#such a long reply eugh my bad!

[dayurno]

hiii dayurno I’m a big fan !! In general but also of the name of the game which is what this ask is abt

Somewhat of a directors cut question bc the kevjean brain worms are eating me from the inside out - do u think there’s a version of the name of the game where Kevin turns away from Andrew and Neil and ends up with Jean - although I guess I don’t mean that kevjean need to end up romantic rather than simply the most important relationship in each others lives

Although I guess a broader question is if there’s a version where Kevin turns his back on Andrew and Neil and if so what happens then

its always touching (but crazy!) when people tell me they like tnotg because looking back on it its been 3 years and theres a lot of things about it i dislike 🫡 mostly writing choices and typos and whatnot, but its very sweet to me that people still care about it and are willing to look past those….. tch! i am nonetheless all too aware of the flaws in it but i’ll edit it one day. eventually. 4 sure

as for your question hmmm lets see! if you’re asking if there’s an universe where kevin rejects andreil — i think so! i think if kevin hadn’t slept with river, hadn’t moved to charleston, hadn’t befriended robin at the time he did, he probably wouldn’t have gotten to the yes he gives them in chapter 6. it wouldn’t necessarily be a finite forever no, but it’d definitely be a very uncertain Maybe andrew wouldn’t have wanted to work with it. at that point they would’ve stopped pursuing him unless neil thought he could convince kevin, but i’m not sure andrew would’ve been on board with that

now an universe where he ends up with jean….🤔💭 when i wrote tnotg there was little to no information (or really content) about jean and most of the kevjean friendship was based off of guesses and headcanons. this is i think made obvious by the fact that jean is older than kevin in it and was already a year into his contract with the stingrays when kevin signed with them. he wasn’t the one to suggest they move in together, but he offered kevin a place to stay while he looked for apartments, which led to the conclusion of kevin asking if he wants to be roommates. part of it was kevin scared of living alone, but the other part was simply because kevin wanted to be closer to jean again, and he thought close proximity could mend the parts of their relationship he thought were still off

which is all to say: yes! there can be a world where kandreil don’t get together and kevjean do :) my original plan 3 years ago was to involve jean with their captain in an out of wedlock affair (3 cheers for yonah’s shitty fiance), but it was scrapped pretty early in the writing process. i still think jean and yonah could have casually dated or hooked up on the side, and eventually river would have figured it out and told kevin, which would make him look at jean. Differently. i think. at the point of kevin’s first season he’s not really thinking about jean as an adult so much as he’s thinking about the memory of him as a teenager, so it’d be a bit of a shock to hear jean is fooling around with a teammate, which would put associations in his head he would Not Like To Deal With

the thing is that i don’t know if tnotg jean was in love with kevin the way tsc jean was. i think it was definitely There on the back of his mind, but i’m not sure if that version of him would have acknowledged his feelings, and it’s likely he’d have suppressed them much more than he did in tsc. but, by the time the tnotg timeline starts, jean is in a much better and calmer place, and i think he would eventually reevaluate those memories if kevin showed any sign of interest in him. and then it’d be free real estate

[starlightshore]

Thanks for the Measured Response™. Unfortunately the character limit doesn't allow for much nuance in asks. My issue isn't so much with the character's actions as the way their conflict is framed. It always feels like we're supposed to judge Asriel way harsher - for ghosting the person responsible for their trauma - than Chara, who is actively trying to hurt them. I know you don't want to trivialize abuse, but the story still botches the subject pretty badly. Still, good luck with the rewrite.

(sighs) please anon, while I do appreciate the effort to acknowledge the lack of nuance in the previous ask, I would much rather you approach me more reasonably. I don't appreciate you coming to me, a complete stranger to both of us, with this attitude of already guilty. can you please learn to talk to people more reasonably? like, I'm living my life out here and you come and accuse me in a really rude way of promoting abuse or whatever the far-fetched conclusion that ask could come across as.

I am more than happy to accept fault over my writing and do my best to improve, but I want to do so on friendly, acceptable terms. please withhold condemnation and explain how and why you feel the story was mishandled. You do so really nicely in the second ask and I appreciate that.

Ultimately, regardless of my intent, my story didn't convey the message and that's, at the very least, mostly my fault. I can try to explain why I'd argue I didn't fuck up as badly as you paint me as, but I will accept that the story I wrote was not emotionally paced well made it weigh more towards cruelty without the hope and understanding I wanted the story to be read as.

I want to stress that I take abuse deadly seriously. I'm a victim of emotional abuse myself and this is something I am desperate to portray in all of its ugly, dirty detail and I want to do it without hurting people. I obviously failed when I first wrote this and I want to say thank you for coming to me about it, even if I feel there is still some friction here I want to express that gratitude. But also please be aware of how you approach people. (referring to the OG ask here).

Anyway

i wanna defend myself here a little and say I think you're missing the bigger picture of the framing of that scene. I feel you forgot the context of that scene and where it's placed in the story. It's this post.

Previously, that entire chapter had Chara idolizing the Asriel they knew as a child. Their timetravel ability being removed meant they longed for that power to control the narrative and live in the past. its like, metaphorical shit for how when growing up its hard to move on from the past and accept that you're aging.

That scene was the point where Chara realized that Asriel wasn't perfect -and has never been. The story is framed by Chara's POV exclusively and navigates Chara's feelings about their separation from Asriel. The "abuse" of that scene is the feeling of an older sibling telling them to "fuck off" and "stop acting like a victim" which are like... like devoid of the context of Asriel's perspective (which we didn't have at this point in the story) is a very hurtful and emotionally damaging thing to say to someone. I can see how someone reading that, who could have been through a similar situation, would react very badly to seeing that in the comic. Thus the content warning. I honestly don't know if "abuse" is the right word here, but what is someone going to have blacklisted for this? Like I said, my goal is to avoid hurting so I'm not going to not tag it. It's an issue of vocabulary vs. accessibility. I still wouldn't know what to tag this tbh.

the overall narrative of the comic is that Chara's perspective of Asriel was holding themself back. they were wallowing over a perfect picture that never existed -which reflected how they hate themselves for not living up to the perfect angelic ideal that they obviously could never have lived up to.

Chara condemning Asriel for being Flowey and being a jerk is the first step towards chara acknowledging their own blame in the equation. pretending the problem doesn't exist and that you're inherently awful doesn't fix things. Immediately after tossing out Flowey, they realize they are a flower as well. (literally becoming the thing they just condemned Asriel)

Once The two reconcile with the help of Actual Adults in the situation, the story changes POV to Asriel. It's then we're given context to Asriel's perspective and to show, that yeah, both of them Suck as people. That both are capable of majorly fucking up. And that's because the tools they're given a life of trauma and being reborn into a world that doesn't understand your damage is in itself traumatizing.

so idk man. the framework here serves a purpose and while I plan on showing a more nuanced and balanced pace -I really need to show the characters having more things going on than their larger conflict + be happier with each other. (the problem with writing for an askblog is that its very reactive and its easier to lean into tension and relationship drama than focus on the lighter but necessary moments. I know for sure the redraw will be better at this)

But yeah the framework, as it stands, feels good to me. Maybe in the details of how it's shown I'll be able to handle the nuances more gracefully but with the larger goal in mind, I'm not sure how I can change that? I would really love to hear your thoughts on that.

[hintsofhoney]

His Favorite Meal

Pairing(s): Rhysand x F!Reader

Summary: Rhysand hears your dirty thoughts while you're at dinner with your friends. It goes as expected.

Square(s) Filled: free space for @anyfandomgoesbingo

Tags: 18+, smutty smut smut, oral sex (female receiving), light dom/sub dynamics, use of magic, p in v, unprotected sex, light spanking

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: Hi, I just finished A Court of Mist and Fury and this is my new hyperfixation now. Funnily enough, I wrote this before I got to any kinds of sex scenes between Rhys and Feyre, and when I did finally get to Chapter 55, I was impressed with myself for how close to canon I wrote this 🤣 Anywho, I hope you enjoy!

You can also read me on Ao3!

MAIN MASTERLIST

You can’t stop thinking about him, not for lack of trying.

Rhysand and his stupid dark hair and violet eyes and the way the word darling rolls off his tongue and makes your thighs clench. 

You would even let him take you here and now, if it meant that the thoughts of him would subside.

He raises his eyebrows at you from across the table, Mor and Az and Cassian too caught up in their own conversation to notice. 

Really? Right on this table? With everyone watching? he sends down the bond. 

You shoot him a cold glare. Get out of my head.

If you didn’t want me in it, Y/N, darling, I wouldn’t be.

He isn’t wrong. You both know it.

I can make them leave, if the table is truly where you’d like me to fuck you. Personally, I find the bed —

Shut up, and eat your dinner . If you had said it outloud, it would have been through gritted teeth.

Rhys cocks his head to the side, briefly taken aback by your bite, and then smiles. Careful, darling , you hear in your head, if I have to take you over my knee, I won’t be asking anyone to leave first.

You squeeze your thighs together at the threat, the heat building between them becoming uncomfortable. You’re desperate. You need him.

That bad, hm? he asks.

You watch as he takes a sip of wine, his eyes never leaving yours.

Say the word and they’re gone, or continue to torture yourself. Up to you.

The prick wanted you to ask for it. Beg for it. As if your thoughts hadn’t been enough.

That “prick” will not hesitate to punish you in front of our friends. 

You feel yourself clench around nothing. 

Please, Rhys , you give in. 

He smirks, taking another sip from his glass. Please, what?

You swallow your pride. Not that there’s much left of it. Please fuck me.

Please fuck you, where?

This ass— 

His eyebrows raise — your final warning — and it stops your thought dead in its tracks. You take a deep breath. 

Please fuck me on the table, Rhys.

He grins. All you had to do was ask.

You put your shield up for a brief second so you can mentally roll your eyes in peace. When it comes down, Az, Cassian, and Mor are getting up from their seats.

“We eat here,” Cassian reminds the both of you as he stands.

Rhys is looking at you with hungry eyes as he replies, “Who says I won’t be eating?”

“Eugh!” Mor groans, making her way towards the exit. “At least wait until I’m out of earshot.”

Cassian snorts before following her out, Azriel having been the first to leave. 

And now it’s just you and Rhys and the table between you.

You blink, and suddenly his face is inches from yours, leaning over you with his hands resting on your thighs as he smirks at your shaky breaths. You can’t bring yourself to look him in the eye. He places a curled pointer finger underneath your chin, his thumb slowly tracing over your bottom lip, letting out a low chuckle at how your mouth begins to open ever so slightly.

He leans in, his lips meeting yours with a gentleness that doesn’t quite match the lust in his eyes, and you know you’re in for a long night. It could be hours before you were going to feel the release you had been begging him for.

“As far as I’m concerned, I shouldn’t let you cum at all, considering the names I’ve been called,” he murmurs, as he kisses your way up your jaw line, down your neck. 

You whimper at the notion, at the thought of being left reeling, wanting, on the table. Right now, you can’t imagine anything worse. 

“That’s very dramatic,” he whispers, his voice lined with a teasing smile. You watch him drop to his knees in front of you, slowly pushing your long gown up to your thighs. “But if you truly cannot imagine anything worse, then I suppose I’ll give you what you want, my darling girl.” 

You tense at his words, at the way he grabs ahold of your leg and places it over his shoulder, at the way he licks his lips, as if he’s about to dig into his favorite meal. 

He stops. “Of course, I had forgotten,” he says, and there’s a flash of darkness before you find yourself lying on the table, with Rhys kneeling at the end of it. His hands are gripping the underside of your thighs, pushing them upwards and outwards. In one fell swoop, he rips off the black lace covering your core, baring you to him. “I eat my meals at the table.” 

You let your head fall onto the hard surface underneath you. Fuck .

“Oh, I plan to,” he replies, placing a soft kiss on your inner thigh. “But I’m going to have my fun first.”

You swear his tongue has magic of its own with the way it moves between your folds, pulling short breaths from your lungs as he circles it around your clit, never staying in one spot long enough to grant you the release that you so badly crave. When he adds two fingers, your back arches off the table, and you whimper as you feel his magic pinning you down in response. 

“ Please , Rhys,” you practically sob, your thighs quaking as you try to remain still, trying to keep your orgasm at bay. 

“You’re not going to cum already, are you, darling?” he asks, but you know it’s not a question you can say ‘yes’ to. You know you’re his . You won’t cum until he tells you to. 

He chuckles at your thoughts. “Good girl,” he praises, his fingers curling inside you at just the right spot, and the combination of the two almost sends you over the edge. Almost. Minutes pass, but they feel like hours. You find yourself on the precipice of release too many times to count, having to take deep breaths to keep yourself grounded. Eventually, you accept this new tortured existence.

Very dramatic , Rhys teases.

You yelp as he stops his ministrations and pulls out of you too abruptly for your liking, standing up before pulling you to the edge of the table and flipping you over by your hips, your bare feet meeting the cool marble floor. It only takes seconds before he’s dragging his cock through your soaked folds, teasing you even further. You wiggle your ass — a silent plea — and he spanks it in return — an audible warning to be still that echoes through the dining hall. 

“Ow!” you whine, forcing your body to comply with his demand. 

Another smack, on the other cheek this time.

“Rhys!”

“Do I need to gag you? Or are you going to quit your whining?” 

Another hit, harder than the others. A test. You remain silent and still.

“Although I must admit… I do love watching your ass change colors.” You brace yourself for another hit that never comes. Instead, you get no warning as Rhys thrusts into you in one swift motion. “But I’ll save it for the next time you feel like mouthing off.”

You grip the edges of the table as he pounds into you, his hand coming to wrap around your shoulder for leverage, his cock filling you up, hitting your sweet spot with every stroke. Your moans are unsteady and never-ending, only interrupted by the expletives falling from your lips.

“Oh m-my —  fuck — Rhys!”

He smirks, grabbing a fistful of your hair and pulling you up off of the table, your back flush with his muscled, tattooed chest. You start to wonder when his shirt came off before you realize that his hands are holding your bare breasts, rolling your nipples between his fingers. Magic has a number of uses — making clothes vanish off bodies being one of them. 

He continues to thrust into you as one of his hands makes its way down to your core, swollen and throbbing. When his skillful fingers find your clit, you throw your head back onto his shoulder. 

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease,” you chant. You’re unsure of how much longer you can take it. Five agonizing seconds pass — then ten — and then —

“Go ahead, darling, I’m right behind you,” he orders, and you practically scream as your orgasm washes over you, as you feel his cock twitch inside you, filling you up. “Fuuuuck,” he rasps, his hands holding onto your hips now as you fall forward onto the table from exhaustion, letting the cold surface cool your skin. 

Moments later, Rhys collapses on top of you, holding himself up by his forearms, caging you in between them. He’s still inside you as he trails soft kisses from one shoulder blade to the other.

I love you , he sends down the bond, still catching his breath.

A tired smile creeps onto your lips. I love you, too.

[sturnoligy]

In the hot tub

cw: smut, vaginal sex (idk what to call it), unprotected sex, eugh idk what to put, straight to the point

Literally just smut, there’s no backstory or anything…also sorry it’s short lol

First time writing smut so don’t judge too hard !

____________________________________________

I breathe heavily as Chris pounds into me from behind, water splashing up around us. His thick 8 inch cock pushes deep inside my throbbing pink pussy, I can feel every vein and curve of it on my warm walls. I grip the side of the hot tub as Chris brutally pistons into my well-used hole, almost painfully - I love it. “Chris~” I moan, “yes baby?” He answers, in his tired sex voice, god he doesn’t know what that does to me. “M-more please” you beg. He doesn’t reply but I can almost hear his smirk widening, he suddenly pulls all the way out which leaves me feeling needy and empty before he slams back in. I let out a scream of pleasure and his hand quickly slaps across my mouth as he begins to roughly pound once more, harder, deeper. My tits slap me in the face as his reckless pace brings me over the edge. My legs tremble as I orgasm, my knees feel weak and I let out a long, low moan. I feel my walls clench around his girth and he lets out a low groan too. I feel his cock tense and with one last powerful thrust, he painted my walls with his hot seed. He slowly slips out my leaking hole and sit back down on the hot tub seats, panting heavily. I collapse on the side, letting out breathy moans from the intense activity. “That was…” you start, “…amazing” he finishes.

SORRY ITS SO BAD AHH

please give me requests 🙏🙏

[jymwahuwu]

had a bad day with driving..but it's okay because I will think of Jiaoqiu who soothes your social anxiety and stress. who takes your stress away with only the feeling of his hands as he moves down to your thighs. he loves you dearly, please do trust him when he says your taste is the most divine taste that he's ever had. be peppers your thighs with kisses, allowing his pheromones and scent to arouse you as well. he tries his best to take his time, he really does. but then he acts like a starved fox and ends up diving in. he keeps you there, savouring your taste and moans and the alike. your thighs work as good ear warmers for his Foxian ears.

..even if you struggle and try to push him away since he has been at it for far too long. but it's okay. he'll take care of all of your aches and soreness in the morning. just let him taste the one thing he still can. Jiaoqiu..my beloved Foxian who deserves so much..eugh..eugh..my brain brain no work. but I'm hoping that Jiaoqiu comes home for me..I must win 50/50..

Sorry, knowing you had a bad day, I wanted to hurry up and reply but still late!! Yes, Jiaoqiu is willing to relieve all your stress and social anxiety. He actually doesn't like socializing with too many people, useless socializing 😔 Once he knows that you have had a bad day, he will find ways to comfort you. (Starts by taking you to eat hot pot, spicy or not as you choose. If you shed tears because of the chili, he wipes them away too.)

Then it’s time to relieve stress in bed. Your mind may be tense, prompting you to recall unpleasant events. His hormones affect you quickly. Pleasant and comfortable, tempting you to change your mind and tempting you to love him more. You reached out and touched his fox ears, which were fluffy, and his big soft and smooth tail was wagging. He kisses you several times every few seconds, from light kisses to deep kisses (faintly, seeing his sensitive ears twitch). Jiaoqiu will also bury his head between your thighs. Your thighs are warm, letting his ears rub against them. And he focused on rubbing your sensitive areas and drawing out your orgasm, even though your legs were shaking and sore.

"N-no more…" Your hands gripped his pink hair, pushing, while he just smiled and promised that the next orgasm would be the last.

Also wish you get him to win 50/50!! The warmest fox husband!! 😘🫶🫶

[no-name-blu]

GAMESHOW HOST WALLY FIC:

First Punishment

This was supposed to be a comic but then I didn't finish it.

Have it in written format instead :D

Trigger Warnings: Gore, Torture, Manipulation, Abuse, unreliable narrator

Context: This is way back in the show's early days, Wally trusts home and follows his orders without a question. Until this day when he starts thinking about it.

"What a shame! What a thrill! I hope everyone at home enjoyed watching this man perish!" Wally smiles at the camera, while the live audience cheers at his words, he gestures his hand to tone down their voice, and they obey. "Well that's it for our show tonight. My name is Wally, and I'm here to remind you that for every second you sleep at night, you're feeding the spider that lives inside of your ears. Goodni-"

He stopped his closure when he felt a tug on the hems of his pants. With the sound of his neck cracking he spins his head backwards and looks down. A man, who has crawled towards him with only his arms, his bottom half has been torn apart. This bleeding man looks up at Wally with what's left of his eyes, or face. Safe to say he did not look good.

"I'm so sorry... Please let me live." Surprisingly, with his throat accidentally stepped on earlier, this man can speak.

"Wow! And you're also still alive!"

I was about to say that Wally.

"But you're too slow"

"What?" The bleeding, faceless man talks again.

"Oh right, you're still here" Wally looks back at him. "But why would I let you live? You lost!"

"I know that... But, I need to go home. I still have that I love." There's tears coming out, but it only burns on his faceless face. "I did horrible things. But, it's all for them. A father makes sacrifices. I don't deserve this, everything I did is for them, I NEED TO GO HOME"

"...H-Hey... I've seen you on my daughter's-"

With every strength he has left, he raises his voice but Wally didn't say anything, he retracts his head back to normal.

STOMP

With brute force, Wally steps on him as his head explodes. There are chunks that splattered across the floor while his shoes are now stained red.

"Eugh, that's gross" Wally looks down at the mess he made. He calls two of the audience member to dispose the body. While a couple others clean up the studio. It's just another night at work, and Wally can finally wind down after doing a great job.

He walks through the hallways. The wallpaper is patterned with eye designs. Every step he takes feels like the pupils are watching him passing by, Wally is always under his presence at all times.

The moment he enters his dressing room, he can hear the sounds of knocks in the walls.

"Thank you Home. I think I did well today too."

He sits down in front of his mirror, an apple on the table caught his attention. "For me? Thank you Home," Wally takes a bite into the meaty apple. Usually he'd happily enjoy this well-deserved meal but something makes Wally feel confused.

A long concerned creak came out from Home. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking," Wally says, but now there's an insistent knocking.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you."

He didn't say anything for the first couple of seconds.

"Hey, don't rush me! I'm thinking!"

And then he goes back to "thinking". Which is more on, hesitating.

"Fine... I was just thinking about our contestant earlier."

Now the knocking turned curious.

"He was just supporting his family. Even though harvesting bodies is also not good. I do think he deserves bad things. It's just, all of this is just sad."

Home replies with sounds of agreement, although they are also a bit dismissive to his feelings.

"Am I doing the same thing?"

Wally looks around the dressing room, but Home did not say anything. He looks back at his mirror.

"I found these people just for you. I supported you with these sacrifices. So, if we say that people like that contestant deserved to die, what about me?"

There are creaks trying to reassure him.

"But that doesn't make any sense"

Now there's an impatient creek.

"But, what if we were wrong.."

One. Aggressive. Knock.

"Maybe we could've find a different way to..."

Wally gets lost in his sentence when he notices his reflection turned dark. He leans to take a closer peak at it until something reaches out of the mirror.

He pulled himself away from the mirror, stumbling backwards from his chair and landed on the floor. Wally can't see anything at all, he reaches up to his face where he can feel a persistent piercing pain coming from his face.

"Wh-What did you do?!" He gasps for air frantically when all he sees is nothing. But Wally has no reason to panic, he can't die.

"But it hurts" his voice shakes as he weeps. He reaches out an arm to find his eyes until he feels something grab his shirt and suspends him above the ground.

"Home?"

Wally can feel a huge force at him until his back slams against the wall with a loud thud. The impact shook his whole body, but it also knocked his head so badly that it was nauseating.

I didn't want to hurt you Wally.

But I don't like my temper being tested.

I can do so much torture upon you, but I won't.

You have to understand, we are different from those contestants, the people above.

You're never going to be like them.

The voice makes Wally tremble in fear, Home wasn't like this before. Wally must have pushed it too far, he's lucky Home is being merciful right now.

"I'm sorry."

Home lowers him back to the ground, but Wally didn't have the strength to stand up, he fell to his knees.

"I will stop thinking about this then."

He mutters. Then he felt something bump against his knee, Wally reaches down to grab them.

"Oh, my eyes. Thank you Home"

As long as he does his work, he will be good friends with Home. Maybe Wally is different from that contestant, it's just a dead man in the end. Nothing more.

[lowkeyrobin]

hiiii can you maybe do a 5 + 1 tommyinnit x reader where its like 5 times they act like couple and one time they make it official and get together?

(also can i be 🦢?)

yes oh my GAWDDD YESSS ; and yeah of course! welcome to the hotel 🦢 anon! enjoy your stay! ; thanks for requesting and I hope you enjoy! ; this isn't that great tbh but I'm proud (this took way too long to do)

TOMMYINNIT ; five, cinco, funf, cincq, 'elima

summary ; five scenarios that lead up to you and Tommy becoming a thing

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; yes I know it said 5+1, I did the five thing because I wanted it to be a repeating number lol. they all say five in different languages, english, spanish, german, french and hawaiian for anyone who didn't get it

word count ; 2k

masterlist

Five.

"I'm gonna cry, this show sucks," you speak, throwing your head back on the back of the couch.

"What is with this CGI..." The blonde mutters. "What's the budget on this show?"

You shrug. "Let me enjoy my show, Tommy"

"Wait, that Jeffery guy got out?"

"Yeah," you frown, watching as Athena runs across the screen and outside to look for the monster who was supposed to be on trial.

He pulls you into a hug as you both watch the show, being the first episode of season four. The city is collapsing, and a fangroup of a dangerous predator were sending glares to the victims.

You knew it was just a show. You couldn't help but feel bad because people did treat victims like that in real life, plus this show just made you emotional as all hell.

The blonde pulls you a little closer, having seen your eyes well up with tears.

"He's right there!"

"Athena run!"

"Oh fuck!"

"This show stresses me out too much, Y/n/n"

"How do you think I feel?"

Cinco.

"Liking sherbert ice cream is such a red flag"

"What? Says you! Strawberry just isn't that good"

You playfully scoff, holding your strawberry waffle cone in your hand as Tommy passes up a ten pound bill up to the lady in the food truck. He holds his plastic bowl of sherbert ice cream in his other hand, a spoon tied between his index and middle fingers, holding on for dear life so as not to be dropped onto the concrete below.

"Why do I ever take you to do fun things?"

"You love me," He grins, stuffing the change in his pocket before walking away with you. "I just hold a special place in your heart."

"Sure you do, pal," you reply with a smile, taking a bite out of your ice cream. "Where do you wanna sit? I can't eat and walk, not a multi-tasker."

He scans the area, landing his eyes on a bench across the little road. Thank God these fairgrounds had benches, unlike the ones near Tubbo. Eugh.

He leads you toward the bench, taking a bite from his multicolored sweet with the white plastic spoon. You sit down with him, enjoying the scenery of a million fair rides and colorful lights against the dark night sky. Screams of terror and amusement fill your ears as you watch one of the mini coasters go down the large drop again.

You feel a shiver run down your spine, the chilly wind freezing you up for a moment. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to eat ice cream with no sun around to keep you warm. The blonde notices, though, and nearly makes a joke to rip on you for not bringing a jacket. But, he doesn't.

He slips off his plaid jacket and wraps it around your shoulders. He took into consideration that you would've just gone back and forth if he tried handing it to you.

You look at him, an eyebrow raised in clear confusion.

"I saw you shivering." He chuckles, taking another bite out of his sorbet. "Just take it, I'm sweating in it anyways"

You quietly nod and lean into the jacket more, considering you didn't have free hands to put it on at the moment. You could feel his body heat from the jacket rub off on you, warming you up as it was a heater.

"You wanna go on the ferris wheel after this?" He asks, looking up at the big, circular wheel a couple hundred yards away. Lights glimmer and flicker across the sides, shining all colors of the rainbow. "The line doesn't look too bad at the moment"

You shrug, "Yeah, sure. I'll slip the guy a five to hold us at the top to scare you." You joke with a snicker.

"Y/n!"

Funf.

"I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?" You deadpan to your blonde friend, arms crossed.

"Cause I'm going on a date" He answers, again.

"With someone who's an asshole," you clarify once again, "Dude, I'm serious. There's a million other people you could go out with. Just skip them before they actually hurt you"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Tommy! I'm serious"

He sighs, pulling at the tie around his neck. He sighs, nearly a groan. "Why did I agree to take them somewhere fancy?"

You roll your eyes and quickly rush to his aid, turning him to face you. You loop your fingers around the tie and begin properly tying it around his collared shirt for him. He quickly feels his face heat up, making sure to keep his chin up, eyes still down to watch you work. He notices you bite at the inside of your cheek a bit, showing that you were in deep concentration.

He didn't know whether or not you actually knew how to tie a tie, or if you did it to make him shut the hell up, but he appreciated it either way.

"There," you speak, pulling your hands away from his neck after adjusting the tie a bit so it wasn't asymmetrical. "Tie is tied, Simons"

He turns to the mirror, looking at himself again. He smiles lightly, his eyes softening as he looks back at you.

"Thanks"

"Go have fun on that date of yours"

"I'll try"

Cinq.

"Just hold my hand, you'll be okay"

"What are you talking about? I'm gonna die!"

"You'll live"

"Nuh uh!"

You sigh, dragging Tommy to the slingshot. You walk behind Tubbo and Freddie, who are a few feet ahead, as they hadn't heard any of Tommy's whining. Who knew the poor boy was so scared of heights.

"Please, I don't wanna get on it!"

"I need a partner, Simons"

He groans, catching up to your speed, your hand still wrapped around his wrist. You catch up to your friends, now walking through the empty line area.

"See? No one's here because they know they're gonna die!"

"No one's here because it's lunch time, Tommy"

"Damnit"

The overhead straps click as they lock around your bodies. Tommy's already white-knuckling the handles, clear desperation and fear in his eyes. You reach your left hand out to him, looking at him the best you can past the safety harness, which is practically against your face.

He quickly grabs onto your hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You'll be fine, it's fun!"

"I'm scared!"

Freddie and Tubbo laugh, reassuring the blonde that he'll live. Something in you is still a little surprised that Tubbo was actually excited about this.

The automated "keep your hands and feet inside the ride" speech plays while the platform sinks into the ground a bit, preparing to fling you into space. The blonde leans his head back, mentally preparing himself to scream his voice away. A split second after it ended, you were shot in the air, screams filling your ears, including your own.

"Y/n/n! Help! I hate this!" The blonde screams, squeezing onto your hand even tighter.

"Look at the view!" You yell back with a smile, taking in the view of the whole park from that height. You couldn't wait to see Tommy's face on the gopro footage later, his face was probably as red as cherries. "You're okay! Just don't throw up!"

"No, no, I don't wanna go down!" His voice echoes through the air, then his screams again as the ride plummets down.

Tubbo and Freddie laugh and scream, having the time of their life, which you share with them as the blonde in between you all is freaking out. However, on the next fling up, he seems calmer and now trusts that he's safe. His grip on your hand loosens a bit, and you smile as you can hear his screams of terror turn into screams of a happy thrill.

"Okay, this is cool!" He yells over the machine and screams of other passengers.

"You think so?" Tubbo yells, "Look, there's the others!" He points out in the distance, apparently seeing the group of your other friends across the park.

"Where are you even pointing?" Freddie questions, the end of his sentence turning into a yell as you plummet down again.

"Grow up, Freddie, you're fine!" Tommy yells jokingly, trying to keep air in his lungs.

"Shut up!"

'Elima.

"What the hell is this?" You ask, furrowing your eyebrows.

"Lunch!" Tommy answers, looking back down at the whole picnic setup in his backyard. "You said you were hungry"

"I meant like, we could go get food." You clarify, "I was just gonna come pick you up, and we could go somewhere."

He shrugs, "It's food" He smiles and jumps onto the blanket, waiting for you.

You lightly smile at his dorky grin and sit down with him, throwing some Jolly Ranchers at him, which you had stuffed in your pockets.

You eat in peace, sitting in his backyard underneath a tree. You end up full while he's still munching on some fruit and decide to make a little flower crown out of the yellow flowers that were scattered around the yard. You get to work on tying them together, wanting to give it to Tommy and take a picture. You wanted to post said picture on Twitter and caption it "2020 vibes" but we'll see how far that got.

He watches you as you work, having seen you walk about the yard and gather a large bouquet of the little yellow weeds. He spits out another cherry pit onto the grass behind him, munching on the rest of the juicy fruit.

"What're you doing?" He asks

"Flower crown. I'm gonna put it on you. The 2020 era is revisiting," You answer, weaving another flower into the rope. "It's gonna be amazing, I'm gonna trend on Twitter after this"

"Oh God, no."

"Last time I asked what something was, it was lunch in your backyard, but I don't think this is the same" You speak, an eyebrow slightly raised as you look at the drenched Tommy on your doorstep.

He holds a bouquet of flowers, which are being watered by the rain dripping from his flattened hair. He's completely soaked by the thunderstorm outside, making you wonder if he really walked all the way to your house in the middle of a storm. You internally pray that he took a bus.

"Yeah, uh, it's not" He nervously smiles. "I wanted to ask you out on a date, maybe"

You blink, still a little confused and now bewildered. You look down the street, seeing Molly, your mutual friend, sitting in her car, watching.

"Is this a prank or?.." You ask, glancing back to the car, letting Tommy know that you're aware that Molly drove him here.

"No, no, no! I- This is genuine. Seriously. It's fine if not, I just, like, have had a crush on you for a while, and it's making me all confused, and I just want it to go away." The blonde answers, watching you take the flowers from his hands.

"Well, what if I don't want it to go away?" You softly ask, looking back up at him.

His desperate look for rejection had turned to one of happiness, near disbelief even.

"What?"

"You heard me"

He glances at your lips for a moment before quickly kissing you, hands on your cheeks, before scurrying away. He sprints back towards the car, where you can see Molly cheering through the front windshield.

Tommy looks back, face red as ever, "Meet me at the pier tomorrow at three!"

You smile and shout back. "Okay!"

You lean against the door, watching him jump into the passengers seat and happily smile with Molly. You're unable to figure out what they're talking about, but you use your context clues to figure it was probably you.

Tommy realizes you're watching him, eyes slightly widened, lips shut like you could hear him. You wave goodbye and retrieve to the warmth of your home inside.

"I'm going on a date with Y/n!"

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 2024 Day 2

Your Fave Relationship

There was not really another option in my mind when I read the prompt for day 2. The world doesn't have enough of bantering Scandinavian guitarists so that's what I'm offering today.

Specifically, I wanted to focus on the enigmatic of their relationship, because they're a couple of weirdos. That I love, of course.

When Skwisgaar walked into the kitchen, he found his own face staring back at him, in the form of a mug. Toki usually had his morning coffee in the skull-shaped mug that had his likeness, this was nothing new. And it certainly was nothing Skwisgaar had to point out. Toki wanted to be him, but who didn’t, really? 

He also did an astounding negative effort to become nothing like Skwisgaar. Not in the parts that mattered, anyway.

“You knows it ams records kings deys todays, rights?” Skwisgaar said, in lieu of a greeting. “Can’ts keeps sayingks you wills practiske laters nows.”

“Oh, shuts up, Skwisgaar.” Toki rolled his eyes with disinterest. He took another and empty eye sockets glared at Skwisgaar. “You don’ts scares me.”

“Yous playingks ams whats scaries.” Skwisgaar blurted with a smirk.

Toki said nothing, but gripped his mug so tightly that the veins on his hands became noticeable. Skwisgaar never really understood why he did that sometimes. 

“Euh…sees you later at the studios…” He awkwardly said, in the manner of a farewell.

–

Skwisgaar watched Toki play the chords he wrote for him in the wrong succession for the upteempth time. “Wrongs!” He yelled, walking up to him. “It ams twos, twos, fours and thens twos agains! How manies times I gotsa tells you this?”

“Dats whats I dones!” Toki defended himself. “I dids two fours and thens-”

“Twos and twos first!” Skwisgaar dragged his hands across his face with exasperation. It had been so long trying to get Toki to record his track that the other three just left to eat. Skwisgaar was angry, starving and most of all in disbelief over Toki’s stupidity. It’s like he got dumber over time. “You know whats? Gives to me de guitar, I does it.”

“Noes!” Toki protectively holding onto his Flying V. “I wants to plays!”

“Toos late ams gonna does it nows!”

“Noes!”

“I wills!” Skwisgaar grabbed onto the lower body of the guitar.

“You cants!” Toki grabbed the neck instead and they started struggling over the instrument. 

“Eugh, just lets goes, Toki!” Skwisgaar said with frustration, pulling from one end of the guitar. 

“You lets goes!” Toki replied, pulling from the other.

“You cants even plays!”

“It ams mine guitars!”

“Whats I can plays betters?!” 

Suddenly, there was a flash and Skwisgaar felt his face impact against solid flesh. It took him a few seconds to realize that Toki had punched him, and in turn he gave him a slap across the face. Soon enough, the attention stopped being on the guitar and on each other instead. The instrument was even propelled to the ground at some point and neither of them reacted to it, too focused on their fight.

When Toki shoved Skwisgaar against the amp wall, he took a false step and fell, but not without bringing Toki down with him. On the floor, the fight resumed, punches and kicks being delivered from both sides. While Skwisgaar had a good time stretching Toki’s cheeks, Toki, the little dildo, dug his fingers into Skwisgaar’s nose. 

“Eughh!!” Skwisgaar yelled and rolled over so he could regain control. Toki, however, was as bad with guitar as he was strong and he pinned Skwisgaar down, looking obnoxiously smug about it. 

And Skwisgaar was not about to have that so he stuck his own digits in Toki’s mouth, wiping that stupid smile off his face. Because Toki was a bit like an animal sometimes, he started chomping down, trying to bite Skwisgaar’s fingers. He narrowly avoided it, though when Toki’s tongue grazed one of his thumbs, Skwisgaar instinctively looked up.

And, even though it was far from being their first rodeo, something felt a little different. Or maybe it was that without the scowl, Skwisgaar’s fingers on Toki’s mouth had another connotation. 

Before he could even begin to think of anything else, he felt a yank coming from his scalp. It took him a few moments to realize that it was Toki pulling from his hair, forcing him to raise his face.

Their eyes met, both of them gasping from the physical effort and Skwisgaar couldn’t help noticing the flush on Toki’s cheeks. Experimentally, rather than pulling his fingers out, he shoved them deeper which made Toki grimace. A harder hair yank followed, and Skwisgaar groaned.

Toki’s eyes widened and Skwisgaar tried to feign dignity, though he was pretty sure his cheeks were betraying him. Finally, it occurred to him that having Toki on top of him wasn’t exactly helping his situation. Trying to move, however, caused the opposite effect as the motion made him grind his hips against Toki’s backside. In turn, Toki continued the friction by spreading his legs to the sides, locking Skwisgaar in his place. But Skwisgaar didn’t like being told what to do, so he lifted his upper body in an attempt to sit up, only for Toki to lean in to force him to back down. 

Stupid Toki, no matter how short the distance between them was becoming, he wasn’t going to just give up. Just because Toki didn’t care about personal space, didn’t mean he was just going to let him win. Just because their faces were so close that he could feel Toki’s breath on him, didn’t mean Skwisgaar was going to let him do what he wanted…

The door suddenly slammed open. “Whet are you two dooshbegs doin’?” Pickles asked, drinking a piña colada from a straw. 

Panicking, they unwrapped from each other and stood up, not really sure how to answer that themselves.

“Skwisgaar ams dildos.” Toki said first, clearing his throat.

“You ams dildos.” Skwisgaar countered, still looking down.

Pickles loudly slurped, more interested in his drink than what they had to say. “Okey, just don’t forget to eat or whatever.” He said and then walked away whistling.

When they were alone again, Skwisgaar side-eyed Toki. “Eugh…does you wants to goes shootingks de guns lators?”

After a moment, Toki shrugged. “Ja, okays. Whatevers.”

“Okeis.” Skwisgaar leaned down to pick the guitar.

“And dens we watch de movies I tells you de other days.” Toki added. 

“Shores.” Skwisgaar said absent-mindedly, staring at the dent at the bottom of the guitar.

“Skwisgaar?”

“Ja?” He turned to Toki.

“I hates you.”

Skwisgaar smirked. “I knows dat.” Toki was heading out when he talked again. “I hates you too.”

“Goods.” Toki didn’t even look back but Skwisgaar knew he was content.

Because he was, too. 

[casualsnickers]

Month of Emmet Quick Write #8

Prompt #8: Cozy

It's been an entire year since Ingo returned from Hisui and Emmet wants to celebrate. Dawn too. And even though things haven't gone back to the way they once were (and they never will), maybe that's okay. So long as everybody's together again.

Read the whole thing below the cut.

“I am Emmet. Remind me again what we are looking for.”

“Twice-spiced radishes, sootfoot roots, muffin mix, some raw honey- oh! And potatoes! Lots and lots of potatoes!” Dawn led Emmet along by the arm, her eyes shining as they came across more and more stalls peddling out-of-season vegetables and once-in-a-lifetime cooking supplies. She swung her arms as she went, chattering about this and that as she led the much taller man through the open market.

               Emmet wasn’t exactly comfortable with his brother’s newest charge. My brother’s awfully young, very excitable, somewhat weird charge. He had been introduced to Dawn in the past back when Ingo had first returned from Hisui. It had taken Ingo some time to remember a young girl he knew. Somebody named ‘Akari’. Funny, Emmet chuckled inwardly. It had taken Ingo an entire month to remember the familiar stops and schedules of their shared lives in Unova; it had taken Ingo only a single day to remember Akari- ‘Dawn’ as she was properly named in the present.

“What dish are those ingredients for?” Emmet asked innocently.

“Lots of things!” Dawn replied cheerily, sweeping an errant lock of hair out of her face. “We gotta get authentic ingredients if we really want to surprise Uncle Ingo! And I think he’d really like two particular dishes- he liked them a lot back in Hisui.” Dawn paused, frowning. “Actually, I think he liked them too much… Did he actually ever eat anything else?”

“What are you referring to?”

“Potato mochi and tundra stew.” At the mention of the latter, Dawn’s face shrunk in on itself as if having tasted something sour. “Still have no idea why he likes the stew so much. Eugh. You wouldn’t like it. It tastes bitter and horrible like gnawing on beetroots.”

“What’s in the stew?”

“Usual stuff. Cut-up potatoes, wild grains, sometimes rice, snow radishes and-“ Dawn’s scowl suddenly deepened. “Urm… Maybe I should just… get that particular ingredient on my own. It’s nothing bad!” she squawked, rushing to explain herself as she fumbled with the hem of her dress, not quite meeting Emmet’s eyes. “It’s just… gross. I think it’s gross! Some people like it! I just think it’s nasty.”

               The two spent another hour or two gathering ingredients from the open markets of Driftveil  before eventually finding a small ferry to get them back across the waters to the western ports of Nimbasa City before noon had broken. From there, Emmet helped wave down a tram for the two of them to make their way back home.

               Emmet unlocked the door, blinking. Ingo’s still gone. “Strange,” he murmured, stepping to the side and allowing Dawn to pass him. Today made a year’s anniversary of Ingo and Dawn’s return back from Hisui. Dawn hadn’t planned anything for herself and had preemptively decided to spend the day hanging out with Ingo after getting her mother’s permission. Emmet was more than fine with the opportunity. If Ingo was happy, he was happy too. Of course, despite Ingo being back home for so long, Emmet had noticed that Ingo hadn’t fully settled.

There were a few things here and there. Ingo probably didn’t know it but Emmet had begun picking up on cues that his twin was hiding things; bad things. The body scars were the easiest to see. Tearing scars along his arms on hot summer days. A snippet of a criss-crossing scar across his back after stepping out of the bathroom for something or another. Electrical burn marks hidden well by his work gloves. Uncle Drayden had noticed Ingo favoring his right knee over his left during bad storms. Iris had noticed Ingo’s tendency to hoard food and to that extent, old clothes. Elesa had noticed that Ingo flinched when the subway trains would roll into the platform too fast. Emmet had noticed that Ingo was quieter, never quite reaching the same levels of volume that he easily met and surpassed in the past. Emmet never asked. Ingo never spoke about them, almost as though he were either ashamed of doing so or that in doing so, he would stir up bad memories.

Ingo had his days. Some days, he would wake up and barely speak, still performing his job but with no life as though a ghost had possessed him. Some days, he wouldn’t eat. He would pick at his breakfast and work straight through his lunch, going straight to bed after a grueling shift at the station without so much as washing his face or brushing his teeth. Some nights, Ingo would go for walks. Long walks. Long walks at night, specifically with the pokémon he had befriended in Hisui. The pokémon that Ingo confided his troubles in when Emmet couldn’t overhear anything and the ones that often escorted him home in the dizzying hours of the early morning.

Both Emmet and Elesa had agreed to not smother Ingo and let him adapt slowly. And Ingo had been returning back to his old tracks gradually the more and more his family watched over him and ensured that he was seeking the proper physical and mental help that he needed after experiencing such a thing as amnesia-backed, time and space displacement. That they would support Ingo in his slow but steady recovery. And though Ingo was reluctant to speak about his experiences in Hisui, Dawn had come up with reintroducing the better parts of their joint-kidnapping by reminding him of the memories they both shared along each other: the food from Hisui.

“How are the muffins looking?” Dawn called, carefully checking the consistency of the stew that she had quickly assembled while Emmet hadn’t been paying attention.

               Emmet peered into the oven, nodding. “They’re almost done. Are you making some kind of glaze or topping for them? Wait. I thought you said we were making mochi and… stew?”

“The muffins are the appetizer,” Dawn laughed. She put the lid back on the stew and went to clean her hands. “My old friend Rei- he taught me how to make them so that I could eat while travelling to complete the pokédex. I got real good at it and eventually taught Uncle Ingo how to make them. We often shared them whenever we ran into each other which was a lot- way more than you think! He had a… specific way of making his. Something to do with pecha berries.”

               Emmet snorted. “Pecha berries? Yyyup. My brother has a sweet tooth.” He carefully skimmed over the directions for the recipe he was about to prepare. “I don’t doubt he would use pecha berries for muffins. Which are already sweet.”

“The raw honey is gonna be the glaze and that’s already kinda too sweet, even for me. He’ll love these, I’m sure of it. Ooh! And I think they’re done!”

               The front door clicked and opened, Elesa’s boisterous voice and Ingo’s tired but slightly amused grumbles filtering into the house. Dawn immediately dried off her hands and flung herself out of the kitchen, nearly carrying Ingo off of his feet as she threw her arms around him.

“Uncle Ingo! You’re back!”

“Ah, Ak- Ahem. Dawn.”

               Emmet only listened in, dropping the potato mochi into the pan to cook them exactly as the recipe ordered. And as he cooked, he could hear several more voices join in. Ah. There’s Uncle Drayden. And Iris, too. He dropped the thoroughly cooked pieces of mochi onto a covered plate at his side, humming as he dropped in another piece. I can hear Cilan very slightly. Cameron sounds like he’s here too.

               He let his gaze travel over toward the packed party sitting in the living room, watching as Ingo and Dawn bickered over something small. And then Emmet saw exactly what he had been hoping for.

Ingo was talking. He was smiling, using his old over-exaggerated hand gestures as he spoke animatedly to Drayden and Iris who were staring at Ingo with amusement. Ingo’s voice carried clearly into the kitchen.

He’s… happy. Emmet supposed that if Ingo was happy, he was too. Ingo was safe and sound and happy, surrounded by people who loved him. And that eased Emmet just enough into carefully preparing a plate of muffins to take out to the living room.

[scepterno]

you've made the mistake of endorsing my josé redemption arc so i shall release the horrors within

because i like to think that josé, to some extent, in the back of his mind always felt bad about hurting alejandro. yeah, he thought it was necessary to get him to man up and for alejandro's own good in the long run, hell he even enjoyed taking his frustration out on someone else sometimes. but you don't press lit cigarettes into your little brother's skin and just not care. you don't have someone looking at you with hate and fear and exhaustion in their expression every day and not feel anything. you don't hurt someone day after day and remain oblivious to what it does to them

and maybe years down the line, after a lot of therapy and a long and ongoing process of healing, josé will look at the tiny circular scars on alejandro's arm and feel this... pit in his stomach. something heavy and cold that claws at his insides and makes him nauseous, it clogs up his throat and makes him want to look away. it's the same feeling he gets whenever he sees the relief on alejandro's face when josé doesn't turn something into a competition between them, or when he tenses up at being called "al", and so on

it's so different from the warmth he feels deep in his chest whenever alejandro laughs at something he says, loud and unburdened and giddy, whenever he lets josé see him weak and in pain without trying to cover everything up, whenever he shows the tiniest bit of trust in his older brother

being part of alejandro's life means he has to put up with that annoying twig boyfriend of his, who seems dead set on antagonizing josé with snarky comments and long, hard stares that seem to burn the side of his face. but the effect is lessened whenever alejandro comes to his defense with an easy smile and a "he's not so bad, come on, stop being mean". it also means he has to deal with the lovey-dovey looks exchange between the two of them, which, eugh. but fine, whatever, he can handle it

he still fucks up sometimes, of course he does, they both do. they step on toes and revert back to old habits and hurt each other and pull away. sometimes it feels like it's an uphill battle of three steps forward, two steps back. it's painful, it's messy and it's a long, long process. but they're burromuerto men, which means they're stubborn beyond reason and the very thought of giving up is appalling to them

one time josé goes over to alejandro's and noah's apartment when the little bastard is at work. they're supposed to hang out, just the two of them, watch some cheesy telenovelas and poke fun at the acting, predict the plot 30 minutes in, and get way too invested in the characters' relationships. which is why he's confused to find the apartment silent and empty, no sign of life in the living room or kitchen. he knows alejandro's home, his shoes are at there under the hangers and the door was unlocked, so where is he? he calls out his name as he makes his way towards his bedroom, knocking on the door and waiting for a reply. still nothing. he pushes the door open cautiously and feels his heart drop to his stomach

he recalls both carlos and alejandro mentioning something about "bad days" offhandedly, but neither of them seemed particularly interested in talking about it in more detail, and so josé never bothered asking either. and now he can only assume this is what they meant, because to him this seems pretty fucking bad. alejandro's in his bed, blanket pooled around his hips, a layer of sweat covering his entire body, hair messy. one of his hands is gripping the sheets next to his thigh, knuckles white from the effort, while the other one is pressed to his forehead, obscuring his eyes from sight. he's shaking, jaw clenched tight and in the silence josé can hear how ragged and uneven his breathing is.

he can only stand and stare for another moment, before he calls out alejandro's name again, quiet and more uncertain than he's felt in a long time. alejandro startles at josé's voice, tensing up, before lifting his hand away from his face enough to look at josé. his eyes are bloodshot and filled with tears, exhausted and pained and utterly miserable, and josé doesn't know what to do

later on he's sitting on the edge of alejandro's bed, one of his hands caught in a death grip so tight he swears he can hear his bones creaking, his other hand wound around alejandro's shoulder and buried in tangled, sweaty hair. alejandro has his forehead pressed to josé's shoulder, his entire frame trembling like a leaf, breathing a mix of sniffles and gasps under the weight of his sobs, his hand clutching at josé's back so hard josé can feel his nails digging in.

and it's sat like this, holding alejandro, lightly scratching at his scalp, desperately trying not to fuck this up, that he realizes he doesn't want to see his little brother in pain anymore. fuck what the doctors say, or what his father or the rest of the family will think. this is his hermanito, and josé cannot stand seeing him in pain, not anymore

holy fuck anon just send me to an early grave why dont you UROGUGHGT *psychic damage* *psychic damage* *psychic damage*

yeah so this is EXACTLY what i had in mind with their relationship. you nailed it. it's on the damn cross. i dont even know what to say other than holy shit, you get exactly what i was putting down. AND THEN YOU RAN WITH IT. you dropped this bomb ass mini fic into my inbox and just. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO RESPOND?? my jaw is between my feet.

we stan the burromuerto brothers redemption and healing arc WE STAN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BURROMUERTO BROTHER SUPREMACY!!!!!

[freshfromhell]

can't believe i discarded this scene a million yrs ago......... 😔

“Look at you, neck deep in pussy.”

Billy Hargrove looked down at the collapsed form before him. Slanted sunglasses, and flushed cheeks, and smeared makeup, and a snoring mouth, jaw all askew. 

Mandy Mueller snorted awake, head half hanging off the old plaid couch in Laurie Binkler’s garage. A big fat cat laid across her neck like a scarf, its furry mass clearly closing off her airway if all the honk-shoo snoring and whistle-tone gurgling was anything to go by. Her head popped up, sunglasses falling off her head and onto the floor in a clatter as she jerked into consciousness. 

“Leave her alone,” a freckled girl called from the opposite end of the couch, her body dressed in the ugly green uniform of Hawkins High’s marching band. Ugh, great, Billy thought with a frown. Billy’s mortal-nemesis: Dweebs. “She said she needs to sleep off all the alcohol she drank or she’s gonna die.”

That was definitely not how that worked.

“Yeah, leave her alone,” Mandy slurred out, agreeing even though she clearly had no fucking clue what was going on around her, squinting around all bleary-eyed in her tired, drunken state. “Asshole.”

Oh, my god. 

“You’re being strangled to death, Idiot,” Billy announced in a bid to be helpful, and Mandy muttered a couple of choice words in reply that Billy was going to pretend he didn’t hear to protect his own feelings. Billy gestured to Mueller’s self-appointed representative at the end of the couch with the neck of his bottle. “Were you really gonna let this fucking thing suffocate her like this?”

The girl scratched her nose with a chipped, painted fingernail, looking at him nervously as she inched out, “Ummm, yeah… We already tried to move it, but it, uh, really likes her, y’know?”

Yeah, well, big fucking whoop. So did Billy, but he wasn’t wrapping himself around her and trying to choke her out, was he? Well, he wasn’t tonight, anyway.

“What?” Billy spat out, eyes narrowing in disbelief at the girl. He looked back down at the fluffy gray cat before him, only to find it already staring up at him with creepy green eyes. He frowned, looking away instinctively, before doing a double-take. Eugh. What the fuck? Why was this fucking thing looking at him like that?

“It is so mean,” the girl explained with severe emphasis, rubbing her head with growing concern. “Some guys cornered it up on those shelves and were messing with it, but—!” She pointed an index finger across the room to the shelves filled with large tools and lumber. “Then Mandy came in here and told them that if they didn’t fuck off that she was gonna introduce them to her new best friend over there—“ The girl’s arm swiveled to another far wall, pointing to the chainsaw mounted by the doorway, before she continued, “And they didn’t believe her, so she went over there, ripped it off the wall, started the thing, and then asked if them if they’ve ever seen Scarface.”

“It was super bad ass!” Another geek exclaimed in excitement over the rehashing of the entire event, and Billy sent a dull frown across the group where they were stationed in a quiet corner of the garage, watching and listening like a bunch of nosy creeps.

Billy shifted in thought, taking a long sip of his drink, before asking curiously, “What the fuck does any of that have to do with moving the cat?”

“Well, we think that’s why it’s so attached to her,” she answered with a shrug, and one of the pimply nerds next to her nodded emphatically. 

Was Billy drunk, or did that not answer his question? He pursed his lips in thought.  

“Wait,” he snaked out, raising a single index finger in contemplation as something just occurring to him. “Do you work at the movie theater?”

“Uuhhh,” the girl droned out uncomfortably, eyes darting around shiftily as she drew her knees in tight from her position perched at the edge of an old coffee table. “Yeah, that’s me, I guess.”

“Rape girl,” Billy clarified with a hum.

“That’s—“ She grimaced as if the name physically pained her, shaking her head as she choked out, “Uh, probably not a great thing to call someone.”

Yeah, whatever, Billy thought to himself. 

“But that’s you—?” He prompted, eyes squinting as he tried to connect the girl before him to the girl from last Saturday. All her different uniforms were fucking with his head a little. She was like a secret agent or something with all the weird get-ups. “Right?”

“Uh, yep,” she popped the ‘p’ awkwardly, hunching in on herself. “That’s me.”

“Huh…” He muttered out loud unthinkingly, before gesturing to the sleeping Mueller offhandedly, “You go to school with us?”

“Yeah,” her lips pinched as she scratched her forehead, fussing with her bangs, “I’ve, uh, gone here longer than both of you combined, I think.”

Billy had to withhold from laughing at that. Holy shit, what a loser. That must have sucked.

“And you’re…” Billy trailed off contemplatively as he looked between the once again unconscious Mandy and the ever-annoying girl before him, “Allergic to cats?”

“Uh, no,” she answered, clearly disarmed by his line of questioning, but what the fuck else was he supposed to think in this situation?

“Then why haven’t you moved the cat off her?!” Billy demanded heatedly as he waved his arms down at the lard ass of a cat.

The band geek before him tossed her hands up helplessly as she stood up and announced, “I told you, already! This thing is, like, so mean!!”

A low yowl interrupted their yelling, and both Billy and the girl paused on either side of the coffee table to glance over at the cat. It stared up at them agitatedly, shifting around in one big loaf-like shape atop Mueller to face them down, its big bushy tail flicking across her face now. It must have irritated her nose, because her face scrunched up almost immediately as she awakened again, letting out an annoyed, whiney groan.

She swatted the tail away without even opening her eyes, calling, “What is your problem, Bitch? Get a grip.”

The cat let out a high-pitched mewl in reply, standing to balance atop Queenie as she writhed around on the couch to get comfortable.

“See?” The girl insisted with a vague gesture to the huge cat where it circled around Mandy’s torso, before seating itself very leisurely atop her chest. Queenie let out a pathetic, wheezing breath under its weight like she was a broken squeak toy. “It really likes her! They’re friends!”

“It’s gonna kill her!” Billy argued as he watched the cat begin kneading her flesh, its nails pricking through her off-the-shoulder sweater and pulling loose the threads as it purred loudly, absolutely delighted to be crushing Mueller under its impressive mass. 

“Well—!” Her words choked off abruptly as she floundered, her arms flailing everywhere in her desperation to convey something. “You move it then! See what happens!”

“Fine! I will!” Billy exclaimed, before looking to the cat in question and hesitating. Were they sure it was a cat? It was so big and ugly, it kinda looked like it wandered in from outside. Whatever. He slammed his bottle down onto the table, before pushing up the sleeves of his jacket and moving towards the couch.

It yowled at him again, this time louder and longer and even more unsettlingly. He ignored it, and it hissed, ears going back on its head as it rose up and swiped at him, making him jump back and nearly trip over the coffee table in the process of getting away.

“It’s not a cat—!” Billy declared vehemently, pointing at it as he rounded the table to stand beside Rape Girl again, hands settling on his hips as he glared at the beast that just attacked him, finishing, “It’s a fucking demon!”

It hissed at him and batted at the air wildly like it understood English. 

“It’s totally a cat!” The girl beside him insisted with an annoying amount of exasperation, “It’s just weirdly protective of her, that’s all.”

“Because she’s its next meal!” Billy gestured with a sweep of his arm in Mueller’s direction.

“No, it loves her! They’re best friends!” One of the other dweebs declared, holding her heart. “She’s like a Disney princess!”

Jesus! What was with this place?! Billy wanted to tear out his hair. He fucking hated it here. 

“Stop shouting! I’m up! Ugh!” Mandy complained grumpily, tucking her elbows under her to prop herself up. The cat only moved, stretching down her body and twisting itself onto its back as it meowed for her attention. It draped itself over her, claws stretching down to her hips as its tail waved in her face. She squinted, swatting at the offending appendage.

She looked at the cat, ignoring the rest of the room as she asked it irately, “You gotta fuckin’ problem with me? Quit showin’ your ass, before I kick it.”

It only mewled in reply, swiveling its head around to blink down at her languidly, and she flopped back onto the couch with an exhausted groan, an arm draping across her eyes. It hurried to her again, nuzzling its face into the crook her neck and rolling around until it was once again wrapped around her head.

“Outta my face,” she muttered, shoving it under her arm pit and tucking it down at her side. The cat went without a fight, twisting itself around onto its back as it settled over her abdomen, its body tucked against the back of the couch with its paws facing the sky. Billy scowled.

“Well, don’t you two look nice and cozy,” Billy called down at the pair, and Mandy’s eyes creaked open again.

“Oh, no,” she whined pathetically, tossing her head around on the couch. “I’m already drunk! What more do you want from me?”

Well, he had a joint in his pocket he wanted to share with her. He nabbed it from a stoner in the backyard, taking pity on her after she rushed off earlier to go barf after he and Tommy filled her full with beer. The only issue was that he was a little worried by the implication of sharing. 

Billy Hargrove was not the sharing type.

In his brief moment of hesitation, her eyes opened, gaze clearer as she looked to him very seriously.

“You actually want something, don’t you?” She groaned out, her nose scrunching up at him. “Aw, c’mon, Hargrove!”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he rounded the table towards her spot on the couch.Grabbing the back of one knee, he folded her leg up into her torso and sent the cat back into her face as he slipped between her knees and dropped himself onto the couch with a creak of the old springs. 

“Ow, Asshole!” She complained, kicking the leg he trapped between the couch and his back until she was swinging it into the air over his head and plopping it into his lap to join the other. “I’m a girl, not a chair! Don’t fold me up like that!”

Billy ignored her bitching for the most part, the sound of her nasally voice falling to the backdrop as he pulled the joint from the pocket of his jacket and held it aloft before her with a cool glance. “Ugh! God! What is everyone’s problem—?!”

Her voice cut off abruptly, eyes locking on his fingers. “Who’s that for?”

“You, if you want,” he offered, and her eyes shined at him curiously from over the fluffy body of the cat between them. 

“Why?” She asked, blinking at him. The cat joined her, craning its neck over to him and staring, its tail swishing leisurely over the edge of the couch. 

That was a loaded question. Billy licked his lips, putting the joint to his mouth and reaching for his lighter. 

“You in or out?” He asked, dodging her question. She glanced around the room, gaze a little dimmer than usual, before watching him light the spliff and take an inhale.

The teens around them hunkered down with clangs and gongs of their instruments, seeming to think this was a puff and pass situation, and Mandy rolled her eyes, waving a dainty had around in a silent demand. He handed it over, their fingertips ghosting across one another, before Mueller was pulling the joint to her lips and taking an experimental puff.

She winced, breathing out and coughing as she handed it over. “It’s laced.”

“What?” Billy scoffed, looking down at the lipstick-stained paper in his hand, before bringing it back to his mouth for another inhale, “How the hell do you know that?”

She waved the air, and the cat atop her let out a low, agitated meow in warning. 

“Shut up,” she said to it quietly, like she was embarrassed to be addressing a cat of all things, before she was looking to him. “You can’t tell? Ugh. It’s gross. Keep that shit away from me.”

“More for me then, I guess,” he taunted, breathing out a steady inhale over her way. The cat above her hacked, and Mandy waved the air again, looking to him with supreme irritation as she pushed herself into sitting, pulling her legs from his lap.

Scooting away, she grabbed the cat atop her, tucking it into her lap as she tried to get comfortable, leaning into the arm of the couch and patting around in search for something. Billy watched her lean over the edge of the couch, pulling up her jacket and then her sunglasses, before she was rooting around through her pockets. 

Ugh, god. He could watch her do literally anything and be satisfied. Him and the fat cat in her lap had that in common, apparently. The animal just ducked its head beneath her boobs, looking up through the cage of her arms as she pulled out money and lighters and playing cards from her pockets before she finally pulled out a compact mirror and busied herself with her reflection. 

“Why do I look like I’m melting?” She muttered, and the cat replied with a mewl, which made her startle, nearly dropping her mirror, before she was looking down at the thing with a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Don’t answer that.”

“You can’t really think that thing understands you,” Billy muttered to her, eyes dragging from the cat to her. He could not believe she was entertaining this monster’s bullshit.

Mandy didn’t answer him immediately, busy wiping her face clear of smeared makeup. Billy couldn’t keep his eyes from her mouth as he watched her wipe at the edge of her lips, cleaning her face of the streaks of dark red lipstick. 

“Who cares? I understand him,” she said once she was done, shooting him a curled look of judgement as he blinked away the image of her open mouth, tongue curling into the edge of her lips. “And who even asked you, huh?” 

He shook his head, taking another inhale and letting his head rock back as he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around the room. Muffled conversation, and the static-y sound of stations changing on the small TV setup across the garage, and the distant thump of music in the house, and Mandy Mueller’s usually caustic voice sounding so soft and sweet and dreamy, asking, “Do you want a kiss?”

The words had his heart jumpstarting in his chest, pictures flying behind the dark shade of his eyelids of all the scenarios he could imagine her sounding sweet just like that, and he took another inhale to calm himself, forcing himself not to launch into action at her words. He held it until his lungs burned, before exhaling and forcing his breath not to tremble as he peeked an eye open in her direction, only to spy her looking down at the cat in her lap. 

He knew it. That fucking bitch. Offering a kiss to that smelly little gremlin when he was literally right here. 

“You look like you do,” she said, voice light and lilting as she cocked her head down at the animal in her lap. It did the same, eyes curious and pupils big and dark as it pushed its nose towards hers, craning its neck up, before reaching up towards her with a cautious paw, gently batting at her cheek, letting out a squeaky mewl in reply.

“Aw, you do, don’t you?” She cooed as it purred at her, settling its paw against her cheek, before its claws kneaded slowly into the flesh of her face, snagging the topmost layer of skin there is it pulled away. The gentle look on her features warped into something cold within a blink, and she grabbed the cat’s face in her palm, manicured fingers stretching over its skull and squeezing cruelly. “I’ll make you regret that.”

She bodied the thing in a flash, slamming it back down into her lap and looking at it forbiddingly through the cage of her fingers as she hissed, “Do. Not. Scratch. My. Face.”

When she released it, it twisted around on its belly, slinking off her lap with its hair on all end, before it was scrambling under the couch by her feet, and Billy sighed, suddenly sympathetic to the creature. He knew how it felt.

“That is so evil!” The girl from earlier called, obviously watching them the whole time.

“It scratched me!” She explained in her own defense, tossing her hands out, “I was defending myself!”

“It’s a cat,” the girl called back smartly, crossing her arms. “It has claws. It scratches.”

Mandy scoffed in return.

“Yeah, and I’m an evil bitch,” she said back in the same snotty tone, before she was sticking out her tongue. “I have those, too. You wanna see what I do with mine?”

The girl deflated at that, looking defeated as she turned back to her friend group, and Mandy scoffed to herself, slamming her compact shut and slumping into the back of the couch with a harumph.

Billy watched her with a sideways smile. God, she was completely out of her fucking mind.  

She packed herself up huffily, hands scrubbing through her hair and arms wriggling into her jacket as she stood and spun on a heel to leave. As she rounded the table and side chair, the cat darted out from under the couch and took off after her, weave through her legs and nearly tripping her. 

She shrieked, stumbling and catching herself just as she passed under the threshold, before she was looking around her confusedly. She patted her pockets, spinning around with a pinched look of confusion, a hand going to her hair, before her eyes settled on him across the room, right where she left him.

“I’m forgetting something important,” she said to herself, before a lightbulb went on in her head and she perked up. She pointed to him, droning out with girly exasperation as she weaved back around the clutter in the garage, “Ugh! Hargrooooove!”

She flapped her hand around with a jangle of bracelets as she neared him, stretching across the arm of the couch to pinch the leather shoulder of his jacket and tug him towards her. 

“C’mon! I’m not leaving you with these losers!”

He took a couple last puffs of the joint, holding the smoke as he tossed the roach in the stained glass ashtray on the table. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he breathed out as she plucked at the sleeve on his arm impatiently. As if he had any hope of denying her.

[beautiful-songbird]

Smoke and Mirrors

Pairing: Idol!Tae x Model!OC

Genre: angst, fluff

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: suggestive, smoking, multiple mentions of sex, mention of emotional breakdowns, the characters both have negative feelings about smoking and actively discourage it so be warned if that triggers you?

Summary: Tae and Zelda have a long overdue conversation after she finds him smoking.

Zelda stepped out onto the deck, letting the door click shut behind her. Tae let out a huff of air that was mingled with smoke before glancing back at her.

“Hi,” he muttered, flicking at the cigarette in his hand.

“Hi there. Why are you hiding?”

He smiled wryly. “Didn’t want to smoke in the house.”

“Hm.” She crossed the deck and wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into his side. “Why is this the first time I’m finding out about this, then?”

“I think you know why,” he responded quietly. “You’ve made it pretty clear you don’t like it when people smoke.”

He settled his arm over her shoulders then, accepting the fact that she wasn’t going to leave.

“I don’t. That doesn’t mean I’m going to get upset with you for doing it, though.”

“Really?”

She glanced up at him. “Tae.”

He glanced down at her.

“You don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

He hummed before taking in another breath of smoke before blowing it out his nose. “I just don’t like doing it,” he replied finally. “I know it’s bad. I just…can’t stop.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

She nodded. “My grandma smokes. She’s been trying to quit for as long as I can remember.”

“Is that why you don’t like it?”

She smiled sadly. “It’s not good for you, Tae. That’s why I don’t like it.” She poked his chest. “I’d like to have a husband for a long time.”

He chuckled.

“You haven’t done it before when we’ve been together. Why not? I mean…you didn’t even do it when we were on our honeymoon.”

He combed his fingers through her hair. “Because. I was always ok when we were together. And…we were never together for very long.”

“But two weeks ago?”

He hummed. “I got my dopamine in other ways.”

“Does it help?”

He glanced at her again. “The cigarettes?”

“Sex.”

“Ah,” he smiled. “Yes. It’s too much to ask of you every time I need it, though.”

“Is it?” she frowned.

He didn’t respond, choosing to simply continue staring at her.

She motioned at his hand. “Can I take it?”

He hesitated.

“You can say no.”

He shook his head. “I can always light another one if I need it.”

He flipped it around in his fingers and handed it to her. She dropped it to the ground and dug her heel into it. Then she hugged him tightly, resting her head against his chest. His breathing was steady, like he hadn’t just been inhaling smoke.

“You ok, Zel?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he smiled.

She looked up at him then. “You still need something?”

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “Is that ok?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t.” She stood on her tiptoes then, leaning up to kiss him. “Eugh.” She pulled away from him.

He chuckled. “Don’t like the taste of smoke?”

She smacked her lips in distaste. “Not really.”

“I’ll go brush my teeth,” he replied, patting her butt.

She kissed his cheek. “Ok. Let’s meet in the bedroom. I’ll toss your cigarette.”

He chuckled. “Thanks.”

After he left the deck, she picked the cigarette up off the concrete. She glanced over at the table, just now noticing that a pack of cigarettes was laying on it. She picked it up and tucked it in her pocket before heading inside.

Inside, she headed straight for the kitchen before dousing the cigarette in water, digging her nails into its burnt end to make sure it had been fully soaked. Then she threw it in the trash. She pulled the pack of cigarettes out of her pocket then. She faintly recalled a time when he’d pulled a lighter off his keychain to light some candles, and at the time the only thought that had passed through her head was how hot it was that he just carried a lighter around with him. Who did that? She knew now. He’d been carrying it around to light his cigarettes with. She frowned.

She half-heartedly wondered why he’d never brought it up before. They’d been together for two and a half years, and he hadn’t as much as even hinted about it. It saddened her to know he’d thought he had to hide something like this from her. To her, it was simply a struggle he dealt with, and yet he’d been so ashamed that he’d never even told her.

Was it because of what she’d said? She knew what he’d meant when he’d mentioned her disapproving of it. They’d been on a date once, and the smell of smoke had filled the air. She’d coughed before simply stating, “I wish people wouldn’t smoke.” She could imagine now how much that had stung him.

It didn’t really make sense to her, though. He’d dealt with so many of her issues, and yet, now that she thought about it, he’d never shared his own. He’d dealt with her melting down and practically screaming, so how could he think this was worse than that?

It was just a cigarette…or hundreds. But it wasn’t everything she’d done. She could tell just from the look on his face when he’d seen her that he’d been disappointed in himself. Was that it? Had he not wanted her to be disappointed too?

She found herself in the bedroom a moment later, setting the pack on his nightstand. She was sure there were others in his drawer, and that’s why he’d been so careful about her getting into it, but she didn’t want this to be a secret between them anymore, so she didn’t place it where it would be hidden.

“Zel, come here. I need to know if I did a good enough job brushing.”

She laughed and joined him in the bathroom, where he was quick to kiss her.

She hummed. “Taste like mint now. Not much of an improvement.”

He laughed. “Still not a fan of mint?”

“It’s better than smoke,” she offered.

“Good enough?”

“I can live with it.”

“You’re just teasing me now,” he whined, tugging her towards him.

“I am,” she smiled as their lips met again.

He groaned against her mouth, making her grin. She grasped his shoulders gently.

“Tae.”

“Mm?” He hummed against her mouth.

She pushed him away ever so slightly, just enough that she could look him in the eye.

“Tae.”

“Yes?” he asked, brow wrinkling.

“I love you.”

He smiled. “I love you too.” He pecked her lips again.

“Hm,” she pressed on his shoulders again. “No.”

“Oh?” he asked, his face falling.

“I love you.”

He licked his lips, pout still on his face. “I know.”

She cupped his cheeks in her hands. “I’m not disappointed in you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” he responded, voice cracking.

“You don’t need to be perfect for me.”

He nodded slowly, tears welling in his eyes.

“Do you?” she asked softly. “Because you seem to have this idea that you can’t have any issues.”

He sniffed. “I’m scared,” he admitted.

“Of what, honey?”

“That I’m going to finally show you who I am and you won’t like me anymore.”

She thumbed at his tears. “And who are you?”

“I don’t know. I’m weak. I can’t be strong for you if you know everything.”

She tilted her head slightly. “I think you can. I think together we can be stronger if we both rely on each other.”

“But my problems aren’t as big as yours,” he cried softly.

“Are you sure? Because I think they are. And besides, it doesn’t matter how big our problems are, it matters that we struggle with them. I can’t hold your hand through it all if I don’t even know what it all is.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly. “It’s just hard. No one wants this side of me.”

“And no one wants to be with me when I have a meltdown,” she answered. “So why do you do it?”

“Because I love you,” he replied like it was the most automatic thing in the world.

She smiled, eyes watery. “So why can’t I handle you then, huh? Why do you smoke?”

“Because…because sometimes it’s the only thing that will calm me down.”

“Right. So how can I not handle that when you’ve dealt with me screaming?”

He couldn’t help but cry then, tucking his head against her hair. “Because the emotions aren’t your fault. It is my fault that I smoke,” he whispered against her forehead.

“Honey, it doesn’t matter how you got addicted. If it’s not something you want to do, it’s not your fault.”

“But sometimes I do want it,” he admitted. “It makes me feel good. It’s fun. I…I enjoy it.”

“Of course you do, hon. It gives you a hit. That’s what drugs do. They make you feel good so you’ll want to take them again. That’s not your fault.”

She could feel his tears soaking into her hair now, and she couldn’t help but frown over how broken up he was about this. She didn’t blame him for any of it. She couldn’t. She knew it wasn’t his fault, and this was enough to tell her for sure he didn’t enjoy the addiction.

“I love you,” she reminded him again. “Please don’t be mad at yourself. You’re not hurting anyone but yourself. That’s more than I can say about me.”

“You don’t…hurt me,” he sniffed.

“I do,” she replied softly. “I’ve seen the look on your face when I’ve yelled at you. Don’t tell me it doesn’t hurt you. I know it does.”

He frowned. “I…yeah.” He drew in a deep, shaky breath. “But I can’t blame you. I know how much you hate yourself when it’s all over.”

She simply reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, unwilling to say anything to what he’d said.

“Zel.”

“Mm?”

“I’ll forgive myself if you forgive yourself first.”

“That’s not a fair trade and you know it.”

“I didn’t ask if it was fair.”

“Tae…this conversation isn’t about me.”

“Yes it is. We’re dealing with our issues - both of us. You can’t keep blaming yourself for emotional outbursts that are out of your control. I know it hurts me, but I know you’ve tried your hardest.”

“Tae,” she grumbled.

He hummed and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. “You said you wanted to hold my hand. I want to hold yours too. Holding hands isn’t a one-way street, Zel.”

“I can’t forgive myself, Tae,” she said finally.

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve been awful to you.”

“Zelda.”

“I don’t care if…if I can’t control it. I hate it, and I hate that I’ve put you through it.”

He let out a big sigh. “I know. And I hate how upset I made you today.”

“I’m not upset.”

“You’re not upset with me. I know you’re upset though, darling.”

She squished her face against his chest.

“You’re upset because you think you’re going to lose me. I scared you.”

She swallowed hard, tears finally starting to really pool in her eyes. “I am.”

“So can we just agree…that we’ve both hurt each other with things that were out of our control? And forgive ourselves?”

She nodded slowly, and he smiled.

“Ok. Good. You forgive my pretty wife?”

She giggled. “Yes. And you forgive my handsome husband?”

He grinned. “Yes.”

She pushed herself away from him then so she could look up at him. “Good. But…you have to promise me that if you need me in the future you just tell me. Don’t go smoke as your first resort. If I’ve done everything I can for you and you still need it, that’s ok, but please ask me first.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure sure?”

She poked his chest. “Tae. I enjoy having sex with you. This is not a sacrifice for me.”

He smiled, licking his teeth. “I know. I just don’t want you to say yes just because you don’t want me smoking.”

“I’ll say no if I need to, Tae, you know that.”

He nodded.

“Good. Now that we have that sorted out….”

She tasted his grin against her mouth as she pulled him into a kiss a moment later.

“Mmm. Can’t taste the mint as much anymore,” she mumbled. “Tastes more like you.”

He grinned again, their teeth nearly knocking together. “You like that?”

“‘Course,” she replied. “Why’d you think I married you?”

He pulled away from her. “Oh, you think you’re funny?”

She grinned.

“You do! You thought that was funny!” He heaved her up into his arms. “I’ll show you funny.”

He was gently tossing her on top of their sheets a moment later, caging her in. He wiggled his thumbs under her shirt, stroking the soft skin of her belly as he nibbled at her neck. The sensations were making her giggle.

“Mhm, told you it was funny,” he mumbled, simply making her giggle even more.

“I love you, Tae.”

He hummed against her neck before pressing a soft kiss against it. “I love you too.”

She laced her fingers together, settling her hands behind his neck. “What would you like to do?”

He drew in a deep breath and rested his cheek against her shoulder. “I don’t know. I mean…” he stroked his fingers along her stomach. “I do, but…you know.”

She giggled. “Well, you’ve got me for the rest of the day. Whatever you need.”

He grinned and nosed his way down to her collarbone. “I suppose we’ll see, then.”

This is part of the Dad!BTS series that can be found here

A/N: I’ve been debating posting this for a few days and I decided eh what the hell why not 😂 so…yeah 🤪

It would be greatly appreciated if you reblogged the story if you liked it!

Taglist: @jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger @jinnie-forthe-winnie @thornedswan @fly-you-dam-fools @aianloveseven @kookstempo @lvoekook

[snaillamp]

Sicktember - day 1

1 - Hopelessly bad at self care

Whumpee sat at their desk, running their hands through their hair. They had been sitting at their computer all day, trying to write this damn report and it was taking forever. They stood to get their 7th, maybe 8th cup of coffee that day and shuffled from their office. The main office was dark and empty, the only sound being a quiet buzz of electronics.

“Oh…” They muttered, walking over to the coffee machine. They hadn’t realised they had been working so late. Glancing at their watch they sighed.

9:42 pm

“Eugh… Hope this is enough to get me home…” They muttered, watching the cheap, burnt coffee dribble out of the machine at a pitiful pace. When it finally spirted the final dregs of the drink into Whumpee’s mug with a splutter, Whumpee grabbed the handle and chugged it. The liquid was hot enough to burn their tongue for half a second, but by the time they finished it, it was ice cold. “Ugh… that was bad…” They muttered, leaving their mug by the sink. They would wash it first thing tomorrow, if one of the night cleaners wasn’t feeling overly generous.

Walking back to their office, they tucked a strand of hair from their eyes and grabbed their jacket. Winter was setting in soon and it was starting to get colder at night.

They grabbed their things, leaving their office and locking up and walking down the hallway, their shoes clicking on the linoleum floor. A cleaner nodded as they walked past, and Whumpee smiled tiredly at them. “Long night?” The cleaner asked, Whumpee turning and sighing. “Yeah… And I have to drive home now… Hey, at least there won’t be as much traffic!” They joked half heartedly, the cleaner laughing before continuing to walk.

Whumpee made it outside, the cold air making their breath become a cloud as they walked. The streetlights illuminated the foot path in an amber light as they walked around to the staff car park. Going down into the down stairs into the underground, they walked through the echoing, grey car park, going to the only car left parked neatly between the lines and hopped in. As they left they yawned, turning on the radio in an effort to keep them awake. A generic girly pop song filled the car as they drove through the mostly empty streets, with the exception of an ambulance driving the other way, sirens wailing and a few taxis and cars.

~~

When they got to their apartment, they walked inside, sighing as they shut the door with a gentle thud. Partner looked up from the couch nearby, watching a TV on low volume, playing some rom-com. “You’re back! I was starting to get worried.” They walked over to Whumpee and put their hands on their shoulders, holding Whumpee at arms length. “You look tired, did you want some dinner?” Whumpee nodded their head as Partner kissed them softly, before going to the kitchen.

Whumpee collapsed onto the couch, already dozing off when Partner placed a small plate of food in front of them. It smelled amazing. “Don’t spill it on my couch, maybe come eat in the kitchen.” They said, guiding Whumpee to the island bench with a couple of stools in front of it. They slid Whumpee’s jacket off them as Whumpee hunched over their food, eating slowly. Partners hands gently brushed Whumpee’s shoulders, massaging them slowly.

“You’re tense, maybe you should work from home tomorrow. If you keep coming home late like this you’ll get burnt out and sick.” Whumpee grunted in reply, their mouth full of food. When they swallowed, they spoke, their voice tired and gravelly from the copious amounts of coffee. “Mphf, I know, but I have to get this report done soon or my life will get a hell of a lot worse. There’s a promotion on the line too, I just… I need this…” Partner scoffed, their thumbs pushing into Whumpee’s aching muscles slightly more painfully. Whumpee winced. “Sorry…” Partner murmured before continuing.

“You’ll be a hell of a lot more useful with restful sleep and a day off, you know.” Their hands began to rub Whumpee’s back, and they leaned into the touch. “Mmm… I know… But it’s just for a little bit… Then it’ll be back to normal…” Partner scoffed again, “That’s what you said months ago. Yet, here we are, still doing the same thing as always. You drive yourself into the ground and then can’t get back up. You know this isn’t sustainable, I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

Whumpee sighed as Partner wrapped their arms around Whumpee’s neck, cuddling them gently. Whumpee leaned into them humming. “I’m sorry…” They mumbled, smiling as Partner nuzzled their neck. “You deserve better than this.” Partner looked up and cradled Whumpee’s face. “Whumpee, I love you. I don’t care about anything else, I just want you to be happy.” They kissed Whumpee deeply, Whumpee melting at their touch. “I love you too…” They mumbled, smiling at their lover’s face.

“Your breath stinks like coffee.” They retorted, pecking Whumpee on the nose and grabbing their empty plate. “You go get ready for bed, I’ll clean this up.” They smiled as Whumpee eased off the stool and walked into their bathroom. They had a quick, brisk shower and brushed their coffee stained teeth with a tired, heavy arm. When they got to their bedroom, Partner was already there, having just finished changing into their pyjamas.

Whumpee changed into their own, before sliding into bed beside Partner, wrapping them up in a hug. “You’re being the big spoon tonight?” They teased, snuggling into Whumpee’s chest. Whumpee hummed, smiling as they squeezed Partner tight, pulling them closer and kissing the top of their head, feeling Partner’s arms snake around their waist. “You’re always the big spoon it’s my turn…” They mumbled sleepily, breathing in the scent of Partner’s shampoo.

Partner melted in Whumpee’s arms as they both fell asleep, or at least tried too. Whumpee stayed holding Partner, listening to their breaths, feeling them tickle their chest as they lay there. Despite being so tired, they were too wired to actually fall asleep. They sighed, letting go of Partner as they wiggled free of Whumpee's arms. Whumpee rolled over and grabbing some blanket before Partner could sleepily hog it all.

At some point, Partner’s arm slid around Whumpee’s waist as Partner smooshed their face between Whumpee’s shoulder blades and sighed. Whumpee chuckled at how cute it was, their mind finally growing tired enough to actually sleep.

~~

They awoke with a start, shooting up in bed and staring at their watch. “Shit…” They groaned, sliding out of bed and trying to stand. The world swayed as they staggered, falling back onto the bed. Partner peeked their head in around the door. “Ah, you woke up!” They said, sounding bright and cheery, obviously well rested.

Whumpee moaned dejectedly, standing up again and looking around for something to wear. “I can’t believe I slept in… I thought I had an alarm…” They looked at their bedside table, where they charged their phone every night. It wasn’t there, only the cord peeking over the edge of the table. They were two hours late for work. “Looking for this?” Partner asked, holding up their phone. Whumpee gasped, lunging for it, only for Partner to twirl out of the way. “Nah-uh, you can’t have it.” Whumpee sighed, already exasperated. “Partner please, don’t do this now, not today… Fuck, my boss is gonna kill me… How did you even get that?” They asked, making another grab for the phone in Partner’s hand.

“It was in your jacket pocket, woke me up going off at 5 am. I turned it off and went back to sleep.”

Whumpee’s jaw dropped, their mind trying to comprehend what had just happened. “You… turned it off… and went back to sleep…” Partner smiled brightly, nodding. “Mhmm.” Whumpee shook their head, shoulders falling, “You’re serious… Fuck…” They ran their hand through their hair, turning back around and racing to their closet, ripping it open and grabbing the first thing they saw, ripping of their pyjama shirt. As they were half way through wrestling the new shirt on, Partner walked in and looked them up and down. “Don’t bother.” They spoke flatly, handing Whumpee their phone.

“I called in for you, said you were sick and needed a day off, some winter cold thing.” Whumpee peeked over the collar of their shirt, arms still halfway though the sleeves. “You… what…?” They asked stunned.

“Your boss was fine with it, in fact they said you deserved a rest, all the extra work you’ve been doing.” Partner grinned, pulling Whumpee out of their shirt and guiding them back to bed. “But I’m not sick…” Whumpee whined, trying to get out of Partner’s grip. “You have a temperature.” Partner retorted. “I do not have a temp-”

Partner pulled out a thermometer from their pocket and stuck it in Whumpee’s mouth. Whumpee mumbled in protest, but Partner held it firm until the little machine beeped. Pulling it out, Partner showed it to them. “39 degrees Celcius. That’s 102 Fahrenheit of you want to argue.”

They put the thermometer on the bedside table and pushed Whumpee back onto the bed. “Now get some rest, I’ll make you some tea.” They walked over to Whumpee’s pyjama shirt, picking it up and throwing it at them. “Oh and put that back on, you’ll catch a chill.” They smirked, leaving the room. Whumpee stared the the shirt in their lap, “But I feel fine?” They muttered, sighing as they pulled the shirt back over their head and lay back down. Now that they were thinking about it, they did feel a bit jittery and their throat felt a bit dry, but they had assumed it was all the coffee they had been drinking.

Partner walked back in with a tray, a cup of tea and some plain toast on a plate, Whumpee sat up and swung their legs over the side of the bed, subtly trying to show that they were infact, fine. “I didn’t know what you wanted on it, so I just brought the toast.” They said.

Placing the tray on the bedside table, moving some of the stuff on it away so it could fit, Partner smiled softly. They sighed, wrapping their arms around Whumpee’s head and gently holding it against their stomach. Their fingers slowly trailed through Whumpee’s hair and they leaned into Partner, their eyes closing. “I have to go to work now, but you take it easy, okay. Try not to get out of bed unless you have to. Maybe put on a movie or something? Just try to have a quiet day, no working.” They spoke softly, but Whumpee knew it was a veiled threat.

Not that that would stop them.

Partner kissed their forehead, before dragging their thumb across Whumpee’s cheek, looking at their other half.

“I love you, be good.” They whispered, pecking Whumpee on the nose. “And try to eat something, 'kay?” They said as they slipped out the bedroom door and out of the apartment. Whumpee waited until they heard the apartment door close, before half heartedly grabbing the now cold toast and nibbling on it. They didnt feel that hungry, but they forced themself to sip the lukewarm tea. It didn’t really help their throat feel any better.

Groaning as they eased themself out of bed, their body swaying as their head began to ache. They still could work, just from home, like Partner had said. They searched the apartment top to bottom, looking for their laptop that they could have sworn they left charging somewhere. They considered calling Partner, but every second they searched, they began to suspect Partner had just hidden it. Opening a drawer, they finally found it, tucked away under a book.

Dragging themself back to bed, Whumpee shuddered, feeling a cold chill wash over them suddenly. Sliding under the covers, they sniffled, feeling a large wad of goo dislodge from the back of their nose and drip down the back of their throat. They coughed it up, their head aching even more as the goo came flying out of their mouth and into their hand.

They sighed, getting up again and going to the bathroom. Washing their hand, a coughing fit overcame them, forcing them to their knees. They coughed and wheezed until they couldn’t breathe, spots appearing in their vision. They gasped and gagged, chest heaving. The next thing they knew, they were waking up on the floor, gasping for breath. Pulling themself up, they ran the water in the bathroom sink and drank from it, trying to clear their throat. It hurt to drink, to swallow… to breathe… but they needed this water…

Crawling back to bed they decided to sit and work on their stuff. Logging into their laptop, they pulled up their work and stared at the words. Their eyes drifted around the screen, getting jumbled and confused. Whumpee forced themself to push through, deciding to get up and make a coffee when they finished this paragraph. They started to feel worse and worse, their head spinning and mind melting as they tried to type, but they words wouldn’t come out… their fingers couldn’t move… something was buzzing in their ear…?

Turning their head, they saw their phone ringing. A name was at the top of the screen:

Partner

Reaching over to grab it, they couldn’t stop their hand shaking. Managing to lift the heavy phone, Whumpee leaned back against the headboard of the bed, sighing as they answered. “Mmmn… hey…”

Partner was silent on the other end for a moment, before their voice came through, sweet like honey as always. “Hey… How you feeling?” They sounded sympathetic, the sound of their voice made Whumpee suddenly want to cry. “I’m fine…mmh…” They moaned a little as a wave of nausea slammed them. “You don’t sound fine. Should I come home?” Whumpee suddenly jerked, sitting up straight. “No, no, you don’t have do that! Just… maybe… bring some throat lozenges home this afternoon…” They cleared their throat and tried to sound less sick.

“Have you been doing work?” Partner suddenly asked, accusingly. “What? No…” Whumpee mumbled, attempting to cover their ass.

“Whumpeeeeee?”

Whumpee sighed, there was no hiding it from Partner. “Ugh… only a little. Just… typing my re… typ…ing my… nghhhnn…” Whumpee shuddered, suddenly overcome with chills. “Whumpee? You okay?” Partner’s scared voice came through the phone, as Whumpee looked up, realising they had slumped sideways across the bed. “I’m… fine…” They mumbled looking in the sheets for the phone. It wasn’t in the sheets, instead it was on the floor, they must have dropped it, but they didn’t remember. “Whumpee?” Partner was in a panic now. “Hey, hey it’s okay… I just dropped my phone, that’s all. Couldn’t find it…” Whumpee coughed pathetically, listening to Partner sigh with relief.

“Oh, thank goodness… Whumpee what happened your words started slurring and you went silent for a minute.” There was weird background noise in the call now. “I just… I don’t know, dropped my phone?” Partner was silent again. “Whumpee, did you pass out?” Their voice was serious. “No…” Whumpee lied, or at least, they couldn’t be sure they had.

“What’s that sound? Are you… Are you driving?” Partner was silent again, the faint sound of clicking in the background. “Mhmm, I’m coming home, okay? You worried me when you went silent, so I told my boss it was an emergency and took the rest of the day off.” Whumpee’s heart sank. “No, Partner… you didn’t have have to do that for me… I’m fine really.” Partner sounded frustrated now, like they were holding back tears. “Oh, and is passing out fine?”

Whumpee blinked, not understanding the question. “I… I…” Words were lost on them again as they watched the world blur. “Hold tight, I’m almost home okay.” Partner hung up, leaving Whumpee alone again. They didn’t have the energy to work anymore, so they snuggled back down and tried to sleep.

~~

They were awoken to Partner shaking them. “Hey, I’m back.” They smiled, looking at Whumpee as they rolled over to look at them. “Mmmm…” Was all Whumpee could manage to reply. “You’re really under the weather… Maybe I should take you to hospital.” Partner said, concern knotting their brow as they felt Whumpee’s forehead. “Mmnhh, no… please…” Whumpee tried to shake their head. “I’m fine. I just need a minute, then I’ll chill out on the sofa with some food, coffee and a couple blankets and get some more work done… Then I can rest for the rest of the day…” They sighed, pushing themself up. They felt a bit better after the rest, but they still had no energy. That wasn’t something another coffee wouldn’t fix.

“Uh, no, you’re not doing anymore work.” Partner said, grabbing Whumpee’s laptop and walking away with it. “You can have a rest on the couch, but you are not working. Do anything else, I don’t care, but you need a break. Look at you, Whumpee, the reason you’re so sick is that you’ve been pushing yourself too much.” Whumpee sighed, grabbing their phone and getting up from bed. “Okay, no work… Why don’t you make me a spot on the couch and I’ll watch a movie.”

Partner seemed satisfied with that, and they helped get Whumpee comfy on the couch, bringing them some water and ibuprofen. Whumpee waited for them to get busy with other things before they pulled out their phone. If they could just finish writing this report…

~~

“Whatcya watching?” Partner leaned over the couch, kissing Whumpee’s cheek.

“Action movie.”

Partner nuzzled Whumpee’s face, “Hmm, which one?” Whumpee pulled back, “Get off, I don’t want you getting sick too.”

Partner hummed, running their finger’s through Whumpee’s hair. “Don’t change the subject…” They murmured dangerously as Whumpee let their head fall back against the couch arm. Their hands lowered as they melted at the sensation, their one weakness.

“Nnnhh.. Partner…” They murmured, eyes closing in bliss. They felt the phone leave their hands. Snapping their eyes open, they turned around, looking at Partner with a scowl. “Hey! I was using that!” They tried to yell, but their voice cracked and they croaked instead. “Yeah, using it to do work. Fuck, Whumpee learn to have a break.”

Whumpee sighed, reaching for the phone, but Partner lifted it above their head. “No. No more work. You’re just gonna make yourself sicker. You need a self care day, my love.” Partner pocketed the phone and walked away, coming back with some warm soup. “Eat. Then you and me are gonna have a self care day. You’re stressing me out, Whumpee.”

Whumpee rolled their eyes, turning and staring at a building explode on the TV.

A guy was running through a hallway trying to escape the approaching fireball. He threw himself to the ground just in time, the flames roaring over his body as he pressed himself into the dirt.

Partner came back and grabbed Whumpee’s hand. “Come on.” They led Whumpee into the bathroom, which was full of steam. “Hop in.” Partner pointed at the bath, full of water. “Mh… Do I have to…?” Whumpee looked at Partner, with a tired smile. The gesture was really sweet, but they really didn’t feel like having a bath at that moment. All they could think about was the precious time slipping away. Time that could be used to hand write this report if they had to.

Partner shook their head, going over to Whumpee and wrapping them in a hug. “Come on, just try... For me.” Whumpee sighed. “Fine.” They slid out of their clothes and lowered themself into the bath. They did have to admit, it was nice being submerged in the hot water. They felt a little less achy and congested.

Partner gently wet their hair and began to wash it, careful not to splash Whumpee’s face. Whumpee’s eyes slid shut as Partner massaged their scalp, the sounds of the water sloshing quietly filling their mind. They moaned contentedly, body relaxing as Partner worked the shampoo through their hair, jerked slightly when water was poured over their scalp. They must have fallen asleep. “Oh, sorry, did I wake you?” Partner murmured.

“Mh-mmn…” Whumpee tried to deny but Partner just laughed, shaking their head as Whumpee peeled their eyes open. They helped Whumpee out of the bath and left them to dry off, bringing them some fresh clothes. Then they took them back to the couch and lay them down, rubbing their back slowly.

Whumpee was so caught up in the sensation sending pleasant tingles down their spine that they had soon forgotten all thoughts of work. Their body relaxed as Partner’s hands massaged their back, the tension and stress finally leaving their body. “See.” Partner whispered, kissing Whumpee’s ear. “You just need a break, just until you’re better. Then you can work on your stupid report.”

Whumpee moaned in reply, too tired to actually form words.

Wumpee’s thoughts were far from their report as they drifted off to the best sleep they had had in weeks... months even, Partner’s hands working their gentle magic on their back.

When they awoke, they genuinely felt better, more… awake. Partner noticed, walking over and wrapping them in a hug. “Have a nice sleep?” Whumpee nodded, yawning. “How long was I out…” They still sounded congested as they coughed a little. “Mmmm, ages, you slept all afternoon. Want any dinner?”

Whumpee looked up at their love from the couch, who smiled gently. “Okay… just a little bit though… Then… can we have a movie night?”

Partner beamed, Whumpee had been promising to do a movie night for ages, but they were always getting home late. They felt bad about it, but seeing Partner’s face now… tears welled up in their eyes, “Oh my god… I’ve been suck jerk…” They groaned, everything coming crashing down on them. Partner looked concerned as Whumpee sat up, putting their head in their hands. “I’m such an idiot… This stupid report… what was I thinking? I'm so, so, so, so sorry Partner... I just... argh, I'm so stupid!” They cried, voice croaking as they looked up at Partner, tears streaming down their face.

Partner brushed them away and kissed Whumpee’s forehead. “It’s okay, my love. I know this report is important to you, but you know, you’re more important to me.” Whumpee shook their head. “No, I… it’s not okay. I ditched you over and over for work and… for what?”

Partner pouted. “I don’t know. But you’re here now. This... is all signs your body is giving you to tell you you need a break.” Whumpee nodded as Partner held them tight, stroking the back of their head.

“You can still make up for lost time you know…”

They ate dinner on the couch, before Whumpee picked a movie. They lay their head in Partner’s lap, smiling as Partner's fingers trailed through their hair, watching the movie dance before their eyes.

It felt so good, to just be, with them. The world didn't feel like it was moving so fast in that moment. In fact, it felt like everything else had stopped, and it was just the two of them.

Whumpee sighed, they never wanted this to end, and deep down, they knew it wouldn’t. They would be better.

For Partner.

~masterlist~

[invisibleraven]

“I have cake in my eyes.” “Yeah, and I have cake down my shirt!” “Then just take off your shirt.” feels very Willex to me

Willie normally loved parties, but this was just not one he wanted to attend. Unfortunately building international relations was important, thus instead of relaxing in his bedroom back in DC, here he was in Buckingham Palace, observing the hoy piloi and wondering how long it would be until they cut the obscenely large cake.

Seriously, who needed a cake bigger than an average human being for a wedding? He bet it would be dry and full of like custard or coconut. Ew.

The other reason he didn't want to be here was standing across the room in a morning coat, complete with frigging tails and enough badges and sashes to make a beauty queen jealous. Prince Alex, second in line to the British Crown, and Willie's sworn enemy.

Was it petty to declare someone your enemy over a stupid disagreement at a youth summit three years ago? Sure. Did Willie care? Not in the least. But he had promised Caleb he'd be nice, thus avoiding Alex like the plague.

That unfortunately meant he was stuck by the sidelines, as it was kind of hard to avoid the brother of the bride even in a space this large. Hearing the whispers about Olivia's choice of groom, feeling the side long glances that shot his way. Trying not to flinch when they called him 'tramp' and Caleb worse.

Look, he knew he wasn't Caleb's biological son, but that man loved him more than anything, taking him from the group home when he was very young. Told WIllie he was done waiting for the right guy to make a family with. He'd asked his friend Clementine to help make a baby, but she wasn't able to donate the eggs thanks to complications, Delilah was trans, and Caleb didn't want to have a baby that some errant mom could try and take. So adoption it was.

The road from owning a dinner theatre in LA to residing in the White House had been an interesting one, but Willie got right out there and supported Caleb, picketing for votes right from the outset. Sure he had no interest in politics himself, preferring art and skateboarding, but he was always willing to help out his dad.

So those disparaging comments always stung, and he was never in a position to clap back. Just clenched his fists and blew out a breath, reminding himself he was not only representing his family, but his country itself.

"Okay there Covington?"

Willie turned and there was Alex, smirking at him and nodding to his fists. He shook out his hands. "Fine."

"It all getting to you?" Alex asked, surveying the room.

"It's not all bad, food is dec," Willie replied. He had been gorging himself on all the passing trays of appetizers, and figured that this was their meal. He'd rather sit down and eat at a table, but hey, if this was how the rich did it... "Waiting on cake." He nodded to the table they had found themselves next to on their turn of the room.

"Only the top and bottom are real," Alex whispered. "Rest is all styrofoam. I think Livvie has some sort of pudding ready to serve."

"Like chocolate or full of fruit and nuts?"

"The latter," Alex confirmed.

"Ew."

Whatever Alex was going to say to that was lost as a drunk duke or lord stumbled into them, pushing them down. Willie tried to catch himself, but he just managed to catch the edge of the tablecloth instead, pulling all seven tiers of buttercream monstrosity down on top of them.

He and Alex sat there for a moment, stunned, and Alex winced. "I have cake in my eyes."

“Yeah, and I have cake down my shirt!” Willie retorted, scooping a glob of frosting from his face. Eugh, it tasted rancid and overly fake. Probably a good thing he didn't eat any of it.

“Then just take off your shirt," Alex replied. "Seen you do it often enough."

Willie grumbled. "You do one topless photoshoot for Rolling Stone and it's all people see."

"I didn't say it wasn't a good shoot," Alex replied, blushing. Then swore as he saw guards and one very irate looking bride thundering towards them. "Shit, we gotta go before we end up in the Tower, or worse."

Willie found himself pulled up (wow, Alex was IstrongI, must be all the polo) and pulled through the palace, giggling as he saw the dumbfounded faces they passed by. Collapsing in a simple looking bedroom covered in posters of rock stars and pictures of friends. Plus a very happy looking beagle who came and tried to lick them clean.

"Shoo David!" Alex said, stripping off his coat. He then looked at Willie. "I'll get you some clean clothes, you can take the first shower."

"David, really?" Willie asked, scratching behind the dog's ears.

"After Bowie," Alex replied, handing him some comfy sweats and a pale pink shirt.

Later that day, still hiding out in Alex's bedroom, Willie couldn't say they were still sworn enemies. What they were was to be determined, but his kiss swollen lips and new contact info on his phone made him think the future of inter country relations looked pretty promising.

[wabatle-ocs]

Estranged Friends chapter 7: Practicing "Together"

Tw: Both of them take their shirts off, but nothing is shown or described

tagging: @ravenmoon903 and @stellas-starry-stories13

masterlist

“Good morning, Rinnie!” Hikari greeted him loudly, storming into his room.

“Hey! Have you ever even heard about the concept of knocking?” Rin scowled.

“Wow, just a ‘good morning, Hikari! It's a pleasure to see your hot and sexy face on this fine morning.’ would be nice.” She told Rin, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“No, just get out! I'm not even ready for the day yet!” Rin shot at her.

“Oh.” Hikari realized he was still in his pajamas. “My bad.” She backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

A few minutes later, the door slid open, and Rin stepped out. “Hey.” He greeted Hikari.

“Hey.” Hikari said back.

“What's the plan for training today?” Rin asked.

“Whatever. I don't have a plan yet.”

“Hm.”

Rin and Hikari started walking to the field. Once they arrived, Rin spoke, “How about a 1v1?”

“Huh? Ah, sure, if you want.”

“Then, a 1v1 it is.”

“Don't get too cocky. I'll win.”

“Nah, I'd win.” Rin replied.

“Mhm.” Hikari smiled.

After retrieving a ball, Hikari set it on the ground. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are.” Rin said.

Hours.

For hours, this 1v1 went on. Relentlessly fighting for control of the ball, trying to score first, doing everything in their power to win against the other. Hours.

And in five hours, there were 10 goals. Five for Rin and Five for Hikari.

Panting, Hikari spoke. “Had enough, Rinnie?” She was wearing a smug smile, her face dripping with sweat.

Also panting, Rin responded. “No… Not yet.”

“Well, I’m taking my shirt off. You okay with that?”

“Yeah, as long as I can’t see anything.”

“Sure.” Hikari slipped her shirt off and threw it to the side.

Moments later, Rin decided to take his shirt off as well.

Three more hours they went on for, each scoring three more goals, six goals total.

Hikari flopped into the grass. “Haah… I’m so tired. Bleh.”

Rin sat down next to her with his water bottle, and handed Hikari her own water bottle. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

After around five minutes of silence (other than the sound of them panting and drinking water), Rin noticed Hikari fell asleep. “Seriously…” Rin mumbled. “You can’t just fall asleep anywhere, Hika…” He tried shaking her awake, but to no avail.

“No, sis… Let me sleep…” Hikari mumbled sleepily, rolling over.

“I’m not your sister… Hikari, get up…”

Rin stopped and looked at Hikari’s face for a second. On impulse, Rin leaned down and pressed a soft kiss onto Hikari’s forehead. After realizing what he did, he jolted back and covered his face, a blush spreading across his cheeks. He was incredibly thankful that Hikari was still asleep.

He grabbed her water bottle, opened it, and dumped it on her face.

“Eugh!!” Hikari exclaimed, sitting up. “Why’d you do that?!”

“You fell asleep. Idiot.” “Oh, did I? Shoot, my bad.”

“You were mumbling a lot. Something about your sister.”

“My sister? What was I saying?”

“I told you to wake up and you said ‘sis, let me sleep’ or something like that.”

“Oh. Weird.”

“Were you dreaming about her?”

“No. I mean, yes? I dunno. I was dreaming about us, Sae, and my sister.”

[quinycat]

Hazbin hotel x FNAF Fanfic (Also with a bit of helluva boss 🤭)

This is my first Hazbin fanfic and it was originally posted on ao3,, so maybe Tumblr will enjoy it as well

If you haven't watched the entirety of Hazbin yet maybe don't read this and go finish it

Note: This is set before Sir Pentious died, and has everyone living in the hotel at the time.

It's a quiet day in hell. Well, as quiet as hell can get.

On top of a hill was a hotel, one you've probably heard of. It's called the hazbin hotel.

Charlie, one of the main hosts and the one who actually made the hotel and had the idea for it, was looking for things to do as an activity for the day. She starts looking through the internet to find things to do.

"Oooh, what's this? A new restaurant opened? Maybe I can teach manners there! Or.. something."

She clicked on a website that had the information for a restaurant that opened. It had 4 cute animatronics as mascots. At least, charlie thought they were cute.

When she pitched the idea to the others, they weren't sure about it.

"Man, um.. I'ma be honest this shit looks creepy as hell."

Husk said while scratching his neck. Charlie laughed.

"No it doesn't!! You're telling me this isn't ADORABLE?!?!"

Sir Pentious smiled.

"I think it looks delightful!"

Niffty smiled as well.

"Ooooo, they look like bad boys!"

Alastor was also smiling, like always. Charlie assumed he was happy about this too, even though that's his default look.

Charlie's eyes got wide.

"See! Come on, were going. Let's go."

Vaggie shook her head, in a playful way towards charlie. She hoped this was going to be worth it. I mean, it just seemed like a cheap pizza place with cheap animatronics meant for children. But whatever would make charlie happy made vaggie happy too.

Everyone hopped in the limo they ordered (because they're fancy) and they started going to the place. Upon exiting the car, they saw a giant billboard with the name 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria" plastered on the front.

Sir Pentious and Angel Dust's mouths dropped.

"Ya know, maybe this won't be so bad. It's a pizzeria, how bad could it be?"

Angel said. Then he looked down to see a bunch of screaming hellborn children, and he wasn't sure if they were screaming out of joy or fear.

"Ehh on second thought- do we have to eat here? There's a bar nearby that sells pizza--"

Vaggie cut him off.

"NO! We are going here and we're going to enjoy it." She grabbed angel by the shoulder and pulled him towards the pizzeria a bit. "Come on everyone! Let's go."

Husk sighed and walked next to Angel.

They all entered, and the first thing they see is the animatronics. In order: A blueish purple bunny, a brown bear with a top hat, and a yellow chicken with a bib that says "Let's Eat!"

Angel tilted his head.

"Wasn't there supposed to be 4?"

"There!"

Charlie pointed to a pedestal on the left side of the stage where a pirate fox stood.

Niffty rubbed her hands together.

"Bad boy.. HAHAHA"

Everyone looked at her.

Charlie sighed.

"OOOK, let's get a seat."

They all got a party sized table. They were the only group of just adults, so they felt pretty awkward.

"Two cheese pizzas, please."

Vaggie ordered when the waiter came by. The waiter was a hellborn imp with long hair. He replied,

"Okay! Might take a while.. Our pizza maker is having some issues at the moment. It'll be fixed shortly I'm sure. In the meantime, you can check out the arcade or the animatronics."

Everyone nodded. Angel and husk got up first, and split off from the group. Others started leaving the table at that moment.

When Angel and Husk were walking around, a hellborn kid bumped into Angel Dust's leg. Instinctively, he held husk's hand to keep him up and balanced. When Angel looked down, he saw an adorable little imp child.

"Aww, hello!"

After saying that the child grinned very, very wide, showing off giant sharp teeth.

Husk's nose scrunched.

"Eugh."

They continued on towards the animatronics. Once they were at the front, right in front of the animatronics, they saw how detailed they were.

"They're even creepier in person!"

Husk exclaimed, then he suddenly realized he was still holding Angel's hand. He didn't mind it though.

"Yeah. Ugh, this place is boring.. Hey, what's over this way?"

Angel pointed to an unlabeled door that was cracked open. Since he was unbearably bored, he pulled husk over to the door and entered.

While angel and husk were off holding hands and going into the mysterious room in the back (they're such boyfriends I swear)

Charlie and Vaggie walked over to the arcade. Charlie wanted to see the animatronics, but Vaggie pulled her away because she swore they were possessed. She was content going to the arcade anyways. Anything that made her girlfriend happy made her happy!

Sir pentious wasn't sure what to do, so he just tagged along with Charlie and Vaggie.

"Ooh, this place is delightful!"

When they played the games he always lost. But he was okay with that.

While they played games niffty was sweeping the floor and picking up all the messes, and once she got bored she snuck into pirate's cove. It seemed foxy was her favorite animatronic. She didn't really care for the others. She claimed foxy was the "ultimate bad boy."

The others just laughed awkwardly. Foxy's not even real!

Alastor just stood in the corner of the room, and when kids came up to him, probably thinking he was an animatronic, he just smiled even wider to scare them away. He thought this was pretty fun.

And he was used to menacingly standing in corners, especially since this is what he does every night instead of sleeping.

Eventually after what seemed like forever, their pizza was ready. Charlie, vaggie, and sir pentious went to gather everyone.

It took them forever to find niffty hiding behind foxy.

"Where's angel and husk?"

Charlie asked. Vaggie replied,

"No clue, couldn't find them anywhere."

Sir pentious looked around.

"We've checked every room.. Wait, what about over there?"

He pointed over to a door that leads to the back. Nobody besides staff was allowed back there so Charlie shook her head.

"Why would they be in there?"

Alastor shrugged. Vaggie had the suspicion they were doing something weird, especially since angel and husk have been getting close. She sighed.

"Well, who wants to check if they're in there. Cause it won't be me."

"I'll go."

Charlie raised her hand. No matter what they could find in there what if they were in trouble?! Nobody knows what goes on in the back of kids pizzerias.

So, she opened the door and went inside.

(A few moments before the door opens)

"Uh.. husk?"

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck is that."

Angel pointed to a green blob in the corner. Their eyes weren't fully adjusted to the dark room yet, so that made it hard to see.

Husk squinted his eyes. He had no clue what it was. Then it moved. Not a huge movement, but it shook.

Angel frantically looked for a light switch. It was probably just their imagination. Finally, he found one and switched it on.

"Is that a green bunny? A stuffed animal, right? Or.."

Angel moved closer to husk. Husk looked at him.

"It's bleeding. It must be alive!"

He started to walk towards it.

Angel grabbed his hand as quickly as he could.

"Wait! What if it's a trap?"

Husk reluctantly sighed. Then he decided to speak to the mysterious rabbit.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

The rabbit's arm twitched. Husk took that as a sign it could hear him.

"Can you move? Or speak?"

Angel shook his head.

"Husk, we should go this shit is scary."

"No, it's hurt. He needs help. Stay with me angel."

Angel smiled, and looked into husk's eyes. He guessed husk was right. Besides, charlie would be devastated if they let someone in pain just stay in a dark room in the back of a pizzeria.

"Okay."

They looked up to see the rabbit moving it's arms up to its head. They stood in silence watching it, as it.. took its head off? Husk's breathing hot heavier.

"It's a suit."

Angel smiled.

"Yeah, I think I noticed when he took his head off."

Husk shook his head and said nothing, still focused on the man in the suit. Husk grabbed angels hand and walked over to him. They noticed that inside the suit was an imp, specifically an arch imp.

Angel couldn't recognize him. But they were in a different ring than the hotel, so he probably have never seen this imp before.

"Who are you."

He cleared his throat, then spoke for the first time since they've been here.

"The names striker. Never heard of me?"

Angel and husk didn't reply. Angel looked down next to Striker, and he saw a gun. A gun made by Camilla Carmine, one of the overlords.

"How the fuck did you get that?"

He pointed at it.

"And why is it in this kids pizzeria? Why are you in that suit what the fuck is happening!"

"Calm down, angel"

Striker put his hand on the gun.

"I was paid a lot of money to be here. No clue why, but I do what I'm told. They gave me this suit to protect my identity, although it has this fucking death trap inside."

He pointed to where there were sharp metal objects piercing into his skin from the suit.

"Hey, give me a little help here. I have other bounty's to hunt and people to kill."

He had a grin that angel didn't like. But if they could get him as far away from this pizzeria as possible that would be great. But.. should he do this? Well, not helping would be mean, and he did want to be redeemed someday.

"Okay, we'll help"

"What?!"

Husk was surprised by this decision, but he trusted angel. He trusted angel dust with his life. And whatever happens they will get through it together.

"Okay, I trust your decision angel."

"Thanks, husky."

They started taking out the metal, and eventually he was completely out of the suit. Angel kept on eye on the gun that was still on the floor in case he tried anything.

"Okay, we helped you now just get out and we won't mess with you."

Striker smiled. While angel was focused on the gun, he ran towards them and pinned them both against the wall by their throats.

They could barely breathe, and they struggled to pull his hands off.

"You may not know me, but I certainly know you two. Killing and bringing back a pornstar and former overlord will surely get me a lot of money."

They still couldn't move off of the wall.

"I'm sorry your life has to end this way, thanks for saving me, by the way."

Husk looked at angel. This was how they were gonna die. He was gonna make them pass out and then shoot them when they were sleeping.

He didn't even get to say he loves angel.. They still had so much more time. He could feel everything going black.

Then they saw a flash of light and a clicking sound.

"Husk! Angel Dust!! Are you guys in-"

Charlie opened the door to see an imp pinning them to the wall.

Charlie looked back at Vaggie with a concerned expression, and she knew something was wrong. She got up from her seat and ran over.

Surprisingly, during all of this none of the staff had noticed anything going on towards the back. I guess it was just a storage room that they didn't use that much and they were mainly inside of the kitchen.

Anyways, when she got there and saw angel and husk against the wall, she completely panicked.

She grabbed a spear off of her back, and pointed it at striker.

"LET THEM GO."

She ordered. Striker knew Vaggie had an angelic spear, so he immediately dropped them. Charlie gasped at how winded they looked. She was about to run over to them but Vaggie stopped her.

Striker stared at Vaggie's spear.

"Are these your friends, coming to save you? Angel dust, husk, I thought you'd be stronger to fight for yourself, not let this girl save you."

Striker was still looking at Vaggie's spear while saying this.

"Eh, maybe bringing back a former exorcist angel would give me more money than the two of you anyways."

Suddenly, he swiftly reached to grab the gun on the floor.

"What the- fuck?!"

It wasn't there. He turned around to see angel dust pointing it at Striker. Striker just laughed.

"I guess you're stronger than I thought."

Striker shook his head.

"I guess I have to do this the old fashioned way."

He ducked down and aimed for Vaggie's legs. She dodged out of the way, striking with her spear, but missed.

She looked back towards the door to see if Charlie was okay, but she was gone.

"Charlie?!"

Suddenly, while she was distracted, Vaggie got kicked in the stomach by Striker.

"Ow! Shit!"

She kept hold of her spear despite this. Then, the door opened again. Alastor walked in, with Charlie behind him.

"Striker."

Striker stopped fighting to look at him. Vaggie pinned his neck to the wall with the handle of her spear.

"Alastor."

Alastor smiled even wider than he already was.

"Striker, you're still doing this job? I suppose it must pay well enough. Now, are you going to keep hurting my friends, or are you going to leave?"

When he said that last sentence, Alastor grew a little bigger, and the radio effect on his voice got stronger.

Striker knew Alastor was way more powerful than him, since he was an imp and Alastor was an overlord. So, he obeyed.

"Fine, I'll leave."

He had a mean glare in his eyes while looking at Alastor, as if he wanted to claw his eyes out in that moment.

"I needed to bandage some of my wounds anyways. Can't say I won't be back, though."

Alastor laughed.

"Oh, striker. Don't you have enough money already? Go do your job and stop going on silly side quests to hurt my friends. Go on, now."

Vaggie released the spear, and Striker stormed out of the pizzeria.

Alastor sighed.

Vaggie went over to Charlie to see if she was hurt. Although Charlie stayed out of the fight and only got Alastor. Charlie was more worried about Vaggie. She was definitely going to have some bruises after this.

Husk and angel hugged each other very tightly, and angel kissed husk on the cheek.

When they left the room, they discovered that Sir Pentious and Niffty had ate all the pizza.

Angel laughed.

"I kind of lost my appetite anyways."

He touched his neck. He completely regretted helping him out.. He was just trying to do something good.

As if husk read he mind he touched Angel's shoulder.

"None of this was your fault it's okay I understand.. Let's not go into a mysterious back room again, though."

They paid for the pizzas, and went back to the hotel.

The end :D

I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT'S A LITTLE LONG AAH

I hope this reached the Hazbin and fnaf fans lmao