#so I’d spread my HMs throughout my team

[pkmn-smashorpass]

Unofficial poll of if Bidoof was the HM pokemon for everyone? There have been many an HM pokemon, but bidoof stands out to me since it could learn surf (or at least Bibarel could).

[diary-of-an-onliner]

lifelines [g.w.]

hi! first fic, pls be nice!

word count: 2300

warnings: none

After Gryffindor turned the tides at the last second, winning the second most important game of the season after a massive setback in the first hour, the celebrations raged harder than ever. Since Hufflepuff had beaten Slytherin to the ground two days ago, the path towards the Cup was clear. Angelina was sitting on the couch, having passed the point of looking pleased long ago, and now seemed almost frazzled by the result. People came up to her periodically, clapping her shoulder or topping off her drink, directing the buzzing energy of the common room straight into her.

Truly, the atmosphere was phenomenal, the stolen food and drinks from the kitchens juicer and a little more spiked than usual. Or maybe it was the sunlight still streaming through the windows as strongly as ever despite the past gloomy week. Whatever it was that made the day so electrically happy for everyone, it showed no signs of stopping.

This type of unrestrained feeling you always imagined started from the back of your head as s little star-like scribble that cast a net over you and spread the intensity throughout. This week it was stronger than it has been in a while.

You felt electric in the stands as you yelled for your team, an invisible line ripping the words from your throat before you even knew you were saying them. You felt elated as your housemates put their hands around you in delight, screaming themselves sore when they announced the winner. And you were feeling the happiness in your hair now, in every single strand from root to end as it swayed along with the bottle in your hand.

This was happy. This was joyful. This was utterly buttery in your chest and electric in the air.

You idly looked around the red and orange common room, which burned with excitement, deciding how to best spend this time before it runs out on Umbridge's watch and she ruins it.

No. No wasting thoughts on her today. She sucked enough life out of you and your housemates this year, she won't be doing it off the clock too.

Your eyes settled on possibly one of the strongest sources of this warmth - George Weasley, sitting on the arm of the couch next to his brother. The window behind him silhouetted him in gold perfectly, like the sun offered him to you. It accented how attractive he was, even if he burned a little at the top.

You've connected eyes before, talked before, even bantered. One wittier than the other every odd day, you toed the line between acquaintances and friends perfectly. Seeing as he's very popular, catching him in-between conversations was a matter of luck.

You imagined a line going from the center of your chest to his as you approached him. He pensively looked to the side, observing some goings-on on the far end of the room as you interrupted him.

"That was a good game. You got some very nice shots in," you said.

He turned to you with a mild close-mouthed 'hm', a look, and then a grin.

"You sure it was me?" he cocked his eyebrow and look at Fred on the couch next to Angelina, bumping knees with her and accepting congratulations in both of their names.

"You wear different numbers, genius. I know how to count this time."

"And you have my number memorized," he said, his voice glad.

"That would've been a great line if you were a Muggle."

"Pity, I already chose a magical career." he took a sip of his butterbeer and eyed you up, "Maybe I should start using my magical lines on you. Would those work better?" his eyes widened and his tone turned innocent at the end.

"I think I know too much anti-jinxes for that."

He pursed his lips in amusement. "Alright. What would work on you then?"

"Oh, I find responsibility and appropriacy really hot." you shot back, twirling a piece of your happy, charged up hair.

"Contradiction too," he said, "since you're still here."

"I find contradiction a natural state of the human soul, thus if I wasn't contradicting myself, I wouldn't fully be here."

"Hm. Brainy." he chuckled.

"Judgy. If you need me to simplify you can just say so."

"I think I can handle your smart mouth just fine."

"Then why am I winning?"

"I didn't realize this was a competition."

"Rookie mistake." you shook your head dramatically.

"I'm pretty sure it's a rookier mistake to assume you're winning. Who's the judge?"

"My innate inner sense of whether I'm winning or not."

"If it's inside you, then how would one file a complaint concerning an unfair ruling?"

"They wouldn't. It's a noble and just system that decided I'm in the lead. You just need to accept the truth."

"Don't make me come in there," he said, smirking good-naturedly.

"In where?" you shot back.

"In you." his smirk held on for a second before he seemed to realize what he said and his face scrunched up in apologetic laughter.

Your mind slipped into the gutter the way new yorkers fall into sinkholes filled with rats - hilariously fast.

Albeit greatly amused, he started to correct himself, "I didn't mean-"

"No, of course not." you licked your lips, "I understood you the first time " Was karma going to bite you in the ass for that lie? Who knows, but you might even be into that. Everything seems possible when the sun is shining. So he shone.

He grinned with his happy mouth and you once again noted how the light from the window behind him silhouetted him in the golden lining that made him look like a cutout glued onto the scene of this funny collage. His hair was aflame and his face was darker from the shadows but just as loudly burning with laughter.

This was happy.

You drew the word in your mind, line by line. H, a smooth move from the bottom, a decorative loop, then a parallel stroke, and a transversal. A, a circle with a tail, sharp move upward, and an even sharper drop for the backbone of p. P's tummy? Bulge? Nope, your mind shouldn't slip there in the middle of Binns’ class, no matter how boring he was. Another p, as George's knee bumped into yours. He was moved from "Mr. Wester, Phillip." for being disruptive, so he engaged in an under-the-table kind of disruption with his new tablemate.

You smiled. A long diagonal line, and another shorter one that cut into it. Y.

Happy.

You were, truly, right now. It sounded upside down to be happy though, both overall and when stuck in a soul-suckingly draining class, but you were.

George read over your shoulder, then audaciously engaged in over-the-table elbow-bumping-disruption and a cocked eyebrow. You straightened up, feeling a warm line unfold from the back of your head to the core of your brain, through the center of your chest, and straight to your stomach. Your happy line.

I'm happy, you mouthed.

Really? He mouthed back sarcastically yet good-naturedly. I can definitely see why. His eyes darted toward the professor. I say go for it, he's a catch. You might even be his type.

You burst out laughing, then immediately bit your lip. A few students, including Philip, looked at you as you shook with laughter, but professor Binns carried on.

George, on the other hand, shrugged with his shit-eating grin, pretending he has no idea why you were laughing, thus letting everyone know why you were laughing.

You scribbled, I don't know. What if it goes badly. I'd hate to be ghosted.

George raised his eyebrows at the Muggle slang you explained before. His hand slipped next to yours on the table and you felt your happy line thrum in approval. His hand was warm as he gently pressed it to yours, slowly took your quill, and scribbled back: Need someone more physical, huh? And I thought you were the romantic type.

Strong words for someone who never bought me dinner, you replied.

Mhm, as soon as I find a good line get you to agree to it.

Keep writing like that and I'll start thinking you fancy me.

Keep your mind in the gutter and I'll start thinking you don't fancy me back. He accented that line with a wink and an overdramatic lip bite.

You pouted sarcastically at him. Of course not, I only want you for your knobby knees.

He chuckled, reminded of the short line of warmth that connected your knees under the table. He pressed his into yours a little stronger, then pulled away.

That's a funny way of flirting. I'd know, I'm an expert at funny.

Self-proclaimed.

Untrue.

And I'm not flirting. If I was, you'd know it.

Would you? your breath hitched. For reasons you very well knew but refused to sound out to yourself, this short sentence drove the air around you two from joking to serious at breakneck speed.

Know if you were flirting with me? your happy line felt jumbled up in your stomach. He smiled at you.

Would you know if you were flirting with me?

The following week was arduous.

Gryffindors had a record amount of detentions, and Snape tore into them any and every chance he could. Even McGonagall was one edge, meaning lousy or missed homework was a death sentence. You forgot how to read from tiredness, submitting essays patchworked of other people's thoughts without ever having any information pass through your head. Everything was dull, gray, and dragged out.

Despite that, outside the castle the sky was blue and sunlight streamed through the soft clouds and a sweet breeze would blow around aimlessly. It was both comforting and a little mocking. The sky should be as exhausted and as beaten down as you. Good to know stress made you compare yourself to a literal sky. But maybe that's a little cruel. Nevertheless, it sounded like nature itself was turning its nose up at you, saying you're selfish for wanting grey skies, she doesn't care, she's above puny human affairs. The world turns and you have to turn with it or stop, then spend the rest of the time catching up.

You haven't stopped yet, but by all that is holy, you wanted to sleep. As the sun finally descended on a Friday after dinner, you finished your essays in hope that the next week might be kinder if you do everything quickly. The common room was dark, most of the light coming from the fire in the fireplace. It was also oddly empty for nine-thirty in the evening. Apparently, everyone had the same week as you.

Your almost finished essay laid on the table as you dozed, swinging your legs back and forth over the edge of your armchair.

The creak of the portrait opening caught your attention, and George Weasley walked in a second later, rubbing his sore hand and cussing.

Truly everyone had a shitty week.

"Love?" you said teasingly.

He looked up at you with a tired grin.

"It's late."

"Not really. You okay?"

"Nothing I can't handle, love." he sighed, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace.

"Can I see?" you crossed the room to stand in front of him. Again, the firelight licked at the lines of his face, clear and sharp. He had circles under his eyes and a heavily nibbled lip.

"It's nothing." still, George raised his hand. "Love." he added, distantly. He seemed to be staring right above your head. You looked at the middle line of his lips again. You imagined him biting it.

Was it him that bit it? That one hurt. You hoped it was him.

You took his hand in your and rubbed circles into his knuckles. His eye winced.

"I'm sorry."

"S'not your fault."

"What happened?" he closed his eyes.

"Two ickle firsties almost brought the wrath of Umbridge into themselves with some dungbombs. You know how it goes," he said, a corner of his lip tugging upwards. Your chest expanded looking at him being satisfied with himself. As he should be.

"How... responsible of you," you said.

His eyes snapped downwards to yours.

"Keep looking at me like that and I might also start being appropriate too, darling."

You stepped closer, your happy line thrumming against your chest like a quivering violin string.

"What if being responsible is enough?"

"Enough for what?" he breathed out before you pressed yourself against him.

At first, that's was it was - a press of two warm lips. Then he started to move slowly, almost gentlemanly. How appropriate.

As he touched you, you felt the daze of last week lift. The little star scribble on the back of your head lit up, pulsing with brightness rather than fogging your thought. This was clear, you felt his every stroke that made up his face and chest and hands. The scribble of happiness extended itself into a web, overtaking your brain - you could feel it and you wondered if he saw it too when he looked at you. You pulled away and lifted your head to check. Probably not, but his eyes were glassy and he gave you a dopey smile. He was glad you were there. You pressed your lips against his again. You were glad he was there too.

The web continued down your neck, arms and chest, into your legs until your toes buzzed with light coursing through you. You were more awake than you have been in a long time.

Your hands were the brightest of all, and as you touched his hands, connecting them fingertip to fingertip, things made sense. The web buzzed and his breath was warm against yours, hands pulsing with energy as your every lifeline connected into his.

[wickedgamesoyaoya]

↝ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ: y/n pinning them against a wall - prompt inspired by this twitter post

↝ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ: kuroo x f!reader + sakusa x f!reader 

↝ ᴡᴄ: kuroo - 1000+ sakusa - 900+ 

↝ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: swearing, aggressive behaviour-ish. 

↝ ᴀ/ɴ: I’ll be doing this prompt for Osamu, Akaashi and Yaku too soon ~ I just like it a bit too much haha. also I edited this 3 times so if there are still errors, I am sorry pls ignore. lmao. 

Kuroo Tetsurou

A low rhythmic hum vibrated inside of your throat, to accompany the track playing from your phone. Those who were fortunate enough to catch the melody trailing along with you, would often find a smile on their face. Between the tranquility of the sound and the bliss warping into your aura – your presence accidentally had an impact on many. Those in your university only knew you as the kind singer who would offer sincere smiles, free of cost. It was a reputation you did not mind adhering to – maybe it was better that they did not see the darker shades that coloured your soul. So, generally, a smile would remain sewn into your visage – unwavering until you were within the safety of your home. Where you could release the other parts of you that were deemed “not school friendly.”

Though, today your calculated barrier between the two worlds would disintegrate, due to the careless words of your best friend, Kuroo Tetsurou.

Upon reaching the corner that would connect you to the hallway where your class room was situated, you plucked out an earbud and placed it back into its case. Since this was a course you shared with Kuroo, the two of you held an uncommunicated agreement to wait for the other before entering the room. The thought of your close friend twisted a knot inside of your chest with threads of adoration, excitement and hope. It was quite clear that your relationship was not merely platonic. The issue was that neither of you had initiated the first step to test the boundaries.

But you would try today. You would try after class.

“So, what’s going on between you and l/n?”

Hearing your last name, you paused before switching hallways. How many other l/n’s were at the university? It was certainly a conversation about you. 

So the question was, who was the one posing the question, and who was the one about to answer it?  

“We’re just friends.”

Okay. Easy. That was Kuroo. 

The nonchalance laced into his answer fueled the flame igniting in the pit of your stomach, yet you continued to conceal your presence from the pair. 

“So you don’t mind if I ask her out?”

“It’s not my place to say anything.” Even without a visual, you knew your best friend would have added a shrug to accompany the statement. Somehow, that irritated you more. 

Rolling your eyes, you stepped past the corner for your grand reveal. “Hi there, boys. You wouldn’t mind if I borrowed Tetsurou for a second, would you?” 

Your sudden emergence had startled Kuroo, but what had his chest constricting was your use of his first name and the hallow laugh that was spilling from your lips. 

“Uh, sure…”

It took you a second to realize who the other male was – he was an acquittance of yours, one you shared two classes with. One who was mostly forgettable not due to a lack of charm, but solely because he wasn’t Kuroo.

“Perfect. Thank you.” Curling your fingers around your best friend’s wrist, you dragged him down the hallway, not caring for the confused glances thrown into your direction by those around you. When you reached the area between the staircase and corridor, you gently pushed him against the wall before placing both of your palms on either side of him. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but you were quick to drown out his voice with your own.

“No. You don’t get to do that. Just friends? That’s bullshit.” The concoction of emotions weaving into your bloodstream had given you a headrush. But at the center of the varying feelings was fear. Because you wanted more than a friendship, and you were about to risk your entire relationship for that desire. You tried to suppress it, but over time it became overwhelming. And now – his words had awoken something inside of you. Something you could not contain.

The black-haired male blinked down at you, his irises moving from your arms walling him in, to the death glare your eyes were partaking in. “Isn’t that what we are, y/n? Friends?”

Out of the options available to him, Kuroo had selected the one for a coward. Or perhaps, he was testing you. Either way, your irritation with him had increased tenfold.

“Fuck you.” Lowering your hands on either side, you stepped away from him before turning back into the direction of your class.

“I wasn’t done yet.” A sigh left his mouth as he caught your wrist with his hand, tugging you towards him. Once your back aligned with his chest, he repositioned his arms to curl around your stomach. Heat spread throughout your entire body, and you were unsure whether it was from your anger or due to his close proximity. “We are friends, y/n. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be more. You’re right, it is bullshit. But I can’t exactly go around telling everyone in the school that I’m in love with you, now can I?” Feeling you become incredibly still in his arms, he chuckled softly, pressing a kiss against your head. “But if I had known you would get that pissed off so easily, I would have said something stupid earlier. Because pinning me against the wall – that was hot.”

“Shut up.” Breaking away from his hold, you spun around to face him. A half smirk was tugging at his lips, one that communicated how much he enjoyed the situation. “You are horrible. What would you have done if that guy asked me out and I said yes? Hm?”

“I’d probably cry and then say on to the next one!” To further instigate you, he dipped an eyelid into a wink.

“Really. Horrible.” With your passion deflating, exhaustion crept into your muscles, bringing a groan to sound. “Let’s just get to class.”

“Nuh huh. We can ditch one class. Plus, you still haven’t said it back.” Tilting his head, he proceeded a step forward to close the distance once more. He then tapped on your chin, allowing your gazes to connect. 

Inhaling a deep breath, a faint smile was presented towards him.

“I love you too, idi-.”

The remaining half of the insult did not leave your mouth, rather it was replaced with a muffled protest as Kuroo gently caught your lips with his. As you tried to break the exchange, he tangled his fingers in your hair, keeping you secure against him, before mumbling. 

“That’s boyfriend to you.”

Sakusa Kiyoomi 

The repetitive interaction between the laminated flooring and the leather training balls had resulted in a dull ache in your temples. As the manager of a professional volleyball team, you were well accustomed to the noise but today, your patience was running thin. Practice had officially ended two hours ago, and yet your boyfriend, Sakusa Kiyoomi continued fine-tuning his serves. Sinking your teeth into your bottom lip, you scanned the male for any indication of exhaustion – something you would have capitalized on, in order to reason with him. Except the outside hitter’s reserve of energy was far from being depleted. It often surprised you how resilient he was, he certainly did not have Bokuto or Hinata’s stamina, but that did not keep him from pursuing his goals. Whenever he would discover a new technique or target, he would work on it relentlessly. It was an admirable trait, one that made him one of the best players you had ever seen.

And let it be known, supporting him was always your intention. But at the moment, you were passing your own limits and remaining calm and composed was not an option. Between the throbbing on either side of your head and the acids chewing away at your stomach lining from hunger, you were seconds from raiding Bokuto’s secret snack stash.

“Omi, you’re done. Go take a shower.” After swapping your clipboard for a towel, you proceeded across the court, before offering it out to him.

The outside hitter stared at you in response, indicating that he heard your commands but was electing to ignore them. Returning his attention to the volleyball within his grasp, he began prepping for another serve. A sigh mixed with a growl rattled inside of your throat as you twisted the towel in frustration. When the ball landed on the opposite side of the court, an eerie grin stretched onto your mouth.

“Omi. You little shit.”

With each step you took forward, Sakusa intuitively took one step back until his back was met with the padding attached to the wall. You were quite aware of your height difference, although that did not matter. You planted your hands on either side of him, purposefully caging him in. Knitting his brows together, confusion swam in his dark irises.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you doing? I’m not asking you to finish up. I’m telling you. We finished practice two hours ago, and I am starving. If you do not go into there and take a shower this instant, I will not be responsible for what happens to you. You know what they say – you’re not yourself when you’re hungry.” After gesturing to the locker room with your head, you squinted at him, attempting to seem menacing. However, you were only met with amusement.

“Are you saying you will eat me?” The question had Sakusa battling a smile. Was he really supposed to find that scary?

“We both know someone like you would taste delicious, so I’m not saying that isn’t a possibility.” Maintaining a deadpan expression while spouting nonsense was not a task for the weak – but after having countless conversations with actual idiots, you had mastered it. You would not provide your boyfriend any satisfaction.

“Okay. I’ll go.” His admittance of defeat was joined with the raise of his eyebrow, communicating that he expected you to “release him” now. You were about to comply with the silent request when he dipped down and placed a fleeting kiss onto your mouth. The sudden display of affection had erupted a volcano of butteries inside your stomach.

“What the …”

Leaving you there baffled, the MSBY player slipped past your defenses, smiling to himself. 

Two could play at this game.

Later that night:

After gifting you an apology meal at your favourite fast-food joint, you both elected to walk home rather than taking a taxi. His fingers were intertwined with yours loosely, and since the streets were mostly abandoned, he had removed his mask, permitting his lungs unrestricted access to the fresh air. Now that your mood had elevated significantly after satisfying your human needs, you were ready to question your boyfriend on what occurred earlier inside of the arena.

“So, why’d you kiss me?” Kissing was generally an activity he preferred to engage in after showering. And therefore, you were puzzled by his recent actions.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shifting his gaze to the row of streetlamps that framed the sidewalk, he lifted his shoulders into a shrug.

“You liked that I threatened you, didn’t you?” A gentle laugh danced past your lips as you shook your head. That seemed to be the only explanation you could think of in the moment.

“No. You looked cute trying to seem scary.” He joined his retort with a scoff, although it was evident, he was suppressing any physical indication of joy.

“I am scary!” Resisting your urge to pout, you squished his hand to reinforce your statement.

“Yeah, sure you are.” Refusing to bestow upon you his full attention, his eyes travelled to the sky above. While he would not vocalize it, he found most of your antics to be ridiculously adorable. It was what he loved about you. And there was no denying that you could certainly scare others when deprived of food – but not him.

“I will eat you. Don’t tempt me.” A small pout forced its way to your lips to display your mild annoyance. Though, the emotion was easily defeated when Sakusa in a quick swoop, stole another kiss. This time, however, he lingered, enjoying the taste of your lips. 

It turned out that maybe his rules around kissing required some amending. Because he wanted to kiss you, whether or not some of his pre-conditions were met. Guess that was a consequence of being in love.

Once he pulled away, he exhaled a chortle.

“Yeah? I’m looking forward to it.”

General taglist: @haikyuufairy​ @newfriendjen​ @lvoejimin​ @moonlightaangel​ @gyozaaaaa​ @byun-nies​ @thevillagehiddenintheinternet​ @amberalisa​ @graykageyama​ @yourstarvic​ @chaichai-the-weeb​ @chibishae34​ @haikyuusimp91​ @volleybloop​  @rajablast​ @idiot-juice-enthusiast​ @melonmayhere​ @cuddlesslut​  @athenarosaline​ @memes-and-money​ @coconut-dreamz​   @elianetsantana​ @tsumume​ @tsukkismamagucci​ @the-golden-jhope​ @camcam1617​  @elephantloser​ @dreamstormings​ @anejuuuuoy​  @fantasycantasy​ @aquariarose​ @bloody-bella​​ 

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

Congrats on your 666 followers xD may I request Imayoshi NSFW scenario? Idk how to put this, but I've seen a few writings of him that are somehow related to devil/demon/God/priest. I think it does fit him coz he really seems like his personality lol. So in the request, if you could add that kind of theme? Doesn't necessarily have to be him being the 'devil', could be just a metaphor or likening. Not sure if you write that kind of stuff but I'ma try lol. Thnx~

SKSKSKKS oh my god I’m so late to this hoa;ghoeri thank you so much for your love and support~! ;; We really appreciate it~! I’m so sorry this took so long to get out oh my goodness sksks I hope you enjoy this and thank you so much for requesting with us~! ;; 

TW: Manipulation ; Subtle Breeding Kink ; Creampie ; Marking ; Spanking

» » Admin Ko

ᴀ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ'ꜱ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴜᴀꜱɪᴏɴ | ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ!ɪᴍᴀʏᴏꜱʜɪ x ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ | ɴꜱꜰᴡ 19+ ᴏɴᴇ-ꜱʜᴏᴛ

»»————-　➴　————-««

It had all started out simple. A chance meeting that shouldn’t have been so significant, yet instead of a simple fleeing moment like she had expected, she found herself wound up in a much...larger scheme of things that she hadn’t thought would’ve been possible with her line of work. 

Her day had started off like any other. A simple groan and lack of desire to fulfill her duties before reluctantly getting up and preparing for her long day of work. Though she couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement light up her heart as she had remembered the latest addition to the team. 

A tall and observant man. Someone who seemed reliable, yet held a strong air of mystery around him. Imayoshi Shoichi. Her team’s new addition. How he had come along and wormed his way into their line of work, not even she knew. All she could really understand was that the charm and skill of his words practically always had someone doing his bidding. 

The textbook mysterious man that all woman secretly wanted to at least try to get to know once, and despite not wanting to fall within that norm she found herself-- more often than not-- stuck with him. No matter how strange their coincidental meetings were.

Today was no different. The amount of times she had run into him whilst working was almost....bizarre. Not to mention the amount of staring she had been feeling as she roamed about the office building. 

“Go straight home...just straight home after and we’ll be good.” 

Despite having engraved the words into her mind, she somehow found herself at the bar with the other beside her. His form tall and brooding as he loosened his tie, a slow exhale escaping his lips as her eyes trailed over his now exposed neck and collarbone. A sudden wave of heat punching her gut as she quickly averted her gaze to nurse her drink.

“It’s been quite the day...hasn’t it Ms. (l/n)?”

“H-Hm? Ah! Yeah.. it’s a day like any other, but being so ingrained within my body, I’ve gotten sorta used to it.”

A mere shrug was added, her little ministrations causing the smirk on his face to widen slightly. The gaze she had on her glass slowly shifting to meet his strong one as she felt her cheeks flush pink at the heated stare. It was no surprise that the new employee was handsome. Rumors and ideals spread throughout the office like wildfire at what he had done prior and his relationship status-- none of which she was really interested in per say, but still ended up with gaining the information. 

“Is that so? Well I hope you’re giving yourself a break. Time and time again you’re always there for me...and I can’t thank you enough for all the support and advice you’ve given me throughout this past week. If you’ll allow it, I’d like to make you dinner.”

“M-Make?”

His easy words caught her off guard. Various images and fantasies quickly ran through her mind as she subconsciously began to chew on her lower lip. It was an...intimate gesture. Her expectation of a dinner out was nothing out of the ordinary, but to suddenly be invited to his home? She wasn’t sure what he’d say next.

“Why yes. I may be no good chef, but I want to properly show my...appreciation for you.”

A chill ran down her spine as she tightened her grip on the glass before her. A strange sensation swirling within her abdomen as her eyes were locked--- rather captivated by his glowing ones as he leaned forward. His large hand gently cupping her cheek as he wiped the corner of her lips. 

“Apologies, but there was a crumb from the snacks provided earlier.”

Though deep down inside she was practically certain he was lying, she couldn’t help but feel her cheeks darken in color as she mutely nodded at his statement. (e/c) eyes watched as his fingers gently roused his once cleanly kept hair. A strange pang in her gut as the dark locks fell in layers around his face as he shifted to face her directly. 

“Now then, will you allow me to make you dinner tonight Ms. (l/n)?”

»»————-　➴　————-««

Despite her instincts screaming at her to deny the request, she found herself nodding at his request. The next thing she could remember though was a reveal, a flick of a deep wine colored tail that gracefully unwrapped from around his hips and the horns that mixed in with his dark locks of hair. 

Yet, despite the fear she felt coursing through her veins, the strange desire of want was much stronger. A handsome devil-- funny how the saying itself was so true in the moment. She didn’t remember much after except the addicting taste of Imayoshi. 

Pressed into the couch, her hands desperately grasped at him as he dove in for another heated kiss. His tongue gliding against the plush bottom lip before prying his way into her mouth as he quickly ate up the desperate and breathy moans she released. The tail she had once seen now wrapped possessively around her waist as his fingers danced along her skin. Teasing and light before viciously ripping away at her clothes as he began to place open mouth kisses against her neck.

A trail of bites shimmering down her torso as he interlaced their fingers together. Tightly holding onto her as he teased the soft mounds of flesh on her chest before teasing and flicking his tongue against the hardening buds.

“So beautiful for me...a pretty little angel...and all just for me...”

A sharp shock of pleasure shot down her spine at his words. The mesmerizing thought of forbidden taboos only egging on the adrenaline rush and absolute want in her gut as she let out another throaty moan. 

“P-Please...want you to fuck me....need you to fill me up...”

“Shit...what a dirty mouth on you, angel...how can I say no to that~?”

The low rasp of his voice only added fuel to the fire as she bucked her hips up. A desperate ache of heat against her throbbing cunt as her fingers found their way up into his hair. The tug of her pants had her let out another weak moan as she fumbled with his own clothes. 

Within moments, she found herself pressed back into the couch as his fingers teased their way into her. Slow and deliberate as he began to stretch her out. His grey eyes bore deeply into her trembling form, mapping out and memorizing the possessive patterns he left all over her as his tail unfurled to tauntingly send a sharp smack against her thigh. 

The delicious sounds that escaped her only egging him on as he littered her thigh and ass with the sharp stinging marks of what he considered his brand. The shape of the tip of his tail now staining her skin as he slowly pulled his fingers back. 

“Such a pretty angel...do you want to take a ride with me little angel? Let the devil taint those beautiful white wings of yours?”

The sultry tone that interlaced itself within his words had her nod enthusiastically as she tried to get up, a sense of desperation in her at the lack of fill within her. Without a moment’s hesitation, he hefted her up, carefully positioning her over his cock before easing her on. A low and gutteral moan escaped him as he bit her shoulder. 

A cry of pain and pleasure erupted from her as she tightly clung onto him. Her head falling back at the immense pleasure and pain that coursed through her veins before a sharp snap of his hips woke her from the brief escape as she felt her hips slowly gyrate and accommodate to the new position she was in. 

Within moments she found herself clinging to him like her life depended on it. Chest to chest, breaths mingling with one another in messy and addictive kisses as the heat that coiled tightly within them both was ready to burst. Just as she felt herself about to fall into her climax, a sharp slap to her ass had her scream his name as an equally strong thrust brought her over the edge, his own coming merely moments after as she felt her core being filled.

A firey seed seated heavily inside of her as the excess was squeezed out slowly. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she groaned softly. Though just as she felt exhaustion whisk her away, she heard that voice, laced with that familiar tone that got her into this little mess in the first place.

“Thank you for such a delicious meal, little angel....perhaps you’ll indulge this sinner for seconds...”

[justheretobreakthings]

Arms Wide Open

Written for @gentronlegendaryfriendships

Day Four: Meeting the Family | Cultural Exchange

Word Count: 4,396 Characters: Keith, Shiro, the Holts Read on AO3 My house, my rules, my ko-fi

Story Summary:

The Holts are hosting a cookout for the members of the Kerberos team and their families. Shiro brings Keith along.

The Holt family’s backyard was bigger than Keith had expected. Sure, the house was near the edge of town, where homes started spreading out as the borders between city and countryside started to blur, but still. Maybe it was just because Matt was such an indoorsy guy, a computer geek with a habit of hibernating in his dorm, and Keith had just wound up assuming that the Holts didn’t have a whole lot of use for a big backyard. He hadn’t considered that the rest of the family may be more prone to going outside than Matt was.

Or perhaps just the fact that the yard was currently so crowded was making it look bigger. Shiro had told Keith that this cookout was for the Kerberos team and their guests, but Keith had assumed that just meant him and the Holts. The ground team had completely slipped his mind. There were dozens of people here; a couple were instructors at the Garrison’s academy, a few Keith vaguely recognized as either guest speakers or people he’d seen talking with Shiro, but most were strangers.

A nudge against his shoulder, from the seran-wrapped plate Shiro was balancing carefully in his hands, reminded him that he was standing frozen in the gateway, and he edged a little along the fence to let Shiro through. “You all right?” Shiro asked him.

“Uh-huh,” Keith said with a tentative nod. “Just, um, more people than I thought there’d be.”

“Ah, sorry about that. Well, you don’t need to talk to anyone you don’t want to talk to, okay? A lot of these people are stuffed-shirts anyway, don’t want that ruining your fun.” He grinned. “Just focus on the food, yeah? You haven’t lived until you’ve eaten one of Colleen Holt’s burgers. She’s a wizard on the grill.”

“Okay,” Keith said, taking a deep breath to prepare himself before following Shiro into the yard. The food did smell good, and the smell just improved as they made their way toward the food on display on folding tables against the wall of the house, all lined up for people to make their way down after getting their main course from the grill, which was currently being manned by a short-haired, slender woman Keith took a moment to recognize, since he’d only ever seen Colleen Holt before in a couple of photos on Shiro’s phone.

Shiro waved as they approached, giving her a smile. “I’m assuming you saved your very best burgers for me?” he asked as she turned toward them and returned his grin.

“Well, I was going to,” Colleen replied. “But you’re late. I ended up giving them away to some people who know how to stick to a schedule. I hope you’ve learned your lesson, young man.”

“Hey, I’ve had a busy week, needed to catch up on paperwork before getting here.”

“Mm-hm. And what paperwork would that be?”

“Not important.” He held out the plate in his arms. “I brought brownies. Does this make up for the tardiness?”

Colleen leaned in to examine the brownies. “Aw, Shiro,” she said, “You didn’t need to bring anything.”

“Oh, please, I’m happy to. Nothing like a good homemade brownie to finish off a good meal.”

Keith furrowed his brow. “They’re not homemade. You bought those.”

Shiro made an exaggerated grimace. “Well, a bakery is more like a home than most other businesses out there, so I’m still counting it.”

“But you got them at the supermarket.”

Shiro grimaced as Colleen laughed. “That’s okay, I could have guessed,” she said. “He’s not exactly known for skills in the kitchen. So, Shiro, planning on introducing me to your buddy here?”

“Right, of course,” Shiro said. “Keith, this is Colleen Holt - ”

“Doctor Colleen Holt,” she corrected him.

“Doctor Colleen Holt. Sam’s wife and Matt’s mom. Also an astrobotanist; she was on the team that developed the modular cultivation system that the Garrison currently uses in its lunar biospheres. Colleen, this is Keith Kogane. He’s a cadet at the Garrison. Probably going to beat me out for best pilot in academy history by the time he graduates, but don’t let him get a big head about it or anything.”

“Ah, Matt mentioned you’d taken one of the cadets under your wing,” Colleen said, holding out her hand to Keith. “Good to meet you, Keith. I hope Shiro here hasn’t been too terrible an influence on you.”

“I’m an amazing influence and you know it,” Shiro said as Keith silently shook Colleen’s hand. “Keith, don’t listen to her. She once said to Matt, and I quote, ‘Why can’t you be more like Shiro?’ Of course, that was only in regards to table manners, but still.”

“And if you can ever manage to teach that boy how to use a napkin, I will admit you’re an angel sent from Heaven, but that’s a pretty big ‘if’. You can go ahead and put your brownies with the rest of the desserts, Shiro, they’re at the end of the - ” She started to point toward the end of the line of tables, then frowned. “Katie!”

A girl who had been standing at the table jumped, her cinnamon-brown ponytail whipping around as she turned to face them, a partially eaten cookie dangling out of her mouth. Matt had mentioned before that he had a sister, and immediately Keith pegged this girl as her. Her face was a carbon copy of Matt’s; give her glasses and a shorter haircut and she could easily be mistaken for a younger version of Matt himself.

“What?” Katie asked through her cookie.

“How many of those have you had?”

Katie chewed thoughtfully at the cookie and swallowed before answering, “Like, fifty?”

Colleen sighed. “I told you to be sure to leave some for everyone else. You should at least try not to make yourself sick. Or eat some vegetables between the desserts.”

“Sorry,” Katie said with a shrug, not sounding sorry at all. She lifted her hand in a little wave. “Hi, Shiro. Those for me?”

“Hi, Katie, and no.” Shiro pulled the plate of brownies toward his chest. “If your mother says no more desserts, then no more desserts for you.”

“Kiss-up,” Katie said.

“Watch it, Katie,” Colleen said pointing her spatula at her. “You all promised to be on your best behavior today.”

“Matt calls him a kiss-up too.”

“Matt says it as a term of endearment,” Shiro said with a smirk. “Ah, Keith, you haven’t met Katie Holt yet, right? Matt’s little sister and gremlin extraordinaire. Katie, this is Keith. He’s a cadet at the Garrison. Top flier of his class,” he added with a note of pride in his voice, thumping Keith on the shoulder. “Katie’ll probably be applying to Garrison next year, so she may be a future classmate of yours. Scratch that, she definitely will be, she’s already nearly as good with computers as her brother.”

Katie snorted. “Nearly? I can code circles around him. If I was a couple years older, you can bet I’d be on that Kerberos mission too.”

“But for now, you’re here on Earth with us,” Colleen said. “And your job right now is to set out Shiro’s brownies for him, okay? And no eating them, you’ve had enough sugar to last you a week already.”

“We’ll see,” Katie said, stepping forward to take the brownies from Shiro and moving back to the dessert table.

Colleen sighed, rolling her eyes before turning back to Shiro. “All right, let’s not let these things get cold. You two want burgers or hot dogs?”

“Burgers for both of us,” Shiro answered. “Please and thank you.”

Colleen set buns onto paper plates for both of them before adding the patties and handing them off, and with a nod of thanks, Shiro led Keith down the tables to scoop up toppings and sides. He grabbed a large handful of the cookies Katie had been eating, looking around as if worried she was going to swoop back in and steal them from his plate - as far as Keith could tell, she had simply vanished from the yard, maybe slipped back into the house while he wasn’t paying attention, but he decided to take a cue from Shiro and be on his guard anyway - and passed two of the cookies to Keith before pulling two cans of lemonade from the cooler beside the dessert table before motioning Keith to follow him farther into the yard.

Keith balanced his plate carefully as they walked, one hand on top of the food to keep his potato chips from falling to the ground. He was nearly bowled over by two kids running past him right between him and Shiro, and right before they reached seats at one of the folding tables scattered throughout the yard, something cold nudged against his leg that made him jump, but he did manage to get all the way there with nothing being dropped. And the thing that had nudged him turned out to be the nose of a bull terrier, who wagged his tail enthusiastically while staring at Keith’s plate with shining eyes. Keith relented, ripping a piece of his hamburger bun off and handing it to the dog as he took his seat.

The dog wolfed it down without pausing to chew, then jumped up and put his front paws on the table, tail wagging even harder as his snout reached for more of Keith’s food. Shiro laughed. “I should have warned you,” he said. “Once Bae Bae knows you’re a sucker for the puppy dog eyes, he’ll never stop his begging.”

“Sorry,” Keith said.

“Hey, don’t apologize, I fell for it too my first time visiting. Hey Bae Bae!” He clicked his tongue, and the dog’s ears perked up as he turned to Shiro. “Ready?” Shiro said, lifting his clenched fist. Bae Bae stared intently. “Fetch!” Shiro turned around and tossed something Keith didn’t see across the yard, and Bae Bae took off, tongue flopping to the side of his mouth as he ran.

“What did you throw?” Keith asked.

“Nothing,” Shiro said. “Bae Bae’s not exactly as smart as the rest of the Holts. So.” He gestured toward Keith’s plate. “Go ahead, take a bite, tell me if you like it.”

Keith lifted the burger and bit into it, chewing slowly as Shiro watched eagerly. “All right,” Shiro said as Keith swallowed. “Is it amazing?”

“I’ve only had one bite,” Keith said.

“Okay, fine, take a few more.”

Keith did, contemplating the bite as he chewed, then nodded. “Yeah, it’s really good.”

“Best burger you ever tasted?”

“Uh… I mean, I really like the ones over at Larrison’s diner.”

Shiro raised a brow. “Wow, Keith. You’re really going to do Colleen dirty like that.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like the burger. Just, it’s not the best burger ever.”

“You know what, maybe it’s a matter of cheese complementing her burgers better than it does at Larrison’s. Suppose we’ll have to try to scrounge up some no-lactose cheese somewhere and come back sometime so you can try again. See if that - ah, Major Whitaker, good to see you.” He cut himself off as a middle-aged man took the seat across from him.

“Lieutenant,” the man said. “You read that article that came out this morning on that exoplanet survey satellite? If I might bend your ear for a few minutes, got some ideas about getting some collaboration worked out with the data we get from Kerberos.”

Keith chewed silently, letting his focus drift to his food as Shiro delved into conversation with the other man. Some of the stuff they were mentioning Keith could understand from his Garrison classes, but other parts were above his pay grade. He had finished the burger and had moved on to his chips by the time Whitaker spotted someone else he needed to talk to and took his leave.

“Sorry about that,” Shiro said, turning back to Keith with a little smile. “He tends to get right into talking, doesn’t bother with formalities like introducing himself.”

“That’s okay,” Keith said.

“You know, if you’d like, this can be a bit of opportunity to meet some of the other people involved in the Garrison’s manned missions. Considering how easily you’ve already taken to piloting, some of these people may be future crewmates of yours. Let’s see.” He turned in his chair. “Colonel Molina there, she was on the flight crew to the Garrison’s first expedition to Enceladus, and was one of the engineers who designed the Kerberos’ cockpit layout. That woman she’s with - crap, can’t remember if they’re fiancées still or wives now. Ah, well, not important. Uh, Dr. Velitchkov’s the one in line at the grill now, he’s our propulsion engineer, part of mission control. Captain Hashim’s mission control too, our flight dynamics officer. She’s the one over at the cornhole boards, those boys are her stepsons. Oh, the man at the table right there under the tree - ”

“Uh, Shiro,” Keith said. “This is - this is a lot of people to keep track of.”

“Right. Sorry, you’re right. Well, hey, if there’s anyone of interest you want me to introduce you to, I will, but set your own pace, all right? If you wanna just eat your chips in peace, that’s fine too.”

“Thank you.” Keith dipped a chip into the baked beans on his plate, munching on it as he glanced around at the gathered guests. Already he had forgotten every name Shiro had just told him, and the faces crowded around the yard were blurring together in his mind until they all looked the same. He shook his head, focusing on his food as Shiro chattered with a couple of other Garrison staff who came by the table. He nodded each time Shiro introduced him, but that was the only contribution he made to the conversations.

The meal was able to pass easily that way until one officer asked to borrow Shiro from the table, wanting to introduce him to his young daughter who apparently wanted to be an astronaut some day and was a very ardent Shiro fan. Shiro flashed Keith an apologetic smile as he got up. “I’ll only be a few minutes,” he said.

Keith nodded and waved him away, but the meal didn’t last him the rest of those few minutes, since he was already halfway through his dessert - two of Shiro’s not-homemade brownies - when he left. Once his plate was emptied, he sat at the table, unsure of what to do next. The people seemed louder when Shiro wasn’t next to him, the yard smaller and the smoke from the grill thicker.

He swung his legs for half a minute, thinking of tracking Shiro down and dragging him back over, but thought better of it. There were things to do at the cookout - cornhole boards and a badminton net were set up, and there were plenty of people just talking and laughing to pass the time - but they all required nerves and social energy that Keith simply didn’t have today.

Finally he settled on tracking down that dog and playing with him for a bit, and after scanning the yard, spotted his tail following someone through the back door of the house. Keith stood from his seat, moving to enter the house too, and tried not to draw attention to himself from the few people who had gathered in the kitchen. Instead he looked around for Bae Bae, and went to the stairs when he heard a jingling collar and the sound of paws climbing up the steps.

He hesitated at the bottom of the staircase, wondering if he was invading the Holts’ privacy by going up there, but decided he could at least check to see if the dog was just up in the hallway, not in anyone’s room. So he followed up the stairs and spotted Bae Bae. Not in the hall, but through an open doorway, lying on his back in a bedroom with his paws dangling in the air and his tongue flopped out, seemingly waiting for a belly rub. The other occupant of the room, though, hadn’t seemed to have noticed him there, since she had headphones on and was concentrating on what appeared to be some sort of fantasy MMO on the computer screen. Katie, Keith remembered, that’s what her name was.

And even though she hadn’t noticed anyone else around, Bae Bae did, and he rolled over, wagging his tail at the sight of Keith and letting out a bark. Katie jumped a little in her seat, lowering her headphones and turning around. “Uh,” she said. “If you’re looking for the bathroom, it’s the next door over.”

“No, I, uh - ” Keith cleared his throat. “I was actually just - I was following - ” He gestured toward Bae Bae, suddenly realizing how childish it probably seemed to have left the cookout to focus on following the pet around.

Katie, though, didn’t seem to think much of it, since she just shrugged and gestured him inside. “Go nuts. He likes scratches right behind the ears.”

“Okay.” Keith slowly entered the room and lowered himself to give Bae Bae the scratches, and he thumped his tail and panted eagerly at the petting. Keith glanced back at Katie’s screen. She seemed to be playing as some sort of troll or ogre carrying a hulking maul, and a picture of the character’s face in the top-left corner labeled her as Pidgeotto321 above a half-full health bar. “So, um, what - what are you doing up here?”

“I live here,” Katie answered.

“I mean, up here instead of at the cookout?”

“Oh.” She shrugged again. “I got bored. Been to a lot of these Kerberos things for Matt and Dad. After a while they’re all the same. And I always get the same questions. Oh, are you going to go to the Garrison too, follow in your big brother’s footsteps? Like they think I’m only interested in space to copy him. Or, wow, a whole year without your dad and brother, are you gonna miss them? Yeah, no shit I’m gonna miss them. Still say they could’ve waited a few years to go on this mission, wait until I’m old enough to go too, but…” She trailed off, grimacing. “God, sorry. Didn’t mean to ramble.”

“S’okay,” Keith mumbled.

“Just, ugh.” Katie sighed. “I’m excited for them, I really am, but it’s also kinda like, once the mission’s over and they’re back, it’ll be a relief, you know? Like, it’ll all stop being this big looming thing we gotta all prepare for. You been to many of these event things with Shiro?”

“A couple,” Keith said. “And I, uh, I get it. I’m gonna miss him too.”

Katie let out a little thoughtful hum before removing her headphones all the way and turning in her seat toward him. “So, like, out of curiosity, what are you two anyway?”

“Hm?” said Keith.

“You and Shiro. Are you cousins?”

“Um, no. Did - did he say we were?”

Katie shook her head. “Was just a theory. You look like you might be Japanese too, but not as much as Shiro, so I figured you couldn’t be full brothers, but you could be cousins. Or half-brothers.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m - I might be, I guess.” Keith didn’t actually know his ethnicity. His surname was probably Japanese, and he had seen on some of his social workers’ paperwork in the past that he had been marked down as mixed-race, but that was as specific as it got. His dad had died before Keith even knew what ethnicity was, and so had never asked about it, and of course his mom was just a giant question mark as he didn’t even know what she looked like.

“But you know, um - ” He cleared his throat. “Even if so, it’s not like all Japanese people are related.”

“Well, obviously,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “But he invited you to a family cookout, right? Just assumed that probably meant you were related somehow. Are you?”

Keith blinked at her. His hand stopped scratching Bae Bae, and the dog nudged him in an attempt to regain his attention, but Keith was too focused on Katie right now to pay any mind. “What do you mean? He said it was a Kerberos cookout.”

“Yeah, for the Kerberos team and their families. That’s what the invitation Mom e-mailed out said. Most everyone else brought their spouses and kids, but obviously you’re not Shiro’s husband or son, so, you know. I was just wondering.”

“Oh. Um, we’re - he’s kind of, um, he helped me with - with applying to the Garrison and stuff, and uh, we - he’s done some, uh - ” He cleared his throat. “You said the bathroom was the next door down?”

“Uh-huh,” Pidge said, frowning. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Keith stood up. “Just, uh, just need to pee, that’s all.”

“Okay. Well, have fun.” She turned back to her computer as Keith left.

He didn’t head to the bathroom, though, and instead went back down the stairs and toward the yard. He didn’t get all the way there, though, because Shiro was in the kitchen, casting Keith a relieved smile at his entrance. “Hey, I was wondering where you ran off to!” His smile receded a bit as he caught Keith’s expression. “Something up?”

“No,” Keith said. “No, um, no, just - just, I was - I didn’t - ”

“Here.” Shiro swooped in to usher him away from the kitchen, where his stammering had started to attract attention, and into the Holts’ living room instead. “Now,” he said. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Keith said. “I just, um… why - why didn’t you tell me this was a family cookout?”

Shiro frowned, brows drawing pensively together before slowly asking, “Are… you upset by that?”

“No. Well, I mean, I - I’m not upset, but - but - why am I here?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is supposed to be a family thing. I’m not - I shouldn’t be here. I should go - ”

“Hey, hey,” Shiro said softly. “Keith, it’s okay. It’s fine. I’m sorry, bud, I hadn’t realized that this was going to be distressing for you. I should have asked you ahead of time, if you were comfortable with going to a family event. That’s on me.”

“No, that’s not - why me? You’ve got family. Actual family.”

Shiro’s frown deepened. “Well, uh, my parents are about a ten-hour drive from here. Seems like a long way to travel for one cookout. But Keith - ”

“What about Adam? He’s your fiancé, you should have brought him, you - ”

“Keith, I am sorry. I never meant to make you uncomfortable. I just thought…” He let out a breath. “You know, for a long time growing up, I wanted a little brother, and lately, helping you out with school and… well, with everything we’ve been doing, I suppose I’ve started thinking of you as - well, regardless, I’m sorry if that was overstepping your boundaries. If you don’t want me to think of you that way, I won’t. I promise.”

Keith bit his lip, shaking his head. That wasn’t it, it really wasn’t. After all, hadn’t he himself started to look at Shiro that way too? The guy was the perfect role model, had taken Keith under his wing and asked for nothing in return, had been there through every misstep Keith had made as a cadet and every low point, taught him about flying and riding hoverbikes and boxing and life. If Keith pictured the perfect big brother, he pictured Shiro.

But lots of people probably fantasized about having a big brother who was perfect.

People didn’t fantasize about having a little brother who was a needy, reckless screw-up.

“You - you shouldn’t,” Keith choked out. “You should - you should have a really good family. Your family should be really good people.”

“Keith, what do you mean?”

“I mean… you’re Shiro.”

“You’re Keith.”

Keith huffed. “I - I don’t get it. Why do you bother? You’re supposed to - you can do better.”

“Keith - ”

“You’re supposed to save being ‘family’ for people who are related to you. Or - or for - for when people have earned it. You can’t just throw it around like that, it - that’s not how it works. You’re supposed to - ”

He hadn’t realized his throat was tightening up until he choked on his words, and immediately, there were arms around him, and Shiro’s head was on his shoulder, speaking softly in his ear. “God, Keith. You’ve… people have really done a number on you, haven’t they?”

“I - ”

“You don’t have to earn anything from me, okay? I promise Keith. I like you. I like spending time with you, I like teaching you. I like making you feel better when you’re down, I like that you pretend to like my cooking.”

“I like your - ”

“No you don’t, but I like that you’ll lie for me. I like watching you succeed. I like seeing you grow. In my eyes, that makes you family. It’s not some elite class you’ve got to work your way into, Keith. It doesn’t matter what I’m ‘supposed’ to do, that’s not how family works. I don’t have to call you my brother or anything, not if you don’t like it - ”

“I, um,” Keith said softly, “I didn’t - I didn’t say I don’t like it. I’m just…”

“Not ready for it?”

“... I dunno?”

Shiro nodded. “That’s okay. That’s your call. But don’t you ever think that it’s not something you deserve, Keith. Don’t ever think that. Because it’s not true, not one bit.”

Keith nodded, sniffing before mumbling, “Okay.”

Shiro gave him a firm pat on the back before pulling out of the hug. “Now,” he said. “Matt was outside a few minutes ago, and he thinks he and Sam can beat the two of us at cornhole. You up for helping me crush his self-esteem?”

“Uh-huh,” Keith said, giving Shiro a hesitant smile.

“Attaboy. Come on, we’ll let him know we’re ready.”

He wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulders and steered him back toward the kitchen, and as he did, Keith cleared his throat. “Um, Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“If - if you wanna call me your brother, just, every once in a while - so I can, um, maybe test it out, see if I can get used to it - that, uh… that’d be okay, I think.”

Shiro grinned. “Will do, little brother.”

[world-of-socks]

Chapter 2: Dang, these gems sure know how to cry.

*Note: sorry this chapter is a little shorter, but it’s out. Again, a huge thanks to, @steven-universe-au-prompts for the idea. I hoe I can keep this going and actually finish something for once lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this incredibly er “emotional” chapter, it’s quite the contrast to the last one.

Blue Kyanite sat in a large field, peppered throughout with strawberries and flowers. The sky was so blue. The grass was soft and the air smelled with a fresh sweetness. Everything was lovely.

She had told herself the first time that she wouldn’t come back, that it was just a whim and that Earth wasn’t always this lovely. She couldn’t help herself though, it was too tempting. Blue Diamond decided that disguising herself when she came here would be the safest way to go about doing things. Nobody would know, not even the rest of homeworld. For what would they do if they knew? She wanted to tell Pink, but if she did, everyone else would find out, besides there was far less pressure this way.

Blue sighed and laid back in the grass, watching a few pieces of dandelions float upon the breeze. She contemplated for a moment what would happen if someone was to find out. She shivered. She knew White wouldn’t be pleased, maybe Yellow would understand, and Pink would probably just be excited. It was still too much of a risk. There was no need to worry though, nobody would know and besides it’s not like she was trying to fight a war for this place. She just enjoyed coming here every now and then to unwind in the pleasant peacefulness it had to offer.

………

The camp was very loud. And crowded. There was so much pushing and shoving. Blue Kyanite felt more out of place than she ever had before. She was tall compared to most of the other gems and they ran around her, bumping into her, occasionally yelling commands at her. How on, quite frankly, EARTH, did she end up here?

Nothing she loved about Earth was quite present at the base camp. Hard dirt was her floor (she fashioned shoes for herself), it smelled of burning metal and dust, and the calm she so loved was missing. As she stared around the camp, contemplating why she was truly here, there was a tug at her arm.

“Blue. BLUE!” Chrysocolla called, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, Yes I’m fine. This is just...different...than I expected.” she replied.

“Well what did you expect? War isn’t pretty.” Chryss laughed.

“Hm.” Blue simply responded, her thoughts still ripped apart by the noise.

They stood there for a minute before Chryss pulled her away into their tent. She sat Blue down on a cot and watched her for a moment as she continued to stare absentmindedly at what appeared to be nothing.

“Seriously something’s up with you. Ever since you said you’d join and help fight, you’ve been acting weird.” Chryss continued, “What’s up?”

“I… don’t know. It was just so easy to sit in the fields or run around with you, but this is.... This is different.” Blue sighed, overwhelmed, “This is going against everything I’ve ever known, and I don’t even know what I’m fighting for.”

“What do you mean?” she replied, “You like this planet, right? You told me you wanted to help fight.”

“I did. I DID. But for just one pretty planet? This is SERIOUS, Chryss. I’ve never FOUGHT before! I- I’m a diplomat for Blue Diamond, I’ve never even picked UP a weapon!” Blue stood up, “I- I mean, wha- what am I even fighting FOR? The sky? The fields? The smell?”

It was quiet in the tent after that, Blue sat down, she’d never quite burst out like that before in front of a gem like Chryss. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. Chryss was silent for a while.

“Look, you’re new to this, I get it. I was too, but do you know what I’m fighting for? My freedom. I lost-... I lost…” Chryss started crying, “She was the best thing to ever happen to me, and I lost her to the Diamonds. I barely escaped. This planet was my sanctuary, THESE gems are my family. So, that’s why I’m fighting. That’s why I want YOU to fight…”

A few tears rolled down her face. Blue stood up and wiped the tears off of Chryss’s face.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” Blue whispered, “I really didn’t mean to be so rude, I’ve just never done anything like this before. It's so new, and... I’m scared.”

“I know.” Chryss sniffed, “I hope I wasn’t too harsh, it’s just been really rough the past few years and it’s nice to have a friend with me. And even if you're unsure of what you're fighting for now, I’m sure in time, you’ll find more and more about this place that makes you want to join us. But if it really is too much, I’ll understand if you leave.”

Blue didn’t know what to say so she just stood there and nodded slightly in return. She was stunned. She had never really had options before. Nobody was quite this understanding. It was strange. Everything on this planet was so new, so different, so exhilarating.

They sat in the tent for a moment to digest everything that was just said before they both decided it was best that they continued with their day.

Chryss turned back to Blue as she pushed back the tent cover, “Hey, I’d just like to apologize again for the outburst. I would like to warn you though, it happens a lot around here. We crystal gems are an emotional bunch.”

Chryss gave a smile and then turned away again. As the two walked past the rows of dirty tents and the small fires with gems gathered around them, Blue paid close attention to their faces. A few were laughing with each other, two were whispering to each other with an expression she couldn’t place, a few of the gems, who looked dirtier and older, wore defendant looks upon their faces. She looked away.

After walking a while, Chryss grew excited and hopped up to a group of gems in the courtyard area of the camp. She ran up to a Citrine and wrapped her arms around her. The others laughed and smiled. After she unwrapped herself she did the same to a Diopside. Blue stood back and watched with curiosity.

“Ahh!” Chryss squealed, “I missed you guys so much! How was your mission?”

“Oh, it was… a mission.” Diopside replied, hesitantly.

“I...see. What happened?” Chryss’s smile faded slightly.

“We were victims of a surprise attack.” An aquamarine groaned, “Peach warned us to look out for such things, and we did, but apparently we weren’t good enough. That Jasper is mighty clever.”

The Citrine nodded, “She’s smart, but then again, we are too, that’s how we got out alive.”

The group chuckled and made playful roasts at each other, while Chryss looked more despondent then usual. Something was really bothering her today, she was never this emotional. Something was wrong, Blue just didn’t know what.

The citrine frowned, it seems like she noticed as well, “Hey, Chryssie, what’s up? Are you alright?”

“Uh huh.” she lied, flashing a fake smile.

“Seriously, Chryss what’s wrong? You aren’t acting like yourself.” Diopside added.

The group turned to face her, she fidgeted, uncomfortable, but their gaze was kind and full of concern, so eventually she let the truth out.

“... Our anniversary is coming up.” she whispered, “I just don’t want to lose anybody else. I just wanna keep you guys close, so I know I can’t lose you. It’s dumb, I know-”

The group cut her off with a big hug, “It’s not dumb!” the Citrine cried.

“I’m so sorry Chryssie, I totally forgot about your anniversary!! I’m such a horrid friend!” Diopside whimpered.

More responses and cries kept piling in around the squadron of soldiers who were holding the Chrysocollo. Blue just stood a few feet away still in awe. There was so much open emotion, so much touch, so much comfort. Weren’t they ashamed? ...Weren’t they supposed to be?

“I love you guys!” Chryss sniffed, “You guys are the best friends I coulda ever asked for. Just,... please be safe.”

“We’ll try our best.” a few replied.

Normal chatting shortly resumed after the outburst and stories from the squadron’s mission were regaled in dramatic and fun detail. Blue was about to turn and leave when Citrine called out.

“Hey where are you goin? You’re a friend of Chryssie’s, right?” she called in a friendly tone.

“I-... yes, I guess I am.” Blue stammered.

“Chryssie, why didn’t you introduce us?” Citrine smiled.

“Oh, my apologies, Blue!” She smiled sheepishly and turned back to the group, “Everyone, meet my new friend Blue Kyanite. We met a few months ago. She came here on a mission from Blue Diamond, but decided to stay instead. We met and just hung out for a while, but I asked recently if she wanted to help fight for this place and she volunteered.”

Grins spread throughout the group in a wave. Everyone gave her a pat on the back or a hug, or a quick fist bump to the shoulder.

There were cheers of, “Welcome to the team!” and “Any friend of Chryss is a friend of mine!”

Blue had never felt so welcome, nor had she ever been a part of something such as this. There was a warm feeling that spread throughout her. She felt a genuine smile brush upon her face.

Maybe finding a reason to fight for this place wouldn’t be so difficult after all.

[goldenworldsabound]

Last Night Under The Stars

After Golden and Kabu finally find a Sizzlipede den and Golden catches it, they spend one more night out in the wild area together. They get to sharing stories about the things they’ve experienced. Content warning: none, word count: 1902

With a new Sizzlipede pal in hand (or, in Poke'ball as the case may be), Golden and Kabu were bringing their wild area expedition to an end. They would spend one final night together in the wild area before making the trek back to Motostoke tomorrow.

With dinner out of the way and the sky mostly dark, Golden found herself sitting on a log next to Kabu, a campfire glowing in front of them. Despite the exhaustion of the day, she felt like she wanted to make the most of the remaining time with Kabu. But how? She turned to look at him, thinking. As if feeling her gaze, he looked back at her, smiling a little.

"I've never been to Johto." Kabu said after a moment, as Golden scrambled and failed to find a topic. "Is that where you're from?"

Golden nodded. "Yeah. Ecruteak, specifically. That's where I grew up." She leaned back, smiling up at the sky.

"Ecruteak is a sort of...cultural epicenter with regards to legendary Poke'mon, is it not?" Kabu asked, gazing at her intently.

"You could say that. It's steeped in tradition and legend. The Burned Tower and the Bell Tower, tied to the three legendary dogs, as well as Ho-oh and Lugia." Golden rattled those off without effort. "People come from all over to try and gain the attention of the legendary beasts, and Morty, the gym leader, has a long standing desire to meet Ho-oh."

The way Golden said that last line, Kabu felt she was leaving something out.

"Have you?" He asked bluntly.

"Have I? You mean, met- heh." Golden grinned, looking away again. "When you ask me that directly it's hard not to be honest with you." She closed her eyes before meeting his gaze again. "I have. I've met them all."

"..." Kabu was shocked. He had expected from her reaction that she had met one of the legendary Poke'mon she'd mentioned. But all of them? That was... "You must be a very special person." He finally said after a moment of silence.

"Hm." Golden was still smiling. "That's what the legends would say. Don't let that spread around too much though." Her smile turned apologetic.

"Of course. Would it be...rude of me to press you for more information?" Kabu asked, quirking his brow with a wry smile.

"Ha. I'll allow it this time." Golden looked thoughtful. "Well, how about this. You have any run-ins with a legendary Poke'mon?"

"I was still in Hoenn for the incident with Groudon and Kyogre." Kabu admitted, internally wincing at how he'd aged himself with that statement. "I remember it well."

"Oh, wow." Golden blinked at him. "I was...I was young, for that. I hardly remember much, other than hearing about it on the news. Alright then," She grinned. "I'll tell you about one of my encounters, and you tell me about one of yours. Which one, then?" Her grin turned sly as she turned the question onto him.

Kabu looked thoughtful. "Suicune." He requested after deliberation.

"Good choice." Golden steepled her fingers for a moment as she thought. "I first saw Suicune in the Burned Tower as a child. I wasn't supposed to be in there." She chuckled. "But I wasn't a very obedient child. The real reason I went in was...I thought I heard...crying? Whimpering?" She shook her head. "I was trying to find a safe way down to the bottom floor, when I fell." She still remembered that terror. Her Mareep and her Eevee had both called out to her in a panic, but they'd been powerless. "That was when Suicune appeared. Suicune caught me on it's back."

Then came the moment she would never forget. She'd slid off it's back, and held out a hand. Suicune had headbutted her hand affectionately. Then, it motioned towards a ladder, gesturing for her to go. She climbed up, Suicune watching from below to make sure she made it up safely. With the encouragement of her own Poke'mon, and Suicune matching her from below, she carefully made her way back to the entrance. Once she was safely in the entrance, Suicune had gracefully jumped up to join her. A rumble came from it's throat. And then, as silently as it had appeared, it had run out of the tower, going out of sight at an incredible speed.

No one else had seen Suicune that day, Golden learned.

"Ah, that was also when I met Haunter." Golden added. "Well, Gastly at the time." She smiled, glancing over at her shadow, which seemed to vibrate in response. "He followed me out, though I didn't realize for quite some time."

"That is an incredible story." Kabu replied, voice genuine.

"It is. I could have died that day, if not for Suicune." Golden wasn't done yet, though. "Once I grew up and took on the gym challenge, I saw Suicune intermittently on my journey. I felt that it was trying to tell me something. And in the end, I met it again in the Burned Tower."

Golden went quiet. That was too personal to share, the reunion between the two of them. The way that they had battled. The way that Suicune had given her a chance to capture it, but she had refused. I will see you again. She had said. This masterball doesn't need to contain you for you to be my friend. And then Suicune had left. She hadn't seen it since. But she knew in her heart she would, one day.

She didn't realize she'd put her hands over her heart, gazing into the fire distantly as she recalled her memories. Kabu's hand on her shoulder stirred her back to the current.

"Thank you for sharing that with me." Kabu bowed his head. "I was already impressed with you from how I've seen you battle, but if you impressed Suicune, you must be even stronger than I know."

"Heh. One of these days we'll have to fight with both of our full teams. You ain't seen nothing yet." She joked, winking. She yawned, blushing a little. Ugh, it was late, wasn't it? But she felt anything but ready to sleep.

She tensed briefly as she felt Kabu slip his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to lean against him a little. Her face warmed as she heard him laugh, his body shaking a bit against hers.

"I'll take you up on that sometime." He smiled down at her. "I've wanted to visit Johto myself." Golden felt momentarily lost in his gaze. "Did you want to go to sleep?"

"N-no!" Golden objected vehemently, flushing deeper. "I mean, I'm a little tired, but I'd like to hear your story. That's only fair, right?"

Kabu laughed softly. "Of course. You can rest your head on my shoulder, if you'd like, while you listen."

Swallowing, Golden nodded, before shifting to let her head rest on his shoulder as he'd suggested. It was comfortable to be touching him like this. She was glad the firelight was low, hopefully hiding her blush a bit.

"Thanks...a-anyway, go ahead with your story."

Kabu hummed thoughtfully. "I grew up in Lavaridge town. I was still there when Team Magma and Team Aqua had their dispute that rocked the entire region." His tone was wry as he spoke. Team Magma and Team Aqua had goals that were hard to comprehend. And yet, they had had the power to almost decimate an entire region. Kabu breathed in deeply, Golden feeling his chest expand with the motion. He exhaled.

"When Team Magma tried to raise Groudon from Mt Chimney...it was terrifying." Kabu frowned. "It had long been rumored that Groudon lay dormant inside the volcano, but...no one had ever tried to awaken it. The ground shook, and we thought the volcano might erupt."

"I went up to the top of it, to see if I could put a stop to Team Magma. But two young trainers were already handling it. By the time I got there and figured out what was going on, they'd fought down Team Magma and stopped the volcano from erupting." Kabu was quiet for a moment, recalling the vivid memories.

After a moments hesitation, Golden wrapped her arms around his torso, closing her eyes as she hugged him. Whereas her story had been a tale of personal growth, Kabu's was one of fear and terror. Blinking, he looked down at her, smiling gently before diving back into his tale. She felt him squeeze her arm reassuringly.

"And then, of course, when that storm began from Kyogre and Groudon fighting...many of us went to the top of Mt Chimney. The storm clouds over the ocean were visible even from the mountain." He shivered involuntarily. "The blows they were exchanging were visible as flashes. It was a great power. It was even raining up on the volcano." The sound of droplets hitting the lava, hissing as they evaporated instantly, had been almost deafening at that time. "And then- Rayquaza descended from the clouds." He gazed into the crackling fire. "I was awed. I couldn't tell what it was that Rayquaza did. But the clouds and the rain began to fade away, and the legendary Poke'mon disappeared out of sight before long." He laughed a little. "I don't think I'll ever forget that image. The long, green dragon descending from a beam of light. It was almost too heavy handed." The last line was a joke, accompanied by a wry smile.

"Legendary Poke'mon are kind of just like that." Golden added with a grin, pulling her arms back to her chest, even though she remained resting against Kabu. "That's an incredible experience too."

"Hm. Yes. We were very lucky to have the trainers who put a stop to it by involving Rayquaza. But it was a reminder of just how powerless I was." Kabu admitted, biting his lower lip ever so slightly. "That was what really kick started me to pursue my dream of becoming a gym leader."

"I can imagine." Golden replied softly, afraid to disturb the vulnerability he was showing. She gazed up at him tenderly, blushing as he looked back down at her. Throughout his story he'd been watching the campfire flames. Now his intense gaze was turned to her, and she felt unable to look away.

"Nonetheless. It's not as impressive as meeting a legendary firsthand." He teased, squeezing her arm again. "Very few people can lay claim to that sort of experience. Let alone multiple legendaries."

Golden looked away awkwardly, clearing her throat. "Yes, well...that doesn't mean I'm better than anyone else, or anything like that. And who knows," She couldn't help but smile. "Maybe if you visit me in Johto, you'll get to meet them too."

"That would be wonderful - legendaries or not." Kabu replied with a grin. Golden yawned again. Kabu laughed a little. "I think you really ought to get to sleep. We have a long day back to Motostoke tomorrow."

"Mm, yes, I suppose so..." Golden admitted reluctantly. "I'll get up in just a minute..." Her cheeks burned with her thinly veiled attempts to remain like this a little longer. But Kabu seemed happy to humor her, or perhaps he was enjoying the moment just as much - she couldn't keep her eyes open, much less judge his response. They sat in comfortable silence for longer than they should have.

[jadekitty777]

Baker’s Dozen, Part 2

Final day, final day, final day!

Day 8: Free Day @taiqrowweek

Rating: K

Words: 1,800

Summary: When a desperate escape from fans leaves Qrow seeking shelter in a nearby restaurant, he expects little of the rundown, failing business that offers him a table. One bite is all it takes to change his mind. [Actor and Chef AU]

Ao3 Link: Part 2

~

Mornings at the Qrow’s Nest were blissfully silent. With opening still hours away and the kitchen completely empty, Taiyang had all the time and space he needed to do the various prep work that would carry the lunch and dinner teams throughout the day. The things like soups, breads and desserts that needed a more delicate and mindful touch that would easily be lost under the hustle and bustle of the rush crowds.

It also gave him plenty of opportunity to experiment. He wasn’t used to the more trend-following patrons his new restaurant tended to draw in, but as head chef, it was his job to decide what went on the menu, while also finding new, exciting things to cycle in every season to stray from a stagnating selection. It was a challenge to imagine up different recipes rather than fall into his old, tried-and-true routines, but he’d never been one to quit when things got difficult and instead jumped headfirst into the work.

Thankfully, his business partner was a rather inspiring muse, with an entire filmography page to pull ideas from. Designing meals around whatever hotshot flick or program Qrow happened to be appearing in worked like a charm for both of them. There was less chance his creativity would tank and it drummed up excitement for the upcoming release.

This Fall would see the premiere of The Grimm Adventure, a dark and gritty fantasy-action flick. Though he wasn’t taking a leading role, Qrow still seemed positively beside himself for it to come out (Tai suspected it had something to do with the fact he got to run around for two-thirds of the film with a sword). From what he understood, the story took place in a dystopian world ruled by shadow creatures and followed the journey of a young maiden tasked with saving her dying world. Qrow would appear in it as her mentor, guiding her during her more difficult trials.

The low-lit sets seen in the trailers belayed a morose, almost gothic aesthetic, and had Tai leaning towards garnishes that matched, such as brisket and black-bean chili, forbidden rice and chicken stir fry, southern pork with a side of black-eyed peas and blackberry cobbler and black forest ham with leafy asparagus and roasted potatoes peppered with black garlic. He was most proud of that last one, as it was meant to match the fire-burnt thickets Qrow would save his apprentice from.

The menu was mostly complete and ready to be revealed. The only thing he had left to decide on was the final dessert.

So, Tai flipped on his old cassette player, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.

~

Two hours later found him flourishing on the final touches to the cake he’d crafted while belting out the lyrics to whatever western-inspired ditty was managing to come out of the ancient machine.

“Country roooads, take me hooome, to the place I belooong. West Virginia, mountain llama. Oh take me home, country roads.”

No one was around to hear the lyrics he didn’t quite remember right.

So, of course that was the moment someone decided to walk through the door.

“Mountain llama?”

Tai jumped, completely butchering the strawberry he was trying to cut precisely in half. He swiveled around, greeted by the amused smile of his partner. “God’s almighty Qrow! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He chuckled, holding up his hands in peaceful surrender. “Sorry ‘bout that. It’s just – llama??”

“Oh put a sock in it.” He turned off his player before reaching for another strawberry. As he chopped down, he said, “Surprised to see you here. I thought you were staying in New Zealand a few more days?”

“The reshoots went better than expected, so I caught an early flight.” Qrow explained. “Though I would kill for some coffee right now.”

“Pot’s on for the taking.”

The offer was graciously accepted, and soon enough the other man had a mug in his hand and a seat on the counter, watching as Tai shaped the strawberry halves into hearts. He took a sip of his coffee – black with barely enough cream to color – and asked, “What are you working on?”  

Focused on getting the cut just right this time, his response was distracted. “Dessert, for you.”

“Ah, you shouldn’t have.” Like the thespian he was, Qrow absolutely played it up, putting a hand to his heart and fluttering his eyelashes like a lovestruck debutante.

“You know, they say the first sign of an actor’s career going south is when they start to overact.” He ‘tsk’ed pityingly. “And you were still so young too.”

“Hm, funny,” There was a clear smirk in Qrow’s voice, “Because the only way ‘south’ I intend to go is with you.”

Tai missed the next cut too. Ears burning red, he shot the other a look. The only response he was offered was one brow raised in challenge as he smugly drank his coffee.

As much as he wanted to give back as good as he was given, nothing decent would form in his mind. So, he just grumbled, “Snake”. He’d have felt defeated, if not for how nice on the ears Qrow’s chuckles were. “If you’re all done with your games, I’d appreciate it if you’d have a taste of this cake.”

“You sure you want my opinion on that? You know I’m not much of a dessert guy.”

“Don’t worry, I made sure to temper the sweetness for your tender palate.” He said as fetched the cake from the adjacent workstation’s display shelf. Beyond its stark black frosting, the two-layered cake did not look like much. The decoration was left simple, only a standard spiral design bordering the top and bottom edges. Even the addition of the strawberry slices in a simple ring on top only added a bare hint of color.

The trick was within.

As Tai sliced through the cake, it revealed the marble design inside. Made with a mixture of chocolate and red velvet, the two batters blended together in a swirl like pattern. The layers were neatly divided by a scarlet-bright raspberry filling, bringing all the dark colors and bright reds together. He might not be the most outstanding baker there was – that honor had gone to his late wife – but he still felt a sense of pride as he held out the slice to his partner.

Qrow whistled as he got a proper gander at it. “You really outdid yourself this time.”

“The truth is in the taste, not the view.” Tai handed him a fork next.

“Beg to differ.” He said, eyes never leaving him even as he dug in. “The view’s pretty nice from where I’m looking.”

The flush was back, spreading like a fever across his cheeks.

When they had first met, he had told Qrow he was no fool, unblinded by the trickery of the successful and silver-tongued. He’d like to maintain that eighteen months later, that was still the case. But the game Qrow was playing now was more devious than his first – and one Tai didn’t entirely mind losing.

He could not say quite when it started, all the flirting that grew bolder by the day and lewd comments that left him redder than a rose. At first, it had overwhelmed him; yet before long, he had found himself trying to return those notions. It had been quite some time since anyone had taken a fancy of him but settling down had not left him entirely rusty. Every time he managed to leave Qrow speechless or shy left a pleasant warmth in his belly, like a fire just starting to burn.

So yes, he absolutely knew where all this hemming and hawing was leading them. He just never fathomed in his wildest dreams he’d be heading there with someone like Qrow. On a surface level, he could never imagine they were even compatible.

Like the cake, the trick was on the inside.

As was typical for a man of his class, Qrow hid a lot to save face and that was what most saw. A successful, rich, socialite who barely had time to look down his nose at the common folk. Yet, Tai had learned the compassion he truly held. The gesture that saved his restaurant was only one act of many. He saw it again, when Qrow quietly requested if Tai would apprentice Lie Ren, the son of his driver who wished for a future in the kitchen. And again, in his visits to the children’s hospital to read them stories whenever he was in town. Once more with the various gift and food donations he’d make around the holidays so fewer homes had to go without.

That isn’t to say the man didn’t have his edges. He could be too caustic at times and if politics was even hinted at as a topic of conversation, Qrow’s voice was louder than anyone’s in just what he thought about their current president’s policies. He liked to drink, sometimes in excess, and when he was in a poor mood he either took to isolating himself or just sulked about like a teenager.

Yet for all his bad, the good still shined through. His smiles and laughter were treasures. He declined to live in excess, finding peace in the quietness of a quaint home. He was strict in never telling lies to those he trusted. He was brilliant, and funny, and hard-working. It was also a plus that Qrow was nicer to gaze upon than any fancy painting in the most prestigious museum.

There was so much Tai had grown to appreciate about the man behind the actor. With it, his feelings were starting to bud, close to blooming. He knew it was much the same for Qrow – though he knew not how precisely he viewed him, he at least could determine with confidence that it was a mutual romance beginning between them.

The real question was, which of them would be the one to make the final play on this game they’d started?

“Mmm, this is really good.” Qrow’s voice broke him from his thoughts, already halfway through the cake. “You’re right, it’s not too sweet.”

“And the berries add that tartness you like.” Tai added.

He chuckled, forking another piece. “You keeping track of my food preferences?”

That was, perhaps, the best hand he was ever gonna get dealt.

“A’course.” He lent his hip against the counter, “How else will I make your favorites when I invite you to dinner?”

Qrow froze, utensil halfway to his mouth as he stared beyond it and right at him. After a heated second of silence, he asked, “Is that a request for a date?”

Tai hid the shake of his hands by crossing his arms. “It is, if you’ll have me for one.”

“Believe me, I’d happily have you for dinner any day of the week.”

“Yeah?” A laugh mixed with embarrassment and pleasure left him. “How ‘bout Thursday then?”

Qrow smiled one of those treasured smiles and blushed one of those gut-warming blushes, and said, “Sounds just perfect.”

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Zuisouroku Omokage-ge hana Animate Drama Translation

Last post of the month, but instead of my usual message, I figured I should change it due to current circumstances.... So. If you are able, please consider donating to your local food banks, the Red Cross or other charities who are supporting those affected by Covid-19. Alternatively, consider donating blood (including this since I saw this on CBC and from the Canadian Blood Services and they both mentioned potential shortages), tipping those who deliver your food/take out delivery (every dollar counts to some of these people - I would know since I’m unemployed right now cuz of what’s going on but will able to get by. huzzah for the Canadian government!), or support other content creators, writers, translators and artists who need help if possible. 

Also make sure you wash your hands for 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, cough into your sleeve/elbow, practice social distancing and refrain from going out if possible.... and please, please do not go singling out a certain ethnicity for how things are right now. I have a second cousin who works in a hospital down in california, and another living in new york right now.... and the last thing they need is racism and harassment. 

Anyway. I’m finally done with this drama. not really fond of putting things all together since that means i need to translate more hakuoki content for another week (i prefer to do less lol), but i’ve made an exception to this as the audio was supplied to me earlier by Aysha (which is also why i had this drama jump the queue lol). Edits will be done when I get to my subtitle video.

do not repost elsewhere. also thank you to @jokertrap-ran​ for helping me with 2 sentences that i just couldn’t figure out the Chinese for (they’re the ones left in bold), and thank you again to Aysha for supplying the audio. 

Videos are now here 

Track 1: https://youtu.be/ETTfJHCKOkk

Track 2: https://youtu.be/Nnp0mE_DLmw

enjoy?

Hakuoki Zuisouroku Omokage-ge hana Animate Drama CD Shimabara After story

Track 1

Translation by KumoriYami

Harada: Okay! Well now that this Shimabara incident is over, let's take the opportunity to drink! Everyone don't hold back [says: be modest], we aren't going home until we're drunk/unless we get drunk!

Okita: Arresting/Catching so many ronin, Kondou-san was also very happy! He also said that the spies hiding here were also arrested by the Shinsengumi.

Saito: However it seems that the Vice-Commander was a little anxious/upset. Because of the investigation of the spies, [news of it] has already spread throughout Shimabara. Tonight's festivities, although it was approved by the vice-commander, he  however said that we need to conduct ourselves with dignity [behave appropriately]

Souji: Yes/indeed. Then let's order some expensive food! Excuse me, please start with your most expensive wine in the store served with similar dishes!

Saito: Wait a moment! Why are you doing the opposite! The vice-commander clearly said, that we should be holding a meeting to reflect upon ourselves, and should not be celebrating by drinking.....

Souji: Eh, I can't hear anything!

Harada: heisuke, what's wrong? You haven't said anything from the start. Are you still brooding over what happened?

Heisuke: Wha....what do you mean by brooding? Sano-san. Don't say things that don't make sense/something strange.

Souji: What what? What are you brooding over/what's the matter?

Harada: Ah, so it's like this......

Heisue: Hey, I told you not to say anything unnecessary!

Harada: Ah, sorry. can't you just say it?

Souji: Are you keeping a secret from us?  That's really annoying [unpleasant].

Heisuke: Since it's only a small matter, I haven't said anything.

Souji: In that case just enjoy yourself to the fullest. Thanks to her dressing up as a geisha, she was able to infiltrate Shimabara to obtain information, and we were able to catch all those roshi at once.

Heisuke: But.... I din't want to have her dressed up like that..... [force?]

Souji: Areh?

Heisuke:.......What.

Souji: Hm~? it turns out/so that's what it was, it was that thing.

Heisuke: Don't smile like that! 

Souji: How annoying, my usual expression is like this.

Heisuke: Liar! Whenever Souji shows this kind of expression, you're definitely not thinking of anything good!

Souji: Actually/In fact you don't need to feel embarrassed, could it be that Heisuke didn't think that she looked lovely dressed as a geisha?

Harada: [it's?] Because she was originally a beauty [from the start she's already beautiful]

Souji: That response is really straight to the point/direct.   Compared to Heisuke who felt embarrassed/shy because of how cute she looked dressed as a geisha, the reactions of everyone else was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Heisuke: Why am I being dragged into his! I only that because she's not a member of the troopi, that she shouldn't be taking on such a dangerous assignment, that's all......

Harada: For the purpose of keeping her out of danger, weren't we on standby in the corner room?? You were great, shouting "that's not good," [and] "I can't stand this" or something, and rushed outside.

Heisuke: Why are you telling the truth!!! Anyway shut up and stop talking you idiot!

Harada: Whoops, i'm really sorry.  

Souji: Eh..... so that's it. I didn't expect that.

Heisuke: No, that's not [it]......!s

Saito (whispering): Actually/In fact I can understand Heisuke's thoughts...... at the time I was also deeply fascinated [entranced/captivated] by how she was dressed.

Souji: Hajime-kun?

Saito: Ah...Uh, sorry, i'ts nothing...Well, I did just say it...

Souji: Well, I can hear you very well. It turns out that even Hajime-kun was also deeply fascinated by her dress [check if says kimono. also rephrase later].

Saito : !!!! I, I didn't mean [it like?] that! Just, just because I was unfamiliar with how she dressed, doesn't mean that I was attracted [to it? her?]....... [rephrase later]

Souji: In other words, you admit that you're attracted to her?

Saito: No....... In any case I am also a captain in the Shinsengumi so how could I think of something so shameless when I am carrying out my duties! Anyhow, where is she? It seems that she hasn't arrived here yet......

Harada: Hijikata-san and Shinpachi should be bringing her over soon.

(the sound of footsteps and a door sliding open)

???: I just saw her a moment ago being questioned at the entrance of Shimabara. And together with Hijikata.

Heisuke: You are.... Kazama?! (reaches for sword)

Kazama: Put away your sword. I'm in a good mood today, and have no reason to fight you.

Souji: What does your so-called good mood mean/what do you mean by good mood?

Kazama: That goes without saying. Of course it's because I saw my wife's beautiful dress [appearance]. As expect, my eyes did not make a mistake [were not wrong].

Saito: Yukimura is not your wife. Her attitude towards you has been blatant/explicit.

Kazama: I've heard that woman who grow up in Edo are very strong. Even if she fell in love with me, she wouldn't show it.

Souji: Where does your self-confidence come from?

Harada: Go back to that [going back to what you said before], Chizuru's being interrogated?! Did someone discover her identity as a woman......

Kazama: It's because of the elopement incident that Hijikata caused which seems to have [caused her to be] been noticed [rephrase later].

Souji: Eh~ I just heard some extraordinary gossip [interesting]. It turns out that Hijikata-san already had such a reputation at Shimabara/Hijikata-san's reputation has spread to such an extent at Shimabara.

Harada: Oi, Souji. For the sake of safety/To be on the safe side, don't speak of this/go around spreading this to the other team members......

Souji: How hateful/annoying, I won't speak of such nonsense. But in the event that someone asks me if the Vice-Commander is or isn't with a geisha from Shimabara, I won't hide anything/speak without holding back.

Kazama: Alright [Very well... or something cuz its kazama], [let's] start drinking. The depressed guy over there, hurry up and prepare sake for me.

Heisuke: Oi! Why are you sneaking into our party?!

(After a while......)

Heisuke (sounds drunk for the rest of this track): Speaking of which.... I was against this plan from the very beginning!

Saito:......Heisuke, did you drink too much? Your eyes are starting to droop [lose focus].

Heisuke: Teach me how to not drink so much!

Saito: Why are you so upset?

Heisuke: I'm super pissed!!! For a covert investigation, we actually didn't need to use her, as long as we paid a geisha to assist us, but she was abruptly dragged down into this by us.

Saito: Your way of thinking isn't understandable, but it was also her who took the initiative to help us, [so] your criticisms are a little too much. [check audio to hear if this sounds like multiple sentences]

Harada: That's right.  Based on the outcome, nothing big happened, [which] this isn't bad.

Souji: Seeing how cute she was dressed, Heisuke was definitely/obviously very happy.

Heisuke: You smiling demon [???]!!! Compared to those clothes, the clothes of an ordinary woman clearly suit her more [rephrase later]!!

Harada: maybe, I'd also like her to see her dressed like an ordinary woman.

Heisuke: Hey......Sano-san, I've wanted to ask you.... She.... what is she to you?

Harada: Hm? I don't really think much of it but, is something the matter? Why do you ask? [i’ll reword ^ later when i get to the drama]

heisuke: I feel that Sano-san.... your attitude, rather than a comrade, you treat her more as a woman.

Harada: That's the [your?] problem. Although she's usually dressed in men's clothes, she's still genuinely a woman. It's only natural to treat her as a woman/Of course she still has to be treated as a woman.

Heisuke: [That's/so] Too sly/cunning......!

Souji: If Heisuke wants to treat her as a girl, he should be honest and say so and not be secretive about it..

Kazama: (setting down a glass) Toudou...... could it be that you have ill intentions towards my wife [TL is more or less evil thoughts/desire lol]? First take a look in a mirror [Look at yourself in the mirror first].

Heisuke: Shut up! You're the last one to be teaching me anything [last one who she be saying anything] ! She hates you the most out of all of us!!!

Kazama: I remember what I said just now [Remember what I said just now], Edo women, even if they fall in love, they will not express their true thoughts.

Saito:......I think it'd be nice if Heisuke could have a face as thick as Kazama's [if Heisuke could be as thick-headed as Kazama.... probably? or if Heisuke could have a face that had a fraction of Kazama's thickness]

Heisuke: Hajime-kun where the hell did your arm go?!

Souji: Don't first talk about Heisuke, what about yourself Hajime-kun [rephrase later]? Are you confident enough to defeat a crowd of rivals in love while surrounded and at her side?

Saito:......What are you talking about! The team has rules that ban personal fights!

Souji: That is to say, if it's not a personal fight, we're allowed to fight until one of us is dead/you'd fight to the death?

Saito:.....Why must you twist other people's words to this degree/extent!

Kazama: You bastard...... it seems that I'll have to force the truth from your mouth. Oi, Toudou. bring out the strongest sake in the store! I'm going to expose what his sincere thoughts he has [will have the truth forced from this man].

Heisuke: Why are you ordering me around!? Wait a moment/Hold on...... this is for getting Hajime-kun drunk so he'll tell the truth...... Yosh! I'm going to get/grab it at once/immediately!

(Heisuke gets up and runs out)

Saito: Wait!  It doesn't matter that you guys are already drunk, but I cannot get drunk [now]......

Souji: (pours sake) Don't say that, let's drink without holding back! These opportunities are hard to come by!

---------------------------------------

Track 2

Hijikata: It was pointed out that Yukimura looked a lot like the geisha who eloped the other day...... It look a while/lot of time to settle that mater.

(door opens)

Hijikata: I've made you wait for a long time! Sorry, I sent Yukimura back first with Shinpachi to headquarters......Eh, what's going on?!

Souji: Ah. Hijikata-san, you're really late.

Hijikata: You're the one that's late! Harada and Heisuke are completely drunk!

Kazama: What are you saying/talking about. It's your fault that you're always so slow.

Hijikata: Kazama! You bastard why are you here?!

Kazama: Don't mention that, why haven't you brought my wife?

Hijikata: Who's your wife! It's because she got upset from being interrogated, she first went back to headquarters.......Geez, this isn't the time to be getting involved with that guy. You guys! Stand up! Didn't I warn you guys about conducting yourself properly!?

Harada: Ah! If it isn't Hijikata-san! Now that Hijikata-san is here, we need to start from the begining! If you ask me about when I got this scar on my stomach......

Hijikata: I've said it many times [but] I've heard already heard your [that] story before.

Heisuke: Hijikata-san! I wanna ask you...... were you really planning on eloping with her/is it true that you were really going to elope with her?

Hijikata: Ha?! Where the hell did you hear that from? At best, that's a misunderstanding since I'd never do something like that!

Souji: Eh? Is that really true?  I thought that Hijikata-san wasn't the kind of person who would do something that could cause people to misunderstand in this way/who would ever do something so misleading. [or just misleading]

Heisuke: Then it's true! Hijikata-san used his position as vice-commander to elope with her, this method is too despicable!

Hijikata: Didn't I say, that I didn't do any of that! Can't you understand [Why can't you understand that]!

Saito: Exactly. If the Vice-Commander wanted to take Yukimura, he would not employ such callow and clumsy tricks, rather he would adopt a more complex and sophisticated course of action [tactics...?].

Hijikata:......Oi, Saito, are you trying to protect me or kill me? Give me a clear-cut position [clear answer]!

Saito: What are you saying. I will always be on the vice-commander's side. [literally: i will forever stand with/at the vice-commander's side whenever]

Hijikata: It's great that your on my side......

Souji: Right now it's pointless to say anything to Hajime-kun. Because regardless of what you say to hajime-kun, his expression won't change even though he's actually already completely drunk.

Hijikata: to actually like to say this kind of things, anyway it's you guys' fault that he's [this?] drunk!

Kazama: You came at just the right time (pours wine). Hijikata. Answer me. What kind of intentions do you have towards my wife who you have confined to your headquarters?

Hijikata: What kind of intentions [what do you mean by intentions]? Why should I answer you?

Souji: Isn't there a reason? Hijikata-san has said himself that he likes women from Edo.

Kazama: What? Then it's true.......

Hijikata: What "it's true" nonsense ! Souji! Quit always saying such misleading things!

Heisuke: Ah~ so it's like that, Hijikata-san's aiming for her too? Despite how he was so strict over a mere mistake! 

Hijikata: I'm telling you, I wasn't planning on doing that......!

Harada: But to secretly protect her......

Hijiakta hey wait! When did I do that!

Kazama: I see. So it was like that. (picks up sword) Hijikata..... even if it costs me all of my pride and dignity/honour, I will have you buried here today/I will kill you today!

Hijikata: don't misunderstand me [don't misunderstand/quit misunderstanding]! She was allowed to stay at headquarters for the sake of/for the purpose finding Kodo-san, because of that, she was given the identity of a page.......

Souji: But don't you call her every few days to your room to have her make you tea? A lone man and a woman in a room, in the end, who knows what might have happened~ [between them?] [depending on the audio i'll make thr second sentence longer/shorter]

Kazama: What.... [very] good/great Hijikata, to go as far as to use/to actually make use of your position to do this sort of thing!! I will not spare you! this opportunity just arrived [this is a golden opportunity/the perfect chance?]! We'll settle this over wine/drinking!

Hijikata: HA?! why did this happen?!

Heisuke DAMN IT~~~~!!!! it turns out that Hijikata-san is a rival (in love)————！！！！ Oi, Kazama! We have a temporary alliance! Hijikata-san! We're going to drink to decide this!

Saito: The Vice-commander and Yukimura....!? Ah.... What is the truth to this emotion buried deep within my heart [what is the meaning to this emotion buried deep within my heart]? Without drinking, I can't calm/dispel my resentment!!

Harada: Although it is important to respect that her personal opinions...... if we're using wine to determine a victor, I will accept this challenge!

Hijikata: I didn't say any of that, you're getting it all wrong!!! You guys, listen to me!

【END】

---------------------------------------

image swiped from suruga-ya...  i will definitely be rephrasing most of the 2nd half of track 2 for more... conversational word sense. couldn't think of how to make things sound natural when i posted this but i'll get that done along with all the necessary editing later when i get to making my srt file for this drama.... aiming to have the subtitles done for next month (currently working on the files now). 

also, next month im planning on mostly ssl game content... and to have the remainder of all Zuisouroku game content posted in may... (i now officially have enough tl+imags posts queued til the end of may).

stay safe ppl!

(p.s. in case you didn’t see my psa, i’m sharing a number of hakuoki vids and art books. full list is on my tumblr page ���stuff i have”)

[sidehowriting]

Christmas Past

Masterlist in Bio!

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you’re enjoying the holiday time! I shall be enjoying mine in Disney World with the boy and his family! What better way to celebrate this time then with some Christmas angst? This was written for 2 challenges. 1st is @capcountdownchristmas Count Down to Christmas and 2nd is @avengerscompound Take a Line Writing Challenge! The prompts just worked so well together so I had to combine them. 

Prompt 1:  Breaking up at Christmas

Prompt 2:  Why is duty such a jealous master?  Can it never share the heart with love? (not used as a quote but for inspiration)

Pairings: Steve x Reader

Summary: Steve is always late to Christmas. 

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: Angst, swears, fluff, light drinking, pregnancy, worry of miscarriage

Year 1 

"So, where's this secret boyfriend of yours?" Your coworker had asked you this question more times than you could count. It was starting to get annoying.

"He'll be here." You glanced at your watch again, noting that now he was officially an hour late. You knew he would be late but didn't know by how much.

"Mm hm." She sipped her cocktail, eyebrows raised. She didn't believe you. And that was fine. You didn't need her to. 

You rolled your eyes and headed to the bar, glad your company didn't skimp out and made it open. "Another daiquiri, please," you said, head bent over your clutch purse to fish out another single for a tip.

"Can I buy you a drink?" A work holiday party was the last place you wanted to get hit on. Especially when you were impatiently waiting for your date. 

"It's an open bar," you retorted, ready to take down whoever dare flirt with you. Your glare instantly fell when you realized who was talking. 

"Steve!" You threw your arms around his neck, hugging him closely. "You made it!"

"Of course, doll." He rubbed your back warmly. "I'm sorry I'm so late. I stopped to change first. I didn't think a bloody, dirty mission suit would be appropriate."

You pulled back, taking in his appearance. Besides the damp hair and dark circles under his eyes he looked fitting for a work Christmas party: a nice button up, dark slacks, just the faintest whiff of cologne. Stroking your thumb against his cheek you said, "It doesn't matter how late you are. You came."

His stare into your eyes were always intense and this time was no different. Such a sharp shade of blue piercing right into your soul. You closed your eyes, cutting off his gaze as you leaned into kiss him.

Your lips had just barely touched when your coworkers voice sounded. "Oh my god!" You pulled away from Steve, seeing your friend standing there, openly gawking. "Your secret boyfriend is Captain America!?"

"Surprise," you said sheepishly, glancing from your coworker to Steve. The two of you hadn't said that you were officially dating and felt uncomfortable that your coworker was the one to bring it up. 

If it bothered him, he didn't let on, however. He simply stuck out his right hand, the left going to the small of your back. "Steve Rogers. Pleasure to meet you." Him and your friend shook hands and any awkwardness you were worried about feeling never came. Everything seemed natural. 

And it continued that way for the rest of the night. Everyone you talked to was pleasant and warm to Steve. They weren’t as overbearing as you thought they might be. That, mixed with the free alcohol, you were having a great party. 

By the time the event came to a close, you were happy and pleasantly tipsy. You had carpooled with your coworker who had offered to give you a ride back home as well. “I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Steve offered instead. You weren’t going to turn down that offer. After hugging your friend goodbye, she left, leaving the two of you alone.  

Steve pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, pressing a few buttons. You tried to stand on your tiptoes to see, but the alcohol made your balance unsteady. Steve chuckled softly, wrapping and arm around you to keep you up. “Whacha doin’?” You asked, still feeling wobbly. 

“Tony felt bad we were so late getting home from the mission, so he had one of his drivers take me here. I’m just letting him know we’re ready to leave.” He placed his phone back in his pocket. “C’mon, let’s head out. He should be here in just a moment.” 

With his arm still around your waist, he led you from the building. As soon as the two of you stepped outside, a sleek black car pulled up, getting you out of the harsh winter air quickly. Ever the gentleman, Steve opened the car door and made sure you got inside safely first. Once he was inside the car as well, you gave the driver your address and off you went.  

“So,” Steve started as the driver pulled onto the main road, “secret boyfriend, huh?” Even in your intoxicated state, you caught the humor in his voice. 

You giggled more than you would have if you were sober. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to say to her. The whole department really. They wouldn’t leave me alone when I said I was bringing a date to the Christmas party.” 

“I’ve been called a lot worse than a secret boyfriend.” He reached across the seat to take your hand. “Maybe we could lose the ‘secret’ part, huh?”

Warmth spread throughout your body as you looked from your joint hands to his face. “Yeah,” you said, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “Okay. No secret boyfriend. Just boyfriend.” 

His smile matched yours as you both enjoyed the rest of the car ride in silence. The adrenaline was quickly eating away at the alcohol in your veins and by the time the car pulled up to your little apartment you felt much more sober. Steve offered to walk you up the steps and of course you let him. 

“Thank you again for coming tonight, Steve.” You fished around in your clutch again, this time hunting for your keys. 

“Of course, doll. Anything for you. Again, I’m sorry for making you wait.” 

“It’s fine.” You grabbed the keys tightly in your hands. “I’d wait forever for you.” 

As he smiled a few pieces of snow started to fall. You both glanced up, the sky now covered in white dots. “You should probably get inside,” he said, snowflakes landing in his hair. 

“Yeah, I should. It is…” Your phone was a lot easier to find in your small purse. “Midnight. Christmas.”

Everything was falling into place like one of those cheesy holiday movies you enjoyed watching so much. You stood on your tiptoes, now more stable, and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Goodnight, Steve,” you whispered, slowly pulling away. Tiny flakes were sticking to your eyelashes, giving your vision a white hue. “Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas, doll.” He gave you one more chaste kiss before going back to the car. It didn’t take off until you were inside your apartment. From the window, you saw the car pull away and disappear into the snowy night. 

Year 2

“This boyfriend of yours coming or what?” Your dad asked, getting the table all set for Christmas dinner. 

You rolled your eyes, putting down the silverware. “He’ll be here.” 

“Well if he doesn’t come soon, we’re gonna eat without him.” Your dad huffed, going back into the kitchen to get more plates. 

You didn’t want to let on how stressed you were about Steve being late. Yes, you knew he would be, saving the world didn’t have a solid timeline, but the more your family bothered you about it the more the anxiety formed inside your chest. 

Once the food was ready, your mother said it was fine to wait a bit longer for Steve to arrive. A few more minutes wouldn’t do any harm. But your father insisted dinner be started. “What kind of boyfriend shows up late to Christmas dinner?”

You sat down across from your dad and folded your napkin onto your lap. “It’s just his line of work, Dad.” 

“And you still haven’t told us what that is.” He was annoyed by the secrets and you couldn’t blame him, but you knew if you told him he would have a hard time believing that as well. 

“You will when he gets here,” you said, coming to Steve’s defense. 

Your father made a comment about how rude it is to be late meeting the parents, especially for Christmas. You chose to ignore it and started passing the food around. Dinner was delicious as always and you wondered why you hadn’t come home for Christmas in years.

A few more comments were made about your boyfriend's lack of time management as dinner continued. It had tapered off as dishes were being cleaned and washed. By the time dessert was being cut and served, it seemed like everyone had forgotten he was coming. Everyone, but you. 

Three simple knocks at your parent’s front door had your heart racing. You hoped and prayed to whatever god was out there that it was Steve. 

"I got it!" Your dad called before you could get up. The winter wind entered the cozy house when your dad opened the door. "Yes?"

"Good evening, sir." Steve's voice greeted your ears. "I'm Steve Rogers. I'm sorry I'm late."

"Uh…" You watched your dad step aside so your boyfriend could walk in. "Yes. Of course. Come in."

Steve nodded his appreciation. "Thank you, sir."

You mother leaned over to whisper in your ear, "you didn’t say your Steve was the Steve."

You giggled as Steve came up to you. "I'm so sorry I'm late, sweetheart." He was still dressed for his mission, dark stealth suit covered in dirt and sweat. His hair was matted down and he desperately needed to wash his face. Hell, a whole shower would do him some good. "I had the team drop me off right at the house."

You gave him a quick kiss. "I'm just happy you're here." You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him again, forgetting for a moment that your family was there.

Your father cleared his throat and you pulled away from Steve. "My daughter said I'd understand why you were late when you got here."

"Yes, sir. You see, we were in Germany when-"

Your dad raised his hand to stop Steve from explaining. "Son, it's fine. You were serving your country." 

Steve smiled, placing a hand on the small of your back. "Thank you for your understanding." 

Without a second thought, your mother offered a shower for Steve and whatever spare clothes they had that would fit him. Being polite, he declined at first but after some insistence he agreed. Clothing options were minimal, and he ended up in his white undershirt and a pair of overly decorated Christmas pajama bottoms your dad had from years ago. He looked a bit ridiculous, but he seemed happy.

With Steve out of the shower and by your side enjoying the remainder of your family’s Christmas dinner, you felt at ease. Steve fit in very nicely with everyone. Your mother found him charming, as you knew she would, and your dad, being an army vet, had a lot of common interests with him. Everyone got along better than you could have imagined. 

The guest room was made up for the two of you. You were elated to be able to lie in bed with Steve by your side. “I’m so glad you made it.” You pulled the covers up around you, the cold winter air somehow finding its way into the bedroom. 

“I am too.” He pulled you close, knowing how cold you always get at night. “I’m so sorry I was late.”

“It’s okay,” you said, maybe convincing yourself as well. “You made it and that’s what counts.”

He kissed your temple. “I know, I just wanted to make a good first impression with your parents.” 

“You did. They love you.” 

Even in the dark you could see his blue eyes light up. “I’m glad.” He kissed you, lips a bit chapped but still warm and comforting. Like home. “I love you so much, sweetheart.” 

“I love you too, Steve.” Your fingertips gently stroked his cheek and you watched his eyelids flutter shut. You knew he was exhausted from whatever mission he was on and therefore weren’t surprised when his breathing evened out mere moments later. “Merry Christmas,” you whispered before closing your eyes and joining him in sleep.

Year 3

“I’m sorry, miss, but we do close early on Christmas. If you want to order something, I would suggest doing it now, I’m sure the person you’re waiting for will understand.” You glanced at your watch, realizing you had been waiting at the restaurant Steve told you to meet him at for over two hours now. 

“I’ll be there right after the mission, okay? I have a surprise for you.” 

A mission that wasn’t supposed to take this long, but then when did they ever go according to plan? 

The waiter probed you again for your order, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Right, sorry. Yes, um, I’ll just have the grilled chicken then. Thank you.” 

You had texted Steve several times at this point, mostly out of concern for him. But now your blood sugar was running low, you were hungry, and your butt was starting to hurt from sitting at a table for two for so long. You didn’t want to be too mean, but you wanted to get your point across. The restaurant is closing soon so I’m just gonna eat without you.

Once the text was sent, you decided to just push Steve to the back of your mind and enjoy this nice Christmas dinner for one. 

After eating your dinner and a complimentary dessert (the waiter said it was because they just wanted to get rid of it but you had a feeling it was because the whole staff felt sorry for you) you did feel better. You almost felt bad for your short text to Steve. Almost. He did make you sit by yourself at a nice restaurant for hours.

When you got back to your apartment, you sent Steve another text telling him of your new location. You were sure he would have been able to figure it out himself but part of you hoped that this text would be the one he replied to. 

Your phone remained silent and dark, however, so you drew yourself a nice bubble bath. That would be relaxing. The warm water and suds eased the muscles you didn’t realize were so tense. The annoyance you felt towards Steve was slowly being released as well. 

He said he had a surprise for you. Until now you didn’t give it much thought, but suddenly you really wanted to know what it was. You had an idea, though. Steve had made several comments about settling down together, being with you forever. He had to be planning a proposal which made you even more annoyed he never showed up. 

You sank down farther into the water, trying to calm yourself down again. Getting all worked up again wasn’t going to change anything. You got stood up at a nice restaurant and now might be spending Christmas alone. But it was fine. This wasn’t the end of the world. Deep breathes.    

You stayed in the tub until the water turned cold. Only then did you get out and wrap yourself in a big, fluffy robe. You grabbed your phone again and checked for messages. None. 

Now you were starting to get angry. Your whole evening was wasted because Steve didn't show up. If you would have known, he wasn't going to show you would have made other plans.

But it’s still technically Christmas and dammit, you were going to enjoy it. You got into your comfiest, softest, pajamas, grabbed the book you had been meaning to keep reading and headed to your bedroom. You were going to enjoy Christmas night with or without Steve. 

No sooner had you snuggled up did you hear your front door open. Steve and yourself were the only ones with keys so you knew it had to be him. Opening your book, you decided to just ignore him until he came into the room. You were still mad after all. 

With heavy feet, you heard him cross the threshold. “Nice of you to show up.” Your tone was icy, and you refused to look up, knowing the instant you saw his blue eyes you would cave. 

He didn’t say anything at first, just gave a heavy sigh. “I know.” You peaked up and saw him kicking off his shoes. His suit was ripped and bloodied. Not the first time he’s come home like this. You were familiar with him coming home with black eyes and busted lips. Smelling of mud and gunpowder. It always broke your heart, but you knew how quickly he could heal.

Closing your book, you set it on your bedside table. “I waited.” Crossing your arms over your chest you remained irritated. “For hours at the restaurant. You never showed up. It was humiliating.” 

"I know," he repeated, walking over to you and sitting down on the bed. "Sweetheart, I'm so so sorry." 

"What was the reason this time?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "We were on our way back from Russia when we were alerted about a nearby Hydra cell forming. We wanted to tackle it before anything happened." 

As far as excuses go it wasn't the worst, but it didn't make you feel any less upset. "You said you had a surprise for me." Changing the subject seemed like the best decision. And you wanted to know what it was.

"I do." He got up and went to the closet, rummaging around it. "It was hard finding a hiding place you wouldn't find while cleaning." A small box was in his hands as he came back to the bed, getting down on one knee next to you. “You’re my best girl, Y/N. I wanted to ask you to marry me.” 

Your heart melted instantly. “Steve…” He opened the box and pulled out the ring. Simple, elegant, with a round diamond in the center. It was perfect. 

“Is that a yes?” His blue eyes sparkled with hope and love. 

You wanted to just blindly say yes. You wanted to say yes and kiss him and just tell him over and over again how much you loved him. “Steve, I…I don’t know.” 

Steve was a big guy but, in that moment, he looked so small. And hurt. “That’s okay, doll.” He put the ring back in its box. He slowly got up; eyes cast down. 

“Just…” You grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the bed with you. “I want to marry you, Steve. I swear to you, I do.” He was still guarded as he sat and watched you. The ring box being clutched in his large hands. “But I need you to want to marry me, too.” 

“I thought getting a ring and proposing was a pretty big indicator that I do.” 

“Yes, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. Like today, when I wasted my night waiting for you to show up.” 

“Sweetheart, you know I-”

You raised your hand to cut him off. “I know, Steve. I know. Duty calls. But sometimes I want to call too. I want to be the one you’re putting before everything else.”

He sighed, running his hand over his face, smearing the dirt and blood that covered his skin. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I need to get better at making sure you’re a priority. I’ll work on putting missions aside and putting you first.” 

“You promise?” 

“I promise.” 

You reached up and touched his cheek. His usually smooth skin now feeling gritty from the debris. It didn’t matter to you, though. After a swift kiss to his lips you said, “I’d love to marry you, Steve Rogers.” 

His whole face lit up at the words and he slipped the ring onto your finger. “I love you so much, sweetheart.” He planted another kiss on your lips, needy and hungry. Leaving your breathless. “I’m sorry I was late,” he repeated, resting his forehead against yours.

“It’s okay. Make it up to me now?” You batted your lashes sweetly, teasingly. 

Your reward was another hungry kiss from your fiancé as he climbed on top of you. “With pleasure. Merry Christmas, baby doll.” 

“Merry Christmas,” you gasped, his lips going down your jaw. Maybe this Christmas wasn’t totally wasted. 

Year 4 

“Jesus fucking christ,” you cried, frustrated and angry. You had lost track of how many times you had tried to call Steve and had it go straight to voicemail. “Where the fuck is he!?”

Natasha sat by your bedside, holding your hand. “I’m sure he’s on his way home.” 

“You don’t understand, Nat!” You bit, lashing out at your friend. “He was supposed to be home at the latest yesterday! He said he wasn’t going to miss Christmas this year but guess what? It’s here and he’s not! And to top it off, I’m in the fucking hospital! But where’s my husband? Who fucking knows!” 

You weren’t surprised at how calm Natasha was being. She was highly skilled and trained at being an assassin. And her calm demeanor was exactly what you needed right now. “Hey,” she said, leaning forward, elbows resting on the white, scratchy hospital blankets. “He’s coming, okay? He will be here.” 

You threw your head back into the flat pillows, laughing bitterly. “Yeah. I’m sure he will.” 

She gave your hand a squeeze. “He loves you and you know that. He just got a little caught up. None of us knew you would be in the hospital today. Including him.”  

Groaning in frustration you said, “That’s not the point! The point is that he said he would be here and he’s not. He should have been here when it all happened. He was supposed to cut back on all the fucking missions.” 

Wordlessly, she grabbed the tissues that were sitting on your bedside table. She handed a few to you and you graciously accepted. Wiping your eyes of the tears that had slipped out. “I just want my husband.” 

“I know.” She continued stroking your hand, her skin softer than it should be. “I promise you he’ll be here soon. How many voicemails have you left him? And Sam? And Bucky? The moment one of them get the message Steve’ll rush right over.” 

“I just wish he was here now." You felt defeated. There was nothing you or her could do to make Steve come any faster. All you could do was wait.

Hours ticked by, doctors and nurses came and went, gross hospital food picked over. You sent Natasha home wanting to be alone for a while. She complied saying she'd just be a phone call away if you needed her.

If only you could say the same thing about Steve.

The doctors wanted to keep you overnight for observations. You were trying to get comfortable in the flat hospital bed when your door burst open and Steve came running in. He was still in his stealth suit, obviously fresh from the mission. 

“I got here as soon as I could,” he panted, sitting next to you on the bed. He grabbed your hand, his blue eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“You were supposed to be here.” You were so relieved to have him here but that didn’t take away the pain and anger you felt. “You were supposed to be here days ago.”

“I know. Sweetheart, I know. Things got a little out of hand-”

“You said you were gonna cut back on the missions.” Tears started to form in your eyes. “You were gonna put me first. Put us first.” 

“I know. I know.”  He tightened his hold on your hand. “I know I promised you that. I’m trying. I really am-”

You didn’t want to hear whatever excuse he had. “I needed you here, Steve.” 

“Y/N, I-”

“Our child needed you here.” 

He froze for a second, caught off guard from your comment. “Child?” He asked, saying the word slowly. Trying to figure it out. “Are… are you pregnant?”

“Yes,” you hissed. “And you would know that if you were fucking here!”

“What? When?”

“Two days after you left for the mission you weren’t going to go on,” you bit. “You should have been there with me when I took the test. You should have been there this morning when I started to bleed.” You pulled your hand from him, furiously wiped the tears that fell from your eyes. “God, I was alone, Steve! Alone and scared and worried I’d lose the child you didn’t even know we had!” 

His whole body heaved with his sigh and you knew he felt bad. “I’m sorry.” His voice sounded hollow, defeated and raw. “I told you last year I was going to do better and I haven’t lived up to that.”

“No,” you chimed in. “You haven’t. I can’t keep doing things like this, Steve. I can’t. Not with a little one on the way.” 

“I know. That’s not fair to either of you.” 

Something broke within you, your sobs being unleashed. All you wanted now was for Steve to hold you. Tell you everything would be alright. That he would be here, forever and always. You wanted - needed - him by your side like the partner he claimed to be. 

You curled your knees to your chest, pulling them in close. “I was so scared, Steve. What if something happened to the baby? Who was gonna be there for me?”

He was by you side in an instant, squished in the small hospital bed. You were scooped up in his arms, his scent and warmth a familiar comfort. Bringing you the peace you hadn’t felt since he left. 

“I’m sorry.” He repeated, whispering the words into your hair. “I fucked up, okay? I know I did. And I’m so, so sorry you had to deal with that alone.” 

“I’ve been stuck here in this stupid hospital bed on Christmas waiting for my husband to come home,” you cried, clinging to him. 

His arms tightened around you, smashing you against his strong chest. You felt safe and protected, something you had been missing. 

“I’m home,” he said, combing your hair with his fingers. “I’m home and I’m not going to leave you.” 

You knew better than to ask him to promise. He’d already broken it once before and you didn’t want to put yourself in a situation where he would do it again. Instead, you remained silent, just enjoying the fact that your child was fine, and Steve was here. Steve was home.

It was quiet for a while, the only sound you heard was his beating heart. Calming and rhythmic, it helped you relax until your eyes started to close. 

Steve’s voice was soft and smooth, helping lull you to sleep. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.” 

Year 5

Dinner had been served, presents opened, friends and family had come and gone. You would say it had been a great Christmas. 

Except someone was missing. 

You weren’t surprised at all. Disappointed and hurt, yes. But surprised? Sadly not. 

You were curled up on your couch, scrolling through the pictures you had taken on your phone. It was your daughter’s first Christmas and you were happy you captured so many memories. While she was still so small, she loved being held by her family and she loved the brightly colored papers and lights. Her smiles were tiny, but they were there, and they warmed your heart every time you saw one. 

The clock was approaching midnight, signaling Christmas’s end. You wanted to go to bed, but decided to stay up, wanting to wait for Steve to get home. 

A few minutes later, the door creaked open and your husband walked in. He looked tired and frustrated as he closed the door. “You’re still up,” he said, a small, hopeful smile forming on his lips. 

“I am,” you said coolly. “Emily’s not. She’s been down for hours now. You missed it all.” 

You were all too familiar with his sigh and the way his hand ran through his hair and down his face. “I know,” he said, the words sounding broken and meaningless to you. 

“This was her first Christmas.”

“I know and I’m so sorry I’m late-”

“I’m not the one you have to apologize to, Steven. I’m used to being disappointed by now. But she’s not.” 

“Y/N…” He crossed the living room, approaching where you sat on the couch. "I'm sorry."

Your gaze at him was hard, calloused by so many apologies and empty promises. "This was her first Christmas and you weren't here at all."

"I know but… but she's so little. She's not gonna remember that I was gone," he tried to rationalize. 

"That doesn't fucking matter. She's gonna grow up and see all these pictures from today and she's gonna know you were too busy to spend time with her."

"I was doing it for her!" Steve was starting to get frustrated. His fists clenched at his sides. "I was making the world safer for her!"

"She should be your world!" You got up from the couch, anger spreading through your body, making it hard to stay still. "You've promised again and again that you were gonna slow down, especially after Emily was born. But have you? No!" 

"You know how important this is," Steve growled. "I'm trying to keep you guys safe!"

"By being god knows where doing god knows what?" You threw your hands up in exasperation. "You can keep us safe here. You don't have to leave for that!"

"The threats aren't always here! They're-"

"Then it sounds like it's someone else's problem yet somehow you keep ending up with it. I fell in love with Steve Rogers but all I've gotten is Captain America."

Your last comment silenced him, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to do what's best." 

"Best for who?" You asked, pushing past him and going to your daughters’ room. You kept the lights off, not wanting to wake her. 

"Hi, baby girl," you whispered, gently running your fingers through the soft, wisps of her hair. Blonde, just like her daddy. She looked so much like her daddy. "Mommy loves you so much." You tenderly kissed her forehead before silently walking out, closing the door behind you. 

Steve was right where you left him, almost frozen in place. "Y/N…" he tried to call to you, reach out to you. "I love you, sweetheart."

Those simple words nearly broke you but dammit you were not going to cry over the man who perpetually put saving the world first and you second. "I can't do this anymore, Steve." You grabbed your jacket hanging up next to the front door. "I'm gonna go stay with Nat for the rest of the night."

You had seen him broken from battles before but not like this. The sparkle had left his eyes making him look so vulnerable and fragile. "Y/N… baby, please don't do this."

"Spend some time with your daughter " you said, ignoring his pleas. "You haven't seen her in weeks." 

"Y/N…" he reached out to you again and you pulled away, knowing his touch would make it that much harder.

As you walked out the door you called back to him, "Merry fucking Christmas." The door slammed shut just as the clock chimed midnight, signaling the holiday was officially over.

Tags: @teddybeardoctorr @lancsnerd @patzammit

[redbeanboi]

'Fire and Ice’: Parallels Between Jon Snow and Giorno Giovanna (Part 2 of ?)

While I’m taking a quick break from writing—let me get back into this. I’ve been re-reading parts of AGOT, and... I’ve found a lot of material that I want to use for this section.

First post can be found here.

Warnings: Extended Spoilers ahead for JJBA: Vento Aureo and ASoIaF.

I’ve discussed Ambitions and Childhood, but I haven’t talked about Personality.... Most especially the uncanny, bizarre charisma these two possess. 

Giorno and Jon are quiet and keep to themselves. They’re also very very bad at setting good first impressions. 

Before Jon is allowed to take his vows, he has to train in the yard at Castle Black with the other recruits. And... as expected of Lord Stark’s “bastard,” Jon—the teenager who lived in a castle and was trained by knights—is able to beat these fellow recruits (untrained, lowly born kids) singlehandedly and even breaks someone’s wrist because sparring with them is just child’s play to him. 

“They’re not my brothers,” Jon snapped. “They hate me because I’m better than they are.” 

“No. They hate you because you act like you’re better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he’s a lordling.” The armorer leaned close. “You’re no lordling. Remember that. You’re a Snow, not a Stark. You’re a bastard and a bully.” 

“A bully?” Jon almost choked on the word. The accusation was so unjust it took his breath away. “They were the ones who came after me. Four of them.” 

“Four that you’ve humiliated in the yard. Four who are probably afraid of you. I’ve watched you fight. It’s not training with you. Put a good edge on your sword, and they’d be dead meat; you know it, I know it, they know it. You leave them nothing. You shame them. Does that make you proud?”

— A Game of Thrones, Jon III

Not exactly making a splendid figure for himself as a recruit for the Night’s Watch.

Luckily for him, that scolding from Donal Noye leads Jon to reflect on the error of his ways and ultimately drives Jon to apologize and make friends with his new brothers. In good spirit, Jon offers to help them train and even makes them laugh, and would you look at that—everyone’s warming up to him!

Others were gathering around and looking at him curiously. Jon noticed Grenn a few feet away. A thick woolen bandage was wrapped around one hand. He looked anxious and uncomfortable, not menacing at all. Jon went to him. Grenn edged backward and put up his hands. “Stay away from me now, you bastard.” 

Jon smiled at him. “I’m sorry about your wrist. Robb used the same move on me once, only with a wooden blade. It hurt like seven hells, but yours must be worse. Look, if you want, I can show you how to defend that.” 

Alliser Thorne overheard him. “Lord Snow wants to take my place now.” He sneered. “I’d have an easier time teaching a wolf to juggle than you will training this aurochs.” 

“I’ll take that wager, Ser Alliser,” Jon said. “I’d love to see Ghost juggle.” 

Jon heard Grenn suck in his breath, shocked. Silence fell. 

Then Tyrion Lannister guffawed. Three of the black brothers joined in from a nearby table. The laughter spread up and down the benches, until even the cooks joined in. The birds stirred in the rafters, and finally even Grenn began to chuckle.

—A Game of Thrones, Jon III

Giorno on the other hand is just... He’s quiet and the other guys probably only feel unsettled by his sudden appearance (this is my interpretation of course, I know people just love the idea of an evil and manipulative Giorno) in Chapter 456.

They’re in a dangerous line of work and having some stranger join—and inevitably disrupt the existing dynamics on their team—is not a prospect they welcome wholeheartedly. It’s only because of Bruno’s endorsement that they kind of suck it up. 

But... not before trying to pull a prank on the unsuspecting new guy.

Pictured above: Four people who could not give a flying f*ck about welcoming the new guy.

Pictured above: Same four guys who are proceeding to ignore their new teammate.

Pictured above: Same four guys trying to pull a sneaky one.

Giorno finally catches the drift and sees that he’ll have to put in a little more effort if he wants to be taken seriously around here... 

And for some reason that means drinking the piss-tea. But sure, he “turned his tooth into a jellyfish.” Of course you did, dear Giorno.

Protagonists rising above their peers’ expectations is a trope you see throughout a lot of Shounen manga. Naruto is one that comes to mind, but there’s tons, and you even see it in Phantom Blood with Jonathan. This same device is present in VA with Giorno, who does it again and again. 

And just as Jon manages to impress the recruits (and even some of the sworn brothers), Giorno manages to turn the tables around and impress Bruno’s team. And this is not a solitary event. If anything, these few pages are only the beginning, and you see throughout VA that Giorno continues to earn their trust and admiration. 

This arc also applies to Jon, who goes from very unpopular bully to a leader (and eventually Lord Commander of the entire Watch) as the series progresses. He and Giorno have a knack for winning people over, and it’s precisely why people look to them for leadership. When things take a turn for the worst during the attack on Castle Black, everyone turns to Jon for guidance. Jon won their trust and they’re ready to follow his commands.

Giorno, on the other hand, does not have many solo fights, but his presence and influence are very evident when his teammates are despairing. One arc that comes to mind is the Talking Head arc. Narancia is able to keep moving because of Giorno. Giorno’s stand literally gives life to inanimate objects, and just as Gold Experience gives life force to everyday knickknacks, Giorno is able to inspire and breathe new life into his teammates. Charisma is a central trait to both of these characters and it’s one of their most notable traits—probably one of the traits that distinguishes them as leaders, too. Hm. 👀

—————

A/N: I actually have some stuff about Aragorn that I wanted to add (because Jon Snow is DEFINITELY GRRM’s version of Aragorn and our dear Estel has to also deal with rising above expectations and whatnot in LOTR), but uh.... seeing that this is about Jon and Giorno, I left it out. Let me know if you’re interested in seeing those additions to this meta. 

Edit on 06/23/20 — Changed the title to the meta because I remembered this old post I made.

[nelvana]

In which the dungeon with fossil foes is explored

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the land between time is explored Previous: In which the territory of others is crossed

     While their early steps into Brine Cave surrounded them in darkness, it did not take them long to reach a brighter room, the beginning of the dungeon. The walls were covered in brown rocks like those that covered the cavern outside, as well as some blue rocks that seemed to be what was providing them light here. A small pool of water was located in this room, with a trickling stream that led out further into the dungeon. The water itself, was a sea green, just like the ocean. Under their feet was a mix of sand and rocks like those outside, giving an odd texture as they walked over it.

    “Before we get too far… we’re getting to the serious dungeons now, next is Hidden Land, and then Temporal Tower. We’ll want to figure out our actual strategy here,” Nelvana announced, turning back to look at everyone else. “Would have been better to do this outside… but would have been awkward to say goodbye to Daichi and Sabi, and then just sit there and talk for awhile,” she added.

    Alex nodded, “agreed. So, how do we want to do this?”

    “W-Well, it might help if we organize by everyone’s roles in battle,” Damien spoke up hesitantly, stepping up closer with everyone else after an encouraging nod from Nelvana.

    “Everyone’s roles?” Ceebee repeated, “go on, I’m curious about what you mean by that.”

    “I mean, some of us are hard hitters that attack fast, and some of us are better suited for range, for example. It will be best to spread those people apart in our lineup,” Damien clarified.

    “That makes sense,” Tsuki agreed, nodding. “Do you already have an idea of who fits what role, or is that something we should discuss?”

    “It shouldn’t be hard to work out…” Damien responded, shrugging. “Okay, so, Nel, Alex, and Tsuki are all up close fighters, strikers, though they have a couple ranged moves each, so they can move around throughout the lineup and switch with others, but we’ll probably want one to the front, one to the middle, and one in the back.”

    “Well, previously we’ve had Nel at the front and myself at the back, and that worked out fine, so we can keep that up,” Alex told him.

    Damien nodded, “if you all agree to that, then that should work,” he replied, “and then myself, Edgar, and Ceebee are more of support, with a few attacking moves each, mostly ranged, to protect ourselves with if so needed…”

    “You should all be spaced apart as well, one to the middle, one in front, and one in the back,” Nelvana chimed back in, “since Alex will be in the back and is one of the ones with a bag… Damien, you should be set up at the front.”

    “I can be at the back!” Ceebee eagerly volunteered, “you’re okay with that, Edgar?”

    “Yup!” Edgar hummed, bobbing in the air over to Tsuki, who smiled up at him.

    “What about Dusknoir and I?” Keahi asked, “we don’t match in our battle styles, or roles.”

    “Definitely,” Nelvana chuckled, reaching over to her partner to ruffle zir feathers with a hand. “You’re mixed between ranged and up close, and Dusknoir is… he’s….”

    “Dusknoir is a wall,” Damien finished.

    “A… wall?” Dusknoir repeated, seemingly confused on whether he should be offended or not.

    “Yeah, you’ve got good defenses, can take a lot of hits,” Damien explained, “would that be right?”

    Dusknoir blinked, “yes… that would be correct. I can still attack though.”

    “Not in the same way as the strikers,” Damien responded.

    “…where did you learn about these… role titles?” Dusknoir questioned.

    “Oh, they were… uh, just common terms for trainers to use when planning how their teams would go into battle,” Damien answered, shrugging.

    Alex coughed, “and, where would that put him in the lineup, Damien?” he interrupted.

    “Right! Hm… well, either the front or the back. I’d probably say the back, just because he’s been there in most of our experience, and it’s… a bit hard to see past him,” Damien said.

    “I am fine with that,” Dusknoir agreed, and then glanced over at Alex and Ceebee. “So long as you both are okay with me being closer around you.”

    Alex rose a brow at Dusknoir’s comment, though he instinctively frowned at the ghost-type, stiffening slightly. Ceebee blinked, just as surprised as the grovyle that Dusknoir bothered checking if they would be okay or not at all.

    “Well…” Ceebee glanced over at Alex. “…yeah, we’ll be fine,” she decided.

    “We’ve lasted this long together,” Alex muttered.

    Nelvana turned over to the two of them, concern softening her eyes. Looking up to meet her gaze, Alex let out a sigh, and then gave her a thumbs up.

    “And I can be up front, to even things out!” Keahi suggested, cutting through any growing pessimistic attitude.

    Damien nodded, “that sounds good!” he agreed, “so that would make our actual lineup…”

    “Me, Keahi, you… Tsuki, Edgar… er, Dusknoir, Ceebee, then Alex; unless anyone objects,” Nelvana said.

    After waiting a few moments and receiving no disagreements to the plan, the group set out to follow their order they figured out and actually take on the dungeon, heading down the path closest to them for ease of travel.

    “It’s nice that we didn’t get attack or anything through that!” Edgar commented, “we got some good time to talk through all that.”

    “We hadn’t started moving around much before then, the spawn must not have realized we’re here yet,” Tsuki told him.

    “They will soon though,” Nelvana added, “and there are traps here too… dang, I’ll have to be careful where I lead us,” she continued in a mumble.

    “W-Wait, didn’t Daichi say that this was a mainly water dungeon?” Damien blurted out, “maybe we should have planned differently…” he mumbled.

    “Don’t worry! You can back us up with thunderbolt, right?” Keahi responded.

    “I still haven’t quite gotten it down yet…” Damien admitted quietly.

    “This is just our general lineup plan for any future dungeons, we won’t be able to adapt them all to our typing,” Nelvana told him, “I’d say you did really well getting most of this set up, and we can always switch around a bit if Keahi and I start having difficulties,” she continued.

    “Daichi also said there are only fifteen floors too, right?” Edgar added, waiting a nod of confirmation to his memory from Tsuki before he went on. “So, we’ve been through longer dungeons, this shouldn’t be too bad!”

    Assured by these words from his friends, Damien nodded and quieted down, focusing on what they had ahead.

    Despite their quiet start, by the end of their first winding corridor they had chosen, they began running into their first dungeon pokemon of Brine Cave. A seel and an omanyte, sat in the next room they ran into, and were quick to turn and attack. Nelvana was just as quick to tap her club twice on the ground before throwing it at her opponents, the bone hitting the seel and then bouncing off it to hit the omanyte before returning to the cubone. The bonemerang did enough to defeat both of the spawn, the pair disappearing in a flash of light.

    “Water-types don’t resist my ground attacks, and any of the fossils will be weak to ‘em. I just need to hit harder, first, to avoid my own weakness,” Nelvana commented, glancing back at Damien, who nodded once more.

    The next spawn to show up, a tirtouga, only confirmed Nelvana’s comment as she handled it with another whack from her club, but by the next floor, things started getting trickier. They discovered that there were pelippers in this dungeon, which would actually resist most of Nelvana and Keahi’s attacks. The first pelipper was met towards the end of a hallway, the beginnings of another room barely visible past the water-flying-type.

    Shaky, but eager to help, Damien stretched out a hand and did his best to at least start a spark of his thunderbolt attack he had learned from the TM. Quickly though, he grew more frustrated and panicky as nothing happened, ruining his focus for trying to use the attack.

    Noticing this, Nelvana glanced back to Keahi.

    “If you can give me an opening, I can use focus energy and hope for a crit with headbutt. Even if that doesn’t take this thing down, hopefully it’ll use enough time to get more of us into the room or something,” she told zim, who nodded.

    “I’ll quick attack them, so get ready to duck so I can jump over you,” Keahi responded.

    Following her partner’s instructions, Nelvana ducked down, immediately taking this time to focus herself again in preparation for her next attack. While she did this, Keahi leapt up, suddenly earning speed in the air which launched zim at the pelipper. Before it could recover, Nelvana dove in to headbutt the foe, knocking out the pelipper with the extra damage she dealt after the focus energy.

    “Great job!” Damien told them, letting out a sigh of relief. “Sorry I couldn’t help…”

    Nelvana brushed herself off, getting back up, “no worries, you’ll figure out thunderbolt eventually. It’s times like these anyway that might help you force that attack out.”

    “Getting stuck in a hallway like this in battle was unfortunate though… not everyone can contribute to the fight then,” Keahi commented.

    “This is merely the challenge of having a larger group. We’ll have to keep getting used to it,” Tsuki told them with a sigh.

    Keeping what Tsuki said in mind, they continued on. The words especially rang true when spawn came from behind the group, forcing Alex and the others at the back to take care of the danger. Fortunately, Alex’s typing was much better suited here than those who were put at the front, which meant taking care of dungeon pokemon here came with much more ease. It made them feel a bit better about making sure to prepare by putting a hard hitter at the back of the group to cover all their bases.

    They continued up another couple floors handling most of their foes either by a couple hits from Nelvana, a combo hit from her and Keahi, or, when the spawn showed up behind them, an easy leaf blade from Alex. Fortunately, pelippers seemed to be the only opponent so far that would force any sort of challenge. There were gastrodons in Brine Cave as well, but their defenses being lower than any pelipper meant they could be handled by Nelvana without any difficulty so long as she got the jump on them. Unfortunately, it would have been unlikely that they would have only ever run into a single pelipper in the entire dungeon.

    Still mildly frustrated by how he couldn’t assist against one of these water-flying-types before, Damien again began trying to figure out how to use his thunderbolt attack the very moment the group’s second pelipper of the dungeon showed up. After fruitlessly trying to conjure the electric energy on his own for a few moments, Damien turned around to try a new strategy.

    “Tsuki, I have an idea for me to use thunderbolt, but I need you, can I touch your fur?” he requested hurriedly.

    Confused, but knowing that if this was to work then she shouldn’t waste time asking questions, Tsuki nodded. Damien reached over, causing Tsuki to flinch at his cold touch at first, and rubbed his hand in her fur. After a few moments, he took his hand out, some of the fur standing up where he had touched the absol.

    “I sure hope static electricity will be good enough to get me started…” Damien muttered until his breath.

    Trying once more to conjure the needed energy for the attack, Damien snapped his fingers on the hand that he touched Tsuki with, this time earning some electric sparks flying off from his fingertips. Pointing his hand at the pelipper, he tried again. Finally, all his efforts came together as lightning leapt forward from his hand, resulting in a bolt of electricity striking the pelipper. Being slightly damaged already from Keahi beginning zir and Nelvana’s combo strategy, the pelipper was easily defeated from the super effective attack, and it disappeared in a flash of light.

    “You did it!” Edgar exclaimed, clapping his hands.

    “You said that was static electricity, right?” Tsuki commented, shaking out her fur. “That was an interesting, but effective, strategy to get your attack started. I do hope you don’t have to do it every time, though.”

    Damien laughed, “I hope so too. I just figured that if I was having trouble making electricity myself, I could borrow it from elsewhere. Creating static was the first thing I could think of.”

    “That was a good idea,” Nelvana chimed in, “and you were out here saying you aren’t good at thinking in the moment,” she teased, nudging him with her club.

    “I’m usually not!” Damien sputtered, but then laughed again. “I’m honestly surprised that actually worked. I was just tired of it… not working.”

    “Well, let’s see if you can do it again when we find another pelipper!” Keahi responded, “see, this is good practice for you!”

    With the thunderbolt attack finally learned, the group continued forward with much more ease. Though Nelvana recommended that Damien save his thunderbolt attack for opponents that were actually causing troubles to her and Keahi so he could save his energy, they found more pokemon than just the pelippers that were dangerous to the pair at the front. Reaching the eighth floor even introduced them to some dragonair, which, after commenting that now they were finally seeing these dragon-types up close, meant that sometimes Tsuki would have to use ice beam from afar to make sure the dragonair didn’t get a leg up with all their resistances.

    They arrived at the safe floor without too much trouble though, and took the moment to catch their breath and review how things were going before moving on. Fortunately, no one seemed to be having troubles with their current setup. Even Alex and Ceebee, who while they admitted to having some discomfort around Dusknoir, the two of them were able to keep themselves chatting a bit to help themselves out. And while Alex didn’t admit it at least, Dusknoir did help out when a dragonair had shown up at the back, and couldn’t simply be easily dispatched by a single leaf blade.

    Surprisingly, as they realized in the time they spent resting, they hadn’t found any sign of any traps so far. Nelvana hadn’t found any spots she guessed to hide traps, and no one had accidentally stepped on any of the horrid tiles. Accounting this to luck, but still resolving to keep their guards up for any of the traps that Daichi had warned them of, they moved on.

    Having only six floors left to go and feeling confident, the group pushed forward with determination. For the first floor after the safe room, their progress went relatively the same as before, but on the second floor, they found a new pokemon; a walrein. This at first seemed to pose more of a problem because of how the large pokemon had so much health to work through, but then the group discovered that the walrein either didn’t actually know, or preferred not to use, any water-type moves. Because of this, any walrein could be handled easily with any fighting-type move from the pair at the front, or a helpful thunderbolt from Damien, so long as Nelvana avoided any aurora beams in the time it took to wear their opponent down.

    Finally, they arrived to the sixth floor of Brine Cave. Here, it opened up into a wide tunnel, which lacked any of the glowing blue stones that had previously lit their way, which swallowing most of the room into shadows.

    “Where are the fossil pokemon…?” Keahi whispered, scanning the area. “This is the last floor, right? Wouldn’t they be here?”

    ~*They’re hiding in the shadows, be ready for a fight,*~ Ceebee’s voice informed everyone suddenly through telepathy.

    Tense, the group waited for any signs of their forewarned opponents… but nothing happened. Hesitantly, Nelvana took a step forward, and when still nothing happened, she held up her club to her face. She managed to cough out a small flame, which landed on the bone and remained there, dancing as a self-made torch to light the way. Slowly, she raised the club up, before throwing it down the tunnel.

    The torch spun as it was thrown, lighting up whatever was hidden in the darkness with the flames which continued burning on the bone. As the ceiling was revealed, so were Kabutops and their two omastar partners, hanging from the ceiling and silently glaring down at the group. The torch passed them, lighting up the walls where two cradily attached themselves to the sides, and an archeops sat perched on a stalagmite. Even further was an armaldo, again digging their claws into the ceiling to hang there. All of them stared at the group, aggression burning in their eyes.

    The bone club spun back, returning to Nelvana’s hand, which had begun shaking slightly.

    The flame went out. It was silent.

    “Look out!” Tsuki yelled, breaking the tension filled silence.

    Just as Tsuki spoke, Kabutops let out a screech, enveloping themself in water and diving at the cubone with their aqua jet attack. At the same time, Tsuki lunged forward, just barely tackling Kabutops out of the way of hitting Nelvana, shoving the fossil pokemon to the side. The two tussled for a couple seconds, before Kabutops leapt back, hissing at Tsuki, who bared her teeth and growled back, frost beginning to puff from her mouth. Kabutops dove at Tsuki, slashing with one of their scythe arms. Tsuki leapt out of the way, but still had her hind leg nicked by the blade, forcing her to adapt to more of a limping gait.

    With Kabutops having launched into battle, the rest of the tunnel roared into action. The silence of before became a distant and longing memory as the remaining fossil pokemon scrambled over to the rest of the group to attack.

    The two omastar arrived first, being the closest to the group from their earlier position on the ceiling. Alex acted swiftly, singling out one of the rock-water-types and slashing at them with a leaf blade attack. As the other omastar began crawling over to Nelvana, she accepted her opponent, whipping her club at them, hitting twice with the bonemerang before returning to her hands.

    Archeops dove ahead next, aiming for Alex during the period he would be distracted against Omastar, but Archeops’ hunt was halted as a shadow ball nailed them in the side of the head. Advancing to block Archeops from the battle going on between Omastar and Alex, Dusknoir readied another shadow ball between his hands.

    “I am your opponent,” Dusknoir rumbled, narrowing his eye at Archeops. “Face me, not him.”

    Not too picky about their foe, Archeops hissed in return, leaping to attack Dusknoir, shadows gathering at their claws and talons.

    Alex blinked, confused and momentarily distracted by Dusknoir’s action and words. Seeing the window of opportunity, Omastar opened their mouth and bit down onto the grovyle’s arm with dark energy. Hissing, Alex turned his focus to the matter at hand, retaliating by using absorb to regain some of the health he had lost in his moment of weakness.

    As the remaining three dungeon pokemon continued their advance, so did the remaining four of the traveling group. Though Keahi glanced over at Nelvana and Alex’s fights, zie knew that zie would be more of help against any of the other three foes, and thus zie continued onward. The two cradilies and the armaldo began closing in on the torchic, failing to notice Ceebee, Edgar, and Damien also joining in the fight.

    Edgar acted first, flames dancing on his robes before being launched towards Armaldo as wisps, searing their armor. Damien stretched both his hands in front of him, palms facing a cradily, which shot out a ray of energy, hitting the foe’s green body. Cradily’s head swayed, any previous focus replaced with dizziness and confusion. After seeing the effectiveness of his move, though, Damien scanned this battleground more, settling on disappearing and reappearing by Tsuki to assist her against Kabutops.

    Unlike the other two, Ceebee reacted offensively, creating the silvery image of herself and forming it as an ancient power attack, which she launched at the untouched cradily. Keahi doubled up on this, kicking the same cradily with zir rock smash attack before they could have the chance to think of recovering from what Ceebee had done to them.

    Tsuki and Kabutops were still locked in a relentless battle, the absol’s slight speed disadvantage cutting the fight a lot closer than she would like. She shot a beam of ice at her opponent, who jumped to avoid the attack. Letting out a growl of annoyance, Tsuki lunged at them, landing a hit with quick attack and following it up with a swipe from her forepaws, brooding with dark energy. Kabutops screeched again, but before they could get another hit in, they were suddenly struck by a bolt of electricity, forcing them to their knees. Tsuki took the chance to force her weight onto the foe, pinning them to the ground before they could stand again and scratching at their plate armor until they were defeated.

    “Thank you,” Tsuki told Damien in a gasp, who nodded back.

    Omastar wasted no time in attacking their ground-type opponent, shooting a powerful stream of water from their mouth at Nelvana. Knowing she had no time to dodge, Nelvana braced herself for the hit, turning to her side to shield herself. To her mild surprise, instead of being hit she heard a shatter. Blinking open her eyes that she had instinctively closed, she glimpsed a shield in front of her taking the brunt of the attack, shattering upon impact though. Distantly, it occurred to Nelvana that this had to be protect; one of the TMs everyone went ahead and learned, just in case. Piecing together what move this was also told her that it wouldn’t work at well the second time, knowing the nature of the move protect, so she swiftly closed the gap between her and Omastar, clubbing them over their shell with her weapon.

    She moved to hit them again with the same attack, but Omastar reached out their tentacles first, wrapping them around Nelvana’s arm and the bone itself. Nelvana tugged against their grip, but quickly gave up on this and opted to kick them in the face with her brick break attack instead. Omastar staggered back, removing their grip from Nelvana as they attempted to recover. Before they could get that chance though, Alex dove in, punching the omastar with an electrified fist, finally knocking them out; the omastar he had been fighting before already defeated as well.

    “Made it out of that without a scratch?” Alex commented, “maybe you didn’t need my help after all,” he joked.

    “Only because I managed to use protect,” Nelvana clarified, “I probably still could have handled it, but thanks though.”

    Dusknoir gripped Archeops by the throat. It had been no trouble for him to handle this foe; archeops by default were powerful attackers, but had poor defenses that were only worsened by their ability. His first shadow ball attack, if he were to guess, had already taken Archeops near to half their health, so it was no trouble to force their defeatist ability to kick in, rendering them easy for Dusknoir to finish off. While Archeops certainly got some hits in before Dusknoir was able to grapple them like this, it wasn’t much to him.

    “I could kill you,” Dusknoir whispered to Archeops, “you are weak compared to me, it would be easy. You were in my way,” he growled.

    Archeops valiantly struggled against Dusknoir’s grasp, swiping their claws in the air and snapping their teeth at Dusknoir’s face. Despite all their efforts, Dusknoir did not budge in the slightest. In fact, as if to prove his point, he tightened his fingers around their neck.

    It would be easy, he knew. In fact, part of him itched to just get it over with, put this pest out of his way, and anyone else’s, for good. It was how he had always handled problems, obstacles, enemies, like these. Besides, in this case, wouldn’t ending this archeops keep them from hurting anyone again? Right?

    Would it be right? Would it be the right thing to do?

    Archeops gasped for breath.

    Keahi delivered one final kick to Armaldo, finally dropping them to the ground. Beside zim, were the two cradilies. Keahi, Ceebee, and Edgar worked together to take the first one down and start damaging the second, but after Tsuki, Damien, Nelvana, and Alex all came over to help out, the fight was over much faster and much more swimmingly. Keahi exhaled with relief and triumph.

    “Is that all of them?” zie asked, glancing around.

    “I do not sense anyone newcomers to the tunnel,” Ceebee informed them, “this fight should be over now, now that we’ve knocked out all the ones here.”

    “Are they all knocked out…?” Keahi paused, turning to look at Dusknoir. “Hey, Dusknoir, you good over there?”

    “Yes, I have finished my battle,” Dusknoir answered.

    He floated over to rejoin the others, the unconscious body of Archeops laying behind him, still softly breathing.

    Keahi nodded, “okay, that’s good. How’s everyone doing then? I have to admit I’ll probably need an oran, some of those rock and ground moves got to me.”

    “I’m feeling alright, might take a closer look at this bite later though… looks fine now, but I don’t know what’s been in that omastar’s mouth,” Alex responded, eyeing the now faint mark on his arm for a moment.

    “I have a few cuts, but I should only need a single oran for them,” Tsuki spoke up, sitting herself down momentarily to gingerly lick at the largest cut, the one on her leg.

    “You sure? That cut looks bad,” Edgar commented softly, floating down to the absol.

    “Maybe take it easy on that leg for the next while… if possible,” Damien added, “is the… the Hidden Land right up ahead?”

    “Not right up ahead, but close,” Ceebee answered, “we can take some time to recover if everyone wants, but we should keep moving ahead a bit longer; we wouldn’t want any others coming in here and starting another fight,” she continued.

    “Let’s keep moving then,” Tsuki agreed, pulling herself to her feet.

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the land between time is explored Previous: In which the territory of others is crossed

[mavmax]

Shockwave | Part I | Self Para

When: Friday, January 22nd

Where: Saint John’s Hospital, Santa Monica

Major Trigger Warnings: Hospitals, Cancer

Featuring: Lexa Maxwell, Izzy Maxwell, Nate Maxwell, & Victoria Maxwell

For the past year, Maverick has hated hospitals more than anything, but he’s sucked it up. With Izzy and Lexa working, he made it a mission to be there throughout every chemo session with his mom after class. It was something he kept secret aside from his sisters. He often lied and said to his friends that he had homework. Most times, he took his homework with him and he’d do it there while his mother dozed in and out of sleep as most times, she worked at night–even when she wasn’t supposed to. Stubbornness ran deep in the Maxwell family, of course. It was painful to see her in this state, so fragile and weak when she was known to be someone powerful, vibrant, and funny. It hurt him to see her this way and sometimes, it took a lot in him not to cry in front of her. All he could do was hope for a miracle.

Today kicked off another 3-day weekend, as his only class on Friday was cancelled yet again…he was pretty sure his professor was suffering morning sickness after the rumor that she had screwed the assistant coach for his team, but that was none of his business. At least the class was an easy A and he had time to take a nice long depression nap after chemo. When he walked into the room, there sat Victoria Maxwell, sitting up tall and high and sipping on water. Maverick was surprised to see her snacking and he raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, you’re eating?” He asked with the most perplexed look. “Well, one of the chefs suggested I tried a THC infused cookie that he makes for his shop and it was incredibly scrumptious but now I’m starving!” Victoria called out rather loudly.

Maverick had to try not to smirk, but Victoria could see right through that boy.

“I’m very much aware that I’m having an edible, Maverick Thomas.” “Hm? What? I didn’t say anything.” “You didn’t have to. That face of yours is pretty loud,” She smirked. “I’ve been dabbling a little in it lately. It helps with the nausea and some of the aches.” “I’d never thought I’d live to see the day where my mom’s stoned off her ass,” He teased. “Hush. I’m coming down from it, so afterwards, the session will start. Also, the doctor will be coming in today with some news,” Victoria pointed out. He could tell she already knew what it was, and that was what made Maverick’s heart sink. “Good news, I hope?” He managed to quirk up a small smile.

Victoria looked over to Maverick, her sweet boy and reached to put a hand on his cheek. He instinctively leaned into it. The one thing he could always say is that he was never touch starved, but he only saved moments like these with his parents, especially his mother. She could see past the bruised knuckles, the rambunctious bad boy, the cocky smile, and charming wit. Deep down, she just sees her little Mav. The little boy she held so tightly in her arms with his curious eyes, his big, jovial smile, and adventurous spirit. He would always be her little Mav. Her baby boy.

“Yeah, it’s good this time,” Victoria reassured him, letting her hand ruffle his now blonde hair. “Okay, good,” Mav breathed a sigh of relief. “So, while we wait, why don’t you catch me up on what’s been going on. I hear you’ve been giving your sisters migraines again…” Her look was pointed. It’s the same look Izzy would give him. It was easy to see which of his sisters favored a parent. Izzy definitely took after their mother and Lexa, their father. No surprise there. “Oh, you know, just doing typical Maverick things,” He grinned mischievously. “Mhm…” She took another sip of her water. “Like that mark on your neck, right?” His eyes widened in horror. “Mark, what mark?” He attempted to laugh off, but as Victoria’s eyes narrowed into slits, he then chimed in with, “I got a little carried away, but I promise, I’m being safe.” “Well, whoever that person was clearly didn’t want you with anyone else if I can still see that mark under concealer,” She pointed out. “I doubt that,” He chuckled. “And why is that?” “We weren’t–necessarily sober, plus, she hates my guts sober. Did I also mention she’s with Eric?” He added in the tiniest voice at the end. “Maverick Thomas Ha-Jun Taehwan Maxwell Moon!” She scolded in one breath–which still made Maverick very much shook as to how she could say it so effortlessly as she smacked his arm. “Just like your father, reckless!” “Dad did that too?!” His eyes widened. “Similar to that, but his friend forgave him and you better hope that Eric does too!” She began to scold him just as the doctor rolled in.

This is when time began to slow down. In that moment, Maverick’s smirk instantly faded as the doctor came in with his chart in hand. It pained Victoria to see the light instantly leave Maverick’s eyes and so she reached for his hand, and he took hers carefully. Maverick, was an exceptionally bright kid and after years of being tormented to watch Grey’s Anatomy, he understood the medical lingo. She was still in the later stage 2A, bordering 2B, and for the most part, the cells were shrinking, as aggressive as they were, but there was a way to get it all out but even then, there were risks behind it. The one the doctor feared the most was the spread.

That was also Maverick’s fear.

He could feel his breathing become slightly shallower as Victoria squeezed his hand reassuringly. He nodded slowly in understanding of what that meant and what were the risks. The quicker they got the surgery done, the better and that was when his mother looked over to him and said,

“January 28th is the big day. I’ll need you, Izzy, and Lexa there with your father. You know how much of a nervous wreck he gets, but most importantly,” She put her hand on Mav’s cheek again. “I need my Maverick there with me to hold my hand. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course, mom,” He added with a smile. It was a nervous smile, and Victoria could tell, but she admired her son’s bravery and strength throughout the process.

In just a week, the Maxwell family would hold their breaths.

[lockenhearted-blog]

Story: About those dragons...

Date: 3rd May 2018

Characters: Kylian Montbeliard, Inquisitor (2nd person POV)

Genre: Humour, Slice-of-life

Word Count: 1248 words

Summary: The Inquisitor tries to convince Kylian to host a formal Orlesian dragon hunt.

---------------------

“Dragon hunting.” Kylian says each syllable slowly and clearly, as if explaining to someone with a less than average intellect. “Is a Nevarran sport.”

You’re at the Montbeliard manor in Val Royeaux. You for Inquisition business, him for trade, and also because he received your letter to meet, and as always, was eager to please. But you’re pretty sure Kylian didn’t expect this when he offered you his assistance.

“It’s benefited them well,” you say, completely innocent. “Dragon hunting is profitable; lastingly so. The current wealth of Nevarra is a holdover from their Dragon hunting days. It’s not like they have anything else marketable.”

That last statement was more for Kylian’s benefit than anything, and it works, as his lips uncurl from the grimace he’s had ever since the other country was brought up. His eyes are hidden behind his family mask — you were in the middle of a court city, after all — but Kylian’s always been quite free with his expressions around you. Around the Inquisition in general. It’s interesting.

You continue on. “There’s a perfectly good reason for this, I swear.”

“You swear.” The utter disbelief in Kylian’s voice would be offensive if he hadn’t broken into an incredibly crooked grin. He adjusts his elbows on the armrests, leaning forwards in mock anticipation. “Do tell.” You can’t help but chuckle yourself.

“Yes. Absolutely.” You lean back in your own chair, steepling your fingers together. Josephine says it makes you look more impressive, good for making people listen. “The Inquisition does need the material — dragonscale, dragonbone.” Dragon heart, maybe; you’re waiting to see how that goes so you don’t mention it.  “That stuff’s ridiculously expensive to buy. And the amount we need, it’s not really reasonable to dedicate teams to solely dragon hunting. But if we could get some noble, what-do-I-do-with-all-this-coin sponsors…” you let the sentence trail off.

“The terrible thing is that I can think off the top of my head some of them who might already be more than interested,” he drops backwards into his chair, awfully informal.  Kylian had some servants bring in tea as you talked, and you purposefully met the large, soulful eyes of the elf girl who brought the tray in, thanking her. She nearly drops the tray, and scurries out of the room. You can only be grateful that Kylian was a fair master, one who pays his workers well — you confirmed it with him practically the moment you met him. You think the accusation still slightly stings him, though, as his head turns to follow the servant out of the room, before turning to meet your eyes.

“Don’t suppose you can tell me what you need it for, exactly?” Kylian asks, after the door to the parlor clicks shut.

You think of Corypheus, enemies, information getting out of hand. “...No, sorry.” And then you see opportunity. “Not unless —“

“Stopping you there.” Kylian throws out a hand, waving it in your direction. “My dear Inquisitor, how many times do you want to have this conversation? I have responsibilities to my own seat; I can’t afford to dedicate even more to the Inquisition.”

Now you’re the one who’s pouting. “It wouldn’t be so different to what we have now. I know your time is precious.” You play with your hands in a helpless gesture. “You’d be... more of my inner circle companion, rather than just another agent.”

He clears his throat. It sounds forced, suspiciously like he was covering something up. “As much as I’d like to accompany your jaunt throughout all of Thedas, my life is already enough at risk with the Game I play right now. If I wanted to join your death-defying adventures, I’d just invite you over to my aunt’s house for tea.”

“Harrowing.”

“Indeed. One fine session ended in disemboweled pig guts, exploding stilettos, three public executions, and a very unhappy fiancé.”

You take a moment to attempt to picture that, then give up. You decide to switch gears.

“It sounds more like you’re trying to avoid going out,” you taunt. “I’ve never seen you ride your war horse out to war before. Is she just for show?”

He takes a long sip of tea, and you feel more than see his eyes narrowed through his mask. “Haha,” Kylian exclaims dryly. “You need to work on your misdirection, friend.”

“Needed to get the topic back on track somehow.”

“Oh Maker.” Kylian rests his chin in his palm, covering his mouth. “Right. That.”

“Come on, just imagine — all those lords and ladies, used to hunting weakened prey, with their frocks and fancy coats and servants to roll out carpets for their horses to walk on.... Getting chased by a majestic dragon, wings spread and fire raining down from the heavens, her pack of hissing dragonlings hot on their heels.”

Kylian seems to deliberately pause and contemplate, dramatically. He taps his finger against the rim of his teacup, the sound of his metal ring against porcelain a steady beat. “They’d all just get themselves killed.” You can tell he’s not completely serious by the theatrical lilt his words take on.

“What death is more honourable than death by high dragon?” That gets a snort out of him, and he drops his gaze.

“...it’s going to be such a hassle keeping everyone alive. I wonder if my men are even up to it.”

“Not confident in yourself, hm?” The taunting has been working so far, but this time Kylian only puts on a smile that is more of a grimace.

“I survived the nine hells of chevalier training, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it.”

This is something you already know. You’re constantly surprised whenever Kylian’s chevalier history is brought up, as if it’s always slipped your mind. It just seems so incongruous -- Kylian, the overly-compassionate, empathetic man who you call a friend. Connecting it to his Orlesian heritage and upbringing is a challenge, considering their stereotypical ruthlessness. It’s strange, because Kylian is as patriotic as any of his countrymen (not to mention, as a Player of the Game, Orlais has his undying loyalty). Maybe it’s because Kylian wasn’t the kind to take pride in having a hard-heart, like his family would. It’s gotten to the extent where the only time you’ve seen him draw a sword was to diffuse a quarrel; you’d have been worried about people walking over Kylian, had you not judged the conviction of his sword hand for yourself.

“I still do want to see you fight,” you say, and it’s a genuine sentiment. There’s a meaningful pause, as that sentence parses.

“My territory holds the Nevarren borderline. You’re going to need a damn good reason for me to pull my forces away just for you, Inquisitor.”

“One day, perhaps.”

“Please do not hope for it.”

“Well, okay.” The conversation’s come a full circle -- you’ve made your arguments, now to hammer them home. “Look at it this way. If you hunt down all the dragons, there’ll be less for those Nevarran bastards, yeah?”

Kylian sighs deeply and buried his face in his hands, but you know you’ve won him over by the flash of white teeth in the spaces between his fingers. “Right,” he agrees, if grudgingly.

“Right, fine, okay. You’ve convinced me.” He pushes himself to his feet, dusts off his breeches, and walks towards the door. “Come along, then.”

You sit up with a start. “Where are we going?”

“Well, now, we convince the rest of Orlais.”

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching SPN 13x07 “War of the Worlds”

in which I explain exactly why I don’t enjoy Buckner/Ross-Leming episodes (beyond obvious problematic issues and pacing), and why Meredith Glynn’s episodes are better imo

03:41pm

don’t know what to expect, so it’s gonna be SURPRISE

not expecting greatness since it’s the deadly duo, but i’m hoping this won’t become a “cas is leaving and won’t be back or mentioned for 8 episodes straight” thing

(or a “these writers are racist and misogynists” thing)

-

THERE’S A FLY IN MY ROOM

why do they never just fly back out the way they came in??? THE WINDOW IS OPEN YOU CURSED BEAST

-

03:44

whoop time to pull my window blind down ‘cause this show is so dark and i can’t see shit

-

03:45

i have yet to care about asmodeus

and i decidedly don’t care about lucifer

i care about mary in the sense that i don’t want anything bad to happen to her but i’m fine with her not being part of the main story

does that downtrodden black demon have a name?? i’m still rooting for him either way

also still can’t tell if michael’s vessel is a white dude or not

(edit: i think maybe no)

-

03:48

frankly i am still unsure why jack blasted team free will across the room, repeating his last mistake, given that doing that killed someone before??

was it like a “if gonna hurt everyone and here let me prove it” thing? or a “i’m getting you out of the way so you can’t grab me” thing??

-

03:50

*insert stock footage here*

-

05:53

cas lists all the worst possible scenarios

yea he’s a dad

-

03:54

why is david haydn-jones credited in this?!?!?!?! WHAT

maybe a flashback

WHOA WAIT OSRIC CHAU TOO WHAT IS HAPPENING ??!??!!? 

ARE THEY ALL ALIVE IN THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE

-

05:56

cas: “my contact is already anxious... won’t speak in the presence of a stranger”

sure jan

what’s the bet the writers have a pool of “reasons cas has to go alone” and they just pick one from a hat

-

dean: “so introduce me, then i’m not a stranger”

good. please.

-

UGH I AM SO SICK OF CAS DOING THINGS ALONE

but tbh i’m kind of amazed dean is healthy enough to let cas go alone and not worry that he’s gonna lose the guy again, given he just got back from the dead

-

04:00

the was asmodeus is purring “jaaaaaaaack” makes me imagine him as a snow leopard

edit: i could definitely see him on a tarot card, a snow leopard with a scarred eye, sitting on a throne

-

04:01

“the jack”

i enjoy that lil twist on his name. like the jack in playing cards

-

04:02

such manspreading

-

04:03

asmodeus: “say wW’hH~at !”

hurr hurr

-

04:04

i’m finding it hard to pay attention to michael and lucifer talking about stuff

these episodes always feel like uuuurughghhh gotta push through

-

04:06

OMG OG OM OGM KEVIN

CAN WE TAKE HIM TO THE OTHER SIDE AND KEEP HIM PLEASE

OH MY GOD I MISSED HIM

PLEASE GOD LET THIS BY THE DEADLY DUO TRYING TO UNDO PAST MISTAKES, NOT INADVERTENTLY MAKING THEM WORSE

P L E A S E  DON’T KILL HIM AGAIN

-

04:08

this kevin is very different

kinda twitchy

maybe autistic? (i mean... could he have taken that "worm” insult more literally?)

-

04:11

lucifer: “can’t you see michael is a monster? pure evil??”

kevin: “okay i’m confused, aren’t you SATAN”

*snort*

-

04:13

so lucifer just leapt through the rift

where is mary though

-

04:14

how did all those people not see satan fall out of a GIANT GLOWING RIFT

-

04:15

“no eye contact, beverley”

-

06:16

HEY ASS-MODEUS, LEAVE THAT RANDOM GUY NAMED KARL ALONE

-

04:17

random guy named karl is dead

>:{

yup thanks let’s add another non-white person to the deadly duo murder list

-

04:19

i just had a weird moment where i was like “ugh the filler episodes are so dull” and then realised this was a plot episode, and actually i like the filler better than the plot because the plot is just shoehorned in by buckner and ross-leming between interesting episodes

-

04:25

paused for a bit to feed my cat

and while i did i was thinking i’d like jack to meet kevin. i’ve been thinking about that for a few weeks, but it seemed impossible for obvious kevin-is-dead reasons, BUT NOW

I HOPE IT HAPPENS

-

04:27

wait

so the witch told the winchesters she needed protection, then left without explaining why

and then the winchesters had to follow her there, to a place that was hard to find

and then tell her “we followed you here”

and it was hard to find even though they followed her????

and they just enter the house not assuming it’s a trap of some kind

.................

⁽͑˙˚̀བ̇˚́˙⁾̉

-

04:32

i replayed it, sam says “but we followed you here”

that “but” makes a lot of difference okay we’re good

-

04:35

this cabin looks exactly like all the other cabins they’ve used as a cabin

-

04:37

hm.

look, in comparison, i love meredith glynn’s writing (e.g. the one where sam and dean visit the therapist, the one where dean loses his memories). because yeah, her stories are whimsical and i adore that - but sometimes they’re also gory and can get dark. yet her characters are soft and emotionally available. and they make decisions because of curiosity, or worry, or sadness, or grief or... y’know, something core-deep and with lots of different perspectives within those emotions.

whereas buckner and ross-leming.... every decision their characters make are fuelled by straight-up anger and fear. and it’s usually surface-level - reactive, or sudden, without narrative depth giving a clear reason for that anger.

and i’m not saying that anger-fuel can’t be interesting, it’s that it makes it hard to watch for me. the characters feel more closed off, more directly just going for a “kill or be killed” thing. they want to hurt people, get revenge, use force to get information.

it’s not necessarily out of character, it’s just that a) there’s a lot of it, and every character seems to function the same way even though they’re different people, and b) the setup to those scenes isn’t enough to make me understand why they all begin by fighting, or torturing someone before asking nicely.

no, i don’t like ketch at all, but skipping straight to the I’MMA PUNCH YOU UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR doesn’t work for me

at all, on any level.

and this scene where dean punches ketch?? it directly parallels the information-gathering methods of dean, ketch, and asmodeus within this episode, and that just puts dean in a bad light. and honestly i can’t even tell if it’s intentional or if the deadly duo didn’t know what they were doing and they don’t know how else people ask questions.

it’s not “different because it’s dean doing it”. it’s a villain’s move. they all did the same thing, and it was violent and unnecessary every time.

-

04:47

so dean and sam know the parallel universe contains familiar people, still alive (freakin’ bobby for instance)

but when they realise ketch doesn’t recognise them, why the heck don’t they even consider maybe he came through the rift

it’s not like it was ages ago

they lost their mother through that rift probably three or four weeks ago

wouldn’t they assume maybe there was more than one portal ??

-

04:50

“his twin”

right

-

04:56

ugh more fighting

i don’t wanna watch ‘cause lady angels are probably gonna die

man i hope cas would leave them alive after being told the angels are going extinct

angels fight to the death way too often

edit: ??????? nobody died???? i’m impressed

-

04:58

lucifer calls cas “cowboy”

mmmmmmmm that’s right

dean’s lil sheriff of heaven

-

05:01

lucifer: “meth-head kevin tran”

ah that explains the twitchiness

-

05:03

“agent russell”

as in kurt russell i assume

-

05:05

cas: “yesss i would like to see you too, the sooner the better”

cute

and awkward

-

05:09

asmodeus shows up

there’s so many characters in this story jeez

i have no idea how the casual viewer could keep up

-

05:16

whoa that ending was sudden

-

.................hrhghgh i dunno

i’m still of the opinion that one of this writing duo is better than the other

the scene with lucifer and cas in the bar was pretty well written

the plot reveal with ketch and rowena’s magically-undead spell made sense and was well-spread throughout the story, but i fail to see why ketch would tell the winchesters about it

i’m a lil :/ :/ :/ that ketch is back ‘cause dear god i thought we were rid of him already

where is mary??

everyone is so angry

i hope rowena is alive though

this was all a big jumble of plotlines and... to be fair it could’ve been a lot worse. the pacing wasn’t as messy as usual. for revealing a whole ton of info, it was pretty decent really

hmm 6.5/10 maybe

just cause it had almost none of the things i like watching, but it wasn’t necessarily bad...........

:/

MORE KEVIN PLEASE

[venusrosepetal]

Our Girl (Speed Dating)

Summary: (Modern!AU) Army medic, Private L/N, gets deployed on her first tour of Afghanistan. Struggling to fit in with her new comrades and adapt to the world of war, Pte L/N finds herself befriending a local, and pushing the boundaries of army regulations.

Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes - Reader x OC 

Warnings: war, angst, blood, gore, death, PTSD, mental health, terrorism, stereotypes, sexual indications, swearing, Cockney, slow-burn (throughout series)

Key: Pte - Private.  Cpl - Corporal. Sgt - Sergeant. FOB - Forward Operating Base. ASF - Afghan Special Forces.

Word Count: 2,443

A/N: I am SO sorry that I took forever to post this. I’ve been busy planning/baking/cooking/wrapping for my daughters 2nd birthday this month. I hope this chapter is worth the wait, let me know! ALSO, I’m sorry if this is horse poo, I felt like this story needed a good filler chapter as the previous two had blood and gore, we needed a slightly safer chapter.

Bastion, Afghanistan. Day 3.

No progress had been made with Barnes. Every time he entered a room, his eyes would instantly find yours, narrowing on contact. How the bloody hell you were meant to survive six months with not one, but two, bosses who despised you only God knew. When Barnes wasn’t looking, you found yourself compelled by his sinful good-looks; shame about his personality though.

The platoon was currently in one of the many briefing tents within Bastion, waiting for Captain Rogers to go over the team’s next move. Barnes stood in the front, three different maps spread out behind him, his eyes squinted on you. You kept your gaze locked on the notepad in your lap, doodling little patterns on the margin. A blush starts to creep its way across your cheeks, pricking the tops of your ears as you feel him staring at you. You let out a small, flustered sigh as Captain Rogers walked in; everyone standing-to-attention.

“Relax guys,” Lowering back into your seat, you chanced a peek at Barnes, only to be caught by the smirking brunette. Your head snapped back towards the Captain, as your blush deepens, giving him your full attention.

“So, we’re out of Bastion in the morning. We’ll head out to our special Forward Operating Base; this will be our home for the duration of the tour. When we arrive in the village, we’ll link up with a small group of Afghan National Army. There’s a small cluster of Taliban destabilizing the area.” Your eyes moved from Rogers when you heard a sarcastic lovely from Smurf who sat beside you; scribbling the details in his notebook.

“We need the locals to like us, and more importantly trust us. Nobody let me down.” The Cap continued, scanning the room as he spoke. His eyes lingered on yours just a little longer as he said the last sentence.

“Right. Our task on the ground is to support, assist and advise the Afghan National Army with patrols around the general area of the FOB and facilitate the local children’s safe passage to and from school.” Barnes spoke up. Pointing to different points on the map with a marker, while explaining the task, before turning back to the platoon.

“Sound easy?” Rogers supplemented.

“Lolly-pop men with guns Sir.” You spoke up, smiling at your joke. In retrospect, you probably should have known not to try and joke with the overly sensitive Captain.

“Then pull your head outta your ass L/N! There’s no such thing as an easy mission.” Your smile falls at his outburst. Besides you, Smurf was shaking his head like a disappointed parent.

“You’ll be flown out in your sections at 0400 hours tomorrow, so tonight I’ll need you all to see the medic,” Barnes announced, purposely interrupting the current glaring match between yourself and the Captain. Your focus moved to him as he continued to speak at you. “It’s like speed dating L/N. One minute each then you chuck ‘em outta there.” Forcing a tight lipped smile, you nodded once to Barnes.

Both the Rogers and Barnes walked out of the tent after that statement. You sat there, flustered. How did you always manage to fuck it up further for yourself? You were just trying to crack some jokes. Break the tension. Maybe get them to like you, but nothing you did seemed to work.

“Nice one Y/N.” Smurf’s hostile tone commented beside you. You ran your fingers through the top of your hair; pulling slightly on your tight braid as you groaned.

This tour is going to be so much fun.

Hot...

It’s so hot…

What is it like forty fi- IT’S FORTY-EIGHT BLOODY DEGREES!?

You swipe the back of your left hand over your forehead, ridding the skin of the dripping perspiration while filling out Clint's medical form on your desk.

“How’re your teeth?” You questioned, looking up from the form while fanning yourself with your hand.

“My teeth? Why the hell do you care about my teeth?”  a confused Clint asked.

“Yeah you know, any cavities? How about wisdom teeth?  We’re going out for almost six months Barton. I’m more than certain there isn’t going to be a dentist on that Fob, and I’d rather not stick you with a sick note ‘cos you had one-to-many Toffees.” You quipped.

“Yeah, got ya. No, no cavities. Wisdom teeth have already been removed.” He Shot you a double thumbs up with a wink.

“Awesome. Just sign the bottom there,” You slid the form and pen across the table towards Clint, letting him scribble on the bottom line before passing it back. “And you’re done, Barton. Send the next guy in please.”

You signed and filed Clint's form as the next person came in and stood in front of the desk. Quickly grabbing a blank sheet from the pile to your right, you look up and write down their name.

“The boys giving you a hard time?” he asked, taking the seat in front of you.

“Meh. Sam came in here earlier with tissue paper dotted on his face. Said he knew I was scared of blood.” You rolled your eyes in as you thought back to the comedic American. 

“I dunno Smurf. I feel like every chance I get, I fuck up. I keep saying the wrong thing. Have you seen the way Cap and Barnes look at me?” You huff, dragging your hands over your face in irritation.

“We’re all tryin’ to prove ourselves out here. You’ll be fine, I promise you.”

“I proper froze in that hospital.” Maybe you couldn’t hack it. Sure you were top of your class in training, but that's exactly what it was, training. No one's lives were in immediate danger. There was no real blood. No real missing limbs.

“You’ll be fine Y/N. It takes time to adjust. Sounds like it was a nasty one back there .”

“I’m worried I won’t be able to cut it,” You looked at him with an expression that could only resemble a hurt puppy. “I have to look after you guys out there. I can’t fuck that up Smurf.”

“We’re all worried we won’t be able to cut it. And anyone who says they’re not is bullshitting.” He gave you a knowing smile as he sunk into the chair opposite you.

“Hm…” The sincerity behind his deep blue eyes brought you slightly off-edge. It was nice to know you weren’t the only one having doubts, even if you were the only one to show it. Looking up at him again, you remember what Wanda had told you before.

“Wanda told me about your brother, Geraint.” As soon as the words left your mouth, it was like a switch had been flipped. Smurfs soft, compassionate face quickly turned stone hard.

“When the Taliban jack potted him, Barnes said he heard a cheer go up.” he growled.

“I’m so sorry Smurf” Now you were mirroring the expression he wore just a few breaths ago.

“I’m not being stupid or nothing Y/N, but these people, they’re not like us. They’re heartless.”

“You’ll be alright mate.” Repeating his earlier words back to him, once again, turned out to be a mistake.

“They laughed as he lost his life out there,” He growled as he pointed out the window. “He lost his life for our country Y/N. I don’t want him to have died in vain.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he blew an exasperated breath, scratching the side of his pale face in irritation. “I’m going to make sure, he didn’t die in vain.” Your eyebrows furrowed as you stared at him for a handful of seconds, not really knowing what to say.

“You got piles Smurf?” The Captain stuck his head through the door, clearly annoyed at how long Smurf had been with you.

“No Sir.”

“Then you don’t need to sit down do you.” He motioned his thumb over his shoulder, silently telling Smurf to get out.

The Welshman scribbled his name on the blank form before you and swiftly left the small building. You pushed your chair back from the desk slightly, the metal legs scraping across the plastic floor of the converted shipping container. Captain Rogers looked towards the sound, meeting your tired eyes. You motioned a ‘T’ shape with your hands, wordlessly telling your superior you needed a five-minute break. Rogers rolled his eyes, but nodded nonetheless, moving away from his watch on the door.

Grasping Smurfs form off the table you move over to lay on the examination bed in the far right corner of the room. You were worried about Smurf. But was it really your place to write his personal problems in his medical file? He didn’t know what he was saying to you at the time. He didn’t know he was admitting feelings, that in any other case, would declare him unstable. He wasn’t in his right frame of mind.

Twirling your black biro around your fingers you decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Choosing, despite your displeasure, to go to Sgt Barnes later that evening to voice your worries in hopes he can talk some sense into Smurf.

Three hours later, and you were now busy packing all your medical supplies and equipment into your hefty burgen. Your earlier discussion with Smurf still rang fresh in your mind as you carefully ticked items off your checklist, while throwing said items into the bag. You were so invested in your thoughts and packing bandages that you failed to notice the knock coming from the other side of the door. It wasn’t until you heard someone clearing their throat that you became aware of another's presence.

Barnes was slightly perched on the side of your small desk; one foot on the ground, the other dangling off the side with his bulky arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing that same stupid smirk from the brief this morning, and you wanted to flick it right off his handsome bloody face.

“Sorry Boss, I didn’t hear you come in,” you stated, looking in his blue eyes before returning back to your former task. “What is it I can do for you this evening?”

“I figured that much L/N,” he said. “I was wondering if you could have a look at my blisters.” he seemed to be being civil, no rude remarks fired just yet.

“Yeah, no probs sarge. Hop up on the table and take your boots and socks off.” You pointed over to the bed as you walked over to your medical kit and tossed down the checklist in favor of some blue latex gloves.  You move towards the bed where Barnes was now sitting comfortably with his trousers rolled up to his knees, white blisters of full display.

“New boots?” you ask, picking up his left foot and examining the large bubbles.

“Yeah, Stev-Captain Rogers recommended these ones. Said all you British lot wear ‘em.” You look up from his feet to see his face slightly shift in color. A smooth pink now tinted his cheeks from his name slip. You softly smile at him, letting him know it can slide. He returns your smile before you get back to the harrowing matter; blisters.

“Altburgs?” he nodded “ Yeah they’re a pretty Gucci bit’ta kit. A bugger to break-in though.” Grabbing his right foot to inspect, you don’t even realize the slag coming out of your mouth until you look up at the brunettes puzzled expression. “Gucci is a term we use for un-issued kit. Army stuff  we buy ourselves from private manufacturers.” Barnes breathes out a small ‘ahh’ nodding his head, now fully understanding.

“Anything you can do for me Doc?” He asks as you place his foot back down on the bed and take a step back.

“I can tape them up for you Sarge, but you’re gonna need to break those boots in. Put on a few pairs of sock, and stand in a bucket of hot water. The heat and the stocks will stretch them out good and proper.” you gave a curt nod as you grab the tape off the top of your open burgen, before speaking again. “And, with all due respect Boss, your feet smell bloody foul.”  The usually grouchy Sgt burst into laughter and you were sure that if you were to die right then and now, you go happily knowing that his laughter was the last thing you heard. It was harmonious.

You laughed quietly along with him, happy to think he might not resent you as much as previously thought. It wasn’t until the laughter died down and the Sgt was replacing his sock that your mind wavered back to your Welsh comrade. You knew you had to mention Smurf now, but you desperately didn't want to ruin the new mood set between you two.

Barnes finished tying his laces he jumped off the bed, offering you a smile and a thank you before headed for the door. Just as his hand brushes the door handle you pipe up.

“Sgt Barnes, wait.” His blue eyes meet yours and you motion for him to take a seat again, this time at the desk. He obliged sitting in, what was, your seat, while you paced in front of him. He could sense your worry by the way you bit onto your thumb nail and scratched your head.  Finally, after pacing for what felt like an eternity, you stopped dead and looked at his face. He was going to look at you different after this.

“It’s about Smurf,” he nodded for you to continue “I’m worried about his mental state.” Barnes looked taken aback by this for a second, before quickly recovering. His face going from mild shock to his usual distaste.

“He’s one of our best soldiers Private. What do you mean ‘worried about his mental state?’”

“ I mean, I don’t think he’s in a stable condition. He came in for his check up earlier, talking about how he’s going to make sure Geraint ‘didn’t die in vain.’ I know it must be heard losing his brother, but it’s like he has some personal vendetta against these people. I saw him, yesterday, square up to one of the ASF pilots who accidentally barged into him. It was like he was looking for a fight Boss. I’m just worried. I don’t want him to pull something stupid you know?” You hadn’t realized you’d begun pacing again, until Sgt Barnes reached out and grasped your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks.

“Look, L/N. He’s one of the best. He’s had a bit a trouble these last couple years, but he’s good. As for the almost fight with the ASF guy, that’s just basic Army banter. You’re reading too much into this, OK? Don’t panic yourself, he’s fine.” Sgt Barnes gave you a tight-lipped smile that didn’t reach his eyes by far, but you knew not to press any further. 

You just hoped, and prayed, that he was right. 

For all of your sakes.

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