#son posted i can die peacefully now

[willthespy]

promised @hasnomouth id doodle traffic cone will solace so i doodled traffic cone will solace

i dont think he likes the traffic cone very much

[blossom-hwa]

Hi ^^ for the drabble event... maybe wonwoo + demigod au, if that's okay??

in honor of the recent PJO resurgence (I need to watch the show) please take this soft and cheesy demigod au of child of athena wonwoo + child of nyx mc as my humble offering <3 hope you enjoy!

summertime drabble fest: send me an idol from the list (Stray Kids, Ateez, TXT, Seventeen) + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!

REQUESTS CLOSED!

~

Title: Stargazer

Pairing: Wonwoo x gender neutral!reader

Word count: 1k

Genre: fluff, demigod!au

Warnings: n/a

~

"Careful, there."

Wonwoo grumbles as he pulls himself onto the roof, though really, he's counting on the darkness to hide his smile. "I wouldn't have to be careful if you didn't insist on nearly breaking our necks every time you wanted to meet."

Your laugh, though hushed, sends a warm tingle up Wonwoo's spine. "What, you don't trust me to save your neck before you die?"

"Tch." Wonwoo stops trying to hide his smile as he sits down next to you, bumping your shoulder with his. "Of course I trust you. I'd just rather not get to that point in the first place."

"Wouldn't we all?" you snicker. You turn to face him and not for the first time, Wonwoo wonders at your beauty in the darkness between the shadows cast by the moon and the stars, mystery cloaking your every movement. Up on the roof, under the night, you look so at home that for a moment Wonwoo finds himself uncertain whether or not he belongs here, disrupting your peace. Then you lay his head on your shoulder, all the while casting that moon-glow grin on him, and the uncertainty disappears. 

"I think everyone likes to avoid death, or near-death experiences," Wonwoo replies. A breeze spins across the two of you, fluttering his hair, and he shivers a little. 

You pull him closer. "Yeah, well, that's just not what happens for us," you say, and even though Wonwoo can't quite see your face right now he knows the smirking smile that must be on your lips, sardonic but sweet. "Should've brought a blanket," you continue in a mumble, only just loud enough for him to hear. "I can get one now if you want."

"It's fine," Wonwoo murmurs. The world is so quiet now that the noise of the earlier celebrations has gone. If he closed his eyes, and if he didn't feel so safe, he'd almost feel like he was back on the quest—him sleeping, you keeping watch, your careful fingers smoothing hair out of his eyes. "Don't go."

He hears your smile more than he sees it. "I won't," you promise. "Not going anywhere, now."

"Good." Wonwoo sighs, pulling his head off your shoulder to look at you. "Let's stay here for a bit longer."

Your eyes turn a little softer, a little sweeter as you nod. You know he doesn't just mean now, on the roof of your cabin, under the stars, overlooking Long Island Sound. You hear the words he didn't say. Stay with me. Stay safe with me. Stay where we won't face death almost every other day—stay where I can love you peacefully.

Child of wisdom, child of night. When the two of you appeared at camp within a week of each other, battered and bruised and more than a little traumatized, it was clear even without the prophecy that your fates would be intertwined. The connection was only cemented when Chiron declared the two of you were the subjects of the prophecy—child of wisdom, child of night—and would leave just a couple weeks later that would take the best part of several months.

Wonwoo thinks about himself then. Nearly an adult, newly christened son of Athena—a goddess he hadn't even known existed until then—uprooted from his books and studies to fight monsters instead. You had seemed like just another anomaly with whom to acquaint himself, a child of Nyx, more comfortable at night than during the day, words sharp and strange and more than a little cryptic, and in truth, he'd been scared of you. At least a bit. Until nights spent in awkward silence turned into nights spent in stilted conversation turned into nights spent noticing that for all the darkness cloaking your every movement—

You looked just as comfortable among the stars, too. 

"What'cha looking at?" you murmur, tugging him close. Your eyes twinkle, the shadows that follow you wrapping around him too in a soft blanket. "Stargazer."

Wonwoo's cheeks feel warm even though his lips curve wide into a smile. You came up with the nickname after he once compared your eyes to stars in a moment of loose-lipped weakness, during the quest when you'd snuck him into a hospital babbling and exhausted and bleeding out of his side, and he'd woken up to you sleeping in a chair by his bed, his hand clasped tightly between both of yours. 

"You said a lot of stuff while you were out."

"Gods. How embarrassing was I?"

"I'll leave most of it out." Your laugh, soft like moonlight. "But you did say my eyes look like stars." 

His face flushing. Your eyes twinkling. 

"So I said that you must've looked at my eyes a lot to come to that conclusion, and you agreed, Stargazer."

Wonwoo leans in, presses a soft kiss to your lips. "The stars," he replies when he pulls away, smiling so hard it almost hurts. 

You raise an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, the stars were up there, in the sky." You wave a hand in front of your face. "Not right here."

Wonwoo likes reading. Likes stories, likes philosophy, likes pretty much anything that isn't a stupid physics textbook that he can't make heads or tails of. And while he doesn't read a lot of romance novels, he likes them well enough that sometimes he can't help but wish the two of you were in one—fated lovers guaranteed a happily ever after. 

Nothing is guaranteed here, though. Not his life, not yours, not that of those around him either. There may never be a perfect romance between the two of you, demigods that you are, forced to be on the watch every single waking moment. But despite that, right now, Wonwoo thinks this is about as perfect as it gets—the night sky, the stars, and you.

"That's usually true," he replies, smiling. You smile back, and when you do, it seems that the night smiles, too. "Just not if I'm looking at the ones in your eyes."

Reblogs and comments are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed this, and have a lovely day :)

[snakeredbirdbatkatana]

Where the Bats Come to Hide

Part 4

Alfred Pennyworth has been many things in his life a spy, a killer, a butler he never did expect to be a father. He loved Thomas and Martha more than he could ever explain to their son and even as he watched the love he carried die in an alley he knew he had to pick up the little boy that he watched be born and continue no matter how much he wanted to lie down in the blood soaked alley and bask in the love they shared he kept going.

Master Bruce spent many a night crawling into his bed he left the blanket open and held the child as he sobbed angry at the world for the parents he was robbed of even when his boy was old and had children of his own on nights where he stitched up Bullets wounds and cleaned up tears he still would awake to his son sleeping peacefully under the blanket to hide from the world for a little longer.

Master Richard came angry and vengeful much like his son all those years ago. Vengeance seemed to come to the Wayne boys easier than sadness yet his blanket became drenched with the tears of a young acrobat more than once who would one day welcome flying and would share his gifts but for now was terrified of falling. He was so proud to see his first Grandson fly because he was ready to catch him, and when his grandson came to him about hands that harmed his and refused a no he brought out of tools he had put away and took care of it. Holding the same boy while he cried yet again but this time catching him.

Master Jason while he refuses to favor has always had a special place in his heart. Angry and afraid yet so good. The first night while he watched his newest grandchild afraid of what might come in the night showed him the weapons he keeps. Told him that if anyone in this house tries to harm him he may use it and if he can't he will. No harm will come to you from the men under this roof he will not allow it. He slept curled around Alfred that night and many others. He will never forget the pain and the joy he felt when his Jason came back so angry that he wasn't avenged. He went to his Grandchild offered his weapons offered his love and told him Master Jason I told you the first night no harm shall come and I failed you allow me to rectify that. The joker did not die with a smile he died terrified much like his grandson did. He can always expect his boy under his blanket when he can still hear the laughter of that horrible clown.

Master Timothy the boy who brought his child back who saved his son. He never did expect this Grandchild but he wouldn't change it for the world. Tim finds him when the nights are too long and the shadows to still. When his intelligence destroys the peace he craves. He gaurds the boy who so long ago wouldn't have come to him scared of rejection and pours what love he can into the boy who never got enough.

Master Damian he newest grandchild the only one who carries the blood of the Wayne's but one of the many who carries the heart. Another boy dripping in pain another one who finds comfort in the weapons that he carried drenched in the blood that he claimed. One who would find comfort in his blanket that he offers as best as he can. Teaching the pride and the love that he never though he could have because another had destroyed it.

All of his boys come when the lights have shut off and the only solace they can find is in the arms of the man who stitches wounds the same way he stitches clothes who's hands are covered in scars but offer the gentlest of touches who carries guns without thought. Yet knows their favorite food just as easy.

The father of the Bat

The Grandfather of Robin

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for trapping my 'son' in a time loop?

I (33M) recently switched my identity with another man the same height as myself. It is in my nature to kill, and although I usually leave no mess behind, it seems a group of troublesome people managed to uncover my identity nonetheless. This put me in a difficult situation, as I’m sure you understand, and switching identities was my best option.

I’m getting off-topic. I apologize. The man who I switched places with had a wife and son, who are unaware that I have replaced the man they knew. My new 'son' (11M) is surprisingly smart for a child of his age, and figured out my true identity in just over 2 weeks. He gathered evidence of my private hobbies, and was prepared to share it with whoever necessary in order to get me out of his family. I believe this is simply preposterous. In the 17 days that I spent with him and his mother, I never hurt either of them. I cannot claim I never made any move to do so, but I stopped myself before doing anything serious. It was only once the boy confronted me that anything serious happened to him.

My 'son' confronted me last night (or perhaps several nights ago, by this point) with a video tape that was completely out of context. The tape showed me following a couple into their shared apartment and killing them, but it failed to show the confrontation on my train home earlier that evening, where they accused me of theft, knocked my belongings onto the ground, and then made fun of me. I only killed them because they were being obnoxious, and the world is better with them gone.

When my 'son' confronted me with the tape, it made me panic and I killed him too. Fortunately, I subsequently unlocked a new ability, and was able to rewind time by an hour. The new ability is, in case you hadn’t read the title, a time loop. Since I cannot stop this boy from knowing who I am, and I cannot kill him without being questioned (and thus revealed as my true identity), I simply made it so that if he ever tells someone about my secret pastimes, they will die on the spot and time will be reset to this morning. They will die in future loops, as well. For example, My ‘son’ previously told a man of my identity at 8:30AM. Now, with each time loop, that man dies at 8:30AM, even though he has not been told of my identity since the very first loop, which he has no memory of.

I feel this is a fair and necessary precaution to keep myself safe. Since implementing the time loop, my troubles are all but gone. I feel relaxed, I can sleep undisturbed at night after my stretches, and my nails are growing at a regular rate again. However, I am (for some reason) being made to submit a post to this… strange forum on the internet. In all reality, I do not care for your opinions, and will continue to live my life peacefully regardless of your verdict.

[sonicasura]

I had this idea for awhile now.

Everyone knows the Unbecoming episode from Trollhunters? Well, instead of it being an illusion casted by Merlin what if was the visage to a different universe? Jim experiencing the last moments from an alternate self. I'll go more in depth on a different post as it isn't the focus here.

For this, it's Bad End Jim ending up in a different universe after he dies. Where exactly? The Transformersverse but our boy won't be human. He wakes up as a half troll so extra trauma!

Jim is found by Optimus Prime and becomes the Autobot's ward. Yes, the good ol' Dadimus trope as I rarely see the boss bot in it. Both canon and FANON. Something that is very shocking since there's more Fierce Dadity (Fierce Deity from Legend of Zelda) than Dadimus.

Back on topic, Optimus looks over Jim as the boy only trusts him at the moment. A reasonable reaction since the Autobot Leader had been the first to find the traumatized half troll and reach out peacefully. The guy did essentially die at the beginning of a war so Optimus Prime would no doubt see the signs related to such trauma.

For awhile, things were fine as the Autobot Leader looked over the half troll. He kept his windows tinted so the boy could see the sun and not get hurt. It wasn't uncommon for everyone to find Jim perched on Optimus's shoulder or fast asleep in the cab of his alt mode.

Until subtle changes begin to crop up. 'Does Jim looks a bit bigger? Were his nails always that long? I think those horns were smaller.' It becomes clear Jim is slowly becoming a full troll and Energon exposure might be the reason why.

It only gets worse when Cybertronian artifacts like the Matrix of Leadership accelerates the process. Optimus becomes conflicted at this because no one else can handle Jim especially since the boy has yet to recover from his trauma. He still has violent nightmares when not near the Autobot.

Any chance of turning Jim back to human would become impossible if he's a full blown troll. Should Optimus allows his ward's physical condition get worse or his mental health? In the end changes are made if the transformation became complete and there is no turning back.

Optimus always carries a trailer of sorts so Jim can be comfortable whenever on the move. A nest in his habsuite(term for bedroom in Cybertronian if I remember correctly) sounds good as the troll recovers enough to sleep in his room. Maybe a cloak or tarp can provide Jim some cover if he wants to play outside.

A new beginning of sorts where Optimus Prime opens up to a tragic survivor and they both mend with each other's help. Cybertronian father with a trollish son. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

[cwpiqwons-archive]

𖥻 i love you so❕

it was 5 am in the park household. the eldest son was busy cuddling with his boyfriend, the resident cat was happily snuggled between the two guys, the other resident cat was glaring at the three. everyone was enjoying the beautiful wednesday morning. almost. while everyone was sleeping peacefully, the youngest park was up to something. the beautiful melody of electric guitar bounced off the walls of the girl's room as she played the same tune over and over again. it was a cringy love song, one that the girl wanted to relate to desperately.

her head was filled with thoughts of a certain beauty as her hands worked on her guitar. her fingers, slightly calloused and nimble, working fast as the melody kept flowing, waking up the two lovers. both the oldest park and his lover were used to it by now, being woken up by the girl's guitar.

it was a weekly occurrence in the park household, every Monday and Wednesday mornings the house would be filled the the melody produced by the youngest's guitar. she would play the same love song every Monday and Wednesday, using it as a medium to announce her dates with a certain beauty to the entire household.

it was the same story today, before seonghwa and hongjoong could get up and bother the girl for details, the melody ended, informing them that the girl was about to leave. hongjoong raised his head from his lover's chest, staring into seonghwa's deep brown eyes as a sigh left his lips.

"do you think she'll ever move on?"

the park's lips curled into a small smile, one hinting pain and discomfort as he thought over his lover's words.

"maybe, maybe not. we can only hope the universe notices her dedication and spare her the pain of a heartbreak"

there was a twinkle in his eyes, a rather sad one. as if he already knew the outcome. which he did, he most definitely did, he just hoped he was wrong.

Y/n, a hopeless romantic who can't seem to get over her crush, shim jayoon. her love for the girl is very evident to everyone including the girl herself. follow our mc: y/n, her ride or die: seeun and the love interest: yoon as they knit a tale of unrequested love, friendship, heartbreak and pure, unfiltered angst<3

> masterlist <

taglist (open): @rosiehrs @bzeus28

a/n: if you think you know where this smau is heading, you don't. trust me you don't. + you want me to post a oneshot of the "date" they had?

[db-gochifan]

Title: Picking up the Pieces Characters: Gohan, Chi-Chi, Krillin, Yamcha and Piccolo Summary: Gohan deals with the aftermath of Goku's decision to defeat Cell and receives some support.

Cross-posted on AO3 and FFN

The leaves from the trees at Mount Paozu were swinging peacefully and some animals nearby could be heard from the Son residence. Gohan was back at his old routine of studying hard. But even that didn’t feel right anymore. His mind kept replaying the events that happened some weeks ago. He winced and shut his eyes hard, still feeling guilty for the outcome of the fight against Cell. With a heavy sigh, he pushed the chair away and stood up, pressing his palms against the desk and lowering his head. Chi-Chi’s ki couldn’t be felt anywhere near when Gohan went downstairs, and he went outside without being caught. A smile immediately appeared on his lips as soon as the cool breeze hit him and the smell of flowers mixed with the fruits one filled his nostrils. He absolutely loved being in touch with the nature. Taking a look over his shoulder, he began to walk away. The river was one of Gohan’s favorite places. The water was crystal clear and he loved swimming with the fishes. Very often he’d come fishing with Goku and they’d have very large ones, and they also had water fights to spare. He looked up at the sky and blinked hard to stop the tears from falling. He wondered how his father was in the other world. Gohan took off his shoes and sat on the edge of the river. He could almost see Goku’s and his own image in front of him having fun in the water. Soon enough, he was going to have that moment with his brother. He closed his hand into a fist. Thanks to him, his brother wouldn’t get to know Goku and have him around. However, he was brought back to reality when a voice echoed in his ears faintly. “Krillin?” Gohan asked surprised after he turned his head to his left and looked up. “What are you doing here?” “I felt your ki when I was flying nearby, so I came down.” “Of course.” The boy said with a light smile as he turned to face the river ahead again. “I should have hidden it.” “There’s no need to anymore. The Earth is at peace again, thanks to you.” “Yeah, but at what cost?” He said bitterly. “My father isn’t here anymore and doesn’t want to be revived by the dragon balls.” “I miss him too.” Krillin sat beside him. “And I know it must be harder for you, but you know he didn’t want to endanger anyone anymore, right?” “I know, but…” “We could.” He finished off Gohan’s thought. “I mean, he could. You could. The rest of us couldn’t stand a chance against a new enemy. Maybe Vegeta could.” “Yeah.” “But it was an act of love, nonetheless. He was thinking about you and Chi-Chi too, above anyone else.” “I just think things would have been different if he knew my mother…” “Your mother what?” “I’m gonna have a brother or sister.” “What?” Krillin was caught by surprise. “Chi-Chi is pregnant?” Gohan nodded. “And thanks to me, they’ll never get to spend time together.” “Hey.” The bald fighter placed his hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You did amazing in defeating Cell. You saved the Earth, Gohan! Do you know how big it is? This a huge accomplishment.” “Yes, it is. But I’m not interested in getting credits for it, honestly. I just didn’t want Earth to be destroyed and anyone to die. Well, anyone else.” “Thanks to the dragon balls, we were able to revive them all.” Krillin placed his hands on the grass. “Except my father.” “Hey.” He looked at Gohan. “I know it’s not the same, but we’re all here for you, okay? You can count on us for everything you need. And your brother and Chi-Chi too.” “Thanks, Krillin.” The boy stood up. “I need to go now. I still need to do some studying and want to go back before my mom notices I left.” “I see you went back to studying hard.” “I am. I’m quite behind and need to catch up.” “Alright.” Krillin also stood up. “I need to go back to the city. But feel free to visit me any time you want. Maybe we can go to the Lookout and visit Dende too.” “I’d like that. I’ll see you soon then.” “Of course. Take care, Gohan.” “You too.” **** Gohan landed near his house about ten minutes later. The sun was already setting and the lights in his house were on. He was getting mentally ready to be called out when he walked in, but Chi-Chi wasn’t in the kitchen. The house was in complete silence, so it didn’t take him much to hear the sobs and crying coming from the living room. “Mom?” “Oh hey, Gohan.” She quickly wiped her tears and smiled at him. “I will make dinner now. Do you need anything?” “You don’t have to pretend you weren’t crying because of me, mom.” “Gohan.” “I know it’s been hard for you as well.” Chi-Chi threw her arms around her son’s neck as soon as he sat down and started crying hard again. Gohan himself was having a hard time keeping his tears from falling. “I don’t know what I’d to without you. I’m so glad you’re here, safe and sound, son.” “I’m not going anywhere.” “I’m sorry for tainting your shirt with my tears.” She ran her hand over his shoulder after pulling away from him. “It’s okay, they will dry within no time.” “There are days where it’s harder to cope with Goku’s absence. Today is one of them.” “I know what you mean. It was hard for me as well. But dad didn’t want to put anyone in danger anymore.” “At what cost, Gohan? We never talked about the possibility of our second child being raised without him.” “Now I understand why he let me stay at the lookout before the Cell games.” “That’s right. It was something we both agreed on, but now things changed.” “It’s my fault, mom. If I hadn’t been so selfish and actually listened to him, things would be really different.” “It’s not your fault at all, Gohan. You’re just a kid, you shouldn’t have to carry such a burden on your shoulders. It was a big responsibility.” “Yeah.” Gohan looked down. Despite everyone telling him otherwise, he couldn’t stop thinking he was to blame for the situation. “What do you say we cook dinner together?” “That sounds good to me.” He smiled at her and they went to the kitchen. “What do you think it’s gonna be?” Chi-Chi asked to break the ice, after feeling really uncomfortable with the silence at the dinner table. “What?” Gohan lifted his head from his bowl of rice and looked at his mother with his eyebrows raised. “The baby, I mean. What do you think it’s gonna be?” “A boy. I’d like to train with him in a few years. Is that okay?” “Of course it is. In fact, I’m gonna train him with you, if your prediction is right.” “Huh? You want to train him too?” “I realized we can’t run away from it, no matter how we try. And now that your father is gone, we need as much help as we can. You never know what enemy can show up next.” “That’s true, but I think we’re gonna be fine for a while.” “Me too.” Chi-Chi stood up and piled up their empty dishes. “Do you want some dessert?” “You made dessert?” “I did, when you were away.” “You noticed I was away?” “I called your name when I came back and you didn’t answer. So I went to your room and you were gone.” “I’m sorry, I should have left a note.” “It’s okay, I figured you needed some time on your own.” “Yeah, but I’m here now.” He blushed a little. “So, what do we have for dessert?” Chi-Chi couldn’t help but smile. “I’m going to get it.” **** Gohan walked into his bedroom later that night to go to bed. He took a long look around his favorite places in the house; soon enough he was gonna have a roommate for many years and he was already more than ready for that. A smile appeared on his lips at the thought and then he continued to look all around. It didn’t take long until he came across a photo in a frame over his desk. He walked over to it and grabbed it in his hands. He remembered that day quite well. It was the day where he and Goku had gone to Kame’s house and he met Krillin and Bulma for the first time. So much happened since then. “Gohan?” Chi-Chi’s voice echoed and he looked over his shoulder towards her. “Are you alright?” “Yes, mom, I’m fine. I was just looking at this photo.” She glanced down at the frame he was holding and then came closer to him. “Oh, that’s such a beautiful picture. You were so little back then. Before you realize, you’ll be taller than me.” “It’s gonna take a while for that.” Gohan stared at the photo again and smiled softly. “I still remember Bulma, Krillin and Master Roshi being so shocked when dad said I was his son.” “It doesn’t surprise me. You were such a beautiful baby.” “Were?” “You know what I mean.” She smiled. “You’re still beautiful to me.” “I was just messing with you.” He smiled back to her and put the photo back. “Gohan.” “Yeah?” “Come here for a second.” Chi-Chi tapped the empty space on the bed beside her and waited for her son to sit down next to her. She grabbed his hand when he did. “I want you to know I’m very proud of you and for everything you’ve done for this planet.” “Mom, it’s nothing. Really. It’s my home and I love it here. But I don’t want to be in the spotlight because of what I did. So the way it is right now is perfect for me.” “I wouldn’t expect any less coming from you.” She said proudly. “I just want to live as an Earthling from now on.” “I’m okay with that.” She stood up. “Now go get ready for bed. You’ll have a long day tomorrow.” “Alright.” **** Gohan wasn’t sure whether he woke up with the chilly breeze coming through his window or the cheerful blabbing noise downstairs. His mother was clearly talking to someone. Actually, to a lot of people. And he knew all the voices quite well. With a large grin, he threw his blanket away and quickly put on his brand new gi before going downstairs. “There he is.” A very familiar voice echoed in Gohan’s ears even before he walked into the kitchen. His smile got wider and he didn’t think it was even possible. “Hello.” “Look at you, all grown up.” “Just a little.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and gave an embarrassing laugh. “Your outfit is great.” Piccolo commented casually, though he was smiling. “Thank you. It’s good to see you again, Mr. Piccolo. It’s good to see you all, actually.” “We wanted to check on you.” Yamcha spoke. “It’s been a while.” “It really has. Everything is slowly getting back to normal.” “How have you been?” “I’ve been good. Very focused on my studies.” “So you’re not training anymore?” “No.” Gohan shook his head. “I don’t see a reason to. I want to take a break from it.” “I see.” “I think it’s good.” Krillin said. “After all that’s happened, it’s good to feel like a child again.” “Yeah.” “He’s allowed to keep training if he wants to.” “What?!” The three fighters said with surprise after hearing Chi-Chi’s statement. “So why don’t we?” The bald fighter stood up excited. “We haven’t done it for fun in ages!” “I’m in.” Yamcha quickly followed him. “It should be fun.” “What’s wrong, Gohan?” Piccolo’s voice attracted the other two’s attention and they looked at him. “Eh… I don’t know.” “Just for a short time.” Krillin insisted. “It’s just to spare.” “Okay.” Gohan smiled. “I’m in too.” “For someone who hasn’t trained these past few months, that’s pretty impressive.” Yamcha stated somewhat surprised at Gohan’s skills while watching him fighting Krillin in the air. “I couldn’t keep up.” “I can see he’s already lost some of his way with it and his power level decreased.” “But we should be fine. I don’t think there will be a new threat.” “Maybe.” “Let’s take a break.” Krillin bent forward and placed his hands on his knees. “Your level is still above mine.” “I’m sorry about that.” Gohan floated towards the soil and lied down on the grass, looking up at the still blue sky above. “That’s fine.” The bald man sat beside him and embraced his knees. “That was a great fight. Too bad you decided to stop doing it.” “I want to know what it’s like to be a full Earthling for once.” “That’s right, you’ve been fighting since a very young age.” “I was just a toddler when I faced the first evil forces. So much has happened since then I kind of forgot the times before it.” “And now you’re gonna be an older brother.” “I am.” Gohan smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I be honest with you all?” “Of course.” Yamcha placed his palms down and leaned a bit backwards. “I’m afraid I won’t be that good of a role-model for him or her.” “What? Gohan, if there’s anyone who could be the best role-model for someone, it’s you.” “Thanks.” The boy didn’t know how to really react to that. He bit his lower lip for a moment, as he thought of what to say next. “Plus, how can I look at them knowing I’m the reason our dad isn’t around anymore?” “Hey, that’s not it at all.” The short haired man said, and Gohan turned his head to look at him. “I’ve known him since I was a teenager and I can guarantee he doesn’t hold anything against you. In fact, he did it out of love.” “I said the same thing a couple of months ago and still stand by that. I think not even Chi-Chi blames you.” “She doesn’t.” “See? So shouldn’t you. I know it’s hard, but I truly believe Goku wouldn’t want you to as well.” “I know.” Gohan placed his arms behind his head and used them as a support. “Nothing beats the presence of a father, but we will be here for this child in any way they need. You and Chi-Chi too.” “Thank you. It means a lot.” “It’s the least we can do. We like you and your family a lot, Gohan.” “That’s true. You can count on us for whatever you need.” “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.” He looked up at the sky, wondering how Goku was doing in the other world. Undoubtedly, he would be participating in a martial art tournament. Gohan felt like some of the burden were taken off his shoulders, and the guilty feeling in his heart lessened. He still missed his father so much, but he was going to do whatever it took to be the best brother for his sibling.

[dancinginthesliverglow]

hmm thinking about this with a slight change;

It's not Hermes' fault Luke is dead. He did everything he could while not breaking the canon no-interference laws. he paid attention to Luke, he gave him gifts, he gave Luke a quest when Luke asked for one and the oracle didn't have anything for him, he sent demigods to help remind Luke of who he was and to stop his destructive path. was he a good father by mortal standards? fuck no. was he a good father by godly standards? yeah - one of the best actually.

After 3000 years of seeing the Fates ALWAYS getting their way whenever they want something, it makes sense how depressed and hopeless Hermes was when he found out through May's curse (also not Hermes' fault - he warned her and she didn't listen) that Luke was destined to die horribly.

Hermes doesn't kill one of his own children to get a body for Luke. As much as he loves Luke, he loves his other children too - watches him, if less intensely, he cheers for them silently at their chariot racing games, keeps track of them and sends them winged shoe gifts for birthdays etc.

However.

After the war ended, Hermes found a child with blue eyes and blond hair, dead. Maybe a mortal child. Thanatos had already reaped their soul and carried it to the underworld. the wound they died from was a mundane one - not sophisticated greek weapons, or poison from Tartarus - it was a stabbing that hit an artery.

it's child's play for Hermes to gather the body, fix the severed artery, replenish the blood. heal the tissues that started to deteriorate from oxygen loss and plop Luke's soul into it.

I don't have any more yet but if I do write this, I'm thinking it has to be a mortal's body. I don't think Hermes could tolerate implanting Luke into his own other dead child - he cares about the rest of them too. another demigod body wouldn't work because the godly parent would probably be furious about Hermes disrespecting their dead kid's body - unless they were seriously negligent. I suppose it could be a demititan, one that went back to their previous imprisonment or was 'killed' like hyperion. I like mortal better tho - it seems like a better choice for Hermes because mortals are generally let alone by the greek world & prophecies and that aspect would appeal to Hermes. a second life that the Fates don't tamper with and let Luke live peacefully.

Also thinking about writing this from Percy's pov? He's hanging out with Hermes and for awhile now he's known that something is up with his friend, but Percy doesn't know what and he knows that if Hermes won't tell him there's nothing Percy can do to force him. but eventually maybe during the solstice kid!Luke runs away and Percy gets a phone call from frantic May like "can u pls help my dead son in the body of a dead kid has run away and my godly ex-boyfriend isn't responding to my prayers" and Percy spends a good 10 minutes unpacking that (he knew Hermes was acting less miserable than he shouldve at Luke's dead based on the way Percy saw him acting in tlo) before calling blackjack and heading to Miami (I think that's where May lives - tho i imagine they move somewhere else in an attempt at a fresh start).

tho just to fuck up the situation even more - maybe it's actually years after pjo and Hermes snagged Luke's soul when it escaped Tartarus (he's still livid that Hades' judges threw him there), and now Luke has a little sister bc May and Hermes had some post-curse nostalgic/comfort sex (without officially getting back together maybe).

I just learned that apparently Hermes is a psychopomp, meaning he guides souls to the afterlife.

Anyway imagine an AU where after Luke's death in TLO, Hermes was supposed to guide his soul down to the underworld. But he just can't bring himself to do it. Hermes just can't. Because deep down he knows that this is his fault. That it was his fault that Luke grew to hate the gods and ended up dead from it. He abandoned Luke and May. He left his son alone, hiding behind a prophecy because he was too lazy to inept to put in true effort.

It's easy for one measly human soul to slip by in the chaos that Kronos' resurrection brought with it. Luke doesn't know any better- he's never been dead before. So when Hermes doesn't lead him towards the underworld but instead into one of his own domains- a safe little space even the other gods won't notice- he follows easily. Mortal souls are truly.... conscious so close after death. It's like a trance for them, a haze they only wake from one they reach their destination of the underworld. That's why they need guides like him afterall, lest there's the risk of them getting lost. Hermes isn't stupid of course. He knows he can't just keep Luke's soul outside the underworld like that- even if he hides him in his own domain sooner or later someone would notice a displaced soul. Luke needs a body. Luckily for Hermes he has plenty of other kids around. And hey! Don't look at him like that! He knows that what he is doing may not be the most.... moral of things. Sure, he may have ripped out the soul of one of his younger kids with blonde hair and blue eyes- and sure, that may have meant the death of the child. But it is for Luke.

It's for his and May's darling little baby boy- the boy whose blood soaks his hands. What more is the blood of another child of his on his hands?

Should Luke ask Hermes can simply say the six year old boy died during the Battle of Manhatten. Luke's been away for camp long enough to not know that the child had never even set foot into camp before getting his soul reaped by his own father. Having Luke's soul settles into a body not only not his own, but also much younger than his original one wasn't easy. Hermes isn't going to lie about that. But it all worked out fine in the end, even if his son would most certainly be asleep for the next few days to recover from the strain. Hermes isn't exactly sure how his boy would react when he wakes up. Certainly angry and surely bitter, probably confused too- but no matter how Luke would react, Hermes would handle it. He made the mistake of abandoning his little boy once already, and he wouldn't repeat that. Having Luke in the body of a child is more of a blessing than a curse, if you think about it! His baby his so young again, this is the second chance Hermes needs to raise his son right. To raise his son in the first place. May'll be so happy.

[nekoannie-chan]

Don’t leave me

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Mutant!Reader.

Word count: 921 words.

Summary: You’ve never believed that Steve would leave you at one of the most important moments of your lives.

Warnings: Sad.

A/N: This is my entry to @lucywrites02’s Lu Creative Time Challenge with the song #21:

“1121-Halsey.”

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics be posted in other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

My other media where I publish: Wattpad, Ao3, ffnet.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou  @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke  @real-fbi @smokeandnailz  @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae  @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone​ @hallecarey1​ @caplanbuckybarnes

"Well, I won't die for love," was what you thought. Maybe you should go for your stuff and go. You wouldn't tell anyone; you would just disappear. "I'll leave if you let me..." but he didn't have to find out. You didn't even know if he would tell you or just act.

First, you looked around the room, then you walked around the place. You couldn't stop thinking. You also didn't know what to say to Steve. It seemed that he had made a decision and did not include you. He still didn't dare tell you anything. However, you found out from accidentally hearing a conversation between Steve and Bucky.

You didn't know what to do or how to act before he came. Your whole relationship with him has probably been an illusion, a lie.

A couple of days later, you finally thought you should talk about what was going on. As soon as he entered the bedroom, you sat on the bed.

"Steve, we have to talk," you said. He was startled. He thought you were asleep.

"What's wrong?"

"Steve... Please tell me what's going on. Don't lie... Please, don't leave, please—you pleaded, you never planned what you would say to him.

I'm running out of time to tell you...

"Tell me what?"

Silence, you didn't get any response from Steve. It was as if you were talking to nothing. It even seemed that he was ignoring you. Steve didn't dare to say a single word; he just got up and left. "And if truth be told, it's scary, 'cause my shoulders are heavy already," you thought. So, if he didn't tell you anything, you wouldn't either. It would be your little secret. If he didn't mind leaving you and his son, he shouldn't care or be bothered by you disappearing from his life either. You took the baby from the crib, where he slept peacefully, oblivious to all the drama that was going on.

You took your things, you had to leave as soon as possible, no one would know the truth. You didn't care what happened to him or any of the others anymore. Now your priority was someone else. Someone Steve would never know. Then you would think about what you would say to your baby when he asked you about his father.

"You shoot for the memory, so you can forget me." You quickly wrote on a sheet and hid the note in the photo album they had. Those photos have already ceased to have meaning for you.

You didn't know where you'd go, but you'd make sure Steve or anyone else found them. From now on, it will be just you and your son. Steve had destroyed the family they formed, but you weren't going to do anything to fix it.

I'm running out of things that I regret... On your wedding day, you almost ran away. You didn't even know the reasons, but it seemed more impulsive. Maybe you were trying to save yourself from the pain you would feel in the future without knowing it.

Sometimes you had a dream that disturbed you so much that it seemed more like a nightmare in which Steve found them, made you many promises, and convinced you to get back together. And after a few days, he left again.

"Don't leave me in the shape you left me," you pleaded.

When Steve returned from his trip to the past, he did not know how he would explain what happened to you. However, he was very surprised to discover that he was now alone in the house. There was not a single trace of you or your son.

Please don't leave.

Finally, he finally understood the mistake he made. The only thing he wanted now was to get his family back. He didn't know how he would do it, but he wanted them back. In the following months, he looked for them without success.

2 years later,

 You took the grocery list and turned to see your son, who showed you his beautiful smile.

"Are you ready, champion?" You asked, and he nodded.

You bought everything you needed from the supermarket and a stuffed animal that your son liked. When they arrived at the house, you immediately turned around, feeling a presence behind you. You frowned. You never imagined finding her again, although, of course, you knew the reason why she was there.

"Lorna, it's been a long time."

"Two years exactly. Doesn't your best friend deserve an explanation? "

"I guess you know what Steve did. You can't claim anything from me; you did the same with Marcos. "

"It was a different reason; I wanted a world where Dawn didn't have to run away or hide."

And all I wanted was for my family, as it was long ago, to want my son to grow up with his dad and mom, not that old man Steve became.

"You should have told me what you were planning. I could help you. "

If you want to help me, don't tell anyone where we live. "You said that Steve has no rights, not after what he did."

I won't tell anyone, but we will keep in touch. After what he did, Marcos and I walked away from them. We didn't think his decision was fair. "

At least now everything would be less lonely, and sure enough, both Marcos and Lorna helped them so that Steve would never find them again.

[phoenixyfriend]

Rey Gives No F*cks About the Grandfather Paradox

Okay so since nobody’s suggested a fic under these terms, I ended up expanding on this post on discord and things snowballed. We kept to the basics of the entire plot revolving around Rey really hating her grandad and leveraging her blood relation to not be unalived about it.

With contributions by @atagotiak​, @dracothulhu​, @thepallaspalace​, and several others. The title comes from @gelpenss​.

The basic thing I absolutely need is this: Rey gets thrown back to the middle of the clone wars, and the subsequent plot leans in really heavily on her being, genetically-via-clone-dad, the daughter of the guy running the entire galaxy.

Nobody knows what to do with her.

The timing is mid-TCW for the past (because I want Ahsoka there) and vaguely between Episodes 8 and 9 because I... never watched E9 and don’t want to worry about the timeline. The only things that matter is that Luke is dead (he can die as he did in canon) and that Rey knows she’s Palp’s granddaughter (not the way she does in canon).

We'll say Luke found out from Anakin's panicked force-ghost and just went "well, fuck, okay, I should tell her this before she ends up in a situation like mine and finds out mid-battle or something."

Luke, prior to time-travel: Okay, so, now that I'm dead I know some things I didn't before. Like who your parents were. In the interest of full disclosure because I was in a very similar situation and I don't want you learning the way I did, I'm just going to come right out and say that your father was a clone was Sheev Palpatine. Rey: ... Luke: Are you okay? Rey: I don't know who that is.

(She grew up on Jakku, the history education was a little subpar.)

Setting The Scene

Imagine Rey showing up during or immediately before the clone wars. There’s this phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater who tells you that if you ran a paternity test, it would probably pop up the Chancellor. She may or may not bring up cloning. She accuses said Chancellor of being a Sith Lord.

Your other phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater, who may not be a teenager anymore but only barely, is very offended by this because Palpatine’s a Very Nice Old Grandfather Figure, but also he’s a little full of side-eye because if the blood test comes back as proof, then Palpatine had a kid and didn’t even know about them, or lied to Anakin, and that’s! Bad! Family’s important!!!

Palpatine hears about this daughter he apparently? Has? And is very confused because the timing doesn’t match up with ANYTHING he was doing, so the kid isn’t natural, and he says as much. (There is an explanation! It’s not a correct explanation, but he does come up with one.)

Finn and Poe and BB-8 all get dragged along because why not have the gang there? Nobody that’s already born, because [handwave] conservation of souls or something, IDK, point is the only person dragged along that’s even remotely close to already existing is Luke’s Force Ghost, who mostly hangs around begging Rey to be less impulsive. Finn is good because he is a nice polite boy, but for actual useful information they need Poe. The unfortunate situation is that the three do not land together. They land at the same time, in completely different corners of the galaxy. This means that nobody is there to curb Rey being her most impulsive self.

Time travel Rey knows two things. Luke’s dad ends up evil. Palpatine has always been evil.

She can solve one of these problems by killing the other, yes?

Rey: Ready to Rumble

See, the initial idea was this: Rey tried to break into the senate to kill Palpatine, got arrested, and then used the "he's biologically my father" card to get out of jail free. (Force Ghost Luke follows her like “please take five seconds to think this through.”)

But.

But.

It would be very, very, very funny if The Force just dumps her in a flash of light in the senate building and she just attacks Gramps on sight. Just a shouted "YOU!" and no-hesitation attempted murder.

Palpatine has no idea what's going on.

Rey took maybe two seconds to get identity confirmation and then started swinging.

[Image Description: An individual in a green metal helmet with an eye slit, holding a pistol. In the upper left, upper right, and lower middle are the phrases “I do not know who I am...” “I don’t know why I’m here” and “All I know is that I must kill.” End description.]

Of course, she gets arrested. There are Master Jedi in the Senate. There are Clone Troopers. Palpatine isn’t the weak old man he pretends to be. Of course she’s stopped.

But she isn’t executed in time for Palpatine to stop her from ruining his entire reputation.

Immediately after Rey fails to kill her Shitty Granddad, Luke's ghost shows up and begs her to not talk about the Sith thing because it will completely undermine everything she's trying to do. Pass off the attempted murder as something else!

Rey, panicking: "that fucker left me on a desert planet for 10 years!" "You owe me 19 years of child support you son of a Hutt!"

The Jedi have to do the investigation, because the girl showed up with a laser sword, and the conversation is, uh... interesting. (“Where did you get that lightsaber?” “I got it from a mysterious old pirate lady I never met before. I don't know, I was being shown around by a smuggler and a Wookie.”)

Interviewer: Why did you try to assassinate the Chancellor? Luke: Say it wasn't assassination. Rey: It wasn't assassination. Int: You weren't trying to kill him? Luke: Assassination has to be politically motivated. Rey: This was, um... not political. Assassination is political, right? Int: You mean this was personally motivated? Rey: Yes. Int: I see. What personal motivation? Luke: Jakku! Rey: He's my grandfather. Int: ... Rey: Possibly father. Nobody was very clear on that. Int: ... Luke: Tell them to run a paternity test. Rey: Oh hey, a blood test would tell us which, right? Int: ............ Rey: I spent ten years as an orphaned scrapdealer on Jakku. He's my father. I'm kind of a little angry. Int: ........... Luke: Good job, kid. You bought yourself some time. Int: I'm going to get a medic to see about that parternity test.

Obviously, it comes back positive. Congratulations, Sheev, you’re the father.

Rey comes with a ready-made built-in excuse for hating Palpatine that nobody can question or fault her for!

Rey, pouring Truth into the Force: I didn't even know I was related to the Chancellor until a few months ago, but it's his fault I grew up the way I did, and he should take some responsibility!

The entire thing is mostly kept hush hush but someone leaks it to the press and Palpatine's ratings tank.

"Chancellor, I think we'll need to waive family visitation until she wants you a little less dead." "I would like to find out why she wants me dead, and indeed, where she came from." "...sir, for your own safety--"

Who would win? A master plan years in the making spanning decades of manipulating and work? or One (1) paternity test

"Okay, so, Rey Palpat--" "Ew, no, I don't want his name." "You--okay. Sure, we can understand that. Is there a name you would prefer to put on the paperwork?" Rey, who would have gone by Skywalker in honor of Luke but can't do that when Anakin is right there and all: "Can I think about it?"

Rey: I don't know what I want my last name to be but I know I don't want his, and most of the people I’d want a name from have famous families like you... Luke's ghost, pointing out the Literal Nobody that she cares about a lot: How about Solo? Rey: ...Solo, then.

(A few months later she runs into Poe again and he offers for Finn and Rey to both take his name because honestly they need SOMETHING but at that point she’s already decided on Smuggler Dad.)

Backtrack a bit. We’ve got a bigger cast.

They all arrive separately. Poe, for one, does better than Rey, who is aiming for a murder, but not quite as well as Finn, who is currently being adopted and hidden like a secret cat by a bunch of Alpha Clones on Kamino. He vibes with the names-or-numbers thing. He doesn’t necessarily tell them where and when he’s from, but he’s very sweet and a great liar and they adopt him wholesale anyway.

The Finn situation is just... "Buir Ti, we need you to hide this man, we've decided he's our little brother but if Nala Se finds out she'll make him leave."

Of course, this leads into Shaak Ti teaching Finn how to Jedi.

Maybe consider Finn needing to almost be tricked into learning Jedi things because he willfully forgets it could apply to him. Finn does not like to think of himself as special, which is super valid, but frustrating for Shaak Ti when it comes to, you know, getting him to acquire knowledge. Finn's training at some point is "here, levitate objects with the Force to entertain the tubies." It’s a lot easier to convince him to practice when it involves the babies.

(Everyone on Kamino looked at Finn and went “oh I love him I’m keeping him and teaching him things.”)

(He’s just very lovable.)

Poe, meanwhile, buys the trust of Anakin Skywalker via R2D2 declaring BB-8 the absolute most baby of droids. R2D2 met BB-8 three hours ago but.

"Hey Obi-Wan this is Poe I met him like five days ago but R2D2 says he checks out because his droid is a baby." "That's nice, Anakin, did you know the Chancellor has a daughter who tried to assassinate him in broad daylight yesterday? Because guess who had to stop the Chancellor from getting assassinated by his daughter in broad daylight yesterday."

A summary so far:

Finn, on Kamino: Hey, um, I don't know where this is, but it's not where I was a few minutes ago. Do you think you could get me a comm? What's your name? Poe, on [dice roll] Denon: Oh, hey, you're General Skywalker? Nice to meet you, I'm so sorry about my droid, she's a little excitable and thought your R2 unit looked like a friend of hers-- Rey, on Coruscant: DIE, GRANDFATHER

Finn: [Peacefully vibing on Kamino, unaware of the chaos and bonding with the clones] Poe: [Trying to explain how he knows someone who tried to kill the chancellor and defend Rey] Rey: [Arrested for trying to kill the chancellor]

Just... just...

Anakin: Some guy ended up lost on base yesterday with his droid, how’s your day going? Obi-Wan: I had to stop someone who claims to be the chancellors daughter from murdering the chancellor after she seemingly blinked into existence in the Senate building. Poe: 😐

(Poe: Oh, so that's where Chaos^2 went.)

Poe: In her defense, she is his... well we don't know if she's his daughter or granddaughter, but she's definitely related to him, and she definitely grew up in a shitty situation that was his fault, so...

(Poe is trying very hard to explain this and not get arrested on the military base.)

As you’ve probably guessed, what's especially funny about all of this for me is the fact that Palpatine is fully aware that this girl shouldn't exist, but can't find a single piece of evidence about where she came from. He didn't start any experiments that could result in a female child, and he didn't have sex in that period of time, so where the hell--

Rey spends so much time in jail... BUT they do eventually assign her a Jedi Master. Possibly before she actually proves her evil grandfather is in fact evil. Most votes went to either Plo Koon or Obi-Wan. Plo, because he’s dad-shaped, and Obi...

"Obi-Wan, you already raised one feral desert child with implausible amounts of power, you handle this." Rey in return is very "Sweet, you vaguely remind me of Master Luke," and nobody knows who the hell she's talking about. Obi-Wan is NOT on board with this plan, she'd really be better off with Plo or like........ Mace.

Reunion Tour

What I need out of this is the eventual Finn and Rey reunion scene that is just excited screaming while someone in the background explains to Shaak Ti that yes this is apparently Palpatine's terrifyingly force-sensitive daughter who hates him.

(Finn senses Rey’s approach and just. Gathers the everyone to wait. He’s just :D REY MY FRIEND REY GUYS MY FRIEND REY IS COMING.)

Anakin shows up with Poe--just a guy who signed on to the military, no big deal--and then Poe and Rey are EXCITED and everyone's just like "Cool, how do you know this literal terrorist child?" And Poe has to scramble and "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh she saved my droid from a scrapheap once and BB-8 is basically my child so I owe her one."

Rey knows that Anakin ends up evil so she’s maybe not actively hostile but definitely very “I’m watching you.” That said, she vibes with him on a lot of things that he maybe doesn’t actively notice.

Rey picks up a snake, snaps off the head for venom avoidance, and starts biting off chunks. Obi-Wan's reaction: [undisguised horror] Anakin and Ahsoka: Ooh, where'd you find that? (Obi-Wan: And now I’m up to three feral children.)

What Does Palpatine Even Do?

OBVIOUSLY at a certain point, Palpatine is just phoning up every ally he has to figure out who broke protocol to synthesize a daughter for him.

So of course, Palpatine blame Plagueis.

She'd have been born five or so years before Naboo, just a few years younger than Anakin. It's such an EASY theory to build a conspiracy around. It is ENTIRELY WRONG, but it’s plausible! And anyone who might have been involved to say otherwise is probably dead!

A random bio-kid shows up you can’t possibly have contributed genes to? Maybe it’s the evil bio spark that did it.

Palpatine tries to placate her with the ‘my genes were stolen for an experiment and I didn’t know’ thing. It doesn’t work because her actual main complaint is he’s evil in her future but he tries.

It'd be a struggle to even get access to her, because of the aforementioned “maybe don’t try to talk to the daughter(?) that hates you” thing, but you know who Palpatine does have access to? The Chosen One.

Rey kind of decides on her favorites early on (she gravitates to Dad Energy and Sad Old Men so Plo and Obi-Wan are on her list, and that means decent time around Anakin and Ahsoka). It's really easy to talk Anakin into helping to some degree because "he'd like to connect to a daughter he never knew" and "a child of her power on a planet like that, you'd know her struggle, my dear boy" and so on. Anakin tries to connect! He tries to play up Sheev’s kind political work and how it can’t have really been his fault! It doesn’t work. Rey does not believe a word of it. Mostly she doesn’t even seem to hear him.

Rey's just like "...oh right, you're the melted mask that Kylo Ren was always ranting about," which means absolutely NOTHING to Anakin, but he mentions it to Palps, who loses his goddamn mind trying to figure out what she's talking about, because it also means absolutely nothing to him.

Here’s the thing: Rey’s already decided that Obi-Wan is cool, because Luke said so, and Plo Koon is dad-shaped, and she also gravitates towards earnest kindness in general, like she made friends with Finn real quick, so Ahsoka? Already getting along great.

She doesn’t dislike Anakin, really, he isn’t evil yet, he’s just... meh. She’s a little suspicious and she likes him less than the others but... Anakin.

Rey, to Anakin: You are my least favorite. Anakin, to Palpatine: YOUR DAUGHTER HATES ME???

And he goes from “she’s a lil standoffish” to “she doesn’t like me” to “she hates me” as is normal for Anakin.

It’s just an escalation of this one time Palpatine wants Anakin to not have rifts and trust issues with a person, at least not until later, because he needs information.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Rey is just like "huh, nobody here is listening to me about how make a sixth-hand carburetor work, where's Luke's dad?"

Anakin is venting to Palpatine about how hard it is to talk to Rey, and she's over in the Temple just like "Hey, that guy was useful last time, I should ask him," but also she only ever thinks of him as Luke's Dad.

(At one point, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break down, and then Anakin starts having a breakdown about that, meanwhile the clones are (badly) trying to hide Finn behind their backs, Rey is watching Ahsoka practice and being like "I want two lightsabers," and Poe is trying to keep R2 from stealing BB-8 and Force Ghost Luke is just face palming in the background.)

(Rey deserved a saber staff, maybe one that can detach and turn into a jar’kai set. Possibly a pike. Mostly I just wish she got more chances to whack things with a big stick.)

[warriorcatsamino]

⚠️SPOILERS FOR THE NEWEST BOOK RIVER⚠️ How sweet, here we have a beautiful drawing of Mistystar and her family. This was drawn by @noxvoca, very nice! More specifically, this scene depicts Mistystar being welcomed into Starclan. Honestly I was shocked when Mistystar died in River! I did not expect the writing team to kill her off as it was a running joke in the fandom that Mistystar is ancient and will never die. At first I thought she was going to survive but be constantly described as super old as that was what the novel appeared to be doing at first but then we were hit with a shocker! It’s become a meme how Mistystar died, basically that she couldn’t accept criticism and so she had a heart attack and died. It’s actually not particularly mentioned what killed Mistystar, but many fans suspect heart attack as she was old. I really like where the plot in River is going, with Riverclan being left leaderless and confused. The scene depicted here doesn’t actually happen in the books but I’d like to think it did. It’s a very sweet reunion between Mistystar, her parents and her littermates. I’d also like to think her mate Blackclaw and her children were apart of this group. And probably, with the events of River, Reedwhisker is also apart of this group. With being so old Mistystar watched many of her loved ones die before her. She lost her father Oakheart early on in the battle over Sunningrocks in Into the Wild. Her mother Bluestar was killed in a Dangerous Path, having sacrificed herself for her clan. Her brother Stonefur was killed by Blackfoot on Tigerstar’s command in the Darkest Hour and her sister Mosskit died early on in Bluestar’s Prophecy from the cold. It’s unknown how her mate died but it is noted in Forest of Secrets that her kits were swept away in the flooding river, we don’t know exactly how many kits she lost then but at least one of them died. Two of her kits survived to apprenticeship and later perished. Her foster mother Graypool was killed by Tigerstar early on aswell in Fire and Ice I do believe. Her leader Leopardstar died in Omen of the Stars and Mistystar almost lost her son Reedwhisker to Darktail in Vision of Shadows. Overall Mistystar lost alot of those close to her but now she can rest peacefully in Starclan with her family and lost clanmates and friends. What do you think of Mistystar? Was she a good leader? Or Did the years turn her sour? While you are doing that, if you enjoyed this piece be sure to give the original post a like. Supporting the original post let’s the artist know that you like their art and motivates them to create more content. This in turn gives us more content to post for you guys. Do you want to be apart of a fun and active community? Consider joining the Warriors Amino where we have daily art, writing, polls, quizzes and more all about Warrior Cats!

Original Post linked here.

Original Artist linked here.

~ 🍵🥔

[justanotherstarlightmonger]

Hii Sam! Can you write something about V as a dad please? Something where I would be a tired mom to his kids?

Hi! This was such a cute ask. I really enjoyed writing this. I hope you like it!

Trigger warnings: Post partum depression, mention of wanting to die (once)

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x f!reader

Baby cries were your new alarm. Bolting up, you were aware that presently only your body was moving, your mind remained asleep. You trudged to the twins’ nursery, where your daughter Eun was making a fuss, crying and flailing her tiny little arms.

“Shhhh, there we go baby omma’s here.” You lift her in your arms, shushing her. The little child immediately stopped crying, her loud wails replaced by adorable coos, as her little fists grabbed onto your hair, tugging it gently.

“You aren’t hungry are you? You’re just done sleeping, huh?” you said, booping the tiny little nose. Eun giggled, pulling your hair. “You’re really your father’s daughter.” You shook your head, rocking her against your chest, walking in the corridor. She would occasionally squeal in delight and was overall having a grand time in her mother’s arms.

By now, your own sleep had disappeared. You decided to check up on your 3 yr old, since you were up now. Slowly creaking open the door to his room, you smiled at the pristine picture that met your eyes. Your son Whan was sleeping soundly, his soft purple night light, throwing the prettiest light on his face, his face calm and his eyes open the slightest. Nowhere near how his father slept with his eyes open all the way when he was tired, but still resembling him enough to make your heart overflow with love. That’s when Eun decided to scream and reach for her brother’s sleeping form.

Whan’s perfect forehead wrinkled and he shifted. Immediately pulling back and closing the door before your rowdy little baby could wake up her brother, you frowned at the little fussy bundle in your arms.

“Aishh Eun-ie, you almost woke oppa. Silly little girl, why can’t you take a page from your sister’s book and sleep the night away.” You grumbled softly. Eun didn’t care for one second though. Her tiny little balled fist came into contact with your cheek.

Staring in pure disbelief, you giggled, “Did you just punch your mother young lady?”

She giggled right back in your face.

“Unbelievable.” you muttered, starting your walk back towards the nursery to feed her and hopefully put her to sleep.

About half an hour later you were slowly pulling back the covers from your bed to peacefully glide back into your place. Your husband’s arms snaked around your hips gingerly as he pulled himself closer to you.

“Who was up?” he asked sleepily.

“Eun,” he giggled.

“Minji sleeps straight through the night, I wish Eun would cut you some slack too.” He said, raising himself on his forearms. You smiled up at him, cupping his cheek, whispering tiredly, “Yeah, me too. She’s such a light sleeper. I have no idea where she got it from.”

Taehyung’s deep laughter rumbled in his chest as he swooped down to kiss your nose fondly. “Oh yeah, I couldn’t possibly imagine.” He teased, “It’s not like her mother wakes up at every shift in the bed.”

You blushed and looked away. After almost 5 years of being married and 7 years being together, he still managed to make you shy in the littlest of things.

Tae resumed his position on his pillows, facing you. You looked over and knew well enough that his sleep was gone for now, and that it’d take about as much time for your daughter’s father to get sleepy again as it did for the fussy little baby, currently sleeping in the next room.

“Are your stitches healing up well?” he asked softly.

You nodded, not saying much more. Your emergency c-section to get the twins out was a traumatic experience for you. So much so that you had felt yourself slipping into the dreaded post-partum depression. Your loving husband had been quick to pick up on your heavy silences, your superficial smiles and your late night crying. He had accompanied you to your therapist and had been an overall wonder for both your mental and physical healing. Knowing all this, and being endlessly grateful for it you couldn’t help but still shut down at the memories of the operation theatre.

“Jagiya…” Tae’s gentle voice cooed, pulling you out.

“I was talking to my therapist today about how bad I felt when the twins were born, and how bad I felt about feeling bad in such a magical moment.” You admitted.

“Ahan?” he let you spread out your words, glad that you were sharing them with him rather than bottling them up.

You sat up, clutching the blanket to your chest. “I don’t know Tae, when Whan was born, I was there. I was present. I was pushing and screaming and I felt so strong. I was responsible for his birth, and they gave him to me and I held him to my heart. I was all ripped up and bloody but I felt like a superhero. With Eun and Minji came, it felt like I was helpless. I was laying there on the metal table,” tears streamed down your cheeks, “like a fucking science experiment, and they cut them out of me. I couldn’t feel a single thing. There was no struggle, no strength on my part. They took my girls away, and I couldn’t hold them till the next day. I had no way of knowing if my babies were alright. I trusted the doctors but I wanted to die. I just wanted to die right there and then when they took my girls out of the room. There was no pain, no pushing. My birth felt empty. How could I just grow two whole babies inside me and then not even scream once as they came out of me?”

Tae’s eyes were wide, his pupils dilated as you let yourself come undone at the seams.

“Then later, I felt like I was the worst mother in the world. I had felt not an ounce of happiness at their birth moment. Only worry and panic. What kind of mother does that make me? Mothers forget everything in the world when they see their children. Then how could I have wanted to perish on that cold operating table? When my girls were alive and well and waiting for me? Shouldn’t I have waited for them and loved them just as much as they loved me?” your body racked with sobs and every other word was interrupted by a hiccup.

“Oh love…” your husband sighed and collected your little frame in his long, strong arms. He hushed and whispered little “I’m so sorry”s till you were collected enough to look up at him. His heart broke at your red eyes, your smaller hands gripping onto his biceps as you searched his eyes for something.

“Kim y/n,” he stated very firmly, “you have given me all the happiest moments of my life. The day you told me you loved me. The night you agreed to marry me. The day you walked down the aisle looking like an angel. The night you welcomed me home with a positive pregnancy test for Whan. The day you gave me my son. The day you, you and no one else were brave enough to have your body cut open so that our daughters could come into the world. And every day in between. I wake up to you and thank my angels that I stumbled upon a person like you in my lifetime. You are so strong. The strongest, most fiercely loving woman I have ever known.”

He stopped to see if you had acknowledged all that. Your cheeks were tinted a darker color, so he took that as a positive sign. He collected a deep breath and carried on, “So you had one moment of weakness. So what baby? I’m a witness to all the love you shower our girls with every waking minute. How can you let that one millisecond of panic and hormonal overflow overshadow all the joy you and the girls have brought into the world? My love, I would be nowhere without you all. You give me strength in something as simple as a smile. Yet you doubt yourself and your ability to be a mother? When you’re clearly the best mother any child could ask for.”

He kissed the stream of freshly overflowing tears that had found their way down your cheek.

“I love you y/n. I could say this with every breath I take and I still wouldn’t be able to say how much. Please don’t beat yourself up. We love you. Me and the kids will love you till our last breaths because you would do the same for us. Please don’t be so harsh on yourself.”

You felt like you could spontaneously explode from all the love in your heart, and implode on yourself from the tremendous sorrow you felt about the fact that Tae felt he had to assure you how much you meant to him. You took a shuddering breath and interlinked your fingers with his, bringing his hand to your mouth to kiss it tenderly.

“I love you too Kim Taehyung. I owe all my happiness to you.” You meant every word.

He kissed you then, sweetly yet with enough passion to send electricity tingling down to your toes. You felt complete in his arms, surrounded by the comfort of the room that was your safe place. In the home that both of you built with your love, housing your kids.

Your kids.

You smiled against his lips, pulling him impossibly close. Never to let go.

[goldenjedikenobi99]

A Lion's Pride, a Stag's Fury - 1

Hello there! This is my first story. It is also posted on FF.net and AO3 under the same name. I had taken quite a long break away from it, but recently I started writing again. So, to give myself more time for the next chapter I decided to post the first chapters here. I hope you enjoy it!

Summary:

After the battle of the Bells, a goshawk arrives in Casterly Rock carrying a message for Robert Baratheon. Tywin Lannister makes a simple decision that will alter destiny itself.

Chapter 1: Tywin I

"Tywin?"

The gentle voice of his brother made him turn his head sharply from the serene view of Lannisport. He hadn't heard his door open. He had once again been thinking of Jaime while breathing in the fresh air when Tygett's quiet tone almost made him jump. Having been a silent witness to his growing from child to man, Tywin had come to respect his second brother for developing a keen and strategic mind. He respected him even when they didn't see eye to eye. He even dared to say that he loved him in his own, pragmatic way. But for the life of him, he could not recall a time when he had received such softness from his brother. And that meant only one thing. Something had happened. Something utterly serious that had affected even the bitter third son of Tytos Lannister.

"What news do you bring, brother?" he asked sternly without wasting time for small talk. 

"We intercepted a goshawk carrying a message addressed to Robert Baratheon." Tygett's voice was still gentle as he passed him the parchment.

Tywin raised an eyebrow. "This is unsealed."

Tygett considered him with a calm expression on his face. "I was curious," he admitted, and before Tywin could protest, he continued. "Just read it."

Intrigued by his brother's behavior, Tywin concentrated on the words in front of him.

Robert, You always said that Proudwing would never fly. You were wrong. She does fly. Just not a long distance. She is not ready for what I am asking of her. Most likely, she will never reach you. But she is my last hope. His fatness has succeeded in hitting all the ravens we have been trying to send. No matter. You are not only my brother but also my liege lord. I have a duty to inform you that our position is far from pleasant. Our people are dying one after the other. There is simply no food left. We have been eating our horses for the past two moons. There are none left. Not even the pony that you gifted Renly. He hates me for it. He doesn't understand that I am only doing my duty. You asked me to hold Storm's End. And I will die first before surrendering our ancestral home to that cow of a flower. He is mocking us. We can smell the roasted meat even inside the castle. And I am afraid that I cannot keep our people loyal to me. They are asking for you. They mock me. They, like Renly, do not understand that I am only doing my duty. The only things left to eat are cats, dogs and rats. And there are not many. We have to take short portions to keep living for at least one more moon. You know what my feelings for the Gods are. But even I am praying for a miracle. I am giving more than half of my meals to Renly. He is a boy, Robert. A boy. He needs to live. And he needs parents to look after him. To help him grow. What would they say if they saw me? Mother would be furious with me. And Father? He would be so disappointed. What does a second son know of running a keep? Isn't that what he used to say when I judged your unlordly behavior? He was right, of course. What do I, a second son, know? I miss them. And I miss you as well. You would know how to calm our people. I am scared that Cressen will die. You would probably be laughing right now with my sentimentality. But I am not expecting you or anyone else to read this. And for once in my life, I want to express my feelings. To let go of my pain so that I can die peacefully. Because I know with absolute certainty, I am not going to survive this siege. No matter. Let this be my last act. I swear that Renly will live. And he will be the brother that you have always wanted. If I see that things get worse, I will smuggle him out to a safe place. I will not let him die. I swear. Farewell Robert My brother, my blood, my liege

Tywin returned to his previous position by the window and took a deep breath. Stannis, he thought. The second son of Steffon Baratheon and acting Lord of Storm's End. He had met him only once in what now seemed to be a very long time ago. He had still been the Hand of the King when his childhood friend had introduced his two sons to the court. 

He still remembered both boys. 

Robert, the heir, had been overconfident and arrogant, despite his young age. For the few days the family had stayed in the capital, he would always be found training with the knights and the young squires, bloodying his fists and bragging about his love for fighting while laughing loudly.  

On the contrary, Stannis had been a very reserved boy. At only five name-days old- if Tywin remembered correctly- he hadn't expressed the desire to play around. He hadn't done anything that children his age usually do. Instead, he had been his father's shadow. Wherever Steffon went, Stannis followed dutifully one step behind, paying attention to everything and everyone without asking questions. His quietness had made most people forget about his presence. Tywin himself, despite his initial intrigue about the serious little one, had usually ignored him. That is until the boy had finally opened his mouth.

On their last day in King's Landing, Tywin had invited Steffon to dine with him in his private rooms on the Tower of the Hand. He had wanted to have some privacy with his childhood friend. No masks, no fake courtesies, no formality in front of the other lords and the royal family. Just a small dinner between brothers.  Of course, Steffon had brought along his sons. 

Everything had gone smoothly, and after dinner, Tywin had suggested enjoying a cup of wine near the fireplace. That, unfortunately, had been a bad idea. Because after sharing some of their fondest memories with the children, Robert had decided that he was bored. And he, as per usual, had started talking about fighting in wars and spilling his enemies' blood. Tywin had honestly felt pity for his friend, who had only sighed as if from exhaustion. Little Stannis, however, had not been able to hide a snort or two, which had resulted in his brother turning on him and using all kinds of inappropriate words to describe his grumpiness. Stannis had said nothing. He had just lowered his head and clenched his jaw so hard that Tywin had thought that his teeth would shatter. Steffon had admonished his heir, but Robert had not seemed to hear a word. He had stared at his little brother and then very childishly told him that once he was Lord of their House, he would send Stannis away without giving him anything. And to make things even worse, the older boy had loudly wished that his 'Ma' and 'Pa' would give him a real brother so that they could finally get rid of spare Stannis. Steffon had been so appalled that he had instantly run and lifted his second son in his arms while holding his head softly as if that could have taken back the poisonous words. Tywin had only raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. He had been contemplating sending the boys to their beds when Stannis' small voice had broken the silence. 

"Maester Cressen taught me two new words," he had murmured with his head hidden in his father's black hair. "Duty. Loyalty. He said I am too little to know what they mean."

He had hugged his father with more force. Tywin had seen the tiny arms trembling.

"But I wanted to know," he had said louder with all the seriousness of an adult. "He said I have a duty to do what you tell me to do, papa." 

He had finally lifted his head and looked at his father's blue eyes. 

"I said alright. And he said I must do what the King tells me to do. I said alright. And he said I must be loyal to my family. To love and protect papa, mama and my big brother. And I said I am loyal. He said I must be loyal to my people and protect them."

His voice had become more frantic.

"I am little. I know. I am not as strong as Robert. I know. I will not be Lord of anything. Robert says so. He is my big brother. So he is not lying. I know I don't understand a lot. But I know Maester Cressen says to protect is to have peace. To have peace is not to fight and kill with no reason. He says sometimes war happens. Grandpapa died in a war. And I don't want you to die in a war, papa! I, I, I don't understand. How can Robert love war, if it means... How, how can he love fighting and killing? Where is his duty? His loyalty? And, and you see, papa, how tall and big and mag-mag-mag-ni-fi-cent Lord Ty is. I thought he was the King. And I wished to be like him when I grow. And you told us about the Raynes of Casta-mere. And the song in the feast. I know it happened cause they were not loyal to him. Not dutiful. So he had to punish them! He saved his people from war! He never smiles, so, so he doesn't love spillin' blood. He did his duty! I'm five, but I would have done the same!"

Stannis had looked at his father with passionate eyes. And Steffon had embraced his boy even tighter than before. Tywin had seen the pride and the silent tears in his friend's eyes when he had approached him and, after inclining his head, had left the room with quick strides. He had only stopped at the door and looked sternly at his firstborn, who had quickly followed after his father. 

The last thing Tywin still remembered seeing was Stannis' eyes. Stormy blue. The mirror image of his father's. He had not slept that night. He had spent hours and hours thinking of the little boy with a Lord's heart and mind. 

Even years later, after his son had joined the Kingsguard and he had returned to Casterly Rock bitter and angry, he had thought of that same small boy, who had in childish sentences proved to be wiser than the King and his Small Council. 

And now, a man grown, Stannis Baratheon continued to impress him. In a situation most dire, he still held on his duty. He had an iron will that could not be bent. However, seeing the world in black and white was no less than naive. Stannis had no one to teach him that lesson. But he was young. And Tywin knew that with the right person to guide him, Stannis could become someone great. Someone powerful. Someone who could rival even a good king. 

Lost in his thoughts and unconscious machinations of the future, Tywin almost missed his brother's question.

"What are you planning?"

He didn't answer. He tried to clear his mind from his musings and concentrate on the very delicate matter.

"Surely you are planning."

Tygett's voice was a little more stressed.

"What is there to plan?" he pretended to be bored.

"How to save the Baratheon boy!"

Tywin finally looked up. 

"Either you are that oblivious, or you have forgotten the most important detail. As long as Jaime is in the hands of that mad dragon, I cannot act," he reprimanded him. "And before you interrupt me once again, let me make myself clear. I will never endanger my son's life."

Tygett seemed to calm down hearing this explanation.

"I know that, Tywin. I would never endanger any member of our family, either. I am not asking you to join the rebellion. It would mean death for my nephew. Or maybe worse. After all, Aerys did burn the Warden of the North."

Tywin stared at him.

"What are you asking, then, Tygett?" he asked in a dangerously low tone.

Tygett took a deep breath.

"You, brother, are the most intelligent person I know. It pains me to admit it. You know it does. I have always felt this rivalry between us. You have always been the Golden Lion and I the third son. That will never change. Since we were children, I have tried to be better than you. I have tried to make you seem smaller. But of course, that will never happen. Because when my wish is to be more than you, yours is to make our House bigger, more respectable, more powerful. What matters more to you is not the selfish desire of being powerful. No. If that were the case, you would have never left King's Landing. You would still be the Hand. You would probably be working with the Crown Prince to overthrow his Mad father. You would use everything for your gain. No. I understand that now. You do not wish to be powerful. You only wish for the family name to remain powerful. Everything you do is for the family name. That is what will always make you better than me. Whatever I achieve in my life, I will never exceed that. And I have finally come to terms with that."

Tywin looked at his brother's eyes. They had a distant look. He had always known he was the cause of Tygett's bitterness. He had never craved for this antagonism with his own blood. But the two of them had too many similarities to be able to thrive together. They just never seemed to find common ground. He had accepted that they would never be close. But he had promised himself that he would always care for his brother because of their family. He was, as Tygett had put it, the Golden Lion. And a lion always protects his pride.

"I always envied your relationship with Kevan, you know," Tygett said after the silence had become awkward. "I wanted that for myself. I wanted your love. And now I know I have it. It is your way that made it difficult to understand. But, what I never understood was how you could love someone who was not of your blood more than me..."

Hearing that, Tywin raised both of his eyebrows.

"Whenever you spoke of Steffon Baratheon, I felt that... that should have been me. Your admiration, your fondness, and yes, your irregular affection. I craved that..."

At that, his brother gave him a tentative smile. 

"That's why I am asking you, Tywin, to think hard. This boy who is ready to die of starvation is your chosen brother's son. So I am certain that you will help him because you never step away from your family. You always look out for us. And this boy is your family, too."

Tygett didn't give him time to answer his plea. He bowed lower than expected of him and left his solar.

Tywin remained silent for a long time.

[nrr-jaune]

(Sorry if I post a little too much cc stuffs lately.)

After hours and hours of working underpaid, look who were just arrived at my mail this morning :)

They're now my soft, squishy, little sons <3

These babies are too adorable, I just can't wkakhskakaAHHHHHHH

Thanks for existing, little ones. I can now die peacefully and happily just hugging them once.

Okay, move along now, people. I'm done showing off.

[nypmphetsbastard]

They Both Die in the End

Genre: angst...just angst

Pairings: Eren Yeager x reader

Timeline: season 4 Eren

Summary: SPOILER ALERT! They both die in the end.

Warnings: Smut, angst, major character death, emotional, season 4 warnings do not continue if you’re not caught up with the anime.

A/N: this story is also posted on AO3

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

If you could go back to it all, would you? Before Marley, before the war, before the titan shifters, before the fall of Shiganshina, before everything — would you go back? Go back to living peacefully inside the walls of Maria watching eh our next door neighbor Eren and his two other friends run around, too nervous to ask yet watching their games of tag together. Go back to the day the youngest Yeager son noticed you from afar and invited you to play with them. Go back to those days. 

Those final days of peace. If you could go back to it all, would you? Before Marley, before the war, before the titan shifters, before the fall of Shiganshina, before everything — would you go back? Go back to living peacefully inside the walls of Maria watching eh our next door neighbor Eren and his two other friends run around, too nervous to ask yet watching their games of tag together. Go back to the day the youngest Yeager son noticed you from afar and invited you to play with them. Go back to those days. 

Those final days of peace. If you could go back to it all, would you? Before Marley, before the war, before the titan shifters, before the fall of Shiganshina, before everything — would you go back? Go back to living peacefully inside the walls of Maria watching eh our next door neighbor Eren and his two other friends run around, too nervous to ask yet watching their games of tag together. Go back to the day the youngest Yeager son noticed you from afar and invited you to play with them. Go back to those days.  Those final days of peace.

Before it all fell.

Maybe. Maybe you would go back. But you couldn't. No matter how much prayed and wish upon a star, it would never come to pass. You were stuck. You were all stuck. But in a moment like this, you didn't mind being stuck here.

Stuck in his arms, under his broad shoulders and wrapped in your own personal layer of protection. His soft eyelashes laid gently along to top of his cheeks, the dark brown locks you loved so dearly had now grown a little past his chin and his once short and skinny frame had grown significantly since he turned 18.

You tenderly tucked his long hair behind his ear, watching as his eyelashes fluttered open at the lightest touch. It was sad, honestly, how light of a sleeper he'd become. Anyone who knew Eren only now would've laughed at a time he was a heavy sleeper, it was sad, how quickly he had to adapt to constant alert. No longer enjoying his moments of peace and quiet.

A brown broke you out of your thoughts as Eren licked his lips and drubbed the tiredness out of his eyes before sighed and looking down at the person in his arms.

Eren couldn't help but remember the words Jean had once said to him when they were just 15. "How you managed to find someone like that, I will never know. But don't screw it up, because you never know if the next time you'll see them will be on the street or in a body bag." He sighed, reaching his hand over to your cheek, gently caressing the skin.

He knew the two of you would never have a moment like this ever again, that his future will always result in complete anarchy and chaos but that wouldn't stop him from basking in the light that was you.

"Good morning." You giggled, this gentle touch sending shivers up your spine.

"Morning." He whispered back. "We have to get up soon. Captain Levi says we have more Marleyan's coming from the port today."

You sighed and pushed your head closer into his chest, "That's boring...and morbid. I just wanna spend time with you." You whined, Eren chuckled sadly.

"I know...but that doesn't mean we can't make it count now." Eren mumbled, leaning into your neck. You hummed and relaxed in his arms as he began to suck the skin on your neck.

"No hickeys. You know what Levi said about them." You breathed out trying to keep your composure, Eren pulled away with a shit eating grin.

"Whoops." you rolled your eyes at him and let your lips meet in a hungry kiss.

Wandering hands roaming each other's bodies wasn't uncommon between you whenever you got the chance, but no matter how much he touched you, you couldn't help but flinch and gasp into his mouth as he cupped your clothed mound.

"Eren," you pause to take a deep breathe as another moan threatens to escape your reddened lips, "I thought you said we had somewhere to be." You joked lightly.

"Fuck that." He cursed, looking up at you with his dark piercing gaze.

'If these are what Eldian devils look like, I wouldn't mind being a sinner' you thought to yourself.

If Eren Yeager was anything, oblivious was not it. He was always attentive with everything he did. But when the lights dimmed and your legs spread for him, Eren Yeager never missed a spot. Twisting and turning, rubbing and spitting, he'd do anything and everything to hear you let out those breathy moans of his name.

Eren Yeager never had such a good ring to it.

It never took a lot of to have you screaming for him. Eren had mapped out every crevice of your body that sent you shivers, every infinity 8 that had your legs shaking since the first night. He always knew what would have you screaming out in blissful pleasure. Whether it be in pain or pleasure.

"Eren, ah," your shaky hands reach for the scarred back of his past. Nails scratching the surface and painting the once pale canvas a burning red color.

The burning of your thighs was nothing compared to the knot in your stomach that he wouldn't let snap. He massaged your thighs as they sat above his shoulders, finally lifting his head to hear your desperate whines to finish. Lips and chin coated in wetness, he grinned and went right back to work. Your mercy pleas finally reached his ears as one of his hand reached up to grab yours, his other stimulating your most sensitive area to get the exact reaction he wanted.

One that left his shirt and his sheets drenched in you. Words didn't seem to form on your tongue yet he understand everything you needed. Planting a light kiss on your clit, he gently and carefully closed your legs, bringing them back down to earth and laying down on your side.

Once your breathing returned back to normal all you could mutter was a simple, "wow." Eren smirked cockily and grabbed your cheeks, pulling you into a much softer yet passionate kiss.

"I know." not even trying to make a smart comment, you closed your eyes, preparing for your high to end and the uncomfortable feeling of stickiness that filled the sheets, your thigh and your boyfriend's face.

"You have a little something there" you pointed out, pointing to your chin.

"Mhm, really? You made a mess too, want me to clean it up?" A yes caught in your throat as you realized what he was planning and clasped your hand onto his wrist.

"Don't. We still have somewhere to be."

That smile. That damned smile that always caused you nothing but trouble. Trouble in more ways than one.

Mikasa and Armin being the first to arrive on time was never a surprise, however coming after Sasha and Connie was borderline suspicious as those two were never on time...to anything. Connie snickered at the sight of you rushing over to the bench with a piece of bread stuck in your mouth as you tried tucking your shirt into your pants.

You sat down between to Mikasa and Jean, trying your best to not sound like you had ran over here in a hurry, which you had. It was in your best interest to just act like you'd been there the whole time, especially with how meticulous Captain Levi was with scheduling and all that. So you struck up a conversation.

"Hey Mikasa, lovely weather we're having." You spoke up, Mikasa looked up from where her eyes were down casted on her lap and gave you a small smile with a hint of confusion.

"Yes, it is lovely...I guess." She mumbled as her voice trailed off.

You leaned on your arms to look next to Mikasa, "Good morning, Armin." You greeted the blonde.

"Oh, good morning. Have you been there this whole time?" Armin questioned, his answer only causing tithe two snickering twins to laugh even harder.

"No Armin, she was out having a much better morning." Connie mocked, sending Sasha into a laughing fest with a whole piece of bread still lodged in her mouth. Armin look confused but shrugged it off and went back to drawing in his sketch book, a stress reliving habit he'd picked up after that day at the sea.

You kicked Connie in the shins and smiled at his hiss of pain and dramatic leg holding, Sasha joining in on your laughs until you kicked her too. She whined and rubbed her shin.

"Hey! I didn't even say anything!" She protested and you laughed at her, not noticing Mikasa's sharp gaze on you.

"Where's Eren?" Mikasa asked

"Commander Hange asked him to stay behind to prep beforehand. Why?"

"So I can ask him to leave your fun in the bedroom, respectfully." She smirked, pointing at the hickey on your neck. Your eyes widened at Mikasa's amused expression and tried to cover the deep red and purple stain with your hand. Jean snickered from next to you, using the magazine he very clearly wasn't using to cover up his puffed cheeks preventing him from laughing.

Everyone's favorite duo however, did not get the memo as they bursted out into a fit of laughter. Their pale cheeks turning bright pink as they leaned on each other for support, nearly throwing the other off the bench. You groaned and dropped your head onto the hardwood table, drowning in embarrassment.

The scouts had always loved to tease you and Eren at any given chance. Connie and Sasha being especially guilty of this, but even Mikasa loved to poke and prod at the two of you, making jokes of her own.

Mikasa has been your best friend since childhood, her love for both you and Eren only doubled in size when the two of you officially got together when you were 15. She was there for you after every failed mission, after every argument, or even when you just needed girl talk. Even if she never seemed the most emotionally capable person, Mikasa Ackerman was never wrong. She's somebody everybody could rely on, whether that he for protection or just as a friend, she was always there.

Always there to buy the constantly hungry Sasha snacks as you and many other scouts arrived to Marley in disguise. While Sasha basked at the taste of new foods, your eyes roamed the crowded city, trying your best not to push anyone. Then, your eyes landed on a familiar head of hair that stood at the edge of the port, looking off into the distance.

"Hey..." you spoke up before gently sliding your hand on his shoulder, a habit you picked up on because of how guarded Eren constantly is. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." He mumbled, turning his body to face you directly and placing his hands on your shoulders, "Are you?" He questioned

"Mhm. This person dressed up as a clown mistook Captain Levi for a child and I think he actually might've traumatized the man." You joked, laughing at the past occurrence.

Although he didn't laugh, Eren smiled at your happiness, mentally taking a picture of this moment to hold onto later on.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" Levi interrogated, snatching the arm of a young boy who stood beside a clueless Sasha. You and Eren made your way through the commotion of people spewing out hateful words at the boy as they tried to figure out a brutal punishment for the child.

Sasha laughed nervously and lied for him, claiming he was just her younger sibling messing around, narrowly avoiding having the child nearly killed for his crime. The boy apologized profusely and thanked them for saving him from impending doom before running off with his younger brother. You smiled softly at the child as he ran off before noticing your boyfriend looking at him with longing and sadness.

"Eren? Hey, what's wrong?" You asked softly, reached over to place your hand on his cheek. He blinked and shook his head.

"Nothing, let's go."

Those next days, that very child had offered you and the scouts a place to rest your heads. Providing you all food, drinks and even alcohol which only ended in disaster and Sasha hunched over a bucket puking her guts out.

In your arms that night laid a tired Eren, his head on your chest listening to your heartbeat and feeling your chest rise up and down, mentally making sure you continued to do that. And as you slept soundly, the sharp burning sensation in his nose became too much to bear, Eren's tears silently fell.

They fell for the memories, or rather the premonition of his future. His cursed future.

They fell for the child he once was. A little boy who wanted nothing more than to prove himself and to his parents that he could go beyond, that he could be free in the world he was born into. A little boy who laughed and loved with his parents, his friends, and the little girl next door who he swore to his mother he'd marry. An innocent little boy.

They fell for his friends. The only people he couldn't live without no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise. Not just you, Mikasa and Armin — but Connie, Sasha, Jean, Historia and even Levi and Hange. He lived everyday of his life for the sake of them, for them to live their lives as freely as possible, for them to live the life he would never be able to.

For the days like before as they all worked on building the port. Sweaty, tired and burning arms as they all hauled ass into the half built train tracks and finally got a moment to relax.

"Make a base in Marley and infiltrate it, huh?"

"Hange sure has a plan for everything. I'll be able to show down on some real Marleyan cuisine." Sasha replied, her mind already lost a sea of new foods but you smiled at her enthusiasm

"Yeah? What should I bring? It would stink to get the runs."

"Stomach medicine, toothbrush, a taste of home..." Sasha listed off

"Did you even hear Hange's plan?" Mikasa questioned

"If the world knows that we want peace, maybe something will change." Armin suggested hopefully.

"Armin, you know I love the way you think but...not everyone thinks like you. Even the Marleyans we have here are still hot headed over us just existing in the same space as them, they don't seem like very peaceful people in my opinion." You spoke up, Armin sighed and nodded as a small moment a silence waved over you all.

"If only we had more time. I've got just over five years left. We're gonna have to decide who inherits my Titan soon." Eren brought up, a new point but not one that hadn't crossed all your minds.

"I will" Mikasa attempted to step up

"Not you. We still don't know what the Ackermanns are. And won't it hurt any plans with Hizuru if you become a Titan? No, for so many reasons." Jean dismissed, Mikasa looked down sadly, feeling as though there was nothing she could do to help.

"Then who will?" She snapped, you placed you hand over hers and gave her heartwarming smile before leaning your head on her shoulder in a means to calm her down.

"Me. First of all, I'm way smarter than Eren. Instead of a suicidal maniac, you'll have a gifted leader who shows good judgement in all situations. In other words, me." He concluded in his bashful statements. "I hate getting an Eren hand-me-down but who better than me?"

"Someone that amazing we don't wanna lose in 13 years, moron." Connie cursed, you snickered and nodded.

"He's right, Jean. All those things you just said about yourself are true, which is why we need you one hundred percent human and intact for over 13 years. You're too good of a leader to lose now." you explained, Jean groaned in annoyance.

"You're aiming to be regiment leader. I'll inherit Eren's Titan. It works out good, right?"

"Connie..." Eren faltered, slightly surprised at the high and dangerous position Connie was willing to take.

"That's not good at all. You're an idiot." Sasha replied

"Eh?"

"Don't 'eh' me. We can't leave such an important role up to an idiot."

"Eh?" Connie continued, still shocked.

"Doggone it...I'll inherit it. I've got combat experience...I'm someone you can trust...By process of elimination, it's gotta be me." Sasha divulged, you lifted your head from Mikasa's shoulder and raised your hand.

"Um hello? I'm still here." You said sarcastically,

"I know but Eren's your boyfriend and I find it pretty morbid if you were forced to eat your lover for the sake of humanity so, by default, it has to be me!"

"You guys..." Eren mumbled, going unnoticed as Sasha continued her rambling.

"I dun wanna. I sure dun wanna though." Sasha trembled, the mere thought of everything Titan shifters had to go through repeating in her head on loop.

"Wait, huh? Isn't that weird?" Connie spoke up again

"What?"

"Well you know...you said an idiot's not fit for the role." Sasha raised an eyebrow at him, still confused, "You're more of an idiot than I am, so you're contradicting yourself." As Connie finished his explanation, the two exchanged Huh's and watched each other dramatically.

"Moral of the story, you're both idiots." You stood up from the hard box, "I'll inherit the Titan. Who knows maybe I'll be the first super sexy female attack Titan. Like Annie." You thought out loud

"You think Annie's Titan is hot?" Jean asked incredulously, you put one finger up and shushed him, not wanting to discuss the topic further.

"No. I don't want any of you to inherit it." Eren stated, "And especially not you." He looked at you.

"Oh come on, once you die I'll have nothing to live for. Besides, I don't wanna be old anyway." You shrugged nonchalantly, Eren shook his head.

"No! You guys are more important to me. More than anyone else. So, I want you to have long lives and..." he looked at you again, "when I die...I want you to move on—"

You cut him off with a scoff and grabbed your makeshift seat, dropping it next to his. "No, that's bullshit. I won't accept that." You protested

"So, what? You're just gonna wallow about me the rest of your life without even trying to do anything better?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm gonna do." Eren scoffed at your answer and shook his head.

"I'm serious." He snapped

"So am I! I don't wanna start a family some random person I know I'll never love. I don't want a home if it's not with you, Eren." you objected, "So, if worse comes to worst, i'll inherit your Titan." Eren sighed, already knowing he would never change your mind once it was made up.

"Bleh, keep the cute sappy stuff in the bedroom guys." Jean complained, lightening up the mood in the cart as everyone chucked lightly.

"Best get used to it, Kirstein." You swung your arm over Eren's shoulder, "I'm not leaving this Earth without my man." You said proudly, the boy blushing at your words.

My man. That's all he ever wanted to be to you. Yours. For now and forever, he didn't care if he had to trample anyone and everyone in his path, Eren would do anything to keep that title in your heart.

There was a point in time once when he thought of growing a family with you. Even though he felt he wouldn't be the best father in the world, he couldn't help but grasp at any straws that led to a happy ending with you.  Maybe in another life, he always thought to himself.

Another life where you were all free. Where all of you could be real teenagers, go to a normal high school, have normal life and live a full life. Where Ymir, Bertolt, Erwin and everybody else didn't have to die for the sake of everyone else. Where all of you could get a full nights sleep without constantly having to watch your back.

Yeah...another life sounded like bliss.

But another life is not what you had, what you had now was war.

A war none of you were prepared for. None except Eren, who proudly and happily pounded into the face of the war hammer Titan, not leaving any room for full transformations. Even as he became outnumbered with all odds against him, he was granted his final words in which he uttered a simple.

"It's now or never, Mikasa."

Unleashing all scouts in hiding as they rose up, dropping thunder spears into the Marleyan soldiers and aiding Eren in his fight. Bodies and bombs dropped left and right as Mikasa crouched down next to her best friend.

"Eren...Do you have any idea what you've done? You killed civilians, you killed children, too. You've done things that can't be undone." She pleaded with him, trying to see even a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes and yet there was none to be found.

"She's mad at you...you know that?" She tried once more, finally getting a hint of a reaction out of Eren. That reaction lasted only a millisecond and the hurt in his eyes was once again replaced with a look of dullness and lackluster of his usual bright blue ones.

He looked away, "She can be mad all she wants, it makes no difference to me. The fight isn't over." Mikasa gasped at the sight of the war hammer she'd just took down moments before standing right back up on its feet. And a constant pitter patter hit the back of her head at Eren's words.

How quickly he shoved aside your feelings and put his own before it, a rare thing Eren had never done before. But for now, your job in all this was to stay alive.

You assisted in as much combat as possible before making your way back into the airship along with the rest of the remaining scouts. Being the first to arrive on the ship meant biting your nails in anxiety as you waiting for everyone else to reach it. Armin reached down for the boy he once thought to be his best friend, pulling him up into the ship.

Just like the old days, Levi Ackerman had a couple kicks in store for Eren, not hesitating to remind him of how much he changed. Even bringing up his past in the underground and the dirty look Eren had grown into, never expecting to see it on the boy he gave up everything for. As much as it much as it hurt to see Eren being kicked around like a rag doll, you wouldn't get in the middle, especially knowing what he'd just done.

The lives he ended, the irreparable damage he had caused, it all gave Levi more than enough reason to toss him around. You, on the other hand, didn't make an effort to speak to him.

And for Eren, that was okay. If it would change anything, Eren would make you hate him for the rest of your life. If it would change anything, Eren could've saved Sasha. If it could change anything, Eren would restart everything and never invite you to play tag with him. He would steer clear from you at all costs. He would let you marry some townsman, have a couple kids and grow old inside the walls, never to be a witness of all the atrocities outside of them.

If Eren can change anything, he will make sure you stay alive. No matter who or what gets in his way, whether he has to tear down every wall or speak to Ymir Fritz her damn self, Eren Yeager will save you from death.

Eren Yeager will not leave this godforsaken earth without his woman.

[whileyoursleeping]

Here

Hello all, I wrote a lil oneshot post-canon for the season 4 finale. Shameless fluff. You’ve been warned. This has also been posted on AO3 - link HERE: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31520699

TW: Mentions of the shooting; mentions of PTSD.

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Buck wears socks to bed.

It’s disturbing in a way. Eddie doesn’t know anyone above the age of ten who still wears socks to bed – except, apparently, Buck.

Buck is also still sleeping on his couch.

Eddie’s been home for a week. He’s mastered the on-off motion of his sling for the shower, he’s sleeping okay – as okay as anyone can while being literally fucking shot for no good reason, and not even in Afghanistan, at that – and he’s not in significant amounts of pain, anymore. The meds have taken care of that, and he’s taking them dutifully, because he might not like them but Chris needs him. Chris needs him more a little stoned than he does bedridden from pain.

But it’s been a week, and Buck is still sleeping on his couch.

It’s not even comfortable. Buck’s not small enough to fit on there without cramping up. And Eddie just – kind of hasn’t told him to go home, and Buck just kind of isn’t going home, he’s more or less just ferrying his things back and forth between Eddie’s coffee table and his own apartment, studiously avoiding eye contact each time, as if Eddie is going to catch his eye and say – well, say what? “Go home? Thanks for taking care of my son and carrying my lifeless body to the fire truck and risking your fucking neck again to save my life and keeping a vigil – but go home?” Not fucking likely.

So he’s sleeping on Eddie’s couch. And Eddie’s not sure how to approach it – or if he even wants to approach it. Buck was scared. He said as much, and other people said as much, and Eddie remembers Buck picking him up and putting him in the ambulance. Fire truck? He doesn’t remember the details, he just – remembers Buck picking him up.

If he’s honest with himself – and he’s trying to be after that whole “follow your own heart” crap Carla pulled on him – he doesn’t particularly want Buck to leave. Buck saved his life, and Eddie feels weirdly safer with him here. It’s nice to have him around in the mornings – even if he looks tired. Even if Eddie’s couch has not been useable as a couch in over a week now.

He wanders into the living room that morning to find that Buck is already rubbing his eyes, sleepily, looking totally worn out and like he’d like to go back to sleep, but can’t. He sits when he hears Eddie enter – a dog standing at attention.

“Okay?” he checks worriedly.

Eddie smiles drowsily. “You know the pain meds keep me pleasantly high almost all day, right?”

“Yeah.” Buck doesn’t look soothed. “But you’re okay?”

“Yeah, Buck. I’m okay.” Eddie pats his shoulder on the way past, yawning. “Breakfast?”

“I’ll make pancakes.”

~*~

Buck is exhausted.

Eddie knows this because Eddie wakes up a lot at night and goes wandering. He does this because despite the pain pills, he’s just not moving enough to be tired, and his normal army sleep schedule never really left him. He’s like a fucked-up, traumatised meerkat – awake every two to three hours, patrolling the perimeter, looking for enemies.

Just so happens that his perimeter is the length of his hallway between Chris’s room and the couch, where Buck is decidedly not resting peacefully. His enemy, at the moment? The Roomba. Chris has stuck several dozen googly eyes to it and, at one point, had armed it with a butter knife. It’s mildly terrifying. Butter-knife-less at the moment – but terrifying. Eddie squints at it as he moves towards the kitchen.

(“Because it’s funny, Dad,” he’d giggled. “Maybe it’ll make Buck laugh.”

Buck had laughed, but in a strained, I’m-so-tired-I-want-to-cry kind of way. Eddie’s dreading coming off his pain pills for the pure fact that it’ll probably be him next. PTSD is a bitch.)

He was going to get water, but that requires moving through the living room. Buck is crashed out on the couch – his duffel is spilling over on the floor, his phone facedown on the coffee table. Eddie can see him relatively well with the street lights and moon lighting up the smallish living room – he doesn’t look like he’s sleeping peacefully. In fact, even as Eddie watches, Buck twitches.

He goes ramrod still, abruptly not thinking about his heavily-armed Roomba or meerkat analogies. He is suddenly, painfully, sober – the pain pills feel burned out of him as he watches Buck twist, his fingers twitching and then curling into the duvet, face scrunched.

A nightmare. Buck is having a nightmare. Eddie’s not high anymore. The pills are no longer filling his head with cotton and fuzz – every single sense feels alight like it hasn’t in two weeks, tuned in to Buck, struggling, on the couch.

What’s he supposed to do? What can he do?

He watches, alarmed, as Buck gasps and jerks – his stupid socked feet flail and kick into the arm of the couch, and the duvet goes flying back. Buck’s upright, at least semi-upright, on one elbow, panting and scrabbling against the thin, shitty mattress – for what? Purchase? A hand to hold? A memory to cling to, something to soothe him through the remainder of the night?

The room’s quiet. Eddie’s frozen, unsure of what to do. Is this what it was like after the tsunami?

After a moment, Buck makes a sound – a whimper, or a cry, or some awful hybrid of the two – and collapses back, rolls onto his side, away from the TV, and curls up, not bothering to adjust the duvet. His feet – he’s wearing white socks tonight – flex, toes clenching.

Buck drags the corner of the duvet up over his face. The next noise he makes is very clearly a quiet sob and Eddie – oh, he cannot stand this. He’s not going to watch it any longer.

It’s not like he doesn’t know Buck hasn’t been sleeping, at least not well. He did the first night – eleven hours, actually – but every night after that has been plagued with nightmares. He’s heard Buck rustling around or pacing and watched him try to put on a brave face every morning at breakfast, and he can’t do it anymore.

His feet cross the floorboards. He sits on the edge of the couch – Buck flinches – and puts his free hand on Buck’s shoulder, rubs gently.

Buck sniffles. He doesn’t move for a long time, keeps the duvet up over his face. He doesn’t make any more noises, but his shoulders shake, and Eddie remembers – I kinda lost it when I told him you got shot. I’m sorry, I should’ve held it together.

Eddie wonders when anyone reasonably expected Buck to hold it together.

Buck moves suddenly – his fingers grip at Eddie’s, and they’re shaking. He holds on and – well, if Buck wants to hold hands, it’s not like they haven’t done it before. Eddie held his hand for an hour or more while they were getting him out from under the ladder truck two years ago. Eddie’s happy to hold his hand.

He doesn’t know how to help. Buck’s still sniffling, his face angled away from Eddie’s. He’s happy to take the comfort, but not happy to let Eddie know he’s crying, apparently.

They sit like that for a while. Eddie’s helpless and almost angry for it. It’s not like he hasn’t suffered – he has. It’s going to take therapy, physical and mental, to get past this. But Buck – Buck watched it happen. Watched him almost die. Buck’s not stoned and he wasn’t shot and there’s no buffer between him and the memories. For the first time, Eddie is angry at the team – how has no one noticed? How has no one cared?

Buck drags a hand across his eyes. “Sorry,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “Bet you’re sick of me crying.”

“What?” Eddie asks. “No, I – I am, but not for the reason you’re thinking.”

Buck nods into the pillow. His legs flex – he has to be cold; the air is definitely cool and Buck hates cold weather with a passion. He’s wearing socks and boxers and a hoodie and all of that thoroughly confuses Eddie – he wants to arrange the duvet properly but he can’t with Buck clinging to his hand. That’s fine too.

He thinks about it for a moment. Problem – Buck is sad; Buck is scared. Buck is clearly traumatised. Nobody appears to have addressed that last one.

Solution. Well, Chris seems to help a lot. But Chris is asleep, and Eddie can’t really properly address the trauma thing.

But he can maybe make Buck feel less alone.

He removes his hand from Buck’s shoulder, clumsily adjusts the duvet, and then climbs under it, adjusting until his side is pressed to Buck’s back and he can feel Buck trembling horribly against him. His legs twitch; his socks brush Eddie’s bare feet.

“Why do you wear socks to bed?” Eddie asks.

There’s a long pause. Then, “That’s what you want to know?”

“Sure.”

“I… don’t know?”

Eddie makes a face at the ceiling. Buck hasn’t rolled over. “You don’t know?” he asks dubiously. “Are your feet cold?”

“Not particularly.”

“Do you wear socks to bed in summer?”

“I… sort of do it all year round – Eddie, what’re you doing?”

He doesn’t know, truthfully, beyond trying to cheer Buck up. Although, maybe he just – needs to cry? Sometimes when Chris is upset he just needs to cry. No solutions, just… comfort.

He pushes against Buck’s back more, and, because he can’t reach Buck’s hands like this, links their ankles together. Buck shifts – but only to stop the knobs of their bones rubbing uncomfortably. He sighs, shakily, but when breath finally leaves his lungs entirely, he almost feels steadier.

“Thanks, Eddie,” he whispers.

~*~

Buck rolls during the night, a soft breath leaving him. Eddie’s only aware of it because it ghosts across his throat – Buck’s rolled towards him.

The mattress shifts. Buck is deliciously warm against Eddie’s side – his socked feet brush against Eddie’s shins, a few times, almost deliberately. Buck sighs again, settles.

The air goes still. Eddie can smell something new and different, faintly – the couch bed smells like Buck, like the woody, fresh scent of his aftershave and a little spicy and like Buck’s own shampoo. There’s something indefinable about it – something that’s just how Buck smells.

Eddie yawns. His jaw cracks. His shoulder, at the moment, doesn’t hurt, even when he shifts and looks for Buck’s hand, clumsily – he finds it, pulls it up until he can link their fingers together and rest their joined palms on his own belly. He squeezes. Are you there?

A second passes before Buck squeezes back. His palms are rough and hot and his thumb nervous where it brushes Eddie’s knuckles.

Yes. I’m here.

Eddie yawns. He goes back to sleep.

~*~

The sunlight punching through the living room window wakes him up.

He blinks. He’s on his back still – his feet are cold. When he turns his head to the side, the first thing he sees is Buck’s face – buried somewhere in the vicinity of Eddie’s shoulder, eyes closed, mouth slightly open.

He’s drooling. It’s a little cute. Eddie raises his head – his shoulder twinges unhappily – and looks to the end of the couch.

Yep. Buck’s still wearing socks. His legs are curled up, almost like he’s trying to keep warm, and he’s more or less pressed to Eddie’s side, but not quite on top of him.

Eddie’s struck with the sudden though that if his shoulder wasn’t injured, he’d roll over – put an arm over Buck and let Buck hide as long as he needed to. He can’t do that right now, and the impulse is frightening if only because it doesn’t come from the so-called brotherly love he’s continued to tell himself is what he feels for Buck.

It’s not so frightening he can’t deal with it though. Quietly. And he might not be able to hug Buck right now – but Buck slept through till morning, the first time in more than a week in all likelihood. He even looks peaceful.

If Eddie does pursue this – whatever this is, this little, fledgling, hopeful thing in his chest – he can only hope that Buck reciprocates. It’ll take time, of course. Plenty of it. But – Buck is already Chris’s other parent in the ways that matter and he’s kept bedside vigils and they slept here, last night, holding hands for the majority of it. Is there a lot left to think about? Eddie doesn’t think so.

He raises his head again. Looks down.

Except those socks, maybe. He’s not sure he’ll ever get used to that.