#so i hope i can fall asleep in a snap and wake up unlike today where i was fucking confused and very unrested because i think i dreamed

[cubot]

I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE that was not a mistake because I love it a lot, but oh goodness gracious fuck fuck ah ARGHHHHH I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow. :) Played a game too long and now it's 1 AM and I want to eat something first, so I will not go to bed until 2 AM and I have to get out of bed by 7:20 AM at the latest. Which isn't the worst, but it is when you're already tired and have a LONG day ahead of you.

[livi-in-digital-circus]

“Their Deepest Desire” || a short Bunnydoll story

I'm a big fan of Miraculous Ladybug and somewhere in the middle of the night I got this idea based on the season 5 episode "Jubilation", so I thought why not write something like that with Bunnydoll? You can consider this an exclusive story for tumblr people 😎

“Alright, my superstars! I hope you are ready for what is coming today!” Caine exclaimed, scanning each circus member with his big heterochromatic eyes. The previous adventure had taken longer than expected, causing the characters to fall asleep late and wake up not too many hours later.

Pomni thought sleep deprivation lethargy was non-existent in the Digital Circus, but here she was, trying to stay on her wobbly legs and keep her eyes open. Though her comedy mask was already broken, Gangle smiled and giggled uncontrollably from lack of sleep. Kinger seemed to be sleepwalking, occasionally bumping into walls and props. Zooble, on the other hand, decided not to give a damn about the day’s adventure and fell asleep standing up.

The ringmaster paid no attention to their current state, instead focusing on something else. He quietly counted everyone present in the main area and quickly noticed that someone was missing. Caine looked around to see if he wasn’t going blind from all the flashing lights and bright colors, but after a while, he could finally confirm his observation.

“It seems we encountered a problem at the very beginning of our adventure!”

“Don’t worry, boss! I’ll find them and suck their souls out!” Bubble was prepared to do so, but Caine popped him as soon as Jax and Ragatha arrived, the tension between them clashing with the friendly and colorful image of The Amazing Digital Circus.

Unlike the rest of the cast, the rabbit and the rag doll seemed much more lively, Jax walking casually with a grin plastered on his face and Ragatha yelling about something no one could understand. Their argument continued even after they were standing next to the others, and showed no signs of ending any time soon.

“I wouldn’t be yelling at you right now if I hadn’t caught you in my room in the middle of the night, tucking disgusting centipedes in my hair!”

“I just wanted to help them get their midnight snack.” Jax bared his yellow teeth and wrapped a strand of Ragatha’s hair around his finger.

“For the last time, MY HAIR IS NOT LICO-”

Before Ragatha could finish her sentence, Caine teleported right between them, not wanting their bickering to waste the precious time that was allocated for the adventure.

“Excuse me, but I do not recall you two being an old married couple. However, we can give you a speed-run wedding if you’d like!" The ringmaster was about to snap his fingers, but the rag doll shook her head and protested immediately.

“There is no need to! I am truly sorry for being late.”

Jax, on the other hand, was not. He was looking forward to an occasion when he would finally have the chance to mess with Ragatha for an entire day instead of going on some crappy adventure that didn’t involve even a tiny bit of violence and blood.

But would he really spend that much time making his Dollface’s life miserable? Probably not. For weeks, Jax had been bottling up his newfound feelings for her until he couldn’t handle them anymore. They were slowly opening his eyes, showing the poor rabbit boy the true beauty within Ragatha’s smile and personality. And though he showed no signs of it, she was on his mind all the time.

So he was on Ragatha’s. She felt like the protagonist of a typical love story who, as the plot progresses, falls for the bad boy who probably broke her heart once or even twice. The more time she spent in his presence, the more she found herself admiring his attractiveness and blushing whenever he caught her in the act. What was she even thinking?

Still, they argued a lot. There was no way any of them would show any kind of affection for each other, no matter how strong their feelings became. Not to mention how the others would react if they started to notice and suspect something, especially Caine, who actually wasn’t completely against having romantic feelings for someone or the idea of dating itself, but he mentioned once that such a thing could change the dynamic of the group drastically and he didn’t recommend it.

“Let’s not waste any more time, then! A very special adventure awaits you!” With that, Caine snapped his fingers, and a set of what looked like photo booths appeared in front of them. “These are brand new machines that will reveal to you your deepest desires! The ones you didn’t even know existed! Not the obvious ones like finding an exit, for example.”

“Aren’t these just photo booths?” Pomni asked, slowly dozing off, but her head still managed to register what Caine had just said.

“DEEPEST DESIRES REVEAL MACHINES!” The ringmaster shouted in Pomni’s face, and one by one he threw everyone into the ‘booths’.

Ragatha groaned as her back hit the wall of the booth. She was used to being thrown around like a literal rag doll from time to time, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt anymore. She tried to sit up, but that was when she realized that something heavy was on top of her.

Or rather someone.

She thought everyone would be able to see their deepest desires individually. But the number of booths did not match the number of circus members. There was one too few. And that’s why Caine either decided to throw both Ragatha and Jax into the same one, or he actually planned it beforehand.

Jax got up, not even bothering to ask Ragatha if she needed any help standing up. He had to keep his cool, even if no one was watching. He sat on a bench, hands behind his head, waiting for something to appear on the screen that would take a picture.

Meanwhile, Ragatha sighed and slowly moved to the spot right next to Jax, adjusting the bow in her hair a bit. At first, there was complete silence between them as they waited. Yet the screen remained black.

“Oh, come on, do something, you useless device.” Jax complained, clearly not pleased with what Caine had prepared for the day and what he called an ‘adventure’.

“You know you have to press the button to turn it on?” Ragatha asked, a soft laugh escaping her mouth as she observed the rabbit's frustration at such a silly thing.

Jax blinked a few times, realizing that the rag doll was right and noticing that there was indeed a button right under the screen. He tried to play it cool, muttering ‘Of course I know’, while feeling embarrassed and wanting to slap himself in the face for acting like an idiot in front of Ragatha. And he would never want her to see him as an idiot.

Finally, he pressed the button and a pink, bright light spread through the room. Jax and Ragatha quickly covered their eyes, surprised by its intensity. When it faded, they found themselves staring at the image of the main area in the circus. Ragatha felt like she was still sitting in the booth while Jax couldn’t move an inch. What was going on?

Then they noticed that everyone, including themselves, was sitting at the table as usual at their feasts. However, something was different. Jax wasn’t seated between Pomni and Zooble as always, but he had two similar boys next to him. They had bunny ears like Jax, but they looked more plushy and their skin color was blue.

“Slow down, kiddos. Nobody’s gonna steal your food, you know?” Jax rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his face. The boys lifted their heads, their mushy cheeks covered in jam.

“Let them eat, Jax. I bet you were a glutton yourself when you were a kiddo.” Zooble commented as they watched the bunnies eat their tasty breakfast. Pomni, who was sitting next to one of them, giggled and handed him a tissue.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Ragatha sat and instead of enjoying her own food, she concentrated on feeding a little girl in a high chair. Kinger cooed to her from time to time as she played with what looked like a rubbery centipede.

“Good morning, my superstars! I hope you’re eating well and gaining strength for today’s adventure!” Caine appeared out of nowhere and flew up to the boys who were devouring their pancakes. “Don't think your godfather Caine forgot about my adorable rag bunnies! This adventure is one hundred percent safe for the two of you, and even for your little sister!”

The ringmaster moved over to the girl Ragatha was feeding and pinched her cheek, causing her to let out a cute giggle and raise her little hands in his direction. She also had bunny ears, confirming Caine’s words about her being the boys’ sister.

Jax and Ragatha were still glued to the bench in the booth. The rabbit looked confused, wondering what was going on and who these kids were. He glanced at the rag doll sitting next to him, her face turning bright red as she connected the dots. Her lips were trembling, she wanted to say something but couldn't get a word out. Meanwhile, Jax still had no idea why Ragatha was blushing so much.

When everyone had finished their breakfast, Ragatha picked the girl up from the high chair and headed to the bedroom area.

“Come on, Ellie. Mommy has to get you dressed for adventure.” She kissed the baby’s forehead, and the other Ragatha, watching the whole scene, made a series of unclear noises.

Then the two boys ran up to their mother and sister, demanding attention as well. Last but not least, Jax joined the four of them.

“Alright, little guys. You two go to your room and get ready. You don’t want to be late and make Uncle Caine angry, do you?”

Owyn and Ethan, whose names had been mentioned somewhere at breakfast, nodded their heads and began racing to their room. When they were out of sight, Jax took the opportunity to wrap his hands around Ragatha’s waist.

“How is my beautiful wife doing today? I hope Ellie isn’t too fussy.” Saying that, Jax tickled Ellie’s nose, making her wriggle and happily call him ‘Dada’.

“I am good and so is our little rag bunny. She’s so excited for the adventure.”

“I see. But to be honest, I would like it better if we were just alone, without kids or anyone who would want to interrupt our moment of privacy.”

The moment he kissed Ragatha gently on the lips, the other Jax finally realized what this all meant and why the rag doll was blushing. The booth they were in was meant to show their deepest desires. And apparently, theirs was to have a family together one day.

After a while, the pink light shone again and they found themselves back in the booth, with Caine waiting for them outside.

Ragatha was burning up, her mind replaying every single detail of what she had seen. She didn’t have the courage to look at Jax even a little bit. The said rabbit also felt a little warm in his face, trying to get rid of the image of him and Ragatha being a happy couple with kids.

“So, you want a gun or something?” Jax asked casually, ready to get up and have a ‘nice’ conversation with Caine.

“Better get two, just in case.”

“I SAID NO VIOLENCE IN MY DIGITAL CIRCUS”

Thanks for reading!

(we finally have something else than angst lol)

[yelenasdiary]

Heyyy♥️ I wanted to request Melina x fem!reader with prompt 48 from your prompt list?

48. kids falling asleep in the car on the way home and their parents don’t want to wake them up

Maybe they have like a family fun day and all the fluff. I know that this is probably not Melina coded but I want to be married to Rachel/Melina so this is all I have 🥲

Another Block?

Pairing: Melina Vostokoff x Fem! Reader

Summary: After a family day out, the girls, Yelena and Natasha are fast asleep in the back and just for a moment, everything seems perfectly normal.

Tiny Angst | Fluff | No Warnings | 0.9K |

AC: My first Melina request!!! I took a little spin on this; I hope that’s okay! Reader is Yelena and Natasha’s “parents”. No hate to Alexei, I love him lmao. I hope you enjoy this x 

A family outing with your little family wasn't at all a part of the mission you and Melina were directed to do but it did fall under the category of making the "pretend family" as Dreykov could call it, look real. You and Melina decided to take the girls to the Cedar Point Amusement Park for the day. Of course, at first, Natasha, the eldest wasn't too interested in the idea but Yelena couldn't hide her excitement. She requested her song, American Pie about five times before Melina had to convince her to listen to the radio for a little while. 

Once arriving at the theme park, you instantly saw the hidden excitement in Natasha's eyes as she looked up at one of the rollercoasters. A soft smile tugged at your lips before you felt Yelena excitedly pull at your jacket, "Come on Ma!" she smiled widely, showing you exactly how many of her adult teeth were beginning to come through. 

"Natasha are you ready?" you asked, looking at the young teen while Melina grabbed the backpacks out of the car. 

"Yeah, let's go" Natasha slightly rolled her eyes to prove to you and Melina that just going on a family outing wasn't going to change what she already knew. 

Given Yelena was only 6 years old, everything was new and exciting to her. Her jaw dropped at each new ride her eyes locked onto, at least for her this was a real and her little mind never gave it a second thought unlike Natasha who struggled to allow herself to enjoy days like these. 

"Yelena, no running off please!" Melina reminded the young girl who ran ahead, stopping at Melina's words. "But mom! I don't want to miss the good rides!" She turned on her heels, causing both you and Melina to chuckle. "You don't love, the park doesn't close until night" you smiled softly. Melina took a hold of Yelena's small hand and walked ahead, giving you a chance to talk to Natasha. 

"You know, today isn't about making this look real" you spoke as you walked alongside the teen with blue hair. "You say that but everything we do is too make us look like we're a real family and one day, I'll have to go back. What happens to Yelena when the time comes?" Natasha snapped as she looked up at you. 

Mission or not, it broke your heart to hear those words come from her mouth. Three years doesn't seem like a long time but within the time of being together as a four, your heart grew to love the girls as if they were your own, you see them as your own and nothing would ever change that, you just wish Natasha would see that.

"Things will be different, I promise" you replied, lying to her and you hated yourself for it. 

"How?" Natasha asked with the tiniest hint of hope in her voice. 

"Because, neither Melina or I will let anything happen you girls and I know you're having a hard time trying to see that, but I love you, Natasha. You're my daughter and no mission will change that" 

"But you can't promise that when I go back, that things will be okay" 

"I can and I am. Melina is a lot closer to Dreykov than I am, if you think she'll let him hurt you or Yelena in anyway, you don't know Melina well enough" you replied, seeing your words put the teen at ease. She smiled, "I love you too" Her words came to you in an almost whisper, but they warmed your heart. 

----

After hours of going on ride after ride, snack after snack and of course some shopping, it was time to head home. Yelena was coming off a sugar high and both you and Melina could tell how tired the girls were. After your talk with Nat, she let her guard down a little and allowed herself to enjoy the day as a normal 11-year-old. 

"Thank you for taking us" Nat smiled at both you and Melina as you all gathered at the car. 

"You're very welcome girls" Melina smiled, helping Yelena into her seat. You smiled back at Natasha, for the first time in a while she looked genuinely happy. 

The car ride home was rather quiet, everybody was too tired and achy to want much of a conversation but of course, Yelena asked if Mac n Cheese was on the menu for tonight's dinner. "I'm sure we can cook some up when we're home" you replied, looking at the 6-year-old through the review mirror. 

The radio played softly as Melina drove you all home, your hand resting gently in her free hand, her thumb stroking your knuckles with love as you watched passing vehicles through the window. "They both had a lot of fun today" Melina whispered when she saw both girls in the backseat asleep. "Natasha seemed to really enjoy herself as well" she added. 

"I'm really proud of her today and letting herself enjoy the day" you replied, looking over at Melina as she pulled up in the drive away. "Do we have to move them?" you asked in a whisper, looking over your shoulder. 

"Let's just do another block and see if they wake up, if not, we'll park in the garage and wake them when dinner is ready" Melina suggested, placing a soft kiss on your cheek. Moments like these made you both forget the meaning of everything, the red room, the mission, the widow program and most importantly, Dreykov. It was just you, your wife and the two young and beautiful girls you shared with her and as Melina took her time, driving another block with her free hand intertwined with yours, you forever wished things would never change.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #208

Today was another very busy day.

Once again, I ended up going to bed a lot later than I should have, last night. And once again, I was woken prematurely - this time, by Br's alarm. It is very loud, and it sounds like this; make sure the volume is relatively low before you play this one:

...That's all right though. Br needs a strong alarm in order to wake up. Some folks are like that.

Hey, Sephiroth? Do you need a very strong alarm to wake up in the morning? Or does a soft one do? I tend to wake up very quickly in response to any unusual sound. And I guess unlike lots of people, the transition between awake and asleep is very abrupt for me, unless it is late and I am fighting sleep. But in the morning? I usually end up waking just before whatever I set my alarm to, and once I'm up, that's all there is to it; it's like flipping a light switch. What's it like for you? And how long has it been since last you slept someplace comfortable, anyway?

Initially, I thought I was gonna go back to sleep, but I decided instead to drive Br home. J sat in the back seat. It was a nice drive to her house. And it was a nice drive on the way home. I snapped a lot of pictures for you; the morning sun sparkling through the trees was absolutely delightful, and... I remembered the way you marvel at nature, so I thought you might like to see. Oh, and, don't worry; Br's road almost never gets any visitors except for us, so it was perfectly safe to stop and marvel:

J also took a few pictures for you:

...He also got a few pictures of me taking pictures, for some reason, hahaha...

...Then he took a few other ones, too, for some reason, hahaha...

...I make such weird faces, hahahahaha! 🤣😅

Near Br's house is a place that J had been wanting to explore for a while now. I don't really see the appeal of industrial settings, but J gets curious about them sometimes. And we had time before I had to go to my friend BB's house. So J took some pictures there, too; I was too busy driving:

...Some of the graffiti one sees on trains is really very amazing. I have no idea how someone can render something so realistic as this with a medium as unforgiving of mistakes as spray paint, but this person managed, and did an incredible job of it. I hope they're working as an artist somewhere...

After all this, J and I were hungry. So J found a spot that was named after his departed brother, and so we decided to go there. But it was a cash-only place, and we only had $18 on hand. We ended up splitting a plate of french toast with sausage and an egg, and it was wonderful! We left the remaining 3-ish dollars behind as a tip, for a little over 20%.

We still had plenty of time before I had to go to BB's house. So J and I went home, and M and J watched some new 3D animated Star Trek show together while I kinda-sorta napped. I feel lucky that J and M will let me nap next to them.

I imagine that if I was zonked out and ended up falling asleep in your general vicinity, I'd probably be safe with you, too. I wonder if you'd sit with me for a bit and enjoy the calmness of the surrounding things.

Anyway, after that I went to BB's house. Some heavy things happened in her life recently (they are for the better, but still heavy), and we talked about it for a while as she did raids in FF16. Once she was all done with that, she showed me the nest that some birds made on her house. These might be a bit hard to see since I had to zoom all the way in, and my cellphone camera isn't the fanciest, but there are babies in the nest:

When we went out to go eat, I took a few more pictures of the birds out the window, too:

Hey, Sephiroth? Do you like birds? If you do, do you have a favorite one? I tend to like crows and ravens and pigeons; no one seems to like these ones, for reasons I don't fully understand. Most people in my world think that ravens and crows are bad luck. And most people in my world think that pigeons are filthy. It's so strange; ravens and crows are highly intelligent and delightful birds. And pigeons used to be companions to humans before they were abandoned to the wilds and shunned. I feel really sad about both of these things, so maybe that's why I love these ones a little extra; it surely seems like they should have a little extra appreciation.

When we got back, we watched videos of this guy called Kitboga, who has made a career of scamming scammers. I wonder if you might find this one funny; you worked in a corporate environment for a while, so I imagine you understand what setting a password is like:

...How nice it would be to hear you laugh in response to something silly instead of something sad. How nice it would be... I hope I get to hear it someday.

I had a wonderful time with BB, and now I am home. Have been for a while. And it is going on 1AM. So I guess I'll stop writing and get to bed; I surely need the sleep.

Hey, Sephiroth? Please stay safe out there, won't you? And please try to take good care of yourself and the people around you. Also, please try to find the magic in little things, like sunlight sparkling through the trees, and in silly things, and in art, and in the flight of birds.

I love you. And I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Drama goes on! Claudine is having an existential crisis!

Claudine got up before the sun rose, almost as every day.

Unlike every day, her cheeks burned with the flames of hell, and her mind wanders – for the life of her, Claudine cannot focus on the prayers her father taught her.

Her disobedient mind-

Her impure thoughts-

Her actions-

Something went wrong. So awfully wrong.

Something must have possessed her. A demon. Siren. Witch.

Dark magic, surely.

It's not her fault, is it now?

Everything is her fault.

Everything is your fault, don't you know, Claudine?

She presses her fingers into the beads and wires of her rosary, hoping the pain will help her focus; she winds the wire tight around her fingers.

It doesn't help.

Her mind burns.

The prayer comes to an end, too soon, too soon.

Claudine's mind is still a mess.

What did she expect? There is no god out there, anyway.

But magic, black magic and the supernatural… yes, there certainly is such a thing.

She can deal with her own sins later.

It's not hard to find a blood-red spray paint here, not at all.

And what if it is a bit jumbled? What if Claudine cuts her palm on the too sharp edge that probably shouldn't be there?

All the better, isn't it?

All the better.

She mutters another prayer as she spray paints something she might or might not have seen in one of her father's books – not that she ever looked, of course.

But if god were out there – if he listened to her – he wouldn't care for the exact words, would he now? Not like her father. Not like her father at all.

Thinking of her father, she holds the can tighter, her blood mixing with the flow of paint. Good.

She carries on praying; she doesn't notice Harry Hook sneaking behind her with burning eyes. For once, maybe for the first and only time, he doesn't yell at her for mutilating the Captain's cabin. He doesn't send her to walk the plank.

Maybe Claudine should just walk it anyway, and take the last step into the air. Fall and drown, fast, while Uma is asleep-

She could do it, couldn't she?

It would be easy.

So easy.

She can hear some rumble: maybe Gil is waking up, or Marya or Bonny at the infirmary, or, god forbid, Uma.

Claudine decides not to take the easy way today. Instead, she sets the can aside and snaps her bloodied fingers and walks into the port and onto the Isle. Uma's not awake to stop her, yet, and judging by the distant screams and thuds, Harriet has better things to do. (She didn't go to sleep, Claudine would say.)

If ocean water won't solve Claudine's problems today, the Holy Water just might.

(„Water solves all your problems," Uma would say, a wicked smile at her lips „Your head hurts? Drink water. You have blood on your hands? Wash them. Someone pissed you off? Drown them.“)

(Claudine does not wish to think of Uma today.)

When she arrives to her father's chapel, it is already burning.

It is burning, flames licking the lid of the sky, and Harry Hook is leaning at the building over the street. Just barely out of the reach of the flames.

„Might you burn in hell,“ she hisses instead of greeting her commanding officer.

„Oh, you were not inside,“ he notes, slowly circling closer to her. Claudine takes a step back.

„That's…nice,“ he says, „If unexpected.“

Her heart beats strongly in her chest.

„I'd have expected you inside, after yesterday.“

„I had better things to do.“

„Did you now?“ he steps closer yet „It wouldn't have anything to do with our beloved Captain, would it?“

„It would not.“

Claudine adds lying to the ever-growing list of her sins.

His smile is twisted and cruel and Claudine decides that holy water can wait – besides, it evaporated already.

She bares her teeth back at him.

Flickering her eyes towards the burning buildings, she sneers: „heretic-“ and flees to a back alley. Hand at the handle of her knife already. She has her sword at her back.

She knows he will follow.

She can hear him muttering some nonsense or another, less sane that normally.

(„I know my religion,“ and „You call me a heretic, you?“ and „You'll pay for that, you wench.“)

She almost agrees with him.

As soon as he enters the alley, she drops at him and slashes her blade: she runs before his hook can strike her and end her misery.

Why did she run?

He curses and sets after her and she still runs, like the heaven-damned selfish sinner she is. She runs until she can hide and attack him again, or until he catches her and gives her a chance to fight: and again, and again.

She finds that she doesn't need to think like this.

....

In the morning, Uma steps out of her cabin only to be met with the sound of screaming, distant fire, and a sight of something that seems to be an exorcism circle directly in front of her doors. And on it. And all around, as she discovers with a quick glance.

She takes a deep breath. Fucking consequences of her own fucking actions.

„Claudine!“ she cries out, her voice carrying over the port and waking up most of the hungover pirates.

Frollo’s seven-times-damned daughter doesn’t show up, which says a lot, given her otherwise non-existent survival instincts. Good for her, Uma would almost say, except this isn’t how it works.

„Harry!“

Her first mate doesn't show up either and the port still even more, except for the quite steady stream of curses coming from Scattered Hope, Harriet's ship.

Uma would very much like to stab someone, thank you for asking.

Uma is breathing through her nose and slowly reciting the recipe for her mother's memory potion when Gil informs her of the happenings:

Yeah, Claudine did spray paint an exorcism circle on her door. She also only vanished to get some special salt or water or whatever.

And yeah, Harry did set Frollo's on fire.

But don't worry, Uma, last time we saw them they were stalking each other through the port.

Uma sets out after them.

My problems are your problems now ♥

In other words, Uma hooks up with Claudine Frollo to make Harry jealous. More drama to come soon ♥ (Meaning this will get another part–)

The party was all around her in full swing – the music, the alcohol flowing, the only mostly sane laughter, dancing and few fights breaking out here and there.

But something’s missing, Uma would say, something else than the taste of freedom they are all chasing and that keeps evading. Something's missing.

Harry is not paying attention to her, that’s what is wrong. 

Uma joins Desiree and Bonny dancing and accepts a shot of rum from Marya; she keeps dancing, not looking where Harry stands, but her eyes keep betraying her.

It seems as if Harry is all she can see.

Standing too far away from her. Leaning at the mast of Lost Revenge. Playing with his hook and leaning entirely too close to Anthony Tremaine.

Something is burning deep inside Uma’s chest as she finally looks away. 

Thunder sounds overhead, but Uma pays no mind. Instead, she takes another shot, this time with Ivy, and then sits on the railing, looking over her crew and the partying people. Definitely not on Harry.

She doesn’t notice seething Harriet Hook in the crowd, nor Ginny Gothel, sneaking around in a fashion that might indicate that she is about to assassinate her first mate. 

No, Uma is firmly decided not to pay attention to anything vaguely related to Harry today.

He took off his coat, showing off his arms to the biting Isle night.

Not that she noticed, of course.

She forces her disobedient eyes elsewhere.

Her attention falls to Claudine. Frollo’s daughter in the pirate crowd, her hair and eyes practically glowing under the fairy lights, dancing and stopping at the oddest moments, as if she forgot what she was doing. She is swaying just a bit too much. 

Her eyes barely leave Uma.

A sense of plan swirls into being in Uma’s mind, and she seizes it before it can fade away, before she can think. She doesn’t look in Harry’s direction.

„Claudine!“ she calls out, „Claudine, come here!“

She does manage to look at Claudine as she walks over, stopping closer than she would any other day, and leaning closer yet. She has a cup in her hand:

„What are you drinking, Claudine?“ Uma asks.

„Slammed tequila, Marya called it,“ Claudine answers, leaning closer yet and raising the cup to Uma, „D’you want any, Captain?“

Uma doesn’t want any, but drinks anyway, purposefully brushing her fingers against Claudine’s as she takes the cup. She hides her smile in the cup as Claudine gasps a little, the broken thing she is.

„Do you like it, Captain?“ she asks a little breathlessly as Uma drinks, and can Uma fault her for that, really?

„It’s absolutely vile,“ she answers, „Just like I like it.“

Claudine smiles too, a confusing mix of shy and sharp, and something deep and dark tugs at Uma’s mind, something that she usually tries to ignore. She presses the cup back to Claudine’s hand, both of them falling silent for a moment.

Uma is well aware of Claudine’s eyes at her lips.

She is drunk, both of them are, and Harry –

And life hurts and Uma shouldn’t–

She shouldn’t give that order–

She speaks anyway.

„Do you want to kiss me, Claudine Frollo?“

„I– I–“

„Don’t be shy, Claudine,“ Uma leans closer, her breath on her lips, „I know you want. It’s okay.“

„It’s not–“ Claudine barely manages to whisper. She doesn’t lean away.

„It’s not okay…“

Uma brings her palm to the back of Claudine’s head, and she hopes Harry sees them, and orders:

„Kiss me, Claudine Frollo.“

Claudine gives in and obeys. 

Sighting into Uma’s lips and grabbing at her arms – it’s okay to touch, don’t you know, Claudine? – and moaning when Uma bites her.

Uma slides down from the railing and turns Claudine around, forcing her against it. She doesn’t care if anyone’s paying attention as she breaks to kiss and whispers „Do you like this, Claudine?“ her lips against her ear, her hands at places Claudine might describe as „obscene“, were she in the right state of mind. Did she remember her father’s teachings.

With that, nasty thoughts, hatred and anger and fierce protectiveness flares in Uma and forces her to grab Claudine tighter, bite her, just because she can.

„Do you like this, Claudine?“

„Yes–“ her eyes are almost rolled up her skull and she’s shaking ever so slightly. 

(When did it get so cold? When did the wind pick up so much?)

(Is she shaking from the cold?)

(Uma can’t look around to the board of the Lost Revenge, can she now? Not when she has Claudine pressed against the railing like this. What a convenient excuse, right?)

Uma isn’t thinking much, finally, and heartbeats pass faster than they have any business beating.

It takes Uma a moment to notice when the ship falls silent behind her, and it’s mostly Claudine’s frigid body clueing her in.

Uma turns around to face her first mate with a smirk.

„Yes, Harry?“ she asks sweetly, positioned clearly in front of Claudine. It’s clear what they’ve been doing, isn’t it?

Good.

„Anything’s the matter?“

„Nothing’s the matter, Captain,“ he answers, all tense, his hands wrapped around his hook in the wrong way that is hurting him and Uma wants to peel his fingers away, „Nothing’s wrong.“

He’s lying and so is she.

He shouldn’t have started.

„Good,“ she answers anyway.

Claudine’s still frozen behind her, and so is the whole world, really, when Harry repeats „Good,“ with a barely contained sneer and turns on his heel and marches away.

The party doesn’t spark to life again that evening, and Uma falls asleep alone in her cabin.

She doesn’t want to know where Harry is – she doesn’t know where did Claudine run away to. She should probably care.

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Warmth

Bela Dimitrescu x They/Them Reader

A/N: Yes, I’ve contracted the RE8 fever, and a bit late at that, what about it? Anyway, hope ya’ll like it. I don’t think there is anything that I should have to warn any of you about but let me know if I’m wrong. Word Count: 2,176

Being the fire stoker for the Dimitrescu daughters was simultaneously the best and worst job in the castle. It was the best job in that the daughters saw them as too valuable to kill or maim since they did their job so well. It made the daughters actually quite appreciative of them. Worst because if (Y/n) were to, god forbid, let a fire die in one of the girl’s rooms, their own light would be just as quickly snuffed out for such an error. That appreciation could turn to devastating hate on a dime if they were to slip up.

Winter was the most critical season. (Y/n) was often running room to room stoking the fires of each daughter’s most favorite areas of the castle to keep the most desirable temperatures. Often times they would fall asleep in the halls outside of the most at risk rooms and jerk awake at the slightest drop in temperature. Lady Dimitrescu had caught them dozing off once and scared them terribly when they awoke. Luckily, the Lady simply rolled her eyes and continued on her way, but not before reminding (Y/n) how easily a fire could fizzle out without the proper care and consideration. A warning.

The castle was huge, (Y/n) wished to argue, it wasn’t their fault that the daughters and their favorite rooms were so spread out. They’d like to see the Lady tend to every fire all throughout the harsh Romanian winter and see how long she could go without suffering from exhaustion. Well, on second thought, could the Lady even get tired? (Y/n) shook their head and sighed, rubbing at their bloodshot eyes. Lady Bela’s room was next in the rotation so they made their way to her wing while checking the state of their matchbook. They’d need to visit the kitchens to get a new one soon.

As they neared Lady Bela’s chambers they noted a slight chill which made their blood run cold.

“No, it can’t be...!” They gasped, fully sprinting down the hall now. They somehow remembered decorum despite the frenzy they had worked themself into and knocked upon the door, announcing their presence before stepping in. Their heart dropped to their feet.

The fire had completely died and Lady Bela was shivering in her bed, only her golden eyes could be seen staring at (Y/n) from beneath the covers as they rushed to the fire place with trembling hands.

“I’m so sorry Lady Bela!” They apologized fervently. How could this have happened? They had the timing down to a science! They had gotten too comfortable as Lady Dimitrescu had suggested and now the eldest daughter was sure to kill them for their carelessness. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know how this could have happened! I swear I’ll fix this, you’ll warm up in no time!”

Soon enough, the fire was blazing, the snap of the wood causing (Y/n) to flinch back. They heard the rustling of sheets and saw a black silk nightgown in their left periphery before they scrunched their eyes tightly shut. This was it, they had outgrown their usefulness. They held their breath and waited to be dragged away by Bela’s sickle but the biting pain never came. Instead, they were enveloped in chilled arms and wrapped in a luxurious duvet. An Ice cold nose dug into their neck and made them flinch.

“You will warm me. Move before I allow it and this will be the last fire you tend to.” Bela shivered and chattered against (Y/n)’s neck.

“Y—yes Lady Bela. Of course.” (Y/n) replied, back stiffening as Bela moved curl up in their lap. It was a bit awkward considering she was taller than most, but once settled she seemed pleased enough.

They sat like that for what felt like hours to (Y/n). Enough time to make their legs cramp and back ache. If Bela didn’t let them go soon, they were sure they’d have more than one displeased Dimitrescu sister to worry about. Fortunately, Lady Bela seemed to have grown tired of them and rose from their lap with a sigh before languidly moving back to her bed.

“Move along little human, if you let Cassandra’s fire go out I can’t say she will be as merciful as I.” Bela informed, looking back at (Y/n) over her shoulder with half lidded eyes.

“Yes, of course! Thank you Lady Bela, I swear I’ll never let it happen again!” (Y/n) bowed deeply before running out of the bedroom, shutting the door tight and quick not only to keep the heat in, but to hinder Bela a moment if she decided to change her mind on being merciful. They ran down the hall like a bullet leaves a gun to tend to Cassandra’s fire next, praying it hadn’t met the same early death as Bela’s.

***

It happened again.

It happened again and (Y/n) was absolutely beside themself. They had never been so sloppy in their life and even if Bela wasn’t going to kill them they almost wanted to sickle their own shoulder for their ineptitude.

“Tell me, what did you promise me yesterday little human?” Bela taunted from the bed while (Y/n) frantically stoked the fire to a roaring blaze.

“I— I don’t know what to say Lady Bela, I am disgusted with myself. Truly, I’ve never—“

“Hush now.” Bela glared from the pile of soft covers. If she wasn’t a vampiric bug woman with murderous tendencies, the scene would have been adorable. But (Y/n) knew better than to entertain the thought for long. Then Bela stretched her hand out from beneath her mountain of blankets.

“Come, warm me little human.”

“Whatever you wish, Lady Bela!” (Y/n) nodded, giving the fire one last look as if to say, ‘behave!’ and then they quickly stood beside Bela’s bed. There was no time to be shy when Bela lifted the covers, (Y/n) dove right in and let Bela maneuver them however she wished.

Unlike the day before, this warming position was much more comfortable and so much more dangerous. (Y/n) could feel that they were starting to drift off in the luxurious bed. If they fell asleep here, surely they would not wake again. Well, that might actually be kind. Who wants to be awake for their death anyway?

“I can feel your heart slowing, little human. Perhaps you’d best be on your way before you succumb to sleep and leave another fire to die.” Bela whispered a bit snidely.

“Right!” (Y/n) shot up and fell out of the bed, scrambling to their feet and anxiously smoothing the covers back down, “Thank you again for your mercy, Lady Bela. I’ll do better!”

“See to it that you do.” Bela replied airily as (Y/n) left the room. They failed to notice the small smile curling Bela’s lips as she watched them go.

***

Two weeks. Nine out of the fourteen days Bela’s fire had died before (Y/n) could stoke it. Sometimes, it even happened twice in one day and (Y/n) was dangerously close to a mental break. Bela, miraculously, seemed to have the patience of a saint and had yet to kill (Y/n) for their failures, simply making the fire stoker warm her with their body before sending them away. Despite the circumstances that preceded the impromptu cuddling sessions, (Y/n) couldn’t help but enjoy every moment they held Bela close or visa versa. It was actually really nice. They would have been lying if they said they hadn’t felt an attraction for the eldest daughter growing within them as they became used to life in the castle.

That didn’t mean (Y/n) didn’t feel horrible though. Each failure, every shiver drawn from Bela’s body, hacked at them like an axe and it was only a matter of time before they became the timber for the next fire.

So they set out for today to go differently, they quickly stoked Daniela’s fire and the one in the library, as well as the parlor, before bounding over to Bela’s room to arrive nearly half an hour earlier than usual. They knocked, announcing their presence, before promptly opening the door. They were already halfway across the room when they glanced up, pausing mid step when they saw Lady Bela out of bed standing over the fireplace. She stared back with wide golden eyes, seemingly frozen in time as well if not for the trickle of water pouring from the small bucket in her hands.

The sizzle of the water meeting the hot wood drew (Y/n)’s eyes to the fireplace and they watched slack jawed as smoke billowed and the small fire drowned into nothingness.

“...what?” (Y/n) whispered, their eyes shifting back to Bela who had the decency to look thoroughly embarrassed before fruitlessly hiding the bucket behind her back. The unusually meek display from the eldest Dimitrescu daughter seemed to spark (Y/n) to speak further out of turn, though words did not seem to be coming easily to them as they just continued to say, ‘what’, only getting louder and sounding more confused and utterly flabbergasted with each utterance. Their arms gestured between Bela and the sodden, burnt wood several times before Bela finally groaned and tossed the empty bucket into the nearest corner of her room with a clatter and a dull thud against the carpet.

“That’s enough!” Bela said sternly, causing (Y/n)’s jaw to snap back shut. She stalked over to them and lifted them by their shirt, quickly pushing them back against a wall in such a way that left their feet slightly above the floor as their hands scrambled to hold onto Bela’s.

“You will speak about this to no one!” She hissed, a buzzing sound emitting from her chest.

“My Lady,” (Y/n) wheezed, “I won’t say anything I swear!”

Bela scrutinized them closely before lowering them back down with a shallow nod.

“Good. Now,” she cleared her throat sheepishly before turning back towards her bed, “light the fire.”

(Y/n) didn’t need to be asked twice, scrambling to their knees in front of the fireplace. As they replaced the soggy wood with fresh timber, their mind raced. Why would Lady Bela douse her fire only to demand it be relit? Why would she do such a thing when she was so susceptible to the cold?

Once the fire was blazing once more, they tentatively turned to Bela, watching as she sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her feet. If (Y/n) couldn’t know the motives behind such a play, they were sure to lose their mind. So, they tested their luck and addressed Bela who gave them a warning look.

“Lady Bela, forgive me, but why ever would you douse your fire? Lady Dimitrescu had informed me of how important it is that you and your sisters stay warm when she assigned me this position. And... well, please forgive me if I’m wrong, you seemed to have made a bit of a habit out of it...”

Bela clenched her fists and growled, making (Y/n) jump to their feet.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” They said, making a dash to the door only to bump into a wall of Bela’s flies. This had to be it. They should have just kept their mouth shut!

“Stop panicking, little human.” Bela sighed and finished reforming in front of (Y/n). The fire stoker nodded, but their heart still beated ferociously in their chest. Being told to stop panicking by a Dimitrescu was like a great white shark telling a bleeding seal in open water to do the same.

“I’m only going to say this once so listen closely,” Bela averted her eyes for a moment and bit her lip before focusing back in on (Y/n), “you’re beautiful... handsome? Pleasant to look at and very warm and soft, sweet. I can’t very well snuggle up to a fire without being burned so I... stop looking at me like that.”

(Y/n) had a cute little smile on their face that seemed to be growing by the second. Their eyes were bright and alert as they soaked in every word and Bela couldn’t stop the small smirk tugging at her own lips.

“If it’s cuddling you wish for my Lady, you need only ask. I do enjoy the time we’ve been spending together as of late. Well, minus the heart attacks every time I see the fire’s dead.” (Y/n) informed.

“Just please,” they added, “no more fire sabotaging. I hate to see you shiver.”

“Easy enough,” Bela hummed before pulling (Y/n) back to her bed with visible excitement in her eyes, “hurry now, you got here early today so we have extra time!”

Before, Bela had been rather stiff with her demands. It was like (Y/n) was warming a block of ice wary of melting, but now she all but flung herself at (Y/n) with no inhibitions now that her secret was out. She hummed pleasantly and (Y/n) wiggled in her hold while icy fingers trailed beneath their shirt to settle on heated skin. It was shaping up to be a rather eventful winter.

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Ignorant | Steve Rogers

Wow I was really going through it with this one, huh? I think I listened to Bring Me To Life by Evanescence for the entire two hours it took to write this. I never write this fast-- I'm really going through it LOL! I hope you enjoy lovelies! It's the first Steve fic for Dinner at DIzzy's!

Appetizers (Tags): Angst

Entres (Pairing): Nomad!Steve Rogers x F!Reader (Third Person)

Sides (Prompts): 3: “Apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed, and don’t play well with others.”

Notes: This has a ton of swearing, Requested by Anon

Word Count: 1.8k

Dinner at Dizzy’s Master List

“Just because you’re the leader here doesn’t mean you have the right to be an asshole, Steve!” Y/n hisses at the man, fists balled at her side.

She’s not going to swing. She would never swing on him— at least she doesn’t think she would— but right now she’s so damn close. All day he’s been pushing her around, yelling at her for the slightest trip ups. Yelling at all of them. She understands that being fugitives isn’t easy but holy shit can the man chill out for five minutes? She fell asleep in the backseat of the car for five fucking minutes! Certainly that doesn’t warrant the hour tongue lashing she just got. It does, however, warrant her retaliation.

He takes a step towards her, face twisted in a snarl unlike anything she’s ever seen before. “Watch your language!”

She doesn’t back down— she’s not scared of him. “Don’t fucking yell at me then! Stop being a dick!”

She doesn’t feel bad for the insult or the way he flinches, his eyes darkening immensely. She had tried to politely ask him for space thirty minutes ago and he didn’t give her any. If he gets to blow off steam or whatever the fuck he’s doing than so will she.

“I’ll stop being a dick when you get some common sense!”

Steve’s raising his own voice now, getting right in her face, and she only pushes forward, her cheeks filling with heat and her stomach clenching painfully. The audacity of this man is incredible. His usual light eyes are a deep navy color now, almost black from his blown pupils. He looks crazy— she doesn’t doubt that she does as well. She would bet money that she looks insane.

“I fell asleep for five fucking minutes and Sam was right fucking next to me! What the fuck is your problem?” She’s doing it on purpose now— if he doesn’t want her to swear then that’s all she’s going to do.

Maybe it’s the triple F-bomb that has the sound of feet pounding against concrete echoing through their shoddy apartment. Maybe it’s just the yelling in general. Either way it’s a good thing that Natsaha and Sam come sprinting in from the other room of the two room complex because if they hadn’t then she’s sure her fist would be cracking against the jaw of Captain Douchebag right now.

“Woah, woah, woah— what the hell’s going on in here?” Sam is quick to get in the middle of them, pushing the super soldier to one end of the room while Nat yanks on y/n’s hoodie. “We could hear you idiots from the stairwell.”

Y/n struggles against Nat for a moment, vision tinted red at the edges. From across the room Steve glares at her, seething. She can practically feel the hatred pouring off of him. It stings at her chest, biting into her veins. He would have kept yelling at her if they hadn’t stopped him, she just knows it. She wishes he would so she could scream back— her stomach and muscles are still tight and she’s aching to lay into him some more. She barely even started and now she feels like she’s about to bubble over.

“Seriously—” Nat tugs again and y/n stops fighting, opting instead to glower at the blonde from across the room— “What’s gotten into you two? You’re supposed to be the responsible ones!”

Steve tears his arm from Sam’s hold but doesn’t clear the space between them. “Why don’t you ask y/n—” he tilts his head, sneering again— “What was it you said ten minutes ago? Oh yeah— apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed, and don’t play well with others.”

Why that little fucking— “Don’t put fucking words in my mouth!”

She storms past Natasha, dodging her arm as it flies out— you’re not the only trained markswoman here Nat. Steve does the same, bowling past Sam easily to meet her in the middle of the room.

“Why not? It’s what you meant right?” He’s in her face again, breath hot on her face, and she only retaliates by fuming right back.

She feels like a dragon facing down her enemy— she’s ready to burn the entire building down if it means lowering him a peg or five.

“Actually it wasn’t but now it is you narcissistic dick.”

She can feel Natasha start to pull on her hoodie again but she’s not done— not now. Not when she’s just gotten started.

“You just can’t handle hearing the truth y/n— you can’t handle it when I tell you what you did was wrong. That you could have gotten us fucking killed with your ignorance—”

Her veins flood with fire, her lips curling into a painful scowl. In that moment everything turns slow, her heartbeat a dull thump, thump, thump in her ears, drowning out the rest of his sentence. The only thing that gives away that he’s still speaking is his mouth moving, his teeth bared and ready to be knocked out.

Oh so she’s ignorant now is she? Yeah well fuck you Rogers!

This time the only thing that stops her fist from slamming into Steve’s jaw is Sam catching it mid air, her knuckles slapping off his palm and bringing the sounds in the room rushing back to her at full force. She stumbles back with the impact but the soldier catches her, steadying her on her feet with a worried look in his soft brown eyes. It feels like she’s been underwater for days, her ears popping painfully as she gasps for breath.

“—s enough Steve!” When y/n blinks Nat is shoving her palm against the super soldier’s chest. “You need to back the hell off!”

She doesn’t realize until her eyelashes stick to her cheeks that they’re wet. That she’s crying. The sobs catch up to her when it registers, wracking through her with a force strong enough to have her whole body shaking. Sam is the first to notice, reaching out for her but she backs away, shaking her head. The room falls silent, three pairs of eyes now trained on her but she’s only looking at one pair of wide blue ones. Steve’s chest is heaving up and down, a cross between a feral and a confused look slathered across his features.

The look ignites the last of the dying spark inside her, her hand landing against her chest, wrapping around the dog tags hanging off her neck and yanking until she hears a snap. She waits for the chain to pool in her hands before she whips the metal across the room, hitting him square in the chest with a roar that’s more animal than human tearing from her throat— you wanted flames and now you’re going to get them.

“I’m ignorant? Me? Did you ever stop to ask yourself why the fuck I fell asleep today?” She slips her hands into her hair, tugging so hard on the roots that her scalp feels like it’s burning. “How about because last night you came back from scouting three hours late and looking like you got mauled by a fucking bear? And I asked you what happened and you wouldn't tell me a goddamn thing! You— Mister fucking super serum whatever the fuck! You just went to bed and I spent the rest of the night listening to you gasp for air! Not knowing if the shit was even working or if I was going to wake up to you gone! I—”

Her voice cracks and she curses, scraping her wrist across her face to wipe away some of the hot tears pooling down her cheeks. They feel like trails of lava melting her skin as they rush over her jaw and drip onto the floor. Steve’s face has morphed completely during the span of her rant, his mouth falling open, lips no longer busted open like they had been last night but still horrifying to look at right now. She knows he wants to say something— maybe he even wants to apologize— but there’s no fucking way she’s letting him. She’s not finished yet.

“I spent all night wondering if I was going to lose you! That I would wake up and have nothing! You’re my everything and I thought you were going to die and you wouldn’t tell me anything. So yeah, I guess I’m ignorant! Fuck you too.”

Her throat is raw by the time she’s done spitting the words at him, her head fuzzy from a lack of oxygen and her waning rage. It’s giving way too quickly to sadness— to the agonizing kind of heartbreak that has all her organs seemingly shutting down. Her face is sticky and itchy and she needs to get away from him right now.

She turns to meet the stunned faces of Sam and Nat, swallowing hard and wincing at the way her esophagus stings. She’s not going to have a voice at all tomorrow— or for the next week at this rate. Sam’s eyes look like they’re going to pop out of his head from how wide they are, his mouth open but— like Steve— no words are coming out. She flicks her eyes to Nat who, thankfully, springs into action, nodding her head to the door, the question clear in her eyes— want to get the fuck out of here? Y/n doesn’t answer, she just starts walking.

It’s in that moment that Steve snaps out of his stupor, racing to catch her at the door, warm hand curling gently around her wrist. She doesn’t even give herself a second to enjoy it— to fall into his touch and forget the agony in her chest— before she’s ripping her arm away from him, cradling it against her chest and backing away from him.

“Baby I—” His face is tight, his light brows creasing the middle of his forehead.

She can see it— the regret. It carves across his face, tugging his lips into a frown and making his eyes glass over. Her chest squeezes at the sight, her own eyes coating with a fresh sheen of tears. She wants to wrap her arms around him— to tell him that she forgives him and that she loves him and that she’s scared— but he did this not her and before she knows it she’s taking another step back, shoulder bumping into Nat’s as she shakes her head.

“I’m sleeping with Nat tonight. I’ll talk to you in the morning. Night, Steve.”

Steve’s face falls, the first of his tears pooling down his now angelic face, and as she hesitates. Maybe she should— she feels a tug on her hand, glancing down to where Natasha’s slender fingers wrap around her forearm. She doesn’t have the strength to fight her comrade as she pulls her past the door frame.

As the super soldier falls from her line of sight all she can hear is Sam’s exhausted voice—

“Let her go, man.”

—and she breaks.

[dreamkidddream]

gasp

quote 10 for junichiro?? 🤔🤔

if not, it’s okay! tyy!!

I will be a Junichiro simp until the day I die and even then death won’t stop me 😤 reader is gender neutral!

TW: suggestive/spicy moments, but nothing graphic/extreme is mentioned (still SFW)

Prompt: “I heard you talking in your sleep.” with Junichiro!

Junichiro was startled to see that he woke up on the couch. He stayed here to wait for you to get off from work, and if he’s still here...

Then where are you?

He’s usually on top of this, never making mistakes like this, but he’s been so drained after a rough mission and having to receive some extra treatment from Yosano, that he doesn’t even remember falling asleep! Did you make it home okay?! He swears, if something happened to you, he will not hesitate to-

“Good morning! How was your sleep?”

He snapped his head towards the kitchen. There you were, all smiles and cooking breakfast. He felt the tension lift off his shoulders immediately, and stepped over the discarded blanket to reach you.

“(Y/N)! Are you okay? Why didn’t you wake me up when you got home? Did anything happen-”

“Juni, relax”, you pecked his cheek. “Can I at least get a ‘good morning’ before you start to interrogate me?” You teased.

“Ah, sorry. Morning babe,” Junichiro came up behind you, enveloping his arms around your waist and leaving a drawn out kiss on your cheek. He groaned and stretched, feeling a few joints pop, and moved back to his previous position, laying his head in the crook of your neck, “I just got worried. You know that you could’ve woke me up, I wouldn’t have gotten mad-”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. You had a longer day than I did, and you were looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, it sounds like you were really sleeping good.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh nothing~”

He’s confused and about to question you more when he’s suddenly ushered to the table with a plate of food placed in front of him. His stomach is growling the longer he smells it, and he’s already got his fork in his hand before he even knows it. You even got up to cook for everyone! How did you know that he was craving this?

“Is it good?”

He couldn’t swallow quick enough to answer you, so he just nodded his head eagerly, which just made you laugh and peck his cheek in return. “Well slow down! We have the whole day ahead of us, no need to rush.”

“You don’t have to work today?”

“Nope, took the whole day off. So today is about you and me. And Naomi too if she wants to tag along.”

Junichiro couldn’t stop the small smile from growing on his face. This is perfect, something that he wouldn’t trade for the world. No interruptions, just you and him, this feels just like a dream-

“So what do you wanna do first? Go walking in the park, try that new restaurant down the street, or would you like me to go ahead and give you your special massage?”

Okay, it’s starting to sound too much like a dream. Specifically like his dream that he had last night.

And with the tone you’re using, he had a gut feeling that you knew it too.

“W-what?”

“What? Don’t remember? You seem very excited about it last night, along with other things, if I remember correctly.”

The blood rushed to his face before he could even process what just happened. He is more than mortified right now, you probably thought he was a pervert now! He wishes that this was a dream too so that he wouldn’t die from embarrassment. “My my, you have quite the imagination Juni.”

He couldn’t stop the shiver from going down his back. The tone that you used always did something to him, he couldn’t help it. He tried to stammer out an apology with an explanation (I mean look at you, can you blame him when you’re so attractive?!), but he was tongue tied. “W-w-wait! How- how do you know-”

“I heard you talking in your sleep, and I will say, watching you ramble on about how perfect I am while drooling was both one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen and a confidence booster.”

Oh, he would rather take another round of Yosano’s treatment than hear anymore of this.

“I- I’m sorry (Y/N)! I didn’t mean to make you feel so uncomfortable-”

“Who said I was uncomfortable?”

He felt like his heart could stop at any minute, and you cupping his face so gentle isn’t helping either (but he hopes that you don’t stop).

“You’re still the sweetest person ever even when you’re passed out and drooling, why would that make me feel uneasy?” You had a genuine smile on your face, unlike the teasing one before. “I heard all kinds of things last night, but I will have to say, my favorite thing was you confessing all over again. I mean, it was very messy and all over the place, but you still hugged me just as tight like it was the first time.”

“You’re...you’re not upset?”

“Nope.” You leaned to give him a delicate kiss, “I still love you all the same, and that’s not changing. Now, ready to get the day started? I don’t want to wait another minute.”

He still had the deep blush on his face, but he didn’t waste a second to return the kiss.

You really are perfect.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Crave

Jiang Cheng is in a really bad mood, which he thinks is justified seeing as he hasn’t slept properly in at least a week and he’s been sporting a low-level headache for the same amount of time.

Being cranky should be understandable under these circumstances but it seems like the whole world is against Jiang Cheng these days, because no one—literally no one—seems to understand or even be willing to give Jiang Cheng some space.

First it was Nie Huaisang who came in to babble about the newest gossip he picked up gods even knows where.

Then Wei Wuxian barged in like this office belonged to him instead of Jiang Cheng only to start waxing poetics about Lan Wangji. Which is something that Jiang Cheng absolutely does not want to hear under any circumstances let alone under these less than perfect ones.

And then his father had the audacity to come in to berate Jiang Cheng over a job he finished days ago and he didn’t even have the decency to apologize when Jiang Cheng finally snapped at him and told him that it has all been finished already. As if Jiang Cheng would ever forget a deadline.

So all in all it’s a really fucking bad day, and Jiang Cheng is more than ready to go home and be done with it.

Jiang Cheng face-plants on the couch as soon as he arrives home, fully intending to only move if his stomach should complain or if it’s time for bed—whatever comes first, really—but it seems like the whole universe is against him today because someone rings at his door.

Jiang Cheng has a split second where he foolishly hopes that maybe Wei Wuxian did pick up on his bad mood and ordered take-out for Jiang Cheng to make it up to him, but he discards that thought as fast as he has it. It’s unlikely that Wei Wuxian picks up on anything that’s not Lan Wangji and it’s even more unlikely that he would spend some money on Jiang Cheng.

So even in the case it is a delivery, Jiang Cheng most likely has to pay for it himself.

When it rings again, Jiang Cheng groans and pushes himself up. It doesn’t seem like this problem will solve itself, so he trots over to the door, his headache coming back with a vengeance now that he laid down for a moment.

“What?” Jiang Cheng growls out as he yanks the door open, and he has to admit that he wasn’t at all prepared to come face to face with Nie Mingjue.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Cheng asks and a bit of panic creeps in, because what if he forgot they have a date today?

He wrecks his mind, trying to remember if they agreed on meeting today, but nothing comes up.

“You didn’t forget anything,” Nie Mingjue reassures him, because it seems like Jiang Cheng is very easy to read and he sheepishly scratches his head. “I didn’t mean to make you panic.”

“No, it’s okay,” Jiang Cheng says as he steps aside to let Nie Mingjue in.

Being in Nie Mingjue’s presence still makes him nervous as hell, because while they have been on two dates already, neither of them have ever talked about being in a relationship, so Jiang Cheng is still not entirely sure where he stands with Nie Mingjue.

He definitely knows where he wants to stand with him, but he’s not sure if Nie Mingjue wants the same thing.

Jiang Cheng knows that he should simply ask—that he can simply ask—but he’s too afraid that Nie Mingjue’s answer won’t be what Jiang Cheng so desperately wishes for and so he never dares to ask that question.

“If I didn’t forget anything, then what are you doing here?” he asks once Nie Mingjue is firmly inside his apartment and Nie Mingjue retains the sheepish look.

Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes at him.

“What is going on?” he demands to know, because he really is not in the mood for whatever is going on and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“Huaisang said you seemed stressed out today. I just—I thought maybe I can help? But you don’t seem to be in the mood for company so maybe I’ll just leave again?” Nie Mingjue says and he sounds more nervous than Jiang Cheng thought he could be.

He crosses his arms in front of his chest and levels Nie Mingjue with a look.

“What would you do to help?” he demands to know and watches as Nie Mingjue goes slightly red in the face.

“I thought—a hug? But I can also really just leave,” Nie Mingjue rambles, pointing at the door and Jiang Cheng hates to admit it but it’s more than cute.

It’s adorable, really.

“I don’t know if I would like a hug,” Jiang Cheng admits after a long moment.

Just the thought of anyone touching him at work had been enough to make Jiang Cheng’s mood plummet even further, but now that it’s Nie Mingjue who offers—it doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

“We could try?” Nie Mingjue suggests. “And if you hate it, I’ll just leave? And order you some food instead? Or something?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug and he immediately steps closer to Nie Mingjue, mostly so that he can’t see how Jiang Cheng’s face grows warm as well.

This rambling side of Nie Mingjue really is too cute, and a little bit too much for Jiang Cheng to handle right now.

A hug will probably be safer.

Jiang Cheng realizes his fatal error when Nie Mingjue’s arms come up around him and he is being pulled into his chest.

This—this is so much worse than cute, adorable rambling Nie Mingjue, Jiang Cheng thinks, but he also doesn’t want to move, ever again.

“Okay? Or should I leave?” Nie Mingjue wants to know after a long moment and Jiang Cheng can’t help himself, he tightens his arms around Nie Mingjue’s middle as if he would push him away at any moment now.

“I see,” Nie Mingjue whispers and then he chuckles and Jiang Cheng can hear it in his chest.

It’s a lot cheesy but Jiang Cheng could swear that that sound is better than any painkiller he tried in the last week or so and he vows to never let go of Nie Mingjue again.

“Do you maybe want to move this to the couch?” Nie Mingjue asks after maybe ten minutes of simply standing around in the hallway like idiots.

“Okay,” Jiang Cheng agrees but he makes no move to let go of Nie Mingjue so it takes them at least another five minutes before they finally do get moving towards the couch.

It’s clear that Nie Mingjue wants to pull Jiang Cheng on top of him, but Jiang Cheng thinks he might enjoy the solid proof of Nie Mingjue’s weight on top of him more, so after a bit of wrangling they end up on their sides, with Nie Mingjue leaning a little bit more onto him.

It’s the perfect place to be in.

“Are you feeling better now?” Nie Mingjue wants to know eventually and Jiang Cheng sighs, before he snuggles into Nie Mingjue’s chest.

“Yeah,” he mumbles and goes boneless when Nie Mingjue starts to stroke a hand up and down his back.

“What’s going on with you lately?” he lowly asks and Jiang Cheng shrugs as best as he can in his position.

“Don’t know,” he admits. “I haven’t been sleeping well and there’s this persistent headache.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Nie Mingjue whispers and Jiang Cheng only hums.

He knows it’s not good but nothing he tried so far helped. At least until Nie Mingjue.

Jiang Cheng still gets nervous when he remembers that they did not talk about if they are in a relationship, or even exclusive or anything else besides going onto dates, and he thinks that while it’s probably not the main cause it’s likely that the unclear situation is adding to his stress level.

And maybe it’s time to put some clarity to it.

“Do you want to stay the night?” Jiang Cheng asks, glad that his face is hidden away in Nie Mingjue’s chest but he still feels how he tenses for a moment.

It’s almost enough to make Jiang Cheng move away from him, but then Nie Mingjue tightens his arms around Jiang Cheng and so he figures it might just be okay.

“You mean sleeping over?” Nie Mingjue clarifies and Jiang Cheng nods.

“Just sleeping,” he also adds, because he doubts he is up for anything else despite how his headache calmed down a bit.

“I only sleep over for people I call my boyfriend,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng is glad to hear the tiniest bit of insecurity in his voice.

At least he’s not alone in that.

“So let’s be that,” Jiang Cheng decides, and Nie Mingjue’s answer is clear when he immediately presses a kiss to the top of his head.

“I wasn’t sure,” Nie Mingjue admits and Jiang Cheng’s stomach drops out.

“If you want to be—that, with me?” he asks because they cannot go into this with any misunderstandings and if despite everything Nie Mingjue still doubted his feelings then Jiang Cheng might have to take a step back.

“If you wanted that, too. If we were on the same page already.”

“Of course I want that,” Jiang Cheng says, pulling away from Nie Mingjue to look him into the face. “Of course I want to be your boyfriend. And I want you to be mine, too.”

“Then everything is good.”

Nie Mingjue smiles before he leans in for a soft kiss and Jiang Cheng happily falls into it.

They do eventually move to the bed, even eating the take-out they ordered in there, and falling asleep in Nie Mingjue’s arms is probably going to be one of Jiang Cheng’s favourite thing to do and he can already feel himself starting to crave it.

He still sleeps like shit, but when he wakes up in the middle of the night, to Nie Mingjue cuddled close to him, it’s not as lonely as it used to be.

Like this, Jiang Cheng might just be okay.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[theamberwriter]

Bouncing Baby [4]: Sick Day

Read the Series! [1] [2] [3]

Pairing: Shota Aizawa x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5,613

A/N: Wow, hi guys! It's been a minute! I hope that you all like this next part! I'm so excited it's finally done after all this time. Hopefully you all still want to read it! This was a lot of fun to write. I hope you all enjoy!! Also, I hate editing on Tumblr Mobile, lol

~

You knew as soon as you woke up that morning, there was no way you were going to work. Your head was packed, your ears were stuffy and ringing, and your throat felt like sandpaper. You could barely open your eyes to shut off your alarm. You coughed, nearly puking as phlegm came up with it. You spit in the trash can next to your bed.

"Shota," you whined rolling over, and accidentally smacking him in the face with your hand. He grunted.

"You're not going to work today, are you?" he muttered, eyes still close. 

"Are you crazy?" You coughed and spit in the can again. "You know my quirk copies my physical state on other people. If I try to heal anyone, they'll all leave the office feeling like this."

"I figured as much, that's why I asked." 

Shota grabbed you, pulling your back to his front. You were worried about him getting sick. But you didn't protest the cuddles. They made you feel a lot better. You wished the two of you could lay there all day.

"I'll take Kohaku to work with me," Shota said as the third alarm rang. Reluctantly he sat up, placing his feet on the floor.

You rolled to face him, mostly asleep. Your head swam. "You don't have to. She's a handful."

"She'll be fine, nothing I can't handle."

"But your class - after everything that's happened...They still have so much left to learn. That's why I've been keeping her with me."

"Exactly, if they can't handle a child after this - there's no hope for them," your husband chuckled. You wanted to protest more. But your mind was getting dragged down into slumber.

You didn't hear them leave. Only waking to an empty house. For the first time in years, you were alone. No husband, no baby - it was unbearably quiet. But it was nice and serene. If only you didn't have a cold.

You glanced at the clock on the stove. Shota was three hours into work. You wondered how he and his class were faring. Little did you know, Kohaku would soon give them a run for their money.

Nobody had really questioned when Shota Aizawa walked through the halls with a baby that morning. A bag in his wife's favorite color was hung from his shoulder, and a black haired baby who was the spitting image of him on his hip. She was fast asleep against his shoulder. 

By that time in the school year, everybody knew he was married to one of the school's nurses and that the baby was theirs. The secret he'd been trying to keep, leaking out after only two weeks. All due to an incident where she phased through the walls, giving everyone a fright. 

It had been a regular occurrence after that that he'd watch the child in the classroom. Giving his wife a break to focus on her duties. So his class didn't much question the child either. Even though it'd been four months since they saw her last. The baby had grown much in that time.

Shota put his sleeping daughter in her playpen, then stood in front of his class. On his way to work, he'd thought of something fun. Something to give him a story to tell his sick wife to cheer her up when he got home. Maybe he'd even send her a video while the chaos ensued.

"Your morning classes will proceed as usual," he said. "However, your training later today will be different than normal."

Shota didn't answer any of his students questions. They would all just have to wait and see.

Their classes went by, lunch came and went. So far, Kohaku had been tame. He only had to erase her quirk a few times. Which she grew irritated at quickly. But she calmed down after All Might sat with her for an hour.

Kahaku napped after his visit. Shota right alongside her. He was glad she decided to sleep during the lunch period. He knew she was at her worst after nap time. But he wasn't concerned about it today. Today, her unruliness wasn't his problem. In fact, it worked great with his plan. It wouldn't have been as fun if she fell asleep in the middle of it.

Shota escorted his class to their training facilities once they all had changed. Kohaku was just beginning to wake up due to all the noise. She was still slumped against her father's shoulder. 

"Mr. Aizawa, what are we doing today?" Iida asked. "Is it some sort of special training?"

Shota smirked to himself. "Something like that. Today - you'll be taking care of my daughter."

There was a loud, collective WHAT?!

"We're not damn babysitters!" Bakugo growled.

"Don't curse around the girl, Bakugo!" Iida scolded.

Uraraka stepped forward. "She's only a baby, it shouldn't be too hard. Right?"

"Kohaku is very special. And not just to me and her mom. Kohaku is a year and seven months. However, as you may know, she already has her quirk," Aizawa explained. There were murmurs of oh yeah and shit, that's right. "My daughter can change the material her entire body structure is made of. Most likely to an atomic level. But, since she's only a baby, what she becomes and what she decides to do are totally unpredictable. 

"Your task is to watch her until the end of the day. I won't be erasing her quirk. Time out will only be called if Kohaku falls asleep or needs her diaper changed. If she's still in the facility at the end of the day, you've successfully completed the exercise. But if she gets out, even once, then I'm going to make you sit through sex education classes with Midnight for a week."

There was a collective shutter, aside from Mineta. He was way too into it. Nose bleed and all. Everyone else one could see them sifting through worst case scenarios. Shota knew Nemuri would be only too excited to show his class the ropes if BDSM. Quite literally.

Shota moved Kohaku's hair from her eyes. Checking if she'd gone back to sleep. But Kohaku leaned up, yawning as she rubbed her face. She grinned up at her father, then turned to look at everyone else. She leaned shyly back against his shoulder. There were a few aawwwws.

"You're playing shy now?" Shota chuckled. "You know them. They're going to play with you today. Would you like that? - I've brought a bag of her toys with us. Everybody take one. The first person she goes to gets to sit out a day of lessons if the class manages to fail. If the class succeeds, that person gets extra credit towards any class they're currently lacking in."

His whole class clambered for the bag. Pulling out cute little bunnies, and plastic rings, and soft books that crinkled when they moved. Bakugo was unlucky enough to get a teether that looked like a bowl of ramen that she'd recently chewed on. He turned white when her spit coated his hand. He seemed about ready to destroy it.

"I would like to note," Shota added. "That if any of the toys are ruined by a student, it's an automatic failure for the entire group."

Everybody turned to Bakugo. He glared them down, snapping an insult. Shota sat on the floor, and a few people followed. He put Kohaku on his knee, turning her towards the class. She seemed mesmerized by her selection of toys. 

"Do we have any questions before we start?" 

Iida's hand shot into the air. "Mr. Aizawa, could you please tell us what materials your daughter can turn herself into?"

Aizawa nodded. "I was wondering if any of you were going to ask. Lucky Iida did, so that you all can be warned. - So far, Kohaku has done four things. One, she can become a rubber-like substance. If she falls or jumps off something, she'll bounce. After each subsequent one, she will become faster indefinitely until she hits something she can't bounce off of.

"Two, she can become heavy metal. When this happens, Kohaku can't be picked up or knocked over. This is often how she pushes over her playpen. However, the metal is soft and scratches easily. Which means that, when she deactivates, she'll have cuts in her skin. Third, she can turn her skin into a diamond material. Unlike with the metal, she can't be hurt in this state. But she is light and can be moved. Finally, Kohaku has figured out how to make her matter permeable. You all have met Mirio, of the Big Three. It seems to be similar to his quirk.

"She may be a child. But children are unpredictable, and Kohaku is particularly rambunctious once she warms up to you. If you all can handle villains, I see no reason why you should have any trouble with my daughter. Does anyone else have anything to ask?"

When the class remained silent, Shota nodded. He bounced Kohaku on his knee for a moment while he spoke to her.

“Okay, Kohaku,” Shota started. “Which toy would you like to play with?”

He stood her on her feet, making sure she was balanced. She sucked on her thumb as she slowly started to wobble towards the class. Some began to shake rattles at her or crinkle books. A few started making the noise to call cats. Shota rolled his eyes, you couldn’t pspspspspsss at a baby.

Finally, she wandered over to Todoroki. He’d been sitting quietly, watching her. His eyes grew wide as she crawled in his lap, reaching for the rabbit in his hand. Todoroki froze as she pulled herself up to stand on his thigh. She held the rabbit closely, while gripping on to his shoulder for balance. Shota made sure to get a photo on his phone of Todoroki’s terrified face.

“Are you okay, Todoroki?” Asui asked. 

The corners of his mouth pulled down as he lifted up Kohaku and held her in front of him. She gurgled happily, jingling the chime in the rabbit.

“You scared of a stupid baby, Half and Half?” Bakugo snapped. He came over and took Kohaku from Todoroki’s hands, causing her to lose her grip on the rabbit. For once, Shota was glad when Kohaku started to cry. This was the beginning of the end.

Kohaku quickly turned herself into heavy metal. Bakugo cursed, trying to keep a grip on her. But she ultimately slammed to the ground. Kohaku gurgled happily, though Bakugo glared. She’d narrowly missed crushing his foot.

Shota watched on, laughing to himself, as Kohaku began to phrase through the large training terrain in the middle of the room. Students followed, leaping up into them. Trying to figure out where she might be in the structure. 

“There!” Kirishima called from the other side. 

Everyone followed, disappearing quickly, and Shota went to get a higher vantage point. Kirishima dove for Kohaku, but she went right through his fingers. He looked at his hands in disbelief, then watched as she teetered away. A few people tried to grab her, but she went through all of them.

“Oh, c’mon!” Kaminari whined. “She’s going to get out!”

“She’s not a dog, sweetie,” Ashido said, rolling her eyes.

“She’s still heading for the wall! Which means -” Kaminari paled, so did Ashido when she remembered what Kohaku’s escape meant.

“Todoroki,” Asui asked. “Where’s that rabbit you had?!”

Todoroki glanced over his shoulder. “I put it back in the bag.”

“That’s okay, I think I can replicate it.” Yaoyorozu flicked quickly through her book, then focused. Not long after a semi-perfect replication of Kohaku’s rabbit sat in her hands. She shook it, and the chime inside jingled. Kohaku stopped in her tracks, one hand held up to the wall. 

Kohaku searched for the sound, sputtering happily as she found the rabbit. She waddled over to Yaoyarozu , hands extending as far as her little arms could reach. Yaoyarozu picked her up, jingling the rabbit again. Kohaku seemed happy as long as made noise.

"That was way too close!" groaned Uraraka, slumping to the ground.

"I guess we gotta keep her entertained," Kirishima noted. "But how? Yaoyarozu can't keep making toys."

Aoyama butted in then, radiating sparkles. He grinned at Kohaku. "Allow moi to try. Prepare to be amazed, mon petit!"

However, Kohaku wasn't the least bit impressed by his belly laser. Even when he tried to make it flashy, like fireworks. Shota knew that'd never work on her. He chuckled at the display, taking a picture.

"She's just as mean as Mr. Aizawa," Aoyama whined. He curled into a ball, tears slipping out. The whole class groaned. 

Uraraka was next to try. She held out her arms, which Kohaku reluctantly went into. It took Yaoyarozu giving Kohaku the rabbit to hold.

"You wanna go for a ride?!" Uraraka grinned then activated her quirk. It was a moment before Kohaku could process what was happening. But when she realized she was floating high above the others she began to cry.

"Uraraka! Put her down!!" Ojiro yelled.

Uraraka panicked, flailing for a moment. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"

When Uraraka released her, Kohaku fell right into Shoji's arms. Which she did not like very much. Kohaku wailed loudly, clearly not a fan of the multi-limbed hero. Mineta panicked and began trying to juggle some of his balls.

Ashido marched over, swiftly taking Kohaku. "Gimme her, you guys don't know anything about babies! It's okay, sweetie, Auntie Mina is here to save you from these idiots."

She sat down, Kohaku in her lap. Then started making faces at her. Kohaku's crying eased, and there was a moment of relief as she began to giggle. Though even that was short lived. Ashido decided to take Kohaku on a surf around the room. Only to have her goop splash and melt down Kohaku's newly made rabbit. That led to another bout of crying.

"And who were you just calling idiots?" Kaminari asked snidely.

Ashido whined. "Shut up, Denki! It was an accident! Here! - Tsu, you take her!"

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself. But Kohaku was already in her arms. The two stared at each other. "You can definitely tell she's Mr. Aizawa's daughter."

Kohaku laughed as Asui's tongue hung out of her mouth. She reached for it, tugging, and catching poor Asui off guard. Kohaku stretched and pulled her tongue, gurgling in glee.

"Do you want me to take her, Tsu?" Midoriya offered. Kohaku has been playing with her tongue for five minutes at that point. Anyone could tell how uncomfortable she was.

Asui nodded. "Thanks."

"C'mere, little Kohaku," he cooed, trying to pull Kohaku off. She didn't want to let go. No matter how much he tugged and pulled. Asui even tried to retract her tongue.

Aizawa snapped a picture of the tongue of war.

Finally, Kohaku let go. But so did Midoriya. Everyone watched in horror as the baby went flying.

"What the hell, Deku, you dunce?!" Bakugo growled. 

Kohaku smooshed against the wall, then sprang back, careening towards the floor. She began to laugh and sprang off the floor as Sero and Kaminari hit heads trying to catch her.

"That's right!" Iida announced. "Mr. Aizawa said she can turn into rubber and bounce. - But she'll get exponentially faster. We have to catch her before she becomes too fast to see." 

"We better do it soon, look!" The sleeve of Hagakure's uniform pointed up at the training terrain. Kohaku was bouncing off one level then the other. Shota dodged expertly as she passed him, she was nothing but a blur.

A few went to catch her, but she even escaped Iida's swiftness. Soon there was nothing but ominous bouncing and maniacal giggles echoing. No baby in sight.

"We're too late," Tokoyami shouted. "It's going to be impossible to catch her now."

Jiro kneeled. "Not impossible. Hanta, when I signal -" 

Sero nodded, readying to shoot. Jiro plugged into the floor hearing every place she hit. The floor, the wall, the terrain, the ceiling…

"There!" she shouted, pointing to a space in the air.

Sero shot tape. To everyone's surprise, it wrapped around something. Kohaku appeared, pulling him with her velocity before she sprang back and hit him. Knocking them both to the floor. Kohaku cooed happily from her spot on Sero's chest. He gave a weak smile and a thumbs-up, trying to get the wind back in him. 

Kirishima went and picked her up. He grinned at her. But she seemed unsure of his pointed teeth. "That's an awesome power you got, little dude! Mine's not half as cool." 

He hardened himself up and Kohaku was instantly mesmerised. She turned herself into diamond. Clinking her hands against his hard skin, sputtering out happy gurgles. 

"Really? That's all it took?" Hagakure wondered.

Something strange began to happen the longer Kirishima played with Kohaku. She began to deform her skin. Eventually, it writhed and wriggled. Her whole body trembled. She took partial form once, twice - three times. Kirishima stared in awe as she settled on her final form.

"Oh wow!" He held Kohaku up to face his teacher. "Hey! Mr. Aizawa, look! She has a new ability!"

For the first time in over an hour, Shota joined his students. They all crowded around to what happened. In Kirishima's arms sat a baby that looked to be made of rock. Her skin was hard and rough, even crunchy! It had ridges, similar to Kirishima's when he hardened all the way up. Shota snapped a picture of the pair. 

Kohaku laughed, reaching for her father. Shota was surprised to find she was very dense. Not impossible to hold like the metal baby. But she felt like a small boulder. Very weighty and sturdy.

"Look at you," Shota chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I'm very proud of you, Kohaku."

Kohaku went back to normal. Shota wrinkled his nose as soon as she did. He held her slightly away from him. Apparently all that effort to change made her soil her diaper. He wasn't the only one that smelled it. A few others were covering their noses. Some even gagging.

"I'm going to change her. I'll be back in a few minutes." Shota took her to a side room with the diaper bag. He decided it was time to give his wife a call.

"Hey," she croaked as the line crackled to life.

"You sound worse than this morning," he noted grimly. "Are you taking care of yourself?"

[Name] coughed. "Of course. I've had three glasses of water today. Plus I've been downing cough drops like candy."

"Drink more. I'll pick you cold medicine on my way home from work."

"I can go get it, you have Kohaku -"

Shota rolled his eyes. "I can handle her all on my own."

"Has she been good today?"

He grinned to himself. "Exceptional. I'm changing her now, so I thought I would call and check in on my lovely wife."

"I can't wait for you guys to get home," [Name] admitted. "It's unnerving how quiet it is. And I haven't been away from Kohaku this long before. I keep thinking I hear her crying."

"You need some rest." Shota frowned. "I'll call you again before we leave. We love you."

[Name] sighed in defeat, much too tired to argue. "I love you both, too. I'll talk to you later."

Shota hung up and finished changing Kohaku. He washed his hands, then took her back to the gym. "Are you ready to continue play time?"

All of his students had a new heir of determination. They'd seen what she could do now. Shota didn't know if they'd come up with a plan, or we're just being over confident.

"You have just over an hour until the end of the day," he announced. "So let's make this interesting."

"Wait - didn't Mina destroy one of her toys?" Midoriya asked. The class paled in realization. "Shouldn't we be out?"

Shota shook his head. "The toy Ashido melted down was made by Yaoyarozu. It wasn't one I brought with us. So you all haven't failed - for now. At the moment, only Todoroki and Kirishima are safe -"

"Why is shitty hair safe?!" Bakugo blazed.

"He helped her realize a new ability. I think that's a feat that deserves to be rewarded."

Kirishima grinned. "Awesome! Thanks, Mr. Aizawa!"

"Which leads me to the next part." This whole, honestly, couldn't have gone any better. This was better than he'd originally planned. "I want to see if anyone else can help Kohaku develop her quirk. As long as she isn't hurt, you can try to encourage her any way you see fit. The offer from earlier still stands. Anyone who succeeds is given extra credit, if you win. And gets to skip Midnight's, most likely elicit, sex education class, should you fail. - Your time begins now."

Shota put Kohaku down. She immediately went to Kirishima and rocked up. He hardened up himself as he picked her up.

"Maybe it isn't manly, but you're just so adorable," he said and gave her a little squeeze. 

"Oi, shitty hair!" Bakugo raged, marching over. "How is anyone else supposed to get a chance if you don't put the brat down?!"

"Insult my daughter again, Bakugo," Shota warned, eyes glowing. "And you'll wish Nemuri's class was the worst thing in your future."

Bakugo huffed. "Yeah, whatever."

"So…." Kirishima chuckled awkwardly. "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll give it a go!" Sato stepped forward, downing a thing of sugar. Kohaku was unimpressed as he powered up and flexed some. He gave up pretty quickly.

"It's okay, you tried your best," Ashido encouraged as he passed her. 

Kaminari stepped up next, flashing electricity in the palm of his hand. Kohaku seemed to enjoy the show, but there was no sense that she was trying to change. 

"Oh, c'mon," Kaminari groaned. "Don't you want to be an electric baby?"

"So she can fry herself and be as dumb as you?" Jiro teased. "I think not."

"Alright then, you give it a go!" Kaminari slunk away dejectedly.

Jiro and Kohaku exchanged a long glance. Then she extended her earphone jacks towards her. However Jiro retracted them immediately as Kohaku reached for them.

"Sorry, Kohaku," she said and jerked thumb behind her. "But you're not doing to me what you did to Tsu."

"You all aren't doing it properly," Iida scolded, stepping forward. "Allow me to demonstrate. Kirishima, put her down."

Kirishima did as he was asked. Kohaku was not very pleased. She went back to normal as she eyed Iida.

"Look here, little one," Iida instructed. He showed off his leg engines, revving them for show. Kohaku tilted her head. 

Iida took a sprint around the room. Then came to a stop in front of her again. Kohaku laughed at that, reaching her arms out. 

Iida shook his head. "Now you try."

Kohaku pouted. Kirishima laughed. "She wants you to pick her. Maybe if you took her on a run with you?"

Iida glanced between his classmate and the baby. Finally, he sighed and picked her up. He tucked her to his chest with one arm, then took off into a sprint. Shota had a feeling her hair was going to be a big knotted mess afterwards.

Kohaku looked slightly green as they came to a stop. Iida put her down, then gave her a small lecture on how his engines work. How she could incorporate them. But, honestly, she was a baby. So of course the whole thing was lost to her.

"You do know that's not how children work, right?" Uraraka asked.

Ashido crouched in front of her, conjuring a whole hand of grey mush. "How about you become a slime baby for Auntie Mina?"

"You sound stupid," Bakugo snapped. "Stop calling yourself that."

Ashido threw the slime at him. "Why don't you shut up?! Nobody asked you!"

It took a few people to cool him down. The sound as his hands began to pop got Kohaku's attention. She crawled right past Ashdio, who was still trying to coax out a slime baby. Kohaku sat staring up at Bakugo, watching as his hands crackled.

"What're you looking at?" he snapped, glaring at her. 

Kohaku stood as the popping stopped, and pulled one of his hands into her own. She looked closely at his palm and then flipped his hand over. She seemed dissatisfied. Kohaku made a soft pa, pa, papa, pa.

Bakugo frowned. "What are you doing?" 

"I think she wants you to use your quirk again," Sero pointed out. Kohaku continued to make the soft pa, papa, pa, pa, paap.

Bakugo sighed. But he did crouch to her height. "I need my hand back to make them pop."

Kohaku seemed to understand and immediately let go. Bakugo took a step away and lit his hands up for her. Kohaku squeezed in glee. She threw her hands up, making louder pa, papa, pa, pa!! She began running around again. Kohaku ran back through the terrain.

"Oh, way to go, Bakugo!" Mineta groaned. "You scared her. Now she's going to get out!"

"Shut it, extra," Bakugo snapped. "I didn't scare her."

"Not with his quirk, anyway," Kaminari snickered quietly. Bakugo turned to him, blazing.

Everyone went back up and over. Kohaku was nowhere in sight.

"Oh no, we lost her!" Ashido exclaimed. "I am not sitting through Miss. Midnight's class with you people!"

"She's not lost!" Midoriya exclaimed. "Look, over there!"

He pointed down by the far wall. Sure enough, Kohaku looked ready to go through it. 

"We won't reach her in time," Todoroki said.

Midoriya launched off. "I got her."

Unfortunately he went right through. Smacking face first into the wall.

"Idiot, Deku!" Bakugo took off after. "I'm not going to fail babysitting because of you!"

He landed, popping his hands again. Kohaku turned to him. She crawled over Midoriya, going to sit and watch the show.

"Wow, Bakugo is surprisingly good with kids," Ashido said, faintly.

Everyone dropped down to sit by Kohaku. There wasn't much time left. They just had to keep her entertained for a little while longer.

"Hey, Todoroki! Why don't you make some snow?!" Hagakure cheered.

Kaminari looked incredibly confused. "What?"

"Do you really think that will work?" Kirishima asked.

Hagakure nodded, even though no one could see it. "Sure, nobody can resist playing in the snow!"

Todoroki touched his hand to the floor. It iced up. Then a large flow started, not quite freezing all the way. Bakugo was not pleased as it crashed over him, dousing his flames. Kohaku's head popped out of the snow. She giggled happily as she looked around.

"What the hell, Half and Half?!" Bakugo yelled, melting the slush around him.

Kohaku crawled through the snow. She started taking chunks in her hand and compressing them. Everyone was a little confused when it congealed into ice. Until Kohaku started to tremble again. She stretched and jellied and shook. Then, finally, took form. This time, she looked to be made of ice. 

Shota snapped another picture. "Maybe we should let her see quirks in use more often."

"Aw, man, that's not fair!" Mineta whined.

"I mean, of course Todoroki would be good at this. He's good at everything." Hagakure shrugged. 

For the first time, Kohaku seemed to notice her. Just a uniform with no body seeming to be attached. Kohaku wandered over to her. She put her hands on where Hagakure's face should be. She was definitely surprised there was something there.

The disturbed look on Kohaku's face faded quickly. She patted Hagakure's face a few more times. Then began to shake again. She flickered a few times.

"This is amazing," Uraraka said in awe. "How do you think she's catching on to quirks so fast?"

"Observation, I suppose," Iida noted. "Look!"

Finally, Kohaku managed to flicker all the way out. Just a t-shirt and pants. She giggled to herself. Hagakure picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"I feel so flattered," she cried.

Bakugo grumbled. "She probably would've picked up my quirk, if you extras hadn't distracted her! Then she'd a real power!"

"No offense, Bakugo. But the last thing Mr. Aizawa and nurse [Name] need is another one of you," Kaminari said.

Bakugo was ready to argue again. A few people scrambled to cool him down. Shota admired the scene as they fought. Kohaku was coming along quite well. Better than he'd expected. He and [Name] had been afraid to let Kohaku around people while using their quirks. But he was starting to see how it's be beneficial to her.

Sure, there were things she'd figured out on her own. But she was very smart for her age. And her abilities with her quirk, the control, the range - it would make her something of a prodigy. He would have just to make sure to lead her down a good path. But not feel like she was being forced to do anything she didn't want to.

Shota wondered if any of the other hero courses would mind the exercise. That way Kohaku could be exposed to more, so she could learn. He'd have to have his wife take her to sit with the class beforehand. So she knew them. Then he'd take on the day of exercise. Just in case her quirk needed erasing.

"Enough of this," Iida yelled, finally. "We've nearly completed the exercise. Just a few more minutes, then you can argue about this outside."

Bakugo huffed. Kohaku became visible again and wriggled out of Hagakure's grasp. She went back to Bakugo. Pa, pa, pa!

"Yeah, pa," he groaned. He lit his hands up. But everyone nearly ran as Kohaku became an inferno. The flames were wild. Blazing and licking at people. She tottered from side to side. Melting the snow Todoroki had created.

As she tried to run off, fire still uncontrollable, Shota thought it was time to step in. He leapt down and joined his students.

"That's enough, Kohaku," he scolded. His eyes glowed and his hair flowed around him. Her flames were immediately doused. She tried to flick them back on a few times. But nothing worked. She wailed as she realized she couldn't do it anymore. "If you can't use your quirk responsibly, then you aren't going to use it at all."

Shota picked Kohaku up. She must've been getting tired from using her quirk, and playing so much the last few hours. She was getting cranky. But Shota knew she'd zonk in the car seat on the way home.

"We're calling it early, Kohaku is tired," Shota said. He wanted to add and so am I, to the end of it but refrained. "I'm proud of how each and every one of you did today. Surprisingly, you all passed. Congratulations. You're better with children than I thought."

"So - no Midnight?!" Ashdio asked excitedly.

Shota shook his head. "No, you saved yourselves. Barely."

"Uh, should someone take Deku to Recovery Girl?" Asui asked, leaning over his slumped form by the wall. "I think he knocked himself out earlier."

"Asui, you and Uraraka take Midoriya to the nurse's office while I finish up here."

Uraraka went and lightened up Midoriya, then her and Asui made their way out the door. 

"Todoroki, Kirishima, Hagakure, Bakugo - you all get extra credit. If you don't need, or want it, you're more than welcome to give it to someone else. Just let me know who."

"I know exactly what I'm using mine for!" Hagakure cheered.

"C'mon, man," Kaminari groaned, tugging at Bakugo's sleeve. "I know you have perfect grades! Give me your credit!"

Bakugo glared. "Get off me!" 

Kirishima awkwardly went up to his teacher. He grinned shyly. "Hey, Mr. Aizawa, if you ever want a babysitter, I'd be more than happy to watch Kohaku. Whenever you need."

"I'm sure she'd like that. I'll keep that in mind," Shota noted. And he would. Kohaku really seemed to like him, and he and his wife hadn't gone on a date in ages.

"Mr. Aizawa, is that all for today's exercise?" Iida asked. "Are we free to go?"

"Yes. But first - I just wanted to say thanks to all of you," Shota started. "You all did well handling her. There doesn't seem to be a scratch on her. She's learned a lot, but still has a long way to go. I know she'll keep today with her, even when she's older." Shota checked the time. They really had made it to the end of the day without an incident. "You're all free to go."

"Hey, Mr. Aizawa," Ashido started as the group left the facility. "Why did you bring Kohaku today?"

"Because even nurses have sick days." 

Kohaku slept on the way home, and while in the store. Shota couldn't wait to get home and tell his wife about his day. The one he'd planned all for her. He was sure she'd cry laughing so hard. It was all worth it if he could cheer her up, even a little bit.

The house was dark and quiet when they got in. He didn't bother flicking on any lights. Just in case it woke up Kohaku. Instead just setting down his things and going to look for his wife. She was curled up in their bed asleep in a mountain of tissues, some DVD rolling credits on her laptop. Shota laughed to himself. 

He moved everything and laid Kohaku down next to her mother. His stories would have to wait. For the time being, it was family nap time. That was truly the perfect ending to the day.

~

Taglist

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[cheesyficwriter]

Can you please do from Hug/Touch Prompts, Not wanting to let go hugs I love your writing 🤗

Thank you so much, anon 💜 here is a tent drabble for you today from Hermione's POV. Hope you enjoy!

I Can't Pretend 

The days are long inside the tent. For me, the nights are even longer as I toss and turn without near enough sleep.   

I use up a considerable amount of my mental resources during the day while strategizing with Harry and Ron on where to go and what to do next, leaving me completely knackered by the evenings. 

My shoulders sink as I sit down on my camp bed across from Harry, who has drawn a map again to test a new theory. Clearly he has no interest in going to bed anytime soon. 

My legs feel heavy as I lift them up to sit crisscross on the bed. Ron joins me on my camp bed to view the map from a closer angle, the thin mattress on the bed springing up as he sits. 

I'm barely listening to the two boys as they drone on, unable to concentrate on anything other than reprieve from the fatigue in my muscles. 

"You okay?"

Ron's looking at me now with concern in his eyes, and I sit up straighter with a flash of irrational frustration flooding my veins. 

"Yes, Ron. Why wouldn't I be?"

He recoils from my abrasive response. "Nevermind."

Instant guilt washes over me. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit exhausted, I'm afraid."

"Don't worry about it." His tone sounds reassuring, and I'm relieved that any sort of conflict between us seems to be resolved for now. 

Ron and I don't get along well these days. His short temper during the day over the lack of food lights a fuse under me, so much so that we're constantly snapping at each other. It's pure agony, being at odds with Ron, but I put up with it because I need him. 

Despite the indifference, he is still the one person who always seems to notice when I'm running on low energy, and takes great care to make sure I'm eating enough of what we have available and not taking watch for longer than necessary. 

Even now as he is physically close to me, I find myself longing for us to be even closer. I have a burning desire to be wrapped up in his arms — as if programmed by nature to want to touch him. 

The intense need to hug someone only grows when navigating through a stressful environment. On this hunt, I only have two options: Harry or Ron. With Harry, I hug him like I would hug a brother. It's quick, and somewhat comforting, but nothing beyond. 

On the rare occasion that I hug Ron, it feels...intimate. And all I have is the desire to hold on to him and never let go.

My thoughts drift away as I find my eyelids making an involuntary move to close. I slowly blink to force them back open, but the exhaustion wins and my head starts to loll to the side as I lose all consciousness. 

--

When I come to, the drowsiness prevents my eyes from opening straight away. Then I notice that my temple is now resting on what seems to be a sturdy shoulder...Ron’s shoulder. 

I think he can feel me stirring, for an arm snakes around my waist to pull me closer. A hand brushes the hair away that is tickling my eyelashes. 

"Should we wake her?" Harry asks from a short distance. 

"Nah, she's tired, mate. Let her sleep."

I’m lulled into a sense of calm from hearing Ron’s soft voice. I relish the fact that he apparently is comfortable enough to allow me to sleep on his shoulder in front of Harry, who I can hear going on about horcruxes as if nothing’s out of the ordinary. 

So, I take advantage of our current position by snuggling even further into the crook of Ron’s neck, wrapping an arm around his front to hold him as if not willing to let go. I release a soft sigh while keeping my eyes firmly closed for added measure. Ron’s chuckling into my hair that I’m sure is right in his face, but doesn’t make a move to shrug me off. 

The conversation around me filters away, and the boys seem to fall into a natural silence. I can feel myself raising and lowering from my position on Ron’s shoulder as he breathes deep. In the next moment, his cheek rests atop my head. 

I’m astutely aware of his fingertips that begin to trail a pattern up and down my opposite arm, sending a shiver through my body that I try to quell. 

The intimacy between us is unlike anything we’ve experienced together before, and it’s all so natural and perfect. I am in Ron’s arms, and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so wonderfully relaxed. 

Before I’m ready, Ron gives a gentle shake of my shoulder to rouse me. I wonder if his arm is starting to fall asleep. I make an exaggerated show to rub the sleep from my eyes as I stretch my arms above my head. 

“Sleep well?” Ron flashes me a wide smile. I notice that his cheeks look flushed in the soft glow of the bluebell flames. 

I may pretend to sleep in Ron's arms, but I can't pretend anymore that my feelings for my ginger-haired best friend don't go beyond platonic friendship. 

GIF cred: The Lord of the Hallows

[vnderoos]

in your place ✷ draco malfoy

(gif is not mine, credit to the owner) warnings / language, steamy scene, slight choking(?) word count / 3.1k

masterlist in bio ↴

Y/N'S HEAD SLUMPED further into her hand, her cheek smushing against it, as Snape rambled on, in his usual monotone manner, about the highly poisonous nature of the Weedosoros potion. She was far from a model student, seeing as Granger had raised most of the professors' expectations impossibly higher, but she was usually more alert, especially in Potions. She felt bad at first, when she'd started to doze off in the middle of class, but when she'd reminded herself of how badly she'd slept the night before and how nice it felt to close her eyes for a few seconds, her guilt ebbed away. It disappeared altogether when she slipped out of consciousness completely, falling asleep against her hand. In her unconscious state, she began to slide forward slowly, until she let out a loud snore and her head smacked against the desk.

The impact was enough to wake her up in an instant and she gasped instinctively, her eyes shooting open. A stinging feeling spread across her forehead and there was a string of saliva that connected her mouth to her hand when she sat up. "Had a nice nap, did you, Y/L/N?" someone asked in a mocking tone and everyone erupted into laughter. Her eyes flickered over to Draco Malfoy, who was laughing along with everyone else at his own joke, puckering his lips, and brushing his thumb quickly over the corner of his mouth.

Following his movements, she touched her fingers to her face, as all of the giggling seemed to intensify, and her eyes widened when her fingertips came in contact with her own drool. She was quick to wipe it away with the sleeve of her robe. "Oh, screw off, Malfoy," she grumbled and folded her arms over the top of her desk, looking down in embarrassment as the snickers continued.

Thankfully, the commotion was short lived after that and Professor Snap came to her rescue—unintentionally, of course. The man, with his dark and flowing robes swishing with movement, lifted his arms up and slammed a book down onto his desk. "That's enough," he all-but-yelled and it was almost frightening how easily he could calm down a room. The laughter ceased without another word and her peers tore their eyes off of her, so they could turn back around in their seats. When Snape was satisfied with the atmosphere again, his dark eyes flickered over to Y/N. She swallowed thickly under his gaze. "Miss Y/L/N," he started and she tried to drown out her nervous heartbeat. "Fifteen points from Slytherin. I suggest you keep yourself awake unless you want to make it thirty," he enunciated.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, professor." She nodded once and she managed a sheepish smile, grateful that he'd chosen to deduct points instead of embarrassing her with a question about Weedosoros that she definitely wouldn't have known the answer to. Snape only scowled at her in return, before resuming his lecture about the poison, going on to explain how it's effects weren't entirely unlike that of the Drink of Despair.

When Snape had immersed himself back into his teaching and Y/N's incident seemed miles behind them, she glanced over at Tracey Davis—her closest friend since their first year, and fortunately, her potions partner for the semester. "Can you believe he did that?" she asked in a quiet voice, a look of disbelief forming on her face, and the brunette turned towards her.

"Well," Tracey countered, spinning her quill in her fingertips. A little blob of ink splattered onto her parchment and she grimaced, deciding to set it back in her ink pot before she could do any further damage. "You did fall asleep during his lecture," she said, looking at Y/N with her striking blue eyes.

Y/N shook her head. "No, not Snape," she said, her eyes flickering past Tracey's shoulder to glare daggers at Draco. He was leaning into his hand on his desk with his eyes fixated on the front of the room. She would rather suffer the Cruciatus curse than admit it, but when he wasn't running his mouth, he was kinda handsome. It was the fact that he made everyone miserable that made him so horribly unattractive to her. "That twit—Malfoy," she practically growled his name, considering how throaty it sounded when it rumbled up her throat. She must've spoken a bit too loud as his head whipped towards her. His eyes narrowed as soon as they met hers and her lip curled up at him. She flashed him a subtle middle finger and he pinched his face up in disgust, rolling his eyes at her and turning back around. "What a smug bastard," she muttered.

Tracey let out a quiet laugh from beside her, having watched the exchange. "Merlin, you are grumpy this morning," she teased, sending her a lighthearted look from the side.

"Grumpy?" Y/N furrowed her eyebrows at that. "I'm not grumpy," she protested, nodding in Draco's direction. "He's just bloody annoying. I'm going to get back at him for embarrassing me like that," she promised.

"Really? And how are you going to do that?" Tracey asked. "Wait for him to fall asleep, and then, hope he's the one drooling?" she said playfully and Y/N rolled her eyes.

"Shut up," she sputtered out in a quiet laugh and she leaned back in her chair. The gears were already turning in her head as her back hit the wooden chair. "In the courtyard later. You'll see."

—

Draco walked beneath the arches of the castle and into the courtyard, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him as he did. He didn't miss the way a group of older Slytherin boys watched him walk by, before snickering amongst themselves when he passed. He received a few odd looks from the other house members, too. Even the Hufflepuffs were shooting him sideways glances as he made his way to his favorite spot in the courtyard.

Confusion bubbled up inside of him as two girls, dressed in yellow and black robes, walked by him, hiding their faces as they giggled. His eyebrows furrowed and he spared them a glance over his shoulder as they left. He couldn't remember doing anything worthy of talk that day, as all he'd done was sit through his classes and eat, so he turned his attention to the two boys at his sides. "Have I gone mad or does something seem off with everyone today?" he questioned, nodding in the direction of the girls that he'd just seen.

Crabbe and Goyle were about to respond with a shrug of their shoulders, but before they could offer their useless input, someone in the courtyard let out a loud wail. All three of them turned, heads spinning to find the source, and somehow, Draco wasn't surprised to see Y/N Y/L/N standing on top of one of the stone benches. She had the back of her hand draped against her forehead, her face twisted in mock despair, and she jumped off of the bench. "Oh, it's killed me," she whined, throwing her head back and pretending to clutch one of her arms in pain, and the whole thing seemed all too familiar to him. "It's killed me," she continued, and the crowd of students that had gathered around her started to laugh.

Draco could feel the anger bubble up inside of him as Crabbe pointed his finger. He swatted the heavyset boy's finger out of his vision. "I see it," he snapped, narrowing his eyes at the girl as she continued to act out an incident from his third year, when Hagrid's hippogriff attacked him. "I'll take care of this," he sneered and he started towards the girl with purpose in his stride.

Before Y/N noticed the blonde making his way over to her, she let herself fall backwards onto Tracey Davis, who giggled as she held her up. "You're gonna regret this," she cried in a high-pitched voice, "you and your bloody chicken," she finished and she pushed herself off of the girl. She, Tracey, and the rest of the students around them were laughing at her reenactment. "I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I—" she cut herself off when she turned her head and her eyes fell on none other than the subject of all of her joking.

His face was screwed up in annoyance as he walked up to the group, and though the laughter died in his presence, Y/N let her crooked smile stay sitting on her lips. "Think it's funny, Y/L/N?" he hissed, his eyes snapping up and down the length of her body, and she scoffed.

"Oh, extremely, Malfoy," she hummed, taking a challenging step towards him. "Not as funny when Mad-Eye turned you into a ferret, though," she added with a tilt of her head and a couple Ravenclaws laughed from behind her.

Draco's eyes flitted behind her, shooting off a menacing glare at them, and the laughter stopped. He looked back at Y/N, his face harboring the same dirty expression. "Yeah?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows, as if he was baiting her, and she nodded. "We'll see how you get on as a ferret, then," he snapped and his hand disappeared into his robe, fishing for his wand.

Unfortunately for him, Y/N was quicker.

She watched as his hand plunged into the pocket inside of his cloak and she, always ready for confrontation, slid her wand out through the end of her sleeve. It slotted itself into her fingertips like it'd been buttered, and with a flick of her wrist, she sent a blue flash flying in his direction. Her Knockback Jinx hit him directly in the shoulder just as soon as he'd pulled his own wand out and he was sent flying a few feet backwards into a patch of grass. His wand clattered out of his grasp upon the impact and he clambered to his feet.

As Y/N made her way over to him, she watched as his eyes darted in the direction of wherever his wand had flown. He looked almost bewildered for a moment, but he was quick to replace it with the scowl he'd near-perfected. She countered his look with a cold expression and he stepped closer to her, meeting her halfway. "You're gonna be sorry, you git," he practically snarled. She cursed the way hat her heart stuttered when her eyes locked with his, but she didn't let it faze her, looking up at him through dead eyes as he stared down at her.

"Doubtful, honey." She let herself scoff at his words, her eyes scanning the length of his body. "You might be the 'Slytherin Prince', but I'm the fucking queen," she growled, pressing the tip of her wand to the center of his chest and sliding it up to his chin. She let a small smirk tug at her lips as she tilted his head up, watching his jaw clench as he squinted down at her. "Bow down, bitch," she uttered in triumph, glowing with pride as someone whistled behind her.

Of course, Y/N hadn't planned on hexing him further, as she knew the severity of the consequences she'd face if she did, but before she could embarrass Draco anymore, Professor McGonagall cut everything short. "What in Merlin's name is going on here, you two?" she questioned, her voice dripping with distraught as she trotted right up to the group, Draco's wand clutched in her grasp. The students around them, including Tracey, scattered and Y/N sucked in a breath. She brought her wand away from Draco's chin slowly. "Explain yourselves," she said, her eyes landing on Y/N's wand, and she held out her hand.

Y/N frowned and placed it in McGonagall's palm. "Professor, I was just defending myself, he tried to hex me," she started, pointing at the blonde beside her and then herself.

Draco, on the other hand, looked at Y/N with his eyes brown wide. "You attacked me," he hissed.

"I attacked you? You were taking your wand out of your robe, was I to sit there and let you—"

"I was not, I was simply—"

"Enough!" McGonagall shouted and Y/N's shoulders shook at the sudden noise. She shot Malfoy a glare, before she turned to look at the woman once more. "I don't care who started it. Fifty points from Slytherin and detention, for both of you. Effective immediately," she said. She slipped both of their wands into the sleeve of her emerald gown and she reached outwards, grabbing one of each of their ears and dragging them to meet their fate.

—

After McGonagall had hauled them off to the greenhouses and abandoned them with Professor Sprout—a stout, old woman with a surprisingly fitting name, they were left rubbing their ears and told to scrub out the clay pots. Without magic. Supposedly, Professor Sprout was planning on using them to let the first years grow something, but Y/N didn't know why flower pots needed scrubbing, anyways.

You were supposed to fill them with dirt, for Merlin's sake.

As she violently scrubbed the bottom of a pot, she cursed McGonagall for catching them at just the right moment and Draco, too, for getting them into that mess in the first place. If he hadn't reached for his wand like the gigantic arse that he was, she never would've needed to hit him with that jinx, no matter how badly she wanted to. Now, they were stuck in the hot, sticky air of the greenhouse, wandless, and scrubbing pots until their hands their hands were raw.

Draco let out a huff of annoyance from beside her, grumbling angry nothings to himself as he furiously scraped the inside of a pot. Y/N looked up from her own work to shoot him a dirty glare. "Quit being a shit," she spat at him and he stopped all he was doing. He dropped his sponge in the pot and turned to look at her, gripping the rim of the large bowl with both of his hands. "It's your fault we're here, so suck. It. Up," she added, continuing to scrub her own pot because she was determined to prove her superiority over him, even in the subtlest regards.

"My fault?" He asked, leaning forward on his elbows, so that he was bracing himself against the thick pot. "If it weren't for you thinking you were a bloody show-woman—" he began to snap, but he laughed bitterly to himself. Draco lifted one of his hands from the pot and wagged his finger at her. "You know? I'm gonna make you wish you never did that," he threatened lowly, and her eyebrows quirked up.

"You gonna go run and tell daddy later, then, Malfoy? Is that what's gonna happen?" she questioned, watching as his arrogance seemed to melt at her belittlements. She didn't even feel bad about it, considering how much shit he gave everyone on a daily basis. Someone needed to knock him down a peg or two, before his ego grew to be the size of the castle. "And what's he gonna do?" she continued to tease, but her voice had grown lower—softer. She dropped her sponge into her pot and stepped away from it, crossing her arms over her chest and taking a couple of steps towards the platinum blonde. "Spank me?" she taunted, puffing out her lip as if she was actually worried.

Y/N felt a certain satisfaction as he clenched his jaw, grinning to herself as she watched it pulse. "Oh, piss off," he growled, spinning away from the pot to face her. Their noses were only inches apart at that point and she could feel his labored breaths fanning over her skin. His eyes, swimming with anger, were locked with her own and his jaw was set. She had gotten under his skin and she loved it.

There were, of course, some things about Draco that she couldn't help but notice in such close proximity, such as the dark blue flecks in his icy eyes or the soft creases in his forehead that came from glaring so often. He was nothing short of handsome and this only proved it. "Make me," she whispered darkly, her words weighed down with her undeniable attraction, and she didn't miss the way that his eyes flickered to her lips.

Hardly a second passed by before she was pulled in by the back of her neck. Draco's other hand snaked around her waist as he crashed his lips onto hers. She'd almost stumbled into him, steadying herself with her hands pressed against his chest as she kissed him back. To say that this came as a surprise would've been lying, taking the tension that had been building between them into account, and for that reason, she let him walk her back towards a stone pillar in the greenhouse. He pinned her up against it forcefully, the wind in her lungs exiting against his lips along with a small whine, and he smirked against her mouth. He moved the hand that rested on her waist, pressing the palm of it next to her head as he slanted his lips against hers, and the hand that held the back of her neck slipped forward, pressing ever so lightly around her throat to hold her in place.

Y/N made another quiet noise, feeling his long fingers start to apply a little more pressure, and she scrunched her fingers up in the fabric of his sweater vest. Not too roughly, though, because she didn't want to ruin the cashmere, of course, but just enough to rub her fingertips against his chest. His mouth began to stray from her own, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth and peppering them along her jawline. She swallowed thickly, tilting her head as much as she could for him with his hand around her throat, and she bit her lip when he nipped at her earlobe.

"This changes nothing," he muttered against the shell of her ear and he pulled back so his eyes could meet her own, taking his hand off of her neck and pressing it on the wall on the other side of her head.

She smirked up at him and lifted her her hands, draping them over his shoulders. "Of course not," she hummed, her tongue darting out between her puffy lips, "you're still a prat, aren't you?" she teased.

Draco didn't laugh, though. Instead, his eyes, cloudy with lust, stole a glance at her collarbone, and his upper twitched. "Do I need to put you in your place, Y/L/N?" he rasped, leaning forwards slightly.

With her eyes never straying from his own, she winked. "I'd like to see you try, Malfoy."

↴

author's note / sorry to everyone on the taglist! i know i posted this before but it got shadowbanned so i had to figure out why it wasn't showing up in the tags and repost it! thanks for bearing with me x

[morizoras-cave]

Take Care (Request)

Chris Evans x gn!teen!co-star!reader

Genre: angst

Request Description: Hello! I love your writting❤ I was wondering if i could request a Chris Evans x teen reader were she is overworking herself and forgetting to eat and sleep and ends up fainting on set and he freaks out or something ❤❤❤❤❤thanks!!

Warnings: not taking care of oneself, stress, anxiety, language

(A/N): reader is kind of a crackhead in this ngl 

“Alright, 20 minute break!” 

You sighed, hoping it would shake off some of the stress. It didn’t. Your eyebrows were still furrowed and there was still a small shake in your right hand. You were dashing off to the break room, so you could work on that damned essay. 

Your legs felt like nothing today, it had been that way a couple of days. Like jelly, or not even that, just nothing. On top of that there was a tingly, almost anxious feeling in your stomach that had come with the non-existent legs. You knew you weren’t alright, but sadly what you also knew, was that you didn’t have time to be not-alright.

“You’re in a hurry,” your co-star Chris said, as he strolled into the break room, where you were already opening your laptop. 

“Uh huh,” was all you said, opening your Google drive to work some more.

You felt a sharp pain in your stomach, so bad that it made you look down, wondering if you’d been stabbed or something. You hadn’t, of course, seeing as you were sitting on a couch in a highly protected movie set. What the hell?

“You okay, kid?” 

You didn’t eat breakfast, that’s why. No big deal. Wait- Did you eat dinner yesterday? Or lunch? Or breakfast? Or-

The bright light of your document ripped you from your spiraling thoughts, immediately taking away the attention and worry you had only just begun to feel for yourself. 

“Yes,” you said, but your right hand was shaking so much that you had to grip the edge of your laptop to still it. Chris shuffled, watching you being obviously not okay. He said nothing.

You worked, researching the topic you were working on. Usually you’d like this type of assignment, but recently there’d just been so much stress. You couldn’t enjoy it, you just had too much work. Too much to do. Your eyes were heavy and you winced as you remembered that you went to bed at 5 AM.

The thought sent that creeping chill up your spine, as you remembered once more that you hadn’t eaten, and now also your lack of sleep, but the anxiety that had been roaming your body for the past week or so pushed it away with ease. 

“We’re starting again!”

You looked up, seeing Chris once more, in the same position as when he entered the room, staring at you worriedly. His eyes on you somehow made you aware that you were horribly out of breath, painfully gulping in air. 

You pushed your laptop away, going to stand up and walk back to set, when your legs turned into static and you dropped to the ground with a loud ‘smash’. 

You immediately heard Chris run over to you, followed by his hands on your shoulders. 

“Y/n!” he breathed and gulped, shaking you. Your body felt like nothing, nothing but tingling anxiety and static and painful, erratic gulps of air. You closed your eyes and kept them closed because your body decided right then and there that it was not going to deal with your bullshit. And so you passed out. 

You didn’t know how long you were out, it certainly didn’t feel like very long, because you awoke to the sound of Chris’ barking voice, feeling as tired as ever. 

“Y/n! Y/n? Oh, thank God!” he pulled your weak body up to his in a hug. You felt his quick heartbeat against your chest.

“W-Wha? How long was I out?” you asked, simply because that was what they always asked in the movies, and with your foggy state of mind you were slightly afraid that you’d been asleep for 70 years like Captain America. 

“Like, 20-30 seconds?” he said very much in a questioning voice and, without pulling you away from him, stood up, walking with you in his grasp, as your feet dragged against the ground. 

“Ugh,” was all you said, Chris gently putting you to lie down on the couch. Just then, a set worker came running in to see what the fuss was all about. He looked in need of glasses, narrowing his eyes and shifting his gaze from you, to Chris, and then back again. 

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“No.” 

Both you and Chris spoke at the same time, and then snapped your heads towards each other. He glared at you and again your brain failed you, so you glared back at him, wondering why you were glaring. 

“They’re not okay,” Chris sighed and the set worker looked at you for another two moments before nodding to Chris, and bounding away. Chris pulled out a stool and sat down beside your sofa. You were pretty close to falling asleep.

“What was that? Why did faint?” Chris asked and in that moment you remembered again.

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. You’ve really done it now! You hadn’t eaten or slept like an absolute idiot! And now you’d have to explain it, explain how you hadn’t taken care of yourself, like a five year old.

“Uh, well, I’ve been pretty.. Stressed,” you said and Chris scoffed. 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. I mean, is that it? Have you been eating?” 

“Well..” you were really trying to dig your way out of this one, “Define eating?” 

Chris did not seem to think this was as funny as you did, and his eyes widened and you saw realization, anger, sadness, and worry all at the same time. He swore under his breath, looking away. You felt like shit. Both because you hadn’t been taking care of yourself and because now you’d worried your friend. 

“Y/n..  You can’t do this..” he mumbled and he seemed absolutely lost. 

“I know! I just- I haven’t had time for anything! I haven’t had time to relax, eat, sleep.. It’s all just been work, work, work, and everyone’s counting on me, and..” you trailed off, your words making you realize just how not-alright you really were. Meanwhile, Chris noticed something entirely different about your sentence.

“Did you say sleep?” 

“Uh-”

“Did you just say you haven’t eaten or slept?” Chris sounded almost baffled now, a slight absurdity and anger to his tone. 

“Well- I slept a little bit!” you defended because unlike the eating you had actually slept for at least 2 hours. 

“When did you go to bed?” 

“I don’t see how that’s relevant right now-” 

“Y/n!” He yelled and then -

Silence. 

You looked over at him. His face was buried in his hands, hair ruffled as he had undoubtedly been running his hand through it as you spoke. He was shaking and you could hear his unsteady breath under his hands. 

Slowly, he pulled away his hands. He looked tired. And sad. 

Then he stood up and walked out of the room. Your heart skipped a beat, as you wondered whether he’d actually gotten tired of you. You felt tears prick your eyes. How could you be so stupid? How could be so neglectful and let down your friend? God, he must hate you.

You sniffled, tears falling down your face. You moved your heavy arms up to wipe away the tears, but they kept coming. You covered your eyes in shame.

A gentle hand was on your shoulder, making you jump. You pulled away your hands reluctantly, meeting Chris’ eyes once more. You glanced down and in his other hand, clutching a sandwich and an apple into his chest. 

“It’s okay,” he mumbled forcing himself to smile for you, just to show that he wasn’t angry. Well, he was, but mostly at himself, because you had too much on your plate. It was his responsibility to remind you to take care of yourself when it became too much. At least that’s what he felt. He sat down on the stool again and handed you the sandwich and the apple.

You took it and silently began eating it. It delicious, you realized, and wondered why you ever stopped eating. 

“Y/n. You have to take this seriously. You can’t do this. This is dangerous, you know that, right?” 

You nodded with your mouth full of food. 

“I know it must be hard with school and acting and all of this celebrity shit.. I know and I’ll try to be there for you to help, because this-” he looked at you, “No one deserves this amount of stress. No one. So I’d like for you to consider asking your school for a small break? And if that’s not what you want, I’d like to help you with your homework. How does that sound?” 

You chewed sheepishly. “That sounds good. The break thing.” 

“Good. Then, call your mom and she’ll call your school and explain it to them. But first, I want you to finish eating and then I’ll follow you down to your trailer and you’ll go to sleep. Tomorrow - or, you know, whenever you wake up - you’ll do nothing but relax, and then you can starting acting again the day after.”

You nodded, chewing the last mouthful of your sandwich. Chris tapped the apple playfully, “Apple, too,” he said. 

And so you ate your apple and went back to your trailer, sleeping a fairly long amount of time, and as promised the next day you did nothing but relax. The anxiety in your stomach was gone, and your legs felt strong again, so you did a little dance to celebrate.

You started working again the next day and after a two week break from school, you got homework again. This time though there was significantly less. You didn’t know who to thank for that, wether your mom had scolded their ears off, or if Chris or perhaps the director had called, but either way you weren’t nearly as stressed, and the feeling of being healthy was delightful. 

You never stopped thanking Chris for helping you, but he always shrugged it off. It was his duty, not as your coworker, but as your friend. He was just happy to see you healthy and functioning. That was reward enough. 

___________________________

Tag List:

@hera-the-writer @marvel-madness @40srogcrs @whatthefuckimbisexual @snarky–starky @garbage-potato @lozzypoz321 @allthecreativeonesaretaken @missamericana713 @rororo06 @shady80smusicsingercolor @ireadfanficforfun​ @deephideoutmilkshake​ @rae-is-typing​ @sophs-library​

[nanagoswife]

Noticing You, Noticing Me

Chapter Eleven

Summary: Reader introduces Obi-Wan to a friend.

W/C: 3.2k

Warnings: None? Please feel free to correct me.

A/N: Yes I used Epona from The Legend of Zelda as the model of reader's horse. Like, look at her. Can you blame me?😂

- - -

On the carriage ride home, you had fallen asleep in Obi-Wan’s loving grasp. You were awoken by a gentle call of your name.

Padmé hadn’t joined you on the way back. She instead elected to stay the night with her family.

So, it was just you and Obi-Wan as the carriage stopped. You had been a bit hazy, but he helped you. Every step of the way he made sure you wouldn’t fall back to sleep as you still stood.

You clung to his arm as you made your way through the hallways. The feeling of his warmth made you feel safe. There was no doubt in your mind that he would make sure you got back safe and sound back in your room.

Once you had gotten there, he made sure you were comfortable in your bed.

“Goodnight, my love,” he whispered, placing a kiss on your forehead before turning towards the door.

“Obi, wait!” you quietly exclaimed, a slight sense of panic rising in you. You didn’t want to be alone, not after all that had happened. No, you wanted your future husband to stay with you. You wanted the man you loved to stay.

The call made him pause in front of your door, turning to face you. “Yes, darling?”

“Will you… stay? Please?”

You watched as his expression softened in the light of his lamp. Then, you watched as he looked conflicted. Like he was thinking that it may be something that he shouldn’t do, but that’s not what won over.

Obi-Wan walked back over to the other side of your bed. “Alright,” he whispered, leaning across the mattress to cup your cheek as he leaned over you. “I’ll stay.”

That’s how you got to this moment as you watched Obi-Wan sleep as the sun slowly rose, welcoming the morning.

When you had first awakened, his back was facing you. You had to keep yourself from tracing all of the freckles that were sprinkled over his shoulders. It was like his back was its own night sky full of constellations.

Your admiration was cut short when he had turned in his sleep to face you. So, you studied his facial expression like you had the morning before. Slowly, your eyes drew down to look at a specific scar that lined his collar bone, cutting across his sternum. A part of you wondered how he got it, if it was painful.

It had taken a great deal of self control to not kiss it the night you first saw it. Hell, it had taken you immense self control to not kiss every inch of his skin that had been exposed. That wasn’t the time, though.

Unlike the other morning, you did nothing to wake him. You had no desire to. Not with the way his hair seemed like it burned like fire as the sunlight touched the amazingly soft strands. It was too perfect to ruin the moment just for his attention.

As you watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, excitement grew at the thought of spending so many mornings with him just like this. Only, when that happens, you’ll be his, and he’ll be yours. Eventually, the two of you would have a family.

The thought made you smile, having kids with him. It just seemed so natural with Daisy and Christian. Obi-Wan had even almost slipped and said that you were their mother. You thought it was sweet. Not only that, but it told you that he was thinking the same things you were that day.

Your thoughts were broken as Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes, smiling when he saw you were already awake.

“Good morning,” you said quietly, feeling your lips curl into a smile as well.

He mumbled the words back as he raised a hand to cup your cheek. His blue eyes gazed into yours, switching between the two for a couple seconds before settling on one. Then, slowly, he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours.

Both of you seemed to sigh in relief at the contact. The longer you moved your lips against his, the more Obi-Wan seemed to lean over top of you. You didn’t mind, though. The feeling of his weight gently pressing into you was amazing. It made you feel something that you don’t think you’ve ever felt before.

What you did know was that your arms were wrapping around his neck, your hands finding their place in his hair at the back of his head. It wasn’t long after that, that you felt his tongue press against your lower lip.

Without a single thought, you opened for him, feeling his tongue glide over yours. The hand he had on your cheek slowly guided its way into your hair. It was a feeling that sent chills down your spine as you gently tugged at Obi-Wan’s hair. The light scratching of his beard didn’t help quell that feeling.

He groaned at the sensation, the vibration from his chest transferring to yours.

A few more moments went by before Obi-Wan pulled his lips away, resting his forehead against yours. Both of you were breathing heavily, your breathing fanning over the other’s face as you looked into each other’s eyes.

“Was that better than the poems?” Obi-Wan suddenly said cheekily.

You chuckled as your hands slid to hold both sides of his face. “Better than any literature I can think of.”

“Are you sure?” He kissed you. “Not even,” he kissed you again, “Shakespeare?”

Laughter erupted from you as he dipped down and rubbed his bearded cheek against your neck. It tickled you so much that you even had your legs nearly kicking underneath the blankets.

Obi-Wan’s own laughter filled your room before he kissed you again.

“Now, what were you thinking of doing today?” he asked, resting his forehead against yours.

“How are you with horses?”

-

“This is Graham,” you said as the horse greeted you.

Graham was a beautiful light brown. His flowing mane was a beige, as was his tail. The long, slender legs faded into the same colour around the hooves. He looked like a powerful horse, one that you would most likely see in a race.

Despite his appearance of what could seem like an intimidating figure, he was nuzzling into your face, causing you to giggle at the playfulness.

“Oh, Graham, I know. I know,” you said in laughter. “It’s been too long.”

Watching as your horse continued to shower you in attention, Obi-Wan could feel his smile never left his lips. It was plastered on as he saw the clear connection between you and Graham. All of it made him think about his similar connection with his own horse, Boga.

“I’ve had him for years,” you started, now turning your gaze to Obi-Wan’s as you pet the side of the horse’s neck. “He’s a huge cuddlebug. That doesn’t mean he can’t get in a good run, though. Right Graham?”

Graham gave a small whinny in response, solidifying his response with a stomp of his hoof.

Obi-Wan admired the moment. Nothing could make him move from this spot as he wished to only look at you like this. That was short lived as you came over to him and pulled him over to Graham.

“Graham, meet Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan, meet Graham.”

-

You watched as Obi-Wan put his hand into a loose fist, bringing it up to Graham’s nose. “Hello there, Graham,” he said softly.

If you were being honest, you were nervous for this interaction. Although the only negative interaction between your horse and another was Varlo, Graham had a habit of not acting… fairly.

With you, you never had a problem. But you had heard that there were odd times where Anakin would take him out and your trusty steed would be either stubborn or mischievous.

For a while, you never believed it until one day you witnessed it. At the time, it was kind of comical. Anakin had been riding Graham and you had been watching to see if your brother was telling the truth. He was. As soon as Graham had seen you, he almost seemed to snap back into the horse that you knew. You remember laughing for what felt like hours at Anakin’s defeated look.

Now, you were just hoping that reputation wouldn’t be passed on. A part of you was worried that Graham would possibly nip at Obi-Wan, like he had with Varlo.

That’s not what happened. Instead, you watched as Graham instead nuzzled his nose against Obi-Wan’s fist. With almost no hesitation, Obi-Wan switched laying his palm flat, running his hand up, across the white strip on Graham’s forehead, all the way to his ears. There, he ran his hand to the side of the horse’s neck.

You were amazed. Not once did you see Graham open up so quickly to anyone other than you.

“Do you have an apple?” Obi-Wan asked, breaking you from your stunned silence. You were glad that his attention was still on the horse in front of him. That meant he wouldn’t have seen how you almost panicked as you tried to register what he was asking.

“Um, yes, right here.”

From the bag that you had brought with you, you pulled one out and handed it to him.

“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” Obi-Wan muttered as he let Graham eat the apple from his palm.

You smiled at the sight before joining the two. “Shall we go for a ride? Maybe find a place out by the lake once the sun goes down?”

Obi-Wan glanced at you with a smirk, nodding.

-

You could’ve sworn that the afternoon never even happened. All you knew that it was a time spent in laughter. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

As you rode Graham through the countryside, Obi-Wan sat behind you. His arms were wrapped around your middle, holding himself close to you as the wind flew by.

At one point, your concentration on the sensation of riding a horse again was broken due to the man behind you. He had leaned down, letting his beard lightly scratch at the exposed area of skin on your shoulder. After what felt like an eternity, his lips caressed the skin there. A shiver ran down your spine as he pressed one more to your skin before moving up, kissing the delicate skin of your neck.

You had been so distracted by the feeling that you hadn’t noticed Obi-Wan taking the reins.

“One should not get distracted when controlling a horse, my dear,” he whispered into your ear, pulling back with a cheeky grin.

You rolled your eyes with a chuckle. “You are impossible, Prince Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan gave you a crooked smirk. “I apologize, Princess,” he said, bringing Graham to a stop as he continued to lean closer. “Is there something I can do to make it up to you?”

“Perhaps,” you whispered back, turning your head so you were facing him. Your lips were so close to his and soon it was gone. The feeling of his lips on yours was like a breath of fresh air. Sure, it hadn’t been that long since the two of you had kissed. It didn’t stop you from enjoying the feeling as if it were.

This moment felt like it could last forever before Graham whined, shifting and stomping a hoof. He wanted to get moving, and you could tell.

The two of you laughed at the impatience.

“Alright, alright,” you said to Graham with a chuckle, rubbing the side of his neck. “Just a couple more minutes.”

Graham responded with a small snort before turning his attention to a patch of grass.

You turned back to Obi-Wan who had an amused look on his face.

“Did that work?” Obi-Wan asked quietly, leaning closer to you once again.

“Maybe,” you replied teasingly.

Just as Obi-Wan’s lips were about to reconnect to yours, you prodded Graham back into motion. This caused Obi-Wan to scramble to get his grip back so that he wouldn’t fall due to the sudden start.

You laughed when you caught a glimpse of him. His hair was a mess while his eyes had widened. The shocked expression changed to one with mock disapproval before letting out a small chuckle.

This all went on for hours until the two of you decided to stop at the lake. It was the lake that was visible from the balcony the two of you met on. Each and every sight was just as fantastic as seeing it from that vantage point.

You had tied Graham up to one of the trees before grabbing a few things you had packed. One of which was a blanket. As you had set it up, you caught glances of Obi-Wan sneaking apples to Graham as he petted the horse. He tried to hide the fact that he was doing it, but failed. You knew exactly what he was up to.

Silently, you came up next to him as he pet Graham lovingly while sneaking another apple. Placing a gentle hand on his arm, he jumped, pretending like he wasn’t feeding your horse the fifth apple of the past few minutes.

“At least we know he’s not being starved,” Obi-Wan had said in protest when you told him that he was feeding Graham too many apples.

All you did was chuckle, shaking your head as you turned away.

“Are you going to join me? Or is Graham now the one you love?” you said over your shoulder playfully.

And that’s how the majority of the evening went. The two of you ate some food that you had packed before reading. Obi-Wan insisted on bringing a book that he thought you would like.

This all went on as the sun went down. At one point, the two of you stopped to watch the sunset. Together, you talked as you watched the sun dip below the horizon. You both watched as the light of the moon and the stars replaced their burning counterpart.

During this, the two of you laid back on the blanket. Your head rested in an area between his shoulder and chest, his one arm around you as his other propped up his head. With his arm wrapped around you, he gently rubbed his thumb in circles.

For a while, the two of you were silent as you listened to the night waking up. The sounds of frogs by the lake, the crickets chirped their lullabies, owls made themselves heard, a warning of a hunt about to begin. Everything combined was hauntingly beautiful as the two of you could only spectate.

Quietly, Obi-Wan began to hum. It was a song that you had heard before, but you couldn’t quite place a finger on it. Not until the song reached a specific part did you realize it was the first song the two of you ever danced to. It was your favourite song throughout your whole life. Now, the meaning has changed. Before, it was the song you learned to dance to with your mother. Oftentimes your father would join in, goofing around with you.

Now, as you listened to him hum the tune, you could only think of him. Everytime you heard it after the ball, you only ever could see him in your mind. The way he smiled when he looked at you, his amazingly blue eyes, the golden auburn hair that glowed in the sunlight. You wondered if he thought something similar whenever he heard it.

“Obi,” you called out quietly, tilting your head so you could look at him. He raised his eyebrows, interested in what you wanted to say as he continued humming. “Would you like to dance?”

Obi-Wan smiled in the moonlight, pausing his humming. “Of course.”

He let you sit up before following you, then helping you to stand. Easily, he pulled you against his body. His hands were immediately placed at your waist before he brought one to hold your hand.

For a moment, he only stared into your eyes as you placed your one hand on his shoulder.

It wasn’t until he once again began to softly hum that he started to sway. Yet, it wasn’t a proper dance just yet. You were admiring the small sparkle in his eyes from the moon. Even though the darkness kept you from seeing the proper blue, you didn’t mind.

After a few more minutes, Obi-Wan began to lead you as he never took his eyes from yours. His humming never wavered. It only seemed to grow in steadiness.

As the song went on, you dreaded its end. This was a moment you wished you could stay in forever. The feeling of his chest pressed to yours, his eyes staring into yours, the feeling of his hand drifting to your back to hold you ever closer, it all added to the experience.

When the song did end, Obi-Wan didn’t stop your dance. Instead, he rested his head against yours.

“I love you,” he muttered, almost in a way where if he didn’t say it that he would cease to exist.

With your hand that was on his shoulder, you brought it up to cradle the back of his head. You splayed your fingers through the soft strands of his hair as you tilted your head just so, slotting your lips with his.

A sigh of relief left your lips as he audibly announced his own. The small, happy groan sent a shiver down your spine.

“Is it… too cold… darling?” Obi-Wan asked between kisses, still slightly swaying with you.

You pulled away, resting your head on his once again.

You shook your head, looking into his eyes in the moonlight. “It’s just right.”

-

The news had spread like wildfire through the castle. To Varlo’s knowledge, this was something that only happened the night before. Why had no one told him that this was going to happen? Did his parents know? Did Anakin or even you know?

All Varlo knew was that he was pacing his room in anger. It was bad enough that the world was made aware of the relationship you and Prince Kenobi had. It would only get even worse as everyone would learn of the engagement.

All of it put a sour taste in his mouth. Before this, everyone was happy. Varlo had the popularity he needed to get around when it came to inter-kingdom relations all while Anakin and his father only helped it along. Although he loved you, Varlo was happy that you had no sort of popularity. Well, none other than being a way for people to get to him and Anakin.

Now, you were the one with the popularity. Ever since the ball, things had never been the same. No longer could the two of you joke around about how ridiculously in love Anakin was with Padmé. There were no more jokes because now you knew the feeling.

Varlo desperately wanted this to end. He wanted to be back on top. Nothing has been going well. He’s now turned into what you were. How you dealt with it nearly your whole life, he didn’t know.

The longer he paced, the more his thoughts rolled through his mind. It wasn’t until he thought of a way to change it back around that he stopped pacing.

“Brilliant,” he muttered to himself. Now all he needed to do was find a way to make his plan work.

- - -

@stardancerluv @where-fantasy-meets-reality @jaydenwoo @madmax2003 @mackycat11 @generousrunawaydonut @imabeautifulbutterfly @animalgirl05 @blondekel77 @thereluctantherosrose @cosmicsierra @badbatch-simp24

[haikyooot]

Eight

Pairing: Kita Shinsuke x gn!reader

WC: 2.2k

Genre/Tags: comfort, slice-of-life, meet-cute-ish, magic, soulmate, allusion to death/dying

A/N: For the lovely Lou @alouphen​​. Thank you for joining the MYML event and taking a leap-of-faith. I’m so thankful for all the love and support you’ve given me. I knew I wanted stargazing for you and Kita, it’s my KitaLou hc LOL and recently I’ve been just obsessed with an “eight day of the week” idea. Hope you enjoy <3 and of course, Happy Birthday to our most beloved Shinsuke~ 

You turn the lamp off and bury yourself under the blanket. It's Sunday night, meaning tomorrow is Monday. Monday means the start of another week at work, another week of being tired, the start of a never-ending sprint where you can barely catch a break. The weekends, however, are filled with chores and running around. If anything, you feel even busier sometimes. If only there's just one more day of the week, an eighth day, just for you...just for rest.

If you fall asleep now, you'll have how many hours to sleep before you have to wake up? If you subtract that time with...the time...now...how...long...

Rrringgg!!

It's a morning rush. You throw the covers off of you and haul yourself to the bathroom to wash-up. There's no time to think about anything else other than the minutes and the seconds ticking by. Every moment fleeting past another...the train will depart soon, you have to catch it so you won't be late for work. There's no time for food this morning, yet again—no aesthetic brunch like the ones from those lifestyle vlogs online.

But then, it's all incredibly bizarre when you look at your phone for the second time in the morning. You are confused. The date and time on the phone is completely frozen in place. You don't have the energy to deal with your phone's technical malfunction (what you deduce), but you soon realize, the moment you step out the front door, just how quiet it is outside. No beeps or honks, not a car in sight. Not a pedestrian to be seen.

A walk around the neighborhood finally confirms your suspicions that maybe for you and you alone, time has stopped. But not everything is unmoving. The sun's warmth still shines down on you, the breeze still tickles your neck. It's more accurate to say that time is still moving for you, just not for other people. It's a special day just as you hoped for. An eighth day.

"In that case...it's time to sleep again!" you exclaim happily, going back to your room. Kicking your shoes off and changing back to loungewear, you dive back into the comforts of your bed, cuddling yourself into blankets, happy and content. "Finally, I can sleep without an alarm bothering me..."

But you can't fall asleep. Maybe it's your body's natural cycle, trained over and over again by the alarm clock. After tossing and turning, creating three different hot spots on the bed, you are convinced you're unable to fall asleep. Your stomach is growling, crying out for the food you usually don't have time to prepare. Usually, but today isn't usual.

The hum of the fridge fills the silence in the kitchen. The glass clinks when you set it down on the counter. The hissing sound of water running through the faucet pours into the empty glass. There's the whistle and quick snaps of the gas stove when you first turn it on, followed by the sizzle of hot oil cooking food. Every interaction between each surface strikes a sound unlike anything else. The symphony of these sounds are all so familiar in those vlogs you watch late at night, but hearing them in real life for the first time is both strange and heartwarming.

They echo of the walls interact with the space which you are in, enveloping your senses. The smell of nourishment comes through to tell you food is ready. And perhaps for the first time in a long, long while, you sit down quietly at the table for a meal, looking at the careful plating slowly becoming messy bite after bite. Gradually, everything disappears until a dirty, empty plate sits in front of you. But your belly is full. And your heart is happy. 

Now that you're fed...now what?

You ponder this question over and over again. You have all this time—this eighth day. What can you work on? There's no one beckoning you over to help them. No one else who you have to care for today. Everything is stagnant. So how should you be productive, you lament.

It's frightening how fast time goes by just staring at clouds. Sometimes they are like a silk gauze flying through. Other times the puffy, majestic shapes are like a castle in the sky, slowly traveling where the wind takes them. As the clouds move, your eyelids are finally lulled shut as you bask under the shade of trees. Fragmented sun dance across your skin between the crevices of branches and leaves.

When you wake, it's because the cicadas have grown so impossibly loud. The sky is no longer blue, but a blend of red and orange. But no. No! How can it be?! Just a moment ago you were still here...you had closed your eyes for just a moment yet where has all the time gone?

Gone.

You get up to your feet and smooth out your clothes, brushing off a twig and a leaf caught on the fabric. You could've used this time to clean the room, could've slept more, could've studied more, caught ahead of others more. But all you did today was nothing.

"Why couldn't I have done more?" you berate yourself as your feet take you into a direction aimlessly. That's what it usually feels like day to day. Endless and aimless. The sun finally sets beyond the horizon line, taking away the last shreds of light away with it.

A moonless night, there's only darkness in sight. Your eyes can barely make out the shapes in the dark shadows. You look behind you and see the night staring back. All around you, it seems to try and seduce you. But the way it wraps and envelops you is different from the blankets on your bed or the smell of brunch in the kitchen...or the warm breeze under daylight. This one feels cold and lonely. Is it the night or you?

What can possibly be good?

You don't know where you're going, but regardless of the doubts, your feet keep shuffling—one foot in front another. Small, tiny, hesitant steps walk into the night. After a long journey till the soles of your feet begin to ache, you make out the shapes of an empty field. A vast expanse of rice paddies with new sprouts freshly planted, still barely visible to the eye. Somehow you can make them out in the water. There's no wind. The water is still and crystal like the surface of a mirror. And oh, it is certainly a mirror.

"It's a pretty sight isn't it."

The man's voice spikes your heartbeat in an alarmed frenzy; not because the voice sounds aggressive, but rather you did not expect another person to also be moving in the same time as you. You check your phone, wondering if time is moving now.

"There's still a few more hours left," he explains, realizing what you are wondering. "You can sit on the banks over there, it's much prettier up close."

He begins to walk over towards the paddy fields, leaving you still standing in the same spot. He turns around and smiles. "I'm Kita Shinsuke."

Kita is enigmatic. His footsteps are so quiet and there's almost an otherworldly sense to him. You sit down next to him and follow where his fingers are pointing, look at the paddy fields again. The mirror lake contains thousands of shimmering dots, sparkling and twinkling. They seem so close, as though if you stretch your hand into the water, you can scoop them up.

For the first time tonight, you look up towards the sky and see the stars. It's the first time you have seen them so clearly. No moon to distract you. No city lights to blind you. Just the blackness of the night and the diamonds found within its fabric. The night doesn't seem so desolate after all.

"Wow..."

Your eyes travel from one star to the next, trying to connect them and the stories behind them. How far away they seem in the sky, in comparison. They must be further than you can comprehend. They say that the stars you see are ones from the past.

"I wonder...what the people were doing then when the star actually looked like this..."

A laugh erupts from Kita, the sound rumbling through his chest and spilling out like chimes. "I wonder the same. I also wonder what the stars really look like right now. And what the world will be like when that star can be seen on Earth."

"We won't be around at that point."

"Probably not. But even if the people in the past didn't know about light-years, I bet they marveled all the same.

Two people. Of different times, different locations, even different lives can maybe share a bond through the sun, moon, and stars."

You don't respond to Kita's dramatic observation of the cosmos and instead stare at the reflection of the stars again. A dragonfly lands on the water for a brief moment before fluttering away, leaving behind three small ripples that quickly disappear into stillness once again.

"In a few more hours, it'll be Monday," Kita laments.

"Can you read my mind or something?" you inquire, both frustrated and alarmed.

"No, but seeing the ripples fade reminds me of this truth. Isn't it also for you?"

"...It does."

Kita leans back completely, folding his hand behind his head. "An eighth day. A special time for yourself. No responsibilities, no identities, nothing but you and yourself. Isn't it nice to be reminded of what will endure beyond anything else?"

After living for all these years, it's the first time you have seen stars like this. Come to think of it, it's the first time you have walked through the natural cloak of night. The first time in a long, long time, you have stopped and waited. Stopped and examined your place in the world as a guest in the universe's existence. Finally took a break. Breathed.

You also lean back onto the grass and join Kita in gazing at the stars. How wonderful would it be for this view to live on forever?

"It's nice!"

Rrringgg!!

Your hand shoots out from the cover to tackle your phone. You swipe the alarm off and sit up in bed. Monday. Work day. You get up for your morning routine. The same one you have been repeating for years now. It feels monotonous, but perhaps the water you splash onto your face today wakes you up a bit more than usual. You smile at yourself in the mirror before you step out of your home into the loud and bustling world outside. 

The honks and beeps are back. People rush about trying to get to where they need to be. While you rush to catch your train, you feel a breeze pressing on your back nudging you forward. Nothing changed, you think. It is all just a really long, really nice dream.

When you leave work for the day, the sky is once again the same red and orange. As you stand in the crowded train, you observe the other commuters heading home after work. Some have tired, exhausted expressions. Some are nodding their way into slumber, nearly falling out of their seats. The students are huddled over their phones and handheld games. A parent is on the phone with their kid reminding them to cook rice in advance. And there's you, a silent observer watching the diverse group of people going about their daily lives, a commuter who in the midst of observations, misses their station.

The scenery suddenly becomes unfamiliar. You normally don't go past your stop at all, not in this direction. When you arrive at the last station, it occurs to you that it isn't a completely new place. You have most definitely been here yesterday. Either it's yesterday, or in a dream. That dream is too vivid and detailed, taking you to a place where you're sure you haven't been to before.

As your feet take you step by step down the road, it feels as though you really have been here. Your feet seem to know where they are going. And before the final lights of the sun are gone, you see the paddy fields. A few farmers are driving their tractors around, a couple wrapping up the day to go home. You spot him.

Kita Shinsuke. He's wiping some sweat off of his brow with the towel around his neck. A few farmers are chatting with him about something you're too far to make out. Right when you're about to call his name, he catches sight of you.

You want to shout at him, demanding answers or at least an explanation of sorts. Did the eighth day really happen? All you see are Kita's eyes, full of mirth, waning into crescents as he puts a finger to his lips. Seeing as there are other people around Kita, you decide to follow Kita's direction and swallow the questions you have. After pacing about the area for a while, the other farmers finally leave.

Kita walks over to you, each step reminding you of the person you counted stars with. He stops in front of you giving you a warm smile and holds his hand out.

"So, you're back."

You wrap your hand around his in a firm hand-shake.

"I guess I'm back."

[son-yejin]

Title: It’s all it takes

Pairing: Amelia Shepherd + Atticus Lincoln

Note: English is not my first language and this is just for fun. It’s cliche and fun so don’t expect anything else. The end is kinda meh but if the show writers can do what they did then...Enjoy!

//

It all happens in a flash.

Thirty seconds, she counts. It’s all it takes.

Second One, they are saying good byes at the door. Her eyes is on Link’s and she is laughing at his attempts at flirting as if they are not broken up. Second Ten, Scout let’s go of his father’s hands and runs towards the road, trying to get God knows what that makes children behave so fearless and carelessly. In second fifteen, she can already see it, the car coming in full speed and Scout getting hit by it. He won’t survive, her mind tells her. And she is already living the grief before it happens.

What she doesn’t see coming, however, is in second twenty, Link catching Scout just in time before it all happens, pushing him to the sidewalk. And in second twenty five, Scout falls sitting on the concrete floor - safe, away from the car and she goes running towards him. It’s like a miracle happening before her eyes. “Ames, being a dad comes with super hero speed and the coolest spider senses” Link had once told her and maybe he was right. But the super powers don’t seem to work if it’s for himself as he can’t get off the road in time before he is hit instead.

Thirty seconds.

Suddenly everything seems to be happening in slow motion and then back to moving in normal speed all at once, and somehow she is dialing 911 desperately as she sees Link on the road, face up and his arm in a weird position. There’s a buzzing ringing in her ear, she sees all the neighbors coming to see what happened and everything turns into background noise then her body seems to have gone into autopilot. She finds herself inside an ambulance with Scout in her lap and Link with paramedics, then they are taking him inside and she is standing in front of Meredith, in the emergency room.

“He seems fine, he is pretty responsive.” she numbly nods in response, barely processing a word Meredith is saying as her mind seems to be busy remembering every moment of hers with Link. Every kiss, every hug, every fight.

No matter what happens, I want to go through it with you.

“He won’t shut up about you and Scout, actually. And his scans came out all clear and he is heading to surgery for his arm”

It felt like a what-are-we-waiting-for-moment. I’m sorry.

“Amelia” Meredith cracks a small smile when their eyes meet again, her voice uncharacteristically soft when she places a hand over Amelia’s forearm, giving it a squeeze like she is trying to ground her and push all thoughts away from her head “Do you want me to take Scout to daycare?”

“No,” she replies, quicker than she planned but the thought of being separated from Scout (too) right now makes her anxious and irritated “It’s..fine. We will wait for him together. I’m just-He could have-“ she draws a long audible breath and she finds hard to speak when her heart is in her throat.

“He didn’t, Amelia. He is okay. It’s okay”

“Right. He is okay.” she sighs, heavy, trying to hold the sob in as to not disturb Scout peacefully sleeping in her arms. But as she sees Maggie walking inside the emergency room, eyes soft and caring, she feels it pressing harder and harder in her chest. She tries to hold in but she knows it’s useless, Maggie has always gets her way inside Amelia’s heart, sneaky as she is, finding ways in between the cracks.

“Are you okay?” Maggie asks and she nods once, then she sees nothing but blurred images of her sisters.

//

“Doctor, I can’t die”

She turns around away from putting Scout on the bed she made for him to face Link, her surprised gaze finding his, It’s only been a few hours, she thinks, giving him a soft smile as she walks towards the bed. She’s glad he is awake, even if he looks like he is not fully functioning right now

“I have-My girlfriend, she- -I love her. Her name is Amelia-I can’t die.” he sounds disoriented and scared, much like she felt when the accident happened.

He tries to get up in his euphoria to go searching for her (even though she is literally right in front of him but his brain must be a little fuzzy from the anesthesia) and whines when he feels discomfort in his arm.

“Ok, calm down. You won’t die, Link” she comforts him, and her hands are on his chest pushing him back down on the bed then fixing his pillows

“Woah, hey! what are you doing? I have a girlfriend”

“I’m helping you get comfortable. Don’t move around too much or you will hurt your arm.”

“I love my Amelia so don’t get near me” he insists, pushing her hands and pillows away with his good arm. He is pouting when she looks up at him, adorable is the first thing that comes to mind then ridiculous when she gets her hands pushed again for trying to reach for a pillow.

“Link, stop moving” she sighs “I am your... Amelia” he stops moving immediately and she can finally put the pillows under his arm like it were before he pushed them all away

“Hi, Ames” His voice turns gentle and his eyes are soft and dreamy, making her laugh a little

“Hey, Atticus”

“I love it when you call me that” he says, words coming out all slurred and she wants to say she knows but he is already on his next words before she can say anything else. He is speaking 10 words per millisecond and she can’t understand half of it. She can catch a few “I love you”s and “I’m so sorry”s, and she thinks he might have said something like “I don’t need a wedding or any of that, please believe me” before he falls right back asleep, probably exhausted from talking all of his energy away.

“You are so silly, Atticus Lincoln” she says in a whisper, trying to not wake him, and she fears the sound of her heart beating fast and loud inside her chest just might do it.

She already knows he is sorry. He has apologized for it already, they’ve had the (full of tears) talk. And they agreed on taking a break from each other for a reason.They want different things and as much as he seems to be willing to sacrifice his dreams for her, she is not sure she finds it fair that he does so. He deserves the big family he wishes for and if he loves to be a dad so much then he should be a dad to more kids. She thinks she loves him enough to let him go and watch him be a father to a bunch of not-hers-children.

She could handle it.

But now, as she looks at him, and as she feels his hand search for hers as he sleeps, her confidence slips away entirely (if she’s really honest, she would admit that every time they are at work and he looks at her, out of the corner of his eyes like he does when he thinks she can’t see him, she questions if breaking up was really a good idea at all) and she thinks she is finally ready to admit to herself that she would never handle it and that the thought of almost losing him today has made her completely terrified of having a single second more of her life without him.

She thinks of messaging her therapist to say she finally gets it when the sound of Link moving and waking up snaps her out her thoughts.

“Hey, you are awake again. How are you feeling?” she asks

He hums in response, closes his eyes back and she thinks he might fall asleep again before he opens them again, staring at the ceiling “My arm hurts so bad right now” he replies, voice all husky and weak but a little more awake than he was an hour ago and she immediately grabs him the cup of water she left on his bedside table, he drinks the water slowly and asks, “Who are you?”

She thinks he might be just joking around but as she stares at his face, she sees he is completely serious.

“I’m your...girlfriend...Amelia?” she huffs out a small laugh, waiting for his response and while he seems surprised, he still carries a positive expression on his face.

At least he is not speaking another language yet, she thinks. She examines him for any sign of brain injury, checks his vitals and he seems fine to her but she still sends a message to Meredith and Owen and schedules new exams, just to be sure.

“You‘re really pretty. Like really pretty.” he confesses, in an attempted whisper but she can still hear him loud and clear. Amelia considers herself hard to surprise when it comes to flirting and cheesy pick up lines, she has never been a shy woman. But Link reminds her everyday how easy it has always been for him to make her face get hot and red as she blushes,

“The anesthesia must be still working its way out of your body, I think.” she says, more to herself than to him, trying to hide the way she seemed flushed

“So we are dating? Like, for real?” he asks, his eyes seems to be fighting to stay focused on hers, he looks all funny but, still, he takes her breath away nonetheless and she chuckles.

“Well, we have a son together” she looks towards the makeshift bed their son is resting in as she speaks “so I’m guessing yes, it’s for real.”

“A son?!” he yells a bit, his eyes wide and she tells him to keep it low before he wakes up Scout and the entire hospital floor “Wow.” He whispers, eyes softens and the smile on his face is so big she can’t help but mirror it “Does he look like you? I hope he looks like you...”

She grins knowingly, “You have mentioned he is as stubborn as I am, once or twice”

“Good. You seem great” he sighs and she can’t help but wish she was filming this for leverage later. He looks so goofy. “If we are dating...And I still can’t believe I’ve been this lucky” he admits softly, reaching out to her hand with his good arm and she decides he doesn’t need to be reminded that they are on a break “Can I kiss you? I’m scared I will wake up from this dream and you won’t be here”

Before she even gets a response out, her body seems to go gravitating towards him on its own and she is so close, she can see that his pupils are almost completely dilated, his eyes dark like the night unlike the clear sky blue it usually is and her heart seems to be too loud in her ears. She doesn’t wait to talk herself out of this, or for any thoughts that might make her reconsider, she just goes willingly, leaning towards him and lowering her head until she can feel the air he is breathing in her lips. When their lips touch, she closes her eyes and feels him pull her tight against his heart.

Thirty seconds, she thinks. It’s all it takes.

But doesn’t seem enough.

When they pull back she lays a caressing hand against his cheek and feels the walls inside her heart crumble at the tender look in his eyes. He blinks slowly once, twice and then a third time, like he is trying hard to stay awake. “It’s okay, go to sleep” she tells him, just in case he is thinking of forcing himself to stare at her all night. He turns his face into her palm, presses a small kiss to the center of it, mumbles something she can’t hear but can guess what then falls back asleep.

“I will be here, Link. I promise”

//

1 year later

“You know, when I was in the hospital for...um...the arm...” she hums in response, pushes her head deeper on his neck, she is almost entirely on top of him but she knows he won’t complain, not when she has her lips busy collecting kisses down the side of his neck “I had the weirdest dream. It was like I was meeting you for the first time, I think? It’s all fuzzy”

His hands trails down to her waist, touching her whole body and pressing her against him. His grip on her tightens as she nips and sucks on his skin.

Still, he continues “All I can remember is that I fell in love with you, immediately.” and she has to part her lips away from him for a second, remembering the exact moment he is referring to and he whines impatiently at the loss of contact.

“Of course you did” she grins wickedly and he looks at her with a grin of his own that turns into a frown when she says, “I’m so pretty. Like really pretty” then his eyes widens, seeming to discover the secret she has been hiding this whole time as his brain remembers why that phrase seems so familiar. He firmly but gently pushes her down onto the soft duvet of their bed, his weight on top of her now and the sudden change causes her to giggle loudly, carefree and full of love.

She expects him to kiss her but it doesn’t come, he stays watching her like she found out he is so fond of doing every other day, his eyes amazed over the fact that he can see her, be with her. And in this moment, she feels loved.

When their lips touch, it’s all consuming with passion, trying to satisfy the never dying need to be with each other like the concept of time don’t seem to work on them. They could stay like that forever, two hours and even just thirty seconds and still would never be enough. Time seems to be too short to be with each other, too long to be a part.

But still, she thinks, if she had to chose, thirty seconds with him or none at all she knows what she would choose.

Thirty seconds. It’s all it takes.

And she would love him,

Like it would never end.