#sorry mutuals or followers who like the ship I swear I don’t hate you

[wyrm-with-a-why]

This is just me hating, not directed at anyone in particular ugh I’m just pissed that’s all ignore

“Mega/star antis will be blocked!”

Don’t worry babe I did it for you😜

Idc how great your megatron design is and we say bye bye :3333

[doromoni]

Off Track Pace | MV1 , ?

Ships Max Verstappen x presenter! Reader , ? x presenter! Reader , Platonic! Charles Leclerc x presenter! Reader

Genre : Fluff , Angst

Sub tags : mutual pinning , She fell too early , He fell too late,

Summary : A new f1 presenter and journalist has entered the paddock and she brings chaos along the way. And as competition looms , will the current Champion be as fast outside the track?

Face claim: Sofia Wylie

A/N : I’m so sorry luvs! I’m working on updating Clash of Champions , i promise ~ it’s my uni’s finals exams so I gotta focus on that first… so here’s a peace offering.

Part 2.

Media day, usually on a Thursday — a day that most Formula 1 drivers dread. A day where cameras followed their every move, interviews with journalists that twisted their every word and silly PR stunts forced on them by their teams. It used to be just all racing and winning podiums, but modern Formula 1 is all about media politics and sponsorships.

If you were to ask any driver on the grid if they were given the chance not to do PR, they would say yes to skipping it. But not everything about media day is horrendous.

Not when a new motorsports journalist joins the paddock that was an absolute sweetheart and delight to have around. A natural on the job — she always made sure that every driver that she interviewed was comfortable and enjoying their time with her and the segment.

the.Y/N

liked by skysportsf1 , lissiemackintosh, f1 , and 689,270 others

the.Y/N first day on the job? . i’m not nervous, you are! (She said literally shaking)

skysportsf1 Welcome to the team Y/N! ❤️

the.Y/N thank you kind employers. 🤍

lissiemackintosh Babe!! It’s finally official. Congratulations!

the.Y/N Thanks to you Babe!! I swear I would’ve been lost without you 😭

User1 who is she?

the.Y/N literally no one

User2 Ohhhh a new commentator? 🤔

User3 maybe she’s a journalist?

scuderriaferrari the kids had fun. They want their clay statues on display!

User2 Clay statues?? Hello?? Wut?

User3 Same question, Clay statues??

the.Y/N wait and see 🤷‍♀️ , the interview would drop tomorrow? Maybe~

User4 Its her first day and she literally had an interview with Charles and Carlos in Ferrari???

the.Y/N well no , the first interview was with Lewis Hamilton … so. 🤭

User5 WHAT?? Ok , queen slay!

User4 damnn , imagine being new to your field and already interviewing the big guys.

mclaren Do us next please 🙋‍♂️

redbullracing get in line!

the.Y/N gotta stop by Aston first , sorry besties.

User6 OK WHAT IS HAPPENING, ms. Y/N who are your connections 😭 i want in.

User7 why are all the teams here??

Y/N L/N was the F1 presenter and journalist who put drivers willingly out of their comfort zones and made them try something new. You genuinely loved what you do and you were passionate about it. You never showed partiality among the drivers, you treated everyone with the same attitude — this earned the respect of all drivers on the grid.

You were quickly becoming a paddock favorite. The fans enjoyed the content you put out and the drivers looked forward to your interview when they saw your name on their schedule.

Interviewing with you usually meant cheat meals and unusual activities that you thought they would like.

the.Y/N

liked by charles_leclerc, carlossainz55, maxverstappen1, and 740,155 others

the.Y/N maybe bowling isn’t the best idea. @charles_leclerc you suck, ngl. New vid out on Monday at the sky sports channel🤍

charles_leclerc i hate you ❤️

the.Y/N no you don’t 😌

charles_leclerc no, i don’t

User1 I love their dynamic so much!! I need more of the Paddock siblings pleaseee

User2 I can’t wait for more of Y/N bullying Charles into weird things and Ferrari doing nothing about it🤣

landonorris but why is charles in a cowboy costume?

the.Y/N i dunno? He just showed up in that 🤷‍♀️

charles_leclerc You told me we were riding horses and you wanted me to wear smth cowboy!!

the.Y/N oh yeah! Lmao

landonorris should i feel bad?

the.Y/N Nope. He’s happy either way. Aren’t you @charles_leclerc?

User2 NOT THE LMAO . Y/N thank you being you

User3 Y/N giving us Cowboy Charles , yes ma’am

User3 JUST DATE ALREADY!

the.Y/N EW. No

charles_leclerc Ok , the ew was unnecessary. But same. No thanks :)) i’m not dating my sister .

User4 Charles call y/n his sister 🥺

However, No matter how much you tried to keep things professional by being just a driver: journalist, something your boss commented during a quick meeting because fans kept shipping you with every driver. What you found weird is that most drivers you see as older brothers and some even uncles (don’t tell Nando). Plus most of them had girlfriends!

Nevertheless, your relationship with them seems to always end up with them hanging around your office at Sky, whenever they are free. Even the older drivers like Nando, Lewis and even Nico and Kevin use your office as an escape from the chaos of their motorhomes.

You didn’t mind hosting the older drivers in your room, as they were usually tame and kept to themselves as they read the books on your shelves in peace. They usually plop themselves down your couch and place the oversized plush you always bring on their lap. They always brought you snacks, so you looked forward to the times when their heads popped in your door and asked if they could come in.

But when the younger drivers visit your office? And if they came in groups — which they usually do. Oh boy, it was either a clusterfuck of them stealing snacks from your secret stash or your office becoming a den for hot gossip in the paddock usually led by the one and only Charles Leclerc.

Case in point. You now have Charles, Carlos, Max and to your surprise Checo in your office. The older Spanish-speaking driver was a rare visitor, but a welcome one nonetheless.

But considering the topic in discussion, you understood the presence of the two Red Bull drivers.

You were in the middle of typing away on your laptop when suddenly they barged in with ice cream tubs and spoons at hand then found a spot to sit and made themselves comfortable.

“Is Newey leaving Red Bull?” Charles asked Max and Checo, as he scooped a bite from his ice cream.

“We have no clue! Christian is saying nothing to us. Nothing” Max exclaimed exasperated as Checo nodded in agreement.

“So Adrian Newey is moving to Ferrari?” You questioned as you pointed your spoon at Charles

“Y/N, I love you like a sister and I know that you’re incredibly smart, but sometimes you are stupid. We’re clueless in Ferrari, hence my question ”

You threw your wooden spoon at the Monaco-born Ferrari driver. Which he easily avoided thanks to his fast reflexes. Freaking f1 reflexes!

“ I wasn't the person who got named for being stupid— HEY! Max give that back!! You don't even like salted caramel” You were trying to rebut Charles’ insult but were distracted when Max took your ice cream for himself.

Max just shrugged and placed his half-consumed chocolate brownie fudge ice cream in your hands — his spoon still in it. You didn’t complain further as you took his spoon and took a bite yourself. Yum! Brownie fudge is your favorite.

“Dude, what is even going on inside Red Bull? What was Horner under investigation for?” Carlos pressed on, trying to find answers. You were curious yourself

“Everyone is being weird. They’re keeping things from us. �� Checo added. You knew that they were truly left in the dark because if they knew they would’ve spilled instantly. NDAs be damned.

“Every interview, people keep asking if we know something! one more journalist and I swear I’ll run them over with my car! I hate each one of them” Max grumbled to himself.

You coughed. You knew that you were an exception but you couldn’t help but mess around with your friends.

“Don’t even, Y/N. You know you don’t count. “ Max waved you off.

“Wow! Thank you for that babe. Way to make a girl feel special” you said jokingly to the Dutch driver, as you winked dramatically. To which he only rolled his eyes — making you and the rest of the drivers laugh.

Max was immune to your flirting, unfortunately. It sucked especially when you had a tiny …. Ok big … HUGE crush on the 3 time world champion.

Max to you was like an Older brother’s best friend — Where you were the little sister crushing on him and you didn’t have a chance. You knew that like the other drivers, he just saw you as a little sister. But still you couldn’t help but fall the star driver of Red Bull.

Everything started when you brought your niece to the paddock because your sister had an emergency. You were scheduled to interview Checo in the RB motorhome and your niece was starting to feel fussy and you were slightly panicking on what to do— when Max suddenly came to your rescue and took your niece out to ice cream.

You admit you found Max attractive even before— like so damn attractive, but that was it— nothing more. But when you found Max carrying your niece in his arms as they played inside his garage, you knew that you were a goner to the charms of Max Verstappen.

You have been pinning for Max for a year now. You wished that you had the confidence and courage to just confess. But the fear of rejection freighted you, so you settled to just keep your friendship with the devastatingly handsome Red Bull champion.

As time went on, and nothing but friendship between you and Max developed — You’ve come to terms with the process of letting go of your feelings. Even when you’ve already met his mom and sister, hung out in his yacht and spent nights over his place when movie nights with Charles and his girlfriend went too late. You knew not to think anything of it.

And you were right to think nothing of it. Because not a week later, rumors had spread all over the paddock that Kelly Piquet had set her eyes on Max. You didn’t believe it at first, but when you saw with your own two eyes them engaged talking happily in his garage. The sparkle in Max’s eyes had solidified your will to move on.

A few weeks had passed and Kelly’s presence was constant in the paddock. Everyone had speculated that she had become Max’s girlfriend. But no one was sure, not even you — Max had been silent about it.

You tried to be happy for them you did. But you can’t blame yourself for wishing that it was you instead. Even to this day, you are still trying to forget and bury your feelings for Max.

“Y/N? Y/N? Oi Y/N” You suddenly were startled out of your thoughts. You forgot that you were still with the drivers in your office.

“What? Sorry, I just remembered something. What did you say?” You asked Charles as he was the one who called you.

“I asked if you had an interview today” Upon hearing the words of the Monegasque, your eyes grew wide as you remembered that you did have a job to do and you were indeed almost late.

“SHIT! I DO I’m late! “ You suddenly sprang up from your seat and quickly gathered the things you needed — while the 4 drivers looked at you with amusement.

“Who’s scheduled for you today, Y/N?” Max had also sat up from his seat and gave you an opened bottle of water.

You received the bottle from Max. You didn’t have to thank the driver — just one look from you and he knew.

The other drivers looked amongst themselves as they saw your exchange with Max. Everyone had a knowing look on their faces.

“I'm going to Mclaren today! I have the whole day with Lando. “ You said as you closed your once abandoned laptop and placed it in your bag — the one Max gave you on your birthday.

“What have you planned for Lando, Y/N?” Checo asked curiously. He still remembered his interview where you both made bracelets and stuffed toys for his daughters — his daughters loved it and went to sleep with it every single day.

“Oh! I’m taking Lando to a rage room, then drive-thru for food.” You explained happily to the older Mexican driver.

“Which part of that is the interview?” Charles had interjected

“While we eat the food in the parking lot, duh,” You said as if they should’ve already known. Well, they should by now.

“You know Y/N, Lando likes you right? ” Carlos had suddenly dropped a bomb on you. You didn’t expect it at all.

“What?” Max had suddenly said — catching all of you off guard. You didn’t understand, why Max had reacted so suddenly. But you pushed that aside for now as you continued to stuff everything you need in the bag

“What do you mean, Lando likes me?” You asked Carlos, with your eyebrows scrunched together.

“He likes you. Like you know? Take you out on dates and all that” Carlos replied as he gauged your reaction.

“Ohhhh, that’s cute! how did you even know about it, Carlos” you asked not taking any of it seriously.

“Cute?” You heard Max muttered under his breath.

“He told me. I won’t spoil anything else. I’m not even supposed to say that he likes you, but oh well.” Carlos shrugged as he finished off his ice cream.

“What do you think about Lando?” Charles suddenly asked you. The Ferrari driver leaned forward

“Will you date him if he asks you ?” Checo then joined the conversation.

“ You should say yes, I mean you two are the same-“ Charles had suddenly grown excited.

“Ok whoa, calm down dads. He hasn’t asked anything yet! “ you exclaimed

“But will you say yes if he asked?” Max then asked you, his eyes piercing your soul. After all of the other questions, Max was the one to Catch you off guard.

“Uh yes, I guess? I mean, why not? Lando is fun And he is single right … ” You were panicking so you said yes, even when you knew that you weren’t ready for anything like that since you still held feelings for Max.

“ YES! I thought that you-“ Charles wasn't able to finish his sentence when you cut him off.

“OK, bye guys! See you later. I need to go!” And just like that you were gone, leaving the four drivers in your office — not letting them question you further.

“I swear, that kid is weird.” Charles shakes his head from side to side at your actions.

“Lando likes Y/N?” Max had asked again just to make sure that he had heard the Spaniard correctly.

“ Lando is a good kid. They’ll make a good couple, no?” Checo asked no one in particular, as Max was not moving from where you left him.

“Wait, wait… since when did Lando like Y/N?” Max asked confused, looking green with jealousy. Fingers tingling as they clenched on itself

“Well he was interested in Y/N since the beginning but he backed off since everyone thought that you two had a thing” Carlos explained as he stood up and went to raid your snack stash.

“Yeah, but now you’re with the daughter of Piquet. what’s her name again? KELLY! yes, kelly. So Lando is taking his shot” Charles added

“You knew? Charles, you knew about Lando?” Max was aghast at the knowledge that was just receiving now.

“Well yeah? I was the one to encourage him to ask Y/N out. ” Charles shrugged nonchalantly. He knew about your feelings for the Red Bull driver, but he also saw how hurt you were when Max started seeing Kelly out of nowhere. Charles wanted to help his friends — specially the ones that he grew to love like his own sibling in any way that he could. Plus it was time for Y/N to have fun, and Lando Norris is exactly that.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Max was conflicted. His emotions growing uncontrollably by the second.

“ Mate, we haven’t seen you for how many weeks! You were always out with your new girlfriend. Even Y/N had no contact with you “ Carlos explained to Max.

silence filled the room, when suddenly pings of notifications sounded all over the rooms.

And Charles couldn’t help but whistle.

“Well he sure does move past” he had added.

Your story

As Max looked at his phone. Your Ig story flashed. His heart had started to hurt and the feeling of a pit in his stomach grew. it was as if someone punched him right in the gut.

And another notification ping had popped . And it only made Max’s stomach churn even further.

landonorris

[040504210320092209191319]

can i confess something

despite being online when the terms pr/sh/p and ant/ were conceived bc i was in mostly oc circles i had no idea that fandom at large became so polarized until relatively recently and think the whole thing is stupid

like

i sincerely hope that ka/sh/n implodes those terms permanently bc not only are they not helpful at all they lead to a lot of assumptions over the character and morals of strangers

i noticed bc someone straight up was like “it’s like a philosophical thought problem; is it still okay to ship them if we didn’t know they were cousins for 20+ years?” and other people “uhhh i swear i’m not pr/sh/p but i’m gnna ignore the canon and au they’re not related!!” and i’m just sitting here like

.. do you see how fucking dumb those terms are and how much stock people put in to their media consumption as a reflection of their morals and how that just Doesn’t Work 😭 ?????

like YES i will avoid certain ship content i don’t like; i’ll block accounts that center on characters i don’t want to see; i DO NOT engage with people who like certain media that i think is cringe — but i can do all of these things w/o attacking them which i think is what a lot of people need to learn idk..???

do i think certain people are freaks?? yes!!! duh!! but i feel like esp w/ eng speaking fandom spaces no one minds their own business or truly curates their own space or they think curating their space means controlling who their mutuals follow or engage with

like.

unless it is someone who’s TRULY horrible then it’s not my business?? like i think there’s a difference between your mutual following someone who draws r18 of a ship you don’t like and your mutual following an outed predator or whatever and in that case i’m not picking a fight w/ them i’m just blocking and moving on

i’m getting off track but i HATE the terms pr/sh/p and ant/ bc they’re completely disregard the fact that people can think for themselves and again impose very polarized morals on people who are NUANCED and probably dgaf if i’m gnna be real 💀

idk it reminds me of the person who pissed me tf off bc they were like “brav/rn seems cool but uhm the miIitary??? 🫤🫤🫤” and implied that anyone who watched it was endorsing pro-miIitary propaganda when the show isn’t even about that at all they just want to virtue signal and say i’m smart for not falling for …. nonexistent propaganda ???

in the end it really isn’t that complicated and it isn’t anyone’s job to curate your space for you. block and mute content and accs who post things you dislike. you don’t have to fight about it. maybe stop defining others and yourself based off what you’re shipping or consuming like idk!! the block feature is quick easy put the pr/sh/p ant/ terms away

i just think it’s crazy like i blinked and the etiquette of just blocking or ignoring content you dislike was replaced with

whatever this is

and i’m sorry but i think it’s hilarious that it took something like this to fully expose how pointless those terms and that attitude in general are

[enduracarrotchips]

YouTuber AU

Hello welcome to Dating Scandal but with Twitter Involved (nightmare)

A little exposition here: 

Link, Zelda, Sidon, Revali, and Riju are the most popular group of youtubers on the internet and have a huge fanbase that likes to theorize, draw fanart, and write fanfiction about them. Disclaimer, I don’t actually interact with real-person fandoms myself lol there’s just too much potential for drama and misunderstandings & they’re always bound to end in a dumpster fire but that is sort of what this au is about so.

Impa, Mipha, Daruk, and Urbosa are family friends that appear in a lot of their videos/streams. 

(This is an art blog I swear)

enter vidcon 20XX

Link: 

blows stuff up/sets stuff on fire with a side of cooking vids and gaming

most are filmed outside, he does those challenges where you try to cook stuff with limited ingredients/materials

has the largest fanbase of all of them, but not the most…intimidating.

does a lot of collab videos, mostly with Impa, Daruk, and Riju because they have similar interests/channels, but Zelda appears in his videos and is seen filming and the stans read too far into it

simps. i’m pointing at you.

Most popular videos are “shield surfing on rock!—how I broke my leg” “can Daruk eat Impa’s motorcycle?” and “how to inhale ranch dressing.”

Twitter handle is @ arsonistslullabye because he’s a hozier fan

45m subs

Zelda:

theories, analyses, conspiracies, and the occasional e x p e r i m e n t

she once got link to eat a frog for 50 bucks.

most people argue that she’s better than more popular YouTubers because she actually has quality content to give to the world and she has a lot of defensive supporters

She used to get a lot of hate before Urbosa spoke up about it and scared the bejeezus out of everyone

has an actual posting schedule

“Happy Sunday everyone, it’s Zelda Hyrule and today we will be talking about cryptozoology and why blupees exist, you cowards.”

Twitter handle is @ zeldaofhyrule and she is pan. just so you know. One of those calm extroverts that mystify me to this day.

18m subs

Sidon:

fashion/life hacks. Like gourmet troom troom but if they were real people.

Has the 2nd largest fanbase

most of them are girls

Sidon has a boyfriend though, which he told everyone at VidCon a few years ago

cue the drama and shipping and the entire fandom trying to figure out who the boyfriend is. A well known reddit thread emerged that presented the common guesses being Link, Sidon, and Zelda.

“But it can’t be Zelda, Sidon’s gay.”

“I’m not in the fandom but I thought Zelda was a boy??”

“Did you just say Sidon? Is that a typo? Are you saying that Sidon’s dating himself?”

Sidon x Sidon became a fandom joke.

Don’t look at me I’m just setting up all the worldbuilding. every fandom has their weird dark sides and Sidon x Sidon is the Linkcest of the Sidon YT fandom.

Mystery BF is actually Bazz, a pretty inconspicuous guy who appeared in a few of his videos. This was confirmed a year ago, but everyone still ships him with other YouTubers because they’re convinced he was lying to throw them off his scent. He really can’t catch a break and this is why you should not ship real people.

Twitter handle is @ officialprincesidon

says “beguiling” a lot

21m subs ᕙ( ͡❛ ▿ ͡❛)ᕗ

Mipha:

Sidon’s sister, hasn’t posted a single video but just has the channel for show because she appears in so many of Sidon’s videos as a model for his makeup tutorials and whatnot

has 328k for that. Everyone loves her, she’s great. @ mimipha

Revali:

Link’s sworn rival

Link thinks they’re friends

He kept popping up in link’s Twitter threads and making snarky comments until zelda called him out for not even following link (so why was he stalking his acc) which kept the Twitter drama to a minimum

Revali was the catalyst of a few popular memes and that’s where most of his subs come from.

drags link into a few challenges that always get a ton of views because of how competitive they get

“ITS JUST ASININE” is a running joke that everyone tries to get him to say. His @ is itsjustasinine as well

Urbosa is the only person who can win an argument with him

5m subs and growing rapidly. newer to youtube than everyone else.

Impa:

Doesn’t have a channel she’s just a mutual friend of Mipha, Zelda, and Link

Rides a motorcycle, so she is used in a few of Link’s videos.

@ ihaveamotorcycle because she thinks having a motorcycle is a personality trait. the most unruly on Twitter when it comes to replying to fan’s stuff, leaking upcoming videos and generally causing chaos.

Mipha’s girlfriend. That’s how she met Zelda and Link.

Urbosa:

Is actually a model, but she has a ton of YouTuber friends because she’s known Zelda since birth.

when she entered the youtube community she didn’t realize she would be adopting like 15 children

5m subs. her videos are professional & related to her modelling career. @ urbosasfury

I feel like she would do unboxing vids. I’m not sure what she’s unboxing.

Daruk

Just a friend of Link’s, fun guy. yells a lot. once ate a rock and had no reaction.

people are scared of him for that reason

Riju:

yoga & gymnastics & “ha look at how flexible I am its eAsY” videos

you know the type

she also does reactions and is sponsored by save the sand seals charities which she is very enthusiastic about. She’s also Urbosa’s niece and the only minor in the gang (15). I like to think that the champions YT community is actually not creepy so everyone respects her a ton

doesn’t post frequently, she mostly appears in Link’s videos to jump out of airplanes or whatever. And sometimes Zelda’s if she’s interested in the topic. 500k subs, but she’s always really popular when she appears in Link’s videos.

VidCon:

In the months leading up to VidCon, some fans on the internet made a few discoveries: first of all, that the inside of Link’s house is painted green. This is a big deal because all of his videos are filmed outside either in his backyard or on trips that he and the brosquad go on to do…whatever bros do. explosions. idk. The point is he had some announcement about VidCon and filmed it inside. Only the wall and a potted plant were shown.

However, the colour was similar to the the shade of Zelda’s living room. Fans dug through years and years of old videos and found a clip of Zelda walking through a hallway, where there was an open door and a glimpse of a houseplant.

There were 2 types of responses to the theory:

“They could just be roommates guys calm down”

“and they were ROOMMATES?”

others pointed out that Link could just not have a house and had to crash in Zelda’s

Some guy on reddit claimed he had a botany degree and declared that the houseplants in the clips were not of the same genus. Normal people pointed out that the plant would have grown 4 years between the clips and would look considerably different.

#Zelink trended on twitter for a while and people posted other old clips from both of their channels and the frog video blew up again

Impa retweeted a post tagged as #zelink with “rofl” and later publicly apologized for causing confusion.

Fans noticed that in the “can a motorcycle drive over my arm” (it was clickbait he’s fine) episode 2 years ago, Link was eating out of a paper lunch bag with his name written on it in handwriting that a few people claimed to look like Zelda’s, leading people to believe that she had packed him a lunch.

However, this theory was shot down with the counterargument that Zelda can’t cook. although. i mean how much skill do you need to make a sandwich.

No one knows what tumblr is doing at this time

Zelda wore a scarf in her “Save the Sand Seals” video that matched identically to the scarf Link wore when he travelled to Hebra to film a shield surfing video, but it’s been debated wether it’s actually the same scarf or not.

Neither Zelda nor Link has spoken up about the theories, and besides Impa’s one slip on twitter, neither has any of their friends. Zelda received a lot of backlash for the assumption that she was dating Link because he has a lot of delusional fans that didn’t want her to “steal their man” or whatever the hell that type of fan would get mad about

Oh yea and bolson & karson run a zelink fanpage on twitter sorry I forgot about that

after that whole mess, everyone was even more anticipant of VidCon in the hopes that some of their questions would be answered.

The whole batch went to VidCon this year: Link, Impa, Daruk, and Riju are a gang while Sidon and Mipha go together and Zelda & Revali each go separately. Urbosa is there for supervision moral support

Zelda has always been much better at dodging questions that she doesn’t want to answer than anyone else, so her Q&A went without a hitch. When asked to confirm the rumours she said “which one?” and then moved on to the next question (without actually confirming any rumours).

Link is generally a more awkward person but eventually said that he had filmed the video in Zelda’s house because it was nicer and didn’t realize it would cause such an uproar. Fans were disappointed, but Bolson claimed he saw Link and Zelda exiting the hotel elevator on the same floor after Link’s Q&A session. No one believed him.

Fans went back to theorizing over who Link, Zelda, and Sidon were all dating, because apparently they can’t just be dating unknown people and have to be with other YouTubers

Sidon and Bazz got engaged about a week after VidCon, making at least 4 preteen girls cry

actually try 4 million

Sidon x Sidon made a brief comeback but Sidon spoke up about his fandom for the first time ever on twitter and told everyone that no, he was not dating himself. eventually, everyone settled down and accepted that none of them were in a relationship save for a few loud fans.

Link and Zelda still got the occasional “when will you tell us who you’re dating?” comment but most of them were joking and the people who still hardcore shipped them were generally frowned upon. Zelda’s popularity went up after VidCon and she regained the 200k subscribers she’d lost after the first theory dropped.

Two months after VidCon, Link posted a video titled “Zelda and I’s House Tour!” and gave around 45 million people a heart attack

as revealed in the video, they had actually been dating since they were 16 and everyone’s just a fool.

the potted plant is named Hestu.

[feathered-serpents]

Tagged by @crit20lesbian (thank you!!) 

1- why did you choose your URL?

When this blog started I was really into Good Omens (still am! just quieter about it but that’ll change as we get closer to season 2) so I wanted a URL that referenced Good Omens but was also neutral enough that I could switch fandoms without it being weird. “Feathered-serpents” is meant to be referring to the angels and snakes in Good Omens but also the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl because I’m a mythology slut. I love this deity so much and he’s ALWAYS made to be a monster in Western media when he’s!! A god of art, wind, and knowledge!! And created humanity!! He’s so cool Aztec mythos is SO COOL 

2- Any side blogs?

Not really. I used to have a Flight Rising side blog but it’s been abandoned for awhile. Been thinking about making a Dragon Age sideblog but I basically just use Twitter for that so this is what we get 

3- How long have you been on Tumblr?

10 years. Since I was 13. Technically 11 if you count when I made a blog in 2010 but didn’t know how to use tumblr since it’s not user friendly and just let it sit there for a year until I figured it out. 

It’s certainly done something to my development. Dunno what. But something 

4- Do you have a queue tag?

No. Everything you get is live 

5- Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I’ve had a series of blogs over the years, leaving older ones by either switching fandoms after I’d built too much of a niche in one to change my whole blog or by deleting the accounts cause I was swearing off tumblr and we can all see how that worked out. This one is my fifth main blog and I made it cause the fourth one got shadowbanned for no reason! Yay! 

6- Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

There’s this amazing comic by the artist @hollow-head of Aziraphale and Crowley’s drunken debate from the book and it contained a panel with Aziraphale in a little rocket ship as Crowley explained interstellar bird travel. I thought it was cute and asked if I could use it and they said yes and even sent me a version with a white background. I love it and I’m never changing it 

7- Why did you choose your header?

I really like the book Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman it’s DEEPLY weird and I’m still waiting for an adaptation. There’s an illustrated version which is beautiful and my header is the scene where the main character first enters the Underground world. I thought it was cool! 

8- What’s your post with the most notes?

The fucking. Stupid female aliens post I made in a rage after hearing that female aliens were barely included in the game Mass Effect because the artists “Didn’t know what that would look like” 

Like five seconds after I made this some dude reblogged it with “takes more than a voice and pronoun change but aight” after calling me a “puritan who hates women” on a separate post for expressing my approval of a scene in that same game being changed where a woman is confiding in you about her tormented childhood while the camera is just. Glued to her ass for no reason 

(he also reblogged and disagreed with me on like. many Mass Effect posts. It was deeply strange. I did not know him. He’s blocked now) 

9- How many mutuals do you have? Not sure but quite a few! I’d say about half the people I follow are mutuals as I tend to follow people I see in my notes a lot 

10- How many followers do you have?

1,577 but the number tends to go up and down constantly and also a good amount are probably porn bots 

11-How many people do you follow?

279! 

12- Have you ever made a shit post?

That’s all I do here 

13- How often do you use Tumblr each day?

That’s between me and god 

14- Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Not really. If someone is annoying me or if they just post too much content I don’t like I’ll just block them. Usually it’s not even because I think they’re a bad person I just don’t wanna see their Eliasfucking posts in the TMA tag I’m sorry it’s too much* 

*(that’s an example i’m not referring to anyone specific) 

15- How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Usually avoid unless I think it’s very important 

16- Do you like tag games?

Yes but I will usually forget to do them unless I do it RIGHT AWAY (like this one) 

17- Do you like ask games?

Also yes but I tend to forget to respond to those too. I will do the WWDITS/TMA prompts you all sent I will do them I just get overwhelmed by things I enjoy 

18- Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

We’re all in pretty niche corners so I don’t think any of us are “famous” but I am mutuals with some really cool artists. That’s fun! 

19- Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Platonically <3

Oh god now I have to tag people uhhhhhhh @alexiley​, @dudeiwannasleep​, @annabelle--cane​, @ghostbustermelanieking​, is that enough? that feels like enough (no pressure!!) 

[slafkovskys]

how could i forget / a. turcotte

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

my masterlist!

title from 3:15 by bazzi

warning: implied sexual content and a lot of f-bombs 

-

you were staring out of the window, watching as the white flakes fell from the sky. it was the first snow of the year. you smile, remembering last year's first snowfall and the year before that. so many memories made during this normal, michigan occurrence.

memories you could never forget with a person who sometimes you wished that you could.

“hey, y/n?” cassidy calls, causing you to turn around. she’s got her backpack thrown across her shoulders and a blanket tucked under her arm, “i’m heading out. i should be back by sunday.”

“okay. be careful,” you wrap your arms around your roommate, “text me when you get there and tell mary i miss her.”

cassidy shakes her head, “she’ll make you cookies and tell me i can’t have any.”

you both share a smile before she walks out of your dorm, you follow to lock the door behind her. while she was going home for the weekend, you had no plans of leaving. your plans included bundling up under the covers and attempting to finish any work that you hadn’t already so that you could have the weekend off to just relax.

you see your phone light up from where it was charging on your desk, so you walk over to see who’s calling. there’s no name, only a number, but you only knew one person from illinois.

it made your heart stop.

you watch it ring, unable to move and secretly hoping that once they hear your voicemail they’ll realize that they’ve got the wrong number. the screen goes black for only a second before it lights up again with the same number. the same dimpled grin still haunting your mind.

you answer the call, pressing the phone to your ear. he’s talking to someone else, but he stops when you speak, “hello?”

he’s quiet at first and then, “it’s snowing.”

“how do you know that?” you ask, going back over to the window. you watch as a girl almost loses her footing on the sidewalk because of how slick it had become. her friend laughs, you don’t. “why do you know that?”

“i’m here, y/n,” he says and you take a sharp breath.

“where exactly is ‘here’ alex?” you bite your lip.

“michigan. plymouth specifically,” you’re silent, unsure of what to say. what could you say? he hadn’t been this close in almost a year. you hadn’t wanted him this close in almost a year. “are you in lansing?”

“where else would i be in the middle of the semester?” your statement is filled with venom reserved only for him and he winces.

“can i come see you?” you go quiet again. “i know that you hate me and i’m the last person that you want to look at right now, but i leave tomorrow. i leave for germany tomorrow and i can’t go without seeing you. saying goodbye to you.”

“why now?” you whisper. “you haven’t called me for a year and now- now you want to see me because you’re getting shipped off to europe for a few months? who the fuck do you think you are alex?”

“baby,” he whispers, voice shaking, “i know that i’m an asshole. i promise you that i tell myself every day, but please. please let me come and see you so i can try and fix it.”

“you can’t fix it, alex,” you say, voice cracking as tears threaten to spill from your eyes. he sighs and you ball your hand into a fist as the next words tumble out of your mouth, “be careful. the roads are already icy. text me when you’re outside so that i can let you in.”

“i love you,” he says. you don’t believe him.

you hang up the phone and throw it on your bed, grabbing a pillow to cover your face as you let out a frustrated scream. it was full of everything that you’d been holding in for a year. the pain of losing him. the thoughts of not knowing what you had done wrong. wondering what you could have done to make him stay. yet here you were, letting him stroll back into your life after you had worked so hard to erase him from it.

it was closure, you told yourself as you grabbed your things to go and shower.

it was closure, you told yourself as you pulled a dress from your closet before shoving it back in and grabbing leggings instead.

it was closure, you told yourself as you put on your slippers to go downstairs and let him in two hours later.

there he was, standing outside of the door with his hand shoved in the pockets of his sweatpants and his hood pulled over his head. he looks up as you push open the door and slips inside, “thank you.”

silently, you turn around and walk back up the stairs to your dorm with him following closely behind. you swallow the lump in your throat as you unlocked the door, letting you both inside. you walk over to the window while he stands awkwardly in the middle of the room.

you lean forward to look out, “germany, huh?”

“yeah,” he scratches the back of his head, “are you- are you mad?”

“am i mad that you’re leaving or am i mad that you just ghosted me out of nowhere?” you ask, finally turning to face him. his hands are shoved back in his pockets but he’s looking straight at you. “because i’m not mad that you’re going. how could i be? i’m mad i had to fucking find out from instagram and not you. i’m fucking mad because you just left me with no explanation. i’m fucking mad-”

your voice breaks.

he moves forward almost timidly, ready for you to tell him to back away. you hold your hand out for him and let you pull him into his chest. you sob into the fabric of his sweatshirt while he runs a hand through your hair, “you don’t know how bad i feel-”

“then why’d you do it?” you ask, face still smothered in his chest. “we talked about la. we talked about getting a house. we talked about kids. did that mean nothing to you?”

“it meant everything to me,” he assured, pulling you back and placing his hands on your cheeks. they were warm from his pockets. “i got scared.”

“of what?”

“i got scared that you wouldn’t want me. after i got drafted, that night when we were in bed, we talked about life, the future, our future, and why would you want to stay with me? you knew i was going to sign after one year and then i’d be gone. i didn’t want to hold you back.”

“what the fuck?” you breath out. “that’s the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard you say and i’ve taken care of you when you were drunk, alex turcotte.”

he flinches.

“no, i’m sorry. that was harsh,” you shake your head and wrap your hand around his wrist, feeling his heart beating rapidly against your fingers. “if i didn’t want you, to be with you, i wouldn’t have been alex. i loved you so fucking much. i would’ve waited four years or however many it took for us to be together. i’m sorry that i made you feel like i wouldn’t have.”

“wouldn’t?” he asked.

“you can’t be serious,” you pull away from his arms then, “you ignored me alex. you changed your fucking phone number and then come strolling back in and expect everything to be the same as it was before you left. a year ago, i would’ve gone with you anywhere, but now? i wouldn’t walk down the street with you.”

he sighs, dropping down onto the futon pressed against the wall and burying his face in his hands. you lean against your bed and stare at the wall of pictures above him.

“would you let me make it up to you?” he asks, voice muffled by his hands. “can i have a second chance?”

“did you not hear anything that i just said?”

“i heard every single thing that you just said, y/n. you might as well have just punched me in my fucking stomach,” he says, looking up at you with red-rimmed eyes. “i know that i’ve got no right to be here. i’ve got no right to ask you to forgive me right now. i’ve got no right to ask for you back. all i’m asking, though, is for one more chance. one more chance and i swear on my career that it will not be something that you regret.”

“please do not stake your career on me, alex,” you sigh, pulling on the ends of your sleeves, “and what if i say no?”

“then i’ll leave you alone,” he promises. “i will get on my plane in the morning and you will never hear from me again. you can move on with your life.”

“i’ve been trying for a year, to move on that is, but you’re fucking everywhere. you’re too good,” you laugh and he chuckles.

“you’re too good for me,” he says and you nod.

“you really fucked me up,” you say, looking down at the floor. your slipper covered feet shift back and forth, “and you know that you did. i can tell. i’m not gonna let you do it again.”

he sighs as he looks to the ground.

“if you’re thinking about leaving, will you just tell me next time? i don’t want to go through that again.”

his head shoots up, “what do you mean?”

“i’m asking you to just talk to me this time. let it end mutually and not with you moving across state lines and changing your phone number,” you shrug, “i also mean that i’m going to get so much shit from cassidy for giving you another chance.”

you can see it all click in his head. he shoots up from the futon and crashes into you, spinning you in a circle before resting his forehead against yours. his eyes flicker down to your lips, “will you let me?”

and you did.

you let him take you apart and put you back together just like you used to. he was gentle, holding your hand and telling you how sorry he was. how much he regretted everything and how much he loved you. how he would never do it again.

it was much later when everyone else on your floor was asleep but you were wide awake. you crane your neck upwards to look at him, “what are you thinking about?”

“about how you’re the person making me not want to get on that flight tomorrow morning,” he answers, fingers trailing along your side.

you shake your head, giggling softly, “if you think that i won’t drive you to the airport myself and put you on that plane, then you really don’t know me at all.”

he smiles, “i’m gonna miss that.”

“what?” you raise an eyebrow.

“your laugh,” he sighs, pulling you closer. you wrap an arm around his bicep, “one day, i promise you, i’m buying you a one way to wherever the fuck i am.”

“don’t make promises that you can’t keep,” you mumble and he makes a noise of objection. “you’ve done it before. you just left and forgot about us. there are other girls out there alex. i don’t know why they’re so hung up on me.”

“i can’t forget us. i’ll never forget us,” he whispers, pressing his lips to yours gently. “you especially. you loved me before i went round one. those girls, they see the contract and want me. you couldn’t care less if i played hockey or not.”

“but if you didn’t play hockey we wouldn’t have met,” you wage and he hums. “there’s really girls that are like that?”

“not you. you’re different,” he grins, “do you want to know why?”

“why can’t you forget me alex?” you thumb at his cheek.

“because you’re so fucking money baby,” he teases just like he used to because he knew that he hated it. you try and shove him away but he won’t let you, “no. you’re mine for a few more hours.”

“well try and sleep then. i have a class and you have a flight in the morning.”

it was hard walking him downstairs the next morning. it seemed like you were there for hours holding onto him beside his car. last time you let him go, you didn't see him for a year. he called you as soon as he pulled away from campus and you were on the phone with him his entire drive back to plymouth. you only hung up when he had to go through airport security and couldn’t talk anymore.

a few hours later, you were sitting in your eleven am when your phone lit up from the edge of the table.

i’ll be back soon

you’re so money and don’t let anyone tell you different

i love you forever

[haledamage]

@queen-scribbles I'm holding onto the ask until I finish the other one ;)

petrichor - the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a long period of dry weather ❤ Nadia/Kurt (pre-relationship but well into the mutual interest phase) featuring Vasco bringing some big brother energy

---

"Oh good! Looks like the rain stopped." Vasco announced with an unnecessary amount of drama as they stepped out from under the tree canopy and into a clearing. There was no way to tell how much of the “rain” that had been soaking them for the last hour was fresh and how much had just taken its time getting to them through the thick foliage. "I guess we don’t have to sleep in the mud tonight after all."

Nadia patted him on the arm in commiseration as she moved past him to scale the stone outcropping they were hoping would be dry enough to camp on for the night. "Sorry to disappoint you, Vasco."

He took her proffered hand and let her help him up the wall. "I’m sure we’ll find some dark grungy cave tomorrow and you can make it up to me."

She chuckled as he surveyed their would-be campsite with a scowl, looking a bit like an angry, tattooed, half-drowned rat. "You really hate being landlocked, don’t you?"

"In some ways, it’s not as bad as I expected." He took his hat off and flipped it over, dumping water onto his boots. "In others, it’s much worse."

He stomped off to get a fire started as she helped the rest of their group up too, except Siora who left with a nod to go hunting. Kurt went last, as he always did, making sure the others didn't fall and wordlessly refusing any help for himself.

Once everyone was up, Nadia took her hat off too and shook the water off the brim. It had made a valiant attempt at keeping her head dry, and while it had succeeded in keeping the rain out of her face, her hair was damp and heavy. She took the hat between her teeth to free up both hands and started disassembling her braid.

“Let me help you with that.” Before she could reply, she felt rough fingers gently push her hands away as Kurt started to unpin the braid from its crown. She stood still and let him work. It wasn’t the first time he’d helped with it - he was surprisingly good at braiding hair, though she’d been sworn to secrecy about that fact - and she trusted him to know what to do.

She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy it, a smile growing on her face as she breathed in the scent of the clearing they’d chosen to camp in. Petrichor lingering from the earlier rain, sweetness from nearby wildflowers, woodsmoke from the campfire, worn leather and steel from the man at her back, a whiff of the ocean that told her Vasco lingered somewhere nearby. Teer Fradee was alive around her, joyfully so, and she reveled in it.

“I’ve missed that smile of yours, Green Blood,” Kurt said softly, bringing her out of her reverie. Nadia turned towards him enough to see his face without disrupting what he was doing, and he paused long enough to brush his knuckle over the corner of the smile in question. “Haven’t seen you smile like that since your mother got sick. This place has been good for you.”

Her smile grew even more. “Less the place and more the company, I think.”

“Well, I know you don’t mean me.” He finished unplaiting her hair and ran his fingers through it a few times, both to wring some of the water out of it and as an excuse to avoid her eyes. “You had me then too.”

“Not like I do now.” He’d always been good at keeping her at arm’s length, friendly but not quite friends, especially the last few years. But that had changed since they’d boarded the ship to Teer Fradee, and seemed to change a little more every day.

“Perhaps.” His brow knotted as he considered her words, like he was trying to find a hidden meaning behind them. She couldn’t tell if he liked the implications or not.

“If it helps ease that furrow in your brow, I can’t give you all the credit.” She reached up and swept her thumb over his brow, smoothing away the frown only for it to be replaced by surprise, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s this island. I never in my wildest dreams would have pictured that a place like this existed in the world.” She paused, tapping her chin, and her smile sharpened to a wry grin. “Well, maybe in my really wild dreams. I do have a very active imagination.”

Kurt chuckled, a warm rasp of sound. “You really know how to ruin a moment, Nadia.”

“It was worth it to make you laugh.” Nadia had to fight to keep her footing, unsure if she wanted to shy away from the way he looked at her then or lean closer to bask in it. “I’ve missed your laugh. I thought you’d left it in Sérène.”

“So did I.” His hand finally stilled in her hair but didn’t fall away, resting carefully on the back of her head. “You’ve always been good at bringing it out of me.”

“My dear Kurt, that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She meant for it to be playful, but it came out barely above a whisper.

He brushed a strand of hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Give me time. I can do better.”

A loud groan sounded from nearby as Vasco lowered himself to a log that he’d claimed as a chair. Nadia and Kurt leapt away from each other simultaneously. She met the Naut’s innocent grin with the best glare she could muster, and he held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t let me interrupt. As ye were.”

Kurt mumbled, “I should go see to the tents,” and left, not looking at either of them. If Nadia didn’t know better, she could swear that his ears and the back of his neck were a little red.

“Sorry, Nadi,” Vasco lied. “Didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”

“Yes you did,” she grumbled, pouting childishly as she flopped down on a log of her own. She opened her bag to find her collection of herbs and dried mushrooms, hoping to get something going for dinner and also trying not to let her eyes follow Kurt across camp. She could still feel the echo of that last touch against her cheek.

And she could tell by his smug smirk that Vasco knew it. “Maybe a little. Might want to take that outside the camp next time, if you don’t want an audience. Just say you’re goin’ for a walk. Works every time.”

Nadia struggled to maintain a proper pout as her smile broke through. “Well, I was going to take you to some hot springs tomorrow that Siora told me are nearby, but I don’t think you deserve a hot spring anymore, dear Captain.”

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Excellency,” he teased, dipping into as deep of a bow as he could while sitting down. “Next time I just won’t let ye know I’m watchin’.”

Kurt turned back toward the fire at the sound of Nadia’s laughter, watching her light up with it, smile wide and easy, eyes bright, hair falling in gentle waves down her back. He committed the image to memory along with the warmth that bloomed in his chest from the sight, then turned back to his work.

[musical-chick-13]

Ctrl Z Thoughts Season 2 Ep 1&2

-At least they’re remembering Luis and treating his death like an actual serious issue.

-I think I ship Sofía/Javier out of spite, literally just because he’s not Raúl.

-Gaby’s been fired? GOOD she should be fired. Society has progressed past the need for student/teacher ‘‘‘‘romances’’’’ in teen dramas.

-Also...is the implication that she’s now ALEX’S LEGAL GUARDIAN? WOW THAT’S FUCKED UP. AND THAT’S COMING FROM ME.

-They actually ADDRESSED Isabela’s absence? Wow, that was more than I expected. She got the fuck out of there and has a hot new boyfriend? Good for her; I’m glad to see my girl get wins. I want only good things for her.

-AND Maria addressing she messed up, that Pablo sucks, and that she should stand up for herself? NICE.

-Honestly? I’m kind of glad that the explanation for Sofía’s dad faking his death turned out to be mundane (i.e., life insurance to get his wife and daughter out of poverty) and not like...being embroiled in an international spy conspiracy.

-My official working theory was that the hacker is Luis’s mom, trying to force people to answer for the death of her son, and honestly? If that’s the case I support her.

-Except for hurting Alex. Who is the victim of a predatory adult (which, lbr the show will never address). And of course Alex was willing to go to bat for that same predatory adult, because that’s what predatory adults do. They convince their underage victims to do anything to protect them. Yes, Alex let Gerry out. But Gerry chose to beat Luis up, leading to his death? I feel like it’s not fair that she gets blamed for Luis the same way that Gerry, Quintanilla, Dario, and Ernesto are.

-But considering that they actually mentioned this possibility in the second episode, I doubt that’s the case.

-LOL what if it’s just Raúl again. He already admitted he followed her to the graveyard.

-You know, I made a joke about Alex and Sofía getting together because I just want Alex to date literally any other lady than her PREDATORY TEACHER, but their interactions are genuinely sweet and their actresses have good chemistry.

-Oh, that one teacher who slept with Quintanilla handed someone a coffee in a couple scenes after Alex got drugged with spiked coffee, what if it’s HER because the stress of the hacker in season 1 led to them sleeping together in the first place? (Insert Buzzfeed Unsolved “I’ve connected the dots” meme).

-See, my FEAR is that they’re going to make Javier the one behind this, because solving a mystery was what brought him and Sofía closer the first time, and because he was jealous of the attention Raúl was getting from her. *sigh* I guess they had to do something to make Raúl seem like the ‘‘‘‘‘better’’’’’ option.

-I probably shouldn’t feel bad for Natalia because she really is a jerk, but I kind of do. Just a little. She doesn’t deserve to be caught up in this.

-I had one (1) episode without Raúl, and it was glorious. Sadly, I have to see him again. God, I hate this. (Sorry, I genuinely don’t get why people like this boy. It’s not even that his actor is good, he has, like. Two expressions. Where is this supposed “chemistry” with Sofía coming from?? You can’t have actor chemistry if one of the parties isn’t even acting. Literally everyone else in the cast is a better actor, and Sofía has better chemistry with literally every other student.)

-OH HE DID NOT JUST CALL SOFÍA CRAZY I HATE RAÚL I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM

-I swear to FUCKING God, if this is the endgame ship, I am burning something down.

-You know what I think would actually work? Raúl/Natalia. They’re both assholes. And there’s the potential for using each other developing into mutually destructive romantic feelings. *sigh* At this point, maybe I should be writing TV shows.

-Am I supposed to know who Claudia is? I don’t remember her. But so far, I love her. I hope they don’t screw that up.

-WHO TF SET LUIS’S HOUSE ON FIRE. THIS POOR BOY CAN’T CATCH A BREAK EVEN AFTER HE’S DEAD. WHY WOULD THE HACKER DO THIS?? MARTA OBVIOUSLY LOVES HER SON.

-If Gerry’s going to keep getting this little of screen time, I can’t say I’ll complain. I hate him, too.

[fandom-necromancer]

Brothers take care of each others

This was prompted by an amazing anon! Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 | Character: Elijah Kamski

The ceiling above him was still clad in total darkness, the sky outside the window turning light blue only at the horizon and stars sparkling peacefully. It was an hour that demanded everyone to stay in bed and get a couple hours’ worth of sleep. Yet Gavin laid in his bed and stared up at his ceiling unable to fall asleep ever since the call of ‘Hah, it worked!’ had woken him up ten minutes to four o’clock. Since then he tried to ignore the distant sounds of tools clattering to the floor. One thing was for sure: Sleeping over these noises was far easier than falling asleep to them. he cursed, looking at his alarm that read 4:30 completely indifferent to what that time meant for Gavin. He sighed deeply. There was no use staying under the sheets any longer, he was awake now. Might as well stand up.

Not bothering with any clothes other than the boxer shorts and the loose old T-shirt he had slept with, he opened the door and yawned heartily on his way to the bathroom. ‘Oh, you are awake!’ Gavin’s lids fell in resignation, as he showed his brother the middle finger and continued walking towards the bathroom without even looking at him. Ten minutes later, he had splashed some water in his face and had readied himself for another day. Sort of. He had zero interest in trimming his stubble and trying to hide the dark rings under his eyes was of no use either. At least he felt ready to deal with his brother now.

‘Morning’, he hummed as he entered the living room, stifling yet another yawn. ‘Good morning indeed.’ ‘Says you’, Gavin commented. ‘I didn’t phcking asked to be woken up at four.’ ‘Sorry. Forgot you’re not a morning person.’ ‘Nah, I’m normal, other than you’, he huffed. ‘Okay, I need a coffee now.’ ‘Perfect! Then you can already try out my improvements!’ Gavin stopped in the middle of the kitchen. ‘Improvements?’

‘Yes! I hooked up your coffee machine with the internet! It is now able to import recipes for any kind of coffee you might like and start brewing it – if you have given it the right ingredients of course.’ Gavin looked at Elijah with a face that expressed to equal measures pain and frustration. ‘And what about a regular damn coffee, like I always make it?’ ‘I called that program a “phcking” coffee’, Elijah mocked him, tapping at the display hastily attached to the machine. Gavin watched how his favourite mug filled with his life saving drink and sighed. ‘Oh, the wonders of technology…’ ‘Oh, then you will love what I did to your microwave!’

Gavin groaned, sipping on his coffee instead of commenting. It had only been three days so far and already Elijah had “improved” half of the technology he had in the house. He would have told him to stop, but as long as Elijah was busy tinkering with his stuff, he wouldn’t become bored. And if Gavin remembered one thing from his childhood, then he knew that was about the worst state one could meet his brother in. Even with Elijah no longer being part of Cyberlife, he was still an influential and rather public person. His latest talk about the autonomy of androids had had quiet the impact, especially in the anti-android community, as they had looked up to him as the creator of these “supposedly alive” machines. It shouldn’t have surprised Eli as much as it had that afterwards, people would come to him with their hate. But since someone had broken into his heavily secured house and had killed one of the Chloes without leaving as much as a trace, his home was an active crime-scene and it was either a hotel room or Gavin’s apartment for the man.

Elijah, curious as ever, had of course taken the latter, if not to spy on police investigation, then to spend a few weeks with his brother he hadn’t seen in ages. Not that Gavin really could complain - it was fun having him around. But he was also a usually very private person and Elijah’s constant energy had quickly started getting on his nerves.

‘And? When will you drive to work today?’, Elijah asked. ‘Still time for breakfast?’ Gavin sighed. ‘Yeah, sure. Want some toast? Don’t think I have much-‘ ‘I want to come with you.’ That made even sleep deprived Gavin suddenly attentive. ‘What?’ ‘To your workplace’, Eli explained. ‘I could find out more about the status of the investigation of my home. Also, I could finally see for myself who that certain android is you put an eye on!’ ‘I don’t- Elijah, you can’t just stay at the station. You are a civilian! I will keep you updated.’ ‘I’m also one of the richest men in the world. I doubt anyone would want to stop me.’ ‘I- Elijah, you still can’t-‘ ‘Come on!’, the man just talked over him. ‘It will be fun! I’ll drive us.’ Unable to stop his brother storming out of the flat with the keys, Gavin sighed, downed the rest of his coffee and hastily got dressed. That would be the worst day of his work life for sure.

-

‘So this is where you work. Interesting.’ ‘You’ve been here before’, Gavin grumbled, not really sure if he was more tired or more embarrassed at the moment. ‘Promise me you’ll leave me alone for at least the first hour, okay? I seriously have to get some stuff done.’ ‘Oh, of course!’ But despite his words, Elijah followed him to his desk. Gavin decided to ignore him in favour of starting up his terminal, but Nines had never been the one to hide what he was thinking: ‘Mr. Kamski? What are you doing here?’ ‘Oh, you must be Nines! I’m just accompanying my brother to work. Wanted to take a look at the place he keeps complaining about.’ ‘You can’t be here.’ ‘Well, but I am, am I not?’ ‘That… That really isn’t a valid argument.’ ‘Listen, Nines. How about instead of talking about something you can’t change anyways, you show me around a bit?’ Nines looked at Gavin for help, but it was his partner’s silent pleading him to “yes, please, get him away from me” that let him cave in. ‘Okay, but I can’t show you everything.’

Gavin watched them walk off and praised the blissful silence. He concentrated on the screen in front of him, knowing he had to finish all the important work now before Eli would come back and annoy him further. He loved his brother. But some distance was clearly needed after all these years. He actually managed to answer his mails and find himself back into his case, reviewing evidence and the first lab results that had come in regarding blood analysis and genetic information about the murderer. Then Nines and Elijah came back. Gavin saw him passing Fowler’s glass cube and his heart sunk. But then the door opened.

‘What the hell is Kamski doing here?’, the Captain shouted in the room, effectively silencing any conversations. ‘I wanted to take a look around’, Elijah simply answered. Fowler looked at him as if he had just lost his mind. ‘This is a police station! Not some kind of tourist attraction! You can’t be here.’ Every other person would have long apologised and run for their life with Fowler this angry, but Elijah stood his ground and smiled. ‘And you can’t make my brother work his ass off like a Lieutenant and still pay him Detective money, especially after his recent achievements, yet here we both are.’ In over eighteen years of working in this precinct, Gavin had never seen Fowler speechless. The man stared at Elijah, who smiled at him in all confidence, while most of the officers in the precinct seemed ready to duck behind their tables.

‘Leave’, was all the Captain pressed out. ‘Now.’ ‘Alright, don’t want any trouble.’ Elijah grinned, winked at Nines and made his way over to the door. ‘Gonna pick you up later, bro!’ Gavin didn’t give him any answer as he knit his brows and rubbed his forehead. Too little sleep, too much early morning conversation, too little coffee and now the whole precinct’s attention. Great. He just wanted to get his work done, get home and sleep. And exactly that he was going to do.

Until his break began and Nines approached him. With a sigh of regret, Gavin turned around and waited. ‘Is it true?’ ‘Is what true, tin-can? I had a really shitty day so far and I still can’t read minds.’ Nines shifted his weight on his other leg and continued: ‘Your brother… When I led him through the building, he told me you had a crush on me.’ Thinking about everything that could have happened today, Gavin certainly hadn’t expected that.

‘This asshole! I will phcking kill him, I swear!’ ‘So… It’s not true?’ ‘Hell, of course it’s true!’ Gavin froze. Why had he said that? ‘Oh.’ Gavin looked up at the android, that was smiling to himself, cheeks tinged blue. ‘That’s… nice to hear.’ ‘Is it?’ ‘I mean, I like you a lot, Gavin. To learn it’s mutual is… very nice.’ Gavin sighed deeply, holding his head. ‘I will phcking kill him…’ ‘Are you not happy about this?’ ‘Phck, Nines, I am. I really am. But I’m tired, I have an annoying as phck brother at home that just won’t shut up and I really wanted to ask you out any other way than this.’

‘I understand’, the android nodded. ‘But it’s nice to have it out now, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. Yeah it is. Listen, I�� Let’s forget this happened for just this day, okay? I will leave early today, speak to my brother about all of this and if I’m not charged with murder tomorrow morning, how about we do this properly? Tomorrow is your free day, right?’

Nines nodded and smirked. ‘Call me if you need to hide the body.’

[thetsxshibiscusanon]

TS x Sides Miraculous AU- Just Some Thoughts

Why, oh WHY, does it take me so long to make posts explaining stuff I’ve known for ages, I swear to god- I’ve deprived you all of content for literal MONTHS, I’m so sorry y’all-

Anyways- I said I would explain Miraculous to @thomasxsides, and I’m gonna! I made an AU with MLB and TS x Sides, but I’m not gonna go anywhere with it- it’s more one of those one-off ‘What if?’ type AUs, not something I would fully flesh-out.

All the info is under the cut!

Okay- so: what actually IS Miraculous? 

“Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir” is a French 3D animated show made by ZAG Heroez and Thomas Astruc that’s been adapted and dubbed in several different languages.

The show follows the premise of two characters mainly: Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste- our protagonist and deuteragonist respectively. 

Marinette is the daughter of a baker and she leads the double life of being the superhero Ladybug who has the power of creation granted to her through her Miraculous which is a pair of earrings.

Adrien is the son of a famous fashion designer who he also models for and he leads the double life as the superhero Chat Noir who has the power of destruction granted to him through his Miraculous which is a ring.

The two fight the supervillain Hawkmoth who has a Miraculous as well, but he uses it for evil. They have to fight the innocent people he akumatises and makes villains- making sure to catch the akuma and deevilise it to revert the person to normal again.

The Love Square (or Octahedron for some reason)

Now that that’s out the way, let’s get into ✨The Love Square✨ (which might as well be a love octahedron at this point)

SO. Lemme explain the whole crushes situation here:

We’ve got:

Adrien/Cat Noir crushing on Ladybug and Marinette/Ladybug crushing on Adrien

This would be all fine and dandy right? I mean, we’ve got a mutual crush here! It’s simple right? Haha, WRONG!

See, they don’t know each others’ secret identities- so as far as they’re concerned, they think the alter egos are totally different people to their civilian counterparts, SO:

Adrien > 💖 < Ladybug

Adrien    💖 < Marinette

Chat Noir > 💖 Ladybug

Chat Noir    Marinette

Essentially, they’re rejecting each other for each other

Then in comes Kagami Tsurugi and Luka Couffaine- Adrien and Marinette’s OTHER main love interests (amongst the four they have each for some reason) which complicates matters even more-

So to sum things up, we’ve got: 

Marinette/Ladybug, Adrien/Chat Noir, Kagami and Luka aka, the characters we shall be assigning roles because of the love square shenanigans and this IS a ship blog after all! So, here are the roles:

C!Thomas as Marinette/Ladybug

Both are clumsy around crushes

They’ve got a pink flower thing going on

Both are protagonists anyways

Both are very creatively talented

Both have strong senses of moral and justice

They’re both carrying severe figurative weights on their shoulders

Roman as Adrien/Chat Noir

Roman would absolutely model for a living in a human AU- ESPECIALLY if for his family’s company

Pretty boys, both of them-

H i m b o s. Oh my god, HIMBOS.

Strong sense of moral and justice, like the protagonists

Both have a character who was at some point deemed the others brother

Flirty and silly, but also 100% capable as heroes? Yup! (oh god hero brought back memories, uh oh)

Janus as Luka/Viperion (his temporary hero form)

Okay just by that hero name I have a reason, both are literal snake boys

Have a recurring theme of truth or silencing the truth between them- Luka’s akumatised forms are literally called Silencer and Truth- both which are themes very reminiscent of Janus

Both very obviously care deeply for their respective main characters

Fandoms have this weird love/hate relationship with them

Each have a purple-themed emo who is very close to them/has a history with them (Luka with his sister Juleka and Janus with Virgil)

Have an unspoken/unofficial rivalry with the deuteragonists concerning the protagonists (Adrien and Luka over Mari, Roman and Janus with Thomas)

Logan as Kagami/Ryuko (her temporary hero form)

Individuals who seem to be very smart and capable of great things

Have this ‘perfect, cold’ aura around them

Warm up to the respective main characters at some point (whether at the beginning or somewhere down the line)

Has to maintain/Feels the need to maintain the perfect image set upon them 

Very bad at expressing emotions properly

Deserve so much better I swear

All in all, I could see this happening, but like I said before, I won’t do anything with this AU- this was more of a ‘Back with the brain rot from 2017, let’s make something out of it’ AU- but I hope you enjoyed reading it none the less!

[holdhyuckshand]

[1:40 p.m.] 

To say rainy summer days were your favorite would be a lie, love them as you may. While the scent of petrichor, and the dew that hangs on leaves for hours, and the pleasant sound of each drop tapping an unsteady, natural rhythm on your roof are all wonderful, a certain problem rises with the humidity.

You can never quite come up with a good excuse to go to your favorite smoothie shack on days like this. Seeing how your first alibi, fool that you are when it comes to the bashful boy that initially caught your eye, was that the fervid sun was to blame for your frequent visits, it’s rather obvious why you’d show in the store even when clouds fend off the burning light.

And why your cheeks still burn as if you’d spent the whole afternoon lounging under the rays.

Nonetheless, you brave the imminent query as to what brings you to the shop that day, the air conditioning a welcome reprieve from the muggy summer haze.

A boy with pink hair, a recent change from blue, and brown before that (Jaemin has no fondness for his hair follicles, if how he treats them is anything to go by), smiles as brightly as the usual weather. Aside from you, the restaurant is empty. 

“Aha, our favorite customer! Want your usual?” He tilts his head, a rose gold hue covering his eyes in delicate tufts, all but exuding cuteness.

And yet, you look past him unconsciously, hoping for a glimpse of the person who always makes your visits, and the despairing croak of your empty bank account, worthwhile.

Jaemin, being Jaemin, fixes you with a grin distinctly less welcoming, and all the more shit-eating. He leans into your line of vision, somehow both petulant and teasing,“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had a customer prefer another worker over my service. Truly, I’m hurt,” he says, and just like that you burst to flame.

If only that were literal.

“Uh, oh uhm, yeah. My usual would be great, thanks,” you reply to his previous question, steering the rudder of your ship with all your might, lest you crash into the jagged rock that is Na Jaemin’s tendency to tease. It’s not like he doesn’t have ample supply of your previous missteps to use, but you hope he won’t catch on so terribly quickly to your buffoonery. 

Quick as you are to pull out your wallet, Jaemin’s equally swift to wave it away, claiming this one is on the house. Just like the last three. Knowing better than to fight, as last time he’d fixed you with a look that would have sent a lesser person to their grave, paired with the comment, “Do you think so little of this establishment to believe we’d go under after a few freebies?”

Both grateful and abashed, it suffices to say that you’d never mentioned it again.

“Sungie! Trade with me, I want to do some prep-work,” Jaemin yells, already making his way through the open doorway that leads to the back. The responding whine is downright adorable, hooks something soft and warm between your third and fourth rib, and tugs.

“But Hyung, you know I love mixing the kale salad. It’s so squishy!” 

“Jisungie, sweetheart, you’ll thank me for this.”

There’s a disturbance in the force. Jisung is sulking.

“Sorry to pull you away from the kale salad,” you offer, bashful. If he enjoys it that much, you genuinely hate to be a bother. You come in here too often as it is, and it looks like your timing today was bad.

Jisung startles, at the threshold of the dining area, eyes zipping up from where they were trained on his feet. Red tips his ears almost instantly, and every atom in your being falls head over heels for him. Again. A blush is almost always present on his skin, in some form or another, you’ve noticed. You’ve also wanted to see how deep the ruddy hue could get, and how flustered you could make him. 

Fortunately for him, any hand-holding or nose-booping would be mutually assured destruction.

“Ah, no, no, it’s fine. I really don’t mind. I like‒ uh, making smoothies. Uhm, smoothies, yeah.”

Jisung looks momentarily like he’d enjoy sinking through the floor into the underworld. Shock still, holding a blender that looks rather small compared to the size of his hand, he can’t meet your gaze. Briefly, you consider banging your head against the light colored countertop you’ve sat in front of.

You swear you catch an “oh my God he’s so stupid,” drift faintly from the back room, but you can’t be sure.

“Ah, well, good,” you stutter. It’s been months of you frequenting the store, but neither of you can work up the courage to ask the other out. But, God help you if you don’t make yourself obvious. 

“Y’know, I think everyone who works here has made me a smoothie at some point,” you begin a rather clumsy execution of a compliment, “but I like yours the best.”

Jisung blinks once, twice, three times, staring at the fruit selection before him like he’d never seen it before in his life. “Ah,” he squeaks. A beat of silence follows, just like every other day.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Jaemin sighs so loudly you hear it clearly even from a distance, “It’s all the undying love he infuses into them!” 

The tongs in Jisung’s other hand clatter to the floor, almost followed by the half-full blender in his other hand. “Hyung!” he whispers, far too quiet for it to reach Jaemin’s ears.

A laugh bubbles in your chest at the scene, light and airy, and maybe some of Jaemin’s confidence has worn off on you over the past months. “Thank God, for a while there I thought my feelings were unrequited.”

Jisung’s face fills with color, with hope, confusion, elation and a few other things that pass so quickly you wouldn’t have seen them had you not been watching so intently, heart and hands shaky.

After a minute of silence, not calm yet somehow not as awkward as you thought it’d be, Jisung all but slams the blender on a cutting board in front of the fruit. It startles you, but the determination in the set of his brow endears you far more.

“Hyung!” he calls, having gotten control over his pitch, but a tremble remains in the low timbre, “I’m going on break!”

It shouldn’t be funny, shouldn’t be cute, but you melt into quiet laughs and burning skin on the spot, nodding when he clocks out and stumbles through an invitation to eat lunch with him. You don’t have the heart to tell him you actually were craving that smoothie.

[iamanartichoke]

Maybe your mutuals, who might already be accepting of of ships like thorki, aren't outraged about sylki, but there's a lot of that going on in the wider fandom on Twitter and Tumblr. Apparently it's basically incest (no one tell them about thorki) and also homophobic and can cause a lot of harm to "communities and minorities". It's all fun and games until someone thinks it's morally acceptable to dimension jump and fuck their alternate self. I swear antis can't hear what they sound like lol. 1/2

I don't remember what I posted to prompt this ask, so I'm sorry if my reply feels a little disjointed! But re: Sylkie - I mean, I can't really speak for my mutuals but the general consensus on my dash has nothing to do with any ~problematic~ elements and everything to do with how cliche and unnecessary the ship is. I'm not really sure how the ship is basically incest?? I mean, I know where the show has landed (that she's a Loki) but interpretation-wise in the fandom, either she is a Loki, or she isn't. If she is, then it would be selfcest, not incest, and if she isn't, then she's basically just some woman he met and fell for. They didn't grow up together, they don't share any genes, they aren't siblings.

Also," the ship is homophobic and can cause harm to communities and minorities" - okay. Lmao. Calling Loki/Sylvie homophobic is, I'm assuming, stemming from outrage that a confirmed bi character would be interested in someone of the opposite sex - but, I mean, what do they think bisexual means? Calling Loki/Sylvie homophobic is actually biphobic af, tbh.

"It's all fun and games until someone thinks it's morally acceptable to dimension jump and fuck their alternate self" should be embroidered on something, bc that is one of the funniest and also "out of context, this would be really fucking weird" comments I've ever seen on this hellsite. Lmao. Bless.

But, yeah. I'm not super here for the ship, but it has nothing to do with any 'cesty reasons. Insofar as it getting in the way of Mobius/Loki - I mean, if you're gonna boycott and hate a ship on behalf of the oppressed, you gotta at least be consistent about it. Mobius/Loki could be (and is, by some) considered an abusive ship. Not only is Mobius verbally abusive to Loki, but Mobius is - and never stops being - in a position of power over Loki. They're not on an even foundation, and furthermore prisoners can't freely and willingly consent to sex/relationships with those holding them prisoner so, congrats, there's your problematic, abusive, r*pe apologist ship, my purity loving friends. Enjoy sitting with those rainbows and candy canes for awhile.

(^^ I don't necessarily see Mobius as abusive toward Loki, for reasons I can't articulate, and I don't feel it's a problematic ship (though the power dynamic actually is a factor), for the record. But this was a fun exercise in critical thinking.)

Anyway, so yeah, I'm not surprised that the purity culture antis are raging, I'm just glad to not be seeing it. Like I said, in my corner of the fandom, the issue with Sylkie is just the context of it - it being cliche, it coming out of nowhere, and it being a plot at all bc Loki didn't need a love interest and Marvel sucks, consistently, at writing good love stories.

I'll probably expand on this in a separate post, but those are basically my issues with the ship as well. I don't really have a problem with it, in theory. I don't disagree that the characters have chemistry, and that they've trauma bonded, in addition to sharing the variant bond that allows them to skip right over a lot of those 'let me slowly trust you and let my guard down as I reveal more and more of myself to you' steps; they get to skip those steps bc each variant already knows them. They know their own walls and protective layers, and they know what's at the core, just by virtue of being two versions of the same person. And in that sense I don't even really have a problem with how quickly it came about, I guess.

But it's like - yeah, this definitely needs its own post, lmao, but basically I feel like it could make sense in theory but doesn't follow in practice. But maybe it will over the next two episodes, who knows.

On that topic, though, I like your speculations. Somewhere between yesterday and today I gave up on my own speculations, though, bc the showrunners confirmed it was romantic and I don't feel like bothering anymore. It would have been cool to see some kind of magic or a plan or even something a little more surface-level than 'I love you bc of reasons,' but, well. Sometimes you order eggs off of the menu and you meant scrambled and you're expecting some fluffy, hot, cooked to near-perfection scrambled eggs and the waiter comes out with a runny sunny-side-up dish and when you're like the fuck is this? they just shrug and say, I don't know, you ordered eggs? And looking at it on the plate - technically not wrong but unappealing, bland, and not what you expected - just leaves you feeling like, oh. Okay. I can plainly see there are no hidden scrambled eggs here, so I guess I'll just eat these.

I'm not longer sure if the ship or the show or both are the wrong eggs, lmao. This shit is why I really enjoyed Loki's love metaphor, even though later interviews w/ the showrunners and Tom framed it as not really being great or profound. Which adds more credence to the possibility that I might just have shit taste in general, but well, there we are.

Thank you for the ask and sorry it took awhile to answer!

[mermaidcashton]

dance in the living room, love with an attitude

authors: claire (@mermaidcashton) & laura (@maluminspace)  ship/AU: michael clifford/ashton irwin, roommates AU  prompt: “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I almost never do.”  wordcount: 10k+ warnings: swearing, implied & explicit sexual content  a/n: • written for @maluminspace & @h0tsos ‘s 5sos fic writers collab (in which we all chose from a list of AU’s and had the above prompt quote to include - check out the masterlist linked to see everyone elses!) • i do not give permission for this (or any of my writing) to be reposted, by anyone, on this or any other website. please don’t do it! • title from ‘only human’ by the jonas brothers dance in the living room, love with an attitude *** The music was probably turned up a little too loud, but it helped to drown out the nerves starting to bubble away in Michael’s tummy.  ‘I hope ‘Ashton’ likes MCR’ he thought as he half-heartedly wiped down the kitchen counters with a damp cloth. He wanted the place to look mildly tidier than it usually did for his new flatmate. First impressions counted for a lot, as his mum had told him twice this week already.

Once the splashes of milk from this morning’s mishap with the cereal had been washed away along with the crumbs from last night’s dinner of peanut butter on toast, he stole a quick glance at the clock on the wall over in the living room area. It wasn’t quite midday, which meant he had a little over an hour until his new roommate was due to arrive. That should mean that he just about had enough time to vacuum the whole flat and take a shower.  Throwing the dishcloth into the little cleaning basket on the window ledge, Michael focused on  screaming the lyrics to ‘Thank you for Venom’ and tried not to focus too much on the anxiety about the rest of the day.

Agreeing to live with someone he’d never met in person probably wasn’t the smartest of ideas. It’s not like Michael had been given much choice, though. His last flatmate had given him less than a week’s notice when she decided to move in with her short-term girlfriend and left Michael with a whole bunch of bills that his meagre paycheck could never stretch far enough to cover. Luckily, his best friend Luke had a work colleague who desperately needed a new place to live since his landlord had slapped him with a very short notice period to move out of his current flat. Luke had offered to give this work friend Michael’s contact details and the following morning, Michael had woken up to a text from a guy called Ashton who was very interested in Michael’s recently vacant spare room. 

After explaining the cost of rent and other bills in a few subsequent texts, Michael had received a very grateful reply from Ashton asking if it would be possible to  move in that weekend. Of course the blonde had agreed, eager to get the awkward first meeting out of the way as soon as possible.

Determined to get his most hated chore done before he could start collecting his thoughts and mentally preparing for the arrival of his new flatmate, Michael grabbed the portable hoover from the charging port on the tiny bit of the kitchen wall that was not taken up by the counters and cabinets. He was just about to press the ‘ON’ button when a knock at the door put an abrupt halt to his plans.

Michael huffed as he made his way over to the front door. The only people that had the security code for the entrance of the building were his parents and Luke, neither of which were due to visit today. That left only someone who had the wrong flat, or one other possible visitor; his neighbour, Calum. They’d hang out sometimes, whenever their days off matched up. Their shared interest in certain obscure and rare computer games and a mutual love of sushi and beer made for hours of fun without the chore of actually having to leave the building. Michael had definitely made sure to let Calum know that he was expecting his new flatmate to arrive today, though, so he was a little confused as to why his neighbour would be dropping by now. 

That feeling only intensified when a glance through the spy hole on his front door revealed that Calum was accompanied by a stranger. He opened the door cautiously, still feeling a little bewildered. 

“Hey, mate.” Calum grinned, waving a handful of unopened letters in greeting. “Just found this guy outside with a bunch of boxes. I knew you were expecting your new flatmate today, so I helped bring his stuff up.” His dark brown eyes surveyed Michael with something like confusion from beneath the rim of his seemingly ever-present black bucket hat. 

Michael could only imagine that his neighbour was mirroring his own befuddled expression because Ashton wasn’t due to arrive for another hour. He forced himself to look over at the stranger, whilst his mind worked over what was happening.

It appeared that Calum was right in assuming this was Ashton. He was indeed carrying a large cardboard box labelled ‘bedroom’ that would definitely suggest he was moving house. There were also a bunch of smaller boxes piled against the wall beside the front door which supported that assumption. 

“Do you guys need any more help?” Calum offered, “I’m free if…”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Michael cut in quickly. “We can take it from here, thanks Cal.” The last thing Michael wanted was more people to see the apartment in its current state. 

“No worries.” Calum smiled, “You know where I am if you change your mind.” He turned his attention to his little fluffy dog who had been patiently waiting for his post-walk nap. “C’mon Duke.” 

Once Calum and his little fluff ball had wandered off across the hall towards their own apartment, Michael turned his attention back to Ashton. Three things struck him about his new flatmate in very quick succession;

Ashton was incredibly hot. His curly black hair hung loosely around his handsome face, framing his chiselled cheekbones and clean shaven, angular jaw beautifully. His hazel eyes were striking from behind the horn-rimmed glasses perched neatly on his perfectly ski-slope shaped nose. 

He looked vaguely familiar. Michael knew that he’d seen Ashton’s face somewhere before but it wouldn’t quite click in his brain. Not that it would be entirely surprising if they’d met before, they did share a close friend after-all. It just seemed a little off that Luke hadn’t reminded Michael of the occasion they'd met at before suggesting they live together.

Despite his silence, Ashton looked somewhat annoyed, possibly bordering on angry. That struck Michael as odd. He had been known to piss people off fairly regularly but seeing as he’d barely even spoken to Ashton, this would be an all time record.

“So you must be Ashton…” Michael smiled, awkwardly tucking a strand of his messy blonde hair behind his ear whilst offering his free hand out for his new flatmate to shake. “I’m Michael, or you can call me Mike if you want. Most of my friends do.” Ashton didn’t accept the offer of a handshake, in fact he made no movement whatsoever. He simply glared at Michael with an increasing level of irritation. “Are you kidding me?” 

Michael knew that he was not the prettiest of people. He dressed casually most of the time and due to Ashton’s early appearance, he’d not yet had a chance to shower and make himself a little more presentable. He didn’t think that he quite deserved such a cutting greeting, though. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you yet, I was just…”

“You don’t even remember me, do you?!” Ashton interrupted, his tone dripping of resentment now. “Fucking unbelievable!”  Michael couldn’t remember ever feeling more confused in his life. Ashton hadn’t mentioned that  they’d previously met in his text messages so why would he be so angry that Michael hadn’t immediately recognised him now? 

The newcomer’s harsh tone had caught Calum’s attention, causing the neighbour to pause in sorting through his mail and stare unashamedly at the scene unfolding across the hall.

“This could only fucking happen to me…” Ashton huffed, adjusting his grip on the box in his arms. “I get turfed out of my flat because my landlord suddenly decides he wants it for his daughter and just when I think I’ve landed on my feet with a new place, my new fucking flatmate turns out to be a one night stand who doesn’t even remember me! Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down!”

Michael barely registered Calum’s audible gasp as realisation crashed around him. Suddenly the memory of the beautiful man that had swept Michael off his feet at a bar a few months back replayed in his head like a movie he’d seen once but hadn’t been able to remember the title of. He’d only known the guy as Ash and he’d assumed it was short for Ashley. Despite the fact that Ash’s hair had been a sexy shade of crimson, styled in a neat quiff and he hadn’t been wearing glasses, it was definitely the same guy that was standing in front of him right now. 

“Ash…” the word escaped Michael almost of it’s own volition. “But I thought that was short for… oh my god, this can’t be happening.” He cupped his own face in his hands as the reality of the awkward situation began to settle into the very fibre of his being.

“Wow, you can’t make this shit up.” Calum gasped, an almost delighted smile on his face. “What’re you guys gonna do?” 

Despite Calum’s annoying rubbernecking, it gave Michael the perfect excuse to look away from Ashton for a second. “Well I’m gonna throw something at you, if you don’t get lost right now, Calum.” He hissed. 

“He’s not the one coming across like a shithead right now.” Ashton scoffed, setting the box in his arms onto the floor. “Being a nosey neighbour still makes you a hell of a better person than the guy that flatters their way into your bed and gives you amazing sex but then gives you a fake number!”

“That’s right.” Calum agreed. “People that do that are the worst. At least have the balls to tell the other person you’re not looking for anything long term before you disappear the next day.”

“Calum, I swear to god…” Michael hissed. 

Ashton shook his head angrily. “He’s right, if you never wanted to see me again, you could have just said. I wouldn’t have wasted some of my best moves on you.” 

“Oh, what were the moves?” Calum smirked, prying his way further into the conversation. 

His neighbour’s blatant disregard for the seriousness of the situation was annoying to say the least. It was also the last thing Michael needed to deal with right now. “Piss off, Calum!”, he snapped. 

Duke yapped disapprovingly at Michael, his tiny eyes focused on the blonde man as his human’s smirk grew even further across his face.

“Oh, you can shut up as well!” Michael snapped at the tiny pooch. “Now you’re yelling at a dog.” Ashton rolled his eyes. “Maybe it’s a good thing you blew me off, looks like I had a lucky escape from dating an arsehole!”  Michael really couldn’t envisage the situation getting any worse. At this rate he was going to be searching for another roommate instead of enjoying a pleasant lunch with this one, like he’d hoped. 

“I didn’t give you a fake number!” Michael protested. “I swear, I’m not like that, and I really liked you! I broke my phone, the same weekend we...met.” He felt his cheeks begin to colour, trying his hardest to ignore Calum’s snort as he focused on Ashton’s disbelieving face.

“It took me two weeks to sort out a new one, I had a little pay as you go in between, I had a different number, and I-you did call, then?” Michael paused his blurted explanations to blurt out a question, instead. He had been wondering every time it was late and he was alone for 6 months whether or not he’d missed a call from the best one night stand of his life. 

“Of course I did!” Ashton threw his hands up in exasperation, startling Duke and sending him scuttling back into the still-open doorway of the opposite flat. “I thought we had a connection, we said we wanted to see each other again; that doesn’t happen that often for me! Maybe it does for you…”

“Oh, it definitely doesn’t.” Calum smirked. “The only man who comes to see Michael regularly is the Domino’s delivery guy.” 

Before Michael could blow up at him, Calum backed up properly into his flat, resting his hand on his front door. “It’s a shame, actually,” he continued, smiling encouragingly at his neighbour. “Michael is really a great guy. He always has time for me and Duke; whether it’s for beers, a listening ear, or belly rubs.” 

He throws a wink to Ashton as he shuts his front door with a click. “I’ll leave you to figure out which one is for me. Welcome to the building!” 

Michael knows he needs to gain control of the slightly-stunned silence left in Calum’s wake, fast. He needs to say something apologetic, or charming, or cool. “Do you like fish fingers?” Or that. 

Ashton blinked a few times in quick succession, and Michael wanted to throw himself down the stairs. 

“Do I like fish fingers?” Ashton repeated, pushing his long black hair back with both hands.

Michael flushed again, at least thankful for the fact that he no longer had an audience for the most embarrassing encounter of his life. “It’s just, I thought we could have lunch, and talk, and I’m not really much of a cook, but I have fish fingers, right, and everyone likes fish finger sandwiches...don’t they…” He trailed off, hoping Luke perhaps had another co-worker who needed immediate accommodation. 

Ashton fixed him with the most intense stare he’d ever received in a conversation about freezer food, and Michael tried to match his unrelenting gaze in a way that would make him look less like he wanted to cry. Ashton’s eyes really were beautiful, seeming almost magnified by his glasses. He looked thoughtful and sad now, rather than judgmental and angry, and Michael would take that.

“I do.” Ashton decided on, after what felt like an eternity. He stooped down to pick up his box again, muscles tensing, and Michael’s mind began to wander. 

He remembered Ashton’s arms looking just like that as he lifted him up for the last few feet of the journey to the redhead-at-the-time’s bed. Michael could almost feel his fingers digging into the bare skin of his thighs all over again. The memories of slow, wet, considered neck kisses being broken with teeth, and the delicious burn that started low and spread like wildfire as Ashton stretched him out like he was born to do it.

“Michael? After you?”  Michael snapped out of his daze, dragging his eyes away from Ashton’s lips where they had landed at some point in his reminiscing. He stepped back so Ashton could enter the flat and set the box down by the sofa. “Yeah, great, come in, make yourself at home, I’ll get the rest of your boxes!”   As soon as he was outside in the corridor, Michael let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. ‘Okay, Clifford - you need to snap out of it. Relax and smooth things over so you two can live together.’ He told himself, as sternly as he could manage. ‘We need a roommate more than we need to get laid.’

‘That’s debatable.’ Another voice - which sounded more like Calum than himself - chimed in before Michael shook it off and picked up the stack of cardboard boxes cluttering up the corridor.

‘Okay, you can do this. Damage control. Just be normal. Go in and face this head on. You can do this.’ Michael murmured, running his tongue over his bitten lips as he took his first steps back to where Ashton was waiting.

He hip-checked the front door closed as he re-entered the flat, placing the boxes next to one Ashton had carried in, before straightening up to see Ashton sat on the sofa, looking both nervous and delicious. 

“I…” Michael faltered under Ashton’s almost shy gaze, then caught sight of a slice of Ashton’s firm, hairy stomach from where his t-shirt was riding up slightly.

“I just need to go to the bathroom. Then we can...talk, and eat. Okay?” Michael forced what he hoped was a casual, winning smile, and then scuttled across to the bathroom the moment Ashton made a noise of agreement and nodded his head.

Michael clicked the lock shut and put the toilet lid down as he pulled his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants. He began tapping away with urgency as he took a seat on the toilet, pulling up his message thread with his best friend.

SOS!!!! 🚨

Luke!!!!

Where are you

LUKE FUCK HELP ME YOU DICK

With each message he sent, Michael could feel his panic beginning to swell back up in his chest. Finally, three dots began moving across the message to indicate Luke was writing. Help was on the way.

🥺🥺🥺 What’s up

Michael felt what he knew was an unjustified rage at Luke and his fucking emojis as he furiously typed a reply.

Oh nothing, I just had sex with my new roomate!!!

Michael jumped when his phone immediately started vibrating relentlessly, sliding his finger across the screen and holding it gingerly to his ear. 

“Hello?” He whispered into the receiver. 

“WHAT!!! What do you mean you’ve slept with him?! Ashton was due there at 12, and it’s now...12 minutes past 12! That’s INSANE, even for you! I cannot believe-”

“Luke!” Michael hissed through clenched teeth, turning on the cold tap on the sink before he spoke again. “Not today, idiot! Remember, months ago, when I broke my phone? That weekend, I hooked up with that guy I met at The Alchemist? Red hair, big arms, amazing mouth-”

“Yes, I remember! What’s that got to do with it?” Luke cut in. 

“It was Ashton. I only knew him as Ash, remember? And obviously I never saw him again because I had no way to contact him after I broke my phone. But it’s him, Luke - he’s in my living room! In OUR living room! What am I gonna do?! I am freaking out!”

“Oh my God! You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Mike! You’ve had your new roommates dick in your mouth before he even moved in! Classic you.”

Michael could practically hear Luke’s eyeroll. “This is not classic me! Dick! Help me, Luke!”

“What do you want me to do, I can’t unfuck him for you!” Luke shot back. Michael let out an involuntary whimper and slumped further down on the toilet. He was so screwed.  

***

Michael emerged from the bathroom, Luke’s advice ringing in his ears as he approached Ashton on the sofa.  ‘He’s a really nice guy, Mike; just talk to him. Explain what happened after you hooked up, and say you hope you can put it behind you and be friends. I think he’ll be cool, honestly. Just try not to trip and land on his dick and you should be golden.’ 

He took one last deep breath as he sat down on the black leather beside his one-time lover.

“So, Ashton...I...listen, I’m sorry that I broke my phone and made you think I’d ghosted you. I’m just an idiot that dropped his phone outside Sainsbury’s. And I’m really sorry I didn’t recognise you straight away, I was just expecting someone I hadn’t, and your hair, and glasses, and-” Michael could feel himself starting to babble but he couldn’t stop himself; he was so desperate for Ashton to like him. He was trying not to think about why it was this important to him. 

Ashton held his hand up to stop him with a small smile. “Michael, it’s okay.”  

Michael stopped short in his unravelling with a look of surprise. “It is?”

Ashton’s smile grew wider. “Yeah. I was just a bit blindsided, and I was hurt at the time back then, you know? But you explained, you apologised, and you seem like a nice guy. Luke sure can’t talk you up enough, and I trust him. I have no reason not to believe this is gonna be all good.” 

Michael blinked, unsure if this was too good to be true. “Yeah? So...we’re good? You’re gonna...stay?”

Ashton relaxed back into his seat, toeing his shoes off and under the coffee table. “If that’s okay with you, yeah. We’re both grown ups; we can keep it platonic and put the past behind us, right? Friends?”

Michael nodded, trying to hide the gulp in his throat. “Yeah, of course. Right. Great. Friends.” He could definitely do this.

***

He could definitely not do this. 

It’d been a long one month, two weeks and three days of trying to convince himself that he didn’t want to be anything more than Ashton’s friend and roommate. 

Some days, Michael thought it was possible to put those lingering feelings away and focus on their blossoming platonic relationship. After all, Ashton was everything most people could ever want in a flatmate. He was tidy, considerate, fairly quiet and respectful of personal boundaries. The slightly older man was also great company. Michael has had many pleasant conversations with him over breakfast and in the evenings before they went to bed. 

As lovely as all of that was, Michael had started questioning if it was worth the growing ache in chest for more. Each new thing he learnt about Ashton made him more sure that he was probably the closest thing to the perfect man that Michael would ever know. It was a cruel twist of fate that had meant his one opportunity to have Ashton for himself had slipped through his fingers, quite literally. He cursed himself on a daily basis for that one clumsy moment when he’d fumbled pulling his old phone from his too-tight jeans outside the supermarket and had been forced to watch his only chance with Ashton sink into a muddy puddle. 

Whatever higher powers existed had been even less kind to have that strong, gorgeous, well-hung man turn up on Michael’s doorstep months later, as his only hope of being able to keep the flat he’d grown to love. 

Every day since then, seemed to have presented a new challenge or torture. First it was the tight t-shirts and vests Ashton wore more often than not. They accentuated every muscle of the raven-haired man’s torso and displayed his strong biceps in all their glory. 

Then came the sleepy morning routine they’d subconsciously fallen into. Ashton would emerge from his room in nothing but his loose grey sweats and crooked glasses, his hair ruffled and his eyes heavily lidded, before joining Michael for a hasty breakfast which usually consisted of cereal or toast and mug of strong coffee. It was during these sluggish mornings when they’d started to bond over their mutual love of crime dramas and fantasy movies, among other things. That had naturally led to evening-long Criminal Minds marathons whole weekends debating whether the Lord of the Rings movies or the Harry Potter movies were the better adaptations of their original books. Those playful arguments had spilled over into text messages now, so Michael couldn’t even escape his torturous living situation when he went to work. 

Despite all of that hardship, the most latest and arguably the toughest challenge Michael found himself facing, was Ashton’s morning yoga. At first, the older man had kept that part of his morning routine confined to his bedroom. For some reason or another, over the last week or so, Ashton had decided that the living area was a more suitable location for this activity. 

If Michael thought that sleepy, shirtless morning Ashton was hot, then sleepy, shirtless morning Ashton doing the ‘downward dog’ was positively off the fucking scale. The way his large hands pressed into the yoga mat and the way his strong arms and legs tensed as he straightened his back and pushed his arse up into the air lingered in Michael’s mind all day. These images often flickered through his mind at night too, when he was alone in his bed with nothing but his hand for company. 

Deciding that a little get together with some friends would help dispel some of the tension, Michael floats the idea of asking Calum and Luke over for a ‘lads night’. Ashton had agreed easily, being a generally social person, he’d seemed enthusiastic about the possibility of hosting a mini party. 

A group message is created and it doesn’t take long to settle on the following Friday night for beer, snacks and a FIFA tournament. 

Ashton seemed to have been looking forward to it, often mentioning how excited he was to get to know Calum better and asking Michael to help him decide between certain snacks to purchase for the occasion. 

All in all, Michael was proud of himself for the idea, focusing on hosting a couple of friends had certainly given both him and Ashton something new to focus on. 

It was only when Friday arrived that Michael started to doubt his plan. Watching Ashton arrange plates of snacks on the kitchen counter, with the cutest concentration face he’d ever seen, started to make Michael wish they were spending the evening alone instead. He quickly pushes the thought of his head, berating himself for thinking something so stupid. It’s not like anything could happen between them even if they were alone, they were roommates now, that’s where their relationship ends. 

“So....” Ashton broke the silence enveloping the flat as he finished pouring a bag of cheesy Doritos into a bowl. “Did you finally solve the mystery of who was stealing people’s shit from your fridge at work?” 

Michael was caught off guard by the question. He’d been watching Ashton so intently that he momentarily forgot about everything else. It took him a moment to remember that he’d been keeping Ashton up to date with the ongoing lunch burglar drama at the DIY store he worked at. “Oh, umm no, not yet! But Brenda finally told Linda to stick her fake friendship where the sun doesn’t shine.” 

A genuinely delighted smile burst into Ashton’s face as he headed into the living room area. “Good for her! Linda sounds like a bitch…” 

It really meant a lot to Michael that Ashton took such an interest in his work life. The fact that he cared so much about people he didn’t know, but was aware they meant a lot to Michael, was also heartwarming. 

Before Michael could go into more detail about the break time drama, a knock at the front door interrupted him. “Oh yay! Our first guest!” Ashton beamed, jogging off towards the front door to greet Calum.

***

As soon as the beer and wine had started flowing, Michael’s ever-present pining for Ashton dulled to an almost non existent haze at the edges of his mind. Sure, his knees felt weak every time Ashton flashes him that dopey smile of his and he might have blushed whenever their knees touched as they competed against each other in a thrilling game of virtual soccer. 

That was all better than his usual all-consuming lust, so Michael was somewhat proud of himself. He even managed to surprise the urge to let Ashton win their game, and was almost smug when his player sent the football flying past Ashton’s keeper to secure a 2-1 win. 

“Motherfucker!” Ashton grumbled, throwing his control pad into the sofa as he fixed Michael with look that was almost definitely the hottest gaze he’d ever been caught under. “I’m gonna get you for that, Clifford.” It sounded like a promise that held more weight than the simple challenge to a rematch it was probably meant to be. 

Michael had to fight back a whimper, staring into Ashton’s beautiful hazel eyes this closely was too much. The intensity of it all rendered him momentarily speechless and he was all-too glad when Ashton got to his feet and headed for the kitchen. 

“I need to drown my sorrows.” The black-haired man laughed, breaking the tension that had descended on them before heading off to the kitchen. Ignoring the knowing looks from his two friends, Michael picked up Ashton’s discarded controller and tossed it to Luke. “Your turn to face me, Hemmings. Let’s see if I can beat my all time record of beating you 6-1” 

“Fuck off! You have never beat me that badly.” Luke huffed, picking up the control pad that had just landed in his lap. “I’m gonna enjoy kicking your ass in front of your new boy-“

“Shit, we’re out of beers already!” Ashton’s interruption came at exactly the right moment in Michael’s opinion. He really hadn’t wanted Luke to finish that sentence and now he wouldn’t get the chance. 

“I’ll go to the shop for some more, does anyone have specific requests?” The eldest friend asked as he traipsed back into the living room area. 

“Oh you don’t have to go!” Michael shrugged, “you should stay here, we’ll send Luke instead, he sucks at this game anyway.” 

Luke scoffed, waving his hand defensively. “You’re not getting out of playing me that easily!” 

Ashton laughed, his eyes sparkling as he checked that his wallet was still in his jeans pocket. “It’s fine. I’m already out of the competition and I wouldn’t want to give anyone else an unfair advantage.” 

Maybe it was just the effects of the beers he’d already drank, but Michael could have sworn that Ashton’s gaze lingered on him a little longer than it probably should have. “You’re too nice.” The blonde beamed fondly, “I’ll transfer you my half of the money in the morning, unless you wanna take a tenner from my room?” 

“Oh is that an open invitation?” Calum asked, a lazy smile curling the corners of his lips. “You owe me at least that from when we bet on whether or not Luke could drink that tzatziki sauce last time.” 

“Fuck off, Calum! I don’t owe you a penny, I won that bet, Luke’s a fucking wuss…” 

“Hey! I am not!” Luke interrupted incredulously. 

“Okay, I need to hear that whole story when I get back!” Ashton giggled. “I’ll just grab a case of whatever beer is the cheapest though, yeah.” 

There was a general murder of agreement before Ashton headed out of the front door. Michael fond him watching until Ashton had disappeared into the hallway, swinging the front door closed behind him. “He’s so nice…” The blonde sighed dreamily, still gazing at the closed front door. “Don’t you think he’s just the best?” 

Calum and Luke exchanged a ‘is he for real’ glance before silently agreeing that this was the perfect opportunity to tease Michael about his blatant love for Ashton. 

“Yeah, he’s pretty special.” Calum agreed, smirking slyly. “You really can’t sing his praises highly enough, can you?” 

Shaking his head, Michael finally returned his attention to the TV. “You really can’t, he’s just so kind and sweet.” 

Calum nodded in agreement. “Not bad to look at either!” 

“Right?!” Michael giggled, oblivious to the fact that his tipsiness was making his lips too loose.  

“Hey Mike.” Luke cut in, reaching over to nudge his friend’s shoulder. “How’s being in love with your flatmate working out for you?” His conversational tone was entirely at odds with mischief in his eyes. It confused Michael but the youngest friend’s words were altogether too bold, a blatant overstep if ever there was one. 

Despite his inner rage at being called out like this, Michael fumbled, unable to cobble together an appropriate response. “Ugh, I don’t even… You’re so far-“ 

“There’s no point denying it anymore.” Calum chuckled, “I can feel the sexual tension between you two from across the hall!” 

“God, I bet it’s like watching a car crash, isn’t it?” Luke asked, picking up the bowl of M&M’s on the coffee table. “It’s horrific but you can’t tear your eyes away? Am I right?” 

Calum nodded. “It’s like watching a bad fucking soap opera.” 

Michael felt offended and embarrassed but still no words seemed to form coherently in his mouth. 

“At least it’s a bit less tragic now we can be sure it’s not entirely one sided!” Luke stage whispered with a calculating look on his face as he met Calum’s gaze.

“Yeah, it’s mildly less irritating!” Calum laughed. 

“Wait, what do you mean?” Michael sputtered. “Ash and I agreed that our one night stand is ancient history, we’re not-“ 

“Oh puh-lease!” Calum scoffed. “If you two haven’t fucked again by the end of this month I’ll eat my bucket hat.”

***

Ashton had returned with a case of twenty four bottles of beer and as a result, lad’s night had ended up running into the early hours of Saturday morning. 

Having drank his way through more than his fair share of that case, Michael didn’t end up rising from his pit until noon had long since been and gone. 

“Ah you are still alive!” Ashton chuckled, tearing his attention away from the TV to look at his flatmate. 

This was definitely not fucking fair. Michael didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that he looked exactly as he felt - rough as all hell. Ashton on the other hand, still looked as dreamy as ever. His black curls, although slightly ruffled and fluffy, were still on the stylish side of messy and he’d somehow found the motivation to get dressed, too, something Michael wasn’t even contemplating.

 “I’m glad you’re up now, though, I wondered if you had anything planned for dinner?” Ashton asked, peering at Michael from behind his horn-rimmed glasses. 

The thought of food made Michael’s stomach lurch unpleasantly and he had to fight to hold back a wretch. 

Ashton gives a sympathetic giggle before pausing his show and rising to his feet. “I’ll take that as a no. Don’t worry, buddy. I have a plan but first…” he jogged over to the kitchen and flicked on the kettle. “Why don't you go and take a shower while I make you a tea? You’ll feel better after that and then we will talk dinner!” 

As Michael plods over to the bathroom, he shoots one last look over at Ashton, busily preparing mugs on the countertop and tries his absolute hardest to remember a time that he wasn’t in love with his flatmate.

***

As always, Ashton was proven to be 100% correct. 

Michael felt a million times better once he was showered and snuggled on the sofa with a mug of steaming tea. 

“You look a little more alive now.” Ashton smirked, sparing Michael a sideways glance before returning his attention to ‘Law and Order’. “Do you think you can handle talking about dinner yet?” 

The ache in Michael’s stomach felt a lot more like hunger than it had done when he first woke up and the thought of food didn’t make him feel like throwing up anymore so he nodded. “What’re your plans, chef?” 

Ashton’s cheeks turned a rosy pink as he shrugged. “I couldn’t bear to see you try to cobble together another freezer meal so I thought you might like me to teach you a simple pasta dish?” He suggested, his tone a little shy like he was worried what Michael’s reaction would be. “I’ll do most of the work, but I thought if you helped out, you’ll learn how to make something other than Super Noodles.” 

Michael couldn’t even be mad at the subtle dig at his cooking skills. He was terrible in the kitchen and it was just a little embarrassing that Ashton had noticed just how dyer his cooking skills were. “When you say simple, do you mean like a recipe and technique you can write on the back of a postage stamp because that’s about the level of my skill.” 

Rolling his eyes, Ashton casually threw his arm around Michael’s shoulders. “Don't be so hard in yourself, buddy! I once taught Luke how to make scrambled eggs on the stove so he didn’t have to be a savage and use the microwave anymore, so there’s definitely hole for you, I promise.” 

Michael tried to focus on the hat Ashton was saying but all that his slow, hungover brain could process was that he was pressed against his stupidly gorgeous flat mate’s side. The heady smell of Ashton’s minty body wash and the soft scent of his fabric conditioner felt intoxicating and Michael could do nothing besides allow his head to drop into Ashton’s shoulder. 

To the blonde’s surprise, Ashton shuffle away or call him out on it. He simply rests his own head on Michael’s and laughs. “We’ll make a chef of you yet, Clifford.” He promised.

***

They spent a good three hours, watching reruns of C.S.I and making plans to start a Marvel movie marathon after dinner. They sat close to each other the whole time and Michael noticed Ashton watching him from the corner of his eye on at least three separate occasions. 

By the time Ashton suggested they start making dinner, Michael had gone over his conversation with Calum and Luke the previous night, about sixty times. His two best friends had convinced him that Ashton wanted Michael just as much as Michael wanted Ashton. 

“The way he looks at you, dude.” Calum laughed. “He’s practically imagining you naked at any given moment. It’s getting uncomfortable.” 

“Don’t be stupid!” Michael reprimanded. “He doesn’t think of me like that anymore. We had a one night thing months ago. That’s it. Nothing else will ever happen between us again, we’re just flatmates.” 

Calum and Luke exchanged a sceptical glance before bursting into laughter. 

“Yeah right!” Luke huffed sarcastically. “Do you know how many times I hear your name come out of his mouth at work these days?” 

Michael’s cheeks reddened. He had no idea that Ashton talked about him at work. It felt kind of surreal to imagine his roommate relaying snippets of their home life to Luke. 

“Let me guess!” Calum interrupted. “About a thousand…” 

Nodding, Luke drained the last of his beer. “Yeah and that’s just before lunch!”

“Honestly, if they don’t bang soon I’m gonna knock their heads together.” Calum sighed. “Did you know Michael comes over to my place most mornings so he doesn’t have to watch Ashton do topless yoga?” He asked Luke disbelievingly. “I want my lie-in’s back!” 

At the time, Michael hadn’t believed his friends. He didn’t think that there was even a remote possibility that Ashton still carried a torch for him. But in the clear light of day, Michael couldn’t deny that all the signs were there… perhaps there could be more between them after all. 

He followed Ashton into the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of his grey oversized sweater, trying to clear his mind enough to be able to process learning a new skill. 

“Okay, this is like the simplest recipe I know but it’s delicious and tastes so much better than the freezer junk you usually make for yourself.” Ashton rambles as he grabs a saucepan and a frying pan from the shelf near the cooker.  

“Hey, freezer junk has been my lifeline on many occasions, I’d probably be dead without it.” Michael scoffed, only half joking. 

Ashton rolled his eyes fondly, handing Michael the saucepan. “Fill this with water for me and then put it on the back hob, while it’s boiling I’ll teach you how to make the sauce.” 

As Michael carried out his instructions, he couldn’t help but admire the concentration on Ashton’s face when he began rifling through the fridge and cupboard, pulling out various ingredients. 

Once the pan of water was safely on the job Ashton had indicated, Michael returned his full attention to the slightly older man.

“Right, the first thing we do for the sauce is put 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into this cold pan.” Ashton explained, pushing his glasses up his nose a little, reminding Michael of a hot English teacher or something… fuck, it was already difficult enough for Michael to concentrate without random fantasies about Ashton fucking him over a desk running through his mind. “Usually I’d never add oil to a cold pan, but for this particular recipe, it works because if the pan was already hot, the first ingredients would burn before the rest was in there.” 

There was something about the way Ashton talked with such passion and confidence that made Michael wish he was confident enough to just drag him to the bedroom, his need for more from Ashton becoming unbearable. He forced himself to nod, pretending like he understood when really, Ashton could be telling him absolutely anything right now, and Michael would not know the difference because all he can think about is the way Ashton had groaned at the feeling of Michael’s nails running down his back and how he’d growled Michael’s name as he neared his climax. 

“Can you pass me the basil?” Ashton asked, pulling Michael out of his memory. 

The blonde surveyed the ingredients on the countertop. Luckily he recognised most of them, so he picked up the basil by process of elimination and handed it to Ashton like a dutiful sous chef. 

Ashton looked mildly impressed as he took the bag of basil and took out handful. “We want about ten or so decent sized leaves and we tear them in half before adding them to the oil, okay?” He waited for Michael’s nod of understanding before tearing the leaves in his hand and dropping them into the pan. 

“Then we need to chop 6-8 cloves of garlic directly into the pan.” Michael looked back at the little stack of ingredients and frowned, noticing an instant problem. “We only have one clove of garlic…” he pointed out, biting his bottom lip worriedly. 

Ashton burst out laughing as he picked the garlic up from the counter. “This is a whole bulb, babe…” he explained, apparently not even noticing his use of the supposedly accidental pet name. 

It was difficult for Michael to feel too offended by Ashton’s laughter when he’d just called him babe, though, so he let it go, focusing on the term of endearment, no matter how accidental it might have been, rather than the humour at his dumb mistake. 

“It’s the smaller, wedge shaped pieces that are cloves, please don’t mix that up if you make this without my help.” Ashton chuckled, breaking six cloves from the bulb and picking up a tiny knife he’d laid out next to the oven. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” Michael pouted. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I almost never do.” 

Ashton gave him a fond smile. “You’re not alone in that, I promise…” 

It was hard not to feel comforted by Ashton’s lopsided smile, so most of his embarrassment slipped away fairly quickly. 

“I just chop off the little hard parts at the bottom of each clove and peel the skin off before chopping it directly into the pan. Don’t chop it on a board or you’ll lose some of the flavour.” Ashton explained carefully. 

Michael watched with interest as Ashton demonstrated his technique with the first two cloves. He handed the third to Michael along with the knife and gestures for him to add it to the pan. 

It took him probably three times longer to chop that one clove into the pan, than it took Ashton to do the first two, but he was encouraging and patient. The older man praised Michael for completing the tiny task, seeming genuinely impressed.

Once all six cloves of garlic had been added to the pan, Ashton turned on the hob into a medium heat. “Okay, so we stir this together for about five minutes. Can you do that while I open the tin of tomatoes?” 

Michael nodded, picking up the wooden spoon from the counter and storing the simmering ingredients together. It already kinda smelt like his favourite Italian restaurant and his tummy grumbled impatiently. 

“One thing I should specify is, you need to use tins of whole tomatoes, not chopped.” Ashton explained as he poured the first tin of tomatoes into the sizzling pan. “Can you pour in the second one?” 

Michael did as he was told and watched as Ashton squished the whole tomatoes down and stored them into the red eat of the ingredients. 

“Mmm it smells so good.” Michael sighed, breathing in the delicious smells. 

Ashton looked proud of himself as he offered a smile. “Can you take over the stirring while I add the salt?” 

Michael took the spoon from Ashton, ensuring that their fingers brushed. 

There was a moment of eye contact and a silent shifting of tension between the two of them. If ever there was a time to bite the bullet and kiss Ashton, now would be it. His nerves failed him though and he dropped his gaze to the simmering pan. 

Instead of moving around Michael to pick up the salt as he’d done for the tomatoes, Ashton simply reached past the blonde, pushing him against the counter momentarily before he pulled back to add the salt to the pan. 

If Michael had been fully alert, he’d have recognised that for the flirtatious move it was meant to be, as it was, he put it down to a simple lack of judgement on Ashton’s part and continued to concentrate on stirring the sauce.

***

The tomato pasta tasted as good as it had smelt. It turned out to be exactly what Michael’s hungover body had needed. 

He and Ashton had eaten it at their little table in the kitchen. Conversation had flowed freely as always, skirting around flirtatious at times but never quite enough for Michael to pluck up the courage to take things further. 

“The only thing that would have made that better would have been a nice glass of white wine, but I thought you were still a bit too delicate for that.” Ashton giggled as he picked up the empty plates from the table and carried them over to the kitchen sink. 

“Hey, you drank as much as I did!” Michael pouted, picking up the empty glasses and following Ashton to the sink. “How’re you not hungover.” 

Ashton chuckled as he ran the water into the washing up bowl. “You’re just a lightweight, Mikey.” 

It wasn’t the first time Michael had been called that so it didn’t take him by surprise. He laughed it off as he grabbed a tea cloth ready to dry the dishes that Ashton washed. “One day you’ll stop teasing me, Irwin.” 

Ashton shook his head. “Don’t count on it, babe… you’re too easy to make fun of, that’s not my fault.” 

There it was again, that little slip, a fond nickname that roommates probably shouldn’t have for one another. 

Quickly pulling himself together, Michael nudged his flatmate in the arm, just hard enough to pull a surprised “oof” from him. 

“Careful now.” Ashton warned jokingly. “You don’t want to start a scuffle you can’t finish, Clifford.” 

Michael threw caution to the wind and nudged Ashton again, deliberately keeping his gaze on the plate he was drying. 

“That’s it!” Ashton huffed, scooping up a handful of bubbles and swiping them across Michael’s face. 

The blonde spluttered and shook his damp fringe out of his face before fixing Ashton with a glare. A few acts of retaliation flashed through his mind. He could have whipped Ashton with the tea cloth or splashed him with dishwater but none of that happened. 

There was something about the way Ashton’s eyes were sparkling, almost like he was daring Michael to do the thing he’d been too scared to do this whole time. He refused to let another opportunity pass like before when they were making the pasta sauce. Michael tried not to overthink as he stepped forward and cupped Ashton’s face with one hand before leaning in and kissing him. 

The raven-haired man’s lips felt every bit as soft as they had done on that night seven months ago. Ashton didn’t kiss back with the same hunger and desperation that he had done back then, though. 

Michael stepped back, feeling his cheeks heat up in an embarrassed blush. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, Ash…” 

Ashton bit his bottom lip between his teeth as he stared at Michael intently. “No…” He said, finally breaking his silence. “You just shouldn’t have waited so long.” 

The older man’s words had barely penetrated Michael’s brain before he was being  pressed against the counter behind him. Ashton’s lips were on his again but this time they were working just like they had been that night at Ashton’s old place. 

The intense kiss pulled a whine from Michael and he automatically wrapped his arms around the older man’s neck. 

It started as a fairly simple kiss but it quickly began to build momentum. It was the crack in the dam holding back all of their emotions for all this time. 

“Ashton…” Michael gasped as they pulled apart for air. “I know we said we should just be friends but…” 

“Fuck being just friends.” Ashton mumbled as he worked kisses down Michael's neck. “I can’t pretend anymore.” 

Those words were all Michael needed to hear in order to relax into this. “I can’t tell you how bad I’ve wanted this.” He whispered. 

Ashton slipped one of his thighs between Michael’s as he nipped at the blonde’s neck. “I think I have some idea.” He groaned. “I never stopped thinking of the way you moaned my name that night, Michael.” The older man confessed, pulling back just enough to look Michael in the eye. “Wanted it again since the moment I walked in here.” 

The way Ashton was looking at him like he wanted to devour every inch of Michael, had the blonde melting. “Me too.” He crashed his lips against Ashton’s in another desperate kiss as he subconsciously rutted against the older man’s thigh. After the months Michael had spent feeling kind of lonely and touch-starved, the tiny amount of friction was enough to have him whimpering against Ashton’s lips. 

“Uh, you sound and taste even better than I remember.” Ashton muttered, pressing his thigh harder against Michael’s crotch to pull another little gasp from him. 

“Ashton! Fuck, please, I…” Michael’s head tipped back as he lost his fight to regain any sort of control over his own body. He was in Ashton’s control now, and Ashton knew it.  

“Come on…” Ashton coaxed, stepping back from Michael as he took both of his hands in his to pull him away from the kitchen counter. Michael whined high in his throat as he easily followed where Ashton led. 

Michael had hardly been into Ashton’s bedroom since he had helped him move some furniture the day he moved in; it had almost felt too intimate to go into Ashton’s personal space given the history between them. Seeing it now, cozy and dark with slithers of light coming through the window from the lamp posts outside, gave Michael a chill; it felt like Ashton was sharing a secret with him.

He followed Ashton’s lead dutifully all the way to the bed, accepting the deep kiss Ashton offered him as a reward, before the older man peeled his oversized sweater from his torso, breaking away to pull it over Michael’s head. Michael wanted more contact, but was disappointed when Ashton gently but decisively laid him down among the crisp sheets, instead. 

Ashton pulled his own t-shirt over his head in one fluid motion and flicked the lamp on his bedside table on, bathing the bed in a warm glow that made Michael feel like he was in a dream. 

Michael gazed in wonder at Ashton as he climbed into bed beside him, letting his eyes travel all over his arms and chest, taking in the extra tone and definition in his body since the last time he’d been able to stare at him like this; clearly, the yoga was doing more than just allowing Ashton to ‘find his centre’. 

He didn’t think he was anything special to look at, but he could see Ashton mirroring his own actions, eyes full of lust searching all over the parts of Michael’s body he could see, and even his gaze lingering on a part he couldn’t.

 “Ash,” Michael breathed out, surprising himself with how far gone he sounded already. “Take ‘em off, I wanna…” He trailed off as Ashton’s eyes snapped up to meet his own, holding eye contact for only a moment before he nodded almost imperceptibly, shuffling down the bed and taking hold of the waistband of Michael’s sweatpants. He returned his gaze to the pale man before him, biting his own lip as he allowed his fingertips to graze the skin of Michael’s hips. “These too?” Ashton questioned in a low voice as he brushed the fabric of Michael’s underwear.    

“Oh God, yeah”, Michael answered, squirming slightly from the infuriatingly gentle feel of Ashton’s touch. Ashton didn’t need to be told twice. Michael shivered with the feeling of being suddenly completely exposed as his sweatpants and underwear hit the carpet. Michael looked up at Ashton through his lashes, braced up on his knees in his black, ripped jeans. “You’d better be planning on losing those in the next second, Irwin.”

Ashton smirked as he undid his jeans. “And I mean your underwear, too!” Michael amended hastily, hungry to see if his memory of Ashton’s body was accurate. 

The dark-haired man’s smirk grew wider at Michael’s clarification, pulling his zip down and allowing his jeans to fall open, exposing only bare skin beneath. “Underwear?” 

Michael’s jaw dropped a little, prompting a deliciously filthy laugh from his roommate. “For the record, roomie - I don’t wear underwear.” Ashton winked as he yanked his jeans down as far as he could in his current position, before wriggling around to pull them off completely. Michael was pleased to see that, if anything, his memory had been selling Ashton short. Blame it on the alcohol. 

Michael didn’t know how to decide on what to do first; on one hand, he wanted to kiss Ashton non-stop for the rest of eternity, but on the other hand, if he didn’t get filled up in the next 10 minutes, he was definitely going to throw a tantrum. Luckily, he realised, it probably wasn’t up to him. All of his experience with Ashton so far told him that the older man would definitely be taking the lead, and this was definitely not a problem for Michael. Indeed, it had worked out very well for him last time, when his staff night out started at the bar and ended with Ashton eating him out like his life depended on it. 

“What are you thinking?” Ashton’s sultry voice broke through his thoughts, apparently wanting a coherent answer despite the fact that he had just begun to run his fingers up and down Michael’s sensitive, pale inner thighs. Michael let out a shuddery breath as he tried to use his words to tell Ashton he wanted anything and everything possible between them, right there and then. Perhaps the way his cock twitched when Ashton let one his nails run over a faded stretch mark right at the base of one of his thighs would speak for itself. 

“Maybe we should get right to, huh, gorgeous?” Ashton teased, withdrawing his touches to lean towards his bedside table. He pulled open the top drawer, fumbling only for a moment until he found what he was looking for. The lube and condom were dropped carelessly onto the mattress as he shut the drawer again, returning his attention to the man almost-beneath him immediately. “We’ve got plenty of time for all the other goods stuff; right now, I need to fuck you, and I know you need me to fuck you...don’t you?”

Michael wondered at what point in his life he had begun to communicate exclusively in whines, but Ashton seemed to be into it, so it didn’t matter. Michael watched impatiently as Ashton popped the top on the half-empty bottle of lube, wasting no time in squirting a generous amount onto two fingers on his right hand and pulling Michael’s leg fully around his hip with his left.

Michael’s heart jumped as much as his cock when Ashton breathed gently on the lube coating his fingers in an attempt to warm it slightly before he brought them straight down to Michael’s bare hole, rubbing over it in a firm circle.

Michael was glad he didn’t have the problem of not wanting his roommate to hear him getting fucked, anymore, as he let out his loudest, neediest whine yet. Ashton proved he had meant what he said about not taking their time with their second tryst, sinking his index finger inside Michael in one fluid motion. Before Michael had got to 10, Ashton was opening him up at a steady, delicious pace and was driving Michael crazy in record time. 

Michael wouldn’t claim to be a pornstar or anything, but he didn’t normally have a problem with stamina. If Ashton kept it up like this, though, Michael was in danger of coming before Ashton’s thick cock got any closer to him, and that was unacceptable.

“Ash, please, I can’t...I want, ne-your cock, please!” Michael cried out as Ashton probed his spot one last time before immediately acquiescing to Michael’s begging. Michael wriggled at the loss of Ashton’s fingers, but took comfort in the fact that Ashton was already tearing the condom packet open. 

Michael watched in awe-tinged anticipation as Ashton gave himself a couple of loose tugs once he had the condom on, before closing in on his lover once more, making sure Michael was laid comfortably on the pillows as he positioned himself over him. Michael clung to Ashton’s shoulders as he lined himself up, just resting the tip on Michael’s slick hole for a moment.

Ashton’s hazel eyes bore down into Michael’s green ones with a soft fire as he raised one hand to brush Michael’s fringe out of his flushed face. Michael let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding as Ashton pushed in - slowly, but all the way.. He felt like he was sinking and floating simultaneously, and wrapped his arms around Ashton’s neck to anchor himself here, with him, in this moment. 

Ashton pressed his face deep into Michael’s neck, kissing and sucking his way up towards Michael’s ear. “You good?” He murmured, shifting his hips a miniscule amount. “Yeah,” Michael breathed, “S’good, please…”.

With a final nip to Michael’s neck, Ashton pulled back slightly and began to move his hips properly, his cock sliding halfway out each time as he began to build a steady rhythm for them. Michael felt that perhaps in their sexual relationship so far, he was earning himself the reputation of a bit of a Pillow Princess, and so he began to move his own hips to meet Ashton’s building thrusts. Ashton groaned, long and loud, at the heightened sensations Michael’s movements brought, and they began to work together towards their goal. 

Suddenly, Ashton’s mouth was crowding his, his tongue sliding into his mouth in a glorious kiss that Michael never wanted to end. He couldn’t tell if it had been 10 minutes or 10 hours when he felt that familiar feeling begin to bubble in the lower stomach. Ashton had begun to up the pace of his thrusts, his hips occasionally stuttering as groans rumbled low in his throat, so Michael knew they were on the same page. 

“Ash,” He murmured in the millisecond between kisses. “Touch me, please, I’m getting so-” Michael broke off into a moan as Ashton was already wrapping a firm hand around his neglected cock, stroking it with determination and flicking his thumb over Michael’s dripping head. “You close, baby?” He murmured, eyes drifting over Michael’s face and the arousal present there. Michael was starting to writhe slightly and his head was flopping to the side on the pillow, but Ashton wanted his attention. With his free hand, he took Michael’s chin and turned his head to meet Ashton’s stare. The moment Michael was forced to meet his strong, heated gaze, his hazel eyes boring down on him with such intensity, Michael felt the kick of heat and it was all over. He cried out Ashton’s name and let out a series of curses and moans as he came, hard and hot over Ashton’s hand and their sweaty stomachs in equal measure.

Michael hadn’t finished himself before he felt Ashton taken by surprise, as well; his hips shooting forward to fill him to the hilt for the last time as he spilt into the condom, releasing Michael’s chin to brace himself through his orgasm on the pillows. “Michael, fuck!”

Michael regained enough control to watch Ashton’s face through hooded eyes as he came, moaning and unrestrained as he finished. He thought he looked heavenly. 

As they both fought to catch their breath, Ashton pulled out gingerly, releasing Michael from his grip as he moved away to remove and dispose of the condom. Michael wriggled in place, trying to get comfortable to recover from what he hoped would be the first of many. Ashton came back from the bin in the corner and flopped back down, alongside Michael now, lifting his arm to allow Michael to snuggle in under it when he wrapped it around him. “So…” He said, sounding casual as you like. “About the whole platonic, friendly, roommate thing…”

masterlist for the 5sos ficwriters collab  • my masterlist

[ihavenocluedude]

The two awkward fools

Montgomery “Scotty” Scott x Original Female Character

Chapter 1. “Let’s get going shall we?”

Link to chapter 2

Summary:Two awkward fools meet for the first time after being on the same ship for a long while. An obvious crush on both sides makes the friends around them want to just lock them in somewhere until someone confesses. But decides not to. Hence an awkward slow burn arises. This is the story of Elfie Maxwell and Montgomery Scott, two fools who couldn’t see that the feelings were mutual and therefore drove the people around them rather irritated.

It basically revolves just around them and the evolution of it all. And there isn't really any big superficial descriptions of Elfie so... Yup.

A/N: I decided to finally start posting this! I’m kinda nervous about it but at the same time super excited. I’m currently writing on chapter 6 actually but I’ve been constantly editing the earlier chapters. So here you’ve got a pretty constantly edited first chapter. Here’s to crushing on tech nerds in movies! I can’t find that many gifs of Pegg as Scotty, so have a little Scotty on Delta Vega :) 

Also posted on Ao3 : Chap 1. the two awkward fools

"Kiddo! Maxwell!"

“I’m not a kid McCoy, I’m just a few years younger than you god dammit.” Max sighed, swiveling around with her chair to look at the just slightly older, dark haired grump. The office space of the medical department was usually pretty quiet, reserved for doing paperwork, avoiding certain crew members or just killing time. But now of course here he came calling out her name as she had sat there doing actual work. However whilst turning around, she did not only see her goofy friend who’s somehow her superior McCoy who was looking rather pale at the moment. But also the chief engineer of the ship, Lt Commander Montgomery Scott.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Commander Scott, I’m Elfie Maxwell.” The motion of instantly standing up and reaching out her hand quickly had not only caught herself off guard but also the now slightly flustered Lt. Commander. Max had never really met him before, sure she had heard about him several times. From crewmates, from McCoy, from Kirk, from her best friend, from pretty much everyone who had met him. And she had actually seen him around in the corridors or in the canteen, so she wasn’t actually a stranger to his appearance or his body language. Seeing him this close and actually talking to him for the first time did feel extremely strange however, he seemed slightly different than how she’d observed before.

"Ach, please Maxwell, call me Scotty."

“People usually call me Max,” She smiled at the man before continuing “So what can I do for you guys?” Max had started worrying about the cause of why the two men were there, well after the minor shock of meeting a Lt Commander for the first time of course... Anyhow, they are after all both Lieutenant Commanders, McCoy is a ‘way’ better doctor than she is (even if she hated to admit it). So why did they come there to her to get her help, unless there had been an emergency again. She did not have the energy for another couple of hours of patching up countless crewmembers.

“Everything’s fine Max, I got- Fuck! I got a bit of a headache and Scotty here, forced me to come here and get someone’s help as I wouldn’t put a hypo in my own damn neck myself.” McCoy muttered, taking a seat in the chair that Max had been sitting in when the two had entered the office. McCoy’s almost normal ‘usual’ muttering of swear words hadn’t truly made sense in this moment until now. McCoy leaned forwards in the chair, catching his head in his hands and letting out a quick groan once more.

"Well mister grumpy let's take this to the actual medical bay and not the damn office and let’s give you that damn hypo." Max decided to go behind McCoy and steer the chair he was sitting in into the medical bay. "Scotty, you can follow with if you want, your choice though." Looking back at him, he nodded and ultimately decided to follow along.

"Look Max, you're not really helping me by driving me in the chair."

"Do you really want to walk there instead you buffoon-" Max teased swinging the chair a bit, rolling it side-to-side slightly, making McCoy's headache flare up a bit.

" No!" McCoy suddenly yelped making both Max and Scotty chuckle. Max steadied the chair and continued making their way into the medical bay, the other medics looking at them like they were insane at the moment. "Look just give me the medicine doc'." McCoy muttered loudly.

"Hypospray, five percent hydrocortilene." McCoy demanded as he looked up at the woman for a second as she was looking at the hypospray in her hands.

"Oh please you'll need three percent at max McCoy."

"Give me seven percent you little- "

“Bones, be nice to the wee lass.” Scotty stepped in, seeming to be trying to defend Max. However being called a ‘little girl’, wasn’t quite that nice. Elfie Maxwell always seemed to be thought of as way younger by her superiors even if she didn’t look that much younger. McCoy always calls her kiddo, of course he’s a friend and all but out of all the nicknames? Kiddo? Really? Max isn’t even that short or that small in general, sure her eyes might give of a young vibe but she was by no account a ‘wee’ kiddo.

"Please don't call me a little girl, I'm just a few years younger than you guys. I'll give the little stick in the mud the seven percent he wants but doesn't need ." Max muttered, picking up a hypospray, fixing the hydrocortilene setting on the hypospray before injecting the hypo into the side of his neck. McCoy, as the little wuss he is, hissed loudly.

"You're not supposed to stab me with it."

“You’re such a baby McCoy, however you should be fine now. Or well… Maybe a bit woozy in a minute, remember that I didn’t tell you to make me give you seven percent, your choice Doc.”

“I’ll be fine.” McCoy rolled his eyes, standing up from the chair, clutching his head quickly as the headache flared up slightly at the quick movement once again.

“So where were you guys before this?”

"Jus' a meeting." Scotty smiled at Max, nodding slightly, it was apparent that Scotty and Max weren’t quite acquainted with each other yet but he was truly trying to make the situation comfortable. It was quite sweet, Max had heard several things about the chief engineer, everything from him being extremely loveable to sometimes being very annoying. When Max turned herself back towards McCoy, now sitting down on one of the beds, he seemed completely gone, told him he didn’t need the seven percent. “Well he seems rather pleased either way, even with the headache Kirk gave him.”

“Kirk was the one who triggered this?” Max questioned Scotty with a confused look, snapping her fingers a bit over McCoy’s face, making sure she got at least somewhat of a reaction.

“Aye, cannae tell you how but tha’ headache’s Kirk’s fault.”

“Oh… Well I’m sorry you had to be in the middle of all of that.” Max nodded along, knowing how McCoy and Scotty’s conversations could drive someone insane. They were close as hell and whilst Max had sort of joined their little group of friends, she couldn’t compare her friendship with either of the men to the friendship between the two of them. But she did sometimes bet that their friendship couldn’t compare to her and her best friend’s. However that was just a personal little smugness she kept in her head.

“McCoy I swear to everything if you made me give you seven percent to avoid your next shift I’ll make you cover me the next time I want one off.” Max muttered to McCoy, his eyes slightly opening at Max’s words, it was a start but if McCoy didn’t want to spend the night in the medical bay then Scotty or someone else would have to help Max carry him on their shoulders to McCoy’s quarters. “Scotty I need your help with this goofball.” Max turned to the scottish man beside her, who apparently stood way closer now than she had been expecting, making her jolt up.

“No’ a problem Max, let’s get going shall we?”

---- --- ---

"So… Commander Scott huh? I thought you guys had spoken by now, I mean we've been out here a while?" Jen questioned, Max nodded slightly, of course they probably should’ve met before but who’s to say when you’re going to meet someone for the first time. After Max’s shift, Jen, Max’s best friend who works in engineering had dragged Max over to her quarters.

Apparently Jen had bought some sort of vodka mix thingy from another engineer and then hid it somewhere in the quarters and finally decided that today was the day that they’d drink it. They started talking about their day as usual at first, merely sipping on the strong liquid. Max brung up drugged up McCoy and with that also brung up how she had met Scotty for the very first time. "I mean you guys aren't that… You're both… I mean… You're kind of alike Elfie?" Jen stumbled slightly over her words, as she often did. Jen was the sort of person who got the most of her confidence during stress or emergencies, however during normal days, she stumbled over her words especially when she has to talk to a superior. But today it was simply a sign to Max that Jen had been slightly irritated during the day and now was tired, only wanting to relax with her best friend but stumbling over her words to try and find the right ones.

"Thank you?" Max responded with uncertainty "I don't know him yet so I have no clue if that's positive or negative Jen. I've heard that he's talkative, from some I've heard that he's annoying, from some I've heard that he's great."

"All you need to know is that he’s worth talking to, get to know him for yourself Elfie.” Jen smiled at Max “I mean El… Isn’t he kind of… I mean… He is kind of your type isn’t he? Dark blond, slightly older? An engineer? Quite… quirky?” Jen started whispering for some reason, leaning in a bit, Jen’s lips starting to form into a bit of a smug smirk as Max’s skin flushed. “Look I’m not telling you to go fall in love with him… But it wouldn’t hurt you? Or well… I mean… Love does hurt when it ends- nevermind, ignore me…” Jen chuckled, shaking her head at her own tired rambling.

“It has been a while since I’ve been anywhere close to even crushing-ugh. ” Max cringed at her own words, it made her feel like she was just a teenager again “I meant it has been a while since I’ve been anywhere close to even having feelings for someone Jen. He’s sweet and all but I’m not sure he’ll be the one who’ll… well… the one whom I’ll open up that part of my life to again.” Max shrugged, sipping from the glass she had merely sipped from during the conversation. Readying herself to start taking slightly more of the strong liquid.

Next chapter

[possiblydistasteful]

xiyao for the ship meme :D and if you feel like doing another, i'm curious about chengxian

Xiyao well YEAH uh am VERY into it. SPOILERS BELOW for anyone still halfway through the show.  

1. What made you ship it?

I think their first meeting in cql had me raising eyebrows but it wasn’t until later when the extent of jgy’s crimes were coming to light that I was like OH... oh YES this is for me. The finale cemented it for me though, I have a friend whose main ship THING ends up being murder suicide and I guess that rubbed off on me lol. 

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

It’s the tragedy luvs. Cql re-arranging the story so it’s told in order kind of messes with some of the mystery elements and jgy’s villainy reveal being near the end I think does a disservice to his character BUT having the coffin town arc right near the end makes the parallels between xue yang/xiao xingchen and jin guangyao/lan xichen’s relationships that much more apparent. The desperation to be understood vs incompatible moral frameworks compounded by class issues is PEAK tragedy. I’m also not finished the novel so my feelings on them are almost entirely based on cql canon but holy shit that scene at the end where jgy sort of cruelly throws out “Die with me” and Lan Xichen pauses and then closes his eyes and just ACCEPTS IT? It’s the “I can’t live without you but I can’t live with the things you’ve done” that does it for me. I swear I used to be such an angst fan as a teenager but in my early 20s I tended to gravitate more towards friends to lovers.... this show has brought all my passion for misery back lol. I could say 10000 other things here but I think I’ve covered the basics and everything else I could say would just be me expanding on everything I’ve already said. 

(Okay one more thing... Lan Xichen haunted and desperately begging NHS for the truth... did JGY move against him?? And he seems so torn because if JGY never cared about him and was willing to try and kill him then he wouldn’t have to feel guilty for killing him. ON THE OTHER HAND that would mean that JGY didn’t love him and that their relationship was a lie, or if he did love him, his goals were more important than his feelings for LXC and watching him try and DEAL with the consequences of either is DELICIOUS)

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I’m on desktop so I can’t insert a grimace emoji but... yeah I have a LOT of unpopular opinions about this ship. This is NOT a dunk on anyone who likes this ship differently than I do, and I want to be clear I respect everyone’s unique interpretations. 

That being said: one thing I have seen a lot is ‘Lan Xichen was the only person to understand and accept Jin Guangyao/Meng Yao’ and I don’t think that was the case. For one, LXC only ever saw what JGY wanted him to, so his understanding of JGY was based on half truths and omissions. I absolutely think that he loved him, and that JGY allowed him to see some of what he was, but until the ending, LXC never got a complete picture and when he finally did, he rejected him. LXC was unable to accept that the things JGY did were ‘necessary evils’ and he was horrified by what he saw. In contrast, both Su Minshan and Xue Yang not only knew all of JGY, but actively accepted and worked with him.  My only other major unpopular opinion is that I don’t really ship 3zun, or at least the way I ship it is a lot more antagonistic than most art and fic I see depicting it because given the timeline of the relationships I just can’t see there being much time were 2/3rds of the trio were not trying to kill each other (which is totally hot imho but not really what I see much of when I see 3zun).  AGAIN, I am absolutely not throwing shade or trying to bum anyone out. Please keep doing your thing and having fun!! Chengxian. Oh Absolutely yes 100%. Onesided? Mutual? A mix of both? Yes please. 

1. What made you ship it?

Honestly I think it was the same moment for me as it was for you, the scenes in the Guanyin temple. But building up to that... the scenes where Jiang Cheng finds out that his golden core is actually Wei Wuxian’s and it just BREAKS him.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

This ship has everything: childhood friends to enemies to lovers, attempted murder, betrayal, possessiveness, incest undertones without even being related. I love the whole “We made a promise during simpler times that we’d always be there for each other but now everything is so much more complicated and I’m angry about it but instead of being angry at the situation I can do nothing about, I will direct my anger at YOU” and there is a LOT that can be said about like... how JC sees WWX as a ‘safe’ person to lash out against because WWX does love and care for him and I think he knows that it won’t make WWX hate him. And that’s not even TOUCHING on the “You were supposed to be a loyal servant to me like your father was to my father” angle. OR the what does brotherhood even mean in this circumstance especially considering how we were raised together OR the jealousy because my dad was nicer to you angle. 

Oh also like I KNOOOOW that WWX’s first kiss is technically canonically with LWJ during that night hunt BUT ummm canon is a liar sometimes because COME ON there is absolutely no way WWX wasn’t getting into trouble sneaking off to make out with the other disciples in the broom closet. Anyways with that in mind there is no way that wwx wasn’t jc’s first kiss like COME ON. 14 year old JC embarrassed he’s never kissed a girl before, WWX like “lol it’s easy I’ll show you how” I mean SERIOUSLY PLEASE. And then JC held on to that for the next decade+.  OH ALSO don’t get me started on the “I’m so mad about everything that went down I’m going to torture and kill anyone who might be you or might be a follower of yours.” It’s the pinnacle of fucked up romantic jealousy and aggression and I love to see it. (I would also very much like to see a post-canon fic where WWX is like “lol that sounds hot, you wanna do it, minus the murder bit?” and JC’s brain shatters into 1000 horny pieces.) 

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

My unpopular opinion is that there is not enough of it tbh (also idk if it’s unpopular or not but I imagine it would be... would love to see the pseudo-incest angle leaned into a little more. I wouldn’t even consider myself an incest shipper but it just WORKS for this ship). 

SORRY TO MY DASH FOR THE LONG POST, I have a LOT of feelings about stuff whoops. 

[whyralltheusernamestaken]

Okay so I have an oc names is Arbany her quirk is indestructible wings and telekinesis and I would like u to do her x Bakugo where they fight and he say something that hurts her feelings and she later has a fight with some villains and almost die and whatever else u wanna add but an happy ending if that’s not too much for you I don’t wanna stress u out and if u don’t wanna do it it’s fine or if you have an better idea I will gladly take that thank u so much again I love you work take care 💕💕💕

A/N : omggg tysm for requesting and you’re so sweet ahhhh!! It actually means the world to me!

Apologises if she’s ooc, I’m not really sure what her personality is like.

Bakugou x oc

Warnings : violence/fighting, swearing

Words : 3,800

Masterlist 

Arbany had met Bakugou during the June of their first year in high school, meeting each other for the first time when her school Shiketsu High bumped into his. The impression they left on each other wasn’t the best. She remembered him as the foul mouthed, egoistic boy with a superiority complex, and he saw her as a good for nothing brat with one too many words and nothing but a dumb set of wings.

She had managed to knock him off his pedestal after she received her hero licence before he had and it sparked rivalry of sorts, Bakugou vowing that he would never lose to her again. They had stayed in contact after Kirishima asked for her number, adding her to a group chat with himself, Bakugou and a few more of their friends.

Soon, unbeknown to any of their other mutual friends, they had began to text privately, and she often found herself rushing to the phone whenever his special notification sounded. They would often take about modern day affairs, the latest updates on well known heroes and villains, and sometimes they would open up and talk about themselves, asking each other for advice on certain things or how their day went.

It wasn’t long before Arbany found herself developing a massive crush on him. Sure his attitude was brash and unnecessarily rude, but that didn’t mean he was a terrible person, in fact he did care a lot, and she supposed he just tried hard not show it for some odd reason or another.

They would meet up regularly, normally at places that were a few train stations away from their houses. The distance between their schools wasn’t incredibly big, but it did take at least an hour to get to one place from another, so they compromised with spots in the middle. On specials occasions, when it was their birthdays or a pubic holiday, one would wait by the school gates of the other.

This led to their classmates noticing and hence teasing them about each other. On Arbany’s side, her face would flush, ears light pink as her friends made comments about shipping them whereas on the other side of town, Bakugou would scream threats as his friends laughed.

Eventually, they started dating. It was a few weeks into the second year and Bakugou had asked her out during a picnic in a field with a wreath of fresh flowers that he had hidden in his backpack and a necklace. It was cheesy, and he was embarrassed the entire time, his cheeks dusted with red, letting out small curses every now as then, but he decided the massive smile on who was now his girlfriend’s face was worth him putting down his ego and taking the first step.

In the following autumn, Arbany had transferred into his school for the last year, after her parents moved for their jobs, she decided to finish off her second year at Shiketsu before joining her parents closer to UA. She was understandably upset at leaving behind her good friends, however being with her boyfriend of nearly a year and also his friends, who she was pretty close to as well, helped cheer her up significantly.  

“Arbany!” Mina called, waving her over to the side of the gym. She walked over, pulling on her sports jumper as Aizawa began telling them of today’s training lesson. It was a 1v1 spar with no quirks and he gave everyone the choice to choose a partner.

“Are you going to spar Bakugou?” Mina asked.

Arbany started, “Possibly I-” before cutting herself off as she watched the blonde stomp towards Midoriya.

“Fight me Deku.” he shouted.

She laughed slightly, shaking her head before turning back to Mina. “I think I’ll choose someone I rarely train with.” she said, to which the latter nodded.

“Alright, you better not loose!” she cheered before walking off. Arbany looked around, catching sight of Todoroki standing alone.

“Hey Todoroki!” she called out, smiling as he turned around. “Would you like to be my partner?”

He nodded politely, before the pair began walking to an empty marked area of the hall. Her physical skill was only a few hairs short of Todoroki’s, him often catching to smallest openings and attacking. She stepped back in a wide stance, bringing her leg up which he blocked, before jumping up and swinging the other leg. He dodged, stepping backwards as she swung up, about to land a punch when a sudden large explosion sounded.

“The hell?” she jumped back, whipping her head around to see a large charred dent in the floor of the hall.

“Bakugou! This is a no quirk exercise.” Aizawa shouted, using his scarf to hold the younger boy back from continuing to attack Midoriya. “Are you alright Midoriya?”

She felt a small pang of guilt. Maybe if she had spotted Bakugou’s increasing anger towards the other boy, then she could have possibly prevented this. Maybe she should’ve payed more attention to her own boyfriend.

“I’ll take him to nurse’s office.” she offered, walking towards the boy and pulling on his arm.

“It’s alright I’m fine.” Midoriya protested, shaking his head but she tugged on his arm again and he followed without much more complaint. In the background she could hear Bakugou screaming at her to leave the damn nerd alone but she simply ignored him.

After leaving the hall, she slowed down her pace, letting go of his arm. “I’m sorry about Katsuki, I’m not sure why he even thought something like that would be acceptable.” she sighed, rubbing her forehead as Midoriya awkwardly chuckled.

“It’s not your fault don’t worry.” he reassured her.

“No it’s not.” she huffed out frustrated, “but maybe I could’ve talked him out of pulling something like this.”

Midoriya shook his head. “I think we need to sort it out between ourselves.” he said. “There’s no need to blame yourself Arbany.”

She nodded and sighed, stepping into the nurse’s office after him and looking around for any burn ailments.

Bakugou was seething. He detested the thought of his girlfriend together with the only person on earth that he utterly loathed. As soon as class ended, he rushed off to find Arbany, spotting her near their classroom and pulling her to the side.

“Why are you hanging out with the damn Deku.” Bakugou asked.

She sighed, grimacing. “I was not ‘hanging out’ with him, I went to treat him for a burn that you caused.” she answered, pointing a figure to his chest.

“He could’ve easily taken care of that himself.” he muttered.

“No Katsuki. He could’ve easily not been hurt at all if you just learn how to grow up.”

He could feel himself shaking with anger as he clenched his fists. “What the fuck do you mean I need to grow up.”

“Katsuki you are literally an adult next year, stop acting like a child towards someone who literally hasn't done anything to deserve this hate.”

“So you’re defending him now?”

“Yes! Yes I am because I think you’re being utterly unreasonable.”

“I don’t get you. You’re my girlfriend and yet-”

“Exactly! I’m your girlfriend and you should listen to me when I tell you what you’re doing something wrong. I care about you and that’s exactly why I’m not going to condone this behaviour.”

“But he’s just a fucking loser-” He stopped shouting to hold his head with his hand, rubbing his temple. “Look, I didn’t pull you over for a fight.”

“Well I’m not sure what you expected pulling a stunt like that.”

“Look I can explain-”

“You literally attempted to kill him. For what reason? Because he’s your rival?”

“No because-”

The sound of a phone ringing cut him off. “Hold on, let me take this.” she said, side stepping away and bringing the phone up to her ear.

“Hello? Arbany speaking.”

“Hello Arbany, you are being requested for a case.”

“Alright, I’m coming right now.”

“Mirio is waiting for you at the front gates.”

“Thank you.” she said before hanging up the phone, turning around. “Listen I’ve got a job now, but don’t you dare think this conversation is over Bakugou Katsuki.”

“Wait- Arbany!”

She ignored him, rushing off back to the classroom to gather her bag before running down the hallway and stairs. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, telling herself to stay calm as she slowly counted to 10 before regaining her composure. “You’re okay Arbany, you can do this.” she said to herself, pushing open the main doors and quickly walking to the school’s front gate.

“Mirio!” she called out, a smile plastered on her face as she threw her bag in the back seat and climbed into the passenger’s seat.

“Hey Arbany.” he replied, throwing her and earpiece before starting the engine and speeding down the road as she put on her seat belt, catching herself with her hand as the car lurched forward.

“Woah, slow down or you’re going to hit someone.” she laughed, securing the piece around her ear.

“I’ll be careful, but today’s job is really urgent.” he said, and she grimaced at the lack of a single hint of humour in his voice.

“Well that sucks, who is it?”

“The League again.” he sighed.

“Seriously? I’ve never met them before.” she answered, a pang of excitement hitting her as she was finally going to face the area’s most infamous villains.

“Really? They’ve been all over your class since first year.”

“Oh damn. I transferred this year so I guess I missed all of the fun stuff.” she answered.

“Well, I wouldn’t say fun.” he replied with a small laugh. “Your boyfriend did end up kidnapped for a good few days.”

She huffed at the word boyfriend and this caused Mirio to loosen up and actually laugh for one time in their journey. His usual upbeat self was incredibly tense and Arbany noticed as soon as she heard his less than enthusiastic greeting. “What did he do this time?”

“Arh.” She put her head in her hands before looking back up and staring at the traffic light. “I don’t even know, he just acts like a child like oh my fucking god Katsuki you’re turning 18 next year and you’re still trying to kill this poor bean over some childhood superiority complex.” she ranted, throwing her hands up in the air, hitting the car’s ceiling by accident.

“That sounds like him.” Mirio laughed, turning the corner, them both now spotting a massive colour of smoke.

“Well shit.” she cursed, tightening her grip on her seat belt as she saw a few people running away from the general direction. “Care to brief me in on which fucker might have done this?”

“Most likely Dabi.” he replied. “He’s the most active member who has a fire quirk. Just a warning, they may possibly have nomus.”

He pulled over to the side of the road, a sticker on his car’s windscreen showing that he was okay to do what would have otherwise been illegal parking. She got out of the car, running towards the scene. “Damn I don’t even have my hero suit on.” she complained under her breath, jumping into the air and with a flap of her wings she was above, looking down towards the scene.

“[hero name] here reporting for duty.” she called out after turning the ear piece on.

“Alright Arbany, your job is to make sure all civilians are out of the area.”

“Understood.” she answered, starting by doing a massive lap around the burning building with her wings. Spotting a pair walking towards it’s general direction, she swooped down and guided them to another route, before flying back up.

Getting closer to the building her eye caught sight on a fairly unburnt rooming, severely out of place considering the entire building was up in roaring flames and smoke. She slowly made her way to, realising a fairly young woman had been using her quirk to fireproof the room, but visibly growing tired. Arbany banged harshly on the window, getting no response as the woman remained leaning against her bed, almost motionless apart from the slight turn of her head, her eyes widening at the fact that someone had noticed her.

Arbany landed on the balcony, stepping back before swinging her leg up and shattering the window. She reached inside and unlatched the door, walking in hurriedly and placing her hands underneath the woman’s knees and back.

“Are you alright miss?” she asked, lifting her up and exiting the building.

She closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. “Thank you...”

“It’s alright.” Arbany replied, dropping to the ground at the sight of an ambulance, passing the woman over to a health worker. “Have some rest.” she said before jumping back into the air.

Before she could even travel another few feet, something at an incredible speed knocked into her from behind, sending her shooting down into the ground. “Fuck!” she screamed, wrapping her wings around her as she plummeted into the concrete.

“Arbany? Are you alright?” her ear piece sounded.

“Oh my fucking god.” she cried out, standing back up with a wobble and turning to see a massive lump of muscle and flesh flying in the sky. “Holy shit that thing is ugly.” she snorted, rolling back her shoulders to ease the tension as she most likely had to face that thing.

“That’s a nomu. Try not to engage in contact.”

“I think it’s a bit too late for that.” she responded as it started flying down towards her at a rapid speed.

“We’re sending another pro hero your way. Stay on your toes until then.”

“Alright.” she answered, focusing her mind on the incoming nomu and trying to stop it with her telekinesis. It slowed down considerably, no longer a blur in the sky, however she knew that once it reached her, even with a swing of it’s arm, she would be toast.

She couldn’t take her eyes off it otherwise he telekinesis would cease to work, so slowly she flew back into the air. The nomu changed it’s direction of path and sped towards her. She watched it intently as it grew closer and closer and by the time it was arms distance, she forced all of her energy onto it. It slowed down even more, and with that, she flew up, waiting for it be directly underneath her, before hardening her wings and burying them into it’s muscles as knifes.

It let out an ear piercing howl and with that she focused her telekinesis onto her leg, giving it extra as she stomped downwards on the nomu’s body. It started falling almost instantly, yet in that minuscule time frame, it had grabbed onto her ankle, pulling her down as well. With a shift of it’s body, it launched Arbany down towards the ground with it’s immense strength.

“Fuck.” she screamed. Her wings couldn’t catch any updraft of air so she resorted to encasing herself in her wings again. She hit the ground with a massive crash, the things around her becoming debris as she lay still in the dent in the ground.

In the quick seconds this had all occurred, she had forgotten to unharden her wings. She groaned in frustration at her stupidity as she felt an overwhelming pain in her side.

“Well fuck I might be out of commission soon.” she announced, roughly pulling out one of her feathers out of her side and tying her clothes tightly around the wound.

“You can stop Arbany, Endeavour has made it to your area.”

“I’m gonna keep helping until I can’t move anymore.” she muttered, standing up slowly as she winced at her side wound. She fell in pain as she stretched out her wings. Her wings were indestructible yes, the bones in them could never break, however that didn’t mean the rest of her body was too. The muscles connecting her wings to her back had been severely injured in the fall.

She felt utterly useless. She was a combat hero as much as a rescue one but she had essentially failed at both tasks. She watched as the nomu burned up in flames, still rushing towards Endeavour in a rage. With the last part of her energy, she focused and stopped most of it’s movements, and he sent another fire attack it’s way. With it unable to dodge or even shake out the flames, it slowly burnt up. She guessed this one was the regenerative type the others had encountered before.

With a small nod, satisfied at her help, she leaned against a wall and said “Alright well I’m gonna take a quick nap.”

“Arbany you are still in the battlefield, open your eyes right now!” She winced at the shouting in her ear and grumbled.

“Fine fine, I’m leaving.” she slowly started limping away, her hand on the wall to steady her and she made her way back to the main road. Spotting the ambulance again she stood up straight to walk over, missing the curb and falling flat on her face.

She felt fatigue wash over her as she rested her head on the concrete. Her head was spinning uncontrollably and she closed her eyes shut, hearing people running over to her as she slowly faded away.

~~~

“Kacchan I’m guessing you’re going to visit Arbany right now?” Midoriya asked as Bakugou strolled into the kitchen.

“What?” he scowled, turning his attention to the other boy with a glare.

“Wait you haven’t heard?”

“Do I look like I have Deku? Fucking spit it out already.”

“R-right, Arbany’s in hopsital after the villain attack by the-”

“Are you fucking with me Deku? I swear to god.”

“N-no I’m not!” he quickly answered, shaking his head before getting out his phone and turning to the most recent screenshot. “It’s on the news.”

Bakugou snatched the phone off him, his eyes squinted as he hurriedly read the small test. “Fuck.” he said, tossing the phone back to him absentmindedly as he rushed out of the kitchen, grabbing someone’s random jacket that was rested on the couch before running out of the door.

He sprinted all the way to the front gate, propelling himself with his quirk. He stopped at a main road, waving down a taxi aggressively before jumping inside and demanding they go to the nearest hospital. He tapped his feet impatiently as the drive there felt so agonisingly long. His eye watched digital distance measurer and calculator, pulling out what he assumed to be more than enough cash.

“Just park here.” he demanded as the hospital came into view.

“Sir I can’t-”

“Just fucking park here.” he shouted, the timid guy agreeing and stopping the car. He slammed the cash onto the dashboard before bolting out.

“Sir your change.” the driver called out.

“Keep it for all I care.” he shouted back, not sparing another glance as he ran into the hospital, knocking into a few people and almost colliding with a few more.

“Arbany. Arbany [L/N]” he said at the front desk as he almost started shouting at the receptionist for how slow he felt she was going.

“Second floor, room 214.” she said and he nodded, rushing to the elevators.

“Please refrain from running in here.” she called out from behind him. “This is a hospital, not a playground.”

He disregarded her words, pressing the up button multiple times, watching the floors come down to the ground, stepping in and pressing the 2. He soon reached her room, knocking before entering. She sat up on the bed, grimacing slightly as her side throbbed.

“Fucking hell, what were you thinking.” he said, sitting down next to her. His words were harsh but she could hear the genuine worry in them.

“Funny thing right, I did this to myself.” she chuckled, pouting when he didn’t show any reaction to her lightheartedness expect sighing.

“You idiot. Do you know how worried I was when I heard that. And if was from that nobody Deku as well.” he rubbed his eyes, his lips drawn up in a tight grimace.

She kissed her teeth. “Yeah, we’ve got to sort out what problem you have with Midoriya.”

“Fuck that brat, don’t think you can just change the conversation topic. What the fuck were you doing out there to get you landed in this bloody hell.” he threw his hands up, but his tone remained worried, making sure not to raise his voice at her.

“I’m a hero Katsuki, of course there are going to be injuries now and then.” she reasoned.

“I know.” he breathed out. He knew too that it was inevitable. They were both aiming to be pro hero and such a path like that wouldn’t be smooth sailing. “I know, I just...”

She stayed silent, not rushing him to go on as she wrapped her fingers around his. He clasped her hand in both of his, bringing them up to his head as he looked down at the bed. “I was scared.” he whispered.

Her heart melted at his words. It was almost never that someone like Bakugou would put down his pride to admit something like that. She reached over with her other hand, stroking his hair as he continued. “They wrote about you as if you were in some life threatening condition.”

She giggled. “That’s the media for you.”

“I, I thought I might lose you.” he said. She felt him shaking and pulled him towards her, wrapping her arm around him.

“I’m not going to leave you, you dummy.” she assured him. “I promise.”

He pulled back, flicking her on the forehead. “You better, otherwise I’m gonna follow you to hell and beat your ass.”

“Hey!” she pouted. “Who says I’d end up in hell anyways.”

“Pfft, and you’re going to heaven then?”

“Yes!”

“In your dreams.” he snorted.

She laughed at him before they fell into a silence, fiddling with his fingers as he simply just stared her.

“What’s up sweatpea?” she asked, tilting her head to the side and trying to read his expression.

“I love you dumbass.”

“Ew gross.” she laughed as he glared at her. “I’m just joking, ow! Don’t hit me I’m injured.”

Leaning back on the bed and away from him, she stuck her tongue out. “Say it back.” he demanded.

She squinted her eyes at him. “Are you sure you’re not the injured one Katsuki?”

He huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine then. Be like that.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding oh my god.” she rolled her eyes, leaning forwards to peck him on the lips.

“I love you too, you baby.”

If it wasn’t for her being injured, he might have blown her to pieces in sheer embarrassment.