#something of an abrupt ending but I got stuck and gave up

[frogs-crackcorner]

An Angel All My Own P-2

Simon Riley x reader

Cw: brief mention of knives and guns, fluff

The day had been absolute garbage. It must have been a full moon because every customer that came in seemed to have a stick up their ass. You spent the day calming down entitled jerks and cleaning up after your coworkers. For working in a bakery, you would think they would know how to frost a cake.

When the end of your shift finally came, you couldn't have been happier to leave. You quickly grabbed your purse and jumped in your car. It was a bit of a drive back to your house but you didn't mind. It gave you time to listen to music and unwind. Once you got to the edge of town the houses got farther apart and trees got more dense. The long road to your house was dark and the wind blew eerily. The trees swayed, creaking and groaning. The moonlight cast long shadowy tendrils across the ground. This was the one downside to living out here. No one could hear you scream.

You push those thoughts down and turn into your driveway. You park on the lawn and lock your car. You practically sprint into the house before slamming and locking the door behind you. You flip on the lights. The golden glow of the lamps helps to ease your nerves. You hang up your bag and make your way into the kitchen.

It was nearly ten pm and you still needed to make yourself something for dinner. You rummage through your fridge and cupboards before settling on ramen. You have some leftover greens from a stir fry you made and decide to throw those in there as well. You put the broth and a few eggs into a pot to boil for a while.

With your food cooking, you head upstairs to get into pajamas. You find some cozy pants and a shirt that smells almost clean. It's good enough, you think as you pull the shirt over your head. You drag yourself back downstairs, your feet aching. "Once I have dinner, I'm going to bed," you say to yourself.

You flip on the television before shuffling your way back to the kitchen. The eggs are finished boiling so you turn the heat off and add in your veggies and noodles. You put the lid on the pot to let them steep a little. The tv gives you a decent distraction and you find yourself falling into the lull of your nighttime routine. You turn to grab a bowl out of the cupboard when an abrupt knock nearly makes you drop it.

You make your way to the front door, grabbing a kitchen knife as you go. You weren't expecting any visitors. No one should be out here this late. You cautiously peer through the peep hole, a large dark frame filling your view. You flip on the front porch light to get a better look. Ghost glances up as you turn the light on. You breathe a sigh of relief and unlock the door.

"Hello, Ghost. Sorry, you scared me. Did something happen?," you ask, worried maybe something had happened to Price.

"I need a place to stay tonight. Price said you might have room," he grumbles. He seems nervous, shifting his weight back and forth. Price hadn't said anything to you about Ghost coming over. You made a mental note to chew him out for it later.

"Of course. Come on in," you welcome. Ghost steps into the house and stands awkwardly in the entryway. He glances over to see your still shaking hand holding a knife. He tenses briefly before seemingly remembering where he is and relaxing.

"You should really get a hand gun if you're going to be living out here alone," he remarks.

"I would but I don't have a safe. Besides, I'm not really sure how to handle a gun," you reply. He just nods. The two of you stand there in silence for a moment. You're not entirely sure what to say.

"Um, are you hungry?," you finally ask. Ghost nods again. "Well I just made some ramen if you'd like some," you offer.

"Yes please," he breathed.

"Feel free to make yourself at home. Change the channel to whatever you'd like. I'll go get dinner," you urge. You scurry back to the kitchen and grab another bowl from the cupboard. All you wanted was to go to bed. Now you're stuck playing host to a man you barely know. Why did life have to be so unfair? You dish out ramen into each bowl and add the eggs on top. You sprinkle on a little cilantro as a garnish before going to serve it.

"Careful, it's hot," you warn, handing Ghost the bowl. He's sitting in the chair near the corner of the room. Ghost gently takes the bowl from you. He seems to hesitate for a long moment. You watch as he brings a hand up to his mask and then lowers it again. Something clicks in your brain and before you can stop yourself you're blurting out ,"You don't have to eat with me if you don't want to. You can always eat in your room."

He shakes his head. He lifts his hand again and pulls down the mask. You feel your breath hitch. He had a deep scar twisting from the corner of his mouth up towards his ear. Another scar stuck straight down across his lips and down his chin. A third pulled at the skin underneath his left eye. You could see there were several smaller ones littering his skin.

He was stunning. He looked like something out of a Tim Burton film, in all the best ways. Soft pink lips that stuck out in a pout and long silvery eyelashes. His pale skin lined with purple webs, his deep brown eyes that seemed to notice everything. Like noticing you noticing him.

You quickly avert your gaze, your cheeks heating rapidly. You take a bite of noodles and try to clear your mind. He was hesitant to take his mask off in the first place, you staring at him probably didn't help. You guessed he was probably self-conscious of his scars. Based on the way he wore a mask and kept his head down, he seemed to prefer not to show them. You could understand why but they looked so beautiful to you. You thought he should show them off more. You briefly wondered what caused them. In all likelihood, they were won after countless brushes with death. Some part of you wanted to ask him how he got the scars. How he had eluded death. You wanted to know all his stories. You hardly knew the guy. You knew he couldn't be too bad, after all, Price trusted him alone here with you. But besides both of you knowing Price, you knew nothing about the man sitting across from you.

You watch him bring a spoonful of broth to his lips and gently blow on it before slurping it up. The two of you continue to eat in silence. The soft murmur of the tv fills the room. Ghost was so quiet you scarcely heard him breathe. You glance up just to make sure he really was breathing. You're shocked to see him finishing off the rest of his broth. He basically inhaled that whole bowl. Well, he was a big man and in the military at that. They probably don't get home cooked meals very often.

"Would you like more? I don't have any more ramen but I have some leftover chicken. I can heat that up," you suggest. Ghost seems to think about it before sheepishly nodding his head. You smile and get up to reheat the chicken. Maybe the barge sitting in your living room wouldn't be so bad. He seemed more like a shy school boy than a big, grown military man. You smile to yourself. He sort of reminded you of a Mastiff. They look mean but are about the biggest softies you can find. You plate the chicken and walk back to the living room. Ghost is looking at one of the small shelves on the wall, picking up the little trinkets and inspecting them. He nearly drops a little ceramic bunny when you come back in the room. He quickly puts it back and turns around. The tips of his ears begin to turn pink and you can't help but laugh. Yep. A big softie.

Taglist: @smileykiddie08

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list. Thanks for reading!

[blasphemecel]

Michael Kaiser, Alexis Ness — Fanned Out

PAIRING: Michael Kaiser/Reader/Alexis Ness WORD COUNT: 2.1k TYPE: Humor, Bad flirting (it's getting worse somehow) NOTE(S): This happens directly after Dog Walking. Another one shot with this reader character is Wardrobe Malfunction (U don't need to read either to know what's going on)

You thought after Ness gave you that sermon earlier, trying to indoctrinate you into the Kaiser cult or whatever, the topic would be over and done with. But no, he’s still going. You wonder how he can go on and on, and on, and on, and on about something so worthless.

Maybe you’re becoming a part of the problem, though, and this isn’t a notion that occurs to you often. You’re sitting next to Kaiser of your own volition, after all, leaving you between them while Ness lectures you from the other side.

In your defense, your plan seemed like it would have a high chance of success. You assumed for sure Ness would be too embarrassed to keep talking about that stuff right in front of Kaiser, and here you are, wrong.

Kaiser also appears to still be half-asleep or something because he’s just picking at his breakfast without paying any heed to either of you. His movements are sluggish and he’s unresponsive, which makes his company about fifteen times more pleasant than it usually is.

“I mean, it’s just- How dare you take Kaiser’s first kiss so carelessly?! If you’re going to do that, it’s at least worth a confession.”

Your abrupt laughter results in you choking on your food and sends you into a severe coughing fit, to the point you’re slapping the table with too much force and gasping for breath. You knew it. This man is going to put you in the dirt.

It takes Kaiser precisely two blinks to register what Ness just blurted out, and it does a great job of shaking the drowsiness out of his system. The two of them are ignoring you as if you’re not on the brink of asphyxiating, and Kaiser seethes, “Ness, you shithead! Just because I fucking tell you something doesn’t mean you need to announce it to the world. What the hell?”

“Sorry, Kaiser,” Ness says, flinching. Apparently he has ordained that your offenses haven’t yet stacked up to deserving the death penalty, though, because he takes mercy on you and smacks you on the back until you spit out whatever got stuck in your throat.

Kaiser stares at you as if your hacking was in some way inconvenient to him. Ness is still babbling, muttering apologies both of your ways (though the ones directed at Kaiser are, of course, more fussy).

Despite the post-almost dying haze, you speak in your typical derisive fashion, “You can’t be serious? That was your first kiss? That’s just pathetic.” For good measure, you add in another cackle at the end.

“It’s not like I’ve never had the opportunity to kiss anyone,” justifies Kaiser. What to make this sentence any sadder than Ness nodding in agreement in the background, like he feels the need to provide some kind of confirmation? “I don’t care about useless gestures like this. How many people have you kissed before, anyway, huh?”

“A profitable amount.” You shrug.

“What does that even mean,” Ness asks in the most incurious tone possible.

“Honestly a little disappointing you’d waste your time on stupid shit instead of giving football your all. I expected better from you.”

Wow, leave it to Kaiser to try and make you look like a loser for this. You kind of respect the move, but you won’t admit it to his face.

“I guess it’s a little wild I have experiences outside of football. Wanna know what’s wilder, though?”

“No. Talk to the-”

“How quick you folded even though you’ve never done it before. That's crazy.” Kaiser rolls his eyes, but it doesn’t discourage you from continuing, “Don’t worry, I don’t blame you. I tend to have this effect on people.”

“Shut up! Kaiser is not easy.”

“You’re such an embarrassment,” Kaiser says, looking at Ness with a very pronounced lack of amusement.

He is about to apologize again — what is he even sorry for? existing? — but this brings your attention back to him, and you swing an arm around his shoulders with a look of intrigue. “You seem like the kinda guy who's never kissed anyone before either. Want me to remedy that for you, too?”

“N-No! Why would you even want to do that with me? You’re sick.” With these final words, Ness proceeds to… hop out of his seat and run off to a different table. Overkill much? Does he have no self esteem at all?

You stare incredulously at the spot he was previously sitting in along with Kaiser, and then you turn to look at each other with a vague sense of confusion as if you’re both unsure you actually witnessed this happen.

“So,” Kaiser begins, fumbling around his food with his fork in a manner he probably considers nonchalant, “if you didn’t notice it was my first time kissing someone, that means it was good and you liked it.”

You smile at him. “With how skilled you are at jumping to conclusions, you should consider a career change to obstacle course racing. Would you like a performance review? Constructive criticism? A rating from one to ten?”

In an impressive show of restraint, Kaiser doesn’t throw any of the bowls in your face.

___

Kaiser has been staring at himself in the mirror for more than thirty minutes with a thoughtless smile on his face.

You’re getting this estimate from the fact he was doing this when you first walked in, and the shit you were taking was on the tougher side, and now you’re done and he’s still at it. He does this nonsense every morning, though, so you’re about to leave him alone… until an idea crosses your mind.

You approach, your reflection coming closer and closer ominously. “Kaiser.”

“Go away. You’re interrupting me,” he says, despite not doing anything you can see at all.

“Hear me out for a second. You can go back to psychotically talking to yourself after.”

“I wasn’t ‘psychotically talking to myself.’”

“Really? Because it looked to me like you were giving yourself a motivational speech in your head.”

“What the fuck do you want? Just get on with it. I don’t have time for this.”

“Clumsy topic segue. But anyway, I’ve been feeling kind of bad about the stuff with the kiss.” Just the mention of it is enough to make him pull an annoyed expression, but you disregard it. “I wanna do something nice for you.”

He looks at you in a way someone who just swallowed an entire lemon, with the exocarp and all, might — weird, but unmistakably thrown off and irked. In a sarcastic tone, he asks, “Why would you want to do something nice for me? Since when are you such a good samaritan?”

You turn around and pull yourself up over the vanity, unfazed by his attitude. “Let me do your eyeliner thing for you.”

…?

It is obvious you have an ulterior motive here. Kaiser’s eyes dart between you and the make-up appliance. He only has his curiosity to blame when he hands it over to you after a while of paranoid scrutiny.

You lean in and push his hair aside with your fingers, using your other hand to draw the usual wing under his waterline. Despite the lack of suspicious or otherwise unusual movements on your end, Kaiser is tense. Nothing sinister is happening and it’s weirding him out.

You finish and switch to the other one. This is unsettling. A sense of foreboding looms over him, and though you’re being prompt about it, the process seems long and arduous in his mind.

Once you’re done, in one swift motion — as if you’ve practiced before — you press the tip of the pen against his forehead and scrawl something, before backing off and beaming at him with smug satisfaction. It all happens so quickly, he doesn’t react with more than a blink at first.

Kaiser’s brows furrow and he glances at himself in the mirror, confirming the unthinkable. “Did you just sign my fucking forehead?”

“For my biggest fan.”

“I’m not your fan. Get over yourself. You’re not Drake.”

“I figured it was fair you’d get my first ever autograph, since I got your first kiss.”

“Go to hell and burn while you’re at it! I have to clean this now.”

“Why would you clean it?” you ask. What kind of moron are you, Kaiser wonders. “I think you should get it tattooed. It costs millions, you know? In fact, you should show it off in front of the others.”

“Please. Whatever I wipe myself with would cost ten times more than your signature ever will.”

“If it helps you sleep at night, Kaiser,” you relent, still coming off as very pleased with yourself, which makes this whole thing more annoying than it needs to be. Though he looks like he’s about to bite your face off, you invade his personal space even further and inch closer, your nose almost brushing against his. “You can say anything you want. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re my little bitch.”

“Stop calling me that! What’s wrong with you?!” he fumes, reaching to grip your waist and attempting to push you off the countertop.

You almost fall despite resisting, too, but you throw the eyeliner at his face, and it creates enough of a diversion for you to slide down without accident. You’re at the door by the time you turn around to address him again. “I have to admit, the elephantine size of your forehead is what really made this possible for me. Thank you for this opportunity.”

Ele- ele-what?

He clenches his fists, grits his teeth, on the cusp of a hypertension headache. You’re so going to get it! Kaiser doesn’t know yet how he will go about hiring a hitman to kill you while you’re both still stuck in Blue Lock, but Ness is here, which means murder isn’t entirely off the table.

___

Kaiser relays the story of your little bathroom encounter to Ness with the seriousness and urgency of a kidnapper laying down ransom demands. Another person’s name on his- his- his… royal but not at all big forehead, it’s sacrilegious. He’s getting pissed off all over again thinking about it.

Of course, Ness, too, treats the matter as deserving of the gravity Kaiser is giving it. “Don’t worry,” he says. But Kaiser isn’t worried. He is bloodthirsty. “There’s only one way to deal with inflated balloon heads like that. I’ll take care of it.”

“How? You know something I don’t?”

With his usual guileless smile on his face — reminiscent of a frog — Ness leads the way and, in an uncharacteristically confident manner, promises you ‘will be very embarrassed.’

By now Kaiser is following him just because he wants to see whatever is about to go down. It doesn’t take them long to cross the field and reach you.

You’re bouncing a ball on your foot, and once you notice them, you wave with grandiosity. “Hello, numbskulls. Did you come closer so you can admire me better?”

Kaiser doesn’t even know where to begin with this statement, but Ness spares him the effort because without any hesitation, he says, “Yes.”

Snapping his head to stare at him with offense, Kaiser now has to wonder if Ness was the real maniac all along.

You seem to share similar sentiments because your eye twitches and remains stuck half open after. The ball rolls away when you fail to catch it. “What- huh? Huuuuh? You’re just gonna agree with me?”

“Yes. You’re an amazing player with exceptional abilities,” Ness says pleasantly. Candidly. “Not to mention how clever you are. You’re also really good at thinking on the spot. I don’t just mean on the field, but in general, too. Your wit is impressive.”

These compliments are way too upfront and honest. A chill goes down your spine and you gape at him, disturbed. Then your expression morphs into something more awkward — nonplussed, maybe, nervous in some manner — and you say, “I-I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t like it.”

Probably realizing your usual poise is ebbing away, you grimace, cover your face with your forearm as if you are doing a bad job of shielding yourself from imaginary sunlight and pivot around before sprinting away from them at max speed while screaming something incoherent in terror.

“What?” Kaiser yells, gesturing at your fleeing figure. “What’s with that reaction?! No way? What? Over a few nice words? What the hell? What!”

As usual, Ness’s appearance is innocent enough, but there’s a certain glint in his eyes now, like he’s hungry for more power. “Kaiser… Kaiser, I… I did it!”

Kaiser considers making a getaway, but he already saw how unbecoming it is.

___

Oh I know you guysare sick of me...

My sheltered no life experiences outside of kicking a ball Kaiser agenda. With the way he acts I wouldnt be surprised if his mother didnt hold him after giving birth to him

[natasharswifey]

Little red ❤️

Wanda Maximiff & daughter!reader

Requests open <3

Summary: You're Wanda's daughter and a bit of a problem child, but one day things get a little out of hand.

___☆___

A/N: Reader is pretty young in this but I wasn't sure how to put it as a warning, just a short one shot. I find it hard to read Y/N as my name so I'm using [...] instead!

Tags: Accidental mind control, shock, hurt/comfort, guilt, angst with a happy ending <3

___☆___

Little red.

It was a nickname that stuck only a few months after you moved into the compound with Wanda. Mainly because of the colour of your mother's powers, but also because you had quite the temper.

It was always a wonder how so much energy and rage could fit into such a small six-year-old, but it never seemed to end with you.

Whenever you weren't throwing a fit you were the sweetest thing alive, giving hugs left and right and smiling all the time with a toothy grin.

Luckily, Wanda was kind and patient with you, calming you after meltdowns and always being reasonable.

But after starting kindergarten a month ago you'd taken a a turn for the worse.

___☆___

“Honey, you need to calm down.”

“No!” You scream for the fourth time. It was likely you didn't even remember what had gotten you upset in the first place.

Wanda did, though. This had all started two hours ago when she'd calmly explained that eating an entire tub of ice cream wouldn't be healthy, or even possible with such a small stomach.

Fours hours before Natasha had to haul you back inside screaming before you ran out into a storm because you were convinced hanging out with Thor gave you his lightning powers.

Earlier that morning she'd had to battle with you about getting ready for school, then getting out of the car and to the front gate.

The night before you'd refused to go to sleep in your bed, waking half the compound by sneaking around clumsily in the dead of night.

This was pretty much the weekly routine since you'd started school, which meant Wanda had barely gotten any rest between you and working alongside the Avengers.

“I want it now!”

“Please, [………], just take a deep breath and-”

“I don't wanna, I want ice cream!”

So you did remember this time. Either way it wasn't happening, dealing with you would only be more difficult if you were hopped up on sugar.

“You can't have anymore tonight, sweetie, how about tomorrow.”

Before Wanda can continue trying to calm you down you start bawling and she can’t hear herself think.

She had never thought parenting would be so hard, Wanda had always imagined doing this with Vision, but with him gone and you being so difficult this all seemed so impossible.

Wanda can see you take another sharp inhale to begin crying again, placing a hand on your shoulder to try and stop you before you can.

Then you stop.

It was so abrupt that Wanda could immediately tell something was wrong. As she shuffled directly in front of you she covered her mouth in shock at the sight of your eyes swirled with red. Her red.

___☆___

When you came back around everything was fuzzy. You didn't really remember why you were on the kitchen floor, or why your mom looked so scared and sad.

“Hey, [………] talk to me, kid.”

You wanted to ask what was going on, why your mother wouldn't come close to you and why your aunt looked so concerned, but the words got caught in your throat.

In all honesty you just wanted to sleep right on the floor where you were sat, but Auntie Nat was very adamant you should stay awake.

The doctor said you'd suffered a shock and would be better soon. You didn't actually remember what happened in the kitchen, but thought you must have misbehaved terribly because your mom didn't want to be near you anymore.

___☆___

“Wanda?” Natasha whispers quietly, the two of them standing in the doorway watching over you as you slept.

She had decided to move out of the compound away from the city until you fully recovered and Nat had joined you, knowing she would need some help.

“Hey, Nat.”

It had been a week since the accident and Wanda was tired. It wasn't because you had her up at all hours of the night defying your bedtime anymore, it was much worse.

You were silent.

You hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since what had happened. It was hard to tell what was going on in your head since your face often lacked in emotion.

The only time you really acted like a kid was when you took out crayons to draw, even then the only colour you'd use was red.

But the wort part was, Wanda knew it was all her fault.

“How are you holding up?”

Wanda shrugs, “I'm fine.” She's lying through her teeth and they both know it.

“It wasn't on purpose, Wanda.”

“I hurt my own kid.”

“Hey.” Natasha takes her by both of her shoulders, “You were exhausted, you know your powers go haywire when you aren't getting enough rest. The doctor said she'll be better soon- she isn't hurt, you only gave her a little shock that's all.”

The guilt that had been festering since that night came welling up and Wanda finally let herself cry quietly in Natasha’s arms.

___☆___

You woke up a little earlier than usual that morning and did a big stretch before deciding to see what was going on downstairs.

Your mom was curled up on the couch reading a magazine while auntie Nat was in the kitchen frying something.

You tugged so gingerly at her oversized shirt that she didn't even notice you were there until she looked down.

“Hey, Little red. You sleep well?”

You nodded. Out here it was a lot more quiet, and you didn't have to worry about school or your classmates giving you any trouble. Plus your mom was here all the time instead of work. Even if she was being distant.

“Do you want to help me cook breakfast?”

Normally it would be an immediate yes, but you just wanted to be near your mother. You pointed at her and looked up at Nat, clearly wanting to know what to do.

She smiles at you softly, “Go ahead, kid.”

Jumping at the opportunity you scurried over to where she was sitting, slowing down as you got closer. She hadn't yet noticed you, her eyesight blocked by the page in front of her.

You decided to take the opportunity and clamber onto the couch, wriggling until you were in the perfect spot in her arms. She had gone slightly stiff and you could feel her heart pounding, but only cuddled closer to her.

“You guys alright?” Natasha calla from the kitchen, only a small hint of worry in her voice.

“Yeah we're… we're good, right, [……….]?”

You respond by curling up closer, sighing as you closed your eyes.

Wanda's eyes never left you, she was so terrified that she could lose control again, break you, but even with these thoughts swirling around her head, the look of peace on your face as you slept was enough to keep her calm.

___☆___

Notes:

“Marceline, I can feel myself slipping away

I can't remember what it made me say

But I remember that I saw you frown

I swear it wasn't me, it was the crown”

-Remember you, Adventure time

Yayy, happy ending

This wasn't based on the song but its so fitting omg, I don't think I've written something so angsty before but I hope you likeddd :)

[rainebelowzero]

HAAIIII.. erm.. could i request kurt being a creep abt reader? like reader is friends w/ kurt and kurts pathetic n awkward ugh.. maaybbee kurt coming prematurely n sum degradation? :p LOVE YOU!!

I combined these two hopefully that's okay

notes: GUYS I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING DEAD 😿😿😿 I just quit my job and then got a new one that kinda requires more work so I haven't had much privacy to work on anything, I also just completely lost my ability to write for some reason??? I've had horrible writer's block but I'm not quitting anytime soon so don't worry 😼

cws: some degradation, premature ejaculation, kurt being kinda creepy, the reader is a little silly 😺, overstim, kind of abrupt ending sorry guys 🫤

Though he was your best friend, he was a little creepy at times, and you're pretty sure you saw one of your favorite shirts that went missing a few days ago in the background of one of his videos. His gaze always lingered for uncomfortably long, especially if it was particularly hot outside and you were wearing less clothing than usual, but he was cute, so you gave him a pass.

Kurt was your best friend, so of course you stuck around him as much as you could. It was a completely normal attachment, so who did it really affect if you made an alt account to watch his streams? It gave him that dopamine he needed to see a new viewer, so you saw it as an act of kindness.

That was until you started to hear him talk about you while you were…roleplaying as a different person in his chat. He started out saying casual things, you were hot, you had nice hands, etc. And it definitely turned you on to think about him being down bad for you. It almost completely changed when, during one of these streams, he had a very obvious boner while he was talking about you, to which you definitely rubbed one out.

The minute he ended the stream, you started to think of a plan. You had to fuck that man. The next time you saw him, you went all in with the touching. You sat in the passenger seat as he talked about something random to his chat with about three viewers, slowly sliding your hand over and resting on his thigh. He glances down at it, confused, especially as you join the conversation casually, acting like nothing is happening.

The next time you do it, it's when the two of you stop to get food from a food truck. Kurt went to get it while you sat with the live stream, but before he left, you ran a hand over his shoulder. He stared at you for a second, eyes slightly wide, before he got out of the car.

At the end of the day, you decide to hang out at his place. You were slowly growing more frustrated, none of your little hints working, though you were more frustrated at yourself for thinking they would work in the first place. You stand, coming up behind Kurt and putting your hands on his shoulders as he sits in his gaming chair. He's slightly startled, but pushes his headphones off and smiles up at you.

“Kurt, we need to fuc- TALK. We need to talk.” You say to him, and he raises an eyebrow. You continue. “I know about your..feelings. I've heard you, I've seen the way you look at me.”

Kurt turns red, an expression you've never seen on his face, his eyes wide. “W-what are you talking about?”

You stare at him before going over to his pillow, lifting it and yanking your stolen shirt out from under it. He stands up, nervous that you're angry about it.

“I don't- I have no idea what that is.” He says, very obviously lying. You move closer to him, tossing the shirt down.

“Kurt, you're a fucking freak.” He blushes even more and he barely knows how to react, but you glance down and see that he's getting hard. “You're into that?” You ask, moving even closer to him, expecting him to back up, but he doesn't, he just bites his bottom lip slightly, closing his eyes for a second before staring at you with an almost needy look.

“I heard all of the things you said about me in those streams. I know what you want me to do to you..” You trail off.

“Really?” He asks. You nod, before sliding a hand down to the waistband of his pants, testing the waters. He doesn't stop you, staring at you with still wide eyes. You realize you're probably gonna have to do all of the work, so you lean in and kiss him, to which he automatically reacts, kissing you back. His legs almost buckle, and you push him back into his chair, straddling him. You're not certain if his gaming chair can handle the weight of two grown men, but there was only one way to find out.

You keep kissing him, and his hands move between your waist and the arm rests of the chair, not knowing what to do with them. Your lips move to his neck, and he lets out a desperate whine, almost suspiciously strained, until you look down and see the front of his pants slowly getting a dark spot. He looks at you, panting heavily as you stare back at him.

“Seriously?” You ask, deadpan. His face flushes, trying to find the words to apologize before you lean closer, kissing his neck again. “I barely even touched you.” You say lowly, your hand pulling his cock out of his pants, feeling it twitch from the sensitivity as he whimpers.

You slowly stroke him, his cum being used as lube as he moans and writhes underneath you. He looks up at you, his lips slightly parted as he tries to buck up into your hand. You speed up, kissing his neck again until he moans loudly, his hand gripping onto your wrist tightly, shooting his load across your shirt and hand. He pants heavily, head falling back with some of his hair stuck to his forehead.

You back off of him, standing, before unzipping your own pants, as he gives you an exhausted but very excited look.

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Hello! So I have this request. Imagine Tommy has a daughter who's very cocky and isn't afraid to argue with anyone. It doesn't matter if you're 2 or 50, and she's her to be a teenager. ( preferably 13 ) If you can, and want to, of course. ( this is my first time asking for a request, and I'm so nervous, Idek why )

Hey Love,

This request is awesome! Thanks for trusting me with it! Hope you enjoy!!

Warnings: Kidnapping / peaky themes

Tommy felt his vision start to swim and the words on the phone became inaudible. The man hung up the phone and he knew he needed to move. These feelings uncovered old wounds. That time he had to rescue Charlie when he was just a small boy. He got one kid back and he could do it again. 

He pulled himself together and immediately without thought sought out Arthur who was sitting at his desk reading the paper. 

“He’s taken her hostage.” The words barely made it out of Tommy's mouth. 

“Told you that would happen,” Arthur grumbled but Tommy could see the pain and fear in his eyes. “JOHNNY!” Arthur called out over his shoulder into the back room.

“Again!” John said running his hand through his hair. “Fuck.” 

__________________________________________________

You were not very comfortable in the trunk of the car. Something you felt your capture needed to understand. They had not taken your criticism and had begun to ignore you. 

You weren't entirely sure they could hear you up front with the engine turned on and everything. If there was a small chance they could hear you, you were going to take it. 

You started singing God Save the King at an ungodly volume. Why that song? You didn't know. But you were sure it would annoy the piss out of anyone in earshot. 

You mentally counted every turn the car took. Trying to make a map of how to get back to school, back to safety. You sang so loud your lungs and throat burned. 

Eventually, the car came to an abrupt stop. Clearly done so your body would roll around in the trunk. You let out a little scream then lay still. 

Somewhere in your mind, you realized they could have driven to the river. Maybe they would open the trunk and shoot you immediately then dump your body. 

Jesus and the last song you would have been singing was God Save the King. Fuck, that’s not how you wanted things to end. 

The trunk opened and thankfully no one had any weapons drawn. The men looked weathered though you were happy to see they were enjoying your company. 

“Who the fuck taught you to drive.” You looked at the man with the keys in his hand. “Jesus Christ you suck.” 

“Look here you little twerp. Shut your mouth.” He grabbed your arm shaking your whole frame. “And keep it shut. Tight.” 

You felt that lovely sense of rage cloud all of your senses and leaned into the man's face. Your eyes were wide and you knew that he knew just where those icy blue orbs came from. 

“Make me.” You said softly. You could feel the discomfort run through the man. He didn’t want to be here, he was holding you for ransom no doubt. The reluctance to follow through with any violence was clear in his features. He gave the man next to him a look. 

“Get her in the fucking building.” The other man ordered avoiding your gaze. They moved you into the abandoned warehouse and sat you on a chair.

“Look at the two of you!” You said as they bound your body with rope. “Real classy people. I’m sure your mothers are very proud.” 

The man rolled his eyes. 

“Stuck with a couple of real winners.” You could see the man's jaw tick and you decided to simmer down a little. You needed to think up a plan. 

“So do you believe in God then?” You asked and he sat down in the chair across from you. A bright light turned on overhead and you realized with a spark in your eye that they were going to interrogate you. 

“I’ll be asking the questions here.” The man said in a sturdy voice. 

“That hardly seems like fun. I’ll trade you a question for a question. How bout that?” The man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Told you we should have taken the boy instead.” The man standing in the shadows said. 

“Charlie. Great man. Great brother. You want to know why he is such an excellent -” 

“No. What I want to know is why your dad stole from Mr. Crowe.” 

“Mr. Crowe, he sounds ominous. If I were writing a book I’d definitely make him the villain.” You tried to look around at all the exits. “What did my dad steal?” 

“Money and a shipment of drugs headed for New York.” 

“Doesn't sound like my dad. He’s a politician, a man of the government.” You explained. “Have you ever been to New York?” 

The man slapped his hand down on the table next to him. You wanted to avoid listening to more boring threats so you plowed on. 

“I have thought about going to New York, but America seems so dull. Their art is sooo boring. Do you like art?” You asked him honestly. 

“No.” 

“Really? You strike me as a man of higher education.” You smiled like a cat. “Surely there must be an artist or era you like. Everyone likes art.” 

“Shut up.” He growled. “Just shut up.” 

“Well, I don't know if you know this, but I just turned 13. You know what that means?” You looked at both men. “Means dating, and while I’m here I might as well practice small talk.” 

Both men let out a groan and one of them came over and landed a blow across your cheek. You could feel the fear radiating off of him as if God himself had told him what the cost of hitting one of Thomas Shelby’s kids was.

“My aunt hits harder.” You sneered. “Now you're not art people, that’s fine. How do you feel about sports then? You gamble?” You prattled on. Even if they did kill you, you wanted the satisfaction of annoying them.

________________________________________________________

Tommy negotiated with the man, sending him to an empty shipping yard. He didn't steal any drugs or money. Stuff like that was so far behind him that it was almost laughable. His daughter being held captive was not laughable. 

Alfie came up from London to storm the building with him. Alfie’s extra men went with Arthur and John to ambush the men going to the shipping yard. The whole thing was unbelievably stupid on Mr. Crowe’s part but he would meet the consequences nonetheless. 

As they parked outside the warehouse Tommy painfully waited until the rest of the men had the building surrounded. He knew better than to run head-first into traps these days. 

“No, see that’s where you're wrong. The issue is far more complicated than workers' rights. The aspect of the government being heavily involved in the lives of the people -” 

He followed the sound of your voice and found you tied to a chair with a large white light shining down on you. Two men looked possibly exhausted and frustrated. She prattled on about her views on Communism and shot down their defenses easily. 

“Not to late to leave her here mate.” Alfie joked and Tommy gave him an icy glare. He watched your eyes dart towards where they stood in the shadows. He saw the bruise forming on your cheek. 

Alfie wasn't in a joking mood anymore. 

“Boys I hate to change the subject as we were getting close to some interesting ideas. But we should move this back to religion. If you have one, I think you should make your peace.” They gave her a confused look. 

Tommy watched as Alfie went to untie you letting him start to have his way with the two men. 

______________________________________

“Put me down.” You growled. Alfie placed you down on the wet concrete in front of the building. 

“Not exactly a warm welcome.” He said looking at your cheek with anger in his eyes. 

“You suggested leaving me there!” 

“I just put 100 men on this mission to get you back, love. Leaving you there wasnt an option.” He answered easily 

“Then why did you say it.” Your eyes narrowed at him. He was your favorite person to argue with other than your dad. 

“I just thought it was funny that even when kidnapped you don't shut up.” 

“Do you want me to shut up?” A slight bit of hurt washed into your tone. 

“You wouldn't be my favorite niece if you did.” He ruffled the hair on your head and you were grateful he helped your dad.

________________

“So I started a re-read of the old testament.”

He let out a groan. 

Lizzie cried and threw her arms around you when you walked into the front door. You fought back your own tears as the reality of the situation hit you. Her embrace melted away all the anger that held you together. 

It was just you and her as your dad had to make phone calls to sort out the rest of the conflict. The tears started and she helped you upstairs to your room. 

“I just argued the whole time. I don't know why I’m crying now.” You tried to wipe your tears on the back of your hand. 

“Because you're still a girl at the end of the day.” Lizzie shrugged and helped you get into the bath. 

“Well, it’s stupid and I am not stupid.” You said trying again to stop the tears. 

“Darling, there is nothing stupid about your ability to feel. It’s what makes you exceptional.” She placed your robe and pajamas on the counter before leaving to give you some space. 

You got yourself sorted and were happy that the house was mostly empty. You stuffed yourself between your parents on the couch in the study. 

Your dad’s arm wrapped around you and you felt him hold on to you tightly.

[roboticspacecase]

BillDip promt:first date

Ahh an excuse to write fluff, yes >:3c

The last thing Dipper had expected when he was asked out by a handsome, seemingly normal guy on a dating app, was to end up gripping the passenger seat of a fancy sports car while his date stared down an empty parking lot.

"Don't you dare," Dipper laughed, gripping the seat tighter. "You just took me out to that nice restaurant and fed me all that pasta, and I don't think either of us want to see it again. Especially since this time it’ll be all over your dashboard."

Bill's intense gaze shifted from the pavement to Dipper, a large, smarmy grin on his face. "You saw how good of a driver I was when I got us from your place to the restaurant in that funky traffic jam. We made it on time for our reservation, didn't hit anyone or anything, and I didn't get pulled over!"

Dipper rolled his eyes, still smiling. During the two weeks that he and Bill spoke over messages, the blond had mentioned that he enjoyed doing things that, “got the heart pumping”. But Dipper had always thought that had been some sort of sexual joke, not that he actually wanted to fling his car around at high speeds the second they drove by an empty lot.

“How about we do a few donuts, then we park and give my poor stomach a chance to catch up with the night?” He leaned back in his seat, preparing himself for the ride. “I think I can handle at least a few.” Their night had been going well enough that Dipper would feel bad if he shut down Bill’s fun too quickly, so he didn’t mind putting up with more of the blond’s shenanigans.

Bill lit up, his baby blue eyes twinkling from the dim glow of his headlights. “Sounds good to me, Pine Tree!” He revved the engine a couple of times before shifting the car into gear and slamming his foot down on the gas.

The tires screeched as they whirled around the lamp posts and empty parking spots. The two of them got thrown around a bit with each turn, though both could be heard laughing over the sound of the rubber on pavement.

Thankfully, Bill stuck to only doing a few and came to an abrupt stop once they had made their mark on the lot.

“Bet you’ve never had a date end with something that exciting, huh?”

Dipper looked at Bill, a large smile on his face. “I dunno, one guy took me to see a movie then took me to a grocery store ‘cause he needed something and didn’t want to go back out again after dropping me off. So I guess you could say this is a close second.”

“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be?” The blond put his car into park, then adjusted the seat so that it was lying all the way back. “Then I’ll just have to one-up him and take a nap right here and now so that I don’t have to sleep after dropping you off.”

As soon as Bill closed his eyes and pretended to fake snore, Dipper burst out laughing and nudged the blond’s arm. “As much as I like your commitment to making this a super fun date, I think it’s about time I let my poor stomach lie down.”

“Your poor stomach, huh?” Bill got up and laid himself over Dipper, reaching for the latch to lay his seat down at well.

It popped into place too suddenly for Dipper to keep up with, he and Bill both falling backwards in an awkward position, Bill right on his stomach.

“Fuck, sorry,” he laughed. “Didn’t mean to come onto you that hard, but hey, you’re laying down now! Your poor stomach can rest easy in my car.”

“Not with you on top of it,” Dipper grunted. He gave the blond a playful shove, not actually trying to get him off. “Maybe if we carefully get back to my place before it gets too late, we can both… I dunno, maybe let our stomachs settle together on my couch with something playing on the TV?” Pink filled his cheeks because he knew that sounded a lot like he was inviting Bill over to get laid. And he sort of was. If one thing led to another, then who was he to deny the flow of the date?

Bill sprung up and had his seat back to normal in no time, his hand on the gearshift. “I’m about to be the carefullest- No wait, the most careful? Whatever, we’re about to be so fucking safe but fast, so buckle up.”

“I never unbuckled, so I’m ready,” Dipper snorted, adjusting his seat so that he could sit up. The car moved again, this time at a much better speed, and Dipper couldn’t help but smile over at his date. It was no trip to the grocery store, but he had a feeling he and Bill would have plenty of other outings that would more than make up for it.

[darlink-xoxo]

part two for this please? where they see each other's playlists and get jealous bc they think it's for other people 😭❤️

OUR FAVORITE SONG PT. 2!·˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ♡

in which, a simple request for the aux cord leads to some unexpected jealousy

and maybe a long awaited (sloppy) confession too..

GIF isnt mine

─ͥ─ͦ─ͮ─ͤ➼♥″

oh my

forgive me if i didn't do the request right 😓

i haven't done this before (pt 1 is right here)

Warnings: Fluff, Aged up!Enough to have a drivers license, Tiny Misunderstanding, Kinda a rushed ending, Possible ooc bakugou, Light Swearing, Puppy love 🫶.. and spelling mistakes

❥ · ﾟ₊ in you're opinion, you'd say you had good music taste. a little bit of everything, not really sticking to one genre. but you've been on a kick recently, it's been difficult to listen to your songs if they weren't on a certain playlist. yeah, that's right, it slightly bothered you to listen to any song outside of your 'thinking about him <3' playlist. why? you had absolutely zero clue.

maybe it's because you've listened to that playlist on repeat for so long, that it's just abnormal at this point to listen to anything else..

yeah.. maybe that's it. but it isn't your fault. ever since that staredown with bakugou, he was probably the only reoccurring thought in your mind, one which you happily welcomed. not without the secondhand embarrassment of course. i mean, it was probably pretty awkward for him to catch you staring at him in silence.. luckily he never brought it up, after all, how were you going to explain how giddy you were feeling to someone who was probably hearing crickets??

well anyways, for some god forsaken reason, you and the bakusquad had planned an outing earlier today after school. bakugou demanded that he'd be the one to drive, declaring that he'd rather have his vocal cords ripped out than let any of you guys drive. which was reasonable enough.

that just doesn't explain how he managed to pick you up first, didn't you live the farthest away from him??

"will you get in the car already? i'll leave your ass behind if you're still there in the next five fucking seconds."

you knew he wasn't joking about leaving you behind, and you didn't feel like driving yourself. hopping into the passenger seat, you slipped on your seatbelt and shifted to get comfortable. you heard him grunt a small 'finally' before revving up his engine and speeding off to the next house.

once everyone was picked up, the six of you were headed to the arcade. the car was filled with endless chatter from ashido and kaminari, with kirishima joining in and sero simply listening to the conversation. somehow the topic had switched to who's playlist should be played as background noise.

"i'm telling you guys, i should have the aux cord. i've got the best taste here!" kaminari held up his phone, the screen showing off one of his multiple playlists.

sero peeked at the phone screen before snorting and settling back in his chair, "kaminari, just because your songs are all famous tiktok audios, that doesn't make them good."

"thank you sero, clearly we should play my songs. mine aren't limited to tiktok!" ashido childishly stuck her tongue out at a pouting kaminari.

kirishima gave a once over at mina's phone screen, before deadpanning, "y'know ashido, you literally only have like, four main artists on there. i dont think any of us wanna listen to the same songs on repeat"

gasping in a mock offense, she retorted, "maybe you don't, but i'll listen to rihanna and twice till the day i die!"

already crossing out sero, who didn't have many song options, and kirishima, who pretty much only had songs for a workout, ashido whined in frustration. she turned to you and practically demanded your phone. you barely had the chance to unlock it before she grabbed it from you.

ashido immediately dived into your lists of songs, "okay, okay, taste.." she muttered with a satisfied nod before she came to an abrupt pause. you saw her eyes zoom in on something in particular, and a devilish grin appearing on her face.

"hehe, y/n? babe? bestie? what is this playlist?"

"what playlist?"

she shoved your phone in your face, "this one!! what is this 'thinking about him' playlist?!? WITH A HEART TOO AWWWW" your eyes widened as you instantly tried to take your phone back, "ashido give it back!!" you narrowly skimmed the device when she scooted farther away from you.

the coral colored female giggled loudly as she scrolled through the playlist, squealing like a middle schooler with a crush when she saw all the love songs. you could only groan and slump into your seat, hoping the cushion could swallow you whole.

while sero and kirishima were cackling loudly at your demise, kaminari was actually making an attempt to help get back your phone, "ashido, it isn't nice to gatekeep someone else's phone- WAIT IS THAT 'DARARI'?!? DUDE, YOU'RE WHIPPED!!"

now both ashido and kaminari were hogging your phone. you couldn't bring yourself to glance at the spiky haired blonde to your side, the sheer humiliation would be too much..

he was quiet. unusual drop dead silence came from the driver's seat. 𝘺𝘰𝘶.. 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩����𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰..? 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 '𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮'.. 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 '𝘩𝘪𝘮'??!

you had 'something about you' by eyedress, 'cloud 9' by beach bunny, 'darari' by treasure, and even 'i'm yours' by isabel larosa.. you definitely liked this guy.. tch..

"turn that shit off, you all have shit taste," he lowly demanded with a slight growl to his tone.

without much care, he tossed his own phone behind him towards the pink haired female. his eyes focused on the road, yet his thoughts kept him occupied. his own mind racing at who this guy you thought about was, did you like someone else..? was it really only him who felt sparks during your staredown a while back? did you feel nothing at all?

his grip on the steering wheel tightened as his thoughts got the best of him, he barely registered the annoyingly loud gasp ashido let out.

"oh. my. GOSH AAAAAA!!! BAKU HAS A LOVE PLAYLIST TOO OHMYGOODNESS!!!!"

.

..

𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠..

"NO WAYYYYYY!! he has 'juliet' by cavetown, HE HAS 'JULIET' BY CAVETOWN GUYS!!!" kaminari practically fought ashido for the phone, eagerly scrolling through the songs in the playlist.

kirishima was able to get a peek at the playlist when kaminari tried holding the phone out of ashido's reach, "you named it 'only them' bro? i gotta say, that's pretty manly. you too y/n!"

sero sat frozen in his seat, eyes blown wide with a hand covering his mouth. he had just connected the dots, and didn't wanna say anything in case it made you two uncomfortable. but lord was he trying not to.

ashido managed to yank back bakugou's phone from kaminari, her eyes scanning each and every song, "'babooshka' by kate bush is a little unexpected, 'despair' by leo is a great choice... still in denial i see, any song by chase atlantic was obvious.." she let out a huge dramatic gasp, to the point she started coughing.

kaminari gently rubbed her back and kirishima handed her water. sero subtly backed away, as to not get infected, quietly asking if she swallowed a bug.

after what like, three minutes? ashido muttered a small 'excuse me' before shoving bakugou's phone in an oddly silent y/n's face, "look y/n! this guy has 'overdose' by natori!! HOW ADORABLE IS THAT?!?!"

he side eyed the interaction, eyes slightly narrowing when y/n only gave it a once over before turning away, choosing to let out a short hum of affirmation.

no matter how hard he tried to focus on the road, his eyes kept drifting towards you. you seemed strangely downcast. were you alright? he couldn't bring himself to ask, he didn't trust his voice to be quiet enough to speak softly with you. not when his anger was spiking up because of a certain raccoon eyes and dunce face.

"CAN YOU JUST PICK A FUCKING SONG AND PLAY IT ALREADY??!" he shouted at the two, as a playlist still hasn't been chosen.

ashido giggled, staring at the rearview mirror with a smug grin, pressing play on his love playlist. bakugou could only grunt with a deepened scowl, choosing to be silent so he could engage himself in steering. he didn't feel like getting his ear talked off by the old hag if he were to get a speeding ticket.

sero felt sweat drip down his forehead as 'moment' by vierre cloud flowed loud and clear through his ears. sure it was meant to be background noise, but with the connection already assembled in his mind, his hearing seemed to focus on the radio. he cleared his throat and faced kirishima, no longer wanting to be the only one who knew, and as kirishima wasn't occupied by a phone that wasn't his, he was the best choice.

kirishima looked over when he noticed sero giving him a wide eyed stare, subtly asking if he was alright. the red head could only blink in confusion as sero pointed at bakugou, then y/n, then at bakugou's phone in ashido's hand. he grinned sheepishly when sero stared at him with a 'how tf do you not get it?!?' sorta glare.

sighing and slumping in his seat, sero pulled out his phone and instead texted his thoughts to kirishima instead. making sure to give a pointed look when the red head rushed to check his message. sero watched the shark toothed male's expressions contort from confusion to interest and finally to an 'OH MY GOSH YOU ARE SO RIGHT' kinda look.

sero skimmed his phone when he saw kirishima furiously typing away. sero uread the text that went, 'how did they not figure it out yet??' sero gave kirishima a sharp look. the simple message of 'says the one who needed a dang message to figure it out,' had the red head putting his phone down and instead choosing to take a nap.

when the six of you finally managed to get to the arcade in one piece, you all agreed to go on your own for about an hour before meeting back up to play games that needed more than one person.

you wandered around aimlessly, everything seemed to have a line and you were also deliberately avoiding a certain someone. you settled down at a simple claw machine, just as you thought you were in the clear, a voice rang from behind you.

"oi, if you're just gonna stare at the prizes ya mind moving? i wanna see how many i can win." a sharp demand came from behind, leading you to turn around as you got out of the way.

low and behold, it was the damn person you were trying to avoid..

he stepped forward, slipping two tokens into the slot before beginning to play. silence was all that came out of you two. and it was hella awkward. more awkward than being left alone in an elevator with a stranger.

you were about to speak out, when bakugou's boastful voice cut you off, "HA! think that bastard of yours can do better?" he turned to you with a smug grin, it almost made your heart beat if it weren't for the six prizes he managed to get in the five minutes he'd been playing laid out behind him.

how the hell did he get those prizes so fast?? in a claw machine no less??? and wait, did he say bastard? whomst tf-

"what bastard are you talking about?" you squinted at him with utter shock in your eyes.

"that guy you think of? think he can do any better than this?" he just won two more prizes..

this the guy you had a crush on, did you have a thing for jealous and oblivious men? did he just gloss over the probability that this 'guy you think of' was him in the first place??

"what does it matter? don't you have your own person you think of?" yeah you haven't forgotten, i mean he had 'sofia' by clairo on his playlist. this guy for sure was serious about his feelings. and it stung, already having repeated it to yourself about a thousand times.

the male before you kept silent, seemingly thinking before he abruptly stood up, thrusting the prizes he won into your hands, "they aren't just someone i think about," he glared at the floor beside you with his voice suddenly going quiet, "they're someone i'd do anything for, even if it means winning every damn game in this fucking arcade to prove it." he fiercely stared into your eyes as if he just made some sort of declaration to you.

it took you a second to process what he said, and when you finally got it he was already trudging away. speeding after him, you grabbed him by his arm, "what if, what if you never had competition to begin with..?" goodness your brain was for sure fried..

he scowled at you, "dont even dare think about fucking lying to me just because i told you the truth," gosh you hated and loved his stubbornness.

"dont you get it bakugou? you're the one i made the playlist for, did arctic monkeys not give you any clues??"

bakugou tensed, yet he didn't seem to look at you, opting to look down instead, "you dropped them," his quiet doting tone made you squint in confusion, he better not be ignoring your confession.. deciding to listen, you glanced underneath you, true to his word, they all lay fallen on the floor. you let out a silent sigh as you knelt down to pick up all the stuff he won. the least he could say was a 'no', now he got you doing labor.

just as you were about to get up and kinda run away and maybe bury yourself in the nearest hole, he knelt beside you, and kissed you. although more of a peck, he made sure it was clear how he felt about you. it was soft and gentle, it caught you off guard. you stared at him with wide eyes, and he stared back. suddenly remembering the staredown you both had, yet this was different. first of all, he was up in front of you, right next to your face, and HE HAD JUST KISSED YOU??!?

making sure not to overstep any of your possible boundaries, he lightly traced his fingertips up your arm to get your focus back on him. with his other hand, he cupped your cheek, softly chuckling when he felt your face heat up over his palm. then, he leaned in once more,

"you give shitty clues"

[theressomethinghappeninginparis]

Apparently I'm rolling and my plan works just fine. I live, and Luddick decided to get back to me! He wants to call me (which I don't really like) and claims it is safer than communicating via mail.

Transcript of the first and second page: Luddick has high hopes considering connection on a train, and in case this works I wil provide him with information on Vasiley's murder and Eckhardt. Maybe I don't have to tell him all. Here's my list of questions so I don't talk gibberish:

What do you know about Eckhardt and his past doings?

Why do you think he is involved in Vasiley's death?

Are you aware of a person named "Heissturm"?

Do you know about the murder spree that had been going on in Paris?

Was Vasiley involved with artifacts called the Obscura Paintings?

Speaking of the devil, he wanted to speak to me within an hour. I did my best to be all alone and ended up in the restroom...anyway. He answered, I wrote everything down on two seperate pieces of paper to be more secretive and improvise professionality. So, here are his answers:

He was a few photos of Eckhardt and calls these "dossiers". Didn't want to show me. Apparently the alchemist is staying over at the Strahov whatever the fuck that is, and has been going in and out with another dude doing some kind of secret work.

He denied that Eckhardt is involved in Vasiley's murder, but I know better. He claimed he doesn't want to dig his head that deep into this and Vasiley had more ties with the Prague mafia.

There is no person he knows of with such name. He only has something on Eckhardt, Vasiley, and Grant Muller, again, whoever the fuck that is. It's supposedly a botanist and he said he had seen plants and botanical materials being carried into the Strahov.

Transcript of the third and fourth page: Continueing the answers Luddick gave me:

4. Here he had a good laugh, the Paris killings have been in every newspapers, of course he as a journalist would know. Some coworkers of his have been updating him, and some link the abrupt stopping of the killings to the murder of Vasiley who had ties to Paris. 5. He wasn't too sure of that. A woman already contacted him and wanted information -which he claims to have given her- and if I want it, it'll cost me.

So: I assume the woman is Lara Croft. I'm close to her footsteps now. Also, this chat opened way more questions than I'd like to admit. First, I want to get these dossiers Luddick mentioned. Then, I need to find out anything about Grant Muller and the Strahov. Also, the murder scene of Vasiley has been closed off by the police, but I could try to access it, no? I need an office, it's hard to keep track of everything. I need more on the Sanglyph, on the Lux Veritatis, on Muller, the Strahov, the dossiers.

While struggling with this I did some more research and came across a quote, this one: "Through the Golden Lion the Nephilim will enslave the sons of men and inherit the Earth". The Periapt Shards have a handle that is shaped like a lion, and I remember Fayolah's attached picture of a lion with three knives around it. Does this mean the shards are a weapon to enslave the world around Eckhardt? Can he use them? As far as I know, or think to know, Eckhardt is within this pact of Nephilim so the shards could be initially made by him (or the Nephili). What if they got stolen by the LV and used against him? Like in the drawing?

Transcript of the fifth page: Our train is stuck again. It's snowing, but at least we're approaching the Czech Republic. I found a graph on- a lot. It took me some time to fully read it. So, there were initially five Images of Blood, made by Eckhardt, which I know; which then got painted over and turned into the Obscura Paintings. Each othe them has a metal part within, and these can be combined to access the Sanglyph, this mystical weapon(?) Eckhardt has created.

Transcript of the sixth page: This is my scheme of the whole thing. The Sanglyph came first; then was split for whatever reason; then the apintings got commissioned, then painted over; then each painting got a peace and was hidden away, as I know Vasiley had found one of them on accident on a monastery. So if you bring all five parts together, it will please the Nephilim and make Eckhardt immortal? Is that how it works? I know that the mutilated bodies could be used for metals found within us, and the blood ties it to the Sanglyph itself, but this all sounds too...fantastic. Almost as if I'm tripping and sharing my bad trip with the whole world.

Transcript of the seventh and eighth page:

You won't believe what I found on Grant Muller. Or Müller, not sure. So I found a photo, it's a scan and bad quality but apparently depicting him. It was stored online on a journalist's cloud who found Muller so hilarious he wanted to spread his looks, I guess. I can revearse image-search him now and maybe come up with something better. His name sounds German, and with that I found even more. I can't quite grasp it and I'm almost in Prague, in an hour if everything goes smoothly. So, I'll print out his published srticles on mutagens. Mutagens can mutate DNA and damage it, like radiation, or simply change your eye color. But he's working on plants so he could be working on herbal medicine or something? I'm not sure what he's got to do with Eckhardt, but all I know of him so far is

he is 62 years old and born in Tirol, DE

his university expelled him for some reason and he never finished his degree

his works are heavily debated by biologists for being non-scientific

his current work place: the Strahov, Prague, CZ, who would have thought

he often references the Bible(???)

So he either is a Christian weirdo who wants to revive alchemy by plant matters or he actually works on something, some science, only Eckhardt appreciates. Perhaps he has a website? I will also try to find Vasiley's gallery. And, since I still have some time, I hope my dear "friend" “PassionforReseachion” will upload new data. I might be able to use that.

[billerak]

RWTC 2

Time for the sequel! My volume 1 post did great, a grandiose 3 notes. I can already smell the internet fame. Clearly, the fans want what I have to offer (That being: incredibly random thoughts and my always correct opinions), and I am here to give it to them.

Anyways when we last left off: We'd just stopped a grand robbery of dust in the docks! Well, Penny did most of the work, but it's the thought that counts. The ending was kind of abrupt! What wonders will V2 have to offer? How much of a mess will it make of things? I wonder!

Ep 1: We start the volume and the first thing Mercury does is… flirt? The way the line is read is so fucking awkward tho, lmao. I know the tukson scene was meant to be tense and menacing but, and I know I said I wouldn't do this much, but it's important here: The voice acting doesn't really sell the scene. It's not laughably awful or anything, it's just not very strong. Wow, Blake and Yang actually get an interaction where Blake actively replies to her! How wonderful. Thank you Ruby, that IS the current circumstances in which you find yourselves! The audience appreciates you for the explanation. Wow Neptune look at you I'm sure you'll be a super important character moving forward, relevant, always in the depths of the plot. No comments about the food fight. 10/10. Still my favourite secene from RWBY. Now Glynda I understand your frustration but everyone else ran away, these eight stuck to the food fight and wrecked each other's shit, I'd be impressed if I was the teacher of a combat school. I love Roman. He's a little shit. I'd bash his head in if I could, but that's why I love him. He's underutilized but his VA is clearly having a lot of fun and it seeps into the character. Do you think cinder uses her powers to make her eyes glow for effect at all times or only when she's tryning to be menacing?

On the Bees: Wow look an interaction! Clearly this has convinced me the writers had planned for it all along.

Ep 2: I do like Ironwood's always had that subtle tension to him. He's a man with good intentions but too much goddamn power for his own good. Leaving aside te absolute stupidity of a 'semblance' they gave him which was of course never mentioned in the show because it makes no goddamn sense. This is a general complaint I have, not only with RWBY but with pretty much all shows I've ever watched: JUST USE REAL BOARD GAMES. PLEASE. CALL THEM SOMETHING ELSE BUT MAKE THEM THINGS THAT ALREADY FUCKING EXIST. The only person I've ever seen who makes 'fake board/card games' funny is ProZD and dude literally makes a living out of playing and reviewing those. Anyways that's a me thing, otherwise it's a fine scene. Better than fine, really, because WHITE ROSE BABEEE THAT'S 2 EPISODES IN A ROW WHERE THEY'VE HELD EACH OTHER LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO "But Neptun-" Nepwho? Ah, blue haired guy. Right. He exists. Aight I'll just say my piece here because I don't wanna be saying the same through the whole volume: The whole Weiss/Neptune thing is just horribly heterosexual people writting terrible heterosexuality. Neptune's entire personality is being heterosexual. Literally. If a gay character acted the same as him, he'd be criticized for having 'gay' be his personality, or he'd be considered a token gay, or smth. Seen it a million times. Comes out of nowhere, any time Weiss does or say anything involving Neptune I wanna unalive myself, the two have the chemistry of water, and I consider this fanbase got off lucky that Neptune ended up being only a plot device to get Jaune to move along his own arc. So yeah any time anything happens with Neptune, unless I state otherwise, assume I'm vomiting loudly. … Honestly Blake and Weiss are kinda shippable here. 'Nooo blake why won't you talk to me- I mean us you promised' gay ass. Anyways while I understand Ruby and Yang going with the stupid plan and Blake has personal reasons for it… It does feel a bit OOC for Weiss to agree because, well, she's fucking right. These four are just students and they only managed to deal with Roman and the White Fang last time because Penny came in clutch. They're fucked if they do this alone. How… old is cinder? I'd say she couldn't pass herself for a student due to credentials but we know salem has Lionhart by the balls so… ???

On the Bees: Weiss and Blake had a nice moment.

Ep 3: You know, I never understood what Jaune saw in Weiss. Like, ok, she's probably cute at first sight. But she's fucking insufferable otherwise. Her team can deal with her but I'd fucking despise her v1-3 self if I went to the same school as her. I prefer the other outfits tbh. Where… Where was Sun hanging from? He was like, some ways away from the window, but there was nothing there to hang to. I guess his semblance could help but would he really- Yeah he would. Ruby here know's what's up and she wants none of it. NONE. It may look like Ruby is making fun of Weiss, but she doesn't understand that's just flirting. But her heart pulls her two ways, OH NO. By the end of this story, she must choose- Well, no, not really, since one of the options is literally twice dead. (yes I ship Nuts n' Dolts too, sue me) Weird that Weiss didn't ask to see Winter when the woman said she was around, given that later it seems like she'd give an arm and a leg to speak to her. Ok, the reveal that Penny is a robot rings a bit… hollow, since, uh, we already knew that. Her back literally opens into blades, the weird thing really is Ruby not knowing.

On the Bees: Nuts.

Ep 4: OOOOH that's why it's called Nuts n Dolts, innit. Normally I'd say the Ruby/Penny friendship feels forced, but this is probably the only two people in this show where something like this works. Penny has no real frame of reference for friendship and Ruby is just like that. Once again Blake and Sun out here exploring Blake's past together, nothing narratively important going on! Roman is so charismatic. Honestly I'd like to pound his- Oh hi Neo didn't see you there. Ok, see what I mean with "Adam could've made the jump"? Look at Blake and Sun here. Jumping gaps way larger here. I guess he was too stunned for too long or smth idk. Cool fight scene. Gonna be honest, I fucking hate that the fandom took these combo attacks for ship names. Like the concept is cool and all but at least back in the day following ship discourse could be so fucking annoying. Anyways here we have our first canonical explanation of how Yang's semblance works. "With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back". Which implies she needs to take the damage to get a boost, something something equivalent exchange, but it wasn't something that was happening first volume. Unless we count 'getting a hair cut' to be taking a hit. That being said, I still wonder what's stopping her from, idk, hitting herself or asking someone else to hit her before a battle (assuming she can predict a battle is coming, ofc) to at least have some energy stored up in a safe environment instead of having to risk tanking hits from her enemies. Never quite understood how Neo's semblance works. It's illusions but they leave behind a physical glass form. But how exactly does it make her vanish? In most cases it doesn't feel like she's creating a flat screen surface but just a second body and… teleporting away. Feels like Blake's semblance but more overpowered, but also she can make anything out of it as shown later… Ah, whatever, I don't think the writers think about it too hard, making sense of it is impossible.

On the Bees: Well, they had their ship name called out.

Ep 5: While I love Pyrrha winning against team Cardinal, I have to wonder… why was she even fighting all four? Were the teachers like "Cardin your team is so shit all four of you against Pyrrha seems fair, go fight" or what. See what I mean? Mercury clearly thinks of his discovery of Pyrrha's semblance as something interesting, but Ozpin himself says they make extensive tests to the people entering Beacon. Even if semblances aren't a matter of 'public' record, Cinder later gets into the systems, so couldn't she just have just… checked then? I understand the 'blake needs to relax' bit but also, trying to force her into the dance? Sun clearly has a crush on her so him asking makes sense but the rest of team RWBY probably should've been more like "you need to fucking sleep" rather than trying to get her into a dance. I really like Pyrrha and I am really sad the crux of her character is "crush on Jaune." She has a lot of interesting shit to explore WHY IS THIS HER FOCUS. Like it's RIGHT THERE. A girl prodigy with an amazing semblance that everyone places on a pedestal. But instead of being about her it's about fucking Jaune.

On the Bees: Well Weiss continues to be the one pressing Blake to be more open. Is their ship name Checkmate? No, doesn't sound right. Uh… Black and White? No. Grey… Monochrome? That one sounds familiar. May be it (Yes, I wrote this as I thought about it. No. I'm not cutting it down). Anyways whatever the ship name is, so far I kinda dig it more than bumblebee. It's amazing really.

Ep 6: Here it is bois the big chapter for bumblebee oh boi let's gooooo Aight Yang attracting Blake with a laser is pretty hilarious. The Jaune/Ren moment did make me chuckle too. Comedy seems to be on point (for my tastes) this episode. Nora/Ren not being 'together together' is a point they make many times and I only ask… why? Nora isn't subtle about her crush on Ren. I guess Ren is quiet and timid but it's clear- Hey wait why is their ship name 'renora'. Don't they get a combo name? I know I complain about them but like. Feels unfair anyways. Other ships involving them get the stupid combo names. Why not them? What was I saying? Oh right it's clear they have a thing going on and like, they've known each other all their lives. This isn't made a point of until like, 7 volumes in. Eh, idk. Honestly, very impressive Pyrrha can just walk and talk normally with that knife—well, more of a fucking sword—on her back. Bla bla Bees conversation comments at the end let's move on. Oh hey that's Qrow's emblem isn't it? Who designs the emblems anyways. The owners of them? Some are unique, some are inherited. They're kinda like Cutie Marks tbh. Jaune offering a White Rose to Weiss, clearly a reference to THE BEST SHIP. MAYBE 2ND BEST SHIP IDK I'M TORN HERE. ENDGAME CONFIRMED BOIS. Blake's first dance is asked for but she still goes to the dance explicitly with Sun. Of course that is meaningless, nothing here ever built them up to have a thing and it is clear Blake never had absolutely any interest in him whatsoever. Anyways look at those background characters. All heterosexual, not a single w/w m/m pairing dancing, other than the 5 seconds of Blake and Yang. The pinnacle of queer representation right here, folks! Ozpin is a little lying shit but I guess experience does let him give good advice.

On the Bees: Ok. I want you to understand something. This? This is the F I R S T time Blake and Yang have a long, one to one conversation. In the show. Volume and a half in. They're not only teammates, they're partners. Ruby and Yang had a couple of conversations. Weiss and Ruby have had many. Even Ruby and Blake, famously interacting very little, had that conversation about books and fairy tales when first meeting. I don't care about the fact that they've spent months together at this time. That's not the point. The point is this conversation? It's the first actually shippable moment between them. Anything prior is /nothing/. You couldn't fucking write a developing relationship out of them with the interactions they've had before this point. From here on out at least there's a base to work with. That established, it's not the best base. Blake isn't her 'usual self' here. She's exhausted and in a terrible mood. The scene is mostly taken over by Yang's backstory. The conversation is Yang trying to make a point. It's a good conversation, and it finally establishes an interaction between them that doesn't feel loose. It's just a conversation I think would've been far more effective if we'd first seen them have more interactions under normal circumstances. Yang does wink at Blake and 'saves her first dance'. I believe this is the only time in this show where she's flirtatious towards a girl. Wonder why they didn't go togehter to the dance, instead of, well, I already said it above.

Ep 7: What was Jaune gonna do here? Beat up Neptune? Don't get me wrong I find him vomitive, as stated before, but the guy doesn't really deserve a beating for not agreeing to a dance, you know? Or was he heading towards Weiss? Kind of unclear, but he did look kinda angry so I assume he was going after Neptune. Like I get Pyrrha being drawn to Jaune for his ignorance of her and I do think that now it makes some sense she may be into him but I still don't buy how into Jaune she originally was. I do like this conversation between Pyrrha and Jaune, though. And, despite everything, this may be the only moment with Neptune that's genuinely funny. The 'I can't dance' part I mean. Usual applies to everything else. Nora and Ren are dancing, and Blake and Sun are… /still/ dancing? I can only assume they took a break, or they just really like dancing. Still not a single background gay! Dress moment is another Top 10 scenes of the show tbh. Throwaway gag turned funny/wholesome moment. Normally I'd call out the synchronized dance but these are hunters I can assume they have the reflexes to pull it off… assuming Jaune leads, anyways. Ah, yes, the legendary terrible running across rooftops scene. Here it is. It's legendary and terrible and funny. For real though I think I've seen worse animation moments before. I think it's just that this one likes like 5 whole ass seconds and gets full focus. Really? Karate chop? I know it's probably for the memes but girl, you can summon crystal blades at a distance. I reckon using those would be more effective. So… who picks the lockers and brings them back to the school after they hit, anyways? Is tehre a fine related to misuse of the feature? It can't be cheap, between reparations to the ground of wherever the locker hits, the damage to the locker itself, and the fuel used to launch it. RWBY giving pursuit and not immediately throwing away the shoes is the most unbelievable thing that has happened yet in this show. I… what? I don't understand teh architecture here. Did Cinder run all the way back to beacon? is the tower connected to beacon? That cut was real strange. Still no background gays! No but guys RT was really forward thinking they were totally queer-minded and had planned bumblebee from the beginning, clearly caring about rep and all that! They just coudln't be bothered to spend a single minute making two men or two women dance.

On the Bees: WAIT IT'S CALLED BUMBLEBY? NOT BUMBLEBEE? WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME, I MUST HAVE LOOKED STUPID! I'm gonna keep calling it bumblebee, idgaf. anyways I think this may be the only time we see Jaune's knees? I'll keep you posted.

Ep 8: APOLLO JUSTICE TRILOGY WAS CRACKED! I WAITED FOR SO LONG!!!! What has that to do with RWBY? Uh, nothing. What was I doing? Oh right rewatching. Anyways- Never fully understood why Ruby wouldn't go to Ozpin about the info before. Sure they were breaking rules but sis this is a lot bigger than you four. The dog. Right. Forgot he existed. I will forget it again. How… how does war work in Remnant, anyways? If you take to a battlefield, Grimm would eventually overrun both forces. It'd be a three-way fight constantly. You'd think kingdoms in general wouldn't ever bother with war. Right? Ozpin giving the job to RWBY instead of a more experienced team could be considered as the reason it all fell apart really.

On the bees: I actually just finished ep 10 and thought this chapter's notes looked weird and that's cuz this episode had literally nothing despite ample chance and I forgot to add this section.

Ep 9: I like Ooblek or however that's written. He's never relevant again aftert his arc but this is how you make secondary characters memorable. "By giving them a gimmick?" Yes! That's actually exactly how you do it! Ace Attorney is an expert at this! Still don't like the dog. Also no huntsman we've ever seen has a dog, right? Weird. See, this seems to imply the Goliaths here are like, the same as Beowulfs or whatever that just lived that long. but… This is later retconned. As far as we know, Salem just creates whatever the hell she needs, and Grimm don't change forms over time. It does appear like they gain more armor over time… sometimes anyways. Like, they probably do grow within a single 'species', but these goliaths aren't any different than the newborns we see later. I also do like Ooblek's motivation. That is a valid reason to be a teacher in this shitty nonsensical world.

On the bees: They, uh. Talk. For like one minute. Weiss is also there.

Ep 10: I appreciate this conversation but here's the thing: Blake speaking of her semblance this way implies they're aware semblances are, well, tied to their characters. This isn't necessarily a problem, if maybe a bit on the nose, but then… wouldn't it also imply everyone should consider what their semblance means? What does Sun's semblance say about himself? That he's always willing to lend a hand? What about, idk, Pyrrha? How does metalbending (And yes, it's metalbending, not polarity, she makes shit levitate not just attract or repel from herself) tie to her personality? Is it just a reflection of her prodigious skill? You'd think it was the other way around. Yang's is obvious (She prefers rolling with the blows), Weiss's too (it's a hereditary semblance), and Ruby's… well, depending on whether we consider the V7/8 development a retcon or not it could change meaning, but let's say it's meant to represent how she's always rushing ahead. So, this being said, woudln't character development change one's semblance? It would be interesting, in fact. Maybe Ruby's semblance wasn't always what it later is, but her experiences changed it. Maybe the inconsistency in Yang's semblance is a reflection of this. I know I'm thinking too hard and nobody ever thought about it, but it's sort of a Jojo's stands situation. In Jojo, your stand is a manifestation of your soul and can develop alongside you. Ruby, girl, NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY. Ruby, girl, you have SUPER SPEED. HOW HAVE YOU NOT TRAINED YOURSELF TO ACTIVATE IT WHEN SHIT LIKE THAT HAPPENS TO YOU. Ruby, girl: you. have. SUPER. SPEED. RUN AWAY. I know he says he's stupid but he really kind of is. Wouldn't 'underground city' be the first place you look at when looking for crime organizations?

On the Bees: Uh… yang calls out to Blake first? Sure, let's go with that.

Ep 11: RUBY GIRL YOU HAVE S U P E R S P E E D RUN AWAY FUCKING HELL YOU'RE NOT EVEN TIED YOU JUST WOKE UP SO YOU CAN'T BE SPENT Jesus, FUCKING FINALLY WHY EVEN TRY TO FIGHT IF YOU'RE THIS USELESS. Which makes no sense, tbw. Crescent Rose, even if it was built with ultralight metals, would still require strenght to use just based on the recoil those shots have and the balance of the whole thing. Ruby should pack a punch. Anyways giving your MC super speed in any capacity is a problem because of shit like this. Superspeed is the most powerful of the 'basic' superpowers (That is: Strenght, Flight, Speed and Endurance. Most stories with superpowers include these 4 in some capacity and speed tends to be the most limited one). I like the bombs moment. It's pretty funny. See what I mean? Ruby shooting herself like that means her arms must take the recoil! Even if we take Aura into account this girl should be at least decently strong. I… could do without the dog moment. Like… it's just more offputting than anything else. Ooblek does take another paladin by himself, which is nice to see, in the 'oh yeah he's a step above the MCs' way. Why does Weiss suddenly give Blake the dust bullets? Why not before? Why not… idk, talk to her about it? Why even make them? Did Weiss ask for them? If so, again, why not give them to her before? I mean I know the answer is probably 'Monty fight scene had this thing and writers had to scramble to fill in the gap' but still. Why does Yang have that moment with Neo? They've only had that one 'interaction' which wasn't particularly personal before. See? The WF leader(?) here makes some sense. We know the Schnees have beef with the Faunus and the White Fang (That being, they're slaver pieces of shit and all that). And, uh, Blake against Roman is… I get what they're going for, but… Idk, I feel Ruby and Roman would've felt more natural. Given they do have that in V3 so I'll let it pass. Man, I love Roman so much. Have I said that before? The biggest crime in early RWBY is not giving him enough screentime, really. I love the theory that he doesn't even have Aura unlocked, since he's clearly not the best fighter out there, man's just very skilled at doing his job. Which doesn't often involve fighting wannabe hunter teenagers. It's why he's basically knocked out after so few blows. Weiss should do the 'haste' glyph thing a lot more often really. Action economy, girl! Everyone knows it's the key to win! I wish Neo had more of a… thing. Like, in general. Her fight against Yang is great, but how the hell did she get that skilled? Why's she working for Roman? Why does she care for Roman so much that she later becomes obsessed with killing Ruby so hard that when she thinks she's done she loses all purpose in life? Not really sure how to feel abotu Raven here. At least we got the Yang backstory to even explain there's something going on there but it feels so… random. And why is Neo so scared? What does she know? Why would she know it? SHE HAS NO BACKSTORY And THIS is why you want your general population with their fucking Aura unlocked!

On the Bees: Man the second Dual Destinies turnabout is kind of a chore so far. Like, I figured pretty much everything by the middle of the first day and I still got another day of investigation and trial to go through? I think the case could be improved considerably by just not showing the face of the killer. I know it's ace attorney tradition to show you the first couple of killers, but still. I like Simon well enough I guess. What happened to Gavin? I don't remember him being fired at the end of AJ.

Ep 12: Jaune taking command, nice. Was that foreshadowing for Ren's backstory? Honestly, not a huge fan of this fight. It's supposed to be super big in scale but I guess the budget didn't allow it? It also feels like it kinda lacks momentum. Also didn't we just spend like 3 episodes exploring Ruby doesn't have physical strength? Why's she kicking the Grimm like that? Don't get me wrong, this makes more sense, I'm just confused. I know it's a common complaint that team Coffee shows up here to steal the show for a bit, since they barely get any screentime ever. It's a fine complaint, understandable. I… actually kinda like it. Also ONE OF THE GUYS IS HOLDING OATHBRINGER. WHAT'S HIS NAME. GREEN GUY. Based. I feel like we should have seen a few adult hunters showing up, though. Non-teachers I mean. Huh. Ironwood did always have his sinister authoritarian vibes. I like that. I still love roman. And that ending dream thing huh. I'm sure the eventual meeting of these two will be totally worth it.

On the bees: Did you know I have written more Ami/Minori (from toradora) than the rest of the internet combined? Irrelevant to RWBY I just wanted to let you know.

For an extra this volume: I watched some of the shorts! I think these were the ones around by V2? Or maybe up to V3? Idk.

WoR "Dust": I assume V6 retroactively kind of explains Dust as the literal dust old humanity was turned into? Which is why it can interact with Aura? Very fucked up, but I like it. I'm on the fence on whether I think they had the creation myth figured by this point or not, but I do think they probably had the rough draft for it. Anyways this short doesn't really add much? It explains the 4 basic types and that you can mix them to make new ones, but everything else we probably could've figured ourselves.

WoR "Kingdoms": Ok so, Vacuo and Vale share a continent, while the other two are in split continets. Just taking note for later, not sure how relevant it becomes. In a worldbuilding sense, I don't think it's very reasonable to actually believe small towns could ever be built outside of big cities protected by natural barriers. Most people are clearly useless in a fight against Grimm, and honestly, just leaving the city shoudl be more than enough nervousness and doubt to attract hordes of them.

WoR "Grimm": Not much to say here, other than just generally wondering why Salem wouldn't just wipe out humanity herself sans a small amount of people who she could pin as Oz and the maidens. And don't say she couldn't have: If she can create that giant whale thing she could've done so a couple thousand years ago when technology wasn't so advanced. If you told me she was purposefully playing this game with Ozma, trying to keep it somewhat fair, I'd understand, but she clearly isn't. Oh well.

Anyways, I think I enjoyed this volume more than the last! Which is weird, I think people consider this to be the weakest of the first three. Idk, despite everything, I found the overall pacing to be slightly better, and we get some deeper info on our characters which is always appreciated. Not much else to say in general, but hey. Also yes, it's still a mess.

Also I'm fairly certain Pyrrha still not passing the bechdel test.

Also, if by any chance you're reading this, Crimson: 1) Why. Why do that to yourself. 2) Last volume you kept flipping your shit at me shipping whiterose and such (and other stuff but idrc about that). You seem to be unaware of the concept of chemistry. Ruby and Weiss are shippable because they have chemistry. Ruby and Penny are shippable because they have chemistry. Actually, all the characters I mentioned as potentially shippable displayed fair amounts of chemistry. And that's always my main concern with bumblebee. Sorry, but "vibing" while not interacting is very much NOT chemistry. It's kind of the opposite. Right now, with the information these two volumes have offered, I could write a lot of dynamics with a certain amount of ease. Bumblebee… not so much, because their interactions are still blank fucking slates. And I'm sorry to say this, but no, emptiness isn't 'complexity' or 'depth'. The only complex thing here is the fucking mental gymnastics you're doing to justify not only every bumblebee moment but also the show's writing as if it was flawless and perfect lmao.

[buckets-and-trees]

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

link to ask more questions

Thanks for the ask, Navy!

In this season of my life one of the things I get out of writing is healing part of who I am. I was a creative child and when I was 13 one day in English class my teacher gave us an assignment to write a short story in the computer lab during that hour, and ... I discovered that I liked doing that and my teacher said it was very good. I'd been a voracious reader, but I'd never thought of writing my own stuff before that day.

In high school I played around with writing a little bit, but not too much. In college I did a LOT of fanfic and was on track to be an English teacher by day and budding novelist by night, but then I discovered a totally different career path about halfway through, and I kept writing for fun, but went all in on career stuff after graduating.

I threw myself completely into work for the first 8-9 years of my career, also took time getting a master's degree... Finishing both my degrees depleted my energy for writing for a while, but I was spending a lot of my brain power on work. And I love my job and career. But about a week before the pandemic lockdown, a pretty monumental thing happened at work that made me realize that I had to start living a life outside of work and only give work 40 hours of my life per week, because they didn't care about me to the levels that I had invested in them.

I started reading fanfic again in 2021. I started playing around just a touch, but then last year I decided that I needed to really invest time into my hobbies again just to enrich my own life on a regular basis, not an occasional basis.

I adore the craft of writing. I love building story in my head. I like scribbling away little notes on my phone when a random idea strikes. There's nothing quite like the stories that come up where the idea can consume me and it literally just pours out when I sit down to type. Some of my writing has helped me to work out things I'm thinking about in my personal life. Some of it is total wish fulfillment. Some of it is to challenge myself in new genres or new characters. I like the accomplished feeling of just finishing something. Even though I wrote a lot of stuff in the HP fandom during my college time (mostly one-shots), I never finished any of my WIPs back then (I had 4-5 of them), and so when I finished posting the 12 official parts of The Brooklyn Boys, I got a HUGE amount of satisfaction!

And now that I've jumped back into the community part of the fandom and fanfic writing again, it's also been so enriching to engage with people here - whether it's just the casual comments, baby acquaintance level, new friendships that are in starting stages, or people I feel like I'm genuinely building bonds with that I'll treasure for years... that part is pretty great, too.

My goal this year is to write and complete my first original fiction novel - just like my old HP fandom days, I started a few different original fic projects way back, but never finished. It's going to be my big summer project, and I've been scribbling away some notes on 2-3 big ideas. I think I know which one I want to go all in on first, but I want to have multiple irons in the fire just so I don't feel like I get stuck on anything.

THAT WAS A LOT OF TALKING. But anyway. Abrupt end of post now because we don't need a novel here.

[angst-fairygodmother]

i love ur stuff!!! do u think u could write something like diego and the reader not liking eachother (maybe the reader is friends with klaus or allison or someone) and then slowly they begin to like eachother ??? :0

A/N: Thank you so much for the sweet message Nonny ☺ it was a lovely prompt, and I hope you enjoy. Word Count: 2060 Content Warning: mild swearing

“Hey Y/N, why don’t you like Diego?” Klaus asked one evening as the two of you lounged on your couch watching Allison’s latest red carpet event.

“Is that a serious question?” you counter with a raised eyebrow, popping another piece of popcorn in your mouth.

“Yeah. I mean, you get along with everyone else, literally. But not Diego.”

“I don’t get along with everyone else. And I just…think he’s jerk.”

“He is. But so’s Luther and you like him fine.”

You rolled your eyes. “Look, I don’t know how to explain it. I just, every time I talk to your brother I get filled with this overwhelming desire to hit something.”

Klaus started laughing and you raised an eyebrow questioningly. He just shook his head, still laughing. However, he dropped the subject after that and you decided not to push him on what might have been so funny.

~

“You’re welcome,” he said with a smirk, still holding onto your arm.

“Oh don’t do that, Diego,” you snapped. “Don’t act like you did me some favor and I should be grateful.”

“I just saved your life, Y/N.”

“It was a guy on a bike; I think I would have been fine. I can take care of myself.” You folded your arms over your chest, pulling out of his grasp in the process. “What are you even doing here?”

He shrugged. “Out for a walk.”

“Really? In this part of town nowhere near anything you usually have to do with?”

He shrugged. “It was a long walk.”

“Whatever,” you rolled your eyes. “I’m outta here.”

“Not gonna offer to buy me dinner for saving your life?” he called after you as you started to walk away.

“In your dreams Hargreeves,” you shot back.

~

The next time you saw Diego, you had called him to meet you and he seemed quite surprised when he showed up to the park.

“What’s going on, Y/N? No offense, but you were the last person I was expecting to hear from,” he asked, trying to hide the fact that concern had made him run most of the way there.

“It’s Klaus. He hasn’t been by in a while and he missed our weekly breakfasts. He never does that, especially since I pay. So I’m worried and…I couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to help. Sorry to bother you.” You shifted uncomfortably and bit your lip, worried that you had annoyed him and that he would refuse to help.

“Shit,” he sighed, running a hand through his close-cropped hair. “Alright, I’ll help you look for him. But the kind of places he hangs out…we probably shouldn’t split up, even if it would let us cover more ground.”

“That’s kind of what I was thinking too. I figured I should call someone in for backup.” You shrugged and forced a smile.

The two of you walked in silence for a while, figuring that you would be more likely to actually spot him if you moved on foot than by car, even if it would take you more time. And, if you were being honest, you didn’t mind the amount of time. You found that when you weren’t actively fighting, you appreciated the presence of the other Hargreeves. You certainly felt safe with him beside you, between the knives and the subtle strength that you could see in his stance and the muscles that his clothing clung to.

“Is there something going on between you and Klaus?” he asked suddenly after a while of quiet.

“What? No. He’s my best friend. I don’t…I don’t see him like that.”

He gave you a look that suggested he didn’t quite believe you.

“I’m serious. I love him sure, but the same way I love my baby sister. I want the world for him and would do anything for him but…romantically…blegh.” You scrunched up your face in disgust at the thought and the man beside you laughed.

“So if not my brother…is there someone special?”

You fell silent, studying Diego through the corner of your eye. Part of you itched to snap that it was none of his business. The other part of you, quite rebelliously, admired the slope of his shoulders beneath his black sweater and the cut of his jaw, how the long scar above his ear interrupted his smooth, almost militaristic appearance and made him more attractive, more dangerous looking.

“No,” you said, after maybe too long of silently enjoying the view of him. “No one’s seemed worth my time.”

“You really think highly of yourself don’t you?” he laughed.

“What?”

“’No one’s seemed worth my time,’” he quoted back, “sounds awfully pretentious.”

You felt your cheeks heat in embarrassment. “No…I just meant that I’ve dated quite a few duds in the past, and I don’t see the point in wasting my time. If I don’t feel a connection with the person before we go out…” you shrugged. “Maybe it’s high maintenance, but I’d rather be that than miserable.”

He nodded and stayed silent. A quick glance over at him showed that he was lost in thought.

As the two of you patrolled, looking for any sign of Klaus, you found yourself wondering more and more about the mysterious “Number Two.” But after several hours, even though you were enjoying your, mostly silent, time together, you were growing frustrated.

“This is hopeless,” you groaned. “It’s going to take the two of us days to canvass the whole city, and if he’s been checked in somewhere, we still won’t find him.”

“You’re probably right, Y/N,” Diego said with a nod. “Let’s grab some lunch and then we can start—”

“Calling the usual rehab centers,” you finished at the same time as him. “Sounds like an excellent plan.”

He smiled softly at you and reached out, as if offering you his hand to hold before quickly retreating and shoving them into his pockets.

“Do you like Greek? I know a great Greek diner nearby,” he offered.

~

After that day, you found yourself spending more time with Diego, realizing your initial distaste was misguided, a snap judgement that he really didn’t deserve. One afternoon, Klaus caught you chatting with his brother on the phone, he had called to invite you to one of his boxing matches, and twirling the cord between your fingers as you did.

“Oh. My. God.” he cried out, slapping his hands to either side of his face with exaggerated shock. “You liiiike him.”

“Shut up,” you hissed, punching him lightly, a hot blush creeping across your face at the thought of Diego potentially hearing.

“What was that?” he asked, voice tinny through the receiver.

“Nothing, just your idiot brother.”

You heard him chuckled. “I see. Well, anyway, the gym is kinda out of the way so it can be hard to find, so how about I meet you at your place and we can walk there together?”

“You don’t have to do that Diego.”

“But maybe I want to?”

“O-oh,” you stammered, thrown by the warmth in his voice. “Well, in that case, that sounds nice.”

“Good. It’s a date.”

“A date?” you raised your eyebrow even though he couldn’t see it and tried your best to ignore Klaus’s flailing and pumping his fist excitedly in the air.

“Yeah, a date. I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you later, Y/N.”

“Okay, see you later Diego.”

You were smiling when you hung up the phone, and the warmth in your chest made you feel like you were floating. So much so that you were completely compliant to Klaus dragging you through the apartment the two of you sort of shared, insistent on picking out the “perfect outfit” for you to “stun his brother so hard he drops in shock and awe.”

~

The night of the date, you fidgeted nervously on your couch, bouncing your leg and chewing on the corner of your thumbnail, waiting for Diego to get there. A thousand thoughts a minute ran through your mind and you stomach twisted itself in knots. You tried to tell yourself you were being ridiculous, the two of you had become friends over the past several weeks, and there was no reason to think this evening was going to be any different, just because Diego had said it was going to be a date.

You were so lost in your own thoughts that you didn’t hear the buzzer or notice Klaus rushing to greet his brother until Diego stood in the doorway, trying to get around his brother to say hello.

“If you ever hurt her Diego,” Klaus said sternly, poking an index finger against his brother’s chest, blocking the short hallway of your apartment.

Diego raised an eyebrow as if challenging whether Klaus was actually trying to threaten him.

“If you ever hurt her, my beloved brother or not, I will eat your shoelaces,” Klaus continued, undaunted, eyes narrowed and face the picture of seriousness.

“What?”

“Every single shoelace. Slurp ‘em up like spaghetti. Inconvenient as hell.”

“Klaus, you are my very best friend and I love you,” you interrupted, rising to go and stand by the two, equally unable to get Klaus out from between. “But what the fuck? Please don’t eat shoelaces in my defense. God that is the weirdest sentence I’ve ever said…”

“Yeah, and we can’t afford to take to the vet and have them removed when they tangle around your intestines,” Diego added, rolling his eyes. “We’ll have to just put you down.”

“Unsettling and inconveniencing my family and dying? Best day ever!” Klaus gave a little clap and jump of joy, which quickly morphed into an apologetic look when he glanced over his shoulder and saw your glare.

“Well, I’ll get out of your way. You two crazy kids have fun now,” he said cheerfully, as if the previous conversation hadn’t happened. “Don’t do anything I would do!”

You rolled your eyes as he sidled past back to the living room, giving you an affectionate pat on the shoulder as he did.

Diego felt his jaw drop as he took in your outfit. It wasn’t quite your usual style, but was enough like you to not feel like you were trying so hard. And you looked stunning in it.

“Wow,” he eventually breathed, causing you to chuckle and rub the back of your neck nervously. “You look…I don’t know if I’m going to be able to focus on the fight with you looking like that.”

“It was Klaus’s idea,” you mumbled. “I know it’s a bit much…”

“No!” he assured, a little too quickly. “It’s great…you look great.”

You shot him a slightly flirtatious smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” You let your eyes rove over his tight-fitted jeans and Henley, in black of course.

“C-c-can I kiss you?” he stammered, stepping closer. “For luck?”

You responded by snaking your arms around his neck and leaning in to press your lips to his. He groaned into the kiss, hands coming to rest on your hips, fingers digging into your sides and pulling you closer. Gently, he backed you up the few steps necessary to pin you against your wall, running his tongue over your lower lip at the same time. You let out a little gasp as you bumped into the plaster and he took the opportunity to slip in and begin exploring your mouth.

Grasping his hair in your fist, you eventually pulled him away from you to drink deeply of the air, trying to ignore the wave of desire that shot through you when the action made him moan hungrily.

“We should stop,” you panted.

“Why?” he responded, equally out of breath and fighting your grip to kiss the side of your neck.

“You have a match to get to. Wouldn’t this be so much better as a reward for winning it?” You teased lightly. “And somewhere your brother wasn’t…?”

He laughed. “You have a point there. I want you all to myself.”

“Well then get a move on. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

He threaded his fingers through yours as he led you through the door.

“Don’t wait up!” you called back over your shoulder to Klaus, making Diego groan once more and you smirked. Tonight was shaping up to be even better than you could have hoped.

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober day 31 — Comfort, Bedside vigil

Man. Day 31 already. October always goes by way too fast.

This was originally going to be a continuation for another day (cookies for you if you can guess which) but it wasn’t working, so I scrapped it and wrote something new :)

Thanks to everyone who stuck around and read my insanity, as well as all the lovely comments and tags left on reblogs! You all are so sweet, thank you so much for the support <3

I hope you guys enjoy this last day!

Warnings: a little bit of violence, uncertainty I guess? Intense worry over a character?

Ao3 link

————————————————————

Wind could tell something was up with Four.

The smithy was usually pretty quiet, but lately he’d seemed sort of... numb almost, and after dinner when they’d all usually stay up talking, Four would go right to bed without a word. He wasn’t eating much either, and Wind watched as his eyes grew dimmer by the day.

A few of the other heroes seemed to have noticed the smithy’s odd behavior, but appeared to be giving Four space to work out whatever it was. And maybe Wind would have done that too, but he wasn’t an emotionally stunted mess like most of the Links, and could see that Four was hurting, and needed someone to talk to.

Something was weighing him down, and Wind was determined to find out what.

So he waited for a good opportunity to catch the smithy and figure out what was wrong. Which actually came along sooner than he thought. Wind ended up at the back of the group with him as they trekked through someone’s Hyrule Field one day, and the sailor shot Four a look as they plodded along.

“So... you’ve been pretty quiet lately smithy,” he began, and decided to just plunge in. “Is something wrong? I mean, Wild totally snapped that sword in half earlier and you barely flinched.”

Four blinked at Wind’s abrupt question, then shrugged, looking back down at the road.

“I suppose.“

Wind watched Four walk, head bowed and shoulders drooping, and he trotted up closer to him, giving him a concerned look.

“Well... what is it? Anyway I can help?” he asked earnestly, and Four sent him a weak smile.

“You can’t help with this sailor, but I appreciate the concern,” he said quietly. “It’s not something anyone can just fix.”

Wind blinked, then his voice softened.

“Does it have to do with the letter you got the other day?” he asked quietly, and Four hesitated, then gave him a nod. “Is everything okay back in your time?”

Four sighed, and stopped walking.

Wind stopped next to him, and the smithy waited until the group was a little further out of earshot before he finally spoke.

“My Zelda is sick,” he whispered, sounding miserable, and Wind felt a sharp pang of worry roll in his stomach. “It’s not too serious or anything, but it’s also the sort of sickness that can easily become serious, and I’m not...”

He let out a frustrated noise, and Wind nervously shifted his weight.

“...I’m not there,” he whispered. “I can’t do anything. Dot doesn’t get sick very often, but when she does it’s always rough on her. And I’m not there.”

Four’s voice cracked at the end, and Wind quickly drew him into a hug, squeezing the older boy in a comforting embrace.

“Why didn’t you tell any of us?” Wind asked quietly.

“Because then you guys would all worry,” Four said with a ghost of a laugh. “That wouldn’t help anything.”

“Maybe not, but keeping it to yourself isn’t much better,” Wind pointed out, then gave the smithy a squeeze. “We’re your family, Four. We want to know when something’s bothering you, even if it’ll make all of us worried as well.”

He pulled back just a little and gave him a small smile.

“Besides. We were worried anyways, everyone could tell something’s been weighing on you lately.”

Four didn’t have a reply, other then a small nod as he hugged Wind back.

(...)

Four got another letter later that week, and Wind watched as he hesitated to open it, looking down at the envelope in dread.

The smithy had finally told the other heroes about Dot being ill, and they’d all reacted about how Wind would’ve expected; worried questions and a general need to do something to help the princess, even though there was nothing to be done.

That was probably the whole hero’s spirit thing, now that Wind thought about it.

Anyways, they’d run across the mailman a little while ago, and the only mail he’d had was a letter for Four, which the smithy was looking at in quiet dread. Wind went to sit next to him, and gave his arm an encouraging squeeze, and the smithy slowly ripped the envelope open, hands almost conspicuously steady.

He read the enclosed note in silence, then set it down, breathing out slowly.

“She’s worse,” he said quietly. “She’s not getting better, and it should’ve run its course by now. One of the maidens thinks it might be magical in nature, possibly a deliberate attack, or... poisoning. They’re not sure what it is. And she won’t wake up.”

Camp went silent, and everyone exchanged looks full of a deep worry.

“Oh Four,” Sky said sympathetically, and the smithy barely protested when Wind pulled him into a tight hug.

Four only seemed to get more downtrodden after the news from the letter, and Wind tried to stick by his side over the next few days, watching rather worriedly as the smithy withdrew into himself. Four was one of the quieter members of their group, but never to this extent.

Wind knew if the situation had happened to him, if Tetra had been the one sick for example, he’d be just as worried and upset. But seeing Four, usually so poised and smart, often with a knowing gleam in his eye and eager to discuss nearly any topic, become so lifeless was awful.

So he stuck by him, offering support in what ways that he could.

Nothing much changed for several days after that, until the group came across a portal, swirling right in the middle of the road. Wind watched Four’s hands clench at his sides, and they all quickly walked through, coming out into a warm sunny forest.

Wind looked up at the cheery green trees and bright sunshine as he shook off the dark magic, inwardly pouting a bit at the obvious indicator it wasn’t his time they’d landed in. Maybe next time.

“Wait,” Four suddenly spoke up from next to him, eyes widening. “These are the Minish woods, we’re... we’re in my time.”

The moment the meaning of the smithy’s words sank in, Warriors immediately asked what direction they needed to go. Four wordlessly began moving, and the rest of them exchanged glances before following him.

As soon as they reached a road, Four made a frantic beeline for the castle in the distance, and the rest of them followed with equal haste. The castle and the small town surrounding it fortunately weren’t far, and Four practically burst through the doors as they arrived, skipping hellos to those inside and asking only “where is she.”

He was directed to the princess’s bedroom, and Wind kept pace with him as he strode at a pace just shy of a full-out sprint (they were in a castle after all). Upon reaching the door Four just barely caught himself from crashing in, instead carefully creaking it open and walking inside to the dimly lit room.

Wind poked his head in behind him, uncertain if his presence would be appreciated as the other heroes finally caught up.

Four motioned them in when he saw them standing by the door, and they quietly entered, not a word spoken as they looked at the room’s occupant.

Dot lay in her bed, eyes closed and face pale.

Wind had only met her once, but the difference between the energetic princess and the pale girl in the bed before him made his stomach twist. Her hair had been brushed neatly away from her face, but the red strands seemed dim and limp. Dark circles lay under her eyes despite the fact she was asleep, and Four crossed the room near silently as he went to her side.

He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, and hesitated with his hand on her cheek, quietly studying her closed eyes and paled skin.

Then he settled in a chair by her bedside, took her hand, and didn’t leave her side for the next several days.

Wind spent as much time with him as he could, partially out of worry for Dot, and partially out of worry for Four, who seemed more and more wearied the longer the princess lay in bed, unmoving. She occasionally stirred just a little, but never long, and the healer that was tending to her said they were sure now it was more of a magical ailment then they’d originally thought.

The information didn’t seem to make Four feel any better.

The other heroes spent time with Dot as well, but Wind knew they were trying to focus on the reports of monster attacks that had been filtering in, probably the true reason they’d ended up in this time. Hyrule tried once to see if his magic could do anything, but there was seemingly no effect, and Four merely nodded when he apologized.

After nearly a week of no change from Dot, they got a report of a large group of strangely powerful monsters by the south side of the woods they’d arrived in. Black-blooded it seemed, and they were headed straight for Hyrule Town.

“We can manage without you if you want to stay, smithy,” Twilight said in a quiet voice as they explained the situation to him. “Eight of us should be enough based on the numbers that were reported.”

“None of us would begrudge you for it,” Warriors added, and the rest of them murmured in agreement.

Four closed his eyes and didn’t speak for several long moments.

“It’s my job as hero to protect these people,” he said quietly, “and this is my home. I can’t let you all fight for it without me, even if you could easily manage it.”

Four stood, then gently lifted the princess’s hand, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles.

“Besides. If Dot were awake she’d tell me to go,” he said softly.

Then he picked up his sword, and left the room.

(...)

The monsters were easy to locate, multiple reports of their location allowing the heroes to hunt them down quickly.

The group of beasts was large, but mostly lower leveled monsters like tektites and chus, along with some that Wind didn’t recognize. It wasn’t an easy fight by any means, but a bit more manageable than some of the ones they’d fought together in the past, even with the large amount of enemies.

Four especially fought with an unusual ferocity, less form and more anger in his sharp strikes. He was taking on the sole stalfos in the group singlehandedly, and Wind tried to keep half an eye on him as he fought a rather large chu.

There was something a bit odd about the monster Four was fighting though, and Wind frowned as he looked at the large eye-like jewel it had on its forehead.

Stalfos didn’t usually have that... did they?

He wasn’t the only one who seemed to have noticed the unusual stalfos, and he saw Legend especially give it some odd looks. What was it the veteran had said the other day? Shoot the eye?

Before he could try and act on Legend’s earlier advice, another chu leapt at him, and by the time Wind had defeated it and glanced back, Four had driven his blade straight into the stalfos’s forehead.

It let out a rattling cry, then burst into black smoke, the force of it so powerful Four was thrown backwards.

Wind yelped as he was buffeted by the explosion, then ran to the dazed smithy’s side, offering him a hand as he dizzily sat up.

“That was weird,” Four said breathlessly, letting Wind help him up. “There was so much magic recoil, it was like... like I broke a curse or something.”

“I felt it too,” Hyrule said worriedly from nearby, clutching a bleeding arm to his chest. “You definitely broke something.”

None of them had any clue what it was that Four had ended up breaking though, and they shelved the conversation in order to catalogue injuries.

Several of the group had been hurt, and the sun was nearly set, so they decided to stay the night in the woods and head back to the castle in the morning. Four wasn’t happy about it, but Wind distracted him by asking him to help maintenance his weapons after the fight. It kept them both busy while Wild made dinner, and Four almost smiled at him at one point, before his expression fell again. Then they were called for dinner.

Wind had barely sat down to eat the meal Wild had cooked up when a sudden shout rang from the road nearby.

“Link!”

They all turned at the cry, but Four practically leapt to his feet when an official looking messenger came out of the bushes.

“Link, it’s the princess,” the man said breathlessly, and Four paled. He stumbled forwards and grabbed the messenger’s shoulders with a terrified look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Is... is she—?”

The messenger rapidly shook his head, waving his hands. “No! Link, that’s just it, it’s good news!”

Four froze, going so still Wind thought he might’ve stopped breathing.

“You mean..?” he breathed, and the messenger smiled.

“Princess Zelda has woken up.”

Legend let out a rather loud gasp, and they all turned to look at him.

“She was cursed!” he nearly shouted, running a shocked hand through his hair. “That’s why she was so sick, and that was what was up with the stalfos, it must have been tied to it somehow!”

Four blinked, looking rather overwhelmed as Wind jumped up from his seat and excitedly took his hand.

“You broke the curse smithy!”

(...)

Four went back to the castle immediately, joined by Wind when Time warned him not to go alone.

They made record time to the castle, the moon high in the sky as they burst in once again to the princess’s chambers. Four ran to her bedroom door, then with an movement sharply contrasting his entire frantic state, carefully pushed open the door.

Dot was sitting up in bed, tying her hair out of her face, and her eyes lit up the moment she saw Four.

“Link!” she grinned, looking tired, but awake, and Four crossed the room in what appeared to be a single step, pulling her into an desperate embrace.

Dot squirmed in his hold though, pushing his arms back with a smile.

“Link, you’ll catch germs,” she said, batting him away.

“I don’t care, I was terrified for you Zelda,” he said, the words muffled from his face being pressed into her shoulder. “And I can’t get germs from a curse.”

After a moment the smithy seemingly relented from his hug, and Dot stopped trying to push him away. But the moment she relaxed, Four quickly pulled her into another hug, ignoring her squeak of “germs!”

Wind laughed as she struggled, but Four refused to let her go.

“Link I’m serious! It may have been a curse, but it started as a cold. You’re going to catch it and spread it who knows where,” she scolded, but there was no heart in it. Four only tightened the embrace, and Dot finally gave up, sinking into his arms with a sigh.

“I’d let myself get sick a thousand times if it meant I’d get to hold you,” Four said quietly, and Dot rested her head on his shoulder, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

Her eyes flicked over to Wind, and she smiled at him, and the sailor smiled back, relieved at the sight of her awake.

“Are you doing okay?” Four asked quietly, and Dot drew back a bit, taking his hands in hers.

“Yes Link, I’m feeling much better. Just still a bit worn out, and annoyed I somehow let myself get cursed,” she sighed, but the sound was rather tired.

“Four was the one who broke it,” Wind spoke up. “It was somehow tied to a monster, and he stabbed it right in the head!”

Four blushed a bit at Wind’s exultations, and his face only went more red when Dot leaned forwards and pecked his cheek.

“My hero,” she smiled, and the two stared into each other’s eyes as they both leaned forward again.

Wind suddenly had a feeling his presence was rather unneeded, and slunk towards the door, leaving the two to continue making gooey eyes at each other.

He glanced back to see Four press a gentle kiss to Dot’s lips, and smiled to himself as he closed the door.

[lesbean05]

Day 1 of ronancetober

I know it’s technically the 2nd, I was busy today but hey at least I did something.

It’s a mess at the end but it went somewhere kinda coherent but I need to sleep so sorry

Day 1 prompt is upside down

I think I’ll probably post this on A03 aswell

“Oh, God, please, no” Robin pleaded, stumbling from her sprint to her knees in front of Nancy’s scarily still body.

“No, no, Nance, come on,” she gasped between heavy breaths, cupping Nancy’s face with her hands, pulling her gently into her chest.

Robin had first thought something was wrong with Nancy when they all got out of the upside down the first time. She had never been one for social queues or noticing changes in body language or behaviour, but she credited the amount of time she had spent examining herself and the signs she gave off that she was hiding something to notice it in her friends.

Definitely not the amount of time that she spent staring at Nancy per day, which she knew was way too long to be platonic.

So when Robin had heard the news from Steve, who had heard from Dustin, who had heard from Mike that Nancy hadn’t turned up for dinner for the third night in a row, she cursed herself for not taking the time to ask her if she was ok. She cursed herself for her stupid feelings getting in the way of genuinely caring about her friend.

The panic had arisen in the party quite quickly. Everyone had confirmed that none of them had seen Nancy since they got to the hospital with Max, and a pit had grown in Robin’s stomach that had forced her out of the room where the rest of the group were arguing.

So now, after their carefully- formulated plan, the planning of which had taken another two painfully slow hours, Robin had finally found Nancy. But something was wrong.

Nancy was a mess. Her clothes were torn and covered in upside down goop and, Robin realised with fear, blood. Her hair stuck messily to her face, which was coated in sweat, and her unnaturally pale face was screwed up in what looked like pain, her eyes squeezed closed and a slight wheeze in her breath.

Robin, while still horrified at Nancy’s condition, was relieved that she still showed some semblance of life, and all of a sudden her whole life’s purpose became to get Nancy Wheeler, the resident priss of Hawkins high, to safety.

She twisted her grip on the smaller girl so that she could hook her arm under Nancy’s legs, and wrapped the other under torso, to carry her bridal style as far as she could.

She stood up with much difficulty, her already uncoordinated manner hindered with the weight of another person, and she sucked a heavy breath in through her teeth, wobbling a few steps around before turning to start walking back towards the trailer park.

However, as much as Robin loved staring into Nancy’s endlessly deep eyes, her heart faltered when her eyes sprang open, her limp hand sprang up to desperately clutch at a particularly dark patch of blood at her side, and a pained groan escaped her lips.

Robin’s heart broke, as she took in just how hurt Nancy actually was, but continued her slow trudging to safety.

“Rob- Robin…” Nancy gasped into her chest, followed by a sharp cry that sent Robin’s stomach plummeting into the ground

“Please… hurts so much… stop” Nancy cried in between sobs, but Robin carried on. Tears began falling down Nancy’s face, and Robin focused her gaze on the direction she was still slowly trudging, trying in vain to blink back her own tears building on her eyelid.

By the time they finally arrived at Eddie’s trailer, Robin’s arms were burning and her feet felt like they were made of lead. She wobbled up the stairs and into the small living area, and gently as she could, plopped Nancy down onto the couch, kneeling in front of her, eyes wide in fear.

“Nance? What the hell happened? What do you need? How-“

She was cut off by an abrupt sob from Nancy, and she practically lunged forward to take the hand that the other girl offered her.

“I- I came looking for Barb.” Nancy rasped

Robin knew who she was talking about, Barbra Holland, her old friend from band who died a few years ago, that one still lay in Robin’s ever growing pile of stuff in her brain labelled ‘to process later’

“I thought, since we got Will back, I might have-“

“Shhh, I understand, but you need to rest. What happened to you?”

“One of those bat things, Steve… wasn’t kidding”

Robin tensed at the mention of what had happened to her best friend. She had been so terrified after they found him, bleeding, writhing helplessly with no less than three demobats attacking him. She began to well up even at the thought of Nancy going through the same thing.

……

By the time Nancy had been sent home from the hospital all stitched up, it was around 11pm, and Steve had offered up his home as a temporary base for the whole party while they figured everything out and got Nancy back. So they returned there, and Robin had refused to leave her side throughout the whole process.

Now, Nancy was sitting in bed, with Robin awkwardly perched at her feet, waiting. Steve had just left to tend to the kids, leaving the two alone with the confirmation to Steve that Nancy didn’t need anything and they could share the room.

“Are we going to talk about it?”

“About what?” Robin snapped out of her daze, still looking anywhere but Nancy’s eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know, just you saving my life?”

“I wouldn’t really call it saving your life, I-“

“No, I don’t think you understand, you carried me half a mile while I was barely conscious. If that’s not saving, then I don’t know what is.”

“Well… I- I just…” Robin trailed off awkwardly. She wasn’t used to receiving compliments or thanks from others, growing up in her family, but she’d improved since the whole ‘spitting in a Russian soldier’s face’ thing.

“Come here” Nancy instructed, opening her arms to invite her for a hug, and Robin awkwardly obeyed, crawling up to lay with her head gently on Nancy’s shoulder.

“You know, you can tell me what’s wrong” Nancy prompted, and she finally captured Robin’s eyes with hers, and how could Robin say no to the most beautiful person on the planet.

“I think I’m in love.”

“Oh?” Nancy replied, eyes sparkling with intrigue.

“There’s someone that I really can’t stop thinking about, I love them so much, and they mean so much to me, they have had such a big impact on my life, and I spend all day with them, and I stare and daydream and babble and I make a mess and I’m bad at following instructions and I have no intuition and no common sense and no social skills, but they somehow still put up with me.”

“Well, I think this person sees the real you, the creative, compassionate, loving, loyal, thoughtful, kind, unique you that’s really there, and I think they think you’re absolutely wonderful.”

“Nancy?”

“Yes?”

“You know I’m talking about-“

“Me?”

“Well… ye- yes… I mean I-“

“I love you too”

[sunfish-studies]

VS Umbrella

✄・・・ Feathery Ink [Karasuno Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Karasuno x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: none

➜ Notes: This is a separate series from Crisp Leaves. Similar to Crisp Leaves, manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall. This is just my appreciation towards tall girls, you guys are amazing.

Previous:  ‹ Illusionary Hero › | Next:  ‹ Cogs ›

↷ SUMMARY ↶

A new special move!

The third day of summer training camp and the temperature was still rising. Under the cool shade of the tree upon the hill, you, Shimizu, and Yachi were preparing cool electrolyte drinks for the team. Usually, you three done it in the gym but experiencing how hot the weather was, you three decided brought the bottles uphill so the team could drink immediately in order to avoid dehydration.

“That’s a different type of brand you use, [Name]-chan.” Shimizu commented, seeing a different colored package of electrolyte drink in your hand.

“Oh, Kageyama-kun usually used this particular brand,” you replied, pouring the powder into the bottle and turn the lid close, then you shook the bottle so it would mix thoroughly. Your upperclassman hummed in understanding from your answer.

While it was the third day of training, it’s also marked the three weeks of Kageyama and Hinata not talking to each other even though it didn’t hinder their practice. It worried you a bit, but you knew the two of them would talk eventually.

“Great work,” you said, offering the bottle to Kageyama when he and the rest of the boys arrived uphill. He rasped out a thank you before immediately downing the drink.

“Hinata-kun, this is yours!”

“Thank you!”

You purposely be the one to delivered the bottle straight to the person–Hinata was keeping a quite distance from Kageyama and you didn’t want to force the orange-haired boy to get closer with the raven-haired setter.

“Wuaah, it’s nice and cool,” Hinata sighed in content, placing the bottle upon his cheek–enjoying the coolness radiating from it. After satisfied in cooling down his face, he soon downed the drink. Now that you think, you rarely talk to Hinata these days with him busy with his practice.

“[Name]-san, is your arm okay?” ah, he must be referring to the long cut on your arm.

“It’s already a month, Hinata-kun, it’s healed but it does leave a scar,” you lifted your arm, showing a faint lighter line present on your skin where your wound previously at.

“Oh, sorry,” frowns don’t suit Hinata at all–he’s a bright ball of beaming energy, a warm figure who could lit your day in an instant. It’s his nature, and seeing him becoming dejected from the start of the day was worrying.

“It’s fine, Hinata-kun, it’s not your fault anyway. It was an accident,” you dismissed his apology. “And if you need anything, just call out for me, okay? I’ll do my best to help you.”

You didn’t know what force that made you say those words, but you know you couldn’t take it back–you didn’t intend too anyway. Hinata always worked hard by himself, so you want to support him as much as possible. The orange haired boy looked taken a back before a giving you that infamous wide, sunny grin.

“Okay! And call me Shoyo, then! I call you by your first name so it’s fair if you call me like that too!”

“Alright, then, Shoyo-kun.”

.

.

The temperature was still rising–the burning hot atmosphere exhausted your boys even further than before. It would get rough, both for their body and mind eventually. You could feel your skin prickling–the tension was rising faster than before, tiredness building up, and sooner or later it would get to them.

“Damn it!” you gripped on your hand a little tighter after hearing Hinata’s scream of frustration. He failed to get the ball over the net because he lost in terms of strength with Lev. For the past three days, he couldn’t hit any ball comfortably, and with the battle of height always looming over him he had nothing to fight it with.

The match continued–Nishinoya tossed the ball perfectly, and then Kageyama went up to made a toss. Hinata, noticing there was a chance for a quick immediately jumped. Even though the ball barely being hit, it still got over the net and fell on the opposite court.

“You held back, didn’t you!?” his upperclassmen’s praises went over his head as Hinata yelled in anger at Kageyama.

“Held back?” the raven-haired setter also didn’t like the approach, glaring back menacingly. “Me? With volleyball?”

Thankfully before a fight could break, Takeda-sensei already asked for a time-out–with that, at least the two could cool down for a bit and not causing ruckus on the court in the middle of a match.

“That wasn’t the falling toss!” Hinata’s next words, caught you off guard. He noticed something’s different with the toss? It looked the same to you.

“It wasn’t?” Takeda-sensei questioned.

“I mean, looking back, it technically may not have been.” Coach Ukai answered, a thumb under his chin. “I think what just happened is that the toss right now wasn’t like the falling tosses he’s been getting, but more of a parabola.”

It clicked in your mind–the abrupt change suddenly made sense. “Does that mean Kageyama-kun is trying to get Shoyo-kun to hit the ball no matter what?”

“It’s on purpose?” Yachi turned to look at you.

“But what for?” Shimizu’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Hinata hasn’t hit a spike comfortably for a while now,” Coach Ukai was the one who answered to their question. “That’s pretty stressful for a spiker. Kageyama might have subconsciously been worried that Hinata’s might not play as well because of that.”

You frowned in worry, seeing how Hinata still rooted on his spot despite Tanaka’s attempt to dragged him off the court. And it also worried you that Kageyama was looking utterly dejected–maybe he realized for a moment that he pulled his punches. Thankfully it was only a moment–everything was resolved rather quickly and practice resumed.

.

.

After practice at night, you found yourself helping Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi in the third gym. The owl captain immediately dragged you away as soon as the last practice was over (you swore you could hear Tanaka and Nishinoya’s screams of fury), so here you were, throwing balls to Akaashi so he could toss it to Bokuto. Surprisingly, Tsukishima was present as well–now, he’s learning to block with Kuroo’s guidance.

“Oh? Tsukki, [Name]-chan, did you bring a friend today?” Bokuto suddenly asked, which confused the two of you.

“Pardon?” Tsukishima questioned.

When you threw a look over your shoulder, you immediately took a notice of an extremely familiar figure with orange hair by the door. Calling out, you gave him a smile. “Shoyo-kun!”

“[N-Name]-san!”

“What happened to your partner?” Tsukishima asked.

“Kageyama’s practicing on his own again,” Hinata answered. “I was trying to get Kenma to throw me tosses, but he ran away after the fifth one.”

“It’s amazing that you got Kenma to even give you five during practice,” Kuroo remarked.

“So, please let me practice with you!” another surprised for you because Lev showed up and asking the same thing.

“Lev!”

“Oh, Hinata,” the silver-haired boy then noticed you and immediately waved his hands enthusiastically. “Otohaku-chan!! You’re here too!!”

“Lev, quit flirting with the manager and I thought you were practicing receives with Yaku.” Kuroo said and of course, the mention of Nekoma’s libero, Lev stiffened.

“He said I was doing well today, so he let me go!”

From the looks of it, it was no doubt he ran away while Yaku was having a bathroom break or something else that required him for leaving the gym. But Kuroo, being the lenient and laid-back captain he is, dismissed it.

“Well, whatever,” he sighed. “Then, we have the right number of people, so let’s play three-on-three. [Name], you’re in charge of the score.”

Nodding in understanding, you pushed the score board closer and changed the names above–cats and owl, it reminded you of the two captain’s characteristics. You were fine in looking over the match, but this match was quite ridiculous. Thankfully, you’re not the only to think so.

“Um, isn’t this just a bit unbalanced?” Akaashi questioned. He was in the same team with Bokuto and Hinata, whereas the opposite team was clearly having more advantage in height–Kuroo, Lev, and Tsukishima are all above 185cm. Still with the disadvantage he got, Hinata was excited for sure.

The match was interesting to watch–even with the lack of extra height for Hinata’s team, they were still on par with Tsukishima’s team. But soon it was stopped by Yukie and Kaori’s appearance.

“If you don’t wrap soon, the cafeteria will close and you won’t get any dinner.” Yukie informed. “Oh? [Name]-chan, you’re here too? That explains why you don’t show up for dinner.”

Frustration was clear to Hinata because he clearly enjoyed the match and he didn’t want it to end, however, with Kuroo’s reassurance that they would continue this tomorrow, he was back bouncing on his feet. You couldn’t help but smile at the captain’s attentiveness.

“Thank you for cheering Shoyo-kun up,” you said, as the seven of you walked towards the cafeteria. Yukie and Kaori said they had to handle other things first so they couldn’t accompany you (it was hard for them to let you go with the boys). “Today’s not a good day for him so this match definitely cheers him up.”

“It’s nothing, and we probably have to apologize to you too,” Kuroo remarked. “Bokuto’s dragging you here, you stuck with us, and missed dinner. Bokuto, you have an apology to make!”

“That’s right, Bokuto-san, you made Otohaku-san missed dinner.” Akaashi piped up. “Tomorrow she has to wake up early to prepare breakfast, too.”

As if struck by lightning, Bokuto froze and turned stiffly to look at you before he went on a full apology-mode–as far as dropping on his knees, taking your hands in his, and begging for apology. You laughed nervously, but you knew he was sincere with it.

“I’m sorry, [Name]-chan!! I’ll make it up to you!! Do I need to replace you handling breakfast tomorrow!?”

“N-no, it’s alright, I will be fine and you don’t have to apologize, Bokuto-san. I don’t mind helping you practice.”

“Bokuto-san, you’re making Otohaku-san uncomfortable.”

“Have my back for once, Akaashi!!”

.

.

Now that you think of it, your after-practice time was automatically reserved for the third gym. Bokuto would bound towards you, asking for your help as soon as you’re done with your managerial duties. With your nod, he then reached out for your hand and pulled you to ran towards the third gym.

Akaashi already informed you to just dismissed his captain, but you found yourself couldn’t possibly rejected Bokuto’s invitation–especially when his eyes practically shining, you didn’t have a heart to ruin it. That goes for Daichi also, he even offered to talk to Bokuto about it if it bothers you. You were grateful for the two’s offer, still if you could help, you want to be helpful as possible.

It’s probably the third time you helped them practice by throwing balls and keeping an eye on the score board. Well you did your usual managerial duties as well–refilling the water bottles, giving them towels, sometimes wiping the floor when it became too slippery. Kuroo mentioned that you didn’t have to do it since your work hour was over and him, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Lev weren’t from your team.

Again, you dismissed it–it’s not a heavy duty, anyway. In between water break, Tsukishima asked about why on earth Kuroo wanted to help them when they would end up being rival in the end.

The captain cleared his throat. “I want to make the Battle at the Garbage Dump a reality. It’s what our coach wants more than anything. But who knows how much longer our coach is going to continue coaching? So, because of that, we need you guys to keep winning too.”

Overall, you understood Kuroo’s reason, but there was something that piqued your curiosity.

“Uhm, I know this question might sound strange, but, what is Battle at the Garbage Dump?” you asked.

“Oh, that’s right, we haven’t explained anything to Yachi-san and [Name]-san!” Hinata said.

“To put it simple, it’s like destined match between Karasuno and Nekoma.” Tsukishima explained. “It’s been going since the previous Coach Ukai’s time.”

“Karasuno and Nekoma will climb up until they could go to nationals and then will meet up on the orange court.” Kuroo grinned, reaching up to ruffle your hair lightly.

“That’s… so cool,” you muttered. You couldn’t find the exact words to express the awe you’re feeling. A match in the orange court between destined rivals, it’s almost like straight up from a manga or a movie. Other teams could research but playing against a team that knows you really well is going to be an absolute thrill–probably the best match Karasuno could get.

“Right, right!?” Hinata went up to you and asked excitedly.

“Come on. Let’s get back to practice!” Kuroo informed and all of you immediately went to your assigned place.

Practice went on–still between the Owl and Cat group. When Bokuto had to score against someone tall like Lev and Tsukishima, he didn’t kill the ball instead he hit it purposely against the block–returning it to the team for a more proper toss. Knowing how Hinata was hungry for development, surely he wouldn’t miss this.

After Bokuto managed to kill the ball with an intense straight towards the back line, he instantly approached him to ask about it. Soon, the game continued. This time, it was Lev who went for the score but managed to be soft-blocked by Akaashi. The last ball went to Hinata and you witnessed an absolutely underhanded way of blocking.

“Ah! Hey!” Bokuto screeched, also feeling the unfairness. “You guys are playing dirty!”

Hinata had to face three blockers above 185 cm with not a good toss.

“Nowhere to aim,” you muttered, narrowing your eyes in slight annoyance.

However, Hinata intended to face them–he hit the ball to Lev’s fingertips and it flew over before dropping to the inner-side of the opposite court. He jumped high enough and landed on his back instead.

“Shoyo-kun, you’re amazing!” running and kneeling beside him, you praised. Technically, you’re supposed to check on him but it flew over your mind for a second. “It’s an amazing block-out!”

“Did…you actually aim for that?” Kuroo questioned in disbelief. “That was an amazing wipe!”

“Well, I did aim for Lev’s fingertips.”

“What!?” Lev took a full offense in this.

Still, Bokuto was impressed by the lack of fear the younger had. The owl captain was showering him with praises as the rest of you watched from the sidelines. It went well until Bokuto proposed a ‘special move’–which made almost everyone dropped their beliefs, Hinata seemed to be excited by it though.

[matwith1t]

A/N: We’ve got the works here… Thank you to the anon for the request! I can’t find it, otherwise I would link, but here we are!! If you’re not 18+, please head over to my masterlist and read something a bit more fluffy!! I’d love to hear all of your thoughts… words of affirmation is my love language 🔥 I hope wherever you find yourself in the world, that you’re having a good day/evening!!

Request: When you start to want more than your friends-with-benefits arrangement with Mat, he rejects your suggestion. But after a few months apart, and after you found someone else, Mat rethinks his feelings for you // Ex-FWB With a Fluff Ending 

MASTERLIST | LET’S CHAT 🥂 | Mat Barzal x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Smut  // WC: 10K // Angst & Smut & Fluff

The two of you are not in love. At least not really.

He soothingly stroked your arm when you laid in bed together after a shared intimate moment. You threaded your fingers through his hair whenever he leaned his head on your shoulder. He calls you every Tuesday night because he knows that’s your busiest day of the week, and hearing his voice relaxes you. And you wear his last name on a hockey jersey because you know how much it excites him.

You keep his favorite snacks at your place. He keeps your favorite candle on his coffee table. You watch every hockey game. He respects your schedule. His laugh is your favorite sound. And your eyes are his favorite color.

But the two of you are not in love. At least…not really.

Sitting up against the headboard of your bed, you clutched the white linen sheets––that smelled like him––to your chest as you watched Mat tug his jeans over his legs. He bent down to grab his shirt that was thrown on the floor and easily slipped it over his head; as you savored the last seconds of seeing his bare chest.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes scanning the bedroom floor to make sure he had everything. But even if he forgot something, you knew––just as well as he did––that he would be back.

Mat’s chuckle brought you out of your thoughts, “Don’t give me that look.”

The light-hearted chuckle you let out was exactly the opposite of how you felt on the inside as you watched him get ready to leave you. A sharp pang of heartache ripped through your chest as you rolled your eyes, “I’m just waiting until I have the place to myself.”

Mat paused his movements of fixing the chains around his neck to fit under his shirt to look up at you. The corners of his lips curved up in a smirk, “Excited to be alone?”

“It’ll be quiet.”

He let out a quiet hmpf as he took two steps forward to the foot of your bed where his shoes were. He bent down, out of sight, as he tied the laces together before popping up in a matter of seconds. With the way he looked around your room again; it was easy to convince yourself that maybe he was purposefully stalling. Maybe he wanted to stay with you just as much you wanted him.

You watched his movements carefully as he rounded your bed; thinking he was heading toward the door, you felt the tug of your heart follow him. But he stopped to stand next to you, head tilted as he looked down at you.

You pressed yourself further back against the headboard and held your breath.

He bent down, palms pressed flat on either side of you––trapping you under him like he had done just moments ago––and he leaned his face close to yours, “Any plans for the rest of the day?”

You tried your hardest to keep your eyes locked in on his, “Staying in bed all day.”

Mat raised his eyebrows as he brushed the tip of his nose against yours, “Alone?”

You gulped, “Alone.”

He let out another hmpf as he continued to stare at you. In such close proximity, you were able to see everything about him. You saw the little blemishes that dotted along his chin, dark creases under his eyes, and how there was a section of hair on his left eyebrow that stuck up, going the opposite direction of the shape. They were little imperfections, but they made your heart tighten in your chest when you thought about how you were the only person who was able to see him this close up.

At your answer, he smirked, “Think of me.”

Before you had any time to process as to why he said those words to you, he closed the barely there space between your faces, and met your lips in a slow, deep kiss. Your eyes closed. The familiar zip of ecstasy pumped through your veins whenever he kissed you, but right when your hand dropped the sheet that was covering up your chest to cup his cheek; Mat pulled away.

In one swift motion, he spun around on his heel as he left you to walk through the door.

Stunned at his abruptness of ending the kiss, you continued to stare at the door with your mouth hung open. And even after you heard the front door of your apartment close, signaling his final departure, you continued to stare at your bedroom door.

He was everything you’ve ever wanted. He was everything and more. And you couldn’t comprehend how effortlessly he acted whenever he walked away from you. Because whenever you left him, it was a struggle. It always either felt like a battle in your head on whether you overstayed your time at his place or if he wanted you to lay next to him as he curled an arm tightly around your waist.

With each time you gave in to staying between the sheets longer with him, you felt a piece of your heart break even more. Because it only prolonged the eventual ending of moments you savored with him before one of you left.

Mat didn’t know that you did have plans for after he left. You needed to water the plants, grocery shop, meet a friend for lunch, and do a few loads of laundry to start the week off. But like him, most of those plans quickly went out the door.

Because with the way he left you––The way he always left you––you wanted more of him. So with your plans easily abandoned, you sunk down further under the sheets, head tilted back on the pillow with your eyes closed.

And as you laid in bed alone, just like he asked, you thought of him.

–––

You were woken up by a kiss on your neck.

The faint sound of a film on the television could be heard in the background, the smell of burnt bread––presumably from a failed attempt at Mat making toast––wafted through his apartment, and you felt a layer warmer than any blanket on top of you. You laid on your back, eyes peeking open to adjust to the light, and stared down at the person draped on top of you.

With a faint smile, you lifted a hand and fiddled with the ends of Mat’s hair on the back of his neck. You felt his chest expand against yours with an intake of air, and with eyes just like yours, barely open, he smiled up at you.

“We fell asleep.”

You let out a soft laugh and continued to play with the ends of his hair, “And then you woke me up.”

Mat rolled his eyes as he slightly lifted himself up from you, palms pressed down on the couch next to your head, “I woke up not even five minutes ago.”

Not believing him, you let out a hum, “Mhm,” and continued to let your fingertips softly touch his skin.

Because with the smell of burnt toast, you knew he had woken up more than five minutes ago, yet he still came back to wrap his arms around you on the couch.

You slowly moved your fingertips on the back of his neck in slow circles, and when you saw him close his eyes, you knew you were doing something right. And at a slow pace that was tortuous for you touching him, your fingers moved to the side of his throat, up his cheek as you traced the bridge of his nose, and then through his hair. You combed your fingers through the front of his hair, but like every time, his hair flopped back onto his forehead in place.

He opened his eyes and you smiled.

With your hand running slowly through his hair, your eyes admired his face as he loomed over you. And like your slow movements, he slowly lowered his head to press a soft kiss on the base of your throat. You barely felt his lips brush against your skin with how delicate the touch felt. He pulled his lips away, but kept his head tucked into the crook of your neck. You shuddered slightly as you took a deep breath; preparing yourself for disappointment to flood your body by the end of your stay.

But you pushed that familiar feeling aside.

Swallowing thickly, you let the hand that ran through his hair drop down to his shoulder as you pulled him closer to you. Chests pressed together, you felt as if you were to explode any moment. Hot hair fanned your neck as Mat breathed heavily against your skin, not pressing his lips onto you any further until he had your permission.

Unable to wait any longer, you tugged on the ends of his hair, turned your head to expose more of your neck, and shallowly breathed out your agreed upon word for consent.

“Please.”

That word was all Mat needed to hear before he pressed his lips back on the same spot of your neck. But this time you felt him; felt his lips nip at your skin repeatedly. And when he sucked on your skin just a little too hard, a whimper escaped your lips.

The sound was encouraging enough for him, but you still slid an arm around his neck to pull him closer. With legs intertwined on, you bent your knee against the back of the couch, resting your sole on the back of his calf.

Mat slowly worked his lips up your throat, “Are you cold?”

His whisper was louder than the uncleanly thoughts swirling in your head.

“No,” you gasped out with eyes closed.

You squeezed your eyes shut tighter, goosebumps forming everywhere on your body, as the places where he deposited open mouthed kisses on your skin scorched like a wildfire. And like how you previously touched his face ever so slowly, he trailed his hands along your sides at an even agonizingly slower pace.

His hands wandered, fingertips eliciting a slight shudder from you every single time they dug a little deeper into your skin.

“You’re shivering,” Mat mumbled before closing his lips just underneath your jaw.

One of his hands slipped under your shirt and he rested his palm flat on your hip. You thought best to leave his observation unanswered as the mixed feeling of his hands and lips on your skin produced another moan. Both of you were silent from then on; Mat kneading the skin on your hip as his light stubble scratched your neck as he continued his trail of kisses.

Mat had one hand trailing up and down your thigh, as his other creeped further up your shirt, massaging your breast over your bra. He pressed his lips to the spot where your jaw met under your ear, slowly working his way across your jawline.

“Mat,” you pleaded, voice hoarse.

He placed a feather of a kiss at the corner of your mouth. And when you slightly turned your head, eyes finally open, you saw him already staring at you. But you didn’t have enough time to admire his face as you’d like. Sooner than anticipated, you two met in a kiss, his lips instantly parting yours and his tongue begging for an entrance.

The eagerness of his kisses contrasted his slow and gentle touches on your skin. It threw you off for a moment, but Mat made a low, almost inaudible, sound in the back of his throat. His tongue met yours at the same time his hand squeezed your breast and you let your fingers dance across his back.

As your body heated up, so did the movements between the two of you.

The two of you parted for a moment to discard your shirts, Mat staring down at you intently. He looked troubled, eyebrows pulled together in concentration as his shoulders expanded in a deep breath. As you tried to catch your breath, you tilted your head to the side with a shy smile and tucked a section of his hair behind his ear.

Mat contradicted your gentle movement.

He brought a hand to his mouth, sliding his index finger and middle finger between his lips. Below him, you watched in fascination, both excited and terrified at the amount of disappointment already brewing in the pit of your stomach.

Mat brought his fingers out of his mouth, and in an act of arrogance, he raised his eyebrows and smirked. But before you could lean up and trap him in a kiss, his hand crept under the material of your underwear, wet fingers gliding over you, between your slit. On instinct, your eyes closed and your head fell back onto the pillow.

His fingers were languid at first, slow and steady as they became acquainted with the sensitive area. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth and sucked in a deep breath. His movements were excruciatingly slow. Every time the pads of his fingers brushed your clit, your breath shortened, catching in your throat.

You gripped onto his shoulder for support, your hand moving to the back of his neck, urging him toward you. You held Mat close for a kiss and he instantly deepened it. He made the concentrated grunt in the back of his throat again as you felt his bulge against your thigh. The hand he had on your breast trailed down your chest, across your rib cage until he could hook an arm around your waist.

His arm tightened around you as he urged your thighs even further apart with his knee. His middle finger began to move in circles over your clit, gentle at first, then increasing in pressure. You sighed, grabbing onto his shoulder even tighter. When his speed increased, you couldn't fight the moan that escaped your lips, and you broke the kiss to bury your head in the crook of his neck.

His fingers worked harder. And you felt an euphoric sensation that sat low in your gut as it began to build and build until it overpowered disappointment. A feeling that enraptured you––A feeling you only wanted to share with Mat––spread to the tips of your toes.

You bucked your hips against Mat’s hand, letting out an uneven breath against his shoulder. He kept going, encouraging you to let it happen. And so you did. You allowed yourself to be consumed with the feeling of Mat.

Beneath him was the closest place you had found to a heaven on earth.

But when his movements slowed and his hand came out from your underwear, your high came crashing down. As if the previous experience of pleasure hadn’t just happened, you felt numb. The spark of euphoria you felt electorate your body was no more, and instead, you welcomed back disappointment.

This was your routine with him. The passive day spent at his place when neither of you had any other commitments started and ended the same way every time. Every time it started with excitement, curious as to what the day had in store. And then the excitement sparked into mutual desire for one another. And then, like every time, it ended with disillusionment.

“Stop,” you whispered.

Immediately, Mat removed his hands from you and sat up on the couch.  

He sat on the other cushion from you, chest slightly heaving as he stared down at you in concern, “Are you okay?”

Still reeling in how your emotions went from one hundred to zero in a matter of seconds, you shook your head.

“You need to talk to me,” he looked panicked, and it bruised your heart even more, “Please.”

The breath you took in was audible, cutting through the tension, as you leaned over and picked up your shirt. Hastily, you covered yourself up and tucked yourself into the corner of the couch. With your knees bent, and arms curled around your legs, you stared at Mat who hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch.

“We can’t do this anymore.”

At the sound of your voice, he looked calmer, but that didn’t do away with the anxiety in his eyes, “Do what?”

“This…Do what we’re doing,” you pinched the bridge of your nose as you saw the puzzle pieces of your words connecting in his mind, “Being whatever we are.” You felt your bottom lip tremble as the exhaustion from all of your rendezvouses with Mat caught up to you, “I can’t do it anymore.”

“Why?”

You could see it in his eyes that he knew why you were cutting off the arrangement. He was more intune with other people’s emotions than he led on, which made this confrontation even more gut wrenching. Because with your admission would come his answer.

He had seen you at your most vulnerable moments, comforted you in times of need, been the reason for your earth shattering blisses for a little over a year, and the two of you shared intimate moments together without either of you stripping off your clothes. And like how he knew what you were about to confide in him, you knew what his answer would be.

You never thought he would be this cruel and have you say what you wanted aloud.

“I want more than this,” your words were direct with your desire, but the undertone in your voice was unsteady, “The––The feeling I have with you can’t be compared to anyone else. I feel so happy with you and it––You make me feel like a better person.” You bit the inside of your cheek as he stared through you, “Can’t we be more than this?”

He blinked once. Looked down into his lap. Blinked again. Ran a hand through his hair. Blinked for a third time. And when he looked up at you, his eyes were still lifeless and dull.

“You know I can’t give you that.”

You knew what disappointment felt like. You felt it every time he kicked the covers off and got dressed to leave you. You felt it every time one of his friends made a passing comment after they won a hockey game about how Mat could paint the town red as you sat next to him. You had even felt it fifteen minutes ago, when Mat had you trembling underneath him.

Disappointment was synonymous with Mat. But that didn’t make the let down any easier.

You let out a shaky breath, tears stinging behind your eyes that threatened to fall at any moment. But he had seen too much of you that afternoon for you to dispense any more emotion in front of him.

With your eyes downcast on your twiddling thumbs in your lap, you let out an almost inaudible half whisper, “Why?”

Mat released the breath he was holding, and scanned your face that felt like it would crumble any moment, “I…” He ran a head through his hair, letting out a shaky breath, as he racked his mind for an excuse, “You know I can’t. There’s––I’m not around that often, I wouldn’t be able to––”

“But we spend time together,” you croaked out, “We spend so much time together.”

With Mat’s failed excuse, he was silent.

And as the two of you stared at each other in silence; Mat’s eyes emotionless and your vision blurred with tears…There was no battle in your head wondering if you’d overstayed your visit or Mat wanted you next to him.

A single tear rolled down your cheek, but you wiped it away fast with the palm of your hand. You sniffled back the rest of your tears, lungs burning as they barely expanded with your deep breath. His eyes followed your figure as you stood up from the couch, and the more you stared at him, the more you felt your heart slowly fall apart because there was no convincing yourself of anything with him anymore.

The silence hung thick in the air like the regret on both of your faces as you made your way to his door. The further you walked away from him, the further you could feel the strings of your heart that connected to him stretch. They were exceeding their limit, and with one foot out the door, you felt the harsh snap that finally disconnected your heart from Mat when he spoke up.

“Are we done?”

His voice carried softly over the silence, but it was the sharpest pain you felt.

With a jagged breath, you gave him an answer without turning around, “I want someone. Someone who can give me more than this.” And with your back to him, you let your tears silently fall as they pleased, but kept your voice just as soft as his, “And I wish it was you.”

Without waiting for a response you knew he wasn’t going to give, you left him the way he always left you; alone.

–––

You missed him.

You missed the way he made you feel.

You missed the way his head felt on your shoulder when you rode the subway together. You missed the way his voice reassured you after a long Tuesday. You missed the way your heart fluttered whenever you heard him laugh. But most of all, you missed the way he always encouraged you to be the best version of yourself.

You missed him.

So you called him.

Your call came at one in the afternoon on Sunday, two months since the last time you had spoken to each other, and he picked up. You didn’t say a hello. And you didn’t ask how he was. You only said that you wanted him to come over.

“I thought you said you wanted someone?” Mat’s voice ached through the phone as if he replayed the last moment he saw you in the doorway, “I thought you wanted something more.”

“I just want you,” you breathed out in response to him, “Please.”

And before you had any chance to retract your request from him, he rushed out that he was on his way over and hung up.

Pacing around in the kitchen, you tried not to think of the consequences that would follow this meetup. It had been so long since you had seen Mat, but the only thing you wanted was familiarity. And your intentions over the phone were as clear as Mat’s rejection of you two months ago.

A few hurried knocks on your door interrupted the concern floating in your head. With a deep breath, and a little anxiety brewing in the pit of your stomach, you walked over to the door and opened it. The first thing you did was push away the feeling of disappointment in your gut and admired his face.

Unlike the slight stubble he had the last time you saw him, his face was clean shaved. He looked more youthful, but his eyes were tired and filled with longing. They were missing their usual gleam, but the longer his eyes stayed on you, you began to see the familiarity in them. And he was dressed rather nicely––a button up shirt, dress pants, and a belt––as if he had just came from an important brunch.

Whenever either of you showed up at the other’s place, both of you knew what the purpose of the visit was. But before hands wandered and eyes closed…You would always talk through a film together, travel on the subway for take out and a bottle of wine, or run menial errands together because Mat was always too lazy to do them himself. But with how you left him two months ago––confessing to wanting something more and he only wanting something physical––Neither of you knew how to approach the situation.

With a deep breath, you stepped back to let him into your apartment and closed the door. You made the call, so you made the first move.

You kept your eyes on your feet as you slowly took a step toward him. When the tips of your toes touched his shoes, you finally looked up at him. The two of you were so close together, but you had never felt further away from him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He whispered like a secret as if the two of you weren’t the only ones in your apartment.

You nodded your head, “Yes,” you gulped when you felt the tips of his fingers graze your palm, “One last time.” And when you finally looked into his eyes, they were dark with lust and despair, “Please.”

And with that word, Mat didn’t waste any time before he grabbed your hips, bringing you toward him in one swift tug, and crashed his lips onto yours. There wasn’t anything gentle about it––he knew what he wanted. But perhaps there were some unresolved feelings he hadn’t uncovered from your last conversation as his fingers softened against your skin.

Not expecting for Mat to be so determined with the first kiss, you let out a squeak of surprise. But he deepened the kiss and you melted into him with ease, molding your body around his as your arms locked around his neck. His tongue clashed with yours, hands gliding up your back until he was able to cup the back of your neck.

“Are you sure,” he murmured against your lips as both of you paused for a breath. He walked you backwards until you pressed up against the opposite wall, not too far from your bedroom, “That this will be the last time?”

You nodded fervently, sticking with your head as your heart fought to overpower your logic. He kissed you again as a strangled sigh escaped your lips, “Last time,” you whispered. Your eyes lowered away from his skeptical stare as you fiddled with the ends of his shirt.

Mat tilted your chin up with his index finger, trapping your lips as if he was trying to convince you that he didn’t want this to be the last time. He wrapped his right arm around your back and squeezed your right hip. He kissed you hard, eager to prove how much he wanted you.

Like every time he kissed you, you were left out of breath. And when you felt well and truly breathless, Mat trailed his lips across your cheek to your jaw, down your neck, and up to your ear, where he whispered words that caused your eyes to fly open.

“If it’s the last time, then let’s make sure you remember it.”

His words paired with his lips nipping on your neck, made you unable to form a coherent sentence. And you were sure he was able to feel the gulp you swallowed as you tilted your head to the side to give him more access.

Once his lips trailed up your neck, he was quick to collide his lips with yours, his body pressing flush against you as his hands trailed up and down your sides. You whimpered into his mouth, submitting all control to him.

“Bedroom,” you breathed against his lips.

At your request, Mat pressed two more kisses to your lips before he connected his hand with your to pull you into your room. He slammed the door closed, as if he wanted to keep the whole world out from prying on the way he would inevitably make you feel.

In a flurry, Mat unclasped his watch from his wrist and kicked off his shoes while you took off your socks. Neither one of your clothes were fully removed before he grabbed onto you again. You didn’t want to think how this would be the last time you were pressed up against him, and it seemed like he was eager to keep you from doing the same.

Mat had you against the wall, his hands massaging your breasts through your dress as you messed up his hair even more with your fingers. You whimpered into his mouth, which spurred him on, and he ground his hips roughly into yours, sending the familiar electric jolt of electricity through your bones to the tips of your toes.

He repeated the process while grazing his hands down your sides and grabbing a handful of your dress, tugging it up. But if this was going to be your last time together, you wanted him to remember it too. You were busy popping the buttons on his collared shirt, and unlatching his belt. The way you successfully undid his pants without looking, while nibbling on his lower lip, was a testament that you were sticking true to your word.

Mat thought you were done, so he moved his hands back up to your breasts, but you knocked his hands out of the way, gliding one hand down his exposed chest before boldly plunging your hand into his pants. Mat moaned against your lips, forcing your head to tilt back so that he could kiss you even harder.

Gently squeezing him outside his boxer-briefs, you noted that he was already growing in your hand. But you knew him well enough to know that he wanted to move things faster. So you slid your hand past the elastic waistband of his underwear and grabbed hold of him.

Mat broke the kiss with a sharp gasp, “Fuck,” he swore under his breath.

You pulled your bottom lip between your lips in concentration, and focused your eyes on Mat’s face as you gently grabbed him at the base. Instantly, his breathing shallowed. You trailed your thumb along his length to gauge his reaction before slowly sliding your hand up and then back down.

After a few swipes, Mat placed one hand beside your head, palm flat against the wall to support himself. In his other hand, he held a gathered handful of your dress, fingers digging into you hip to hold you steady. Feeling him respond underneath to your touch, you increased your pace. Mat’s eyes closed instinctively, gulping through parted lips as his breathing came in sharp uneven puffs.

“That good?” You asked, brushing your lips against his earlobe.

Mat grunted before responding, “Yeah.” His voice was thick and guttural, and you loved the way it reverberated in your ear, as if it was only meant for you, “Yeah––That’s good. More.”

His head dropped to your shoulder as you continued to pump him at a steady pace, and you marveled at the fact that he was completely at your mercy. But Mat wasn’t at your mercy for much longer. He managed to find the strength to pause his breathy curses to whisper in your ear, “I don’t know how much longer I can wait before I take you.”

You turned your head to meet his lips for a prolonged kiss. As soon as your hand was out of his underwear, and his pants were pooled around his feet, Mat spun you around to face the wall, as you heard the sound of your dress unzip all the way down. His fingers were anything but unhurried, but you still felt as if Mat was taking his time unzipping your dress as you felt his knuckles graze against your the ridges of your spine.

When he was successful in unzipping the dress, he slipped it off you in one fluid motion. But before you could turn around, his chest was flat against your back as his hand snaked around your hips and dipped into your underwear, discovering that you were just as ready for him as he was for you.

“God,” Mat moaned, dragging his lips along your shoulder to your neck as he slid a finger inside of you.

You tilted your head to give him more access, and the combination of your skin between his teeth and his finger curled inside you while his thumb stimulated your clit was too overwhelming. And as you felt yourself slightly shudder from the familiar sense of pleasure Mat gave you, he slid your underwear off your hips. He removed himself from your back as you stepped out of your underwear and Mat picked his jeans up from the floor and dug around the pocket for his wallet.

Frantically, he opened it in, and when he found the condom he looked for, he let everything drop to the floor.

He pulled you forward, hungrily kissing you before gripping the backs of your thighs, “Bed.”

With your arms around his neck, all you did was nod in agreement as you felt his hardness between you. He let his hands trail up from your thighs to your hips as he guided you to the few feet of room that separated the two of you from your bed. Once you felt the mattress hit the back of your calves, you unhooked one arm from Mat’s neck to brace yourself for the fall.

But Mat was faster. He hooked one of his strong arms around your waist to pull you ever so close to his chest as he slowly let you down on the mattress. And as you inched your way backwards, his hurried kisses slowed down the tiniest bit as if he wanted to prolong you beneath him for as long as possible. The two of you stayed like that for a bit, you underneath him as Mat cupped your cheek, savoring every kiss like it was his last.

But both of you unable to hold off on the reason why you called him over in the first place, the hand that cupped your cheek dropped and you heard the sound of the condom packaging tearing. With a breath, you opened your eyes right as he finished rolling on the condom.

“Ready?” he said huskily with his forehead pressed against yours.

You nodded, breath ragged as you felt him against your thigh, “Yes.”

With that, he guided himself inside of you, crawling up your torso as he pushed in inch by inch. Like every time you found yourself in this position, your eyes instinctively closed, your jaw dropped at the sensation of feeling this close with him, and you released a satisfied sigh.

You felt Mat’s breath on your cheek as he grabbed your hip with one hand, steadying you before pulling out almost all the way. You gasped at the loss of contact, but your breath was stolen when he slammed back in.

“Holy shit,” you breathed, throwing your head back when he pulled out and then connected your hips again.

The third, fourth, and fifth time…you conceded to him and let him do what he pleased. Entirely out of breath, you simply let your mouth hang open as you waited for him to press into you again.

“If it’s too much, let me know,” Mat said with his eyebrows raised in amusement, as his next thrust penetrated you a bit more gentle, “And I’ll stop.”

Unable to speak as he continued to thrust into you, you shook your head. You tucked a piece of hair behind his ear as your hand dropped to his strong back, “This is––This is good,” you gasped out as you felt him deeper inside of you, “You’re doing amazing.”

At your praise, the amusement in his eyes vanished as he let out deep breath through his nostrils.

He adopted a steady rhythm, neither too fast or slow, but with the force he thrusted into you at, it had you quickly feeling like you were going over the edge. You dug your nails into his back, and when he spread your legs even wider, the sensation he made you feel became even more intense. You bit the inside of your cheek, but the moans came anyway, begging him for more.

“That’s it,” Mat said through broken breaths, not even flinching when your nails scraped his shoulder blades, “Are you close?”

Whimpering, you nodded enthusiastically.

Satisfied, Mat grasped your hips and practically lifted them off the bed for each thrust. Barely able to see straight, and feeling entirely out of control, there was a flame burning in your lower gut, shooting out tingles that zipped up every vein of your body. And there was absolutely nothing you could do to hold onto the feeling of how he felt buried inside of you.

Mat knew you reached your peak when you could no longer assist in the thrusting and was left disorientated with slow breaths. Mat sped up his pace, driving himself into a state of bliss shortly after and collapsed on top of you.

After a minute or two of Mat trying to catch his breath from on top of you, he raised his head, relieving some of the weight on top of you. He didn’t say anything, just looked down at you with gentle eyes as he leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek.

You shut your eyes tight, revelling in the euphoria that lingered in your body for the last time with Mat.

With your eyes still shut tight, you felt Mat shift around. You could feel your throat close up as you expected the inevitable to happen, but when you felt the warmth of your duvet that had fallen off the bed cover you––and felt a strong arm wrap tight around your waist––you let out a sigh of relief.

Your back was pressed against his chest as you felt him also let out a sigh of relief, as if he expected you to ask him to leave.

He soothingly stroked your arm and pressed a featherlight kiss to your shoulder as the two of you laid in silence.

You tried your hardest to keep your eyes open, fighting the drowsiness taking over your body for as long as you could. Because once your breathing evened out, and your eyes closed, you knew he would be gone. So, you savored the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms one last time. And you savored the silence that allowed yourself to slip into a dream of what it would really feel like if he reciprocated your feelings.

You found solace in the silence surrounding him.

–––

You met someone else.

In the four months it had been since you had last been with Mat, you had met someone else.

He was nice; someone who was prepared for commitment. But he didn’t like to ride the subway, and he didn’t like to lean his head on your shoulder. He never called you on a Tuesday night. His laugh caused you to smile, but it wasn’t an ear-to-ear smile. And he liked to watch movies in silence.

You met someone else.

But you still found yourself comparing him to Mat.

Whenever those thoughts creeped into your mind, you tried your best to push them out. The only way Mat was in your life anymore was if you tuned into an Islanders game. But the boy you met didn’t like to watch hockey that much, so it was rare you caught a game.

Not watching an Islanders game wasn’t the end of the world, after all, you did run in the same social circle, so you saw him occasionally. But your sentences were always kept short…That was if either of you approached the other, which was more rare than you watching him on the television. But you had never seen Mat when you were with Noah, the new boy you had started seeing after you ended your friends with benefits with Mat.

But there was a first time for everything.

You were at a friend’s house, a mutual friend between you and Mat, so you shouldn’t have frozen up when you saw him walk through the door. In the kitchen, you stood with Noah, who had an arm draped over your shoulder, and some friends. You tried your hardest to contribute to the conversation, but like always, Mat distracted you without trying.

From the way his hair was messily styled, but looked put together at the same time, to the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled…You couldn’t help but admire him. He was in the middle of laughing, and you felt the corners of your mouth tug upward, but then his eye caught yours and his laughter died down. Sad that you couldn’t hear your favorite sound anymore, you saw his eyes narrow in on the arm around your shoulder.

“Everything alright?” Noah whispered in your ear.

You broke eye contact with Mat just as you saw the faintest bit of pain in his eyes.

Tilting your head up toward Noah, you smiled tightly and lied, “Never better.”

He chuckled, pressed a kiss to your temple and went back to conversing with your friends. Immediately, your eyes went back to where you last saw Mat, but he wasn’t there. You scanned the crowd frantically, afraid you lost your chance to hear his laugh again, but when one of your friends called him over to join your circle, you lost your breath.

Mat stood across from you, jaw slightly clenched and his knuckles that held a beer bottle were a few shades lighter than his skin tone. He greeted everyone he knew, but when it came to you, he barely offered you a smile before turning his attention to Noah.

“I don’t think I know you.”

Your jaw dropped at Mat’s bluntness, and a few of your friends snickered. Being friends with benefits with Mat wasn’t a secret from your friends, but the two of you never really talked about it around them, and none of them knew why things ended.

“I’m Noah,” he introduced himself, an easy smile on his face because you had never breathed a word about Mat to him, “Nice to meet you. And you are?”

“Mat,” he said his own name with a sharp undertone, and his eyes glanced back down at Noah’s hand around softly tracing his nails up and down your shoulder. His eyes softened for a split second, before he heavily breathed through his nostrils, raising his eyebrows at Noah, “And the two of you are…”

“Mat,” you snapped at him with a glare before Noah could answer the question.

You had been seeing Noah for a little under two months, and your relationship didn’t have a title on it. Which you were fine with since the two of you agreed to take things slow, and Noah reassured you he was committed to you. Because at least with Noah, he expressed that he wanted a relationship with you. Mat never gave that to you.

Mat shrugged his shoulders, knowing full well what his intentions were. He smirked slightly before raising the glass bottle to his lips; and he dropped the question as he engaged in conversation with your friends.

Throughout the night, you kept catching Mat’s glare on Noah, but when he looked at you, there was a fondness that you’d never seen in the time you spent with him. He always had gentle eyes, always knew how to draw you in with one look, but there was a sense of regret swirling about whenever he looked at you.

You had moved into the dining room, standing in the corner of the room with Noah, as you felt like a schoolgirl with a crush as he held your hand and told you how pretty you looked. He squeezed your hand, and just as he tilted his head to lean forward in a kiss, he pulled back, straightened his posture, and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck.

“What’s wrong?” You asked him as his eyes scrunched together in confusion as he looked down at the ground.

“I think a ping pong ball hit me?”

Your eyes dropped to the ground with his, and right behind his heel, you saw an orange ping pong ball. Immediately, you picked your head up and stared over his shoulder to see Mat with his vision locked on you in the corner. Your jaw clenched as tight as his, because you had been his beer pong partner more than enough times to know how competitive he became, and how he never wasted a shot.

You glared at him the same time he softened his gaze.

Bending down, Noah picked up the ping pong ball and returned it back to Mat’s team. He didn’t know that Mat had intentionally ruined a moment between the two of you. You stood in the corner with Noah for a few minutes longer until you excused yourself to the bathroom.

Once you finished up in the bathroom, you were fully prepared to go back out with Noah. But when you opened the bathroom door, and saw an anxious looking Mat, you knew he would sabotage your night once more. Before you could say anything, he made his way into the bathroom, and locked the door.

“Mat, what are you doing––”

“Just hear me out,” he rushed out as he ran a hand through his hair, “Please.”

If that last word didn’t hold so much meaning to your relationship with Mat, you would’ve pushed past him and left him alone after the stunts he pulled earlier. But with his eyebrows pulled together, tormented eyes wide with anxiety, the least you could do was honor his request.

So with a deep breath, you crossed your arms over your chest and nodded your head.

Mat cleared his throat and tucked a piece of his hair behind his right ear, and then tucked a piece of hair behind his left ear, “I––How was your Tuesday?”

His small talk threw you off, but you played along, “It was fine.” With a single breathy laugh, Mat raised his eyebrows at your answer, and waited in silence until he got a truthful answer. With a roll of your eyes, you huffed, “It sucked. Like always.”

“Do you talk to Noah about your Tuesday’s?”

“I don’t think we should talk about this,” you dropped eye contact with him and reached out for the door. But Mat blocked your exit. You tried stepping around him, but he mirrored your movement. With a sigh, you dropped your shoulders, “What do you want, Mat?”

With your question, his face grew serious and he took a step toward you.

“What do I want…” He hummed and took another step toward you. Ever so slowly, like the last time you met at your apartment, he reached the tips of his fingers out to touch the inside of your palms, “I want to eat my favorite snacks on your couch, lay in bed together, see you wear my jersey again…” He wiggled his eyebrows at his last desire, but before you could shove his shoulder at his show of arrogance, he quickly reached down to lace his fingers with yours.

“I want to hear about your Tuesday’s,” his voice shrank, but when he looked into your eyes, he offered you the smallest of relaxed smiles, “I miss the color of your eyes.”

At a time and place in the past, this was exactly what you wanted to hear. It was everything and more you wanted to hear, but it had come months too late.

The moment you dropped his hand was the same time the smile on his face dropped.

“I’m with Noah now,” you took a step back, “I––I’m with someone else now.”

Mat rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palm and when he removed his hands, you saw a harsh pain in them that could only be classified as regret that he caused himself, “Please,” he pleaded with you and took a step forward to catch your hands again. But you stepped back, “Seeing you with him tonight it––Or even when we were together months ago, just imagining you with someone else––”

“That’s not fair,” you felt a painful sting behind your eyes, “I told you I wanted more, but you said no.” He was silent and you sniffled, “You can’t say this now.”

“I miss you,” he gulped, and again, he stepped forward and reached out for you, “I’ve never missed anyone as much as I miss you––”

You shook your head, clamping your lips together trying to block out all of the words you wanted him to say to you months ago, “Mat, stop––”

But like you didn’t want to hear his confession of feelings, he didn’t want to hear that he was too late, “It’s just…Fuck,” he swore under his breath, and shook his head as he looked down at the ground, having trouble stringing the right words together. But when he looked up at you, you could clearly see the inner-turmoil he had gone through over the past months, “I can’t even lose you because I don’t have you.”

The suffering behind his voice caused a single tear to roll down your cheek.

He stepped aside, removing himself from blocking the exit. With a sharp inhale, he sucked in a deep breath, holding it in––just like the tears behind his eyes––as he accepted defeat, “I never had you, did I?”

Unable to stand in his presence any longer without feeling like you were going to sob, you quickly brushed past him and through the door with clouded vision from holding in your tears.

As you left the party, not bothering to tell anyone you were making an early departure, the only thing you could think of was that he did have you. Even if he never thought he did…He had you months ago when you started your friends with benefits. He had you all the time during your arrangement. He even had you when you left him alone on his couch after ending things. And now more than ever, even though you were with someone else, he still had you.

He would always have you in some way.

–––

Your relationship with Noah didn’t progress.

Whether it was due to the fact he never picked up on how Tuesday’s were your worst days or how he picked up on you being distant ever since that party…A relationship never progressed with him.

A month and a half had passed since that party where Mat had you in the bathroom and confessed his feelings for you. Admittedly, you imagined the moment to be sweeter than the heartache both of you felt in that tiny room, but he had said all the words you dreamed about.

You also missed the way he slowly stroked up and down your arm after an intimate moment. You missed the way his hair tickled your neck when he leaned his head on your shoulder. You missed the way he always lit your favorite candle at his place, and always had a backup in case the candle burned out. And most of all, you missed the sound of his laugh.

The month and a half had been miserable. You didn’t have Mat. And you didn’t have anyone who could replace him. So when a particularly hard day came around, you were too exhausted to care that you might not have Mat anymore.

He picked up halfway through the second ring.

“Hey,” his voice was soft, airy, as he breathed in a few breaths, waiting for you to say something. But when all he heard was a shaky breath, he spoke with an even more gentle tone, “Not a good Tuesday?”

Sitting on your couch, wrapped up in a blanket pretending it was someone’s arms around you, you clenched your jaw and shook your head. You felt your throat close up as you sniffled, “No.”

“Is there…What can I do?”

“Come over,” you whispered. And with the way your quivering voice––especially on a Tuesday––Mat knew that all you wanted was a hug, and for someone to say everything would eventually be okay, “Please.”

“Sit tight,” you could faintly hear a smile toying on his face, “I’ll be there within the hour.”

As much as you wanted to stay on the line with him, because even hearing his breathing on the other end calmed you down, you knew he couldn’t be on the phone when he traveled to you. Reluctantly, you hung up after breathing out a nearly inaudible okay.

And like every promise Mat made, he arrived at your place––with a container of soup––within the hour.

You tightened the blanket around your shoulders when you saw him standing in your doorway. He wore sweatpants, a sweatshirt from a year the Islanders made it to the playoffs, and scuffed up sneakers with the laces barely tied together.

Stepping aside, you welcomed him into your apartment, and he wordlessly walked in and headed toward your kitchen. Blindly, you followed him. He set the container down on your small kitchen table and then bent down to open the cabinet where you kept your pots. He poured the soup in the pot, turned the burner on medium, took down two bowls from a cabinet above the stove, and then opened your silverware drawer for two spoons.

He moved around your home like he had never left.

Once everything was in place, Mat turned around the same time he released a deep breath. And with one look at you, his smile was dismal, and his eyes brimmed with sadness thinking about all of the Tuesday’s you had to deal with by yourself.

Neither of you had to say any words to express how lonely you both felt without each other.

You had barely taken two steps toward him when he instinctively opened his arms for you. Barreling into him, his arms felt better around you than the blanket you had wrapped tight around you for the last few hours. With a shaky breath, you breathed in his scent, and you noticed that he smelled like your favorite candle.

Even with your layers of clothes, and the blanket you had, you still felt the heat of his fingers and palms as they softly ran up and down your back, “You’ll be okay.”

With eyes squeezed tight, you gasped for another breath.

“We can talk about it over soup,” Mat whispered as one hand went from your back to soothingly stroke up and down your arm.

You nodded your head against his chest.

The two of you stood in the middle of your kitchen, leaning against each other, until the soup was finished heating up. He took a ladle, poured the soup into two bowls, and carried them to your living room. You followed him, skeptical as to why he didn’t sit at the table, but when you saw him carefully sit cross-legged on your couch––waiting for you to sit across from him––you faintly smiled.

You dropped the blanket from your shoulders, and mirrored Mat’s cross-legged position on the couch. With a bowl of steaming hot soup in each of your laps, you unloaded your treacherous Tuesday to him. And he listened. He listened intently; asking questions where appropriate and reassuring you that the best thing you can do right now is be the best possible version of yourself.

After the soup was finished, the two of you stayed on the couch; you twiddling your thumbs, and Mat tucking his hair nervously behind both of his ears, because neither of you knew where to go from here.

But like all of the times you had been with Mat, he braved through the uncertainty and went after what he desired.

He stretched his limbs out on the couch, feet brushing against your thighs as he lifted his arms over his head. His eyes shut tight as he let out a yawn, and then extended a hand out to you. A small smile made its way onto your lips as you reached out for his hand and he pulled you down into his chest. A laugh escaped your lips as he pulled you into him, both of his arms wrapping around your waist to keep you in place.

And as you settled between the back of the couch cushion and Mat, you listened to his rapid heartbeat as he played with the cotton fabric of the navy blue shirt you wore.

“Is this my shirt?”

You shook your head no against his chest, “It’s mine.”

Mat let out a soft chuckle as he pinched your hip, “I know it’s your shirt, but it…You’re wearing my last name.”

You lifted your head from its soft place on his chest and awkwardly turned your head over your shoulder to see for yourself. And just like he had said, you were able to make out a B-A-R and the number 13 in orange writing. When you got home from your long Tuesday, it was the first thing you saw when you changed into lounge wear. And lucky enough for Mat, it just so happened to be his last name and number.

“I didn’t intentionally wear it,” you mumbled into his chest as his fingertips lightly grazed your bicep. You inhaled an uneven breath, nervous that he might be thinking you called him over for the wrong reason, your voice dropped to a whisper, “I…I didn’t call you over that,” he squeezed your shoulder, reassuring you he knew, “You always make me feel better.”

“More than just on a Tuesday?”

“More than a Tuesday.”

You smiled against his chest and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

Lifting your head up, you placed both palms flat on Mat’s chest, and leaned your chin on the tops of your hands and peered up at him, “I’m so tired now, but I want to talk in the morning.”

Mat nodded, “I want to talk too.”

“Do you have morning skate?” You readjusted your head so that it rested just on his collarbone, enough room for Mat to rest his cheek against your forehead.

He pressed a soft kiss to your temple, “I do, but I’ll work around your schedule.” You nodded against his chest, ready for sleep, but Mat’s gentle whisper kept you awake for a few more moments, “I want this,” his voice was almost lost under the hum of the air conditioning starting up, “I want something more with you. I want to make it work.”

You pressed a soft kiss to the base of his neck and he tightened his hold around your shoulder, emphasizing his seriousness.

As the two of you laid on the couch, right as you almost fell into a deep sleep, Mat groggily mumbled about how you needed to sleep in your bed to feel better on Wednesday. Despite your unwillingness to move, you sleepily move off Mat with eyes barely open. And just like how he moved around your kitchen, he took hold of your limp hand in his and pulled you along to your room.

You did your night time routine, and when you slipped under the covers, you saw Mat stand by the doorway, prepared to make an exit. But as you clutched your white linen sheets to your chest in a fist, one hand lazily rubbed your drowsy eye.

“Stay,” you said through your yawn, “Please.”

“Okay.”

Mat rushed through his bedtime routine and quickly slid in under the sheets. Much like your position on the couch, he curled an arm around you and you laid the side of your face on his chest. As both of your breathing evened out, slow and unhurried, you knew you were on the same wavelength.

And as you felt yourself begin to lose consciousness of reality and slip into your dreams, you fell asleep with a smile. Because when you dreamed, you dreamed of Mat, and all of his dreams became yours.

[nnightskiess]

𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐝

₊° 𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 (𝐲/𝐧), 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬. 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥...

𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐱

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

for my great friend lux @redhairedwolfwitch ♡ thank you for everything.

"Hey, you paged us?"

Cristina tilted her head, curious, while you stood behind her, wondering if you were in trouble if the Chief needed you.

"I know you're both most interested in cardio, so..." He motioned the two of you two follow him until your pager went off.

"Shit," You mumbled under your breath, staying slightly behind as you heard Cristina gush about the cardiac trauma Hunt showed her, "I gotta run, Robbins needs me, a complication in the NICU."

"Come on?! Cardiac trauma!" Cristina turned to you, the look on her face saying enough. But you had already started to walk away, putting a spanner in the works of the plan the universe had in store for you.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

"Doctor Bailey!" You rushed after her, wanting to catch up with her and show her the results of the CT she needed, until Cristina appeared out of nowhere, seeming frustrated.

"The new attending doesn't even know how to put in a temporary pacemaker!"

They came to a halt at the nurse's station as you hovered next to Cristina, waiting your turn.

You tilted your head, "Wait- we have a new attending?"

"Did you or did you not ask this man for a new cardio attending?"

"Yes."

"And did he or did he not bring in attending after attending, none of them who seem to please you and all of whom you ran off?" Bailey gave Cristina a look, one that made you have to bite your lip so you wouldn't laugh. Doctor Bailey had her cornered, and rightly so.

"That is not a fair assessment." Cristina bluntly replied.

"Doctor Yang, has it ever occurred to you that you might be the problem? Right, leave this man alone. Go torture the new attending. (Y/S/N), you got the results?"

You passed the results over, leaving as soon as Bailey waved you off, so you could go on your way to pester Cristina.

"So... why is the new cardio attending not to your liking this time?" Cristina rolled her eyes and groaned as she heard the teasing in your voice. You followed her, ignoring the annoyed look on her face, "Let me guess... weird hairdo that keeps distracting you? Bad breath? Silly walk? Or are they just not at your level?" You air quoted, making Cristina stop to stare at you before she continued her walk, but you knew she would talk after that.

"She might have been it once, but oh no, not anymore. She made me put in a temporary transvenous pacemaker because she hadn't done it in ages."

You grimace, having to admit how bad it sounded that a cardio attending didn't know how to., "At least she admitted it?"

Your comment went completely over Cristina's head, who was still fed up with the situation, "She's inexperienced, inadequate and is definitely not a cardio goddess. She's a desert storm barbie, who hasn't seen the inside of an OR in like 10 years. Owen was wrong to bring her here."

"Well... you've used up your three wishes and Webber and Bailey are done with your complaints... so I think you're gonna be stuck with her."

Cristina let her head fall back and let out the biggest groan before turning into another hallway, leaving you to shake your head as you walked to the lifts.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

"So, what do you think of the new cardio attending? Excited to learn from her?" Arizona draped her stethoscope around her neck, following you out of the room.

"I can't say, haven't met her yet... but Cristina seems to be really happy with her."

Arizona raised an eyebrow before she saw the look on your face.

"Oh, yeah, I heard. Wait-" Arizona looked at her pager, "Hm... speaking of the devil, Yang paged me. Walk with me?" She squeezed your arm, hoping you'd follow her.

You briefly caught up with your friend as you walked through the hospital. Jackson and Cristina were standing around a hospital bed, but before the two of you could approach, Arizona's pager went off once more,

"Hm... can you inform the parents of one of our preemie babies of his vitals? They're going home and would like to hear everything's still alright before they leave. Check his vitals with them in the room or they're not going to want to leave. They're persistent, but they're good parents. " Arizona gave you a soft smile as you nodded and grinned, doing as she told, not seeing the other blonde approaching Arizona behind you as you walked away.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

You were leaning against the wall, waiting for Arizona to finish up since she was your ride home, when a happy Cristina all but skidded out of the resident's lounge.

"You're being weird. What's gotten you so happy?" You noted as Cristina's frown from that morning had turned into a wide grin.

"Guess who did a Takeuchi repair today?"

"You did not!?" You gasped and stood up straight, your full attention now on Cristina.

"Uh, not all by myself. But she did let me do the coronary artery anastomosis."

You raised your eyebrows, still surprised. Cristina was a great resident, but that was a big shot surgery, even for her. "Damn, are you taking back your words about her now?"

"Yeah, probably. Which means-" She turned serious again, pointing a finger at you, "The games have begun." She let out another ecstatic laugh before walking off, letting you know you would have to step up and fight to get hours on cardio with the new attending.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

You walked into the lifts the next morning, the coffee Arizona had gotten you in one hand, the charts of the nightshift in the other. You only had five minutes to read them all and then inform your attending of the day of any changes. But with the coffee in your system, you knew you could do this.

You skimmed the first few pages of one of the charts as other people hurried into the lift right as the doors closed. A few floors later, you knew it was your turn to step out when the doors opened. Not wanting to waste any time, you kept your head low to read the charts, but you had to look up and stop when someone crossed your path- quite literally.

A woman hurried by, apologising to people left and right as she rushed through them. Though she had been fast, you had not failed to catch a glimpse of the face that you once so adored.

Teddy Altman.

She hadn't seen you, probably because your nose had been buried in the charts, or because she had been in a rush. You watched her disappear through the double doors towards the OR's and that's when it clicked. Teddy, your old friend from back in New York, the same Teddy that was in love with cardio, was the new cardio attending Cristina suddenly seemed to be gushing about.

You ditched your coffee somewhere, your body suddenly being filled with nerves and stress. It had been years seen you'd seen her. Ever since your mutual friend Allison had passed away on that damned day, you had lost contact with Teddy. Almost as if she had disappeared. Just like that. No note, no phone call, no goodbye. Maybe it had been for the best. The abrupt ending to your friendship had helped you get rid of the wish that it would ever become something more. Teddy was gone, and so were the feelings you had secretly been harbouring inside. But seeing her now... It overwhelmed you how only a glimpse of her could bring back the crapload of memories the two of you had shared. You slipped into one of the vacant seats in the waiting room, clutching the charts against your chest.

"No sitting, (Y/S/N), you've only just started your day. Let's go! We've got jobs to do. Chop-chop!" Bailey walked by, gesturing for you to get up and go.

You stood up, took the deepest breath and made a promise to yourself-

It's been years. You changed. You were no longer the EMT Teddy used to know. You took great pride in the fact you had grown, as a person and as a doctor. You were a resident now. Besides, for all you knew, Teddy didn't want anything to do with you anymore. She must have changed too. Besides, who knows what happened to her after you lost each other.

Teddy might be back, but your feelings were long gone.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

You walked into the cafeteria, talking with some of the Mercy West residents as you grabbed your lunch, placing it on the tray in front of you. You rolled your eyes as they started to gossip, happy you had your food so you could walk away from that. Shaking your head, you turned around to scan the cafeteria, your eyes landing on Arizona's, who waved you over. You froze in your spot as you saw the back of Teddy's head, who was seated at the same table. Without thinking, you turned around and left the cafeteria in a hurry, the tray still in your hands. You hoped you had been fast enough before Teddy could have seen who Arizona had waved to.

Facing Teddy was not on your to-do list any time soon.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

You had successfully managed to avoid running into your old friend all day, rather doing scut or helping out in the clinic than scrubbing in or helping with consults. Anything to stay out of Teddy's way.

"So, will you tell me why you ran like a chicken earlier today?" Arizona wore a playful smile as she from the doorway how you were grabbing your things.

"Um-" You shuffled some things around in your locker, trying to stall coming up with an answer. Arizona was one of your best friends and already knew whatever you would say would be a complete lie, "Stomach ache. Needed a toilet."

Arizona nodded her head, her playful grin not disappearing, "Yeah... I usually like my lunch with some nice sound effects and extra stench too."

"Wha-," You stopped to turn around, "I did not eat my lunch in a toilet."

Arizona shrugged noncommittally, going to the next topic, "Had fun removing haemorrhoids at the clinic today?"

You sighed defeatedly and pushed your jacket in your bag, glaring at Arizona, who was having way too much fun with this.

"Fine. I ate lunch in a toilet cubicle and helped out at the clinic today. What's wrong with that? They need all the help they can get."

"Meanwhile you could've scrubbed in with Doctor Altman and I. She let Yang fix the kid's Alcapa. Could've been you." She shrugged.

She patted your back as you passed her out of the lounge, letting out a groan at the missed opportunity. You clung your bag over your shoulder, greeting colleagues left and right, trying to play it off, but knowing Arizona was following close behind.

"Nice try," Arizona whispered in your ear as you waited for the lifts to arrive.

You sighed and turned around, about to shoot back a witty reply to wash the grin away from your friend's face, until you saw Teddy round the corner into the hallway, coming your way while she talked to an intern. The lifts dinged behind you, but you quickly pulled Arizona away, pushing her into the door that led to the staircases.

"Okay- wait, what just happened?" Arizona let out a breathy chuckle, her eyebrows raised as she tried to decipher what was going on in your head.

"We're taking the stairs down today! Let's go, I haven't reached my 10k steps yet!" You were already walking down, leaving Arizona to look back, thinking she might have missed something, until she eventually followed.

"Okay, tell me what's going on because you've been incredibly weird, all day long." Arizona stopped you when you were about to walk out of the hospital. You looked her in the eyes, seeing the genuine concern.

"Doctor Robbins!" You shut your eyes at the familiar voice and quickly turned around, slipping into the gift store unnoticed, still in hearing distance,

"I wanted to give you this for the follow-up surgery but you left so quickly." Teddy smiled softly, watching how Arizona looked around, noticing you had dipped, "Just read through it at home and we can discuss tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah! Sure! Thanks." Arizona's eyes fell on the back of your head as you tried to distract yourself by looking at the many different postcards of Seattle.

Teddy furrowed her eyebrows slightly, "Um... okay, well, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Sure thing!"

You waited until Teddy had disappeared into the lift again before stepping out from behind the rack, Arizona immediately pulling you out of the gift shop, her mouth agape as she watched with excitement, "You are crushing on Doctor Altman!"

"What? No!"

"What else can it be? That's why you've been avoiding every place she's at like the plague. I knew you would like her, but I didn't know you would like her this much." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, the grin on her face only widening as you sighed and walked out of the hospital.

"I'm not crushing on her. I haven't even met her yet. I'm just... shy... to meet new people. I need more time."

Arizona snorted as she followed you to her car, "Yeah, sure, that's it." But she grew serious when she saw the conflict in your eyes, "You know you can tell me, right? Anything. I don't judge."

You turned in your seat, it was clear you were battling thoughts in your head. You let yourself fall back against the seat as you sighed,

"I don't want Teddy to see me. Not yet, at least."

Arizona rose an eyebrow, silently telling you she needed more information if you wanted her to understand.

"We knew each other. Back in New York."

Arizona nodded slowly, knowing about your life as an EMT in the Big Apple, "Did you fall out? Did you fight? What happened?"

"That's the thing- I don't know. One day we were friends, the next... she was gone? This is the first time I've seen her since 2001 and... I don't know, it threw me off. I don't know what to do or say now."

"She hasn't seen you yet?"

You shrugged, "No, I don't think so. Not that I know."

"Well, were you great friends before she left?"

"You could say that. I just-" You stopped yourself, sneaking a glance at Arizona, who looked back at you with an encouraging smile, "Oh God- okay... I just always feared I might have scared her away?"

Arizona pursed her lips before hearing what you rambled out next, "I had like, the biggest crush on her and for a while, I thought she had one on me too until I realised she was like that with our mutual friend Allison too and-"

"Doctor Altman likes girls?!" Arizona gasped, intrigue written on her face. You quickly shut her down, not wanting to start the spread of another rumour in the hospital,

"No?! I don't know! I don't think so. No."

You sat in silence for a while until Arizona opened her mouth, "Well, I think it would be best if you just rip the band-aid off tomorrow. I don't think she'd appreciate finding out you avoided her for as long as you could. It's probably going to be awkward either way."

You nodded softly, knowing Arizona was right, "Will you help me?"

"Pfff, of course! I got your back." She smiled at you as she drove out of the car park.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

You kept yourself busy by alternating between buttoning and unbuttoning your lab coat and fixing your hair, wanting to look presentable since Teddy hadn't seen you in years. It was silly, how you hadn't been able to let go of the nervous habits you had whenever you'd be around her. But the worry Teddy would be disappointed to see you again made it worse this time.

"Stop that, you look great." Arizona smiled encouragingly and fixed your collar as you started to play with your fingers instead, needing something to try and keep your nerves under control.

"Ready?" She asked you as she stopped in front of the room Teddy had paged her to. You gave her a curt nod and took in a breath as she opened the door, revealing Teddy who was looking at the whiteboard in front of her.

"Doctor Altman, I brought a resident who's gonna help me with this case. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all! I went ahead and-" She stopped midsentence when she turned around, her eyes locking with yours. Sure, you had changed over the years, but you knew Teddy would recognize you in an instant.

"(Y/N)?" She breathed out, her face going from confusion to shock to excitement in just a few seconds.

"Oh my God, it's really you?" She walked up to you, her arms open to welcome you in a hug. Teddy let out an awkward chuckle as she noticed you didn't move a muscle, but she slowly and unsurely wrapped her arms around you when you took a hesitant step forward.

"It's so good to see you again! How- I- What?!" She smiled and rubbed her cheeks, trying to wrap her head around the fact you were standing in front of her, and trying to stop herself from panicking. "You left New York? When? You're a resident now!?"

"It's been years, a lot can happen." You squeezed your fingers behind your back, realising how harsh it sounded, no matter how much she deserved the cold shoulder. You just wanted to get this over with.

Teddy's smile faltered, but only momentarily, before her eyes filled with glee again, "So- what's happening? What's new? How did you get here? Are you.... third year? Or-"

"I love this little reunion but maybe it's best we focus on the surgery now...We've got little time." Arizona butted in with an apologetic smile, seeing you needed a breather.

"Yes! Of course, apologies." Teddy turned back to you, her face unreadable, but her gut wrenched with the guilt she suddenly felt. Your eyes said it all.

"We...um, should catch up later." She spoke before she quickly turned to face the whiteboard again, muttering something under her breath, hoping to be able to mask her panic in the next few hours of you two working together.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

"Go!" Arizona mumbled out, bumping your hip when you stopped, seeing she was gesturing to Teddy waiting in line. "Go break the ice!"

"I thought I already did that this morning?!" You whisper-yelled back but was pushed forward by your friend.

"Oh- hi!" You shot her a wry smile, albeit awkwardly, as Teddy turned around. "Want to...um... eat lunch outside with me? Catch up? It snowed last night and uh, I know you used to love-"

But you stopped as you saw Teddy nod and smile, "I'd like that."

"So, Seattle, huh?" Teddy started once you had found a vacant bench outside the hospital. "I thought you said you could never see yourself leaving New York?"

"Yeah, well, I got the opportunity to do my residency here... I wanted to start fresh, and New York isn't what it's been after-" You stopped, noticing how Teddy tensed. She took her time eating her sandwich, stalling an answer before she eventually had to speak.

"It's good to see you ended up where you wanted to be. Seems like all those times I helped you study for med school weren't in vain." She smiled with her eyes as she took another quick bite of her lunch. She tried so hard to read your energy, but you seemed closed off.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved being an EMT, but this is good. This is great. I'm happy now. This is the right path for me."

Teddy gave you a soft smile as she truly took you in for the first time, daring to stare at your side profile now that you were focused on your own lunch. You wore your hair differently now, your face looked a bit more mature and you also seemed more reserved, but maybe that just had to do with the awkward tension still floating between you two. Your eyes though, still gave her the same comfort, even if she had lost the ability to read them, apparently.

"What's it going to be? You got your eyes set on a specialty already?"

You nodded while taking a sip of your drink, "Cardio or peds... though I sometimes like to dabble in neuro."

Teddy let out a breathy chuckle, "Ha! Knew it! I recognized the light in your eyes every time I helped you study cardio cases."

"Well, you made it fun. It was hard not to like it by the way you explained it. You seemed passionate about it so of course, I would try to feel the same way."

She nodded to herself, the corner of her lip curling up slightly before she changed the subject, "Where were you on Monday? Doctor Robbins and I did an alcapa surgery together, you would have loved that. Would have been the perfect match for you."

"Oh, um, I don't know, I think I was helping in the pit all day? It was a busy day." Deciding to change the subject once more, you opened your mouth again, "Where did you end up? You left but never said anything, I was worried for weeks until I eventually had to let it go."

Teddy stopped and put her lunch down, "I joined the army..." she watched closely as you raised your eyebrows in surprise, "Almost immediately after... That's were I met Hunt and that's how I got here."

You nodded softly, trying to put it all into place in your head. She obviously gave you the short explanation, as she had left out years of details. But you figured she did so for a reason, and you respected her decision.

"Wasn't I worth a goodbye though?" You chuckled dryly, half joking, half serious.

"God- no, I mean yes! Of course! You deserved an explanation, that's on me, I just... had to go. I couldn't breathe. I hadn't been in a right state of mind for a while, especially after my parents passed away... and then Allison..."

You put your hand on her leg, "Teddy, it's alright, you don't have to explain further. Sorry... I just- All I actually needed to know was if you were still alive. I was dying inside not knowing if you were alright-" You bit the insides of your cheek as Teddy's hand was placed over yours. She sighed and looked out in front of her, her fingers tangling with yours as she squeezed your hand.

"I am so sorry. You deserved a proper farewell."

You nodded, agreeing, but decided to stay silent, sensing that Teddy already knew how bad she had messed up.

"So um, are you staying here? This is not a temporary thing?"

She squeezed your hand again, just to reassure you, even if she felt tortured by all the lost memories and feelings resurfacing,

"Yeah, I plan on staying." She cleared her throat, "Which is why I'm glad we worked this out right now? I mean, we're good, right?"

Thoughts circled through your head while you felt your chest tighten. Having to be around Teddy again would be a challenge, especially seeing how you left things. But you could manage. You were a surgical resident, for heaven's sake, and you were not going to let an old friend from the past ruin anything.

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