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mischiefmaker615 · 7 months ago

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Bang Bang

Requester: @Laer111ee (wattpad)

Rating: R

Summary: Enemies to Lovers

Inspiration: Bang Bang by K'NAAN

Note: my goodness.. it may be my longest one shot

Loki’s POV

I’ve always known humans to be the weaker species, surely much lower than most of the nine realms of this universe. It wasn’t until I had really spent an.. annoyingly long amount of time on Midgard to realize I could still be surprised.

It was strange, how Midgardians have history books filled to the brim of war and chaos, caused by their own doing. Why is it that when I try to rule, they turn against the idea? They most certainly have no problems living with those elected to decide how they live; is it because I am the god of chaos that makes things different? That I am not human? All.. nuisance cast aside with how things went upon them sending their earth’s mightiest heroes, I did at least gain one positive aspect through it all.

Her.

Was wasn’t quite special, no powers running through her delicate yet capable feminine body. Just years, perhaps a great solid decade at most of hard-core training- that humans would consider hard core. Gods even I am picking up on their simpleton language. Nevertheless, whatever this woman has gone through to earn her spot amongst these Avengers, she was truly the first, pure human that could actually get my body to tense in battle, for me to actually have to concentrate, to be less.. cocky, as I’m told.

She keeps up.

“you have a nasty habit of running from the inevitable-‘’ she called, slowly walking through some abandoned building as I kept myself around the corner from her eye sight.

The SHIELD uniform hugged beautifully to her body, much more mesmerizing than The Widow. She quickly let her eyes flick down briefly to make sure she was carefully walking amongst the debris, going right back up to make sure I hadn’t appeared in sight yet. It was quite amusing, the serious in her face as she searched for me, this not even being the first time she’s sought me out.

Although this woman walked around half the time with a loaded shotgun, -though it was hardly enough to concern me, something about her seemed to make me feel like I could have no concern with whatever she would point at me. Like she wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger, though I wasn’t quite in the mood to test out the possible bluff. She seemed to shoot me straight in the heart anyway, and to my own surprise, it came with no pain..

Why they don’t send someone with heightened abilities, I am unsure. Yet she’s lasted this long, though most of our encounters I’ve held back a lot- and she knows it. I just tend to always look forward to our next encounter, and I can’t very much do that if she is in a recovery wing. I am not a fool though, and normally there is either one or two Avengers outside the building in which I sneak to, indicating that she is perhaps still being put to the test by going after me.

‘’and yet you still follow darling.’’ I chuckle, using the angles where my voice could echo rather than give away my location as I eye the gun clutched in her hands. ‘’tell me, how many times will your heroes send you before they finally think you’ll catch me?’’

Her E/C eyes narrow, her head moving to all directions as she pressed on, her nose twitched as she ignored the knocking feeling to sneeze with all the dust. Cute.

‘’perhaps I’ve been holding back as well, when are you going to have the balls to have a real fight with me?’’

I couldn’t help but smirk at her vulgar language, most likely using sarcasm to substitute her fear, though I did not smell any on her. I began moving myself through the halls, knowing from a birds eye view of the building, I was making my way around so I could be behind her. ‘’when I know you won’t break as soon as I touch you..’’ quite often, I’ve hinted at an inuendo. As I’ve pushed much of the thoughts down, it wasn’t new for the idea of perhaps laying down with her to cross my mind if even given the opportunity- though I do like my partners willing most of the time.

‘’how about you stop hiding like a coward then?’’

It was a weak answer, but I knew she just wanted me to keep talking to give away my position as I quietly turn the corner and was now getting an eye view of her backside- hips swaying with a sculpted rump. I have wondered if those heroes merely send her for me to be distracted in hopes that she could use that to defeat me.. it hasn’t quite worked yet.

“It could be fun if you stop holding back.’’

My brow raised at her last statement. Did she enjoy these pointless battles just as much as I did? I rather sought out her closeness, her sarcasm and fierceness though she was as harmless as a young mongrel. I could always smell her scent when we fought, almost seeing the oils and soaps she uses and there was only one time I could have sworn I could smell arousal. My cock twitched at the mere thought and brought me out of my thoughts as I slowed my pace behind her. Though this closeness now I just couldn’t resist.

‘’you want fun then? Let’s have fun..’’ I whisper in her ear, seeing her body tense at the realization of my whereabouts and I had just enough time to inhale, my eyes fluttering as I got what I wanted before I leaned back when she swung an elbow back.

She was quick, turning around and pointed her gun towards me in which I was quick to grab and yank free before I had to watch her other arm. Fighting Midgardians was almost like fighting something that moved in slow motion, and I was happy to play along as I let her hit my chest now and again though I could tell she had gotten stronger since the last time we’ve met.

‘’dare I say you also look forward to our little dance sweet Y/N?’’ I smirk, teasing her to throw off her concentration as she glares, increasing her speed as she keeps trying to find an opening.

‘’I look forward to finally seeing you behind glass again Loki’’ she snapped though I gathered no anger in her voice as she dropped down and I quickly stepped back from a leg swing.

‘’ah so you much prefer talking than our physical interactions out here?’’ I press before she humps back to her feet, ramming the top of her head into my jaw. It didn’t hurt but it was the force that had my eyes fly up and I had to regain my footing as she kept going at punching at my pressure points- trying through my armor at least.

‘’I prefer you putting your mouth to better use-‘’ she cut herself off, the surprise matching my own as her body stilled for a split second and she shook her head ‘’interrogation!’’ she added, trying to redirect her meaning as her mistaken inuendo had my humor triggers.

I laughed and something in my chest seemed to switch at how this woman made me feel in that moment where she was quick to try to correct herself by fighting harder. It worked.

For once she got the best of me, fighting rather dirty through her embarrassment and opted to quick me in the groin. My amusement was quickly replaced with pain and she had me on my back in an instant with her blade to my neck. My hands were up, palms towards her in a surrender position where we both caught our breath.

‘’let me know if the offer still stands,’’ I smirk, knowing any wrong moves she would press the blade deeper than it was as I felt the slight warm trickle of blood at my neck.

Her free hand moved to her thigh, my eyes watching rather mesmerized as my mind screamed to get me out of this situation. With her body on top of mine quick comfortably in a pin, my body had other plans and wished to remain as she pulled out her radio. Sound seemed to have left my ears, seeing her speak but I couldn’t hear anything as I watched her.

This woman was different..

That had been quite some time ago, perhaps a little bit over a year and It was only 3 months later of.. attempted interrogations, they even sent her, because they realized my “plans” haven’t been put into place yet, day saved if it hasn’t started yet. After those boring 3 months, I found out someone had requested and convinced me to remain house bound to the Avengers tower, participating in community service here and there if my magic needed to be put to use depending on the foe they were fighting that same day. Of course, they never let me out without a particular Asgardian bracelet my idiot brother brought back that would dull my abilities, ensuring my escape would not be easily attempted.

When I had arrived at the tower for my new living situation, I received the not-so-surprising welcome from those heroes, and I often wondered who convinced SHIELD to let me be housed here. When my eyes landed on Y/N, those features reddened and her eye contact wavered, I knew it was here. I never brought it up, but as we conversed here and there throughout my time, her kindness compared to the others was a define confirmation where I never really needed to ask.

And our friendship grew.

Reader’s POV

Loki and I were similar in many ways- not so much the fact that he killed people or tried to take over the world or that he was narssassistic.. okay perhaps not that similar. Though in many house-life ways we seemed to be two peas in a pod.

I knew from the start the Avengers had sent me first to try to take him down, to put me to the test, so to speak, during my training days. To everyones surprise, he and I weren’t the stereotypical enemies. I would never admit it, but Loki was right.. fighting him was almost something I would look forward to, because we knew we couldn’t bring ourselves to kil each other.

Weve grown in friendship since he’s arrived, I noticed long before there was something different about him.. so I spoke with Fury and although Loki hasn’t figured it out yet- to my knowledge, I was assigned to secretly ‘babysit him’.

Whenever he entered the room, I couldn’t help but look at him with the feeling that my lips wanted to curl into a smile. There was a strange flutter in my chest, almost a wanting that I hoped he would sit next to me, talk to me, anything where I was really in his attention. He strongly disliked everyone else, perhaps me a bit less so I hope that wasn’t the main reason why he would come over..

I don’t want him to hate me..

We sat across from each other in another meeting, hosted by Rogers as he yet again had to debrief us on how we could do better on the latest assignment. From the corner of my eye, I could tell Loki was staring and I shifted a little shyly by his intense gaze. Whenever I would move to look back at him, his eyes were quick to move on Rogers and sometimes I would question if he had really been looking over here or not.

Just to test that theory, I would sometimes lean forward against my forearms on the table, my clevage showing a bit more with whatever top I was wearing that day. From the corner of my eye I could see Loki seeming to study my skin, him taking a strained swallow as he shifted in his seat sutly. I couldn’t help but smirk as I ‘listened’ to Steve, loving to tease this man to get back at mild mischief he would throw around in the tower when he was bored.

I would only sit back in my chair when I notice Tony activitly leaning forward to stare down my chest, hearing a growl form Loki as he seemed to look jealous before I would roll my eyes at Stark.

He would after flirt, casually of course in a normal conversation and catch me off guard where he’d smirk at how red my cheeks would get. Often mentally preparing myself to see him every day I would usually beat him to it with a flirtation inundo where he then would either stutter or turn away to try to make sure I wouldn’t see his own cheeks redden.

Cat and mouse, taking turns on who would be played and the player.

That’s how our relationship was, flirting and conversing. The only one who could hold up an interesting conversation around here and get me to think. He had so many ideas, good ones, and thoughts where we’d lose track of time. Truth be told I think I have began to gain feelings for this god.. and it scared me to death but upon seeing how.. for lack of a better term, weak, I could make him, it also made me feel bold, powerful, and I liked the person I was when I was around him.

Yet it’s not like he felt the same.. I probably was just another weak mortal in his eyes, decent enough to kill time with if this was all the options he had..

Nobody’s POV

Loki’s footsteps slowed, moving with causton down the halls as soon as he heard slight sound coming from the kitchen down the hall. Exactly where he was heading to In the middle of the night, as one does.

He was bare chested, black boxers being the only article of clothing he had on and with a dagger formulating in his hand as he neared the corner. No one has been up this late, and judging the cercumstances of where they were, you could never be to sure with the enemies that could pop up. Yet when he peaked around the corner, there was no enemy..

Her.

She had on.. very short shorts, a tank top with no sign of bra on as she kept her back to him at the stove. The dim stove top light was the only lighting she gave herself as she stirred something in the pop while his body relaxed with the non-threat.

Why was she up at this hour? He was only fetching himself a glass of water..

The dagger slowly vanished within thin air, his eyes starting from her ankles and slowly working their way up as he leaned himself against the doorframe. He had seen her in varies outfits- from work, to casual but never sleep attire. His teeth captured his bottom lip, feeling like he hasn’t blinked as he shifted himself by the slight growing reminder at how he felt towards her. Upon pawing at his boxers, he exhaled in slight discomfort and as soon as he noticed her body tensed, his hand moved to his side as she turned.

‘’oh! Loki-‘’ she gasped, quickly hushing herself as she grabbed her heart from the surprise. Her eyes seemed to widen at the sight of him, not exactly having seen him in his own sleep attire before- let alone shirtless. ‘’what are you-‘’

Playing it off quickly as if he hadn’t been staring for long a moment ago, he casually shrugged and moved himself towards the fridge with his eyes forward. ‘’I am merley fetching a glass of water, I am more curious as to why you would be cooking yourself a meal this late in the night?’’ he asked, glancing over at the stove as she turned off the burner.

‘’sometimes I just wake up with cravings- I wasn’t to hungry at dinner time so I suppose my body makes up for it now’’ she smiled sheepishly and leaned herself against the counter, watching him.

Loki gave a mild hum and a nod, taking a glass and turning around to face her. ‘’well do not mind me, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything’’ he smirked and slowly sauntered over to her.

He could notice her breathing picking up as he stood before he, having to tilt his head down a little to look at her as his height served as a reminder.

‘’n-not at all-‘’ she shook her head, sucking in a breath as he raised his arm while he held eye contact, their expressions steady at a stalemate before he reached around her, his arm gliding against her side before he pulled back with the water pitcher in hand. Looking embarrassed, her eyes moved over to the stove, checking on nothing which made him smirk.

‘’is there a problem?’’

‘’of course not- I’m just waiting for you to finish up.’’ She said with quick defense where he couldn’t help but chuckle, motioning around him as he poured into his glass.

‘’I am not in your way darling, unless of course you require things from the fridge but I do remember you favor that particular meal as is- plain package contents.’’ He said with no judgement- not anymore, he had wrinkled his nose the first time he had seem packaged ramen but held back his negative opinions when she had him try it one day.

‘’I know I just- am not used to working in the kitchen with someone around..’’ she said and rubbed her arm as she seemed to want to close in on herself.

‘’that is not try Y/N, I distinctly remember you having no issue working in the kitchen when one is present,’’ he corrects calmly and takes a sip of his drink, eyeing her before he sets down the glass beside him. ‘’I think you are merely just not used to one seeing you in quite the.. intimate attire..’’ he smirked and she picked up on his teasing, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms to seem stubborn but she really just tried covering herself.

‘’I am perfectly fine, Loki, with cooking in anything with anyone. I just enjoy my peace and quiet and wish to resume it as soon as you leave.’’

‘’quite the lie darling, how long will you be keeping it up until you remember what the god of I am?’’ he laughed, quickly lowering his voice as he leaned against the counter across from her, almost acting as a mirror as he rests his palms beside him on its edge just as she did.

He couldn’t help but notice her- not so subtle- eyes roaming over his chest in quick movements as if he wouldn’t notice. Did she admire him as much as he admired her?.. or wasn’t strictly just their forms they liked..

‘’..was it an innuendo?’’ he asked, seeming to surprise himself as the words came out.

‘’-what was?’’ she asked, raising a brow as she thought if she said anything right now that would make him think that but he clarified with a shake of his head.

‘’in our last fight.. when I was free.. before all,’’ he waved his hand around as his eyes slowly raised over to hers. ‘’this..’’ he cheeks reddened at the very pit he had dug himself but he had to ask. ‘’you told me.. that you would rather put my mouth to better use-‘’

‘’that was strictly involving interrogation-‘’ she said quickly, her cheeks heating up as she turned herself around, gripping the counter edge in her hands as she kept her back to him.

She was hiding, quite shy and although he was rather embarrassed himself upon asking the question, he quite liked the way he could make her squirm this was as she hid her face from him. ‘’all of it?’’ he asked slowly and she knew he was waiting to try to read on if she would lie to him.

Her eyes studied the countertop, her mouth searching for words while her mind raced before she closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘’no..’’

Loki’s heart seemed to jump in his chest, his eyes looking over her back.. backside to be exact while he listened to her answer. So she did want him.. he began to take a small step forward, watching how she stayed still as she kept her back to him but she was very much listening to his movement. ‘’as it may seem.. I want you to Y/N.. but not in just that way..’’ he took a breath, finding it easier to confess while she wasn’t piercing him with her eyes and he continued on.

‘’your not like the other mor- ..humans.. your strong, you help others, your not selfish and dare I say just as mischievious as me.. intreging.. I’ve often looked forward to the next time we got to fight if it so meant being just a little bit more close to you..’’

By now he was standing behind her, seeing how she kept her head low and her body began to shake as she drew in a breath. ‘’..i like you too Loki.. you make me feel like I’m alive.. you make me want to be better.. stronger.. free.. I knew since day one you were holding back in the fight for a reason..’’

He slowly rested his hands along hers, his body hovering just barely against hers as his chin almost rested against her shoulder. His eyes fluttered closed, taking an inhale of her sweet scent he loved so much while he shook his head. ‘’I couldn’t hurt a sweet thing like you.. it was you who told Fury to put me here, wasn’t it? Out of the cell?’’ he finally asked and she nodded a little, looking forward as she straightened a little, bringing her body up so her shoulder was resting now against his chin.

He took this as an okay to rest a little weight on her, his chin down on her shoulder while his hands moved to rest on top of hers. His body was so close to hers, he could feel her body heat radiating off of her skin and his cock throbbed as he could smell her arousal. Her sweet.. sweet scent..

‘’thank you Y/N..’’ he whispered, grateful every day to be stuck here if I meant being close to her like this. Glass between them didn’t cut it. His thumb gently stroked her smooth skin on her hand, his brows furrowing as the straining reminder and he took a shaky breath. ‘’..does the offer still stand?’’ he whispered, asking the same question he had asked a long time ago.

His body tensed, holding itself back to remain in control as she slowly nodded and whispered back, ‘’yes..’’

Moving ever so slowly, keeping in control and full prepared to stop himself if she would change her mind, he pressed himself up against her, his bulge resting against her ass while his chest pressed against her back. His hand slowly left her own and moved to her waist, his palm flat as it glided down her hip and moved so his fingers could dip under the edge of her shorts.

With one last hesitation as if she would change her mind, his hand moved into her shorts, dipping into her underwear and found out just how aroused she was. They both seemed to suck in a breath, her body beginning to shake as he buried his face against the side of her neck and hair.

‘’gods Y/N.. how long have you dripped for me..’’ he breathed and felt her body tense as she bit her lip.

‘’to long..’’ she whispered and felt the pads of his two finger tips began to rub lazy circles against her clit.

Her hips seemed to press forward into his hand, her head falling back to rest against his shoulder while his hand stroked through her folds. Her breathing was shallow and she arched her back a bit when he began slowly grinding his bulge against her ass, following the same rhythem of his hand.

His own body shook a bit, his breathing seeming to match hers as he nuzzled his cheek against hers, their eyes closed as they feel into the sensation of lust while Loki moved his hand so his thumb could take over her clit while a digit began ghosting her enterance, teasing her as he moved his finger barely in and out.

Her fists clenched as she bit her lip, the teasing slowly driving her made and she could almost see the smug look on his face as he waited for her to give him what she wanted. She wasn’t having that and instead, pushed her ass a bit into his crotch, pushing him a step back before pulling his hand out by her wrist before she turned herself around.

Loki smirked, following her intentions as his hands moved to her waist and helped her jump onto the counter, her legs spread while he made quick work to pull her shorts and panties off all in one go. He had to take a pause, the sight to beautiful to just admire as his hands gripped the counters edge alongside her spread legs while she rested back on her palms.

His mouth seemed to water at the sight of her cunt, ready and waiting while he sank to a knee. The care if someone would walk in was long gone for them both as Loki moved his hands to grip her hips before he dipped his head between her legs. The very taste of her had him pulling her forward so she was closer to the edge, her legs shaking to almost squeezing his head while her own rested back with her eyes up to the ceiling.

‘’fuckk..’’ she breathed, her fingers gripping the edge as he moaned, lapping her center while his vibrations helped her along to build her pleasure.

Silver tongue alright and he couldn’t get enough of her as he ate like a man starved. He lapped through her folds, taking turns suckling at her clit and tongue fucking into her center while her hand moved to his hair.

His locks were silky smooth, her fingers tangling themselves in his hair while she panted for her sweet release. His careful slow movements made her eyes flutter open, noticng how he slowed as soon as her cunt began clenching against his tongue and she bit her lip. Replaying his tongue with the pad of his finger, he kept her on that glorious edge while he rubbed into her clit, raising his head as he smirked up at her.

‘’say it.’’

She held her breath, cheeks heating up as her fingers gripped his hair, knowing he was to strong to pull him back down herself as his eyes pierced hers. With a shaky breath, she knew what he wanted.. she knew for so long what he wanted..

‘’please.. oh god please Loki.. please let me cum..’’ she begged, a whine in her tone as tears of sexual frustration build up pricked her eyes as he gave her that all to familiar smirk.

‘’as my lady commands,’’ he purred before moving his hand back to her hip and replaced it with his tongue, plunging it in and out of her center while the tip of his nose rubbed against her clit.

Her hips began bucking, her grip tightened in his hair before she threw her head back and moaned, shamelessly moaning his name as her eyes fluttered closed while she came. Loki wasted not a single drop as he drank her in, his hands rubbing up and down her thighs soothingly, almost like that alone was telling her good girl..

With shallow breaths, she felt his mouth slow its movements, helping her ride out her orgasm while her body shook. Pulling his body back slowly, he gave each inside of her thigh a kiss before he raised himself to be nose to nose with her, his palms resting beside her thighs as he smirked.

‘’how’s that for holding back?”

Her eyes widened as her hands moved to grip his shoulders. ‘’you were holding back??”

‘’do you think I hold back just in battle darling? I do not wish to break my fair mortal’’ he smirked and his eyes glanced over her before flicking back up. ‘’we are merely in the kitchen, if you wish for a proper.. fucking, then to the bedroom we go.’’

Her cheeks heated up and the realization that it gets 10000 times better- impossibly- made her eyes flick down to his raging erection. That piercing gaze of hers moved back up to his own and she mirrored his smirk as she moved a hand down to where he wanted her most.

‘’how about we put my mouth to use too..’’

Loki smirked and pulled her forward, her arms wrapped around his neck while her legs around his waist.

‘’..i will accept that offer in.. full.’’

DM a song for your own Musical Mischief one shot!

Tag List: @foxherder @asgards-princess-of-mischief @fire-in-her-veinz

#loki x reader smut #loki odinson #loki god of mischief #loki laufeyson #loki fluff #loki fanfic #loki #lokifluff #loki x reader #loki smut

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mandarinmoons · 1 year ago

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Be my Valentine? - Spencer Reid

A/N: Happy Valentine's day loves! You're all my valentines <3

Spencer’s head was a mess. Valentine’s day was only a few days away and he was determined to ask you to be his Valentine.

You were the newest member of the BAU team and you hit it off with Spencer right away. You were kind and always listened to the new fun facts Spencer had learned, unbeknownst to you he would sometimes stay up well past his bedtime to look up more interesting factoids so he could keep talking to you. He was so hooked that at one point he even went on google to gather more talking points, knowing what a technophobe this man is, this was a big deal.

One late night at the office he went over to Garcia’s cave to get some pointers. From what started as not knowing how to put his feelings into words, he ended up pacing back and forth in the cramped office, going on about how he loved when the sunlight hit your eyes to how endearing he found your habit of humming a tune when trying to focus on your work. Garcia’s lips had formed into a small pout and her eyes were pretty much glassy by the time Spencer had finished, the little (read as humongous) crush he had on you was more adorable than a sneezing panda video, as Garcia put it.

Penelope knew that Spencer was not very experienced in the world of dating and kept her advice for him simple,

“Remember when you pulled out a penny from behind her ear? What if you pulled a rose this time?”

Spencer rubbed his neck, “I’m not sure if I can do that, but what if…”

When Valentine’s day finally rolled around Spencer took a deep breath as he braced himself to walk over to your desk. His palms were clammy and he felt like his heart was going to race out of his chest. His shaky legs made his way to your desk and he cleared his throat. As you glanced up at him and smiled his mind suddenly went blank and he forgot his words.

"Spencer you okay?”

Spencer blinked his eyes and looked to the side for a moment as he gathered his thoughts

“Y-Yeah I just, I have a new trick to show you!”

“Oh, do show!”

Spencer took a deep breath and reached behind your ear and pulled out a small heart shaped card which he handed to you. With big eyes you read what was written,

"Without your light my days are so glum, but when you walk into the room my mind goes dumb.”

You chuckled and looked up at Spencer and saw that he had managed to pull out a red rose. He cleared his throat and looked down at the flower he held in his shaky fingers, “I know it isn’t much, but,” before Spencer could finish his sentence you stood up from your seat and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Spencer’s eyes went wide as he looked down on you.

"I’d love to be your valentine.”

“Really?”

You nod and kiss his cheek again, “Really.”

Taglist: @sabage101 , @whoisspence

You can find my masterlist here!

My requests are open so feel free to send one in! (SFW only)

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benevolentbones · 8 months ago

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hi!! could i request an elle greenaway x bau!reader fic where elle gets sick (like a bad case of the flu or smth) while the team is away on a case? and like she keeps insisting that she isn’t sick until she finally lets reader take her home and take care of her. tysm!!

stubborn girl | elle greenaway x reader

warnings: none really? gender neutral reader

word count: 0.9k

a/n: i hope this is okay!! first time writing an elle x reader but love her to death<3 feel free to request more characters!!

elle greenaway was as stubborn as they came. you would know, as you had been dating her for just over a year.

you were aware of her habit of never backing down from a case until it was over, never taking the easy way out of things. which you really admired about her at first, but at this stage it was just dumb.

the team was on a case, just a state over from headquarters. everyone had set up in the local police department and were gathered around for a briefing.

“we know the unsub is a male in his late twenties, he’s nervous-“ elle paused before letting out a loud string of sneezes.

you let out a sigh, leaning back in your seat. you had tried to convince her to go home, leave the case to the rest of the team as she clearly wasn’t well, but she wasn’t taking it for an answer.

so here she was, sinuses blocked, killer headache and a temperature.

“elle, you don’t look too good.” reid commented, giving a concerning glance your way. you simply shrugged, giving him a defeated smile.

“spencer’s right elle. you need to go home.” hotch stated, his lips pressed in a hard line.

“no, i’m fine seriously.” she let out a cough, pulling a tissue from her back pocket and wiping her nose.

you locked eyes from gideon who was sitting across from you, you shot him a pleading look and he immediately understood.

“greenaway, you’re off the case. go home and rest up, it’s an order. l/n, you drive her home, make sure she gets in.” gideon stood up, and reached to grab the case file that was in front of elle.

she let out an exasperated sigh, before grabbing her bag and walking out of the room. you mouthed a small ‘thank you’ to the team and followed her out.

elle trudged out of the building, to where you had parked your car. she raked her hand through her brunette locks, her harsh eyes softening when you came to stand in front of her.

she looked upset, and you understood why. it was an intense case, and it was coming to a close. but she had been sick for the last few days and it was just getting worse, so it was best for her to leave it.

“i’m fine, y/n. really.” she huffed, folding her arms over her red shirt.

“mhm whatever you say, baby.” you smiled at her, pressing a kiss to her temple before opening the car door for her.

the drive back to elle’s house wasn’t too bad, after her initial fifteen minutes of complaining she had fallen asleep. her head rested against the passenger car door, her feet tucked up on the seat.

you looked over every so often, to make sure she was doing alright. she looked so peaceful. god you loved that stubborn girl.

you pulled into the driveway, putting the car in park. your eyes flickered over to your girlfriend’s sleeping form. after reaching over to unbuckle her seatbelt, you got out of the car, strolling over to the passenger side.

you swung the door open, scooping the sleeping brunette up in your arms, and shutting the car door with your hip. you often thanked that the physical aspect of your job allowed you to lift her with ease.

you finally reached elle’s bedroom, after struggling to open the front door whilst holding her. you laid her down onto the soft sheets of her bed, pressing a small kiss to her forehead.

“mm where am i?” she began to stir, big brown eyes blinking the sleep away.

“i’m sorry i didn’t mean to wake you up, you’re at home in bed now. you wanna change out of your clothes? i’ll make you some tea.” you smiled sweetly.

although her hair was somewhat dishevelled from her nap in the car, dark rings plagued under her eyes and there was a slick sheen of sweat covering her forehead, you thought she looked beautiful.

one thing you noticed about elle throughout your relationship was, when in public she always wanted to be independent. she didn’t want any help from anyone. but behind closed doors, in the company of just the two of you, oh she loved to be looked after.

she nodded yes, sitting up amongst the plush pillows. you wandered over to her wardrobe, pulling out a pair of pyjama pants and one of your hoodies that she had stolen a few months ago, passing them to her to get changed into.

“i’ll be back in a minute, elle.” you smiled to her, before going back downstairs to make her a drink.

on your way back up to her bedroom, you could hear the faint sound of the tv.

you pushed open her bedroom door to find elle, surrounded by a mountain of pillows and blankets, big doe eyes transfixed on her tv which was playing an episode of gilmore girls.

“good choice.” you smiled, she scooted over in bed to allow you room to sit beside her. you passed her the ceramic mug and she took it gratefully.

“i’m sorry.” she mumbled, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

“why’s that babe?” you quizzed, leaning back into the soft pillows.

“i know i’m stubborn, im hard work for you. and you do so many nice things for me..” she trailed off.

you reached over to grasp her hand, her tired eyes staring into yours, her eyelids heavy.

“you’re not hard work, i love you just the way you are.” you smiled before leaning in.

she leaned away for a second before speaking. “i don’t want to get you sick.” she pouted.

“i don’t care.” you cupped her cheek, and she leaned in and closed to gap between you, pressing her soft lips against yours.

she pulled back, pressing her forehead against yours.

“i love you too.”

#criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #elle greenaway #elle greenaway x reader #elle greenaway fluff #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #emily prentiss #jenifer jareau #spencer reid #jason gideon #fluff

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sillysillygoofygoose · 1 year ago

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Salt N' Peppa

Older boyfriend Toji headcanons... MDNI

I can't stop thinking about him y'all, I'm ill. I need him soooo bad. Tojjjiiiiii ☹️😫

First, let's get physical.

Toji's previously dusky locks are outshined by the thin streaks of silver and gray that plague his scalp. His hair falls right atop his eyebrow, still thick and strong.

Lifting weights and resistance training has become too strenuous on his muscles and joints. He's found that going to the gym is no longer one of his top priorities, but when he does occasionally break out his (practically decaying) gym membership, he can only walk on the treadmill. Even running is too much impact on his aging knees.

Because of this, Toji's body has slowly but surely lost muscle definition. His previously defined abs are now sheltered by a thin layer of fat. His shoulders stay broad and proud, however his biceps are becoming softer as the days pass. He's gained a fair amount of weight, his strong frame become more and more huggable.

Toji's facial features are still sharp, stern. He doesn't shave as often as he used to, a black and gray stuble decorating his face every few days. His looks are just as striking as they were when he was young. Maybe even more now, with a strong distinction of a life wildly lived.

His voice has become slightly gravely and deeper as a result of the cigarettes he used to smoke like they were good for him.

Now let's get into it, shall we?

Older Toji... Much, much older than you. He's definitely matured in his later years... after wasting his twenties, thirties, and early forties, with random hook-ups and throw-away relationships, he's finally looking to settle down. And that's where you come in.

A cute, young, pretty little thing like you would never go for Toji, he was sure of it.

The second you walked into the dingy bar Toji frequented every Friday night, his heart began to beat a little faster. You settled in the stool next to him and offered him a brazen smile before turning your attention to the bartender.

What could he possibly have in common with some twenty-something year old living it up on a Friday night?

However, Toji never lost his charm. And if there's one thing he's mastered in his forty-five years on earth, it's talking sweet.

Conversation came natural. Your sarcastic, sour, but sweet demeanor pulled him into you more.

He was honestly a bit taken a back when you began flirting with him, leading him to ask you how old you were.

"Jesus Christ, sweets, I'm old enough to be your dad." Toji barks out a laugh, lifting his glass of whiskey up to meet his scarred lips.

"Perfect." You smirked back

And before you knew it, the evening was fading into the witching hours of the night.

"I had a great time talking to you. How 'bout I take you home... W'dya say, pretty girl?"

"No. But you can take my number."

Toji has DEFINITELY grown into old man habits. At 9:30 at night, he's already rubbing his tired eyes, stretching out his stiff back, and dropping his jaw to let out a silent yawn. Whenever he sneezes, he sneezes with a goddamn purpose. Every joint in his body cracks upon sudden movement.

Toji sleeps like a log too. It's almost impossible to get him up in the morning, and even more challenging when his heavy arm is pining your chest to the orthopedic mattress. He snores like someone is plugging his nose, deep, heavy vibrations singing from his chest.

Toji has served time in his past. The years he spent in prison are rarely spoken about, but they undoubtedly did a heavy number on him, the effect visible in his first and final mugshots. Ever since he's gotten out, deep bags hang from eyes, sometimes darker, sometimes imperceptible, but forever present.

But he's stable now. As stable as ever. He's found peace in his relationship with you and stability in his (legal) job. To his surprise, he enjoys the aspects of a quiet life. He relishes in the comfort of being tied down to the pretty girl that has his heart wrapped around her finger.

Toji loves to make dinner for you. Every evening, without a hitch, he's standing above the stove, stirring a pot or sautéing some unions.

One day, you catch him reading a 'Parents' magazine, cover to cover.

"I just don't remember subscribing for it, s'all. Wanted to see if the mailman made a mistake. Don't get any ideas, sweetheart. 'M too old for that shit."

" I'm not, though."

Really, Toji thinks he wouldn't be a good dad. His perception of himself is stuck on the reckless young man he used to be. But, he would love to have a little nugget to care for, and he knows you'd make the perfect little mommy.

Toji was quick to make you his. After the third date he took you on, he bought an engagement ring. A year later, you had him down on one (very sore) knee. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he wanted you.

Sex with Toji is incredible, too... especially when his calf isn't cramping up and you two have to pause for a breather.

Toji has never really had an emotional connection with any of the women he slept with in his past. But you are so special. He can feel the burning passion every time he bullies his thick cock into your little cunt, pushing through your tight walls until your lower half is flush against his thick happy trail and dark bush of pubic hair.

Toji always holds you close to his less-defined chest after sex, mumbling sweet nothings to you while he rubs the soft skin of your back, a stark contrast to his rough, calloused and aged hands.

"I'm so lucky to have you. My pretty girl... Luckiest bastard in the whole world."

Hope you enjoyed! Xoxo

#jjk x reader #age difference #size difference #jjk #toji fushiguro #jjk toji #fem reader #toji x reader #toji smut #dilf toji #toji headcanons #toji zenin #toji x you

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ymaohoh · 1 year ago

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Chrissy and Wayne bonding headcanons?

Ooooo great ask @astreinomane! Thank you.

I think Chrissy and Wayne have such potential to be a seriously cute duo.

It would start slow at first. Wayne is understandably protective of his nephew and knows he's got a habit of finding trouble (or trouble finding him). He meets Chrissy and see's this super-pretty popular girl from a rich well-to-do family and worries she's using Eddie for some cliché 'get back at daddy' rebellion, you know? And he doesn't want Eddie's feelings to get hurt as a result.

He talks to Eddie about this and warns him to be careful. Eddie tells him he will (but every time he looks at Chrissy he's wearing full on puppy-dog eyes and his heart is balancing on his sleeve. He's not careful in the slightest but that's classic Eddie).

He even talks to Chrissy about this one morning when Eddie is still asleep (he's back from a nightshift and she's an early bird). They share some coffee and he gently tries to untangle who she is. To his relief she puts his mind at ease (her back shiny/shoulders straight/eyes honest) and tells him she's crazy about his nephew and swears she will never hurt him.

From then on Chrissy becomes a part of the family. He doesn't see her much because of his work shifts but it becomes part of his routine when he comes home and they share coffee or breakfast. He finds himself missing her when she's not there and the trailer feels small without her smiles and laughter (she makes Eddie laugh too and that's great in Wayne's book).

He does little quiet things so Chrissy feels more comfortable at their home. He cooks bigger portions of dinner (he's noticed her lack of appetite), makes sure the toilet seat's left down, buys her favorite brand of cereal. (He notices Chrissy doing little things too - lining her shoes up neatly by the door, washing up, she knits him a blanket for the couch for those chilly winter evenings).

He doesn't mind her staying over so much as he guesses her home life is complicated but he has The Conversation with Eddie about sex and protection and boundaries (lots of blushes and nervous coughing). Eddie tells him he wants to do everything right with Chrissy and she's his future - he's not going to mess it up. Wayne sometimes hears them when they think he's asleep or not home yet and he does the gentlemanly move of buying ear plugs (they're kids, after all. He remembers being their age).

He appreciates how good Chrissy is for Eddie. She's tutoring him in English and showing up for all his gigs. She really cares about him. He tells her she can call him just Wayne (and not Mr Munson anymore) and she does so with a beaming smile.

He reminds his nephew about valentines cards, prom corsages, finds him a suit for graduation. For Eddie's sake - as well as Chrissy's.

He invites Chrissy to join them for Thanksgiving and they sit together with TV dinners watching movies and playing board games (he teaches her poker). He's there to help when her parents kick her out and makes her favorite dinner. When they grow up and leave Hawkins, Wayne helps them move and they invite him over for Christmas and all the other holidays too.

When Wayne finally meets a women he likes Chrissy speaks to him on the phone about it and he laughs, telling her 'he's still got some moves' but he finds himself ironing his old shirt just like she suggested.

Chrissy asks him to walk her down the aisle when his nephew pops the question. Her own dad isn't coming (none of her family are). Wayne tells her awkwardly she's real pretty and takes her arm like it's the greatest honor ever and Chrissy thanks him for always being there - he finds himself crying just then.

He cries again when they have their own kids and he's 'Pops' and 'Grandaddy'. He looks at Eddie sometimes and remembers the 8-year old kid that was dumped on his doorstep and is proud of him. He looks at Chrissy too and see's the shy, nervous, skinny kid who would say sorry for sneezing and is so proud of the amazing woman she's become.

When Wayne passes he leaves all his stuff to Eddie, but he leaves his coffee mug collection (a mug from every state) to Chrissy who always smiled when she looked at them.

Excuse me, I've got some dust in my eyes...

EDIT: (I just wanted to quickly edit and recommend 'Duality' by @broomclosetkink - it's actually a body swap AU but the last few chapters have such WONDERFUL Chrissy/Wayne interactions. He's a proper cutie to her and takes her under his wing!)

#hellcheer #chrissy x eddie #edssy #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #hellcheer headcanons #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham x eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #hellcheer fanfic #chrissy and eddie #eddissy headcannons #eddissy fanfiction #ymaohoh #wayne munson #wayne munson headcanon #he shows Chrissy what a caring parental figure looks like

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fimmiest · 2 years ago

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I would - huh yunjin x fem!reader

sypnosy: "i’m sorry" why was that so hard to say back then? Now, no matter how much I yell, you can’t hear me.

TW: major character death, suicide, swearing

tags: angst, bandmates au, kinda inspired by the anime 'given'

"jen im not so sure-"

"wait listen to me" you feel her grabbing your hand, yunjin knowing very well the act will grab your attention as she repeats her words again.

"it's not a big deal, you know two of the band members already. we are just needing a temporary singer, and you know you sing really well y/n. it'll be fun, i promise" her thumb was moving softly against your hand.

the premise was you being the singer for yunjin's band. you knew it wasn't something big she always said the band is a hobby, but growing up with yunjin you know how serious and passionate she is about music. how she dedicates her time writing songs and learning how to play new instruments, that side of hers always fascinated you.

as for you, you didn't had the talent like yunjin have with instruments but between karaoke dates you two had, your 'signing in the shower ability' managed to impress yunjin and since then she always compliment you for it.

even if yunjin says it isn't something big, you couldn't help it but to feel hesitant, what if you let her down? if you don't match the energy of the others what will happen?

"babe, hey look at me" your nervous habit of you chewing your lips didn't go unnoticed by yunjin, she gets closer, her warm hands touching your cheeks. "im not saying you have to, i-"

"i accept" you interrupt her "i.. i can be the singer. yeah, i will" your words make the expression of yunjin go to worry to excitement.

"really??" she hugs you tightly after you nod your head "oh my god, woah, im so glad, i swear I'm going to compensate you after" yunjin says and starts to shower your face with kisses "you're the best, thank you" the happiness of her actions makes you believe that you won't regret accepting that offer.

—

"remind me again why are we at the beach in this godly weather" you huff in frustration, hugging yunjin's warm jacket against your body more closely.

yunjin laughs at you and twirls around before answering "you said you never came here before!! it's pretty look at the scenery, like 'woah' right? and it isn't that cold too.." she continues, a shiver of cold running through her body soon after her words.

"jen summer is literally in two month, could've we waited?? you're a menace i swear" you complain again. of course the horizon was pretty, the ocean was calm and the day was near it ending, making the sky get a pretty orange color, but a cold breeze after another makes the beautiful moment ruined to you.

yunjin sudden sneeze makes you frown worried "yeah it is freezing, 'woah' my ass, can we go home now?" she grumbles, rubbing her arms to warm her own self. you roll your eyes at her antics and push her away lightly "dumbass, it was your idea"

"uh-huh, and i'm proud of it. now you won't forget i was the first one who brought you here, even if it was freezing cold." yunjin announces, pointing at herself proudly.

"uhm, i would remember it even better without this cold"

"yeah, you'll definitely forget this"

—

the first practice didn't go as bad as you imagined, the easy going vibe of the girls made you relaxed enough to sing confidently.

yunjin was waiting for your exit and talking to the girls of the band, getting to her side you intertwining your hands with yunjin, the taller girl smiles and press a sweet kiss on your forehead.

"hey we are going to hang out at chaewon house, do you want to go? we usually try to write lyrics but mainly is just because aunt kim cooks really well so we just eat good dinner for free" she explains happily and you see chaewon shaking her head at yunjin's words.

you stare a moment at yunjin who stares back at you confusedly. you take a few steps back pulling yunjing by the hand, just enough to make sure the others wouldn't listen

"yun..didn't we agree in making dinner together at my house today? you who suggested it, as a date"

"oh.." yunjin blinks, thrown off guard by not remembering that. "i mean, we can make it another day, no? like, we will eat for free. effortlessly. can't be better than that right?"

you stay quiet for a moment, a ache in your heart burning. what yunjin didn't knew was that you already had the dinner ready since the morning, excited to try the new recipe you made it ahead of time. but at that moment, you couldn't bring yourself to tell yunjin that.

her name being called by the bandmates pressured you to answer her question, her expectant gaze always making way to convince you of everything.

you sigh internally in defeat, putting a smile that didn't reach your eyes, you agree to yunjin. who didn't press any further and started to make her way towards chaewon's house with you.

—

as a kid yunjin was always full of energy, jumping and running around on the residential playground was her favorite thing to do. even if she was the only kid there, the neighborhood didn't had too many kids, and the ones it had yunjin didn't meet as much since her school had a different schedule.

so when she saw the little you, quietly sitting under a tree, she was surprised. and she was so happy when you agreed to be her friend, her 'pretty friend' she said to you. yunjin still thinks you agreed because of the candy she gave you that day.

growing up, yunjin liked even more to spend time with you. she was older by two years but yunjn admired how you didn't back down with her playful nature, there was a unspoken understanding between you two that by being in each other company was enough to have fun.

when yunjin realized she had fallen in love with you, wanting to be more then just friends. she surpressed it over months, afraid to take the risk and change the dynamic between you two.

when yunjin confessed, you never had seen her looking so different.

she was mixing her words and shifting her feet anxiously, waiting for your answer, she still looked hopeful as ever.

and even if you wanted to deny her and say you didn't felt the same, it was impossible, you didn't want to see her disappointed in you.

you didn't want to see yunjin looking at you the same way your mother looked when you denied something.

you didn't want the treatment you mother gave you that time when you refused something.

you learned from your mother to not deny the older ones, so you couldn't deny yunjin, right?

so as always, you accept yunjin words, and the pretty smile and warm hug yunjin gave you back told you you choose it right.

—

waiting for yunjin to pick you up after class was a common thing for you. it was the perfect time for you two to spend time together and talk about how was the day.

you were specially excited for today because yunjin said she was going to compensate for not being able to spend much time with you recently, you admired how she was focusing between her work and writing new songs to the band since you guys had a performance coming at the end of the month. you understood it all, but why she was so late?

thirty minutes had pass since you texted her to pick you up, two missed calls. when you called again at the third time, after ten seconds and at the last moment, yunjin picked up.

"jen -"

"y/nnie!! babe, heyy." a bunch of loud noises coming from the call made you wince and move the phone away from your ear, distincted loud music and muffled voices could be heard coming from the line.

"where are you yun?.. are you coming to pick me up" the noises coming from yunjin line told you the situation probably wasn't going to happen, but you asked anyway, already chewing on your lips nervously.

"what? i'm.." sudden words could be heard and the audio got muffled for a moment "babygirl hey, sorry for the noises. hm, I.. can we talk later? I'll pass by your apartment, how about that? I'm really sorry to not picking you up today, just called a cab to you by the way. but the boss invited everyone to drink and you know how it goes.. " despite the muffled noises in the background, yunjin sounded more clear this time, a tone in her voice you couldn't catch, but it was enough to reassure you. sighing in defeat you knew you didn't had too much choices, so you agreed in meeting her later.

but when you heard the soft knocks on your door few hours later, a discomfortable feeling took hold in you.

"you could've told me you weren't going to pick me up." you grumble after yunjin move back from the hug, which you barely returned.

"what?"

"you.. didn't answered me and I was there. waiting. for a second I thought something had happen but" you scoff in disbelief "when you picked up you sounded like having fun and.. i just.. can't believe it. was it hard to just text me back for a second?" you finish. sounding bitter and clearly upset, even if your intention wasn't blaming on yunjin, you couldn't help at the bite and accusation in your voice.

for a moment, the apartment became silent. yunjin stared back at you blankly. her expression shifted from confusion to anger as she processed your words.

"you know how I hate to wait for these things yunjin, we've barely seen each other this week. why didn't you just said n-"

"ooh ho, yeah, because just from one minute the princess can't wait, and wants everything by her rules." yunjin bites back, obviously annoyed.

"what?? my rules? i do everything you say yunjin, haven't you noticed? and when I ask for it you-"

"yeah yeah, if you knew how stressed i have been through the week. you have done nothing. if I say to you die for me you certainly wouldn't y/n." you scoff in amusent at yunjin's words, not believing what she just had said.

"go to your house yunjin. I don't want to fight over this" you tried your best to say it confidently but it came out so fragile that you hated yourself because of it. yunjin was about to speak again but instead let out an exasperated sigh and walks away, leaving your apartment. and leaving you with a deafening silence and a emptiness inside.

—

what yunjin didn't know, and unfortunately discovered later. is that you always did what she asked, whatever it was.

she spent the next day feeling incredibly guilty by her action and words, she took out her frustrations all on you and she wanted nothing more than to go back to you, apologize for what she did. trying to call you wasn't working, and the sinking feeling in yunjin's heart grew with each unanswered call.

deciding to take matters into her own hands, she drove to your house, with shaky hands, yunjin opened the front door and stepped into the strangely silent house.

she called out your name, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and hope. here was no response, just a haunting silence that surrounded her.

there didn't seem to have anything out of place, the shoes you always used when going out was untouched by the entrance. scanning around the living room yunjin found nothing but a pair of beer cans scattered around, that she found strange, you didn't usually drink.

as yunjin reached your bedroom door, a sense of dread washed over her. If only she had known that her impulsive behavior would lead to this, she would have chosen her words and actions more carefully.

her eyes scanned the room, seen even more empty alcoholic drinks on the ground, and then yunjin saw you.

hanging lifelessly from the ceiling, your body swaying slightly, as if caught in the final moments of a tragic dance.

the sight struck yunjin like a lightning bolt, freezing her in place. time seemed to stand still as she took in the devastating scene before her.

and yunjin swore, that if she could go back, just for a moment. she would give her all, just to have you again. for a moment, she would have given you everything.

note: music in the sypnosy is "i would by day6". (woah angst so hard to write tbh, lmk if I missed any important tag please) remember to drink water and stay safe guys <3

#le sserafim imagines #le sserafim x reader #lesserafim x reader #huh yunjin x reader #yunjin x reader

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i-k-quotes-after-dark · 3 months ago

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I've always been of the mind that Pidge, when disguised at the Garrison, used bindings/wraps to conceal herself in the cadet uniform and when paladin armor, but after revealing herself to the team she doesn't use them in her every day clothes cause they're baggy. Why would she need them, right? /s

Well, a funny scenario crossed my mind, after Keith and Pidge have started dating for a while, but well before *anything* has happened between them (not even so much as a kiss yet)

I thought of Pidge getting into a habit of sneezing into her shirt while she was undercover, not using the neck hole like a normal person, but actually lifting the bottom up to sneeze into and rub her nose into aftwerwards cause "15 year old guys don't care about hygiene, right?"

And after she reveals who she is to the team, she can't stop the habit, it's been so ingrained into her from doing it every day to play the part, and one day she does it in front of Keith, but she forgets that she no longer wears the bindings in her day-to-day life

Keith nearly faints at the smallest glimpse of Pidge *nearly* flashing him, and she has no idea why.

Apologies if this is the most clear thought process, just wanted to write it down before it left my mind lol

#keith #pidge #kidge #keith x pidge #pidge x keith #peith #emobot #team forestfire #nonsense

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peachy-panic · 9 months ago

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Companion, pt. 3 (Bonus)

The last little piece of this arc (that was originally supposed to be part of part two)

WARNINGS: Not much. BBU, alcoholic in recovery, anxious animals with a happy ending

Sebastian takes a tentative sip and wrinkles his nose at the burn of carbonation against his throat.

“They’re an acquired taste,” Sam had warned him when he handed them over on their last visit to the house, “but they help.” He was right on both accounts, unfortunately. The bitter notes, the heavy carbonation, and the acidic tang are meant to mimic the familiar habit of nursing a drink, but without any of the pleasant, warm buzz that comes after. (And without the misery and exhaustion and shame that comes with the next morning, he reminds himself).

Sebastian doesn’t find himself reaching for these alcohol replacement drinks often, but nights are sometimes… difficult. A natural consequence, he supposes, using a glass (or three) of vodka as a sleep aid for several consecutive years.

It will be a cold day in hell before Sebastian can utter aloud that he is proud of himself for much in this life, but he thinks, with this, he has done fairly well. Perhaps he can credit part of that to having the proper motivation enter his life.

As if on cue, the quiet creak of a door sounds from down the hallway. Sebastian places his can on the counter, an easy smile falling into place, but no footsteps follow. Jaime is good at moving quietly through the house, but Sebastian didn’t realize he had mastered absolute silence. He frowns, but just as he goes to step around the island to check on him, he nearly jumps out of his skin as a black mass of fur jumps onto the countertop, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Jesus, Bella!” Sebastian whisper-shouts, hand over his heart. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Merrrr,” she chirps up at him, knocking her tiny paw against the side of his open can, threatening to upturn it all over the floor.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” He plucks the drink out of her reach, but as he retracts his hand, Bella nuzzles her head against his wrist. A request for contact. Sebastian’s heart melts a little. “Hey there,” he says, reaching down to pet her properly. She preens at the affection, vibrating softly with a low, steady purr.

Sebastian can’t help but feel proud of their little cat for the impressive adjustment she has made to their home in such a short amount of time. The first couple of nights were… rough. She spent most of the waking hours out of sight, hiding somewhere Jaime and Sebastian couldn’t reach. And though he didn’t voice it out loud, Sebastian could tell that Jaime was affected by her fear. He could see the regret and guilt taking shape in his eyes.

Sebatian tried to comfort him by bringing up article after article online, assuring them that this behavior was often to be expected when bringing a cat into an unfamiliar home, and that there were measures that could be taken to acclimate them. They took all of them. And slowly, surely, they began to work.

A few days after they brought her home, Sebastian returned from work to find Jaime sitting on the couch with a preternatural stillness to his form and a stunned look on his face. When Sebastian looked closer, he saw that it wasn’t just a blanket on his lap. Blending into the soft, black fibers was Bella’s sleeping form, curled up on Jaime’s legs. She only stirred briefly at Sebatian’s entrance before standing into an arched-back stretch and making herself at home once again on his lap.

The smile on Jaime’s face was bright enough to light the whole house.

“I never thought I’d be a cat person,” Sebastian says, rubbing the back of his knuckles between her ears. “But you’re pretty sweet, huh?”

Inevitably, a familiar itch rises to his eyes, as it does anytime he spends more than a minute in direct contact with Bella. He pinches the bridge of his nose to combat an oncoming sneeze. Extracting his hand from her just long enough to open the cabinet above the sink, he reaches for the bottle of allergy pills he stashed away the day they brought her home.

Listen.

There are several internet forums that swear up and down that you can mind-over-matter a cat allergy away given enough time and exposure. Sebastian has done his research. In the meantime, he is perfectly capable of smuggling home a bottle of Claritin once a month and popping pills in secret. Sebastian knew from the moment he saw Jaime staring, enamored, at Bella’s cage at the shelter, that this was one piece of information he could keep to himself. If anything, watching Jaime’s smile on the couch that day had only made Sebastian double down on that conviction.

He unscrews the cap and shakes one of the small, white pills into his hand. The next sip of alcohol-replacement-drink doesn’t taste any better as it washes it down. Worth it, though. All of it.

Sebastian casts a glance down the hall, where he knows Jaime’s door will be cracked open so that Bella can come and go as she pleases.

“You make him happy,” he tells her. “How could I not love you for that?” Right on cue, she turns her head to issue a firm love bite to his thumb. “Ouch, you little shit,” he says, but even he can hear the affection bleeding into the words.

***

@whumpervescence @shiningstarofwinter @distinctlywhumpthing @whumptywhumpdump @nicolepascaline @anotherbluntpencil @hold-him-down @crystalquartzwhump @maracujatangerine @batfacedliar-yetagain @thecyrulik @pumpkin-spice-whump @finder-of-rings @melancholy-in-the-morning @insaneinthepaingame @skyhawkwolf @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @mylifeisonthebookshelf @dont-touch-my-soup @whump-world @inpainandsuffering @cicatrix-energy @quietly-by-myself @whumpsday @extemporary-whump @the-whumpers-grimm @thebirdsofgay @firewheeesky @whumperfully @hold-back-on-the-comfort @termsnconditions-apply @cyborg0109 @whumplr-reader @pinkraindropsfell @whatwhumpcomments @honeycollectswhump @pirefyrelight @handsinmotion @alexmundaythrufriday @scoundrelwithboba @starsick1979 @b0rgid

#do no harm: jaime & sebastian #whump #whump writing #bbu

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goldenempyrean · 2 years ago

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Maybe one with a sick Kate x reader with “I’m just a little under the weather that’s all” and “Did you come home just to look after me?” You always write Kate so well 💕💕💕

Dork-A-Saurus-Rex

〚 Notes - I wrote this last night just because honestly this req was collecting dust in my inbox and it deserved to be done :) Also God the level of hate on here rn is unbelievable :,) Still doing my 1k fics too dw!! 〛

〚 Pairing - Kate Bishop x Reader 〛

〚 Summary - When Kate decides shes gonna go home to rest, you already knew that you were going to be right there beside her. Cute, dorky comfort ensues. 〛

〚 Wordcount - 1600 〛

〘 Check Out My Masterlist! 〙

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“Hi Kit-Kat.” Your cheery voice chirped down the phone, as you sat in the break room of your office, “You on you’re lunch break now too?” You asked before taking a bite from the sandwich in your opposite hand.

“Yeah I’m on my break now too.” Kate responded only her voice sounded different - it lacked her usual energy and excitement. But there was something else too and it wasn’t until you heard her sniffle quietly that you finally registered what was wrong.

“Are you feeling oka-“ 

“Hh’utshhiew!” Her sudden sneeze cut you off from your question and you could practically hear the embarrassment in her tone when she quietly mumbled out a small, “Excuse me.”

You shook your head out of habit and gave a sympathetic sigh, “It’s okay, bless you. I was going to ask if you were feeling alright but I think I’ve already got my answer. I guess that lil’ nose of yours jumped ahead to reply.”

She hummed in response and you heard the sound of tissues being opened in the background, “I’m just a little under the weather that’s all. There’s been something going round all week.”

That part was true. You remembered her saying something about being short staffed due to everyone being out sick, if you’d been a little wiser you would’ve taken that as the hint to stock up on some medicine and tea.

“Im probably gonna go home early.” Your girlfriend’s slightly congested voice said finally and you couldn’t help but worry a little. 

She was usually so stubborn about these sorts of things, there’d been that once time when she’d spent the night throwing up and had still insisted on going into work the next day. So for her to admit she was thinking about coming early was definitely a sign that she really wasn’t feeling too good and that she definitely needed some TLC.

“That’s probably a good idea baby, you go home and rest, okay? Oh, did you have your lunch yet?” You asked softly, she sometimes had a habit of forgetting to look after herself properly and you knew that this would only make her feel worst.

There was a second a silence followed by a quiet, “Not yet, I’m not really in a mood for it. It’s like I- Hih- shit, my nose fricken itch-Hh’iiitshoo! ‘tschioo!” She sniffled, giving a small stuffed, exhausted exhale as you heard the sound of more tissues being drawn, “Sorry sweetie, s’cuse me. What I was trying to say is that I don’t really have an appetite. It’s just like food has no appeal whatsoever.”

"Aw, my poor baby," you cooed sympathetically. "I'm sorry you're feeling like this. It's no fun being sick. You get yourself back home and into bed. My lunch is almost over so I need to go but I want you to go straight home, alright?”

“I will.” She stopped to cough a couple of times, whining a little afterwards, “I lodes you.”

You smiled, finding her congestion-hazed words utterly adorable as you teased her a little before ending the call, I ‘lodes’ you too.” 

It wouldn’t just be her going home early though. You’d just finished typing out the email to your boss asking if you’d be allowed to call out early, offering to take up some extra hours in return later in the week. 

With the email sent, you quickly finished up your lunch, feeling a mix of concern and anticipation to see Kate. You gathered your things, bid your colleagues farewell, and headed out of the office, making your way to the parking lot.

As you drove home, your mind raced with thoughts of how you could take care of Kate and make her feel better. You made a mental note to stop by the pharmacy on your way home to pick up the supplies and you tried to make a list of things you would need: cough drops, some medicine, tissues, and definitely some ice cream (for her throat of course, not just to satisfy your carvings.

Arriving at your apartment, it wasn’t long before you found Kate curled up on the couch, wrapped in a cosy blanket as she wore your go to ‘lazy day’ outfit. She looked even more tired and worn out than you had expected.

Setting down the bags of supplies on the coffee table, you approached her and gently placed a hand on her forehead to check for fever. It was slightly warm, confirming your suspicions. "Hey there, sweetheart," you murmured softly. "Let's get you more comfortable, shall we?"

“Y/N? What time is it?” She mumbled quietly and you showed her the screen of your phone to answer, “Did you come home just to look after me?” 

You nodded, a tender smile gracing your lips. "Of course, my love. I couldn't bear the thought of you being sick all alone. Plus, I missed you, even if you're a little under the weather."

She let out a weak chuckle, sniffling and rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. "You're such a sweetheart.”

"Anything for my Kit-Kat," You replied, using the endearment that always brought a smile to her face. "Now, let's get you settled in bed. I'll make you some tea and bring you a bowl of soup. How does that sound?"

She nodded but then stopped when something else came to mind, “Do you think we could shower first? I’m kinda sweaty.” She grumbled in a disapproving manner earning a small giggle from yourself.

“Of course baby, come on my dear, let me escort my fair lady to thy holy shower.” Your hand was offered out to her in an exaggerated, medieval manner resulting in a small smile from the feverish brunette as she took it gratefully. 

Kate sniffled as the two of you reached the bathroom and you curtesy’d with a welcoming smile as you opened the door for her.

“You’re such a dork.” She giggled a little even though the action had left her coughing hoarsely afterwards. 

Turning on the shower, you let the hot steam fill up the room as you began carefully undressing her, making sure to shower her with kisses and love as you did so. You’d just gone behind her to unclasp her bra when Kate turned her to head to look back over her shoulder a little.

“Y’know what you are?” Her words were a little blurred by both congestion and fever, maybe that steam was a little too hot. You’d make sure to turn that down before she got in.

But still, you gave into her babble, “What am I sweetie?”

“A dork-a-saurus-rex.” Katie smiled before ducking her head down into her hands as she sneezed loudly, which was quickly followed by a displeased “Ew… Gross-a-saurus.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, “Come on then lil’ dino. Let’s get you washed, ey?” Your encouraging words were enough to coax her into the (now a lot colder) shower.

As the water cascaded over both of you, you began slowly massaging her knotted shoulders. When you lowered your hands to your surprise l she turned as if she was going to hug you but instead she let her heavy head rest of your chest before ultimately wrapping her arms around you (turns out she wanted that hug after all).

"You're taking such good care of me," she murmured, her voice muffled by the sound of running water. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"You don't have to do anything to deserve my love," you replied sincerely, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. "Taking care of you comes naturally to me. Now, let's get you all clean and refreshed."

Carefully, you reached for the bottle of shampoo and squeezed a small amount onto your palm. As you lathered her hair, massaging her scalp, Kate let out a contented sigh. 

"Mmm, that feels nice," she murmured, closing her eyes. 

You smiled, continuing to work the shampoo through her hair with gentle strokes. After rinsing her hair, you reached for the body wash and started lathering it up. As you began washing her back, Kate tilted her head back up to look at you. Her eyes were filled with gratitude and affection, despite the fatigue she was so desperately trying to fight.

But to nobody’s surprise her fatigue won and you helped a very sleepy Katie climb out of the shower and get dry.

Once she was wrapped up in a fluffy towel, you guided her back to the bedroom. The room was cosy and warm, the soft glow of the bedside lamp casting a soothing ambiance. 

You helped her into fresh pajamas, carefully tucking her into bed. "Alright, my sweet Kit-Kat, it's time for some rest," You whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and stroking her damp hair away from her forehead. 

She looked up at you with drowsy eyes, a faint smile on her face. "Thank you, baby.” She whispered, her voice hoarse and weak. "I don't know what I would do without you."

You leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You don't have to worry about that, my love," you reassured her. "I'll be right here by your side, taking care of you until you're back to your vibrant self."

She closed her eyes, leaning into your touch as you continued to stroke her hair. "I love you," She murmured, her words barely audible.

"I love you too, Kit-Kat," you whispered back, your voice filled with tenderness. "And I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

〖 Join My Taglist! 〗@scrambled-brain-eggs @natashamyl0ve @shin-conan-kun @bloomingflowersthings @kathleenmikaelson @shamelessbearunknown @inluvwithfictionalwomen @citrussnz @kljhsong @santana1437 @lovelyy-moonlight @lots-of-pockets @sashawalker2 @natashamaximoff69 @observeowl

#kate bishop x reader #kate bishop x y/n #kate bishop x you #kate bishop fanfic #kate bishop x fem!reader #kate bishop sickfic #sickfic #mcu #marvel #marvel sickfic #fever #whump #snz #hawkeye sickfic

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cozycitrus · 2 months ago

Text

Peppermint Winter

Post Story One-Shot Thing : ] …no beta we die like men or whatever they say bc I've spent too much time on this

——

“That's enough come o- ackk. Stop!! Too tight, too tight!!” Marlowe whines as she tries to grab at the scarf to no avail as moon wraps it tighter around her neck.

“Stop whining. It’s cold up there.” Moon’s tone hardly gives any room for argument as he finishes tying off the scarf into a bow. “There.” His grin widens a bit as he looks her over one more time before snickering. “You look JUST like one of those overly-dressed up chihuahuas." His broken cackle bounces off the hallway walls as Marlowe sinks into the scarf.

"You suck..."

"I could say something back but, I think I have a little more class than that." He smirks as he turns back towards the hallway to the rooftop door.

She audibly groans and rubs her hands over her face. "You're disgusting. You don't even-UGH ...whatever let's go."

He chuckles again before continuing down the hall, clearly satisfied he won this round. It's quiet as they walk down the corridor, aside from the faint jingling of bells and the thud of boots as they approach the hatch. Arriving at the access ladder, Moon waves his hand near an access panel and the heavy mental door at the top creaks open, to which he promptly grips the edge of the opening and pulls himself out with no use of the ladder in one quick, and swift motion.

Marlowe squints as she watches him disappear into the hatch as she climbs up the ladder. “Show off…” She hisses under her breath. As she makes her way to the top she uses the rails to pull herself up and out, but of course nothing can go her way and she slips on the last rung of the ladder, face planting into the miserably cold snow that's covered the roof.

She lays there for a moment- contemplating. Thinking. Pondering. She already knows when she looks up that he's going to be standing there all smug with that shit eating grin he always has on. Alas- it is far too cold to continue laying face down in the snow so she begins to push herself up off the ground- only to suddenly feel herself be plucked up into the air by the back of her safety harness. She flails for a moment before giving up and going limp as Moon spins her to face him.

“I don’t think you should lie in the snow like that- getting sick is snow joke.” He grins, way too proud of himself- that won’t do.

…

She sneezes right in his face. Could she have covered her nose? Yes. Did she? No- that was the worst joke she's ever heard and retribution was in order.

His eyelights widen in mock horror as he feigns offence- getting sneezed on is nothing new to him considering the amount of kids they handle but still- he raises his free hand to his chest before scoffing and shifting her around till he's holding her like some kind of stuffed animal, his large hands hooked under her arms.

“Now you're the disgusting one. Who taught you manners? A dog?” He lightly shakes her as he asks, her feet limply kick as she tries to wiggle out of his grasp.

“Sure something like that–” She grins. “Can you put me down now?”

He looks at her, clearly trying to decide if he wants to just drop her flat on her ass or sit her down properly. Luckily for her he chooses the latter and gently sits her back down onto the ground.

“Thank you~~” She hums, before starting to dig around in her jumper pockets as she turns to walk to the rooftops far corner. He slowly trails behind her watching as she pulls the pack of cigarettes from her pocket, tapping the box on her hand before opening it. “You should really stop smoking those. I don’t like it. Dirty habit.” He grimaces as she fiddles with her lighter, the wind making it a lot harder than usual to light the cigarette she's already stuck in her mouth. He’s said it hundreds of times by now, and she always says the same thing.

“I will–- eventually. This is not working. Here move this way so you block the wind.” She replies, half listening, as she slightly moves him to the left. She hunches over pressing her forehead against the metal of his torso as she continues to fiddle with the lighter.

Click- Click- Click- Click- Click- Click- Click-

Alright that's enough. Moon pulls back and before she can protest he bends down to her height and snatches the lighter from her. Using just one hand he blocks the wind and sparks the lighter with the other, successfully lighting the cigarette. She looks at him as she pulls the first drag off the cigarette before looking away with a slight flush across her face. If he asked about it, she would probably just say it was the cold. A lie as clear as day, but even despite everything that's happened over the past 3 years or so she still tries to keep some sense of pride.

Three years. Her hand twitches for a moment before stilling again. That's a long time isn't it. She pulls another drag off the cigarette and exhales, watching as the smoke dissipates into the wind. Maybe so- maybe not. Three years might as well be a drop in the hat considering the circumstances. Maybe best not to dwell.

“You've got that look on your face again.” He's suddenly, awfully close again, his face plate twisted to look at her while he's crouched down next to her.

“Just thinking…” She scratches at her side and looks away before looking back at him. “Nothing important.”

He squints at her for a moment before letting it go, it's Christmas after all, even he can respect the desire to keep the day holly and jolly.

They sit in silence for a while, the only sound being the wind and the occasional tapping of fingers along the metal railing. It's a pretty night despite the chill and heavy clouds covering the stars and moon- the real one that is. Snow falls softly on the rooftop, the little flakes landing and gathering on Marlowe's shoulders and head. She's already on her 3rd smoke, she's not exactly in a rush to head back inside to deal with the mess left over from the Christmas event the plex ran today. How 15 staff bots managed to get destroyed is beyond her and that's just the beginning of the issues. She sighs before laying her head down on the railing and snuffing the cigarettes.

Moon glances down at her sprawled out over the rail. He quietly reaches over to brush the snow off her shoulders- she jumps for a moment before relaxing again, and he repeats the motion to sweep the snow on top of her head off as well. Her hairs gotten considerably longer, the previously self-inflicted haircut has long grown out and been replaced with something much neater but still choppy. He absent mindedly drags his fingers through it to straighten it out.

The actions remind her of a cat and Marlowe lightly chuckles to herself, she enjoys it and he knows as much. She full-body shudders for a moment and sneezes again. Achoo-

“You're going to get sick–” He hisses out at her, hands stilling on her shoulders with a loose grip.

“Just turn your heater on for me..come on five more minutes…please.” She purposely drags out the last bit, making sure to sound extra pitiful while she leans back into him.

“Five.” Moon agrees and the gentle humm in his chassis starts to pick up as his heater kicks on.

Marlowe just about melts into him as he slowly heats up to a comfortable temperature. If she could purr she surely would be right now. There's a light rustling of fabric and bells above her and before she can look up her vision is momentarily obscured by dark blue fabric. Not for long however, as he adjust his far-to-big for her hat on her head.

It smells faintly of peppermint and fresh laundry-

“Are you smelling my hat?” Moon suddenly snickers loudly and tightens his grip on her. “Oh that's revolting.”

She opens her eyes and immediately drops the end of his hat that she was in fact- smelling. “Ohmygodim- .” Horrified, she flushes completely red. “I wasn’t-” she whines before giving up and goes limp completely against him singing further into the scarf around her neck. “I hate you.”

“No you d̵̟̃o̴͖̗͑n̶̜̽̍t̸̪̦̏~ ” Moon purrs right into her ear- his voice deep and scratchy. Her breath hitches momentarily before she whips around and pushes him down into the snow, catching him completely off guard as he topples over into a plume of white snow.

Her voice warbles before she begins to speak. “You…You did that on purpose.” She huffs out pointing an accusatory finger at him.

“I would- never!!!” He lunges forward from his spot on the ground, grabbing her by the ankle and pulling her down into the snow as well- she screams as she crashes down onto him.

“Your mean !!! Mean!!.” She slams her hands down on his chassis as he holds her against him.

“-And you sound just like a bratty toddler.” He sneers back, which quickly shuts her up.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” His grip loosens on her and she sits up, wiping snow off herself in the process. All the previous grooming is now all for naught- Marlowes hair is tousled this way and that, where it sticks out from under the hat and the scarf hangs limply around her shoulders that are slowly rising and falling as she steadies her breath. The sight alone is–- his cpu cooling fans kick on embarrassingly loud.

“Oh—” She grins big and wide. “Your little plan backfired on you huh. If you don’t cool off your gonna pop a fuse Moon~”

He groans before pushing her off of him, clearly dissatisfied at the outcome. “Alright enough- enough you win.”

Marlowe stands up absolutely delighted and double checks everything in her pockets before turning twords the roof hatch. “I’m done up here, let's go back in.” She extends her hand to him to help him up- which he doesn't need but it's the polite thing to do. He takes it and pulls himself up and dust himself off. “Hey– bend down real quick.” He complies and his joints creak as he leans closer to her.

“Hmmm..?” His eyelights cast a faint red across her face as she puts his hat back on him, brushing the end with the bell to the back. She pauses for a second before pressing a chaste kiss to his faceplate.

“Merry Christmas Moon.”

#moonfnaf #oc x canon #fulldisclosure #daycare attendent #this is so embarrassing #millions will die dont look at me #citrusposting

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sea-of-dust · 7 months ago

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Ok so bracelet girls having duels for fun with their s/o but they notice s/o is going easy on them so they ask them to play seriously and maybe even promise them an award for winning. S/o then proceeds to completely destroy them in a single turn.

Bracelet girls x GN!Reader

Imagine telling someone to try and then they wipe the floor with you

N: YUGIOH ARC V ANNON YUGIOH ARC V ANNON YUGIOH ARC V ANNON how do I manifest yugioh annons NO HOW TO MANIFEST ARC V ANNONS FINALLY.

YOU SHOW DEMONSTATION! Yuya would have put you two up to it. "Now that I think about it I wanna see a duel between you and Yuzu" You sigh rubbing your temple "third time you asked" Yuzu pouts beside you "wait how much do I get paid for this?"

Lil bro might have to get an actual job soon, as you two got onto the field, saying the usual heart throbbing duel starting chant. You could already hear them prasing you two for how you got the crowd going.

You already planned on going easy on her, first duel she actually uses fusion, then having gong wake you up from your nap this time (not cool), the only thing keeping you up was definitely the cash Yuya promised and seeing her expression when she beats you

"Y/n seems down" "yea it isn't fun seeing them when they look so scary when tired" you glare at the fruit squad, accidently scaring them. "I summon-" you narrow your eyes trying to see if you even picked the right card. "Oh come in!" You look up at Yuzu "are you even trying?! Give em a show they won't forget!" "A show they won't forget huh?" You wipe your eyes, check you twos life points, and suddenly gain enough energy to power a city

"Everyone! I'll blow your minds right this momment!" You cover one of your eyes with your card before revealing it to be a spell. "Hopefully you don't mind my field spell" you hear everyone gawk as their surroundings change once again. "Cool but not enough to take out bloom diva" "that's where your wrong dear yuzu" you pat one of your monsters "you see besides being a damage stick one of the best things about my partner here" the monster beings to distort swirling with a card from your hand "is that when fused he tends to create an even more powerful monster than bloom diva could dream" an even larger than a monster you had before appears. "Whadya say you spin her around a bit" your smile widens to a menacing smirk, activating your monsters affect to spin the poor bloom diva back to the extra deck. "Still isn't enough I could just wipe you with a sneeze" "Yuzu you should know not to underestimate me" you hop onto your monster "after all this guy dosent just spin, he's offended you'd even suggest that" you pull its face getting a laugh out of the children, you smile at them, most smiling back cheerfully as well as noticing Yuzus face visibly fill with blush "Now, I activate my spell☆" "what does it do?!" The audience and her shout "simple my monster gains double the difference in life points between me and Yuzu" "3600-200!" "I failed math, but I'm pretty sure that might bust a hole into the fence" Sora remarks nearby Yuzu's dad just to get his reaction. you clap your hands "go at it bud!" The monster dives onto Yuzus remaining monster. She covers her face with her arms as her life points hit zero. You run over to her as the field disapaits "you alright?" "I'm fine" you pull her up "really because I swear I saw your life points hit the negitives" "real funny"

You, Sora and her get dragged around by Yuri. Understandable, you don't wanna duel him. "I'm gonna evaporate" "No" "DONT LEAVE US Y/N" Sora cries at your ankle "too late legs given out" You feel as if your fading away while once again being dragged by Yuri "my soul will never escape him!!" "Y/N!!" Sora falls to his knees dramatically. Serena causally pulls out her duel disk and texts you on it "what the heck you can do that?" "Do you know how easy it is to jailbreak them?"

As soon as night fell you two ran outside. "Why do you know his sleeping habits?" "Who do you think he calls when he needs bedtime stories and Dennis isn't around?" "So why is Sora here?" "We need someone to play lookout" "I thought I was here for candy!" You shush him simultaneously "dang my bad" you pull out a bag of spare candy you had. Starting the duel with Serena

"The moon might give me a bonus" "in lighting?" "?" "You look beutiful under the moon I got distracted" "i-" she mutters fumbling with her cards "EW" "can it till ya grow taller" you were so distracted you forgot about the traps you laid looking back to Serena and seeing a giant leo dancer. "WAIT WHEN-" "pay attention to your opponent and maybe that won't happen" you sigh drawing your card. "Ughhhh" "..." "this is why you pay attention" they both sigh. "Tell ya what if you manage to come back from this I'll make sure Yuri gets nowhere near us" Soras duel disk flashes "no I got this" "doubt it" "Stop having low faith in me"

Analyzing your cards, you activate one of your traps, being able to summon out a monster. "Lets try..." You summon another monster "synchro summon.." You bring out a large dragon enough to reach a students window. "I gotta stop the habbit of letting you get me to low life points" you raise your hand signaling to the monster "I act-"

"action duel interruption penality" you didn't even have to look to know who it was "Yuri I swear" "you can't have fun without me like this" "bro.." as soon as Yuri finishes his interruption turn you exchange looks with Serena, she dosnt do anything with her turn. As soon as Yuri uses his monsters effect you perk up "I activate my trap" "I activate a counter!" "Not a chance!" "I ACTIVATE ANOTHER" The longest chain in history ends, allowing you to still be able to activate your original trap. "My monster gets equal attack depending on the attack of total monsters on the field" you hold up your hand once again "sick em" unenthusiasticly you watch your monster deal with both of them at the same time. You run over to Serena making sure she was alright. "You alright?" "I've tumbled worse" the next day you could say it was the best school day in everyone's lives. Yuri nowhere to be seen, ment you guys were free to skip and run around campus. "Wait howed you get rid of him?" "I told him Dennis ate his plants and never supported his plant rights thing whatever it was called"

"AHHHHHHH" "Shay was right this is fun" "INSTALL SEAT BELTS" you hang onto her monster for dear life. Having the wind smack your face is not pleasant!! But atleast she was having fun. "He also mentioned something about it looking cool while dueling someone?" "We could duel and see"

It would have been a pleasant duel if you weren't being smacked by wind that wasn't even from her. When you said an open area, you didn't mean somewhere so high you could see the solar system. "Ruri why up here?" "I wanted to try something"

Without a secound of hesitation, she summons her xyz monster, the smile she had when she did paired with a few other summons. It was charming to watch. "I end my turn!"

You smile to yourself accidently, miss playing a card you were supposed to fuse. Followed by another set of missplays. Enough to make the average meta player shead tears. "Is something on your mind?" "Hm?" You snap out of your Ruri related thoughts seeing the plays you made and panicking inside a bit. She laughs to herself. "Hey if you win after all of that I'll do whatever ya want!" "Whatever I want?"

A wide smirk makes it's way up your face. "Say less!" You activate your monsters effect as well as the one on your field. "I activate my trap!" She shouts "It might seem crazy what I'm about to say" you reveal a counter trap, your attack goes through smoothly. "So about what I want" you smirk to yourself as her monsters disappear and her life points disapate. "I'm gonna need ya to try baking" "No fair! You know I'm bad at that!" "They turn out amazing you just never tried one of your sweets!" You point at her your monster at the ready your monster swoops in and attacks her, rushing to her when the duel ends. "They're gonna be so bad..." "you saying you're bad at baking is like saying Shun's bad at jumpscaring people"

"Duel me!!" "Why?" "Because I need to get better!" "Ask y/n Rin-Rin I'm dreaming" "oh of what pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows?" "..." she got kicked out, but asking you wasn't a bad idea! Atleast you said yes

"So you want me to do what?" "We're gonna duel on the ground." You stare blankly looking around. "I actually have to walk my fish" "COME BACK"

You bricked. Litterally, what is a handful of traps gonna do when you're going secound? Half of them need a monster! You sigh, drawing a monster! It's level 5. "I place 4 cards face down and end my turn" "you looking down on me?" "You wanna see my hand?" "Oh.." understanding you bricked she smirks widely, pulling out nearly a perfect combo, a negate, a counter effect one that can destroy cards

"How did you even get all of those" "I stole your luck beginning of the duel" "not cool" you sigh, watching her fiddle with her cards "if you can come back from this we can go to the ice cream shop that just opened" "how did you even get money for that" she smirks "getting better at dueling" "mkayyy"

Hesitantly drawing your card you pray to yourself unveiling it. Giving her monsters attack points. "Are you giving me a free boost when I kick you to the curb?" "Maybe" you activate the card already on the field "I activate my monsters effect" "go ahead" you shrug your shoulders as her cards get destroyed with her taking half of each of their attack points as damage. Her reaction to her momsters being wiped off the field along with a few muttered "huh?" "Wait that should of..." "Pretty sure your card only worked if it were targeted" last thing she hears before tumbling into the grass, you try to stop her but end up tumbling with her. Atleast the ice cream was worth it totally didn't still have a leaf on your head from the tumble

#fluff #x reader #gender neutral reader #x y/n #y/n #sea of asks #yugioh #yugioh x reader #yugioh arc v #yugioh serena

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genericpuff · 1 year ago

Note

Hi! Maybe this is a difficult question with no answer, but as a fan of Rekindled who might want to start their own comic, what do you suggest to avoid burnout? Do you start wiht writting the script right away, you doodle a bit,..? Thanks for reading, I love how you draw big noses, makes me more comfy with mine!

no fr my dark secret is that i've been experiencing burnout with my main original project that I've spent the last decade working on for literally a year now. this isn't the first long hiatus i've taken, the longest one i've ever been on has lasted two years, and it's undoubtedly not the last i'll experience because the lump of salt and fat and tissue that is my brain often overworks itself into exhaustion like a big dummy

rekindled has been my reprieve from the burnout. it has been my vacation from years of working on the same project, meeting the same deadlines, drawing the same characters, over and over and over again since before i was in college.

if there's anything working on rekindled has made clear to me, it's that i'm still capable of drawing comics. the comic-making isn't the problem. it's just that when you work on the same project for years and trap yourself in an uphill battle, eventually your climbing gear is bound to break.

if there's another thing that rekindled has opened my eyes to, it's the insanity that i put myself through prior to rekindled that led to my burnout in the first place.

i get people telling me that they couldn't imagine doing what i do, that even before i had my assistant helping me out, i was still able to put out 30-40 panel updates every week.

but before that, i was putting out 70-90 panel episodes of my original work. every week. full color. full spread action scenes. no assistant. very little financial gain aside from a couple patrons on patreon and one dedicated viewer on twitch, which i was also streaming on 2-3 times a week.

and now that i've been working on rekindled and even finding myself often crunched for time with that, i have zero clue, no idea, a complete lack of comprehension of how i pulled off 70-90 panels a week for months on end. there's a reason it resulted in burnout and i know that now. this comparison is not for the sake of a flex - this comparison is to make it clear that much of what i do isn't the norm and isn't exactly a healthy standard. case in point, i sneezed while sweeping up yesterday morning and it caused a muscle strain in my lower back/hips and i've been working out of my bed since, i'm in a lot of pain and it might mean i don't make any money this week if it's not better by the time i have to do my appointments at my day job on thursday. my need to create my personal passion projects is often at odds with my bad habits of not taking care of myself 。゜゜(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。

when it comes to tackling burnout, your guess is as good as mine. really it just comes down to rest. when burnout - real, true burnout - hits, it's not just "man i'm bored of working on this", it's "i can't even think of looking at this thing let alone working on it", it's basically akin to depression and it's an awful thing that i wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy (even with Rachel, I don't want to psychoanalyze her mental health but it does seem like she's possibly been experiencing burnout with LO for years now and that really sucks for her if that's true). so the solution is just as complicated as the cause, it's not something that you can just rest from for a week and come back from, it takes real long-term healing.

when I found my way out of that 2 year hiatus, it was in spring of 2019 and I decided to just work on a random comic page that wasn't even in the comic I was working on. and then suddenly it was like a switch flicked back into the on position and i didn't even finish what i was working on, i just went back to my original project and i kept working on it until it was finally finished at the end of 2021. as suddenly and randomly as it had set in, it was gone. but i can't just do the same thing this time, it just doesn't work that way.

that said, through all this, i've learned that my need to create is not restricted to any one tangible thing, i'm not doomed or designed to stick with the same words, the same faces, the same ideas until the end of time. while i do try to keep up healthy routines for myself to ensure i'm looking out for my future self and their deadlines and their upload schedules, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. and in my case, the heart wanted to take a break from the self-reflective psychological analysis dark fantasy weebo stuff and just draw some pink and blue characters a little less ugly. the self-reflective weebo shit will still be there when i'm done with the pink and blue stuff, and i'll surely have loads of new things to unpack through it once i return.

there are still times when i'm working on rekindled and i'm feeling the creeping hand of my routine destruction digging its claws into my back. the reality is that 30-40 panels is still a lot for someone like myself who's doing this entirely for free, but my definition of normal for a while was so insanely inhumane that even what's still considered a lot by most people's standards feels sane and normal to me after what i put myself through.

i've learned to be more gentle with myself, and to loosen my own expectations of what i'm capable of to ensure i don't do anything like that to myself, by myself, again. i give myself room to create without expectations or the pressure of eyes watching when i can, and i remind myself that even if burnout rears its head again, and again, and again, the will to create is not gone. it's just tired, and resting, and growing, and healing as i am.

anyways that turned into a self-reflective essay post, to answer your question about making stuff ahead of time, i find that's more helpful with just like, planning out a structured story (so you don't write yourself into a corner) but whether or not it helps with burnout kind of depends. because it can just as also easily be the cause of the problem because constantly seeing the stuff you wanna be drawing so far away can be just as much of a morale killer as a motivator. some of the stuff i'm super psyched to write and draw with time gate is years away and that timeline grows longer the more the burnout goes on which makes the struggle feel even more overwhelming and pointless and defeating. so plan ahead, but keep it all within your means if you can. i find what works for me is planning out just general beat-to-beat plot structures (to ensure i at least have a plot skeleton going on so i know where i'm going) then i leave the finer details to when the actual episode i've planned gets closer to fruition and i can get myself in the headspace to write it fully.

also remember that just because you're really excited and motivated to work on your comic doesn't mean you should work yourself into exhaustion - it's a good thing if you're going through the mundane of your daily routine and the whole time you're hyped af to work on your hobby/personal project/etc. because that's what will keep you moving forward, so don't spend all that hype in one place by working and working and working until you're exhausted, because that hype is REALLY hard to get back after you've spent it all.

long post over! hope that helps! best of luck in your projects! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

#also aaah thank you for the nose compliment haha #i love drawing different kinds of noses <3 #ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything #self post

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nametakensff · 1 year ago

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Could you possibly write 🧡 for platonic S/tobin? I love the way you always allude to them in your S/teddie fics, and I’d love to see how you write them!

Hey anon, thank you for the prompt (Warm Night In)! Had a lot of fun writing this, and it ended up just over 8k!

((Set this in my S/teddie Mutual fetish AU - this would take part a few months after the S4 v/ecna bs (obviously everyone lives and H/awkins remains unscathed for the most part because I crave happiness) - pre-relationship, mutual pining on either side))

S/teve comes down with an absolute monster of a cold and R/obin is there to look after him

~~~~~~

Content:

Platonic S/tobin, S/teddie pre-relationship (M/M), cold sneezes, loud sneezes, sneezing in tissues, S/teve blowing his nose in E/ddie's bandana, fever, coughing, caretaking, mess, spray, descriptions of explicit fetish fantasies, mentions of potential contagion, R/obin is a very good sport about S/teve being terrible at covering his sneezes

CW: internalised homophobia, S/teve is insecure about his fetish

NSFW - fic is about a platonic M/F relationship but includes separate NSFW M/M content - minors DNI!

“HH-H!! HAHHRISHHHHOOOHhh! Fuck…”

Steve snuffled miserably into the soggy tissue he’d managed to catch his most recent explosion in. It looked about as sturdy as he currently felt – which was to say, not at all. He reached out from under the protective cover of his jacket, functioning as a makeshift blanket as he lay on the breakroom couch, and plucked another 3 tissues from the quickly diminishing box. Taking in a deep breath, he blew his nose with as much force as he could muster, desperate to get some relief from the built-up congestion. All attempts of keeping noise to a minimum had dwindled hours ago, along with whatever remained of his energy. He tried not to think about the customers browsing the shelves of the establishment for movies, how they could probably hear every crackling shift of mucus that he forced out into the tissues, the embarrassingly loud honk that rounded off his efforts.

It felt as though he’d spent more time in the first half of his shift stifling the never-ending barrage of sneezes between his pinching fingers than actually working. It hadn’t done anything for his headache, squeezing his temples as if in a vice – and it certainly hadn’t helped with the blockage in his sinuses. Once Robin had shown up that afternoon, she had all but forced him to go and lie down in the back, pulling him by the arm even as he smothered another miserable sneeze against his palm.

“Steve, please. If not for your own sake, do this for me. I don’t want to be responsible for letting you die on shift from some kind of freak head explosion – especially not in front of the customers. Who do you think’ll be the one scrubbing your brains off the walls?”

“Jesus, Robin. It’s not th’haahht….that ba’hhHDD!!”

Out of pure habit at that point, Steve had pinched his quivering nostrils closed, that final touch of his fingers to the sensitive skin pushing him over the edge.

“HAHH’GXKKT’SCHHH!!”

It was quieter than his unsuppressed sneezes, nobody could fight him on that. But it’d still been loud, the desperate attempt at wrangling it into submission making it angrier, more violent to his ears – and evidently, Robin’s. She’d hissed in sympathy as he let go of his nose, the wrinkle of concern between her furrowed brows growing deeper as his sinuses audibly squeaked with each post-sneeze snuffle.

“You shouldn’t do that.” She’d worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “You’ll seriously hurt yourself – blow out an eardrum or something. Steve – don’t.” She finished firmly, glaring as he had started to lift his hand up to his nose in preparation for an encore.

“But ih-hih-! It’s so loud – I –“

“It’s okay, dingus. There’s, like, one guy here right now. In the adult movie section. At 4:30pm.”

It was certainly a reassuring statement, but it wasn’t really as if Steve would have been able to hold back in the first place. The couch shook with the force of the sneeze that rocked through him – the first he had actually let out unhindered since the tickle had taken hold hours earlier. He’d practically roared with the effort of it, drenching his palms as he caught it between his steepled hands.

“HAHHH’RESSSSSHHHHIEWWWW!!!”

He’d noticed Robin jump, heard her mutter a soft “oh my god” as her soul no doubt left her body. Glancing up apologetically, he had blinked through bleary eyes at her, holding his soiled hands in place. He hoped she didn’t notice the slight shiver that ran down his spine, the goosebumps breaking out over his arms. After holding back for so long, it had felt so good to purge the tickle completely, like spreading a soothing balm over the persistent, niggling itch.

“Sorry.” He had just about resisted the urge to sniffle again, knowing it would sound gnarly.

“That’s ok – hey, look at that, I don’t need that midday coffee anymore. Totally awake!” She smiled like a dork and he couldn’t help grinning behind the protective cover of his hands.

“I’m gonna walk to the store on my lunch break and get you some things. Are you allergic to any medicines? Does your head hurt? Would you say you’re coming down with a cough – and is it a chesty kind of deal, or is it more tickly? Do you –“

“Robi’d.” Steve had cut her off, both of them visibly wincing as he struggled to pronounce her name. As if he didn’t feel disgusting enough, he could feel his nostrils twitching and flaring, another colossal sneeze working its way up and out of his sinuses just moments later.

“HAHHH’GITTSSCHHH’IEWWW!! Oh M’by god….”

Messy. So, so messy. As he’d snuffled and searched frantically for something to save him, Robin had slid a small pack of tissues across the coffee table in front of the couch.

“Guess I’ll take my break now. Try and hold out with these. Do not move. I’ll be back in 20 minutes, tops!”

With that, she’d spun on her heels and barrelled out of the door, leaving him to sit and stare at the tissues, holding his sticky hands tightly to his face as he tried to formulate the best plan of action. Before he’d even started to reach for them, Robin had stuck her head round the breakroom door one last time.

“Oh, and before I forget – Bless you!”

~~~~~~

‘Do not move’, she’d said. Steve had initially intended to clean himself up and ignore her entirely, getting back to organising the latest releases on the shelves and continuing as before. That had been his intention, but after the laborious and disgusting task of cleaning up his hands and face with tissues so flimsy they stuck to his skin almost instantly, and the blood rush that hit him so hard the moment he stood up he had swooned with it – not moving sounded like a great idea, actually. And so he hadn’t, for hours now.

He tossed the latest bundle of soaked tissues in the general direction of the trash can, using another few to dab gingerly under his damp, sensitive nostrils. Robin had been sure to pick him up some Kleenex Mansize on her trip to the pharmacy, making Steve blush when she’d mentioned they were the next best thing to getting him a tablecloth to use. He knew she’d just been joking but for various…reasons, his regrettably huge – and often, extremely messy – sneezes were a topic he didn’t like to draw attention to. They did a good enough job of doing that themself, turning more than a few heads each time they ripped through his sinuses. She’d noticed his change in demeanour immediately, because of course she had, and her voice had softened as she made some comment or other about ‘you know what they say about big sneezes’. He’d had to laugh at that – she had an amazing ability to disarm and placate him when all he wanted was to defend.

It was hard not to be defensive when it came to the topic of sneezing. He wondered if he’d ever be brave enough to explain why to Robin. He’d disclosed more to her than he had to any other person – even Nancy. And for what it was worth, that seemed to be the case for Robin, too. She may not have ended up his girlfriend, but this was better. She was his best friend, his person. He considered it a blessing that she actually couldn’t like him in that way – he was a fuck up, romantically. It only seemed to push people away when he got emotionally involved – another thing he had confessed to her one night when they were cuddled up in her bedroom, the late hour and the collective exhaustion between the pair of them elevating their meaningless rambling into much deeper, scarier territory.

She’d told him at the time that he wasn’t a fuck up, that he was fucking great and that he just had to believe her. That he had to slow down and stop treating dating like it was some kind of doomsday race, and that he would definitely find the girl for him. He’d been surprised that, although the comment was reassuring in its own way, something felt a little…off. Probably because an image of Eddie flashed across his mind in that moment, and the gravity of it was too much for him to handle. He’d tried his best to ignore it, but it had only flourished in the following weeks to the point he was thinking about the metalhead near constantly. It terrified him, truth be told. And that fear made him feel like a hypocrite above all else. How could he accept Robin with such ease but the thought of himself liking men almost had him breaking out in a cold sweat?

It really didn’t help that Eddie had the most extensive and pervasive allergies of anyone Steve had ever known. He’d figured the fits he’d been privy to at the boat house had been circumstantial. It had been dusty enough that he’d sneezed a couple of times himself, and he’d been there sparingly – for Eddie, it had been days of exposure. Of course he’d had a rough time. But, as time went on, Steve realised it wasn’t just dust. It was dust, and mould, and pollen, and certain perfumes, and feathers – the list that Steve wouldn’t admit to mentally keeping continued to grow as the days became weeks became the last couple of months. He would be engrossed in conversation, completely captivated by whatever Eddie was saying and happily so, when the older man’s expression would crumple and Steve had to pretend to be a normal person as he witnessed the most erotic allergic reactions of his life unfold mere feet away from him.

He felt he did a pretty good job, thank you very much. He even remembered to bless Eddie about half of the time, and enjoyed the bashful smile he got in response when he did. He was pretty sure he didn’t turn totally bright red each time – something he considered a huge achievement. Crossing his legs was a surefire way of concealing any visible…excitement. He was nailing it. Dealing with Eddie’s sneezes was one thing - as much as he had tried to hold back around the older man, he’d slipped up a few times and sneezed his embarrassing, splashy, intrusive sneezes in front of him. Luckily, the metalhead didn’t seem entirely repulsed – if anything, Steve noticed a twinkle in his expressive eyes, noticed a certain shift in his demeanour and body language as he focused in on him. It made him far too happy to be blessed by Eddie, but it simultaneously made him want the ground to open up and swallow him whole. This growing attraction to the older man, his – interest, going into overdrive; all of it was just too much to deal with – so he…didn’t. Basically.

And he didn’t need to be thinking about all this right now – not when his head was pounding and his eyes and nose were leaking like a faucet. And this fucking tickle…

Sitting up now, he reached frantically for another handful of tissues, holding them at the ready in an upraised hand as he panted and gasped, willing the maddening tickle to culminate and grant him some temporary reprieve. He could feel his nostrils flaring, stretching to capacity as the itch burrowed and crawled through his sinuses, leaving them damp and threatening to overflow.

“Come on…” he grumbled aloud after a particularly desperate gasp scissored out of him, causing tears of irritation to bead at the corners of his eyes but leaving him notably bereft of sneezes.

He reached up with a finger of the hand not cradling the tissues expectantly in front of him and nudged the tip of his nose from side to side. More often than not, a little manual stimulation could help a particularly stubborn sneeze along, at least if he was ticklish enough. It seemed to do its job, a few little wiggles igniting the tickle and leaving him bristling with the force of the subsequent inhale.

“HHDTT-!! HUUURRRSHHHHH’OOHhh!! HARRRUSHHHH’IEWWW!! TISSSCHHH’IEWW!! HAGT’TSCHHHHhhhh!!”

The tissues were predictably destroyed in the onslaught, damp and torn against his palm. He sat in place for a moment, leaning heavily to one side on the arm he’d frantically propped up against the couch to steady himself. That fit had been intense, each sneeze seeming to begin at his toes and rip through his entire body, muscles seizing and skin tingling. He felt pretty pathetic, shaking like a leaf and panting in the aftermath, extremely grateful that although everyone in downtown Hawkins could probably hear the excruciatingly fast progression of his illness, they couldn’t see him. He swiped at his dripping nostrils with what was left of the tissues before tossing them, plucking even more to tend to his leaking eyes, his lips dampened with heavy spray. One wary glance at the box revealed that it was almost empty. With a defeated sigh, he allowed himself to fall back against the couch, one arm slung over his closed eyes.

He hated being sick. The lack of control, the way it distracted him from focusing his energy on others, demanding he focus on himself, his weakened body that was no longer cooperating with him. The humiliation of it – the way he was such a gross, drippy mess. He felt like a germ factory, and he wasn’t wrong.

The worst part of it all, even above feeling shitty and gross and useless – was that he was inevitably going to get Robin sick. Her parents were out of town for the week, some old hippy reunion somewhere or other. Robin was fine with the peace and having the house to herself, he knew that – but they’d both decided that since he drove her to and from school and work most days and they hung out most days too, it would make sense that she just stay with him for the week.

It was fun, like they were real roommates – or maybe siblings? Both of them were Only Children so it wasn’t like they had any means of comparison, but the closeness and easiness of their bond was undeniable to themselves and everyone around them. Every day, they’d wake up, eat breakfast together, Steve would drop Robin off and they'd go about their respective school or work, reconvene for their shared evening shifts, eat dinner together, sometimes hang out with each other and sometimes not. They’d planned to veg out tonight, watch some dumb movies and relax. It was great hanging out with everyone, especially now that Eddie had been welcomed into the fold, but he needed his Robin time. Working together most of the week was great, for sure, but it was still work.

That had been the plan, but now he was wondering if he should muster up the rest of his strength at the end of the day to drop her off at her house and drive himself back home alone, sequestering himself away until this plague-like sickness fucked off for good. He knew already she wouldn’t allow it, but he was going to proffer the suggestion anyway.

He glanced at the crooked clock on the wall – just about two hours ‘til closing. Keith and the other coworker Steve had yet to meet would be working tomorrow, and he had the weekend off, for which he could not have imagined he would ever feel so grateful. Maybe he could sneeze and cough and wheeze this cold out of his system in a day if he willed it so. He felt awful that Robin had been working the front alone, especially as business ramped up to a maximum on Friday evenings. Just two more hours.

~~~~~

“…eve. Hey, Steve. Wakey wakey. Steeeve.”

It took Steve a moment to realise who he was, let alone where he was and the fact that Robin was gently shaking him awake. He groaned as his head started to throb almost immediately, as if the headache had been waiting to strike the second he woke up. His eyes opened slowly, irritated and dry, and scanned their way upwards to take in the nervous expression on Robin’s face. She was smiling, sure, but she was terrible at masking her concern. It worried him more than a little that she was even trying to hide the anxiety she would usually wear so plainly.

“…Robin?” He managed to rasp out. They both winced at the ragged sound of it.

“Jeez, Dingus. You sound like you swallowed a pile of broken glass.” Robin was still smiling, but it didn’t reach her eyes. If anything, they looked almost glossy enough that tears were imminent. Steve absolutely couldn’t stand that – the immediate need to reassure her galvanised him, the final push he needed to drag himself upwards and into a seated position. His head throbbed, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He sensed Robin hovering, even with his eyes closed could visualise her hesitant hand outstretched toward him.

“I’m okay,” He cleared his throat somewhat productively, and tried again. “I’m okay, Robin.” Slightly better.

She flashed him another sad smile.

“You’re really not, Steve. But you don’t need to be.”

He didn’t really have a response to that – he just nodded, kneading at his temple a couple of times, willing the pain to recede. Sitting up had only made the throbbing worse, and on top of that the shifting of mucus in his sinuses had brought that ever-lingering tickle back to the surface. And god, did it tickle…

“I’ve gotten everything sorted out front. It’s a teeny tiny bit early, but I figure we’re alright to head out now. Do you – oh.”

Robin paused, taking in Steve’s tortured expression and the way his chest jumped with increasingly violent inhales. He noticed her noticing, started to blush as he lifted a hand frantically to cover his twisting facial features. He scrambled madly for the tissue box, but he wasn’t going to make it, he was going to sneeze, and-

He felt Robin press a handful of fresh tissues into his reaching palm, but he was too slow. The first sneeze burst out into his waiting palm, drenching it with spray and an unfortunate build-up of mess.

“RRRRISCCHHHHHH’IEWWWW!!”

He had just enough time to raise the tissues in his other hand to his face for the volley that followed, awkwardly cradling his soiled hand in a partial fist to shield the damage from Robin.

“HAHHHDTT’SHIEWWWWW!! HH’RRRUSHHHH’OOHH!! RRRRRSHHHH’UHHH!!”

He shuddered, the force of the powerful sneezing sapping him of almost all of his remaining energy. He gingerly wiped at his nose and tossed the sodden wad towards the trash can, composed enough now to reach for more clean tissues on his own and tend to his hands.

He glanced up and noticed Robin standing awkwardly with her arms wrapped around her lanky frame, half-watching and half-floundering, not sure where to look and chewing her bottom lip hard enough that it looked painful.

“Ugh, sorry you had to see that, Robs. I really am okay, I promise. Definitely sick. But okay.” He tossed the second wad of tissues in the trash and stood up tentatively, wobbling a little but managing not to fall on his ass. Robin had reached out then, steadied him with a soft hand to the back of his tricep. She gasped, eyes darting up to his face.

“Steve, you’re boiling hot! Like, volcanic explosion, magma-level hot!”

He sighed, knowing there was no way his verbal reassurances would get through to her at this point. He could understand how she was feeling – everyone called him a mother hen, and he knew it was true. Worrying about other people was an immutable and extremely prominent part of his personality. He’d be fussing over her just as much if he were in her shoes – would offer to carry her to the car if she was this shaky on her feet, even knowing he’d probably get an ‘Ew, gross’ and stalwart refusal to let him do so.

“’S just a mild fever. I run hot anyway, you know that.” He rounded off this blasé statement with an obnoxiously noisy sniffle.

She wrinkled her nose at him.

“Can you drive like this?” She asked, voice heavy with concern as she helped him gather up his things.

“Absolutely. Driven under much worse conditions, remember?” He was referring to driving uphill in the dark, borderline concussed, and the both of them knew it.

“That was different – desperate times, fighting an evil sludge monster. The only evil sludge monster here right now is you, Harrington.”

He snuffled again, the sound of it thick and wet, causing her to wince. Her poorly veiled disgust wasn’t making him feel much better, but he also couldn’t hold it against her. He sounded gross.

“It was different – like I said, much worse conditions. I have a cold, Robin. I’m not on my death bed or anything.” He shouldered his backpack, clearing his throat and managing to hold back what he was sure would be an obnoxiously prolonged coughing fit. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

She shrugged and followed him as he strode – or attempted to stride – out into the store. She was hovering, making sure he wouldn’t fall – it was sweet but still irritating. By the time they reached the car, she was close enough that when he spun round suddenly she nearly fell backwards in shock. He reached out to grab and steady her by the forearm, feeling guilty immediately that he’d touched her with a germy hand.

“Listen, Robin – I really don’t want you to catch this. Will you let me drive you home? I can bring you your stuff back in a couple of days.”

“Steve,” she started, her tone soft but firm. “I’m not leaving you alone right now. I don’t care if I get sick – you need someone to help you.”

“I don’t – “

“Don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. You’d just hide yourself away and get sicker and sicker, feeling sorry for yourself and ignoring anybody who reached out to you. You sound awful, Steve, I’m serious. I’m staying with you. Tough shit.”

He blinked at her. He’d expected her to refuse, but not the additional psychoanalytical beat down.

“Um. Wow, okay, sure. It’s your funeral if you catch it.” He shrugged, opening the car door.

“Thought you weren’t on your death bed.” She quipped back, settling into the passenger seat.

“Yeah, well.”

~~~~~~

After all the easy-going confidence with which he’d reassured Robin he was totally fine to drive, within minutes he realised that whilst he technically could, it would not be fun. If anything, he’d felt better with the concussion. He had a permanent bundle of tissues in his right hand, even as he clutched the wheel, ready to stifle sneeze after sneeze as Robin fretted beside him and held the wheel steady enough that they wouldn’t go veering dangerously off-road. They were a week into May, the weather not even remotely cold outside, but the fever had left him chilled and shivering enough that he’d turned the heating up anyway, apologising to Robin. It wasn’t helping, however, and all the shift in temperature seemed to do was tickle his sensitive nose even more.

It was as Steve pulled to a stop at a red light that the tickle blossomed so suddenly and so intensely that he couldn’t even think to let go of the wheel and ready himself to sneeze into his tissues. His chest jumped with a wrenching gasp, nostrils flaring wide and jaw snapping open in an instant. It tickled so, so much; even as it tipped his head back and squeezed his eyes closed, he couldn’t deny that the sensation was immensely pleasurable, moreso knowing that the resultant sneeze was going to be an absolute monster. He craved that release after all those hastily suppressed sneezes, pinching his reddened nostrils shut against the force of them.

Focusing all of his energy on the sneeze and losing himself entirely, he hitched once, twice, and then –

“HAHHHDDT’TIISSSCCHHHHH’IEWWWW!!!”

It tore through him, sending him tumbling forward in his chair. As he’d expected, it felt fucking incredible – he leaned into it, savoured that tingling relief that spread through his limbs as his lungs pushed out every last bit of air through his pursed lips.

“Oh, god, Steve!”

Robin’s yelp pulled him back to the present - the embarrassing, unfortunate present in which he had just sprayed the sneeze to end all sneezes all over the steering wheel, dashboard, his own arms and hands, and practically everything else within a 4 foot radius as the massive cloud of aerosol swirled in the air around him. He felt his entire face burning – he meant to apologise, he really did, but the tickle returned with a vengeance and it was just too strong.

“TTTISSSSHHHHH’IIEWWWW!! HH’RISSSSSHH’OOohh!!”

He sneezed twice more in much the same fashion, helpless to control it. He rocked with them, eyes streaming in irritation, feeling his muscles strain with the effort and the way it almost lifted him from his seat.

“Steve!! Oh my god, that went everywhere!” He heard Robin complain, saw how out of the corner of his eye she rolled down her window frantically.

“Fuck, I’m –“ He started before a loud honking behind them cut him off. The light had turned green and the car behind them was impatiently telling them to haul ass – how embarrassing. He stepped on the gas, blushing to his ears and hoping that the other driver hadn’t been witness to that repulsive display.

He sniffled, turning a corner and, thankfully, onto a road with no other drivers. He took the chance to peer down sheepishly at the damage he’d caused. His steering wheel was almost dripping; the dashboard glittering with visible droplets of his spray; he could even see a shimmer of dampness on the back of his hands and forearms.

“Robin,” he started, scrambling with one hand for some clean tissues and scrubbing at every surface he could reach. “I am so, so sorry. That was disgusting. Did I – did I get you?”

He turned to her, plucking a handful of tissues from the box and thrusting them at her. He realised with some dismay as she accepted them that said box was now completely empty.

“I don’t know what happened – I just couldn’t control them. God.” He scrunched his eyes shut before remembering he was in the middle of driving.

“Ugh, Dingus. It’s okay. I mean, it’s pretty gross but I’ve had, like, gooey monster tentacles all over me. I can handle your mucus.”

“Fuck.” It didn’t help – he was still mortified. Robin was such a good sport – he imagined most people would have punched him square in the jaw for that performance.

“Steve, hey. You’re really sick, it’s okay.” She patted him on the arm conciliatorily.

“God. I guess I am. That shit felt like it bounced my brain off my skull.” Normally he wouldn’t talk about his sneezes, especially not how they made him feel, but he was truly shaken.

“Think you can hold it together ‘til we get to your place?” She asked, resting her hand on his arm now. The gentle touch felt reassuring.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll b-be-! Hh’HUH!”

“Gonna sneeze again?”

Regrettably so, he really was. Panicking, he started to gasp into another buildup.

“I dohh-h’ont-!! I don’t h’hahh!! Hahhve any-! Any Tih’hh-! TTTTISHHHHIEWWWW!!” He exploded, this time jerking to his left to avoid spraying Robin and instead baptising the window beside him. The car lurched with him – Robin squeaked and grabbed for the steering wheel, pulling it towards herself to steady them back onto the road.

“Sorry, sorry, fuck!” Steve snuffled heavily. Mess was now dripping in twin streams over his upper lip, making him feel more disgusting than ever.

“No tissues?” Robin said, letting go of the wheel and wriggling in her seat, looking all around her for a spare. She came up empty, as Steve knew she would.

“Hold on,” She started, leaning back and angling herself between their seats as she reached into the back. “Might be something back here.”

Steve started to sniffle again but held himself back, anxious it would only trigger another spraying sneeze – one that would no doubt splatter the front window with its productiveness.

“I really don’t think – “

“Bingo!” Robin announced, audibly proud of herself. When Steve turned his head to look at the item she proffered towards him, his blush returned in earnest. Eddie’s bandana-slash-handkerchief. He must have left it there the last time he’d ridden with Steve. Come to think of it, when he’d driven Dustin, Lucas and Eddie to a campaign at the Wheeler house, the metalhead had been pretty…sensitive. He’d reassured them that it was just allergies, nothing to worry about. And it really hadn’t been all that much, but even a sniffle from Eddie was enough to send all the blood in Steve’s body rushing straight to fill his cock.

Not only had Eddie sneezed, a series of sweet little stifles that had Steve’s heart beating at 100mph, he’d sniffled and rubbed at his pinkened nostrils with the very bandana Robin was now pressing into the palm of a hand she had pried free from his grip on the steering wheel. He must have forgotten about it and left it there, sitting on the floor of Steve’s car, completely unaware of how intensely erotic said item was to the former jock. Had he known it was there, would he have had the courage to return it to Eddie himself? It seemed to burn in his palm. Eddie’s adorable, desperate sneezes had been sprayed and muffled into this fabric. It was too much – on top of the fever, this deviant spiral of thought left him feeling as though his brain was seconds away from leaking out his ears.

“…Steve?” Robin asked. He jumped, eyes flickering upwards from their fixed stare on the bandana to her confused expression, then swivelling straight back to the road before he really did make them crash.

“Yeah. Uhh. It’s Eddie’s.” He said, as if that meant anything at all to Robin. He heard her laugh.

“Uh, yeah, Steve, I figured. Unless black and skulls are your thing now.” She was teasing him, and not just about his fashion choices. He wasn’t sure how, but he sensed that she was, and it went deeper than his stupidly obvious statement.

“So…are you gonna use it?” She asked a moment later, and Steve remembered the entire reason she’d given it to him in the first place. He’d been focusing so hard on keeping the blood in his head and not in his cock that he was almost functioning on autopilot. He was suddenly very aware that the mess running down his face was moments away from ending up in his mouth.

“Yeah, fuck, sorry.” Desperate to avoid her scrutinous gaze, he hurriedly brought the fabric to his face and blew into it, hard. Arousal blossomed anew, thinking about Eddie doing the same – about every sneeze the fabric had been graced with now touching his face. It was driving him crazy. He wished he was alone in this moment – if he was, he’d pull off the road, haphazardly park, then jerk himself hard and fast until he was coming into the bandana, that sexy little piece of fabric that almost functioned like an indirect kiss.

Miraculously, he was only a little hard – enough that Robin wouldn’t notice, especially since dicks were a big enough source of amused repulsion for her that she was unlikely to be looking. He imagined the illness was helping to keep him soft; he really did feel shitty, increasingly shittier with every passing minute. He rounded off with one final, honking blow before sighing deeply – a weary, exhausted exhalation of defeat. Robin rubbed his arm reassuringly.

“Almost home.”

~~~~~~

In the twenty minutes that had passed since they’d walked through Steve’s front door, he had: sneezed at least 10 times; almost brained himself on the corner of his dresser as he attempted to wriggle out of his (admittedly pretty tight) jeans; coughed hard and long enough to leave his throat burning; and almost fallen down the stairs dressed in the comfortable loungewear Robin had insisted he put on.

In short, he wasn’t doing so hot. He hoped that this fast progression from awful to even worse would end up in his favour, aligning with the hope from earlier that he could burn through this sickness over the next couple of days, as if sprinting to the finish line. He really didn’t think he could handle feeling this terrible for much longer than that. It was as if every cell in his body was committing mutiny against him.

He lowered himself onto the living room couch on shaky legs and wrapped his arms around himself. He had no idea how he could be so hot but feel so cold. Like, okay, he understood the concept of a fever, but it still didn’t make the paradoxical sensation any easier to bear. He shivered miserably.

Robin bustled into the room a moment later, carrying a soft sherpa blanket in a scrambled heap, as if she’d yanked it from its neatly folded position in the main bedroom linen closet in a rush. Steve was certain this was absolutely the case.

“Heyy, buddy,” she started, still a little on edge but evidently happy to be done with that tumultuous car journey. “You should get under this blanket. You know what – lemme just…”

Initially thrusting the bundle of fabric at Steve, she seemed to change her mind and took it upon herself to wrap the blanket round him – even tucking it closer when it threatened to slip down his shoulders. Steve felt himself blushing a little and hoped that it wouldn’t be all too obvious on top of his fever-flushed complexion. He and Robin had cuddled together on occasion, sure – they’d held hands, too, discovering the contact felt reassuring and natural – but this level of intimacy and caretaking was something he’d never experienced – from anyone, really, but especially not from her. Her usual style was more sarcastic one-liners, name-calling and gentle shoves. To be fussed over by anyone was hard for him to accept, so it felt more than a little daunting at the hands of his best friend - purely because it felt so alien. One tentative glance at Robin confirmed that she must have been feeling pretty similarly awkward herself.

“Okay. I ordered us pizza – I know soup would probably be better, yeah, I realised that after I hung up the phone, shit – but anyway, that’s dinner. I’m gonna get you some water and Tylenol – maybe tea? Do you want tea?”

He couldn’t help but smile at how endearingly unnatural she was finding this. He knew if he was in her shoes she’d be wrapped up, propped up, fed and medicated 10 minutes ago. He’d still be brimming with anxious energy but that would be the natural result of the helplessness he’d feel that he couldn’t take away her discomfort on the spot. That she was trying, really, honestly trying, made his heart swell.

“Um, no tea, Robs. I don’t even know if we have any. Could you get me a cold compress for my head, maybe?”

Her eyes widened for a moment before they rolled back into her head dramatically, and she slapped a hand to her forehead.

“Uh, yes, of course I can do that – can’t believe I haven’t already. Sorry, Steve, just a minute – “ She was already halfway out the door by the time she finished.

“Robin, you don’t need to run – I’m okay!” He called out after her, regretting it almost immediately as his throat seized and he was thrown forward with a violent fit of coughing. He attempted to muffle it into one blanketed hand, shielding his mouth with the fabric. As if he didn’t feel disgusting enough already, he felt a tickle blossoming deep in his sinuses, so quickly that almost the moment he finished hacking he was gasping deeply in preparation for the oncoming explosion.

“Hh’Ohh goddDD’TTSSSHHHIEWWW!! HXXT’SHIEWWWW!! HAH’RRRRSHHHH’UU!! Oh…”

He shuddered and gingerly pulled his nose back from the now sodden fabric, clinging to the palm of his hand under the weight of the mess. Cursing, he scrambled to pull his other hand free of the blanket, snatching a handful of tissues from the box on the coffee table that he now regrettably wished he’d had half the mind to reach for sooner. Eddie’s bandana might have been a relief at first, but it was now so thoroughly sneezed and snorted into that it lay useless and dejected in Steve’s laundry hamper.

“Bless you, Dingus!” Robin called out from somewhere in the house.

He didn’t bother calling back, not wanting to trigger a repeat performance of that entirely disgusting display. At least the sneezes had felt halfway relieving – though very productive, the results of which he frantically scrubbed from the soggy patch of blanket. After he’d done all he could, he sighed and attempted to snuggle back into the couch cushions. ‘Attempt’ being the operative word, here – the Harrington household couches were much like everything else in the joint: carefully selected to signal a certain degree of cold and detached classiness, more like a showroom than a home. The Buckley household was much more inviting. Hell, even the couch at the Munson trailer was effortlessly comfortable, even with the creaky springs that prodded you as you moved.

He wondered what Eddie was doing now – planning for a campaign? Playing guitar? Some party, somewhere? He hadn’t spoken to him for a couple of days, come to think of it. He realised suddenly that he really wanted to talk to him. More than that, he just wanted to listen. Even with this persistent headache, he wanted to sit back just like this, eyes closed in surrender, and let Eddie ramble away about whatever he pleased. It didn’t really matter what was said as long as it was him saying it. These thoughts, though initially soothing and pleasant, very quickly became a source of gnawing emotional pain that Steve refused to address a moment longer. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, feeling embarrassed and pathetic.

“Hey, I got that compress – you wanna – oh, you’re already leaning back, good.” Robin was at his side again, gently sweeping back his sweaty bangs and resting the cool, damp towel on his forehead. He felt the relief of it instantly, humming softly and focusing in on the sensation until the troubling thoughts of Eddie started to fade.

“That feel good?” Robin asked softly, sitting down next to him.

“Mm. Yeah. Th’nks.” He muttered, reaching a hand out of his cocoon and squeezing her wrist in appreciation.

“You wanna stay like that for a while ‘til the pizza gets here?”

“Mm’hmm.”

“Cool. Can I put something on? Anything you want. I’ll keep the volume low.”

“I don’t mind, if you don’t mind me not really paying attention.”

Robin laughed.

“As if you pay attention to anything I suggest, anyway.”

“Hey!” He smiled despite himself. “You can’t say I don’t try.”

“Oh, I can, and I will.”

She laughed again as he weakly punched her arm.

“Just stay with me, please?” He asked, a little shocked by the naked sincerity of the request as it tumbled out of him.

“Of course, Steve. Where else would I go?”

~~~~~~

After they’d finished their pizza – Steve far less than he would have liked, the normally delicious cheese seeming extra congealed and greasy – Robin had put on some artsy film that Steve tried his best to follow but was sure he’d have had a hard time with on a regular day, let alone one where he was starting to feel like jello in the form of a human. They gradually cuddled closer together, interrupted only by Steve twisting himself away from Robin each and every time he felt a sneeze coming on. It had reached the point where she’d told him to cut it out and sit still.

“You’re gonna give yourself whiplash on top of your cold. Seriously, stop.”

“But I’ll – end up sneezing on you.”

She’d sighed in defeat.

“Then do that. I’m catching this anyway.”

His cheeks burned a little at that.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t that be like, super gross?”

“As long as you use the blanket or tissues, it won’t be all bad.”

And Steve had used both the blanket and the tissues – for a little while, anyway. He soon had his head in her lap, propped up by a cushion she’d added for his comfort. He wasn’t facing her, at least, so every germ-filled blast was aimed squarely at the table in front of them. If she felt the spray settling on her thighs or knees, she said nothing. To his utter delight, she’d started to rhythmically card a hand through his hair, making him feel for all the world like a spoiled little lapdog. Her endearing clumsiness was nowhere to be found as she expertly dragged her nails across his scalp. He’d have been asleep long ago if it wasn’t for this…t-tickle-!

“HH!! ‘GGTSCHEWWWW!! HARRRUSHHHH!! Hh, HH-!”

The third and final sneeze seemed to elude him, teasing him fiercely enough that his bleary eyes were beading with tears. He was more than grateful that Robin couldn’t watch his face as it crumpled – the way his nostrils twitched, mouth dropping open as his tongue pressed against his bottom teeth in a silent prayer, begging for the tickle to crest.

At last he was granted some reprieve, and three choppy inhales later he was barrelling forward, sneezing violently over Robin’s knees.

“hHAAHHH’GCK’TCHIEWWWWwww!!!”

He felt her other hand reach out and steady him by the shoulder as his body threatened to roll off the couch with the sheer force of it.

“Jesus, Dingus, Bless you!!”

“Ugg. Tha’gk you…” He snuffled miserably. The sneeze had felt amazing but he still felt bad about repeatedly spraying his best friend with an endless torrent of germs.

A bundle of tissues was suddenly hovering before his eyes as Robin held them out over him. He took them gratefully, muttering a small ‘thanks’ before blowing as hard as he possibly could. It was gnarly – loud, thick and rounded off with a honk not unfamiliar to the trumpet warm-ups Robin had subjected him to as she practiced in the guest room last night.

“God, Steve. Talk about man flu.” She patted his shoulder good-naturedly.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He meant it, too.

“No, you’re good. Don’t even worry about it. Just try not to die on me, okay? You’re heavy.”

“Promise.”

The glorious head massage resumed, and finally, blessedly, Steve felt himself slipping into a heavy sleep.

~~~~~

Robin pulled Steve’s bedroom door shut with a gentle click – not that her efforts at silence would matter, given the heart-breakingly congested snores Steve was already emitting from under his duvet. She headed to the bathroom and started her nighttime routine. Looking at herself in the stupidly ornate mirror of Steve’s guestroom ensuite, she noticed she looked just as tired as she felt – maybe moreso. She knew it was too early to be catching Steve’s cold – had to be, right? The incubation period was just too short. Realistically, she just looked worn down from the strain of an entire evening of worrying about Steve – who had, no doubt in her mind, possibly the worst cold on the face of the planet.

She finished washing her face, almost forgetting to rinse it properly as her mind wandered. Was he really that sick, or was he just one of those men for whom a tiny little bug brought them to their knees in one fell swoop? It was probably the latter – though he really did look, and sound, miserably unwell. The temperature emanating from his body as he’d rested in her lap had been scorching – she’d been sweltering in the combined warmth of the pleasant May evening and Steve’s furnace-like condition. Steve hadn’t noticed, at least; if he had, he’d been kind enough to ignore the massive pit stains that dampened her t-shirt.

She’d let him sleep for a while – 45 minutes, just until her movie ended and her legs had fallen asleep – then she’d woken him up with a gentle hand to the forehead. 10 minutes later, she’d successfully helped a groggy, snotty Steve up to his bedroom. That they’d nearly tripped heading upstairs as Steve buckled forward with several wrenching sneezes was just a minor inconvenience. Once he’d gotten into bed and she’d tucked the blanket up to his chin, she’d returned with the damp washcloth – using ice water this time, draping it over his burning forehead. He was shockingly pliant, incredibly obedient – the total lack of hyper-independence and stubbornness a sure sign of how poorly he was feeling.

After brushing her teeth she padded back downstairs, locating the living room landline. She had a feeling Steve would only feel worse tomorrow, and she’d underestimated how many meds and tissues he would need. She could probably bike out to the Drugstore herself, but something about Steve’s condition made her want to be in the house with him at all times. Call it trauma, separation anxiety, whatever – it was tough seeing him hurt and weak, and in their relatively short friendship it felt like he’d had decades worth of bad luck. A lifetime of it, probably. And besides, what if his dumb ass sneezed himself down the stairs and broke his neck when she was gone? No. It was too risky.

She dialed the familiar number and waited. The nearby clock indicated it was about 1:45 AM. The middle of the night for some, but not for who she had in mind.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Eddie?”

“Hey, Birdie! What’s got you calling little old me at this frightful hour?”

She smiled despite herself. His charm was undeniable - as cheesy as it often was, it was still disarming and soothing. She was glad to have had the fortune of getting to know him under more…relaxed circumstances following their initial meeting, where she’d been convinced she’d found the only other person more prone to floundering, nervous breakdowns than herself.

“Figured you’d be awake for at least another 3 hours. Can you talk for a minute?”

“Sure, shoot. I was just fucking with my guitar anyway.”

“Kinky.”

“Watch it, Buckley.”

She grinned, knowing he’d be doing just the same on the other end of the line.

“I actually need to ask you for a favour, if that’s okay?”

“Oh?” He sounded pointedly curious, like this was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “Are you okay? Need a ride, or something?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I’m at Steve’s – remember I’ve been staying here this week?”

“Oh, yeah. Speaking of Stevie boy, how is he? Haven’t heard from him in, like, three days?”

She smirked. The two of them thought they were so fucking subtle with this shit, and as much as she wanted to let them figure it out on their own, she couldn’t help but poke the proverbial bear every now and then.

“Three days?? My god, that must be like three months in Eddie time.”

“Fuck off!” He was laughing, at least.

“That’s just the thing though, actually. It’s Steve, he’s – “

“What’s wrong? Is he hurt??”

She was so glad he couldn’t see her face right now. He was painfully, painfully transparent and it was the funniest, sweetest thing.

“He’s fine, you geek – not in any immediate danger. He’s just sick. Got the worst case of man flu probably, like, ever.”

Eddie was silent long enough that Robin wondered if their call had been disconnected.

“Eddie? You there?”

“Oh – yeah, sorry, just spacing out a little, ha ha!”

The forced laugh was…strange. But she chose to ignore it – he was probably stoned, at any rate.

“So, since he’s sick, I was wondering if tomorrow you could possibly pick up some meds and stuff for him? I really don’t want to leave him alone like this. He sneezed so hard before he nearly threw both of us down the stairs. If I leave him unattended who knows how else he might sneeze himself to an early demise?”

She ended her ramble with a small laugh, hoping to amuse Eddie and bring some levity to the situation. Instead, she was greeted with that same awkward silence, though it expired a little faster than last time.

“Oh man, that sounds – yeah, that would totally suck. Poor guy.”

It wasn’t the raucous laughter she’d been expecting at all. Eddie sounded – could it really be? Embarrassed?

“Are you okay? You sound weird.” She asked.

“I’m-! I’m fine, Birdie. Just. Pretty high.”

She’d figured as much, but somehow, she didn’t quite buy it. Whatever. Eddie was great, but she still didn’t fully understand him and his often confoundingly strange mannerisms just yet.

“Anyway. You think you can do that for me? I’d majorly appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah – I can totally do that. What time should I – drop stuff off?”

“Honestly, before lunch? The rate at which Steve is going through tissues is worthy of scientific observation.”

Eddie offered a reedy laugh at that – she’d expected that attempt at humour to dive like before, been ready for another awkward little pause. She would have almost preferred that to this obviously forced attempt at normal laughter. It wasn’t as if Eddie didn’t have a sense of humour, or know how to laugh like a human being, so? Man, he must be really high.

“So…I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there. I…probably won’t come inside. I mean, don’t want to disturb poor old Harrington, y’know?”

She blinked.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind?”

“Really, Robin, if I want to graduate in a month, I can’t get sick. I won’t face celebrating my 21st year still stuck in that fucking dump.”

It made sense, what he was saying. But again, she just didn’t buy that that was the sole reason for this extremely out of character avoidance of Steve.

“Sure. Well, I’ll see you, then.”

“See you tomorrow, Birdie. Sleep tight.”

She hung up on him, taking a second to stand there and letting the absurdity of his behaviour wash over her before she made her way back upstairs. She was far too tired to even attempt to analyse the inner machinations of Eddie fucking Munson right now – tired enough that even Steve’s woeful snoring couldn’t stop her from passing out the second her head hit the pillow.

#The fic is based in May so it's not technically a traditional 'Warm Night In' - hope that's ok!!#Steve accounts for 99% of the 'Warm' part lol #oh also since canonical ages are never given I think the general consensus is at this point Robin is almost about to graduate aged 18 #Steve has graduated and is 19 - Eddie is due to graduate and is 20 #s/tranger t/hings #nametakenfic #sneeze fic #sneeze kink #snz kink #snzfucker #sneeze fucker #snz fet #snzblr

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