apartment had become comfortingly familiar — ever since you and Spencer bonded over a shared love of sci-fi, you’d taken to driving him home and, if it wasn’t too late, sticking around for an episode or two of Doctor Who.  
He got his ancient little DVD player up and running, and you settled on the couch, fluffing pillows and shoving aside his nest of colorful crocheted blankets, getting cozy. There was something about Spencer’s space that always felt like home; maybe it was the smell of books, or just the general Spencer-ness of the whole place. 
Just being around him had always kinda felt like home, too. Sometimes you forgot you’d only known him for six months. 
He disappeared into his room for a second and came back with a comb. It was cheap plastic, missing a couple teeth, and looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. You looked from him to the comb and back again. 
“That actually explains a lot,” you said, grinning. Spencer rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor in front of you, leaning back against your shins, and after a dismayed glance at his curls, you commented, “We could always just shave it all off.” 
“I’m not going to dignify that with an answer,” he said primly. 
You started with a couple of the less tangled pieces, finger-combing carefully through one soft lock at a time. You half-expected some comment about primates and social grooming, or at least a few facts about the quantum theory behind the TARDIS, but Spencer was uncharacteristically quiet and still, his eyes fixed on the TV. 
You separated out one of the worst knots, and he tilted his head to the side to give you better access. You were being as gentle as possible, but you knew you were hurting him at the first tug — he sucked in a breath, knuckles going white as his fingers clenched on his knees. 
“Sorry, I’m trying,” you sighed. 
With his head tilted like this, you could see the muscle clenching in his jaw and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. 
“S’okay,” he whispered hoarsely. “It’s not — not your fault.” 
He sat there stiffly as you worked. His hair was silky, where it wasn’t hopelessly knotted, and you were close enough that you could smell whatever clean, sweet shampoo he used. Something about it made you want to hold your breath; it felt like you were too close. Spencer rarely let you inside his little bubble of personal space. 
Maybe that was why he seemed uncomfortable. He was usually so fidgety, tapping out a rhythm or twirling a pen between his long fingers, and it was strange to see him motionless like this. 
You ran your fingers through a de-tangled section, slow and careful, and Spencer shivered, his shoulders trembling for a moment before he went unnaturally still again. 
Spencer blurted out, “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
At the same time, you asked, “Are you cold?” 
You paused for a moment, surprised by the reaction, but after hesitating, Spencer just muttered, “Yeah. Cold.” 
You couldn’t shake the feeling that you were missing something. It was too warm, if anything; Spencer had a patchy flush crawling up his neck and over the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. 
“Here you go, goober,” you said, awkwardly cheerful in an attempt to cover your uncertainty as you grabbed an afghan from the couch and draped it around his shoulders. 
“Thanks.” He pulled the blanket down onto his lap without looking at you. “But maybe I should just do this myself.” 
“You’re never gonna get this loose on your own, not without scissors,” you warned, plucking at the knot around the last burr in his hair. “I’ll just, um — I’ll try to be more gentle.” 
“Maybe just go for it,” he said. “Get it over with.” His voice had gone all high-pitched and strained, like he was on the verge of a panic attack. If this was how much he disliked physical contact, no wonder he always avoided hugging you. 
You tried to go quickly, figuring that one quick moment of pain was better than another ten minutes of making Spencer uncomfortable. In your nervousness, you ended up tugging the burr out much more abruptly than you’d intended, and Spencer let out this rough, low, choked-off sound. Before you could apologize, he was jerking away from you, curled in on himself with his shoulders up around his ears like he was worried you were going to hit him, and — 
“Sorry,” he said, voice cracking. 
— what? 
“Spence?” you said tentatively. “What—”
He was still just curled up on the floor in a ball of gangly limbs, but he half-turned to you, twisting around. He wouldn’t make eye contact, though; he was staring intently at the pillow that was on the couch next to you. It felt weird, looking down at him like this, so you slid down onto the floor, hoping it wouldn’t spook him. He shifted back slightly, but at least he didn’t flinch away. 
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t — this was a bad idea.” 
The profiler in you couldn’t help but notice a few details. He was blushing, for starters. His lower lip was red where he’d been biting it, and — this was the part that surprised you most — his pupils were huge. 
You knew what Spencer looked like when he was panicking, and this wasn’t it. 
“Oh,” you breathed. “Oh.” 
He looked down at his lap, frowning as he played with the loose thread in the cuff of his sweater. 
“Sorry,” he repeated. “I know you don’t feel the same way, I wasn’t trying to — I didn’t realize it would be like that, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, and—”
“Wait, what?” 
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable! I shouldn’t have asked—”
“I don’t feel the same way about what?” 
“I know you’re not attracted to me,” Spencer said, barely audible. 
“You’re… you…what?” 
He looked up, at that, genuinely startled. There was something sweet and vulnerable shining in his eyes, and your heart was racing. You slid a little bit closer, so that your knees were almost touching Spencer’s as you faced each other, cross-legged. 
“I thought you knew.” His hushed, croaky voice broke on the last word. “I thought I was being obvious.” 
You gaped at him for a second before letting out a sharp, hysterical giggle. 
He ducked his head again, hiding behind a curtain of hair, but not before you saw the hurt expression that flashed across his features. 
“No, that’s not—” you blurted out. “Spence. Spencer.” 
“Forget it,” he said sharply, his body going tense like he was about to bolt. “Can we just forget this happened?” 
Before you could think better of it, you reached out and pushed a few curls back behind his ear, and then you grabbed, twisting your fingers in his hair to tug him forward. You cut off the startled noise he made with a clumsy, eager kiss. 
The angle was all wrong, both of you leaning forward awkwardly, but it felt like sparks all down your spine.
You pulled away just far enough to get the words out: “I thought I was being obvious.”  
Then Spencer was surging closer on his hands and knees, crowding into your space, until you had a lapful of rumpled doctor pressing you back against the couch. He cupped your jaw with gentle spidery fingers, gaze locked on your mouth, and leaned in slowly like he was still waiting for you to push him away. 
There was nothing awkward about it this time. If the first kiss was sparks, this was fireworks — it was such a goddamn cliche you wanted to kick yourself for thinking it, but it was true. Your head was spinning. Every pillowy press of his lips and soft slide of his tongue seemed to steal the breath from your lungs. 
By the time you broke apart you were panting, but at least you weren’t the only one. Spencer’s chest heaved as he pulled away. He was still staring at your mouth like he couldn’t help himself. Part of you wanted to kiss him again and maybe never stop, but another part of you was paralyzed, trying to process the fact that this was actually happening. 
You just wanted to put the world on pause so that you could memorize everything: the way he licked his lips, the smell of his laundry detergent, the barely-perceptible movement of his pulse — you’d never seen that before because you’d never been this close to him before. You wanted to hold onto it, even the less-than-perfect details — the soundtrack of buzzy Dalek screeching in the background — the way you were folded together on the floor, all too-long legs and bony elbows, which was going to get uncomfortable fast.  
Spencer seemed to feel the same way. He grazed the pad of his thumb over your lower lip, then followed the curve of your smile out to your temple and traced the shell of your ear with careful fingertips. When he brushed his curled-up fingers along the ridge of your cheekbone, you turned your head and kissed his knuckles.  
His hand came to rest on your shoulder, and you wrapped your fingers around his wrist, holding it in place, feeling the blood and bones shifting under the skin.  
“You really didn’t know?” you whispered. 
He shook his head shyly and gave you one of those incandescent smiles that always made your heart race. “No idea.” 
“I thought you were just ignoring it to spare my feelings,” you confessed. 
“I thought you were doing that.”  
“I thought you were good at your job!” you laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to be a genius or something?” 
“I think I have a blind spot, where you’re concerned.” He was blushing again. “But I was so distracted by you that I walked into a bush! How did you not —” 
“I’m the one who stares at you all the time like a creep.” 
“You thought you were being creepy?” he said sheepishly. “As soon as you started touching my hair — oh my god that’s embarrassing.” 
“That’s not the word I would’ve used.” 
You tangled your fingers in his curls, tugging experimentally. His breath hitched. 
Both of you were utterly still for a moment, watching each other, and the tension between you seemed to fill the air like a living thing. You were excruciatingly aware of all the places your bodies were touching.
You considered all the places you could touch. It would be so easy. You could tug him in, kiss him, melt into each other… there were so many possibilities, suddenly, and there was something incredible about that: the electricity, the excitement, the moment of pure potential in the pause between certainty and action. 
Spencer sighed, long and shaky, and you were so close that you could feel the current of exhaled air. 
“I couldn’t think straight,” he murmured, with a twitch of a smile. “That doesn’t happen to me often.” 
“So you didn’t know…” 
You scritched your fingernails down his scalp, marveling at the way he shivered and swayed closer like he was hypnotized. He curled his hand around the side of your neck, thumb slowly stroking the hinge of your jaw. 
“I knew I liked it,” he confessed. “But — within a certain context? Not out of nowhere like that. I didn’t think it would be... like that.” 
“Like what?”
“Intense.”  
“Yeah?” 
“But I think maybe it’s just you.” His eyes had gone all glassy and heavy-lidded, and you could barely breathe. “Maybe you drive me crazy no matter where you’re touching me.” 
“I can think of a few ways to test that hypothesis.” 
You caught a glimpse of his grin, but then he pressed his forehead to yours and his features went blurry, too close for you to focus.
“Never really thought I’d be into dirty talk, but if you’re going to start quoting the scientific method…” 
“Funny, most of the time you never shut up,” you said, giddy and overwhelmed. 
The tip of his nose brushed yours. There was maybe an inch of space between your mouths, and you wanted to close that gap so badly it felt like a physical ache. 
“I mean, if you want me to start rattling off statistics—” 
“Spencer.” You fisted both hands in his hair, tugging sharply, and he shuddered. “Take a hint.” 
“Blind spot, remember?” he whispered, lips brushing yours as they shaped the words, feather-light and maddening. 
“You know, for a genius—” you started, but he kissed you, hungry and sweet like he was making up for lost time, until you’d completely forgotten what you were going to say. 
.
.
There is now a sexy follow-up here! 
.
If you enjoyed this, please reblog or leave a message! 
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sevlgi · 4 years ago
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bubblegum pop
requested: no
group: twice
pairing: sana x fem!reader
genre: fluff
contents: rich girl!sana, college!au, cashier!reader.
warnings: none
synopsis: An unfortunately hostile encounter with the school’s sweetest rich girl might just lead to more than you ever expected.
a/n: inspired by @pearicot​‘s mean girl rosie series! (by the way, i’m not trying to feed into the “dumb sana” stereotype with this; i just thought that her personality fitted the character i was trying to achieve! does anyone wanna request continuations or scenarios in this universe 👀
word count: 3.3k
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Something about Mondays the week of finals always got you in a bad mood, especially when you had  to work double shifts at the same stupid ice cream shop you’d worked at for the past 2 years of college. 
So maybe, just maybe, there was reasoning behind you snapping at the love of your life during your first meeting.
Actually, there really, really wasn’t.
There were plenty of mean girls on campus who you wouldn’t regret yelling at whatsoever, but you just happened to blow up at one of the considerably nicer rich girls.
Minatozaki Sana didn’t mean anything bad when she innocently held out a hundred dollar bill to pay for a $5 ice cream. She didn’t mean to seem pretentious, nor did she mean to mock you and your minimum-wage job, but you just so happened to take it that way.
“Really? You have to rub it in my face like that?”
Sana stared at you, the money that she held out wavering in the ear. “Sorry?”
Pinching the space between your eyebrows, you huffed out an exasperated breath. Luckily, there was no one else in the shop about to witness the stupidest meltdown of your life. “You think I don’t know that I’m poor? It’s five dollars for God’s sake, no need to bring out the big guns. Oh, or are you doing this to avoid seeming more pretentious with your daddy’s black card?”
The brunette’s hand retreated quickly, the heels of her Louboutins clacking softly against the pastel-toned linoleum of the ice cream shop. Fuck, you hated that linoleum. “I... I didn’t mean any of that, I swear! Um, is there an ATM near here?”
Once again, the girl meant well, and you took it badly. You scoffed, glaring disbelievingly at her. Some part of you was screaming out that you were putting your entire job at stake, and your morals as well, but you disregarded any common sense remaining in your brain. “An ATM for 5 bucks? Dude, just don’t.” Dipping your hand into the tip jar, you scrounged out a lousy crumpled bill and threw it down on the counter, shoving the bubblegum-flavored sweet to Sana. “Okay? Now get out, I don’t want to see your privileged ass anywhere near here.”
The dense gray clouding your mind somehow missed the hurt expression on the girl’s face as the staff door swung open. Wendy’s hands, though gentle on your shoulders, shoved you behind her with surprising force. “I am so sorry, Sana, it’s finals week. Surely you can understand? The ice cream’s on the house.”
“No, of course it’s okay!” Sana sounded genuine enough, that was for sure; you caught her glancing worriedly at you a couple times, nothing malicious whatsoever in her eyes. “I can pay though, are you sure?”
“I’m sure. See you in class,” Wendy called out, smiling all the while until the girl disappeared into the Lamborghini parked by the curb. As soon as that happened, she turned back to you, concern tugging at the corner of her lips. “Y/N...”
“Yeah, I know,” you mumbled as you crossed your arms. Already, you were regretting what you said, though you were far too stubborn to actually apologize on the spot. “No arguing with customers about capitalism. Sorry, Wendy.”
The girl bit her lip, scanning the store to make sure that there wasn’t about to be an influx of customers. Usually she enjoyed working with you; you just had absolutely terrible mood swings sometimes, and those days were nothing short of hellish for her to deal with. “Just head home. Focus on your finals, and come back next week. Okay?”
You hesitated to agree, knowing that you needed the money, but the grim expression on Wendy’s face told you that you had no other option. “Okay. Sorry.”
As you snatched up your stuff and shoved the door to the street open, you missed the sight of Sana watching you through the tinted windows of her 6-figure car.
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“Really? Sana?”
“I know,” you groaned, biting down on the plastic spoon in your mouth. The flavor of the month (the only one you could eat completely free) lingered unpleasantly on your tongue, the taste of it oddly salty. “She was so nice about it, too.”
Jeongyeon and Mina exchanged glances, not touching their respective cups of “Ocean Caramel” either. It was extremely kind of them to come and accompany you on the slow days, both of them even offering to suffer through the gross ice cream with you.  “If it was Park Roseanne I might understand, but Sana,” Mina winced. Jeongyeon nodded in agreement; after all, everyone on campus knew about the reputations of Roseanne and Sana.
On one end of the “rich girl” spectrum, Roseanne was quite possibly the bitchiest one of all. She and her Bugatti Veyron, the college upgrade from her old McLaren, absolutely weren’t to be messed with. People who went to high school with you often told story of the G Wagon she smashed, the locker room she lit on fire, and so many other horror tales of a spoiled girl gone wild. You were sure that had you gone off on her, even Wendy wouldn’t have stopped you.
But on the other end, Sana was notoriously kind. Sure, her family raked in an income close to that of the other girl’s, and her wardrobe was just as expensive, but she made a point to donate to charities every time she went shopping. She tipped in the hundreds, and she didn’t ever ask for her designer clothes back when she lent them to strangers. She paid any dinner bill in full when she was there, and sometimes even when she wasn’t invited.
No one was entirely sure about the relationship between the two, but Roseanne seemed to hate Sana more than she did other people. The two fought publicly occasionally, but Sana’s kind heart made it so that even Roseanne couldn’t carry a fight very long. She didn’t respond to insults, it seemed, nor did she ever seem to actually take them personally. 
Stirring her half-melted soup, Mina continued, “Hopefully she doesn’t hold it against you. She doesn’t seem like the type, but...”
Jeongyeon shook her head, opening her mouth just as the doorbell rang. You froze when you looked up to find a designer-dressed bombshell, a sweet smile outlined in Chanel Rouge Allure. She looked completely out of place amidst tired college kids spending their last paycheck on ice cream, white gauzy sleeves and blue dress shimmering under LED lights. If you were being honest, you’d say that she was the most beautiful person you’d seen in your life, but you were always well versed in lying to yourself. “Y/N, you better go.”
“Why?” you whined, pouting at your much more responsible friends. They ignored your puppy face, though; Jihyo was usually the only one you could sway, Momo sometimes if she was feeling merciful. “I’m on break.”
“Only when there’s no customers,” Mina argued, shoving you to stand. Jeongyeon smiled at you, waving you away. “Go, and don’t screw it up this time.”
You forced a smile onto your face when you reached the counter, bowing and adjusting your name tag. “Hi, what can I help you with today?”
“Hi, Y/N!” Sana grinned, bowing back. The fact that she remembered your name only made your guilt worse; if she forgot who you were, you could at least pretend that she didn’t remember the incident at all. “Ah, could I have the same thing as last time? Bubblegum Pop ice cream, on a sugar cone today. 3 scoops?”
Nodding, you moved to open the case, avoiding the girl’s gaze as you did. “Of course.” She was quiet at that, staring at the ceiling so as not to rush you. Without prompting, you blurted, “I’m... I’m really sorry about last week, by the way. I don’t know what I was thinking, blowing up at you like that.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay!” she protested, waving a manicured hand in the air. “I promise I understand you. We all have our bad days.”
You wanted to apologize again, if just to assuage your guilt, but you held off on it, joking, “How do you deal with them? Yell at Gucci assistants?”
Sana looked honestly offended as she accepted the cone proffered to her, eyes widening in shock. “I’ve never done that, I swear! Besides, I don’t like Gucci much.”
A light smile quirking at the corners of your lips, you handed the receipt to her as well. She didn’t ask for it, probably not caring about the measly price or having the space for it in her tiny bag, but took it anyway. “I’m sure you don’t. Your total is $5.23, will that be cash or card?”
“Cash!” She held out a 10 dollar bill, pride shining behind that gorgeous face as you raised your eyebrows in surprise. When your hands brush together, you were reminded of how much better she was than you, how you probably weren’t worthy at all to be touching her with your shop-issued baseball cap and grimy apron. But Sana doesn’t seem to mind, still smiling that airy smile at you and not moving away. She broke your stare by offering, “I don’t want to sound rude, but keep the change.”
“Not rude at all,” you fully laughed that time, dishing out the remainder to stuff in your tip jar. You still felt terrible that she felt the need to apologize about such a normal comment, asking, “Are you sure it’s okay? You can have this one free too, if it makes up for me shouting at you...”
Sana shook her head, sugary light pink already mixing into her lipstick. She walked away, still waving with that gorgeous smile on her face. “It’s okay. I’ll see you soon, Y/N, you look really pretty today!”
Turning back to your friends, you whispered, “Damn. She’s really nice.”
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You planned on spending your one day off from school and work cozied up with a good book and your favorite hot drink, but you supposed that getting into a fight with Park Roseanne wasn’t the worst way to go either.
As soon as you entered campus, book in hand and blasting music in your earbuds, you found a crowd of at least 3 dozen people right in front of the library building. It was unlike you to butt into others’ business, especially when it might lead to a ruined day, but Roseanne’s voice carried loud over the hushed whispers of everyone else. “--huh, Sana?”
It wasn’t any of your business, but for some reason, Roseanne’s tone when saying Sana’s name angered you immensely. Frowning, you shouldered your way through the crowd. The closer you got to the center, the more expensive the clothing that brushed against your own rough jean jacket was, cotton and leather becoming silk and velvet. You originally planned to just fit in with the other spectators, but with a shove at the small of your back, you were thrust into the center too.
To your shock, Sana’s eyes were red and shining with tears, the tip of her nose cherry-colored as well. Her head was almost bowed as she stared at her shoes, but she looked up to you when you almost bumped into her. You stuttered out, “H-hey. What’s going on?”
Instead of an explanation from the Japanese girl, though, your gaze was drawn to the blonde across the courtyard. “Didn’t you hear? Little Miss Perfect here got broken up with,” Roseanne scoffed, an infuriating smirk on her perfect face as she tilted her head at you. “By a future CEO, no less. I guess she isn’t a gold-digger, or maybe there’s some other reason that he didn’t want her anymore.”
Your hand shot out to protect Sana, a scowl making its way onto your own face. “Excuse me? From my standpoint, any future CEO is still way outta her league, so forgive me for doubting that he’s the one who didn’t want her. You’re the one dating someone who makes a tenth of what you do.”
Roseanne rolled her eyes, lips thinning. “Don’t talk about my girlfriend like that, Y/L/N, or you’ve got another thing coming. There aren’t many lesbians in this damn school.”
“You know me, don’t you?” Sana’s voice was wavering as she spoke, but it was strong enough to echo in the courtyard. To your surprise (and somewhat satisfaction), the blonde  girl’s eyes widened as Sana stood forward, her lips jutting forward. “That’s why I’m not dating him anymore. I like girls, too.”
Somehow, you’d never expected that Sana was attracted to girls, but it made perfect sense. An irrational part of you wanted to cheer, but instead, you forced yourself to speak.
“R-right.” You continued to glare at Roseanne, who finally seemed to be speechless. “Yeah, so how come you’re tearing Sana down? We should be supporting each other, but you’re being so rude to someone so kind, and that says all I need to know about you.”
Reaching out, you latched onto Sana’s upper arm and pulled her out of the circle, people parting to let the two of you through as Roseanne wasn’t able to conjure up something to respond with. You didn’t stop walking until there was only silence surrounding you under the shade of a swaying tree, finally stopping to let the girl sit. “Are you okay?” you asked, brow furrowed as you knelt to be mostly face-level with her.
Somehow, there was a smile on her face; a slightly snotty smile, but nonetheless the most beautiful one you’d ever seen in your life. You ignored the uncomfortable leap of your heart when you reached out to take her hands into your own, somehow forgetting about the hostility you’d felt towards her from the beginning. “You- you stood up for me.”
“Yeah. I did, I guess,” you shrugged, smiling slightly. “I’m sure that was rough, though, to come out. How’re you feeling?”
“Honestly, much better,” Sana sighed. She leaned back, fingers curling slightly around yours as the afternoon sun shone golden brown in the locks of hair spread out on her shoulders. “It was good to get it off my chest. I didn’t even know you were into girls, you know.”
Reaching up to scratch your head, you chuckled, “Well, I am, if it makes you feel any better. What happened between the two of you, by the way? She seems to hate you so much.”
The girl laughed, as bubbly and airy as her regular voice. “I may or may not have dated her girlfriend before. But it was a long time ago, and I’m still friends with her! Roseanne just can’t forgive me.”
You feigned shock, swatting at her arm. “How terrible of you! I’m so disappointed.”
You were stuck simply smiling at each other for a good minute or so before you looked away, picking at your shoelace for something to do. “So. Uh, Roseanne knew the whole time?”
“She did,” Sana confirmed, nodding. “She just never talked about it.”
“Well, it’s good to know that she isn’t the only other one in the school with me,” you sighed, sitting back on your heels.
Sana lurched back forward, hands clasping together at her chest. “Then we should celebrate! We can go shopping or something, and we can just be happy that we aren’t alone anymore.”
It suddenly struck you how quickly you could change the girl’s entire outlook, a smile coming onto her face with no effort from you whatsoever. But even more surprising, you smiled even larger than she did just looking at her. 
Laughing, you sat back on your heels and shook your head lightly. Seeming to take it as a rejection, Sana’s eyes widened. “Oh, only if you want to, of course! We can go wherever you want, we don’t even have to go shopping if you don’t want to!”
“No, we can go shopping,” you answered, reaching back over to squeeze her hand and pulling her up with you when you stood. “Come on, then. Let’s go celebrate.”
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Sana wasn’t a great driver, but you didn’t expect much else. You were practically sick to your stomach by the time that you reached the mall, face green as you swayed out of the car.
“Ah, Y/N, I’m sorry!” Her hands rubbed lightly at your back as you squatted in the parking lot, fist held tight to your mouth. It wasn’t like you were actually going to throw up, but you didn’t want to risk ruining the girl’s expensive shoes. “I’ll let you drive next time.”
Next time? you wanted to ask. But you managed to stand, nodding quickly to ease Sana’s worry. “Yeah. It’s fine, I’m fine. Should we go?”
Immediately, she latched onto your hand, swinging between the two of you as she started to rush forward. “H-hey, lock your car first!”
Sana had unsurprisingly expensive tastes, but also surprisingly understated ones. She was fun to shop with, that was for sure- she loved to offer you clothes and also to offer to pay for them, but you didn’t necessarily hate a pretty girl telling you you’d look gorgeous in a certain sparkly dress.
She didn’t do any of the typical stuck-up things you expected her to- Sana carried her own bags, and she never forced you to follow her instead of doing what you wanted to. She did like to try on outfits and show them to you, but that could be ignored when it was just another opportunity for you to stare at her.
Eventually, you ended up having ice cream at one of the stores in the mall. You balked at the price, but Sana swiped her credit card without hesitation. “I have to admit, this bubblegum doesn’t taste as good as yours,” she pouted.
Chuckling, you savored the rich flavor on your own tongue. “You should’ve picked an expensive flavor then. Vanilla and chocolate are always good in these kinds of stores.”
“You know a lot about ‘these kinds of stores’ for someone who claims to be poor,” she teased, eyes widening as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”
“Nah, it’s fine,” you smiled, leaning on your palm. “I’m good with it, since we’re friends now.”
Sana grinned at that, her eyes curving charmingly. “We’re friends? Most people don’t want to be friends with me, I’m really glad you’re willing to.”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
Looking down for once, the girl mumbled, “They say I’m dumb. You know that everyone says I’m nice, but they also think I’m dumb because I pay for everything. I just want to be kind, but no one takes me seriously.”
A wave of guilt rushed over you for previously feeding into the stereotype. The more time you spent with Sana, the more you realized that she was as brilliant as any other, and far more kind. “Well, that’s stupid. You are kind, Sana, and you’re amazing. I’m lucky to be your friend.”
She clasped your hand over the table, soft skin warm over yours, pink flushing in her pale cheeks. “Thank you, Y/N. You know, this is the best time I’ve had in a while. My boyfriend didn’t even listen to me this well,” she laughed.
Despite the fact that she treated it as a joke, you felt horrible. She was all too used to thinking the worst about herself and not believing that she was worth any better, and that was the worst possible thing you could imagine for a girl with a heart of gold. Jabbing your spoon into the remaining ice cream, you blurted, “Then go on a date with me. A proper one, not just a normal hangout like this.”
Sana instantly blushed, looking down as if it’d hide her face at all. But she missed the heat that rose to your cheeks too, the nervous biting of your lip as you waited for a response. “I would love nothing more,” she smiled, her eyes shining brilliantly. “And I can’t wait.”
465 notes · View notes
fruitcoops · 4 years ago
Note
Have you ever seen where they get kids to ask the players tough questions and there all dress up and have fake beards and stuff. Maybe you could do that with Jules and Katie asking the team all these really hard questions?????
Thank you for giving me an excuse to spend an hour and a half watching adorable kids ask questions and melt the hearts of celebrities. You’re my hero. There are no fake beards here, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Sweater Weather characters belong to the incredible @lumosinlove!
“These chairs are so small,” James said as he scooted closer to the table. He nearly knocked Talker over with his elbow as the four of them squeezed in; the two kids on the other side shared a look.
“Ready, everyone?” Dorcas asked. When she received six thumbs up, she turned to the camera with a cheerful smile. “Hello, Lions fans, and welcome to Lion Pride! We have a couple of very special guests today to do the introductions.”
“Hello! I’m Katie and I’m six!” She held up six fingers and all four hockey players melted a little bit.
“I’m Julian, and I’m ten.” He waved, a little shy.
Dorcas smiled. “And how are you two related to our favorite Lions?”
Katie lit up and pointed behind the camera. “That’s my dad!”
There was a chuckle in the background. “Can you tell them my name, mon chou?”
“Pascal Dumais, but everyone calls you Dumo.” She swung her legs and her tulle skirt fluffed out.
“Remus Lupin is my older brother,” Jules said with a grin. “But Finn thought he was my dad.”
“It was an honest mistake!” Finn protested around a laugh. “Cut me some slack, Little Loops!”
“Do you want to do the intros for the guys, too?” Dorcas asked. Katie tugged on Jules’ sleeve.
“Can I go first?” she whispered. When he nodded, she hopped out of her chair and ran to the other side of the table, tapping each player on the shoulder. “This is Pots, Talker, Harzy, and Sirius.”
“Aw, man, I didn’t get to do any of them,” Jules pouted.
“You can ask the first question,” Dorcas said, hiding her smile behind her clipboard. “A quick reminder for our Lions: if you refuse to answer any of these, it means you hate children. Take it away, Jules!”
“Okay.” He cleared his throat and looked across the table with a solemn expression. “How many sticks have each of you broken?”
“Oh, that’s a tough one,” James mused. “A lot, but not always on purpose.”
“I haven’t broken that many,” Talker said. “I’ve forgotten to return quite a few to the rink after games, though. I think I have about five in my trunk that I keep meaning to put back.”
“Maybe…ten? Fifteen?” Finn rested his chin on his hand. “I should start a tally board.”
“Too many,” Sirius laughed. “I need to be more careful.”
Katie wiggled in her seat as she picked up the question card. “Why do you swear so much?”
Matching expressions of shock painted all four players’ faces. “Have we sworn in front of you?” Finn asked in a small voice.
“Yeah.”
“Mon dieu, I’m the worst person on earth,” Sirius murmured as Talker leaned his forehead on the table.
James opened and closed his mouth a couple times before answering. “Uh. Well. I don’t know, Katie. Instead of answering, I’m going to take this time to personally apologize to you and your dad, who is laughing his a—his rear end off in the back, as well as promising to form better habits.”
“If you could be any superhero, who would it be?” Jules asked, seemingly unfazed by the previous question. Wordlessly, Sirius gestured to his Captain America t-shirt.
“Spiderman,” Finn said without hesitation. “He’s the coolest.”
James unzipped his jacket to reveal a Superman shirt. “We didn’t coordinate this,” he said, tilting his head toward Sirius. “But yeah, Superman’s the best.”
Talker thought for a moment. “I really like Hawkeye. Are we talking Marvel or DC here?”
“Anything.”
“Anything? Hmm. I’m going to go with the Flash, then.”
“Nice.” Jules reached over to give him a high-five.
“I got Jules’ approval, everyone else can go home.”
“What’s your greatest fear?” Katie asked, still swinging her legs.
The table went silent. Sirius turned to Dorcas. “Is this the plan? Get us rolling with fun stuff and then give the hard ones to the five-year-old in a princess dress?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Cool. Well, munchkin, I don’t like bugs and I’m not a huge fan of the dark.”
“Vegetables,” Finn said sagely, which sent both kids into a fit of giggles and made all the adults break into sunny smiles. “God, you guys are cute.”
“Pomeranians freak me out,” Talker answered once they had calmed down a bit. “They have those tiny little eyes and sharp teeth.”
James shrugged. “I’m not a fan of heights.”
“I thought you wanted to be Superman?” Jules frowned. “He flies all the time.”
“I think I’d be less afraid of heights if I knew I could fly.”
“So you’re afraid of falling, not heights.”
James looked to the camera. “And now I’m getting psychoanalyzed by a ten-year-old. Uh, yeah buddy, I guess so.”
“Hmm.” Jules looked back to the question card. “Who would win in a fight, you or our moms?”
“Your moms,” Talker said immediately as the others nodded. “No contest.”
“How would we even get in that situation?” Sirius asked. “What the did we do to make the nicest women in the world that mad?”
“Stole brownies,” Katie said with great gravity for one so young. “Mom says you four are the worst about it.”
“Mom wouldn’t even have to fight you.” Jules cocked his head to the side. “I feel like she could just give you a disappointed look and that would be enough. Katie, your turn.”
“Yay!” She brightened again. “What is your favorite cereal?”
Sirius smiled. “Fruit Loops.”
“Cheerios,” Talker said. “They’re good for you physically and emotionally.”
“I’m with Talkie on this one,” James agreed.
Finn gave them all disappointed looks. “You’re so old. Mine’s Lucky Charms.”
“Okay, Leprechaun Boy,” James snorted. Finn reached over and smacked the back of his head. “Hey!”
“Do you ever play hockey at home?” Jules asked. “I feel like Sirius doesn’t have to answer this one since it’s so obvious.”
Finn laughed. “Does tapping a puck around on the carpet with brooms counts?”
“Yeah, that counts.”
“Then yeah, sometimes.”
“I have no space in my apartment to play hockey,” Talker said. “Though I plan on moving someday and then the answer will be yes.”
“I made a rink in my backyard.” James smiled slightly. “Lily likes to skate sometimes while I run drills.”
“My turn, my turn!” Katie scooted her chair closer. “Okay. Out of everyone on the team, what two people would you take with you on a dessert island?”
“Desert,” Jules corrected quietly.
“Desert island. Are there deserts on islands?”
“I think they mean like super sandy beaches with no people on them.”
“Oooooohhh.”
James mouthed a thank you to Dorcas, who gave him a thumbs-up in return. The other three looked at the kids with unbearable softness. “Well, I’d feel awful if I took your dad with me, so I think I’m going to go with Finn and maybe Kasey. We’d have a blast.”
“Nice, dude.” Finn fist-bumped him. “Unfortunately for you, my choices are going to be Leo and Logan, since I already know we could live together without starting a war on the third day.”
Sirius thought for a second. “I think Nado would actually be able to survive on a desert island, so I’ll bring him along, and for the second one…maybe Kasey? Yeah, Kasey’s cool.”
In the ensuing silence, Jules gave him a significant look. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”
“You’re not on the t—” The realization hit him like a truck; his eyes went wide and he slumped in his seat as the others burst out laughing. “Oh no. Oh, no, no, no.”
“Your own fiancé.”
“Please don’t tell him.”
“He’s gonna laugh so hard,” Jules cackled, leaning back in his chair. Even the camera crew was losing it in the background. Dorcas had to step out of frame. “You’re never going to live it down.”
“Well, the first person I would bring with me is Remus Lupin, because he’s read a lot of books and definitely knows how to survive on a desert island,” Talker said around his snickering. “And then I’d bring Cap, because God knows that would get entertaining after Loops finds out about this. The sarcasm would be off the charts.”
“Okay, next question.” Dorcas came back into view, still grinning. “Jules, go for it.”
“Can I ask Katie’s question again so Sirius can give a better answer?” he asked gleefully. Dorcas hesitated, then shook her head. “Bummer. What was cool when you were young that isn’t cool now?”
“When?” Finn looked scandalized. “I’m 24!”
“Yeah, and?”
“Ugh. Um, maybe Furbies? People were really into Furbies when I was in high school, though I can’t say I’m sorry to see them go out of style.”
James bit his lip in thought. “Tamagotchis.”
“I loved those things!” Talker said excitedly. “My sisters and I used to go nuts with those things!”
Sirius smiled. “Lite Brites.”
Finn’s eyes went wide. “I forgot about those!”
“Regulus and I each had one and we loved them. That was the only thing we agreed on and we used to sit—” He paused for a second to laugh. “—we used to sit in the middle of the ice rink in the backyard, still in our skates and everything, and do Lite Brites for literal hours.”
“That’s so cute, oh my god.” Talker shook his head. “What a nostalgia trip.”
Katie knelt on her seat and rested her arms on the table. “Who skates faster, you or me?”
“You,” all four answered in unison.
Jules rolled his eyes, but he was clearly hiding a smile. “How many push ups can you do?”
“How many can you do?” James countered. A flash of competition lit on Jules’ face and all the guys grinned. “Uh-oh, there’s the Lupin glare.”
“How about we have a little competition?” Dorcas suggested. “See how many everyone can do in thirty seconds?”
“Absolutely,” Finn said. The four of them had a little bit of trouble getting their knees out from under the kid-sized table, but eventually they succeeded and gathered in the middle of the room. “Katie, are you joining us?”
She smiled innocently. “No, I know I’d win.”
“Get ready.” Dorcas pulled her phone out as they knelt. “On your marks, get set, go!”
The guys went easy on Jules from the outset, but they made it look like those pushups were the hardest exercise they had ever done in their lives. Talker took a second to dramatically wipe his forehead and James’ wheezing was almost comical; Jules, however, was giving it his best shot. When the timer finally went off, Finn collapsed with a groan. “I forfeit.”
“Did I win?” Jules panted, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
“You did, congratulations!” Dorcas put her timer away and winked at the camera as they headed back to the table. “Great job, everyone. Katie, your turn.”
“Do you live in a mansion?”
“I live in an apartment,” Finn said.
“Same.”
Sirius shook his head. “My house might be big, but it’s not a mansion.”
“Does a two-story house count as a mansion?” James asked. “No? Then no, I don’t.”
“Who is your least favorite person on the team and why?” Jules turned to Sirius with raised eyebrows. “Are we going to have another desert island problem?”
Sirius threw his hands in the air, speechless, as the other three cracked up. “Jules, can I adopt you?” James begged around his laughter. “Please?”
“You’ll have to fight my mom for that, I think.”
“My least favorite person on the team is James Potter,” Sirius sighed. “Not the person I’m getting married to.”
“We could get married. Lily might mind, though.”
“Full offense, but I know way too much about you to ever consider that.”
James ruffled his hair and turned back to the kids. “My least favorite person on the team is Remus Lupin, because he ran me over in practice the other day.”
Finn side-eyed him. “Didn’t you trip him after he stole the puck from you?”
“He ran me over.”
“Sure, Pots. Um, my least favorite is Kasey Winter. He threw ice at me while we were in the ice baths.”
“Logan took my Gatorade last week and hid it all over the rink,” Talker said. “I’ll never forgive him for such a crime.”
“Oh, I like this one!” Katie exclaimed as she looked at her card. “What’s the best birthday party you’ve ever had?”
“My tenth birthday was at Red Robin and I got a Power Ranger outfit.” Talker grinned. “I was the coolest kid on the block.”
“My eighteenth birthday was pretty fun,” Finn said. “There was a bouncy house and Alex almost broke it because we were jumping too hard.”
“Does it have to be my birthday?” James asked. “Because my son’s first birthday party was awesome.”
“Why?”
“He threw cake in Sirius’ face and a food fight broke out in the backyard.”
“That was a pretty great day,” Sirius agreed. “My last birthday party was my favorite.”
“You spent the night with us!” Katie said happily.
“I did, yeah,” he laughed. “And I had a really good time.”
Jules perked up when he read the next question. “I love this one! Do you have a lucky pair of underwear?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, totally.”
“Of course I do.”
“Is there a superstition I don’t have?”
Jules looked especially pleased with those answers as Katie picked up her card. “This is the last one,” she warned. “And it’s super important and super hard. What kind of dog would you be and why? You can take your time, I don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Katie, we’ll need it,” Talker said as he desperately tried to contain his smile. “I’ll go first, if nobody minds. I would be a border collie because one, I love them; two, they have a lot of energy; and three, they love making friends.”
“That’s a good one,” she said seriously. “They’re also very soft.”
“Yes, they are.”
Once Finn managed to suppress his quiet laughter, he raised his hand. “Can I go next?” Katie nodded. “I’d be an Irish setter. They have red hair and they’re really affectionate. Plus, I met one the other day at the park and haven’t stopped thinking about him.”
“This was a tough question, Katie, but I think I’m going to go with a golden retriever,” James said after a moment. “They’re good family dogs and they like to be on the ice with those big ol’ paws.”
“That’s what I was going to say!” She beamed at him. “Sirius, you don’t have to go. I already know what you’d be.”
He raised his eyebrows, looking highly amused. “Do you now? Can everyone else know, too?”
“Well, it’s obvious,” she said. “You’d be Hattie. She looks just like you and she gives the best hugs.”
A small puff of air left Sirius’ lungs and he blinked as James reached over and patted his shoulder. “Oh. Okay.”
“That wraps us up,” Dorcas said, looking between them with a soft smile. “Any closing statements from our guest stars?”
“Ready?” Jules muttered to Katie, who nodded rapidly. “On three. One, two, three!”
“Go Lions!” they shouted in unison with matching grins. The camera crew cheered and the players applauded, all laughing.
“Thank you for tuning in, everyone! Remember to like and subscribe for more content.”
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ithehellisbucky · 4 years ago
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For You
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Bucky Barnes x Reader
Request: “I love you isn’t always enough.”
Word Count: 1.8k
Warnings: Angst to end all angst. PTSD, depression, spiraling, fighting, break up, sad shit.
Author’s Note: I meant for this to be out on Sunday because I wrote it last Monday but I forgot. Anyways this is really sad, but I'm proud of myself because I wrote the ~spoiler alert~ "breaking up to protect the reader" but its the reader doing to breaking up.
~
When it takes a century to find happiness, you thought it would stick.
From the moment that Bucky walked into your life (literally, walked into your bookshop) you knew that you wouldn't leave him behind any time soon.
There was something about him that would float around in your heart forever until you saw him again, and then the process would repeat.
The first 6 months of your relationship was a honeymoon phase. Waking up to him staring at you in adoration every morning. He stayed at your apartment every day. Cuddling in the middle of the night when he had nightmares, holding him when he was scared to touch anything.
Showing him your love in any and every way you could. Making misshapen pancakes together, and him showing you his favorite movies and books from the 30s and 40s. Pure happiness.
But there was something about Bucky that couldn't sit still. He can't live your little happy life knowing that there is someone out there.
It had caused many fights, you never wanted him to go back to crime-fighting, and he wanted to prove himself. And as much as you tried to tell him that he was already a hero, he was persistent that he had to make up for things that the man that used to live in his brain did.
It drove you crazy.
You were laying on the couch reading a book and absent-mindedly watching a mediocre television show you've seen twice before. You hear each of your locks click twice and from the weight of his footsteps and settle back down into comfort.
"Hi, baby." Bucky walks over to you and presses a kiss onto your forehead.
"Hi honey, how was therapy." You ask as he snuggles into your embrace and you put your book down.
"Boring," he exclaims as you stroke his hair.
"Boring is better than bad, I'm proud of you," He smiled at you and pressed a kiss to your collarbone.
Instead of saying the 'I love you' that you wanted to say, you replaced it with: 'I'm proud of you', 'Stay safe', and 'honey' 'baby' 'sweetheart'.
It wasn't what you wanted, but it'd have to do until your love was ready to hear it.
"I'm making pasta, when do you wanna eat?" You exclaim, wrapping your legs around his torso, and realizing that you are fully entangled in a cuddlefest.
"Maybe an hour, I'm never hungry after Dr. Raynor."
You nod and can tell he understood your response.
You hold each other in blissful peace, eat your food, and go to bed. Bucky does things a certain way to sleep. He wraps his body around yours and sleeps closer to the door, so if someone tried to attack he could protect you in an instant. When he can't sleep he goes into the living room and lays down on the floor to watch tv. He's never slept comfortably before, so it's hard to sleep in safety.
Apparently, tonight was one of those nights. You woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed.
You reach over and notice that the bedsheets are sweaty and his shirt is on the ground near the door. Bucky was fine with his arm around you, it took some time to show him that he's worthy of love- prosthetic included.
You walk towards the door wearing only one of Bucky's shirts and underwear with little flowers all over it.
"Hey Bucky, are you okay..." Your voice trails off when you notice Bucky staring at the tv with hollow eyes and an unrelenting gaze. "Baby what's wrong?" You slowly walk closer to him and place your hand on his shoulder, even though all you want to do is run to him and hold him.
At first, you think that he doesn't notice until he turns around and shows tear-brimmed eyes. "He gave away the shield."
He can't seem to say anything other than that, so you reach over and hold his face to your neck. You help him get up and walk over to your room and your bed, not bother to pick up his bedding or turn off the tv. You lay gently down in bed, and hold him close to you and let him sob into your chest.
The next day Bucky's acting odd, to say the least. But you don't push it, he's been through enough in the past 24 hours. Finding out that the pretty much only constant in your life was in the hands of a stranger isn't something you can take lightly.
He left in the morning and he didn't come back until late at night. When you ask him where he was he shrugged and ate a single-serving pizza in a record three minutes then went straight to bed, leaving you eating leftovers by yourself in the dark. Not exactly the perfect day.
The same happens for the next 2 days, and then the next day he doesn't come home, and all you get is a text that he'll be home back Sunday. That leaves you with paralyzing fear for the days he's gone, and when he comes back to you at 3:30 in the morning he has a black eye and knuckle-shaped bruises all over the parts of his body you can see, which is no small feat considering the super-soldier serum pumping through his veins.
"Where the hell have you been Bucky?" You yell once he's sat down on the couch like nothing ever happened.
"I was doing stuff." He shrugs and clicks on the tv.
You snatch the remote off the table and turn it off. "You can't just disappear for days and act like nothing ever happened!"
He rolls his eyes and gets up, beginning to walk towards the bathroom "Don't walk away from me! You don't get to walk away from this!"
He turns around and glares at you with the gaze that you've seen him use plenty of time at guys who were checking out your ass at bars.
"Why the hell can't I?" He spits out and towers over you.
"Because this is a relationship and you can't walk away whenever you want to and expect everything to be fine!" His anger doesn't intimidate you. "What the fuck did you expect me to do? Bake you cookies and shampoo your hair when you got home?
I'm not your bitch and you're not a liar, so tell me what's going on." You exclaim, hoping that he'll tell you something other than what you know is really going on.
"I was out with Sam."
"Oh my god," you sigh, turning away from him.
"There's this group called the flag smashers, and they're trying to cause a revolution or something," you run your hand through your hair, "and the new Captain America was there, and he's not a good guy, so me and Sam were-"
"No. No Bucky no." He seems slightly taken aback, but what honestly was he thought was going to happen.
"I don't care if you run around beating up bank robbers or making amends for things you didn't do, I do care that you lied to me about something that could've killed you."
"I know it's just-" He says, scratching his head with his metal arm.
"It's just what? That you want to help people? There are plenty of things you can do to help people other than getting beaten up Bucky!"
You take a deep breath and think it through more, "you know what, I'm blowing it out of proportion, you were just trying to help Sam and you were scared, let's just talk to Dr. Raynor and figure something out tomorrow."
You turn to go to bed and notice that Bucky isn't following "what's wrong?"
Bucky takes a deep breath "I'm not seeing Dr. Raynor anymore."
You turn around, angrier at him than you've ever been, "what?"
"John, the new Captain America, wants me to be focused on the mission, and therapy is just a distraction."
You can practically feel anger boiling through your veins. "Do you even hear yourself? You sound crazy. I would be fine if you went on missions or teamed up with Sam, but you can't stop going to therapy Bucky."
"Yes I can; the whole point is that I can make my own decisions. It's my choice." Bucky exclaims, yelling at you louder than you thought he ever would.
"Okay. If you think that making decisions is about ruining your life because you can, go ahead." You look him straight in the eyes, all fear gone. "you can quit therapy and implode all the progress you've made" you take a deep breath "and get out of my house."
Bucky drops all of his anger and steps back in shock and fear. "What?"
"I'm not going to let you ruin your life Bucky. When I met you, you wouldn't even let me see your arm. I've realized, that you are dependent on me, and that's not okay Bucky, because you deserve better than only having one good thing."
You were holding back tears, but in this moment you needed to help Bucky, and the only way to do that was to make sure he would be okay. And he can't do that if you are the only thing in his life. "You had nothing for 70 years Bucky, and now that you have the whole world you can't keep holding on to one person. You lost Steve, and then you were desperate to find something else to hold onto. You need to find yourself Bucky."
"No, no please don't do this. I- I love you." He starts crying and it takes everything in you not to run to him and hold him.
"Love isn't always enough Bucky." You turn around to leave your apartment in the middle of the night, "I love you more than anything, but I can't let you ruin your life. Go back to therapy, Buck, I'll be here. I'll wait. Go live the life you finally have Bucky. I love you."
You walk out your door and the second you close it you start sobbing. You wander out into the street and wonder if you did the right thing.
You hoped and you begged and you pleaded that Bucky would discover the world that he deserved. You wouldn't abandon him, you would make sure he stayed alive, he just needed time to be free. This wasn't for you, you reminded yourself, it's for Bucky.
Always for Bucky.
Requests are open!
Prompt List
~Taglists are open~
Permanent Tags: @natasha-danvers​
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Text
Stoners
Stoner Snaf <3 So this one's kinda weird, I based it around the Watch Me from fictober so if you haven't already read that, I suggest reading it first! It's also set in a post COVID world because I need something to look forward to. Disclaimer; I wrote this while very high last night and didn't really edit it so it's probably a mess.
Pairing: Merriell Shelton / Female Reader
Warnings: 18+, unprotected sex (don't do this), recreational drug use, if you squint there's some kinky undertones but nothing too crazy.
Word Count: 4.4K (i haven't written something this long is forever omf)
Tags: @edteche2 @xmxisxforxmaybe @diasimar @txmel @gloriousdarkangelsworld @paradoxicaltornado @404-not-found-xix
Enjoy and happy 4:20
~
Ever since the pandemic, you hadn’t been able to do crowds. Not like you used to anyways. It killed you a little bit because all the things you missed doing so much involved crowds; concerts, clubbing, festivals, travelling. Getting back into the swing of things took time. The feeling of being surrounded by people you don’t know set every one of your nerves on fire in the worst way. It felt so...
Uncomfortable.
This is probably why you didn’t last more than a half-hour at some seedy dive bar your friends had dragged you out to for the night. They begged you to go out with them, if even only for a drink or two. It had been so long since the whole group had a proper outing, it was nice to have the gang out for a night. Until some dickhead grabbed your ass and whispered some unwanted filth in your ear, his breath hot and unpleasant on your skin. After that, you were quick to grab your bag and say goodbye to your friends. You knew they were disappointed, but you could still feel the strangers breathe on your skin like it had been singed.
You welcomed the cool air of the night, feeling it immediately cool your skin. You hadn’t realized how warm it was inside but now that you were out in the open, you felt better. The burning on your neck had settled, more of an afterthought now. Your brain still felt overwhelmed, and you knew exactly how to remedy that.
Sitting down at one of the picnic table benches nearby, you began to sift through your bag when a voice rang out through the quiet streets.
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,”
You’d know that slow drawl anywhere, you’d go so far as to say it near haunted your dreams.
“Merriell Shelton,” you beam up at him as he walks closer to you, nodding at his friends to continue without him, “I haven’t seen you since-”
“That last party.” He nods, smiling at you in the way where you’re not quite sure if he’s flirting with you or if he’s just that naturally gorgeous, “when I taught ya’ how to smoke.”
An excited smile bubbles onto your face and you shake your head at him, “Oh, you’d be so proud of me. I’ve grown so much since then.”
You resume digging through your bag to find your various forms of weed paraphernalia you carry with you. The pandemic had not been kind to you, and some days it felt like the only thing keeping your head above water was your bedtime joint. It wasn’t something you were terribly proud of, but it helped your anxiety and that was good enough for you lately.
He barks out a laugh at your response and you can’t help the pride the swells up inside of you knowing that you made him laugh like that. He comes to sit on the bench, placing himself close enough that it wasn’t weird, but far away enough so that he wasn’t directly in your space.
“What, you some kinda stoner or something now?” he asks as you layout your joints and pipes. He whistles, a mix between being impressed and mocking, when you pull out your vape too, “Damn, you got a bong in there too?”
Now it’s your turn to laugh, “No, that stays at home.” you say with a wink, “So, how have you been?” you ask, starting to put everything but your joints back in your bag.
He blows out through his lips and laughs a little, running a hand through his hair, “Been better lately, that’s all that matters, I s’pose.” He watched, something like a weird form of pride in his eyes as you pull out a joint and light it carefully. You certainly can’t complain, you forgot how great it felt to have his eyes on you.
You hum knowingly, “That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway,” you hold the joint up hesitantly.
“I don’t usually share my joints anymore, but if you’ve got your shots...” you shrug, your sentence tapering off. It’s a weird world you live in now, no one quite knows what’s socially acceptable anymore.
He smirks at you, amused, taking the joint from your fingers, “I’ve got my shots alright,”
His eyes don’t leave yours as he brings it up to his lips and takes his hit. He’s not even doing anything out of the ordinary, but he looks like he’s up to no good in every way. It’s like he’s just taking you in as if comparing you to the girl he met years ago.
“You changed,” he comments on an exhale, passing it back.
You nod, laughing softly, “Turns out I get really impulsive when I’m alone,”
He scoffs, “tell me about it,” and then he’s shrugging off his hoodie to reveal a handful of new tattoos covering his skin, “Buddy of mine is an artist,”
You gasp, ‘ooo’ing at some of the more complex pieces. Without thinking your hand darts out to let your fingers drag against his forearm, following the linework of the ink. His muscle twitches beneath your fingers involuntarily and you’re reminded of how long you’ve gone without intimate touches like this. You wonder if it’s the same for him. Did he long to be touched so innocently like this too?
“They’re wonderful,” you say, pulling your hand away, still admiring from a distance.
“Yea, I like ‘em.” He shrugs, nodding at you to take the last pulls from the joint, it’s your weed after all, “You get any?”
You shook your head, “No, surprisingly enough every time I finally convinced myself to book an appointment, shops got shut down again.” You said, only kind of bitterly.
He laughs and you scowl at him, “Aw, baby, don’t be like that,” he laughs, swatting at you half-heartedly, “Look, I betcha I can get you a discount at my buddy’s shop.”
You eye him suspiciously, “I can’t tell if you’re kidding.”
He puts a hand to his chest with a lazy smirk, “On god,”
You bite your lip to suppress a smile, shaking your head lightly, “Okay fine but that just means you’ll get to see a whole lot more of me,”
His smirk turns darker, into something more playfully suggestive, “I have no problem with that,”
A silence fills the space between you as you both take each other in. You had really only hung out with him that one night and nothing had really happened. You just sat and talked really. You talked for a while. You talked so long you didn’t realize the party had ended until your friend came to get you. You exchanged numbers and then just a few weeks after, you were instructed to start isolating. You’d kept up a steady social media friendship since then, but you had missed actually talking to him. He wasn’t much of a texter. The silence only lasts a moment, but it feels thick with tension.
“You look good by the way,” he comments, leaning ever so slightly closer to you, “I meant to say that earlier but then you made me strip for ya-”
“Whoawhoawhoa!!” you sputter through a laugh, “I did not make you do anything, you did that yourself.”
He shakes his head at you, “Nah, that doesn’t sound like me.”
You're giggling at this point, “You’re ridiculous.”
He beams at you, clearly pleased with himself for the moment. It settles for a second as he looks at you, eyes softening a bit before he glances down, nudging your knee with his a bit, “I missed you,” He cringes a bit, “I know it’s weird to say but, I did.”
Your nodding before you can even think to play it even a little bit cool, “No, I get it,” you assure him, smiling softly, “I missed you too, actually.”
He hums, smiling a rare soft smile at you before changing the subject, clearly wanting to shift the attention away from his moment of vulnerability, “So why aren’t you inside?” he asks.
“Oh,” you glance back at the bar behind you, having forgotten it was even there, “I was heading out, I wasn’t really in the mood for dive bars tonight.”
He nods, “The crowds right?” you nod and he’s talking again before you can ask him how he knows that, “I get it, sometimes being so close to that many people again makes me wanna crawl out my skin.” he chuckles.
You nod, a weight lifting off your shoulders to know you’re not alone, “Exactly, it’s not something I’ve gotten used to yet.”
“Well, can I walk you home?” he offers with a smile, “I’m in no rush to head in there,”
You smile and nod, “I’d like that,”
~
Somehow he had ended up on your couch. You weren’t entirely sure when walking you home had turned to him being on your couch, but you certainly weren’t complaining. You were both pleasantly high, talking anything from movie theories to possible dystopian futures and alien invasions.
“Look, I’m jus’ sayin’ that if I was an alien, I wouldn’t wanna fuck a human, are you kidding?” he reasons, eyes squinted as if he’s offended and your laughing so hard you have tears in your eyes, “Nah, I’m goin’ for a much cooler species.”
He watches you as you fight back giggles at his ridiculousness, a lazy, grin settled on his face. He reaches for his jacket that’s slung across the arm of the couch, reaching into his pocket to pull out his own stash and you gasp, mocking offence.
“You had your own weed all this time and you’ve been smoking mine?”
He rolls his eyes, settling the joint between his lips and lighting it. He inhales slowly, watching the tip as it sparks to life, eyes flicking back to you as he exhales, “I was gonna share,”
He holds out the joint for you, however as soon as you go to steal it he holds it back, just out of your reach, “what’s the magic word?”
“Oh my god, are you kidding?” you ask through a laugh, straining forward further in an effort to reach it but you’re hindered from the way you’re sitting. You make grabby hands at it instead.
“Ya want it or not?” he asks, eyebrows raised expectantly. There’s a tension between the two of you, still mostly playful but turning ever the more thick as the moments pass by.
You huff, getting comfy again in your spot, keeping your hand stretched out lazily, “Please,”
As soon as the word leaves your lips you can see his eyes get darker, that infuriating smirk only stretching across his face and you’re so mad that that’s all it takes for the playfulness between you to shatter into pure sexual tension.
Without a word he hands you the joint, enjoying the way you quickly bring it into your mouth for a deep drag to calm your rising nerves. It’s infuriating, how good he looks like this. All calm and relaxed on your couch in the low living room light, curls messy and looking at you through hooded eyelids. You want him. Just his eyes on you like this has a warmth pooling in the pit of your stomach.
You try to play it cool though, taking another slow drag and enjoying the way the smoke rises up around you. His eyes zero in on your lips, watching with a peaked interest as they wrap around the filter, watching the way the smoke escapes them. Neither of you say a word for a while. Just sitting in a comfortable quiet, a forgotten Spotify playlist playing in the background as you pass the joint back and forth.
He didn’t make his move until the final few hits of it. He shifts to sit straighter on your couch, a little more proper. What left his mouth was anything but.
“C’mere,” he says lowly, cocking his head to the side and gesturing to his lap, “gotta nice seat for ya,”
You don’t hesitate to comply, your high erasing any ideas of playing hard to get. You maneuver yourself as gracefully as you can, swinging a leg over his and settling there, straddling him comfortably with his hands on your hips. Once you're settled he raises the joint to his lips, taking in the last drag, eyes glimmering in the low light of the room. He holds it for a second, one hand moves upwards to cup the back of your neck and pulls you in closer.
Your lips are so close, the tension crackling between you like electricity. He tilts his head ever so slightly, lips parting to exhale the smoke into your mouth. You inhale on impulse and your mind goes blank as your lips brush ever so slightly together. You knew people said shotgun kisses were hot, but you had never truly believed them until now.
You know you should pull away to exhale, but you can still feel his lips brushing against yours and your mind is dizzy from the weed and from him and you can’t take it anymore. You close the distance the rest of the way, kissing him slowly through your exhale, smoke slipping through your lips as he returns the motion.
You kiss him like that for a while, enjoying his hands on your waist and the feeling of his chest beneath your hands. You were quickly realizing that Merriell was his own kind of drug. You’d only had a little taste of him and yet you found yourself craving more. His fingers flex against your body and you can’t help to low noise that slips out of your throat. It only spurs him on, emitting a growling sound of his own as he tugs you closer, dragging you against his growing erection. Your hand slides into his hair in response, feeling like you’re so high on weed and him that you might just fly away.
“Is this okay?” he asks against your lips, letting his forehead press against yours while he waits for your response.
You hum your affirmative, nodding your head quickly while diving back into for another kiss, this one much more ravenous than the last. God, you felt like you were starving for him. You couldn’t get enough at the way his tongue slid against yours, the feeling of his hands gliding up and down your body. They continue down the curve on your spine, settling once they reach the globes of your ass.
“You don’t know how many times I thought ‘bout this,” he mumbles, pulling away to stare at you teasingly through hooded eyelids. His accent, already a slow drawl, comes out much thicker when he’s high like this. It washes over you like honey. He smirks at you and before you can begin to wonder what he’s up to he brings one of his hands down in a sound smack against your right ass cheek.
You gasp at the feeling, dulled by the layer of your jeans but rippling throughout your sensitive skin nonetheless. You laugh lowly against his cheek, “likewise,”
He bites his lip on a grin, capturing your lips in a single, filthy kiss as if he knows exactly what it’ll do to you. Your hands wander up under his t-shirt, nails digging in sightly, just as a preview, returning the favour.
Like a switch, he’s on you a little more urgently and things begin to move faster. His hands tug on your shirt impatiently and you obediently part to take it off, shucking your bra off as well, and feeling pleased when he follows your lead. Your hands explore each other's bodies, every inch of new skin. It’s not long before he switches positions, standing up and dropping you back on the couch so that this time you’re laying on it properly. Without wasting a moment, you wiggle your jeans off, tossing them somewhere over the coffee table and taking in the way his eyes darken further at the sight of you.
He crawls his hips between your legs, capturing your lips in a messy kiss before starting to trail them down your body. Your high has your skin feeling so sensitive, every soft brush of his lips feeling like a shock of electricity through your body. He spends time on your breasts, marking and kneading them with his hands, enjoying how responsive you are beneath his ministrations. Though he doesn’t spend long there, clearly more interested in another prize.
He settles, this time his shoulders keeping your legs spread. He presses a soft kiss to your inner thigh, lets his fingers dust over your panty-covered pussy. Your muscles twitch at the feeling, and you feel your cunt clench around nothing. He looks good there, tattoos cover his skin and you long to be able to leave something that permanent on him. Fuck, you want him so bad.
He grins at you, knowing exactly how impatient you must be feeling. And that bastard uses it to his advantage. Sucking marks into your thigh just to watch your squirm. Eventually, he pulls your panties to the side, letting his fingers slide through your folds. He whistles lowly between his teeth.
“Mmm, baby, you this wet for me already?”
The whimper that leaves your lips is pitiful, your hips twitching in an attempt to get the pressure where you need it. He chuckles under his breath, eyes darting between your heat and your face, “Look at you,” he near coos, letting his thumb trace circles around your clit, watching as your mouth drops on a silent moan, “You want it so bad, don’t cha? Sweet thing...”
“Are you gonna be an asshole like this all night?” you ask, breathless but trying to redeem some of your dignity through what little wit you have left.
He laughs, sinking a finger into your heat just to watch the pleasure ripple across your face, “Don’t pretend like you don’t love it.”
And he’s right of course. You do love it, love the way he comments on how wet you are for him, almost mocking. Love the way he’s taking his time to find the most sensitive parts of your body and using them to his advantage. You let out a breathy moan as his finger brushes your G-spot.
The sound must do something to him because within a second he's attaching his mouth to your pussy with a growl, not even bothering to remove your panties before doing so. The heat of his tongue on your clit as his finger works that sweet spot inside of you turns your breathy moan into one much louder.
He’s good with his mouth because of course, he is. Within moments you feel like you're right on edge. And the smug bastard knows it too if the amused glint in his eyes is anything to go by. Your one hand twists in his curls, encouraging his movements while your other works at your nipple.
“God,” you whine, tugging at his hair as you feel heat wind up your spine. You swear you’ve never felt this good. It only takes another flick of his tongue against your click before your orgasm rips through you, thighs attempting to squeeze around his head, stopped by his free hand holding your one leg open so he can work you through it. Your body twitches in its aftershocks, mewling pathetically when the simulation starts to ride that edge between pain and pleasure.
“It’s just Merriell, actually,” he supplies when he pulls away with a smirk.
“I fucking hate you,” you breathe out, pulling him up your body so you can kiss him again, despite your words. He laughs, moaning softly against your lips when your hand finds the bulge in his jeans.
He kisses you for a while, letting you paw at him for a bit before he pulls away to work them off his body. There’s no real rush, the high allowing you to take it slow and enjoy the moment as opposed to the frenzied fucking drinking tends to lead you to.
You whine and he laughs at you, low and cocky as he leans down for another wet kiss, “You hurtin’ that bad for it, baby?”
You beam up at him from your place on the couch, feeling comfy and sexy with the way his eyes trail across your skin, leaving a tingling feeling in their wake. You shrug, watching with interest as he rids himself of his briefs, admiring his cock as he awaits your response.
“It’s been a while,” You say, distracted as you anticipate the stretch required for your body to accommodate him, ‘I’m excited, sue me.”
His hands use your hips to drag you closer to him, lifting one leg onto his shoulder while letting the other wrap around his body. He leans down to kiss you and you only have half a second to wonder the last time your legs were stretched like this before the feeling of his cock at your entrance steals the breath from your lungs.
Your mouth drops open, a moan caught in your throat as he slowly sinks into you. Your eyes roll back, shamelessly enjoying the stretch as he sinks, inch by slow, pleasurable inch. He continues the slowness, but you’re not sure he’s doing so on purpose.
When your eyes focus again you see the definition of bliss on his face as he thrusts slowly in and out of you, moaning lowly in his throat.
“Fuck,” he says, drawing the word out through gritted teeth, “that’s it, takin’ me so good.”
His thrusts begin to pick up, still fucking you slowly but with more force behind them. Each sharp movement of his hips as the tip of his cock dragging sweetly against the deepest parts of you, and it feels so fucking good. In the moment, it’s intense. He’s folded over you, holding your leg against your chest so he can suck and bite at your neck as he fucks you. You can’t help the filthy moans you let loose in his ear, one hand fisted in his hair while the other digs your nails into the smooth skin of his back.
“Merriell,” you gasp, feeling distinctly insane with the pleasure you're feeling. Your head drops back onto the couch, body jolting with each thrust of his hips. It’s good, god, it’s so good. But the need that burns through your veins makes you impatient, “Let me ride you.”
The words are out of your mouth before you can stop them, but it’s a suggestion he is clearly open to acting upon. He quickly pulls out, sitting back in his original position and pulling you on top of him.
“Be my gu-” he doesn’t finish his sentence, instead tapering off into a moan as you waste no time in sinking down on to him again, “Christ,”
You waste no time. Quickly stabling yourself with your hands on his shoulder and maneuvering yourself up and down on his cock. Now it’s your turn to watch him. Watch him as his eyes roll back and his hands grip your hips with a vice-like grip. That smirk never strays from his face though, clearly enjoying himself.
“You look so pretty like this,” he talks, bringing a hand down on your ass again, loving the way it spurs you on, “talk to me baby, tell me how it feels.”
You moan, loud and borderline pornographic, “You feel so good,” you breathe, biting harshly down on his lip, savouring the growl that vibrates through the both of you, “Oh, fuck, Merriell, you feel so good,” You emphasize your words with a particularly good roll of your hips.
You can tell he’s getting close by the way his hips start to snap upwards to meet yours and the way his brows furrow in concentration, “Fuck, baby girl,” he groans, unaware at the way the nickname makes you melt, “tell me you’re getting close. I wanna feel you cum around my cock.”
You nod immediately, pulling on his hair so you can capture his lips harshly, letting him bite your lip and pull your hips frantically against his own, “yes,” you whimper, “yes, yes, fuck imgonnacum,” you rush out, feeling like every touch he’d ever laid on you compiling into this one moment. It’s completely overwhelming and for a moment, you blackout.
When you come to he's kissing at your neck, hands massaging and pull at your ass, helping you ride of the aftershocks of your orgasm. His sounds have turns high and desperate against your neck, hands gripping at your skin so hard you think you’ll have bruises tomorrow. He needs you to keep going. Give him something.
The small, dare you say whimpery, “Oh baby, please,” has you moving quickly, almost as desperate to make him finish as he is to finish.
In the blink of an eye, you’ve lifted yourself off of him and onto your knees in front of him, quickly enveloping his entire length into the warmth of your mouth.
“Oh fuck, baby,” He moans urgently, both hands coming to tangle in your hair as you work your mouth over his cock, eyes trained on his face, “Fuck, I can’t-”
You hum, encouraging and within seconds you feel him reach his climax. His head thrown back, hips twitch upwards into the welcoming heat of your mouth, a low long moan pulled from his throat. He lets you bring him down, continuing to suck and lick softly at his spent cock, eyes lazily following your every movement.
When he finally pulls you up off the floor it’s to kiss you, lazy and heated. You collapse basically on top of him as you kiss, unbothered by the smallness of the couch and the cold air that bites at your cooling skin. He makes a noise in his throat when you pull away, watching in amusement as his eyes barely open to look at you.
“‘M so fuckin’ high.”
It pulls a laugh from you, bubbling up from your chest. He smiles, bright, relaxed and dazzling, “Hope you weren’t plannin’ on kickin’ me out because ‘m not movin’ for a while,”.
You rest your head on his chest, letting yourself sink into the moment with him, your own high coming back to you as you bask in the post-sex haze.
“You're still gonna get me discounted tattoos though right?"
73 notes · View notes
olliedollie1204 · 4 years ago
Text
TSUS Day 7- Analoceit
Logan calls his roommates to a meeting.
Word Count: 2,454 words
Written for the Sanders Sides Unpopular Ships Challenge by @emy-loves-you
(AO3 Link)
Virgil shifted from one leg to another as he checked his phone for the third time in as many minutes. Janus was supposed to meet him here, but even in the five— six? Yeah, almost six— six years that they’d been roommates, he’d never gotten better at being places on time. Most of the time it was an intentional power move to assert dominance, but Virgil had told him once that he didn’t like it. Janus had never been intentionally late to meet him again.
On cue, the door swung open and Janus strode through, almost colliding with Virgil in the process. He stumbled clumsily, and on instinct Virgil caught him in his steadying grasp.
The two locked eyes, and after a moment Janus smirked.
“Hello, stranger.”
Virgil clicked his tongue in faux annoyance, but he couldn’t hide the earnestness behind his smile as the two of them righted themselves.
“Hey,” he replied. “Any idea what this is all about?”
“I assume he wants to practice his presentation again,” Janus commented idly, the two of them heading towards the private study room Logan had texted them to meet at.
“At the library, though? We never come here anymore.” That was true— while this library had been a hotspot for the three friends when they were undergrads, none of them had been in quite some time. Even Logan, who’d worked there from the time he was a teenager, hadn’t visited in years— it was much more convenient to do his research, studying, and grad work in the shared home office in the house they lived in together.
“Maybe he wants to use some of the projection equipment to rehearse or something,” Janus answered Virgil’s question. Virgil shook his head.
“I don’t even know why he gets so worried.”
Janus scoffed. “Glass houses.”
“I mean about presentations, Jan,” Virgil retorted. “Or like, school in general. He’s always incredible at...”
His voice trailed off; he’d been planning on ending that sentence with ‘school work’ or ‘graduate school’ or even ‘public speaking about niche ecological topics’, but he found he couldn’t find one in time. The words hung in the air.
A beat, and then Janus sighed with a smile in his voice. “Don’t I know it.”
The two looked at each other. The tips of their tongues were weighed down with words unsaid, and all too soon they reached the small study room Logan requested.
Janus was the first to break eye contact, rapping twice on the door before pushing it open.
“Knock knock!” he announced as he and Virgil entered. Just as expected, there was Logan at the back of the room, fiddling with the wall projector and a set of note cards. He looked up as the two entered, his face a bizarre combination of flushed and pale.
“Hello,” he said quickly before Virgil could ask if he was okay. “Please, take a seat.”
He gestured to the only two rolling chairs in the room. Virgil and Janus paused, side eyeing each other bemusedly, before taking a seat on the other side of the table.
“I do hope this was worth the bus fare,” Janus said lightly. His comment seemed to hit Logan, who flinched minutely before smoothing his face into a neutral expression.
“I wanted to speak with the two of you about something,” Logan continued, voice uncharacteristically tight, “and I thought it best to bring it up in a neutral, public environment should either of you want to leave.”
That… was not what either man expected. Janus kept his eyes trained on Logan’s face; next to him, Virgil subconsciously began bouncing his leg.
“Um,” he said. “Okay?”
Logan nodded. “Right.” He nodded again. “Well.”
Then he blinked, and leaning forward slightly, he murmured, “I need one of you to ask me why I invited you here.”
The tension broke a little, and Virgil huffed a quiet laugh that made Logan’s stance soften.
“Why did you invite us here, Logan?” Janus asked obligingly. Logan shook his head a bit and took a deep breath before looking down at his notecards.
“I invited you both here because this library has a lot of significance to me,” he read, eyes glued to the paper. “This is where I spent the majority of my undergraduate years, studying and working and passing the time with no real connections to the world around me. And… and this is where I first met the two of you.”
He looked up briefly, steeling himself, before turning his body toward Janus as he continued to read. “Janus, you were in the computer lab, swearing at a printer for taking too long to print your midterm.”
The man in question smirked at the memory. “I had a class in 15 minutes. Those things smell fear, you know.”
Logan turned his body toward Virgil, although his eyes remained trained on his note card. “And Virgil, you knocked over a book display I’d put up and pretended to only know French when I came up to help you.”
“I panicked!” Virgil squeaked in defense.
“And both of you came back the next week to work on a class project together,” Logan said with a significant air in his voice. His eyes flicked up again; unbeknownst to each other, both Virgil and Janus gave him matching encouraging smiles.
Logan felt the tension drain slightly from his body, and he couldn’t help but smile back as he continued, “For no reason at all, you two wandered back into this library— and back into my life— time and time again. We were strangers, then acquaintances, classmates, roommates. Friends.”
He paused, then, quieter: “Best friends.”
The silence only lasted a moment, but it was thick, heavy with meaning and intention. Neither Janus nor Virgil could even find it in themselves to make a snarky remark. By now Virgil’s leg had stopped bouncing, and he was watching Logan with an unconscious intensity. Conversely, it was now Janus’ turn to fidget in his seat, the growing sincerity in Logan’s voice making him clench the hem of his jacket between his fingers.
“I…” Logan started, looking between the two of them. He blinked and dropped his eyes back on his notecards.
“I… I am so grateful,” he said, “and so lucky to call you two my friends. You are the best friends, and the best people, I have ever known. And with this in mind, I was—”
He flipped to a new card, but his hands were shaking: he fumbled, and despite his best efforts the entire stack of notecards all went cascading from his hands to the floor.
“Oh, shit!” Virgil said reflexively, leaning forward in his chair in a feeble attempt to catch them. Janus was already on his feet.
“Allow me,” he said loudly, dropping to his knees to crawl under the table.
Logan’s eyes bulged. “No! No, Janus, wait—”
He, too, dropped to the floor, scrambling to pick up the cards closest to him. Janus knelt across from him, attempting to collect the cards on his side in a much calmer manner.
Above the table, Virgil swore again as he shimmied awkwardly from his seat to join them on the carpeted floor. “Jesus Christ, Lo, how many cards did you— ow! Fuck!”
“Are you okay?” Janus asked, twisting around in the small space to look at him.
“Yeah, fine, fuck, I just hit my head on the table—”
Logan’s face was an amusing mix of highly concerned and completely mortified. “Oh my God, Virgil, I’m sorry, let me help you—”
He shifted forward, but Virgil reared back on instinct, hitting the back of his head against the rolling chair. “Shit!
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
“Wait, wait, who’s on my jacket?” Janus said, yanking fruitlessly at the billowy fabric that was much better suited for walking in the brisk winter weather than crowding under a tiny table.
“I— I don’t know, I don’t know,” Logan babbled.
“Well, someone’s on my jacket, so get off!”
“Um. Lo?”
Logan looked over Janus’ head, and his stomach flipped as he realized that Virgil had successfully picked up one of the stray cards from the floor, and was reading it.
“Virgil, please,” he pleaded. “Please, just let me explain—”
“Seriously, whoever it is, move your hand off of my jacket, because I can’t move—”
Virgil lifted his hand, and Janus suddenly flopped forward at the lack of resistance, face planting directly into Logan’s chest.
“Janus!” Logan yelped. “Are you okay?”
The man in question spluttered, shoving himself away from Logan’s chest (and trying his hardest not to flush when he realized he’d placed his hands directly on Logan’s pecs to do so).
“That’s it!” he announced sharply. “Time out!”
Everyone stopped moving. Virgil on one side. Logan on the other. Janus stuck between them.
He exhaled, hard. “Okay. Take a deep breath.”
The other two followed his instructions on instinct. None of them counted aloud, but all three of them seemed to follow the same loose pattern of 4 seconds in, 7 seconds holding, and 8 seconds release.
“Okay,” Janus said when they were finished. “Let’s— let’s lie on the floor.”
If the energy weren’t so fucking weird at this moment, Janus would’ve laughed the baffled looks on the others’ faces. Instead he allowed himself to flop to the ground and clumsily roll onto his back. He folded his hands across his stomach and looked up at the others.
“Are you coming?”
Virgil and Logan shared a look. After a few seconds, they joined him. Virgil kicked one of the rolling chairs away to make room for his legs, while Logan tried to push as many of the cards to the side as possible.
Finally they were in place: just three grown men, chilling on the floor of a library study room, staring up at the dirty bottom of the table above them.
“...Reminds me of junior finals week,” Virgil commented idly. Janus snorted, and even Logan managed to give a shaky laugh.
“You spilled coffee on my lab results,” he remembered. “I cried.”
Virgil looked sheepish. “So did I.”
“I didn’t,” Janus reminded them. Logan laughed again, a little louder.
“No. You just emailed my professor on my behalf, told them I had mono, and asked for a week long extension.”
“Well, it worked, didn’t it?”
Virgil giggled loudly, not even bothering to hide the sound. “I forgot about that.”
“I didn’t,” Logan said softly. His words brought the other two into relative silence as well.
Then Virgil passed the note card to Logan. He took it, squinting to read its now slightly smudged writing, before his face went pale again.
“You read it,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but Virgil nodded.
After a few moments, Janus added, “Well, I didn’t, so…” His voice was jokingly impatient, but both Virgil and Logan could recognize the genuine curiosity in his eyes.
Eventually Logan sighed and passed the card to him. Janus held it close to his face to read it in the table’s dim shadow.
“Resources for telling friends and family about… about…”
He squinted for a moment more. “I’m so sorry, does that say ‘parallelogram replenishment’?”
Logan scoffed and reached over to whap his chest. “It says ‘polyamorous relationship’, you bastard, and I know you could read that.”
“Oh, could I now?” Janus replied lightly. He crumpled the note card and tossed it somewhere toward their feet. “Darn these old eyes of mine.”
Virgil snickered softly, then again. Logan sighed and bit his lip. Janus coughed.
And then the three of them burst into laughter— deep, loud, laughter, the kind that they couldn’t stop even if they’d wanted to. Logan rolled on his side as much as he could to face away from the others, Janus covered his face with both of his hands, and Virgil yanked the collar of his shirt over his mouth as if that could silence it.
It was honestly a blessing no one looked into the room; between the notecards all over the floor, the legs sticking out from underneath the table, and the near-screams of laughter seemingly coming from nowhere, it would probably be a surprising scene. Not that they’d care in the slightest.
After some indeterminate amount of time, the laughter tapered off. They weren’t sure exactly when or how it happened, but by the time they were silent again, Logan and Virgil were both lying on their sides facing inward. Janus had both arms out, and the two of them were using his upper arms as pillows.
“Logan,” Janus said softly. Logan looked up at his somber expression.
“Yes?”
Slowly, Janus let his eyes roam from Logan’s eyes to mouth and eyes again. Then he smirked.
“How many note cards were in your stack?”
Logan blinked. His face flushed immediately, especially when he saw Virgil lift his head to smirk at him as well.
“I— I don’t know the exact number.”
“Oh, well, that already means it’s in the high double digits,” Janus confirmed.
“And the projector, Lo?” Virgil asked with far too much glee in his voice. “Please tell me you had a powerpoint prepared.”
“With APA citations, I should hope.”
“Oh, yeah, of course, you gotta cite your sources, L.”
“And please, please tell me that you prepared a study guide for the readings you assigned us about healthy modern polyamory. Wouldn’t want to fail the quiz you’re inevitably giving us when we get home—”
“Enough,” Logan insisted, or maybe begged; it was hard to tell since he’d moved closer to hide his face in Janus’ shoulder. “Please do not mock me now. My heart can’t take anymore stress.”
Janus quirked his head. “What about this was stressful?”
Virgil giggled again, shoving his face into his hand to keep his laughter from building. When he pulled his hand away, there was a moment of hesitation in his eyes before he reached across Janus’ chest to take Logan’s hand.
Logan looked at Virgil’s fingers intertwined with his like he didn’t quite know what to do with them. Then, looking between Virgil’s eyes to Janus’, he slowly lowered their combined grip until their hands were laying in the middle of Janus’ chest.
Virgil and Janus both flushed, eyes darting towards each other and away again. Logan squeezed Virgil’s fingers, Virgil nuzzled into Janus’ neck, and Janus released a slow, shaky breath that seemed to remove some weight off of his shoulders.
“How long until they kick us out?” he joked weakly.
“I don’t care,” Logan and Virgil said in unison. They blinked, and the three devolved into quiet snickers once more, holding each other close.
For the rest of the afternoon, and the evening, and their lives, they did not let go.
85 notes · View notes
percyjacksonfan3 · 4 years ago
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The Last Olympian Thoughts
So because I have absolutely 0 self-control or restraint when it comes to this series and its characters, and for The Last Olympian in particular, I could not put TLO down. Because of this I figured I couldn’t do the usual photo reaction posts I have been so far, because the spam would just be ridiculous, so I am stealing the idea from @yourstrulytaaay​ to do a masterpost instead. (Adding a Read More cause this got ridiculously long)
Fun fact, TLO came out right after i finished reading the series for the first time so it's the first PJO book i bought  and my only hard cover one for the og series. I checked the year and turns out it was published 2009, which means i was actually 9 when i read the series for the first time. I realize this is not really a fun fact but i thought i was older when I first read the series so it's blowing my mind a little ‘cause now I’m 21 and everything hits different and i still have so much love for this series and the characters Okay onto book thoughts: - i was right that this book is gonna destroy me, the first line alone made me so excited and nostalgic it's ridiculous - I love Rachel and Percy sm tbh. Her being a bit of peace and normalcy in his life without always reminding Percy of who and what he is is so good for him. Just a little escape
- of course by the end of the book that's not the case any more but by the end he's lived his prophecy so he doesn't need it as badly, plus he and Annabeth are solid again - Percy saying Annabeth has been hard to be around lately... Ouch my heart. Luke really is the last thing that keeps them from being together and Percy is so jealous and Annabeth so torn and in pain, i feel so bad for them both
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- Beckendorf 🥺🥺 - the telkhine with the Lil Demon lunchbox!! I forgot about him. Percy: 'i left him alive, partly because his lunchbox was cool' is one of my absolute favourite lines tbh - Paul taking Percy crabbing and being imperative in helping Percy kill the giant crab 💖 Paul Blofis is important and deserves the world, okay? - aw Percy, you can't save every demigod bb
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- 'i had to fight him eventually. Why not now?... What difference would a week make?' Oh Percy you have no idea - real talk tho, the fact Kronos possessed Luke's body would also mess me tf up. Percy keeps forgetting it's not Luke anymore and yeah, that would be so so hard and confusing af, like what another smart little mind game for Kronos to pull on top of everything else - the fact Percy fights Kronos before getting the Achilles Curse and actually doesn't die within seconds is... Astounding. He kicks him in the chest! And yeah Kronos is weaker and still adjusting to Luke's body, but Percy is having trouble fighting Luke cause they used to be friends - Percy breaks Kronos' time magic!! Like?! Boy is POWERFUL.
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- OUCH - honestly Luke, Thalia and Annabeth's family breaking the way it did... Don't talk to me. Poor Annabeth, Luke betrayed them, Thalia joined the Hunters because of Luke's betrayal so she's pretty much AWOL all the time and then Luke dies. Like Rick wtf, my heart can't take it? -Percy and Tyson having each others backs when talking to Poseidon in the underwater palace is the brother-brother relationship we love to see - Percy trying to stick a sand dollar in the vending machines at school 🤦🏻‍♀🤦🏻‍♀ - the whole underwater interaction at Poseidon's palace? Perfection. Awkward family drama and all - Connor falling out of the tree when he sees Percy because he's so excited 😂😂
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- 😭💖
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- k, ik Clarisse isn't perfect but tbh if i was a child of Ares whose father was disrespected and hated by my fellow campers (ares deserves it but still) and that disrespect trickled down to how the other campers treated ME (which if Percy is reliable here, it obviously does) then i would also be irritated at being used for muscle and nothing else? And just expected to fight with the people who act as if they'd rather not have Ares kids around the rest of the time. Like Clarisse isn't totally wrong - Percy reading the prophecy, seeing he's meant to die and just being like 'i do not see it' and refusing to outright think about it makes me so sad for him - (but it taints every action after and he's super reckless afterwards bc of it- including finally breaking and accepting the Achilles Curse) - (also him taking this as the last straw and finally beginning to show Annabeth how he really feels, cause fuck it, he's dying anyway) - Give me more info about Rachel's backstory and family Rick!! -  how did i forget Percy willingly eats chocolates that taste like cardboard because 'i didnt have anything against cardboard' like sir? Ik Silena didn't want them but still? - 'she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful' STOP, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT - Percy staring at Annabeth and forgetting what they're talking about cause hes so distracted 👌🏻
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- hmm yeah... For some strange reason.... - i forgot how Percy totally bombs this convo bw them and now want to cry 😭 Annabeth is trying to talk about what's important and Percy, you sweet oblivious man, you're shooting her down without even realizing - love that they're both on the same wavelength tho. Percy two lines before, hmm it's cool to date ppl from other cabins, wonder why im thinking that around Annabeth, my best friend in the world, and then Annabeth a beat later, hmm, let me bring up Silena and Beckendorf and how it's important to be with the people you love when you have the chance, no way Percy will miss this huge hint right? - they're the best - k i honestly forgot Percy full on physically intimidates Leneus like that - luke telling his mom if he ran away the monsters wouldnt get her..i can just imagine luke crying when he says good bye before running away because he thinks it's his fault his mom is like that and he cant take care of and protect her anymore because it's too hard - uh oh now i have angsty pre-lightning thief luke fic inspo... Him, Thalia and Annabeth on the run... The ANGST -  Rick holds absolutely nothing back in this book and i am in pain - HESTIA!! 💖💖🥰 - actual loml - i love that Rick titled this book after her and that he wrote such a great series about the importance of family (biological, found or otherwise) and home, and that he said actually Hestia is the most important bc shes the most humble and keeps the peace and knows when to fight and when to yield and you protect what you love, which is your home - i just... Adore Hestia - Grover! Missed you babes - Hades is so so horrible to Nico, always comparing him to Bianca :/ - but i do love Hades, Persephone and Demeter together they make me laugh - oh god the River Styx - Achilles 🥺 - Annabeth being Percy's lifeline is, and continues to be, A Lot™ - 'my name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's hand.' LOL Why am i crying? - Like the fact there is no Percy without Annabeth, and that remembering her literally reminded him of who he is in his very soul... It's fine im fine - i won't even get into the parallels of her being his lifeline now and then later when Hera takes his memories but leaves the memory of Annabeth for Percy to fight to get back to (anyone who wants to yell about it with me... Feel free to message) - badass Percy is my fav Percy tbh - him defeating Hades?? Like? Hades is arguably the most powerful god, okay - i feel bad for Nico but if i was Percy I'd do the exact same, Nico, sorry man but this is a high stakes time crunch deal and Nico is literally the only hope of persuading Hades and distracted by his own internal stuff - flashbacks to Luke, Thalia and Annabeth hurt, ow - George and Martha are the best - damn i forgot Hermes full on nearly kills Percy here, yikes - Luke stop cockblocking Percabeth challenge
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- i love!! Percy's love for New York!! So much!! - Percy leaving to live in New Rome in HoO is a lie and this is all the proof i need for why - the fact the entire last half of the book is the battle and aftermath... Such great buildup and pacing. All the tricks and twists and battles in this War of Manhattan? I would not take out a thing, Rick, you legend - of course then the final battle in hoo with the gods is what? Two pages? Ugh, don’t talk to me about my hatred for BoO and HoO - 'no detours you two' is still the cutest thing!!! - THE HUNTERS!! Thalia i missed you - good job Percy, you finally spent your sand dollar - Minotaur!! - 'dont i get a kiss for luck? Its kind of a tradition right?' Percy finds out he's gonna die and is out of fucks to give and honestly I support him - also Michael just standing beside these two while they're flirting like umm 👀 👀 while a monster army marches towards them, nbd - Annabeth taking Ethan's knife meant for Percy!!! Cause she just knows his weak spot without him even telling her! They literally invented love - Feral Percy is so scary omg, i love how well Rick incorporates the Achilles Curse in this novel, with the whole heightened weaknesses and stuff ans the parallels to Achilles arrogance being what killed him and Percy's loyalty, fierceness and protective instinct being his own heightened weakness - the fact that Percy is the one who inadvertantly kills Michael Yew tho, I'll never recover from that - the fact Hades offers Maria di Angelo a golden palace by the Styx like how Poseidon offers Sally a palace under the sea tho. Let's talk about that parallel - the entire talk with Prometheus is so so good - not me picturing young Luke hiding in the closet to get away from his mom when she has an 'episode' -i love callbacks in stories and all of the callbacks to the rest of the series in this book make me very happy (medusa, minotaur, the underworld, Rainbow!! My baby!!, Daedalus and more) - Percy summoning a wholeass hurricane against Hyperion - the Party Ponies! They're so chaotic, i love it - Dionysus! 😁 I can't help it, i love him - Percy absolutely losing it when he sees Sally and Paul asleep in the car 🥺 - Rachel telling Percy he's not the hero screws with him so much :( poor bb - although i really really love how Rick wrote this, it's so refreshing to not have one chosen one save the world, but a combination of people - the drakon, Silena and Clarisse make me cry - the Patrochilles references, im not okay - Annabeth giving up on Luke after hearing what he did to Silena and Percy telling her that doesn't make him happy 😭 that whole interaction makes my heart ache - Percy giving Hestia Pandora's pithos 🥺 - and Hades, Nico and the others coming for a final attack is so badass, i love it - listen im glad the og trio were the ones to confront Luke on Olympus but the fact Thalia got so close and then pinned by a statue of HERA makes me so sad. Ik her and Luke were finished and she coped by cutting him off completely and giving up all hope but i would pay money to know what they would have said to each other to say goodbye - Ethan 🥺 - Poseidon joining the fight against Typhon is so cool, such a great scene - 'PEANUT BUTTER!' - Annabeth you brilliant badass you - RIP Luke, you werent great but you werent the worst either - the gods just rolling up seconds too late, wondering wtf happened in Olympus and who the dead body is - the chapter where the Olympians meet and give out rewards is one of my absolute favourites (again i am incensed we didn't get anything like this in HoO) - will Percy turning down immortality ever not make me scream in glee? No? Alright then - Annabeth being relieved like Percy was relieved at the end of Titan's Curse tho - oh Hermes :/ - its so hard reading all this and knowing what comes in HoO... Like it's such a cathartic, earned and mostly happy and peaceful ending and then HoO comes along and undermines it all - aww Rick let Paul see Olympus somehow pls, he deserves it, he killed a dracanae - (i would also love to see it) - Percy being more upset Rachel took his pegasus than her going to Camp and possibly dying, lol, priorities dude - i honestly think that Rick had other ideas for the second Great Prophecy and how things would go down in BoO, cause the prophecy like... Barely applies to BoO, Doors of Death are in book four, and explabations of it is all so unclear when Rick is usually pretty good with that stuff - PERCABETH - lol Percy complaining about privacy when he and Annabeth are caught kissing literally in the middle of the very open and public dining pavilion, okay - BEST UNDERWATER KISS OF ALL TIME - that's it and im a glass case of emotion - very happy to say that this series remains my favourite of all time 💖
 If anyone ever wants to come gush about anything Riordanverse related feel free, because as you can see I have a lot of thoughts about it all
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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years ago
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Can’t Go Back Part 19
A/N: Sorry this one is a few days late. I was having issues with it. I couldnt get it to flow and it had to be reworked a few times. No smut in this one. It also wasn't working for me. There will be smut in the next Present chapter. The next chapter will be posted on Friday as usual. As always, feedback is appreciated and much love. -Em
Monty and I were still dancing around each other a little, but things were getting easier. Our life had fallen back into a comfortable routine. The date night we indulged in last week seemed like it hit the reset button on our relationship again. Our alarm went off on Tuesday morning and we both groaned in protest. It was so warm in bed. “Remind me again why we can’t just cut school and lay here all day?”
“Because we need to go learn things. Helps with the whole graduation thing we are supposed to do this year.” I could feel Monty peppering my neck with soft kisses. “It’s not going to work, Casanova.”
“Shhh. Let me try.” He shushed me.
“No. We don’t have time.” I sighed. I really don’t want to get up. How was I a morning person before?
“I think we do.” Oh yeah.  I didn’t have someone waking me up with cuddles and kisses. Nd begging to stay in bed.
“We do not.” I sighed again. Monty sighed. He let go of me and I rolled out of bed. I could feel his eyes on my ass, and I shook my hips a little. He ignored me.
After a hot shower, separately lest we run late for another joyous day at Liberty High, we enjoyed coffee and breakfast together. I smiled to myself while I ate. I was just thankful that we were getting back to normal again. I hated fighting with him. We both knew that it would happen. Especially since we are both stubborn and have an inexplicable need to be right. We were prepared for the little tiffs that would come along. We were prepared for the big fights that were sure to come. Forever is a long time, after all. There were just some things you couldn’t prepare for. Our current struggle was one of those things. But we were getting through it.
Monty startled me when he placed a full cup of coffee beside me. “Thank you.”
“I promised I would never leave your morning coffee empty, remember?”
“I remember.” I smiled fondly and took a sip. He placed his bowl-we had moved up from sticking his hand directly in the box, thank God-in the dishwasher. Scott texted me while I was packing up my backpack.
Can we talk before lunch?
Yeah, sure. About what?
Monty.
Is everything okay? I looked up from my phone at my husband. He was shoving his physics textbook into his bag. It didn’t seem like anything was wrong.
Nothing’s wrong exactly.
What do you mean? He didn’t reply. There was still no answer when Monty and I got to school. Scott wouldn’t look at me when we stopped to chat with our friends. What the hell?
Scott met me outside of my class. “Hey.”
“Hey.” We walked to an empty alcove outside, chatting about nothing in particular. He sat down on the bench and motioned for me to join him.
“I want to keep this short because I’m hungry. We need to talk about Monty.”
“What about him?”
“Now, I know I said I would stay out of your marriage unless I was invited.”
“Yes. You did?”
“And I’m glad everything is working out between you two now.”
“Yeah.” I was beginning to get nervous.
“I also swore to myself I would take zero interest in your private life.”
“That sounds like bullshit. But okay.” He didn’t say anything. He looked at me seriously. Oh. “You mean, our private life.”
“Yeah.”
“So, why do we need to talk Scott?”
“You need to have sex with your husband.” He stated.
“Oh. Okay. I’ll get right on that. Shall we text you updates before, during, and after?”
“Addison. I’m serious.”
“If you are going to lecture me on ‘needs’ Scott….”
“No, nothing like that. He’s just really fucking annoying.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, we don’t talk details. All I need to know about that is that its consensual. But he’s getting kind of cranky.”
“Not with me.” I shrugged.
“Yeah. Because he loves you and he just got out of your bad books.”
“You think that would stop him from being cranky with me? Are we talking about the same Montgomery de la Cruz here? Have you met your best friend?”
“Yes. I think, given the situation, that it would. He likes you. He doesn’t exactly like many other people. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed.”
“Maybe once or twice.” I shrugged.
“Will you just think about it?”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
“Great. And no. I don’t need updates. Or want them.” We stood up and started walking to the cafeteria.
“Hey Scott?”
“Yeah Addy?”
“Thank you. For being so supportive during this whole mess. I don’t think many other people would be.”
“You’re my friends. It’s what I’m here for. And you feed me at least once a week. I wasn’t about to start missing out on that.” He grinned at me. I laughed and pushed him gently.
“Let me check with my wife.” Monty was saying as Scott and I sat down at lunch.
“Check with me about what?”
“I was just asking Monty if he was down to come to my place for a party later this week.” Bryce said.
Monty gave me a look. “And so, I said I would check with you.” Ah yes. The old checking with the wife line.
“When this week?”
“Friday. Are you his daytimer?”
“Friday?” I thought for a second. “You have a doctor’s appointment at four and physio at seven. It seems I am.”
“Sorry man.” Monty shrugged.
“It’s one appointment. I’m sure you’d be fine to miss them. Or you could swing by after.” I rolled my eyes.
“Do you want your friend’s knee to be permanently fucked? No? Then he can’t go.” Bryce didn’t answer. Thinking the matter had been decided and was no longer up for discussion, I settled in to eat my lunch.
“You could just come anyway. How would she know?” I heard him whisper to Monty.
“Considering we live together I think I would notice if he wasn’t home.” I whisper said back. “We share a bed.” I left the implication of what happened the last time he wasn’t home in our bed, but rather out with Bryce, be.
“Fine.” Bryce pouted.
I caught up with Monty after lunch and he walked me to class. His arm was thrown over my shoulder, possessively, more often than not now that we were getting back on the road to happy, healthy marriage land. “Check with your wife, huh?”
“Yeah. Don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“You know I’m okay with you going, right?”
“I know. But I would rather spend my Friday night with you. I don’t actually have a doctor’s appointment I forgot about, do I?”
“No. You’re free for the night.”
“Good.”
“How has your knee been doing, by the way?”
“It’s been okay. Not like I’m doing anything to stress the ligament too much.” I smirked softly. “I mean, I can’t play ball. I’m not even supposed to be working out that much.” Right. That’s what you meant.
“That’s true. What are we doing instead of Bryce’s?”
“I was thinking pizza? Maybe make it ourselves?”
“Hey guys. Wait up!” Scott called after us. We stopped and turned around. Scoot was tailed by Anders.
“Hey.”
“Doctor’s appointments?” Scott smirked.  
“Sure.” Monty nodded.
“You really don’t want to go on Friday, do you?”
“No. I have much better plans.” He squeezed me softly.
“He really does.” I nodded.
“What are your plans?” Anders asked.
“No pants pizza night.”
“What?”
“No pants pizza.” I repeated.
“What’s that?”
“We make or order pizza. And then we sit on the couch. And eat it. Without pants on.” I explained slowly.
“No pants pizza.” Monty shrugged. Scott quickly quirked his brow at me. I made no indication of noticing. The warning bell rang so we went our separate ways.
In class, I took my seat next to Alex and Zach. Alex had come around to Monty and I after we all had dinner. Zach was still pretty stand-offish. The Zach issue had been pushed to the side. We had bigger things to worry about recently. And trying to figure out what was going on in Zach Dempsey’s head was always a tossup. The boy was far from an open book. “Hey Addy.” Alex greeted.
“Hey guys.”
“Hey.” My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to look. It was a reminder about Monty’s physio appointment tomorrow night. He texted me right away. I didn’t forget about this one.
“How are things?” I asked.
“They go.” Zach replied. Why the hell is he so cranky. It’s been two months. Over two. Everyone else has moved on. Why can’t you?
“They’re good. I started working out with Caleb and Tony.”
“That’s great Alex.”
“Yeah. Girls aren’t really that into scrawny guys.”
“That’s not true.”
“Says the girl married to an Adonis.”
“Semantics.” I shrugged.
“You’re a catch Alex.” Zach added.
“Thanks Zach.” His smile seemed a little brighter at the compliment. Huh. That could be interesting. We chatted a little more before class started. We were watching a video in class and our teacher hadn’t come back with the TV yet.
“Hey, did you guys want to get a burger or something from Rosie’s tomorrow night? Monty has physio so it would just be us.”
“I’m always down for some junk food.” Alex laughed.
“Zach?”
“Sure. I mean,” he paused, “I could eat.”
“Great. Say five thirty?”
“Works for me. I can give you a ride Alex.” Zach offered.
After school, I waited for Monty. He had a test in physics and Mr. Brown was still a hardass about people leaving after they were done. He made everyone wait until every test was handed in. That being said, he always gave everyone five extra minutes at the end of class to finish. For daytime classes, he gave the class notes to excuse lates in their next class.
“Hey Casanova.” I called as Monty left.
“Hey Bookworm.” He leaned in to kiss me when he reached me.
“How was your test?”
“It was okay. My brain hurts.” We walked hand in hand to the Jeep. He hadn’t let me drive since he got cleared by Dr. Marcus. I miss driving it.
“Awe. I’m sorry. Can I drive?”
“No. My car. I drive.” Oh. Okay maybe Scott is right. Maybe he is a little cranky. That’s okay.
“Okay.” I smiled. I climbed in the passenger seat and buckled up.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound that harsh.”
“No, I know. It’s okay. I just thought I’d offer since you look drained from that test.”
“I appreciate the offer, really. I’m good though.”
“Okay.” He leaned over and kissed me again before we drove home.
Inside, I grabbed a snack and refilled my water bottle. I grabbed a couple bags of fruit snacks for Monty too. We worked on homework quietly for a couple of hours. Justin called as I was finishing up. “Homework help?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.
“Shoot.”
“The discussion questions from my English class make no sense.”
“What are the questions?”
“What’s going on?” Monty asked me quietly. I pulled the phone away from my ear and covered the mic.
“English discussion questions.”
“I have them here.” He handed me the sheet. I looked over it carefully. I had uncovered the mic while reading.
“These are kind of dumb. Is this what you do in regular English?”
“Yeah.” My boys responded together.
“Huh. At least you get to read fun books. City of Bones is good. Okay then. Uh let me see.”
“The movie was still bad.”
“Shh. I’m helping Justin.” I grinned.
“Sorry.”
“Okay. Valentine’s rebellion.” I thought for a moment and then discussed it with Justin. “If you just write down what I say, your teacher will know you had someone else do it. So, work through it on your own now.”
“Thanks Addy. You’re the best.”
“I know. Night Justin.” After we hung up, I remembered the plans I made with Alex and Zach. “I’m going to Rosie’s with Alex and Zach tomorrow while you’re at physio.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay.” I grinned at him.
With our homework finished, we spent the rest of the evening cuddling on the couch. There was something Monty wanted to watch on tv. I had lost interest in it pretty quickly, so I got up and grabbed a book. Laying back down on the couch, I rested my head in his lap. He absentmindedly stroked my hair. Scott’s words played over in my mind. I thought about it for a little while but decided a Tuesday evening probably wasn’t the best time to potentially spend all night having sex. We have school in the morning after all. When we were getting ready for bed though, instead of putting a pair of shorts and one of my old gym shirts on, I walked over to Monty’s dresser and pulled out one of his shirts. I swam in it. I changed my underwear. He whistled to himself when he left the bathroom. I smiled to myself. The seed is planted. Monty pulled me a little closer than usual when we got in bed.
I met Zach and Alex at Rosie’s for dinner. I had run home to change first because it was warmer than I expected it to be today. I didn’t feel right going to dinner in my gym shirt, even if it was at the local diner. Since it was quiet, being the middle of the week, our waitress was at our table almost before we sat down. Melinda had been our waitress here since Zach and I were kids. She was a kind old lady. She knew everyone’s orders by heart. As such, we didn’t have to give our drink order. She did let us look at the menu “just for fun”.
“How’re things with you guys?” I asked when our drinks arrived. I took a few sips of my Cherry Coke float and stirred it to mix it up.
“Things are good. The team is looking pretty good this year. School prospects are looking good.” Zach said.
“Monty was saying that they’re shaping up pretty well. And you Alex?”
“Good. Jess and I are friends again. Tony says I’m getting stronger.”
“That’s great Alex.” I smiled.
“How are things with you Addy?”
“They’re good. I’m done with college applications for now.”
“Early admission?” Zach asked.
“Yeah. If I don’t get in anywhere, then I’ll apply for regular admission somewhere.”
Melinda was eyeing us from the counter, so we looked at the menu quickly. We decided to split a couple baskets of fries, some chicken strips, and each get a burger. I got a chicken sandwich. The boys both got cheeseburgers. After our drinks were refilled, we got back to talking. “How’s Monty doing?” Alex asked. Zach’s face pinched slightly. Seriously what the hell is his deal?
“He’s doing okay. Stubborn. But that isn’t a surprise to anyone.”
“Is he ever not stubborn?” Well, sometimes. During sex.
“I don’t think you want to know. And he would have to kill the three of us if I told you.”
“Oh? Are you trying to tell us that he’s fun?” Zach asked.
“He likes to make me smile. So sometimes he does stuff to make that happen. And that’s all you’re getting out of me.”
“And his knee?”
“You know. It’s a process. Some days are better than others. I think it bugs him more than he lets on, but I don’t want to push. Physio is helping and Dr. Marcus says he should be able to do some lower body workouts if things keep progressing well.”
“That’s good. Tell him to stop by practice sometime?”
“I’ll try. I think there’s only so many practices he can go to and just watch.”
“I get that. The invitation is open though.”
“I’ll let him know.”
Our food arrived. The three of us took a break from catching up, to savour the food. “How’s married life?” Alex asked.
“Oh, you know.” The boys looked at me, expectantly. “It’s mostly a lot of asking each other what we want for dinner. Every night. For the rest of our lives.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Zach smiled.
“That isn’t. It’s agreeing on something that’s the hard part. I married a guy who would be content eating chicken nuggets and fruit snacks for dinner every night. Trying to get him to eat a vegetable is an almost insurmountable battle.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Can you blame him?” Alex asked.
“It feels like it is sometimes. And not really. But would eating some carrots really hurt him?”
“Yes.” My friends said in unison.
“Boys.” I rolled my eyes and laughed. “It’ll only get worse when we have kids and they’re at eating regular food age. Because they’ll need to be included in the decision.”
“And how can you make them eat vegetables when their dad doesn’t?” Alex laughed.
“Exactly!” I exclaimed, pointing a chicken strip at him. The three of us laughed.
“How are things with you guys… otherwise?” Zach asked, hesitantly.
“They’re,” I paused, “getting better. We’ve talked a lot in the last few weeks. I think we are back on the same page. It’s a work in progress.”
“That’s good. Things seemed pretty….” He didn’t finish his sentence.
“I know. And they were. We are working on it though.”
“It was pretty funny watching him shut Bryce down at lunch.”
“What happened?” Alex asked.
“He played the ‘let me ask my wife’ card.”
“Oof. And I’m guessing that went over Bryce’s head?”
“What do you think?”
“Of course, it did.” He grinned and shook his head.
We talked for another hour or so. Melinda brought us another basket of fries on the house. Around seven, Monty texted me. I grabbed a couple of pints of Haagen Dazs at the store.
Okay. I’ll see you at home. I love you.
I love you too. The three of us called it a night around eight. We bid each other good night and promised to text each other when we got home.
I’m on my way home. Do we need anything else before I get home?
No, I grabbed a couple of things. I’ll get your ice cream out. Drive safe Bookworm.
Okay. Thank you. I will. See you soon Casanova.
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arcanescholar · 4 years ago
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Hard To Find The Right Words
Omori Post True Good Ending Spoilers. 
Aubrey having a tough time, etc etc. Enjoy maybe??? Might get more chapters later if I feel like it???????????? FUCK????????????
Ch 2 
On the long, long list of “shit Aubrey’s had to put up with” for the past few days…
This special, insidious sort of dizziness has gotta be a new one. Seriously, give a girl a break right? Who the fuck is able to handle this many highs and lows at once? It’s enough to make her head spin, and the hospital taking her bat away wasn’t helping matters.
The words that tumbled from Sunny’s placid, stony expression, his singular eye barely betraying the shaky, unsteady difficulty in handling recounting the story, made her stomach turn.
Shit, what a time to be thinking about what she had for lunch. If it comes back up right now she might straight up die of embarrassment y’know?
She couldn’t even turn her attention to Kel or Hero but, with the way the younger had to take a step back and struggle to find any words, and how the elder seemed to freeze like a statue, she had a feeling they were in just as bad of a spot.
“… and, that’s what happened.”
Sunny finally finishes recounting his story, and before he can say another word, Hero is already lunging, Ken barely able to snag his less-in-shape brother before he gets the chance to do whatever he was about to.
Aubrey, though…?
Years of anger, years of hatred and fury and bottled up impatience, a near lifetime of bitterness bubbles in her gut and sends her vision swimming.
Huh.
She just remembered, it was pizza.
Weird, why is Sunny getting so much taller? Kel? Hero? How come her knees started hurting suddenly-
Oh.
Oh, her legs gave out. That makes sense. God, her hair’s getting in her eyes, was it already starting to lose its color? Why is it so hard to focus on anything right now? She should be pissed! She should be picking up hospital equipment and chucking it out a window right now! So why can’t she move?! Why?!
For once, Aubrey can’t summon up her anger. For the first time in who only knows how long, she feels like the scared little girl that had to hide away when holes got punched into walls, that covered her head in her room and squeezed herself into a corner with her rabbit when the arguing got too loud. Her breath catches in her throat and refuses to let up. Is she going to die?
She can’t handle this again. Not now. She’s not strong enough, she’s not tough enough to deal with this-
….
Pap
… A hand rests against her head. That brief touch is enough to peel back the veil and drag focus back kicking and screaming into reality. She almost reflexively goes to turn and smack the hand out of the way, only to realize part way through her turn that it was just Basil’s arm, flopping out from the mattress and accidentally brushing against her head for a moment. The boy was still asleep, still a mess of injuries that made her nearly throw up seeing him in that state.
She might have bullied him, fantasized about beating him to an inch of his life, thought about crushing that bat of hers against his skull more times than she could count. She might have turned that weapon on Kel and Sunny both at least once before, but…
Seeing him like this, seeing Sunny with that eye patch, having lost sight in one of his eyes for what might be the rest of his life?
She takes Basil’s hand in hers and carefully stands up. Hero and Kel had been shouting for at least a minute now, she’s not sure how long it’s been since they started processing what happened in their own way. A shove is all Hero needs to finally get out of Kel’s grip, giving him time to damn near sprint out of the room, tackling the door hard enough to almost knock it off of its hinges before dashing out of the room.
Almost without thinking, Kel dips out, rushing after his brother with words that only come across like muffled noises in Aubrey’s ears.
… … …
There was a time when she confided in Mari, a time when she spoke to her about what was happening back at home, she remembered the pain in the older girl’s face, and the words she told her as she let Aubrey rest her head in her lap one quiet afternoon, just between the two of them.
“It’s not my place to say, but… If I could, I’d adopt you right now and give you the biggest welcome to the family hug I could…! Family should never hurt family. No one should ever raise a hand to a loved one and mean it, and the fact that they’re scaring you like that just isn’t right…” The older sister murmured at the time. Aubrey remembers now, Mari brushed her fingers through her hair in a really specific and special way that she almost forgot about.
It was like tracing little circles into her skin with her fingers, like trying to massage the fear from her brain, reaching in deep and grasping the wellspring of her despair and coaxing it out to let her think clearly again…
“When you get older… When things seem tough and scary and you don’t know what to do, that you feel like you’ve got nowhere else you can turn to. You might want to get mad, you might get really furious at having to deal with so much as a kid, but… Promise me, you won’t turn that anger on your friends, okay? Take a breath-”
… Haaaaahhh…
“-center yourself-”
Aubrey gives Basil’s hand a light squeeze. She can hear the hum of medical equipment and the sound of Hero and Kel’s footsteps retreating again.
“-and remember all the precious people you have in your life.”
She wasn’t the sort to pay the most attention to school, but, in this moment, a line she read in a book she had to read a few weeks back crosses her mind again.
“They asked, ‘do you love her to death’? And I said ‘speak of her over my grave, and watch how she brings me back to life’.” (1)
Funny how things dredge up in your memory at the weirdest possible moments, she thinks. For the first time, she’s starting to understand at least some of what those words really mean. 
After a moment, she carefully tucks Basil’s hand back into the bed, before letting loose a light huff through her nose. He’s still sleeping, if a bit more fitfully from all the noise.
“… Kh. Don’t gotta remind me like that y’know? Puts a bad taste in my mouth…” She nearly spits, trying to mask herself with bitterness.
It wouldn’t be long before hospital security came to drag Sunny back to his bed and cut this conversation short, she had to act fast.
She steps forward, and without hesitation, reaches up… and presses her hand on Sunny’s head, rubbing her fingers through his hair, tracing circles and massaging with a silent, stony expression that matches his own. She was still sick to her stomach, her balance was still terrifically uneasy, but…
“… I’ll come talk to you again later, okay?”
She pulls her hand back, and gives him a light punch to his shoulder before stepping out of the room.
“For what it’s worth…” She says, pausing in the door frame as she hears the sounds of shoes squeaking against tile flooring as the hospital staff finally approaches to do their damn jobs.
“I kinda get it. I understand it. I’ve been there. I’m not good at talking about this kind of thing, but, if you need to talk, I can give listening a try... this time.”
Sunny was going to leave after he recovered enough for the hospital to let him loose with his frankly fucking negligent mom. There was nothing she could do that would change that, but…
At least for now, at least while he was still recovering in the hospital, she could finally, actually speak to him.
“… Thanks for opening up Sunny. Give Hero a bit. That guy’s so strung up trying to be the best of us that I guess even he’s gotta snap at some point right?”
Says the girl trying to play mom-friend to the most broken-ass friend group in the tristate area. Christ, trying to be a decent person sucks. How the fuck did Hero pull it off for so damn long?
“Aubrey…”
“Yeah Sunny?”
“… thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Kh, fuck that, I almost drowned both you and Basil. If I started whining about accidents that happened in fits of rage I’d be the worst hypocrite in history, y’know?”
“…”
“Talk to Basil and let him know what happened if he wakes up before the staff drag you back to your room or something. I’ll let ‘em know you need a sec.”
With that, she carefully shuts the door.
What she says to the staff, what kind of look she gives them is growled with enough force and tinged with enough protective violence that it gives them just enough pause for the young boys to exchange an all too important smile of mutual understanding. 
Even if Aubrey never saw it, that little moment of clarity between them saved both of their lives in a way she’d refuse to take credit for helping make happen, knowing her.
A busted, crappy, cracked-screen phone buzzes to life as she walks past the staff. God, she fucking hates it here. The way her shoes hit the tiles, the way the equipment sounds, the fact that every time she’s come here, she’s ended up crying for some reason or another-
Shit, here come the water works now. Damn it Aubrey, at least make it out the door first-
A trip and a tumble nearly sends her falling straight to the floor but, she snaps out her hand just in time to snatch onto a handrail on the side of one of the hallways, her head still spinning as she sags against the floor, her phone toppling out of her jacket’s pocket and landing on its back with a loud, spinning clatter, settling in upside down to her perspective. Tear drops spatter onto the screen, distorting the light and scattering rainbow patterns across its surface. Gah. Add that to the damage. This just isn’t her day. 
Behind a call notification, her background shows the cork board in her room with the pictures she yanked out of Basil’s album after saving them from their near ruined state, mixed in with pictures of her and her other friends she made in the time that passed since. A little bubble on the screen bounces about, showing a picture of Kim flashing a peace sign with a bright eyed wink that reflects in Aubrey’s tired eyes, refracting as it passes underneath her teardrops.  “… Hhfffhh…”
She eventually picks her phone up off the ground and answers it. A hospital staffer looks about ready to tell her off for using her phone in the hallway but, lets be honest.
The kind of glare Aubrey gives off as she very deliberately swipes her finger across the screen to accept the call is the sort that would give most adults pause.
“… Hey.”
“Aubrey!!!! You finally picked up!!!”
“…”
“I was so worried when I heard about what happened! Kh, stupid hospital not letting us in…!”
“…”
“… Aubrey? Are you there? I can kinda hear you breathing so you probably didn’t butt-accept the call or something!”
“Yeah. Yeah I’m here.”
“Jeez, how come you weren’t saying anything? Did those ner-”
An audible pause. Kim clears her throat after a second.
“Sorry, uh, did those guys get out of the woods okay…? I kinda only caught the cliffnotes of you going to the hospital from that text you sent me so…”
“They’re fine.”
Aubrey steps outside the hospital’s visiting center doors and finally breathes fresh air for the first time in what felt like days.
“Or… They’re as fine as they can be. Sort of. Kinda.” She continues, stepping over to one of the benches outside and taking a seat, drinking in the sounds of chirping birds, gentle breezes, swaying trees, and the sensation of warm sunlight… It was a beautiful day, and she didn’t feel nearly good enough to appreciate any of it.
“That’s good at least yeah? Uh… Hrmggh. I’m bad at this kinda thing but… Uh. If there’s anything you need to talk about, you can hit me and the others up at any time yeah?”
Kim’s voice was surprisingly tender, tender enough that it manages to draw a sniff out from Aubrey, forcing her to bring a hand up to her eyes and rub it across them to make sure she didn’t show any tears yet god damn it-
Ugh. Where’s Kel’s Taurine soaked brain anyway. He’s better about handling this kinda energy! Does- shit, does he even like energy drinks?
“Aubreeeeey, if you keep going silent I’m gonna think someone kidnapped you y’know. Gotta pull the whole gang together, beat up on the nearest creepos till we find you! The Maverick’s got a Style Meter App on his phone that does those shouts from that one game so we’ll even get t’ have our own hype-men-”
The thought of Michael in a parking lot with a buffer sword in one hand and a phone in the other trying to do combos for a video to put on his Way Too Many Social Media accounts hits Aubrey with a second hand cringe that nearly brings her to her knees.
“UGGGHHHH!” Aubrey finally cracks, a doofy grin hitting her lips despite her audible mental suffering, slumping back in the chair and nearly sliding out of it entirely, a few tears finally trickling down her eyes as her body releases its tension at last.
“I can’t believe that try hard seriously sprung for something like that. If he tries that shit in public in front of me I’m making’ his screen look like mine.” Aubrey finally grumbles, adjusting her bow. “… Right, I left my bat at home. Ugh.”
“There we go! Now you’re talking’ again. Jeez, way to make a girl worry… Charlene was getting ready to find some flowers to give to you too, the sweetheart.”
“She’s more of an angel than Angel is…”
“Right?! Maybe we should make Angel give up on his nickname-”
“Don’t bother, Charlene’d never let him do it.”
“You’re so right it’s actually kinda annoying.”
“She’s the best of us, y’know.”
“…”
“…”
“So, can you like, talk about what happened at all now or…?”
“… Hang out spot, by the lake, be there in 20.”
“Should I bring the rest of the group-”
“Not this time, Kim.”
The call ends without another word, another ping showing on her phone’s screen showing string of texts from Kel.
JrangeOoe: hey!!!!! ;v;
JrangeOoe: sorry i left you alone with sunny and basil there, hero was having a really bad freak out
JrangeOoe: mom and dad and i are workin with him now, gonna try to calm him down will be back at hospital to give basil and sunny another visit later
JrangeOoe: gonna be honest, this is giving me a little time to figure this stuff out too so, thanks hero for the panic i guess??????
JrangeOoe: ugh no that’s not fair
JrangeOoe: anyway, if you need to chill and get some ginos later i found 10 bucks in a visiting center couch and was trying to hide it but
JrangeOoe: today’s a “spread the wealth” sorta day
It took a couple of moments of hesitation, but…
headhooligan: dinner, maybe
headhooligan: fuck this whole dumbs week
headhooligan: i got some spare cash so i’ll chip in too to get hero something if it’ll help
headhooligan: also what the fuck how are you so calm about this are your parents not trying to work you through this too or something?!
JrangeOoe: uh
JrangeOoe: no but i think hero needs it more right now!!!
JrangeOoe: i dunno how i feel, i guess i’m just to worried about everyone else to think about it?
JrangeOoe: *too
JrangeOoe: i’ll catch you later for dinner tho, if i can get hero to calm down enough to feel safe leaving him be with mom and dad
JrangeOoe: get a feelings jam up in here
JrangeOoe: pizza and ice cream or whatever
JrangeOoe: not at your place tho tbh your mom kinda freaks me out like a lot
headhooligan: >:/
JrangeOoe: what? it’s the truth!
With a roll of her eyes, Aubrey stuffs her phone away, wrenching her bike out of its lock from the hospital’s parking lot bike rack and mounting up. She takes one, final, long look at the hospital’s monolithic facade, and thinks about just how high up that building goes before shaking her head, and pedaling off.
The whole ride home, all she can do is play back today’s events again, and again, and again. Hear the same story in Sunny’s stilted monotone, again, and again, and again.
Every instinct, every trained gut reaction, every beaten in urge and desire tells her she should hate him.
He stole her from everyone, he murdered her, broke her skull against the floor like some raging animal then strung her up like a horror show for everyone to see just to avoid consequences with Basil’s help-
… But…
That panic that gripped her chest when Basil fell in the water from her shove just a few days ago, the terror at taking not one life, but two when Sunny jumped in after him, still unable to swim.
“…”
Her pedaling gets harder, more forceful, making the aging, damaged frame of her hand me down, fourth hand bike creak and groan in protest, hair billowing behind her in a tangled mess of poorly kept locks…
What should be anger gives way to an oddly calm understanding, what should be hatred and fury and violence wraps itself so tightly in its own chaotic energy that all she can do is…
There’s not a cloud in the sky, but raindrops spatter on concrete and asphalt where she rides, leaving a trail of sorrow four years in the making, finally given “closure”, finally released.
—-
(1) Credit to Mahmoud Darwish for this legendary line.
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aliynavenus · 4 years ago
Text
‘A Little Adjustment’                                         a damirae fanfic
Chapter three
Monday 12:30 p.m 
“Damian!” Donna rushed up to catch up to him in the hall during their passing period, “So it is true, you are back!” 
Oh right, he forgot he never really did tell the team he was back. Not even his brothers knew, though he guaranteed his father already told them.
“I wasn’t planning on informing anyone. I’m assuming Jon told you?” 
Donna lifted up her eyebrow taken aback, as if he said something unbelievable. “Are you kidding me? You’re the whole schools talk right now. Everywhere I go--” lifting up her hands gesturing at nothing, “it’s Damian Wayne this and Damian that.” 
Tsk, as if that was any better. He already had so many prids attacking him with questions about his whereabouts at the academy. It was only 6th period and he already had people wanting to meddle into his life that wasn’t his father. It was awful. 
“How come you didn’t tell anyone except Jon, you should’ve told me, or Wally or even Roy!” Donna shouted mildly disappointed but she mentioned someone who he didn’t even know. 
Damian paused walking, turning to her, “Who’s Roy?” 
“Roy Harper…?” Donna blinked, tilting her head till something clicked, “Oh right!--Did Jon not mention him to you? He's new to the team, aka Speedy. He’s Oliver’s--well was his sidekick. He actually goes here now too. You might like him, he's a really good fighter.” 
Damian scoffed, “I’d expect him to be, if he’s already part of the team. As long as he’s not an imbecile with unhumorous jokes like Logan” 
Donna rolled her eyes, bambling about something that he wasn't really listening to. When he heard a small distant laugh behind him. He knew who that shy awkward chuckle belonged to. 
Raven was leaning against the side of the library doors laughing with whoever that poor scum is. Something in his stomach twisted with greed seeing that. Her hair in a messy bun with strands of hair framing her face, the academy’s white blouse fitting her too well. She was pressing her pile of books against her chest, they almost looked suffocated. That navy plaid skirt still as damn short as he remembered. Gods, she doesn’t even realize if she bends over even the slightest, all will be at risk, for him. This school really needed to overlook its dress-code. And What the hell was that imbecile saying that was making her laugh like a child? It made him unsettled.
“Hellooo, birdbrain to Donna.”Waving a hand over, jerking him back into reality, “You’ll be considered creepy if you keep staring at them like that. Besides, if that guy wants to live, he’ll have to deal with Jon. And boy is he such a protective brother towards her.”
Jon? A protective brother? That was something he never thought he’d never hear. Jon was a child, an oblivious care-free ditz who wasn’t at all threatening or even the slightest way orderant. How come it was his first time hearing about this, Jon never--
Then it clicked
No wonder, Jon didn’t even mention not doing anything with Raven to him. It’s because he didn’t feel the need to. Jon didn’t know anything about the sin, just the mind link. Of course he wouldn’t expect his best friend to lay a finger on his adoptive sister. Yet he already did. 
Crap. And that’s when Damian felt a guilt crawl up his skull, “Jon sure did change.” he muttered under his breath holding back a curse.
Unfortunately Donna heard, “Right! But it’s nice seeing Jon like this, he’s always saying he likes having Raven as a sister. I guess he just doesn’t wanna see her get hurt. You should’ve seen his face when the team told him we were planning on telling her who we actually are.” 
Damian shot a glare at Donna. “You told her?” 
Donna faced her hand towards him, “Relax, she doesn’t know yours or Jon’s identity. After you left, the team except Jon was assigned to help out in defeating her dad. We all became friends--though me and her are the bestest of friends--anyway in the end we told her who we actually were though she was surprised. But she knew I was a wondergirl, something about how coincidentally my eyes were the same blue. Which I’m surprised no one’s ever noticed.” 
Damian furrowed his eyebrows, why the hell did that make him bothered. Just knowing that they don’t have any secrets between her, they were free to act how they wanted without any fake personas in the way. As for him, he had to be a Wayne and only a Wayne around her. For multiple reasons. 
Truth be told he hasn’t seen Raven since last night, it wasn’t that he was avoiding her. He just hasn’t seen her till now, almost like she was the one avoiding him. 
Back in that moment in that cramped closet, every passion, every want all combined together wanting to come out. But he had to keep it under control, it scathe him not to touch her more, not to reach down under her clothes and please her in every way he possibly could. But he couldn't do that. He couldn’t fall vulnerable to whatever the hell he was feeling when she’s near him. It was Raven, for god sakes who was now Jon's adoptive sister.
Dammit. Why does she affect him like this? He never felt defenseless with the women back in Tokyo. Everything in his head kept telling him that it was the sin that was making him like this, the goddamn attachments he had with her. It felt like an urge--a burning one that imprinted in his body that left him eager to not just understand her but to feel every curve of her body. 
Gods he sounded pathetic.
Ding Ding Ding 
“Crap that’s the bell. Mr. Lawson is going kill if I’m late again, I’ll see you later.” Without responding to Donna, Damian looked back to the area where Raven was with that scum. But they were gone. He cursed under his breath hoping he’d never have to see that again. 
Opening the doors of the library to attend his next period, study hall. The same place where he noticed Raven having no idea that day was going to cause havoc a year later. The academy's library was immense, two stories of towering book shelves with the golden lights that came from the ceiling, illuminating the place to give it a sense of ease. Though no student actually liked being here to enjoy literature, just to slouch sleep where they please like sloths. 
Damian already felt the eyes of drooling girls staring at him, ignoring them as he walked up the spiral stairs to the second floor. Staying away from everyone. It was rather empty up there wandering to the far end until he noticed Raven. She was in the corner all alone, seated at the floor leaning against the shelved books against the wall. Looked like she wanted to get away from the sea of people too. 
Raven was reading that book, that caused their moment back in that closet. He couldn’t miss the texturized grey undertone that had red stones plastered in a circle on the cover. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew what it was for. It wasn’t a coincidence why she was so eager to get it last night after meeting with Robin. Though it was a perfect time to act oblivious. 
----
“You know you never did end up telling me what your research was on with that book.” 
Oh no. 
Raven felt her spine stiffen, lifting her head to see Damian standing there. Gods he looked more defined in the school’s uniform. His sleeves were rolled up exposing his tense arms that were searching her body last night--gods she needed to stop recalling last night. Especially after what she found out. Her words were caught in her throat feeling the air tighten in her lungs. She had to say something, anything. 
“Uhm, just some research on my powers.” Her words were stuttered; she couldn’t even look him in the eye. If she did, all she would think about was everything that happened between them. Why did he have to have this study period? Especially after doing a great job at avoiding him. 
“Anything I could help with?” Damian set his notebooks to the side, sliding down his body next to hers, keeping just enough space between them.
Help? Like he would know anything about reversing a sin. Or anything about magic. Raven shifted almost automatically, trying to regain that comfort she was in before he came. Oh azar, doesn’t he feel any sort of awkwardness between them. Because gods know that she does. She couldn’t face him, who was she kidding, she made a mistake, afterall she kissed him first. Kissing Damian Wayne was like kissing a prince around here, and she was no princess. She could practically feel the embarrassment skinning her alive. 
She chuckles hoping it would ease her nerves. “I don’t think you’ll know anything about...magic.” 
Damian scoffed, as if she just told a joke. “I may know a thing or two.” 
Yea right. “Hm.” she couldn’t say anything else. She didn’t want to come out as rude but she needed him to get the jist that he needed to get the heck away from here. Especially after what she found out like last. It was the best option. “I have a lot of work to do. You should probably go downstairs, hang out with the high status people. I can’t really have distractions right now.” 
So much for trying to sound natural. She just sounded mean. 
Damian blinked furrowing his eyebrows completely shocked she even suggested that. For a second she wanted to take it back and just let him be but instead he scoffed, half hearted, “Is that what you think of me? A distraction?” 
Yup, he was. And she so badly now wanted to take it back hearing his words cut deep through her chest. “N-no I just can’t concentrate when you’re around.” 
Damian seemed unfazed. “Might I remind you, you kissed me last night. I don’t think I’m the one causing the distractions.” 
He really mentioned that right now after she was doing anything she can to avoid that subject. Damian was really testing her, he wanted to make it into an enticing argument. And for some reason she was willing to argue. “I might’ve kissed you first but I pulled away. You’re the one who shut me up by kissing me again. So yes! You are distraction, a distraction to my head, and my body, my soul!” 
He tilted his head, licking his lips confused, “Your soul?” 
Great. After her enticement she just slipped a variable of her research. She had to bring it up now, he was already belittling seeing that she was actually protecting him from her. Cat’s out of the bag once again. 
Raven sighed, “Well it has to do with an accidental connection to a sin I set with someone a while back. That’s what this book is for, research on how to reverse it.” 
Damian didn’t even look shocked. “And did you figure it out?” 
“Almost. I thought this sin wouldn’t have much effect on me. But it does and I found something else….something that partially has to do with why I kissed you last night.” Raven’s grip on the book tightened, biting her lower lip. Feeling a rush of color want to appear. 
Damian lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing waiting for her to respond. 
Raven shifted the book from her lap to his pointing at a sentence reading it aloud, “The devoted one who unleashes Lust has the stance of the uncontrollable tolerance of the lurement of one whose soul pleases their eye yet if the devoted one is not fully satisfied. Consequences will occur that will lure the lust out of the body itself till the soul cleansed.”
The air seemed to thicken after she read those words. She could feel Damian drift his gaze onto her but she couldn’t look himt. “What does this all mean?” 
Damian’s low voice was echoed against her ear. Raven didn’t notice how close they were. They’re bodies could touch simply if one of them moved just the slightest. Looking into him, she was sure he could see the rid of color flowing into her cheeks.
“It means that since I’m the one who made the seal my soul and body has seen searching for the one who attracts it….and that soul happened to be yours. I guess that’s part of the reason why I came on to you so suddenly…. it’s because my soul likes you. So there’s going to be times where I won't feel controlled when I’m only around you.” Her voice was so brittle she could feel it break with embarrassment,  “..but if my soul isn’t fully satisfied when we do stuff like that...then Lust will take over my body until it is. It’s a slight pressure of pleasure mixed with frustration that makes the body ache, it’s almost chastisement.”
His eyebrows knitted together hearing that, “So you’ll be in pain until your soul is satisfied.” 
Raven nodded her head, gods this would be easier if he was an abnormal being of some kind. But no her soul just had to be attracted to a person who’s human. “This is why you can’t be near me anymore. I can’t have my morals be acting on its own when it sees you. It could want you at any given time and I don’t want to put you through—” 
“Use me.” 
Raven’s eyes widen, “What?” 
--
For gods sake what was he saying. It was as if his words were a reflex all on its own. 
Damian bit his lower lip, looking into her eyes. It was a whole universe in them. He didn’t want to see those same eyes in pain, afterall he caused her so much agony for a year with his unruly intimacy with women. 
His voice was soft, a cautious tone simmering between them both, “Use me. Do what you want. If I know it’ll help you to not feel agony then I’ll take it.” 
Did he have any idea what he was saying. Or why he was willing to help her as Damian? He shouldn’t be meddling, she made a simple request for him so why wasn’t he just letting it go. It was one thing to deal with Raven as Robin but now dealing with her like this. 
It was complicated, more than that. But he didn’t care.  
“Damian I can’t--” 
Raven couldn’t even get her sentence out, the next thing she knew Damian’s lips were on hers. Every nerve in his body wanted to shut her up and accept his request without telling her twice. He didn’t want to hear a rejection, he just wanted her to take it before he regretted saying it. Grasping her chin under his thumb in a light kiss, careful not to startle her away. Yet she wasn’t. Releasing his rough lips from hers, their lips were still close enough where they were merely touching. 
The collide of amethyst and emerald taking in each other’s eyes to admire everything that held a universe in them. The library was so silent Damian was sure he could hear her heartbeat, if not his too. Raven’s hands were at her sides yet he found it within himself wanting to feel her grips everywhere. The tension was breaking him already missing the awkward lingering traces of her lips onto his. “Damian.” 
The sound of the book from his lap was heard hitting the floor. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. His senses being filled with her scent of jasmine that he couldn’t get enough of. 
“Don’t...don’t say another word. Just let me.” 
With that Damian imprinted his lips onto hers. Savoring the way her soft lips felt against his rough ones, it was awkward yet searching. The heat that was exposing both of them, dragging kiss after kiss. Until they bathed in each other’s taste. 
Raven’s lips pressed deeper into his. Her kisses electrocuting his body making him ache everything he wanted to do to back in that cramped closet. Raven groaned against his mouth feeling his tarrying tongue wet her bottom lip begging for entrance. Graciously inviting him, as she gripped the fronts of his white oxford harshly.
She wanted this. Or more like her soul did, and he knew it. He could sense it. For fucks sake he was just grateful that she couldn’t sense what he was feeling. Whatever it was, he didn’t even know it himself. 
Feeling Raven’s teeth nibbling on Damian’s bottom lip, he grunted against her mouth. His rough hands behind her soft hair, “My soul..it...it wants you.” Raven muttered in between the drowning kisses, her voice was so fragile he was it could break. 
He needed to fulfill her soul. And by gods he wanted to do more than just that right now. 
Taking a sense of their awkward position, Damian gripped her lower waist guiding her to his lap. His cock twitched feeling her skirt riding up her thighs. Fuck this felt good. 
Damian licked his lips, watching Raven’s breaths caught in her throat, staring into her through her heavy-lidded eyes. He wanted to take a moment and enjoy every little breathless exhale she took. Her cheeks were reigning with color, her grip against his shirt was tight. Almost like she was keeping him hold, and to say he liked it. The perfect bun she had was now a tangled mess but yet still she didn’t look a mess. Hell, she looked goddamn irresistible. 
Slowly guiding his lips to her neck, tasting her flesh that was just as honeyed as her lips. Without a thought Damian found himself reaching for her ponytail that held her bun and easily pulled it away from her silk hair. Raven’s head leaned back, biting her lower lip from letting a vulnerable sound escape her lips. Damian’s tongue was hot and lasting that dug aimless trails, stopping at various points to bite down her flesh. Her skin tasted as if it was sprinkled with sugar, every lick better than the last. He could feel Raven shiver with every bite he plastered on her neck. 
“Damian.” 
The way she said his name--why did his name sound so angelic when she said it. It could drive him mad if she continued saying his name with her husky breath that swirled with anticipation. 
He wanted to feel that pleasure that was too goddamn good last night. Recalling the way her hips rolled onto his, stopping her, before he knew he would risk it all if she continued. But he didn’t care anymore, he was throbbing for her and he was sure she could feel him. 
Working his hands down her body, digging his fingers into her hips. He took the pleasure of guiding, rocking her hips onto his cock. Raven jerked and let go of a stifled noise, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.
How can something so unright feel too goddamn good. 
Damian could feel her damp panties against his trousers. His cock responding to every roll that was given. Raven’s mouth fell open, wanting every sound to escape. Damian could see the pleasure takeover her eyes, desperately hearing the soft pants that could echo the library if she wasn’t quite. But shit, how he want to hear her plead, if only they were in a more secluded area. Thankfully no one during this period was scavenging for a book or even cared to look for one while they were all far away from any sightful crowd. 
“Wouldn’t want people to hear us, Raven. Try to stay quiet for me.” His voice a rumbling growl against her lower ear. Yet she was only able to nod, closing her eyes as her nails were tugging at his hair that made him growl. Continuing his motions every swipe against her aching pussy sliding along his cock. 
Raven chewed onto her bottom lip, only letting small mutters come out. Her shaky breath as her hand trailing down his hard chest. Without noticing what she was doing he felt her fingers brush against his cock. Twitching at the feel wanting her to pump him through his trousers, but she didn’t, instead she did something he didn’t expect. 
Fuck. 
Damian couldn’t look away as Raven slid her hand under her skirt. Grunted something explicit in variable languages that he knew she didn’t know. Wanting to see what the hell she was doing but he could feel her fingers desperately pull aside her panties. Oh shit. His cock was painfully growing to her motives, feeling her pussy, she was so much more soak than he imagined. He may be fully clothed, this was enough. At least enough to drive his pulsing cock aching to be let out from his trousers. 
His fingers buried into her white blouse, surely leaving marks, and fastening his pace. Pulling her roughly down onto him desperately. Heat curled up his spine, feeling it wasn’t just him controlling her hips anymore. She started to frantically move into his hands with him. Increasing his pace,, again and again, over and over, without stopping--
Oh, fuck was that a sight.
Raven’s mouth falling open, her eyes barely staying open staring into him. It was as if she wanted to say something but all she was able to concede was the sounds that sounded so mellow that were aching to be louder. 
Raven groaned “A-ah..!--” A moan that was too loud leaked from her mouth but quick to her response. She shut herself up overthrowing the back of her palm onto her mouth. Biting down her eyes shut, muffling cries. Sweat that seemed to glisten on her skin feeling the sizzling heat of her body attached to him. She looked helpless, eager for him. Almost at the edge. 
Damian shivered feeling Raven’s hand below his navel. She looked down at their doing and back at him, her body may have been pleading more but her eyes. Her eyes said something else. Slowing down his pace hesitantly. He wanted these moments to burn into his mind longer, but he knew why she made him stop. Even though she couldn’t say it herself, he knew. 
Taking her hand away from her mouth slowly. He leaned forward into her, pressing his lips onto hers softly. Feeling the missed contact of her soft, wet, now bruised lips from all the biting down she did on herself. Tangling his fingers into her hair, cradling her cheek. Damian wanted to ease those marks, licking slowly across her lips. Raven’s eyes were open the whole time not wanting to miss a second of his doings, not like he minded anyway. He liked staring into her eyes. 
A silence stretched between them after not quite sure who should speak first. Though Damian could feel she was embarrassed with her cheeks still filled with color, her head dropped taking her gaze from him. “I-I think it’s satisfied..”
Oh right. Damian bit back a curse remembering that was the main reason why their bodies reattached on it’s own. Why they’re in another particular situation anyway. Yet even though she said her body is content, she didn’t move away. They were still in this position that seemed all their own. He could still feel all of her, if he kept feeling her pussy pressed against his trousers any longer, he wasn’t sure if he could contain himself. 
“Right. You won’t be in pain then?” He tried his best to make his expression unreadable, not wanting her to realize how much it was restraining him to kiss her. 
Raven shook her head, “I don’t think so, it would’ve happened by now.” her words were stumbled when she looked down at their laps. “U-uhm, I should probably move from your lap.” Damian could feel himself grin seeing the rush of heat maneuver it’s way up to her face. Sensing a bashful Raven a mile away yet it was an interesting view to see. 
“Mm.” Feeling this thighs lighten from her small weight, yet something was clearly seen on his dark grey pants. Damn She really was soaked. The darken area around his cock that was quite noticeable if someone would stare too long. Though Raven seemed to notice rather quickly, 
Raven pushed her hands to her cheeks, shaking her words. “Shoot I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t know I was going to leave a stain or that I was going to do that. Azar, I’m sorry you probably don’t have an extra pair of--” 
Damian cut her off, “Relax, it’s okay. I have workouts next period. It shouldn’t be a problem. Alfred always packs a spare uniform in my duffle bag.” 
Raven tilted her head relieved but confused. “Alfred?” 
“He’s my family’s butler, more of a friend though. He always keeps me prepared.” Truth was Alfred made him keep an extra pair of everything at school in case he lost some of his uniform when having to transform into Robin during dangerous times. 
“Oh, a butler. That’s nice of him.” 
Damian grunted, stretching his body to come up to fix his oxford that crinkled from Raven’s grasp, though not like he mind. “Yea it is.” 
Damian looked at Raven who was trying to fix herself, adjusting the hem of her plaid skirt as well as the wrinkles from her white blouse. His eyes drifting through her plush skin until it stopped at the noticeable bite he left that soon bruised on the side of her neck. Raven didn’t even notice them. Fuck did she have to look so densely cunning, if he didn’t tell her she would be a walking mark of his own. Though that was a thought. That he somewhat enjoyed thinking. 
But that wasn’t what he was meant to supply her with. He wasn’t even supposed to touch her, afterall there was also Jon to think about. 
Damian clears his throat, “You should probably cover those up. I went a little far.” eyeing at the marks. 
Raven brought her hand to her neck where he was referring, “Oh right, I’ll heal them right now. Jon would lose it, if he found out. ” Damian only managed to nod not wanting the guilt to skin him. Raven ended up letting a soft chuckle, muttering lowly under her breath, “Can’t have that happen again.” 
What? She may have not wanted him to hear her. But he did. Has someone else left marks on her? Or done something even remotely the same. But it shouldn’t even bother him, what’s it to him. He was only meant to supply her in satisfaction. So why did he feel the need to pry into that statement. 
“Have you ever done something like this before with someone to make him pissed off?” He tried his best to choose his words wisely not wanting to sound like a questionable gossip. 
Raven chuckled awkwardly, “No I haven’t done something like that before with anyone.” she paused. “More like Jon got ragingly mad after a friend of mine kissed me a few months ago.” 
“Who?” 
“Roy Harper. He came after you left.” 
Donna thought they could be friends. Hell he didn’t even need to get to know him. That name was already dead to him.
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softlass27 · 4 years ago
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Flufftober Day 6 – Quicksilver
This is a canon divergence on the 16th May 2016 episode, after Aaron breaks things off with Robert after overhearing him talking to Charity about the money Gordon left.
Some credit for this idea must go to @saras-almanac! Ever since we chatted about her canon-divergent fic letting go recently, I’ve really want to have a go at doing one of my own for that era. This is the result :)
AO3 link here
Get out of my house, and get out of my life.
Aaron’s mood changes like quicksilver these days, so fast that Robert can barely keep up. He’s always been fiery, had no trouble showing his emotions through his words or his actions – it’s part of what had drawn Robert to him in the first place. And with everything he’d been through in the last few months, Gordon, the trial… God, Robert doesn’t blame him for being all over the place.
But it’s been weeks now and… things aren’t getting better between them. If anything, they're getting worse. The quiet spark of hope that had Robert practically brimming with excitement not so long ago dims with each passing day, with each time Aaron lashes out at him or pushes him away.
Get out of my house, and get out of my life.
Robert trudges back to the Keeper’s, head down and hands in his pockets. He can’t seem to go more than a day without facing Aaron’s wrath, without being reminded of exactly what Aaron and his family really think of him, of where he really stands. He didn’t think getting the thing he wanted – the person he wanted – would be this hard, hurt this much.
As he reaches the cottage, he takes out his keys and unlocks the door on autopilot.
“Hiya,” Victoria calls from the kitchen, before poking her head out with a smile that dims as soon as she sees him. “Hey, you alright?”
Get out of my house, and get out of my life.
Fuck it.
“You fancy coming to see Gran with me?”
She blinks. “To Barcelona? When?”
“Tonight? Tomorrow? I still have those tickets.”
“But I thought you wanted to take Aaron to… ” Vic trails off, probably because of the look on his face. She stares at him for a long moment, considering, before nodding her head.
“Go on, then.”
*
It’s the next morning, crack of dawn, and they’re in the departures lounge. Well, Robert’s in the departures lounge, Victoria’s nipped to WHSmith to find a cheap paperback to read (although knowing her she’ll just come back with a load of magazines) while he watches their bags.
He’s on the verge of dozing off, when his phone rings. Aaron’s name flashes up on the screen and Robert’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He’d tried calling him last night, just to let him know he wouldn’t be around in case… God, he doesn’t even know. There’d been no answer.
Robert hesitates for a few seconds, lets it ring a couple of times while he considers letting it go to voicemail, before steeling himself and answering the call.
“Hello?”
“I’m outside,” Aaron says down the line. He sounds… blunt as always, but not particularly angry, not in the way he’d been yesterday.
“What?”
“I’m outside yours. Vic’s. Come down, will you?”
“Er… ” Robert hadn’t planned for this, didn’t expect Aaron to come anywhere near him after yesterday. He gulps and tries to remind himself that he’s not done anything wrong. “I’m not there, actually. I’m not in the village right now.”
“Alright,” Aaron says, light and casual. There’s a faint scuffing sound in the background, and Robert can picture him rubbing the sleeve of his hoodie against his stubbled jaw. “Will you be back soon?”
“In a few days. Sunday night.”
“What?” The casual tone is swapped for confusion. “Where the hell are you?”
“At the airport.”
“Where’re you going?”
“Barcelona.”
There’s a long silence, and Robert’s stomach twists unpleasantly. He wishes he hadn't picked up. “Oh. I thought we were – you went without me?”
Why do you care? He wants to snap back, as the old him definitely would have done. You didn’t want me there and you were never going to come with me, either. There was never gonna be a good time for you, not in the middle of all this. I wanted you to meet my Gran, my only other family, but now you say you don’t want anything to do with me, so why should I bother waiting? What's the point?
But he doesn’t say any of that. He’s trying to be better.
“I tried ringing you but – look, we can still go another time if you like, I don’t mind booking more tickets. But I only had so long to postpone these ones and I’d already made… ” He can’t bring himself to tell Aaron about Annie, not over the phone. “Anyway, you said you wanted me gone so… ”
“So you’re going to another country?”
“Rob!” Robert looks up to see Victoria coming over with an armful of magazines.
“I – hang on a sec,” Robert said into the phone, before cover the speaker with his hand. “What, Vic?”
“Oh soz, didn’t mean to interrupt. Just got you this.” She drops a car magazine he likes into his lap and takes the seat next to him.
Robert shakes his head and speaks to Aaron again. “Sorry, back now.”
“Is there someone else there?” The words are sharp, accusatory.
“Well I weren’t about to go alone, I’m not that sad.” He’s about to say he’s with Victoria, maybe try lightening the mood by making a joke about how much luggage she’s brought, but Aaron’s talking again before he has the chance.
“Right, I see how it is.” The rage that Robert is all-too familiar with is back in his voice. “You get bored of having to wait longer than five minutes for me so you just bugger off with some random?”
“What?” Shit, no. “Aaron no, it’s not like that. I’m just with – ”
“You know what, save it.”
“Aaron wait, I – Aaron?” Nothing. He’s gone.
“Fuck.” Robert jabs at the screen, quickly calling Aaron back and praying he’ll pick up so he can tell him he’s got this wrong, all wrong. But it’s fruitless; Aaron doesn’t answer and if Robert knows him at all, he won’t be answering for some time.
“Was that Aaron?” Victoria asks with the same tentative concern she’d shown last night.
“Yep.” He sighs and tosses the phone on top of the magazine in his lap.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.” Victoria lays a gentle hand on his arm. “Maybe later? While we’re in Spain?”
“Maybe.”
*
They do talk, in the end. On their second night in the city, they go out for dinner and drinks, relishing the chance to unwind after a day spent answering question after question from Annie and all her ancient mates at the care home. Old people are exhausting, honestly.
“So… ” Victoria says around a mouthful of fish, with a casual air that Robert knows is entirely put-on. “D’you feel like talking about Aaron now? About what happened? Because as much as I’m enjoying the surprise trip in the sun, I know I’m not the one who’s supposed to be sitting here right now.”
“Can’t I just take my baby sister on holiday?”
“You can, but you never have before. Come on, I know you booked these tickets for you and Aaron for your birthday, but for some reason it never happened. And I know you haven’t spoken to him since that phone call in the airport. Whatever’s going on… you know you can talk to me, right?”
Robert sighs, contemplates doing what comes naturally and lying to her, plastering a smile on his face and insisting that everything’s fine. But after weeks on end of giving everyone that smile until his jaw ached, he doesn’t have it in him anymore.
“It’s just… ” He hesitates, not really knowing where to start. Victoria leans forward encouragingly. “I’m not sure he actually want to be with me.”
“Rubbish,” she fires back instantly. “He’s as gone on you as you are on him.”
“I don’t think so, Vic.”
“Okay, what makes you say that?”
“The fact that he can’t seem to go more than a day or two without biting my head off or saying he wants nothin’ to do with me, for starters.”
“Is that what happened yesterday?”
“Pretty much. Said he wanted me out of his life.”
“Why, what did you do?”
“Nothing – for once,” he shoots her a rueful smile. “Just… I said something to Charity, he overheard and took it the wrong way, kicked me out before I had a chance to explain properly.”
“Well there you go, then,” Vic smiles. “A misunderstanding, that’s easily fixed. Once you explain, he’ll calm down and you’ll be fine.”
“Until the next time,” Robert mutters, stabbing at his food with his fork.
“What d’you mean?”
“That’s the point, Vic. I always have to explain, because he always thinks the worst of me and pushes me away, says I'll never change. Before that, it was the burnt letter fiasco, then it was him actually believing I’d paid someone to have Gordon killed in prison. And now this. Even on the phone the other day, he instantly assumed I’d gone off with someone else. He probably thinks I’m shagging some random right now, when I’ve told him how I feel about him. When he's the one who keeps shutting me out and cancelling every plan I try to make with him.”
Robert drops his cutlery down on the table as the words spill out of his mouth, increasing in speed before he can stop them.
“And before you say it, I know I was awful last year, alright? I get it, I’d understand if he didn’t trust me, if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. But… he’s said that he does trust me, and he’s said he still wants me. Then he goes and treats like he thinks I’m scum, like I’m still that selfish person he used to hate, and then I think maybe he doesn’t really want this, not the way I do. I’ve been trying, I’ve been trying so hard, but I can’t seem to get anything right and I’m just – I’m just sick of it, okay?”
To his absolute horror, the backs of his eyes begin to sting with tears, and he blinks them away rapidly as Victoria stares at him open-mouthed, eyes wide with shock. He can’t say he blames her, he’s surprised himself. His gaze remains fixed on the dark red tablecloth, already feeling awkward about his sudden outburst.
“And he forgot your birthday,” she eventually says, offering him a small smile. A surprised chuckle bubbles out of him and he looks up.
“And he forgot my birthday. Which I know makes me sound like I’m about six but…”
“But it was your first one with him.” He nods. “And you wanted to get to spend it together in Barcelona and take him to meet Gran.” Another, smaller, nod, and he buries his face in his hands as his cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Oh, Rob.” She pushes her plate aside and yanks on his arms until he drops his hands and meets her eyes. “You’re allowed to be upset, silly. I’d be gutted if I were in your position.”
“Doesn’t feel like I am, not with everything that’s happened… ”
“You and Aaron… it’s a big deal for you. He’s your first boyfriend.”
He rolls his eyes. “We’re not teenagers, Vic.”
“Robert,” she frowns at his deflection, not having it. “After everything you've been through this past year, coming out, how much you’ve changed, being with Aaron properly… this is a big deal. I’m proud of you, you muppet.”
He doesn’t really trust himself to speak, so instead he settles for squeezing their fingers together, hoping she understands. She does, if the warm look on her face is any indication.
“Adam actually told me he stuck up for you with Aaron a couple of weeks ago, y’know?”
“What?” Well, that definitely didn’t sound right. “When?”
“After you burnt that letter. Which, by the way, was a bit stupid, but I get that your heart was in the right place. I can’t blame you for not wanting to give it to him, and neither can Adam. He kept it from Aaron too, remember?”
Robert fiddles with his napkin, carefully folding the corners. “What’d he say, then?”
“Just told Aaron that you were only trying to protect him, trying to make sure he never had to hear from Gordon again, like he said he wanted.”
“Wow… who would’ve thought your husband would be on my side?”
“I know, I think Adam was as shocked as anyone. So you see?” Victoria raises her eyebrows. “You’re not a monster, Robert. You’ve changed, and people can see that. If Adam’s started coming around to you, Aaron definitely will have.”
“Don’t think has family ever will.”
“Well, there’s only so much you can do about that; you can’t kill yourself over trying getting people to like you. But last time I checked, Aaron’s an adult, he can make his own decisions. He usually does, too.”
Robert sighs and nods, mulling over her words. They resume eating their meals quietly for a few minutes.
“So… what d’you think I should do?”
“I’ll tell you what you’re not gonna do,” Vic points at him with her fork, waving around the potato on the end of it. “You’re not going to give up on this.”
“I don’t want to. But I don’t know how to… ” He shrugs helplessly.
“I think you just need to have a conversation with him. Tell him what you’ve told me.”
She tuts when Robert pulls a face.
“I know you don’t like talking about feelings – I swear, you’re both as bad as each other – but you have a right to know where you stand, Rob. Look, I know Aaron’s been through hell and there’s a lot going on right now with his sister an’ all… but you can’t stay stuck in this weird limbo. He’s either in this or he isn’t, he wants you or he doesn’t.”
“And… ” Robert chews his bottom lip, stomach churning unpleasantly. “If he says he doesn’t?”
“I mean, I very much doubt that. But if that does turn out to be the case then… ” Vic hesitates, before grinning. “We’ll just have to head into town and find you a nice new bloke, won’t we?”
Robert snorts, already recoiling at the very idea. “Like I’d ever let you take me out on the pull.”
“What, I’d make an excellent wing-woman!”
“God no, please stop.” They both giggle into their wine glasses, until Robert’s smile eventually dims. “I don’t want a nice new bloke. I want Aaron.”
“I know you do,” Victoria says softly. “That’s why you have to try. Just talk to him.”
“Yeah… you’re right.”
“What’s that, now?” The glee in her voice makes him groan. “Can I get that in writing, please?”
“Alright, calm down.”
*
Typically, their return flight is delayed, so they don’t arrive back in Emmerdale until the early hours of Monday morning. Robert’s so knackered, it’s all he can do to bid a brief goodnight to Victoria and collapse face-down on his bed.
After what feels like only seconds after he puts his head on the pillow, he’s jolted awake by the sound of loud banging. Cracking one eye open, he takes in the faint light coming from the window and realises that despite his exhaustion, he must’ve had a few hours of rest. The banging starts up again, and Robert’s sleep-addled brain manages to work out it's someone at the front door. He waits for the sound of Adam or Vic heading down the stairs, but there’s only silence.
Groaning, he rolls to his feet and throws on his dressing gown before stumbling to the front door and cracking it open, ready to tell whoever it is to kindly bugger off and let him go back to bed, only to be met with the sight of the last person he’d expected to see at this hour.
Aaron.
He stands before Robert, hands shoved in his pockets and gel-free hair blowing in the wind. He looks as amazing as ever, and Robert’s missed him so much it makes his breath catch for a second. He stands frozen, hand dropping from the door to hang at his side.
Aaron clears his throat. “Hiya.”
“Hi.”
“You’re back, then.” His voice is gruff and slightly hoarse, like he hasn’t had enough sleep.
“Er, yeah. Late last night.”
Aaron nods and there’s a long pause.
“You gonna invite me in or…?”
Robert steps aside to let him pass and follows him into the living room. They stand there awkwardly and Robert stays silent, waiting for Aaron to make the first move.
“Pub’s been quiet without you,” Aaron eventually offers. “Got used to you hangin' around every day.”
“Bet your mum’s not been complaining. Or Liv, for that matter.”
Aaron gives a small smile that looks more like a grimace, and Robert’s heart sinks slightly at the silent confirmation that he's right.
“I missed you, though.” He says it so quietly, Robert almost doesn’t catch it.
“I missed you, too."
Aaron’s mouth curls into another smile, a more genuine one this time, and he shuffles his feet.
“Adam told me that you were with Vic. That you were seein’ your gran, too.”
“Oh.” Robert’s mind flashes back to the last time they’d spoken, to Aaron’s furious words, and judging by the look on Aaron’s face now, his is too. “Right.”
“Sorry for havin’ a go at you on the phone. I should've – I’m an idiot.”
“S’fine.”
“I didn’t mean to – I just thought – ”
“Thought the worst of me, I know.”
Aaron looks stricken at that, and Robert instantly wants to take the words back. He doesn't, though, he can't bring himself to. Aaron's eyes fall away from his face, wandering uncomfortably around the living room. Just like that, Robert suddenly feels almost as distant from him now as he had in another country, and he hates it. Victoria’s insistent words from the other night echo in his ears.
Just talk to him.
“Aaron, I… ” Robert can hear footsteps above them, the telltale sounds of Adam and Victoria getting up to start their day. He really doesn’t fancy an audience for this. “D’you fancy goin’ for a walk?”
Aaron’s gaze snaps back to him, and he frowns. “A walk?”
“Yeah. Could do with some fresh air after my flight and… maybe we can have a chat?”
“A chat… ”
“You gonna repeat everythin’ I say?” Robert can’t resist giving him a teasing smile, and Aaron huffs a small laugh and shakes his head.
“A chat about what?”
“Just… stuff. You and me?”
Aaron hesitates, before nodding. “Yeah, okay. Might wanna get changed first, though?”
Robert suddenly remembers what he’s wearing, and he wraps his dressing gown around himself self-consciously as Aaron’s eyes crinkle in amusement.
“Uh, give me five minutes.”
Robert gets ready in record time, rapidly brushing his teeth while he pulls out a clean pair of jeans and a jumper. As he shoves his feet into a pair of shoes on the landing, Victoria opens her bedroom door and almost trips over him.
“Oh, mornin’,” she says around a wide yawn. “Did I hear Aaron downstairs?”
“Yeah, he’s waiting for me,” Robert answers, his voice hushed so he’s not overheard. “We’re going for a walk.”
“And?”
“And… I’ve asked if we can talk.”
Vic’s face brightens. “That’s great, Rob.”
“Unless he doesn’t like what I say and dumps me on the spot, of course.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” Vic waves a dismissive hand.
“Rob?” Aaron calls from downstairs. “We goin’ on this walk or not?”
“Coming!”
Victoria grins at him, smug in the way that only his annoying little sister can be. “I told you – smitten kittens, the pair of you.”
Robert chooses to ignore her in favour of jogging back down the stairs, meeting Aaron by the front door.
“Ready?”
“Been waitin’ for you, mate,” Aaron scoffs. “Let’s go.”
They leave the cottage and set off in the direction of the footbridge.
“So... ” Aaron glances at him tentatively. “What's up?”
Robert takes a deep breath, and starts talking.
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scariusaquarius · 5 years ago
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take a ride pt 3.
Mechanic! Thorin Oakenshield x Female! Reader
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A/n: Alright. This is the official end of this series, but I’ll make a sequel if people ask for it :D And I’ll do more Mechanic! Thorin fics, if anybody would like them <3
CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE (HERE)
Genre: Humor, Friendship, Romance Rated: General Warning: Swearing, Humor, Fluff
Author: dabisburntnut
Ever since the coffee shop, your heart had been racing in your chest. Just remembering Thorin’s laughter, his beautiful smile...it made you squeal every single time you remembered how happy he had been.
 It was beginning to near spring break, and the only thing that you could think of was riding in Thorin’s truck with your feet on the dash while he blared his classic rock and held your hand. It was a daydream that always made you giggle, and you rolled over in your bed. 
You had forgotten to give him your number, and he give you yours, and there were times were you were tempted to text the company Instagram page. Would it be creepy if you did? You had decided against doing it, but the silence had made you want to see him even more. 
It sucked because it had been a whole three weeks since the last time you spoke to Thorin, and you weren’t about to just show up at the shop like ‘hey, wanna go out?’ who even does that? You slapped your hands onto your face. You had to stop thinking so much about Thorin! You finally sat up, texting your manager that you were interested in picking up an extra shift for your dead Saturday. 
Elrond was understanding, sending you the okay and that he would be excited to see you, and you were quick to get dressed. Grabbing your wallet and satchel, you slid into your vehicle and made a quick pit-stop at the coffee shop. 
Your eyes were searching for Thorin, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but he was nowhere in sight. Your stomach dropped, and you walked up to the counter sadly, ordering your usual. 
Was it normal to be so infatuated with someone you had only ever met twice? Were you weird for feeling this way? When you sat down at your booth, you hardly touched your coffee, simply staring out the window and fingering the rip of your coffee cup. Not even your little snack that you bought was touched, smelling so sweet and tempting. 
Packing up the snack, you decided that you would give it to your fellow librarian, Bilbo Baggins and left as quickly as you could. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and you hummed softly. Must everything remind you of that handsome mechanic? 
When you arrived to the library, it was just starting to rain, and you dashed inside the library as fast as you could before the downpour began. Wiping your damp face, you greeted your fellow librarian quietly. 
“Hello, Mr. Baggins.”
Bilbo Baggins perked up, his blue eyes wide and a smile crossed his face. 
“(Y/n), what a surprise. You’re usually not here on weekends.”
You smiled and set your bag down on the desk, slipping out your uneaten snack and handing it to him. 
“Yes, I know. I was just very bored today. I figured I’d just come in for today and get some extra hours in.”
Bilbo made a delighted face at the treat and hummed softly as he took a bite of the sweet. 
“Goodness, did you get this from the coffee shop just down the street? They have the most magnificent teas there, you have to try them.”
He then slid you a catalog of unmarked books, instructing you.
“It’s good that you came in. We have new shipments of crime and psychological thrillers that need to be put into the system, marked, and put away, if you can.”
You smiled politely, taking your coat off and draping it on the back of your chair. 
“That’s what I’m here for. It’s a bit quieter today. Is Elrond not here?”
You sat down in your computer chair, dragging the large box of new books to you and began to assign them barcodes, scanning each one before placing them on the cart as Bilbo replied. 
“He is in a meeting with Professor Grey from the university in the Bree district.”
You hummed deeply, saying as you continued to work. 
“I wonder what they’re meeting about. I notice that Professor Grey comes by often.”
Bilbo shrugged, taking a large sip of his tea before taking another big bite of his sweet. 
“I’m unsure, honestly.”
When you were finished with the last book, you sighed and sat back in your seat, making sure to submit the log into the system before grabbing your scanner, laptop, and the cart full of books. 
“Alright, I’m off. If you need anything, go ahead and send me a text.”
Bilbo waved you off playfully. 
“Shoo, shoo, I haven’t finished my tea yet.”
You giggled at him before stealing a sip of his tea, Bilbo gasping. 
“(Y/n)!”
You scurried off with a giggle, and Bilbo shook his head before sitting back down at his seat. A few moments later, a familiar face walked in, making Bilbo smile widely. 
“Thorin, what a surprise!”
-READER POV-
As you wheeled your cart towards the crime/psychological thriller section, you began to think of Thorin again. How was he? Was he having a good day? Was he busy with his work? You groaned to yourself, hitting your head against the handles of the cart. 
‘Come on, girl! Give it a rest...’ 
Sighing, you grabbed your laptop, logging into the cataloger program before beginning to scan the books to their designated shelves. As you worked, you gently hummed to yourself, becoming lost in your focus as you shelved the books and cataloged them all. 
The sound of a deep voice startled you, and you turned to see who had spoken to you.
“I’ve always enjoyed Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island.”
Your mouth was dropped in awe as you watched Thorin flip through the book, his sunglasses perched atop his head. He was wearing his half-up/half down look again, his manbun looking a bit messier than usual. His blue eyes flicked over to you, and you shook your head lightly as if to shake yourself from your shock. 
“I always thought the book was very nice.”
Thorin smiled down at you before placing the book back down, saying as he picked up another book, reading the back of it. 
“Have you read much of his works?”
“Ah, no. I’m not really a crime/psychological thriller person. I’m more into (book genre).”
Thorin smiled lightly, and you asked him nervously. 
“Um, are you here for long?”
Thorin hummed lightly, answering honestly. 
“I was here to pick up a few more books, but now that I know you’re here, I guess I could stay for a while.”
Your cheeks went red, and Thorin looked as though he was mentally patting himself on the back, a proud grin on his face. You opened your mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a large clap of thunder. As it broke through the sky, you gasped and jolted, dropping your scanner and book onto your foot. The power immediately shut off, and you cursed, holding your foot before fishing your phone out as the library went completely dark. 
“Thorin, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, what of you?”
You sighed and carefully stood, turning on your flashlight. Thorin made a face as the light went right into his face, and you panicked lightly.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry!”
Thorin rubbed his eyes before smiling slightly. 
“You’re fine. Looks like we’re going to be stuck here for a while.”
You sighed and rubbed your forehead, and Thorin leaned down onto his forearms onto the cart, gazing at you softly. 
“I’ll look at the weather and see how long it’s going to last. Maintenance still hasn’t finished updating our backup generators, so we’re kinda locked in the library at the moment. The doors are all electronically locked.”
Thorin hummed deeply, asking you. 
“Do you have an food? You can’t possibly go without eating for a long while.”
“There are breakrooms on each floor of the library, so we should be able to find something.”
Thorin nodded again before it went quiet, Thorin watching you as you surfed through the weather app on your phone. 
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
Your eyes widened, and you looked over at Thorin, his eyes soft. 
“I’m sorry?”
“You’ve been on my mind for the past three weeks. I...was admittedly so distracted that I forgot to ask for your number that day at the coffee shop.”
Oh my Mahal. Thorin Durin, your hot mechanic, wanted your number? You about fainted, and you offered shyly.
“I can...give you my number right now, if you want? That way you don’t forget it...if you still want it, that is!”
You averted your gaze from his own, and Thorin chuckled softly.
“Yes, I would indeed still like your number.”
You recited your number for him, and Thorin recited it to himself a couple times before winking at you teasingly. 
“I’ll make sure to never forget that.”
“Stop, I’ll faint if you keep doing that.”
Thorin laughed lightly, and you shook your head at him, shyly smiling before sighing, looking down at your phone. Thorin moved from the cart to get a look at the text from Bilbo as well, and you said to him.
“Mr. Baggins says that there’s a power outage, so we’ll most likely be stuck here for a while.”
“That’s alright. Your crime & psychological thriller section is big enough to last me for years.”
You chuckled and reached into the cart, picking up a book as you leaned towards him a little as you became comfortable again.
“And we just got new shipments, so tack on a few more years there, Mr. Durin.”
His eyebrows shot up, a smirk on his face as he leaned in a bit more closer to you, your fragrance wafting into his nose and making his knees become slightly shaky. 
“Oh, so now we’re back to last-name basis?”
“We’ve only met twice, three times if you count this time.”
Thorin hummed, grabbing the book from your hand, his fingers brushing against yours. 
“And to think that I was getting somewhere.”
“I am not that easy of a woman to have.”
Thorin grinned at you, and you smiled back at him softly. Thorin replied gently, his other hand reaching over to shut the lid of your laptop, plunging the two of you into complete darkness. 
“Are you quite sure about that?”
“I would like to believe that I am.”
Your heart was racing, feeling his warm skin against yours, and your knees became weak as you felt his hot breath against your lips. 
“I want to kiss you, Ms. (L/n).”
You swallowed thickly and whispered. 
“I would like you to, Mr. Durin.”
Within a second, his lips were on yours, and you immediately wrapped your arms around his neck, and Thorin’s hands came to your face. He cupped your cheeks gently, sighing softly as he kissed you, and you swore that you would faint from how happy and elated you were. 
Thorin pressed you against the bookshelf, pulling back to take a deep breath before kissing you again, and you hummed softly. Thorin’s tongue brushed against your bottom lip, and you allowed him in, his tongue dominating your mouth, and Thorin’s hands rand down your sides to your hips, and you gently tugged on his hair. Thorin pulled back, saying against your lips. 
“You are a temptress...haunting my dreams for the last three weeks. All I could think about since the coffee shop was how much I wanted to see you again.”
You let out a shaky breath, and Thorin kissed you again, stealing the breath you took. 
“You were volunteering today, right?”
You replied, biting your lip as your hands came down to feel at his biceps. 
“Um, technically, yes. I’m not required to stay for a whole shift.”
“Would you do me the honors of coming home with me to have dinner then, Ms. (L/n)?”
You bit your lip, your heart racing even more, and you replied to him. 
“This isn’t just another way to get another tip from me, is it?”
Thorin’s head tilted back as he laughed, and he leaned down, brushing his nose against yours. 
“No, this is not another way to get more money from you.”
You smiled and Thorin asked you within your ear. 
“Would you like to take a ride with me?”
“Only if it comes at no additional charge.”
“For you, my services are free.”
[END]
Richard Armitage & Co. Taglist: @fizzyxcustard​ @aspookybunny​ @daisy-picking-lady​ @narnvaeron​ @thequeenoferebor @abiwim @crazytxgradstudent​@ruthoakenshield​ @sgtbarnes107 @thorinthehottytotty​ @mariannetora​ @deepestfirefun​ @onlyyoudarling
Hobbit Taglist: @underthemoon-n​ @tschrist1​ @avaria-revallier​ @cassiabaggins​
Take a Ride Taglist: @stuckupstucky​ 
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izzielizzie · 4 years ago
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I just wondering if you could do a headcanon based on Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift, cuz im sorta in love with that song but i dont mind who. Thx so much, u dont have to tho ❤
Yes! Champagne Problems is my absolute favorite song on the album along with Tis The Damn Season so I’m very excited! This is a Keely/Luis fic, which I've never done so I’m confused too don’t worry, but it does make sense I assure you. Also, there are ticket men and balls so um,,, have fun deciding what time period this is in because I don’t know. Enjoy!! Also there are notes at the end.
You booked the night train for a reason So you could sit there in this hurt
”Are you sure you want the three am train?” the ticket man asked. No, Luis was not sure and he had half a mind to go back to Keely’s house as fast as he could, but he didn’t have that choice anymore. 
”Yes, thank you.” Luis and the man exchanged money and tickets. 
”Well, have a good night then,” the man said. 
”Doubtful,” Luis muttered as he sat on a bench to wait for the train.
Bustling crowds or silent sleepers You're not sure which is worse
Luis ran his hand over the ring box in his pocket as he waited in the silence. It was strange, to be able to hear his own thoughts when an hour ago he was surrounded by so many people he could hardly hear Keely’s voice. 
Because I dropped your hand while dancing
His hand still tingled, where hers used to be. He could still feel the way her fingers slid along his palms for the last time as she spun away from him. 
Left you out there standing Crestfallen on the landing
Luis could still feel the snow on his coat and on the knee of his best pants. He could feel the biting cold on his cheeks as he watched her blubber apologies he couldn’t hear. 
Champagne problems
He leaned against the railing of the balcony as he watched her drown cup after cup of the champagne he knew her family always bought.
Your mom's ring in your pocket
The box he had warmed in his palms and opened to the cold felt heavy in his hands. The ring he had seen glint on his mother’s finger every day until it was too heavy for her  to bear was too painful to look at. He wanted to see it glint again, but the snow was in the way. 
My picture in your wallet
Luis pulled out his wallet to see how much money he had, and if there was enough for the train when he saw the picture he always looked at: Keely, his mother, and himself laughing at his high school graduation. It was the last time his mother left the house.
Your heart was glass, I dropped it Champagne problems
Luis felt his heart shatter as Keely smashed the top of the next bottle in the hall downstairs.
You told your family for a reason You couldn't keep it in
Luis’s brothers made a beeline for him when he slowly walked down the stairs, his money where Keely’s hand should have been.
”Did she say yes?” Manny asked.
Luis didn’t answer. The look on his face was answer enough.
Your sister splashed out on the bottle Now no one's celebrating
Luis’s sister-in-law came towards them with a glass of wine in her hand. 
“Did she say yes?”
Manny shook his head at his wife.
She dropped her glass, the red wine splashing onto her dress. 
Dom Perignon, you brought it No crowd of friends applauded
Cooper handed Luis the bottle of wine Luis had brought earlier that afternoon when he entered the kitchen.
“Are we celebrating?” Nate asked.
Luis shook his head. 
Your hometown skeptics called it Champagne problems
Vanessa Merriman, Luis’s friend from childhood laughed a short humorless laugh as she pulled herself up onto the counter, her ball gown fluffed to one side.
”It’d call it too much wine if you asked me.”
”I’m sorry Luis,” Bronwyn added, pressing a gloved hand against his arm. He shook it off. 
You had a speech, you're speechless
He had a speech planned. He had wanted to thank his friends for supporting him. For reminding him how much his relationship with Keely had helped him grow as a person. 
Love slipped beyond your reaches
“I loved her,” was all he could say. Olivia, Vanessa, and Bronwyn pulled him into a hug, their arms around him as his shoulders shook and the bottle slipped out of his hands, staining his shoes and the hems of their dresses. 
And I couldn't give a reason
”Did she tell you why?” Kris asked.
Luis shook his head.
Champagne problems
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Vanessa miming drinking to Kris, who nodded with pursed lips. 
Your Midas touch on the Chevy door
Luis could see her new car through the window of the kitchen. He could see the handle he pulled on to open the door for her whenever they went for drives. It was the only thing not covered in snow.
November flush and your flannel cure
Keely had been shivering the first time they exited that car five weeks ago. They were going to their old dorm for the last time with their friends to visit his younger brother. Without a second thought, he pulled off his flannel jacket and wrapped it around Keely’s arms. 
He didn’t have to think about much in their relationship. 
"This dorm was once a madhouse"
Luis could still remember the day Vanessa dared them to a game of soccer in the halls when they all woke up with major hangovers. “What a mad house,” he had commented as everyone laughed.
I made a joke "well, it's made for me" how
The joke was a small one that they had all found amusing and then forgot about, until now.
“She really was mad huh?” Olivia asked.
“I guess.”
Evergreen, our group of friends
“She’s messed up everything,” Vanessa added. 
Don't think we'll say that word again
“We won’t be us without Keely,” Bronwyn agreed as she wrapped her arms around Nate, who was leaning against the stove.
Luis didn’t question how they all agreed to drop Keely from their group. It seemed natural.
And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls That we once walked through
“Oh, sorry.” Everyone turned to look at Keely in her black dress and gloves. 
“What do you want?” Olivia asked.
Keely’s eyes darkened. “This is my house. And I’m getting the Christmas decorations.”
They watched as Keely walked through the kitchen to the door that concealed the basement steps. Decorations felt odd for a time like this. 
One for the money, two for the show I never was ready, so I watch you go
Luis stood and watched as she disappeared down the steps. 
Sometimes you just don't know the answer Till someone's on their knees and asks you
“God, she wasted an eight year relationship,” Vanessa said, shaking her head.
Eight years. Luis didn’t know how badly he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her until she refused to.
"She would've made such a lovely bride What a shame she's fucked in the head", they said
His friends’ words were still in his head as he sat in the train station. 
“She’s fucked up Luis, it’s not your fault.”
“There’s nothing you can do when someone like that makes up their mind.”
But you'll find the real thing instead
“Hello. May I sit with you?” Luis looked up to see a girl with a beautiful white gown and a green coat and cap standing in front of him. He could see her shining amber eyes, even though it was dark in the station.
“Do I know you?” Luis asked.
The girl smiled and nodded. “I left the same party as you. Keely’s? I’m Bronwyn’s younger sister.”
Luis knew he recognized the voice. “Maeve?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
“I needed to go home, and Bronwyn wasn’t ready yet. I’m not fond of Christmas parties.”
“Neither am I,” Luis said. Maeve laughed and fiddled with the skirt of her dress. It really was the prettiest dress Luis had ever seen. 
“May I sit?”
“Of course.”
She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred
They sat and laughed for hours as they waited for the train, and Luis walked her home in the snow. Her shoes were soaked through so he carried her the last few blocks, and he fell in love as she laughed, her eyes shining. 
And hold your hand while dancing
A year later, she wore the same gown as she had at the train station as they danced in her ballroom with the rest of their friends. After a while they found their way to her balcony overlooking her yard. 
Never leave you standing Crestfallen on the landing With champagne problems
“Want a drink?”
“No thank you, Luis.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“No, I’ll come with.”
Your mom's ring in your pocket
He never got the wine though, because once they were in the middle of the ballroom, he was kneeling in front of her with his mother’s ring on her finger. 
Her picture in your wallet
It might have been Vanessa who took the picture. Or maybe Cooper. They were never sure, but one copy was in his wallet and one was in her locket with their children until the day they died. 
And you won't remember all my Champagne problems
They were toasted with glasses of champagne, and for the first time he wasn’t hurt by the sight. Tonight was a night for celebration. Not for heartache. 
You won't remember all my Champagne problems
“I’m glad you didn’t marry Keely Luis my dear,” his mother told him at the wedding, the first time she was able to leave the house.
“Who?” Luis answered.
Notes:
It’s snowing idk why
They’re at Keely’s vacation house which is why Luis had to take a train back home
I hinted at it but Luis’s mom was sick when this happened, and better at the wedding
Also this was a mildly petty fic my goodness.
Also this happened in about eight different time frames/locations that I’ve woven into one fic: There’s Luis and Maeve at the train station, Keely and Luis at her house on the balcony overlooking the dancers, Luis talking to his brothers and sister in law, Luis and his friends at their dorm, Luis in the kitchen, Maeve and Luis on her balcony overlooking the yard, Maeve, Luis and friends in Maeve’s ballroom in her parents’ house, and then their wedding at the very end.
That wasn’t any clearer sorry
I hope you enjoyed!!!
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lgbtyrus · 4 years ago
Text
TJ’s Playlist (Final Ep Anniversary Bonus)
So it's been a year since I cried to the finale because tyrus was canon, and I wanted to travel back in time to some of the happiest memories I had because of this show. I had a thing in Macaroni's POV, but it was a little lame and didn't want to finish it so I went this route instead. It's also always bothered me that this story ended on 19 chapters, and I thought this was the perfect chance to even it out with a perfect 20. If you're reading this, I love you very much and thank you for coming back (or getting here for the first time). Goodbye to TJ's Playlist for real now <3 
Ao3 Link | Wattpad Link
-
TJ ran down the hall, pushing by students who couldn’t get out of his way fast enough. It was the last day of middle school, and everyone was lingering behind to say goodbye to their friends who might go to a different high school. TJ had been doing the same before remembering he had promised Cyrus he would meet him up front.
Cyrus was standing with Buffy and Marty, laughing at something one of them said when TJ caught up. “Hi,” TJ told him, bending over to catch his breath. “Sorry I’m late. I forgot how fast time can go.”
“It’s fine.” Cyrus smiled. “I wasn’t going to leave without you.” Cyrus reached over to hold TJ’s hand, making him smile.
Buffy said to Cyrus with a grin, “So yard sale?” Cyrus’s neighborhood had a large yard sale once a year, and they chose the last day of school to do it. Cyrus’ parents invited all of them to take their things to sell.
“Yes! Come by with anything you want to get rid of,” Cyrus replied. “I’m so excited. It feels like a cleanse and the first step into high school.”
“Can’t wait,” Buffy said. “I’m going to stop by home first for my stuff, pick up Andi, and meet you guys there.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Cyrus said and gave her a thumbs up. They said bye to Marty and Buffy who walked off holding hands, leaving TJ with his boyfriend. Cyrus turned to look at him and asked, “So. Did you think about it?”
TJ bit at the inside of his cheek for a moment. “I did.”
“And?”
“I think I’m going to sell them.”
Cyrus jumped up. “Yes? Really?”
“Just the repeats!” TJ smiled, taking a step back to avoid getting stepped on.
“Yes, that’s amazing. That’s perfect. The people in the neighborhood are going to love you,” Cyrus said. “We’ll look up the value of every single one before we set them out.”
“Already did that. That’s actually the reason why I decided to sell them.”
“Are they worth a lot?”
“Not as much as the cameras would be, but it’s a decent amount of money to pay for basketball camp.” TJ and Cyrus started walking away from their now former middle school, not looking back.
“How long would you be gone for?” Cyrus asked him.
“Three weeks. We can handle that, right?” TJ asked him, squeezing his hand. The coach at Grant High School recommended he go to basketball camp to secure a spot on the varsity team the next year, but it was a little pricey even with both of his parents working at the time.
“Of course.” Cyrus squeezed his hands back, smiling at him. “Let’s go get your things.” After going through his GG’s stuff for the first time, TJ realized there was a lot of valuable items that included comic books and vinyls. He was letting go of all the comic books because he wasn’t interested in that, but he didn’t have the desire to let go of any music. There was more vinyl’s in the attic than he realized and even though he didn’t have a player, he wanted them for the day he did have one.
Cyrus was talking to TJ about his last day of dance and how he wasn’t looking forward to regular PE at all as they headed to the Kippen’s house. “I need to have PE with Buffy at all costs next year. If not, I’ll definitely get picked last for every team.”
“You’re already stressed out for PE next year?” TJ snickered. He knew Cyrus well enough at this point to know his fear of public humiliation in PE was insurmountable “You need to relax a little. It’s summer break.”
“I know, but I tend to plan every minute of my future and PE is an inevitable part of it.”
“Let’s make a deal. You put off thinking about PE until a month before school, and I’ll let you be there when I get my report card in the mail.” TJ liked to open his report card alone considering he has done really bad in math in the past, but Cyrus really wanted to see how much TJ had improved now that he had a proper tutor.
Cyrus hummed to himself before saying, “Deal. But only because I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you see how well you did.”
“My C average does bring out my best smile.”
“All of your smiles are your best smiles.”
“You literally told me my dancing to old music is my best smile.”
“It’s a little biased because you dance with me.”
“It does make me smile when you slow dance with me,” TJ admitted to him. Cyrus smiled, blushing at the comment and making TJ’s heart skip a beat. There hadn’t been a single day where TJ doubted his feelings for him.
-
They got to the Kippen’s empty house, Macaroni the cat waiting in the yard. He was jumping after a grasshopper before he saw Cyrus and TJ come up. He ran to Cyrus and meowed, making him grin. “Hello, friend,” Cyrus said as he bent over to pick him up.
“Needy,” TJ muttered to Macaroni as he roughly petted his ears. Macaroni swatted at TJ who pulled his hand away on time.
Cyrus held Macaroni closer and said, “You have to be gentle with him. He’s old.”
“He’s okay,” TJ said, sticking his tongue out at the cat. He went to go unlock the door while Cyrus asked Macaroni about his day. The cat simply purred in his arms.
Inside, Cyrus put him down and followed TJ without asking upstairs to his room, little footprints tapping against the wood floors. Cyrus felt like the Kippen’s gothic house was his second home. It was Halloween themed according to his parents, but he liked the charm it gave off. TJ’s parents were younger than his after all and when the air was clear, it was fun to be there.
TJ had two boxes on the floor ready to go. “Can you take the vinyl one? It’s lighter,” TJ asked Cyrus as he picked up a box.
“For sure,” Cyrus said. He got the box and looked around the room that seemed to be more crowded as TJ dug out things from the attic. It made Cyrus smile every time TJ called him with a new discovery. A new photo album from the 70s. More polaroid photos he took of TJ and Amber when they were little. A random trinket TJ thought was cool. One time he didn’t find anything of his GG’s. He found a bunch of new t-shirts from his dad’s old band and a few CD’s TJ couldn’t stop laughing at for an hour. His dad was in makeup that really did make him look like a vampire.
Cyrus said goodbye to Macaroni who rubbed against his leg before walking out with TJ and walking down to his house. Around the block, people already had their yard sales open and people from all over Shadyside were visiting there. Even though TJ lived so close to him, his neighborhood seemed to be a completely different world from his. TJ didn’t know his next door neighbors, and he had just found out a month ago that Marty had lived across the street from him practically his entire life.
They got to Cyrus’ house where his parents had set out tables. Cyrus’ old toys and clothes were out and ready to go to new homes. He gave up most of his children’s books, but he kept a few favorites just in case he ever had kids to read them to one day. “You’re selling all your Pokemon cards?” TJ asked him as he set his box on an empty table.
“There will be someone who appreciates them more.” Cyrus then added, “They’re also fake.”
“Dollar store packets?” TJ smiled knowingly.
“Yes!” Cyrus laughed. “I always wondered why the ones at Kmart were more expensive and now I know why.”
“They were still fun to play with, though.”
“I honestly never learned how to play with them,” Cyrus admitted. “I just liked looking at them.”
“That’s me with my vinyl records right now,” TJ said. “I opened every single one of them because some had notes and receipts from GG. Some silly stuff like saying to pick up my grandma from school or just lists of other singers.” Cyrus stared at TJ as he set out the records, wondering if now was the time to give him what he just bought him. He wanted to hold out for his birthday but watching TJ talk about the vinyl’s made him realize how much listening to that music meant to him.
“There’s actually something I want to give you,” Cyrus said.
“Now?” TJ raised an eyebrow.
“Think of it as the first part of your birthday present.”
“First part? Of my birthday present? My birthday that’s in July?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” Cyrus nodded. “So, do you want it or not?”
“Can it be the only gift you give me?” TJ asked him.
“Of course not. The other thing is on its way already.”
“Oh god, Cyrus. You really didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Says the guy that gave me a present everyday of the week leading up to my birthday.” TJ smiled, Cyrus knowing that he finally got him to give in.
“Fine. Surprise me.”
Cyrus took TJ’s hand. “Come on! I can’t wait for you to see it.” Cyrus led TJ inside his house where they walked past his parents, TJ barely able to say a full hello to them. They went into his room where Cyrus let go of his hand and dug through his t-shirt drawer where he pulled out a wrapped present.
“You already wrapped it?” TJ asked, smiling as Cyrus handed him the box.
“Had to be ready just in case you ever found it.”
“You’re the one that snoops through my things, not me,” TJ reminded him.
“Just open in,” Cyrus said impatiently. TJ put the present on the bed and started ripping the wrapper. With a single tear down the middle, TJ knew what it was and gasped.
“Cyrus,” he whispered. “You really shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to. Really badly.” TJ finished unwrapping the green record player and held out the box in his hands, staring at it in awe. “Now you can listen to everything your GG left you.”
“Yeah,” TJ said with a smile. “I really can.” He put the box down and went over to face Cyrus. “Thank you so much.” TJ bent down and kissed him, both smiling into the kiss.
“You are very welcome.”
TJ held onto Cyrus’ hand and told him, “Let’s go play some music.”
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