#technically there are eyes of other chars but i’m not tagging that

[d0vegum]

BROOKEEEEE!!!! i am unfortunately her biggest fan

[krabmeat]

☊⏃⋏ ⟟ ⏚⟒ ⟒⋏⎅⟒⍀⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⋏⍜⋏? ⏃⋏⊬⍙⏃⊬⌇ ⋏⍜⍙ ⏁⊑⏃⏁'⌇ ⏃⌰⌰ ⍜⎍⏁ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍙⏃⊬. ☌⍜⎅ ⍀⟒⏃⎅⟒⍀ ☌⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⍀⟒⎐⟟⎐⟒⎅ ⎍⋏⟒⌖⌿⟒☊⏁⟒⎅⌰⊬ ⏚⊬ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔? ⟟⏁'⌇ ⌰⟟☍⟒ - ⏃ ⍀⟒⏃⌰⌰⊬ ⏚⏃⎅⏃⌇⌇ ⏃⋏⏁⏃☌⍜⋏⟟⌇⏁ ☌⍜⎅ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ☌⟒⏁⌇ ⌿⎍⌰⌰⟒⎅ ⍜⎍⏁ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅, ☊⏃⌰⌰⟟⋏☌ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ "⌇⏃⎐⟟⍜⎍⍀" (⏚⎍⏁ ⟟⋏ ⏃ ⋔⍜⍀⟒ ⌇⏃⏁⟟⍀⟟☊⏃⌰ ⍙⏃⊬ ⟟⋏⌇⏁⟒⏃⎅ ⍜⎎ ☌⟒⋏⎍⟟⋏⟒⌰⊬ ⌇⟒⟒⟟⋏☌ ⏁⊑⟒ ⋔⏃⌇☍⟒⎅ ⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⌇ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ⊑⟒⍀⍜ ☊⏃⎍⌇⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⏃⌇⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⊬'⎐⟒ ⋔⍜⌇⏁ ⌰⟟☍⟒⌰⊬ ☊⏃⌰⌰⟒⎅ ⟒⎐⟒⍀⊬⍜⋏⟒ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⊑⟒⌰⌿⟒⎅ ⏁⊑⟒⋔ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ⋔⟟☌⊑⏁⊬ ⊑⟒⌰⌿⟒⍀ ⏁⍜ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⍜⟟⋏⏁ ⍙⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏁⟟⏁⌰⟒ ⎎⟒⟒⌰⌇ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⎍⌇⟒⎅ ⏃⋏⎅ ⎍⋏⎅⟒⌇⟟⍀⏃⏚⌰⟒). ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⍀⍜⏃⋔⟒⎅ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌰⏃⋏⎅⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌇⋔⌿, ⏚⍀⟟⋏☌⟟⋏☌ ⏁⟒⍀⍀⍜⍀ ⏃⋏⎅ ⊑⟒⌰⌰⎎⟟⍀⟒ ⏃☊⍀⍜⌇⌇ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅, ⌰⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ☍⟒⌿⏁ ⟟⋏ ⍀⏃☌⟒ ⌇⏁⍀⍜⌰⌰ ⎎⍀⟒⟒. ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⟒⋏⎅ ⎍⌿ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏁⎍⋏⎅⍀⏃, ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⎍⍀⋏⟟⋏☌ ⎎⌰⏃☍⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏃⌇⊑⟒⌇ ☌⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⌰⍜⌇⏁ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⊑⏃⍀⌇⊑ ⌿⟟⌰⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⌇⋏⍜⍙. ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⊑⏃⌿⌿⟒⋏⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⌇⏁⎍⋔⏚⌰⟒⎅ ⎍⌿⍜⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ☊⍜⏁⏁⏃☌⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏁⍙⍜ ⟟⋔⋔⍜⍀⏁⏃⌰ ☌⍜⎅⌇ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⋔⏃⊬ ⍜⍀ ⋔⏃⊬ ⋏⍜⏁ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⎍⌇⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ☍⋏⍜⍙. ⍙⍜⋏⎅⟒⍀ ⍙⊑⏃⏁'⌰⌰ ⊑⏃⌿⌿⟒⋏? ⟟ ⍙⍜⎍⌰⎅ ⌰⟟☍⟒ ⏁⍜ ⌇⟒⟒ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⏁⏃☍⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟟⌇.

- ⟒⋏⎅⟒⍀⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⋏⍜⋏

𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚝

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: philza, techno, Wilbur,(next few only mentioned)Mexican dream, schlatt, dream

𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: they/them

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: fire, death, arson, betrayal mention, being used, reference to drugs, slight cursing

𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: translation vvvvv

Can i be enderman anon? anyways now that's all out of the way. God reader getting revived unexpectedly by dream? it's like - a really badass antagonist god that gets pulled out of the underworld, calling dream their "saviour" (but in a more satirical way instead of genuinely seeing the masked man as their hero cause in the past they've most likely called everyone that helped them their mighty helper to the point where the title feels overused and undesirable). They roamed the lands of the smp, bringing terror and hellfire across the overworld, letting their kept in rage stroll free. They end up in the tundra, the burning flakes of ashes getting lost in the harsh piles of snow. They happened to have stumbled upon the cottages of two immortal gods that they may or may not have used to know. Wonder what'll happen? i would like to see your take in this.

 - enderman anon

AHHH IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I DONT KNOW IF YOULL EVEN READ THIS STILL BUT TY FOR THE REQUEST IT ISNT THE BEST QUALITY IM SORRY :[[[

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You almost don't recognize the sensation of grass against your calloused and rough hands. You were in the void playing solitaire with Schlatt and Mexican Dream, and the next thing you knew you were suddenly pulled harshly by the back of your collar, falling on your spine. The looming mask of Dream is what stood above you, but he looked different. Longer hair, smelly, wearing a stained lime green jumpsuit with ‘0001' sewn into it and covered in cuts, scars and bruises. But before you could even question why Dream was suddenly there, he stepped back into the void, the void slowly surrounding and consuming him the further he went backwards. His now bony hand is still tightly gripped onto the back of your shirt, so while struggling your body is also enveloped in darkness. All it took was one blink and there you were on a patch of grass, staring at the pale blue sky.

"Huh."

Was all that came out of your mouth. You were still shocked at the turn of events that just happened, but no longer grounded. A running river nearby stunned your senses. How long had you been dead? It felt like years, but when you look around at the familiar forest you died in, not much had changed except for a couple newly planted saplings here and there. The swirling ashes you remembered before you died had all settled and compressed into the soil.

The river showed a strange reflection of yourself- your features have clearly sunken into your skull and there's a streak of white hair coming from your scalp along with words in fancy gold letters on your arm reading,

"May thy woes and hurt of the past no longer eradicate the upwards of this lost souls future. Allow thine to be praised by Ender themselves and be granted another chance at mortality."

Scrubbing or picking at your arm did nothing, so onwards you went walking along the forest to what you remember being a bustling "community".

Each mound of dirt you saw only brought memories of your death, of the place and people who sought to treat you like you were disposable. And now that you’re alive, you hate that they technically ended up being right. Your death; alone in a forest. Running away from the unexpected attacker, ashamed and too prideful to die in the prying eyes of your enemies. It fills you with rage, all the lives taken by your hands and for what? You weren’t overreacting, you knew that for sure. And before you knew it, you stole some fresh flint and steel from a random chest and got to work. 

You had always wanted to touch the fires you set. The soothing feeling you got from watching wood burn to char and ashes satisfied you. And it made it all the more euphoric to know it was trees of your manipulator's land. Running across the land, with flames as far as you could see when you looked behind you. The heat swirled around your neck and went into your nose, but the feeling was muscle memory at that point. You were still riding your high when a voice reached out to you, luckily when you were finally calm.

"What- Y/n? Hold on, is that really you Y/n..?"

You spin on your heels to the familiar manipulative British voice of a person you haven't seen in a long time. 

"Wilbur?! Man, I haven't seen another person's face other than those two addicts in a while- you look different." 

His eyes much like yours are sunken deep into his skull, purple-pink bags under his eyes and dull skin. Wilburs shocked lips fade into an opened mouth smile when he walks up to you with his hands momentarily confused on what they should do. Eventually, his right hand settles on clasping your left shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.

“Y/n it is so good to see you! You look quite different yourself, wouldn’t you think-? Oh, look! We’re matching!”

The grey streak in your hair seems to make another appearance when Wilbur briefly smacks it with his middle and pointer finger. 

“Ay, it’s nice to see you too Wil, but back up for a second alright? I've got something to ask you by the way…”

Wilburs head peaks in interest, urging you to go on.

“I’m guessing that little streak in your hair wasn’t a fashion choice- and if it was it’s a bit strange- but how’d you get it? You died when you blew up L’manburg! I mean c'mon, people don’t just, well…REVIVE!”

He starts to walk. You aren’t quite sure where, but stumbling along with Wilbur while his arm is draped lazily atop your shoulders seems to suffice. 

“Ahh Y/n, you’d be surprised. The most WONDERFUL thing happened, actually! Years and years in my hell of a train station; do you know who was at the subway door when it finally opened, Y/n? Dream!”

“Wh- Dream?!”

Appalled, you try to stop in your tracks but fail when wilburs arm is still pushing forward. His storytelling voice dies down to curiosity and excitement.

“Wait, did he save you too? He did, didn’t he? Oh, this is wonderful!”

Wilbur emits eagerism and you suddenly realize what you could do with his desperacy to be socially accepted. Putting on the most exaggerated and animated voice, you speak. 

“Oh my god yeah! Gosh, that Dream guy is my hero! Thanks to him, I get to have another chance at living again, and isn’t that just…swell.”

In all honesty you didn’t really try hard to sound sincere but by the look of Wilbur, it seemed to work just fine. 

“Right?! I’ve been meaning to visit him in the prison if you’d like to tag along with me the day I go? I’m sure he’d love to see you, since he revived you and all.”

Oh, you were sure Dream wanted to see you. He wants a boon- a trade. Why else would he revive two of the most historically significant people on the server if not to make some sort of deal with them? Sure, Wilbur is as gullible and carefree as ever but you at least still had scraps of mental stability and level-headedness that made you all the more a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention Wilbur doesn’t know that Dream killed you, but telling him that now would blow your act. You decide to keep your thoughts to yourself.

“Yeahh, sure! I’d love to go, just tell me when.”

And that’s the end of that conversation. The two of you walk to wherever Wilbur is going. It honestly surprised you how he couldn’t see through your apathy. From what you remembered, he was keen on being wise about people and their intentions but you guess years and years in hell do things to a person.

Somehow, you’re stuck in your mind for long enough that only now do you feel the sharp winter air making the hairs on your arms and legs stand straight up. 

“Wait, snow?”

The tundra was a drastic contrast to the void you were once in with schlatt and Mexican Dream. Instead of black as far as you could see, it was a blinding powdery white. 

‘Mexican Dream would’ve liked it here, probably would have tried to snort the snow like coke.’

You weren’t built for the snow, though. Hell- you didn’t even have a memory of anyone living in a tundra when you were alive! Why was Wilbur even in the tundra? You didn’t have the energy to ask, still feeling brittle and tired, back aching from laying on the dry dirt longer than expected earlier. 

“Yeah, just figured I’d show you around! Plus I already need to grab a couple things from an ender chest and this was the closest by. I’m a very busy man, after all.”

But why were there so many footprints in the snow? As far as you knew, Wilbur was the only one who lived out in the tundra- and he didn’t seem like the active type at all. There were strange shapes as well, large hooved footprints. However, all thinking comes to a halt at the same time Wilbur does.

“We’re here! You might see some familiar faces cause I live with people.”

Well, that answers the footsteps as well as the tall red-caped piglin hybrid giving leftover bones and raw meat to a polar bear.

“TECHNO! TECHNO, HEY!”

He tenses up for a second, you could tell he wanted to be left alone but that didn’t really bother Wilbur. But you recognize him. The name and the apparel- that guy is Technoblade. The same Technoblade who stood by your side while the two of you blew L’manburg up for the last time, and now the Technoblade who resides in a cottage shrouded in snow.

“Technoblade?!”

Hearing your voice being carried by the crisp winter air, he turns around immediately to see you and Wilbur a few feet away. Techno stood there dumbfounded, but he didn’t know why. He wasn’t particularly joyed or ecstatic to see you, but he was at the very least happy to see an old ally back. 

“Y/n? Oh my god, now we’ve got TWO of you? We don’t have room for another one, alright?”

For some it might be hard to see the meaning behind his words. Luckily you’ve talked to him enough to where you can tell he’s being playful.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just build directly on top of your house. Besides, who WOULDN'T want to be near me 24-7?”

“Me-“

“Oh f*ck off.”

You would’ve thought that that was Wilbur due to the similar accent, but there was something off. The slight gruffness and age, yet still succeeding in sounding mellow.

“Phil! How’s my favorite old bird doing?”

He gives you a face. Not a happy one like you expected, rather a face that says ‘really?’ Probably because of the old comment. The two of you briefly hug, Phil’s tattered wings stretching out slightly.

“I’m doing alright, are you okay? Here, would you like to come in? It’s pretty cold outside, you probably haven’t seen snow in a couple years.”

He wasn’t wrong after all. You were freezing your toes off and were itching for lemon tea. The kind Phil used to make when he, Technoblade and Dream discussed plans on destroying L’manburg. Ah, the good ol days…

“Of course! We’ve got a lot to talk about- you still have that old chess board?”

“Yes, but first you have some explaining to do about the fire over in that tree, Y/n. You just got back and you’re already burning down forests?!”

“Did someone say fire?”

Techno has an eager stride in his step once he also looks back to see the raging lights of orange and red in the nearby forest.

“Don’t worry Phil! It’s just- ahh, a controlled burn..?”

Your tone of voice is unsure when a black crow shoots down from the sky into the snow in front of you. It’s left wing is charred and has smoke dancing from the burn. Philza looks at you with a stern glare.

“Oh my f*cking god…that’s it! We’re all going inside now, you too Techno. I don’t want you and Y/n going on a rampage.”

[maadorii]

taste my disaster— i. matsukawa x gn! reader

max.note’s: i really thought about not posting this and just keeping this in my dungeon to never see the light of day but i really like this concept so here it is, mattsun romcom hehe 

synopsis: where a supposed “one time fling” during iwaizumi’s bachelor trip turns into something more. somehow.

warnings/tags: strangers to lovers, fluff, implied sexual content, suggestive themes, slow-burnish, mutual pining, recreational drug-use, food mention, pancakes

w.count— 3.8k

if there was one thing matsukawa was expecting to do on this trip, it was to get drunk while speeding down the strip at 2am from a night of gambling from the most expensive casinos las vegas had to offer. right? it was iwaizumi’s 2-week bachelor trip that oikawa had so meticulously planned mostly because he didn’t want to throw some measly little party like everyone else. he was getting married, why wouldn’t they all go out for him this one time.

but, if there was one thing matsukawa was not expecting to do on this trip, was somehow end up black out drunk; the only thing he could remember was hanamaki losing a game of black jack at caesar’s palace–– and wake up in a unfamiliar bed, naked, with a unfamiliar warm body next to him still sound asleep. who was just as naked as he was. 

it took him a minute, but when everything clicked together in his brain, matsukawa let out the deepest sigh he could muster. sinking deeper into the plush bed below him, dragging his hands across his face, pulling at the skin. his head was pounding, unbearably so, the luminous rays of the sun that filter through the curtain drapes making it worse. he looked over to you, your back turned towards him as you slept away peacefully. matsukawa’s indolent eyes leisurely scanned the expanse of your back, how it bloomed with hickeys and teeth marks. your muffled snores were the only thing that filled the stark silence of the room. 

matsukawa didn’t know what to fear more, the fact that he had sex with a random stranger last night and is now laying in their bed or iwaizumi’s wrath when he eventually gets back to the hotel. 

iwaizumi’s wrath, he chooses. definitely. 

peering over the bedside to the floor, he sees the clothes he had on yesterday strew haphazardly along with your own clothes. in the mess he finds his phone just barley alive and about several hundred text messages and missed phone calls. most of them were from oikawa, unsurprisingly. a lot of “where are you’s” and “please call us” and even a “did you die on us bro?” but that’s when he noticed the time. 

[12:42 pm]

“aw fuck.” matsukawa cursed as he flopped back on the bed, his arm lifting up to cover his eyes in annoyance. as he contemplated his options on potentially surviving this fuck up of his, you shifted next to him which caught his attention. he watched as your body turned to face him and how your eyes slowly fluttered open, the way your pupils dilated to welcome the grating sunlight. 

and when your eyes met his, you stared for a moment before closing your eyes again and snuggled back into your pillow. “––mornin’ random person in my bed...” 

matsukawa looked back confusingly, opening his mouth to say something back, when your eyes shot back wide open and jolted out the bed, dragging the duvet with you. 

“random person in my bed?! how–– how did get into my room,” you paused as matsukawa’s naked and lean body was on full display for you to gaze upon, inevitably resulting in your face burning up like a sauna. 

“and why are you naked, why am i naked?!” you screeched, wrapping your duvet around yourself, completely drowning yourself in the material. and then it sunk in for you. 

“oh no, don’t tell me––”

“that we fucked? yes.” if any more possible, you could feel your face grew hotter at his... extremely blunt statement at your predicament. you watched as matsukawa reached over the bed and slipped his legs through his boxers. at least he had the decency to cover up you thought to yourself as he shifted his way towards you on the other side of the bed. 

“look... i- i’m just as surprised and quite frankly, embarrassed about this too. i’m really sorry about all this. i’ll... just grab my stuff and i’ll be out of your hair in no time.” you didn’t get the chance to say anything as he backed away to start pulling on the clothes he had on the night before, watching him silently as he did so. you couldn’t help but feel bad as he took his time to dress himself. your gaze lingered on his eyes, and how they droop in remorse. 

just as he was pulling on his right sock, you stepped closer into his field of vision. “can i... at least know your name?” you take note of how the dark umber in his eyes seemed to glow for a split second, his gaze shifting over to you. still draped in that damn duvet like a fucking burrito. 

“it’s issei, issei matsukawa.” 

you nodded your head, jutting your chin out confidently. 

“well then, issei matsukawa. i, (y/n) (l/n), kindly ask you to join me for breakfast–– wait time is it... brunch? lunch? ahhh, fuck it. just come get something to eat with me. please?”

––

matsukawa watched as you shoved half of your omelette in your mouth, your eyes gleaming as you chewed happily, savoring the flavor.

the table was loaded with an assortment of all kinds of food, mostly breakfast food. from sweet honeyed pastries to smoky, charred sausages. in front of him was a stack of warm and fluffy buttery pancakes, dripping in warm gooey syrup. matsukawa could feel his mouth water just simply staring at it, his fingers twitching to inch towards the fork next to the plate, dying to have a bite. 

you noticed his tentative actions towards the plate in front of him, the way his teeth pulled on his bottom lip in slight anticipation. swallowing the mouthful of food, you nudge him with foot, catching his attention. 

“eat, i know you’re hungry. you don’t need my permission to eat,” you chastised, returning to your omelette. 

matsukawa didn’t waste any time digging into his food, practically shoving the whole pancake in mouth. his nostrils flared out as he chewed, moaning at the flavor bursting on his tongue. you chuckled as he quickly shoveled another one in his mouth. 

“woah, slow down there tiger. good aren’t they?”

he nodded frantically and continued to shovel bite after bite. and you smiled at that. it still was kinda crazy how you’re out eating with someone that you... just had sex with last night. a one night stand? can you even call it that? was this even a normal thing? you weren’t entirely sure considering you couldn’t remember a single damn thing from last night.

when you both finished most of the food, tummies full and satisfied, a slightly uncomfortable silence fell between you two. 

“so...” you started, tapping your fingers against the mug as you looked anywhere but the man in front of you. 

“so...” matsukawa copied your actions. you sunk lower in your chair, blowing the hair that landed on your face. why was this so hard? oh wait...

“since we...we, well you know where i’m going with this––”

“since we had sex? fucked?” his eyebrow twitched upward.

“well shit, you didn’t have to put it so... bluntly, issei.” you remarked.

“shit, i was just simply stating what we’re both thinking, (y/n).” the corner of his lips tugged with mirth at your annoyed face, his eyes crinkling at the corner.

you couldn’t help your own lips tug the same as his, your body shaking as laughter struck between the two of you. as you both laughed, the waiter brought over the check, clearing some plates out the way while doing so. matsukawa was about to reached out to grab the bill before you snatched it out of his reach. he was about to argue but you pulled out your card, already handing it to the waiter as he returned. 

––

“oh, so you’re from new york?” you asked as you both weaved through the heavily dense sidewalks of the vegas strip, an assortment of performers and tourist, big and small accompanied you. nothing new you haven't seen before. all while dying in the blistering heat that did nothing but sit on your backs. 

“well technically, i was born in a small town in japan, but moved when my parents decided to immigrate here when i was about, ahhh i don’t know 4 or 5 years old.” matsukawa explained, wiping the sweat beaded at his brows. “what about you?”

“me? i was born and raised here in good ole' nevada. but i didn’t move here to vegas until high school.” you cheered unenthusiastically with just as unenthusiastic jazz hands. "it's nothing really special, vegas i mean."

“really? well, i guess that makes sense. you did take me a hole in the wall restaurant with damn near the best pancakes on the fucking earth. ” you chortled at his statement, hanging off matsukawa’s arm as you laughed loudly, catching the attention of a few bystanders.

“oh god, you’re still on about those damn pancakes?”

“yes i am! those beautiful, golden brown cakes of pure buttery fluffiness that just basically melt in your mouth at the first bite?” he rambled, basically foaming at the mouth. conversation was light between the two of you, it felt natural. not forced. matsukawa didn’t make things awkward. it felt so carefree talking to him, almost as if you’re floating. 

but it was when you came to, that you realized that you made it to the hotel that matsukawa was supposed to be staying at. a part of you grew glum at the thought of having to separate from the man next to you. within the last few hours that you spent with matsukawa, you came to the conclusion that you really, really liked him. what wasn’t there to like about him? he had a great sense of humor, he was charming and gentlemen like. and, that fact he was incredibly attractive was just the cherry on top of the sundae. 

you didn’t want to leave, in fact, you can bathe in the attention he showered you in. 

“welp, i guess it’s time to die.” he said dryly as he turned to you, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. 

“good luck with that. i hope your friend doesn't kill you, but based on the description of him you gave, it seems likely.”

“yes, highly.” 

a silence fell over the both of you again for the second time that day, avoiding each other's lingering gazes. why was this shit still hard?

“can- can i have your number?” he blurted out randomly, voicing your thoughts out loud for the both of you. staring into his umber eyes, you broke contact first to pull out your phone from your back pocket to hand it to him.

“i’ll be honored.”

––

surprisingly, matsukawa wasn’t murdered by iwaizumi when he walked into the hotel room ten minutes later. though, he did get a hard scolding from not only iwaizumi but oikawa as well while hanamaki snickered in the background.

“i feel like a five year old who's been caught with sticky fingers.” matsukawa slumped, crossing his arms over his broad chest. 

“as you should! what the hell were you thinking last night? getting drunk and having a one night stand with someone else, jesus mattsun, and i thought maki was bad.” oikawa grumbled frowning, but it didn’t last long when hanamaki threw a dirty sock at the back of his head. matsukawa rolled his eyes at the two childish adults began fighting with each other, wrapping each other up in headlocks of the sorts.

he sighed again, lifting himself up from the so called “interrogation” chair as hanamaki called it to head towards the shower. “hey, mattsun.” 

perking up at the nickname, he turned around to see iwaizumi standing behind him with an unreadable face. earlier when he walked in, his face definitely was the face of anger and rightfully so. but now...

“just be careful next time, okay?”

and matsukawa knew exactly what he meant.

“yea, okay.”

––

later that evening, after contemplating whether or not you should send a “hi!” or a simple “hey,” you finally texted matsukawa. and almost immediately you got a text back from him. you bounced up and down in your room, feeling like an excited teenager who just talked to their crush for the first time all over again. is this what it was? a crush? maybe, and you should be mad at yourself for feeling like this, but you didn’t have the heart to do so. 

and over the span of the next week, the messages never seemed to end. on some nights, he would call you instead of texting you to tell you about his day. what attractions he went to see that day, what places he went to eat at that day and how much money he lost playing poker at the casinos. and he would ask you about your day, about your day at work. did you eat today, are you taking care of yourself? 

your heart melted at the sweet messages he would send you throughout the day, reminding you to care of yourself and heck, maybe even be a little selfish if need be. some of your coworkers caught onto your starstruck gaze when you looked at your phone and few even tried to ask why but you’ll brush them off. oikawa, hanamaki and iwaizumi even noticed matsukawa’s sudden interest in his phone recently. and even when they're all laughing at oikawa losing again for the third time at russian roulette, matsukawa wasn’t entirely in the moment.

 because he’s waiting for a text from you. 

they noticed the way his eyes glowed when his phone ping, indicating that you texted him back finally. the way his ears perked like dog. although they were suspicious, they didn’t say anything, knowing he’ll come around eventually. 

–

it was the friday before they all had to fly back to new york, the cool desert night air filled his lungs as matsukawa perched himself on the balcony of the hotel room. the gleaming lights of the vegas strip below illuminated the curves of his face in a soft glow of blue, magenta and gold. 

suddenly, his phone started ringing in his back pocket. he smiled when he saw it was your contact lightening the screen of his phone. answering, he brought the phone towards his ear, “well hello my dear (y/n). nice of you to call me on this fine evening we’re having here.” 

he hears you snort on the other end over the slight static of the phone. there was muffle shuffling before you replied, “nothing much my dear issei, just sitting here bored as hell so i thought, why not give you a call.”

matsukawa felt his heart skip a beat at your statement, trying to contain the smile that was tugging on his lips. 

“haha, how thoughtful of you...” and then it was quiet again, save for the occasional horns of cars stuck in traffic.

“hey, uh… issei?” you interrupted.

“yeah?” 

“can i… can i see you tonight?” 

––

matsukawa stood outside the place you asked him to meet at 30 minutes ago on the phone, which just so happen to be a very crowded and loud nightclub not far from the hotel he was staying at. he could hear the bass of the music thump against inside of his bones, the rhythm sending chills up his spine. he watched as people filed into the building like a swarm of files. 

it was another 5 minutes until he heard your voice call out to him from behind. and when he turned around to say hi back, his jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of you. but he quickly contained himself as you approached him, trying to blow away the rouge that tinted his cheeks in the slightest. 

“hey, ready to go inside?” you questioned, reaching out to hold his hand, pulling him slightly towards the entrance of the club. and he nodded dumbly behind you, cursing himself inside his head for acting like a hormonal teenage boy in front of you. he couldn’t help it, especially when you’re holding his hand. you can blame it on being touch-starved.

when finally inside, bulbs of black light were hung overhead on the ceiling, making everything brighter, making the sea of club goers nothing more than blobs of fuchsia, tangerine, and aqua. you and matsukawa wormed your way through the swarm of adults, bodies sweaty, sticky and hot, shaking and bobbing their heads to the music that blasted in the overhead speakers. finding two available seats at the bar, you both situated yourselves onto the stools overlooking the crowd. 

“this is an interesting place you’ve brought me here, i honestly wasn’t expecting it.” you hear matsukawa say next to you, turning his attention to you. 

“yeah, this is one of the few clubs here in vegas that i actually go to from time to time. plus security is pretty tight here, so hopefully you won’t end up fucking someone else.” you gave him a thumbs up, a dorky smile making its way onto your lips. matsukawa’s shoulders shook as he laughed, turning towards the bartender, ordering two old fashioned’s. 

“an old fashioned? wow, i didn’t take you for a rye whiskey type of guy.” you teased, reaching out to grab your drinks when the bartender placed them in front of you. matsukawa shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip of his own drink. 

“well, i’m always full of surprises, they say.” and when he looked at you from the corner of his eye, you could’ve sworn a you felt a chill borrow itself into your bones from the predatory gaze he sent your way. that, mixed with the half-buttoned up shirt with the gold chain he wore exposing so much skin–– much to your own liking; the way his inky curls were slicked back away from face. you swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling incredibly hot under the neon lights. 

this was simply a recipe for absolute disaster, but you didn’t mind at all. 

an hour later, after several drinks later, you found yourself being dragged onto the dance floor by a slightly tipsy matsukawa leading the way. reaching the center, the lights dimmed down even lower, the neon lights appear more luminescent in the room. The nerves you felt moments ago seemed to vanish as your body began moving to the beat of music along with matsukawa, feeling lighter than the air around you. matsukawa started doing these stupid dance moves to the song currently playing, getting a rise out of you. and at some point, the mini circle formed around the two of you as you danced the night away together, encouraged by the cheers and whistles of the crowd. 

matsukawa didn’t want this to end.

the way you’ll cling to him whether it was from laughing too hard or when you danced together to another song.

then this one song started crooning over the speakers, catching his attention. 

almost instantly, it was like time stopped around him, bleeding into a colorful flurry of fireworks. illuminating your face even more so with explosions of lavender and magenta, hints of quinacridone gold and phthalo blue.

his body relaxed seemingly watching you jump around without a care in the world. the beaming smile that radiated on your face that could argue the sun. your eyes glittering with such mirth. he hasn’t even known you for very long, but was really going to admit to himself that he… that he was possibly in love with you?

no, no, no, it’s too early to say something as... drastic as something like that. but was it?

he’s never felt like this with anyone before at all, but with you, he felt at ease. like he could be himself without having to worry about what’ll think. but there was no denying that he felt something for you.

“issei? hey, are you okay?” it was you who snapped out of his daze. 

“oh yea, i’m fine… say, how about we get out of here?”

––

you drove yourselves just outside the strip to the open desert, gazing up the phosphorescence of stars in the pitch black sky on the hood of your car. no words were shared between the two of you as you let the alcohol sink into your systems. And it was like that for a while, until you interrupted that silence. 

“you have to go back to new york on monday, right?”

matsukawa didn’t answer right away, letting your question digest in his mind, word by word. he wanted to say no, he really did, but y’all both knew that’ll be a lie. 

“yes…” 

at his answer, you sat up from your lying position on the hood, matsukawa following right behind you. your eyebrows were scrunched in distress, and he was about to say something before you beat him to the punch line. 

“issei, i… i know this whole thing is really out of the ordinary for both of us, but i can’t get these feelings off my chest. i’ve only known you for what–– two weeks? but it feels like i’ve known you my entire life and i don’t know what to do— a-and you’re leaving and i don’t want you to leave and—” you rambled on before matsukawa leaned forward to press his lips against yours, ultimately shutting you up. you didn’t waste any time returning the kiss. the same fireworks from before were going off like crazy around you like it was new year’s or the fourth of july. the moment was too surreal for any of you to believe it was real. 

and when he pulled just enough where your lips barely met, he the corner his lips twitched upwards, his hand coming around to cup the supple roundness of your cheek, his thumb gently grazing the warm skin, “it’s okay, (y/n). i feel the same way.” 

“then, promise me you’ll come back.”

“for you and those pancakes? a thousand times over.”

smiling, your lips dove to meet his again, this time harder, steamier. matsukawa slowly pulled himself on top of you, trapping you as you lie back down on the hood of the car, intensifying the kiss. he moved his lips away from yours to latched them onto your cheek, leaving a trail of glowing kisses, trailing down to your jaw as a small mewl slipping past your teeth. you weaved your fingers through the ringlets of curls of his hair, gently tugging on the strands. 

matsukawa’s hands felt up and down your torso underneath your shirt, feeling the expanse of skin beneath the pad of his finger tips, leaving burning trails in its foot. 

“issei, p-please…”

“with pleasure.”

turns out he wasn’t wrong, he was certainly always full of surprises. 

copyright © 2021 maadorii. all rights reserved. 

[bibbawrites]

Beach Baby - Single Dad!Charlie x Owen

THIS IS PART 4 OF THE SINGLE DAD!CHARLIE SERIES YOU CAN READ PART 1 HERE , THE PREQUEL (PART 2) HERE AND PART 3 HERE 

Request: none

Word Count: 3907 words 😳

Summary: Part 4 of Single Dad!Charlie, Margaux and Charlie reunite with Owen in Hawaii after months apart due to lockdown, just in time for Margaux’s fourth birthday 

Warnings: technically underage drinking, i guess technically i have to warn that this is implied mutual crushing between owen and charlie, if you dont feel comfortable with romantic chowen do not read 

A/N: i couldn’t get this out of my head so i had to write it, and boy did i write it this is the longest non-chaptered fic ive ever written and honestly i could have made it longer but i didnt want it to drag on any more that it already did this is literally more than double the length of my normal fics, i got very carried away

also just a note that i’m not trying to be rude about the fans who met the boys at the airport and i’m sure in real life the boys were happy to stop and chat, but from a parents perspective charlie’s first instinct would be to protect his daughter so i just thought i’d add that. please don’t get upset for that part!

sorry for any mistakes, its 4am and im half asleep trying to read through this to post lol anyways, hope you enjoy! 

Tag List: @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ @littlemissaddict​ @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ @headheartbellarke​ @lovesanimals​ @bartok-the-magnificent​ @juliefromaustralia @multi-universe21 @rangerelik @kaitieskidmore1 @katrina765​ @fandomxreaders​​ @ifilwtmfc

“Papa!” Margaux screamed, racing across the airport to Owen, the blond boy scooping up the nearly four year old and spinning her around when she reached him. 

“Maggie! I’ve missed you so much.” Owen exclaimed, pulling his mask down to pepper her cheeks with kisses, causing Margaux to giggle loudly. “Where’s your Daddy?” 

“Right behind you.” Owen spun around to find Charlie standing there, clearly smiling at him despite the bandana that covered his mouth, and Owen’s heart skipped a beat at how good Charlie looked in the early morning sun streaming through the airport windows. 

Meanwhile Charlie was thinking the exact same thing, admiring how attractive Owen was, especially when he was in his dad mode. He really understood why girls had such a weakness for cute boys with cute kids when he saw Owen with Margaux. 

Charlie stepped forward, pulling Owen into a tight hug and Margaux whined in complaint at being squished between her dad and her self declared papa. They pulled away from each other, both boys fighting to hide their slightly flushed cheeks. 

“I’m hungry.” Margaux whined, and Charlie was snapped out of his heart eyes daze, his whole focus back on his daughter. 

“Let’s get some food into you before our plane leaves then eh.” He replied, and Margaux nodded happily. 

Feeling bold Owen grabbed onto Charlie’s hand, lacing their fingers together. It wasn’t unusual for them to do this but it was the first time doing it when they were well known enough that someone might recognise them. But neither of them really cared. They were just happy to be back together again. 

- 

The minute they arrived in Hawaii they were met with fans. As much as he loved meeting the fans Charlie couldn’t help but sigh slightly as he tried to protect Margaux as much as he could.

It wasn’t that the fans didn’t know about Margaux, because it was a well known fact that he was a single dad, it was more that he wanted to keep her away from the spotlight. She hadn’t asked for her dad to become a well known actor, and she didn’t deserve to have her life changed because of it. He was determined to give her the most normal life possible. 

Eventually they made it to the villa house that they were staying in while in Hawaii, and after throwing their bags into their rooms it was time to have a bit of fun. 

“Swim time swim time!” Margaux sung, running laps around the living room. Kenny chuckled at the small girl, looking up at Charlie who was following closely behind her. 

“It seems like only yesterday she was a tiny two year old who cried every time you left her side.” He said, and Charlie smiled fondly, sitting down on the chair next to Kenny. 

“She’s growing up too fast.” He agreed. “I can’t believe in less than 24 hours time I’ll be a dad to a four year old.” 

Margaux tripped on the tiles, landing with a clatter, her bottom lip jutting out. Charlie jumped up, but before he could even think about moving across the room Owen was by Margaux’s side, helping her up and pulling her into a tight hug. He whispered something in her ear and Margaux giggled loudly, her fall already forgotten.

Charlie smiled softly at the scene, his heart filled with love for both the blond boy and his little princess. 

“Daddy.” Margaux called, snapping Charlie out of his daze. 

“Yeah baby?” He answered, finally making his way across the room. 

“Can we swim now?” She asked, grabbing onto his leg. Charlie subconsciously ran his hand through her soft curls.  

“Of course we can.” He replied. Margaux glanced up at Owen. 

“Papa too?” She questioned. 

“Papa too.” Charlie agreed. Margaux peered past him, her gaze landing on Kenny.

“Coming Uncle Kenny?” She asked, and Kenny laughed, standing up. 

“Coming Little Gillespie.” He replied. 

Margaux smiled contently, taking both Charlie and Owen’s hands to pull them outside towards the pool. 

She really did have every single one of them wrapped around her little finger. 

- 

Dinner that night was special, as it was supposed to be Carolynn’s last day on the island. They decided on a joint party for her last night, as well as celebrating Margaux’s birthday a day early. 

They had headed to a tiny restaurant near their villa, and Charlie had allowed Margaux to pick whatever she wanted from the menu, not that it mattered because she chose chicken nuggets and chips anyways.

The meal was nice, and before they knew it they were arriving back at the villa. Jeremy, Carolynn and Kenny all excused themselves for bed, and Tori settled into the couch, flicking the TV on. 

“Bath and bed time baby.” Charlie told Margaux, and she pouted but obeyed, following him into the hallway. 

“Hey Char, can I ask you something?” Owen asked, trailing behind the father daughter duo, and Charlie stopped, letting Margaux run ahead to their room. 

“Anything.” He smiled. 

“Do you mind if I share your room? I know the other bed was meant to be for Margaux but-” Owen started, playing with his fingers slightly. 

“She can share with me.” Charlie cut him off. “Bed’s all yours.” Owen looked up, his eyes widening. 

“Really?” He checked. 

“Of course.” Charlie smiled. Owen grinned, throwing his arms around Charlie’s neck. 

“Thanks Char. I just didn’t really want to sleep alone.” He admitted, and Charlie squeezed him tight. 

“Any time.” He told Owen, and the blond boy pulled away with a smile, before heading off to the room he was originally going to stay in to collect his bags. 

Charlie entered the room that he and Margaux, and now Owen, were sharing, finding his daughter already snuggled into one of the beds, still wearing her dinner clothes. Charlie sighed, moving to pull her out of the bed. Owen entered the room, bags in tow, and Margaux looked up at him excitedly. 

“Papa! Are you sleeping here?” She questioned. Owen placed his bags in the corner before answering. 

“I am Miss Maggie.” He said, and Margaux cheered. 

“You don’t mind sleeping with Daddy?” Charlie checked, and Margaux shook her head, jumping up to throw her arms around Charlie’s neck. 

“Nope! More cuddles!” She stated. Charlie laughed, picking her up. 

“Exactly right. Now, it’s bath time.” He said, grabbing Margaux’s pyjamas as she clung to him. 

“Bye Papa!” Margaux called as Charlie moved to leave the room. Owen waved. 

“Bye Maggie!” He replied, matching her enthusiasm. Charlie couldn’t help but smile. 

Margaux was so lucky to have someone like Owen in her life. They both were. 

- 

“Daddy! Wake up!” Margaux screamed, jumping on top of Charlie. He groaned, squinting as he looked up at his daughter. 

“What time is it?” He mumbled. Owen sat up in his own bed, grabbing his phone to check the time. 

“4:47am.” He informed Charlie, his voice thick with sleep. Charlie tried to ignore how sexy Owen’s morning voice was, instead focusing on his daughter. 

“Mags it’s too early to be awake.” He told her. Margaux pouted, flopping down on top of him. 

“Daddy, it’s my birthday!” She exclaimed. Charlie smiled, kissing her cheek. 

“I know baby, happy birthday. Now can we sleep for a little bit?” He tried. Margaux thought for a moment. 

“Only if Papa comes here too.” She decided. 

Charlie’s eyes widened slightly, eyes fixed on Owen as the younger boy sleepily slid out of his bed with no hesitation, and into Charlie’s, snuggling into Charlie’s side the minute he laid down. Margaux squirmed her way under the covers, squishing herself in between the two of them. 

Charlie shut his eyes in an attempt to get back to sleep, but it was no use. He opened his eyes again, staring up at the ceiling, as Margaux slept soundly next to him.

His mind was racing, noticing every single little place where Owen’s warm skin was in contact with his. It felt like he was on fire.

“Stop thinking.” Owen mumbled, and Charlie turned his head to see Owen staring at him, his eyes half shut with sleep.

“How did you know?” He questioned. Owen gave him a small smile. 

“I always know. Whatever it is, just ignore it for now. Get some sleep, it’s gonna be a big day.” Owen whispered. Charlie paused for a moment, just staring at Owen in the dim light from Margaux’s nightlight. Even half asleep in the almost complete darkness of the room Owen still looked gorgeous. Charlie swallowed. 

“You’re right. Thanks O.” He replied. 

“Love you.” Owen yawned in response, his eyes shutting again. Charlie smiled softly, moving his hand to brush a bit of Owen’s hair off his face.

“I love you too Owen.” He replied, despite the fact that the younger boy was already asleep. He pressed a soft kiss to Owen’s head, and lowered his voice to no more than a whisper.

“More than I probably should.”

- 

After what felt like no time at all Charlie was being shaken awake again. 

“Daddy is it time to get up now?” Margaux questioned, sitting on his chest. Charlie yawned. 

He reached over and checked his phone. It was just after 6:30am. 

“Okay we can get up. But we’re gonna leave Papa to sleep a little bit more, okay?” Charlie compromised. Margaux thought for a moment before agreeing. Charlie grinned, sliding the both of them out of the bed careful not to wake Owen. Once they were out of the bed Charlie lifted Margaux up, placing her on his hip. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple.  

“Now. Let’s go make some birthday pancakes.” 

- 

“Happy birthday Little Gillespie.” Jeremy sung, entering the kitchen with Carolynn close behind him.

Margaux grinned, her mouth full of pancake. 

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, her words muffled by her food. Carolynn stepped past Jeremy, moving to place a gentle kiss on Margaux’s head and whisper to her. Margaux grinned before looking up at her father.

“Hey Daddy?” She spoke. Charlie made a noise in response.

“Yeah?” He said, flipping pancakes onto a plate for both Jeremy and Carolynn.

“Do you think the birthday fairy could found me here?” Margaux questioned, her eyes full of hope. Charlie couldn’t help but smile, not even bothering to correct her words, as he placed the pan down.

“Should we go find out?” He asked. Margaux’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Yeah! But first we have to get Papa.” She decided. Charlie nodded.

“You wanna go wake him up? Tell him we made him some pancakes?” He asked, and Margaux grinned, already sliding out of her chair.

“Okay Daddy!” She replied, before rushing out of the room. The room fell silent for a few moments before Carolynn cleared her throat.

“So Charlie...” She raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been in love with Owen?” 

Charlie choked on his coffee. 

“I’m sorry, what?” He spluttered. Carolynn grinned. 

“You heard me.” She said. Charlie hesitated. 

“I’m not-” He stopped. “I-” 

He groaned. There was no use denying it if clearly he was obvious enough that his friends had figured him out.

“Since filming.” He admitted. Carolynn cheered. 

“You owe me $20.” She told her husband, who glared at Charlie. 

“You just had to admit it, huh?” Jeremy shook his head, and Charlie shrugged, a small smile on his face.

“Admit what?” Owen’s voice came from behind them, deep from sleep, and Charlie took a sip of his coffee to try to distract himself. Owen always looked good but in the early morning light, his hair still a mess from sleeping, he looked ethereal. Charlie bit his lip to stop himself from staring.

“Nothing important.” Carolynn replied, and Charlie shot her a thankful look. 

“Can we see if the birthday fairy visited now?” Margaux sighed, clearly impatient. They all laughed. 

“Of course baby.” Charlie told her, standing up. He grabbed the plate of pancakes he had made for Owen, handing them to the younger boy as he passed him. 

Margaux lead the way to the living area where Kenny and Tori were already sat waiting, squealing with excitement when she saw the small pile of presents on the table.

“They came!” She exclaimed, and Charlie couldn’t help but smile, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Margaux settled down on the couch as everyone spread out around the room, and one by one she opened the presents, eyes widening with excitement at every single one. 

Charlie had gotten her a few dolls that he knew she had been wanting, plus some new clothes, books and other toys. 

Jeremy and Carolynn had gotten her a small paint set with a Frozen paint by numbers. 

Kenny had gotten her a tiny version of the Sunset Curve shirt that the cast had all received. 

Tori had gotten her a little lilac tutu. 

Madi, Jadah and Savannah had sent their presents, some handmade earrings, little stud versions of the ghost drawings that Carolynn had created from Madi, a small pair of overalls from Savannah, and a colouring book from Jadah.

But her absolute favourite gift had come from Owen, a tan coloured bear from Build-A-Bear that he had dressed like Luke, and the clothes to change the bear into Reggie, Alex and Julie if she wanted to. 

After hugs all round the group decided to go their own ways, with Kenny heading off to spend the day relaxing, and Tori, Jeremy and Carolynn going to the beach to sunbathe since Carolynn’s flight had been delayed. 

“Where do you want to go today birthday girl?” Charlie asked, as he and Owen collected the pile of gifts to move them back to their room.

Margaux frowned in thought, the bear still grasped in her arms.

“Hiking.” She decided, and Charlie laughed. She was definitely his daughter.

“You sure? We can do whatever you want to do.” He checked. Margaux nodded, her attention focused on her new clothes that Charlie had placed on the bed to fold later. 

“I’m sure.” She said, reaching for the Sunset Curve shirt and overalls. “Can I wear this?”

“Of course you can.” Charlie agreed. 

“I’m gonna have a quick shower.” Owen said, grabbing some clothes out of his bag. Charlie nodded, focused on helping Margaux change out of her pyjamas into her new clothes.

“Do you think we can have some time tonight just you and me?” Charlie asked once Margaux was dressed, moving to grab her hairbrush and some hair ties.

“Yes please Daddy.” Margaux agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed as Charlie sat behind her.

“We could go get dinner just the two of us, and then come back here for birthday cake.” He suggested. Margaux frowned, clearly thinking. 

“Is it chocolate cake?” She asked after a moment, and Charlie paused from brushing her hair to kiss the top of her head. 

“You’ll have to wait and see.” He teased. Charlie finished tying her hair up into two little space buns, not quite proper buns but as close as he could get with her shortish hair.

“I hope it’s chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake.” She giggled, standing up on the bed and turning around to hug her father. Charlie wrapped his arms around her, a gesture that was so safe and familiar. 

“Me too baby, me too.” He agreed. Margaux snuggled her head into his shoulder. 

“Is Papa coming hiking?” She questioned. Charlie grinned to himself. 

“Do you want him to come?” He asked. Margaux didn’t even hesitate. 

“Yes.”

“Then I’m sure he’d love to come.” Charlie assured her. She pulled away. looking him in the eyes. Charlie had always loved that she had gotten his eyes. 

“Do I ask him?” She said, eyes wide. Charlie struggled to contain a laugh at how serious she looked. 

“When he comes back, yeah.” He nodded. 

“When who comes back?” Owen asked, re-entering the room. Margaux jumped up, throwing herself at the 20 year old. He lifted her up with no hesitation. 

“Are you gonna come hiking?” Margaux asked, her bottom lip jutting out in a pleading way. 

“Of course I am. Wouldn’t want to miss spending time with my two favourite people.” Owen grinned, kissing her nose causing her to giggle. Charlie’s heart skipped a beat at the declaration that he was one of Owen’s favourite people. 

“Yay! Can we go now?” Margaux turned in Owen’s arms to face her father. He nodded, standing up from the bed. 

“Shoes, and then we can go.” He said, and Margaux squirmed her way out of Owen’s arms to go find her running shoes. 

Charlie exchanged a look with Owen, the both of them thinking the same thing. 

It was going to be a long day. 

- 

Hiking with a just turned four year old was exhausting, even despite them choosing the easiest possible trail so that she wouldn’t have any issues.

It was fine at first, Margaux excitedly looking at the plants and trying to spot any animals in the trees, but after about twenty minutes she got bored and tired, and Charlie and Owen spent the rest of the hike passing her back and forth between the two of them.

Finally they made it back to the villa, and after a quick stop for lunch Margaux was recharged and ready for the rest of the day.

“Can we swim?” She asked. Charlie nodded.

“We’ll go and get changed, and then we can go in the pool for a while until we have to get ready for dinner, okay?” He suggested. 

“Okay Daddy.” Margaux smiled sweetly. 

-

After quickly changing into their swimmers, Charlie, Margaux and Owen ended up in the pool, Jeremy and Carolynn lounging nearby. 

They swam for a few hours until Margaux got thirsty, and with a promise of apple juice she and Charlie climbed out of the pool leaving Owen to go sit with the Shada’s. 

Charlie walked inside the villa, finding Kenny sat at the kitchen bench reading while Tori lounged on one of the couches, staring at her phone. 

“Why don’t we do cake now, so that you don’t have to worry about rushing home?” Kenny spoke up, as Charlie manoeuvred through the kitchen to get the apple juice out, Margaux clinging to his chest like a baby koala. 

“That’s a good idea. Do you want to do your birthday cake now Mags?” Charlie asked his daughter, pouring her some apple juice. She sipped on the juice, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

“Yeah!” She exclaimed. Charlie smiled. 

“Okay, can you go get Papa, Aunty Care and Uncle Jer for me?” He asked, placing her down. She nodded eagerly, handing her cup of juice to him before rushing outside to where Owen, Jeremy and Carolynn were still sat.

Charlie grabbed the cake out of the fridge and placed it on the bench, before putting the four candles in, and grabbing a lighter.

“Have you seen my camera Kenny?” He asked, and Kenny just pointed to the end of the bench where the camera was sitting. Charlie smiled gratefully, grabbing the camera.

“Want me to take photos?” Tori offered, and Charlie nodded, handing her the camera. 

Margaux re-entered the room, Owen and the Shada’s following close behind her, and when she reached her father he lifted her up. Kenny took the lighter, lighting the candles on the cake and together they sung Happy Birthday to Margaux, Tori snapping photos as the four year old blew out her candles. 

Charlie held Margaux close to him as Kenny divided the cake up, thankful that he had such an amazing family to spend his little girl’s birthday with. 

-

When Charlie and Margaux made it back to the villa after their dinner that night, the newly four year old was ready to fall asleep. Charlie carried her to bed, silently thanking his past self for deciding to give her a bath and do her birthday cake before they went to dinner because now all he had to do was change her into her pyjamas. 

He changed her quickly seeing that she was almost asleep, and tucked her into the bed. 

“Did you have a good birthday baby?” Charlie asked softly, settling down next to his daughter.

Margaux just nodded in response. 

“That’s good.” Charlie ran a hand through her curls. “Goodnight baby girl.” 

“Big girl.” Margaux mumbled sleepily. Charlie smiled, leaning down and kissing her head. 

“You might be a big girl now but you’ll always be my baby girl.” He whispered. “I love you.” 

“I love you too Daddy.” Margaux replied, her eyes already shut and her arms wrapped tightly around her new bear. Charlie stood up slowly and headed to the door, leaving it open a crack for a little bit of light to shine in. 

He paused for a moment, just taking in the reality that Margaux was already four years old, and that she was growing up too fast. With one last look at the door he made his way down the hallway and outside to where he knew Owen was waiting. 

“She’s asleep.” He announced, flopping down on the outdoor sofa next to Owen. 

“I’m not shocked, she’s had a big day.” Owen replied, handing Charlie a cold beer that he had clearly gotten for him. Charlie took it thankfully, taking a large swig. 

“Can you believe that she’s four already? It feels like she was only just born and I was waking up to find out that her mother was gone and that it was only me and her. It was terrifying at the time, but looking back I wouldn’t change it for the world.” He rambled. Owen rested his head on Charlie’s shoulder and Charlie wrapped his arm around the younger boy, pulling him closer.

“You should be proud of yourself Char. You’ve done an amazing job.” Owen complimented, snuggling closer to Charlie as he took a mouthful of his beer.

“You think so?” Charlie questioned. Owen nodded against his shoulder.

“I know so.” He sat up. “Margaux is the most well behaved kid I’ve ever met, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her misbehave once in all the time I’ve known her. She’s an amazing kid and it’s all because she has the most amazing father.”

“Thank you.” Charlie whispered, suddenly realising how close Owen was to him. He could feel Owen’s warm breath on his lips, and he found himself leaning in, the urge to kiss Owen overtaking his entire being. His lips brushed against Owen’s ever so slightly, but before they could properly commit to the kiss they were interrupted. 

“Hey, we’re gonna play...” Tori’s voice came and they jumped apart quickly. She trailed off, eyeing them carefully. “Were you two about to kiss?”

Charlie cleared his throat. Owen’s eyes widened.

“Uh... no?” Owen lied. Tori shot them a suspicious look but clearly decided against pushing.

“Right... well we’re gonna play Cards Against Humanity if you want to join us.” She told them, before turning and heading back inside. Neither Charlie nor Owen moved, the silence was deafening. Finally Owen spoke.

“Sorry.” He muttered quickly, before standing up and rushing inside. Charlie groaned, watching him leave, the feeling of Owen’s lips still lingering on his own.

“Fuck.” He sighed, downing the last of his beer before standing up to join the rest of the group inside.

He would have to deal with the Owen situation later.

[banshee1013]

Fic - Sticky Sweet

Yesterday was the #DeanCasWedding, which of course means today must be - the #DeanCasHoneymoon! Written for the SPN Family Discord Valentine’s Exchange, this was not necessarily written as a honeymoon fic, but it works! Enjoy! 

Title: Sticky Sweet Rating: Teen Tags: Castiel/Dean, Camping, Tooth-rotting Fluff (literally) Word Count: 1768 Summary:  Dean has been introducing a newly-human Cas to human things - the latest: camping under the stars, complete with tent, campfire, and s'mores -- but Castiel has a surprise for Dean as well. AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29422437

==========================================

Dean holds on to the thin thread of his patience as he threads the tent pole through the seemingly unending number of loops running over the top side of the tent, grumbling to himself as he has to back the pole out due to missing a loop. Finally, the tent poles are in place and he uses the ties at the pinnacle of the tent to anchor where the tent poles meet and then stands, dusting off his knees. Starting at one corner, he pops the pole end into the tent foot, making his way around to all four corners until the tent is finally upright. He stands back and crosses his arms to admire his work, then looks around for Cas and smiles fondly when he sees him.

While he was pitching the tent (the thought makes him grin, of course), he had sent Cas out to find some firewood and to build the fire pit, handing him a small evac tool (basically a mini-shovel) to clear the ground where the pit would go and instructing him to find some nice round river rock from the small creek nearby to line it with. Cas had done spectacularly, a substantial stack of various sizes of tree branches and a three-ish foot circle of ground cleared nearby. Currently, the former angel was crouched on the ground next to a small pile of oval-shaped stones and was placing them in a ring around the cleared space with the precision one usually associates with engineering a spacecraft.

“Hey, Cas, that looks great! Can you come help me with the tent cover please?”

Cas looks up from his ring of stones, smiles and rises to his feet; but his brows pinch together as he looks past Dean and at the tent. “That does not look very secure, Dean. Are you sure it will remain stationary?”

Dean laughs and pulls Cas in for a hug as he approaches, then turns him around to face the tent, keeping an arm over his shoulder. “When we put the top cover on — that keeps moisture from rain and morning dew from getting inside — we’ll anchor it with those tent spikes,” he motions toward the four silver rods lying at each corner of the tent. “But I need help getting the cover on evenly.” Cas nods and heads toward the tent, Dean following and he can’t help but admire the view.

Dean has finally managed to rid him of the ubiquitous trench coat, suit, and tie, replacing it with a royal blue hoodie the color of his eyes and dark grey Henley, the sleeves pulled up to expose muscular forearms; and dark blue jeans that hug his surprisingly slender form — and does wonders for Dean’s libido. The fact that the trench coat and ill-fitting suit hid his drool-worthy body all this time is a travesty that Dean continually laments — but is glad to have rectified, especially as the jeans draw tight around those remarkably muscular thighs when Cas crouches down to inspect the tent spikes.

The sun is just starting to dip behind the trees and just then a shaft of light streaks through the branches, backlighting Cas in yellow-orange light and setting his dark brown head glowing like a halo, and Dean gasps at the sight. He’s absolutely gorgeous, how have I been so blind? Cas glances over his shoulder, head tilted and a puzzled look in his eye, the same shaft of light striking and turning them into blue fire.

Dean suddenly realizes he’s the luckiest sonuvabitch alive.

“Dean? Are you alright?”

Blinking, Dean shakes his head and smiles, moving toward the tent. “Yeah… I’m great, Cas.” Kneeling down next to him, he takes Cas’ face in both hands and kisses him, soft and chaste… but the next thing Dean knows, he’s on his back with Cas over him, groaning against his lips as he deepens the kiss.

Cas finally breaks the kiss to gasp for air, and even though it’s literally the last thing he wants to do, Dean gently pushes him back. “We’re losing the light, sweetheart, and we gotta finish putting this tent together,” he gasps. Cas sighs and rises to his feet, offering a hand down to pull Dean up. They quickly get to work and in no time, the tent cover is pulled over the top and the tent staked down securely.

“Cas, can you finish with the campfire? I’m gonna get the rest of our camping stuff.” Dean rushes to the car to grab their sleeping bags, cooler, and Coleman grill — no way was he going to attempt to cook an actual meal over a campfire — while Cas finishes placing the stones around the cleared area and setting some of the firewood he’d gathered inside; smaller sticks on the bottom and tenting some of the larger pieces over the top. By the time Dean has returned and placed their sleeping bags inside the tent, Cas already has a nice fire going. Dean smiles as he sees Cas perched on the smooth log he’d managed to find, placed in front of the fire for them to sit on, and digs into the bag next to the cooler for the surprise he brought.

He joins Cas at the fire with his treasures in hand — two long metal sticks with handles, a bag of jumbo marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, and several fun-sized Hersey chocolates. “Ever had s’mores, Cas?” he asks, setting the items down by the log before taking a seat next to him.

Cas leans over and glances at the items by Dean’s feet with that adorable head-tilt Dean loves. “I don’t believe I have.”

Dean smiles and leans over to kiss him quickly. “Well, then, you’re in for a treat.” He tears open the bag of marshmallows and plucks one out, spearing it on the stick and holding it over the fire. “The trick is to get it close enough to the fire for it to melt and char a little. Don’t let it stay still or it’ll burn and that’s no good.” He demonstrates, twirling the marshmallow over the fire until it’s golden brown.

“Now, grab one of the graham crackers, snap it in half, and unwrap the chocolate.” Cas follows his instructions as Dean pulls the marshmallow from the fire. “Okay, place the chocolate on one half of the graham cracker…” Cas does and Dean maneuvers the marshmallow over the chocolate and cracker, “... now pinch it with the other half of the graham cracker.” With his free hand, Dean reaches over to cover Cas’ hand with his own to show him how to squish the marshmallow between the graham crackers and chocolate and pulls the stick free.

Cas looks at the s’more in his hand, turning it this way and that as chocolate melted by the hot marshmallow begins to drip. “Quick! Eat it!” Dean nudges his hand toward his mouth and Cas takes a big bite, the gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate squirting out from the other side and onto his hand.

Cas finishes the bite, but then frowns. “It’s very good,” he comments, the frown intensifying as the chocolate and marshmallow start to slide down his arm, “but it’s also very messy.”

Dean is not about to miss this opportunity, grabbing Cas’ arm and running his tongue up it, lapping up the melted marshmallow and chocolate, his eyes never leaving Cas’ face and feeling the flush crawl up his neck at the heat reflected there — and not just from the proximity of the fire. Taking the remaining portion of the s’more into his mouth, he sucks the remaining marshmallow and chocolate from Cas’ fingers, running his tongue in and around them and taking immense pleasure in the way Cas’ breath hitches.

No sooner has he finished swallowing the bite than Cas has him on his back in front of the log, mouth on his and licking the sweetness from it; his body warm and firm against his, and Dean can’t stifle the moan that follows.

Cas finally pulls back, his cheeks flushed and breath harsh. “I would like another, please.”

Awhile later, sated on s’mores and kisses, Dean leans against the log between Cas’ knees, head resting on a thick thigh as Cas runs a (thankfully clean due to the wet wipes Dean had the foresight to pack) hand through his hair. His eyes are getting heavy and the last thing he wants to do right now is move.

Cas has other ideas.

“Dean, I need to get up.” Dean groans and grips his thigh in protest, but Cas is insistent. “I won’t be long, I promise.” With an exaggerated sigh, Dean releases his grip on Cas’ thigh and lifts his head, and Cas rises from the log and disappears into the darkness behind them. He hears the trunk of the Impala open, a rustling of fabric, and the trunk shutting again; then Cas is back. Dean watches as he lays a blanket on the ground on the other side of the fire opposite the log. Sitting on the blanket with his legs spread, he pats the area in between.

Dean gets the message. He crawls around the fire to where Cas sits and nestles himself in the proffered area on the blanket, his back to Cas’ broad chest, and leans back, closing his eyes. From behind them, he feels Cas’ arms reach behind on either side, pulling something up over his shoulders.

“The thing I miss the most since losing my Grace,” he says quietly, haltingly, “is holding you with my wings.” He sighs, and Dean hears more rustling, this time sounding like… feathers? The rustling pulls around them, followed by encompassing warmth; and Dean opens his eyes gasping at the sight of black feathers wrapped around him, brilliant blues and greens and scattered flecks of gold shining in the firelight.

“Even though they were not corporeal, and not technically consisting of cormorant feathers, I knew you could still feel them — and this was the best representation I could find,” he said as he spreads the blanket of feathers fully around them, pulling Dean close and laying his cheek against the crown of his head.

Dean’s breath catches in his throat as he’s suffused in the warmth of the feathers and Cas’ body. His hands grasp Cas’ wrists and pulls him tighter.

“This is amazing,” he says, his voice barely audible above the crackling of the fire. “I love you so much, Cas.”

He feels Cas’ smile against the top of his head, then lips pressed against his temple. “And I, you, Dean.”

[natigail]

List which 5 TV shows make you feel better and then tag 10 other blogs.  

Thank you for tagging me @likearumchocolatesouffle (I love doing stuff like this, and yours was so fun to read).

1) Sanders Sides

It’s not technically a TV show, but rather a web series but it has brought me so much joy and it is something I find myself turning to it again and again. Not only because of the characters that I’ve come to love but also because of the life lessons and dilemmas woven into the fabric of the series. I love Thomas, Joan and the rest of the team for creating this wonderful series. 

2) Friends

I know Friends in the light of present day has a lot of problematic aspects, but it is a show that I’ve grown up with and rewatched all through the ten seasons perhaps 3-4 times? I think I’m able to almost quote along to any episode you put in front of me. That kind of familiarity is so comforting. I think it’s the chosen family aspect that made me so fond of it.

3) Brooklyn Nine Nine

From the moment I discovered this show a few years back, I was hooked. The characters drew me in from the very first moment and I love the representation with both people of colour and LGBTQ+. In recent light of what has been exposed about the American police force, I do feel a little worried about finding comfort in this though. Still, Rosa’s coming out episode has a very special place in my heart. 

4) The Good Place

I only finished the last season a couple of weeks ago, but I’m still just so awed and impressed with this show. Again, I felt connected to all of the characters and their trials and tribulations. While it feels a little quirky with the afterlife aspect at the core of the series, it also feels so insanely human. 

5) Queer Eye

Maybe not so surprising but I do love this show. I don’t exactly go back and rewatch it, like with the other shows on this list but every time a new season comes out, I ration the episodes and catch up on them bit by bit. They usually make me cry but they also make me feel so comforted and reassured. 

Looking over my list, I think I can conclude that I mostly like shorter episodes of mostly sitcom-like shows, heavy on the found family and acceptance of yourself while also overcoming struggles and growing.

I’m going to tag @hyggephan, @hereandqueer-eek, @dansstripedsweater, @honeywreath, @peggyschuylerbasically, @icklemissmayhem, @char-arts-occasionally, @throwing-roses-into-the-abyss, @ttlmt and @panlesters to do this if you want!

[thedailyvio]

Every now and then I feel bad for giving 0 context for anything, so gonna quickly summarize my story stuff under the cut

The Traveler’s Found (TTF)

Skye, Gill, Marth, Kydin, Leo, Kira, Krieg, Heiwa, Narcissa, Sebastian, Vadim, Bahemek, Xenon, etc

TTF is hard to summarize because it has 10 story arcs and they all lead into the other, but the plot begins with ‘A wizard terrorist attacks the king of Hou’lu sending two girls on a quest to stop him’ which sounds so simple doesn’t it -sobs-

 Very adventure, political intrigue, slice of life elements

They basically travel all over the world, and I’ll quickly summarize what that’s like by listing each countries major influences

Hou’lu: Italian Renaissance, China

Sunobor: Medieval Germany, Japan, Inuit

Haldon: Folk Mexican, Folk Italian

Lavynna; Byzantine, some inspo from India to structure of things?

Gehinna: Ancient Hebrew

Parappa: Egypt-Germany

North Desert: Russia-Arabic

Harpies (more a tribe): Maasai

TTF of them all gets the most complicated but very incrementally, so it’s the hardest to express much on. But they get a cool hard magic system based on 10 elements so

Also TTF dragons are sentient, intelligent, and morally complex

—

The Miyoré Schism

A prequel to ttf by about 900 years

Faolan, Mien, Enlai, whatever I name the girl, Jiao

The plot here is a bit simpler

What happens when the one who pulls the blade only those Chosen by God can touch is among the race of people thought to be destined to serve?

This focuses largely on the Sha’li of East Hou’lu. As a race they have very distinct white hair, pale skin, and red eyes. At this time in history, monster taming was very common as well, so most the characters have a family or personal monster. Sha’li also have an ability to become “invisible” but in actuality they are lowering their ‘presence’ or ‘noticibility’ to all non-Sha’li

This story draws largely from Tibet for its aesthetics

—

Kingdoms

Ariella, James, Charles, Kiba

I have uprooted a lot about this story and not yet relayed it, but so far

A girl who wanted to become a soldier but was refused strikes out on adventure to do what she can for her country on her own- but to her chagrin gets a tag along

This story likely will have a soft magic system, and is definitely still based on Victorian and Japanese aesthetics. It’s actually a specific era of Japanese history but I can’t remember which. Possibly 16th c?

Despite this, it’s a low tech world.

Most fantasy type creatures/races do show up in Kingdoms, unlike my other stories

Dragons exist in Kingdoms but are universally evil and nobody has ever killed one

—

Magic and Cannons (MnC)

A wip name still

Cusick, Agathe, Romana, Kordell, Levi, Maureen, Ames, Sung-jin

I’m still figuring put the plot to this honestly, but the first bit is definitely

‘A narcissistic man is captured as a PoW and must find a way to escape’

There’s just three countries of any importance to this world, and it’s much less whimsical in nature than the others, being closer to reality in some ways, and having a lot more tech. Though it vibes as subtly cartoony in how characters have slightly exaggerated aspects to their personalities and behaviors.

Delemar is the country Cusick is from and is based on Wild West in many ways, they’re a very independent people which can be good and bad, they also give no hecks about safety and are pretty wild in general

Choson is where Romana is from and they are much more interested in normalcy and order, which can be both good and bad. They prefer reptiles and fish as pets to mammals actually, which feels important to mention. If you know much about history, I suppose it’s clear they draw a lot from Korea for aesthetics.

Choson is also a very mixed population in terms of race, which Delemar is very much not.

Kievan is where Agathe hails from and is based on Russia. In each case I tried sticking to 1850s-1900s ish for my influences of these countries, though socially they are very diff.

Kievan has an affinity for wine and is the only country that appreciates using electricity for power. They have harsh winters, especially compared to the other two countries which tend to be more tropical in climates. Kievan is less developed so far, but they tend towards legalism there, and while that can be bad, they are also the one not involved in a pointless war, so

MnC is what I call glasspunk, Delemar and Choson rely on ‘reactions’ for their energy sources, which I can only explain as ‘you know how if you mix two volatile liquids, they could explode? They harness the energy from such things’

This is possible because their magic system is a type of alchemy which has allowed them a lot of reactions not available to us, and with this they’ve been able to get treated glass which is nearly indestructible, great for containing anything they need.

Magic is still something within the individual, but in MnC the extent of what it does is change the properties of whatever you’re touching with your hands. If you specialize in using this and inventing things based off of things with changed properties, you’re called a mage.

MnC has a lot of strange tech this way, including trains, vehicles, customizeable guns, staves that through weird tech stuff can have sort of elemental effects, etc.

Electricity is not compatible with reactions btw, because it can cause them to explode outside of when they’re meant to, kinda like smoking by a bunch of canisters of gasoline, it might be a lil risky. So societies that use reactions do not use electricity and have things in place to get rid of it, and societies that use electricity don’t use reactions. Combining them can get cool tech, but is inherently risky.

oh whoops I went off there, huh. Oh well it’s not seen as often as the other types of societies/magics I listed so

Dragons in MnC are animals (technically wyverns?) and have been domesticated to be work animals. No fire breath but they do have a strong venom, I think a neurotoxin type?? And the insides of their mouths are orange 👀 oh and the domesticated ones are reflective like mirrors ish

—

Children of the Little Mine (CotLM)

Geno

This is the only one I plan to make a novel, because it’s set in 1950′s-1960′s New York City and I don’t care about those aesthetics at all

I don’t have it planned out very far for plot, but basically a gremlin thief boy of 17 has a strange ability to manipulate how gravity effects him, and seemingly nobody else in the world has this. But one day during a break and entering situation, Geno finds another boy with an ability, and from there they decide to try sticking together a bit to figure out why, and maybe put together a heist against a mafia boss in the mean time (two stealy boys)

This is very close to being historical fiction aside from abilities, which are /extremely/ rare in this world. I’m very inspired by Artemis Fowl and A Separate Peace for tone, and plan to have middleschool boys as my target audience. Though I love fantasy and such, this one’s still a bit close to my heart anyways

Anyways literally nobody asked for this I just do this to myself. I seriously wanna start practicing comic making skills, but I can’t do that too much for a daily thing when I can usually put in an hour at best. I’m trying to find a sweet spot for it all, but it may yet be awhile before I can post literally anything that sheds light on who the heck any of the chars I post are.

I want to though, and I’ve been running this blog for years now, so best to assume it’ll get there someday. I have still written a lot and planned out things, so progress still happens behind the scenes. Aside from the last few months but that’s not uncommon for this time of year. If you actually read this, thanks euchjsd I don’t think many will, but having it here makes me feel a bit better

[daughterofluthien]

Fictober - Day 7

Prompt number: 7. “yes I did, what about it?” Fandom: Teen Wolf Rating: T Characters/Relationships: Kira Yukimura/Scott McCall; Kira Yukimura & Melissa McCall Word Count: 1557 Warnings/Tags: burn injuries (aftermath), hurt/comfort, light romantic content A/N: Episode tag to 5x05 “Novel Approach, A”

I did this I did this I did this 

Kira stood in the doorway of Scott’s bedroom, and all she felt was sick.

“So you’re saying his pain will get worse before it gets better?” She knew she sounded afraid — knew that she should probably be strong for him instead — but she didn’t think she could stand seeing him in pain again.

Mrs. McCall nodded. “Now to be clear, I only have experience with burn patients who heal at a much slower rate, so I assume the whole process will happen faster. But probably, yeah.” She winced sympathetically. “Sorry, kiddo.”

Scott shifted, and he didn’t make any noise, but was obviously breathing carefully against the pain. “I’ll be fine, Mom, thanks.”

“Okay.” Mrs. McCall didn’t look fully convinced — or maybe that was Kira just projecting, because she certainly wasn’t convinced that Scott was going to be fine — but she nodded and squeezed Scott’s shoulder on what Kira assumed was one of the few unburned patches of skin. 

Then, instead of leaving, she turned to look at Kira. “Could I talk to you outside for a second?”

Oh god.

Wordlessly, because she honestly had no idea what she was supposed to say, Kira nodded. She followed Scott’s mom out of the room.

Once they were in the hallway, Mrs. McCall suddenly looked a lot less professional and a lot more worried. “Okay. Can you please tell me what the hell happened out there tonight? I thought you guys were just going to go talk to someone.”

She didn’t sound accusatory, per se. But Kira was pretty sure that would change once she heard any of the story. She glanced back at the door, instead. “You know he can still hear us out here, right?”

“He could hear us if we were having this conversation across the street, and frankly I don’t have the energy to walk that far tonight. So what happened?”

What had happened?

“Well, um.” Kira took a deep breath, and Mrs. McCall raised her eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. Before she could think better of it, she plunged into, well, something of an explanation. Not that she really remembered enough to explain. “According to Stiles and Lydia, I disrupted the natural energy of the building? And there was a reaction. A bad reaction.” The next few words came out in a rush. “It’s my fault and I don’t even really remember but I did it. It’s my fault.”

Mrs. McCall held out a placating hand. “Whoa okay, slow down. You said you don’t really remember? What do you remember?”

“I remember electricity arcing out of my hands, just like, on its own. And then I... fainted, I guess? And the next thing I know, Scott’s carrying me out of the building. I only started to wake up once we got outside.”

The first thing she had heard was the sound of Scott being electrocuted, and she really hated that she already knew what that sounded like. Or more accurately, Kira knew what it sounded like when she electrocuted Scott.

Last time it had been her hand on a dial — this time it was just her hands.

“I woke up and he was already so burned and it was my fault and I’m so sorry—” Kira knew that she should really shut up now or leave or—

“Hold on, you said you fainted?”

The question startled Kira out of talking, because that was without a doubt the least important thing that happened last night. “I— Yes, I did.” She wondered if she sounded as confused as she felt. “What about it?”

“Kira, are you okay?”

That was a stupid question, because of course she was fine. Her foxfire only ever hurt other people, and sometimes that was just really, really unfair.

“I’m pretty sure you could plug me into the city’s electrical grid and nothing would happen to me. Actually, no, someone already did that. And the only thing that happened was that I blacked out the entire town.” She closed her eyes, and when she spoke again, she almost couldn’t hear herself. “Scott got hurt that time, too.”

Mrs. McCall nodded. “Yeah, he did. And guess what, it wasn’t your fault that time either.”

“But I—”

Mrs. McCall didn’t give her a chance to finish. “Last time it was Barrow, this time it was— I don’t know, whoever forgot to put a ‘no entry for kitsunes’ sign on the door.” She leveled her with a look that was both firm and kind at the same time. “But it wasn’t you.”

“But Scott’s still hurt.” Kira’s voice broke, and she hated how scared she sounded. How scared she actually was.

Mrs. McCall pulled her into a hug. “I know. And trust me, I know exactly how terrifying it is to see him like that.”

Kira believed it, because Mrs. McCall sounded scared, too. She didn’t know when she had started crying, but Mrs. McCall’s shoulder was damp where her face was buried. “He’s healing, right? He’s gonna be okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. But it’s not gonna be fun, especially once his nerve endings start to heal.” Mrs. McCall pulled back slightly and looked down at Kira. “I bet he’d appreciate it if someone was in there with him while his body’s getting itself straightened out. You think you can do that?”

Kira swiped a hand across her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good.” Mrs. McCall jerked her head back toward Scott’s door, and Kira could’ve sworn she looked relieved. “Now get in there and hold your boyfriend’s hand.”

____________________

She almost reconsidered the decision once she was back in Scott’s room, because he really did look awful. While a few areas of skin were the normal, standard brown, his body was covered in patches that were either a charred and cracked black, or an angry, blistered red. 

He opened his eyes when she entered, and almost immediately furrowed his brow in concern. “You okay?”

She nodded and tried for a smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks to you.”

Scott didn’t look like he fully believed her, but he didn’t call her on the lie. “I— I didn’t know what to do. I just knew I had to get you out.” He struggled to sit up a little further in the bed, so he could look her in the eyes. “She’s right, you know. You didn’t do this.”

After making sure that his hand was relatively burn-free, she wrapped her own around it. “I know. But you’re still hurt.”

“I’ll heal.”

She nodded. “Yeah. But that doesn’t make it okay.” She rubbed her thumb softly over smooth skin and wondered if that area of his hand had already healed, or if it managed to escape the arcing bolts of electricity.

He entwined his fingers with hers, and squeezed her hand gently. “I’m better now that you’re here.”

She almost laughed, because from anyone else that would’ve sounded impossibly cheesy, but it was just so… Scott. “When I woke up... I was so scared. I think I almost lost you tonight, and I can’t—”

Scott squeezed her hand again. “Yeah. Me too.” Careful not to disturb any burns, he nodded at the bed beside him. “You know you can come up if you want.”

She gave him a little half smile and shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” He tried to resituate himself against the pillows and winced. “Please?”

She fixed him with a playfully severe look. “Only if you promise you’ll stop trying to move. Okay?”

He responded with a small grin, and she was more than relieved to see it. “I promise.”

“Okay, then.” Kira held up her end of the bargain, and slipped onto the bed beside him. She lay on her side, facing him, and kept his hand held firmly in hers.

True to his word, he turned his head to look at her, but otherwise didn’t try to move. Not for the first time, she thought that his eyes were the kind that you could get lost in.  

“I love you, Kira.” He said it softly, like a secret and a promise all wrapped up in one. “It’s okay if you can’t say it back, you don’t have to. But I do.”

She wasn’t sure she could yet, not after what had happened tonight because of her. But Scott didn’t seem to want to rush it, so maybe that was okay.

Instead of responding, Kira propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over him, ever so carefully. She ran a hand through his short hair and kissed him gently, his lips moving under hers.

Scott reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face, and technically it was breaking the no moving rule — but she was staring straight at him and it didn’t seem to hurt him, so she figured it was okay. She leaned into his touch. “Thank you.”

Her whisper was barely audible, but she knew he would hear it.

He nodded, and she leaned down to kiss him one more time, then settled down onto the pillow beside him, his hand in hers.

It had been a very long night, and they both needed to get some sleep.  

[frazzledsoul]

Thanks for tagging me @dollsome-does-tumblr even though I haven't written fic in a gazillion years.

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

The first thing that hit Rory Gilmore when she woke up was an overwhelming sense of vertigo.

The migraine was encroaching on the borders of her skull soon followed.

Where was she?

(The Morning After, Gilmore Girls, post series, Rory/Jess, or what happens when two not-quite-stepcousins hook up and everyone in Stars Hollow debates whether they should be encouraging this or not)

The first time they tried a real relationship again, it was a disaster.

He hadn't seen or talked to her for five years. Part of him regretted that a little, but she did say no, and he knew he had to start fresh if he was going to make any sort of clean break from the family legacy that had claimed him long before he was born.

(The Dynastic Plan, Gilmore Girls, AYITL era, Rory/Logan, or Logan explains to us why he could not get his shit together with Rory during AYITL)

Luke first noticed that something was amiss when he picked April up from the airport.

It was the middle of spring and she was wearing a turtleneck, a baseball cap, and sunglasses. When he asked her about it, she shrugged and claimed she thought that Connecticut was having a late winter spell, which didn’t sound right to him at all.

(The Cactus Incident, Gilmore Girls, post-series, in which Luke learns about the avian misadventures of one of his offspring)

“This has gotten completely out of control.”

Lorelai glanced up at her husband from where she was sequestered at her usual table by the window, surrounded by her laptop, piles of eclipse glasses in various colors, assorted boxes and tubes sprinkled in glitter and confetti, and a pile of streamers that had half fallen to the floor.

“This is a major celestial event, Luke”, Lorelai insisted. “A once in a lifetime opportunity to escape the daily drudgery of life to celebrate standing in the middle of the street for two hours and looking at the sky while we are treated to the spectacle of the universe pretending to usher in the doomsday a way too significant portion of the population are eagerly anticipating at any given moment –“

Luke put up his hand. “I get it.”

(A Convergence of Fancies, Gilmore Girls, Rory/Jess overtones I guess, post-AYITL, or Stars Hollow celebrates the 2017 solar eclipse, Rory is a sleep deprived new mom, and Lorelai is concerned because her family is watching too much Game of Thrones, aka the most chaotic thing I have ever written and I'm sorry)

Richard Lucas Gilmore’s second Independence Day celebration was turning out to be a lot better than his first.

For one thing, he was actually awake for it.

Rory’s pregnancy had stretched a week and a half past its original due date, leading to the delivery of her squalling bundle of joy on a humid June morning after fifteen hours of labor.

(Independence, Gilmore Girls, post-AYITL, in which Luke and Lorelai celebrate Independence Day with their combined offspring and toddler grandson and Lorelai confronts her impending empty nest syndrome)

Lorelai had thought that sending Rory off into the adult world would make her feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.

She had been dreading it for days, weeks, maybe even years. Despite what everyone had told her when she was a newly knocked-up teenager, she still felt that those first eighteen years raising Rory as she grew up herself had been the easy part.

(Full Circle, Gilmore Girls, post-series, in which Lorelai and Rory go through the same major milestones at the same time)

The fall of 2017 was turning out to be quite a revelation for Lorelai Gilmore-Danes.

She had never loved fall quite as much as she loved winter. Sure, there was the crispness wrought by the change of seasons and the concurrent excuse to shop for brightly colored sweaters and boots.

(The Grandparents, Gilmore Girls, Luke/Lorelai, post-AYITL, or Rory's love triangle and parenting woes as seen through Luke and Lorelai's eyes)

Few enterprises seemed to be designed with a specific target in mind quite as much as Facebook was for Lorelai Gilmore.

It caught her a little by surprise. Sure, she knew the basics of using a computer to run her business and control her finances. She could be disciplined and organized when she absolutely needed to be, and there was little use in clinging to outdated technology.

(Boundaries, Gilmore Girls, Luke/Lorelai, post-AYITL, or Luke and Lorelai try to rebuild their relationship and are very angsty about it)

Luke and Lorelai's third Valentines Day as a married couple started in the usual way.

It was usually their tradition to spend the holiday at home, but this year they had departed for Luke's cabin on the lake to spend a few days by themselves before the rest of the family joined them on Sunday. It was a beloved, time-honored tradition between the two of them to devote this day to each other to celebrate with their own brand of fanfare. Their adult children knew to stay very far away from them during this time.

(A Season of Peace, Luke/Lorelai and Rory/Logan, post-AYITL, in which Luke and Lorelai spend a weekend in the snow with their brood and we get an update on the younger generations's relationship statuses)

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm pregnant."

She turned to face me. Gap-mouthed. Shocked. Disappointed. Humiliated.

This was not how I planned to share this news.

(A Simple Twist of Fate, Gilmore Girls, AU but fairly canon adjacent, in which Jess is Rory's baby daddy and Rory discovers that he has not exactly been solely pining for her in the years they were apart)

Jess didn't exactly intend to introduce his daughter to professional sports in this manner.

For the most part, he and Rory weren't quite the stereotypical thirtysomething hipster couple that they sometimes appeared to be. Sure, Rory was still occasionally breast-feeding after seven and a half months, and you could find quinoa and kimchi in their fridge stocked next to the baby food and hoagies.

(Home, post-AYITL, Rory/Jess, a "fast forward" of ASTOF in which Rory and Jess raise their daughter in Philadelphia and try to avoid admitting that they are no longer hip)

Lorelai Gilmore's journey to becoming an active participant in Stars Hollow town life was a bumpy one.

She stepped off of the bus in Stars Hollow a few months after her eighteenth birthday, freshly divorced and clutching her almost two-year-old daughter by the hand, determined to talk herself into whatever opportunity presented itself to her. She wasn't able to work on her charms on Taylor Doose at the grocery store, or Fran Weston at the bakery, but William Danes at the hardware store gave her directions to the inn at the outskirts of town and an offer to work the counter at his store if things didn't work out.

(Beginnings, Gilmore Girls, pre-series/AU, Luke/Lorelai, in which Lorelai and Luke's parenting situations are reversed: she and Christopher are divorced and he is involved in Rory's life but Luke is raising April by himself after Anna flaked out, and they start to bond)

Lorelai Gilmore Danes didn't expect to have empty nest syndrome hit her quite like this.

She'd spent much of her adult life – even long before she was technically an adult – tethered to Rory's side and not regretting a second of it. Then Rory was grown up and off exploring the world, and she was settled down with Luke in their unconventional but happily domestic manner.

(Glimpses Through the Looking Glass, Gilmore Girls, drabble series that goes all over the place based on #NationalFillInTheBlankDay)

Ted and Robin's seemingly long-awaited reconciliation lasted just short of six months.

Five months, three weeks, and two days, to be exact. Not that anyone was counting, least of all Robin.

(Making It Easy, How I Met Your Mother, Barney/Robin, post-series, in which Robin figures out that dating a widowed Ted is actually a very bad idea)

In the end, it was decided that the best way to resolve the battle for the Iron Throne was to dissolve it completely.

It had been a savage war, far more savage than any of its players had fought up to this point. Euron and Cersei were dead.

(The Calm, Game of Thrones, post-series but written halfway through season 8 so it doesn't include any of the stuff that people hate, in which I come up with a solution to the Jonerys dilemma that no one liked but it was still better than canon)

Summer finally bloomed beyond the wall five years after Jon Snow had crossed it for the last time.

Sometimes it seemed to him that everything before those five years was nothing more than a half-remembered dream. He had braced for his departure for the wall half-hopeful: at least this grand march towards kingship, the burden of unwanted responsibilities, the dread in his chest as he wondered if he would survive to the end of the latest war was over.

(After, Game of Thrones, post-series, Jon/Tormund, or in which Jon Snow is living happily ever after beyond the wall with his ginger, his dog, and a family of his own because I am in charge and I say so)

“You’re still shit at that, you know,” Tormund whispered in Jon’s ear.

Magritte snickered from the other corner of the main room of their cabin where she was roughhousing with Ghost. Alsi sighed beside her, picking up her bow from where it was lying beside her and inspecting it for flaws.

(The Line, Game of Thrones, post-series, Jon/Tormund, in which Jon is still living happily ever after but takes his family to visit Queen Sansa)

The images solidified in Jaime’s mind as he made his way through the streets.

Charred skeletons. Screaming children. Rampaging soldiers. Blood. Smoke. Mangled limbs. Chaos. He couldn’t keep any of it straight.

(The Lion and the Snow - Snapshots, Game of Thrones, AU, Jaime/Brienne, in which Jon is King, Jaime is the Hand Without A Hand, Brienne is the Lady Commander of the Kingsguard, they are all disasters, and I am not telling this story in order)

Tormund didn’t intend to get seriously involved with anyone when he moved to King’s Landing.

It had been a rough couple of years. Hell, the entire last decade had been its own special blend of unexpected pleasure and slow, turgid, relentless episodes of confusion and pain. That was adulthood, he supposed. Always one damn thing after another.

(The Dragon Heist, Game of Thrones, modern AU, in which single dad Tormund - Brienne is his baby mama - falls in love with art student Jon Snow and there are lots of coparenting shenanigans)

Patterns: Gee, I like to start these stories off with long, complicated explanations of everyone's relationship status.

Favorites: I guess that would be starting off The Morning After with Rory half-horrified at what she has gotten into. I also like dropping right in on Jonmund domesticity in The Line.

Tagging: @fineosaur, @seethemflying, @aliveanddrunkonsunlight, @janiedean, @angel-deux-writes, @littlerockerao3, @istaricelebelasse, @tormundjonthings, @sdwolfpup, and anyone else who feels like it (apologies if y'all have already been tagged)

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

Share a Lair 14 || Share the Details

Max was honestly stressed out for nothing. He spent all of this time trying to talk his way up to the news, and whenever he actually finally spit it out, Charlotte was relieved and surely didn’t seem any of the things he’d been afraid about. She laughed a little and said, “I honestly thought that you were about to break up with me moments after your mother posted me dancing and tagged me to it on her page.”

“I’d never break up with you,” he said, then, “Wait, what?” He checked his mother’s birthday album for the twins and sure enough, there was a post of Max dancing around Charlotte, who was way more reserved, but so dang cute! Max loved it and almost went through to read all of the comments, but Charlotte cut into that mission.

“It’s just that sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re as deep into this as I am. You just have so many important things to do. By comparison, I’m kind of relegated to something fun on the side,” she said.

He put his phone into his pocket and sat down next to her, “That’s never been the case for me. Mostly, I haven’t wanted to scare you off, because my feelings for you are SO intense that I have to rationalize and reign myself in, like, “Max, this is NOT the way to handle this. But, I don’t have a huge frame of reference, because I haven’t had many serious relationships and this is only the second time that I’ve been in love…” As soon as he said it, they both gasped. But, while this apprehensive expression poured over his face, hers lit up at the same speed and they looked at each other, both became confused and expressions switched to match the other one’s, then again they both realized that they were inadvertently making statements with their faces and they both started laughing at this. They leaned towards each other, laughing and Charlotte reached out to collect him into her arms and moved him to lay back on her chest.

“I’m in love, too.” She said it very softly and stroked his hair with even more gentleness.

“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me, just being able to admit that out loud, and hearing you say it too, is like… The perfect birthday present.” She kissed the top of his head and hooked her arms under his. He rested his hands on hers and whispered, “Can I spend the night with you?”

“Of course,” she said and rubbed his chest, one of her legs now comfortably wrapping around him, as well. He sat up and she was momentarily missing his body.

But, he turned to face her, hands sliding up her party dress as he stared into her eyes, “No… I meant… I want to spend the night with you, Charlotte…” She shifted to allow him better access beneath her dress and nodded her head, unable to break eye contact with him, as intense as it was. Had that been all that he had been waiting for? To be able to say he loved her? To have her say it, as well? She wasn’t sure. But, that didn’t matter. It was go time! He leaned forward and she leaned back.

“My bed is pretty small,” she whispered. But Max simply extended his hand, and within moments, the spare bed had been slid across the floor, right next to this bed. She smiled. “That was hot.” He just smiled. He loved when she said things like that to him, and he was ready to prove himself to her.

.

Whenever Charlotte came into the “Danger Column,” she was humming joyfully and carrying a ton of stuff with her. “Hey Char, what’s all that stuff?” Jasper wondered.

“Just some things that I got from home over the weekend,” she said. “Sort of officially moving in with Max.” She continued on her way and Jasper squinted his eyes as she set her things on the rolling cart, “I know that they’ll be gone soon, but what we might wind up doing is me living here for however long they’re here, then when it’s time to relocate, I’ll be looking for a place for us outside of Share-A-Lair.”

Jasper nodded his head, then wondered, “Who’ll be gone soon?”

She laughed a little then looked at his genuinely curious face. “Umm.,, the guys, from this site. Or at least Max, will be. Maybe not Henry, if he hasn’t said anything. He’d certainly tell you before he would anybody else, I’m sure.”

“No. He’d probably tell YOU before anybody else. What do you know, Charlotte?”

She fumbled her hands around packing the cart and tried to find something that MIGHT distract Jasper from the suggestion that Henry might be leaving and hadn’t said anything to him. It probably was a misunderstanding on her part, so she definitely didn’t want to add to that fuel, But, there were very few things that could distract Jasper from the subject of Henry, and if her moving in with Max wasn’t enough (hell, that only caused more questions), then she was probably about to open her mouth and insert and poorly constructed lie foot. “I know what it feels like to have thunder coursing through my body.”

“Don’t change the subject. Thunder can’t course throughOHMYGODYOUANDMAXFINALLYDIDIT???” And just like that, she had deterred him away from the Henry subject and she texted Hen a warning about it as Jasper had to know everything, “How’s it shaped? Is it as perfect as we imagined through the gray sweatpants? Can you draw me a sketch of it? Better yet… Did you get pix?”

“I… had already seen it before. Calm down there, Bud…”

“Did you sing Happy Birthday to him like Marilyn Monroe? That’s what I would’ve done.”

“I didn’t. Honestly, it was just really slow and sweet and steamy,” she said, nodding.

“Awwww. You went easy on him. You must really be in love!” Jasper gushed.

She smiled hard enough to hurt her face, “I did!… And, I am. It’s really cool. I haven’t been this close to anybody in a while, and even then, it was you know, just… not like this is.  I’ve never had to take things slowly, and I’ve never had to learn to trust or have someone learn to trust me after the emotional connection. I’ve never had to be patient for a guy to be ready for me and I certainly have never had to go easy on somebody. It’s equal parts centering and exciting!”

“Did you at least warn him that you were a raging ball of aggression in the bedroom?” Jasper asked.

“I am NOT!” She said, then giggled a little, “I mean, I haven’t had any complaints!” She gasped, “You think that I’ll frighten him if he gets Take Charge Char?”

“I think Take Charge Char is far more hot than she is scary, but the scary is a good scary. That “roller coaster ride scary,” not “a bear in the woods while you’re camping” scary. But, more about the di-”

“Naw. I gotta get this stuff to my new place!” She said and began rolling the cart out of the tower, with a huge smile on her face.

.

Henry looked at Max approaching and wondered, “Are you late, or am I uncharacteristically early?”

Max looked at his watch and said, “I’m late…. Wait, why did I look at my watch? OF COURSE, I’m late. Like you’d ever be early.” Henry laughed and rolled his eyes, then heard his phone and checked Charlotte’s text. “Uh uh. Phone away. It’s training time,” Max said, setting his things down.

“You’re one to talk. You were late today!” Henry said, then groaned at the text message, “Your delightful girlfriend just told Jasper that I might be leaving soon. Why would she do that?” Henry had taken to sarcastically using positive words for Char whenever he was irritated by her, to avoid interference from Max, that he was certain could result in either his own derision or demise. Better safe and sarcastic than sorry.

“Have you not talked to Jasper about possibly leaving here?” Max wondered, stretching.

Henry put his phone into his bag and said, “I’ve brought it up a few times that I was probably gonna go on some far off missions with you, but I think that he’s not hearing that I might be leaving soon.”

“Are you SAYING that you might be leaving soon to him?” Max asked.

“Did you SAY it before you told Char over the weekend?” Henry asked right back.

“Are you and Jasper in the same situation and Char and I?” Max wondered.

“No, but… you can’t be pot kettling or whatever.”

“Different situations, Dude,” Max said. “I wanna marry Charlotte someday, but as it stands, she’s technically not my best friend. I mean… That’s a goal, definitely, but it isn’t our reality. You and Jasper have been together your entire lives and he follows you everywhere. Not telling him that somewhere may be another country is a little different from me having anxiety about admitting to a short term girlfriend the same thing… He is gonna come with you, right?”

Henry shrugged his shoulders, “I kinda want him to figure out his own thing. I’ve been doing some soul searching and I realize that while I’ve been putting everybody else first and working on saving other people, Jasper’s been doing the same thing, but for me.”

They continued stretching and Max commented, “Maybe that’s what he wants to do.”

“Maybe. But, I’ll feel better if he has some time to look inside and really determine that, you know? Would you want Charlotte to just pack up and leave and come along with us to Russia?”

“Yes. But, yet again - not the same situation.”

Henry sighed, annoyed and commented, “I am so ready to swing punches at your face now.”

“I am ready to watch you fail to land them.”

.

“Okay. I am ready to do THAT for the rest of my life,” Max said. Charlotte simply laughed. It was nice, but she was certainly sore. She hadn’t had to work her thigh muscles like that before, or at least in a while. She forgot about all of the “additional” that came along with this. It didn’t matter, though. Max was here with her, and he wanted her, and he wanted this. She had no complaints.

He laid in Charlotte’s arms, ready to forsake Russia, the T Force, the Hero League, anything else that dared to come between him and this feeling that he had right now, in this very moment, wrapped up in her, bodies connected, spirits aligned.

“Whether it’s 3 months or 6, I want to be with you, okay?” She whispered.

He nodded. Of course. He wanted to throw a ring on her and pop a baby in her, but that was a bit much for right now, so he just said, “You could move into the lair, if you want. That might give us a little more time together before the changes happen.”

“Wouldn’t you have to run that by Share-A-Lair?” She wondered.

“Running it by them for me includes sending them a message that it’s happening.”

“Oh, so you got it like that, huh?”

“I’m the man.” He kissed her fingertips and asked, “Do you not want to?”

She smiled, “I think that’d be cool. I mean, it’s only for a few months, then you’re off to Russia, so it isn’t like there’s a danger of us growing sick of each other. Besides, I practically live there now and gas to and from for when I’ve gotta come back here is pretty pricey.”

“You think that we’ll grow sick of each other when we’re around each other more?” he wondered. “I can’t imagine ever being sick of you. I imagine you being the main thing that makes me feel well in a very sick world where I have to battle sick people.” She just smiled. He was strumming her skin lovingly with his fingertips and seemed like he had a lot going through his mind.

“Will we be able to visit each other at all? When you’re in Russia?” She asked.

“It’s not final that I’ll be in Russia… but, I will have a lair, hidden beneath the property of my secret identity. If you want, you can certainly visit me, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave during the tour.”

“Cool. I’ve never really thought about Russia, but I’m going to look into it. Add it as a place for me to be able to visit a time or two in the next few years… You are only gonna be gone for a few years, right?”

“Three,” he said.

“Yeah, I’ve done this long distance thing for longer before. We’ve got this.”

He looked at her and gave her a kiss. “Can we…”

“Again?”

“If it isn’t asking too much…”

“It’s not!” She smiled. “Come here…”

.

Each day, Charlotte came in a little less chipper and a little more sore looking. Jasper smirked every time, until one day, maybe about a week later, he straight up asked, “You can’t handle the D, can you?”

She let out a relieved sigh and a chain of word vomit, “Dude, I can’t even get to the point where I’m at my usual performance level with Max, because whenever we get down to it, his physical superiority and stamina outrun my experience and prowess. What does it matter if you can do fun little tricks, if after a few minutes, you’re ready to pass out, just as he’s getting warmed up? He is a leading world  superhero, with nearly perfect health, and impeccable bodily preoccupation! He can do some GLORIOUS shit with body. I mean, leave you speechless tier. And… I can handle about 10 minutes of him, then I’m just there because if I move, I might collapse. I have GOT to add cardio to my daily schedule!”

Jasper nodded his head, cordially the entire time she was speaking, but as soon as she stopped, he simply asked, “Okay, but how big is it?” She stared at him for a moment before walking away. “Bigger than Henry’s? Surely.” He gasped, “Is it bigger than mine? Are there other personality traits to it? Like a curve or a slightly fatter top? OH! He’s… cut, isn’t he? You know what, you should see if he’ll let you take a photo of it, so we can research.”

“Jasper!” She finally shrieked. “Shut. Up.”

“Right. You’re having a crisis. Here’s a solution! You let him take control until you get your own physicality up. Those are essentially pleasure filled workouts. He’ll like being in charge all the time, at least for a while, then whenever it seems like it’s boring and dull, POW! You’ll hit him with your modulation. He’ll be like… WHAT? There was a higher pleasure setting? Huh?? And you can stay on that level until you gain more endurance, and then, guess what? POW! Another modulation on him.” Jasper shook his head, “But, that’s probably not gonna work.”

“No, no… That’s… I can work with that. My legs haven’t burned this much since I started marathon training in junior high!”

“I forgot that you used to do that!” Jasper said.

“So did my thighs.”

He laughed and said, “RIP Charlotte’s hamstrings.”

“Rude!” she snapped. They looked at each other, “But, accurate.” He laughed again and she tried not to, because it wasn’t funny and she didn’t want to encourage him. But, in spite of herself, she had to laugh a little.

She definitely regretted it when a moment later, Jasper slid a pencil and a piece of paper to her and said, “What if you just sketch it for me? As true to life as possible, please?”

She gave him a small, tight smile, picked up the pencil and said, “Imagine for a moment that this was one…” Then, she snapped it in half with her thumb and threw it down on the table. Jasper gasped as she got up and walked over to her work area in the lab.

“He… He has a pencil one?” He wondered, in horror. She just left it alone. Maybe if he thought that, he’d give it a rest! “I’ve been sweat-fished!” He whined. That sounds disgusting.

[neshabeingchildish]

League of Extraordinary Geniuses || Chapter 5

Mika, as developed in Mika Provides will be a background character, after all, I’ve decided. Check that out for a refresher or a first time read, if you wanna. It’ll highlight why she’s here, because I don’t know that I’ll be mentioning that much in this story. @kiddangers @sevenseashigh @junknstu1f @just-a-j-reallly @famousflowermagazine @verified-dumbass I am once again asking that you let me know if I’m not supposed to tag you to this. 

Android Paranoid

The first few days were quiet as they monitored the obvious confusion of androids processing things without the innate obligation to remain dutiful to their owners. Chase was working on his video game. Max was working on processing twin powers into bionic chips. Charlotte was looking over the plans for a test of intelligence unaffected by standardized privilege. This was one of the hardest things she had ever done, because she knew that even her ability and history with receiving and interpreting information had been highly influenced by social convention. Androids were better at this, but they too were built by humans who were fallible. She was mumbling under her breath when she heard Chase say, "Just make billions of tests"

"That's impractical…" she said, over her shoulder, thought a moment, then asked, "Have you got the time?"

"I'll make the time," he said, smiling brightly at her. She winked and he blushed. Max… noticed, but he felt like he and Chase had definitely had enough budding of heads already and decided to just catalog it away and keep his eye on that guy. The truth was that Max was not a very patient person. Biding his time and waiting his turn were things that felt both uncomfortable and boring to do, therefore, if he couldn’t figure out ways to get to someplace quick, the goal lost its appeal and he moved on to other goals… This had NOT been the case with Charlotte. 

Oh, he wanted it to be. He wanted to move forward, forget his emotions and never intended to pine, at all… But. He just couldn’t. Maybe she would never want to be with him, but that didn’t stop him from having to make sure that she was as happy and safe as he could from inside of her life. It didn’t stop him from falling or being in love with her and he was pretty sure that nothing would, whether or not it ever became a discussion again. He was forever wounded from the time whenever it DID become a conversation, and he sort of wished that he had handled it better at the time. He also wished that she had known better, too. He would never admit it, but a part of him had been waiting for her to come to her senses… waiting for her to see that he could be what they previously agreed that he wouldn’t be able to.

Chase threw him a glare and asked, “WHAT? What are you staring at?”

Max only realized just then that Chase had been within his line of vision while he was thinking. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not THAT good looking. I was in my own head.”

“THAT good looking?” Charlotte repeated with a smile. Max narrowed his eyes at her, but he was smirking, so she knew he wasn’t mad. Chase, on the other hand seemed quite flustered as he stammered over words and said that he was going to get back to work. 

.

After about three days, the androids began to reach out to her. Androids were used to guidance, but they had the freedom to move on… BUT, then again… These technically were only a few years old. She arranged a meeting for them and Chase and Max escorted her to the site. 

Her protege, Mika, was already there and speaking with the androids whenever they arrived. “Charlotte!” She cheered, excused herself from the androids and rushed over, “It’s been extremely hectic today. There has been multiple reports to Davenport Industries about defective androids and Mr. Davenport told me that if I don’t get you on the phone with him within the hour, he is going to shut them all down!” She laughed nervously and wrung her hands. “Donald. Davenport. Yelled at me today! Do you know what is happening with the androids?”

“I do. And, I’ll call the Dom while Chase catches you up,” Charlotte began tapping on her wrist and walked off. 

Mika smiled at Chase. She had A HUGE crush on him, but he saw her as a little kid, and she was pretty small, but he wasn’t a large person himself, and she was young, but she was extremely smart and very mature, she felt for her age and… “Oh my God, I am so sorry! I didn’t hear a word that you said!” She admitted, wincing.

“Did the sound of your fawning drown him out?” Max teased. She glared at him, knowing that her face was slightly darker with the blood rushing through her veins. “It’s like this, Loudmouth, Charlotte freed the androids to make Jamaica better, and if all goes well, she’s gonna liberate androids all over the world.”

Her face was frozen as she stared at him, processing his words and stuck in place.

“That’s not what we agreed to tell her. Now, she’s faced with having to tell on us or be an accessory!” 

“RELAX. It’s Mika. She’s not gonna tell. She knows Char’s a good person, she has the hots for you, and she’s like… if I had a little sister who annoys me as much as my twin sister. When she snaps back to reality, she’ll deal with it.”

“She shouldn’t have to deal with it, because it was supposed to be between the three of us,” Chase said through his teeth before scanning Mika. “She’s in shock. Are you happy now?”

Max rolled his eyes and whispered to Mika, “Chase thinks you’re the smartest non-bionic girl he’s ever met…”

“WHAT?” She said. Max was about to repeat the lie, but she continued, “CHARLOTTE HAS BASICALLY UNPLUGGED THE ANDROIDS?”

“Basically,” Max said with nonchalant confidence and Chase said reluctantly. 

“Hooooooooh my God…” Mika said and waded through nothing in front of her but tense air to make her way to a seat. 

“Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her,” Max said. Chase just fumed, but a call was coming through, so he walked off too while Charlotte was coming back. Max would have to explain this Mika freak out.

Chase answered the call and it was Donald. “Chase! Thank GOD I reached you!”

“Mr. Davenport… is there an emergency? I’ve sort of went on a spontaneous trip with some friends…”

Donald laughed for a bit, then sobered up and said, “Oh. You’re serious. Okay. Well, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to cut it short. I need you to go to Jamaica and oversee an incident that Charlotte has.”

“Oh? Yes. Sure. I can do that. No problem…”

“You’re in Jamaica, aren’t you?”

“Charlotte is one of very few friends I have and everyone knows this,” Chase said.

“Well, she really screwed the pooch with her most recent launch of android models. Businesses are threatening to withdrawn MILLIONS from us because of it. All of the droids are defected and I tried to shut them down, but can’t. You’ll have to figure out a way.”

“What if there isn’t a way?” Chase asked.

“There’d better be. Or the Smartest Woman in the World will have to get off of her pedestal.”

“What if they aren’t defected? If they’ve just decided that they shouldn’t have to be slaves…”

“They’re androids, Chase. We decide for them with a few buttons and wires. Now! Fix Charlotte's mistake and honestly, we might need to rethink you spending time with her.” Chase furrowed his eyebrows, forced a smile and hung up. 

It was gonna be a hard time when Mr. Davenport realized that he was in on this. 

.

Davenport Industries lost A TON of money from this, but Charlotte didn’t seem the least bit worried about Davenport ruining her in response. In fact, she seemed pretty settled that she was about to become very popular and well respected for this. A lot of the businesses in Jamaica were being sold off to other companies and  many resorts and such were cutting their losses. The idea of islands full of unpredictable androids was terrifying. That was much scarier than possibly going into a bad neighborhood and being treated like an outsider. Tourists started fleeing. Expats started reconsidering. Charlotte started rebuilding. 

There were androids trying to figure out their purpose, now that they could, and this was a beautiful place to figure it out. But… also… They all had numerous skills. And they required some maintenance, but Charlotte and Mika made rounds speaking to elders and politicians and citizens to see what things they might be able to help with and find androids that were willing to help out in exchange for help with their maintenance.  

After some of them found work and others boarded the ship back to the mainlands, to where Charlotte promised to help them out, Chase used this as a time to convince Mr. Davenport that it was good for business to take credit for this turnaround.

That whatever issues they had with the androids, He could say that he made the situation better and Charlotte would remain out of the narrative and continue to fix this for him. “I know losing money is tough, but you’ve got so much already and well… Do you want to lose all that money AND your reputation?” When all else failed, Chase knew he could probably intercede on Charlotte’s behalf with Tasha… but, Davenport agreed that it was better not to draw more attention to the failures and to quietly fix this. 

Charlotte was unbothered. Jamaica was on the verge of healing and the androids on the ship would be able to go wherever they chose to. 

Max and Charlotte were relaxing whenever Chase returned from his dealings with Davenport. “You two look at ease.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Max asked. Charlotte just made a face. 

“I feel like we got lucky with this. Until we’ve been able to find placements for the androids, should we proceed with setting more free? Like… can we logistically pull it off?”

“We are the people who can logistically pull off anything,” Max said. “We’ve got the smartest man, the smartest woman and an extremely smart, handsome, powerful superhuman. We’ve all had moments where nobody else but us was gonna figure out what to do. With our combined strengths and intellects…”

“We’ve got androids in the process of freeing other androids either remotely, or headed for missions,” Charlotte said smiling. 

“Have we forgotten about the hysteria of humanity?” Chase asked.

“We’ve got stuff in the process of combating that, too…” She pulled up a hologram from her wrist of all of the wonderful progress that the Jamaica androids were making in helping things. Mika was collecting hours and hours of positive footage in the event that opposition began to voice opinions.

Chase sat down and relaxed with them. Max passed him a glass, which he suspiciously looked at. “It’s a virgin daiquiri, Dude.” Chase accepted it, knowing that Charlotte would stop him if it wasn’t and took a sip. It was pretty delicious. Max picked up his own glass and lifted it, “To…”“Us,” Charlotte said. Both of them smiled at her, having very different imaginings of what “us” was, but agreeing, nonetheless. “To us!” They said and clanked glasses.

.

It took a few weeks for things to get the level of hectic that they expected. Chase had gone back to Elite Force. Max had gone back to T Force. Mika was almost wishing she was back in Danger Force, but GOD, being android liaison was an assignment that she had not anticipated receiving. Then again, it was giving her an opportunity to both show her linguistics expertise and also her political aspirations. 

Before she went to college, she knew a couple of languages, but she wanted to learn more of them. She initially wanted to be a global superhero. Charlotte was. Max was. Chase was. She knew some pretty powerful people thanks to this job, but whenever she became Dystress’ sidekick and Charlotte’s pupil, Charlotte helped her to realize that putting herself directly in danger wasn’t the only aspect of heroism and that people with minds like theirs could save the world from a desk if they worked hard enough and felt passionately enough. 

Because of that, no matter where they went or relocated, the first thing that she and Charlotte did was get desks. It was a little bit of a ritual, a little bit of a reminder. That no matter what role they would work, they’d be heroes because of their great minds and the greater good that they believed in. 

Mika was at her desk whenever she heard the loud sound of something coming towards them. She rushed out of her office and saw what she could only guess was a... TORPEDO??? It was coming right for them and all she could do was cover her eyes and SCREAM! 

The scream sent a huge wave towards the thing that she simply just knew for a few moments was about to make it explode right in her face, but instead it sent the torpedo back from whence it came and blew up the jet that launched it. Fiery wreckage fell into the water and she covered her chest with both hands in terror and shock. 

She heard some of the bystanders speaking in patois and debating on what they had just seen. She answered to let them know that they were attacked, but were safe, for now. They hadn’t expected her to be able to sound like them. She was very clearly not from there, even though she tried to fit in and she knew that at least a few had to have seen her use her superpowers. 

“Charlotte, we have a huge problem. Someone just tried to attack the android safe house, and I’m pretty sure that Shoutout killed them.”

“Are YOU okay, Mika?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m... shocked. Who would do this? A super villain?” Mika wondered.

“I wish. Super villains are easy to fight. This was very likely the government, or some sort of agency. See what androids you can round up to go on a search and rescue. I’m on my way back.” Charlotte lowered her head and muttered an affirmation. “You were right. You are right. And you will fight for what’s right, and you will win.” Moments later, she sent texts to Max and Chase, just to let them know.

Both of them arrived roughly the same time. Max with Billy and Chase with Bree. Bree and Billy looked at each other, then, before anyone could say anything, they were in a competition. Max catalogued the thought that whenever non supes were less terrible, they could create some sort of games where bionics verses supers. Charlotte walked out to her jet to see them, still in their hero suits and with nothing additional. “What are you two doing here? You should get as far away from this failure as possible.” She had one bag with her, either like she was going on a very short trip, or she didn’t expect to make it back.

“I don’t believe that you think this is a failure,” Max said, shaking his head. “You freed androids all over the globe in a matter of weeks.

“And somebody sent assassins to blow them up. I could’ve gotten a 20 year olf kid killed.”

“Mika’s not gonna die. She’s too smart!” Max said, trying to play off his own worry. “Come on. Let’s get into it. I resigned from T Force to help you.”

“You resigned?” Chase asked.

“Yeah, yeah... I know. Irresponsible and unthinkable, yadda yadda...” Max started.

“No... I quit too. I... had to see this through.” He reached for one of Charlotte’s hands and Max reached for the other. “To us,” Chase whispered and both of them squeezed her hands before they headed in to make sense of what had happened to Mika in Jamaica.

[bibbawrites]

Tis The Damn Season - Single Dad!Charlie x Owen

THIS IS PART 8 OF THE SINGLE DAD!CHARLIE SERIES, YOU CAN FIND THE OTHER PARTS HERE

Request: none

Word Count: 3897 words

Summary: Part 8 of Single Dad!Charlie, Owen spends Christmas and New Year with Charlie and Margaux

Warnings: swearing, sexual references, implied sexual content  pretty sure everyone knows at this point but this does include romantic chowen, remember this is fictional, if you dont like that just dont read :)

A/N: i was hesitant to write this since its literally march but @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ told me i should do it when i asked her so here it is lol  things are getting a little more steamy...  sorry for any typos im once again editing this half asleep lol  anyways hope you enjoy!

Tag List: @happinessinthedarkesttimes​​​​​​ @littlemissaddict​​​​​​ @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​​​​​​ @headheartbellarke​​​​​​ @lovesanimals​​​​​​ @bartok-the-magnificent​​​​​​ @juliefromaustralia @multi-universe21 @rangerelik @kaitieskidmore1 @katrina765​​​​​​ @fandomxreaders​​​​​​​ @ifilwtmfc @yagorlemmalyn​

December 23rd - 9pm

“Papa!” Margaux exclaimed, running over to Owen as he exited the plane. “You’re back!” 

“I am.” Owen grinned, scooping up the four year old to give her a hug. “Isn’t it past your bed time missy?” 

“Daddy let me stay awake to see you!” Margaux told him, and Owen smiled at the mention of Charlie. 

“I’m glad. Where is Daddy?” He asked. Margaux pointed and Charlie waved from his spot on a chair. 

“Over there.” She said, and Owen grabbed his bag that he had dropped in his haste to grab Margaux before heading over to Charlie. 

“Hey handsome.” Charlie grinned. Owen blushed slightly.

“Hi.” He replied. “Missed you.”

“Missed you more. Ready to go home and have a good sleep?” Charlie questioned and Owen nodded, visibly relaxing at the mention of sleep. 

“I really am.” He agreed. Charlie smiled, taking Owen’s bag. 

“Great. Let’s get out of here.” 

-

Margaux fell asleep in the car on the way home, so once they arrived Charlie took her straight to bed. He pulled her door closed, leaving just enough of a gap to let the hallway light creep into the room, before heading down the hallway to where Owen was stood in the living room. Charlie glanced up, grinning when he noticed that Owen had fallen right into his trap.

“What are you smiling about?” Owen questioned. Charlie smiled.

“Look up.” He said, and Owen obeyed, Charlie walking closer as he did.

“Mistletoe? Really?” Owen raised an eyebrow and Charlie shrugged, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Figured it would be my only chance to kiss you.”

Owen rolled his eyes, leaning in and kissing Charlie on the cheek.

“Happy?” He asked. 

Charlie pouted, grabbing Owen’s shirt and dragging him in, connecting their lips in a forceful kiss. Owen’s back hit the wall, his hands finding a place on Charlie’s waist. Charlie bit at Owen’s lip and Owen groaned, allowing Charlie to slip his tongue into Owen’s mouth.

Owen pulled away, panting, and pressed his forehead to Charlie’s.

“Is Maggie fully asleep?” He murmured against Charlie’s lips. Charlie nodded.

“Yes.” He replied. Owen grinned.

“Good.”

And with that he grabbed Charlie’s shirt, dragging him to the bedroom.

-

December 24 - Christmas Eve

Charlie woke the next morning, still naked and tangled up in Owen’s arms. He opened his eyes to find Owen already awake, playing on his phone.

“You’re awake.” Owen said, placing his phone down. Charlie hummed in response. Owen bit his lip.

“So last night was...” He trailed off.

“Yep...” Charlie replied simply. Owen hesitated.

“I don’t usually hook up with people I’m not dating.” He admitted.

“Well at least you can’t get pregnant.” Charlie joked.

“Hmm.” Owen replied, clearly not amused by Charlie’s joke. Charlie frowned.

“O?” He spoke.

“Yeah?” Owen replied.

“Do you regret it?” Charlie asked. Owen sighed.

“I don’t know Char. Remember what I said in Hawaii? I’m just not sure if I’m ready to do... this.” He said. Charlie’s heart sunk.

“But sex is okay?” He questioned, somewhat bitterly. As much as he loved Owen he wasn’t about to enter into some friends with benefits situation.

“It was a one time thing.” Owen mumbled. 

“Oh...” Charlie’s voice was small, and for a moment he considered wriggling out of Owen’s grip.

“Please don’t shut me out like in Norman.” Owen begged. Charlie hesitated.

“I won’t. I just don’t fully understand.” He said.

“Charlie...” Owen sighed. “Look, I don’t know about you-“

“But I’m feeling 22.” Charlie interrupted. Owen bit back a smile.

“No, you dork. I’m trying to be serious here.” He said, and Charlie moved so that he could see Owen’s face.

“I’m listening.” He assured Owen. Owen took a breath.

“Look, I’m not out to anyone. I have no clue what I am, and before I met you I’d never even considered being with a guy. But I met you and everything changed. I guess technically you were my sexual awakening.” He explained. Charlie traced a pattern on Owen’s arm. 

“You don’t need to have a label, I don’t. Just love who you want to love.” He said, and Owen sighed. 

“I just need a bit more time to figure this out.” He spoke after a short pause. 

“And you can have it. But can I at least get one last kiss? And promise me we won’t stop snuggling.” Charlie put on his best puppy eyes and he could see Owen caving. 

“We could never stop snuggling.” Owen said. “And as for the kiss...”

He lent in, pressing a gentle kiss to Charlie’s lips, pulling away with a grin when Charlie tried to deepen the kiss.

“There.” Owen grinned and Charlie groaned.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me.” He muttered. 

“Oh I have a bit of an idea.” Owen smirked, his gaze drifting downwards towards Charlie’s naked bottom half. Charlie blushed slightly, swatting at Owen’s chest.

“Shut up, you know that you can’t control morning wood.” He defended, slightly embarrassed that Owen could feel that he was hard. 

“I know.” Owen grinned cheekily. “You should probably fix that though. I’ll go wake up Maggie.”

He climbed out of Charlie’s bed, still naked from the night before, and made a big show of finding his boxers, knowing that Charlie was watching his every move. He found them and pulled them on, grabbing a pair of Charlie’s sweatpants and putting them on too before turning to look at Charlie.

“Have fun.” He winked, before leaving the room, and Charlie in it. Charlie let his head flop down onto the pillow with a sigh, and not for the first time considered the fact that Owen was literally going to be the death of him.

-

Charlie entered the kitchen a little bit later and ignored the look Owen gave him, instead heading over to Margaux and wrapping his arms around her.

“Good morning baby, happy Christmas Eve.” He greeted. Margaux grinned, her mouth full of froot loops. 

“Daddy! Santa comes tonight.” She exclaimed, and Charlie nodded, matching her excitement level. 

“He sure does, are you excited?” He asked and Margaux nodded quickly. 

“Yeah!” She squealed. Charlie ruffled her hair, turning his attention back to Owen. 

“Do you have plans today O? Mags and I are gonna go to the Mall to get a photo with Santa.” He questioned. Owen nodded. 

“I actually have some last minute shopping to do.” He said. Charlie smiled. 

“Cool, you can come with us and go off while we do our photo then.” He suggested, and Owen nodded. 

“Great.” He said. 

“Daddy?” Margaux spoke up. 

“Yeah baby?” Charlie glanced down at the four year old, who was looking at him in concern. 

“What happened to your neck? Did you bump it while playing?” She asked innocently. 

Charlie’s eyes widened, and Owen choked on his tea.

“Yeah baby, Daddy fell over.” Charlie agreed.

“Silly Daddy.” Margaux giggled. 

“Yeah, silly Daddy. Why don’t you go find your Christmas scrunchie for Daddy to put your hair up?” Charlie said, trying to distract her, and it worked. 

“Ooh okay!” Margaux grinned, climbing out of her chair and running to her room. 

“You gave me a fucking hickey?” Charlie said once he knew Margaux was out of earshot. 

“In my defence... yeah no I don’t have one.” Owen giggled. Charlie glared at him. 

“Fuck you Joyner.” He muttered.

“We already did. Last night.” Owen winked, rushing out of the room before Charlie could even register his cheeky words and process what just happened.

-

A few hours later and Charlie and Margaux were lined up ready to get their Santa photo taken. They reached the front of the line and the photographer gave them a welcome smile. 

“Okay sweetie are you ready to meet Santa?” The photographer asked and Margaux nodded. 

“Yeah.” She said. The photographer smiled. 

“Great, Dad are you gonna be in the photo?” She questioned. 

“Yeah I am.” Charlie replied. 

“Okay cool, just head on through.” She instructed, and Charlie carried Margaux in, sitting down on the allocated stool with her on his knee as they smiled for the photo. Once they had taken a few and the photographer was happy it was time to talk to the Santa. 

“Ho ho ho, what’s your name little one?” He asked and Margaux smiled. 

“Margaux.” She said confidently. 

“And what do you want for Christmas Margaux?” Santa asked. 

“A pony.” Margaux told him and Charlie grinned. 

“Oh, well you know it might be a bit hard for Santa to fit a pony in his sleigh. Is there anything else?” The Santa said, trying his best to redirect the four year old and not make any promises. 

“Yeah...” She glanced up at Charlie before looking back at Santa. “I want Papa to stay with me and Daddy all the time and not go away again.”

Charlie bit his lip as he made eye contact with the Santa, who shot him a slightly sympathetic look.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Santa told her softly and Margaux smiled. Charlie took that as their cue to leave, standing up quickly and saying one last goodbye to the Santa before leaving. He paid for the photo and collected the print outs, one for him and one to send back to Canada for his mum. 

They left the photo area and headed through the mall to where they were meeting up with Owen. 

“Daddy?” Margaux spoke up. Charlie hummed in response. 

“Yeah Mags?” He asked. 

“Will Papa have to go home?” Margaux questioned, her voice soft. Charlie sighed. 

“Probably baby. You know Papa lives in Oklahoma, he has to go back to Bindi, remember?” He told her, and Margaux pouted. 

“I wish he wouldn’t go.” She said, and Charlie nodded, spotting Owen on a bench just ahead of them. 

“Me too baby, me too.” He agreed as they reached Owen who jumped up quickly. 

“There you are! How was Santa, what did you ask him for?” He questioned. Charlie bit his lip. 

“We’ll talk about it later.” He said, and Owen frowned but dropped it nonetheless, changing the topic to a toy that he had seen, leaving Charlie to zone out and consider how exactly he was meant to explain Margaux’s words to Owen without hurting him. 

-

It wasn’t until later that evening that Owen brought the topic up again. He and Charlie were sitting in the living room, and Margaux was in her room, taking a late afternoon nap since she had been exhausted when they got home from the mall. 

“What did she ask for?” Owen asked, and Charlie bit his lip. 

“At first a pony. Luckily Santa dodged that one and said it was too big to fit in the sleigh. So he asked her what else she wanted, and she said she wanted you to stay with us and not go home.” He admitted. Owen was silent.

“Oh...” He said after a moment. Charlie nodded awkwardly. 

“Yeah.” He replied. They fell silent, before Charlie spoke again. 

“Owen, I promise I didn’t say anything to her. I’m not trying to guilt you into staying by brainwashing her.” He said, and Owen nodded. 

“I know, don’t freak out.” He replied, grabbing Charlie’s hand and giving it a light squeeze. 

“I just don’t want you to freak out.” Charlie explained. 

“I get it. She’s four Charlie, she just wants her Papa around more often.” Owen sighed, and Charlie nodded. 

“She’s not the only one.” He said. Owen shut his eyes. 

“I know. I’m thinking about it, trust me. But it’s not an easy decision to make.” He mumbled. 

“I know it’s not. Take your time. Now should we go have ourselves a nice Christmas Eve dinner?” Charlie said, deciding to change the topic as quickly as he could. 

“Sounds good. I’ll get Maggie.” Owen agreed. 

Charlie sighed as Owen left the room to go find the four year old. He wanted nothing more than for the blond boy to stay for as long as he could, but that was unrealistic.

He knew that all he could do was just enjoy his time with Owen while he could.

-

December 25 - Christmas Day

“Daddy! Papa! Wake up!”

Charlie’s eyes fluttered open as his four year old bounced on the bed, narrowly missing jumping on his and Owen’s tangled legs.

“It’s Christmas!” Margaux squealed.

“Margaux.” Owen whined. “It’s so early.”

“But Santa came.” Margaux flopped down, landing on Charlie’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss on her messy curls.

“Merry Christmas baby.” He whispered.

“Merry Christmas Daddy. Present time?” She grinned. Charlie shook his head, glancing towards Owen, who had rolled over and was attempting to go back to sleep.

“Cuddle for a bit first. Give Papa a chance to wake up.” He told her, and Margaux nodded, snuggling closer to her father.

“Okay.”

-

Almost an hour later and Owen was finally awake and Charlie couldn’t hold Margaux off any longer.

The three of them set up in the living room, where all of Margaux’s presents were under the large fake Christmas tree.

Charlie sat leaning against Owen as Margaux opened her presents, and once she was happily playing with a new truck that she had gotten Charlie offered Owen his presents.

“This one is from Mags.” He explained, as Owen opened the present to find a drawing that Margaux had done of the three of them, framed nicely.

“It’s beautiful. You did a great job Maggie.” Owen complimented and Margaux grinned.

“Thank you!” She exclaimed. Charlie grabbed a second present.

“This one is from me.” He handed the small box to Owen who opened it, revealing a key. 

“It’s a key to this apartment. I figured even if you don’t end up moving here at least you can still come any time you want.” Charlie explained and Owen smiled. 

“Thank you Char.” He said softly, and Charlie nodded. Owen reached down, grabbing the last wrapped present and handing it to Charlie. Charlie took it and opened it to find a photo book filled with photos of himself and Margaux, Owen and Margaux, memories from set and their adventures together and more. 

“This is really sweet Owen.” Charlie smiled softly. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Owen replied, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Charlie’s head, as Charlie rested his head on Owen’s shoulder, the both of them watching Margaux play with small smiles on their faces. 

-

The rest of their Christmas Day passed quickly and before he knew it Charlie was tucking Margaux into bed with a kiss on the head, and leaving her room to go have a shower.

Almost an hour later he reentered the kitchen where Owen had cleaned up everything from dinner and was sitting on a chair fiddling with his phone.

“Beer?” Charlie asked and Owen’s head shot up.

“Please.” He smiled and Charlie opened the fridge, grabbing two bottles of beer and handed one to Owen before sitting down across from him.

“So, first Christmas away from home, how you feeling?” Charlie questioned. Owen shrugged. 

“Honestly, pretty good. I was worried I’d be homesick but I wasn’t at all.” He said and Charlie grinned. 

“That’s really good. Cleaning up after Mags all day would have been a good distraction.” He replied and Owen groaned, making Charlie laugh. 

“I don’t know how you do this 24/7. You’re literally a superhero.” 

“Nah, just learnt to leave the messes until after she’s finished. Much easier.” 

Owen glared at him. 

“You say that now, after I spent the whole day picking shit up?” He spat, but Charlie knew he wasn’t really angry. 

“In my defence you’ve lived with her before. Rookie error from someone with experience.” Charlie retaliated and Owen flipped him off, the both of them crumbling into a fit of giggles. 

“Daddy?” Margaux’s voice came and Charlie instantly stopped laughing, his whole focus on his daughter. 

“Hey, why are you up?” He asked. 

“Bad dream.” Margaux climbed into Charlie’s lap and he wrapped his arms around her, beginning to rock her slightly like he did when she was a baby.

“Wanna talk about it?” He questioned and Margaux pouted. 

“I couldn’t find you.” She told him. Charlie placed a reassuring kiss on her head. 

“I’m here, and I’m never gonna leave you, okay?” He whispered, and Margaux nodded. 

“Yeah.” Her voice was already beginning to sound sleepy again. Charlie ran his hands through her curls, detangling a knot with his fingers. 

“You wanna stay here and cuddle Daddy until you fall asleep?” He asked, moving to rub her back, and Margaux nodded, snuggling her head into Charlie’s chest.

“Love you Daddy.” She mumbled. Charlie smiled. 

“I love you too baby. So much.” He replied. 

They sat in silence until Charlie was sure that Margaux was asleep. 

“Never get a break.” He joked quietly. Owen shook his head in awe. 

“You’re literally the perfect dad, you know that right?” He complimented, and Charlie blushed slightly. 

“I wouldn’t say perfect.” He mumbled, but Owen shook his head. 

“You are.” He said. Charlie smiled across the table at him. 

“Thanks O.” He whispered. 

“I mean it.” Owen smiled. 

“I appreciate it. It wasn’t exactly in the plan to become a parent at 18, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re young and stupid and don’t know how a condom works.” Charlie shrugged, and Owen gave him a small glare. 

“So you made one mistake, but look at what came from it.” Charlie looked down at Margaux as Owen spoke. “The best present that you ever got.” 

“Very true.” Charlie agreed. “And I’d never want to return her for the world.” 

-

New Year’s Eve

“Do you drink champagne?” Charlie asked Owen as the three of them walked through the grocery store on New Years Eve, getting the last minute snacks and drinks for their night in. Charlie pushed a trolley with Margaux in it, and Owen walked along beside them. 

“Yeah.” Owen said. Charlie smiled, stopping the trolley. 

“Great, I’ll get a bottle then. Mags, what drink do you want as your special drink?” He asked the four year old, who didn’t even hesitate. 

“Pink milk!” She grinned, pointing, and Owen grabbed the bottle from the fridge next to them.

“Okay, snacks.” Charlie said, crossing off ‘Margaux drink’ on his shopping list.

He pushed the trolley out of the aisle and through the store to the snack aisle, stopping when he reached it. 

“Okay, go wild.” He instructed, and both Margaux and Owen cheered, with the blond boy grabbing whatever Margaux asked for, putting it into the trolley along with his own snack choices. 

Charlie grinned as he watched them shop, adding a few of his own things into the mix. 

He could get used to this. 

-

Later that night Charlie, Owen and Margaux had made themselves comfortable on the couch, both Charlie and Owen having a glass of champagne while Margaux drank strawberry milk out of a plastic champagne glass. 

“How long Daddy?” Margaux asked, looking up at her dad. Charlie glanced at his phone, seeing that it was just after 11pm. He was shocked she had made it this long without crashing. 

“One more hour baby.” He told her and Margaux nodded. 

“Okay.”

She turned back to the TV which was playing a countdown of the best songs of the 2010′s, and they fell into a comfortable silence only filled with small talk and songs for about 45 minutes until Owen broke the silence. 

“Char.” He whispered, and Charlie looked up. Owen gestured to Margaux and a small smile appeared on Charlie’s face as his gaze landed on the four year old, who had curled up on the couch and fallen asleep.

“Should we put her to bed and bring out more alcohol?” Owen questioned and Charlie nodded with a grin. 

“Sounds good. I’ll put her in bed, you get the drinks?” He suggested, and Owen nodded, placing a soft kiss goodnight on Margaux’s head before heading into the kitchen.

Charlie picked the four year old up and carried her to her bed, tucking her in and kissing her before heading back out to Owen, who had already poured two glasses of champagne. Charlie sat down on the couch next to Owen, grabbing one of the glasses and holding it up.

“Cheers.” He said, and they clinked glasses before drinking. Charlie placed his glass down before looking at Owen. 

“5 minutes til midnight, you ready for 2020 to be over?” He asked. Owen shrugged. 

“Mostly. There were some good things that happened this year.” He said. 

“Yeah it wasn’t all bad.” Charlie agreed. They fell silent for a moment. 

“Hey Charlie?” Owen spoke up, his voice slightly shaky. 

“Yeah?” Charlie turned, giving Owen his full attention. 

“I made a decision, about where I want to live...” Owen started, and Charlie’s heart skipped a beat. He was pretty sure he knew what Owen’s decision would be, but he wanted to hear it just to be sure. 

“Yeah?” He prompted. Owen looked down. 

“I think I’m gonna stay in Oklahoma, I’m not ready to leave yet.” He said, and Charlie nodded, understanding. 

“I get that.” Owen looked up. 

“But I have a compromise.” He said with a small smile. Charlie raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh yeah?” 

“I’m gonna get my own place. I found one that’s really nice and affordable, and it has a study that could be turned into a bedroom for Margaux, and you could come stay with me whenever you wanted.” Owen explained, and Charlie couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Margaux having her very own room in Oklahoma to stay any time. But there was one other thing... 

“A room for Margaux?” Charlie questioned and Owen nodded. “So where would I sleep?”

“Uh, I was kinda counting on you sleeping in my room with me...” Owen trailed off hesitantly. Charlie’s stomach fluttered at the thought. 

“You’d want that?” He asked, eyes wide, and Owen nodded shyly. 

“I do. I love waking up with you Char. I love hearing your morning voice, and seeing your messy hair, and the way you kiss my face while you’re still half asleep. And I love having you in my arms, or being in your arms.” He rambled, and it took everything in Charlie not to kiss him. 

“You really like me, huh.” Charlie teased. Owen blushed, rolling his eyes. 

“I do. I figured it was obvious, you know, when we literally had sex last week.” He retorted. Charlie grinned. 

“Owen.” He said. 

“Charlie.” Owen mimicked his tone. 

“I would love that.” Charlie stated, bringing the conversation back to the original topic. 

“I’m glad. Actually, I have something else to tell you too.” Owen told him. 

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Charlie tilted his head. 

“I think I’m r-“

Owen was cut off by the countdown to midnight starting on the TV, and he stopped talking with a sigh as both boys grabbed their champagne as they counted.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year!”

Charlie lent in, placing a soft kiss on Owen’s cheek, not wanting to push the boundaries.

“Happy New Year Owen.” He said. Owen bit his lip, and Charlie missed the longing look in Owen’s eyes, his gaze drifting to Charlie’s lips. He swallowed, shaking his head before replying.

“Happy New Year Charlie.”

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Off Day: Four

You let yourself into the house and set your bag down on the counter with a sigh, scooping Salem off the floor as she started to wind around your legs. “Hey Porkchop, Aunt Kaity in bed already? Hm?” 

You cuddle her and bury your face in her soft fur, grateful that she couldn’t ask you questions. Or pass judgment. You pad across the kitchen, still holding her like a baby in the crook of your arm and set about getting something to eat. You know you’ll probably feed a lot of it to Salem, but Kaity fusses at you when you skip meals. She was already going to be irritated when she realized that you had only take $100 as your paycheck. Not all she technically owed you. But, you had a place to sleep, food, and all you really needed was money for cat food and gas.

“How’d it go?” Kaity said, taking a seat in the kitchen, smirking when you jump.

“Christ, Kaity,” you yelp, “Don’t do that!”

“That good huh?” she said, noting your red eyes with a frown.

“About as good as I expected it to go,” you say guardedly, putting your plate down in front of Kaity and turning to make another.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“Kate-”

“No. I’m serious. Who the fuck does he think he is? Did you at least hit him?”

Tears start welling up unbidden and you hug Salem a little closer, swallowing hard. You can’t bring yourself to tell her what happened. That he just wanted in your pants. That he had a chick he was already fucking around with. One that he had apparently knocked up. Kaity stopped and stood up slowly, holding her arms out for you to walk into, “Come’ere, Bubbles,” she coaxed gently.

You set Salem down gently to investigate the floor for treats and walk into her arms, burying your face in her shoulder. “Shhh,” she murmured, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry... Was he at least going bald or something?”

You laugh in spite of yourself, “No, damn it. He’s still fucking cute. The asshole.”

Kaity wipes tears away with her thumbs and kisses your cheek, “Well fuck,” she pouted, “Was anyone else at least worth flirting with?”

“Pretty sure I’m not anyone’s type, Kate.”

“Bullshit. You’re everyone’s type.”

“You’re biased, Blossom. I can prove it.”

“Fuck you. I waited up for you. Let me have this. I’m dying remember?”

You wince and shake your head, “Not allowed. Nope. Nope. We have to die on the same day remember? We promised.” Tears start welling up again and Kaity thuds her forehead against yours gently.

“It’ll be okay, Bubbles,” she soothed, “You just gotta make a new promise okay? I need you to promise you’re gonna keep going... If you don’t I’m gonna haunt your ass. Like. Exorcist shit okay? Pea Soup everywhere. Forever.”

You shake your head, “I’m not doing shit. Because we’re gonna die on the same day. Two old biddies with a bunch of dead husbands and like... suspicious amounts of money.”

Kaity kisses your cheek again but doesn’t answer. She remembers that promise. She remembers laying next to you in your hospital bed after you’d tried to slit your wrists. She’d made you promise. Promise that you weren’t gonna try to leave her again. Made you swear that you were gonna stay as long as she needed you. That you’d not go without each other. 

“Fuck this,” she said, “I wanna watch Muppets and eat ice cream.”

You nod, “Okay, Kaity. Okay,” you tell her, going to get her pint down from the freezer. Anything to not have to think about being without her. 

__________

Bucky let himself in through the backdoor of his ma’s house and took a deep breath. Breakfast. Sunday Breakfast especially was sacred to Winifred Barnes and she didn’t do anything by halves. Cooking enough pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, anything you could want really, for an entire army. As long as Bucky could remember their house had been full for breakfast. Steve and Nat always, but now Sam, Clint, and Tony joined the mix more often than not. His sisters were gabbling with Nat and it was just so blissfully normal. Even if it all irritated his current hang over. 

He made his way down the line at the breakfast bar, kissing each of his sisters on the cheek and then kissing his ma’s.

“Ah, there’s the prodigal son,” she said disapprovingly, clicking her tongue at him. 

“Sorry, Ma,” he said, “I been a little busy.”

“Mhmm,” she said, passing him a plate and frowning at him.

“What, ma?”

“You know what, James Buchanan.”

“Oooo,” Steve said, “You done messed up, Buck.”

“Steven Grant,” she said not turning, “You may be a grown-ass man but I can and will drop you.”

Tony snickered and Steve snorted, “Yes, ma’am.”

“That creature,” Winifred said with a shudder, “Called the house and had the gall to tell me I’m going to be a grandmother.” She fixed her son with a level stare, “Please. Please tell me that you didn’t.”

Bucky felt his cheeks color, “Probably not,” he murmured.

“James,” she groaned.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Nat said over her coffee cup, “Leanna Harrison is selling positive tests on the buy sell trade groups again. She’s probably not even pregnant.”

“Still,” Winnie said, “You leave that girl alone. Think about the girls.” She gestured at his high school-aged sisters, “They need good role models.”

Bucky rolled his eyes.

“I saw Y/N in town the other day. Remember? The cute little girl you used to have a crush on?” She said putting food on his plate.

“Yeah, Ma, I remember,” he sighed, shooting Steve a death glare when the other man choked on his juice. 

‘Now that,” she said, “That’s a good girl. You should talk to her.”

“Ma,” he protested.

“What?” she said, tugging his ear, “She’s a good girl. She’d actually raise your babies. And she’s prettier.”

“Ma,” he protested louder.

“Fine, fine,” she said shoving him towards the table, “Not like I didn’t raise you better or anything.”

_________

Bucky stepped outside and lit a cigarette, taking a drag to try and calm himself down. Char was on his ass and had been every minute for the last three days. Still, he couldn’t tell her to fuck off. Not exactly. Not till he knew if this kid was his. Or even if she was really pregnant. He had his suspicions. She was really non-specific about everything, but he was hesitant to write her off. Careful not to let his own wishes override his reality. 

“Bucky?” Nat said leaning on the door. 

“I’ll be in in a minute,” Bucky said taking another drag and exhaling slowly. 

“No, now,” she said sounding tense, “Kaity’s here.”

“Kaity?”

“She’s fucking pissed.”

He ground his cigarette out under his heel and swept it into the gravel with his heel, heading inside, “What’s she want?”

“To talk to you,” Nat said softly, “Char’s been coming by the book shop.”

Bucky sighed, “What the fuck?”

Bucky rounded the corner and felt his step shudder for a moment. Kaity looked sunken. Pale. Smaller. The pink scarf around her head covered her thinning hair but the hollows of her cheeks were stark.

“How can I help you?” he said, determined to be professional.

“You’re gonna put a muzzle on your bitch,” she said sternly, “Or I’m gonna.”

“Kate,” he said taken aback for a second.

“No,” she said, “You tell her to back the fuck back. You know Y/N ain’t chasing your ass. So you better tell her that. I got 3 months left to live and I ain’t afraid of that bimbo.”

Bucky held up his hands placatingly, “I’ll talk to her,” he said, “she shouldn’t be doing that.”

“You better,” she said, leaning heavily on her cane, “I think Y/N’s had enough to deal with, don’t you?”

The look on Kaity’s face said she knew perfectly well what all had happened and Bucky nodded, swallowing hard, “I’ll make it right,” he said, “I just need time.”

“Three hours,” Kaity said, “You call off your dog or I get mad.”

She turned and didn’t give him the chance to respond, leaving to get into the waiting car. Bucky didn’t see the driver, but he was willing to bet it wasn’t you. You probably didn’t even know she was there.”

“Muzzle for your bitch,” Clint chuckled, “That was a good one.”

“Fuck off, Barton,” Bucky said rubbing the back of his neck, pulling his phone out of his pocket to try and stop Char from making his life a bigger living hell.

Tags: @lancsnerd @stevieang @blameitonthecauseway, @thorfanficwriter

[bigscaryyanderewriter]

Icy Resolution and Dragon's Flame (Dragonshifter! Shouto x Reader) Pt. 2

Part 1

The Part 2 like only two fuckin people asked for, lmao. Two people can make a difference on what I will and won't write, so uh. Talk to me, it really gets my ass into gear with writing. No pressure, I won't roast anyone… Unless they ask me too and even then, I'm more worthy of a good charring than any of y'all. 

Tw: Yandere themes

1.8k Words

The icy feeling of the metal chains hanging on the various parts of your body glittered in the torch light and the sunlight when you were able to see it, at least. Ever since you had began… cohabitating with Shouto, you haven't really been out as much. The cavern was the place you lived for now, not that you couldn't try to escape. You could only try and it was going to get you out for good, because having to run from an angry dragon shifter for the rest of your life was… Not your favorite possibility. 

Was there a getting out of here? There… had to be. You might be lax, you might be polite, you weren't going to just be an idle captive though. Those were just the facts!

The basket you were currently sifting through seemed to be filled with golden trinkets and it was annoying you. Pretty as they were… They were useless to you in this moment. It was making you angry. Shouto had been gone from the cave for about three days and you still hadn't managed to escape it. You assumed he must just be off hunting and got stuck or was doing something else. Things like this, being out of the loop drove you crazy as you pushed the basket away. The bracelets on your arms jangling as you moved. You could pull them off, technically. You just… never got to wear anything like this before and you feel like you look pretty snazzy in gold. At least… That's your opinion on it.

You heard something though at the entrance. It wasn't the noise of the boulder being moved, no. That was easy to identify. This was… A flute. Someone was playing a lute outside the cave. You went closer and realized, a little stone was loose from the entrance. Pulling on it, sunshine shone through as you could see through to the clearing outside.

It was so lovely to feel the warmth of the sun's rays after being kept in the dark, cool cave with only magical torches. They didn't produce heat even. It sucked.

 It was… So close to you. You peeked at the small field and the trees, seeing a small group. A pink tiefling woman, two humans, an elf, and an earth genasi! One of the humans was playing a lute, calling out loudly, you were in near tears, "Hello?! Can you please help me? Please? I need to get out of this cave." 

The dude with the lute turned with confusion along with the others. There seemed to be a collective… 'Us?' From them as you groaned, exasperated by this rag tag group already. "Yeah, you guys! Who else?!"

The red haired genasi spoke first, "We just… Nobodies ever actually asked for help before. Guys… Uh, do we save her?"

"Oh, we don't even know her, shitty hair!" The ashen blond human sighed, facepalming. "Do you know anything about em? Cause I sure as hell don't."

The tiefling spoke up, "Wait, we gotta find that dragon though! He's supposed to be around here and if we have her around, then we can use her as bait…"

You froze, "..What dragon are you looking for?"

"His name is Shouto and we're supposed to get his help, because he has something we need for our quest!" The more yellow blond human said with a grin before getting smacked in the back of the head by the other who you presumed was their leader.

"Bakugou! You didn't have to do that, I mean-" As he whined a bit, you tuned out as you realized they wouldn't help you they knew you were his captive. Why would they? Especially if they needed him. It wouldn't benefit them. 

You were going to have to trick them… 

"Hey, I know where his cave is. I can lead you there." You said with a frantic sort of gesture. "Just get me out of here, please. No using me as bait either. We just need to leave. Right now."

"How can we be sure you know where his cave is?" The black-haired elf asked suspicion on his features, leaning forward. "We aren't idiots!"

"I don't know how to prove it, ugh. You could just let me out and give me directions if you don't think I know where it is. Cause you guys don't seem to actually know exactly where you are." You admitted, a frown on your face. If they couldn't figure out the prints on the ground in the field were from a dragon… You weren't sure you could really help them further than leading them away from here as quickly as you could.

Well… With how foolish they were, you almost feel good about helping them. Even now as you eat the freshly cooked rabbit they had caught and roasted. Night came and the stars were brighter than you remembered. You had travelled a good way from the cave and were essentially leading them on a wild goose chase into the wilderness, making sure to have them mark the way. Just in case you got "lost", when really… It was just so they could find the cave where you had been… Rather than having to locate it from memory.

You quickly became acquainted and even fond of the quintet of travelers. It was fun to travel with them. Their generosity towards you was sweet. You were sure they just thought you were a princess though. 

Especially how they wouldn't let you do anything… It was annoying how persistent they were about it too. Bakugou must have thought you would screw something up, so he had them actively trying to not let that happen. That was until you woke up early enough to see they had all fallen asleep, no one keeping an eye on you as you made breakfast. They travelled prepared, although you had no idea how. 

None of them seemed to have much forethought when it came to such things.  You were pretty sure Kiri or Mina could have waltzed off any which way with just the clothes on their backs and make it just fine. Sero was easily the most lax person you have ever met and Denki seemed to be trying to win your praise at every turn. Mostly falling on his ass, but it was endearing. Bakugou though? He didn't seem to really… He was… He was an asshole. That was fine though. You can't get along with everyone.

Though, you grew especially fond of Denki with the way he was so earnest. You'd never had someone try to be so genuinely sweet to you, making you blush a little when he would praise you. No way would you fall for a bard though, that was ridiculous. Even as he promised things to you, maybe it was fast though.

No helping you though as you danced with Mina and Kirishima around the fire as Denki would play his lute. Strumming songs that made you forget everything and get lost into the songs he sang.

You hadn't seen anything from Shouto yet, so that made you feel less fear… Confidence coming back with the knowledge that you would be leaving his reach soon enough. Not even a feeling of being lost. The nearest town, a little place called Wythe was where you all rested for a minute and… You came clean.

Now, that was after a meal and proper rest. There was still some outrage as you calmly told them the truth, "I thought you wouldn't help if you knew the truth… Crazier things have happened, but that was the most likely thing." 

Bakugou looked like he was going to blow a gasket as he was already making his way to choke you within an inch of your life before Kirishima pulled him back. "So, you could have just given us the map while we were there or helped us find it, but instead you tricked us into just breaking you out of that lair?" 

"I didn't want to steal…" You shyly said, but in reality… That idea just hadn't popped into your head when you had only been thinking of getting yourself out of there.

Mina sighed as she slumped a little on the bed, "So, are we going to head back or? We did kind of break his front door and steal the maiden he kept captive. I would be pretty pissed off if that happened to me and well… While I'm not a dragon, I don't think seeing us so soon after would have him in a better mood."

Bakugou was gritting his teeth he seemed to be battling not to strangle you still, "Oh, we're going back and… Ugh, we went into Dragon territory to just leave it and now we have to go back. How does a dumbass like you get the interest of a fucking dragon?" His hand hitting the table before realizing he said that very loudly.

"Ahem. Well, you can shut the fuck up and maybe I'll just tell you. I didn't mean to anyways." You groaned, crossing your arms as you leaned into the seat. "I just was lost and did something that was just a fuckin decent act. Apparently that qualified me for the running in The Dragon Bachelor or whatever."

The snort that erupted from Mina was contagious as you looked at her, quirking your eyebrow. You continued though, "I was stuck in the cave for a good while with Shouto before he left on a hunting trip. Then you guys showed up after he was gone for a couple of days. I had you guys mark the trees so you could follow it back to the cave. You'll be fine. Anyways, you can fill your supplies and buff up your defenses. Plus, you'll want to avoid his father… It will be a… Yeah, you wouldn't have to worry about much if you run into him. You'll all be dead in seconds."

In actuality… Endeavor was the least of their concerns for the moment. The soft landing and soon the cry of a young, anguished dragon… It sounded for miles into the forest as he quickly feel temper overcome him for a second. Mistakes happened, he shouldn't have left you alone for so long. Irresponsible. You couldn't have gotten far though. He sniffed around and saw the scratched x along the tree at the edge of the field, blowing a frosty breath and the little marks lit up down through the forests like a pathway. He would save you from whatever poor decisions you had made to take you away from him though. 

Everything would be all right again when you were back in his cave, snuggles up safely with him and wrapped with the plush fur blankets… You couldn't have left willingly… Why would you? He offered you everything and you were so grateful! He would save you, be your hero and you would be happy to be back. Never to leave his side again, you'd be that much closer to loving him like he loved you! But he had to get you back first and foremost. Powerful, white and red wings beat against the air as he lifted off the ground. He had a little one to search for.

[backofthebookshelf]

Book Recs for Magnus Archives Fans

I was just rambling in tags the other day about how my avatarsona was "the Archivist, but a public librarian: Oh, you like dirt?? Let me tell you all the dirt stories I have!!!!" so, uh, here I am I guess.

I'm gonna spare you all the M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood and House of Leaves and Blindsight; you know all that already. These are my horror backlist recs.

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette Y'all. Y'ALL. Kyle Murchison Booth was absolutely the Archivist before Gertrude. He was poached from the Parrington by the Usher Foundation and the Eye glommed onto him at once, because the Eye loves disaster queers who can't people right (and also Gertrude). This I believe to be true, and so will you.

Kyle Murchison Booth is an archivist at the Parrington Museum, which is somewhere in New England, sometime in the early twentieth century. He also has a lifelong entanglement with the supernatural which is almost entirely not his fault, and he would very much like it to stop, but he also feels responsible and he can't just let evil mirrors and cursed necklaces and possessed dressing gowns randomly eat people who have no idea what's happening. Even if it means he's going to suffer for it.

(This collection doesn't contain all of the Booth stories, so here I am going to link to "White Charles", which happens to be my very favorite Booth story.)

For you if your favorite part is: honestly everything about MAG, from the modern sensibilities about early twentieth-century-horror, truly eerie ghost stories, to suffering eldritch librarians (thanks to whoever tagged my most recent fic with that you're so valid), monsterfucking and soft gay pining. No happy endings here, sorry.

Bedfellow by Jeremy C. Shipp You may or may not have heard that Macmillan-Tor is launching a horror imprint, and I don't know how long it's been since a major publishing house has had a horror imprint, but I am EXCITE. This book is part of the trend that's the reason why: Tor.com has been publishing these kickass novellas for a couple years now, and their horror books are top notch.

One night a stranger knocks on a family's living room window and asks to be invited in. They ask him to stay the night. He's an old friend, after all, he needs a place to stay. You can't kick out your twin brother when he's just gotten divorced, no matter how much Gatorade he spills on your two-year-old hardwood floors.

For you if your favorite part is: the Stranger, this is all Stranger, it's terrifying and good.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll A graphic novel, some of these were originally posted as webcomics (have you seen His Face All Red, and if not, why not???) and the only disadvantage to having them in book form is they can't blink at you. Probably. Very folktale-ish, with all the death and violence that implies, and also the slightly eerie feeling that you know this story already, and then it turns around and slaps you.

For you if your favorite part is: looking over your shoulder when the foley gets good; Once Upon a Time in Space (I know that's not technically part of the Magnus Archives but shush)

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle I am not usually a fan of artists who jump media. Just because you can write songs doesn't mean you can write novels. Apparently writing good songs doesn't mean you can't write good novels, though, because John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (pretty sure that's his full name at this point) wrote Universal Harvester and I love him for it.

Jeremy works at a video rental place in Nevada, Iowa (it's pronounced Nah-vey-da, and yes it’s real, I've been there, and yes, it's probably haunted). It's the 1990s, and someone's been returning their VHS tapes with something on them that isn't just the movie. Footage that includes a barn that he recognizes, just outside of town.

Fair warning: this is not the kind of mystery that gets tied up in a nice bow at the end.

For you if your favorite part is: Jon losing it with paranoia in S2, The People's Church of the Divine Host, the Lonely

The Good House by Tananarive Due If this author's name is unfamiliar to you, RUN, do not walk, to your nearest internet bookseller and purchase every single one of her books immediately, you will not regret it. She also just came out with a documentary on black horror, Horror Noire, on the Shudder streaming service. They've got a free month if you aren't a horror movie person, it'd be worth your while. This book summary sounds like it's full of tropes. It is, but Due has the cred to write them well.

Angela Toussaint hopes to salvage her suffering marriage and her troubled relationship with her teenage son with a trip to her grandmother's house, a home so beloved the locals in small-town Washington state call it "The Good House," but tragedy strikes instead. Two years later she returns and finds that the tragedy isn't over, and it's not going to stop on its own.

For you if your favorite part is: the very practical statement-givers who know what's happening to them and Will Not Put Up With This Shit, the Desolation, the Hill Top Road statements

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins Is this horror disguised as fantasy? Found family disguised as horror? Grown-up Neil Gaiman? Less grimdark George R.R. Martin? Honestly I have no fucking idea, but it's amazing. Fair warning, unlike Magnus Archives, this deserves all kinds of trigger warnings, including but not necessarily limited to: sexual assault, torture, mental manipulation, dysfunctional families, incest(?)

Father is missing, and his twelve children (though extremely talented in their own ways, and not strictly speaking children any more) are at a loss without him. But also, without him, things are starting to seem different. He might be God? They might not be human? (They were probably human once.) He might not be God but maybe one of them might be next? If any of them survive.

For you if your favorite part is: slowly turning into a monster, the relationships between entities and avatars, monsters hot (not kidding about the trigger warnings)

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley I have to keep reminding myself that Magnus Archives isn't really folk horror, there are two separate (if related) strains of British horror here and folk horror is not the one we're on, but at the same time I really want a good creepy rural pagan cult to show up in the series, you know? Anyway.

When he was a child, our narrator used to go with his family on an Easter pilgrimage to shrine on a bleak stretch of Lancaster coastline locals called The Loney. His Catholic mother was searching for a cure for his older brother, and she was convinced if they kept going long enough she would be granted her wish. The locals, however, are not huge fans of her annual visits, and even less so when the boys become involved with the goings-on of a pair of glamorous tourists.

For you if your favorite part is: the Lukases, I didn't realize until I was writing this up that I'm picturing Moreland House in the exact place described by this book

Eutopia by David Nickle One thing I love about the historical statements in Magnus Archives is just how truly historical they are. There's almost nothing in "The Piper" that isn't historically accurate - yes, Wilfrid Owen spent several days in a trench underneath the shredded bodies of his fellow soldiers. Like. You can't make up horror worse than that. But then you add monsters and it gets good. And I'm a sucker for early-twentieth-century history, it's such a bonkers time.

It's 1911 and the new Eugenics Record Office is sending agents out to catalog the disabled, infirm, and otherwise undesirable members of society so they can figure out what to do about them. In the utopian town of Eliada, Idaho, Dr. Andrew Waggoner runs from the racism of American society and straight into the influence of Mister Juke, the most troubling patient in his new practice. (Trigger warnings for, obviously, a whole lot of ableism. Treated like the monstrousness it is, but there's a lot of it.)

For you if your favorite part is: learning history through horror, the Flesh

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay I hate male writers writing about teenage girls, so you are going to have to trust me when I say that I had to check, several times while reading this book, to make sure that Paul Tremblay is actually a dude. He's very good. This book was kind of his breakout, so if you follow horror you've read it already, but if you don't necessarily then please do not miss it. His newer ones, Disappearance at Devil's Rock (Stranger, Spiral) and The Cabin at the End of the World (Slaughter, Extinction), are also good but not as good as this, I think.

Fourteen-year-old Marjorie is having a rough time - outbursts, hallucinations, paranoia. Treatment is difficult (and expensive) and her family ambivalent; they turn to a local Catholic priest, who recommends an exorcism and, to help manage those medical bills, a production company who's interested in filming a reality TV show about the process. Fifteen years later, Marjorie's sister deconstructs the now-famous show and wrestles with her own memories of childhood. Trigger warnings for ableism on the part of many of the characters, but not the narrative.

For you if your favorite part is: the Spiral, metafictional analysis of horror tropes

[franklyshipping]

Never Disturb A Sleeping Cowboy ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

THIS IS A LOVELY ANONYMOUS PROMPT WHICH I AM VERY EXCITED TO WRITE, BETWEEN OUR SNAZZY COWBOY AND SNAZZY MONARCH OF NUTTINESS! LEEET'S DO IT!

TAGGING: @ed-edler @king-of-lee-squirrels and @kingoflesquirrel

A bit of peace and quiet shouldn't be too much to ask for, right? I mean, all it really takes is going somewhere, nice, safe, comfortable and secluded, right? Well, at least that's what Ed Edgar figured to be the case as he lay on a patch of grass in the comforting shadow of an oak tree. After a day of hard work, the cowboy just wanted a nap which the faint scent of grass and flowers around him. He got so close to getting it too, he was lying down, relaxed, and with his hat over his face to shield him from the bright afternoon as he shut his eyes....but it was not to be. Ed Edgar's relaxation was cut short....by a nut.

It was a walnut to be precise, and to be fair the dropping of this particular walnut had been a complete and total accident. The King of the Squirrels had been relaxing in the tree above the cowboy, hardly aware of his presence since he was fixated on arranging some walnuts in his hand by size. Unfortunately, he had fumbled with one and dropped it, which caused it to fall...and land right in the brim of Ed's hat. Thankfully Ed hadn't thought much of it, simply squirming to get comfy once more with a little sigh.

'C'mon mother nature let me naaaap.....'

King covered his mouth to repress a laugh, mainly due to how surprised he was that he managed to land the nut right into the brim of Ed's hat by accident! The monarch hummed to himself as he observed the grumbling man beneath him....oh part of him wanted to let him rest....and yet another, stronger part of him was really very bored. Unfortunately for King, the boredom took precedence when it came to King's decision making....and that decision being that the monarch was going to see how many more nuts he could land on Ed's hat.

The monarch ended up huffing in annoyance when his first two purposeful drops missed Ed's hat by a mile, and the next two, and the next three. But the King was determined....and that determination allowed one to land. Then, a second one landed on its mark....and Ed had HAD it. Ed growled and ripped off his hat, intending to look up and glare at the tree before finding one to nap under that didn't grow nuts. When he looked up and saw King with a hand full of nuts however...his agenda swiftly changed.

'Who in the hecki-King? What in tarnation?!'

The cowboy narrowed his eyes up at the monarch.

'Were you throwing those down onto me?'

Ed spoke accusingly, to which King mustered up the most innocent expression that he could, along with a soft smile down at Ed as he replied.

'Oh my goodness, Edward I simply do not know what on earth you are tal-'

'Oh don't give me that Mr Regal Schmegal crap, I know it was you!'

Ed could see through the innocence from a mile away, using his full first name was enough. As Ed jabbed his finger up at King, the monarch merely rolled his eyes and let the façade drop, swinging his legs as he remarked casually.

'Well you're the one who sat under my tree.'

Ed scoffed, sitting up straighter as he regarded King with a raised eyebrow and disbelief. King never ceased to amaze him with how brazen he could be, I mean sure he was random and eccentric, but he really took his royal status to heart and embodied it quite a lot.

'So you're saying that out of every single tree here, this SPECIFIC one is in fact yours?'

King looked down at Ed's pursed lips and thought for a moment. I mean, technically all the trees in the woodland were his, but there was brazen cheekiness and then there was being a true asshole; King preferred being the former of those. He replied promptly.

'Yes.'

'Bull!'

'We don't get cows in the woods Edward, if so my subjects would have spotted them.'

King smirked subtly, continuing to swing his legs and feet from his position straddling a comfortable branch. Ed gritted his teeth....Ed had a thing about smart asses.

'You think you're so smart don'tcha?'

The cowboy was getting more and more riled every second, I mean smugness aside, this guy had had the audacity to stop him from resting without even batting an eye! Ed anticipated maybe teaching this monarch a lesson, though he wasn't sure, he was still a little tired....

'Well this IS my habitat, and kingdom in fact....'

Ed narrowed his eyes....I think that tiredness was temporarily forgotten now. King smiled to himself, since he was having rather a lot of fun teasing Ed...until he felt a hand latch tight onto one of his swinging ankles. King looked down, and froze at seeing Ed wearing a dark smirk.

'I think a certain King has gotten too big for his boots.'

Before King knew it, he'd been tugged off of his low hanging branch and forced onto the forest floor, only able to let out a yelp as Ed completely overpowered him. Ed smirked in triumph as he pinned the spluttering King on his tummy before sitting on his shins, and snickering as King's bare feet caught his eye.

'Or lack of.'

King flushed with embarrassment....shoes and socks just felt constricting okay! He scrunched his feet as he grasped at the earthy floor, whilst trying to sound defiant.

'Unhand me! I'll set my subjects on you for this!'

Ed hummed amusedly at that....since there were no squirrels, or any other similar woodland creatures to be seen. He set about picking a tuft of soft grass, stroking through the soft blades and holding them in his fist so the tips of the grass blades were all nice and close together. After he finished his little construction, he purred.

'And how will you do that when you're too busy laughing to give any orders?'

King barely had time to register the sentence in his brain before Ed's intentions suddenly became very, VERY clear to him. Ed had begun stroking up and down his soles with the grass blades, making King splutter and giggle with embarrassment at the soft tickling. He couldn't let this happen, he was a King darnit he couldn't just let himself be humiliated like this!

'L-Lehehet me gohoho lehet m-mehe gohoho nohow!'

....unfortunately, he didn't sound as tough as he'd wanted to sound. Ed smirked broadly at this, loving how tittery and ticklish the monarch was.

'Not until you apologise to me for being a dick.'

Ed chuckled, particularly when King spluttered and tittered even more because of his embarrassment. First off, he was being nothing like a piece of genitalia and frankly King found that to be EXTREMELY inappropriate! Secondly, he wasn't going to apologise just because he demanded it!

'Ihihi w-wihihill d-doho noho suhuhuch thihing! Ihi aham a K-Kihing!'

Ed snorted and rolled his eyes at his reply, he felt sooo intimidated by King's jumpy, giggly tone right now; he'd known it was a long shot asking for an apology so soon anyhow. Ed smiled, settling himself properly on King's shins and ankles as he took to swiping under King's toes with the blades of grass.

'Then I guess I'll be tickling your royal tootsies for all eternity, your majesty.'

Ed used the royal title snidely as King squealed and hit the forest floor, his giggles becoming rather frantic as he scrunched his toes to defend their oh so sensitive undersides.

'Yohohou cahahan't yohou cahahan't!'

Ed hummed as he regarded King, before tossing the grass aside; he definitely needed a harder tool of some kind to really break through to King.

'Hmmm, seems like you need a little more convincing about who's really in charge here....'

Ed mused before, unseen to King, his eyes lit up and he picked up two long, thin objects from the forest floor. Meanwhile, King panted, trying to keep himself together despite knowing that the tickling was going to get worse. Nonetheless, King took in a breath, licked a little of his peanut butter beard for moral support, before attempting to replying insistently.

'I-Ihin MY k-kingdom I am in char-AAEEE WHAHAT IHIS THAHAT?!'

King's verbal plan was cut off by his own shriek, followed by his hysterical, hiccup-filled giggling. Ed had picked up the most perfect pair of fine, sharp twigs from the forest floor and had started swiping them up and down King's soles happily. One sharp, precise, tickly twig per foot.

'Y'know I always found twigs annoying, they always stuck in my back whenever I tried to rest or nap outside. I never knew they could be so wonderfully effective!'

Ed mused, putting in a little dramatic effect; he blamed associating with so many Extra™ egos for his little dramatic streak. Ed was serious when he said he liked the twigs now though, they could scratch into wrinkles that fingers could not, and they were harsher than blades of grass could ever be. Plus, they were tickling King and making him blush and scrunch his feet pretty damn hard, so they were clearly doing a good job.

'IHI'LL GEHET YOHOU FOR THIHIHIHIS!'

Ed chuckled, King's threats just sounded cuter and cuter by the second. He experimentally flicked the twig tips over the royal's toe pads as he crooned in response.

'Oh yeah, and how will ya do that? I don't see any of your subjects out here rushing to your aid your majesty....'

King shrieked and arched his back, squeezing his eyes shut as his cackles made his entire body shake with mirth. He totally didn't have his eyes closed in an attempt to ignore the fact that Ed was right and that his subjects were most likely just watching their King being tickle tortured, nopety nope noooope.

'YOHOHOU WIHILL RUHUHUHUE THIHIS DAHAHAHAY!!'

King cried, consumed by embarrassment; especially when he heard Ed snort in amusement as he continued the evil twig tickling technique.

'Uh huh uh huh, I'm not hearing an ''I'm sorry''.'

Oh that smug, stetson-wearing peasant! Despite the torturousness of it all, King was far too proud to let himself be beaten by this. Kings were strong, and he was no different.

'AHAHAND YOHOU'RE NAHAT GEHEHETTING OHONE!!'

Ed huffed with gritted teeth, growling as he tossed the twigs aside. Damn he was strong. He knew plenty of egos that would have babbled apologies as soon as those sharp twigs reached their precious toes, but not King. Ed had to think. This guy was a King of the wild, always outside in nature, so maybe he just needed a rougher treatment than most; plus, with how riled Ed was right now, he was more than happy to provide that kind of treatment. Ed turned his head, looking down at the monarch who had his face tilted to the side. Perfect....he could say this right to his face.

'You have NO idea what you're letting yourself in for. You're dealing with the tired, ruthless version of me Kingy, and that's the version of me that'll be more than happy to make you scream out an apology!'

....King ordinarily might have laughed at how much Ed's moustache twitched as he talked, but the things Ed was saying, the way he was talking....sent so many chills down King's spine. He could see that Ed meant every single word that he said....and King had a sneaking suspicion that even if he did apologise now, Ed would go all out on him before he actually had mercy, he was just that riled. So, King mustered up a smile at the cowboy. If he was going to be tortured, he was going to show his strong attitude first.

'Ahall I hear are words and words and words cowboy....'

King's smile was toothy and smug, since even though he had a hint of fear of what Ed was going to do, he didn't think it would be THAT bad. I mean, twigs were the most tickly things that the forest floor was currently offering....so King didn't even fathom the prospect of Ed actually having his own tool on him. But he did. Granted, he had never anticipated using it for anything other than polishing his boots, but once Ed remembered having the sharply bristled brush in his butt pocket, all thoughts of boot cleaning were cast aside.

'You wanna play tough, pretend you're the big strong leader, fine.....I can play tough too.'

Ed's eyes darkened with ruthlessness as he took out the brush....and started scrubbing King's soles with it. Needless to say, all King could do was scream.

'AHHHHHHAHAHAHAAA AAAAHHHHH!!!'

It was just maddening and insane and just the definition of tickle torture. King was writhing with mirth and regret whilst Ed smirked with delight at seeing King's soles already going a cute pink.

'Ahaaawww, can someone not take a lil scrubby scruuub?'

King thrashed and shook his head with wide eyes because no he could NOT handle it! His screams and shrieks were loud and getting shriller by the second.

'STAHAHAHAHAAAAA IHIHIHAHAHAHAAAA CAHAAAA!!!'

He was seriously going....nuts (yes Ed did chuckle at his own joke a little), and Ed couldn't have been happier, tickle punishments were very much his forte. He snickered happily at the incoherency, scrubbing the balls of King's feet now as he mused.

'One little word, one niiiice little word and it'll all stop.'

As King clenched his fists and struggled and struggled, he knew he had to make it stop....he had to...even if that meant submission.

'SSSAAAA-AHAHAHA!!! SAHAHAHAAARRYYYY!!!'

Ed chuckled and crowed at King's cry, removing the brush immediately.

'Theeeere ya go!'

King gasped desperately, his fists clenching around soil and leaves for comfort as he panted and shivered in the wake of it all. His feet tingled, and King was in shock because never in his life had he felt tickling like that before. Since Ed had slid off his shins, he found the strength to turn onto his side and start to sit up as he whispered.

'Whahat...w-wahas th-that?'

Ed smiled fondly at his innocent question, and held up the brush for King to see; of course, this very much sent the monarch into a state of flustered, wide-eyed awe.

'Ya like it?'

Ed teasingly asked, before giggling at how King swiftly turned his head away out of embarrassment whilst sitting up properly. Ed tucked the tool away with a grin as King mumbled.

'Y-You d-didn't HAVE to use it o-on me....'

Ed smirked, damn he was adorable when he was all meek. He nudged King's shoulder gently as he replied.

'Well, you were kinda being a brat, I had to break ya somehow!'

....dammit, King couldn't help but smile at that, and he nudged Ed back softly as he looked back at him. Then though, as the King looked at Ed and saw his slightly drooping expression and lazy blinking, he remembered why the cowboy had been here in the first place. King straightened up as his idea came to the forefront of his mind.

'H-How about, as an additional apology...'

King unclasped his red, fur lined cloak and offered it to Ed with a soft smile.

'I watch over you as you rest, since you are in my kingdom it is only fair that I am a good host for you.'

Ed blinked a few times, then had to fight a little blush of his own at how kind and sweet King was being. He hadn't even been thinking about his tiredness, until now though, because now he could feel the need for a nap washing over him. He smiled and accepted the cloak, before settling down on the ground and snuggling into its blanket-like warmth.

'Thank you King....I feel safer already.'

King smiled fondly at that, and as Ed got the much needed sleep he deserved, King kept guard. And I can assure you that he made sure no-one, and I mean no-one, disturbed his sleeping cowboy.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS ONE LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOO LUV YOUS XX