#seriously is there not an o in maneuver?

[mytheoristavenue]

Premature Ejaculation with your Favs!

Summary: You pity your incel classmate and pay his dorm a visit. Little do you know is all it takes is few French kisses to finish him off.

Warnings: college!au, modern!au, incel!character, virgin!character, misogyny, premature ejaculation, degredation, dom!reader, fem dom, sub!character, male sub

"O-Oh, fuck, please no, fuck-!" He hisses, shifting away from you, stiff as a board. "Oh my fucking god, shit, I'm so fucking sorry!"

All you can do is giggle at the wet spot on the front of his sweats and the humiliated crack in his voice. "Did you seriously jizz your pants?" You snort cruelly. "We were barely even making out!"

"D-Don't laugh! Fuck!" He scolds, covering himself as he awkwardly maneuvers off the bed. "Fuck's sake, cut me some slack, I've never done this before!"

"Awe, don't get all pissy!" You snicker, watching him waddle to the bathroom. "It's fine that you're a no pump chump, really! It's cute, actually!"

"I'm so glad you find this amusing," He grumbles, cleaning himself and dropping his sweats, walking out in just boxers and an old t-shirt. "'Cause I sure as hell don't." He ranted while tossing through a hamper to find a clean-ish pair of pants, having to do the sniff test on nearly everything.

"You really should clean your room, ya know? Maybe you'd actually get girls that way." You joke, lounging on his bed. "Girls don't like nasty rooms, dude."

He rolled his eyes, cheeks still pink. "Are you saying I don't get bitches?" He asked, stepping into a pair of pajama pants.

"More or less," You smirk at the irritated scowl he presented. "Also, don't call women bitches if you ever plan on changing that."

"All women are bitches," He says, turning back to you with a cocky grin. "And if I don't get any, why are you in my bed?"

"I felt bad for you, you're like a wet cat." You deadpan, hiding the fact that his last words dripped with more sex appeal than even he intended. "And I like messing with virgins."

"Shut up," He grumbled, the wind taken from his sails. "I don't need your pity, I could pull if I wanted to. Just got better shit to do."

"You mean like edging to hentai while all your friends go out to party?" You sneer, eyes flickering to his computer, pump bottle of lotion sitting beside the monitor so obviously.

"Oh my god, I hate you, is there a point to all this torment?" He finally asks, pacing the room, ready to throw you out.

You smile sweetly, catching his eye. You look so inviting as you lean back in his bed on your palms. "Hey, creep?" You coo and he gulps. He used to hate when you called him that, but now it melts him. He's already crawling over you nervously, shaking like a leaf.

"Y-Yeah?" He asks through quivering lips, hard on painfully obvious. You smirk at his short refractory period.

"Let's try again, yeah? I won't tell anyone you're a minute man if you try and hold out as long as you for me can this time m'kay?"

"O-Okay!"

Mezo Shoji, Katsuki Bakugo, Shihai Kuroiro, Neito Monoma, Mashirao Ojiro, Kosei Tsuburaba, Togaru Kamakiri, Shoto Todoroki, Shota Aizawa, Toya Todoroki, Enji Todoroki, Denki Kaminari, Sanemi Shinazegaua, Obanai Iguro, Giyuu Tomioka, Guytaro Shabana, Inosuke Hashibira, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and whoever else you like!

[aplaceinme]

“I’m just saying… there’s a reason why people say ‘three times it’s a charm’ Evan.”

“And I’m just saying I don’t want to risk it, Tommy,” Evan huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

“C’mon, what could possibly happen?” Tommy insists. 

“Hmmm…let me think… oh, yeah, I got it! Given our track record, we break up for good,” Evan says exasperated. 

“That won’t happen again, Evan. We’ve talked things out. Everything has been laid out on the table. We are better than ever,” Tommy says softly, walking up to Evan and tenderly cupping his cheeks, “We are good! Nothing bad will happen, I promise.” 

Evan tries to resist, his pout really pronounced but he can’t fight the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

“Fine! Fine! We will go and have dinner at Miceli’s again,” Evan relents, throwing his arms up in the air. “But if things go south again, it will be all your fault, ok?” 

Tommy leans in and kisses him softly, letting the kiss linger a little. “Ok, if something happens, it will be my fault.”

Evan goes to his bedroom to change his clothes, all the while angrily muttering, “Thousand of places in L.A. to go but no! We have to go back to that place… all because the pizza is good… fuck that place.”

“Did you say something?” Tommy asks, trying not to laugh at Evan’s adorableness. 

“Nothing… except… We are not getting spumoni, Tommy!” Evan yells from his bedroom.

Head thrown back in laughter, Tommy sits down in one of the barstools to wait for him to be finished. “Fine but, again, everything will be alright, love.”

“Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that! But you know what else people say? Famous last words! That’s what they say,” Evan says before closing the bathroom room. 

Nodding, Tommy quietly says under his breath as if trying to convince himself, “It will be alright.” 

—

“Will you stop muttering? We are here, and everything has been ok so far, right?” 

“Yeah, so far,” Evan says stubbornly. At Tommy’s raised eyebrow, his shoulders relax. “Sorry, sorry. You’re right! Everything is fine. We are together and everything is fine.”

Tommy holds Evan’s hand across the table and intertwines their fingers. “Exactly.” 

“I’m just glad we aren’t going to the movies after this. I think they also bring bad luck to us,” Evan teases, though he also seems to be serious. 

Wanting to tease him back, Tommy says, “Actually, I saw that they are playing this movie that I wanted to check out…”

“Do not even think about it! Not tonight at least,” Evan points at Tommy seriously. 

“Alright, alright, no movies tonight,” Tommy laughs. “We will just go straight to my place then… find something else to entertain us with.” 

“I’m sure we will,” Evan says with a smirk. 

“Oh my God! I think he’s choking! Somebody help us!” 

Tommy and Evan look over at the table from where the scream came and, after sharing a small glance and a nod, they get up and run over. 

“Move over, make room, make room, we are firefighters,” Evan says loudly, reaching the patient first. 

As Evan starts doing the Heimlich maneuver, Tommy reassures the family and makes sure they give Evan room to work. 

After a couple of agonizing seconds, the man spits out the food and everyone at the restaurant releases a breath of relief and they start to clap.  

Tommy moves over and helps Evan to sit the man down as they start to assess him, asking him if he is feeling alright or if he would rather they call an ambulance. 

Once the man reassures them that he is ok and thanks Evan profusely, they start to walk back to their table. 

“Glad that turned out o-” Evan starts to say but a scream interrupts him. 

“What now?” Tommy asks. 

“Fire in the kitchen!” Someone screams. 

It takes two seconds for chaos to reign. People start to scream and run desperately, pushing tables, chairs, and everything out of their way. 

While Evan calls 911 and starts helping people out of the restaurant, Tommy runs up to the kitchen.

Grabbing a fire extinguisher, Tommy tries to put the fire out, but it’s not enough. The fire is spreading fast, so he just makes sure that no one else is inside the kitchen and then runs outside. 

“Tommy, Tommy,” Evan calls to him and hugs him as soon as he is within reach. 

“Everyone out?” Tommy asks him, quickly looking Evan over to make sure he isn’t hurt. 

“Yeah, I got everyone out and the firefighters should be here any minute now.” 

“Good, good, that’s good!” Tommy says in relief, his adrenaline starting to recede. 

—

Tommy and Evan are standing a few meters away from the restaurant, watching as station 56 put the fire out. The fire spread out so much that the restaurant is absolutely destroyed, Tommy doubts the owners could salvage anything from inside. 

“What is it? I can see you looking at me,” Tommy asks, turning to look at Evan. 

Evan gestures wildly at the restaurant and looks at him incredulously. 

“What?” Tommy plays dumb. 

“What? What?” Evan yelps. “Oh, I don’t know… maybe the fact that the restaurant is literally destroyed. Third’s time a charm, my ass!” 

“Technically, I was right, Evan.” 

“Wha- How?” Evan sputters. 

“Well, nothing bad happened to us. We are ok, there hasn’t been any misunderstanding, no one has confessed anything from their past… we are ok, just like I said we will be,” Tommy reasons.

Evan shakes his head and chuckles, “I can’t believe you! You’re so…” 

“Evan…” Tommy starts but gets interrupted. 

“I love you,” Evan says. 

Tommy does a double take, not expecting that. “What?”

“I love you,” Evan repeats, shrugging his shoulders. 

“This is the first time you’re saying that,” Tommy says, bewildered. 

“I know.” 

“I… I- I…” Tommy looks around them, in disbelief that Evan could love him. 

“You don’t have to say it if you do-”

“I love you too. Of course, I love you,” Tommy tells him quickly, not wanting Evan to doubt it for even one second. 

“Yeah?” Evan beams at him. 

“Yes,” Tommy nods and leans in to kiss him, not caring about the fire, firefighters, bystanders, or anything else. 

Once they part for air, Tommy asks him, “Should we get going? They seem to have everything under control.” 

Evan nods, and they slowly start to walk to where Tommy had parked his truck, with Tommy’s arm around Evan’s waist. 

“Since no one got hurt, I feel ok with admitting that I’m kinda happy that the restaurant went up in flames,” Evan whispers as if it is a secret. 

Tommy chuckles, “Yeah, me too.” 

When they are near the truck, Tommy jokes, “So, what about that movie then?” 

Evan playfully hits him on the shoulder but laughs. “I believe someone said something about finding something to entertained us with at their place?”

“Let’s go then,” Tommy says with a smirk, walking faster towards his truck. 

[arachine]

u asked so I shall deliver :3

but imagine whiny n fucked out Dave Lizewski omfffhhhgggggg, his hair is a mess n his glasses are falling off, they're all dirty too bc he's handsy! Ik he is! and he tries to grab anything he can on u but u just tut him and tell him to keep his hands to himself, so nowwww he's whining even more, he's begging too atp, all glossy eyes and jutted out lips. I KNOW he's a pretty crier, so why shouldn't u mess with him a lil yk?

moral of the story, Dave. Just Dave.

nghhhhh rina i’m gonna scream SO loud.

warnings: unprotected sex, dacryphilia (i think? cba to check if i included it), whiny dave (like down bad, pussydrunk dave) + so rushed i’m sorry but i need to fr study lol :3

can just imagine him begging to touch you. at first, he tries to bargain with you. asks if he can just ‘hold your hips for a bit’, so you don’t ‘fall off’—as he puts it. but you’re ruthless. all bite and no bark.

“good boys keep their hands to themselves,” you tsk, swatting away his wandering appendage. the admonishment forces a whine from his throat, and he retracts his hand quickly like a child scolded for getting into the cookie jar. “don’t you wanna be a good boy for me, baby?”

“yes—fuck—god, yes. j’st let me touch you, let me h-hold you,” he pleads, and it’s so cute. the knot between his brows, the erythro in his cheeks—the crystalline droplets cascading down his face. it doesn’t take much persuasion to get you to acquiesce; not when he’s beneath you like this. looking up at you like you just hung the stars in the sky. “ok, go ahead, baby. touch me.”

and as soon as you give him the okay, he’s flipping you over onto your back, all muscles and eagerness. grabs the weight of his cock and bullies it into your little hole, unconcerned by your protests and light-hearted pleas for him to slow down.

“easy, ‘m not going anywhere,” you giggle, but it falls on deaf ears because he’s concentrated. focused—on one thing and one thing only—or maybe two things—or a few things: your skin, the rivulets of sweat between your breasts, your eyes—the perfect little ‘o’ shape your mouth makes when he hits that spot just right. yeah, he’s focused.

“babybabybaby, i’m close,” he says in your ear, a mixture of a whine and cry, “please, lemme do it inside. can i? i’ll get you the pill, swear i will, s-swear it!”

and at the nod of your approval, he’s pistoning into you like a rabid thing. all mumbles and whimpers, expletives and grunts. telling you how sweet you are to him, and how lucky he is to have a girlfriend who let’s him finish inside her.

says he’ll, “never fuck another girl again,” while the weight of his hand rests firmly against your jaw, and his lithe fingers maneuver your head to meet his lips. and you know he’s telling the truth—because his eyes are all hazy and glossy. they get like that when he’s close; and they got like that when he declared his love for you some time ago. a tell-tale sign.

“so close, baby. use me, you can do it,” you caress his cheek, clenching once, twice, three times around him in an effort to get him to finish. and it works. he manages a few more lazy thrusts before he’s plopping down onto you with a strangled moan and a sigh.

“about that pill…” he starts, “i only have $10 in my account. don’t think we’re ready to be parents.”

gasping, you raise a hand to yank him back by the hair, “lizewski, get off of me right now.” the brunet chuckles but it only coaxes you to pull tighter at the scalp.

“ow, okay, okay. i was just kidding,” he admits, grabbing at the hand holding his hair by the root, “let me go and i’ll go pick it up.”

“alright, go,” you release him, “but seriously, get off of me. you’re heavy.”

© arachine 2023

[fanfictionismyaddiction]

Pumpkin Perfection

word count: 793

Pairing: Max Verstappen x reader

Summary: Y/n hosts a Halloween party where Max Verstappen, dressed hilariously as a giant pumpkin, turns a night of spooky fun into a competitive and comical showdown

______________________________________________________________

Y/n was buzzing with excitement as Halloween approached. She loved everything about the spooky season—decorating, dressing up, and watching cheesy horror films. This year, Y/n had decided to host a Halloween party at her apartment in Monaco and had invited a bunch of her friends from the paddock, including Max Verstappen. She and Max had a close friendship, one filled with playful banter and competition.

As Y/n hung the last of the fake cobwebs in the corner of her living room, she checked her phone and saw a message from Max.

Max: "Hope you're ready for me to win another costume contest. 😉"

Y/n rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile. Max was notoriously competitive about everything, including parties. Last year, he’d dressed as a racing vampire—complete with a cape and fangs—and had taken home the win at Daniel Ricciardo’s Halloween bash.

Y/n: "Dream on, Max. This year, I’m taking the prize. Prepare to be amazed!"

Y/n had spent days perfecting her costume, opting for a clever mix of spooky and glam. She was going as a witch—complete with a black, glittery dress, a wide-brimmed hat, and glowing green contact lenses that gave her an eerie look. She even had a broomstick prop that doubled as a drink holder.

The evening of the party arrived, and as Y/n lit up the jack-o-lanterns on her porch, the doorbell rang. She opened it to see Max standing there, looking smug. But instead of the horror-inspired costume she expected, Max was dressed in a giant pumpkin suit, his face peeking out of an opening at the top, his arms sticking out awkwardly from the sides.

Y/n burst out laughing, doubling over as Max tried to maneuver his way inside the apartment.

“Max, what the hell? I thought you were going to go all out!” she said between giggles.

Max grinned and shrugged. “I decided to take a different approach this year. Figured I’d try to win with comedy instead of fear.”

Y/n wiped a tear from her eye. “Well, you’re definitely off to a good start. But I don’t know how you’re going to fit through the doorway.”

Max shuffled sideways, struggling to make it past the doorframe. “It’s fine, I’ve got this,” he said, determined, but ended up getting stuck halfway through. Y/n couldn’t stop laughing as Max wiggled and pushed, trying to squeeze his way inside.

“I’m stuck! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Max complained.

Y/n, still giggling, pulled him through by his arms. “You’re the one who decided to wear a giant pumpkin suit!”

Once inside, Max looked around at the decorations and whistled. “Wow, you really went all out. I’m impressed.” He pointed to the cobwebs, the spooky lighting, and the themed snacks shaped like eyeballs and spiders.

Y/n grinned proudly. “I told you, Max. I take Halloween very seriously.”

Throughout the night, the party was in full swing. Guests were dressed in all sorts of costumes, from scary to silly. Max, still waddling around in his pumpkin suit, made everyone laugh with his exaggerated movements and funny remarks.

At one point, Y/n challenged Max to a pumpkin-carving contest. They set up at the dining table, surrounded by pumpkin guts and seeds. Max was hyper-focused, determined to win, while Y/n took a more laid-back approach, carving out a cute witch face on her pumpkin.

Max, on the other hand, had gone for something much more elaborate—a recreation of his F1 car, or at least, that was what it was supposed to be.

“Max, what is that?” Y/n asked, squinting at his creation.

“It’s a car, obviously!” Max defended, though it looked more like a mashed-up blob than anything car-like.

“Sure, if a car got run over by a truck,” Y/n teased.

Despite the questionable carving, everyone voted Max’s pumpkin as the funniest, and Y/n’s as the most creative. In the end, they decided to call it a tie.

As the night wound down, Y/n found herself sitting on the couch with Max, both of them tired but happy after a night of fun.

“I have to admit,” Y/n said, leaning her head on Max’s pumpkin-covered shoulder, “you did make the party a lot more fun with that ridiculous costume.”

Max grinned. “I told you, comedy wins. Plus, you can’t compete with this level of pumpkin perfection.”

Y/n laughed and nudged him. “Next year, I’m dressing as something even funnier. You’re going down, Verstappen.”

Max looked at her, his blue eyes twinkling. “We’ll see, Y/n. But you know I don’t lose easily.”

And as they sat there, surrounded by the remnants of their Halloween chaos, Y/n couldn’t help but think that this had been one of the best nights she’d had in a long time—thanks to her silly, competitive friend.

[mci-writing]

heyy~ may i habe, hcs nsfw of senku, tsukasa, and gen fucking their s/o in the kitchen? like senku you guys fucked up something and waiting on an order, tsukasa takes you while youre making breakfast or something, and gen uses cream from a pastry youre making to lick it off your body? thank you ily i hope i did this right lol.

This has been years in the making, huh?

Sexy Kitchen Times (w/ Senku Ishigami, Tsukasa Shishiou, and Gen Asagiri):

TW: smut, modern/no petrification/post petrification au, small bit of bondage in Gen's part (he ties reader's wrists to the bedpost), no beta whoops, overstim in Senku's part, Tsukasa fucks his s/o next to a still hot stove 🤷🏾‍♀️

Ishigami Senku:

You had tried warning him from the get-go that substituting the recipe's ingredients with chemicals from his lab would be a horrible idea (esp when he pulled his Bunsen Burner seemingly out of thin air), but nooo he wanted you to trust the science process bc he was more than 1 billion percent sure it would work

Now you were standing in the middle of a nearly destroyed kitchen while ordering from the noodle place down the block, sending your lover a glare he knows a little too well when science experiments that involve you go horribly wrong

He hugs you from behind after cleaning up most of the mess, burying his face in your neck as he pulls you closer to him

This was what your friends deemed the affection maneuver, a move Senku only makes when he knows he might be sleeping on the couch for the night

"Y'know, it's so sexy when you get mad like this, dragonfruit" He'll teasingly whisper along the shell of your ear, pressing soft kisses into your skin while his fingers rub sensual circles into your hips

And for the moment, you completely forget about the kitchen debacle when his lips meet yours, turning you in his hold and helping you settle on the counter. He tugs your top off between kisses, nipping at whatever skin he can reach while his one of his hands happily move to fondle your chest

And, like always, it ends with you riding his cock (bc his stamina maxed out smh), your hands gripping onto his thighs for dear life as his tip nudges at a certain sensitive spot while he times the delivery guy through calculating the speed of your rocking and the pitch of your moans, who is definitely 10 minutes late this time

Your brain is mush by the time the food does get there, Senku happily coaxing orgasm after orgasm out of you with a sweet "Just one more? So I can make it up to you?". It's the closest he can get to you forgetting the whole conundrum and he gets to watch your face shift in overstimulated pleasure

He does still sleep on the couch later that night, but it's only for a couple minutes before you cave and make him eat you out as payback (which you both know is just going to lead to a round of competitive sex, but I'll mind my best)

Asagiri Gen:

You'd already had an idea this would happen when Gen kept making innuendos about the glaze you'd made for your donuts earlier in the day, but a part of you wasn't really taking his words seriously until he'd told you to wait on the bed

I mean, you couldn't really go anywhere with your wrists tied to the bedpost, but you could hear the small happy pep in his step as he made his way back to you with the icing bag nuzzled snuggly in his hold

"Baby, look what I've got," He eagerly coos as he towers over your body, setting his knee beside you as he slides in closer on the bed. He holds the tip over your lips, squeezing enough for a little bit of the sweet concoction to spill out.

After your tongue swipes the small bit away, he gets to work setting a small dollop on each of your sensitive parts, stopping to admire his work once he finishes

He ensures that you've been licked clean of any stick sweet residue by the time he's finished, keeping track that you're thoroughly prepped before nestling into your welcoming heat

And he happily covers certain areas of your body with the cream again before fully allowing himself to go to town, enjoying the way his cum mixes with the sugary substance on your skin

Shishio Tsukasa:

"Ts-Tsukasa..." You manage out in an airy tone, tightly gripping the counter as the head of his cock nudges at your entrance. The small sounds you make as he pushes the head all the way in only make him smirk

He leans forward as he pushes fully inside, taking the time to cut the stove off before his hand softly grips your hips and drags you back against him.

"You shouldn't have teased me so much," He softly states into your ear, tugging on the lower back tie of your apron so it hangs freely from your body by the tie around your neck. His right-hand moves to grab at the plush fat of your ass, a smack sounding as he brings his heavy palm down and squeezes as soon as he gets a good grip on it

He easily slides in and out from the perfect combination of spit and lube, the tight hold on your hip allowing him to push and pull against you as he pleases

Each spill of his name from your lips only encourages him to go faster, the breakfast you'd been hard at work creating forgotten with each deep thrust he made inside, stars clouding your mind

[wildflowerluver]

all i need to hear

aaron hotchner x fem!reader

aaron’s comfort is all you need

cw: one bed + nightmare trope, friends to lovers-ish, nightmare, case details, reader gets injured

wc: 3.8k

༺♡༻

everyone’s allowed to have a tough case. 

j.j. experiences it most with children and rossi with people he’s dealt with in his earlier times at the bau, but you, nothing really seems to stop you. it’s remarkable, really. 

this case seems to be the exception.

the team is sent somewhere in colorado. it’s a small town, nestled in the forest though the mountains prove to be a bigger challenge in locating evidence that the p.d. had indicated.

your anxiety flares when garcia presents the victim list while you’re on the plane. you had left in such a rush that there was no prior debriefing in quantico.

they look like you. 

same hair color, eye color, all of it. 

subconsciously, you know these details aren’t exclusive to you but the uneasiness can’t be shaken. even emily raises an eyebrow in your direction. 

“-we need to get started right away when we land,” hotch’s voice breaks you out from where you’ve zoned out after staring at the pictures. “the unsub is progressing rapidly. we have no time to waste.” 

it’s a miracle you know where to go when you arrive. you missed hotch handing out assignments and chose to follow j.j. and hotch closely instead. you’re still on edge. no one else seems to pick up on your mood and for that you’re grateful. 

the weather doesn’t help either; rain and thunderstorms all week. great for catching an unsub.

____

you’re exhausted, everyone is.

two straight days of work with little time to rest was seriously impacting the cognitive abilities of the team. it happened on certain cases, very rarely, but still occurred.

hotch had stopped the team on the second night, ordering everyone to go back to the hotel to get some rest. hotel rooms were limited and rossi won the drawing for the only single room. everyone else seems to find their pair naturally.

that leaves you paired with hotch who doesn’t say much as you head towards the elevator. he picks up on your body language of not wanting to speak. 

you’re still anxious, on edge. it’s not the sleeping arrangements or the sleep deprivation, it’s the case. 

everything around you is moving too slow or too fast. you can’t even control it. one minute you’re stepping off the elevator and heading towards your room with hotch and the next you're stopping in your tracks at the sight of the room.

one bed.

it’s large enough to accommodate the both of you but your heart flutters at the realization you would be sharing a bed. you don’t say anything and neither does he. two adults can share a bed. it’s not a big deal.

your mind is already drifting back to the past two days.

hotch maneuvers around your frozen form to put your bags in the right spots before he turns to you.

“y/n?” 

you don’t hear him.

“y/n” he tries again, this time placing a hand on your shoulder.

you flinch, though you try to play it off with a roll of the shoulders.

“do you want to take first shower?”

you nod, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ as you gather pajamas and head in. you try not to think of the case as you shower, though your mind can only drift to one place; aaron. you’re sharing a bed. it’s an odd pairing, given you usually room with emily or even spencer and especially with how you feel about hotch; something only emily knows about.  

you slip into bed without another word to the man in the room. exhaustion creeps in your bones and you know you can chalk your quietness to that.

staying awake to ensure that the sleeping arrangements are okay seems like the best idea. you shut your eyes, promising to yourself that you were just resting until he was finished. you loll off to sleep to the sound of hotch’s shower.

aaron exits the bathroom to see you asleep. you’re curled up on your side of the bed, arms wrapped in a protective manner around yourself.

he knows you're not feeling well, not on a work level but a personal one too.

aaron promises to himself that he’s going to look out for you.

__

you shoot up, clawing at the sheets to push them off of your now sweaty body.

it couldn’t have been later than two in the morning and the terror from the nightmare jerks you out of the very little sleep you’d gotten.

breaths turn ragged as you collapse out of bed and onto the floor. you press your forehead to the carpet, hands clutching at your heart that feels like it could burst out of your chest at any second.

it wasn’t a horror nightmare, per say, but rather a psychological one; where everything just feels….off. adding onto the emotions of the case, everything was becoming too much.

the sobbing comes next.

between the gasps for air and your bawling, it was only a matter of time before aaron woke up. at first, he thought you were simply getting up to use the bathroom. but, the thud on the floor proved him otherwise.

“y/n?”

he must’ve said your name multiple times. it doesn’t seem to register until he’s kneeling down in front of you.

“y/n?” aaron tries again. “can i touch you?”

you don’t respond verbally. squeezing your hands around your head feels like a better option, safer.

his hands find yours, gently removing them from the grip on your hair. he doesn’t let go, doesn’t let up his pressure in the slightest. 

aaron only lets his right hand go from where they hold yours. he keeps his left hand resting on your wrist. his next task is to get your head off of the floor. he moves to cradle your cheek to lift your head up, but your voice stops him.

“aaron-” you stutter. “aaron i can’t breathe.”

“hey hey, sweetheart look at me,” you’re in a state of such panic that the pet name doesn’t even sink in. “match my breathing, okay? deep breath in, deep breath out.”

his instructions make you feel like a child; like you’re at the doctor and they just placed a stethoscope on your back.

but you suppose that’s his job, that’s your job.

you don’t know what’s happening to you.

you never have night terrors, especially not ones on cases.

it takes a few minutes for your breathing to steady. you keep your eyes on aaron, blinking back the tears that are still welling up. you can finally breathe easy and aaron considers that the first step in helping you.

you’ve moved from your prior position of being curled on the floor to settling against the wall, half propped against the ac unit and the other half against aaron’s chest.

it feels odd, wrong, like you aren’t supposed to be this intimate with your friend boss. feelings aside, the embarrassment sets in quickly.

aaron knows some things off when you press your forehead into your knees.

“i’m sorry.” your voice is weak, small.

aaron raises an eyebrow. “what for?”

“i woke you up, i’m sorry. i swear this doesn’t normally happen. i don’t know what caused it. i’m really really sorry for disturbing you,” you ramble off an apology.

“y/n, it’s alright,” he reassures. “i promise.”

you keep your forehead down. for once, aaron feels like he is unable to profile you. the rule the team point in place aside, he can’t tell if you’re flushed with embarrassment or still feeling uneasy from your dream. 

“what makes you feel better when this happens?”

his question is with good intentions but your face turns even more red.

“pressure,” you answer honestly. “i usually sleep with a weighted blanket but it gets too heavy to bring so i left it.”

aaron goes quiet and you think you’ve gone too far. you’re already sharing a bed, you’ve already had a panic attack in front of him, and he’s already seen you cry.

“let’s get to bed.”

he extends both hands to help you to your feet.

when you’re both standing, he doesn’t let go of your palms, but rather guides you over to your side of the hotel bed.

aaron’s hand stays on the small of your back and lifts up the covers to help you in. if you weren’t still terrified, you would have blushed. you lie down and peer up towards the older man.

“pressure, right?” you can hear the underlying tone of permission in his voice.

you hum.

his movements are slow to provide you plenty of time to stop him. but, you don’t. he finally settles behind you, pulling your body to his so there’s barely any room.

instinctively, your arms wrap around his that rest on your stomach.

it shocks you at what aaron was doing. you were cuddling. never in your life had you thought you’d be where you were right now. you want to convince yourself so badly of how unprofessional the situation is, but you just can’t. between the terror you were feeling and your unanswered feelings, cuddling with aaron felt like a dream.

“hotch?” 

he hums into the back of your neck, signaling to you that he’s still awake.

“thank you,” you whisper.

he squeezes you and pulls your body a little closer to his.

“i’ll be right here when you wake up.”

a promise. and for once, you think it’ll stay true.

true to his word, you wake up still in hotch’s arms. you’ve shifted slightly in the night, however; hotch’s arm had snaked under your head to hold you in a makeshift hug. you feel selfish in wanting his alarm to never go off so you can stay like this.

you’re dreading the stereotypical awkward conversation that’s going to come out of all this but in the moment, you don’t care. you’re still embarrassed from your nightmare and hotch filling the void of your weighted blanket was making you feel better.

the bliss ends when aaron’s alarm blares. you quickly shut your eyes, wanting to savor it as long as possible. you feel him shift from behind you, gently pulling his arm away and propping himself up on his elbow.

“y/n, y/n,” hotch shakes you awake. 

you groan, feigning sleep as you sit up and rub your eyes.

“how’d you sleep?”

“better with you there,” you admit.

your words slip out before you can even think. it felt natural to say, like it was a given. hotch’s face stills before slipping into a soft smile. “good, i’m glad.”

silence falls over the room. you’re still close, you with your legs crossed and him laying on his side. he’s below you and you think about how easy it would be to lean down and press your lips together. you wonder if he's thinking the same and the second you see his eyes flicker down to your mouth, you legitimately consider going for it.

but, there’s a knock on the door. turns out you might’ve stayed in bed longer than you realized.

“come on! we gotta get going!”

you sigh.

back to work.

_____

garcia gives the name and address of a potential suspect.

hotch sends you and morgan to the house with a ‘call if you find anything.’

you step away to gather yourself, ensuring that your gun is in your belt and you have your phone on you; simple procedure. you don’t miss how hotch and morgan talk quietly among themselves, the unit chief seeming to be giving instructions. you know they’re talking about you.

morgan doesn’t mention it when he walks over to you. “ready to go?” he doesn’t use a nickname. strange. 

you nod, looking back over at your shoulder to hotch who still seems to still have his eyes trained on you. “yeah i am.” hotch takes one step in your direction.

“be careful.” 

his words are directed at you.

anxiety stabs at your stomach. 

___

hands are pressing to hold your cheeks.

your ears are ringing. everything is too quiet. the blurred figure in front of you is moving their lips, if they’re talking, you can’t hear them. 

it takes a couple long, slow blinks for your surroundings to even make sense. 

you were in the suspects home. you and morgan had gone to do an interview. one he opened the door, he saw you and grinned. you can’t seem to forget the way he made you feel just hours ago. like you were next. he had decided to run not too long after that. you chased him. anything after that was beyond you. 

“y/l/n, are you okay? what happened?” 

you know that voice.

hotch. 

you peer at his now focused face and tilt your head. it takes a moment for you to figure out how to speak. your tongue feels fifty pounds in your mouth. “why wouldn’t i be?”

“you’re bleeding.”

the warm sensation on your forehead seems to set in. oh. something happened.

“something happened,” you voiced.

“something happened,” hotch repeated 

you aren’t at your best. it’s clear to everyone, not just him.

“let’s get you to an ambulance.” hotch helps you to your feet, securing an arm around your waist to help you walk. you’d been knocked out. it was a miracle you were walking and talking as quick as you were.

the ambulance is fuzzy. the lights are too bright. it doesn’t help that it’s late morning and the sun is shining. hotch notices you squint your eyes and uses his palm as a visor with enough room for the emt’s to work.

“no concussion. no hospital. we’ll patch her up with some zipstiches and she’ll just need to take it easy.” you really hope hotch, or anyone, is listening to the emt’s diagnosis and instructions because you can’t.

you’re cleaned and cleared in no time. the pouding doesn’t seem to cease. 

“where’s the team?”

hotch takes a seat at the back of the ambulance next to you.

your knees bump together and thighs press against each other. you’re close.

“they’re at the precinct. we got the guy. he knocked you out. morgan went after him.” he’s talking in simple sentences that are easy to understand.

“oh.”

you couldn’t even help with the takedown.

“you’re cleared to fly,” hotch starts. “we’re heading home tonight.’

thank god.

the drive back to the precinct is spent in silence. you can feel hotch’s gaze on you but you stare out the window. you don’t feel like talking to him, about anything. the team greets you with soft smiles or a squeeze of the shoulder. morgan collects you in his arms, muttering an apology about leaving you behind. you nod into his shoulder. no big deal.

the plane ride back to d.c. and drive to quantico goes by before you know it but you still don’t feel well.

the guy was caught. why were you so on edge still?

the bullpen is suffocating.

it’s a silent agreement that everyone would stay later to finish their reports. some adrenaline had yet to wear off and finishing the initial case report would greatly lessen the workload for tomorrow. 

you stare down at the top of the paper.

just write your statement, it’s not that hard.

everyone around you seems to delve into their work. the pen scratching sends you into another spiral about the case. 

your head hurts.

hotch exits his office, titling his head when he notices you still at your desk.

“y/n? what are you still doing here?” he questions.

it takes you a moment to process the words before blinking twice and looking at him. “was doing my report,” you mumble. the bullpen is eerily quiet.

had everyone already left? did you not even notice?

two hours had passed. for you, it felt like twenty seconds.

you look back towards your report.

you hadn’t even been able to write your name.

hotch walks down the steps and heads to your desk, abandoning his bag on the floor. 

“i think you and i are both aware something happened this case,” his voice has dropped the authoritarian tone. it’s lighter, the one he uses when talking to someone emotional on cases. you supposed that that’s you right now. “it’s okay to have off cases, y/n. we all have them.”

that’s not it.

you want to explain so bad.

you trust him, with your life if it ever came down to it.

“hotch i-” you’re shaking, tongue going heavy in your mouth. it’s easier to drop your head and hide from his burning gaze.

you press your palms to your pants, desperately trying to wipe off the moisture that’s cumulated. hotch appears in your eyeline as he kneels down in front of you. “what’s going on?”

tears form at your waterline.

“hotch i’m scared.”

your voice is hushed.

“i can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. cases have made me anxious before but never scared.”

he squeezes your hand. “i’m right here, y/n. we caught the unsub. nothing is going to happen, i promise.”

you shake your head, eyes snapping around to check your surroundings. “that’s it. i know we caught the unsub and i’m still so paranoid. we’re alone in this bullpen and i still feel-”

you feel sick.

admitting your emotions is hard, especially in the bau. you profile human behavior for a living, you would think you would be able to manage your own.

“come home with me tonight,” hotch voices. “you’re in no state to be alone.”

he doesn’t minimize what you’re feeling, nor does he try and force you to dive further into your terror past the initial confession. 

you nod, releasing your hands to brush your hair out of your eyes. “right,” you start, “i’m not.” helpless, that’s all you can feel.

“you know it’s not like that.”

you become acutely aware of your interlocked hands. 

hotch sighs. “jack is away for the weekend with jessica so my apartment is empty. i would feel a lot better if you were there at least for tonight.”

you would too. 

“okay.”

hotch helps you to your feet, grabbing both yours and his bags and shoving the file into it. it can wait until tomorrow. he guides you out of their building and to his car.

___

you’ve been in hotch’s apartment before. only a few times, though, when you’ve watched jack.

it’s how you remember it. it feels like a home. jack’s drawings and tests cover the fridge and artwork sits in frames on the walls. 

“do you want to watch something on tv? or we can go to bed,” hotch asks after only a moment and you weigh your options. as much as you want to stay up, the adrenaline from the case has already started to wear off.

“bed,” you answer quietly. you’re unsure of where you’re going to be sleeping. it feels awkward to ask. 

you pick at the cuticles to distract yourself from the silence.

“if you’re more comfortable, i’ll make up the couch,” he offers.

no. no. no.

“absolutely not,” you laugh. you realize how your tone sounds and take a stride over to him, leaning against the wall. “i slept really well when we shared the hotel room.” it took courage to admit that.

“so you’ll sleep in mine? with me?” he sounds hopeful.

you don’t want him to think you’re throwing yourself at him.

“hotch-.”

“aaron,” he corrects you.

right. you aren’t at work. still, referring to your boss by his first name when you’re so used to his last feels odd. but then again, so did cuddling.

“aaron,” you spoke. the last time you had used his first name was when you had your nightmare. “are you sure?”

“i am.” 

you smile. “then we can share.”

aaron guides you to his bedroom, pointing out where the ensuite is and handing you an extra toothbrush. you get changed in the bathroom and splash some water on your face. you were sharing a bed for the second time - this time by choice.

he’s not in the room when you exit. you assume he’s somewhere else in the apartment, locking things up. you slide under the covers, choosing the same side you did back in the hotel room.

your phone buzzes on aaron’s beside and you pick it up to read the message.

take the day off tomorrow and get some rest. you all deserve it.

you smile. usually aaron gives you a late start after cases. a day off is a luxury.

you can hear his footsteps padding down the hallway and you rush to put your phone down. aaron enters the bedroom, smiling in your direction at the site of you curled in his bed and places a glass of water he’s holding down.

“how are you feeling?”

you peer up at him.

he’s standing at the edge of the bed, arms crossed and eyes boaring into you.

“better,” you admit. it’s not a lie, you feel safer at his - with him. 

“and your head?”

your fingers drift up to where the bandage lays. it feels like days ago that you got hurt when it was merely a few hours prior. “it hurts a little but i’ll live.”

“well hopefully the medicine kicks in soon,” he adds. “i also think getting some rest would help.”

“i could get some rest if someone would get in bed.”

he raises his hands. mock defeat. 

aaron then moves to lay down in bed, leaning over to turn the light off.

you can still make out his face from the moonlight that pours in through the window. he’s looking at you, waiting for you to say something.

“i forgot my weighted blanket.” there’s a hint of amusement in your voice.

aaron beams.

“come here,” he spoke.

you waste no time in all but launching your body at his. he’s on his back and you curl into his side, head on his chest and legs intertwined with his.

“is this okay?” you ask earnestly.

“more than okay,” aaron answers. 

you hide your smile in his neck, toying with the hem of his t-shirt. “going shy on me?” his tone is teasing. busted. you pull your head back slightly and peer up at him.

“i’m really proud of you, you know,” hotch starts. you raise an eyebrow. “for this case i mean. i don’t know, you seem like a lot doesn’t affect you and when it did, you still prevailed.”

the deep blush that spreads across your cheeks is thankfully hidden by the darkness.

“really couldn’t have done it without you,” you try and emphasize the last part. it’s true, you really wouldn’t have been able to stay together if he wasn’t there.

aaron stiffens and for a minute you think you misunderstood his prior words.

“i’m here for you, always.”

“promise?” 

he leans down to press your foreheads together.

“i promise.”

[goodlucktai]

the soft animal of your body (1/3)

rise of the tmnt daemon au word count: 4k title borrowed from 'wild geese' by mary oliver

this au is the brainchild of myself and my dearest meeks, @gibbouslunation on ao3, @mykimouser on tumblr. it's inspired by 'his dark materials' but we're playing fast and loose with canon so please dont take it too seriously <3

the daemons so far !

read on ao3

x

“Mikey,” a persistent voice says, “wake up!”

“Mmmmno,” he mumbles, rolling over. “Five more minutes.”

The mattress gives beneath him with a bounce and a furry body wriggles its way close, shoving a wet snout against Mikey’s cheek. He giggles despite himself and tries tugging the blanket over his head, but it’s caught carefully in a set of teeth, and a game of tug-o-war starts immediately. 

“I thought you wanted to make Raphie and Teddy’s favorites for breakfast this morning! If you sleep in there won’t be time!”

With a start, Mikey remembers the significance of the day and shoots upright. A second later, his arms are full of a very enthusiastic Border Collie. Helianthus is always excited to see him in the morning, like she didn’t just see him the night before. She’s always excited to see everyone, and Mikey both understands her and loves her with his whole entire soul. 

He gathers Sunflower’s head in both hands and kisses her firmly between the eyes. She holds as still as a statue until the deed is done and then explodes into action, licking his face like it’s the last thing she’ll ever do, entire body wagging from the force of her happy tail. 

Dodging her affections and untangling himself from the blanket, Mikey manages to climb out of bed. He’d wanted a hammock when he was little, but when Sunny settled, it didn’t make sense to have a bed that was so tricky for her to get into and out of. 

She was the first of all his siblings’ daemons to settle, even April’s. She knows exactly who she is, and always has. 

“Breakfast!” he reminds her.

“Oh, right!” she says, and shoots out of the room like an arrow. 

A startled squawk in the kitchen probably means Donnie and Terror are up already, which probably means they pulled an all-nighter. And if they’re awake, their twins definitely are.

Leo’s relationship with sleep is hot and cold on a good day, but there isn’t a force on earth that could persuade him to lay around in bed while his counterparts were getting into trouble somewhere without him. 

Sure enough, Mikey rounds the corner to find the four of them clustered around the kitchen table. Lucky perks up when she sees Mikey, and waves with one of her tiny paws, and he takes that as full permission to swoop in and steal her from Leo. 

Leo smiles into his coffee mug and lets his little daemon be the one who says, “Good morning, Angie!”

She rubs her face against Mikey’s cheek, as outwardly affectionate and sweet as Leo likes to pretend he isn’t. 

“Good morning, Lucky girl,” Mikey tells her, giving the ringtail an extra squeeze before letting her climb nimbly up his shoulder and perch on the lip of his carapace. 

With his daemon already smothered in love, Leo leans into Mikey’s hug immediately, none of that new reluctance they’re all trying to maneuver present in any inch of him. That’s how you game the system. 

(April was surprised by it when they first met. She was nine years old at the time, and absolutely fearless about following her new friends to their subterranean home. She greeted Splinter with the brisk, unbothered attitude of any native New Yorker and was an order of magnitude more impressed by Yumemi, who landed on August’s head in greeting as gently and prettily as a snowflake. 

Mikey had been pretty sure that nothing on earth had the power to surprise this girl. 

But less than an hour into her visit, Terror had gotten into trouble, as usual. She was scampering up the cabinets as a red-knee tarantula, because she’d made a bet with Lucky that she was just as fast climbing as she was flying. But when she was little, Terror tripped over her feet constantly no matter what form she was in, and eight legs was way more than she was used to keeping track of.

A panicked little squeak was their only warning when Terror slipped from the top of the cabinet, and maybe she would have thought to shift in time not to get hurt or maybe she would have kept scrambling to catch herself. It didn’t matter either way, because Raph reached out with both hands and caught her in the cup of them, safe and sound. 

April had sucked in a startled breath, but the twins and their daemons all chorused, “Thanks, Raphie!” as he stood on tiptoe to place Castor carefully back in the spot she’d slipped from. And the spider raced off again, lesson totally unlearned. 

“It’s okay, she won’t fall again,” Mikey had piped up, six years old and completely misunderstanding April’s reaction. “Terror is super clumsy but after their game she’ll probably turn back into something that flies!”

“It’s not that,” April said, looking between Raph and Mikey and Teddy and Sunflower like she had just discovered something besides their green skin and turtle shells that made them very strange to her. “Didn’t it—feel bad? To hold someone else’s daemon?”

She hugged Augustus to her stomach like the thought of anyone getting too close to him was enough to upset her. 

But Raph tilted his head in confusion and Teddy, a fluffy baby cow at the time, tilted hers with him. “It felt the same as holding mine,” he said. 

Any silly scampering part of Donnie was a part of Raph, too. Obviously. 

They hadn’t known it was anything strange growing up, as insular as their family was. Of course, they hadn’t known about their ninpo back then, either—that secret mystical connection they inherited the second Splinter became their father, that tied them all together, that made their souls neighbors to each other. 

And only a few years down the road, on a random summer afternoon in a busy comic book convention hall, when the big crowds were causing Teddy to shrink into a miserable little ball on Raph’s shoulder, April would say, “Come here, baby.” 

She wouldn’t overthink it or second-guess herself when Theodora crawled into her arms, even though a random kid in the crowd who clocked the exchange would do a comical double take. She would just scoop her little sister up and make her feel safe, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Because by then, April would be Hamato, too.)

While Leo’s occupied, Terror hops across the table and dips her beak into his cup. He clocks it and sighs deeply but doesn’t wave her away. 

Terror can get away with most things by virtue of being able to out-talk literally anyone, or by simply flying around like a maniac until her siblings get tired of trying to scold her and move onto damage control instead. 

“It’s not my fault your coffee tastes better,” she complains, feathers ruffled. “Donnie’s still trying to pretend like he likes to drink his black, and it’s gross!”

Sunflower laughs out loud, then tries to pretend like she didn’t. Donnie’s head snaps up from where he had it buried in his phone, an expression of theatrical betrayal painted across his face. 

“Castor!”

“Buy my silence! Use some syrup and creamer!” the hooded crow screeches back. 

Leo is giggling too, slumping down in his chair so he won’t be Donnie’s next target, and Pollux springs from Mikey’s shell on his way past the table to rejoin her person. She has her own little cup of coffee but she dips her weasel-like snout into Leo’s instead, because whatever Terror does, Lucky wants to do. 

“Good morning, Michelangelo,” a melodious voice greets him as he ties his apron on. 

Mikey beams at the little moth perched on the upright handle of a wooden spoon and says, “‘Morning, Emi. Did either of those bozos make you tea yet?”

The moth hums, an amused, affectionate sound. “Yes, my dear. They’ve been awake for an unfortunately long time already.”

“Ugh, that’s what I was afraid of,” Mikey grumbles, but his heart isn’t really in it. There’s no sunlight in the lair, but the company of his dad’s daemon is warm and bright all on its own. 

Yumemi is all the parts of Yoshi he doesn’t know how to express. Even back when his bad days could turn into bad weeks and he couldn’t muster the strength to get out of bed, his children never had the opportunity to question his love.

Not when Yumemi remembered all of their favorite things, and oversaw meals with watchful eyes to make sure everyone was eating their vegetables, and woke them from bad dreams with lullaby soft Japanese that needed no translation. 

Of course dad loved them. His soul was proof. She told them every day. 

Since he’d prepared the batter the night before, Mikey makes a decent headway on breakfast and has a tall stack of thin, flaky crêpes to show for it by the time Raph and Theodora wander in. 

They look surprised and then pleased to see everybody waiting for them, smiling at the lively chorus of “good morning”s and “happy birthday”s they’re accosted with right out of the gate. Terror is quick to flap around them at speed, talking a mile a minute, and it detracts from the weird bit of tension between Raph and Leo that still exists in the margins. 

Lucky quivers eagerly where she’s perched at the corner of the table, uncertain of her welcome and waiting on a cue. But the second Raph puts his hands out for her, she’s leaping into them. 

“Happy birthday Raphie, Teddy! We picked out the best best best presents for you!”

“We helped!” Terror interjects, incapable of being sidelined, or silent for longer than thirty seconds. “It was a team effort!”

“With all four of your heads together, I bet it’ll blow us away,” Raph says, gentle in that particular way he saves just for little siblings. 

To his credit, he doesn’t hesitate at all to pull Leo into a sidelong hug at the same time as he does Donnie in the opposite arm, and Leo sinks into it readily. Things have been a little weird and different, but not necessarily bad. 

When you can hold each other’s hearts in your hands on the regular, it’s hard to miss how loved you are. 

(About a week after Splinter’s abrupt announcement two years ago, shifting the leadership mantle from Raph, who had always held it, to Leo, who had never given indication he even wanted it, things were tense, to say the very least. 

Yumemi was downright chilly with her other half in a way Mikey hadn’t witnessed since the disastrous flu incident when they were kids, that time Donnie’s fever had to officially break 101° before Splinter could be convinced that Something Was Wrong.  

And unfortunately for dad, Leo had decided he was fully not on board with the decision, being his most contrary, uncooperative self at every turn. You have never seen malicious compliance until you’ve seen Leonardo with a point to prove. 

It all came to a head in a big blowout argument that really everyone should have seen coming. 

Looking back, Mikey doesn’t remember what started the fight, but it had been festering for days. Raphael was frustrated and his feelings were hurt. He’s been replaced out of nowhere, and his replacement didn’t seem to care about the job one way or another. 

And to make matters worse, Leo almost seemed to be baiting him. He had his arms folded and his hip propped in the doorway, a mean little smile on his face that Mikey almost didn’t recognize—he had never, ever seen Leo smile like that at Raph before. 

“Can’t you take something seriously for once in your life?” Raph said, fists clenched at his sides. “This is important and you’re acting like you don’t even care.”

“I think it’s safe to say you care enough for both of us,” Leo replied blithely, unmoved. 

Mikey felt a sharp spike of worry from Sunflower, who was reading all the high emotions in the room like a book. Teddy was still trying to mediate, but her soft voice got shouted over. 

“What if you goof off and one of your siblings gets hurt, huh?” Raph yelled, at his limit. “What if somebody gets killed cause you couldn’t bother to just grow up!”

Leo’s expression didn’t change at all, every inch the irreverent, unbothered teenager fully prepared to breeze past everything his big brother had to throw at him. 

But Lucky burst into tears. 

It drew everyone up short. The entire room just froze, like someone took an ill-timed screenshot. The only sound was Lucky crying, and then the scrabble of nails on concrete as Sunny raced across the room at top speed to comfort her, and Terror clicking her beat anxiously, all puffed up to twice her size. 

Raph looked like someone punched him in the stomach. Leo didn’t look at anyone at all. At least his mean little smile was gone. 

“Okay, boys and girls,” Yumemi said suddenly, startling them all out of the tense tableau. She was perched on the back of a kitchen chair, having observed the argument for who knew how long. Long enough, probably. “Family room, now.”

She was using the no-nonsense mom voice that got everyone moving. Seemingly between one blink and the next Mikey found himself on the sofa, Sunflower pressed into his side and panting anxiously. 

“I won’t pretend not to know what this is about,” the moth says. “Yoshi has certainly spent the last few days hoping it would resolve itself before intervention was necessary, but that clearly isn’t the case, and I’ve let this go on for too long.”

She wasn’t scolding them. She had a soft spot for her turtles and their daemons that was a mile wide on all sides. But she clearly expected to resolve this issue right then and there and wouldn’t tolerate the usual time-wasting tactics. 

Beating everyone to the punch, Terror bated her wings and blurted, “They don’t want to be the leaders, duh.”

After a beat of silence that felt extremely loud, Donnie added, “I would have thought that was obvious.”

Raph seemed shocked and Mikey felt that way too. Their whole lives together were a multi-part series of Leo stepping up and smoothing things over when they got out of hand, convincing his brothers to wait half a second instead of diving right in, scheming a way to get them out of trouble—or into trouble, as the situation called for it. He always seemed to live for it when a plan went off without a hitch. 

Mikey had never thought about it before, but now that it was laid out in front of him, it was weird. You’d think Leo would jump at the chance to lead. 

“It’s not really my bag,” Leo said instead. He had a hand on Pollux, almost hiding her completely. “All that extra work and responsibility, and not even a decent pay raise? No thanks. Besides, Raph does a great job. Why fix what isn’t broken?”

He refused to bend, sticking to his story. Knowing she was the weaker link, Lucky pressed her face into his plastron and wouldn’t answer any direct questions. Raphael looked like he was afraid to even breathe too loudly in their direction after making his littlest sister cry, and nodded rapidly when Yumemi asked if he was alright with things going back to the way they used to be. 

“Yeah. Of course. Whatever—whatever’s best.”

The moth sighed, but not at any of them. 

“Very well. I will speak with your father. He was wrong to handle this the way he did. Any future changes will be discussed beforehand, as a family. As for right now, Raphael is the eldest and he will continue to lead you.” 

Leo was out of his chair and out of the room so fast that Mikey wasn’t entirely sure he didn’t teleport. Donnie followed right behind him, their regular roles flipped. Raph didn’t move at all, hands squished between his own knees as if he didn’t trust them. 

Teddy was talking to him in her gentle voice. It was always so obvious to everyone who knew him why Raph’s soul took the shape it did, this soft thing that carried around a love so big it was better suited to someone ten times her size. 

Mikey couldn’t hear what Teddy was saying, but it wasn’t for him to hear in the first place. He couldn’t bear to leave his big brother like this, but he couldn’t bear to leave another brother hurting out of sight either.

Their bond pulsing both ways with white-hot worry and impatient, leaping love, Mikey could tell when Sunflower absolutely couldn’t wait another second. She hopped off the couch and circled around to where Raph was sitting and laid her head on his knee. 

It was delayed, but still a knee-jerk reaction for their biggest brother to give her the attention she was begging for. After a few minutes of petting her soft glossy fur, it was Raphie’s turn to cry. 

Lingering, still not entirely willing to leave them and feeling torn in two about it, Mikey looked at Yumemi. The moth waved her antennae at him gently, an unspoken assurance that she would stay and make things right. 

So Mikey left his heart behind to work her magic, and followed the twins from the room to work some magic of his own. If he could wheedle at least one smile out of each of them by dinner, he would call it a win. 

That evening, when everyone had been dragged to the table not quite kicking and screaming but close to it, Splinter stood up awkwardly and apologized to the far wall for how he had handled the situation. From his expression, Mikey wouldn’t have been that surprised to find someone holding a gun to his head. 

“The important thing is that you are a team,” Splinter went on, the formal stiffness fading from his tone and something more natural, more rueful and affectionate, replacing it. “You have always been a team, and a very good one at that.” 

Yumemi fluttered from the table to his hand, wings opening and closing slowly in approval. Splinter took strength from her, and added, “It does not matter who leads and who follows, as long as you remain on each other’s side.”

Leo darted a quick, sidelong look at Raph, who met his gaze hopefully. Some line of tension in Leo’s shoulders went slack and he said, “Where else would we be?” and smiled as easily as if the last handful of hours had happened to somebody else. 

Forever the more honest of the two, Lucky crept across the table inch by inch until Teddy could draw her into a tight hug that lasted well into dessert.)

Now Sunflower hops down from her padded bench and scrabbles like crazy around the counter for Raph’s attention. She’s such a good girl for waiting when all she ever wants to do all the time is run right to the people she loves as soon as she sees them. 

Raph scoops her up as easily as April can scoop up August, a full size Border Collie dwarfed in his big arms. She shrieks gleefully and bellows “Happy birthday!” loud enough for all of Manhattan to hear. Mikey smiles as if her joy is his own and carefully flips the next crêpe. 

“What do you want to do after the party tonight?” Donnie asks, setting his phone down. “The world is your oyster, Raphala.”

“But no patrol,” Terror pipes up. “It’s an important holiday.”

“It is an important holiday,” Sunflower agrees, tilting her head to the side so deeply that her floppy ear matches the upstanding one. “So are we going to the arcade? The movies? The park? New Jersey??”

“Hey, watch your language,” Leo says faux-sternly, causing her to yip with laughter. 

“I was thinking ninja tag,” Raph says. He crosses the room to Mikey as he speaks, and wraps both arms around him from behind to lift him off his feet in a big bear hug, spatula and skillet still in hand. Mikey giggles and holds breakfast as steady as he can. “We haven’t done that in ages,” Raphael adds. 

It’s an activity that rides the thin line between training and play, but if that’s what Raphie wants to do on his birthday, then that’s what they’re doing. Leo falls in line now as agreeably as he did two years ago—maybe even moreso. There’s some whining and complaining when the situation calls for it, but no more than any of the others are prone to; average annoying little sibling stuff because it’s good for Raph’s constitution. 

Mikey thinks the biggest difference is that Leo doesn’t really suggest his own ideas anymore. He doesn’t test Raphael’s authority the way he used to, even when sometimes they could really use his voice of reason or his lateral thinking. He so adamantly does not want to lead them, for whatever reason, that he won’t do anything that might give someone the right idea he’s leadership material. 

It’s something Mikey desperately wants to bring up, but every time he starts to, he can’t help but remember that uncomfortable family meeting and at that point his courage always deserts him. 

The last thing he wants is for Lucky, that easily hurt part of Leon’s heart that walks around unguarded outside his body, to feel small or sad because of something Mikey said. He doesn’t know if he’d ever recover from that. He doesn’t know how Raph did it. 

Two years ago, Leo would have thrown up his hands and said something like, “Ninja tag? For your eighteenth birthday? Come on Raph-a-doodle, think big! We’re hitting the Cheesecake Factory and then your favorite karaoke club. We can play ninja on the way home, how about that?”

Today, Leo stretches his arms above his head and then folds them, leaning back in his seat and telling Raph in his good-natured teasing kind of way, “Whatever you say, big guy. But don’t think I’m gonna let you win just ‘cause it’s your day.” 

It’s a change you have to squint to see. But Sunflower told Mikey in a whisper one night that she missed how playful Pollux used to be. She missed the little ringtail who used to want to be everyone’s friend and solve everyone’s problems, who used to run around in circles trying to be helpful and good, never worrying about making herself a nuisance because she knew better than to think her family would love her any less for it. 

“Maybe she’s just growing up,” Mikey had whispered back, stroking Sunny’s soft ears and ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach his own words put there. 

“Maybe,” Sunflower said, but she didn’t sound very sure either. 

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

what do you think of the rumors about Aemond's possible betrayal of Aegon in Ep4?

Oh do I have a lot to say about this one! So here's the thing. A possible Rook's Rest betrayal situation has been a long running theory among F&B readers even before the show. In the book, Vhagar slams into Sunfyre and Meleys from above while the two are locked together fighting, and they all crash to the ground. It's unclear whether Aemond slammed them both because Vhagar was too big to maneuver in a precise way, or if he was intentionally trying to harm his brother. It's ambiguous, but when Aegon is badly injured, Aemond becomes prince regent and declares the crown looks better on him than it ever did on his brother. In Aemond's favor, he did not declare himself king, but it's also the case that in the book, Aegon had a second son, so Aemond wasn't his heir either. Declaring himself king would have been a direct usurpation of Maelor even if Aegon himself died. We also know that at the end of the Dance Aegon wanted statues made of both his brothers, Aemond and Daeron, so Aegon himself likely did not believe Aemond was responsible for his injuries. But it is ambiguous, and book!Aemond does turn out to be not very smart and not much of a team player, so in and of itself, I don't actually mind the betrayal theory so much. But I would prefer it remain a theory, that is, keep it ambiguous, but even if it is an outright betrayal, it's the execution and motivation which concern me.

In the show, Aemond has a very clear second son syndrome. Whether it's true or not, he certainly thinks he's smarter, better, more dutiful, and of course on top of all that, he has the largest dragon. Show!Aegon, on the other hand, is insecure and struggling with depression, alcoholism, and a big case of imposter syndrome. He's impulsive and reactive, wasn't properly prepared to be king, didn't particularly want to be king, but now that he is king, he's desperate not to fail. In the events leading up to the war, Aemond kills Luke in a moment that seems more rash than calculated, and this ultimately leads to Aegon's small son being decapitated by Blood and Cheese in revenge, throwing him deep into grief and rage. On top of that, Aegon is feeling undermined by his council, including Aemond, and Larys is planting the seeds of mistrust between Aegon and his brother. It's absolutely reasonable for there to be some resentment between the two and some unresolved issues that might manifest on the battlefield. Would these issues lead to an actual attempted murder? Eh, I tend to think that, in the spirit of leaving it ambiguous, Aemond might have the passing thought that he could totally "accidentally" allow Aegon to come to harm. He might even hesitate just long enough that Meleys is able to seriously wound Aegon or Sunfyre before he joins in, causing him to feel a great deal of guilt. This is my preferred scenario.

The problem I have is with how the show is framing it so far. I've never been a fan of the way the bullying storyline seemed to humanize Aemond at Aegon's expense, but it now appears as if it's being used as a motivation or justification for Aemond betraying Aegon at Rook's Rest, as well as his general shift to a darker character, which I find cliched and disappointing. At this point Aemond is a grown man by all Westerosi standards, and despite their issues, we've seem Aegon display loyalty towards Aemond more than we've seen him "bully" him. They're siblings, they're going to fight and bicker and tease, but we've seen nothing from Aegon so far that would justify murder. Maybe if your brother is going through the worst thing a person can possibly experience, losing his son in a murder that, while not your fault, happened as a retribution for your actions, perhaps you could grant him some grace, even if he makes some obnoxious comments in a brothel. I've seen so many takes which basically amount to "Aegon had it coming" as if we haven't seen Aegon absolutely distraught over the death of his child, receiving no emotional support from his family, least of all Aemond himself, and spiraling back into alcoholism and reckless behavior. Now is really not the time to get pissy about teasing. It's not about you, Aemond. A child is dead.

And in fact, we've seen Aegon be supportive of Aemond on screen in ways that we generally haven't seen Aemond support Aegon. Aegon speaks up on Aemond's behalf, inviting him into the council when Alicent wants to shut him out, and we've seen him support Aemond's battle plans, even though we know Cole and Aemond have been planning behind Aegon's back. In S1 we've seen Aegon have Aemond's back at dinner with Rhaenyra's family, and going even further back, we've seen Aegon allow Aemond to throw him under the bus about the bastard comments, taking the fall even though he was not the culprit. There is certainly jealousy and rivalry there from both sides, but as much as Aegon is an ass, it is clear he loves his brother.

Also, I think some fans, perhaps because the well was poisoned against Aegon in S1 in ways that his character has struggled to recover from, tend to read everything Aegon does uncharitably and ignore some of Aemond's more questionable behavior, granting him grace that they do not grant others. I rarely see critical analysis about Aemond the way I do about Aegon, so I'm going to be frank here for a moment. Aemond is only the "good" brother to Aegon's "bad" brother because we haven't seen him at his worst yet, but the potential is there for him to be so much worse than Aegon could ever be. Show!Aemond is thin skinned, self-centered, and a bit of a "can dish it out but can't take it" type. Aemond's assholery is more subtle (for example, Aemond's patronizing little "that's a brave thought" to Aegon in council), whereas Aegon's is loud and obnoxious, but Aemond knows how to make his insults pointed and hurtful ("Strong boys" toast, you will die screaming in flames like your father). And look no further than his reaction to Blood and Cheese to see his egotism in action. In this moment when he's supposed to be showing some level of vulnerability with the madame, he's talking about how honored he is that sempai Daemon noticed him. Mind you, this notice is what resulted in the death of his four year old nephew. His "remorse" over killing Lucerys amounts to "I do regret that business with Luke," while immediately following up with his justification, citing how they used to tease him for not having a dragon. Sincere remorse involves examining your own actions without immediately justifying them or centering yourself, and in that moment I felt no remorse from Aemond, or even sympathy for what his killing of Luke might have unleashed upon the family. Aemond hasn't even mentioned Helaena once post-B&C, and you'd think that even if he doesn't feel sorry for Aegon, surely he'd show some sympathy for his innocent sister? And yet, nothing.

So while I can't say it would be necessarily out of character for the Aemond they've been giving us in S2, I don't really like this take on Aemond at all, and I just don't find this supposed grudge against Aegon a particularly compelling justification for attempted murder. While the bullying storyline humanized Aemond in S1 as a child, keeping it going now, as a motive for harming his brother and his brother's dragon, which, lets be clear, would absolutely fuck over his entire faction, is ridiculous and unnecessary, and really kind of saps any goodwill I might have had for Aemond. I don't have any sympathy for someone who was rather mildly teased and decides his brother deserves to die for it, and it makes me feel incredibly sad for Aegon who is just getting dumped on by his entire family to the point where it's honestly kind of hard to watch. There is plenty of drama inherent in the situation already as-is. If this happened because of tensions over Storm's End and Blood and Cheese, it would still be stupid for Aemond to do, but Aemond has never been as smart as he thinks, and it would frame the betrayal in the context of the ways Aegon and Aemond have hurt each other. However, if it is framed as Aegon's comeuppance for being an asshole, Aemond's Joker moment where he goes fully dark in some sort of bullying revenge plot that he decides to enact in the middle of a war? Honestly, forget building gigantic gold covered statues, I'd be burning effigies.

[unabashegirl]

Different 4 | College HS

Harry's quiet, routine-driven life changes one weekend when he meets Y/N through a mutual friend at her party. She comes from a superficial, materialistic world with absent parents who believe money solves everything. Despite their differences, something clicks that night, and Y/N can't stop thinking about him.

Author's note: Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well! Here is another chapter of Different. Let me know what you think! 🫶🏻

check out my patreon (starting at $2) and get full access to all 25 chapters, various one shots and much more :)

masterlist

He kept his eyes tightly closed, savoring the moment. Silence enveloped them. She never imagined she'd fall for someone like him. Harry was humble and kind-hearted, ridiculously shy, and often stuttered, which only made him more attractive. She already found him intriguing, even though they'd only known each other for a few days.

He listened and observed her, noticing things the average college guy wouldn't. He paid attention to the little details, which made her feel special.

“Harry,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss his lips again. Y/N pecked his jaw as she pulled away. Harry gulped and finally opened his eyes, confusion evident as he opened his mouth to speak, but his phone ringing interrupted him. He answered, but his eyes never left hers.

“I've got to go,” he apologized, a frown crossing his features. Y/N nodded and pulled away, grabbing her keys and tray to put them in their proper place. Harry followed, head down.

“It's freezing!” she remarked, rubbing her legs to create friction and warm up. The seats were cold enough to feel wet, but she loved the cold weather. Y/N rested her arm over the console, her hand hanging as she started the car and maneuvered onto the busy streets.

Suddenly, she felt something warm brush against her fingers. She glanced at her hand and realized Harry's hand was resting beside hers, the warmth coming from his hand brushing against hers due to the car's movement.

As the light turned green, she wanted to tell him how much she liked him, but it felt too early to share her feelings. There was always the chance things could go wrong, and he might not be as great as he seemed.

Y/N grabbed his hand without thinking. His hand was bigger than hers but still soft. She intertwined their fingers, trying her best not to look at him. He looked down at their hands and smiled, focusing on the window, clearly too nervous to speak.

“Harry,” Y/N called out as they neared his dorm. “Is everything alright?” He shifted in his seat and turned to look at her, his gaze intense.

“Did you mean it?” he asked seriously.

“I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise, Harry,” she replied, clearing her throat and sitting up. “But if you didn't like it, we can forget it ever happened.”

“No,” he objected quickly. She sensed she'd slightly offended him. “It's just… I never thought someone like you would like someone like me,” he finally admitted.

“Someone like you?” she repeated, offended by his self-deprecation. Y/N wished he could see himself through her eyes. Harry had opened the door for her today and offered to carry anything that was even slightly heavy. He was a gentleman, yet here he was, undermining himself. “Harry, I think you're wonderful. You're not less than me. Don't ever say that again,” Y/N firmly requested.

“O-okay.” Y/N finally pulled up in front of the dorm, but this time he didn't jump out instantly. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to her. “What now?” he asked, referring to what was blooming between them.

“Let's see where this takes us,” she shrugged and kissed him. “Now get out of here before I get you into any more trouble,” she whispered against his lips.

His lips tugged into a beautiful smile.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she smiled.

“Text me when you get home.” Those words made her want to take him home and never let him go. She nodded, and he shut the door. Y/N sat back in the car and waited until he entered before starting the car and driving home.

Y/N was no saint, and she feared his opinion would change when she introduced him to that part of her life. She used to drink a lot, often finding herself in strangers' beds the next morning. This had mostly been during her freshman and sophomore years. She still managed to attend class and maintain a high GPA, but things changed drastically after one particular night. Things had gotten out of hand at a house party.

She tried not to remember the events, though it was hard when Brian kept reminding her. They met during her sophomore year in a creative writing class and were paired for a project. Things were great for a while, but she started noticing strange behaviors from him, especially during their junior year.

She parked the car and waited until she reached her floor to text Harry.

“I am home. Sweet dreams.” Y/N got a few things ready for the morning and went to sleep.

She woke up to her phone ringing loudly. She reached out, eyes still closed.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie,” she smiled, recognizing her mother's voice. “How have you been?”

“Mom! Hi!” Y/N wiped the grogginess from her eyes and pushed the comforter off her body. She pressed the light switch beside her bed, and the curtains started rising.

“I’m good. How's Dubai?” she asked, watching the beautiful sunrise.

“It's beautiful, and the people are wonderful. You should be here with us,” her mother said. Y/N felt a knot in her throat, wanting to cry and tell them how much she missed them.

“When are you coming back?”

“That's why I'm calling. We'll be extending our trip for two more months. Dad has some business to take care of, and I can't leave him alone. He needs me.” Y/N felt her heart shatter but knew better than to get her hopes up.

“So, you won't be here for Thanksgiving?” She rose and went to the bathroom, trying to hide her disappointment.

“No, honey. You should fly to New York and spend it with Grandma. She'd love to have you,” her mother suggested. Y/N nodded, rolling her eyes. “Dad says hi,” she added, Y/N hearing him mumbling in the background. He was a man of few words.

“I hope you have fun. I've got to go, I need to do some school stuff,” she dismissed her, clearly annoyed.

“I love you. We'll send you some more money for personal things, and Mrs. Smith will take care of everything else,” her mother added, only making Y/N angrier. As if money could fill the void left by her parents' absence.

“Thanks. Love you. Bye,” she said, hanging up. She connected her speakers to the Bluetooth of her phone and started getting ready. She changed into leggings and a long-sleeve shirt, slipped on sneakers and a beanie, and went for a morning jog around the neighborhood. Jogging was her coping mechanism, and she needed to maintain her fitness for games and practices.

After her workout, she showered and prepared breakfast before heading to campus to study for a test.

It was mid-afternoon when she finally heard from Harry.

What are you doing today?

Nothing, why? Miss me already?

Always. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and my friends.

Yeah! That sounds great.

What time?

Like in forty minutes.

Okay, send me the address.

A few minutes later, he sent her the address. She changed into jeans and a white sweater, pulled her hair into a bun, grabbed a jacket, and put on some makeup before heading out.

Y/N parked outside a diner with fluorescent lights shining brightly. As soon as she turned off the car, she craved a giant vanilla milkshake and some fries. She sent Harry a picture of the diner's exterior and waited for confirmation she was in the right place.

Y/N felt nervous, which was unusual for her. She wanted to make a good impression. His friends probably already assumed she was a spoiled brat from hearing others talk.

She walked into the diner, scanning the crowd for Harry's distinctive curls. At the corner of her eye, she spotted someone waving at her—it was him. She smiled and made her way through the crowd. He was wearing jeans and a graphic t-shirt with a cardigan.

“Hi,” Y/N smiled as she reached him. He stood up from the booth, smiling back, though not as widely as she was. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him, resisting the urge to kiss him in front of his friends.

“Hey,” he whispered, staring into her eyes. She turned to acknowledge his friends, who were staring at her. There were three boys and one girl she recognized from the party.

“Hi, Mitch. Sarah,” she waved before sliding into the booth. They smiled back, and she turned to the rest of his friends. “I’m sorry, I don't think we've met.”

“This is Liam and Jeff,” Harry introduced them, both staring blankly at her.

“It’s nice to meet you both. Do you guys also go to the same university?” she asked, trying to break the ice, but they didn't respond, making her more nervous. She reached for Harry’s hand under the table.

“Sorry, Y/N,” Liam said, clearing his throat. “Can we address the elephant in the room?” Y/N looked confused. “How did this guy score you?” Everyone at the table laughed, including Mitch and Sarah.

“Seriously, it seems pretty surreal to me. Is he paying you or what?” Jeff added, making Y/N shift uncomfortably. Harry's cheeks flushed red as he looked down, embarrassed by his friends.

“Honestly?” She kissed his cheek, feeling his hot skin. “He’s just irresistible.”

“You're one lucky guy, Harry Styles,” Mitch added, grabbing a menu.

Under the table, their fingers intertwined, Harry's thumb stroking the side of her hand for comfort.

“Okay, enough teasing Harry,” Sarah spoke up, rescuing him from further embarrassment. “I'm starving. Can we order already?”

Everyone started talking and delving into their own conversations. Harry, with his free hand, grabbed a menu and started flipping through the pages. Y/N observed him silently, not wanting to disturb him.

Harry looked up from his menu and turned his attention to her.

“What are you having?” he whispered, as if their conversation was forbidden.

“A vanilla milkshake and fries,” she replied, making him smile. “What?” she poked his side.

“Nothing,” he shrugged, eyebrows knitting together. “I just never pictured you as a milkshake and fries type of girl.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, pretending to be offended.

“I jus' thought yeh were one of those girls who only liked salads and soups.”

She gasped loudly, clearly exaggerating. Harry laughed and shut the menu.

“I’m very offended, Styles,” she said playfully. “There are lots of things you don’t know about me,” she winked.

They ordered after Jeff and Mitch argued over which dish was the best. Liam shook his head at them while Sarah, annoyed, sat between them.

“So, Sarah, we should get together soon and do something,” Y/N suggested, trying to be friendly. Sarah seemed hesitant, staring down at her. Y/N understood; she was an unknown, suddenly invited to dinner.

“Yeah, that sounds fun,” Sarah replied, resting her head on Mitch's shoulder.

Harry was now sitting close to Y/N, more relaxed.

“So, I heard it all started with a party,” Liam said, asking how they met. Everyone shared their perspectives.

“Ugh, and Brian,” Sarah rolled her eyes. “He always gives me the chills,” she added, making Y/N's smile fade.

“He's just the typical guy who thinks he's a big deal and can do anything he pleases,” Y/N explained. “He used to be different. Now he's a jerk, so steer clear of him.”

Soon the food arrived, and everyone indulged. Harry had ordered a delicious-looking hamburger. There was also chicken Parmesan, a BLT, pasta, and waffles. It was a feast.

They talked for hours, refreshing for Y/N to be around people who didn’t constantly brag about money. She loved every minute.

“Look at the time!” Jeff exclaimed, checking his phone. Everyone realized how late it was and proceeded to pay. They stood outside the diner to say their goodbyes.

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“I don’t want to go home,” she whispered as he kissed her cheek.

“I don’t want you to go either,” he admitted, holding her.

“Harry!” Mitch called out, pulling them apart. “Hurry up. We’ve got to drop off Sarah.”

“What are you guys doing?” she asked.

“We're dropping off Sarah at her dorm, then all the boys are staying in my room,” Mitch answered. “I don’t know how or where we’ll sleep, but we’ll make it work.”

“Why don’t you all stay at mine?” she offered, making Mitch's eyes light up.

“Are you serious?” Harry asked, astonished.

“Yeah, it’s just me at my apartment, and there’s enough room for all of you. Plus, I enjoy the company.” Mitch and Liam almost hugged each other in excitement. “Why don’t you stay too? I could use some girl company,” she asked Sarah.

“Really?” Y/N nodded. Sarah cheered and did a little dance, making Y/N laugh.

“It’s settled then! I’ll lead the way,” she announced, unlocking her car. “Are you coming?” Y/N asked Harry, who was still giving her a side hug.

“He’s coming with us,” Jeff yelled, dragging Harry to their car.

“Fine,” Y/N shrugged. “I’ll take Sarah,” she gestured to the passenger seat. Sarah squealed and ran to her side. The two young women climbed in, blasting music as Y/N drove to her apartment.

CHAPTER 5

[the-dumpster-fire-of-life]

I saw you did a similar request as my last one so you can let that one slide if you wish !!

I also had this idea of how Tom would react to his s/o (preferably another artist) getting super mad at the paparazzi

(hello! Sorry if this is bad, I wrote it in the car lmao. But, enjoy!)

Give Them a Headline

Tom hadn't been with you when you went off on them

It was usually Bill with you the few times you did

The first was when you guys had just started getting popular

You guys were kids

Who had just finished a set late at night and needed sleep

And paparazzi would not stop bothering you and Bill

One even tried grabbing Bill

It was a pretty young woman who grabbed him and shoved a mic and camera in his face

Bill couldn't even talk and was blinded as everyone crowded you guys

Security was trying to get them away but could only do so much

So you took it in your hands to clock the bitch and her camera

Bill was happy you helped him but was shocked

Tom only heard about it because it ended up in tabloids across the web

Other times you yelled at paparazzi

As you got older and it kept happening, people thought you were rude and aggresive

But others understood you guys were kids and needed privacy

Tom didn't think about what would happen if he was ever there with you when hat happened

Until it actually did happen

"Oh my fucking, god. Move!" You yelled out the window to the paparazzi, getting a laugh out of Tom as you guys tried getting home.

"Relax, we'll get out soon enough." Tom tried to reassure you, his hand in your thigh as you scoffed at the people with cameras.

"It's dumb, they got their pictures, we're trying to get to her hotel." You explained, barely giving him a glance before a camera man jumped in front of the car, almost on the hood.

"Are you kidding me?" Tom scoffed at him before he was shoved aside as you laid your hand on the horn, and hard.

The man jumped off the hood out of shock as you flipped him off.

"You're gonna end up in another tabloid." Tom said, amused and understanding about your actions.

"I don't give a shit, I want to sleep." You sighed, rubbing your temple as Tom sighed, squeezing your thigh for comfort as he tried to maneuver out of the maze of people.

It didn't seem to stop, camera men and women with mics all kept following the car. Even fans from the concert yelled and followed the car.

"Go, go, go!" You yelled, pointing to an opening as Tom tried to floor it.

"Seriously?!" You yelled again when they blocked that exit, again.

"Go away!" You yelled at the window as they came up to your guy's windows, shoving cameras as they flashed into the cracks.

You could barely see, shielding your eyes with your hand.

"(Name)! Tom! Just a few questions!" A woman yelled, somehow getting her mic through the slit in the window.

"Oh, fuck this." You muttered, Tom was barely able to look and see as you grabbed the car door handle and shoved the door open.

"(Name)! Get back in!" Tom yelled as he saw you use the door to shove the woman back, getting out effectively and yelling at her.

Tom couldn't hear the obscenities, but he could tell what they were from the looks on the others' faces.

"Shit, shit…" Tom muttered, getting out to follow quickly as he moved to your side of the car to get you back in.

"Get the fuck out of our way! Don't you have anything better to do than harass people half your age?!"

You yelled at the adults, covering their cameras and throwing the mics they shoved in your face away from you.

"Yo! Get in the car." Tom tried to get you back in the car, not that he wasn't enjoying it, he just didn't feel like dealing with angry internet trolls.

"Get this shit out of my face!" You grabbed a camera, one that a man got too close to you, throwing it and yelling at the guy.

"(Name)!" Tom laughed, it slipped out as he wrapped one of his arms around your waist, using the other to open the car door.

"Get in." Tom said, still laughing before he stopped as you grabbed a cup from the cup holder and threw it at the woman who shoved the mic in the window.

"What the hell, kid?!" The woman yelled, now doused in sticky soda.

"Get a fucking life!" You yelled as Tom now used both of his arms to get you in the car, closing the door quickly and going back to the driver side.

He got in the best he could without hitting people out of his way, slipping in the seat fast enough to see you flipping off paparazzi.

You honked the horn loudly as Tom drove, effectively scaring them out of the way not to be fun over.

It wasn't long before you guys got out of there, you breathed heavily as Tom drove.

Tom then couldn't help the laugh that slipped out, getting your attention.

"What?" You snapped, more annoyed at the paparazzi than him.

"You're a piece of work." Tom joked, his laugh now getting a little one out of you.

"They're tiring, I wanna go to the hotel and sleep." You explained, settling into the seat.

"Maybe you should do that more often. Her face was hilarious." Tom nodded, a smirk on his face as he leaned over to kiss your neck lightly.

You smiled, kissing his cheek when he pulled back before settling back in, his hand back on your thigh.

"Might as well give them the fucking headline."

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future Part III, The Novel by Craig Shaw Gardner: Thoughts, commentary, and general ramblings

Part 2: Doc tells Marty to kill a man

• Something interesting in the novel is that, after Marty finds Doc’s tombstone in the cemetery, he doesn’t go straight to yelling for Doc like in the movie. Instead, he actually stops to consider if he should say anything at all—on account of Doc always warning him not to share too much information about the future. Strikes me as un-Marty quite frankly. That’s not something he’d stop to have second thoughts about.

• After Doc reads the tombstone and panics a bit, he expresses his confusion over who Clara is. Marty suggests that she might be a girlfriend, and this reply “—seemed to upset Doc even more than the gravestone.”

And although it takes away from the seriousness of the overall situation, I do find it kind of hilarious. Yeah, whatever, shot in the Old West. A GIRLFRIEND??! The horror! I love Doc.

• I really do like the novelizations because of all the little, unnecessary extra info they offer. For instance, we find out that Doc and Marty are able to access all the newspapers and documents in the City Hall Archives so late at night because Doc is friends with the night watchman named Charlie. The two of them have a shared love for the Old West, so Doc is able to talk him into letting him and Marty in. It’s not important to know this, but I like knowing it. I want to know more about night watchman Charlie and what he and Doc talk about.

• They discover the photo of Doc at the clock tower and it says, “Doc felt a sinking feeling inside his Hawaiian shirt.” Fantastic line.

• Doc briefly considers what might happen if he himself went to 1885 to rescue his older self but decides it’s much too risky. And now I can’t stop imagining a version of Part III where 1955 Doc tags along for that week in the Old West. What would that have looked like?? I’m fascinated by this concept now.

• I like this exchange:

“Hey, Doc,” he asked, “you think I’ll get a chance to ride a horse? I used to ride at summer camp. I was pretty good, too.”

Doc smiled at that. “I don’t see why not.”

• I am just now realizing that this book uses single apostrophes for when people are speaking. This must be another U.K. thing since that’s where this book was printed. Was tickled by the spelling of “maneuver” as “manoeuvre” before.

• Hey, there’s a hug at the drive in just before Marty takes off for 1885! No fair!! The movie just gives us that moment where Doc sets his hand on Marty’s shoulder and wishes him luck. Bogus.

• Okay, so, Doc also gives Marty a little speech that begins with “I know I’ve cautioned you about interfering in events of the past—” and THEN he says that if something goes wrong and he still ends up being shot, he wants Marty to “—get that son of a bitch who does it.”

HELLO?? That certainly changes the tone of Marty’s send-off now doesn’t it? Doc straight up telling Marty to avenge him. Alternate version of Part III where Doc still dies and Marty follows 1955 Doc’s wish and spends the rest of his life in the Old West trying to track down and take out Buford.

• Marty sees the grizzly bear and the book says, “’Yaaaah!’ Marty remarked.” And idk, “remarked” is a funny choice for someone screaming in terror.

• Instead of immediately tumbling down that little cliffside and landing unconscious on the McFly Farm, Marty actually walks through their land a bit. In fact, it’s noted that he walks very carefully through the rows of green plants, afraid of accidentally squashing anything. That is SO Marty. Just ran for his life from a bear, is tired and afraid, but still so polite and considerate of the crops he knows are important to someone. He’s such a darling.

• “He squinted at the smaller of the two buildings, the one with the smaller door, fit to let humans in and out, rather than that place with the big doors for wagons and farm animals. That meant that this was the farmhouse, the other building the barn. Marty was very proud he had figured this out.”

Amazing news, everyone. My darling boy is also BRILLIANT.

• Unfortunately, Marty only has like 2 seconds to be proud of himself because he falls down the cliff two sentences later. In fact, he's so locked in on the farmhouse and barn that he just doesn’t register the fact that the ground suddenly ends a few feet ahead of him.

• As Marty lies there, rapidly succumbing to his most recent head injury, he thinks, “It was nice, being on his back. It meant he didn’t have to walk anymore. Maybe he should close his eyes. Maybe he would never have to walk again.”

…y’all, I think he’s DYING.

And we’ll leave it there for now. We get Seamus and Maggie next!

[monpalace]

Fanfic devil (affectionate) :3

I HAVE MORE TIME THOUGHTS!!

Time is the type of guy that LOVES laying ontop of you. Resting his head on your stomach/chest while his arms are wrapped around your waist!

He loves this for a few reasons! 1, he feels as though he’s protecting you with him covering most of your body from outer harm and 2, your head scratches are the best??? You could knock this man out in a matter of seconds when you play with his hair

He honestly gets a little upset/pouty if he doesn’t get his nightly head scratches. Like you could be reading a book or doing something that is taking your attention and Time will just flop down beside you and huff.

Imagine a pouting husky, thats him

(Modern) Time in highschool/college gives jock/greaser vibes?? And imagine his s/o/crush having a more punk/alternative aesthetic?? Power couple frfr

(Modern) Time in highschool was the type of guy that, after he sent a flirty test to his crush, he’d slam his ohone down and walk away. Like hell do laps around the house at he just OVERTHINKS and blushes at how stupid that was.

Will fucking dive bomb his phone when he hears the notification ding

This could be modern or regular Time but, imagine you two are reading a mystery novel and you both are trying to solve the mystery while reading??? Like yall dead ass bought another copy of the book so you could tear it apart and put all the clues on a board

Hes so cute when he has to wear a set of reading glasses as he looks over some ‘clues.’ You give him many kisses while he has them on, and he has no idea why you random get super lovey but he’ll never complain

Time is the type of lover that loves to watch his s/o get ready in the morning. Its so domestic to him?? It reminds him that he’s more than a hero now, hes more than just his sword.

But he is also the type of lover that will lock his arms around his s/o’s waist and try to keep them home. Like, he’ll still be lying in bed and youll be at the edge if it, having come back to give him a kiss before you left, but now your just….stuck

He just straight up refuses to let you go, giggling to himself as you try and break free. You do end up on the floor at one point, just laughing as you try to crawl away from him.

He just drags your ass back up into the bed. You aint going anywhere tonight, good luck!

i also love your thoughts on this stuff so much 😭😭 got me laughing and smiling at this shit

fanfic (solar) system 🫶🏽

aren't huskies notorious for being loud and dramatic asf? you forget to massage his head one time and he just pretends to cry while spewing on about "oh so you don't love me anymore? you hate me? did you just tell me to literally sleep with the fishes? you never want to see me again in your life? you can't stand the sight of my face? you want me to fuck off and die?"

he strikes me as the type to whine when you get up and use the bathroom or get a snack like that one tiktok audio because, if time is one thing, it is clingy-- but it's amplified when he's tired

he also drools. i don't make the rules.

you make the mistake of wearing a cropped top, wearing one that raises easily, or just forgoing one altogether and there's either an unbroken line of saliva going from your belly button to your chest (he likes listening to your heart-- it reminds him you're alive) or it's just all up in your neck and pillow 😭😭

time's knowledge on anything punk/alternative is seriously lacking before meeting his s/o. he knew nothing of the style, music, beliefs, etc, etc but he got really into it once you introduced him to them

BUT IMAGINE MODERN! TIME (OR HIS S/O) OWNING A MOTORCYCLE?

he gives you his helmet whenever you both ride on his because he says he doesn't have a spare (he does) and that he just wants you to be safe. sometimes he situates you so that he's behind you while he still maneuvers/controls the bike because he's just cool like that (he practiced it a lot with his friends)-- but he also melts whenever you're in control of the bike because he gets to take the backseat and put his hands around your waist like in those movies

(he says he traded it out in college for something more "practical," but he really just has it hidden in a shed/garage somewhere. he goes in and repairs it whenever he has the time since it's so old and he's to attached to sell it)

time would send something like "i liked your shirt," and then toss his phone out a window before anxiously trying to do something productive. he tries to put off answering as long as he can so he doesn't come off as desperate but he ends up biting his nails and giving not even 45 seconds later

he squeals like a child when gets a "thank you (: i liked your jacket," before immediately over-analyzing with a little corkscrew board and everything. "should i buy something with [brand] so they'll compliment me? would they like it if i got them something with [brand] on it? is this a sign they like me or am i just being delusional"

HE'D LOOK LIKE SUCH A NERD WITH THE READING GLASSES THOUGH? imagine he actually has terrible eyesight, you take his glasses and put them on, and immediately walk into a wall or something? 😭

"woah! you might need glasses more than me lol"

"you look like a fucking mosaic and picasso painting mixed together. stop talking"

his little grandpa glasses lower his intimidation by a landslide so he rarely wears them, so it's only natural you drown him in affection. he takes it in stride (even in public) and asks why you're so obsessed with him when you wear them and you only respond with ";3c" or something

trippy i will like,, collapse and die or something 😭 character a keeping character b from leaving the bed/house is my one weakness

assumedly, time is stronger than you, right? because of that he'll definitely manhandle you back into bed with little effort, day clothes be damned-- if you keep trying to fight him even after he goes back to laying right on top of you, he uses the excuse of "i'm the goddess' chosen hero. tell them i need you for something"

"i can't do that if you keep me here."

"then i'll go in with you and tell them tomorrow," and then he doesn't. he pulls the exact same thing the very next day for the rest of the week

[frozenpeazz]

LATE NIGHT LOVINGS

Anthony lockwood x f!reader

Summary- Sometimes Y/n isn't up for missions or Lockwood goes on separate ones, like tonight he and George went out ghost hunting. He comes back late at around 3am from a stressful night and seeks comfort from his s/o.

Warnings- swearing, injury, fluff 🥰

READER AND LUCY SHARE A ROOM JUST PRETEND THEY HAD TWIN BEDS INSTEAD OF A DOUBLE?

The clock had just hit 3:12am. You were still up, reading about one of the ghosts you were working on. When you heard the front door open and close. You put down your book and headed down the stairs from your attic bedroom. Lucy was long asleep as she had the night off to. As you reached the bottom of the stairs you saw George, and Anthony Lockwood. Your significant other. George was quick to run off to bed after some sarcastic comments about how great the mission was, and then it was just you and Lockwood.

"So? How was it~?" You asked teasingly as, judging by the filth of the pair of boys clothes, it didn't end well.

"Oh shut up." He snaps back at you careful not to wake anyone sleeping in the house. You pout playfully at his reply and watch as he takes off his bag.

"Want me to stay or shall i go back to bed?" You lied, as if you would go back to bed even if he said go.

"Stay.. please?" He whispers. You cant help but smile at how your tall mysterious man of a boyfriend could be so needy.

"Okay.. but only because you want me to Locky~" you say with a teasing tone. The tall boy then grabs your hand and leads you to his room.

"I'll be back in a second just wait here." He kisses your head and you cant not notice the blood coming from his sleeve.

About 5 minutes later, he returns in his joggers and grey hoodie with somewhat wet hair showing he had a shower. He comes and lays on top of you resting his head on your chest and you play with his hair.

"Locky?"

"..hm?"

"Whats wrong with your arm?"

"What do you mean..?"

"The blood on your arm? Its clearly yours, so what happened."

"Nothin'."

"Lockwood."

"Okay fine fine, i got cut fighting a ghost, i pulled the rapier out wrong and cut my wrist.." You sat him up and gently took hold of his arm. "Its nothing to worry about! Just a graze.." You tug up his sleeve to reveal a somewhat deep cut.

"Anthony! Thats not just a graze thats deep! Wait here. Dont move, and i mean it." You rush off to get the medical kit and return back. You get out a cleansing oil and a flannel. "This might sting locky." You dip the flannel in the oil and dab it onto the wound. You feel his arm tense as he lets out a hiss of pain. "Sorry love." You lean up and kiss his temple.

"its fine.. 'm alright." You continue to clean the wound and you see small tears in the corners of your lovers eyes. You feel so bad. You apply the bandage to his wrist and pull his sleeve back down. You then position him against his headboard and sit in his lap resting your head on his shoulder. You feel his relax into your embrace as you draw shapes on the lower part of his back that isn't against the headboard.

"Go to sleep Locky, you've had a stressful night."

"And what about you?"

"I'll stay here, cant leave my dumbass alone can i~? Might accidentally cut your other wrist!" You giggle.

"Oh shut up you prick." He smiles as he playfully hits you.

"Seriously Locky, sleep. Now."

"Okay okay Ma'am calm it." You maneuver your bodies to be laying down with you draping your leg over the front of Lockwoods body and his arm holding you close. You trace patterns on his stomach as it helps him to relax and you watch as he drifts off to sleep.

"I love you Locky. Even if your a big shit sometimes, thats what makes you so interesting." You then close your eyes and soon enough drift off to sleep.

[peppymintdreams]

Everybody Get in the Fuckin Holiday Spirit

Luca x Reader

The moment the clock hit August first, the world changed.

Well, not for everyone—but for the MC, it might as well have. They shot up in bed, the air charged with a sense of impending doom, or perhaps excitement. Their eyes darted to the calendar on the wall, August 1st, in bold black letters. It was time.

Luca was still half-asleep beside them, blissfully unaware of the storm about to be unleashed. They leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, gently whispering, "See you later, love," before slipping out of bed and into action.

By the time Luca was up and gone to work, the house was already a battlefield. MC had wasted no time. The storage boxes were out, the decorations spilling across the floor like an army ready to be deployed. They sifted through piles of orange and black, strategically pulling out what they deemed essential for their mission: transforming their home into the ultimate Halloween sanctuary.

It was a war zone every year, but one they thrived in. As soon as the calendar switched from July, it wasn’t just the beginning of a new month—it was a countdown to Halloween. And MC? They took their holidays very, very seriously.

Holidays are not for the weak, they thought as they held up a plastic skull. MC could hear Luca’s voice in their head already, his usual teasing laced with affection. But they were on a mission. And nothing—not even their adorable fiancé—could stop them.

At the store later that day, it was like a battlefield. The aisles were filled with people, but MC wasn’t fazed. They were like a soldier, eyes sharp, movements quick. Luca had made the mistake of getting distracted by some candles in the home decor section, leaving MC free to execute their plan.

Target acquired.

There it was. The giant, illuminated jack-o'-lantern they'd been eyeing for weeks, towering over the rest of the decorations like a prize waiting to be claimed. MC zeroed in on it, already imagining it glowing from the front porch. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only one with their eyes on the prize. A woman a few aisles down seemed to have the same idea.

MC’s heart raced. It was now or never.

They made a dash for it. The other shopper noticed, but MC’s speed was unmatched. With a quick, stealthy maneuver, they snatched the pumpkin just as the woman reached out.

"Sorry," MC said with a winning smile, though their tone suggested not sorry at all. "Holiday spirit, you know?"

The woman narrowed her eyes but said nothing, retreating to the clearance section in defeat.

When Luca reappeared from the candle section, MC was standing proudly by the cart, their trophy safely nestled inside. Luca took one look at them, then at the cart full of decorations, and sighed with a smile. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," MC said, far too innocent, twirling a strand of tinsel around their fingers. "Just spreading some holiday cheer."

It was the day after Halloween when Luca finally said something.

The decorations were still up—spiders, cobwebs, the works. The house looked like it was still mid-haunt, even though the trick-or-treaters had come and gone, and the candy bowl was now filled with wrappers.

Luca walked into the living room, eyeing the eerie glow of the plastic pumpkins in the corner. He turned to MC, who was already sifting through storage boxes again, pulling out things with the intensity of someone preparing for war.

"MC," Luca said with a raised brow, "Halloween was yesterday."

Without missing a beat, MC straightened up, a roll of garland in their hands, and shot him a look over their shoulder. "You knew what you were signing up for when you married me."

Luca chuckled, walking over to press a soft kiss to their temple. "I did, didn’t I?"

"And besides," MC added, turning around with a mischievous grin, "it’s never too early to start decorating for Halloween, and you know it’s the same for Christmas.

It was the day after Halloween when Luca finally said something.

The decorations were still up—spiders, cobwebs, the works. The house looked like it was still mid-haunt, even though the trick-or-treaters had come and gone, and the candy bowl was now filled with wrappers.

Luca walked into the living room, eyeing the eerie glow of the plastic pumpkins in the corner. He turned to MC, who was already sifting through storage boxes again, pulling out things with the intensity of someone preparing for war.

"MC," Luca said with a raised brow, "Halloween was yesterday."

Without missing a beat, MC straightened up, a roll of garland in their hands, and shot him a look over their shoulder. "Again, You knew what you were signing up for when you married me."

Luca chuckled, walking over to press a soft kiss to their temple.

"And besides," MC added, turning around with a mischievous grin, "it’s never too early to start decorating."

Luca sighed with mock exasperation but couldn’t help the fond smile on his face. Because despite the chaos, despite the competitive shopping and the decorations that stayed up far too long, he loved every minute of it. And he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

"I guess I better get the tree out of storage," Luca said with a wink.

MC beamed, tossing a snowflake garland over their shoulder. "Now you’re talking."

As the days went by, Luca could only watch in awe—and mild terror—as their house slowly transformed into a shrine of holiday fervor. Halloween decorations had barely been packed away, and yet the scent of pine and cinnamon filled the air. Strings of lights twinkled from every possible surface, and the living room had been overtaken by wreaths, stockings, and tiny, festive figurines.

It wasn’t even mid-November yet.

Luca, stirring his morning coffee, watched MC dart around the room, stringing up yet another set of twinkle lights. "You know," he began, "most people wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas."

MC paused, mid-tangle with a stubborn string of lights, and shot Luca a look that could only be described as determined. "Most people are amateurs, and frankly lets be real luca, fuck thanksgiving" they said giving him a glare “mc?!” he said yelling at them “Luca! Settlers stole land from the natives and initiated violence on them, and besides nobody does it for the meaning of the fuckin holiday they only celebrate it to eat food without feeling guilty, reconnect with family members they’ve never met or nobody remembers and have stupid arguments about politics”

Luca couldn’t help but laugh. "Of course. How could I forget? You’ve declared war on the calendar."

"Damn right." MC finally freed the lights, smiling triumphantly before moving on to hang them along the windowsill. "We’re winning this battle, Luca. You just wait. By December, this place will be the most festive house in the neighborhood."

"I’m sure it will be," Luca said with a fond smile, sipping his coffee. "But don’t you think there’s... a limit to how much tinsel one house can handle?"

MC turned, mock-gasping as if Luca had committed the ultimate betrayal. "How dare you suggest such a thing!"

Luca held up his hands in surrender, still chuckling. "Okay, okay. No limits. Just... try not to tinsel the cat again, yeah?"

At that, Mocha—their fluffy kitten—let out a soft meow from her perch on the couch, as if to echo Luca’s concern. MC’s eyes lit up mischievously, and they picked up a tiny Santa hat from the nearby decorations box. "No promises," they teased, approaching Mocha with the hat in hand.

"MC, no," Luca said, but his protest was half-hearted at best. He watched, amused, as MC carefully placed the hat on Mocha’s head. The kitten blinked in mild confusion but stayed still, apparently accepting her fate as the household’s newest festive prop.

"There," MC said, stepping back to admire their handiwork. "Now she’s ready for the holiday season."

Luca shook his head, but the smile on his face never faded. "You’re unbelievable."

"And yet," MC said, turning to face him with a smirk, "you love me."

"Can’t argue with that," Luca replied, walking over and wrapping his arms around them from behind. He rested his chin on their shoulder, watching as they continued their decorating. "Though, I’m beginning to think I might’ve married a holiday-obsessed madman."

MC grinned, leaning back into his embrace. "You knew exactly what you were signing up for, Luca Pearce."

Luca hummed thoughtfully, pressing a soft kiss to the side of their neck. "I did. But I have to admit, it’s kind of fun watching you go all out like this."

"Kind of fun?" MC scoffed, but their tone was playful. "It’s a full-on holiday experience. And this is only the beginning."

"Oh no," Luca teased, pulling them closer, his breath warm against their skin. "What more could there possibly be?"

MC turned in his arms, eyes gleaming with excitement. "You haven’t seen anything yet. This is just the pre-game. Wait until we get the tree up. And don’t even get me started on the gingerbread house-building competition."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "There’s a competition now?"

"Of course!" MC beamed. "What’s Christmas without a little friendly competition? Last year, I let you win. But this year..." They trailed off, narrowing their eyes with a mock-serious expression. "This year, you’re going down."

Luca chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to their forehead. "We’ll see about that. But, you know, I’m not above sabotaging your gingerbread house."

MC gasped in exaggerated horror, swatting him playfully. "You wouldn’t dare!"

Luca grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Try me."

They shared a laugh, the warmth between them wrapping around the room like the Christmas lights that blinked softly in the background. MC, now more relaxed, leaned into Luca’s chest, their arms snaking around his waist. "You’re impossible," they murmured, smiling against him.

"And yet," Luca said softly, repeating their earlier words, "you love me."

MC looked up at him, their eyes shining. "I do," they whispered. "Even if you sabotage my gingerbread house."

Luca laughed quietly, pressing his lips to theirs in a soft, tender kiss. The world around them faded for a moment, the holiday chaos forgotten in the warmth of their embrace. As the kiss deepened, Luca’s hands slid up to cradle MC’s face, his touch gentle, his heart full.

When they finally broke apart, both of them were smiling, the playful energy between them lingering like the soft glow of the Christmas lights.

"I guess we make a pretty good team," Luca murmured, his thumb brushing lightly over their cheek.

"The best," MC agreed, resting their forehead against his. "Even if I take the holidays a little too seriously."

Luca chuckled, tightening his hold around them. "Wouldn’t have it any other way."

It was mid-afternoon when Luca noticed the package by the door. A massive box, wrapped in bright, festive tape, clearly marked as something fragile. He raised an eyebrow, setting down his book and walking over to inspect it. "MC, did you order something?"

From the kitchen, MC appeared, their face lighting up with excitement when they saw the box. "Oh, finally! It’s here!" They rushed past Luca, barely able to contain their excitement as they tore open the packaging.

Luca’s eyes widened as the contents were revealed. Inside was an enormous, intricately detailed, hand-painted Christmas village set. Little snow-covered houses with tiny glowing lights, miniature people frozen in mid-carol, and a majestic ice-skating rink in the center, complete with moving figurines. It was beautiful... but Luca couldn’t help but feel a bit of concern creeping in.

"Uh, MC... how much did this cost?"

MC paused, glancing up at him, their grin faltering just a touch. "Oh, you know... a little holiday splurge."

Luca crossed his arms, giving them a knowing look. "Define 'little.'"

"Well..." MC hesitated, avoiding his gaze for a moment before finally muttering, "It wasn’t that expensive."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "MC..."

With a sheepish smile, they finally confessed, "Okay, fine! It was a little expensive. But look at it!" They motioned grandly toward the set, as if presenting a priceless work of art. "It’s perfect! It’s going to be the centerpiece of our holiday decorations this year."

Luca sighed, rubbing his temples, but his voice remained soft. "You know, we have bills to pay, right? And Mocha needs her fancy cat food." He shot them a playful look.

"I know, I know," MC said, laughing lightly as they moved closer, wrapping their arms around Luca’s waist. "But it’s worth it! Just picture it, babe. This little village, right in the middle of the living room, with all the lights twinkling and—"

"You mean the living room that’s already drowning in decorations?" Luca teased, though there was no real bite in his tone. He couldn’t help but smile at how enthusiastic they were.

MC grinned mischievously. "Exactly. It'll be the crown jewel."

Luca shook his head, chuckling softly. "You’re unbelievable. I swear, you could decorate for every holiday of the year and still think we’re not festive enough."

MC smirked, leaning in closer, their voice low and teasing. "Well, maybe you shouldn’t have married such a holiday fanatic then."

Luca smiled, pulling them into his arms. "Too late for that now. I’m stuck with you." He kissed their forehead, his tone gentle but full of affection. "But I still think you went overboard."

"I always go overboard," MC said, beaming up at him. "But that’s what makes it fun, right?"

"Fun... or chaos?" Luca teased, though the warmth in his eyes softened any hint of complaint. He brushed a strand of hair away from MC’s face, his fingers lingering against their cheek. "But you’re right. It’s... kind of cute. In a ‘you’re slowly taking over the house’ sort of way."

MC grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You love it."

Luca sighed dramatically, though his arms tightened around them. "Yeah, I do." He leaned down, capturing their lips in a soft, lingering kiss, the kind that made the world outside their cozy little holiday haven disappear.

When they pulled away, MC rested their head against Luca’s chest, their voice soft and teasing. "Besides, it’s not like you have any room to talk. Didn’t you insist on getting that ridiculously expensive Halloween animatronic last year?"

Luca blinked, trying and failing to come up with a comeback. "That was... for the kids."

"Uh-huh," MC smirked. "And the way you kept setting it up to scare me had nothing to do with your decision to buy it."

"Totally unrelated," Luca replied with a grin, though the slight blush creeping onto his cheeks betrayed him.

MC laughed, pulling back just enough to look up at him. "See? You’re just as bad as I am."

Luca sighed, letting his head drop slightly in mock defeat. "Fine, maybe I am."

"You definitely are." MC gave him a playful poke in the ribs before moving back toward the Christmas village set, carefully pulling out each piece and setting them on the table. "Now, come on. Help me set this up. We’ve got a whole village to build."

Luca smiled fondly, watching them with soft eyes as they carefully arranged the tiny figurines. Despite the chaos, the madness, and the extreme dedication to holiday decorating, he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. The joy MC found in the holidays—and in every little thing they did together—was infectious. Even if it meant their house looked like a holiday showroom year-round.

"Okay, okay," he said, joining them at the table and starting to arrange some of the little houses. "But this is the last decoration for the year. I mean it."

MC grinned, not even bothering to hide the glint of mischief in their eyes. "We’ll see."

Luca shook his head, chuckling softly. "I knew what I was signing up for, didn’t I?"

MC shot him a triumphant look, their eyes twinkling as they repeated the words they always said when he inevitably caved to their holiday madness. "You knew what you were signing up for when you married me."

Luca leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to their lips before pulling back with a playful smile. "Yeah, I did."

(Ignore the amounts of times “You knew what you were signing up for when you married me.” Was mentioned)

[am-i-obsessed---maybe]

Drop-zone (Shadow Of A Bluejay Ch.3)

Coming back to this series after over a year!

I honestly forgot how easy writing was when 90% (figuratively) was transcribing an existing episode.

But seriously it's fun to come back to this even though I'm not super active in the fandom anymore

Main Masterlist

Series Masterpost

Wordcount: 2.8k

Warnings: canon typical violence

Star City July 22nd, 18:03 PDT

You adjusted the strap of the duffle bag hanging over your shoulder.

"You'll do great kiddo" Ollie said and you rolled your eyes.

"I know. This isn't my first mission. It isn't even my first mission without you" You told him.

"Give them some space Ollie. They'll do great. I'm sure of it" Dinah said and kissed the top of your head.

"Thanks Dinah." You said, put a pair of dark shades over your eyes and stepped into the zeta-tube.

"Recognized, B-01, Bluejay"

You weren't the first to arrive at the cave. Robin and Aqualad were already there, both in civvies. Like yours Robin's eyes were covered with dark shades.

"It is good to see you again Bluejay" Kaldur said and you nodded.

"Where's everyone else?" You asked.

"Superboy is on his way back with Miss Martian and Kid Flash has yet to arrive" He replied. "That sounds about right" You said and put down your duffle beside what you assumed was Robin's bag.

Unlike Kaldur, who's costume was probably under his jacket or Miss Martian who could change into her uniform with just a thought the two of you had to carry yours around with you.

Within a few minutes Wally ran in from the Cave's main entrance and Superboy and Miss Martian came in as well, followed by Batman. He turned on the cave's main computer and projected your mission behind him.

"Isla Santa Prisca. This Island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo steroid. A strength enhancing drug sold under the street name Venom." You explained and the images of the island quickly changed to blueprints and maps of a factory.

"Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating in full capacity but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in. This is a covert recon mission only." Batman emphasized. "Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene it will."

And then The boy wonder Robin asked the most important question.

"So who's in charge?"

"Work that out between you" Batman instructed and sent you all on your way.

Caribbean Sea July 22nd, 20:08 ECT

"Drop zone A in 30" Miss M announced and you and Kaldur both stood up, your seats on the bioship melting into the rest of the craft.

The plan Batman explained had two dropzones. Dropzone A where you and Aqualad would be dropped into the ocean about half a mile away from the shore where the two of you would then swim to the island and patch over the heat and motion sensors, allowing Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy and Miss Martian to fly to drop-zone B undetected.

You placed a rebreather over your mouth just as Miss M opened a hatch under your feet and you and Aqualad both dove into the sea. Kaldur could swim incredibly fast by nature of being an Atlantean but you used your flight to maneuver quickly in the water. It wasn't as fast as flying but it was faster than most swimmers.

Within minutes Aqualad  made it to shore and patched the sensors. The rest of the Team moved on to drop-zone B while you made it to shore and put away your rebreather.

"I always think I can keep up with you and I'm always wrong" You say  to lighten the mood and Kaldur chuckles.

"Now is the time where I must keep up with you" He said as the two of you made your way into the island's jungle.

It took them a few minutes to make it but Miss M's voice came over your radio.

"Aqualad, Bluejay, drop B is go" She said.

You couldn't respond seeing as you were busy flying Kaldur over a cliff in the jungle but he told her that the two of you would track their GPS while they headed for the factory.

You and Kaldur stayed silent as you made your way to the rest of the team. An aspect of covert missions They didn't seem to understand as you heard them bicker over the radio.

"Superboy, KF, we're almost at your location. Switch to infrared and check if we're being tracked" You said and Wally and Superboy each found a squad that was heading your way.

Not a minute went by and you heard gunshots from their direction.

"Is everything okay?" You asked.

"Yeah, the two squads found each other," Wally said.

"Swing wide, steer clear" Kaldur ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob" Wally said and promptly tripped, falling between the two squads.

"Are you kidding me?" You muttered and picked up Kaldur, deciding that flying would get you to your teammates faster than running.

As was expected once the team was found a fight broke out. Superboy went straight for Bane who was leading one of the squads. Robin jumped down from the trees and took out goons while Kid Flash dodged bullets and regained his footing.

You were almost there, you could hear more bickering over the radio and arrived just in time to knock out the last goon.

The six of you tied up both squads of now knocked out goons (and Bane) and regrouped.

"I recognize those uniforms, they belong to the Cult of the Kobra" Robin said.

"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa prisca's Venom operation" Kaldur added.

"Agreed" You and Robin said.

It became clear that the Kobra Cult had overtaken the island from Bane and his goons.

"We get it, Kobra wanted super cultists, mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for—"

You cut Wally off. "Except the cultists aren't on Venom. They don't have any of the signs. Kobra must be hoarding it. I don't think our mission is done yet."

"Agreed" Robin said.

”We’re not leaving until I know why Kobra’s hoarding this stuff” Robin said. 

“Until you know why?” Wally questioned. 

“Yeah, this team needs a leader,” Robin retorted. 

“And it’s you? Dude you’re a 13 year old kid who ducked out on us without a word” Wally said. His tone was harsh but not mean. Robin laughed. 

“And you’re a mature 15? You blew our cover first chance you got” Robin threw back and you massaged your temples. You loved the two of them. They were your best friends but they could get on your nerves. 

You looked at Kaldur as they argued. He was the oldest member of the Team at 18 with you following behind at a slightly younger 15. (Still a month and a half older than Wally as you liked to remind him)

M’gann and Superboy didn’t really count. Their experience of their age wasn’t usual. 

“Are you gonna step in?” You asked Kaldur and he shook his head. 

“Are you?” He asked. 

“Maybe to slap them.” You muttered and Bane seemed to find your team’s disorganization funny as he laughed at your squabbling. 

“Such clever ninos, but you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, I can get you into the factory via my secret entrance” He said and you stared him down. 

Why would he help you?

“There is a secret entrance but he’s also hiding something” Miss M confirmed. 

“It’s not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Bane said. 

You all looked between each other and agreed. For now you’d let Bane show you to the factory but as you walked Superboy pulled you aside. 

“I don’t trust him. He was talking earlier, I didn’t get all of it but it isn’t good” He said and you nodded. 

“Sounds about right. We’re on the same side but only until he has the chance to get his island back” You told him. 

Bane led you to a cliff overlooking the factory where you had a good vantage point to see Kobra preparing the Venom for a buyer. 

“We need to identify that buyer” Kaldur said. 

You kept your eyes on Bane. If he was going to pull something, he would do it now. 

He moved a large boulder revealing an entrance to the factory from the cliff through some old mines. 

“So now el luchador is our leader” Wally grumbled and you pulled him into the mines by the ear. 

“Come on” 

“Ow, ow, I’m coming, stop pinching” Wally whined as he followed into the mines. 

Bane opened the gate to the factory and after making sure the coast was clear you snuck in. Within seconds Robin was gone and KF ran off trying to find out who the buyer was before him, as if this mission was some kind of competition. 

“While Wonder Bird and Mr. Speedy Gonzales have their little contest let’s see what we can find from here” You said and flew up to a higher perch to see the shipment being prepared. 

“It’s a massive shipment” Aqualad said. 

“Yeah but look, they’re only taking new product off the line. They’re not touching the old stuff” Superboy added. 

“Maybe freshness counts?” Miss M asked. 

“Or maybe they’re different. Maybe Kobra changed the recipe” You said. 

“There’s a helicopter coming” Superboy warned. 

“Miss Martian, can you use your camouflage to get closer and see who the buyer is?” Aqualad asked and Miss M nodded, stealthily flying off. 

Meanwhile you helped fly Aqualad and Superboy up to a rafter to better stay hidden. You decided to let Bane find his own way up. 

“Sportsmaster is the buyer.” Aqualad said after receiving a mental image from M’gann. He immediately tried to reach Red Tornado back at the cave over radio while you tried to reach Robin and Kid Flash to tell them to regroup.

“Ugh, I can’t reach the league. It’s all static” He groaned. 

“Robin and KF are blocked too. They probably jammed all radio communication” You said. 

“We need a plan, now.” Aquald said.

“I have a suggestion” Bane said and screamed as he jumped down from the rafter. 

Both you and Kaldur looked at each other, confused as to his plan until a monster jumped through the window above, taking down the rafter you were all on in an attempt to get to bane. 

You caught Aqualad, floating him down safely while Superboy safely landed. 

The mammoth of a creature roared and while looking at it you realized this thing had probably been given this new Venom.

You braced for a fight as Superboy tackled Mammoth and you and Aqualad took on the goons, more and more of which were coming. 

The ruckus also caught Robin and Kid Flash’s attention, finally bringing them back to the rest of the team as you tried to hold off the Kobra cult. 

“I thought you learned not to run off” You told Wally as you kicked a goon who was aiming at him. 

“It was fine” He said, brushing it off and quickly taking cover behind a support column. A cover where you quickly joined him in an attempt to avoid the bullets being fired at you by the Kobra cult. 

That’s when your most hated sensation returned and you felt someone in your mind. You hadn’t heard Kaldur tell M’gann to psychically link you all. 

Your hands flew up to brace your head as you groaned and Wally put a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Hey it’s alright” He told you out loud and after taking a breath the panic subsided. 

“We need to regroup” Kaldur said through the link. 

“A bit busy now” Robin replied.

“Robin. Now.” Kaldur said and with a groan the boy wonder ran in. 

The six of you ran back into the mines. At some point Bane had gotten away but that wasn’t important now. 

The metal door didn’t hold for long and you all ran or flew as fast as you could while dodging the bullets being fired at you. 

“Superboy the support beams!” Kaldur said and Superboy nodded, punching the nearest beam and collapsing the mine, leaving you cut off from the factory. 

With the threat of the cultists gone you all stopped to regroup. 

You pulled a small but effective lantern out of your belt that lit the mine blue. 

“Ugh, how could my first mission as leader go so wrong?” Robin questioned.

“You do have the most experience but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk, but this team is new and a leader must be clear. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan” Kaldur said, trying to comfort Robin. 

“Oh so I’m supposed to hold everyone’s hand?!” Robin asked. 

“Not hold hands but explain. Communicate. This team isn’t a well oiled machine yet. It’s still building” You stopped. You had planned to simply comfort Robin but—

“Maybe we need someone who’s already used to very clear communication.” You said and looked at Kaldur. 

Robin followed your line of sight and smiled. 

“I agree, I think Kaldur should lead us” He said. 

“Please! I can run circles around him!” Wally explained and you turned your eyes to him, raising a questioning brow. 

“Come on, you know he’s the one. We all do” Robin said. 

M’gann agreed. “Hello Meghan! It’s so obvious” 

“Could’ve told ya” Superboy agreed and with that even Wally was convinced. 

Kaldur looked between all of you, he walked up to Robin, “If it is unanimous then I accept the burden, until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders” He said, looking down at Robin. 

“You were born to lead this team, maybe not now but soon” He told the boy wonder. You had some sarcastic replies to that but they would have to come later. Robin needed this comfort. 

“Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island.” Aqualad announced. 

Though Bane tried to stop you, you ultimately made it back to the factory the long way and just in time to stop the shipment. 

KF went in first and then Superboy and Aquqalad worked together to take on Mammoth while Robin took on Kobra himself. 

Miss M was about to join them when you stopped her.

“Can you place these bombs while camouflaged?” You asked her, holding out a handful of bombs you kept in your utility belt. She nodded. 

“Then you go, I’ll hold off sportsmaster” You said and she did as you said. 

“Hey Sportsmaster! You’re awfully far from Coast city” You said as you tackled him. 

“Well if it isn’t Canary’s little bird” He said as he dodged your attack. You were familiar with Sportsmaster in more ways than he knew and knew his fighting style well. More than well enough to keep him busy and when Miss martian was done to take a hit enough for him to think he could escape. 

“Thanks for the workout Birdy but i gotta fly” He said and took off in the helicopter. 

You looked at Miss Martian as she uncamouflaged and she smiled. 

When Sportsmaster was far enough away you detonated the bombs and watched as his helicopter blew up above the island. 

With the Shipment dealt with, the only one left was Kobra. Robin had done well but not nearly well enough. But as he saw his goons gone, his factory ablaze and the shipment of his Venom destroyed he ran, somehow managing to disappear into the shadows of the jungle. 

WIth the bad guys beaten and the comfortable breeze of the jungle to calm your nerves you dusted off the dirt and grime that had covered your suit during your fight with Sportmaster. 

Robin turned from the forests where Kobra disappeared to look at the team. He smiled and Aqualad. 

“We picked the right guy to lead… Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman” He said, laughing and you joined him.

“Good luck Kaldur” You told him. 

Mount Justice July 23rd, 10:01 EDT

Turns out just because Kaldur had to break the news to Batman doesn’t mean he’ll be the only one reprimanded. Batman bit into all of you pretty hard but what surprised you was the praise that followed. 

“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success and how you choose who leads determines character” He said before dismissing all of you. 

“Looks like Batman agrees with our choice of leader” You joked once he left. 

“It seems so,” Kaldur agreed, though somewhat sheepishly. 

“So what now? We each just go home?” Wally asked. 

“Well it’s a fresh morning, how about we all change back to civvies and we can go to a diner. There’s a really great place I know in Star City” You said and with a lot of nodding it was agreed. 

[dozing-composing]

do you have headcanons for Henchman 21 with a chubby reader? maybe some headcanons for him with a tall reader too? if you want to I mean.

Honey, I'll Always Be Down For Stuff Like This, You Don't Have To Worry If I Want To! Thanks For Requesting, This Made Me Smile Wide!

ᴛʜɪᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀʟʟ ᴡɪɴꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ...

Chubby!S/O: ✦ To be honest, I think he prefers his partner to be on the chubbier side. You being thick makes him go wild. He's mesmerized by your body. ✦ Treats you like the royalty you are. Whatever you want/need, he does it for you. He would do ANYTHING for you. ✦ He so would wrap his arms around your waist to give your tummy a lil' squish. Especially in the mornings when you're up making breakfast/coffee and he sneaks his way behind you and does it. ✦ He likes to bury his face in your chest and stomach. Don't get me started on how much he ADORES having his face being smooshed between your thighs, too. He'll sit under you while you're on the couch and he'll maneuver your legs on his shoulders and press them together around his head. ✦ He lets you "borrow" some of his clothes. He knows you steal them, but sometimes he'll leave something out on purpose for you to take. ✦ Loves to cook with you. You'll compare recipes with each other and learn a few things. Otherwise, you both will just team up and cook for fun, like combining dishes or making a meal based on a movie, etc. Tall!S/O: ✦ You crack a bunch of short jokes. He retaliates. ⤷ "How's the weather down there, shorty?" "I WILL CLIMB YOU LIKE A TREE!!!" ✦ He pouts a lot when you have to reach something for him. But in all honesty, he would rather have you get it just so he could watch you. You astonish him. ✦ You don't get cute little nicknames, no. He'll call you his not-so-little giraffe. His stick bug. The BFG. ....Alpine. They're all endearing in their own way, but c'mon Gary 💀  ✦ Seriously, though. He's the little spoon when you guys are snuggling up to each other. He loves to be encased in your limbs. ✦ He actually likes the fact that you have to bend down to kiss him. He just really likes the size difference. He'll look up at you and do that grabby-hand motion to initiate a hug or a kiss.  ✦ He'll want you to take pictures and selfies. You just "get the better angles." He has them stored in his closet as a keepsake. There's one he keeps in his wallet, where you hit him with a surprise kiss and his face is flushed because you had to crouch down a bit to do it.