#shhhh he's trying to pretend he's stoic

[bobaboob]

kaeya wears peacock feathers in his hat. no one knows where he procures them from considering they live in idaho

[pt.3 of my vampire cowboy diluc au ft. kaeya]

[tojisveryown]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦

© 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐣𝐢𝐬𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐫

Ｓｙｎｏｐｓｉｓ: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘑𝘒 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨

Ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ: 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦

Ｎｏｔｅ: 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘵𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘭

𝘧𝘵. 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘠𝘶𝘶𝘫𝘪, 𝘍𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰 𝘔𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘪, 𝘎𝘰𝘫𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘶, 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰, 𝘐𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘰

𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐢 𝐘𝐮𝐮𝐣𝐢

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- You saw this idea on tiktok and decided that you wanted to participate in it as well. You and your boyfriend Yuuji were always pulling pranks on each other and you thought pulling this one would get a good reaction out of him. You waited in his room for him to come back from his training with Gojo and once he came in he gave you a hug and laid himself in between your legs “Hey how was training?” you asked playing with his hair “Tiring, but thanks for waiting for me to get back.” you resisted the urge to laugh as these next words spilled out of your mouth. “Chris please go take a shower your sweat and grease just got all over my hands.” “Okay fine I’ll go take a sh- did you just call me chris?” he got up from your lap and turned to you making sure he heard you right. “No I didn’t now hurry up and take a shower, you smell.” he grabbed your wrists and pinned you down “Who’s Chris?” you stayed silent trying not to laugh, “Y/N? Tell me who Chris is or I’ll rub my sweaty armpit on you.” “NO I’M SORRY IT’S A PRANK!” nonetheless he still shoved your face into his armpit.

𝐅𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐢

𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- Nobara had told you about this prank where you’d pretend to hide someone in the closet while Megumi comes in as if you were cheating on him and you both gave each other a smirk and though it’d be fun to prank Megs. Nobara was standing guard over your room and once she saw the spiky black hair from afar she signaled you to get ready, as Megumi tried to open the door Nobara kept stopping him it wasn’t until he got supper suspicious that he pushed passed her and opened your door. The first thing Megumi saw was clothes discarded on the floor, both mens and womens (every body say thanks to Yuuji for allowing you to raid his closet), he looked up at you as you were hovering over your closet door with a blanket wrapped around you. Megumi looked at you with sad eyes and left your room, you heard the door next to yours slam and you and Nobara shared the same expression as you two faced each other. Nobara knocked on his door and Megumi opened after a new knocks “What?” you knew you fucked up big time especially since he sounded like he was in a bad mood “Hey I’m sorry-” “Why would you help her cheat? Aren’t we friends?” You wanted to run into his arms and tell him it was a prank but half of you was dying from laughter “Megumi, please just go into her room and see it for yourself.” he agreed. Megumi came into your room and opened the closet door to see the bastard you were cheating with, “SURPRISE SHAWTY!!” He looked at you and realized what he got himself into and plopped himself on your bed and started mumbling about how stupid you two were.

𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐮

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- You were tired of all the girls that flirted with Gojo and you were tired of him for letting them flirt. You wanted to somehow get back at him and you came up with the idea to prank him making it look like you were cheating. With the help of Nobara and Yuuji you were able to make it look like you were cheating on Gojo. The three of you made it where your shared room with Gojo looked like someone else had been there. You waited for Gojos return and when you heard the door knob open you quickly wrapped the blanket around you and sat on a pillow to make it seem like you were on top of another guy, you let out a fake moan while you were bouncing up and down waiting for Gojo to react. Instead of Gojo getting angry and lashing out he pulled out his phone and started recording “Nice try babe, you don’t have the heart to cheat on me.” You let out a sigh and plopped yourself on the shared bed “Besides where would you find someone as sexy as me mhm?”

𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- The idea struck upon you when you saw Gojo come into a meeting with a hickey on his neck, you wondered what would make Nanami snap from his stoic nature and atlas you came up with the idea to plaster a fake hickey on your neck and around the area where your chest was slightly exposed. You waited for Nanami to come out the shower and while you were doing so you were preparing some snacks that the two of you would share while watching the newest episode of your favorite show. Nanami came up behind you while you were putting a sandwich together and wrapped his arms around your waist, he pulled your hair to the side and have you a kiss on the neck, “I missed you, what did you do today?” “Oh nothing I hung out with Gojo for a while since we bumped into each other at the farmers market.” he went in for another kiss, this time his hot breath met your neck instead of his lips “Is that where you got the idea to give yourself a fake hickey?” Nanami was immune to pranks especially because he grew up with Gojo. Going along with the fact that he grew up with that man whore he was able to determine a real hickey from a fake one. “Nice try love.”

𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞

𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- You and Maki were sending each other tiktoks and you came across a prank where the guy was ignoring his girlfriend and you sent it to Maki with the following text “LMAO SHOULD I DO THIS TO INUMAKI?? YOU THINK HE’LL GET MAD?” she replied with “LMAOO DO IT, HE’LL GET SO MAD IT’LL BE SO FUNNY” The next morning you and Maki walked to the fields to start training and as everyone started to gather you greeted them with a good morning, all but Inumaki. He stood there next to panda after you had passed by saying “Good morning panda!” Inumaki stood there waiting for his greeting and a kiss on the cheek but he noticed you were already on the track running next to Maki and Nobara “Did you two fight?” “Kelp?” Inumaki shrugged his shoulders and waited for the girls to finish their laps. Once he saw you nearing the end of the lap he walked towards you with a water bottle in his hand “Hey thanks for the water Yuuji!” Inumaki stood there dumbfounded, he watched as you grabbed the water from Itadori’s hand and chugged it down. For the rest of the afternoon Inumaki watched in silence as you engaged with everyone. Training was about to end meaning it was time to hit the showers to scrub off the dirt and sweat but before you could pack your things Inumaki blocked you from getting your stuff “Tuna tuna!” It was useless, you ended up getting passed him and began to pack your stuff “Talk to me... please?” your body jolted and the words “I’m sorry it was a prank!” slipped through your lips. You turned around and you were met with a fuming Toge, he began to scream out onigiri ingredients and when he saw that you were taking it lightly he began tapping his foot on the concrete floor waiting for you to finish. Wiping the tears off your eyes from laughing so much you began to apologize “I’m sorry Toge that was just too fu-” “Run laps.” 

𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐨

𝐈'𝐦 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤- You absolutely adored your boyfriend, and you loved how charismatic he was but you couldn’t help but love to tease him in the most outlandish ways as possible. That being said you began brainstorming a dialog for the breakup prank you wanted to pull, you almost felt bad when he came home to you with flowers in his hand. “Hey darling I missed you a little extra today so I got you these.” you gazed at him and he gave you a warm smile as he pulled you into a hug “I wanna break up.” he flinched at the sudden words and broke the hug, his hand was laying on your shoulder “What? Did I do something wrong?” You looked anywhere but his eyes “No.. it’s not that.” Choso cupped your face with his free hand “Then what’s the problem? We can fix it right?” his thumb rubbed against your cheek “I’m just not happy anymore.” “Oh.” Choso backed away at the sudden phrase that left your lips. “Okay, well um. If this is what you really want.” He gave you a smile and extended the flowers out to you “At least keep the flowers, they are for you afterall.” You reached out to grab the flowers and grabbed the luggage that played as a prop for your prank. You walked out the door leaving Choso alone. After closing the door you immediately opened it back up and saw Choso bundled up in the corner, head down in his knees and arms wrapped around his knees as he cried there quietly, the sound of the door opening made him jolt his head up and you were met with a tear stained Choso “Y/N please don’t leave me.” You ran towards him hugging him tightly as you wiped the tears off. “Shhhh it’s okay my love it was just a prank, I’m sorry it was a stupid one.” Choso smiled under your touch, unknown to you he knew it was a prank the entire time due to how light your luggage seemed, but for a brief moment he truly believed the person he loved most was unhappy with him.

© 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐣𝐢𝐬𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐫

[soda-pop-kandy-krush]

omg this request has been in my inbox for so long ahshfhdgh i’m sorry it’s so late, but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

-

6. “Stay still!”

27. “I still love you.”

Romantic Analogically

-

“Virgil.”

Barely biting back his grin, Virgil nuzzled his cheek into Logan’s chest. “Hm?”

“Please, stay still…” Logan growled, the fingers of his free hand tangling in the dark side’s hair, scratching his scalp gently.

Virgil practically purred, his eyes slipping shut. Cuddling with Logan was wonderful, but he could be such a snooze sometimes. Especially when he so very rudely refused to pay full attention to his dear, darling boyfriend- instead focusing on the boring book he insisted on burying his nose in all hours of the day. Yawn.

He was lucky he was so cute, Virgil thought to himself as he breathed deep the comforting smell of fabric detergent, coffee, and something warm and musky and distinctly Logan. A breathy moan escaped his mouth when he felt the smooth pressure move down his neck, massaging the tightness he always forgot was there until his seemingly magic fingers came along to ease it away. Mm… Cute and good with his hands.

But, in spite of his pretty face and knowledge of how to make Virgil melt into a puddle of goop, he was still horribly stubborn and unwilling to put down his book to give him the love and attention that he deserved. And that just wouldn’t do.

“Logan…”

“Yes?”

“I’m bored.”

Silence. Logan turned his page. “Are you, now?”

“Mm-hm…”

“And what do you suppose I should do about that?” He said, his fingers slowing down to play with the fluffy hair as the nape of his neck.

Virgil grumbled, burying his face into Logan’s abdomen, his voice muffled by the soft flesh. The corners of Logan’s mouth twitched as he made out something along the lines of ‘You suck’.

“Ah, I see.” He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the hand holding his book, before finally placing it on the coffee table next to them. “Instead of asking me for what it is that you want, you’re going to sulk like a child and force me to guess for myself.”

A rush of heat prickled beneath where Logan’s fingers were still stroking his hair. He was casting a line; offering bait- and really, it would be foolish of Virgil not to take advantage of the opportunity by making the most of Logan’s playful mood. Turning his head to the side so that the grumpy pout on his face was visible, he nodded in silent petulance.

“Of course.” Logan sighed, even though he couldn’t hide the fondness in his voice. “Hmmm, well then...”

Two fingers began to creep up each of Virgil’s sides, tip-toeing slowly and gently from just above his hips, wiggling against the tender dip of his waistline, before settling at his lowest ribs. Virgil had to bite his cheek to stop himself from smiling, already blowing quick puffs of air out of his nose to disguise the laughter he could feel bubbling up.

“Yes, yes, interesting.” He muttered to himself, furrowing his brow pensively as his fingers suddenly scuttled up Virgil’s ribs and dug into his armpits. Virgil squeaked, clamping his arms down and dissolving into surprised giggles. Logan frowned.

“No, this won’t do, let me just…” He held one of Virgil’s elbows, pulling his arm to the side just enough so that his other hand was free to worm its way back underneath. He smirked when Virgil squealed, his chest and stomach swooping as Logan’s fingers chased after him whenever he arched away. “Much better.”

“Nohoho! Lo! Stoppit!”

“Shhhh, Virgil...” Logan chided. “You’ve been disruptive enough as is, you could at least allow me to carry out my research in peace...”

“R-Research? Whahat research?”

He took mercy and let go of his arm, instead moving both hands to settle on his back and drift along the length of his spine with light, sweeping touches that left Virgil breathless as he tried to swallow soft giggles.

“I’m conducting a very important scientific experiment.” Logan whispered, fingers creeping further and further down his back. “But, I’m afraid I’ll have to gather much more data to work with before I draw any conclusions.”

With that, he wrapped his hands around Virgil’s hips and began rapidly squeezing. Virgil gasped, immediately bursting into loud laughter as his hands shot down to try and shove Logan away. Whilst this wasn’t the exact kind of attention he was gunning for, he couldn’t really say that he was mad about it either. Logan liked to pretend he was all cool-headed and stoic, but Virgil knew better. Deep down, he was just as much of a goofball as the others- and if it took bugging him all afternoon to get him to come out and play? He could certainly live with that.

“Nohoho!” He cried when Logan’s thumbs managed to wiggle underneath to get at his stomach. “Not there! Not there!” Virgil slammed himself down to try and trap them, the tingly sensations lighting up his nerve endings like a switchboard.

Undeterred, Logan switched to the same spidery tickles from before, concentrating both hands on the right half of Virgil’s torso and causing him to lurch away, rolling off of Logan and onto his side. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what he had planned for, and Logan wasted no time wrapping an arm around his chest to hold him still as he slipped his other hand up his t-shirt and clawed at his belly.

Virgil shrieked, falling into a fit of desperate cackles. He could just about handle being tickled anywhere else, but his tummy was his weak spot and Logan knew it (he would have cussed him out for playing dirty, but he was far too busy giggling his head off to speak so coherently). Plus, by this point he was so loopy-giddy from the silliness of it all that he was too weak to do more than just lay there and take it, scrunching up his shoulders when he felt a soft, breathy chuckle against the back of his neck.

“This is terribly unprofessional of you, Virgil.” Logan tutted as he pulled him back onto his lap, continuing to squish and squeeze all over his midriff. “Really- science is no laughing matter...”

“Lohohohogan! Plehehe-!” Virgil hiccuped, his eyes misty with tears. As ruthless as Logan was, even he could tell it was time to wrap things up, and so he began to slow down until he was gently tracing the perimeter of his torso with light, feathery touches.

“I think that’s all that I’ll need for now. Although,” He poked Virgil’s belly button, smirking at the little yelp it produced. “I’ll know where to go if I need to run any more repeats.”

Virgil whined through his last few giggles. “Youhu nerd…” He held onto Logan’s wrists as he wrapped him in his arms. “S-So…” He panted. “What’s your conclusion?”

Logan’s smirk softened. “It’s just as I suspected.” He pressed a gentle kiss to his neck, delighting in the way it made the tips of his ears blush, before resting his chin atop the crown of Virgil’s head. “You are, in fact, one hundred percent adorable.”

Virgil scoffed, hiding his red face in his sleeve-covered hands but not before Logan caught sight of the dopey grin on his face. “I hate you…” He grumbled.

“Oh? It sounds like somebody needs another round before they’re convinced...” Logan teased, cradling him closer and allowing their legs to intertwine. Virgil squeaked, hands coming away from his face to bat at Logan’s as he trapped him in the hug.

“No!” He tittered nervously. “Nohoho, I’m not, I’m not- I still love you, I prohomise…”

Humming thoughtfully, Logan relaxed his grip. “Alright, I’ll leave you be. For now.” He pressed one more tickly kiss against Virgil’s cheek, smiling against the warm skin and letting his eyes slip shut.

Virgil giggled, feeling more than a little smug that he had managed to get what he wanted as he wriggled around so that he was on his front again, snuggling into Logan’s chest with a content sigh.

They lay in comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s calming presence enough that they were on the verge of dozing off, but it wasn’t more than a few minutes later when Virgil’s ears pricked at the sound of something rustling directly above him.

“Logan.” He mumbled, his eyes still closed. “You’d better not be reading that dumb book again.”

There was a brief pause before Logan sighed, clapping his hardback shut and carefully placing it back on the coffee table.

“... It was worth a try.” He muttered sheepishly, settling back down for their long-overdue cuddling session.

[itachi-uchiha-deserved-better]

Comfortember day 3

Today was extra hard since I accidentally did a nightmare drabble yesterday too, so I took a slightly different approach but it’s still kind of rough. 

Nightmare

Itachi had volunteered to take watch for the night. He knew there was little chance of him sleeping at all, so there was no reason in his mind for Tenzo to suffer needlessly or for both of them to make the trip home from the land of lightning exhausted. They’d be meeting up with Kestrel and Panther the next morning. With any luck, the other members of the team would have been just as successful in completing their end of the mission as Itachi and Tenzo had been. If not, then it would be that much longer before Itachi and Tenzo could curl up in their own bed again, and that much longer before Itachi would be able to get a half decent nights sleep. The mission had already been a long one and both Itachi and Tenzo were exhausted and tense.

At least they had found a decent shelter in which to stay the night. The cave was deep enough to conceal their presence, and a warm water spring must have run beneath the ground somewhere, because the floor of the cave itself was warm enough to chase away any chill in the air.

Once they had settled in for the night, the warmth of the cave and Tenzo’s exhaustion had long since caught up with him, and the brunette shinobi had drifted into a deep sleep. Itachi had taken the chance to clean and sharpen his weapons, letting his hands work while his eyes scanned the darkness and his mind wandered to thoughts of home and his family and the complicated political machinations in which he found himself trapped.

Nearly an hour had passed when a small whimpering sound caught Itachi’s attention and pulled him from his thoughts. He quickly activated his sharingan out of instinct, peering deep into the darkness beyond the mouth of the cave, but a shifting sound accompanied by more whimpers quickly alerted Itachi that the source of the noise was the man sleeping just a few feet away.

Itachi looked over to see Tenzo, curled in on himself, his face twisted up in pain, although his eyes were still closed. Every few moments, the whimpering would start again, and Tenzo would flinch as if he was anticipating some kind of blow in his sleep.

Itachi frowned. He cast another glance out into the shadows beyond the cave mouth to make sure that there was no sign of a threat before turning his full attention to his fitful partner. With a careful hand, Itachi reached out and gently reached over to start carding his fingers through Tenzo’s soft hair.

The touch sent a jolt through Tenzo’s body and deep brown eyes shot open, wide with panic. Tenzo’s hands flew up, shielding his face and he let out a loud yelp which made Itachi pull back his hand, for fear that he’d somehow hurt his lover.

“Easy, Tenz. It’s just me, take it easy.”

Tenzo lowered his hands, looking around, eyes still the size of shiruken like he wasn’t fully aware of what was going on around him. He whimpered again.

“Please don’t tell Lord Danzo. He’ll be so angry with me.”

Itachi felt a pang of deep sadness and anger roll through him as Tenzo pleaded in a small voice. Itachi knew enough of Tenzo’s past to hate the name Danzo. He knew that on the nights that Tenzo tossed and turned and woke with dark circles under the eyes, it was usually Danzo who was being featured in the older shinobi’s dreams.

“Shhhh, it’s ok, Tenzo. It was just a dream.” Itachi tried to sooth his partner, reaching out again, but slower this time to give Tenzo’s arm a reassuring squeeze. However, Tenzo shook his head, his hand grabbing Itachi’s as he repeated the plea.

“Promise me. I don’t want to make Lord Danzo angry. It was an accident. It wont happen again. I promise I wont fail next time. I wont fail, I wont, I wont.”

Itachi tried not to let the boiling rage inside show on his face. Although he did swear to himself that someday, he would make sure that Danzo paid dearly for every sleepless night, every panic attack, every pain both physical and emotional that Tenzo had suffered because of Danzo. If it took his entire life to see it done, so be it, but Itachi would make sure that Tenzo got his justice.

For now, all he could hope to do however was to try and sooth Tenzo so that he could find some kind of peaceful sleep.

“I promise. It’s ok, Tenzo, no one is going to tell Danzo anything.” He whispered, carefully disentangling himself from Tenzo’s grasp while trying to urge Tenzo to come closer to him so that Itachi could hold him close. Tenzo started struggling, fighting Itachi’s hold as his please became more and more desperate.

“He wants me to kill Kakashi. I can’t fail him again, I can’t, I can’t, he’ll kill me. Or worse. Please I can’t kill Kakashi, he’s going to hurt me.”

Tears were beginning to stream down Tenzo’s face and he was shaking and beginning to breath fast and irregular. Whatever nightmare Tenzo had been having seemed to have been enough to send him into the throughs of a panic attack, made all the worse by the fact that he seemed to still be only semi conscious and still in the throughs of the dream.

Itachi did the only thing he could think of. The same thing that his mother had always done for him when he was little and he woke up crying because of a nightmare. He started to sing.

It was a lullaby. His voice waivered at first, as he tried his best to remember all of the words. But the melody was something he could never forget.

Out by the forest, the good children play

And spring flowers bloom overhead

Out by the forest, birds of the summer

Sing sweetly their song

Out by the forest, the leaves start to fall

And covers the grasses on which spring fawns fed.

Out by the forest, in silence snow falls

And with baited breath the world waits

For they day shall come again

When spring flowers bloom

And good children play by the wood.

The light, lilting melody quickly filled the cave, and it seemed to help, as Tenzo stopped struggling against Itachi and Itachi was able to pull him over into his lap, stroking his hair gently.

Out by the forest, where blossoms are sweet

I’ll wait for you there in the shade

Out by the forest I promise we’ll dance

To the song of the birds in the trees.

The whole while he continued to sing, repeating the soothing melody over and over. Big brown eyes slowly started to drift shut and Tenzo’s breath began to sink back into something more normal. He uncurled a bit, and the fear in his face slowly melted away.

Out by the forest, we’ll play in the leaves

And in autumn’s shadow share a secret so sweet.

For the cold winter is coming

And soon we must leave

But I’ll wait for you here under the trees.

Itachi smiled, although he didn’t stop singing until Tenzo’s body had relaxed again and the brunette was sighing contentedly and nuzzling down into Itachi’s lap.

“That’s it, Tenzo, my love. Go back to sleep. I’ll chase away the nightmares. Just sleep.” Maybe it was the case that Itachi did not yet have the strength to slay all the monsters that threatened Tenzo in the waking world, but he could slay his lover’s bad dreams as long as he was there to wrap his arms around Tenzo, to remind Tenzo that he was no longer alone, that he was safe and loved.

The next morning, Tenzo didn’t say anything about a bad dream, or about the fact that he had woken up still laying comfortably in Itachi’s lap. Just like Itachi pretended not to notice the blush that had spread across Tenzo’s face the moment that his eyes opened. Itachi sincerely hoped that his boyfriend would never grow out of how easily he blushed, regardless of how long they were together.

Itachi wasn’t sure whether or not Tenzo remembered the whole episode, or if he had been so lucky as to forget whatever monsters had emerged from his unconscious mind to plague him. The pair broke down camp in a comfortable silence and Itachi quickly prepared a small meal from their rations. It wasn’t much, but it was certainly better than food pills and Tenzo eagerly voiced his appreciation. After eating, Itachi and Tenzo made quick work of the trek back to the meeting point where Kestrel and Panther had already arrived with the intelligence report they had been tasked with retrieving.

From there, the team turned their sights back to the land of fire and the village hidden in the leaves. Kestrel chattered incessantly on the way back about how it was a pity they hadn’t gotten a chance to spend a day in the land of hot water and Panther prowled beside the excitable girl in stoic silence. But beneath the mundane chatter, Itachi heard a sound that made his heart soar. Rising and falling just on the edge of his hearing was the same sweet lilting melody that he had sung the night before. Itachi cast a side glance at Tenzo, who was humming softly to himself. The older shinobi was wearing the faintest of smiles, and when his eyes met Itachi’s, there was a moment of silent thanks passed between them.

Out by the forest, we’ll play in the leaves

And in autumn’s shadow share a secret so sweet.

For the cold winter is coming

And soon we must leave

But I’ll wait for you here under the trees

[mariequitecontrarie]

Love You Forever

Summary: Following the events of 6x19 the Black Fairy, Belle tucks Gideon into bed, and both Belle and Rumple reflect on having hope in the face of hard choices. A/N:  I have a lot of mixed emotions going into the finale, and this little Rumbelle/Gold Family fic hit me yesterday. I don’t usually go angsty, but I had to write it. For all the moms out there--Happy Mother’s Day.

ON AO3

“The things you love are like the puffs of a dandelion weed; they grow wild and happen as they will.” - Bette Lee Crosby

Belle trailed her fingertips across Gideon’s forehead, basking in the simple pleasure of watching her son sleep for the first time. His breath was deep and even, his face serene. The tiny lines around his eyes were smooth, giving him the appearance of a young boy, rather than a man.

It seemed impossible her baby was the same age as she. Experienced parents had told her children grew up in the blink of an eye, but this was ridiculous even for Storybrooke.

Belle pressed her fingers to her mouth, suppressing a delighted giggle. Gideon was a sound sleeper, but not a quiet one. His hair stood on end, the way Rumple’s often did when he woke in the morning. Two huge feet poked out from beneath the covers, further affirmation her son was too tall and strong to share a bed with his mother. Every so often he rolled over, snorting as he resettled on the mattress. Belle pushed up from the pillow and tucked the comforter around his legs. Earlier tonight, when Rumple had ushered them toward the stairs and urged them to go to bed, she couldn’t resist his suggestion that she stretch out beside Gideon, ease him into his first night of being home.

Their son had been the one to reach out and join hands, seeking reassurance. “Stay until I sleep, Mother?” he murmured, his eyelids drooping.

Belle bit back a sob at his childlike request and clung to him with all her might. No power in hell or any realm could have kept her away.

A fresh tear fell onto the sheets, and Belle’s mind wandered to the dog-eared copy of the children’s book Love You Forever in the library. In the story, a determined mother drives across town to slip into her grown son’s room and rock him to sleep. “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living My baby you’ll be.”

Her smile was bittersweet as she recited the title verse. No matter how high he towered over his parents, Gideon would always be their baby. Yet he was also a man full-grown, and the wound of knowing how much she and Rumple missed was a savage gnaw.

Mother hunger wracked her, the pain more acute from seeing Zelena with her baby girl yesterday. After she’d spent those few precious hours rocking, cooing, and playing with little Robin, she’d locked herself in the tiny shop bathroom and sobbed. They could protect Gideon from Emma, retrieve his heart, even banish the Black Fairy, but they couldn’t recover his childhood.

They would never watch his mouth form around his first word, run a finger over the sharp point of a baby tooth pushing through his gums, or encourage him to take his first steps on square, chubby feet. Belle hadn’t been there to kiss his scrapes and boo-boos when he fell, or to teach him to read, or fly a kite. Rumple had missed the chance to show him magic, push him on the swings, and to teach him the fine art of the spinning wheel. Though perhaps for a few of those joys, it wasn’t too late.

Rumple. Since the night they learned Gideon had been taken, her husband had been stoic and sure, her strength and hope in the face of the unthinkable. Belle’s heart ached for his suffering, and she felt his agonized choice as though it were her own. What he’d done tonight, facing his mother, was beyond courageous. Learning Fiona had loved him, discovering his true destiny as a savior—she couldn’t imagine grappling with so much and banishing his mother all in one evening, even after the torture the Black Fairy had put Gideon through.

Could she have done the same?

Gideon snorted in his sleep, and Belle slipped out of bed and pressed a kiss to his cool forehead. “Love you forever,” she whispered, then tiptoed into the hallway and closed the door.

xoxo

Rumplestiltskin stared into the fire while he nursed a glass of whisky. The papers he’d thrown onto the hearth to ignite the embers blackened and curled, consumed by the heat.

He’d done what was necessary tonight—foiled Emma and the heroes, then slid the truth past Belle and Gideon. A flicker of something in his son’s eyes told him Gideon suspected more was at stake than what he’d revealed. Clever boy.

Rumple tossed the rest of his drink back, hissing when the liquid scalded his parched throat. Offering his mother the farce of allegiance was the only way to get their son’s heart back. Emma, Regina and the others cared only for their own survival, not whether their boy was made whole. He’d meant what he said, about putting Belle and Gideon first. He would protect them when the Final Battle came, or he would die trying.

Until then, he could only pray his family would understand his choice.

“Hey.” Belle padded across the carpet to kneel in front of him, and she tilted her chin up, her gaze questioning. A moonbeam stretched across the room, making her eyes silvery, and the long white nightdress she wore shimmered in the creamy light. She looked far too young to be the mother of a twenty-eight year old man.

“Hey.” He caressed her cheek, then dropped his hand back into his lap. “I thought you’d be asleep.”

She smiled, soft and sad, and shook her head. “How can I rest when I know you’re hurting?”

She removed the empty whisky tumbler from his grip and set it on the floor beside his chair. She took his hand, and he rose, allowing her to lead him up the stairs like a child, the way she had guided Gideon upstairs earlier. He turned to her as they passed the closed door next to their room. “Our son?”

“Sleeping…like a baby.” She blanched in the dim light, and the cliché’s full meaning hit him like a punch in the stomach.

“Oh, sweetheart…” He pulled her against his side and they shuffled into their bedroom in lockstep.

“It’s all right. He’s home now, thanks to you.” She smiled through trembling lips and his heart caught, as it always did when she looked at him that way. Open and trusting. Believing the best. His brave, darling girl.

Bone-weary, he sank down on the edge of the bed and groaned, contemplating going to bed with his clothes on. He reached down to at least remove his shoes, but she brushed his clumsy fingers aside and untied the laces. “Belle, what…”

“Shhhh. You’ve been taking care of everyone, Rumple,” she admonished, easing his wingtips off his feet. “Gideon. Me. Let me take care of you tonight. Please?”

He nodded his assent, then leaned back on his elbows while she removed his shoes and socks, tie and trousers. They traded labored sighs and crawled into bed together, exhausted.

“Come here,” she urged, drawing him against her breast.

He didn’t have the strength or will to fight her as she eased them back against the pillows and stroked his back. It felt wonderful to be held, to be wrapped in Belle’s loving embrace. This time together was their solace at the end of long, difficult days, but the lie of omission between them was an ugly, twisted thing.

The Black Fairy was unpredictable, bent on destruction, and he had no idea what manner of traps lay behind her saccharine promises of a happy family with a happy ending. What if he’d guessed wrong? What if life was about to get worse…again?

He opened his mouth to tell Belle the truth.

“Rumple?” She kissed the top of his head and massaged his scalp with the heel of her hand.

“Hmmm?” His eyes slipped closed as her fingers traveled downward, to circle his temples. All he wanted was to forget, pretend a little while longer.

“What did you promise her in exchange for Gideon’s heart?” Belle’s voice was soft, void of accusation.

He opened his eyes with a jerk, his body tensing, but she was still holding him close, and he didn’t move out of her embrace. “You knew?”

“It took me longer than it should’ve to figure it out, but yes.” She sounded disappointed with herself.

“Belle, I…” He rolled over to his side of the bed, turning to face her. Where to begin, to explain? He searched for words, but there was nothing to offer but weak excuses.

“I’m not angry.” She shook her head and smiled. “I’m…a little relieved, actually.”

“Relieved? After what she did to Gideon?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Whatever she’s done, she is still your mother. You found out a lot about yourself today. A lot of things you’ve believed for many years you now know aren’t true. That you were born to be a coward, a villain.” She shook her head. “Your mother loved you; she wanted you. She made terrible choices, but so have I, so have you. She believed she was doing it all for you. If after learning so much about who your mother really was when you were born, you had been able to kill her without another thought? That’s not who you are.”

He clenched his teeth. “I should have been stronger. I could have…”

“Rumple, no.” She gripped his fingers with both hands, her wedding ring digging into his flesh. “This was a battle for Gideon’s heart, and a warrior never emerges from a battle victorious without sacrifice.”

“Warrior?” He laughed, the sound bitter and discordant in the peaceful room. “The things I’ve done…”

“The things you’ve done have saved this family.” She nodded, resolute. “You did it for Gideon, for us. And now he has his heart. He’s sleeping next door. Safe.”

He released her hands and collapsed against the pillows, exasperated to the point of tears. “How do you do it?” he asked, amazed at her perspective. “Time and again. Aren’t you sick of it, Belle? Of me and this endless cycle of pain I drag you through?”

“I promised forever. So did you.”

“Ages ago. Before…” He swallowed a sob. Gods, he was tired.

She wiggled over on the mattress until she was half on top of him, then molded her lips to his. The kiss tasted like tears and hope.

She squeezed his shoulders. “Forever doesn’t give up. Forever doesn’t turn around and walk away when things get hard or when change comes.” She rolled them over, cradling his head against her chest once more. “Let it out. Go ahead and cry if you want to. There’s no shame here, Rumple. She’s your mother.”

The dam broke at her urging and he sobbed out the pain of the last several months. He cried for Neal, for the lost years with Gideon, for the father who hated him, for the suffering he caused Belle, and for the mother he’d barely known. He cried for his sins, and for the lengthy years when hate was his lone companion. He cried for what he’d done, and what he still had to do.

He was aware of Belle rocking him, heard the breathy nonsense she cooed into his ears, and he sobbed until there were no tears left, until he had poured out every drop of guilt, fear, and misery. When it was over, he felt weightless and free, and overwhelmed with the need to sleep.

“Rest now.” Belle caressed his back as he shut his groggy eyes. “I’m here. I’ll always be here. I choose you. I choose love.”

It was a benediction, a healing balm, and as he slipped into sleep, her words washed over him and renewed his spirit. He’d heard Belle’s confession of love countless times, but he never really believed it. Tonight, after learning where he came from, seeing the pattern of mistakes made generation after generation, he did. He didn’t have to be the coward, or the villain, or the beast. His mother’s choices didn’t have to be his. He could choose something else for his family. Something different. Something better.

Tonight he could do what Belle never failed to do. He could choose love.

Myriad troubles remained, but he knew who he was. Husband. Father. Savior.

“Love you forever,” he whispered.

###

[serenequaratz-blog]

Imagine JiHan: Haircut

Genre: fluff

Word count: 1882

Summary: Jeonghan decides to cut his hair for Pretty U promotions, and Joshua accompanies him to the salon.

<Part 1 of 2 of the Imagine Haircut series>

"Jeonghan…"

"Shhhh…"

"I mean…"

"Shhhh…"

"Can't we…"

"Shua."

"Wait inside?"

"It's suffocating inside."

"They have humidifiers and everything."

"That's not the point."

"And my point is… people are staring."

Jeonghan sighed.

"Are we finally going inside?"

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to hear that."

"You just thought, Stop being such a princess."

"You were supposed to hear that, too."

Jeonghan glared at him.

Joshua tugged on their intertwined hands.

"Come on." He didn't mean to sound exasperated, but they had been standing by the sidewalk for almost half an hour, and Jeonghan was just staring through the window like an idiot, they had to go inside.

"See, this is why I had you come with me, and not my manager."

"Your manager would have pulled you by the hair and dragged you inside."

Jeonghan glared at him even more.

"Touchy subject, sorry," Joshua said, not even bothering to sound like he meant it.

Jeonghan always had a flair for drama, and Joshua sometimes enjoyed his drama, except this time, he was being overdramatic.

"I heard that," Jeonghan said.

"You were supposed to hear it," Joshua sighed.

"So…?" Joshua asked when Jeonghan was still unmoving.

Jeonghan took a shaky breath then held it in puffed cheeks which Joshua poked.

Jeonghan groaned.

"Hey," Joshua said, this time with genuine concern. "It'll be over in a second," he said.

"But, that's not the end of it," Jeonghan said, his voice lower than Joshua thought he must have intended, because he cleared his throat. He shook his head, then squeezed Joshua's hand. "Let's go in."

Joshua did the honor of opening the door, and pulling Jeonghan in, not completely trusting his best friend to walk inside on his own volition.

Joshua pointed to Jeonghan when the receptionist asked what they needed. Joshua spoke for him mostly and asked for the ahjumma who had been Jeonghan's regular. The receptionist blinked before taking a look at Jeonghan's ponytail then leading them to the seats where they can wait for their turn.

When receptionist called them, she looked at their intertwined hands, both of Jeonghan's locking Joshua's left hand in between.

"It's his first time in a long time," Joshua explained.

She led the two to the corner of the room, where Joshua can have a seat beside Jeonghan when he would finally get his hair cut.

Jeonghan was the first one to let go when he sat down.

His face was stoic, and he even managed a smile when he greeted the hairdresser.

Joshua stopped himself from exploding into fits of laughter, knowing Jeonghan's amount of self-control. He saw Jeonghan glare at him from the mirror, and Joshua only gave him his sweetest smile.

Jeonghan ignored him.

The lady beamed when she saw Jeonghan. "How's our angel?" she asked.

"Just spectacular," Jeonghan said, and from the mirror, Joshua's pointed stare was again ignored.

She undid Jeonghan's ponytail in one swift motion before the redhead can complain. "Our usual trim? Will you be getting your hair treated again? It's getting drier and drier every time you come back."

Joshua couldn't hide his laughter this time. "It's unfixable."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, dear," the lady said. "Our angel just needs to grow it out."

She winked at Jeonghan from the mirror, and even from a stranger's point of view, Jeonghan's smile looked pained.

"A bob," he said, after hesitating the whole time. "Just above the shoulders?"

The older lady paused from getting her tools from the table.

"Did the new receptionist look at you funny?" she suspected.

"A lot of people look at me funny," Jeonghan said flatly. "It's nothing new."

"He wanted to chop it off for a while now," Joshua helped before the lady said anything else that would upset Jeonghan even more. "The split ends are endlessly unfixable. If I didn't know better, he would have done it by himself in the dorm."

"And he dragged my ass to the salon the second the thought formed in my head," Jeonghan looked like he glared at Joshua from the mirror, but his eyes were filled with gratitude. "Traitor."

She divided the ends of his hair between his shoulders so Jeonghan can see its length. "I'll show you what the trim would look like first, before you decide," the lady pressed. "You have beautiful hair."

"No, it's fine," Joshua can almost hear the quiver in Jeonghan's voice even with his smile, but he still didn't retract his statement. "I already decided."

Joshua shook his head. He can never guess where Jeonghan gets his bravery from. It was already brave of him to grow out his hair for debut despite everyone's worries and Jeonghan's actual fears coming true before his eyes, and now that Jeonghan had established his image with his hair, it was another leap to cut it off.

"And he was already hesitating for 30 minutes outside the salon. Now would be a good ti-"

"Shut up, Jisoo."

Joshua laughed and pulled his chair closer to Jeonghan. "You can hold my hand," he said. Joshua wasn't the teasing type, but Jeonghan was cute when he was being stubborn he couldn't help himself.

"No, thank you."

The lady made a snip-snip gesture with her scissors, and Jeonghan immediately shut his eyes tight, and almost cried, "Wait, wait, wait."

Joshua poked Jeonghan's arm under the black cloth covering Jeonghan's upper body. Jeonghan's hands appeared then disappeared with Joshua's under the cloth again, holding on tight.

"I'm fine," Jeonghan said, after taking a few deep breaths and opening his eyes. "You can continue now."

The lady looked at Joshua who was blocking a part of her way around Jeonghan, but she only sighed in understanding.

"Here?" she asked, pressing a lock of Jeonghan's hair in between two of her fingers, showing Jeonghan the length of his hair that will remain.

Jeonghan gave a brief nod.

The hairdresser tied his hair back again, just below the length Jeonghan confirmed. She took a deep breath, and positioned her scissors.

Snip.

Jeonghan's eye twitched. It was the slightest of movements, barely even noticeable, but it was the way Jeonghan gripped Joshua's hand from under the cloth that said what Jeonghan really felt.

Snip.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

And it was done. The lady set aside the ponytail, and combed Jeonghan's new bob with her fingers.

"Such a waste of beautiful hair," the lady said.

"He was going to have it cut, eventually," Joshua said.

The lady sighed and worked on trimming the ends. She continued to mutter by herself as she cut away. She was so careful and detailed, it was almost painfully slow. Joshua can feel the tension in Jeonghan's head that should have been over when the rest of his hair was cut, but was rebuilding again, because he was already staring at the mirror for too long.

"Can I-"

Joshua shifted to the other side when the lady needed to reach that side of Jeonghan's hair, but never let go of his hand. He wouldn't be able to, with Jeonghan's iron grip. He wouldn't want to, anyway.

Afterwards, Jeonghan and his hairdresser heaved a sigh, as if they just finished carrying the weight of the world together.

"Will you be getting your hair treated?" the lady after staring at the mirror for a while, almost as shocked as Jeonghan was.

"Tomorrow?" Jeonghan replied. "I'll just let everything sink in first."

She nodded. "Let's get your hair washed, then."

Jeonghan stood up from his seat mechanically, letting go of Joshua's almost throbbing hand, trying to ignore the trail of red hair on the floor.

Joshua followed them into a door opening into small room. Jeonghan lied down on the seat and rested his neck into the sink where his hair was going to be washed.

"Regretting it yet?" Joshua asked.

Jeonghan didn't answer.

"It looks better than I imagined," Joshua said.

Jeonghan stayed quiet.

Joshua pouted. "Are you just going to pretend you didn't choke my hand to death?"

"The water's cold, and it's uncomfortable to talk like this. Be a good boy and go back to your seat."

Joshua stuck his tongue out to his friend before doing as he was told.

Jeonghan reappeared with a towel on his head, followed shortly by the hairdresser. She unfolded the towel, and gently rubbed Jeonghan's short hair with it.

Joshua watched his friend in silence. Jeonghan's expression was unreadable, Joshua was worried he regretted it. It was going to be hard to grow that one out quickly if he did.

The lady worked quickly, blow drying Jeonghan's hair with her nimble hands. Over the loud sounds of the small machine, the two friends only communicated with their eyes.

Jeonghan definitely regretted it.

That, and he's scared how the fans would react.

And how everyone else would react.

Do you like it? Joshua asked him.

Jeonghan shrugged in response.

The blow drying was done, and Jeonghan was still paralyzed in his seat.

"You look amazing," Joshua said.

The lady smiled. "You worked hard today, angel. Just... When you do things, please do them for yourself and for not anyone else."

The two boys shared a glance, before Jeonghan nodded with a grateful smile. "Yes, ma'am."

Jeonghan paid for his haircut, then turned to Joshua who offered him a beanie. "Prepared this just in case."

Jeonghan snatched it from Joshua and muttered a "Thanks."

They exited the salon and into the broad daylight. Jeonghan deferred from their route home and wandered a bit, with Joshua following him silently.

It was not necessarily cold that day even though winter was still only making way for spring, so the walk was slower than usual. Jeonghan always said there was probably going to be one day they would miss walking out in the open so he wanted to maximize all the lazy moments like this. Joshua couldn't imagine that day coming any time soon, but trailed with Jeonghan nonetheless.

When they returned to their usual way to the dorm, Jeonghan finally spoke. "Do you like it?"

"The lady just told you what I've been telling you a lot."

"And I've been telling you a lot."

"Touché."

"But do you like it? And I don't like the I like anything on you, Jeonghan, response from you, Jisoo."

"But I do like anything on you, Jeonghan. I told you it looks amazing on you."

Jeonghan pouted. "You mean that?"

"When do I not mean what I say?"

Jeonghan stared at him.

"Okay, maybe a lot of times, but this time I swear I mean it."

Jeonghan released a deep breath. "I wonder if I'll get used to it."

"You'll get used to it," Joshua said, reaching over to pat Jeonghan's head. "I bet you'll cut you hair shorter next time."

Jeonghan looked at him and smiled. "Okay, what grounds?"

Joshua paused, knowing exactly what Jeonghan had in mind. "Nothing. Just a thought."

"You're a wimp, Hong Jisoo."

"And you love me."

"You love me, too.

"But do you really like it?"

"Yoon Jeonghan I love you, but you're annoying sometimes."

Jeonghan grabbed Joshua's hand as they walked. "Thanks for coming with me today. I would have backed out if you weren't there."

"Then you're a wimp, too."

"We're wimps together.

"But do you really, really-"

"Yoon Jeonghan."

part two coming right up hehe