#she gave me her card to pay for it but I would have just gotten it for her I’m ngl

[lesbiansanemi]

Me fucking SPEEDING through my work tasks today so I can go on break early so I can make sure I manage to get this one toy that’s been marked down INSANELY low that my coworker asked me to grab for her on my break

[lastoneout]

Like I know we all love making ADHD seem cool but like, don't forget it's actually a disability? My ADHD is bad enough I've nearly been evicted for forgetting to mail the rent check to the property manager, I've forgotten to pay the utility bills and had my water or power get turned off or had to pay fines bcs I missed a credit card payment. Once I was supposed to cat sit for a friend and I lost the house key she gave me but didn't realize until she was already out of town, and she had to call the apartment office to get someone to give me the spare so her cats would have food for the week. When I'm unmedicated I can't even get myself to shower half the time, forget eating or cleaning. Before I started living with my fiance I'd just like, not eat for days because I didn't have anyone to remind me to eat or go buy me food. I've forgotten to turn the stove off so many times and ruined kettles and tbh been DAMN fucking lucky the house didn't burn down. I've done stupid, impulsive shit that's nearly gotten me KILLED. I can't remember to close the shower curtain reliably even through my fiance points out every single time I forget, and he's almost out of soap rn bcs for the last MONTH neither of us have been able to remember to order more once we get out of the shower.

I've had such bad memory my entire life that to this day someone suggesting I forgot something because I simply didn't care enough is a legitimate trigger that, in the worst cases, makes me have a breakdown.

I get that for some of you this is just something that makes studying hard or you forget to take a pee break when you're playing Minecraft or whatever, that's still a valid struggle and you do deserve help and understanding, but like, ADHD is a disability. It's disabling. It's not impossible to improve and learn coping skills, meds help a lot, there are great accommodations out there(LIKE CLEANING SERVICES), but not every case of ADHD is the same, and a lot of them are pretty ugly ngl, and just because you managed to do something doesn't mean someone else is gonna be able to manage it too, or that they're being lazy for struggling. And that obviously doesn't mean ADHD people have a free pass to never work on themselves and make everyone cater to their every need or whatever, but we do deserve some understanding when we explain that our disability is actually disabling in ways that aren't palatable to you. So like, idk, maybe don't immediately recoil in horror when you find out that someone with ADHD can't keep their house clean. And for fucks sake don't ridicule them for it.

[irisinluv]

Caleb Love and deep space thoughts- SPOILERS AHEAD

Second update of brain dumping my thoughts as I play through the game… this time entirely Caleb focused

Ok so I’ve been reading Caleb’s anecdotes, dates, every scrap of info that becomes available to me…. And holy shit he’s such a simp!

Man almost fucking died, was lost in space for 2 weeks, and he’s just like “haha hey pipsqueak! Yea secret training mission, sorry, I’m back online!” As he’s in a hospital bed. Like baby boy not letting mc know he almost died???? And then the card/memory/whatever it’s called where he’s sick, and she has to basically beg him all day to let her in? Man wants to be Superman for her. Seriously, he’s out here becoming a pilot cuz it would pay well and help provide for mc, and if anything happened he could just whisk her away.

He literally worships the ground mc walks on. Obsessed with the necklace he gave him, kissing the pendant before each flight, not letting her lift a finger at the house when it comes to chore type things, using his evol to win her plushies at the claw machine… also he’s soooo obviously into the domestic life with mc! His house is bare bones before the reunion. Then MC shows up and there’s the scene where he’s surrounded by boxes, setting things up….. I picture him totally kicking himself for not having everything set up sooner, bc he got a house just so she could move in. I see him just living in an apartment that’s part of the officer barracks. There’s no reason why he has a whole ass house if not for mc. He just didn’t expect her to have infiltrated his ranks as a spy and to pop up so soon…. But hey she’s here now and so he’s totally buying everything and having a hot ikea build sesh in that slutty little tank top of his.

Oh and you know he’s a cheeky idiot about the fact that mc picked his room when deciding where to stay. Like we got that from the gameplay obviously…. But I just want to take moment to appreciate how hard that man must have been grinning on the inside. I also think it’s so cute that mc really is just making his place a second home. She’s got a little garden going at his house! She talks about the little yellow flowers she planted there in one of the text messages, and when he mentioned restocking his snacks on a community post mcs already planning on raiding it.

Also he’s been so obsessed with her since they were kids. Like he’s got some weird amnesia brain trauma shit going on after his deep space incident, and he scored poorly on the mental health portion of his exams (not him answering the “what’s the greatest challenge with flight missions?” Question with “it’s hard to get home on time”), and I’m assuming he was also an experiment by ever like MC is (but I haven’t gotten to the point where I can say that for sure), but like. That isn’t why he’s the way he is. Man was out here protecting her from bullies, the thing where he’d buy two of everything for mc, think he said something like “I wanted to grow up to be the most loyal… well you know, I could be” LOYAL HUSBAND? But from the jump he’s been doing everything for her. It’s so interesting getting this background from all the memories and whatnot. Like he’s made it such a source of pride to take care of mc in every tiny way, and so when she says stuff about not needing him, or uh, I don’t remember what thing it was part of but she fixed some electronic and was like “damn that was easier than I thought, guess I gotta stop bugging you for every tiny little thing, I can just figure it out.” and he PANICS! Like no baby- that’s his comfort thing. No matter what else is going on, at least he can feel needed and wanted when you come playfully whining to him that you can’t find your favorite mug. He’s the walking advertisement for acts of service. Also one last thing.

Yall noticed how he put his hat on mc like right after the reunion? The only thing I could think of is what it means when you put on a guys cowboy hat. Like damn Caleb. She’s still in shock that you’re not dead. But get it ig.

[ddejavvu]

would you please write a spencer x reader where she's at the conference (? not sure if thats what it technically was) where spencer gave his speech and everyone was just like 😶😶 but not her

and immediately after the speeches when everyone is talking she comes up to talk to him and shes being so kind he doesn't even notice that shes the only one paying him attention, just immediate infatuation 🥺

"I liked your joke, Dr. Reid." You approach the man from behind, but you neglect to tap him on the shoulder. You'd seen him apply hand sanitizer on his way out of the lecture hall without ever having touched anything inside, so you have a feeling he's more conscious about germs than most.

He turns from the proximity of your voice, and so does Agent Rossi. You're ecstatic to be in both of their presences, but Dr. Reid is an extra something special.

Agent Rossi takes one look at the flustered expression on Dr. Reid's face as he tries processing your remark, and turns around with a stifled grin.

"Uh, thank you," Dr. Reid stammers, blinking fast, "It didn't seem to be much of a crowd pleaser."

"Nothing pleases this crowd," You lament, "We're all overworked and sleep-deprived. But from an avid patron of the campus library, your joke made me laugh. And- uh, I'm Y/N. By the way."

He nods, lips pulling back into a smile that's more of a straight line than anything. You like it, it's cute.

"This campus's library is incredible," You seem to have unlocked Dr. Reid's hidden passion, as he springs into conversation without hesitation, "Unfortunately I wasn't able to explore before we got here because we got stuck in traffic, but we walked past it and I could see that the philosophy section goes all the way through to the other side."

His eyes are wide as he speaks, hands aiding his speech as he rambles.

"It's actually," You chuckle breathlessly, a tad sheepish to admit it, "It's one of the reasons I came here instead of my other potential university. I couldn't pass up the library."

"A girl after his own heart," Agent Rossi sets a hand on Dr. Reid's shoulder, finally tuning back into your conversation with a kind smile towards you. Dr. Reid turns, effectively broken from his passion-fueled library reverie.

"Unfortunately, we've just gotten called away," Agent Rossi informs you, "But Spencer, I think you should give her your business card in case she has any questions about our lecture."

Dr. Reid stands frozen, blinking once, twice, thrice, then-

"Oh! My card," He fumbles with the chest pocket of his sweater, then when he comes up empty (save for a speck of lint), he switches to his messenger bag.

"Uh," He jams his hand into a sleeve sewn to the lining of the bag, then thrusts a slightly rumpled business card towards you, "Here, um, yeah, if you have any questions. Or- or if you'd like to talk about philosophy? I've, um... I've got plenty more jokes if you ever have time to listen."

"I'll make time," You promise him, and you don't miss the way his eyes go wide and his cheeks glow pink, "Thank you, Dr. Reid."

"Uh, Spencer!" He decides, calling after you as you part ways, feet shuffling over tile as he tries keeping pace with Agent Rossi, "You can call me Spencer!"

[writersblockiskillingme]

I NEED GI HUN X F! READER PLEASEEEEEE

There’s barely anything for him:((

It can be literally anything but rn I’m craving comfort so maybe Gi Hun comforts his girl when she starts crying and she can’t really explain what’s wrong

Comfort | Seong Gi-hun x reader

Pairing: Seong Gi-hun x fem!reader

Summary: You knew that hunting down the salesman was going to be difficult, but after everything that you've been through in the games alongside Gi-hun, sometimes everything feels like it's going to suffocate you. Luckily, he's always there for you.

Warning/s: angst, hurt/comfort, a little fluff, short fic, just two traumatized people trying to heal each other, PTSP (talking about the games), death, tears, sadness, depressed atmosphere, cigarette addiction, cursing (?), mourning, guns, hunting down the salesman, possible grammar and spelling mistakes

Author's note: So I finally got out of the writer's block, and I found some spare time, so I finally sat down to write. I gave it my best shot. I hope you like it! More to come.

Being his friend was easy. Being in love with him was even easier.

Once the games came around, everything became more complicated. I simply never thought that something like this was going to happen. Working in a job position that I did never brought me much money. Sure, it was enough to bring some food on my table and to cover the bills, but it wasn't anything big. However, once I found myself drowning in debt, I found myself in a horrific situation with no way out.

The money that I earned was not enough for respectable food, I couldn't pay my landlord for a few months, and I was a few weeks away from being kicked out on the streets. Not to mention the debt for which it seemed like I never paid enough to get out of. I thought moving back to Korea would somehow help me at least to escape the loan sharks and pay for necessary things, but I couldn't imagine how wrong I would be.

That's when I met him. The Salesman. Playing the ddakji with him for some money earned me some food for that night, but it also gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. It was an opportunity that I now know I would have never taken if I had known what was waiting for me out there once I called the number at the back of the card that he gave me.

Before the first game, I saw him. My old childhood friend Seong Gi-hun. Up until I saw him, I came to a realization about just how much I missed him.

Truth to be told, I have always felt something more than friendship for him ever since I was I kid. At first, I brushed it off, but when I entered my teenage years, I realized that I really loved him.

I had to move away when I was twenty years old. I haven't seen him ever since. I only heard a few snippets about his life during the years I spent away from Korea. I heard that he had a, now ex, wife, and a daughter.

It was his mother who called me. She used to watch over me sometimes when we were kids, and since I was her son's best friend back then, we kept in touch over the years. It was nice, to be honest. Up until the day that she called me for a regular check-up. I had just gotten off of work after a really bad day. I had just sat down by the kitchen counter when I heard my phone ringing. The entire time I was on a call with her, she sounded strange. Kind of nervous, maybe even a bit disappointed. After a while I couldn't take it anymore and when I asked her what was wrong she told me the joyful news.

"Gi-hun is getting married."

I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating. I somehow forced myself to finish the phone call, trying to sound as happy as I could, considering that the love of my life was marrying another. A few years later, he got a daughter, and I soon heard about the divorce. I tried calling him multiple times to check on him. He never answered.

We reconnected during the games. During the bloodshed. During the pain. During the tears. During the final game, where it was down to Sangwoo, him and I. After Sangwoo died, I knew I couldn't kill him. He couldn't either. After the stunt that we pulled, we survived. We were about to kill ourselves, we truly were, but then at the last second, just as the knife had scraped the surface of my neck, they announced two winners.

After that, I realized that I couldn't live without him. I didn't have a family, didn't have any friends. His mother died, and his daughter moved with her mother and stepfather to America he lost his family, too. We were everything to each other. We still are.

As the months, years, passed, we set ourselves on a mission of finding the salesman.

At first, we didn't touch the money covered with the invisible blood. We couldn't bring ourselves to do so, but when we realized that we may have a shot at taking down the games, we used the money only for that sole purpose.

The first thing we did was to pay off our debts. Then together we bought the love hotel called "Pink Motel" in Seoul. The sign outside was always tured off. We decided to buy it so we could live there and now we also use it as headquarters while tracking down the salesman. Which was always.

That was currently our only purpose in life right now.

After we figured out our plan, we started to work with the loan sharks that were chasing us because of our debts. We paid them to find the salesman, and they were searching relentlessly.

Our mental health hasn't been all that great either.

Both Gi-hun and I have developed a cigarette addiction. Sometimes all we did was breath in the intoxicating smoke instead of air. In a strange way it helped me breath. I wasn't so nervous anymore. My hands shook less.

Gi-hun has nightmares. Every single night. I have them, too, but not that frequently. He had a gun next to his nightstand. I had mine under the pillow. It brought a sense of comfort that was always short-lived.

The nightmares kept us up all night, and because of them, we couldn't find any rest even during the daytime. It was always the people we lost on that cured island. Sangwoo... Sae-byeok... Ali... The images of our friends dead never left my brain. And neither did Gi-hun's. Other times, we dreamt that we're still playing the games. Us dying. Each other dying. The Frotman. The salesman.

It was too much.

I was just monitoring the room where our most trusted men were practicing. I didn't realize when it had happened, but I fell asleep. I guess all those sleeping pills that Boss Kim gave to Gi-hun and me finally caught up to me.

I felt trapped. Gi-hun... he was dying in front of me during the squid game. I couldn't do anything about it. I held him, covered in his blood, crying, screaming, curing at the sky for the misfortune we had to live. Cursing the makers of the game. Cursing the Frontman. Cursing the pink guards that just stood there and did nothing. Cursing the world.

Hands.

They were shaking my shoulders.

My name.

It was uttered from the lips of the man that I would die for.

My eyes snapped open, meeting Gi-hun's worried ones. Once he realized that I was awake, his face visibly relaxed, relief washing over him as I heard him let out a sigh, his head and shoulders hung downwards.

"A nightmare again?" He asked me as he brought his hand up to my cheeks, whipping away the tears that I didn't know fell, but also wasn't surprised that they did.

"I-I can't-" I sobbed, unable to form a sentence as he quickly brought me in his arms, drowning me in his chest.

"Shhh..." He whispered as he ran his hand down my hair as I cried against his neck, drowning his black shirt with my tears, "I'm here. You're okay."

"Yo-You w-were-" I stuttered, tears streaming down my cheeks, "You were dying, and I-I couldn't s-save y-you."

For a moment, there was just quiet in the room. Neither spoke. The only thing breaking the silence of our bedroom were my cries.

"Do you know why I never answered your phone calls after you found out about the divorce?" He asked me, his voice low, but soft with comfort. His sudden question about that topic surprising me a bit, "Do you know why my mother told you about it instead of me? The wedding, the divorce?"

"No."

"It was because I didn't want to face the fact that I was the cause of your misery." He whispered, still softly running his hand through my hair, my cries slowly dying down as I listened to him speak.

"I have always loved you and I knew that I hurt you with my decision even though I never wanted that to happen. I just tried to forget about you, I never knew that I could actually be with you." He sighed, "I thought that it would be the best for you. I didn't deserve you, I'm not even sure I still do." He chuckled softly.

"But even though I may not deserve you, I will never stop fighting for you and your happiness. You are my everything, and I would be damned if I ever let you feel any sort of pain." He lifted my chin with his hand as he leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine, our lips almost meeting each other's, "We will find him and end this, but for now, how about I make you some tea and we get you to bed huh, my love? What do you say?"

-

-

-

@shadow-tumbler

[refreshingly-original]

Okay, new idea. (This got bigger then I thought it would)

After surviving the Road, Lilia takes on an apprentice reader, who already knows tarot.

She thinks to test her skill and has her do a reading for her.

Her cards are clearly very cheap, misprinted (think image is wonky or partially missing) and of cats.

She thinks they’re a joke, a knock off to be sold for Halloween and says as such.

Reader pays it no mind, fully aware of Lilia’s view on the worlds take on witches, and continues with the reading.

Lilia decides to gift her a new deck, and they’re gorgeous, certainly not misprinted, but every time she see reader doing a reading for herself, or even Teen or Alice when they drop in for a visit, readers using her cat cards.

Lilia thinks she understands, slightly, why she uses them when she starts noticing the stray cats turning up at the back door and following reader around when they go out.

It doesn’t help that reader always toddles off when she sees a cat and goes to pat it. Lilia has lost her apprentice many times because of it and had to track them down.

Eventually, during dinner one night, where reader has a pregnant stray sleeping on her lap, Lilia asks why she still uses the cards.

The cards were a gag gift from her best friend who gave them to her for her sixteenth birthday. She got the cat ones because cats seem to flock to reader like she’s their queen.

Reader says that her friend had crossed out cups on a card and replaced it to say ‘Queen of Cats’.

They were the last gift she’d gotten from her best friend before she was just gone. (Whether she moved for whatever reasons or died is up to you)

And that’s why she still uses them for readings for people she cares about. Cause they’re scuffed to hell and back, but they’re her most important belonging.

Lilia figures out that reader was in love with her best friend and lets it go after that.

But as time goes by, and readers gets closer with the coven and Lilia, she starts using the deck that Lilia gave her for readings for Alice and teen, sometimes even Jen, never Agatha though, and Lilia is glad to see that reader is moving on from the heartbreak, but still says nothing.

It’s not until a year or so has gone since she started using Lilia’s deck on the coven that Lilia sees her doing a reading for herself with the deck she gave her.

That night, she asks for a reading.

Lilia pulls The Lovers and that’s how she realises that she might be in love with the girl.

Reader on the other hand starts teasing her about having a special someone, not realising it’s her. She does so for days afterwards, mentioning it whenever Lilia’s gaze seems to linger a little too long on someone.

“Ohh is that them? Cute.”

“I will hit you.”

“No you won’t. You love me too much.”

“Insufferable girl.”

When they meet up with the coven for dinner night at Agatha’s, reader tells them.

By shouting it from the front door.

“Lilia has a crush on someone!”

Everyone joins in on the questioning and teasing, but Lilia doesn’t miss the look Agatha gives her before glancing at reader.

She knows she’s going to be cornered by the other witch at some point and does her best to not be alone to avoid that.

It doesn’t work.

Agatha convinces Teen to help her get her alone and Lilia falls for it because she has a soft spot for him.

“So-“

“Leave it Harkness.”

“You going to tell her?”

“I’m leaving.”

“I’m almost certain she feels the same for you.”

Lilia ignores it and rejoins the coven, but it lingers in the back of her mind.

A month later, Lilia does her own reading and curses up a storm when she pulls The Lovers again.

Reader peaks over her shoulder and laughs, wrapping her in a hug.

“Maybe you should just tell them.”

“I’m too old for this, baby.”

“Evidently not.”

“Ugh.”

That night, reader also pulls The Lovers and realises what’s happening. At least for her. She realise nothing about Lilia. Oblivious as she is.

Que her bailing to bunk on Alice’s couch that night because ‘how could she move on so fast’ from her first love.

Lilia doesn’t find reader in the morning and tries calling her but it goes ignored. It’s not until Alice rings her and tells her that she’s staying with her for a while that Lilia relaxes. Though she’s still confused about why she’s gone, so she looks around her room, only to spot the spread on the table and of course comes to the conclusion it’s because reader figured out she has feelings for her.

She kind of goes numb for that day, only really focusing on her emotions after she closes up the shop and kinds of breaks down a bit.

She doesn’t open the shop for the next few days, and only answers the phone because she thinks it might be reader.

It’s not. It’s Alice telling her that reader will be staying another night.

Then it’s Jen checking in, because Alice called her and told her that somethings wrong with Lilia.

But of course Alice helps reader through it, pointing out that it’s been years and that it’s okay to fall in love again. After about a week, Alice convinces her to go and talk with Lilia, even promising to be there with her for support.

Jen of course has no problem breaking in to Lilia’s home after a few days of Lilia just hanging up on her as soon as she realises it’s not Alice with an update on reader, to talk some sense into her.

It ends up with them drinking. Jen only has two, but Lilia ends up drunk, so Jen has to take care of her.

Jen doesn’t realise that she sleeps on the Murphy bed and puts her in readers little room. Jen sleeps on the sofa. Shes going to have words with Lilia about not having a better sofa in the morning.

The following morning is when Alice and reader turn up, surprised to see Jen scrunched up on the sofa and no Lilia.

Reader heads up to her room to put her things away, only to stop and stare at Lilia who is silently crying in her bed.

She drops her shit and just crawls in with Lila and holds her.

“Please be real.”

“It’s real, Lilia.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

[danikamariewrites]

i love your fics so much, i have all ur notifications on and you’re literally the only reason i still have this app😭😭💜 i was wondering if i could please request one where azriel x reader where reader has a MASSIVE crush on azriel. they’re mated and married and all but she is so blushy around him. like she literally giggles and blushes and melts whenever she’s around him. imagine she’s laying on her stomach and has her legs up, kicking them just thinking about azriel sith half lidded heart eyes, and feyre next to her teases her for it, and reader is like i don’t even care, i’m so inlove with this man, i’m gonna carry his children and UGHH LOVEEEEEE🥹

So In Love hc

Azriel x reader

A/n: first of all thank you I’m happy you’re still here and I hope you like this anon. Second, I too would just stare at azriel with heart eyes

Warnings: very fluffy like so super fluffy

Even though you and Azriel have been mated and married for decades he never fails to make you swoon or blush

With every kiss and small touch you’re putty in his hands

You love watching training. When he takes off his shirt and flexes his muscles you start drooling

Az’s tattoos are also mesmerizing

Sometimes when you’re in bed you straddle him and trace his tattoos and leave lil kisses on his chest

Whenever Az talks about you within ear shot you get all shy and blush

He’s also insanely in love with you

If you’re alone in a room Az loves to see how giggly you can get

One time you were making yourself a snack in the kitchen and Az sauntered up behind you, gently holding your hips, swaying you

“Hi lovey, what are you up to?” He says, you could hear the smirk on his lips. “Hi Az,” your cheeks heat and you lean back into his chest, tilting your head to look at him

“You’re so cute love. How did I get so lucky with you as my mate,” his smile widens as you turn and hide your face in his chest. Az places a kiss on your head and holds your chin between his fingers making you look back at him

He leans his forehead against yours and keeps whispering sweet nothings until your cheeks hurt from smiling and giggling

Sometimes everyone gets sick of how in love you two are, other times they think it’s adorable

During the latest family game night you just observed from the couch with Feyre

Card games get very heated in this house

But you’re just looking at Az (as always) with heart eyes and the most obvious smile

Feyre nudges you, “You’re drilling again y/n.” She said with a light laugh

“I can’t help it he’s just so pretty.” Feyre hummed into her wine glass. “You did get the prettiest one, there’s no denying it.” You giggle at the compliment for Az

You let out a sigh, leaning back into the couch. “I know you’re probably sick of me saying this, but Az is just so perfect. He’s so attentive, and charming, and caring. I love him so much.” Feyre laughs at the far away look plastered on your face as you only focus on Azriel

“I can’t wait to have his babes, I hope they all look like him so we can have perfect children.” You hadn’t realized how quite everyone had gotten

Cassian looked like he was trying not to laugh while Nesta and Rhys looked at you with wide eyes. Amren wasn’t paying attention and Elain just had an awww expression on her face

Azriel had gone red in the face as he was trying to get everyone back to playing cards

Cassian broke and started laughing and Nesta hit him, “I hope when we have kids they look and act like me.” Cassian looked offended, “So I get nothing!?” Nesta gave him a death glare and the boys started laughing at him

Once they went back to cards Azriel sent love and a message down the bond, “I love you too angel. And I hope they look like you, because you’re so beautiful.”

[exrellian]

Replaced MC AU

I’m pumping this out cuz I’m motivated! Still in third person

TW: the brothers being mean, MC getting bullied-

Part Two!

Everything is Changing

Mammon was the first to fall for Amelia, then Levi, Asmo, and Beel followed quickly

Satan, Lucifer, and Belphie were… weary about the new girl, the three found it odd how quickly their brothers fell for Amelia, seemingly forgetting MC completely

“Hey Beel, Hells Kitchen has a new menu item, it looks delicious! Want to go try it together?”

“Sorry, Amelia and I are going to try it in a couple minutes”

MC shrugged it off, happy Amelia was making friends

“Mammon, I’m bored, wanna go to the casino tonight?”

“Amelia and I are going to watch some movies tonight, no can do human.”

What? MC started to feel weird about this, not really too phased by the fact that the two were hanging out, but the fact that Mammon so nonchalantly called him ‘Human’

“Asmo..? Want to go clubbing tonight?”

“Hm? Not with you, not really. Sorry!”

Oh.

What?

“Levi? Want to play Raft together? I heard a new update came out!”

“I already beat it with Amelia, it was really fun!”

“Oh? Well would you mind playing it with me?”

“Amelia used your account, so we would have to start over for you to really see the update and that would just be boring”

“Oh um… alright, I’ll just play it on my own!”

This went on for about a month before the next brother dropped

“Hey Belphie, do you still have my blanket? It’s kinda cold in my room”

“Oh, I let Amelia have it because she was cold.”

“You gave my blanket to Amelia? Why couldn’t you give her one of yours?”

“She liked yours, don’t be selfish MC, you can just go buy another.”

“Fine.”

MC left, frustrated and still cold.

It was then when the worst so far came to be.

“That will be 18 Grimm”

MC swiped his card and it… declined? That was weird, he had more than enough Grimm! He had a part time job for a while and was payed by Diavolo for hosting events at RAD too! He opened his DDD and checked his account

-143 Grimm

What!?

He puts his DDD away and pays out of pocket for the blanket before returning home in a rush and going to his and Amelia’s room. Luckily for him, Amelia wasn’t there. Grabbing his laptop and checking his bank account he sees a bunch of online purchases on various video games. He slams his computer shut and runs to Leviathans room to see Amelia and Levi playing some random gacha game.

“Are you on my account Amelia?” He tried to keep his voice low and calm but he was shaking

“Oh! I’m sorry MC, Levi said I could!”

“Did you buy anything?”

“Well yeah! I didn’t like your account so I reset it so I could get the characters I wanted! Levi said his card was attached so I could spend as much as I wanted! Wasn’t that so nice of him?”

MC was writhing

“MY card was attached to that! You drained my account completely!”

Amelia looked almost… happy?

“It was your card attached? Sorry MC” leviathans tone was disingenuous and annoyed

“Since it was meant to be your money can you just pay me back for what she spent? I was saving up for something!”

“I’m not giving you my money MC, you need to stop being so selfish. Get out of my room.”

“No! Amelia spent all my money thinking it was yours so clearly you have the money to reimburse me!”

Levi stood up and walked over to MC

“I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you are not the person I fell in love with. You are almost more selfish and self centered than Mammon. First you go bullying Amelia, then you think I have to give you money for a little mistake. Leave my room MC, I don’t want to see you.” The hatred in Leviathans eyes struck a fear into MC that he hasn’t felt since he first arrived in the Devildom, weighing his options, he left, deciding it would be in his best interest to talk to Lucifer about it. He arrived at Lucifer’s study to find it empty, he then checked his room, finding it also empty

MC [Hey Lucifer, are you home?]

Lucifer [I am in a meeting. If you need to talk meet me in my study tomorrow.]

MC [K.]

Tomorrow could not come sooner

[jackactuallywrites]

All Seeing, All Knowing, All Loving part 15

Warnings: None

Summary: You find a pretty dress in a charity shop! And who you gonna show it to? Hmmm

Word Count

ao3 link

It had been a productive day of shopping. Of course, your initial plan hadn’t actually been to buy anything; you were only supposed to go there to look at things, touch some nice textures, have a drink and something sweet, and then go home. But you hadn’t planned on the dress.

Why such a beautiful dress was stuffed in the back of an Oxfam was beyond you. It looked as though it had come from some royal princess, all expensive black satin, with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a full skirt. Destiny clearly had a hand in things, as not only was it in your size, but it was also under a hundred pounds. It was still a little expensive, more than you would have considered spending on a normal dress, but there was something special about it. It was giving vintage Christian Dior- the new look. It wasn’t actually one of his gowns; of course, that would have been too lucky, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful.

“Buy it.” Katie was very certain in her opinion of the dress, “Buy it, and then get fucked in it.”

“Can’t I just wear it?”

She shrugged, “I mean if you want to be boring, sure. But a dress like that deserves an event, an occasion, you know? Something special.”

You gave it a little twirl on the hanger, watching the skirt billow, “I don’t think I have an occasion that’s good enough for a dress like this. It’s not like I’m invited to Buckingham Palace.”

Katie snorted, “Place is full of nonces and cunts anyways, why would you want to go there?”

You snorted, “Alright, fair point. If I was to go to, uh,” you couldn’t really think of a fancy event you could feasibly go to, “yeah, no, I’m not posh enough for this dress.”

Katie took the dress from you, walking away so quickly that you didn’t have time to stop her. She went straight to the counter, where she plopped it down, already taking her card out to buy it. You protested, “Kate, come on, it’s too much.”

The woman at the counter raised an eyebrow, and Kate rolled her eyes, “Don’t pay attention to her. I’m buying this. Could you find us a bag or something to put it in, please?” The woman clearly didn’t care about your little disagreement; after all, she was in customer service; no doubt she had developed the ability to ignore all sorts of shit. She just held out the card reader for Katie to tap her card on, which she did, and then went off into the back to pack the dress into a bag.

“Kate, how am I possibly supposed to repay you for this?”

Katie rolled her eyes at you, “You know that’s not the point of friendship, right? We’ve never been the type to obsess over who owes who. You bought me coffee, I bought you a dress. Who cares?”

That was how it went with her. She worked hard, and she scrimped and saved on other aspects of her life so she could spend frivolously when she liked. A wonderful trait, really; she was generous and kind, but it had always bugged you that you could never repay her generosity the same way.

Soon enough, the woman returned with an old paper Primark bag, in which she had carefully folded the dress up and put it inside. The contrast was kind of funny. Katie picked up the bag and balanced the thin paper straps on her arm, then walked out of the shop, leaving you to quickly walk after her.

It was hard to wander around the shops after that; you had something truly decadent in your bag, expensive and wonderful, and it was hard to not cradle it to your chest like a baby at every moment, terrified that if you put it down for even a second, it would be stolen. You didn’t even dare eat near it, terrified that you’d get some sort of icing or crumb on it and ruin the fabric. Katie bought you a plastic bag just so you could double bag it for safety, and then you finally allowed yourself to eat some cake.

When Katie had finally gotten on the bus home, you texted Ghost.

‘You: You still want to give me a lift?’

It didn’t take long for him to text back.

‘Ghost: Where are you?’

You took a picture of the cafe you were sitting outside and sent it to him.

‘You: (image) You know this place?’

‘Ghost: Will be there soon. ETA 15 minutes.’

He didn’t fuck about. You took a seat on a nearby concrete planter and waited.

It didn’t take long for him to turn up, fourteen minutes later, in his little black car. You could see that he wasn’t wearing his usual balaclava. Instead, he was wearing a black surgical mask and a pair of sunglasses. Subtle.

You opened the passenger side door, and were greeted by the intoxicating smell of his cologne, as well as the quiet thumping bass of house music. It sounded like a 90s rave. You took a seat, placing your bags in the footwell and pulling the door closed behind you. Then, you turned to Ghost, your eyes flicking over the dark bruises that still littered his face. Perhaps that was why he’d chosen to wear a mask and sunglasses.

“Had a nice day?” He questioned.

You nodded, “Yeah, pretty decent. You been up to much?”

Ghost shrugged as he put the car into gear, and you put on your seatbelt, choosing not to pry.

The question came out regardless.

“So what did you do today?”

“Bit of this, bit of that.”

“You always so secretive?”

He snorted, “Part of the job.”

“Ah, right, SAS stuff.”

“Not interesting, really. Tell me about your day.”

You weren’t sure how interested Ghost was in the intricacies of shopping, but you regaled him with your day regardless, and he was nice enough to ask further questions about what you had for lunch and if you got anything from Boots. Considering the bizarre circumstances under which you’d met him, the conversation was strangely normal, just two people chit-chatting about a day. You kept the conversation going right up to your front door, “You have to see this dress I got. I swear, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

“You look in a mirror every day, don’t you?”

You snorted as you opened your door, “My God. Are you made of sugar?”

“You can taste me if you like.”

That made you cackle, and you dumped your bags on the counter, “Terrible.”

Your fingers trailed over the plastic bag that contained the dress, and you looked at Ghost curiously, “Want to see the dress?”

“Of course.”

Very carefully, you undid the plastic bag and then took the paper bag out, reaching in to take the dress out, the beautiful garment still on the padded hanger. You shook it out with a flourish, “Look! Isn’t it gorgeous?”

“I’d have to see it on.”

You weren’t sure if that was a subtle way to get you out of your clothes, but you did want an excuse to get into the dress.

“Wait here.”

The dress was surprisingly annoying to get into. Satin didn’t have much give, so you had to wiggle to get it around your thighs, terrified that you’d pull too hard and rip the fabric. Now, you were faced with a different problem. The zip was annoying to get to, you had to twist to get it, and the damn thing was so small and delicate it was constantly slipping out of your fingers. You probably could have done it yourself, but then an interesting idea came to mind. You held the dress tight to your chest, covering your bare chest with the fabric, your back fully exposed to the air. Was your underwear visible at the very bottom of the open zipper? You hoped so.

You walked back into the living room, wearing only your knickers and a half-zipped-up dress. Ghost was in the kitchen, apparently making himself tea, seemingly very at home. “I need your help.”

He turned around slowly, tea in hand, his mask and sunglasses off, “What d’you-“ his voice faded as he took in the sight of you, and a slow smile spread over his bruised and battered face. “You need my help with that?”

You turned around, showing him your back, “I need you to zip me up.”

You felt exposed like this, your back turned to him, waiting awkwardly in the dim light of your room, unable to see what he was thinking.

Then, the quiet sound of footsteps on the carpet as he walked over to you and the hairs on the back of your neck prickled as you felt his presence behind you. His fingers brushed against your back as you felt him pull the fabric together, goosebumps prickling over your exposed skin as he slowly began to pull the zipper upwards. About halfway up, he paused to brush the hair off the nape of your neck, his fingers soft and gentle against your skin, letting your hair softly fall over your collarbone. His fingers paused there for a moment, taking a long, meandering path from the tip of your shoulder blade across to your spine and then straight down your back until he met with the zipper again.

A subtle shiver went through the length of your body. Christ. A single touch from the man, and you were ready to throw him into your bed. This was supposed to be you teasing him! The zip went up swiftly until the dress was pulled snugly around your body, with Ghost fastening the clasp at the back. You very quickly took a step forward away from him, needing to put a little space in between the two of you before you tried to jump his bones. The dress swooshed as you moved, a good distraction from the sheer desire coursing through your veins, and you decided to do a little spin, watching the fabric twirl out around you.

“How does it feel?” Ghost asked.

It felt like you wanted to ride him, but you didn’t verbalise that. Instead, you just smiled and brushed the fabric out, “Fancy. Might need a petticoat to really poof out the skirt, though.”

When you looked at Ghost, you could see how large his pupils were, like a cat about to pounce, his jaw tense. He looked agitated. You smiled at him, swishing the dress side to side, “What do you think?”

Ghost cleared his throat, “Think you need someplace to wear it.”

You sighed, “Well yeah, but I don’t have anywhere that calls for a dress like this.”

“I might.”

That got a raised brow from you, and you looked at him curiously, “Really? I can’t see you in a suit.”

The corners of his lips pulled up in a slight smile, “I’ve been known to wear one. When duty calls.”

“Duty calls for you to wear a suit?”

“Soldiers have dos. Occasionally.”

You tilted your head at him, “You inviting me to a fancy soldiers party as your date?”

Ghost reached out for your hand, placing his other hand on top of it, a silent, solemn promise, “The next time we have a proper mess dinner, I want you on my arm. In this dress.”

It was impossible not to smile at that, and you gave him a little mock curtsy, “I’d be delighted to.”

“So,” Ghost began, gently pulling on your hands to bring you closer to him, “You need help getting out of this dress?”

You put your hand out to keep some space between you, your fingers coming into contact with his chest. Even though there was the thick material of his black jumper between your hands and his skin, it was thrilling. Yet, you could see a slight tautness in Ghost’s jaw, a slight furrowing of his brows. Something was wrong.

“You alright?”

Ghost cleared his throat and took a step back from you, dropping your hand, “Yeah, no, I’m fine.” He ran his fingers through his hair, “I just, I should get going.”

He’d been trying to get you out of your dress, but now it seemed like he was trying to flee. You couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. He turned away from you to go to the kitchen to grab his mask and sunglasses from where he’d dumped them on the counter, covering his face up once again. He made a gesture for you to turn around when he returned to the living room, and you did so, turning your back to him. This time, he avoided touching your bare skin as he undid the clasp and pulled the zip halfway down, far enough down where you could do the rest easily.

You turned around to him, trying to scan him for any sort of upset, but it was impossible to read anything under the sunglasses and mask, probably by design. He reached out to touch your cheek, his fingers softly grazing against your skin, before he abruptly turned and left.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling my mom to either get me what I've asked for, or to just get me gift cards?

This probably makes me sound horrible and ungrateful, but this is an issue I've had for about the last ten years of my life. I love my mother dearly, and I am so insanely grateful that we are in a financial position where we can receive gifts at all. I'd genuinely be happy with just a card and a cozy day in, but my mom always insists it isn't Christmas without at least one or two things under the tree.

I always ask her routinely as we inch toward the later months of the year what she'd like, and I do my best to get her exactly what she wants. I'll get her one or two other things too, like some skincare or chocolates or shoes or something, but I always stick to what she actually asks for.

If she asks me for a specific dress, she'll get it. If she asks me for a certain type of perfume, she'll get it.

The same....Cannot be said for her.

I've begged her over the years to just stick to getting me what I ask for. I don't ask for anything expensive. I think the most expensive thing I've ever asked for were concert tickets, and I offered to pay half. I just more or less wanted help actually getting them, because as we all know, concert tickets sell so fast its like you blink and they're gone, and the more people you have trying to get them the more chances of success.

Usually I'll ask for something like a particular poster I saw online, or a bedding set, a new phone case, ect. Small, easy to get things because honestly, I don't need that much.

What I actually end up with is a bunch of random stuff I will never use and clothing I'd never wear and once or twice, tickets to do things I hate doing.

Its like she asks me what I want then goes out of her way to get me the exact opposite of what I've asked for. She always pouts at me and berates me for 'looking disappointed' or never using anything she gets me (I hold onto it for a few months then quietly give it away to a friend or thrift store).

It makes me feel guilty, but this is a conversation we have every. Single. Christmas.

(For example I'll ask for, say, a pair of white shoes. What I'll actually get is a box of wind up toys from the dollar store, expensive paint brushes when I've never touched paint in my life, and a box of chocolates from a brand I don't like.)

This year, once again, she asked me for my list, and I just gave her some stores and told her I'd like gift cards to those places. She gave me a weird look and dropped it, but asked again a few times, and each time I just reiterated what stores I wanted gift cards to.

Well lo behold, I come home from college and there's packages under the tree. Proper packages, not just envelopes or anything else that a gift card would realistically be in.

I guess I was staring at the tree with a weird/sour expression, because it wound up starting an argument between us. Her argument was she's getting me gifts, I should be grateful, and she tries really hard but I'm just 'impossible to please.'

My argument is I tell her repeatedly exactly what I want and not once have I ever gotten what's actually on my list. In which case, why the fuck should I bother writing a list? I'd rather have the gift cards so I can buy exactly what I wanted in the first place.

She said I ask for clothes, I get clothes. I said I ask for specific clothes and she gets me ones that I wouldn't even look at in the store, let alone buy.

The whole argument ended up with her calling me an ungrateful asshole and confiscating my gifts to return them all after the New Year. She told me I can just have the money from returning them and 'be fucking happy for once.'

Its Christmas Eve and she's still not speaking to me. I feel terrible, but I'm also relieved. Either this means from now on she won't get me anything, or from now on if she asks for my list she'll actually get me what's on it.

My dad is staying in the middle. He said I'm right, and over the years he's tried to convince her not to buy all that stuff, but he also said I should've just done what I always do, fake a smile, and get rid of it later.

Is he right or was this fight a blessing in disguise? Am I the asshole for ruining Christmas or am I justified in voicing what I have for the last ten years running?

What are these acronyms?

[the-ragingenby]

guys don’t even ask me what this is, because I have no idea

Edit: AO3 Crosspost

My Kitten

Aizawa x Gender-Neutral Reader

You fought to keep your tail from twitching with annoyance as your last customer of the day decided to order one of every drink on the menu. “And will that be all for you today?” You ask, keeping your voice light. The customer, an older woman with long blonde hair, nods and pulls out her card to pay.

You bite back a sigh as she pays, handing her the receipt and turning away to make her drinks. All your other coworkers had long gone home; you had agreed to close tonight, but now you were starting to regret it.

You work as fast as you can, dropping ice into cups and pouring assorted mixes into each. For others, you had to brew some more espresso, or even just warm up some milk. She seriously wanted one of everything you had, which you still couldn’t believe.

About ten minutes later, you had handed her all her drinks and she loaded them into a small cart that she brought with her. “Took you long enough.” She muttered once she’d finished, waiting for you to open the door and let her out.

“Have a good night.” You gritted out, tail lashing, as you held the door open for her. Once she’d gone, you let out a heavy sigh, shoulders drooping. Every day was as exhausting as the last, with you having to get people to focus on their orders rather than your ears or tail.

At times, you hated your quirk. You had to be mindful of your tail, otherwise your coworkers would trip. And you needed to keep your emotions, and ears, in check or your boss would accuse you of being disrespectful.

After cleaning up and locking the door, you trudge out into the night. Slipping into your cat form, you trot down the street, tail swaying happily behind you. Being like this made you feel a little better, even if your day was pretty shitty.

You pause, nose twitching, as you notice a particular scent in the air. You had smelled it before, but over the past months, it’s become more regular around the area. You pad along more cautiously, ears swiveling to pick up any danger.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d see you out here again, Cat.” A smooth voice rumbled from the alleyway. You jump away, fur fluffed up with fear, before relaxing. It was that hero that started hanging around recently, though you didn’t know his name. He wore dark clothes with a long scarf on his neck. His eyes were tired as he watched you, but his expression was warm. You had taken a liking to him, especially since he gave the best head scratches.

Letting out a purr, you weave between his legs, looking up at him. You can’t talk in this form, but you meowed at him, hoping he’d know what you wanted. “Yeah, I know, Cat.” He huffed out, amused, as he gently picked you up and settled you in his arms. He quietly pet your head and ears as you purred contentedly. “Wish I knew your name, sweetheart. I’m sure you’ve gotten quite tired of me calling you Cat.”

You honestly didn’t mind, and there really was no way to actually tell him your name. Instead, you reached up a paw to bat at his chin, making him laugh. “Or I guess you really don’t mind.” He murmured, adjusting your position slightly so you’d be more comfortable. “I know I ask you this every time, but where’s your owner, huh? Won’t they be worried about you?”

You let out a huffing mew, smushing your face against his chest. The man rolls his eyes at you, but his expression grows more affectionate. “I’m glad I’ve been able to catch you out here all these times. You make the day more bearable.” He sighs, scratching gently under your chin. “Wish I could be with you more often, kitten.”

Your purrs grow louder in response, relishing in the affection from him. Being honest, you were hoping you’d run into him again. For the past few months, he’s given you the love and affection you were missing, even if you were a cat at the time.

How to explain that you were actually a human though…that you couldn’t figure out how to break to him. You didn’t exactly want to scare him off. You liked him. A lot. And if he didn’t like you in your human form too…you didn’t even want to think about the possibilities. All it sounded like was a lot of heartache for no reason. So, you stayed like this. It was better this way.

~

“Alright, Aizawa, spill.” Yamada demanded in the teacher’s lounge, leaning over the table. “You decide to ditch your friends for months and go to a town you don’t even know for what? To patrol? I don’t buy it!”

“Keep your voice down, Yamada.” Aizawa muttered, but made no attempt to answer his questions.

“Have you finally gotten yourself a partner? Are you shutting us out of your life because you’re in love?” Yamada wailed, slithering onto the ground and flopping there, clutching his chest. “I’m hurt. Truly.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes. “If you must know, I met a little cat. Love them with all my heart.” Yamada shot back up, fixing Aizawa with an unimpressed stare.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Aizawa! It’s a cat. Please, I beg you. You need to get out more.” Yamada grimaced, but Aizawa proceeded to ignore him again.

“I’ll spend as much time with Cat as I please.” Aizawa snorted, almost a little defensively. “Besides, the area is a little overrun with villains and I’m doing my part to keep them at bay.”

“There is no way you named the cat…Cat.” Yamada gawked at Aizawa, still not fully understanding why this man would want to spend all his free time with some random cat. Aizawa manages a shrug, refocusing on the paperwork in front of him. “You are…unbelievable.”

“So I hear.” Aizawa quips, writing in the grade on one of the papers before moving to the next. Yamada let out a sigh of defeat before ambling away. As he worked, Aizawa found himself wondering when he’d see his little Cat next.

~

It had been another couple weeks and you had made it a point to see Aizawa every day. After finally figuring out his name over the walkie talkie he had on his person, you were even more intrigued by him. He spent more time with you each night, when he could. Although there were a few times when he had to rush off to fight a villain.

With each passing day, you could feel your infatuation for him growing, and it made you feel worse that you hadn’t revealed yourself to him. But honestly, maybe it was better this way. You could tell that just holding you made him feel better, even if the exhaustion never left his eyes.

“My coworkers keep complaining that I’m spending all my time with you, Cat.” Aizawa murmured, gently pressing his head to yours. “But I don’t care. You make me happy.” You can’t help but purr at that, kneading your paws against him. He laughs softly, pressing a soft kiss between your ears before he pulls away, his walkie talkie crackling to life.

“All units, please respond to a rogue villain. Quirk: unknown. Currently in pursuit down Main Street.” A voice announced, causing Aizawa to sigh. He hugs you a little more tightly for a moment before setting you down.

“Alright, kitten, I’ve got to go. Now, go straight home, okay? Don’t go sticking your nose into danger.” Aizawa murmured, running his hand softly down your back before launching away into the night, scarf wrapped tightly around his hand.

You can’t help but feel a little disappointed that your meeting was cut short, but you decide to head home. As you meander down the street, you pause to sniff the air, frowning as you realize rain is coming.

You barely make it a few more blocks before the downpour really starts, drenching your fur. Flattening your ears and squinting against the water, you push onwards, already thinking about how long you’ll have to spend drying yourself off when you get back.

You leap away, yowling, when lightning strikes a nearby lamppost, shattering its lightbulb and taking out all the power in the area. You wonder, briefly, if you can even make it back to your apartment in this weather.

You race down a nearby alleyway, darting into a box tossed on its side to hide from the torrential rainfall. Shivering, you attempt to dry your fur, shaking yourself off in the rather large box. You let out an annoyed huff, thinking about how you’ll stink of mildew if you don’t get dried off properly.

But all those thoughts go out the window when you hear fighting among the crashes of thunder. “You won’t get away with this. Killing a hero, they’ll come for you, y’know.” You stiffen as your blood runs cold. That was…Aizawa’s voice.

“Bahahah! Like I care.” A sharp, menacing voice snarls. You didn’t recognize this one, but it was hurting Aizawa! “Heroes are all scum, so making one disappear is doing the world a favor!”

You race out of the box, charging down the alleyway and plant yourself between Aizawa and some bipedal tiger you had never seen before. A flash of lightning illuminates the alleyway briefly, and Aizawa meets your eyes from where he was collapsed on the ground. “Cat…?” He breathes, his tired eyes drooping as he fights to keep himself conscious.

He was bleeding from somewhere, though you couldn’t quite tell from where. You flatten your ears, turning to face the tiger with a deep growl rumbling in your chest. Leave him alone! You arch your back, spitting and hissing, trying to make yourself look bigger. This was all you could do. If you shifted down, you’d be less agile and those claws would certainly make more of a dent in your softer skin, without the protective fur barrier.

The tiger simply looks at you, an amused smirk gracing his lips. “Oh, what, you wanna keep the hero?” He snorts, lashing his striped tail. “Sure, why not. Us felines have to stick together, eh?” With a harsh cackle, he stalks away into the night, leaving you and Aizawa in the dark alleyway.

Without a moment’s thought, you shift into your human form, leaning over Aizawa and looked him over for injuries. “Hey, are you awake? Can you hear me?” You question, wincing when you notice a cut on his leg.

“Angel…” He mumbles, looking up at you with wide eyes.

“...What?” Before you can ask anything else, he passes out in your arms. You quickly scoop him up and, after pulling him onto your back, you haul him to your apartment, determined to patch him up.

~

Now, Aizawa was always a logical person, that he could stand behind. But here, lying on his side in the pouring rain, he was looking up at the most stunning person he’d ever seen. No, it couldn’t have been a person. It was an angel. It had to be. There was no way anyone who shone so brilliantly could be looking at him.

His eyes fell closed as the sound of rain and thunder surrounded him. Something lifted him up, he thinks, but after that, he wasn’t sure what was happening.

The next thing he knew, he was now awake on someone’s couch with a blanket draped over him and a bandage around his head. A cat was pacing the length of the living room, and at his stirring, they paused and immediately perked up. “Wait…Cat? Is that you?” His mouth fell open as the cat’s form shifted, revealing you in your human form.

“Are you alright? You can hear me, right?” You ask, approaching him and holding a finger in front of his face for him to focus on.

“You were a human this whole time.” Aizawa whispers, mostly to himself, as he follows your now moving finger.

You nervously clear you thought, pulling away a little. “Yeah.” You could feel yourself brace for some sort of meltdown or outburst or rejection or something, but Aizawa simply nods to himself before running a hand over his face.

“I want to apologize for, uh, everything that happened.” He says, sitting up slowly, wincing in mild pain. “It wasn’t appropriate, at all, and I’ll be out of your hair soon. Thank you for everything.” He managed a polite bow of his head.

Gathering your courage, you gently shook your head. “No, uh, it’s okay. I liked it and you…a lot…” Your voice trailed off, turning your head away in embarrassment.

Aizawa blinks at you, in pure disbelief. You saved him, brought him here, listened to his rants about work and his friends, and were just…there for him. “Then…maybe we can start over?” He offered, reaching out a hand. “Hi, my name is Aizawa and I’m a pro hero. Would you do me the honor of maybe going out with me sometime?”

~

Despite everything, you let out a soft laugh, taking his hand in your own. “Of course I will.”

He breaks into a gentle smile, looking up at your ears. “I know you aren’t a cat, er, right now. But…”

You snort, crouching down and leaning your head towards him. “Go ahead. I like it when you rub them.” He reached up, rubbing them softly and you let out a sigh of contentment, leaning into his hand.

The two of you stayed like that for a long while, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Though you were a little anxious about it, you felt at ease with him by your side. “Thank you, kitten.” He murmured, gently pressing a kiss to your temple.

Yeah, you could get used to this.

[jedipoodoo]

she's not afraid (of falling in love) (Sergeant Hunter x OC Saachi Gunder)

Saachi’s independence conflicts with Hunter's protectiveness. Will they be able to catch their bounty and make it out in one piece?

For @clonexocweek 2025!

Yes this piece is based solely off of That Outfit

Notes: Hunter is hot. That's it. That's the fic.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, gambling, allusion to sex and attempted sexual abuse.

"Stay close, Saachi," Hunter muttered through gritted teeth, "I don't like the look of these skugs."

"I thought the point was to split up?" Saachi hissed, tugging at the leather skirt that resembled more of a belt.

"I know, but-"

"Hunter," Saachi placed a finger against his lips, "I'm not going to run off with some gambler just because you take your eyes off me for two seconds."

"I'm not worried about you," Hunter took her wrist, gently removing her hand from his mouth. He ran his fingers back and forth over his bandana, tied around her wrist like a bracelet. Hunter had all but begged Saachi to wear it, as some token reminder, like she was going off to war instead of to the club.

"I do trust you. It's everyone else in that mud hole I don't trust."

"Well, that's why I've got you watching my back, right?" Saachi took a step closer, balancing on her tiptoes inside the thigh-high boots that made up half of her disguise for the night.

Hunter's hand landed on her bare hip, and Saachi couldn't suppress a shudder. A crop top and miniskirt wasn't her usual outfit, but the indebted gambler with a 40,000 credit bounty on his head was notorious womanizer, so it couldn't hurt to tempt him.

"Easy, mesh’la," Hunter growled in her ear.

"Good thing Tech and the others aren't listening in, huh?" Saachi teased.

Hunter chuckled, his breath warm against her neck. His free hand cradled her chin, lifting her head so he could place a kiss on her forehead.

"Forty thousand credits are the only thing standing between you and me right now," Hunter sighed, resting his forehead against hers

Saachi smiled up at him, "The sooner you let go of me, the sooner we're back together again."

Hunter gave her hip one last squeeze before his hands disappeared. Before Saachi turned back to the bar, she noticed the odd way Hunter's scarf was wrapped around his neck. If it jostled too much, it would come untucked. Saachi adjusted the scarf with a few deft tugs, securing it into place. She kissed a stunned Hunter on the cheek and sashayed her way over to the tavern with purpose.

Girls got into The Lucky Rodian for free, lucky her. Hunter would have to pay a fee. Their paycheck would cover that and the fruity cocktail she ordered. If she was going to seduce the sticky fingered gambler, she was going to need a good bit of liquid courage.

It had been her idea, or at least, she'd been the first to voice it. Hunter, Tech, and Echo, all had the same uneasy look in their eyes when she suggested it. It was the most obvious plan to lure in their bounty, but none of them wanted to put her in that position, certainly not Hunter.

Still, credits were credits.

What bothered Saachi the most was the feeling of being alone, even in a crowded tavern. She hadn't gotten much privacy in the last few months. The Marauder was too small to afford much of anything in the way of personal space. There was always someone around-- Echo fixing the ship, or Wrecker working on a project, or Omega and her intense fear of being left alone.

And Hunter. Hunter, who was always nearby, whistling as he whittled something with his knife, squeezing her shoulder as she walked by, his hand cradling hers as she talked about the most recent surgical procedure she'd read about.

He was still there. She knew that wherever he was in the bar, his eyes were on her. She trusted him implicitly, he would never abandon her.

But she couldn't be thinking about Hunter right now. She needed to be focused on their bounty, and the best way to catch him off guard

Stanger Reed was at a table not too far from the bar, cards in hand. He looked a bit too relaxed for a man in debt who had a losing hand. Saachi stood and sashayed her way over as Stanger finally folded and the croupier droid shuffled the cards for a new round.

"Any luck tonight?" She asked him, dragging a hand across his shoulders.

Stanger looked up with a hungry grin, "I think it's just changed for the better, sweetheart."

He took her empty hand to place a kiss on the back, but it quickly locked around her wrist in an iron grip and gave a playful tug that bordered on greedy.

Without an empty chair nearby, Saachi was made to sit in his lap. She took a sip of her drink to hide her grimace, praying that Hunter wouldn't let his jealousy cloud his judgment. She couldn't risk looking around for him at the moment, and forced herself to settle into Stanger's lap as if she were actually comfortable. She draped her arm around his shoulder and started to play with his hair, but it was far too greasy to pretend it was anything but. She opted to massage his shoulder instead. Saachi begged her mind to focus, she needed to keep Stanger distracted from any impending danger until she could get him alone.

That thought almost made her vomit. What was she thinking, volunteering for this job? She was a nerd, she didn't know how to flirt!

She wanted to pretend he was Hunter, but that was almost more sickening than just pretending to flirt, and Saachi wasn't that good an actress.

A flash of bright crimson fabric caught her eye from the shadows on the edge of the room. Hunter stood at a table with a single glass of cheap beer, having scared off any attempts at conversation from the other patrons by looking directly at Stanger as if he were plotting every gory detail of the gambler's excruciatingly painful death.

Saachi glared at Hunter, hoping he remembered that their client specifically wanted Stanger alive. He couldn't pay off his debts buried in the Coruscaunt gutter, but he couldn't touch her anymore either. The longer Stanger's sticky fingerprints groped the strip of bare skin at her waist, the more appealing the visual became.

Then Stanger's touch squeezed a little too hard, and Saachi gasped, looking back at her target. Stanger paid no attention to her, his poker face a perfect mask of stone, but Saachi could see the excellent hand of cards he'd just been dealt.

Good, the more Stanger won, the more pleased their client would be.

Saachi feigned innocence, leaning her head against Stanger's and lowering her hand to massage his muscles. She glanced back to where Hunter had been, purely out of habit, but the table was abandoned except for the remnants of a shattered glass.

Stanger won the first round, leaving a Devaronian male and a Talz female without any credits to continue. A Wookie proudly took the second round in victory, but Saachi knew Stanger was only letting everyone else lower their guard. From what the client had told them, Stanger had a flair for the dramatics. So it wasn't a surprise when he revealed his two sylops at the end of the third round. The others at the table shouted in outrage and cried as Stanger laughed. He planted a sloppy, wet kiss on Saachi's cheek.

"Maybe you are good luck after all, sweetheart!" He said, squeezing her a bit too tight. As he reached for his winnings, he shoved Saachi to the side, splashing the rest of her drink over her arm and getting on the bandana.

"Don't worry honey, the way things are going I'll buy you a dozen more," Stanger laughed. He unwrapped the bandana from her wrist and tossed it into the shadows before Saachi could protest, already shoving his credits into his pockets.

When Stanger was finally satisfied with his collection of winnings, he grabbed Saachi’s hand again and pulled her in close.

"Wanna get out of here?" He asked. His breath was hot, and stank of liquor.

Despite her anger, Saachi schooled her face back into a simpering groupie, “Why? What’s wrong with here?” She asked, a little too high-pitched.

Stanger’s visage of confidence flickered as he looked her up and down, confused, and Saachi realized her mistake. Stanger had won, and now he wanted his prize. If he didn’t get it, things were gonna go wrong.

She cleared her throat, trying to act like Stanger had misheard her, "Lead the way, big guy.”

Stanger’s grin returned, but Saachi could see in the strain of his cheeks that it was forced. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and dragged her behind him.

Saachi took short, shaky breaths as Stanger dragged her towards the stairs to the second floor. She knew what waited upstairs, and the last thing she wanted to do was spend the night with Stanger Reed. She needed backup, but she hadn’t seen Hunter for the last ten minutes. She couldn’t say anything without alerting Stanger, but she reached for her comm and opened a channel. Whatever he heard, Hunter would know to come. She knew he would. Saachi just had to tease Stanger long enough for him to catch up.

Stanger took the steps two at a time, and Saachi tried her best to keep up without tripping over the uneven wood planks. At the top was a hall, with four doors on either side. Stanger used a keycard on the first door to the right and practically kicked the door in before tossing Saachi on the bed.

He locked the door behind them and then he was on top of Saachi, a hand around her throat and a blaster in the other.

"Alright, sweetheart," He growled, "Who sent you?"

Saachi grit her teeth and latched onto his hands, trying to pry his fingers away from her skin. Well, she’d never been especially proud of her flirting skills to begin with.

“Who sent me? What am I, a good morning text?”

"Don't play games with me!" Stanger's grip tightened, and Saachi gasped for air.

"Was it Xizor? That rat bastard cheated at that game and he knows it! He won't get a credit out of me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! Let go of me!" Saachi spat.

Her mind raced as bruises bloomed on her throat. Hunter was coming, she knew he was. He would always come for her, blasting through the door like some classic hero in a holonovela. She had to get away from Stanger, get some space between the two of them so that he couldn't use her as some kind of leverage. Was it going to be any use pretending that she didn't know what Stanger was talking about?

Stanger leaned in closer, and Saachi turned away so that his lips almost brushed against her cheek

"I may like the girls, sweetheart, but I'm no idiot," He grabbed her hands, forcing them up above her head. Saachi took a deep breath, coughing and heaving on the fresh air, but Stanger barely gave her room to breathe, taking her wrists in one hand and her face in the other.

“Still, seems a shame to waste such a pretty face…”

As Stanger leaned in closer, Saachi seized the moment and drew her leg back, launching the heel of her boot right into Stanger's crotch. Stanger groaned, curling around his man-parts as if that would protect him, and Saachi kicked him again, each kick pushing him farther and farther away as she desperately tried to defend herself.

There was a blaster shot just out in the hall, and the door flew open in a shower of sparks. There stood Hunter, his blaster and knife posed for a fight. Unfortunately, Stanger was already curled up in a ball on the floor, whimpering pathetically.

Hunter cuffed Stanger’s hands behind his back, making sure that he was no longer a threat, and then he sat on the bed next to Saachi.

“You alright?” He asked.

Saachi nodded, still trying to catch her breath. Her wrists were sore, but not bruised, unlike her neck. Her hair had come loose, and she tried to use it to hide her neck, but Hunter picked it up too quickly.

”Osik,” He growled, and looked back at the man on the floor. Before Saachi could stop him, Hunter was on his feet again. He brought the heel of his combat boot down on Stanger’s fingers, ripping a bloodcurdling scream from the gambler’s throat. Hunter did it again, and again, making sure each of Stanger’s fingers were nice and broken. Saachi knew that she should stop Hunter from going too far, but she really didn’t want to. She wanted Stanger to suffer for what he tried to do to her.

Stanger gasped through the pain. Hunter looked him over, clearly thinking about where else to hurt this man, but he seemed to decide against it.

“You good to stay here?” He asked, not looking at Saachi.

Saachi nodded, her hand massaging her throat. Hunter took the key card from Stanger’s pocket and tossed it to her along with his knife.

“I’ll be back,” He said, slinging Stanger across his shoulder, “Don’t let anyone else in.”

Miraculously, the door shut behind him, leaving Saachi alone.

It wasn’t completely quiet, the music from the bar below her feet thumped out of tune with the shouts of the patrons. No wonder no one noticed a couple blaster shots.

There were no lights in the room, but the window was open to let in the hazy moonlight. Saachi sat there on the bed, trying to keep her breathing steady as she ran her fingers around her wrists, trying to scratch away the itch that Stanger’s touch had left behind. She should leave, she should go help Hunter collect the bounty from Prince Xizor, she should go see if she could find Hunter’s bandana. It was just a scrap of cloth, some part of her argued, but that wasn't all it was. It was Hunter. It was a part of him, and he'd trusted her with it. And Stanger had thrown it out like it was garbage.

But Hunter told her he would be back, and she couldn’t disappoint him for a second time that night.

So Saachi sat on the bed, breathing, and watching the door.

When she heard footsteps in the hall, she leaped to her feet, knife in hand. She waited just to the side of the door, and when the door opened, she launched herself at the intruder.

When she had them up against the doorframe with the knife to her throat, she froze.

It was Hunter.

She couldn’t move. She was safe. It was Hunter. She should move. But she didn’t.

“Nice reaction time, mesh’la,” Hunter smiled lazily, unperturbed by his current predicament.

“May I come in?”

Saachi didn’t say a word. She backed away from Hunter and made a beeline to the bed.

“That was quick,” She muttered, sitting on the bed. She still held Hunter’s knife in her hand.

Hunter nodded, “Xizor’s men met me at the spaceport, but I grabbed a couple things.” He set a case– heavy with credits– on the nightstand for safekeeping. He took his backpack and set it on top of the briefcase, rummaging through the essentials he’d brought before settling on a tube of bacta gel and a shirt.

Saachi looked at the shirt in puzzlement, and Hunter shrugged. “It was the first one I saw. Thought you’d want to cover up.” Saachi took the shirt from Hunter. She didn’t need to put it on to know it was his, it was far too big to be her own, covering her hands and sitting on her more like a coat than a shirt would. She wore it anyway, rubbing the sleeve against her cheek.

Hunter poured a generous amount of bacta into his palm before turning to Saachi. He gently cradled the back of her head, tilting it to get a better view of her injuries.

She started at the first touch against sore skin, but Hunter held her steady, “Easy, pretty girl,” He murmured, gently applying the gel with his fingertips.

Saachi’s eyes slipped close as the bacta worked its magic under Hunter’s careful guidance. When her bruises were all treated and Hunter was assured there were no broken bones, his hands slipped lower, massaging the knots that had formed in her shoulders.

Saachi gripped the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Hunter’s hands paused for a brief moment

“What for?” he asked.

Saachi’s eyes squeezed shut as she sighed, “I should have listened to you when you said this whole thing was a bad idea.”

"No, Saachi," Hunter took her hands in his, crouching down between her knees, "It wasn't a bad idea- okay, the going to a second location with an unpredictable bounty was a terrible idea, yes, but-"

Hunter froze, noticing the tears beading in her eyes.

"Saachi," Hunter cradled her face in his hands, wiping at her tears with his thumbs.

Saachi sniffed, rubbing her nose with her arm, "I know, I know, it's stupid, but...I just feel so useless all the time. You and your brothers are these amazing, black ops squad with a perfect record and then there's just me."

"And Omega," Hunter reminded her.

"And Omega," Saachi laughed, bordering on manic, “I just wanted to prove that I was good at this, that I can do this on my own without waiting for you to help me.”

Hunter pressed his lips to her forehead. “By all accounts, you had him taken down by the time I got up here,” He reminded her.

“Yeah, I guess I did. I just wish I wasn’t so freaked out about all this like some baby,” Saachi’s breathing shuddered again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Hunter sat like that for a moment, and Saachi thought the conversation was done.

"When Omega gets in trouble, do you think she's useless?" He asked softly.

"What? Of course not, she's a kid."

"And I'm a child soldier bred for nothing but defending," Hunter said.

"And I'm an adult. I can take care of myself, I shouldn't need you to get me out of everything."

Hunter grit his teeth in frustration, but he sat on the bed next to Saachi, gently taking her chin in hand.

"Am I useless?" He asked.

Saachi stared at him incredulously, so Hunter repeated the question.

"Am I useless?"

"I literally just said you weren't?" Saachi said, confused.

"But I have no idea how to properly set a bone or where to begin with surgery, and you do. So, obviously, by your own logic, I'm useless because I can't perform a surgery like you can."

"It's not the same-"

"Exactly," Hunter said abruptly. He pushed Saachi's hair back behind her shoulder, "We're both good at different things. If you were as good at fighting as I was, then who'd set my ribs properly every time I get shot in the chest?"

Saachi laughed with a delighted snort, and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"There's my girl," Hunter grinned. He placed one hand on the Saachi’s upper back, tracing her spine as he kissed her on the lips.

Saachi hummed pleasantly, one hand resting on his chest for balance. Her nose brushed against Hunter's when he paused to take a deep breath.

“Do you know how I felt, when I heard your comm?” Hunter’s voice was much more solemn this time, “When I heard him threatening you?”

Saachi’s throat hitched.

“I looked around and I couldn’t see you, and in this crowd I thought I’d never find you. I felt utterly and completely helpless, knowing that you were in trouble and I hadn’t done a damn thing to stop it.”

“Hunter,” Saachi whispered. Her fingers traced his tattoo, and his forehead rested against hers as he breathed heavily.

Hunter kissed her forehead again, gently caressing the hair that fell down her back. “But I knew that you were counting on me, and that was more important than any fear I felt. When I caught your scent, I ran, and found you up here. I don’t know if I’ll ever be as relieved to see anyone the way I did when I saw that you were alright.

"You're not useless because you asked me to get you out of there. That's literally why I'm here. I'd be the useless one if you tried to stick it out and I didn't do anything about it."

Hunter took a deep breath, grounding himself in Saachi’s presence.

"And…regardless of how well you can defend yourself, watching you take that guy out with one hit was hot."

"Hunter!" Saachi shoved his shoulder.

"What? I'm in love with you, I can't say you're hot?" Hunter chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed her cheek, lips trailing down to her jaw.

"Mmm, Hunter," Saachi gasped. His fingers trailed under the shirt, tracing patterns into her skin.

"And you definitely look hotter wearing my clothes than that ridiculous getup you had going earlier," Hunter said, his voice low against her skin.

"You're one to talk," Saachi laughed, fumbling at the straps of cloth that made a pitiful excuse for sleeves.

"Shows off the arms better," Hunter said, barely able to keep his lips from her skin.

"It certainly does," Saachi had to agree. Despite how impractical it was, no outfit was a downside when it showed off just how gorgeous Hunter looked.

She cradled his face in her hands, tracing the tattooed cheekbone with her thumb. He was here. He was alive. She was safe.

“What do you want from me, Saachi?” Hunter asked leaning into her touch, “What do you need?"

Saachi closed her eyes, listening to Hunter breathe as she began to card her fingers through his hair.

“I need you to hold me,” She said, “I just need to know that you’re here.”

Hunter wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up ever so slightly so that he could lay her down on the bed, lying next to her. He pulled her into his chest, crowning her hair with kisses as she cuddled closer.

“I’m here, Saachi,” He promised, “I’ll always be here for you.”

[writingbirdy]

You and me against the world sal fisher x f!reader

[Sorry for not uploading been sick and now exams have started😅. Also, this is set in modern-day ] (f/n)= female name

It had been a few months since you and the gang all went to college...

Sadly you didn't stay together. Sal and Larry went to a local college, Todd went to a college in another city and Ash went to an art college. Here you were stuck working as you couldn't afford to go into debt and weren't able to get a scholarship.

It was a slow day at the gas station not many people bought anything except for gas... but hey at least after these next two paychecks you can finally do online classes and still have money left over! But even that didn't distract you from not having your friends around with all of them in college you started to wonder if they had forgotten about you... You had seen from Ashley's Instagram that they had all recently gotten together for a hangout. I broke your heart when you realised you weren't invited but not surprised. You had always struggled to be a part of the group, they were your friends but you were not as close as they all were with each other. Just as you went to check your phone the doors beeped indicating that someone was there. "Great just when I thought I could take my break..." you thought putting on your happy service employee smile. "Hello, how may I help you today?" You said in a cheerful tone. "I'd just like to pay for gas. Thanks" the man said as he held up his card ready to pay. "Of course what pump were you at?" "Pump 2" After that you pulled up the cost and he paid. "Hey, have we met before you seem familiar?" He said looking at you.

It was true you looked different from high school.

[This is the look minus the head piece]

Your hair was longer and your style had changed and truth be told the man standing in front of you was non other that Sal fisher. You were a bit upset he didn't recognise you considering you had a huge crush on him back in highschool but hey I guess you weren't truly important to him. "We probably went to high school together but I had changed since then...." you gave a small smile as he walks out the doors. After your shit had ended you noticed that Ash had tagged you in something on Instagram. Opening the app it was photos of you guys back in highschool with the caption "together in every lifetime <3". You didn't bother responding as you knew it was another empty post with no meaning. You unlocked your apartment door and went to your room and proceeded to sleep the rest of the night.

3rd person pov

Waking up to your ringtone was not something [f/n] was happy about. She answered the phone to be greeted with the sound of todd? That was new todd never rang her or even texted her after graduation.

[F/n]: "um hi todd?"

Todd: "Hello [f/n] Ashley has lost her phone so she asked me to call you" he said in a semi monotone voice

Ash: "hey todd did she pick up?"

Ash: "Oh! [f/n] I'm so glad you picked up!"

[F/n]: "it's not like I had a chose"

Ash: "well anyway how about me and you go out shopping in two hours!"

All [f/n] could think of is why now was she asking her to hang out? Also it's still the second semester of college there's not way she has time to shop before class and to make it worse [f/n] had work in half an hour.

[F/n]: sorry Ashley but I have work soon...

She didn't wait for a response and hung up the phone and deleted Todd's number.

2nd person pov

While at work sal came back into the gas station. "Excuse me but do you have any chips that aren't plain?" He asks walking up to the counter. "No sorry we've ran out" you replied ringing his items up. "Ah okay... just one last question?" "Sure..." you were already bored and your shift doesn't finish for another 4 hours.

"Is your name [f/n]?" Sal asked.

"Was it Ashley's post that helped you figure that out?" You said blankly staring at sal.

"Yeah! It's been a while since we spoke would you like to get coffee and catch up?" He stuttered out.

"Why does it sound like you're asking me out on a date?" You questioned praying it was not the answer you would never recover from......

[Hehehe cliffhanger 😈. But seriously it's almost midnight and I just want a chapter out so this can be a two parter]

[garbinge]

Library Daycare (2)

Angel Reyes x OC Isabeth ‘Izzy’ Flores 30 Day Fic Challenge (14/30)

Word Count: 3k A/N: I feel like I say this for a majority of my fics but this post-canon world I've thought up for Angel and Maverick is my favorite, I think about it everyday, I just, want him to be happy even tho most of my ideas for this are angsty HAHA.

Warnings: All my fics are 18+ regardless of content. Light angst.

Mayans Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @narcolini @danzer8705 @keyweegirlie @kmc1989 Previous fic for reference.

Angel stepped into the library, Maverick in his arms and was staring at the bulletin board. His eyes were scanning over each flyer and business card that was pinned to it. The list of jobs that Angel felt capable of was slim. There were a lot of options, prep cook, lab assistant, front desk organizer, medical assistants, nurses, but none of those were things that Angel had any experience with. That’s when his eyes landed on the business card that was pinned to the flyer that said Farm Hand needed, the business card on top reading Rancho de Valle - Este. His free hand reached up to grab the information from the pin so he could get a closer look. 

Farm hand, operating and maintaining machinery, harvesting and planting crops, repairs, occasional livestock caring. Full time, housing on premise provided if desired, hourly pay, overtime opportunities, and medical insurance. 

“El Ranchitos.” A voice sounded behind him. 

He turned around immediately, a little startled by the voice while Maverick on the other hand cooed in excitement as he saw who was behind them. 

“Sorry I did not mean to scare you.” Izzy smiled at Angel and turned her gaze onto Maverick. Her hand quickly reached out to grab his foot. “Hi, you. I missed you.” Her voice was soft now, she didn’t want to scary anyone again. 

“You caught me deep in thought, that’s all.” Angel laughed as he adjusted Maverick in his arms. 

“Yes, El Ranchitos.” She repeated again pointing to the papers again. 

Angel looked down not seeing El Ranchitos anywhere on the forms and looked back at the woman he had brief conversations with over the last few months. “You’re familiar with them?” 

“De Valle’s are very well known in this town. They own all of El Ranchitos, de Valle Este is the one closest to the city that is a harvesting ranch, they have others in the city but they’re more like resorts, they had to adapt with the change of the world.” Izzy explained. “They’re good people, kind, understanding. I think de Valle Este is like 10 minutes from here by car.” 

“Thanks, yea I think I’m going to apply. Everything else is a bit out of my range.” Angel laughed awkwardly. “Just gotta figure out what I’m gonna do with him while I’m working, maybe I could hire someone to watch him if I take them up on this on premise housing.” He was thinking outloud now, but it was just a symptom of having no one above the age of 2 to talk with here. 

Izzy was leaning over in front of him now, reaching for something on the bulletin board. Her hand began searching around until she found what she was looking for and pulled it from the pin. “It isn’t a nanny, but we watch the kids all day, feed them, read to them, use the playground outside on good weather days, it’s a small group too.” 

“We?” Angel questioned his eyes moving from the library daycare flier to Izzy’s face.

“Okay, I, it’s my initiative. We did a trial run this summer with a handful of kids and it went pretty well. We have about 8 kids right now signed up for the school year, all local, have room for 10, I think Maverick would be a great addition.” Izzy grinned again, now looking at Maverick who giggled and brought his hands out to her in hope to be held by her. 

“How was I around like all summer and didn’t notice this?” Angel laughed and happily gave the child over to Izzy. 

These last few months he had gotten extremely comfortable with the woman and honestly safe with her, Angel as well. These last few months have consisted of Angel coming to most of the library events because not only did Maverick enjoy them but because they offered him peace around people which he didn’t have much of since leaving Santo Padre. There was a constant fear, a persistence to always look over his shoulder, double guess everyone he met, everyone who walked too close to him on the street, but at the library it was like that fear was nonexistent. He had made a friend in Izzy, which was exactly what he needed right now. 

“I have two other people that help out, it allows one of us to take off, or be more flexible around the library.” She answered as she bounced Maverick up and down in her arms. “They’re actually running daycare now, if you want to check it out.” Her eyes moved back to Angel as Maverick’s little hands picked up her I.D. that was draped around her neck with a lanyard. “No pressure.” She let out an awkward laugh. 

“No, yea.” Angel spoke up which earned him a confused look from the woman holding his child across from him. He smiled realizing how confusing his statement was. “I just meant we’d love to check it out.” 

Izzy nodded and brought them both to the children’s area of the library and opened up the decent size circular room that currently had a group of kids of a variety of ages drawing on tables. 

“Sticker drawing. Helps them with open ended exploration, we let the older kids come up with a story based on their drawings and the younger ones like it too.” She was placing Maverick down on the ground and he was quick to find himself at the small table grabbing a sheet of his own. 

“How big is the age range?” Angel wasn’t sure why he was asking questions, he knew this was the best place for Maverick if he was to get this job. 

“Right now 1 through 5. This group is a bit older because it’s the summer.” She put her hands over her chest as she watched over the kids. 

 Before Angel could answer there was a little girl who was about 4 walking up to Izzy holding out her sheet of paper towards her. 

“Wow, that’s beautiful.” The little girl was being brought up into her arms and instantly throwing her own around Izzy’s neck. 

“Well the kids sure love you.” Angel smiled. 

“I hope this one does.” Izzy rocked from side to side similarly to how she was with Maverick just minutes earlier, but this time she looked at the girl in her arms and kissed the side of her head. “This one’s mine.” 

Angel found himself at a loss of words at that statement. He didn’t expect it. It automatically made him think about his friendship with Izzy, this was something huge that she so easily went without mentioning. Then again, it wasn’t like she knew everything about his life, but she knew a lot about his current life, and this felt very much like her current life. Between not knowing about the daycare and now her child, he felt like he needed to take a major step back. 

“Are you okay?” She interrupted Angel’s thoughts. 

“Yea, sorry. Just didn’t realize you had a kid.” Angel wanted to rewind the last 10 seconds so he never said those words. 

Izzy’s face dropped a little and she looked back down at her daughter and placed her back on the ground and stayed at her level for a moment. “Go back with your friends, Abrielle.” 

As she stood up she turned to Angel, and nodded towards the door. For a moment he hesitated and looked at Maverick. “You can take him, but Olivia doesn’t mind watching him.” She pointed to the woman with the lanyard similar to her own that was at the smaller kids table. With a nod, Angel was walking out of the room and standing awkwardly in front of Izzy. 

“I know you understand the need for privacy, Angel. The need to keep things to yourself. If I recall the first time I met you, I put my own address in for your library card because you were two nervous to give out information.” It felt scolding almost the way she was speaking. 

“I–” Angel went to speak but she cut him off by holding up her finger and speaking over him. 

“I don’t need a reason to make a choice regarding my child, Angel.” Her accent came out strong when she said his name. “You out of all people should get that.” 

“I do, I’m sorry. I just thought we were friends.” Again, Angel was wishing he would just keep his mouth shut. 

Izzy sighed, her guard immediately falling down and with a shake of her head she spoke. “We are friends, Angel. I just need to be cautious with her.” 

“I get that.” He nodded. “I didn’t mean to do whatever this is.” He waved his hand around and laughed awkwardly. “If anything, I’m glad you felt comfortable to tell me, it’s cool, having a parent friend. Haven’t had many of those really.” 

“Well if you do the daycare thing, you’ll make more during pickup and dropoff.” She matched his humorous tone. 

“Don’t know if I want that.” He chuckled nervously.

“Why do you think I don’t tell many people I have a child.” Her eyebrows raised and her mouth curled into a smile. 

Angel laughed. “Well then I’m honored to be accepted amongst the few.” He looked through the window of the daycare door and saw Maverick laughing at something and he turned back to Izzy. “I’d like to sign him up, even if I don’t get this job, this is the right place for him.” 

Izzy smiled at that comment, she went to say something but bit her tongue immediately. Her desire to say that this is the best place for Maverick and him was high but she held back and simply nodded. 

“Let’s get you two signed up then.” 

[despite-everything]

play rich is so fun.

i work serving really rich people, but just got off work and played a fun little game. i work near this fancy eyewear boutique that i knew had frames from my all-time favorite brand (that's too expensive for me to justify buying from), but had never gone in until now. my work schedule changed and i just got off - it's snowing outside so i decided to pop in the (tiny) shop at which point i spotted my dream sunglasses.

i asked about them, and the two shop workers were absolutely fabulous. they really knew what they were talking about and we had a great conversation about japanese eyewear, the company, the details, leather, luxury upcharges, damascus steel... just an interesting conversation sparked by the sunglasses. they offered to order any pair i like in any color i like from that brand (small, employing a small number of well-compensated craftsmen, i dig their ethos as a company) with no obligation of purchase for free.

i am most interested in a color way they didn't have in the shop, but i asked for a quote with prescription lenses. they said their optician would be able to answer once she had my prescription, but she was not in today and i didn't have a copy of my prescription handy. so they gave me her card and told me to send an email. and then they showed me some more cool frames from the brand, we kept talking, and i had such a nice time.

i told them i'd reach out and would let them know if i'd like them to order a pair to try in the palladium i like, but that the frames are currently backordered, so they'd need to talk to the company to get an estimate on when they would be available. i thanked them and left, and now i'm just so happy. when i say expensive i mean that i think the base price is like $700 before a prescription. maybe $1000. but i love them and tbh if i ever do decide to be a bit financially irresponsible, i'd get them from that shop for sure.

i have some friends who encouraged me to get those lenses before, and while they're both much older than me and really successful and i value their perspectives (major role models and tbh goals for me. so grateful for them), they have Money. i don't lol. but they also came to town and we actually met up last night so it kinda feels like a sign...

and i want to say that i'll get the sunglasses if i get this job i'm deciding to apply for... i'm underqualified, but they posted the job a month ago, then relisted it like 2 weeks ago. and i do have education and experience, but less than they're looking for. plus i don't have as many community connections here because i literally moved a month ago, but i'm very dedicated to forming them (with or without the dream job). but my friends from last night think it's worth a shot?? but they also don't know my full situation so like... idk. but many people have now suggested i apply anyway, so i think i will? anyway. i'm afraid i've now jinxed it. debating deleting this whole bit, but i've now articulated the thought, so is it too late now? i think i can get with the concept of something like that being possible. i've been reading a lot on relational quantum physics lately. and i'm high on the train. regardless, if i got that job, i would get a massive pay bump. my income would literally triple. and it's the role i want in the career i want in the location i want. so of course i don't want to get my hopes up. but if i get that job... maybe i'll get the sunglasses as a reward.

regardless, those glasses are well outside my economic class. almost everything im wearing is second hand, i feel like i look a bit of a mess because id gotten 2 hours of sleep before a really long day at work, and my umbrella and bag are clearly old and beat up. and the neighborhood is one of the most expensive in nyc... i just work there. so i was honestly worried about the staff being dismissive or rude (this has happened to me before. i work in service and know how annoying customers can be, but i also have dealt with judgement in rich spaces before) but they were so kind and knowledgeable. it obviously helped that i know about leather and steel craftsmanship, so we had common interests, but i still felt like they were genuinely interested in speaking with me and not just doing it out of obligation to their jobs.

idk i just felt like in order to make that work i had to fake the confidence of someone who "belonged there" and act like money wasnt an object. and maybe i didn't, but it still felt necessary. but its fun when it works (despite my physical appearance) and opens up another world.

or maybe they were just nice.

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

Daughter of the Sea

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Hold Fast (Read on Ao3 here)

I wandered around for a while, trying to make any sense of the conversation I had just had. But the more I thought about what Hestia had said, the more confused I felt. And the more angry I got. I had spent the last few weeks coming up with every possible way to take Percy’s place, made peace with the fact that dying was worth it if it meant I was saving him. But now I wasn’t sure. 

In a way, hearing from Hestia affected me more than hearing from my father would have. I knew Poseidon had been watching over me my whole life, but it was Hestia who was protecting me day in and day out. It was Hestia who took up residence in the fireplace of our home and kept vigilant watch on me. Out of all the gods, she knew me the best. And hearing her say words I knew were true but I didn’t want to hear put me in a sour mood. 

I eventually found myself on the archery range. It was empty, which was extremely odd. I had never seen it so quiet—Apollo had a lot of kids, and they were all talented archers. You could always count on someone practicing their gifts while the sun was still shining. 

But not today. I guessed that a lot of the campers wanted to go back to their cabins or do something to take their mind off the funeral. I didn’t blame them. 

I pulled out the throwing knives I always kept on my belt—four beautiful bronze blades with golden hilts that glinted in the light. 

They had shown up on my doorstep last November with my name on the package, and Percy had been extremely jealous. I reminded him that he didn’t use throwing knives, but that didn’t seem to change his mind. The only thing accompanying the gift was a small piece of pristine white paper, no bigger than a business card, with a beautiful, golden and shimmering symbol of the sun on it, almost like the one in Tangled. I looked down the empty hallway, shrugged, and picked up the package. I waited a few days before opening them, just to make sure it wasn't some sort of trap, and found that they were perfectly balanced and fit in my hand exactly. I still hadn’t found out who sent them, but I had an inkling of an idea. 

I still wasn’t fantastic at throwing knives—Percy and I were notoriously bad at ranged weapons—but I had gotten a lot better in the last year. I usually hit the target, and one out of every fifty or so times I would hit the bullseye. I considered that an impressive improvement. 

Cady had insisted I train in the weapon in case my sword ever got knocked out of my hand, she said a demigod should never be caught defenseless. I didn’t need to worry about losing my weapon anymore, thanks to the gift from my dad, and even without a sword I had learned to wield my abilities enough to always be able to defend myself, but what started practical soon turned comforting. I usually gave up on anything that I wasn’t immediately good at, but I had decided to stick with this one, and it was nice to see my hard work was starting to pay off. It felt good to have something to work at, something I had to struggle in. Something I could see improvement in—it gave me a sense of control over my life. Which, as a demigod, didn’t come often.

I had just loosed my first knife when a rustling in the grass behind me made me whip around. 

“Juniper!” I called when I saw the elfish face. “You’re lucky I didn't have that knife in my hand anymore.” 

“I know!” she squeaked. “I’m sorry, Angie.” She stood up from where she was crouched in the grass. “I shouldn’t have been sneaking, but I need to talk to you.” 

I gave her a curious look. Now that she was closer, I could see her eyes were tinged green—chlorophyll from crying, I told myself. 

“Is this about Grover?” I tried to keep my voice gentle, but she let out a small sob at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. 

“The naiads told me that you were going through Chiron’s reports this morning and there was a report from a protector in Canada and he mentioned Grover in it.” Her words came rushing out, getting closer to hyperventilating by the second. 

No secrets here, I thought. Those naiads are the worst gossips. 

“I did see a report, yes. It was talking about how—” 

“Can you come with me, Angie?! I can’t be away from my tree for too long.” Even though she asked me a question, she didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed my wrist and started dragging me towards the woods, and I gave up any hope I had of retrieving the golden knife stuck in the target. 

She didn’t stop running until we had come to a small clearing near her tree. I could see Zeus’ Fist standing tall in the middle of it and the sight sent a shiver up my spine. It had been a full year since the Battle, a full year of tension and loss and war. The clearing was a reminder of my first few weeks at camp, and a reminder of how far I had come. But it was also a reminder of my failures. 

“Now, what were you going to say about Grover?!” Juniper looked so hopeful, I didn’t know how to break the news to her. 

“Well, the letter didn’t exactly say anything about him.” 

“What?” 

“It was from a protector, Gleeson Hedge, I think, asking for Grover’s help. It was addressed to him. I don’t know why it ended up here.” 

“But—” Juniper looked like she was about to cry again when a voice startled both of us. 

“Ah ha!” I turned to see an old, fat satyr waddling towards us with surprising speed. He had a smug look on his goatish face. “It is obvious he has run away from his duties, abandoned us all. Trust me, nymph, you are better without that traitor.” 

Juniper’s green skin took on a red hue, and I wondered what it would look like for a tree nymph to fly off the handle. I didn’t know Grover well, I had only spent a little time with him last summer, but I knew he was Percy’s best friend. I knew he was brave, and funny, and was there for my brother when no one else was. In short, I knew I wasn’t going to put up with this old goat talking about him like that. 

“That’s not true, umm, whoever you are.” I snapped at him. 

“Whoever I am?!” He sounded utterly offended. “And just who are you?” 

“This is Angie Jackson!” Juniper announced proudly. “Percy’s sister.” 

The satyr’s nose crinkled. “Of course I should’ve guessed by her impertinence.” 

If I knew what that word meant I was sure I would’ve been offended. 

“Nice to meet you…” 

“Leneus! Lord of the Wild and Member of the Council of Cloven Elders!” 

I only caught about half of what he said. 

“Oh, alright. Sounds important.” 

He let out an aggrieved huff and stuck his nose in the air. “It is important, thank you—” 

His sentence was cut off by a small boy in black jeans and an aviator's jacket appearing out of nowhere. Leneus let out a scream. 

“Whoa, am I interrupting?” The pale boy looked more tired than I had ever seen him, and the sight of him made my stomach drop. On one hand I was glad that the conversation with the angry satyr had come to an end, but on the other, I knew what him being here meant. I knew what was about to begin. 

“Hey, Nico.” 

He gave me a small smile. “Hi, Angie. Nice to see you again. Know where Percy is?” 

I had gotten used to that question in the last year. “No, sorry.” 

“Will someone explain to me what's going on?” the satyr asked in the most annoying voice possible. Juniper ran and hid behind her tree. 

“Sorry, there’s usually no one here.” Nico said in a sheepish voice. “I came to see Percy.” 

The satyr let out a huff and rolled his eyes. “I have heard far too much about that upstart today.” 

I was about to tell the old goat off when a large hellhound came bounding through the trees and barrelling into the clearing. I reached for my necklace instinctively and was about to pull on it when I saw the glimmering collar around her neck. My hand relaxed as Mrs. O’Leary ran up to Nico and began to lick his face excitedly—which is quite the sight when the dog's tongue is almost as big as the boy. The son of Hades broke into a wide smile, but Leneus and Juniper weren’t as pleased. 

I was too busy laughing at the sight to see the boy jogging behind the hellhound, but when Nico perked up and nodded to someone behind me, I spun around. My heart beat a little faster when I saw who it was. He cracked a smile when he saw me, but his expression was immediately replaced with confusion. I understood why—he was walking into a strange quartet. 

"Will someone—what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" Leneus began shouting, waving his arms and trotting on his hooves as if the grass were hot. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"

"Sorry, Leneus," Percy said. I swore I could hear the faintest hint of laughter in his words. "That's your name, right?"

The satyr rolled his eyes. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly. Now, call off your beast!"

Mrs. O’Leary let out another bark, shaking the ground a bit. Nico had found a tickle spot right behind her ear. 

The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

Juniper turned toward my brother. "Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"

Percy had just opened his mouth, probably in protest, when the hellhound barked again. Leneus’ knees started knocking. "I . . . I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

Nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "We'll walk the dog,” he volunteered, “Won’t we, Angie?" He turned towards me with an expression that told me he wasn’t asking. I pushed away the feeling of cold dread that crept up my spine whenever I was around him. 

“Umm, sure!” Percy looked uneasy as he shot me a cautious glance. I nodded at him, and he looked back to Juniper. Percy and I were getting better at communicating without words, twin stuff, I guessed, and I knew what he was trying to tell me—be on your guard. It’s not that we didn’t trust Nico…but as children of Poseidon, we had to be a little more careful around the other kids of the Big Three. Especially since Hades didn’t like Percy all that much. 

He whistled, and Mrs. O’Leary took off like a shot to the other end of the grove. Nico raced after her, and I took that as my cue to follow. 

When we finally caught up to the hellhound, she was sniffing around some boulders the way she did when she was about to, uh, relieve herself, so Nico and I gave her plenty of space.

“You’re nervous about what comes next.” Nico spoke, his voice grim. It wasn’t a question. 

“Yeah.” I couldn’t meet his eyes. 

“It’s the only way, Angie. The only way Percy has a chance against Luke.” 

I knew he was right. But that didn’t stop me from hoping. “What if there is another way? Maybe there’s something that I can do—” 

“Angie, how many times do we have to go over this?” 

I snapped my head towards him, desperation filling my eyes. “Everyone keeps telling me the same thing! But I won’t give up on him! Not until—” my voice broke and I took in a sharp breath. “Not until I can’t fight anymore.” 

Nico’s eyes softened, and he looked more sad than usual. Which was saying something. “I understand wanting to hold on to him. Trust me, I do. but you have to let go. You have to believe when people tell you this is his fight. The things that are coming…” he got a faraway look in his eye, like he was looking through me into a scary future. “We’ll need you.” He focused on me again. 

Nico was always saying strange things. Being a child of the underworld, he spent most of his time underground, talking to ghosts. And ghosts could see more than livings could, sometimes even into the future. Nico always knew more than other demigods, but he had learned quickly that most of the time, those things were for him alone. It was almost impossible to get information out of him. 

“Everyone keeps saying that, too. But it doesn’t make me feel better.” 

Nico cracked a small smile, and I noticed the way it made his dark eyes shine. When he didn’t have a permanent scowl on his face, he actually looked pretty kind. “I know. But give it time—sometimes the only way to understand something is by going through it.” 

I considered the small boy, and decided he was much too wise for a twelve year old. 

Mrs. O’Leary, finished with her business, bounded up to us and nearly knocked me over. We pet her for a little bit before Nico turned his head in a curious way before announcing, “Let’s head back.” 

I didn’t question him. 

We reached the clearing in time to hear my brother say, “I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs." 

"Good job, Percy.” Nico said as he walked up to him and Juniper. “Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."

Percy gave him a weak smile, and I could tell he knew why the son of hades had come calling. "Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper?"

Nico blushed. "Um, no. That was an accident. I kind of…dropped into the middle of their conversation."

"He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows. I heard that Angie got a note about Grover when she was going through Chiron’s reports, but it didn’t say anything helpful.” She sounded so dejected, but immediately perked back up. “But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"

Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you…even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."

"But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

Nico's cheeks got even brighter red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."

She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt—"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.

Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"

She went poof into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico, me, and Percy alone. The atmosphere immediately shifted into something tense and dark. My brother turned to face me, putting a hand on my shoulder. 

“I think I need to talk to Nico alone for a bit. Stay here?” 

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. “Yeah, okay. Just…just don’t leave without saying goodbye.” 

His eyes got sad. “I won’t.” He ruffled my hair a bit, and this time, I let him. Nico gave me a small smile, his face still a shade of red, before the two boys turned and walked deeper into the woods. 

I sat in a small meadow that was on the edge of the clearing we had been standing in, passing the time making and unmaking small flower crowns. Katie Gardener had taught me how to make them, although mine were never as good as hers were. I knew I should be doing something more productive, like practicing my throwing knives, running sword drills, or even working on strengthening my abilities, but I couldn’t make myself do any of that. It all felt too heavy. Just as I was about to get up and walk back into camp, assuming Percy had forgotten about me, he came running back into the clearing. 

“Angie?” 

I made my way over to him quickly. “Are you leaving?” 

I could tell by the look in his eyes that the answer was yes. 

“It’s time.” He didn’t have to say more. 

I threw my arms around his neck and didn’t try to stop my tears from soaking the shoulder of his orange Tshirt. He held me close, smoothing my hair and whispering some comforting words that I wasn’t paying attention to. Before long, he pulled away. His eyes were red and wet. 

“Don’t go.” 

I knew it was selfish of me to say. I knew it wasn’t fair. I knew he didn’t want to be anyone’s martyr just as much as I didn’t want him to die. He didn’t ask for any of this—and he didn’t need any more reminders of how close to the end he was. 

“I have to, Angie.” Percy sounded exhausted. Now, just the two of us, he let his shoulders slump and there wasn’t a trace of a smile on his face. 

“You know It’s the only way to stand a chance against Luke. If he’s invincible, then I have to be, too.” He continued. “We’re no match for the Titan army. You know that. This comes down to me and Kronos.” The words sounded like they were coming from someone else, his eyes faraway and distant. I recognized them as the ones Nico had told him, almost a year ago. 

“But it’s not fair!” I sounded like a petulant child, but I didn’t care. “It’s not fair that it has to be you.” 

Percy sighed like he was disappointed I was only now figuring this out. “It’s not.” He admitted. “But the life of a demigod isn’t fair. Especially for a child of the Big Three. It’s…it’s just our fate.” 

He tried to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear, but I flinched away from him. 

“But I don’t want to lose you! I can’t lose you! I don’t know how to—” the words caught in my throat, a sob taking their place. I dissolved into tears, and before I knew it, Percy’s arms were around me. I didn’t try to fight him. 

“Can I tell you a story?” 

It was such a strange thing to say that it caught me completely off guard. 

“What?” My voice cracked. 

“A story my mom, our mom, told me when I was very small.” He began. “And one I’m sure she would’ve told you. It’s the reason why she named me Perseus in the first place.” 

“Because he was a hero?” 

Percy chuckled. “That’s what I thought at first, too. But no. Because, against all odds, he is one of the few heroes who managed to find his way to a happy ending.” I thought about that for a moment. His happy ending was living a life with the person he loved, Andromeda. I wished that could be true for Percy and me, but the thought felt too far away to reach. 

“When he was a very little boy,” Percy continued, “he and his mother were placed into a wooden chest and cast out into the sea by a very angry king. Alone. Afraid. And at night, his mother would whisper in his ear: ‘Hold fast, Perseus. Brave the storm that was made to break us, for we are unbreakable. As long as we have each other.’” 

Percy whispered as he smoothed my hair. My breathing began to steady. 

“As long as we have each other.” I echoed. “Don’t go where I can’t follow.” 

Percy chuckled, probably remembering the time I forced him to watch all of the Lord of the Rings movies this past year. I had always loved that quote, and after he heard it, it had become our mantra.

 “You’re such a nerd.” There was a smile in his voice. A comfortable silence fell over us as we held onto each other, not knowing when either of us would get to hug our sibling again. When he spoke again, his voice was low and gentle, but very sure. 

“So…hold fast, Angie. That’s what mom said to me when I first came to Camp, when I was figuring all this out. Hold fast. Brave the storm.”

“Hold fast.” I echoed, wanting the words he was saying to sink into my heart and find a permanent place there. 

 I had only known Percy for about a year, but in that time, he had become a part of my soul. The thought of losing him tore me apart. Every fiber in my being was screaming at me to hold onto him forever, to never let go. I wanted to beg him to take me with him, plead to take his place. 

But I knew it was no use. In that moment, I knew I wasn’t strong enough. But Percy was. 

And more than that, I knew Percy would never let me. This was a journey he had to take on his own, and I would just have to find some other time to save him further down the road.

I let go of him and looked into his sparkling eyes, identical to mine. 

“You can do this.” I put all the power I had into my words. “I’ve never believed in anyone more than I believe in you.” 

He managed a smile. “I’ll see you again.” 

“I know you will. We are unbreakable, as long as we have each other.” 

I swore I saw tears begin to pool in his eyes, but I didn’t say anything. He pulled me into another hug, tight and quick, before letting go and messing up my hair. And this time, just this once, I let him. 

Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness, only stopping to look back once.