#the weird feeling that simultaneously everything stays more or less the same

[sneakystorms]

Nothing hits like finishing the essential dykes to watch out for!!!!!

[transactinides]

Lis please give me your lecture about sociosexual hierarchy i want to know what you know about bullshit incel stuff

YAYYY YIPPIEE YAYYY

first of all, have a scheme i made myself a while back to put everything I've gotten from hashtag Authentic Incel Blogs and YouTube Channels into a more coherent format. Rather than putting them all into one pyramid, i think it's more accurate to present alpha/beta/omega vertical separately from the other designations. This vertical is the basis of sociosexual hierarchy (hence also the part of it most people have heard about it) and it follows a very clear "chain of command" so to speak. Long text under the cut

Alpha males stand at the top, representing the ideal standard of masculinity. Alphas fight between each other over whos the better hashtag Role Model and are very competitive in general. Betas are a rank below, following the standard set by Alphas/looking up to them. Omegas fail to follow the standards set by Alphas and therefore resent them while still believing in the standart/the idea of dominant toxic masculinity alphas represent. There's a LOT of bioessentialism in the incel movement, so Omegas sort of are in a weird position where they simultaneously yearn to reach that masculine standard but also live with the grim acceptance that nothing in their lives could be changed ever and they will stay outcasts <- majority of incels are Omegas in their self imposed hierarchy thats their whole thing.

Less of an established vertical and more of an analogue connection I've made myself is the Sigma/Gamma thing. Those two types of guys are united by the fact that they ignore the masculine standard/social norms as they are directed at men. Sigmas are often presented as like "lone wolf" guys, who don't care about fighting for dominance with Alphas or being the standard etc etc, but they are still at the top of the hierarchy due to being cool like that. Gammas ignore the masculine standard all the same, but due to not being cool like that fall to the level of social rejection similar to Omegas. Incels (who are again, mostly Omegas) consider most "nice guys", "simps" and "white knights" Gammas, hate them a lot too and claim that most people who identify as Sigmas are actually just Gammas who lack self awareness.

Deltas are literally just normies. Your average person. Deltas don't know anything about the sociosexual hierarchy beyond the funny memes mentioning alphas on Tiktok. Oh how I wish to be one of them...

Zeta and Lambda males are a bit of a special case. In my scheme I grouped them together because I really didn't feel like bothering with explaining the whole deal beyond "both of them exist somewhere on the outside" but essentially. Zeta males also reject the "social" norms and exist outside of the hierarchy, with strong leaning towards the Man Hoing Their Own Way movement. Lambda males who fucking knows what their deal is. I have seen people claim they have their own separate hierarchy and are somewhat related to the pickup artists type, but "lambda males" are also a troll type of guy people made up to make fun of the sociosexual hierarchy so finding any info thay is 1) from the inside; 2) not trolling; 3) not some recently even more made up "lambdas are creative and sensitive ones💫" because. incels Would Not Say That; is very hard. I included them just for the sake of it but it's a bit dubious tbh.

Now let's discuss telling apart some closely related types of guys.

Sigma, Alpha or Zeta? Alphas naturally follow the standard of masculinity and represent it, Sigmas naturally and instinctively reject it, Zetas actively and purposefully reject it.

Beta or Delta? If you know what a Delta is, you are not one.

Omega or Gamma? Omegas try and fail at performing masculinity "correctly", Gammas don't try and naturally reject it (akin to Sigmas).

[fledbeast578]

It's going around a bit (initially this was going to be an ask for @hasarjunadoneanythingwrong and then it got too long, and er sorry for the ping, your post just got me thinking a lot) but I think a lot of people are missing the point when it comes to why people complain about the lack of bisexuality in fate. It's not like everyone is completely ignorant to Rin's bisexual awakening in fsn, or you being able to go full Yuri with Nero in Extella. It's moreso that while type/moon are able to handle girl/girl just fine, they are seemingly completely unwilling to approach any male/male romances in a serious way. It's not that bisexual women aren't bisexual, that's stupid to say. But if you have an equal number of male and female servants, and have plenty of bisexual or even lesbian girls, as a bisexual male I am allowed to be disappointed by the complete lack of the opposite.

They never overtly say anything homophobic, but they do literally everything they can do avoid outright mentioning male/male pairings. They have never mentioned Patroclus, despite him being a major part of not just Achilles, but the Illiad as a whole, all while adding Penthisaela as an entire character. The only canon 'yaoi' pairing (Gil x Enkidu, and I say yaoi loosely) made sure to have Enkidu simultaneously be non-binary and take on the appearance of a woman. They quite literally demoted Nameless to side character due to Extella being more focused on romance. There's a whole bunch of minor stuff easy to miss as well, like, has anyone ever wondered why exactly they added the Trung Sisters as is, but felt the need to genderbend Pollux?

I could rant on more and more, but I think it's easy to point to one in-game event as being emblematic of what I mean, Valentines. Nearly every girl has an overtly or at least implicitly romantic valentines, comes with the territory. It doesn't change or matter if you're playing as Gudako or Gudao, it all stays the same, especially with early servants where it's just "teehee it's valentines day/oh it's valentines day" depending on how tsundere there are, they hand you chocolate, and then blush.png, they are never afraid to imply or outwardly say that at the very least Carmilla finds you cute.

Compare that to male valentines scenes, where genuinely I think there are less than 10 with any romantic vibes. A grand majority of them are closer to friendship than anything, and play out more like mini-interludes. And even of the ones that are romantic, much less than overt about it. Is Saito maybe being romantic when he says he wants to take you away from Chaldea and live alone? Probably. Is Taigong Wang trying to imply something when he takes you to the same river he took his wife too? Probably. Are they ever going to outwardly say it? Absolutely not, at least not when they're trying to take it seriously.

As you mentioned previously characters like Fergus and Bartholomew are the only exceptions, because yeah they'll call you hot and offer to fuck but that's because they want to fuck literally anything (anything with bangs for the latter), the joke is they're so horny it transcends sexuality. Genuinely the only male that comes to mind with a full on, "I have feelings for you" played straight is Oda Kippoushi (and even his gender situation is... Weird? Just a bit). Mori comes close, but even his ends with him looking at you as more of a friend, and quickly skirts away from topics of romance.

In fact, this disparity between male and female servants can be easily seen in Kid Gil's interlude of all things. In it he mentions a waterpark he was creating, and then you two fantasize about the type of servants there

It's played completely straight, just a bunch of summer servants that you and Gil fawn over. Immediately after, he starts rambling about how while he doesn't swing that way, there are all kinds of people at the park

And to show this off they... Turn it into a joke. Edison and Blackbeard as there. Compared to a bunch of servant girls fawning over you it's a bunch of men (none of which even had summer skins at the time), talking about working out and growing food, with Blackbeard yelling about how it's a bunch of servants with no story significance.

However, the absolute worst part is what Gudao can say in response to the fantasies. With the girls you get a single one, that you love the idea of it.

With the men however, you get two options, "hey that doesn't sound too bad" in which Gil just kinda disagrees and then moves on to the end. And then one where you literally outloud show your disgust towards the male choice, Gil scolds you for making him think of it, and he bans all adult men from the pools. I never really think of it but this is probably one of the most homophobic scenes in fgo lmao.

Regardless, the whole point of this was moreso that as a bisexual man myself, these kinds of things do kind of lodge themselves into my brain. Nobody has to like yaoi or anything, that's ridiculous, but when they go out of there way so often to avoid outright showing anything homosexual... It kind of just hurts. Even just a singular gay man would be nice, even if it probably would just be a joke about how they want to slobber on muscles or love femboys something. But there just... Isn't, there's a few vaguely implied mentions of gay men or bisexual men, but they will never expand on it or show it off to the same degree as they do with women, and I just wish there was more of it.

[fanficsforfun]

Not alone

Pairing: Indiana Jones x gender neutral reader

Era: 1960s (the Dial of Destiny)

Word count: 780

Warnings: none (well, except the age gap)

Summary: You’re feeling lonely and decide to see if Indy would want to talk with you

---

You were all alone at home which at the moment didn't feel exactly great, and for some mysterious reason you got the idea to go and ring the doorbell of the old professor who lived on the same floor as you. You two had chatted pretty much every time you happened to be somewhere simultaneously, and you enjoyed his company. He was nice to talk with, witty and wise, and always willing to give you a moment of his time. Yet you had never sought his company like this before.

You didn't realize it was a bit weird thing to do until you rang his doorbell, but at that point you didn't dare back out. It would have been even weirder to run away (especially if you had been caught). So you stood where you were, trying to come up with something even relatively smart to say while waiting for him to come to the door. 

What you didn't expect was for him to show up in nothing but his underwear and a t-shirt.

“What?” Indy grumbled, sounding like the doorbell had woken him up. 

You couldn't get a word out of your mouth, but before you had even tried, he spoke again.

“Oh. Hi, kid. Sorry ‘bout my outfit”, his tone changed quite a bit after he realized who you were. “What is it?”

“Well… I-”, you started but then sighed and decided to be straight with him. “I’m gonna be honest here, I feel lonely and I was hoping we could… talk?”

“Sure, come in, take a seat”, Indy moved away from the door to let you in and gestured towards his living room. “Sorry ‘bout the mess.”

“No problem”, you replied, though his place was in a desperate need of cleaning. There were boxes of who knows what stuff laying all around, a few dirty dishes sitting on the living room table, and some laundry on the floor. You decided it was best not try to sit anywhere, and so you awkwardly stayed standing in the doorway.

Indy realized the problem, walked past you and quickly cleaned up the worst of the mess to make room for you on the couch, giving you an apologetic grin.

“No, seriously, I apologize for this. I wasn’t expecting anyone to come over. I’m usually not this messy.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it”, you smiled.

When the living room looked more or less tidy, Indy stopped in the middle of the room and stated: “I suppose I'd better find something decent to wear.” With that, he disappeared into his bedroom. While he was gone, you sat on the couch, and only a few moments later he came back with socks, pants and a blouse shirt on.

“Do you want coffee or tea or something?” He then asked.

“Tea would be nice, thank you”, you replied with a quick smile.

“Tea, right”, Indy said more to himself than to you and walked over to the small kitchen. You shifted on the couch so that you saw him going through the cabinets looking for tea bags and a clean mug. You leaned your head in your hands and watched him silently. You felt a little strange being in his home, but on the other hand, you felt much better already. 

A smile had risen on your lips without you even realizing it, and when Indy glanced at you, he couldn't help but smile too. It had been a long time since there had been younger people in the house, or anyone at all for that matter. He was happy to have you over.

After the tea was ready, Indy walked up to you with two mugs in his hands and handed one of them to you. You took it with a smile. Then he sat down in his armchair, his gaze meeting yours.

“So, it hasn't been the greatest day of your life, right?" Indy opened the conversation. 

“I’ve seen worse, but yeah”, you nodded, staring into your mug. “I guess I still am not used to living on my own, you know. It gets lonely from time to time.”

“Trust me, I know”, he replied softly.

Maybe it was something in his voice, or his essence, or who knows what, but you got carried in pouring out everything that was on your mind, even though you weren't usually so fond of talking about highly personal matters. Although the situation wasn't common for him either, Indy listened to you, and despite his comments being often short, they had a surprisingly positive effect on you. Rarely had you felt so heard and seen as you did now. And it was exactly what you had needed.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Excerpt from 'Walking Home'

I happened to meet Rick Rogers and one of his hiking partners in 2018 near Dove Springs in southern California. My friend Billie Robinson and I were headed toward Walker Pass. We had set up camp near an abandoned mine site when Rick and Cool Breeze passed by. Turned out Rick was from the same county Billie and I are in northwest Washington. That was a fun coincidence. Fast forward to 2023. A friend shared a book about someone's PCT experience entitled 'Walking Home'. As I began reading I noticed that there was something familiar about the author. Reading further I was sure I had met Rick. I looked back at my journal from the section where I had met the fellow from Conway and sure enough, there he and Cool Breeze were. I was intrigued and finally got in contact with Rick after meeting him several years ago.

Most hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail take zero days in towns every week or so to resupply, wolf down some easy calories, and just plain laze about to let their bodies recuperate and recharge.

Moving through nature at foot speed mile after mile creates its own reality, and it’s easy to feel more at home there than in any other.  Zeroing in town, everything looks artificial, or alien, with people and machines doing unnatural and incomprehensible things.  It can be disorienting for some and their thoughts and behavior can be affected.  And some hikers, especially those fragile of mind, should just never zero, even when they resupply.  Stopping can be just too weird for them… ]

Zero Days In Oregon

I had to stay put and kill a couple days in Medford while I waited for my lightweight tent and sleeping bag that my wife had mailed. I would be relieving my backpack of the heavy tent and sleeping bag that I had carried the 800 miles I’d walked since she had mailed them to me in Chester.  Also going was the bear can I’d carried through 450 miles of it.  From here north, fully half the weight I carried on my back would be gone.

I’d rented Medford’s best thirty-dollar-a-night hotel room.  After a look inside, I decided to splurge for an extra amenity, so went to a nearby hardware store and spent another four dollars on some painter’s plastic to drape over the bed.  I put my sleeping bag on it and sat down.  A small TV was perched atop a dented microwave that in turn sat on a cigarette-burned corner stand next to the window.  A cheerful TV newswoman was cautioning her viewers to stay indoors, as breathing the wildfire smoke outside was a serious health risk. I sat on my sleeping bag and plastic drop cloth, and contemplated the newswoman’s warning, while simultaneously trying to discern the origins of the stains on the walls of my room.  As a civilized person of discernment, I realized that all risks are relative, actually.  I went outside for a walk.

The next two days, while I waited for the mail to bring my lightweight gear (and for the antibiotics to calm my bladder down), I made little adventure walks around town.  The built environment, as much as could be seen in the smoke haze anyway, seemed grimier, and somehow deficient compared to the trail’s scenery.  The geometry of the sidewalks and walls was simpler, more planar, and lacked the curves and fractals that my eyes had grown accustomed to seeing.  Their colors too, especially in the smoke haze, were less interesting.

Still, there were some landmarks of interest.  Shopping Cart Island was among my favorites. There was a bike path along the creek and greenway that formed a sort of border zone between a shopping mall on the one side, and an industrial park on the other.  A bridge connected the two, and it had a wide sidewalk bordered by a low guard rail. It was easy to lean over to watch spittle slurp down to the creek. 

Apparently, the homeless people that lived in the thickets beside the bike path in the greenway took shopping carts from the mall’s parking lot and brought them back with them.  It would have been rude to leave their shopping carts on the bike path in front of their camps in the thickets, so instead they thoughtfully threw them off the bridge and into the creek below. 

The shopping carts had strained plastic bags and odd articles of clothing from the creek, and these partially submerged accretions were covered all over with scum and algae.  They had made a sizable island in the creek’s sluggish current, and the disturbance spawned semi-predictable patterns of spinning little whorls.  Dropping a globule of spittle into one of these took real perseverance.

That night, I had a phone conversation with Monica. Back home, she was having some trouble with subcontractors, and at one point told me that she wished I was there. I did too. There, on the painter’s plastic alone in my creepy hotel room the Trail adventure wasn't much fun, and it was difficult to see what novelties I had to look forward to.  I’d walked nearly fifteen hundred miles already, and I was pretty sure I’d gotten the hang of it by then.

“Look, I have a rental car,” I said.  “I could be home tomorrow and just put an end to this now.”

“Well, I just sent your stuff in the mail,” Monica said.

“I’ll just call them and have them send it back.”

“No, you can't do that.”

“Sure I can.  Easy-peasy.”

“No, I mean you can’t quit.  What would you tell your son if you just quit halfway through?”

“Halfway through?  I’ve walked the whole length of California.”

“Your goal was to complete the PCT,” Monica reminded me.  “California is only two-thirds of it. If you quit now, you'll have a hard time explaining it to Matthew.  Besides, he’s looking forward to finishing the trail with you when you get to Washington.”

“Hmm.”

“Not to mention that you will regret it as soon as you get here, and you would continue to regret it for the rest of your life if you come home now.”

I held the phone but didn’t talk into it.  Monica doesn’t enjoy silence, and neither can she abide indecision.

“I don't want you coming home any other way than by walking.  Don't come home,” she said. “I don't want you here.”

My next room, in Cascade Locks, had a number of things that the Medford room hadn’t, like a door for the bathroom for instance.  But it lacked those special features of interest that can make a stay so memorable.  Missing was the Rorschach mold pattern in the shower stall, and the cigarette burns on the bedside table.  And the light switches and the doorknobs didn’t have those layers of grime accreted to them that leave your hands feeling conveniently greasy and moisturized after you’ve touched them.

It had a nice view though, across the street towards the post office, with the Columbia River as backdrop.  There’s not a lot of land between the single row of buildings fronting the main street and the river behind them, but there is some, and most of that the PCT hikers have claimed for free camping.  They’ve named it, actually, calling it Shrek’s Swamp.

There was a great old-fashioned place for ice cream near the post office, and while I was there nursing a root beer float, I watched a guy wearing an oversized white button-down cotton shirt and a denim kilt walk into town.  He had a large leather sling bag on his back, carried with a single strap of macrameed jute rope worn across his body.  He was balding, had a scruffy red beard and freckles, and looked to be on the verge of an unpleasant sunburn.

Lately, I had seen a lot of people that had spent a lot of time outside, and he was a guy that looked as though he’d spent a lot of time outside.  He wasn’t a through-hiker, though.  His sling bag and strap were more suited for thumbing rides than for carrying gear over long distances, and he wore woolen socks in sandals.  His clothes showed wear, but somehow, subtly, not in the same places as hikers’ clothing.   

He was looking down as he walked, and it looked to me like the freckles on the top of his head were larger than the ones on his face. This didn’t make sense, because over time I thought, the skin on his face should have stretched more than the skin on his skull, so that his face freckles would have been bigger than his scalp ones.  I decided that I must have misjudged them at first glance. 

But as he came abreast of me, and I was making more careful observations, he must have felt my eyeballs on him because he stopped briefly to shake off my gaze with a quick stare-down and a curt nod.  I nodded back to acknowledge that I would return to minding my own business and let him see my eyes slide off of him and back down to the root beer float in my hand.

I went back to my room, stripped down, and put on my rain gear.  Everything else, I took to the hotel’s coin-op laundry.  I went back to my room again to wait, but with nothing on underneath, rain gear gets sticky and uncomfortable.  I took it off, so was sitting on the bed naked when I heard a ruckus outside.

I stuck my head out the window and heard shouting.  “Hey, this is for PCT hikers only.  You’re no hiker.” 

Then another voice, “Yeah.  This isn’t a homeless camp, so beat it, Scuzzy.”

I saw the denim kilt guy come back out onto the street from between two buildings.  Apparently, he’d tried stopping to rest in that area the PCT’ers used for free camping, Shrek’s Swamp, and some of them didn’t like it.  They were chasing him off with hurled threats and insults.

Even though he was already retreating, the first voice yelled again, louder, “And don’t come back again either, loser!”

That didn’t seem fair to me.  I mean, they didn’t own the place, and they weren’t paying anything to camp there either.  Maybe the guy was dressed a little funny, and maybe was homeless even, but really- his situation wasn’t all that different, materially, from the lifestyle we through-hikers had been living since spring.  Those guys needed some perspective, needed to look within themselves to find some tolerance and understanding.  I decided to illuminate them.

“Hey!  You’re all a bunch of losers!” I yelled towards the Swamp.

“What?  Who said that?”

I leaned farther out the window.  “I did,” I yelled back.  “You’re all a bunch of squatters, a bunch of freeloaders, a bunch of dirt-bagging, monkey-butts.”

“Oh yeah?  Why don’t you come down here and say that?”

“I would, but I don’t have any clothes on!”

“You what?”

“Yeah, you heard me.  You’re all dirt bag camping for free, and I have a hotel room.  I paid for it, and I have a TV in here.”

“So?”  The voice I was anonymously yelling at didn’t seem all that impressed, and I realized that paying for a TV wasn’t something that necessarily inflicts a through-hiker with jealousy.  If I wanted a shot to land, I’d need to communicate something that would.

“AND, I have a bathroom door!” I added.  “And YOU DON’T!!”  I pulled my head back inside and closed the window, confident that my point had been made, and sat on the bed again naked and alone, and watched the little television in the little room that I had paid for. 

But it was golf, and it was boring.

To read Rick's book 'Walking Home' follow this link:

Walking Home; Common Sense and Other Misadventures on the Pacific Crest Trail  by Rick Rogers

A Zero in Tehachapi

[adelle-ein]

the state of disability activism online atm is so depressing to me; it feels so motivated by hatred and superiority and not compassion or kindness or anything but a desire to be Better than other people

i'm not talking about posts like "hey guys it really does help depression if you take your meds on time and get some sunlight!" i'm talking about "if you don't have friends and don't go outside every day then you're a pathetic disgusting lump who's making yourself disabled on purpose" type shit. which i see. every day. on every site. Constantly. who is this strawman that stays home for weeks at a time and enjoys it and doesn't know that it's bad for them and is happily making themselves sicker on purpose?? who is this person?? oh right. they don't exist. you just hate anyone who's less functional than you.

and it is a constant thing. for example "intrusive thoughts discourse" where everyone talks about "intrusive thoughts are not Eat Crunchy Leaf it's thinking horrible violent sexual things you don't want to think! and if yours aren't that bad then you're a faker!" i have ocd (yes, diagnosed) and yeah i do have intrusive thoughts like that, often, and they're very distressing, etc etc. but like. i also have intrusive thoughts where i just fixate on something completely benign and physically can't stop thinking about it (ie something getting dirty, my neighbor making a weird noise) to the point of intense distress and even panic attacks. is that lol quirky weirdgirl faker because it doesn't involve anything violent or sexual? even though this is a serious and debilitating part of my illness where i don't sleep because i'm lying awake worried that the toilet might get dirty tomorrow??

and why are the go-to insults from these people always "bet you can't drive! bet you haven't left the house in weeks! bet you don't tell a waiter your order's wrong! bet you can't order a pizza without shaking!!" (i see that last one SO OFTEN don't fucking know why.) like yes. punch up at those nasties with agoraphobia and avpd and social anxiety. definitely anyone who doesn't drive is doing so out of sheer laziness and there is no reason to be scared of people other than just being pathetic. you sure are showing them. what a good little activist you are!

the mentally ill vs physically ill "discourse" is a huge source of this. as someone who is Both i can tell you that both are horrible and significantly impeding my life and the physically ill people talking about how depression doesn't count and the mentally ill people talking about how you just have to go outside more to Cure Everything and both of them fighting each other and infighting and whatever are just. a vortex of exhausting bullshit. not that every struggle on every "side" is the same but i so rarely see nuanced discussions of this just "ew, [insert disability the person in question thinks is for babies here]"

just a lot of nasty hate and gatekeeping and yes ableism from people who should really know better but they don't care. again i'm not saying that "get more fresh air!" is ableist or whatever but oh my god you people are so sick and hateful. the really sad part is i have seen people who used to be genuinely kind and helpful sink into this horrible us vs them mentality, where the only way to Win is to be the Least Visibly Disabled but simultaneously the one who has a dx list as long as their arm, so when someone says "my agoraphobia makes it hard to leave the house and i haven't been out in two weeks" they can turn around and go "well I have agoraphobia AND fibromyalgia and *I* leave the house every day so what's your excuse you disgusting tumblr virgin??" as if that isn't just straight up ableism and bullying somehow. not that there aren't people who act cruel and then go "i'm disabled so this is okay!!" or reply to innocent posts with "i'm disabled how dare you imply that i try to shower regularly??" but the people who go "i'm disabled but i'm Normal not like those other gross cripples" are even worse tbh

this is again on every website. twitter tumblr all of 'em. it's not just a tumblr thing. i don't want to talk about the poor chili lady and the reaction to her but the "ironic" and/or "morally just" internet bullying has gotten completely insane.

like i said it feels like the goal from this particular breed of people is to have a ton of disabilities but act completely "normal" and symptom free so that you can brag about your superiority to the Other Disableds while pointing at your dx to go "but, look, see, I'M normal!!! and you're not!!! meaning you're inferior to me!!! freak!!! disability rights tho :)"

anyway yeah i would love to have a ~disability community~ but i don't bc this vortex of being The Most Superior Disabled Person is disgusting and exhausting and i see so many people participating it for no goddamn discernible reason other than a desire to hurt others which. sucks.

[acourtofquestions]

ANOTHER!

A lil bored & mostly sleep deprived (but gotta stay awake for da bb’s (trying to channel Auntie/god-mother Taylor Swift vibes; because that woman never sleeps & practically runs the universe)… but alas my weakness; I have no books available😭 & since I’m still thinking about Throne of Glass 24/7 because how could I not in a post-EoS world) I’m answering them myself😂 … so you’ve been warned; this weekend of sleep deprivation, auntie duties, and travel shall lead to some weird posts probably😅😂 or perhaps new genius *she said humbly* … though less of a “genius” fashion & more of a mad scientist throwing spaghetti at a wall🤣 … here’s a more bar for the sake of “the feed”😂🤣

Rowan likes frosted mini wheats. Aelin mocks him for it relentlessly calling him grandpa or snowman.

Aelin is always storing a kick-ass dress in the back closet… and it probably is quite literally able to kick-ass as it is loaded with daggered corsets.

A library for Aelin, anywhere with Aelin for Rowan… or maybe a beach🤣

Aelin has a legit “get ready” routine, oils, perfumes, skincare, you name it (in an AU she would even own THE headband). Rowan just uses whatever she tells him to (or not to) though she still lets him use the lavender soap😭

Rowan and Aelin are both big on physical touch; they need proof the other is alive & well, close enough to hold their hand & remind them, or at least be protected if they need to jump in front of a bullet. They often show love the same way; in the little things they can do amid chaos. Rowan gently rubbing Aelin’s back, Aelin kissing his cheek, or brushing his hand on her way out. They like to be close, always sitting next to each other, or going so far as to share a seat if there isn’t room (though Aelin is kinda like a cat & has a habit of turning anything into a seat, whether it be a table, wall, or person). Rowan has also learned to sit beside her & never stand while a meeting has free chairs unless he wants relentless mocking for “perching” or being ready to fight, flee, or jump in front of a bullet for her at any given moment… including breakfast. As far as differences go; Aelin is also big on quality time (or more so any amount of time) just being in the same vicinity each doing/reading their own thing. Really, any moment they have (even solving murders😅) she wants and needs to spend it with him as well as feel like he wants to spend time with her (reminder: she has major abandonment issues). And she can be surprisingly sentimental for someone who’s never had anything, the things she does she struggles not to keep forever, while Rowan is the opposite. Mostly though it’s just noticing her and doing something specific for her. Words of affirmation melt her into a puddle of heartsick puppy love (Rowan is surpsingly good at them) and it’s one of the main ways he does show affection. She shows Rowan in little things (or big little things) like setting up a surprise (gift-ish), or washing his hair (physical touch/acts of serve), doing something so he doesn’t have to like finishing paperwork, or dishes, something little to make it easier to rest when he gets home (even going so far as to try & make dinner… though she’s been banned from cooking after almost setting the castle on fire & simultaneously giving everyone food poisoning). Final note: Acts of service are dearly noted by both, but honestly overall terrifying as they’ve lost too many people (and are both far too ready to die for the other) so it’s kinda off limits😅🖤.

Aelin has always loved pretty things, as an only princess she had everything she could have wanted, except the one thing she really ever wanted most; normalcy. Then she lost everything, every pretty trinket, every person, any sense of “normal” or the world. And while she got many gifts, Arobynn’s “love” came & went with bribes, rewards, punishments, and tests; a taste of freedom, pretty dresses or new weapons, creepy perfumes, than nothing. And once again, all she craved was normalcy. A family. & nothing ever filled that gap, or became more than just “things”; things she loved, things she held onto, but never quite “everything”. As far as gifts that meant something though: the amulet of course as the last gift from her mother & surviving family heirloom. The candies from Dorian, the ring from Chaol (for a time), the books… so many books… perhaps most of all the moment Rowan brought her chocolates (back when they were still “just friends” — but even then)… however the greatest will always be Fleetfoot; it is beyond a gift, IT’S FLEETFOOT. Sorry future Rowan/everyone, I don’t think much could top that. For Rowan, let’s say he wanted a sword from the moment he could wield one (more than the sticks his cousins & him would use as kids) most of all he wanted to be a knight, a warrior, dreamed of a greater purpose; ever the practical yet fire-hearted baby fae🥹.

Rowan did not write any, except for Lyria, he did everything he could to win her, to love her, back when he was a “young immortal”. And though he will deny this at all costs, he can be quite the poet… and still will leave little notes for Aelin; indecipherable inside jokes in their secret little love language. And Aelin was a sparkly, neon, gel pen with heart dotted eyes kinda cover my notebook in “Mrs. so - and - so’s name”.

They both have trouble unwinding and need to learn to rest, so often it’s less routine & more so a non-stop marathon of work & wars & training & something/anything to do or distract free time; until they are so tired they fall asleep the second they hit the pillow. When they decide to try & “learn to rest” it normally looks something like Rowan hunched over his desk toying with some project, a new drawing (he doesn’t get much time for it but he does love it when he can). While Aelin takes a fancy bath with all the candles, bubbles, & bath bombs, she can cram into a single pampering. By the time it’s actually time for bed they’ve both normally managed to wind themselves back up from the free-time to think, falling into work or some old “busy” habit, so they try to trade books & keep their minds busy. (Especially since Aelin has exited the bath to find him practically tying red thread; marking maps, learning new war strategies, & reading she describes as “depressing manifestos of mind numbing nothingness” that she must read aloud as dramatically as she possibly can to “show him the light of never reading such things again”… or at least make him laugh till the lines ease from his face again). Though book trading has also proved to be a very chaos ensuing activity, after Aelin decided to start giving him the worst, romance novels she could find (she hasn’t even made it through half of them herself… she just likes seeing what shade of pink she can make his ears turn) while it has proved to give him some new inventive ways to get back at her😂 (he tried a mathematics book once… it ended with her nearly chucking it through the window😂. Otherwise Rowan always grab Aelin an extra blanket (mostly because she hogs them all; despite the fact she’s the one with the fire powers😂 she once went so far as to ask him to cool down the room because it was too hot all the while she was piled under four blankets she simply could not move as it was too soft).

Her last birthday, the last she can remember; when the kingdom was full of life and so was her family as they celebrated their little princess, the streets had flowers and fires and she felt free as the wind as she danced and ran with Aedion the entire night. … Rowan bringing her chocolates in Mistward was the first birthday since that last one that was worthy of being remembered. Rowan stopped celebrating birthdays long ago, it seemed pointless as an immortal (especially one who’s “mate” was gone) and since she was the only one who would still put in effort to make it special; no one even knew his birthdate for a long time after… until (like most things) until Aelin; she spent days baking a cake (that turned out far more crisp than cake), but her laugh; the utterly lovely chaos of her covered in flour, alarms going off & smoke in the air, yet streamers & all this celebration had been set just for him made him feel more thankful then any wish come true ever had. She made every birthday since worth celebrating with him.

Anything the other does (there’s a reason Rowan eat the whole horrid cake, and Aelin cried when Rowan spoke those beautiful words). They are fire & ice, they literally never stop melting. … for Aelin it’s the little details; how well he knows her (even the parts she hates or tries to hide), the scars he kisses, the way he holds her hand a little tighter because he just knows when something (even the littlest of comments) hit where it hurt, the way he makes sure she feels safe with him & is as safe as possible even in the terrors of their world, the way he remembers things; the dates that make her want to run, the shirts that lived in that bottom drawer for months; he never cared, never got jealous, never gave her grief for anything she was or felt. For Rowan it’s the moments he realizes he is loved wholly & he has finally found her; this magical, other worldly, miracle for him. It’s her teasing him like anyone else (not a dangerous general, or widower, ancient hero, or cursed villain), it’s her laugh, it’s the way her eyes glimmer for him, or seek him in a heavy room. It’s the moments she looks up and smiles because it’s him she saw, or comes running to jump into a hug even if she saw him mere hours ago. It’s the days he wakes with her asleep on his chest, peaceful, safe, simply being and breathing. It’s smoke & alarms, her making breakfast & burning everything to chars. It’s the fire breathing, promising heart, of life; of living life, wherever it may be, or go.

Aelin will spin the teacups until she is sick… and she often is because she happily stuffs her face with everything she can find; including the non-existent fruit, neon colored, pure sugar (that the court has considered banning her from after a sugar crash once nearly caused a little more than a “sunburn” for half of Epcot). Rowan likes the giant turkey legs… or liked… until he found out it was a bird… one that he claims cannot possibly occur in nature… after a few trips without them & seagull dive bombs he gave up on caring and went back to his “meat on a stick” favorites😂.

Aelin tried to learn to knit once… let’s just say everyone got a lot of tangled web like half singed baby blankets that year that Rowan may or may not have death-glared them into liking. Rowan likes woodworking & building bird houses, and Aelin makes the wood burning process much faster … minus her MANY bird puns. Rowan once considered keeping a nice one nearby for the next pun he hears😂 or argument he loses sent off to the “dog house” or in his case ⬆️🤣.

Primarily, Answered in love languages. Rowan is a beautifully true “perfect” words of affirmation person (fae) primarily but also gentle physical touch; a hand squeeze, a back rub, a forehead kiss, a shoulder to lean on. Aelin is also a physical touch; hold your hand, kiss your cheek, hug, etc. she is also a “little details” acts of service; like let me put this away so it’s one less thing for you to do. Or let me leave a tiny “gift-ish” thing around for you. Or let me spend & make the time to do something special and make a memory for us. Kinda gal.

Back before game night was cancelled after a “Settlers of Catan” game left Yrene to quite literally stitch everyone back together with the pieces😅 (banning; Aelin, (Lorcan if Aelin is anywhere near by) Aedion, Manon, & by compliant association & too smart counting Dorian😂). Mario Kart remains undecided despite it being just as lethal (however they all enjoy it too much to suggest another ban😂). Before this Aelin used to pick Monopoly (despite the fact everyone & she hates it) precisely why, as she liked her own new rules, & determined to win chaos. Rowan likes chess, and battleship (one he & Aelin can agree upon); Though he also secretly enjoys the video games he’s “begrudingly forced to play”. And they both get far too much enjoyment out of clue, minus the “inaccuracies” according to Aelin😅😂.

Aelin loves sitcoms, she’s seem most of them 10 times over. She however writes for romance novels… which Rowan would die from if he ever knew was her (& vice-verse anyone ever found his accounts ;-) & he likes watching HGTV?😂

Rowan loves helping out around the house anyway he can, especially if he can with Aelin; he just appreciates being able to take care of her. Aelin loves doing the dishes (she likes to try and practice her water magic… and if Rowan happens to get soaked in the process or the soap bubbles up to cover the kitchen… who’s to say if she meant it or not ;-)😂

Fireheart & Buzzard🥹 (the fact this is canon — my gods I love them). Pretty much any nickname from Aelin is going to be teasing and sarcastic & possibly drive you nuts at first (uncle kitty) and any from Rowan are going to make you cry (not even a “nickname” but every time he calls Aedion brother, and Lysandra his sister, my heart pulls a grinch and grows even more🥹😍😭)

They love to travel. Especially when they can find somewhere Rowan hasn’t been (it’s rare in his 200 years but they’ve found a few) thankfully in contrast it’s easy for Aelin (as she hasn’t been most places) and she loves getting to see the world she dreamed about but was always bound away from. Rowan makes for a great tour guide because he knows where the non tourists hundred year old ruins are to visit ;-) & they often run off to their own secret adventures, or trying to find the best hole-in-the-wall cafe/mom&pop shops. She does enjoy going “full tourist” mode some days (the I heart New York tee & everything… partially because the glare from Rowan as she says “smile” and flashes cameras is priceless🤣) or in the complete opposite mode she tries to be a local (Lysandra taught her well) & she’s got some convincing accents… but on occasion it goes horribly hilariously wrong & becomes far too much fun for them. Same with shopping districts (Aelin will get samples until she’s practically had a meal… & then change costumes for more after a ban). Lysandra however is far better at this & a preferable companion for such mischief; and they do love traveling with their family too. They miss them when they’re away too long.

Aelin loves flowers, Rowan loves the woods; it makes a good combo of him finding them & leaving them for her as a surprise, or on a bedside table with a note when she wakes up. Every-time her heart gets so sappy over it she wants to keep them forever (and often does; drying them into bookmarks… their shelves are full🥹). Aelin also loves spices for cooking, or lavender for soaps and perfumes, so he often brings her new things; loving how much she loves the little “moments of luxury”. He was the first one to ever bring her flowers (he is 200 years old after all he had to retain some sort of classic chivalry) and the way her eyes sparkled that first time made it impossible for him to ever pass something beautiful without stealing a piece for her. She did try to braid them into his hair once😂. Or make him wish on every dandelion they pass, & he does because her crinkling nose as she grins at him is enough to make him smile until they both laugh.

Aelin can make a fire, or a heating blanket of a shield; however despite the many ways THE “Fire-Bringer” could, her preferred method of warmth is getting as close to Rowan as possible. He is in agreement with this method.😂

Rowan is incredibly proud of Aelin. It is his honor to be hers, to serve a Queen who is so good, to love a woman who has a heart of wildfire. And she is incredibly proud of them all; this court of dreamers, her family. — It’s the only thing she undoubtably knows somehow went right… Lysandra especially; every-time she sees Evangeline she is so thankful; they were able to spare someone where they were not so lucky, they are fighting to stop the cycle. And she is proud to be the friend & sister of such a woman, & the lucky aunt of such a niece.

Rowan & Aelin have a real Luke & Laurelai vibe when it comes to coffee; Rowan thinks it’s a death trap, despite Aelin’s affliction/affecrion for it. Though Rowan & Aedion did have to set a rule for how much espresso is allowed within a 10 mile radius of her after a venti & 2 days of no sleep nearly has her burning the palace down.😂 He’ll drink whatever’s around & doesn’t mind when Aelin mixes some cinnamon or something in, otherwise he’s a 1 black coffee kinda guy. Aelin likes anything with sugar and spice and espresso… but often sticks to tea for sanity’s sake.😂

Aelin loves the finer things in life; including her secret drawer full of chocolate. & Rowan has Aelin.😂

Aelin unabashedly loves rom coms & chick-flicks, though musicals are her favorite (even the ones she can’t stand, or are not at all happy & instead tragedies); she likes plays the most though). Rowan “hates them” but always cries at the notebook; he will deny this & do it everytime.

Each other period. Fleetfoot running with Evangeline in a meadow, filled with their family of friends, give everyone a book to read & good music; that’s their “happiest place” haven.

Happy Headcanons Asks!

Send me a character and a number and  I’ll answer: 

Which type of cereal is their favorite?

What outfit do they wear when they need to feel confident?

Describe their dream date

What is their bath or shower routine?

What is their love language?

What was on the TOP of their Haukkah/Christmas/Birthday/etc list as a kid?

What did their high school love letters look like?

What is their bedtime routine?

Describe their happiest birthday.

What makes them melt romantically?

What is their favorite ride at Disneyland? Favorite food?

What craft do they learn to make for a gift? Who do they give it to?

How do they like to provide for others?

What game do they always select for game night?

What fandom do they write fanfic for? Give us a small sample.

Which household chore do they privately love?

What sappy nickname do they give their loved one(s)?

What is their favorite touristy thing to do when traveling?

Do they like to receive flowers? Give flowers? What kinds?

How do they warm up when it’s cold outside?

What makes them feel proud?

What is their usual Starbucks order?

How does this character indulge themselves?

Which sappy romantic movie is their favorite? Do they admit to it?

What brings them the most unmitigated joy in all the world?

[notchesandbullets]

A Soft Confession Draped in Ivory and Silk (Pro-Hero!Bakugou x Pro-Hero!Reader)

Warnings: cursing, sort of domestic fluff in the snippet of the future Bakugou sees with you, mentions of alcohol, Aged-Up!AU, suggestive themes, implied smut, mutual pining, there's a lot of fluff in this one.

Synopsis: It’s been a few years since you’ve graduated UA. This was supposed to be a trouble-free reunion, except your reservations got screwed up and now you have to room with someone else while you're staying for the entirety of the trip. The weird thing is, everyone seems to have some kind of excuse as to why they can't let you sleepover in their room for the night. So, you decide on Bakugou's, the only person who can't say no because he hasn't arrived yet. But your actions have consequences and now you need to deal with all the feelings that you've been frantically suppressing as they resurface.

Words: 19.2k

"What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Bakugou seethed hotly, vastly annoyed with the sight that greeted him.

He had kicked open the door to his allocated hotel room, exhausted from the long drive and wanted nothing more than to flop on the comfy bed and just fall asleep but that couldn't happen if you were here.

Of course it had to be you. Of all the shitty extras, it had to be you.

Fuck.

Rolling your eyes at his angry exasperation, you continued stirring the pot on the stove without paying him any attention, which you knew irritated him greatly. Free hand planted idly on your hips, your brow scrunched up as you caught a whiff of burning potatoes and quickly turned off the fire.

Alright, so you weren't the best at cooking, but that wasn't going to stop you. A girl's gotta eat.

In hindsight, you could've just picked up some food on the way or been smart and packed a lunch before you left but in your defense, you were running late. You blamed being completely unprepared on Mina, who failed to inform you in time so you would have enough time to appropriately pack and not panic about seeing all your old classmates from your UA days.

By the time she told you of this little trip, you had exactly seven hours to get everything in order and head up north to the high-end hotel Iida and Yaoyorozu, the old class representative and executive officer, reserved for the group of 22.

They had decided to hold a reunion of some sorts since it had been a number of years since you guys all graduated. Really, you suspected it just to be an excuse for all of you to get drunk but you weren't complaining.

Hero work was taxing.

Even Aizawa, Present Mic, All Might and Midnight had come along for the weekend getaway. Though they were stuck in traffic and wouldn't make it until the next morning.

"The reservations got mixed up when Midoriya called in." You said over your shoulder to the grumpy man pouting in the corner, scooping out the soup in the pot into bowls and you ignored how Bakugou growled when the name of his rival passed through your lips. "It was either share a room with you or Mineta, so..."

Bakugou glowered at you from the other side of the room but he didn't argue. That little pervert might've grown up a bit since he actually transformed into a decent hero who was a feminist and advocated for women all the time instead of trying to touch them constantly without consent, but that didn't mean he wanted you to sleep in the same bed as the fucking grape head.

Weirdly enough, everyone you asked seemed to have an excuse as to why they couldn't let you sleep over with them for a night until the mistake was sorted out. The guys you could understand but the girls?

Something was kind of off there.

So then it was just down to Mineta, who was an absolute no in your book, and Bakugou, who was the only one who hadn't arrived yet.

Knowing that you'd be completely screwed over if he said no too, you made a choice, figuring he could kick you out if it really was too much of a bother.

At least the accommodations were nice.

The room was a luxurious suite, more than big enough to hold you both without getting in each other's way.

Rich, velvet curtains hung from the valances and a small crystal chandelier hung above the mahogany table. The kitchen was fully equipped with the latest line of appliances in Japan and stocked with utensils and stainless steel cookware. The room even came with French doors that separated the bedroom from the cozy living area and kitchen parts of the suite, giving it a secluded but romantic feel.

You ignored the latter portion of that vibe.

The two of you were friends at best and you were still wondering if you could even call him a close friend when most of your interactions happened on the job in joint operations that required both of your quirks.

It was hard to ever find to get out and see your friends, let alone even consider dating. You had given up that dream after some sleazebag tried to get into your pants after one date. When your team figured out he was after your fame, that put the nail in the coffin and you hadn't tried to see anyone else since then.

For a time there, you had thought you had some potential for a relationship with Shindou since the two of you held mutual attraction for each other but that was over when he started seeing one of his old classmates.

You were happy for the both of them but it didn't dull the ache in your heart for someone who understood the life that you lived.

And not in a platonic way.

Shindou being in a relationship honestly didn't come as a surprise to you, he had feelings for her since the provisional licensing exam and besides, your heart was set on someone else.

Someone you could never hope that they would return your feelings.

Breezing out of the kitchen with two portions in hand, you passed one to the grumpy ash-blond's way.

Bakugou scoffed haughtily as he left his luggage by the door and threw himself down into the sofa positioned behind the TV, completely ignoring your peace offering. "What the fuck makes you think I want to eat your shitty cooking?"

"Suit yourself."

You shrugged your shoulders and set it down on the coffee table, undeterred by his crude yet muffled language. Something things never changed, you could still read him like a book. His temper was all a front.

Had been since high school. Now you both were pros, constantly out on the streets and saving the day. It was rewarding work but it was also exhausting.

You couldn't put into words how much you were looking forward to this getaway trip, where you didn't have to worry about appearances or the media catching you off guard.

You don't know exactly how, but somehow Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Iida managed to pay them off or something to get them to leave you alone for the blessed three days this reunion was going to span.

And you have to say, you had never been more grateful to have rich people as friends.

Leaving to go change so that you were ready for the dinner tonight with all of your old classmates while simultaneously chowing down on your delicious (somewhat burnt) food, the corner of your mouth quirked up in a smile as you heard the bowl scrap against the table as the grumpy hero begrudgingly pulled it toward him.

Unable to resist, you tossed a lighthearted jab over your shoulder without looking at him. "Aw, you do have a heart~"

"Fuck off, dumbass." Bakugou spat from around a mouthful of potato, yet making no move to set down the food you had spent so much time making before he arrived.

Even though it was a little overcooked, it tasted better than any of the shit he had been forcing himself to eat recently.

Being a pro was no fucking joke, not that he ever treated it like one before, but it sure as shit seemed a lot easier when they were students and had fucking adults to rely on.

It was still fucking weird to him to think of his old homeroom teacher as a colleague.

Bakugou lazed around for a couple hours after he finished eating your food. He wasn't ever going to admit it, but your home cooking hit the spot. His own cooking was still better but yours wasn't shit. At least, not compared to that fucking Dunce Face's.

He still remembered when you and Sato would make dinner back when they all lived in Heights Alliance. Of course, Emergency Exit had a fire extinguisher handy anytime you were in the kitchen because you had a habit of lighting things on fire.

A lot.

Flipping through the channels on the TV boredly, Bakugou blankly stared at the screen with moving pictures that he couldn't care less about as his mind wandered back to you.

When Kirishima first told him about the trip, he flat out declined coming with.

There was no fucking way he was going. Why the hell would he want to see all their annoying faces and shit?

At least, that was all that was running through his mind until the idiot slyly mentioned how you were going to be coming along.

Bakugou honestly didn't think you would be one for all this shit. According to his agent, you had been so swamped with work in your district that you hadn't been taking proper care of yourself. Not that he cared or anything.

But it was going to be a fucking inconvenience for him if you suddenly fainted on the job and was rushed to the hospital, leaving him to pick up all your damn slack.

Because your agencies were sort of near each other, he thought he couldn't take the time off if you were going, but his PR team had insisted, practically shoving him out the door so he could pack seven days early.

He had a sinking suspicion that his absence would allow them to curb the damage done after that stunt he pulled last month at the middle school they made him talk at.

It wasn't his fault!! Those damn kids had too many fucking questions!!

Alright, so that wasn't really it. He had overheard one of the teachers spewing shit about heroes and how useless they were so of course he was fucking angry. To have the fucking nerve to not even lower their voice in front of him was a trip but the last straw was when they carelessly brought up your name in the conversation, haughtily claiming that you didn't know how to do your job properly.

And he fucking lost it.

The entire security team had to pry him off of the wailing teacher when they arrived and once the facts were cleared up, no one could say that they really blamed him for reacting the way that he did but still, the press was going to have a field day when this got out.

Bakugou had clicked his tongue angrily and stormed the other way while the police got the situation sorted out.

He would own up to what he had done, he wasn't fucking afraid. He would kill them any day of the week.

But he halted in his tracks down the dreary and empty hallway when he saw a little boy sitting alone outside the classroom. He recognized him. He was inside during the meet-and-greet but the teacher that he had just got into a verbal battle with had sent him outside for some reason.

The child whimpered and curled into a tighter ball when he came closer and Bakugou cursed himself for not having the same calming effects on kids like Deku had.

"Oi, brat. What the hell are you doing sitting out here?" He asked abrasively, crouching down a little ways away to give him some space.

The kid sniffled loudly and raised his head, his eyes swollen and bloodshot from how hard he had been crying and Bakugou's heart twisted painfully.

"M-Mister?" He stammered out in a small voice. "Wha...?"

"You're crying."

Since no one else was around, Bakugou's guard dropped a fraction and his eyes softened slightly.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?"

After six minutes of the kid stuttering to find his voice in front of his idol, he managed to tell him a little bit.

And if Bakugou was mad before, he sure as hell was livid now.

Because this kid was being punished by his teacher and his peers for something he had no control over. His quirk.

His teacher hated him and would often send him outside because it would go off at random times and distract his classmates. And while everyone pointed fingers at him and laughed, he was left all alone to deal with a power that was too big for him to control.

Labeled a villain, he was cast out and even though the pro-hero could clearly see how kind his heart was just in the few minutes he'd interacted with him, no one else seemed to care enough to give him the time of day.

Bakugou offered out his hand and demanded that he get up. Timidly, the little kid did so, exclaiming out in surprise when he dragged him towards the direction of the classroom.

The hero could sense his rising fear and anxiety so he stopped just outside of the door where the police had been filing out of a minute ago and turned to him, squatting down to his level.

"Listen, brat." Bakugou barked out, but not unkindly. "Those extras don't mean a damn thing. You're fucking strong and you're going to be a great hero when you grow up."

He rapidly blinked his eyes and they sparkled. "Really?!"

Bakugou snorted. "Yup. Now, come on. It's storytime."

When he entered, he was disgusted to see how the teacher and the kids recoiled back from the boy hiding behind his legs. And while he couldn't necessarily fault the kids as much as their teacher because they were being taught that this little guy was a monster, to see a grown-adult grooming them to judge people like this was fucking wrong.

He would know.

Sitting down, he patted his thigh once to invite the little boy to take a seat on his lap. When the boy finally scrambled on and got comfortable, even though he was still clearly nervous about being in front of his class like this, Bakugou started his tale.

The few security officers who were standing by the teacher for safety should he launch at them again and his own agent were wary of his intentions, but all that diminished when he opened his mouth.

The calm hero told the wide-eyed kids how he was a bully to someone who had the true heart of what it took to be a hero and how he was able to grow by recognizing his mistakes and taking action. He told them that it was hard to change but that it was a good thing even though it felt weird and felt like the world was against him at times.

He told them that it didn't matter whether they had a strong quirk, a weak quirk or no quirk at all, at the end of the day, they were all the same: imperfect humans just trying to live and find happiness. And that everyone was deserving of respect.

Even the little boy they had casted out from their social circle.

Bakugou could see some things start to click in their minds and while he knew that most of this would fly over their heads for now since they weren't at an age where they had to think about all these things on the daily, he hoped that it would stick with them and come back to them when they needed it most.

The teacher's jaw had gone slack in shock and Bakugou glared at them, sending them one last pointed remark about how it was important to ensure the future generation had the tools they needed to thrive in this world and they gulped, averting their eyes as they were thoroughly intimidated by the way his burning eyes scorched into them.

Throwing his head back with a heavy sigh, Bakugou closed his eyes.

He needed this weekend to get the fuck away with everything that was wrong in this world and accept that he could only change the things he could control one at a time.

But patience was never his strong suit.

Growling, he pushed himself off of the too-comfortable couch and stormed his way to the front door to grab his luggage he had discarded to the side earlier before heading to the bedroom. He paused at the closed door for a second, briefly debating if he should knock or not but shook his head.

Fuck it. It's my fucking room.

He kicked open the door despite it being made of glass and he froze in place as his eyes landed on your form standing in front of the full-length mirror with your bare back to him.

Your eyes shining in the reflection of the polished mirror snapped to where his figure was still frozen in the doorway and you rolled your eyes, not even bothering to cover yourself up or anything.

It honestly wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, your hero costume had your back exposed all the time but you were damn annoyed that he had burst in when he did because he startled you and dropped the thing you had been playing with for a good half an hour now.

You were halfway to getting that tricky zipper to cooperate with you when he interrupted you. His timing literally could not be worse.

Sighing, you motioned him in, a bit confused why he cleared his throat and looked away from you as he set down his suitcase and strutted over without a fight.

"Make yourself useful and help me." You demanded with a slight pout. It was his fault the stupid thing was now all the way down again. Who made these things?!

You didn't have enough hands for this task.

In order to zip up the complicated dress, you needed to simultaneously hold together all the lace that crisscrossed near the neck while your other hand tried to wiggle up the zipper.

All while defying gravity and attempting not to twist your arms off.

Bakugou came to stand behind you and he exhaled frustratingly at the mess you made. The whole thing was tangled in the back, there were too many pieces for him to know what was supposed to go where.

"What the fuck did you even do, dumbass?" He muttered, more to himself than to you as he crossed over and pulled through the complicated design to get it to lay flat, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

You giggled, gathering your hair in one hand and sweeping it to one side so that it was off the nape of your neck and wouldn't get in the way.

You swallowed when his fingers brushed over your skin as he undid the damage you dealt to this fancy article of clothing and tried to ignore how your heart skipped a beat.

Honestly, you hated parties and fancy gatherings like the one tonight was going to be, but Mina and Ochako had begged you to wear something nice for at least one of the days, hence why you were now in this predicament.

Because you had absolutely no idea how to put on a dress this fancy.

Yaoyorozu had bought it for you last year when all of the girls from the former Class A and B went on a shopping spree, claiming it brought out your eyes and was such a perfect fit for you that you had to have it, regardless of how many zeros there were on the tag at the time of purchase.

You thought your eyes were going to fall out of your head the second she swiped her platinum credit card without so much as batting an eye.

You haven't gotten a chance to wear it yet. It really was a special occasions gown since it was floor-length and wouldn't be appropriate for any modern day clubs or work parties. So when the girls told you the dress code for this weekend, you were secretly a little excited, the inner child in you skipping around in circles at the notion of getting to play dress up.

According to Mina and Tsuyu, the ballroom that dinner was going to be served in tonight was supposed to be extravagant and you couldn't wait to see what it looked like.

The Solaria Hotel was one of Japan's finest and most exclusive establishments and had a five star rating from over hundreds of thousands of pro-heroes.

And you could certainly see why.

Just the size of the bedroom itself was already twice as big than your apartment that you rented out.

The king-sized bed was ridiculously huge and you were pretty sure the comforter was lined with genuine velvet. Silk sheets for the mattress and the pillow had your heart jumping for joy at how soft and silky it felt against your skin.

Aside from the bed, which also had a sheer white canopy draping down, the ceiling was ten feet high and rose petals were scattered around the huge room.

If you didn't know any better, you would think that this was a love hotel instead of one that they geared towards a resting spot for heroes. But you supposed you could understand why they had set it up the way they did.

Even heroes needed that kind of relief.

But luckily, the hotel business was slow this time of month and you didn't see many other guests when you came in, so the lack of bustle was a nice change of pace from your everyday hectic schedule.

Twisting around to see what was taking Bakugou so long to figure out the lace back, you yelped when he harshly pushed you back so that you were facing forwards.

"Hey!!" You protested indignantly and you swayed on your feet. It was a good thing you weren't wearing your heels yet.

He scoffed, deft fingers continuing to work at the knots as he repeated his earlier words. "What the fuck did you even do?"

"I didn't do anything!!"

This time, he snorted in disbelief. "Yeah right. This shit looks worse than Deku's hair."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" You shrieked.

After arguing back and forth for a few minutes, you began to grow anxious as the time started to tick by. You had to be down there for dinner in less than an hour and you even though you had already done your hair and makeup, mostly, you still weren't really prepared for this.

Crowds weren't your thing, which made being a pro hard sometimes, but the work you did was worth that particular downside.

Your eyes widened and you hopped in place when Bakugou finally zipped you up. Spinning around and being careful not to trip, you beamed at him as you threw your arms around his neck.

"Thank you!!!" You squealed gratefully.

He clicked his tongue and huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Get off me now, dumbass."

You clambered off of him albeit ungracefully since this gown was pretty heavy thanks to the many layers of fabric and you flailed your arms like a baby bird as you lost your balance.

Bakugou's hand shot out to catch you before you fell but before you could thank him, he was already turning away and going to his side of the room.

But tried as he might, he couldn't stop staring at you even as you turned away.

As soon as he collected his luggage once more and dragged it over to his side of the bed that wasn't claimed by you, his thoughts drifted back to you once again as you twirled in the mirror, giggling to yourself as you remained completely oblivious to the vermilion gaze burning into your back.

He swore in his head. It was much harder to stop them from going rampant with that intoxicating scent of banana and citrus that came from a specific kind of lotion he knew you always put on ever since he got it for you.

It was a gift for the last Christmas your class shared in your third year in high school. And the only reason he bought you that was because fucking Raccoon-Eyes thought it would be a good idea to put a limit on the gift giving since Iida had gone all out last year and nearly flooded Heights Alliance with an obscene amount of presents.

Shinsou might've had a hand in helping deliver them.

But of fucking course you would be wearing it right now. He could smell it so clearly, it was so fragrant it was making his head go foggy.

Bakugou tried to concentrate on something, anything really that would get his mind off of you but to no avail.

Everywhere he looked, there was evidence of you and your light.

Your clothes folded neatly in the walnut dresser on the top drawer, your books on the nightstand, even all those bottles on the vanity in the joined bathroom that was connected to the bedroom that he didn't really think was necessary unless you were trying to scrape off your skin.

In the small walk-in closet, if it could even be classified as such, was filled only with your empty luggage and the hanger in which probably hung up the dress to prevent it from wrinkling before you put it on.

And now that he wasn't fucking fighting a battle with your stubborn zipper, Bakugou really got a chance to take you in.

The layers of pale green chiffon flowed around your ankles when you moved. Paired with billowy sleeves made from that same sheer material, it made you look ethereal. The bodice flattered your figure and the sweetheart neckline skimmed just below your collar bones, making you appear soft and pure, like a fairy who could bend nature to her will with just a kiss.

The lace back was beautifully intricate and the golden zipper was barely noticeable when you let go of your hair.

It cascaded down, the soft curls brushing against your shoulders and a glass butterfly clip was nestled in your hair to keep most of it away from your face, save for a few curled strands that framed your face.

You were breathtaking.

You raised an eyebrow curiously when Bakugou suddenly started to cough violently and worried that he had somehow managed to choke on his own spit, you gathered up your skirts and rushed over to him.

You weren't insulted when he brushed you off, shouting at you that he was fucking fine, but you didn't push the issue.

He grabbed his things from his suitcase and stomped off into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and you were left wondering what all of that was about.

Shrugging to yourself, you figured that he would either deal with it himself or go to Kirishima if and when he needed help.

Now, you were faced with a completely different dilemma.

There was about fifteen minutes before the scheduled time to report downstairs and you still needed to put on your shoes. But it was nearly impossible to see over the poofy skirts of this dress.

Groaning in frustration, you threw your hands down exasperatedly from trying to get it on for the fourth time. This was getting old.

Then, your whole face lit up when you got an idea.

Practically throwing yourself face-down on the bed, you squirmed and wiggled around on the king-sized bed until your back was flat against the cushiony mattress and you huffed, blowing the hair out of your face as you stuck your legs up in the air, grabbing for the shoes to put on as you bent your knees.

It was an awkward position as your skirt obeyed gravity but it worked.

Two minutes later you had both of the heels on the right way and did up the laces properly.

Inwardly, you were wondering why you were even bothering to teeter on these stilts for the entirety of the party but they completely the look. Besides, you were almost sure that you guys were going to take pictures later, even if Bakugou would only join you guys for one.

You hummed to yourself, standing up and smoothing out your skirt. You were in the middle of fixing your hair when the lock to the bathroom clicked and out stepped Bakugou.

Your eyebrows shot up to your forehead. Damn that man can clean up nice when he wasn't busy murdering villains.

A pressed suit adorned his broad frame and you had to swallow to stop yourself from drooling at how good he looked.

The suit was a classic black, with a crisp white shirt on the inside and his pants were clearly ironed before coming here. A red handkerchief peeked out from where it was tucked into his breast pocket and you swooned.

He had gotten everything right, right down to the shiny black dress shoes. You didn't know how it was possible to not have any wrinkles or a hair out of place as he slid up his embroidered tie with an irritated scowl, making the lapels lay flat with an aggressive swipe at the offending material.

You barely noticed his rising aggravation as they kept popping back up and he adjusted the cufflinks before jerking at the collar again.

"Here," You giggled. "Let me help."

Bakugou grumbled but lowered his hands and let you do as you pleased as you tucked it in further to get it to straighten out without popping back out.

"Thanks." He said gruffly and you flashed him a bright smile.

"Anytime!!"

Bakugou groaned quietly as you flounced out of the room. "You're too fucking cheerful."

You threw a charismatic smile his way as you skipped to the front door, making sure to grab your clutch on the way out. You didn't necessarily need your wallet tonight as you weren't planning on getting drunk but you weren't exactly comfortable leaving it in the hotel room.

Years of training had taught you that there were flaws in even the most advanced security systems.

"I didn't think you were going to dress up tonight." You commented casually as you waited for Bakugou to finish grabbing his wallet and phone before locking the door behind you two.

You were leaning against the glass barrier that surrounded the halls.

The Solaria Hotel was more than 100 floors, reminding you of the tower at I-Island that time you guys had to beat those villains to save the professor and restore order to the island. Bakugou's room was on the 80th floor, so you could see everything.

The layout of the circular building had basically ensured that it was hollowed out, rooms circled each floor and had an elevator on the north and south points of the building. In the empty space that you could see below as far as the eye could see, they had crystals suspended in the air that changed color periodically.

He scowled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he fell in step beside you and you tore away from your admiration of the ingenuity of the architecture.

"Shitty Hair made me fucking wear this shit." Bakugou said through clenched teeth as he recalled Kirishima begging him to wear it so they could match tonight. He wasn't going to cave but then fucking Raccoon-Eyes threatened not to feed him.

That wouldn't bother him except for the fact that he wouldn't be able to see you and all the shitty extras would be free to hit on you.

Not on his fucking watch.

Of course, this was decided before he knew you were going to be crashing in his room. He could cook for himself just fine, he didn't need to eat that overpriced shit that Ponytail Girl and Emergency Exit fucking paid for but now he was going anyways because there was no way in hell you were attending alone.

Covering your smile behind your hand, you teased that no matter what he said, he would do anything for Kirishima if he asked and Bakugou exploded at you, right there, in the middle of the hallway.

You shrieked as he launched himself at you and you ran for your life, panting hard as you reached the vacant elevators in the nick of time, frantically pushing the button to get it to close before Bakugou caught up.

Hope swelled in your chest when the doors started to close but it plummeted when a hand stopped it just before it shut completely.

Bakugou licked his lips as he pushed them back open and you backed into the corner to get as far away from him as possible as he advanced.

You gasped when his hands slammed on either side of your head, the soft ding of the elevator doors closing lost on both of you as his eyes bore into yours.

"Time to fucking pay, dumbass." He smirked, leaning in close.

You glanced over his shoulder, quickly concluding that you wouldn't reach the first floor for a good minute and decided you needed to come up with a distraction to ensure you would live to eat at least a morsel of the heavenly food that awaited you.

Bakugou's eyes flew open as you boldly took a step forward, pressing yourself against him and he swallowed hard when your finger teasingly trailed down from his shoulder to his chest. He swore that even though he was wearing two layers, he could feel your touch as though there were no clothes between you two.

The glass of the elevator was transparent and if anyone were looking closely enough, they would be able to see how he was pinning you to the wall with no space between the two of you.

"Aw~" You cooed, batting your lashes at him prettily. "That's such a shame... I was really looking forward to tonight."

He fucking knew you were toying with him, making it sound like a implication that you wanted him to take you back to his room but he fucking knew that you loved food more than any other shit so you had to be messing with him.

But it was pretty hard to believe when you looked up at him so innocently.

Bakugou's mouth pulled back in a heated snarl and it took everything in him not to close the distance and crash his lips onto yours, claiming you for himself tonight, tomorrow, and every other night that was to come.

Your expression cleared as the elevator came to a halt and Bakugou, who had been bracing himself over you, was thrown off balance.

"We're here!!" You announced excitedly, skipping past him for the second time that night.

He slapped a hand to his forehead and rushed out of the elevator into the lobby to catch up with you.

Fuck, what was wrong with him tonight?

The layout of the first five floors were a bit different than the residence area since those were designated for recreational activities and an extensive training gym.

The lobby was beautiful, even though you had skimmed by it earlier just to figure out where you were going to stay since the reservations had been messed up but now you got a good look at it.

A huge crystal chandelier sparkled from the ceiling and your heels clicked as you walked across the polished marble tile.

Everything was gold and white, clean and shining so bright that you could see your reflection in all the surfaces that you looked in. The golden edging along the wainscot and the Victorian details in the carvings along the panels of the ceiling were incredibly well done.

It branched off into several sections, the ambiguity of the lobby enabling them to have several private rooms covered with a heavy velvet curtain to maintain complete privacy.

The only thing that distinguished this floor from looking like a private establishment altogether was the very noticeable front desk in which the staff were stationed.

You were told that there was minimal staff to ensure the utmost respect and privacy but you were glad to see human faces as opposed to all the high-tech the hotel had ingrained into it to make the stay as pleasant as possible.

You didn't know why but it was nice to have a human touch in a world advancing so fast that artificial intelligence and robots were becoming more and more prevalent.

At least you could soak in that hot tub later to forget about anything and everything, relaxing in a blissful state until they kicked you out.

You could sort of recall Mina telling you about it over the phone but you were busy packing so you couldn't pay too much attention to her. But you were pretty sure she said something about a state-of-the-art pool and made another mental note to check it out later once you got out of this ridiculous getup.

Your confidence and schoolgirl excitement that came from dressing up dwindled bit by bit until you were left standing outside of the ballroom in a nervous wreck.

Judging by the music you could hear inside and all the lively chatter, most if not all were already there, and now you were having second thoughts as you anxiously played with your sleeves.

It wasn't that you didn't think you looked good, you really loved how you looked, it was just... you were feeling a bit self-conscious now that you were about to go in.

It was the same feeling that you had right before you had to try out for the hero agency of your dreams right after graduation. You were a bundle of nerves that day but at least then you could prove yourself by using your quirk to fight and take out bad guys.

You highly doubted that Yaoyorozu or Mina would be amused if you took on that same attitude and ripped the dress to shreds.

Regardless of the fact that it was expensive, you really wanted to follow through with this despite the anxiety you were feeling right now.

Bakugou hung back once he caught up to you, chest heaving slightly. You were faster than he remembered. But as he noticed that you were fighting with something internally, he arched an eyebrow and argued with himself about whether or not it was a good idea to ask what shit was stopping you from going in.

By the time he told himself to fuck off and just do it, you had straightened your shoulders and opened the doors yourself.

A wide grin split across his face and he shook his head, in a mixture of begrudging admiration and a hell of a lot of disbelief.

You were fucking strong. No doubt about that.

He knew how much shit you had been through in high school. Your social anxiety was no fucking joke, you had real reactions to situations that stressed you out, but you were dealing with it time and time again just to push through and do what you loved.

That wasn't to say that you didn't fail at times but he was so fucking proud of you for asking the shitheads for help when you needed it.

Because you deserved it.

None of them judged you for it. Hell, Shoji had anxiety just like you, Ponytail Girl still had issues with her self-esteem frequently when her ability as a hero was being called into question by the press who often brought up her revealing hero costume as though that was the only thing that defined her, Icyhot was still dealing with the aftermath of his own trauma when something triggered him and Deku wasn't perfect either.

Your class had been through everything together. You guys were each other's family and were there for each other. Always.

You guys trusted each other with your lives and it was safe to say that you would go to bat for any of the others should they ever be in danger.

Bakugou was broken out of his thoughts as an all-too-cheerful voice shattered his trance.

"Bakugou, lookin' sharp!!" Kirishima called out, cupping his hands over his mouth so that his voice carried further.

Unfortunately, it caused a lot of other people to look his way and Bakugou's face twisted into a scowl.

"Fuck off, Shitty Hair."

Kirishma laughed, the bright sound relaying just how much his language never bothered him and he skipped over to loop his arm through the grumpy ash-blond's.

"Aw, what's got you so angry?" Kirishima teased with a grin, coming around on his other side to sling his arm around his shoulders when Bakugou threw him off.

Bakugou scowled, refusing to reply and his best friend's grin grew.

"So..." He drew out smugly. "I see you arrived with Y/N. Does that mean you finally manned up and told her how you feel?"

You whipped your head around in shock, breaking off your conversation with Jirou when you heard the explosion, and fell into a fit of giggles as the smoke from Bakugou's quirk cleared. Iida and Midoriya were doing damage control to a pent-up Bakugou and Todoroki was standing off to the side for moral support.

As for Kirishima and Kaminari, who had happened to be on his way to greet the pomeranian when the explosion occurred, were slapping their thighs and howling obnoxiously, tears leaking out of their eyes from laughing so hard.

Yaoyorozu shook her head. It was too early in the night to deal with all of this.

She sighed, gracefully putting a hand over her heart. "It seems like Bakugou-san's temper has not changed."

You snickered along with Jirou, who was covering her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stop the fit of uncontrollable laughter that had taken over her body when she saw Kaminari's hair sticking straight up due to the fire.

"Oh no, that definitely hasn't changed." You giggled, biting your lip to curb your smile when Bakugou glared at you as if he had heard you even though you were too far away to be within his earshot.

His vermilion eyes narrowed accusingly and you held up your hands in surrender, an innocent expression painted on your features.

Your giggle came out muffled when your teeth clamped down on your bottom lip and you ducked to hide behind Yaoyorozu when Bakugou started stomping over in your direction.

"Hide me!!" You yelped and Jirou rolled her eyes.

"He's already seen you." She pointed out, forgetting her earlier uncomfortability when you first sought her out upon your arrival.

The two of you tended to stick together for these kinds of things, since you both were equally out of your element when it came to formal wear and all things classified as girly.

And the dress code for tonight was a strict one. Girls had to wear dresses and guys a suit. The only exception was Shoji and that was only because no company could ever tailor a suit right to accommodate his dupi-arms.

You hunched down further, trying to make yourself smaller but it didn't do any good as a firm grip encircled your wrist and yanked you out from your terrible hiding place.

"I can still fucking see you." Bakugou seethed, sparks popping in the palms of his hands and you smiled nervously.

"Uh... Ah!! Wait—" Your objections were cut short when he dragged you away from the others. "Where are we going?!"

Yaoyorozu and Jirou exchanged a sympathetic look with each other.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Yaoyorozu asked softly, her eyes worried.

Todoroki appeared beside her and sighed, closing his eyes momentarily. "They will be fine but perhaps we should give them a minute so Bakugou can collect himself."

"Iida-kun, is dinner ready?" Midoriya asked to take the attention off the two of you as the prospect of food was brought up and the former class rep vigorously nodded.

"Affirmative!!" He shouted, thrusting his hand high in the air to gather everyone as his old classmates started to drift towards him. "Let us sit in groups of four to make it easy for the staff to clean up, Class A!!"

Kaminari elbowed Shinsou in the ribs, interrupting his conversation with Tsuyu. "Do we still have to do what he says even though he's not the boss of us anymore?"

Shinsou sighed, running his hands through his hair and Tsuyu had a suspicion that it wasn't the first time he had asked this. "Yes, Kaminari. Because if you don't, you probably won't get to eat."

Kaminari's jaw dropped all the way to the floor but he recovered in a second, racing to his seat.

Tsuyu tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she and Shinsou began to follow the overzealous blond to the tables that Iida was seating everyone at. "Do you really think Iida-chan would stop him?"

Shinsou chuckled, giving her one of his rare smiles as he pulled out the seat for her before sitting down himself at the table that held a fidgeting Kaminari and nervous-looking Kirishima.

Crooking a finger, he motioned her to come closer so he could whisper it without him hearing. "Nah, but it's fun to mess with him."

Tsuyu giggled, waving at Ochako and Mina from the other table since the six round tables were set up relatively close to each other in the huge ballroom, forming a circle.

They were currently towards the front where all the appetizers on tables lined with white cloth were served before the main course. Then, there was some kind of game set up on the adjacent side that looked like beer pong and the empty space at the back took up the majority of the ballroom was left alone as a dance floor for the upbeat music that would resume later on.

With a flick of her earphone jack, Jirou changed the playlist to classical and lowered the volume just as the food was coming out.

Mineta complained that the music was too slow and boring for his taste but he didn't argue anymore when Jirou silently threatened to electrocute him. Shoji coughed into his hand and grinned at the girl's spunk while Yaoyorozu just smiled.

Koda was signing to Aoyama. Even though he had gotten more comfortable talking with all of them, everyone's chatter was making it hard to hear, so as he relayed details about his latest mission, Ojiro was engaged in a discussion with Sato about whether or not food coloring was necessary in modern day society when more and more ingredients were being revealed to be unhealthy in nature.

Sero was trying to teach Hagakure how to fold a napkin into a swam while Todoroki and Tokoyami talked about the latest hero news after exchanging pleasantries.

And Midoriya, Ochako, Mina and Iida filled up table five. Which left just the one for the two who had yet to sit in their seats.

Iida shook with restraint before abruptly standing up to shout for you and Bakugou who were still talking in the far corner about something he couldn't hear but Midoriya caught his arm and eased him back down.

The food had just come out and it was hot. He had helped Iida order food for tonight so he knew it was going to be good.

Each table got five different kinds of entrées to share, hence why they could only fit four people at each table instead of five like Iida had initially planned since the piping hot food coming out from the kitchen was monstrous and would take up a ton of space.

Wagyu beef, fugu, kujira, basashi, otoro, fresh-steamed vegetables and even yubari melon for a refreshing taste was set down on gold-rimmed platters and left to be ravished by the hungry people eyeing it like some sort of animal.

Everyone was hungry, and Midoriya knew you wouldn't mind if you guys started ahead so he opened it up to his fellow heroes, and even though he knew Kacchan might say something about it later, he still clapped his hands together and dug in.

Some of them, like Kaminari, Aoyama and surprisingly Tsuyu followed his lead and tore in right away, while others like Tokoyami, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were too busy with their own conversations to be bothered with the food at the moment.

Kaminari stopped stuffing his mouth long enough to glance at Kirishima out of the corner of his eye.

"What's the matter?" He asked and with his cheeks stuffed full it was a little hard to hear him but Kirishima got his point.

His brow drew together worriedly. "They kind of look like they're arguing."

It was true. You did look like you were engaged in a heated spat with Bakugou, but Kirishima was way off.

Ten feet away, you planted your hands firmly on your hips and glared at him as your voice rose an octave. "Excuse me?!"

Bakugou barely stopped in time from snapping his teeth at you. At this point, he was going to rip out his hair if you didn't concede and admit that he was right. "You fucking heard me."

Your mouth pressed in a hard line. "I can't believe you would say that."

A beat of tense silence passed and then you exploded.

You threw up your hands in frustration. "Aizawa's would clearly beat All Might in a battle, he can erase his quirk for crying out loud!!"

"All Might was the Number 1 Hero." Bakugou ground out angrily through gritted teeth. "And he's as strong as shit even without his quirk."

"Not everything is about strength!!" You fired back but he wasn't done.

He continued to go on a rant just to prove to you that All Might would be the one to fucking beat your old homeroom teacher if they ever versed each other in a one on one battle.

How you got here, you had no idea.

It started with him dragging you away and before he spun you around and backed you into a corner, demanding to know just what was being said about him.

After dangling tease after tease at him, the stiffness in his shoulders wasn't lost on you and you told him flat out that you three had just been commenting on his temper when he looked your way, making the timing seem like he had heard you and you found it hilarious.

Bakugou's expression crumpled as he realized he had gotten it wrong and let insecurity get the best of him, to which his eyes shot open when he realized he had said that last part out loud.

You were faster than him though, as you reassured that it was okay to be feeling that way and apologized for teasing him before he could even say a word to amend his mistake.

It had then transitioned to him quietly asking why you stopped outside of the door before you went inside and you paused before hesitantly revealing that it was because you had a fleeting thought that you didn't actually look as good as you thought you did and he frowned.

Your eyes rounded as wide as saucers as he went off on you, fucking you over for thinking that and telling you straight up that you were fucking stunning.

It was doing bad things to your heart as it flopped pathetically in your rib cage and your hands automatically went up to cover your cheeks which you were sure were bright red.

Bakugou didn't touch you but his eyes scorched into you with such conviction that you eventually lowered them yourself and thanked him softly for saying that to you.

To which he scoffed and said it was obvious and that he'd have to be fucking blind not to see you.

Cue more blood rushing to your face.

From there, the conversation went from insecurities to a short story you brought up when Aizawa had helped you boost your self-confidence and Bakugou retorted with his own story of All Might when he stopped him from annihilating Deku in Ground Beta in your first year of high school.

Things only got more competitive as you shot back that Aizawa had helped him too on countless occasions, the hothead countering by bringing up the time All Might saved you single-handedly when you had gotten captured in a fight.

Knowing your hands were tied for that particular instance, you shifted it back to Aizawa's strengths and Bakugou retorted with All Might's own.

And that's where you ended up. Having a staring contest while the rest of your old classmates watched raptly from the sidelines and wondered just what had got you both so worked up.

"Admit your defeat, dumbass." Bakugou grinned cockily, sticking his face in yours. "And then you can fucking get your shit."

Your eyes flickered up to his since even though you were wearing heels, you were still shorter than him. A hint of mischief glimmered in your eyes as a smile played upon your lips.

"Actually, I think you lost this round, Boom Boy."

Before he got a chance to open his mouth and object to that ridiculous nickname you had given him from your youth, you ducked under his arm and made a break for it towards the tables.

"Fucking— GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!!" He yelled after you, breaking into a sprint but you were too far ahead of him.

You ducked behind Iida for protection and he stood up tall, unwavering as Bakugou skidded to a halt.

"Bakugou!! That's enough!!" Iida shouted, holding his hand out for him to stop as he tried to get around him.

The whole class watched and waited to see what he would do, slurping on food obnoxiously while they all waited.

"Tch." Bakugou smirked, grounding his fist into the palm of his hand as it lit up. "Is that a fucking challenge?!"

"NO!!!" Iida thundered, clearing his throat and repositioning his glasses as he collected himself. "Now, the two of you need to sit down and eat. We are behind schedule."

"There's a schedule?" You whispered to Bakugou as you crept out from behind the safety of Iida's back. "Did you know about this?"

He snorted, putting out his explosion with a huff. "Damn right."

You tilted your head but followed him obediently to the only available table piled high with food that had luckily not gone cold.

Bakugou hid a smile as he saw you wiggle in your seat out of the corner of his eye, clicking his tongue in annoyance when you happened to look his way.

Of fucking course you would still look so damn cute when you were excited.

Since he was fucking starving, he ate with gusto, but only after he made sure you were actually going to eat.

Due to the side effects of using your quirk, it sometimes made you nauseous and you have had trouble keeping food down ever since you threw up on the first day of school.

He knew that most heavily seasoned dishes you had more of a difficulty keeping down so he wasn't surprised when he saw you go for the soup out of all the things you could've picked from.

Lively conversation filled the air, gossip and talk about the latest modifications to your hero costumes all the rage as topics blended into everyone's tables since they were all in close proximity to one another.

At least, most of them.

Since you had come late to dinner, you had a gut feeling that your classmates all ganged up on you and Bakugou, shoving the two of you here together.

The girls knew of your crush on him. It came out one night when you guys were playing truth or dare, like everyone did back in the day, and Hagakure and Mina hadn't let you forget it since then.

But what you didn't know was that the same could be said for Bakugou.

Fucking Shitty Hair did this on purpose. Bakugou raged inwardly while you remained blissfully unaware of the rampage going on beneath the surface. I fucking knew it was a bad idea to tell him about it.

He had asked his best friend for advice on what to get you for your birthday when you were in your second year and to say the very least, it wasn't hard for Kirishima to piece it together.

Fucking hell. The shit he gave him for it made him instantly regret it and he stormed out with pink cheeks, determined to find you the perfect gift on his own, thinking that this year would finally be the year that you noticed him and saw him in the same light that he saw you in.

Nope.

You had gotten sick on your birthday and by the time you healed, your birthday had come and gone and nobody said anything about it so he never gave it to you, throwing it away after another week passed and it was clear he didn't have the courage to give it to you.

You looked up at him, mouth resembling a chipmunk's as you chewed on the food you had been looking forward to all day. "Whasthematferwifyu?"

Bakugou choked. "What the fuck?!"

When you opened your mouth to speak again, he snapped at you, "Fucking finish chewing or you'll choke, dumbass!!"

"You mean like you just did?" You asked cheekily as you swallowed and he glared at you.

"Shut the fuck up."

"M'kay~" You sang.

Banter between you two was few and far in between since you two had bickered already for a good portion of the evening. The fight was called a draw for the time being as it was put on pause to fill your bellies with good food and you had to say, you were glad you came.

Dinner wrapped up after another hour and one by one, everyone started to trickle onto the dance floor.

Everyone except for Bakugou, who was at the drinks table and glaring at each bottle of alcohol that he picked through, and you and Kirishima, who had halted you when you moved to join Ochako and Tsuyu, was breaking it down to Jirou's EDM music she put together for tonight.

Kaminari was already drunk. You didn't know how that was possible but based off of the way he was playing with Ojiro's tail, refusing to detach from it even after he politely asked him to let go, you could conclude as such pretty confidently.

You followed Kirishima curiously as he led you away from everyone else, interest piqued when he brought you to where the appetizers that were previously were being replaced with desserts and your confusion grew when he inched as far to the wall as he possibly could.

"Kiri?" You questioned. "Why are we—"

"Shh!!!" He shushed quickly, waving his hands frantically, his eyes darting everywhere as though he was about to tell you something that could land him in jail.

Or worse.

He motioned you to come closer so that nobody else would hear and you scooted towards him, until his mouth was right by your ear.

And then, your jaw dropped in shock.

"WHATTTTT?!?!" You shrieked and Kirishima hushed you hurriedly, smiling apologetically at a skeptical Bakugou who looked your way due to your volume.

You took a hint but your outrage didn't fade. "What the fuck, Kiri?! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

Red Riot had just oh so kindly informed you that it was in fact, Bakugou's birthday.

Today.

If what he told you was the truth, which at this point you really didn't know, Mina, Sero and Kaminari were the only other ones who knew. You wouldn't put it past Midoriya to also be included in that group, seeing as how they were childhood friends who moved past their intense rivalry stage and developed a decent amount of healthy competition as pros.

But that still didn't explain why he was telling you this now.

Oh wait.

Shit.

If that was true, then you had barged into his room uninvited because you didn't want to sleep in the same room as Mineta, on his birthday.

You cursed yourself under your breath and without another word, you tore past Kirishima with a hurried apology and a half-assed excuse to pardon your abrupt exit and sprinted towards the elevators, your heart pounding. You didn't stop running until you reached the room, grabbing all your things and throwing them in your suitcase, thoughts running wild at how stupid you could be.

You hadn't even bothered to take off your dress before gathering your things hastily, you were that distracted.

As you stuffed the last of your things in your bag, you circled the room, realizing you now didn't know the next step to this plan of yours.

You really should've thought this through before you came upstairs and talked to one of the receptionists downstairs to see if another arrangement can be made. Or maybe you could persuade one of the girls to let you crash for one night until you could figure things out for the next day.

You were sure Yaoyorozu would concede if you begged hard enough.

But you didn't want to take a chance of Bakugou seeing you so you didn't linger in the lobby, which was in clear view of where the party was being held.

This was bad, you didn't have anywhere to go. You would need to go talk to someone for another room which means you have to go back downstairs.

Well, maybe not. Maybe you could call downstairs and have them—

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

You froze at the temperamental voice seething with fury and dropped the hotel phone you had grabbed in the heat of the moment, squeaking when you saw how livid Bakugou looked and tripped over your feet, falling backwards onto the bed.

Your body bounced as it hit the mattress and you covered your face as he strode toward you, and you bolted back up to your feet, mumbling through your fingers.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea it was your birthday today!!!" You squeaked, mortified you had been acting so casually on such an important day. You didn't even have a present for him and you gave him overcooked food after trampling on his privacy!!

Leaning against the doorway, Bakugou raised an eyebrow and scoffed irritably as he put the pieces together for himself. "Shitty Hair should've fucking kept his mouth shut."

"I didn't know!!" You cried out, mistaking his rage geared towards his best friend for barging in on his personal space even after he so clearly told you off when he first saw you. Like an idiot, you had thought that he really didn't mind.

Maybe you couldn't read him as well as you thought you could.

"I don't care." Bakugou snarled, annoyed that you didn't seem to get it after all this time as he stomped forward, closing the door behind him and clicking the lock with finality as you tried to scramble past him. "Where do you think you're going, shithead? I didn't say you could fucking leave."

You did a double take and blinked slowly, unsure you really heard him right. It was true you hadn't considered that a possibility, this was Bakugou you were talking about. He hated everybody.

Well, not really, but close enough to make it so that you were sure that he wanted his privacy.

Especially on his birthday.

"I-I—"

Bakugou rolled his eyes irritably. You didn't get it. Fucking fine.

Your eyes shot open as he smashed his lips onto yours but before you even had a chance to do anything about it, shove him off or pull him closer, though it was more likely the latter, he was gone.

Standing with an indifferent expression on his face, he loomed over you and your heart leapt in your throat.

"Holy— Is this real?" You asked breathlessly, fingers tentatively reaching out to run over his tie and make sure you weren't dreaming.

Bakugou smirked at the awe in your voice and it only grew bigger when he noticed how glassy your eyes looked. So he did have the same fucking effect on you that you did on him.

Good.

"Tell me to stop and I will." He declared, crowding you closer as he stepped forward, hot breath puffing out against your lips and you shivered.

You blinked slowly, looking up at him from under your lashes. "... And if I don't want you to?"

"Fuck—" Was all Bakugou got out before he was surging forward, grabbing your shoulders so you couldn't escape.

A muffled squeak tumbled from your lips before it was smothered and you gasped into his mouth as your knees hit the edge of the bed.

As you fell, Bakugou climbed onto the bed and pinned you to the mattress, never once breaking the kiss as he cushioned your fall. His hands fell to your waist as the other entwined in your hair and he let out a groan as you playfully nipped his bottom lip.

"Shit," He breathed when you broke away first, lungs burning with the need for oxygen but you had barely taken a breath when he tilted your jaw back towards him and connected your lips again, harder this time.

It was hot, too hot and he moved languidly in a way that contrasted so starkly with his short-tempered personality that it made your head spin.

"W-What?!" You exclaimed in shock as soon as he drew back to let you breathe, your hands covering your flushed cheeks despite the fact that he could still see you due to the proximity. "Where did that even come from?!"

You were all flustered now and your dress had slipped down a bit further, giving him a peek of what was to come if he didn't stop soon.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. If you didn't get it now, you were even more of an idiot than he thought.

"You can stay." He mumbled gruffly, dropping his gaze from yours.

It took a minute to understand what he was saying.

Coming to your senses, you grinned as you processed his words. He didn't say no outright to what you asked directly so you would take it. The hesitance had all been reduced to a trickle as it caused a hiccup in your thoughts but you tried to see it in a different light.

Maybe he really didn't mind, he wasn't one to lie, especially for no reason. Maybe he was feeling lonely and wanted company for tonight.

Maybe... he liked you too? Was that too far-fetched to believe?

"Really?" You smirked as you waggled your eyebrows at him. "You want someone to keep you warm tonight?

Bakugou flipped you off and you burst out laughing. Wiping tears from your eyes as you calmed down after a few moments, you grinned.

"I had no idea you could be so soft, Bakugou." You teased lightly.

He scowled angrily and sat up, folding his arms over his chest as he stared down at you. "Shut up, you don't make it fucking easy."

You were being such a fucking nuisance. He regretted saying anything in the first place. Who had so many questions after somebody kissed them?

Your eyes glinted mischievous. "Oh yeah?"

He did something you didn't expect.

"Yeah..." Bakugou trailed off quietly, something resembling fondness flickering in the depths of his vermilion eyes.

Your heart started to beat faster and you swallowed. His face was a millimeter away from yours and it was getting harder to breath. His body temperature was so high that you could feel the heat emitting from his form and engulfing you like a warm hug.

"When did it start?" You asked softly, curiosity winning out against the flutter of embarrassment you felt in your chest.

He didn't say it out loud but he didn't have to. You could see it in his eyes that same love that you held for him. How you went all this time without seeing it, you didn't know.

Bakugou's throat bobbed as he dodged your inquisitive gaze, his eyes only darting back to you when you sat upright and smoothed your dress as best as you possibly could to prevent it from wrinkling.

"I dunno." He mumbled quietly. "Since high school or some shit."

"High school?!" You shrieked in disbelief, nearly falling over as you realized it had started around the same time your feelings for him developed. You expected him to say within the last few months when you’ve been working together more frequently, not that he started liking you back at UA!!

He groaned at your grating volume against his ears. Too loud.

"Well hell if I know, shitty woman." He growled loudly. "I can't fucking remember everything."

You grin widened. "That sounds like denial~"

His mouth twisted back in an irritated frown. You were crazy. But somehow, that didn't put him off as much as he claimed to believe.

"It was after the training camp."

You bolted upright at that. You were not expecting him to say that.

After you two were stolen by the League right out from underneath your classmates' noses, you two were put in separate rooms until it was clear you refused to listen to what you had to say until you saw that Bakugou was okay.

He knew, the second they brought you in all chained to the chair and shit just like he was, that he was going to raise hell and murder every single last one of them.

He couldn't go ballistic yet, because as your tired but alert eyes met his from across the room, he knew that this setup increased your chances.

All you needed was an opening.

Shigaraki and Dabi had turned their attention on your first, trying to recruit you and you had tricked them, pretending to sympathize with their cause and got them to trust you by feeding Shigaraki's dark nature and Dabi's sadistic side.

You took their attention off of him and damn it, if it wasn't the bravest and baddest fucking move he'd ever seen.

The both of you had your own nightmares from that terrifying experience.

You couldn't stand to be restrained after that, even if it was only for a second, and Bakugou hated having anything touch his neck.

After he finished telling you all of that, you tackled him in a hug.

Bakugou's hand shot out to catch himself as the two of you toppled over before you crashed to the ground and he muttered a curse into your hair when you nuzzled into his chest.

"Dumbass." He remarked under his breath, hoping you couldn't hear how fast his heart was pounding. "What about you?"

"Hmmm?" You hummed, momentarily forgetting what it was that you were talking about since all you could think about now was how his eyes shone with unshed tears as he relieved that terrible memory. But the fact that you were able to give him some small sense of comfort even though you were truthfully freaking out on the inside at the time, was the best thing he could've ever told you.

Well, right next to the depth of his feelings for you.

Bakugou scoffed and scooted forward so that the two of you were teetering on the edge of the mattress. A concussion was not how he wanted tonight to end.

"Tell me when all of your shitty feelings started." He demanded with a blush present on his cheeks and you bit your lip to contain a giggle.

Laying your head on his chest, you idly traced patterns on his shirt since he had shed it outer jacket. "I don't know exactly when it turned from a crush into actual love, but when you got hospitalized, I supposed I realized it then."

Bakugou jerked, stiffening as you mentioned the incident no one ever brought up.

Taking note of his reaction, you affirmed quietly. "We don't have to talk about it, but that's when it started. When I saw how close I could've been to losing you."

Bakugou's heavy breath eased up bit by bit as those words fell from your lips and he closed his eyes. He wasn't ready to talk about it now, but he thought that he would like to one day. If you were still by his side.

The next twenty minutes were spent entangled in each other's embrace as you two made up for lost time, talking about anything and everything came to mind.

Your old infatuation with Shindou that was short-lived because of your feelings for him and Bakugou couldn't help gloating that you were his even then.

How much he longed that he had confessed sooner. Maybe then you would've had those years together.

But he didn't dwell on it, he knew that it would become one of his demons if he lived in the past instead of the present and instead focused on combing his fingers through your hair, reveling in your closeness.

He hummed lowly as he caught a whiff of your fragrance. "Banana and citrus, huh?"

You beamed up at him, twisting around to look at him properly. "You gave it to me!!"

Bakugou smirked, hooking a strand of hair behind your ear. "Damn right I did."

After realizing that the two of you couldn't cuddle forever in your formal wear, you reluctantly untangled from him and started to take off your dress, only to find out that you couldn't do that without his help.

Your breath caught in your throat when he came to stand right behind you, just like before, only this time he was much closer to you, fingertips ghosting over your bare skin in the zipper's wake as he trailed light kisses down your back until he reached the curve of the small of your back.

You whined when he stopped and a smirk curved against the juncture where your shoulder met your neck and you swatted at him playfully.

Bakugou made you sit down so he could take your shoes off before you fell and broke something.

You pouted but did as you were told, quite liking how his calloused hands skimmed over your shins and ankles, and you gasped when he pressed a chaste kiss to your knee.

"Stop teasing me." You whined and he flashed you a grin, tossing your shoes somewhere else.

Bakugou relished in your flustered state, loving how he could make you like this with barely any effort. "It's your fucking turn now, shithead."

"Hey!!"

It was only until after Bakugou had gotten dressed in comfy clothes of his choice, a pair of sweatpants and a tight-fitted long sleeve that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, did you realize it was getting colder and colder by the minute.

The heater was broken and after multiple attempts of tinkering with the settings to get it to start, Bakugou was about to set the thing on fire, but you stopped him just in time.

"Shitty heater." He muttered frustratingly, his palms still popping with sparks. "Fucking five stars my ass."

He threw a tantrum for another minute before giving up, not even bothering to call downstairs to get them to fix it because he didn't want anyone in his 'personal space'. Oddly enough, you felt kind of happy that he was letting you in his personal space without any a fight.

You giggled and he raised an eyebrow at you after throwing you his hoodie, begrudgingly, but he still did it so you weren't complaining about the temperature. "It's just, I never imagined you'd be the one to confess."

He turned to you, a mix of irritation and poorly suppressed puzzlement on his face. "Hah?"

You bit back a smile at his tamed reaction. How cute.

"It's just in all the scenarios in my head," You drew your knees up to your chest and rested your chin on top. "I was always the one confessing to you and then getting rejected."

Bakugou scoffed, stomping over to you with a slight pout that would've been unnoticeable if the light was any dimmer. The curtains had been drawn, basking the room in a warm glow that came from the fairy lights strung around the room that had you failed to notice earlier.

"Yeah, well, now fucking look what happened." He grumbled, flicking a piece of lint off your head. "You invaded my room like a cockroach or some shit."

You were sitting upright against the headboard on top of the velvet comforter without a care in the world as your sweater paws flapped playfully. In such a high-end hotel room, the two of you in casual attire looked sorely out of place but it didn't matter.

You were happier than ever before.

"Uh, excuse me, I take offense to that analogy." You teased back with a cheeky grin, shoving his shoulder when he crawled on the bed with you, abandoning his quest to fix the heater. "And I do recall mentioning how it was either this or Mineta's room, so it's not my fault."

Bakugou's mouth twisted into a scowl as you said the pervert's name and he huffed before looping his arms around your waist and laying flat on your legs. His head buried into your stomach, your eyes softened and you brushed the hair back from his eyes, his eyelids closing at the soothing sensation of you carding your fingers through his hair.

You hummed to yourself as he started drifting off. "Soft..."

"Fuck off." He mumbled into your waist but there was none of the usual venom to it.

Your chest shook with laughter at his unusual response but when you moved to stop just like he had ordered, he caught your wrist. You raised an eyebrow as he looked away from you, the red tint adorning his cheeks giving away what he wanted you to do and without a word, you obliged without so much as a hidden smile.

Bakugou sank into you, his broad shoulders going lax as all the tension melted from his body and he sighed peacefully. He hated socializing. The only good part of that reunion Raccoon-Eyes had coordinated was seeing you all dressed up.

He didn't tell you at the time, he honestly couldn't say it. He was fucking speechless the second you stepped out of the room.

But you looked like a vision underneath those flashy lights that hurt his eyes in the ballroom. You were absolutely stunning and put all of those other extras to shame. He didn't even spew an insult he was going to when he overheard Raccoon-Eyes squeal and proclaim how gorgeous you looked because she wasn't wrong.

You were beautiful. And way out of his league.

It was all he could think about all the way down the elevator and into the party, even after you broke off from him. At least, it was all he could think about until Dunce Face decided to make a move on you, being all suave and slick.

At the time, he was ready to storm over there and break it up until you laughed at something Kaminari said and he was painfully reminded of how you weren't his.

He then proceeded to drown all of his sorrows at the bar but cursed his inability to get shit-faced due to his high tolerance.

Exploding in a fit of rage over the culmination of how dazzling you were, how some guy was probably going to get lucky tonight and it wasn't going to be him, and how fucked up the situation was that you were going to be staying with him while he had a raging boner for you 24/7, he stalked upstairs to go pout in the corner only to find you stammering out apologies and packing your suitcase.

He vaguely remembered something about you saying something about his birthday and that's when he snapped.

To put it bluntly, he had never been a fan of celebrating useless holidays. People ate food and used it as an excuse to all gather in one place and socialize with all their fake friends, he hated scenes like that.

Which is why he was against this reunion at first but something in the back of his mind convinced him to come. Something that said that if he showed up, there was a good chance that you would be here too and it would make all of this worth it.

And that was only confirmed when Kirishima slipped that little tidbit of information in his invitation via text.

Bakugou couldn't believe his luck when he walked into his hotel room and you were standing right there. There was something so soft, so domestic about it that had him dropping his bag instantaneously and he fought to rein in his instincts to stride over to you and hug you from behind. He would rest his chin on your shoulder and ask what you were cooking, his fingers toying with the hem of your shirt as he hinted at what he wanted to do before the kids came home.

That was the type of future he had always envisioned with you. The one he always thought would be unobtainable. The one that he constantly dreamed about anytime he got a break from the nightmares and darkness that plagued his thoughts constantly.

And now you were all his. All of that was suddenly possible. He had a chance with the best thing that ever walked into his life and he wasn't going to screw it up.

Realistically, and he was a very realistic person despite being short-tempered, he knew he was getting ahead of himself. Take it slow, he had to tell himself to take it slow.

You hummed, bringing him back down to reality. "Where's that head of yours at?"

"Fuck off and die."

But his threat came out muffled as his face was currently nuzzled into your stomach and you couldn't stop the fit of laughter that burst out as you giggled uncontrollably, laughing even harder when he looked up to glare at you, only for his eyes to be so glazed over from how relaxed he was that you would've mistaken it for subspace if not for his mouth twitching irritably.

"Aw, is baby maybe a little comfy?"

He hissed and untangled himself from you, pouting like a little kid as he created some distance between you two. "I'm not a fucking baby."

You cooed and pinched his cheeks, pulling them apart slightly and giggled at how squishy he looked in that moment. "Dummy."

Bakugou snorted arrogantly but didn't shove you off despite his hard glare. "The only dumbass here is you."

"I didn't say dumbass, I said dummy." You corrected matter-of-factly. "And besides, it's a term of endearment, Katsuki."

He rolled his eyes but his heart trembled dangerously as he heard his given name fall from your lips so sweetly for the first time. He would never get tired of hearing that.

Bakugou cleared his throat and removed your hands from his face, your forlorn pout not passing by unnoticed.

"Fucking idiot." He mumbled under his breath, bringing a hand up to rest it on your head briefly as he leaned his forehead against yours for a second.

You grinned, a full-blown smile that caused his heart to skip a beat at how radiant you were. And then, he got an idea.

But you were surprised when he suddenly got up and tilted your head curiously when he exited the room.

Unlike before when you were so quick to jump to a conclusion, you assumed he had a reason for leaving so abruptly without explanation.

The gears turned in your head as you followed him out, bringing the blanket with for good measure because you were freezing. Until the maintenance could get here, you would have to deal with the chill. Apparently this was an issue that didn't just pertain to you.

Todoroki had texted you and said he was having issues with his too, along with some others who had filed out from the ballroom to crash in their own rooms for the night.

But waiting wasn't too hard. Perhaps you could persuade your new boyfriend to cuddle you.

You poked your head around the corner, growing even more puzzled as Bakugou stomped around, grabbing his keys first before hunting for something else.

"What are you doing?" You asked, unable to quell your curiosity and bewilderment.

He threw an embellished pillow back down on the couch as soon as he checked under it. "I don't know where I put my fucking wallet."

You laughed at his grumble and patted his chest with a wink. "Wait here."

Bakugou eyed you suspiciously as burrito-you darted off back towards the bedroom but his expression cleared up when you came racing back with the slim wallet in your hand, thankfully leaving behind the blanket as you caught onto what he was doing. He took it silently, frustrated with himself for not checking his coat pocket first to save him of this embarrassment.

"Thank you." He mumbled as he turned away. He felt like he was ten again, that's how damn shy he was when it came to you.

A broad grin spread from ear to ear on your face.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" You asked cheekily and he scowled.

"I didn't fucking say anything!!" He exploded, grabbing your wrist and stomping towards the door. "Hurry up, we're leaving."

"Eh?!" You protested but didn't fight him. "Where are we going?"

You were only wearing shorts and his hoodie over your thickest thermal. Since it was warm outside, you hadn't bothered to pack any extra layer and you shivered as a chill ran down your spine. Yup, definitely couldn't wait to go back outside.

"None of your damn business." Bakugou spat as he dragged you out of the room and locked the door.

You continued to pepper him with questions, increasing your pitch when you saw how his nose twitched every single time you annoyed him.

Adorable.

By the time you got back down to the first floor, you were clinging to his arm, teeth chattering from the air conditioning, and he was facing away from you in a manner that clearly stated he regretted bringing you along.

"You love me~" You teased.

"Shut the fuck up. Like hell anyone would like a dumbass like you." He seethed but still didn't pry you off despite him claiming all those things.

You giggled, skipping on ahead. Once you got outside, you spun around on your heel, jutting out your hip. The warmth of the night air was refreshing and you took in a deep breath, smiling widely.

"Where are we going?!" You asked excitedly, trailing behind him as he started walking away, catching up and almost tripping in the process.

Bakugou caught your arm in a flash as you tipped forward, an angry frown etched on his face but you merely beamed at him and thanked him for catching you.

He turned away with a scoff but grabbed your hand to make sure it didn't happen again. "You're fucking clumsy."

Your smile widened as you detected the tiniest bit of worry underlying his sharp tone and you squeezed his hand, heart skipping a beat when he tucked you underneath his arm.

For safety purposes, you assumed.

You snuggled into his side with a blissful sigh. He was so much warmer than you were, it felt so good.

Bakugou spared you a glance out of the corner of his eye and his chest swelled with pride at the eyes that turned, undoubtedly seeing how unashamed you were to be with him. Holy All Might, you were perfect.

The Solaria Hotel was only a five minute walk away from Lunchrush's Grocery Store, a rather huge chain store that had establishments all over Japan, owned by the hero himself. The same hero whose delicious cooking you guys had lived off of for a blessed three years.

"What are we doing here?" You quipped as your eyes widened the moment you strolled in and took in the vibrant colors of all the produce and many packages that lined the shelves.

"I'm not paying shit for that overpriced room service." Bakugou stated flatly as he tossed you a bundle of carrots he just selected.

Your eyes widened as you quickly caught on. "We're going to be cooking?!"

He snorted, sifting through the produce section to find what he was looking for, weeding out the ones that were no good. "No shit, dumbass."

"Hey!!" You protested but carried on without complaint.

The kitchen in your room was fully equipped with all the amenities. Top of the grade appliances and sterling silverware made you feel like you were going to break something initially but that faded pretty fast as your excitement won over. The only thing it was missing was the food.

You had bought ingredients to make a simple stew on the way to the hotel and stored the leftovers in the large fridge.

The Solaria Hotel did offer pre-organized food boxes that came with various delicious ingredients to make it easy on whoever bought it but they were outrageously priced. Hence why you were now browsing the aisles with a disgruntled Bakugou instead of just purchasing one of those.

But you were definitely not going to complain. One of those boxes could drain your entire month's rent in one go and you were told that the portion sizes weren't very big either.

Definitely not worth it.

You would think that since he was the one to bring you here, he would be more enthusiastic, but no. He was more interested in having a staring contest with the brat at the end of the aisle who was making faces at him as soon as he grabbed the last of the things he needed.

You tugged on his arms, trying and failing to get him to break eye contact with the little boy he was glaring to death.

"Katsuki, c'mon," You begged, losing a battle against that ridiculously fit physique of his. You guys were attracting all kinds of unwanted attention from other shoppers and the mom of the little boy was getting a little curious as to the silent competition going on. "Let's just go."

"No way." He gritted out, never once looking away. "This damn brat needs to learn his f—"

He didn't get to finish the rest of his sentence as you forcibly dragged him away to the cash registers. You shook your head as he scowled and crossed his arms stubbornly. He was such a child sometimes.

Bakugou was so busy pouting that you had dragged him away and made him lose by default that he didn't notice you were already paying for the groceries.

"Oi." He barked at you as you hustled outside with the sky painted dark as night. Only the street lamps and lights hitched up outside the strip mall illuminated the area. "Oi!!"

You flashed him a grin. "Yes, Katsuki?"

He rolled his eyes at the innocent lilt in your voice, acting as if you didn't know exactly what you did. You weren't supposed to pay for anything, he was supposed to be treating you.

"But it's your birthday~" You sang. "And I wanted to!!"

"Tch." He whipped his head around, dodging you as you followed him around playfully.

You were like a dog and he was the bone. He wasn't sure he liked that analogy as much as what it implied.

As soon as you pushed through the grand doors of the lavish hotel, you bumped into someone and sent them crashing to the ground.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry— Wait," You gawked in astonishment at the wasted man before you. "Kirishima?!"

He groaned and rubbed his head. He was sent sprawling after you bumped into him, catching the attention of Mina who was strolling by with a half-conscious Sero on her arm.

"Kirishima, what are you doing?!" Mina exclaimed as she bounded over just as you were helping him up after setting Sero down and making sure that he wasn't going to move. She looked the most awake out of all of them. "Don't run off ahead like that!!"

Bakugou didn't do a thing, choosing to only tap his foot impatiently while he waited for you to be done attending to his shitty best friend.

"L/N!!" He slurred and it was then that you realized he was more than a bit tipsy. "I'm soooooo sorry for not telling you about Bakugou's birthday earlier, it was totally my bad."

You raised an eyebrow at hearing him speak in such an unusual way. Alcohol certainly did things to the brain.

Kirishima clapped his hand on your shoulder, ignoring Sero's whining for him to come back as he peeled Mina away from you three, telling her that he was fine.

Lowering his voice, Kirishima wiggled his eyebrows at you comically and caused you to giggle.

"So... how did Bakugou react when ya told him?" He asked in a whisper that was a lot louder than his drunken mind probably intended.

You flushed as Bakugou's inquisitive gaze fixated on you.

"I'm right here, Shitty Hair." He droned, completely uninterested in the way that this conversation was going.

Kirishima's head snapped up at hearing his voice for the first time and though his dilated pupils had a hard time focusing, he eventually managed to do it and a wide, toothy grin spread from ear to ear.

"Bakubro!!" He drunkenly cheered, throwing his arms out and running towards him.

Bakugou scowled, shoving him away as he went to hug him. "Don't fucking call me that."

Kirishima pouted and whined sadly.

"Awwww but you call me Weird Hair all the time." He complained.

Bakugou grinned. "That's because your hair is a shitty color."

"Hey!!" Kirishima's eyes watered and his lower lip trembled. He burst into tears, clinging to you as you drifted back to Bakugou's side.

Mina's golden irises glinted. "Sooooo, does this mean you guys are together?"

You blushed at the brazen implication and sheepishly nodded, unsure of what else to do.

Bakugou stepped in. He slung his arm around your shoulder, uncaring that he now had a much larger audience now that Midoriya, Iida, Ochako, Tsuyu, Shinsou and Shoji decided to venture outside, others coming out in a steady trickle as the night wrapped up.

You huddled closer to his side, hiding your face in his shoulder, growing nervous at all your friends gathering for reasons you'd rather not voice. You weren't sure how Bakugou would take this, if he would deny you in front of all of them.

He didn't seem like the type but a previous ex had been ashamed of you before so now you were wary. Rightfully so, the guy was a complete prick.

You hadn't dated for very long but it was impactful. The guy hadn't gotten close to your heart but the fact that he wasn't big on physical affection and never wanted to hold your hand in public sent the message that he didn't want to be seen with you.

That had never really sat well with you.

You didn't mind at first. After all, you understood that people had different love languages but he put in absolutely no effort to understand yours. But after a while, it was tiring contributing to a relationship that wasn't reciprocated.

You glanced up at Bakugou as he pulled you in tighter to his side.

"Listen up." He stated roughly, making sure everyone was paying attention. "She's my girl now, so don't you extras try any shit."

Bakugou practically smirked proudly as he stared pointedly at a sheepish-looking Kaminari hiding behind an indifferent Jirou. He was rubbing it in his face for the balls he had to flirt with you earlier.

But that didn't make his declaration any less true or genuine. He was proud to have you by his side, even now more than ever as the two of you explored this new part of your life together.

Hagakure and Ochako squealed at his declaration of love and if it was possible, you reddened even further. But you couldn't kid anyone. You felt like you were flying.

Hiding your face in your hands, your embarrassment came out muffled. "Katsuki..."

He snorted at your shyness, then steered you towards the elevators with you tucked under his arm without so much as a wave of farewell to your friends. He saw your knees knocking together, he knew you were fucking cold, so time to go.

You wiggled, shooting the girls an apologetic smile and laughed loudly as Sero and Kaminari obnoxiously whooped and hollered after you two.

Bakugou flipped them the bird, hiding a proud smile when their drunken cheers only grew louder as Kirishima and Shinsou joined in.

"Oi." He poked you cheek as you didn't lift your face away from your new hiding spot to spare you of any more mortification. "Wake the fuck up, shithead."

A cheeky mumble emerged from where your cheek was ordered up against his shirt. "Is that any way to treat your girlfriend?"

"It is when you're being a dumbass." He retorted flatly.

"Hey!!" You cried out indignantly.

You rode the elevator up, squabbling incessantly the entire way there, drawing odd looks from a few of the other guests that you passed but that paled in comparison to your wide smiles and the satisfied smirk permanently plastered on Bakugou's face.

You were having way too much fun to care about anything else.

Once you made it back to your room successfully, you got to work right away.

Giddy over the fact that he had shown you off and high on the endorphins him claiming you in front of all your friends and fellow colleagues brought you had made you extremely hungry. Keeping up with all of Bakugou's newfound love that he was expressing had zapped your energy far more than you were willing to admit.

"Oi, you're shit at cooking." Bakugou said after a minute of watching you wreck everything in the kitchen.

"Don't yell at me!! I already know I suck at it!!" You whined childishly, throwing up the spatula in frustration.

Bakugou chuckled, plucking the wretched thing from your fingers and took over. You had managed to make soup earlier and not burn down the place in the process so he wasn't sure why stirring the pot was now such a big deal.

But he shook his head as he caught the glint of mischief in your eye. He knew that look. You knew exactly what you were doing to him.

Fuck, he was screwed. He never should've told you how long he had pined after you. But it was no use, he was too weak for you.

You balked at the soft expression on his face. He had never looked at you like that before.

Before you knew what you were doing, you were blurting out how him declaring that in front of all of your friends had made you so happy and at the downward curve of displeasure on Bakugou's face, you elaborated that you had someone who didn't make you feel very loved in the past.

You weren't sure why you were telling him this. It wasn't like it was exactly easy to say all of this out loud but after years of knowing him, you knew he was the last person who would judge you for feeling the way you were feeling.

So you spilled it all.

You squeaked in surprise as he caught you off guard once you finished, crushing you to his chest. Your hands lifted up and automatically looped around his neck, stumbling a bit as he backed you up against the counter.

"Katsuki?!" You exclaimed in astonishment at the sudden display of affection from the normally so standoffish guy.

"I will never be ashamed of you. You're stuck with me for fucking forever and I'll kill you if you say any other shit." Bakugou muttered into the crook of your neck.

You were moved at his expression of the feelings he had for you and clutched onto the back of his shirt, hugging him tight.

He stayed there, in the same position, pinning you to the counter of the kitchen in the hotel room you had come to share and embraced you until you peeled away.

Bakugou's eyes softened when you looked away from him and sniffled. It could be classified as very unladylike, the way you wiped your nose with the back of your hand, but he didn't give a damn.

You were his.

After all these years of pining after you, thinking that he would never be enough to have you, thinking that he would never amount to someone who deserved you, you were finally his.

His heart was going to explode but if he let that happen, he would have to deal with Shitty Hair, Dunce Face, Raccoon-Eyes and Flat Face for the rest of his fucking life and like hell he would put up with those irritating extras.

Even if they did kind of manage to bring you two together.

The table for two at dinner, your messed up reservation that left you without a place to crash and that dress Ponytail Girl had bought for you, it all added up. They had been planning this for years since they knew of the feelings you both held for each other.

All you needed was a push.

Whatever. There was no way he was going to give them credit for this. They would probably use it as blackmail at some point and he was not going to tolerate that.

He quickly finished up the home cooked meal, flipping open the cap to the soy sauce you bought and drizzled it on top, adding a few drops of sesame oil to complete it and shoved a plate in your direction to bring into the bedroom while he quickly did the dishes.

The midnight moon's light spilled into the room as you danced around Bakugou, carrying two plates full of warm food to the bed after you were done goofing around and pretending to drop them. Sheer silk curtains hanging from the canopy of the bed swished in your wake as you breezed by to open the french doors, setting the plates down on his nightstand before gliding across the balcony that you had missed upon your initial exploration of the room.

This place was so big, you wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of secret passageway in the closet that led to the other rooms.

The night air was pleasant and a welcome change of temperature as it soothed your chilly skin.

You smiled to yourself as Bakugou came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, burying his face into the crook of your neck and inhaled deeply. His heat encompassed you as he hugged you from behind and lightly kissed the spot just below your ear.

You giggled at the ticklish sensation and gasped when he pinched your side in retaliation.

"Katsuki~"

His given name still felt foreign on your tongue but you'd be damned if you didn't get used to it with the flustered reaction he never failed to give you.

"Don't fucking start with me, dumbass." He smirked, growling lowly. "I don't have a fucking problem with putting you in your place."

You cocked your head to the side, playing dumb, pretending you didn't know what that insinuation meant. "Oh?"

Bakugou groaned as the mood suddenly vanished. "Piss off."

Bakugou cracked a smile though when your easy laughter rang out. Yeah, it wasn't fair that he was left in a now uncomfortable situation but it was worth it to endure if he could hear that sound again.

Fuck, you were so precious.

The late night room service dished out by yours truly was served on the bed while you giggled underneath the covers, hiding from him and shrieking when he found you.

It was warm and fuzzy, the atmosphere easy and relaxed as you cuddled up to him and ate the food he made for you specifically so that it wouldn't make your stomach hurt.

Initially, he had declared that eating on the bed was going to be fucking dirty and messy if you spilled anything, which he was almost 100% sure you would, but gave into you when you transfixed your wide eyes on him, pleading for this one thing.

The two of you didn't look at each other while you ate, you didn't need to. The stolen glances between bites of food were enough as you shared idly and informal conversation to get to know each other better now that your feelings had been aired and returned by the other.

The quiet confession that rang out from you both was almost tear-jerking as he confessed he never thought he would get a chance to be with someone like you and you pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek, telling him that he deserved the world and more, and if one day you could give it to him, you would.

The heater had yet to be fixed but that didn't bother him anymore as he used the opportunity to gather you in his arms and hug you tight.

Yeah, you two needed to make up for lost time but for now, he was more than content to just let it be. Tangled with you, under the moon and the stars as he kissed you, he swore that he would never stop fighting for you, to protect you always and cherish you with all that he fucking had.

Because Bakugou Katsuki, the man who didn't need anything or anyone to go up against the toughest villains to date, fell to pieces when it came to you.

Bonus:

"I still can't believe you told me that so late. I could've gotten him a gift!!" You complained to Kirishima on the second day when he was hungover and groaning, throwing pillows at you to get you out of his room.

You managed to dodge every last one.

"I mean, I don't get it." You tapped a finger to your chin coyly as you smoothly sidestepped and twirled around two more he launched in your direction. He was going to run out of ammo at this point. "Why tell me so late? And if you guys already knew, then I'm surprised you didn't get anything for him or throw a party or something."

Sero groaned painfully in the corner, his head felt like it was going to split in two and he was quite certain it would if you didn't stop talking soon. "Y/N, it's so early."

"It's noon." You deadpanned, only for Sero to slap a pillow over his face and promptly fall back asleep.

"Y/N!!" Mina called out as she bustled back into the bedroom with a tray of tea. "Where did that boyfriend of yours run off to?"

You blushed as she said it so bluntly and coughed to hide it. "He's trying to get the heater thing sorted out."

Last night, you had been shivering so much that he had taken to warming you up other ways just to get your teeth to stop chattering. And let's just say it was a little harder to walk today because of it.

This morning when you woke up, he had been yelling into the phone that they needed to bring more blankets up right fucking now or else he would explode off their arms since they couldn't do the most fucking simple of tasks and you swiped the phone from him, rapidly and profusely apologizing for his brash language on behalf of the angry pomeranian simmering beside you.

You threw in that you would be grateful if they could spare more but if others needed it more than you told them you two would be fine and could make do before thanking them for their time and hanging up.

And since Bakugou insisted that the heater needed to be fixed today or else you were going to get sick, he allocated you to Kirishima's room, one of the only ones not having any problems while he demanded some answers from the hotel staff and got someone to fucking fix the shitty thing.

So now, here you were. And you had a score to settle with Kirishima anyways, so you weren't bothered.

Mina had already told you everything. Everyone had been in on it.

You weren't shocked by Kaminari and Shinsou and most of the others' involvement in this little scheme but you were surprised to hear it had been Iida's idea to make both of you sit at the same table with no other company.

You'd have to thank them all later.

An hour and several more pillows thrown later, you and Mina had managed to drag down the two sleepy boys just in time to greet your old teachers alongside the rest of your peers as they stepped through the door.

"Aizawa-sensei!!" You cheered, launching yourself forward so that he'd have to catch you.

He did so without much difficulty, his tired eyes brightening up a little bit as you hugged him tight. Out of all his students, he had the closest bond with you.

"Hey, kid." He greeted tiredly, tugging along his sleeping bag and you lifted an eyebrow when you realized that while Midnight and Mic rolled in their luggage, he only brought his trademark yellow sleeping bag. All Might was parking the car and would be come inside within the next few minutes.

"Where's the rest of your things?" You asked just as Yaoyorozu and Iida greeted Midnight and Mic was tackled in a hug by Jirou.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before yawning. "You really think I'm going to do anything else besides sleep this weekend, kid? Nah."

You frowned at him. "You can't just sleep the whole day away."

"Uh uh," He tutted, wagging a finger in your face for a second before yawning again. "Not day. Days."

You pouted at the correction and he rolled his eyes, resting a hand on top of your head to let you know that he was just kidding and you smiled brightly.

"Here, at least let me help bring it upstairs." You bargained, taking it off his hands.

A smug voice stopped you dead in your tracks.

"Hey, Y/N, why you walking funny?" Kaminari said with a shit-eating grin and it took every fiber of self-control not to freak out.

"Uh, I'm not?"

But your high pitch due to your embarrassment and mortification at being called out won over and Shinsou sniggered in the background.

"Classy." He teased, crossing his arms over his chest. "Didn't peg you for the type to do it on the first date."

"Oh hush, show some respect!!" Yaoyorozu chastised but your dignity was long gone.

Your face broke out in relief though when the elevator in the lobby dinged and a disgruntled Bakugou stepped out, his vermilion eyes widening a fraction when you sped over to him.

"Whoa— What the, why the hell are your eyes red?!" He rushed out, gripping your shoulders and pulling your close to make sure he saw that right. His eyes narrowed angrily when you sniffled. "Tell me who the fuck made you cry."

"Oh shit." Kaminari and Shinsou swore under their breath as your enraged, extremely protective boyfriend stormed over to them with a deadly aura rolling off him in tsunami sized waves.

Midnight held up her hand, stopping him dead in his tracks at the authority his former teacher held. "Hold on please, just a second."

Everyone waited with bated breath to see what she would do. Would she defend you? Tell off Kaminari who had embarrassed you? Or would she let the hothead hell bent on vengeance regain your honor?

She didn't do any of those things.

Instead, Midnight smirked and held out her hand with the palm upturned to Aizawa with a sly smile. "Pay up. I called it."

Your mouth dropped, along with everyone else's as Aizawa forked over 10,000 yen. Even Koda, Sato and Tokoyami looked shocked, which was so rare, it scared you.

Todoroki was the only one who looked confused but Midoriya was right there to explain what was happening and why the sum of money so significant as you shrieked, shrill and high, thoroughly put off.

"What?!" Your embarrassment long forgotten, thankfully, by everyone else as this new revelation hit them like a truck. "You bet on us?!"

"Just you." Aizawa yawned nonchalantly, blinking his eyes wearily. "C'mon L/N, I thought you would turn him down."

"What?!" You screeched as Bakugou narrowed his eyes at his former homeroom teacher, taking that as a challenge.

Aizawa rolled his eyes as Bakugou got all up in his face, demanding to know just what he meant as Mic threw his head back and announced for all to hear.

"Y/NNNNNNN'S GOT A BOYYYYFRIENDDDD!!!!!!"

Clapping your hands over your ears as every single glass thing within the vicinity shattered, you grinned as the tremors passed by within a few seconds. One perk of having time as a teacher who used his quirk so often on accident, all of you learned how to mitigate the most damage he dealt to your surroundings and deflect it.

Jirou shook her head at you in amusement as Bakugou, who was the closest to Mic aside from Kaminari who had taken up refuge from behind Midnight, flatly stated that he could no longer hear.

To which, Mic screamed even louder.

"I CALLED IT FROM DAY ONEEEEEE!!!!"

"That's enough, Mic." Aizawa said, rubbing his temples to ease the headache that had just come on and offered up a slightly reassuring smile to Tsuyu who hopped over to check on him.

Mic pouted dramatically. "But Shouta—"

"Stop it, you're embarrassing them." He sighed, reining in the energetic blond. "And you embarrassing them is embarrassing me."

Midnight cooed. "Awww, he's happy for them."

"Shut up, Nemuri."

You giggled as the three of them began to bicker amongst themselves, who called it first, who saw the chemistry you two had, who was the first one to realize that it was more than just a school crush, all of it.

After beating up Kaminari and Shinsou behind their backs, Bakugou made his way over to you, wiping his hands on his pants and he smiled at you cockily.

"Heater's fixed."

You raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He hummed. "Mmhm, so wanna get out of here?"

You laughed lightly, being careful not to draw too much attention to yourselves as you slipped away when Mic let out a particularly piercing shriek that he should've gotten the money because he paired the two of you for a project when you were in his English class.

Classic Mic.

"What about breakfast?" You asked as you two took the emergency stairs, at least, just for the first couple of floors until you were clear. You weren't sure your legs would survive the 80 flights just to reach your room.

Bakugou smirked and his mouth ghosted the shell of your ear. "Don't need that shit, I got something better."

Something told you that you weren't going to be leaving the bed for the rest of this trip.

Oh well.

You supposed this was one way to exercise.

[fuckit-hero-of-trains]

Sit by the fire until... Chapter 2

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870150/chapters/81650737

Here’s the thing they don’t tell you when you get magically transformed into a bunny rabbit against your will by the corrupted darkness of the Sacred Realm: somethings, unfortunately, tend to stick.  

Now, Legend isn’t saying that he’s hiding a cotton tail under his tunic or that his soul secretly aches to frolic in meadows or spend his time sleeping in holes or whatever else it is that rabbits do when they're not busy being very confused and scared twelve year old Hylians.

No.

But that doesn't mean he was left unscathed by having his entire anatomy re-written in less than an instant.

Because of course he wouldn’t. Goddess forbid he ever catch a break for once in his life.

He was still pretty young when it happened, so Legend can’t remember if his teeth had been quite so bucked before the incident. Regardless if they were or not, they sure as Hylia are prominent now. Then there's also the fact that he never really grew into his ears, the damn things always just a shade longer than they should be for a regular Hylian.

Before he joined this wild cucco chase masquerading as an adventure, Legend would sometimes catch himself looking at Ravio wondering, Is that how I would have looked? Besides the hair and eyes, the merchant was supposed to be his mirror image after all. Zelda and Hilda were, so it stood to reason that he and Ravio should be the same.

In which case, the bucktooth thing was going to be a problem regardless.

The ears, on the other hand, are a completely different story. From the quick glances Legend has managed to steal of Ravio’s side profile, the merchant has relatively short ears himself, which just make the Veteran’s own look comically long when the two stand side by side.

And ugh, and that wasn't even touching on his… less physical changes.

 Namely, his cravings.

Noshing on some leafy greens while home alone doing some chores? A-Okay.

Getting caught by Warriors and Twilight absentmindedly chewing on the hay he was supposed to be feeding the horses? Ehhh, not so much.  

Goddesses, his ego still hasn’t recovered from the amount of jokes the Pretty Boy had made at his expense. And that’s not even mentioning the veritable mountain of carrots he found in his bedroll, no doubt courtesy of that flea bitten farmhand.

Regardless of the less than natural way he got these… attributes, Legend couldn’t say they were all bad. ‘Cuz sure, his ears were a bit longer than average, but he could also hear better than most of his companions, able to catch the sound of crunching leaves above even their loud bickering. Like wise, his eyes were sharper than others in the low light of dawn and dusk, allowing him to see things others would miss.

Frankly, both skills had helped keep him alive during his quests. He was thankful for them in a weird huh, guess that works kinda way, but thankful all the same.

But sometimes Legend wanted to wring the goddesses necks because really? Being turned into a rabbit couldn’t have fixed this particular problem?

This particular problem being his absolutely horrible pollen allergies.

“ A-A-A!”

Each rapid, involuntary inhale feels like a simultaneous punch to the gut and a gasp for breath, the air yanked into his body and then stoppered up. It leaves the veteran in a state of limbo as a paralyzing calm falls over him; lungs full of air, shoulders hiked up, muscles tensed.

For a second, everything feels lodged in place, frozen, like the Champion had used his stasis rune on him.

And–

Legend clamps his mouth shut and tucks his face into his elbow just as tension snaps and–

“- acheew! ”

Nothing but a soft, cut off sneeze slips past his lips, yet, the force of holding it back  still sends Legend bowing over. He stays there, hunched over for a breath as his body recovers, before he straightens back up, sniffing irritably as he tries to ignore the itch prickling at his eyes and the congested pressure throbbing behind his sinuses.

A chortling huff sounds next to him and when Legend glances down he can see Wolfie– or should he say, Twilight– peering up at him, mouth open and tongue lolling in a doggy grin, but icy blue eyes too pointed, too teasing, to be anything but human.

Legend's nose twitches tellingly as it begins to tickle again and the wolf gives another stuttering huff. A laugh. Legend can practically hear Twilight’s twangy, Awww. You sneeze like a bunny.

The bastard.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, dog boy,” Legend grumbles, wiping harshly at his face in an attempt to stave off another sneezing fit. “Don't you have trees to piss on or something?”

That earns him peeled back lips and a growl, but Legend just sends the other a responding sneer as strides past the grumpy wolf and out into the rolling field of tulips that stands in front of them.

Another huff, this one more annoyed than amused, sounds behind the veteran before the wolf streaks past him, loping through the flowers with his nose down and tail high.

Legend rolls his eyes.

Twilight loves to show his teeth, but the farmhand is quite literally all bark and no bite.

And besides, they both have better things to do than needle one another. If Legend is going to be miserable, he may as well take steps to make that misery as short as possible.

Afterall, they aren't out here swanning through a meadow of flowers for pleasure.

The last Dark Portal they had all walked through had, once again, separated them. Legend and Twilight were lucky enough to find one another quickly, though, now that Legend thinks about it, it probably had less to do with luck and more to do with Twilight’s nose.

After regrouping, they had tried to search for the others more that day, but a storm had them holed up in a cave overnight to wait out the deluge. They had gotten up early to start their search again today, but so far they had no such luck in finding any of the others in the forest.

Which just left the inexplicable meadow of tulips surrounding the wood.

Legend had been hoping that the rain would keep some of the pollen at bay, but nooo that would be too merciful, wouldn’t it?

If anything, the rain just made this whole experience more aggravating. Now, along with stinging eyes, a running nose, and a throbbing head, Legend also had the delightful honor of feeling the tulip stalks and leaves and petals sliding wetly across his skin, the annoying slap of his tunic smacking his thighs as it got more sodden by the second, and the disgusting squish of water between his toes with every step he took through this Wind Fish damned field.

And sure, maybe it was worth it to reunite with the other heroes, but really, would it kill the goddesses to make his life just a little bit easier.

A bark pulls Legend from his miserable musings. Twilight's dark tail stands out among the ocean of pastel pinks and yellows and oranges, wagging frantically twenty meters away. It disappears after a second, replaced by a muzzle and expectant eyes.

Twilight barks at him again.

He must have found something.

Finally, Legend thinks as he begins to make his way over toward the other, hopefully a reason to get out of this floral hell hole.

“What is it, boy?” Legend asks, voice going high and mocking as he takes delicate care stepping on as many flowers as possible, “Little Time-y fall down the well again?”

Instead of a growl for his effort, Legend gets a flurry of black flecks falling upward, like pieces of reverse snow, in his peripheral vision.

“You know,” Twilight says as he straightens to his full height, eyes half-lidded. Unamused, “You’re really not as funny as you seem to think you are.”

And before Legend can interrupt that– No, actually, you just have a dog shit sense of humor. Literally– Twilight continues, “I can smell the smithy all over this thing.” He nods down at a small tree stump breaking through the tide of flowers. “The scent is a bit old, probably from sometime before last evening, but still traceable. I should be able to find him from here.”

Legend eyes the stump for a moment, peering into the cracked hole in the top of the wood. Inside, he can see the round, red caps of several toadstools sprouting.

He can also sense magic. Close to that of the fairies– natural and glittering and smelling of moss– but not quite the same.

The Smithy’s doing?

Or a natural occurrence?

Regardless…

“Welp,” Legend says, straightening up, “Let's go find him. Couldn’t have gotten far on those little legs of his.”

“Again,” Twilight huffs, the black fractals already consuming him once more as he transforms, “You’re not as funny as you think...”

His voice distorts and fades into nothing as the magic swallows him whole, leaving Legend once again having a conversation with a very unimpressed looking wolf.

“I like you better when you can’t talk,” Legend tells Twilight as the other sets off, snuffling at the ground.

The other pauses to give Legend a look that would be more at home on a disapproving mother’s face, before continuing his tracking.

He also whaps Legend in the leg with his tail.

Hard.

The prick.

They continue on their trek together like that for a while, Twilight occasionally pausing to shove his nose into the dirt some more as he decides which direction to follow as Legend trails behind, keeping his eyes peeled for a quadripartite tunic and a head of straight, gold hair.

It isn't long before the farmhand turned canine breaks off into a light trot and then a jog, and then a full on sprint.

And stops just as suddenly.

Legend is out of breath by the time he slides to a stop behind the farmhand, but from a cursory glance around, there doesn’t seem to be a short, mouthy smithy anywhere in the vicinity.

“What happened?” Legend asks, still searching, turning circles as he cranes his neck, “Did you lose the trail?”

Twilight gives a light whine, grabbing Legend’s attention.

Then he does two full spins and sits primly, looking up at Legend.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Legend crinkles his nose at the canine. “Use your words.”

Wolfie rolls his eyes in a way that Legend didn’t think was possible for dogs and then stands.

The canine stares at him intently, as though making sure Legend’s eyes are locked with his own. And then he flicks his eyes over the yellow tulip he is sitting next to meaningfully. Then back to Legend. Back and forth back and forth, his eyes go for a full minute before he stops and stares at Legend once more.

Legend feels as his face wrinkles in confusion.

It's just a regular tulip, just like the thousands currently around them. Pretty enough, he supposes. The bulb seems to be a little wilted, like it's been weighed down by rain water perhaps, but other than that, nothing to sneeze at.

Or everything to sneeze at, if you’re Legend.

Legend gives the flower one more skeptical glance before turning to look at Twilight once more, brow raised.

“Pretty,” he assures the other. “Not sure how it helps us find Four.”

Twilight heaves another too human sigh.

And then he reaches up,  takes the sleeve of Legend’s tunic between his teeth, and yanks.

“Hey!” Legend yelps as he’s dragged down into the dirt, “Watch the teeth! The embroidery on this thing took forever to do and even longer to enchant!”

Twilight pays him no mind, pulling him down and forward, closer to his chosen tulip.

Legend tries his best to keep his face away from the damn thing.

“I swear on The Three, if your slobber stains–”

Legend’s words crumple up and die in his throat.

There’s something in the tulip.

At first glance, Legend would identify it as the Smithy's earring. The small feathered one that he takes special care of. The one that Four refuses to tell Legend the origin of, besides his cryptic, “From a friend.”

Legend would say that it was just the earring, but… but it isn’t.

Rather than being completely red with a white tip, Legend can see that this little feather is only mostly red. Right before the tip, a darker red plumage takes over, followed by purple and blue and green.

Also, rather than being attached to the small, golden chain and stud Four uses to fasten the jewelry to his earlobe, it’s attached to a body.

A very, very small body.

By now, Twilight has let go of his sleeve, but Legend both doesn’t notice and doesnt care, all of his attention fixed on the little creature before his eyes.

From what he can tell, the little creature is asleep, curled up in the bulb of the flower, his feather tail tucked up near his nose for warmth. Looking past the plumage, Legend can see that the little guy has a very rat-like face, complete with a small, twitching pink nose, long whiskers and–because the creature is shivering– long, chattering rodent incisors. Oval shaped ears stick out from the creature's head, a mix between mouse-like and Hylian.

And framing those ears is shoulder length, soaking wet blonde hair.

Blonde hair held out of the little guy's face by a green headband.

And…

And he’s wearing the smithy’s tunic?

“... Four?” Legend whispers in amazement.

And just saying the other’s name out loud is like a spell because suddenly Legend can see all signs. The little guy has Four’s bag over his shoulder and the Four Sword at his hip. That same magic that was by the stump– the not-fairy, fairy magic– completely surrounds him, dusting him in the same way he is currently dusted in yellow pollen.

“Is that you, Smithy?” Legend asks a little louder.

But rather than startle awake, the small creature– Four, Legend reminds himself– simply hunkers down more fully into the flower, curling up more fully as his shivers increase.

“He must have transformed in order to speak with the Minish around here.”

Twilight’s voice, even though it is a whisper, gives Legend a start. He hadn’t realized the other had transformed, nor had he seen the farmhand crouch down by his side.

The other isn’t looking at him as he speaks, cool blue eyes instead locked on the fitfully sleeping smithy, face concerned.

“He once told me that the Minish are insatiable gossips. He must have transformed to try and find us.”

The concern on the farhand’s face darkens the longer he stares.

“He must have been caught out in the storm,” Twilight says grimly.

Legend tries to imagine what that would be like. To be the size of a mouse and out in a storm. Tries to imagine what it would feel like for gale force winds to pull at drag at him, crushing him into the dirt one moment and yanking off his feet the next. Tries to imagine dodging back and forth between tulips, avoiding the head sized, stone cold rain drops pelting down from the sky

It's not a pretty pictograph, he’ll admit.

And ugh, Legend really isn't a fan of what it's making him consider.

He spares another glance at Four.

And fuck, the little guy shivers and shivers and shivers until the fower he is sleeping in is shaking with it.

And then, he sneezes, the sound coming out tiny and squeaky and weak.

Son of a bitch.

With a sigh that is as weary and reluctant and annoyed as he can possibly force it to be even though the vetran is feeling none of those things, Legend takes hold of the flower near its stem. As gently as possible, he digs his nails into the soft green there, cutting the flower from the ground while keeping it intact.

He hands it to Twilight, who takes it from him with gentle, if slightly confused hands.

With one hand, Legend flips open his shoulder bag. With the other, he rips his hat from his head with a motion probably a tad more violent than is really called for. He arranges the hat inside the bag, making sure to cover his items with the soft fabric while also shaping a soft bed.

Without looking up from his work, Legend extends a hand out to Twilight.

Makes a grabbing motion when what he wants isn't immediately in his hand.

After a second, Twilight slowly places the stem of the flower back in Legend’s hand and the Veteran gently lowers it in the small nest he had created, making sure the bulb sits in a place both shielded from the sun and extra comfortable thanks to the extra fabric padding beneath it.

In one smooth motion, Legend takes a hold of the strap of his bag, pulls it carefully off of his shoulder, and places it on the other side of Twilight’s neck.

And then, he reaches down and touches the dark stone hanging from the necklace around the farmhand’s throat, letting the darkness flock around and consume him.  

When Legend blinks open his eyes, Twilight is looking down at him smugly.

He is looking down farther than usual.

Also looking smugger than usual.

“Shut up,” he grumbles, shaking out his fur before hopping on all fours to get closer to the bag.

“I didn’t say anything,” Twilight replies, not bothing to wipe the smug look off his stupid face even as he lowers the bag to the ground for easier access.

“Yeah you did,” Legend hisses quietly as he clambers carefully into the satchel, settling down the nest of leather and items and hat.

He pulls the flower closer to his side where it is warm.

Inside, he can feel as Four’s shivers begin to lessen.

"Cute," Twilight laughs from above them.

"Fuck you," Legend whisper spits, though he makes no move to push Four's flower away. If anything, he pulls it closer when he hears the smaller hero start to make small, chittering snores, surprised the smithy could sleep through such a racket.

Twilight, thankfully, doesn't comment, instead pulling the top of the bag loosely closed to give them some shade. Then, Legend feels as he gently lifts the satchel back up, slings it slowly over his shoulder as to not disturb the contents inside, and begins walking, hopefully back in the direction of the forest.

Legend can still hear the farmhand laughing to himself from within the bag, but without the others' eyes on him, he finds he doesn't care.

The pollen still itches at his eyes and nose and Legend can still feel the pound of his sinuses even now.  But something about the shade and warmth and soft rocking of the bag makes it hard for him to mind.

Four gives a harty twitch, kicking a petal directly into Legend’s face.

And even that doesn't dissuade the veteran from his task.

Instead, Legend sighs and pulls Four even closer, relaxing despite the discomfort.

He’s got dirt on both Twilight and now Four, the two heroes with sticks most firmly inserted into their asses. He can get out of whatever chores and lectures they try to pin him with.

Yep, he thinks , distantly. That's why he did this.

For the blackmail.

And no other reason.

[aetheternity]

Hard pass (Levi x reader)

(Enjoy a beautiful pic of chubby cheeked Levi)

Synopsis: Levi is forced out of his comfy dorm room and in a strange twist of events right into your arms at a college party.

"No."

"But I haven't even finished the question yet.." Hange sighed

"You want me to come to one of these pointless weekend parties that you go to almost every Saturday." Levi responded, fingers clicking quickly against his laptops keyboard.

"Come on Levi, if I got forced into going you have to come too." Erwin said with exasperation thick in his tone.

"How did you stupidly end up saying yes?" Levi questioned looking up from his laptop with a small raise of his brow.

Erwin shook his head almost in shame. "Hange offered to purchase that book I've wanted all semester. The one I couldn't find for any cheaper than 350." He shrugged, "Speaking of which how do you plan on paying for it?"

"Don't worry about that. Worry about the party we're all going to have so much fun at tonight."

"I said no." Levi grunted

"Oh come on!" Hange's voice echoed in the small dorm room.

"What else are you going to be doing? You know besides staring at a screen all night and cleaning Mike's side of the room?"

Mike was an over all good roommate despite his cluttered space. Levi had known him his entire almost three years of college and after a while they'd become friends. Though Levi still sometimes found himself cleaning up after Mike because he just couldn't stand the growing clothes pile on the other side of the room.

"So what?" Levi shrugged rereading the same paragraph again because Hange kept distracting him.

"So?! Do you really wanna sit in here on a Saturday night again instead of going to get some pussy like Mike is probably doing?"

"That's so inappropriate Hange." Erwin commented

"Take the stick out of your ass we're all grownups here." Hange replied shooting Erwin a weak stare which Erwin reciprocated. "Come on! What'd I have to do to get you to come?"

Levi rubbed his eyelids. He knew this would pretty much be his night if he didn't go but parties definitely weren't his thing. Though somehow this might be mildly worse.

"One fucking hour. No more no less." He finally agreed

"YES!" Hange screamed so loud it could probably be heard in the building next door.

"Look who else stupidly ended up saying yes." Erwin smirked

"Shut up, I just want to be able to work in silence sometime tonight.

"Sure sure."

"Get ready! We'll be waiting downstairs!" Hange bounced

~ ~ ~ ~

It took Levi about thirty minutes to get ready. His attire comprised of a dark red shirt, black dress pants and a black jacket hung over his shoulder. He hopped into Hange's car ignoring the groans of how this was a party not a funeral and how him and Erwin sucked at having fun.

He hadn't even entered the front door yet and he was already praying for this hour to be quick. He didn't technically have to rush back to his paper since he was ahead of schedule for all of his classes. But he still hated to leave an unfinished paper just lying around. Even if only for an hour.

The drive was surprisingly (and thankfully) pretty short. Though Levi was surprised when they headed into a dorm building. Hange took the lead as they climbed up the stairs though the higher they got the worse the smell got.

Erwin coughed fanning his face, "God that is an ungodly odor." And Levi quickly followed suit wrinkling his nose.

"Can't have a party without it." Hange replied with a small laugh.

"Disgusting." Levi responded

"You can definitely have a party without weed." Erwin groaned

"Your stuffy book meetings are parties Erwin."

Levi almost wanted to laugh at this but he kept his composure. They finally rounded a corner coming up to a door where a guy and a girl were outstretched on the floor. Both of whom had drinks in their hands. They both greeted Hange and Hange quickly greeted them back.

"Alright boys. Time to party." She delighted

The booming music that Levi could hear out in the hallway went from mildly obnoxious to instantly pounding. Levi hated it. He might have to find a way to sneak out before the hour was up. Though at the moment Hange was pulling both him and Erwin by their collars as if she was scared either of them would make a run for it.

"You guys hungry?!" She asked "Let's go get some chips!"

It felt like the farther in you went the worse the godforsaken music sounded. And in such a small dorm. How was everyone not deaf? Somehow though it looked like almost everyone was ignoring the music. There were people on the floor making out, people talking, a guy laying in the sink with a lampshade over his head..

And throughout all of it Hange was getting greeted left and right. It was honestly weird seeing as Levi had never seen Hange with anyone other than him and Erwin. They finally reached the snack table where Hange quickly shoved the bowl of chips into Levi's hands.

Levi grumbled but Hange just smiled, "Come on guys, Loosen up this is your first party after all!" She sighed, loudly rubbing both of their backs.

Levi wordless handed the chip bowl to Erwin. "I've been to parties." Erwin replied, taking a chip and slowly chewing it.

"Your fifteenth birthday is not what I'm talking about." She huffed, "You guys are totally missing out on what makes college fun!"

"Watching people shove their tongues into each other's mouths and get drunk in a room that is far too hot and too crowded while music bumps obnoxiously over every word you say so you have to lose your voice screaming?"

"Yes! Isn't that great?!" Erwin and Levi simultaneously groaned over Hange's enthusiasm. "Here, come on have a beer!" She handed both boys a bottle. Levi stared at it plainly, that is until a voice shakes him from his gaze.

"Hey Hange!" This voice is much sweeter. So much more comforting to hear than the agitating speaker. He looked up in time to freeze in his place. His eyes transfixed on the person currently in front of him.

"Y/N! Hey, I didn't know you were coming out tonight."

"Yeah, my roommate forced me. She said I've been too stressed lately." Her smile was bright under all the strobe lights. Everything about her felt bright from her eyes to the shimmer of her hair. Was her hair shimmering? Maybe it was Levi's imagination.

Y/N? Was that what Hange called her? What a pretty name for such a pretty girl.. How could Hange know someone like you?

"You remember Erwin right?" Hange asked, which temporarily shook Levi from his thoughts.

Erwin stuck out his hand, "Hi again Y/N." Erwin knew you too??

"Hey! Erwin, let me guess you still haven't found that impressively old book full of research from like 1853?" Their hands stayed together for a minute longer than Levi would've liked.

"Incorrect, the only reason I'm here is because I found it."

She nodded her smile still warm and giving Levi a warmth that spread through his abdomen like a flame. "Sorry, I'm a little off my radar tonight. I'm the designated deliverer. Deliever because I'm just walking my drunk friends a couple floors down later."

Hange gave a brief laugh, "Where is Sasha by the way?"

Y/N searched for a second. "I'm hoping she's across the hall because I've been trying to escape all this noise all night."

"Oh! Right by the way this is Levi!"

Y/N's gaze turned from Hange to Levi and she stretched out her hand. "Oh hi Levi." She said

"H-H-Hi.." Levi said, hand shaking as he placed it in her's. She giggled and Levi swore he felt her thumb rub the back of his hand.

"Well, I better go look for Sasha. I can't go back to our room till she's with me. Come across the hall later I'll probably still be there."

"Sure, sounds good!" Hange replied

Y/N smiled, "Nice to see you again Erwin, Bye Levi."

Levi could've sworn up and down that Y/N had said his name differently. She had to have right? Her tone was so sultry.. the words ran through Levi's brain replying over and over. Shivers coursing up and down his spine-

"I can't tell if Levi looks red from the strobe lights or if he's flushed." Levi turned at Erwin's words cupping his face before grunting at how hot he felt.

Oh no..

"I can't believe you have crush on my friend!"

Levi felt his face grow even hotter. "I don't! Sh-shut up." He outwardly huffed over how pathetic he was being. His heart felt so heavy in his chest

"OH MY GOD SO CUTE!!" Surprisingly enough Hange caught the attention of a few people. "THIS'LL BE GREAT! I CAN BE YOUR WINGMAN!"

"Shut the fuck up Hange!" Levi practically growled. Erwin nodded to the people staring at them. "Shut up.. I-I don't have a crush on her.."

Hange finally stopped bouncing and weirdly fell silent as she stood staring at her best friend. "Fine, let's go across the hall then."

Levi's heart instantly fluttered. "But we just got here?" Erwin said, seemingly questioning his own weird reluctance to go across the hall when he definitely hated it here as much as Levi.

"No real reason. I mean. It's just that it's quieter over there. Everyone over there is just drinking and talking." Hange responded already walking towards the door. Levi felt his feet move without his consent practically bumping into Hange's back as he hurried out behind her. Erwin quickly following.

Hange knocked twice on the door across the hall. And the three of them walked in. And Levi didn't even realize how much of a relief it was to be here until the smell hit his noise and the peaceful chatter hit his ears.

Hange huffed but Levi barely noticed, his eyes scanning the room for Y/N.

"It's so quiet here. I'm not fond of this I might go back across the hall and you guys can stay here."

Erwin immediately protested, "We don't know anyone here."

"Yeah, but I didn't even get to enjoy the music!" Hange pouted stomping slightly like a child.

"You forced us to come now you have to stay with us." Erwin replied, "Besides-" he looked at Levi who was staring at three slightly cracked doors. "This could be way better."

"Soooooooo!" Hange smirked, elbowing Levi's shoulder.

Levi immediately tended up at the feeling. His gaze steely and cold. "What?"

"How are you gonna ask out Y/N?"

Levi's face betrayed him, turning a deep red at the spur of the moment question. "I'm not asking shit."

"Oh come on! I did not bring you two to this party for absolutely nothing exciting to happen."

"If you like her you should tell her Levi." Erwin replied honestly

Levi scowled, "I don't.."

"Yeah ok so let's pretend you're not talking out of your ass." Hange says, leading both boys over to the couch. "Nevermind we can't cause you're talking out of your ass."

"Tch."

"Is she even here?" Erwin asked

Levi did a quick look around once more just as you were coming out of the bedroom. A loud sigh falling off your lips.

"Hey!" She smiled "Didn't expect to see you guys so soon again."

"Oh yeah well, we just couldn't wait to see you again." Hange remarked ignoring the daggers Levi was sending her. "Come sit with us." Hange offers.

Y/N moves closer to sit between Hange and Erwin until Hange places a hand on her back. "No no no, you don't wanna sit here.. Erwin just let one rip. The whole room is gonna smell soon." She waved her hand in front of her nose and Erwin glared at her. "Sit next to Levi!" She offered

A part of Levi was genuinely thinking about how much Hange would sell for on Amazon while another part of him was relieved for the small plop of the seat next to him as you sat down. The way you reached forward to grab the tea cup you'd placed on the table.

It was easier now to see your curves and as much as Levi tried to hide his staring he couldn't help it. His eyes raking over every inch of your body he could see. Luckily you weren't paying attention to the way the tips of his ears grew redder by the second.

"You put her to sleep in someone else's room?" Hange laughed

"Well I think they're ordering another pizza so she's probably gonna wake up when she smells that."

And your smell.. Levi couldn't tell if it was your hair or your body but your smell was intoxicating right now. So mellow and sweet yet strong and vibrant.

"Uggghhh good cause I'm starving!"

Y/N laughed, "Ah I remember when I had to hear something like that every morning."

"That English class was way too early in the morning and you know it!" Hange laughed. Erwin had turned to his phone clearly more relaxed by the atmosphere.

"So, Levi what's your major?" Y/N suddenly turned to ask.

Levi blinked, then opened his mouth only to shut it again. His eyes were practically bulging and he felt like his face would melt off.

"He's business law." Hange helped clearly also holding in a laugh as Levi could only nod quietly.

"Oh. You know I know someone whose in-

"Y/N.. Where's my bed.." All four of you turned at once as a brown haired girl stumbled around in the space. "My bed.." she repeated staggering around.

"Ooo ok, you want you want your bed?" Y/N stood grabbing hold of the girl's waist. She giggled in delight and Y/N rubbed her back with a grin. "I'm gonna take Sasha downstairs."

"Are you going to come back?" Erwin asked and Levi was relieved in a way because he definitely wouldn't be able to get the words out.

"Mm, I don't think so. I'll see if she goes down easy then I might." She shrugged and Sasha giggled again. "Alright, time for bed." She chirped leading the girl in her arms out and soon far away from Levi's view.

He felt his stomach twist. Silently wishing he knew what being held like that by you felt like.

[morizoras-cave]

Pass Out (Request)

Jake Gyllenhaal x gn!teen!co-star!reader, Tom Holland x gn!teen!co-star!reader

Genre: angst, fluff

Request Description: can I request a Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal x teen!reader where she gets sick during the press tour and ends up passing out in front of fans? love your writing btw!!

Warnings: none, really? sick reader, slight insecurity, language

(A/N): yeah im in berlin (we’re being very safe and wearing masks all the time :D) and thats why i havent updated much. im trying to update a bit, im writing this at 7:43 to make it before breakfast hsghssgs anyway hope y’all enjoy

“Y/n, you don’t look too good? Caught a stomach bug?” 

You sighed at Jake’s question. You did quite literally feel like shit that morning, all three of you padding out of the hotel to enter the car. It was going to be another day of press, and while those days could be a bunch of fun, this time the thought just worsened your pounding headache, nausea, weakness, and general shit-feeling.

“I don’t know what it is, I just feel real bad,” you grumbled irritably. Tom and Jake exchanged glances over your head. 

“Think you should stay home today? Me and Jake can take a yelling from Marvel, it’s totally fine. They hate me anyway.” 

“Yeah, I was gonna say, there’s really no way Tom can worsen his image to Marvel. He can take the blame. I mean, he’s already hit rock bottom.” 

You snorted at their banter, and without looking, knew Tom had that undoubtedly offended face. Though, you still shook your head sadly. 

“It’s not that bad. It’ll be fine.” 

There wasn’t much arguing then. The boys never knew you to be a liar about such things, and trusted your judgement completely. And, to be fair, you didn’t lie about how you were feeling. You just thought it was less bad than it was, which is why, when you entered the car, sitting between the two man-children, you got very nervous when it suddenly worsened drastically. 

You were sickly-looking, and both your head and stomach hurt. Your legs felt like jello (which is a very weird sensation, by the way, causing you to wriggle your legs to give them life again), and an overwhelming feeling of nausea hit you. Overall though, you felt weak.

Jake and Tom were still watching you worriedly. Your worsened state was easily spotted by them. 

“We’re here,” the driver announced. Out the window, you could see the sandy building that you were filming press in that day, and a pretty sizeable group of fans (mostly beautiful young gals) who were looking to meet their idols. 

“This is a bigger group than usual,” Tom mumbled, and the comment made you involuntarily groan. You loved fans, but today everything sucked. 

Soon enough, you three exited the black car, and The Jello Effect was in full effect, as you wobbled to the front door. 

“Oh my God, hi! We’re super big fans!” A nice-looking lady smiled brightly when she spotted you all. Her voice was pleasant, you thought. 

“Oh wow, I can’t believe we’re actually meeting them. I didn’t think they’d show up here today. Guess you were right,” came the mumblings from between them.

“We can sign a few things, if you want? We still have a bit of time before our schedule,” Tom offered kindly, because he was such a celebrity that really loved the fans, possibly more than both you and Jake (not that you two didn’t, Tom just had so much love to give out). 

All the fans (girls and boys and nonbinary alike) gathered to have their shirts, comics, papers, and anything else that they wanted signed. 

You felt horrific, but didn’t object, signing and smiling the best you could, but overall staying quiet. You even joined in on the pictures. 

“C-Can I, um, also have a-a picture?” a shy boy asked stepping forward. Both Tom and Jake smiled and said “yeah” and “of course”, but in that moment the world suddenly got very blurry for you.

Everything was very overwhelming, the noise, the questions, the requests, and the responsibilities, and all of a sudden your legs were gone, and the ground was very close to you. And then it was black. 

Jake and Tom were standing in front of the boy, when a thump came from behind them (your jello body falling down, in case you were wondering). They looked, and surely enough, there you were, on the ground. 

They both immediately jumped down to you, crouching beside your collapsed body. 

“Holy shit, are they okay?” one of the fans asked, as a worried murmur spread throughout the crowd of people. 

“Uh, I don’t really know-” Jake said nervously. “Damn it, Y/n,” he cursed you, because, of course, you would underestimate the seriousness of your sickness. 

Thinking quick, Tom grabbed the rather shy boys phone, angled it so the boy was behind him, and then tapped Jake’s shoulder. They both, comically, duck faced simultaneously, and Tom snapped a picture. 

“Here,” he gave the kid back his phone, whilst Jake grabbed and lifted you. 

“We gotta get them to a hospital. I don’t want to risk anything,” Jake whispered, not wanting to further upset the fans that stood beside them, with wide eyes and filming phones. Tom nodded. 

“Alright, it’s been good, but, uh.. Well, we’ve got things to fix here,” Tom waved goodbye, and then followed Jake, who was sprinting to the parking lot with you in his arms. 

“W-What?” you mumbled and blinked awake. You felt drowsy and sick and simply quite terrible, and it was hard to understand, but you realized you were in someones arms. 

“Holy shit, Y/n, you scared the crap out of me!” Jake exclaimed breathlessly, as you awoke from your nonconsensual nap. You looked around in confusion, at Jake’s face (you had a great view of his nose and chin), the parking lot, and then a moment where you wondered what the hell was happening. 

“Did I- What happened?” your mumble was weak.

“You passed out! We’re bringing you to a hospital!” Tom came from behind Jake. This made you stir. 

“Uh, no. No, you’re not!” you (with much grunting and effort - and probably Jake simply letting you go out of respect) jumped out of Jake’s grasp and onto the parking lot. You stumbled, overestimating the solidness of your legs, and almost falling down again, but this time Tom was prepared. He grabbed your arm and pulled you to stand up. From his eyes came a warning look.

“Y/n. You’re sick. We’re going to a hospital. Just to make sure.” 

You knew he was right, but still you couldn’t help but feel like a bother. The boys both saw your stubbornness fade slightly. 

“Alright, I’ll go to the hospital. But you guys go and do press. I can’t have you getting in trouble with Marvel..” you mumbled somewhat angrily. 

Jake and Tom looked at each other for a moment, and then shook their heads. They begun moving at the same time, each taking one of your arms and just starting to walk. You looked back and forth between them accusingly. 

“I called an Uber. It’ll be here five.”

“Sounds good, sounds good.” 

“Excuse me? I said, I’ll go alone!” 

Tom stopped, turning to you. Surprisingly, he smiled playfully.

“Look, N/n. We’re going wether you like it or not, because me and Jake, we care about you too. So stop being so selfish, and let’s go get you checked out, because we can’t have you feeling sick and passing out on us. Alright?” 

His voice was surprisingly light and his smile was upheld, but you could tell he was still a bit concerned. The feeling of someone caring about you. It warmed your heart a bit. 

Jake ruffled your hair from behind, and you all started walking again. You smiled stupidly, and, though still present, your nausea was much smaller now. Jake eyed you from the side, watching your smile. He shook his head.

“Dummy.” 

___________________________

Tag List:

@hera-the-writer @marvel-madness @40srogcrs @whatthefuckimbisexual @snarky–starky @garbage-potato @lozzypoz321 @allthecreativeonesaretaken @missamericana713 @rororo06 @shady80smusicsingercolor @ireadfanficforfun @deephideoutmilkshake @rae-is-typing @sophs-library @herecomesthewriterwitch @alicedanganh @eviemarvel @idk123906​ @xiumin-girl99​ @frostedgiant 

[theonceoverthinker]

500. As this daily series of mine comes to an end, I just want to reflect on all the MARRY time writing Fair Game HCs has brought me!

I’m freezing up as I’m trying to write even just this intro. I don’t feel ready. After a year and a half, how can I feel anything else? This series is now a part of me and ending it is like losing a piece of my soul. I have so many emotions -- too many emotions -- it doesn’t feel wrong to end the series here (The 500 milestone makes sense), but it hurts all the same.

Let me start with thank you to everyone whose read these. Seriously, I know I thank you occasionally, but I can’t do it enough. Knowing that there are people interested in what I write and think about these two and enjoy the happier life I’m paining them in the absence of canon just makes me feel so much less alone than usual. It means the world to me so please believe me when I say that I wouldn’t have gotten to 500 without each and every one of you, whether you were here from the beginning or just joined in whenever. 

I’m so happy to have finally reached this moment, but simultaneously so torn up about what that means.

Will I never do another Fair Game HC again? HECK NO! While the regular daily episodes are ending, if I find another topic that I want to Fair Game-i-fy, I will definitely make more episodes, and hopefully, before long, I will! I just need to take a break from the daily updates. I’ve hit burnout several times over the past year and a half and it’s not fun, so while I still have some energy to spare, I want to end the daily series on a high note!

Also, forgive me because I’m gonna cheat this as a submission for @fairgameweek2021 while I’m at it (If it’s not cool, then my apologies). The theme today is Charms/Dreams and while neither of these come up in the HC itself, this wedding and this series as a whole I think acts as a reflection of the dreams much of the Fair Game fandom had for this ship. 

When I say this, I don’t mean it in the sense of I’d be upset if not each and every one of these didn’t come true -- that’s never been what my love for Fair Game was about, nor that each and every Fair Game fan subscribes to these HCs (Good GOD, no -- not even close). Like many fans, I just wanted these two characters who deserved happiness (Especially Qrow given his almost unreal amount of trauma and hardships) and seemed like they’d finally found it with each other to get exactly that. So in the absence of canon, I hope people were able to take solace in this space and live in the daydreams I created for them here.

So here we are at long last: The Fair Game Wedding. If you want to follow the story thus far, you can check out my HC compilation page. I’ve highlighted all of the wedding HCs in green, and have fully caught up the HC list!

That said, if you don’t feel like reading all of them and just want to check out this last one, here’s the tldr for what you need to know: The wedding is taking place in the Amity communications tower (This HC series only follows canon until 7X11 for those who didn’t know because I only choose to acknowledge good writing (especially for Qrow and Clover) here), Tai is Qrow’s Best Man, Marrow is Clover’s Best Man, Robyn is officiating, Ruby’s walking Qrow down the aisle, Yang’s walking Clover down the aisle, Clover got Qrow a silver ring with four tiny encrusted emeralds, Qrow got Clover a dark ring with four tiny encrusted rubies, Qrow’s wearing an onyx tux with a white undershirt and a crimson bowtie and handkerchief, and Clover’s wearing a black tux with a white undershirt and a dark green bowtie and handkerchief. 

Okay! We’re good to go!

Well, for the last regularly-scheduled time, let’s get to it!

HC under the cut!

“Uncle Qrow! Help! We can’t find your shoes!”

Ruby’s cry is what wakes Qrow up.

What a way to start the day. He hasn’t even had coffee or breakfast yet and he’s already been tasked with finding his wedding shoes. Give him a break.

It then comes to attention that this is his wedding day. By the time he goes to bed, he and Clover will be married. 

His crankiness at being woken up and put to work so quickly doesn’t fully evaporate, but a lot of it does all the same. 

And as Qrow starts searching his temporary room to find his shoes, he can’t help but take note of the bubbling happiness under him.

()()()()()()()()()()()

It feels so weird to Clover to wake up in the Ace Ops’ suite. He’s stopped by from time to time since leaving the Atlesian Army, especially as he’s been planning his wedding, but staying over feels simultaneously nostalgic and bizarre. 

Mostly though, the odd feeling is one that stems from not waking up beside Qrow. It’s not that they haven’t slept apart, but whenever they have outside of their bachelor parties, it’s been for a mission.

Well, in all fairness, today’s at once a party and a mission, and by the end of it, he and Qrow will be back sleeping right beside each other.

Clover can just barely stand the wait.

()()()()()()()()()()

The alter is beautiful. The whites and browns and red and greens come together so nicely. 

In an interesting surprise touch, Harbinger in its scythe form and Kingfisher in its rod form are tastefully placed right next to Tai and Marrow respectively. And on top of their handles, Qrow and Clover’s respective rings rest safely on each of their handles.

They’re both impressed, more so that their weapons were somehow sneak out and brought all the way to the communications tower without either’s knowledge.

Clover’s the first to arrive at Amity Tower. Tai and Marrow organized how Qrow and Clover would check in on things so they wouldn’t see each other until the ceremony. Though Clover found the superstition banal, he decides not to make a fuss about it today, not when there are more important things going on.

The sweet smell of flowers greets his nose. They’re all laid out so nicely, and possibly even more so in the reception hall. Clover looks to his and Qrow’s table, and then to his pants.

Marrow gave him back his phone this morning, and with Marrow temporarily busy in the bathroom, Clover sends Qrow a quick text before he returns.

Clover: Everything looks perfect up here, but I bet you’ll look even better. See you soon. ;) 

Qrow arrives a bit later than expected...which for him was anything but unexpected. Between finding his shoes, Tai insisting on ironing his suit (”I swear, there was a wrinkle on it this morning!), making sure he got a good meal in him, cramming everyone into Tai’s car, and dealing with traffic, it’s amazing they got there when they did.

By the time Qrow gets there, the caterers are starting to arrive and their cake is on its way over, too!

Though Qrow initially felt his scroll buzz in the car, he’s unable to look at it until now. He sees Clover’s text in between the tons of congratulations messages, and smiles.

He’s such a dork.

But he’s Qrow’s dork.

Qrow: You know it. ;) See you soon.

Far too much time is spent for either of their taste’s getting into their suits and going over their entrances and everything (Though given how their rehearsal went, neither can be too annoyed).

Both meet their respective halves of the wedding party and soon enough...it’s time.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Robyn’s the first to enter. She has a basic script in her hand, but everyone knows she’s gonna do some ad-libbing and are excited for it.

Qrow walks down the aisle first with Ruby. The whole time, he can’t but hold his breath behind his smile, worried he might trip. Ruby, who can now fully tell how her uncle operates, holds his arm tighter and more supportively. Qrow would be lying if he said it didn’t help. Upon reaching the front, Ruby gives Qrow a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before leaving his side.

After he arrives, the two sets of groomsmen enter side-by-side: Marrow and Tai, Elm and Port, Vine and Oobleck, and Harriet and Theodore (Yeah, I know basically nothing about Theodore, but I realized my numbers for Qrow’s groomsmen didn’t add up to Clover’s, and I hear the two of them got along, so we’re doing this!).

Once they’re in position, Clover enters with Yang. Clover, like Yang, holds his breath, but for a different reason. Qrow looks so impossibly good in his suit, and he can tell Qrow really likes how he looks, too. Like Ruby with Qrow, before leaving to join her sister, Yang gives Clover a hug and cheek kiss, but also a nice pat on the shoulder and a wish for “good luck.” Clover loves the sensation.

Clover whispers under his breath that Qrow looks amazing. Qrow thanks him, throwing a wink at Clover. Clover looks as stunned by it as Qrow did when he did it the first time.

Ceremony stuff happens, and then we get to the vows!

Robyn signals for Qrow to go first. He nods at her and begins.

“Clover,” Qrow says. “I want to say something to you, something that I never thought I would, especially here of all places, but something that feels like it should be said all the same. ...Here it goes. Clover, we don’t have to get married.” 

There’s a pause as everyone watching gasps. Clover is the only one who doesn’t, though he does raise and eyebrow. Qrow maintains eye contact with him and continues.

“It’s true,” he says. “We know we’re going to be together for the rest of our lives. I’m not leaving you, you’re not leaving me, and once this is all over, we’re going to go right back to the same home we’ve spent years building together to build even more of it for as long as we can. We’ll get up, make breakfast and coffee, work, come home, watch TV, and go to bed. Maybe we’ll do different things on the weekends with Tai and the kids, or maybe we’ll just relax on the couch with a movie. So no, we don’t need to get married...but that’s exactly why I want to.”

The sighs of relief are close to deafening, and expecting that, Qrow takes another pause. Clover’s smile is beautiful, not beaming of exceedingly large, but radiant as it has ever been. Qrow hopes that whoever their planner organized to record their wedding captures it because it’s a smiles Qrow imagines he’ll want to look at over and over again.

“It’s exactly because we don’t need to throw a ceremony or a big party to show the world we love each other that makes me want to do just that,” Qrow continues. “A love like what we have, one that’s special because of all the things that don’t make it special just as much as all of the things that do, well to me, that’s a love worth celebrating. I love you, Clover, and I love the fact that being here with you gives me another chance to celebrate how we feel, how far we’ve come, and how much further we’ll go.”

There are tears in the corners of Clover’s eyes threatening to fall any second. Qrow feels that his own are on the verge of doing the same.

Clover pull him in for a hug. They know it’s not what they’re supposed to do, but it feels right and that’s all that matters. It lasts for ten seconds before they finally pull back.

Robyn’s looking at them jokingly. 

“You know you’re not supposed to do that yet, right?”

“Eh,” Qrow says, shrugging with a smirk on his face. “We’re unconventional.”

“Except when we’re not,” Clover chimes in, winking at Qrow over the joke.

Robyn, smiling all the while, rolls her eyes.

“Clover, it’s your turn,” she says. The two exchange nods and then Clover turns to Qrow. 

“Qrow,” he starts, “I definitely saw my life differently before I met you. I was an Atlesian Military Captain of the kingdom’s strongest group of Huntsmen, likely to stay just where I was until I retired or died in combat. That’s what I saw for myself, and that’s all I saw for myself. In that life, I didn’t see a home, I didn’t see a family, and I never saw someone I loved so much that I’d leave everything I thought I knew behind just to stand by his side. But once I met you and the kids, I began to see all sorts of things that I’d never considered for myself before -- all of those things I just listed and more. That’s the life we’ve had together so far -- deep, kind, strange, fun, sometimes a bit mundane but also beautiful because of it. I’ve got to tell you, Qrow, I can’t think of anything luckier happening to me in my entire life than finding you.”

Qrow snorts. It’s not an interruption, but Clover can’t help but comment on it. 

“I guess you saw that coming?” Clover jokes. 

“Maybe a bit.”

“Fair enough. Well, I don’t need to tell you that with semblances like ours, luck’s always been a special thing between us. Misfortune and Good Fortune just have a way of being part of our lives, no matter what we think or plan or want. We’ve talked before about how they counter each other or why one might be more powerful than the other on any given day, but while luck might have been what brought us together as partners initially and it certainly is part of us, it’s not all of us. Luck has some interesting perks, both good and bad alike -- it can make a day or even week better or worse -- but it can’t get either of us what we have together nor take it away. Luck doesn’t earn me the sight of that gleam in your eyes when I bring you a bowl of noodles just the way you like or that smile of yours when I tell you tell you a joke. Luck helps us live our lives, but we do the rest, and I think we do a pretty good job living it together, and I can’t wait to keep on doing it with you for the rest of our lives.”

A good number of the attendants make an “awwww” sound at the end of Clover’s vows. Qrow’s tempted to make fun of it, but abstains.

Robyn nods at the conclusion of her vows. Tai and Marrow collect the rings for Qrow and Clover from off of the weapons and bring them to them. Robyn then turns to Clover.

“Clover Ebi,” she says. “Do you take this man, Qrow Branwen, to be your lawfully-wedded husband -- to love, cherish, and grow with him in sickness and in health and for better or worse as long as you both shall live?”

Clover’s smile is present. It doesn’t get bigger, but it gets deeper. 

“I do,” he says. Qrow takes Clover’s ring and slides it easily onto Clover’s finger.

Robyn turns to Qrow.

“And Qrow Branwen,” she continues. “Do you take this man, Clover Ebi, to be your lawfully-wedded husband -- to love, cherish, and grow with him in sickness and in health and for better or worse as long as you both shall live?”

Qrow’s smile stays the same -- relaxed, easy, and so utterly content. Despite seeing it hundreds of times by now, it still looks so beautiful to Clover...especially when he says the next two words.

“I do.”

Qrow extends out his hand, and Clover, with the ring he got him, slides it down Qrow’s flawless finger effortlessly.

Robyn’s smile grows.

“Then by the power vested in me by the Kingdom of Solitas and the land of Remnant, I now declare you husbands. You may now kiss.”

Qrow and Clover have kissed more times than they can possibly count.

But by the time Robyn declares them married, they’re starving to feel each other’s kisses again. Cupping each other’s cheeks, Qrow and Clover share their first kiss as a married couple.

Everyone cheers. A quarter of the room cheers through their tears.

Finally, they’re married.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Qrow and Clover get a small break to themselves before they enter the reception. They spend much of it standing and sitting close together, kissing, telling the Qrow and Clover equivalent of sweet nothings to each other, and talking about what their previous night and this morning were like. It’s kind, relaxed, and happy -- so, so happy.

The reception’s amazing. Between awesome food, “the world’s best cocktail hour” (Qrow and Clover’s words, not mine), a good DJ, heartwarming (and a little embarrassing) speeches, gorgeous decorations, cool party favors, and a beautiful and loving first dance, everyone has an amazing time.

At some point, Qrow and Clover find themselves able to sneak out of their own reception for a break (Qrow especially needs one, but Clover’s not about to pretend he’s not at least a little tired either). There’s a small empty balcony right in front of the moon. Clover loops his arm around Qrow’s shoulders and settles it on the left one.

Clover takes a deep breath through his nose and Qrow can feel his hairs bounce up and down with it.

“Smell something you like?” Qrow teases.

“More like someone. And I can’t wait to keep smelling him.”

They relax in the quiet for a bit. Qrow snuggles into Clover’s side as the gentle wind embraces their forms wherever it can.

“We’re married,” Clover finally says, said as if he’s just realized it for the first time. 

It must be the tenth time today he’s done so since the ceremony.

Qrow hasn’t gotten even remotely sick of hearing it.

“We’re married,” he repeats. 

Clover releases a rumbling chuckle, then kisses Qrow’s upper right temple. Qrow presses his lips to Clover’s hand. It’s not a kiss, per se, but it lingers delicately on his hand.

They stay for a couple more minutes before deciding that they should probably return to their party.

The rest of the party is so nice. Friends and family party and dance the night away with the gorgeous night sky all around them for hours.

The cleanup is exhausting and despite loving their wedding planner from the moment they hired her, Qrow and Clover have never been more grateful for her services than where she says they can head out and that she would finish up the rest of the work and text them (”Tomorrow afternoon. You guys are gonna need some shut eye.”).

It takes Qrow and Clover about an hour to get home. Clover drives once they’re on solid ground again. In the car, neither talk much, content to sit and enjoy the drive home in a comfortable quiet, save for the occasional joke and “We’re married” statement.

When they’re finally home, they stop at the door. After all, who’s going to carry who over the threshold? 

They compromise. Kissing each other’s face all the way, Qrow carries Clover through their front door, and Clover carries Qrow through their bedroom door onto a...very fun wedding night (Which I’m gonna let you all imagine for yourself because I have literally been writing this all day and writing about sex is kind of tough for me when I’m at my best).

When they’re at last ready to go to sleep, Qrow and Clover cuddle close and give each other a final loving look before falling asleep in each other’s arms, blissfully together tonight and for decades worth of them to come, just as they deserve. I don’t even know what to say now that we’re here at the end. I think I said it here earlier, but it bears repeating: I love you all and thank you so much for following these Fair Game HCs.

Tagging @skybird13 @whipped4qrow @mooksie01 @luck-of-the-caw @xwildangel @solitude-of-stars-deactivated20 @vastnessofthespiral @o0nashipear0o @unfairgamey @doctorrwby @clover-and-co @megan-atthedisco @wash-my-brain @bisexualdisasterqrow @thursdayseraph @doubledexterity @rwby-things-i-guess @atlas-heartthrob @the-answer-was-bi-klance @compoterie @thuskindlyiboop @oceansquid @transdemion @deltastream21 @mimiori @xya-hunter @dinosaurs-last-day @roman-torchtwink @subatomictealeaves @drbtinglecannon @saphiralunaris @pretentiouskneecaps @amxngsthxmans @ayomez13 @carbonated-table-spices @darkestsiren @chaosgameingkoi @collectingsparechangemadeeasy @michaels-daughter2005 @youmaywanttoduck @lovethewitchofendor @victorious1956 @spence0112 @madamoisellesica @ju-ka-mc-24

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Would you also like to check out my old Fair Game HC’s? Who wouldn’t? Well, here’s a link to my Fair Game HC archives!!!!

[byulsgrease]

i rlly liked your "what are the chances" fic, and i just want to request something similar with the reader being a "hero" typa concept! Could you write a idol!hwasa x reader, and in there hwasa gets swarmed by paps and starts to struggle or panic, but the reader (who hwasa knows) just happens to be there at right place/time and takes care of her during and afterwards at the comfort of hwasas home?

o thanks anon! what are the chances truly came out of nowhere so it's a relief you enjoyed 🥺 so sorry this took me a while, my brain got a bit stuck at first on where to go with this one but I hope you like it

it's been a long time

(hwasa x gender neutral reader, ~1.3k words)

cw: food mention (are we surprised?)

a/n: the more I write the more I realize how much my own experiences influence my ideas? obviously it makes sense but just interesting that one could probably figure out a good bit about me if they knew where to look

A soft rain falls from the blanket of gray clouds above your head as you exit the 7-11 with a bottle of chilsung cider and a shiny plastic-wrapped inkigayo sandwich, your default lazy day dinner. The hood on your windbreaker comes back up to shield your hair from the rain. You're about to turn on your heel to head home but a swarm of people out of the corner of your eye turns your head toward it.

Squinting, it dawns on you: Oh... it's her.

Ahn Hyejin - or Hwasa, as most of your friends now called her. Weird to see her here, you knew her essentially a lifetime ago. Hyejin and Wheein in middle school were some of the nicest classmates around, despite the fact that they were picked on a ton. But you weren't super popular either so you usually found solace in talking to them, even if just in passing. Sometimes regret crosses your mind during their promotions. Could you have stood up for them back then? But they seem to be doing well, and the past is the past. Mamamoo's doing great. You long ago gave up pursuing music professionally after realizing you didn't have the means, so a hobby it became, but it meant a lot to see how far your fellow classmates had come to make their dreams come true.

The 10 minutes of your own internal existential reckoning really only takes about 10 seconds. You tread closer to the swarm as an endless number of camera shutters simultaneously create a loud flurry of clicks. A cacophony of voices renders you unable to make out whatever they're badgering her about, but she looks visibly agitated. Closer now, she wears that same expression she used to - when people in middle school endlessly mocked her for her body or not looking "Korean enough". That feeling of a lump in your throat where your words get caught and you can't tell whether a cry or yell will emerge when your mouth opens. Maybe she's changed less than I thought. Well, time to stand up to all those people I never did back when we were kids.

"Hyejin!" you whisper-yell. By some miracle your voice cuts through the noise as her head whips around to face you. You falter a bit when confusion leaps to her face - her not remembering your face didn't exactly cross your mind before approaching her. But desperation wins out as she takes your outstretched hand, mind racing, and bolts out from the crowd of cameras. There'll probably be a Dispatch article about this later.

With no bulky camera gear or bag to speak of, losing the crowd proves to be surprisingly easy. Slowing to a stop, you pause to take down your hood and unzip your jacket, an uncomfortable sweat forming on your back from the exertion. I should really start exercising again.

"Sorry," you nearly pant, a bit winded. "I'm not even sure if you remember wh—"

"Wait, I do!" she exclaims incredulously. "Holy crap, how long has it been?"

"A looong time. Sorry for sneaking up on you like that, but you wanted to get out of there, right?"

The hand not holding her purse runs itself through her hair as she sighs. "Yeah, absolutely. People think artists are perfect and will answer any call of the press on a whim, so this happens a lot more than I'd like it to. It’s just one of those days."

“I’m sure,” You're shifting weight from one foot to the other, unsure of what to do or say. It's a stretch to even claim to know her. "Um... were you headed somewhere? I could walk you, if you want— but no pressure!" Please. Get a hold of yourself.

The corner of her mouth turns up and she turns the proposition over in her head for maybe 2 seconds. "Sure, you can walk me home. I'll be more ready to run this time if they come back for us."

"This'll probably turn into a bigger story than whatever they were pestering you about, won't it...?" your tone apologetic.

She waves you off reassuringly. "Yeah, but that's tomorrow. Point is you got me out of there today, on a day where I didn't want to do... all that," her hand waving in the general direction from which you came. "Let's go."

~~~~~

It took everything in you to not say anything weird about how her place in real life looked so much like it did on I Live Alone. Can't be out here admitting I'm a fan.

She dropped her bag in the doorway and took a seat on the floor in front of her tv, running her hands through hair. Hesitating to follow her lead, a little overwhelmed from taking in her space, you ask, "Did you want some water or a snack?"

"Oh shit, sorry. Terrible host here, I should be asking you that."

The sandwich plastic crinkles in your fidgety hands, realizing you're still clutching it alongside your now luke-warm bottle of chilsung. "Wanna split these? Chilsung might need some ice, though." Your hands raise up the convenience store fare. "And don't worry about it, seriously. Relax - it's not every day you have someone to talk to after an ordeal like that."

"I have my members."

"Right, and where are they right now?" you posed, butt finally finding the floor in a spot next to her as she gets up to grab ice.

"Okay, okay, fine. What've you been up to since middle school anyway? It's obvious that you know what I've been up to - you could've caught some flies in your mouth with how low your jaw dropped when you walked in here," a small chuckle leaving her as you shielded your eyes. Caught.

"Mm, not much. Moved back in with my parents after getting a business degree and I have a typical 9 - 5. Or, well. 9 to 'whenever work is over', so basically never."

Sitting back down beside you and twisting the cap off the chilsung, she tilted her head at you. "Didn't you say back in the day you wanted to be a cellist?"

You sigh, resignation palpable. "Yeah, stupid kid dreams. There was no way I could afford to get through formal training and cross my fingers hoping for someone to give me a chance. You're financially in the red for essentially that entire time - I couldn't do that to my parents. But I'm really glad you and Wheein got to where you wanted to be," your tone brightening before taking a sip,

She smiles close-lipped, pensive. "Middle school feels like forever ago. Couldn't do it without her, that's for sure."

"It was meant to be, that she didn't debut with Moonbyul and all that," not caring anymore about exposing yourself after getting called out. "We've all got our own paths - it's inspiring to see you two walking down it together."

"I think you know full well that it's not quite that simple," she countered, her gaze coming to rest on you. "But, who says you have to stay on the path? RBW has an in-house string department, you know." Your head whips around to stare at her incredulously, blinking. What did she just say?

"You don't mean... um... I only play cello for fun now," excuses pour out but your mind soars at the hypothetical. You could leave business behind and at least be doing something you'd legitimately never tire of, even if the awful work-life balance remains.

She waves you off again. "Oh please. One thing I for sure remember is that you were always too modest for your own good. But I'm serious, if it's what you want." The ballooning feeling in your chest gives way to silent tears of joy streaming down your face.

You blubber, "Yes. Absolutely. Even if it doesn't—" She cuts you off with a hand on your shoulder and a dead-on look in the eye, her other hand already clutching her phone to make the call.

"It will."

[dayurno]

i had time and got inspired by most lovely @daystens post about andreil dynamics + kevin so here is a (short?) kandreil fic about (soft?)butcher!neil, kevin as his husband and andrew as kevin’s bodyguard.

tw for nothing that’s not excessive tenderness for no reason 

The casino is loud, overly pompous and way too bright for the money men that frequent it, though Andrew doesn’t mind it much. 

He is not allowed in the table where the money is exchanged from wrinkly hand to wrinkly hand, anyways —  safety measures, Neil says, it’s better if they don’t see your face. A proper enough excuse, Andrew supposes, but still an inevitably boring rule to follow.

If he were to be honest —  and he is, more often than not, even at the expense of his own job —  it’s not Andrew, exactly, who is not allowed: it’s Kevin that can’t be near them, and Andrew goes wherever Kevin goes, which means that he is banned from watching Neil’s business go down by assimilation. Kevin doesn’t seem to enjoy their stay either, sitting in perfect posture on the seat next to Andrew with a bored look to his features and a fidget to his long fingers, the picture of dissatisfaction. 

Andrew knows his every tell now, from the soft furrow of his eyebrows to the pursing of his lips, and it’s an odd feeling: one look at Kevin is all it takes for him to know that he is bored out of his mind and probably missing Neil, who is the reason why he is bored in the first place. Foolish, foolish Neil —  always pulling all the stops for Kevin’s safety, however extreme such measures can be, everything to assure that not a strand of Kevin’s pitch black hair will be touched. Andrew never thought he’d understand them, but he does know, if only because of how much time he spends in their presence, watching their married banter and the way Neil’s eyes soften ever so slightly when he thinks no one is paying attention.

A soft couple is what they are. Andrew knows how important his job is to Neil’s empire, and is paid accordingly. 

But being Kevin Day’s bodyguard is simultaneously the most boring and most interesting job Andrew could’ve had gotten himself: in one hand, Kevin is the brightest jewel in the Butcher of Baltimore’s royal crown, meaning that his safety (and, painstakingly, happiness) is above every other thing under Heaven —  in another, when Kevin is not receiving combat training from Renee, he is sitting around in his apartment with a face mask on and trying to convince Andrew that the best Golden Girl is Sophia when Andrew knows very well that it’s Dorothy. The life Neil leads and the life Kevin leads are very different, and Andrew is involved neck-deep in both. 

Andrew would think that a year would be enough time for him to learn how to live with America’s most jarring sweethearts, but the truth is that he still doesn’t quite know what to do with himself at their tenderest moments: more than once he’s seen Kevin drape himself over Neil during one of these casino events — the reason he was banned from staying in their table in the first place, since people started to ask questions and Neil’s one goal in life is to make sure none of his frenemies know about Kevin’s existence at all —, and Andrew never knew where to look or put his hands during those times. 

It was easier when Kevin leant against Andrew’s shoulder, because then Andrew knew what to do. Not many people from Neil’s empire were allowed to even touch Kevin —  a rule he later came to learn wasn’t made out of possessiveness from Neil’s part, but genuine discomfort from Kevin’s —, yet Andrew had been given clear green lights from the Butcher himself to engage in any sort of touch as long as it is consensual, a get-go Andrew refuses to think about on the principle that he does not want to know how far he is allowed to go with the Butcher of Baltimore’s lover, no matter how many times he finds himself wondering just how long his leash really is. 

And, anyways,  Kevin is… Odd. Andrew finds him odd, at least, on the accord that he is violently passionate about one too many things, hand-to-hand combat (As a sport! Kevin often corrects him, as a sport, Andrew!) being one of them. Not that Andrew would ever be allowed to fight him on a rink: no one but Renee Walker had that privilege, and Andrew suspects it’s because Neil trusts her to never raise a hand in Kevin’s direction that hadn’t been explicitly consented to. Either way, it was odd that Kevin even engaged in anything but living the lavish life at all —  not only did he have access to Neil’s unlimited protection, he also had the right to every dollar bill made out of his empire, which meant Kevin could not work a day in his life and still live luxuriously until the day he died. If Andrew were him, he’d given up on trying to lead a normal life long ago. 

So, yes: Odd. Pretty, but odd. So is Neil. They were both incredibly odd people whose quirks were only halfway justified by the lifestyle that they led, and whose life Andrew hadn’t meant to be so intertwined in. 

“Andrew,” Kevin calls in his whining tone, yet another complaint Andrew can’t do anything about. “Can’t we leave? Neil is not even paying attention to us. Why are we here?”

“To you,” Andrew corrects him, “he is not paying attention to you, as you are the one that is married to him, not I. And we are here because you wanted to go out tonight.”

Kevin slumps on his chair, pillowing his head with his crossed arms and focusing all of his attention on Andrew. “I wanted to do something fun. You know, fun? I’m sure you know. We have fun all the time.”

“Don’t be inappropriate.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Kevin accuses, squinting at Andrew through dark eyelashes. “Andrew, come on. This is so boring.”

Andrew rolls his eyes. “If you fall asleep, I am not carrying you to the car.”

“Yes, you are, as that is your job,” he replies easily, though with no bite to it. “And, anyways, you can’t: I’m a foot taller than you.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “And?”

“And you can’t carry me.”

“Neither can your husband.”

“And?” Kevin repeats. 

Andrew crosses his arms. “You are particularly annoying today. It can’t be that it is just because you miss him.”

Kevin muffles a scoff against the sleeve of his suit. “I’m tired and sore. Renee kept me up until the late night yesterday. You would know if you hadn’t fallen asleep.”

Ah, yes: Kevin is not only the bane of his existence, but extremely clingy. Andrew finds that he doesn’t really mind, but it’s still funny —  no amount of attention is enough for the Butcher’s husband, surely. “Have a nap, then,” Andrew replies, unmoved. “We will be here for a long time.”

He huffs. “Almost every single person in this room has a reason to kill me.”

“And yet,” Andrew points out, “they will not lay a single finger on you, as I will not let them.”

Kevin studies him for a second before eventually humming in agreement. He pulls himself up, raking a hand through his hair, before turning to Andrew. “Yes or no?” he asks, pointedly staring at Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew rolls his eyes. “Yes.”

He shifts to lean his head against Andrew’s shoulder, a careful touch until Andrew presses an undemanding hand to the back of his head to get Kevin to relax. When he does, Andrew pulls his hand away and shifts on his seat to give him better access, crossing his arms as he scans the crowd. Taking care of Kevin is one thing, but taking care of a sleeping Kevin was another —  even Andrew could admit it flared up his protective senses, the ones that have less to do with the fact that this is his job and more to do with the way Kevin folds into his side gently, trusting that Andrew would keep his word of not allowing any harm to come to him. 

Andrew has to, anyways, if he doesn’t want his head as decoration for the Butcher’s lovely living room, but he doubts he’d let anything happen to Kevin even if the consequences were less extreme.

He briefly shifts his gaze to Kevin’s hands, resting on his own thighs. The wedding band is golden, but discreet —  Kevin and Neil weren’t very flamboyant people in spite of their intense lifestyles, and Andrew had been told (rather, gossiped to) by Nicky that their marriage ceremony had been small and deceivingly mundane. Andrew didn’t know them at the time: all he knows is that Neil locked it down just a month after he freed Kevin from the Moriyama family, and hasn’t let go ever since. The rest is history is how Neil refers to everything that came after their marriage; a funny way to avoid telling Andrew the entire scope of his attachment to Kevin. 

For a liar, Neil was very honest with Andrew. It was unnerving, and it once made Andrew think he’d be executed the exact moment he lost his job, a concern Neil had scoffed at and said If you think you’re not under the same protection that Kevin is, you’re really stupid in response. Andrew hates them —  the two of them, the very pair of husbands —  very much.

He was right: the night is long. Kevin is passed out on his shoulders for about an hour and a half until Neil returns to their table, his sharp smile softened at the very moment his eyes fall on his sleeping husband. Andrew used to pull away from whatever touch Kevin had asked of him when Neil came around —  rightful self-preservation, he’d argue —  but nowadays he knows there is no reason to. Another thing Neil and Kevin are very odd about.

“Did I make you wait too long?” Neil softly asks, his suit jacket discarded somewhere back into the table of the money men and his scarred hands falling just a breath’s distance from Kevin’s hair, as if slowing down to not startle him awake. Andrew doesn’t know the entire scope of what happened with Kevin and the Moriyamas, but he is sure that he doesn’t want to know if it’s what made Kevin develop the habit of waking up startled at the smallest of touches.

Andrew shakes his head. “He is just tired.”

Neil hums, carding his hands through Kevin’s hair delicately. “And you? Were you too bored?”

A weird question, given Andrew is just his husband’s bodyguard, but he shakes his head again. “I am used to it,” he replies. 

“Let’s go home,” Neil quietly says, though he lingers near them for a bit longer, petting Kevin’s head. Andrew watches as the stress slowly disappears from his frame, his shoulders relaxing with each breath, as if being near them —  near Kevin —  gave him back the energy he’d lost mingling with other mafia men. “I know for a fact neither of you had dinner yet.”

“Untrue,” Andrew protests, careful to not shift too much and wake Kevin straight into a panic attack, “we shared a sundae while you were negotiating.”

“And since when is that dinner?” Neil asks, quirking an eyebrow, his hands briefly stilling. “Since when does Kevin eat ice cream?”

He presses his lips into a tight line. “He has been getting better.”

Neil half-smiles; a tired little thing Andrew wishes he did not pay so much attention to. “Your influence, I’m sure. Aren’t you the best thing to happen to us in the last years?”

“So you say,” Andrew grumbles irritably. “Wake him up so we can leave.”

Andrew could do it himself (that is, has the permission to), but he is not as delicate about it as Neil is, and if he had to be honest, he would admit that he kind of enjoys watching it go down: Neil’s soft voice, warm and steady like a candle, his hands traveling from Kevin’s hair to his face gentler than Andrew has ever seen anyone be, and Kevin’s eyes blearily blinking open one, two, three times before he realizes who he is with and what is he doing there. He never wakes up startled when he’s near Neil —  as he never wakes up startled when he’s near Andrew. 

When asked about it, Kevin mumbled something about the way they smell. He doesn’t know why Kevin would pay so much attention to Andrew’s dollar store cologne, but he is not about to ask, either. 

It is like that, with them: Andrew and Kevin, Kevin and Neil, Andrew and Neil. Husbands and their… Bodyguard. 

Andrew doesn’t know which other term to use to describe his relationship with them. He’s often afraid he’ll never know. 

[storysofmyown]

Seven stages of Love Chapter 2: Philia

Summary: Ever since the Celestial War, since they all fell, Asmodeus has  dedicated himself to his sin. Not caring about anything else, but  drowning himself in the pleasure and ecstasy of it all. But not anymore,  now he cant even handle the idea of it. But, what else is there to  want? After so long of having indulged in his sin, what is there than  Asmodeus is looking for, something that will fill him, and that wont  drive him to destruction? Perhaps his brothers can help him with that. Warnings will appear in each chapter.

Trigger Warning: Momentary anger, sadness. Let me know if I overlooked anything.

Word Count: 2683

Read on Ao3

Pondering, wondering, with a strain in the heart that no other but himself could lift. Yet, he didn’t have the means to lift it. The feeling overwhelmed him to the point where he hadn’t left the house at all during an entire week. To him it was simply unthinkable to have to submit himself to the stares and the actions of the people that noticed him. To think that all this time he thought he needed nothing more. Nothing more but those meaningless kisses that brought satisfaction.

Now the simple thought of a stranger’s hand to even as much as caress his cheek without any feeling made him feel sick to his stomach. He wanted to be cared for. But…it had to be a very specific kind of care. One so specific he didn’t know what it was but knew he wouldn’t find it any time soon. But…what even was it that he wanted? He knew what it was called, Belphegor had enlightened that much…but he didn’t know what it was. Was there a certain definition? Was there even something that would define the exact way he was feeling, with the exact solution he needed? Perhaps, something that could define all the aspects of that craving? He didn’t know, he didn’t even know what he was looking for. So, who better to ask than Satan?

He had hundreds upon hundreds of books. Surely, he must have something that defined that intense feeling. One that gave Asmodeus some sort of clarity. That defined it beyond a feeling. Beyond a lifestyle that many searched for in their lives but can never seem to reach entirely or are satisfied with. Surely, he must have something, right? Asmodeus thought for a moment as he walked outside of his room for the very first time in a while. One of his brothers had been checking up on him from time to time. But thanks to Belphegor they didn’t stay nor bother him much. He needed time to think. And he was thankful to them for caring in any way…but right now he needed some type of answer. Or something to point him in the right direction…just anything would be helpful.

He was on his way to Satan’s room. He was determined to knock, get some books, and start some kind of research…but sometimes things don’t go the way one wishes they did. Sometimes…something makes the path that one was entrusted on, divert for just a mere second…and that’s when everything in the future changes. For just that simple misstep, for just that look in another direction and the entire path that once laid in front of one is changed, unrecognizable. It might be easier; it might be far more difficult. Perhaps it was because his mind was far quieter than it had ever been, while simultaneously making so much noise it drove him insane during the nighttime, or maybe it was the way his expression had become blank and no longer was focused in maintaining that fake smile that had become permanent on his lips. Maybe it was all of them, none, a beat, a noise, a breeze…but his path changed. And with it, his quest in search of a definition, that would set his heart at peace.

Was he stalling? Was that why he was standing in front of Leviathans door, hearing the muffled sound of his older brother laugh? If he remembered correctly, there was a new game Leviathan was looking forward this week. He remembered the older demon having mentioned it a while back. He could hear the faint sound of music through the door, it was mostly muffled, and Leviathan cheers as he won made it harder to hear. He sighed once. Starring at the door before shaking his head. He should really just focus, he needed to go to Satan’s room. Besides it’s not like Leviathan would even give him the time of the day when he was consumed by one of his games or something like that.

So, he turned around, taking a deep breath for a moment as he took a step. But…as he already knew, things don’t go as they are planned at all. A plan that was set thousands of years ago when his aching body first arrived at the Devildom. A promise to enjoy himself to the last bit. A promise he had broken the moment those doubts came to mind. After all, if he had just fallowed his promise, he wouldn’t be here, in that very moment, with those particular thoughts that made his breath caught in his throat at Leviathan’s words. A certain shout caught his attention. Leviathan had won on his game, and this prompted him to shout, to celebrate, to leap in joy and exclaim to the world some words, a specific word. Words that Asmodeus could only dream of using that lightly someday.

“YES!!!  We did it! Good work, I knew we could!!" A giggle, and then a storm. "Henry, I **** you!!”

…he had to be joking, right? He couldn’t have heard that right. He must be in a state of dream or something. Leviathan…he…he wouldn’t just throw that word around like that, and to his damn fish of all things?!

“S-seriously?!” He spoke, before knocking the door, perhaps a little too sudden and harsh since he heard Leviathan gasp, a certain ache in his knuckles that he was barely aware of.

“Sorry Lucifer, I’ll try to make less noise!” He spoke, causing Asmodeus to roll his eyes.

“I’m not Lucifer.” He simply said, a pout on his lips as he crossed his arms and waited for Leviathan to open the door.

“A-Asmodeus?!” Leviathan’s voice came out shocked, he could hear struggle as Leviathan moved inside the room, something falling and him screeching before groaning, only to open the door and look at his younger brother, a small pout on his lips. “W-wha- I mean, w-when, I just…huh?” Levi was at a loss of words as he starred down at his brother, only for Asmodeus to roll his eyes a little and go inside the room. Not caring about Leviathan’s protest on how he had not said the secret password.

He entered the room. The blues and darkness within it, meant to reflect the ocean waves and the water element which his brother controlled along with all sea creatures…only reminded him of his room for a second. It was mostly the darkness. Since that night where Belphegor comforted him, Asmodeus refused to go out, his windows permanently sealed, and the lights turned off as he refused to acknowledge himself in the mirror by the pure fear he might despise what was staring back at him. By the fear that he might look and only find the lust he had started to loath so deeply.

His eyes flew to the screen that was on, the word “Victory” could be read, a controller left on the floor as Leviathan watched him with a slight embarrassed blush on the doorway. For some reason his eyes kept scanning the room. This was possibly the thousandth time he had entered to his brothers’ room and yet, this was the first time he felt like he was in the room, and not in his own head. It was a weird sensation. Entering a place so many times, but never actually seeing it. Recognizing it, or even as simply as placing his attention in anything that was not himself. It was Leviathan’s room, and if someone asked him to identify Levi’s room and showed him pictures, he could probably tell them it was this one. But if someone asked him, to number at least 3 things of his brothers’ room he would draw a blank and just point out that he only had one mirror in his bathroom, and that occasionally he could see his reflection on the big crystal wall from the fish tank. But besides that, he…he didn’t know anything else inside the room. This included himself, and his brother.

His eyes flew to Henry, as he walked over to the small fishbowl Leviathan put him in sometimes so he was beside him when playing. He kneeled in front of it as he starred at the fish. An eyebrow raised as he replayed the words he had just heard Leviathan exclaim on passing. Such a word…were…were they supposed to mean so much? Asmodeus had just started to think about them, he had yet even to find any meaning to, yet his brother was throwing it like that to his fish? He seriously couldn’t understand it, at all. He glanced over at Leviathan who was playing with his fingers while looking a little nervous at Asmodeus intrusion on what was his room, but there was something else. It seemed like he wanted to ask something, so, for that same reason Asmo decided to stay silent for a couple more seconds and see if his brother spoke. Thankfully, he did.

“…Asmodeus” He started, and by his tone the younger demon immediately regretted having let him talk. “…are you okay? I-I mean! Y-you are always partying and in clubs and talking with s-so many people…yet we didn’t see much of you t-this week…”

That…that was something hard to answer. Was there a reason for him not to be okay? Was there a reason for him to be okay? There were doubts in his mind, questions in his heart, needs that he had not been aware of until recently. But most of all…there was…there was a void that he didn’t understand. A void he had just become aware that existed within him. Asmodeus pressed his lips together, wondering for a moment. The silence filling Leviathan with anxiety as he looked down, taking deep breaths while awaiting for an answer.

“I…” he started; eyes focused on the small fish, “…heard you say something on my way here.” Was he avoiding the question? Or was this the answer in his own way? “I was surprised that the same words Belphie muttered to comfort me you would yell them at Henry.”

“Words? What are you talking about?” He wasn’t trying to act dumb; hell knew that was Mammon’s job, but he was certainly confused. Having his brother barge into his room like this, no explanation, and suddenly ask him things like this when he had been acting off the entire week…Leviathan was worried. They were all worried.

Asmodeus thought for a moment. Why was he even here? Between the two, it was entirely possible for him to know more about those words than someone who barely left the room to get food and left the house for 3 seconds every month. The idea that Leviathan, someone that was constantly so locked away from everything and anyone, would know more about that subject even though Asmodeus had put himself out in the world time and time again…it was almost insulting.

No.

No it wasn’t insulting. It just hurt to know that the loneliness he had believed to be new, turned out to be so old that he wondered if it had always been part of him. It just to think that everything he once thought he knew of himself, had started to crumble slowly.

“Levi…h-how can you say them to an animal?” His voice was soft and low, he was sure he had spoken, but the memories of the words leaving his lips was not present. For a moment, he caught his own reflection starring at him instead of his eyes focusing on the small goldfish. And in those eyes, he saw how powerful his sadness and desperation had become…his eyes damping in tears as he looked away, refusing to let anyone see that.

Leviathan eyes went wide at his younger brothers’ words. From all the things he expected him to say, that wasn’t it. Was that…what he said before Asmodeus entered the room, was that why his brother had barged in like that? He starred at him for what felt like ages, before clearing his throat a little and taking a step close to Asmodeus. Trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Normally he would ask what he meant and why he was asking something like that, but the way Asmo looked in that moment it was like he was begging for an answer and just that. An answer, something that gave him an idea of what it all meant and what he would make out of it. Leviathan sighed, closing the door behind him before sitting down on the floor, his back to Asmo as he knew he would not be able to answer the question if he was looking at him.

“H-Henry isn’t an animal, you know?” He started, taking the controller in his hands so that it gave him something to be distracted and consumed, something to help ignore the nerves he was feeling for some reason. “H-He is there for me even when no one else is, he celebrates with me when I win. And in some way listens to me whenever I'm rambling or even feeling down... I-I know I’m an anti-social otaku that no one cares about and that barely gets out of his room, but…Henry is here with me. Henry isn’t an animal or a pet.” He paused, thinking over his words, a small smile creeping to his lips as he chuckled a bit. This all probably sounded so dumb to someone like Asmodeus but to him it was his truth. “…Henry is my friend. W-which is why...which is why I **** him...”

Levi looked at his brother, a genuine smile as his hands gripped the controller a little lighter now. Expecting to hear him laugh and talk about how ridiculous he was, thinking such a thing. But nothing came from Asmodeus side for a long minute. Instead, there was only silent as he thought about it. Trough the fish tank reflection Asmo looked past himself, something he wouldn’t even consider to do before, but now, his eyes were focused on Levi's reflection, who was looking at him. But he couldn’t find the words to answer him at all. Levi cared for Henry…because Henry was his friend. No matter how he looked at it, it was something so simple to understand, yet Asmodeus couldn’t properly comprehend what it all meant.

“…friend, huh?” He finally spoke, now looking at the small fish that seemed to be completely uninterested in Asmodeus presence. “…you can feel that way towards your friends?” He didn’t know if he was answering Leviathan or if he was talking to himself. All he knew is that he felt a pang of loneliness when the realization settled as his eyes feel to the floor, shoulders visibly slumping.

He didn’t have anyone like that. Sure, he had people that admired and envied him, that wanted to talk and have a connection with him but, nothing was genuine. Nothing would be as sweet and sincere, as the care Leviathan felt for Henry because…because Henry was his friend. Asmodeus chuckled. Perhaps at the irony of the situation or maybe at his revelation, either way, he finally turned to Leviathan, a smile that his brother had never seen pestered in the face of the younger demon as he slowly got up. Walking to his older brother and planting a kiss on Leviathan’s forehead. Only to walk over to the door and opening it. Leviathan wanted to protest, to ask him why had wanted to know about that, or to just try and comfort his brother, but before he could say anything, Asmodeus spoke.

“…thank you, Levi. For telling me.”

It was the quietest he had ever heard his brother being. And yet, there was such a plead in his voice, asking to be left alone, asking to be given the time and space to think. Leviathan didn’t know what was the best option here, but who was here to deny his brother the comfort that came with being alone, to someone that needed it so much?

Philia: Deep, authentic bond. Pure and kind. From which friendships are born.

****

Hi~

Here is the second part of this fanfic! Overall, I really enjoyed writing Levi in this chapter, and I really hope you all had liked it as well! Next chapter will be up next Saturday as well, until then!!

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[chacusha]

Anyway, all my feelings about how Odo's relationship to the Great Link is like Shinji's relationship to Human Instrumentality are inspired by that plot arc that opens season 6 (S6 E01-06). I have a lot of Thoughts about that arc especially as it relates to Odo, his uh Link addiction(??), and Quark: In some ways, I really like a lot of what that arc did and am impressed by the quality of the writing overall but at the same time, I have a list of things that either could have used more exploration or are frustrating aspects of that arc.

Thing I liked: I liked the way that Kira, Odo, and Quark end up unintentionally falling into their old roles during the previous Cardassian occupation of Bajor -- Kira becomes a resistance terrorist; Odo becomes a collaborator/employed by the occupying forces to lend legitimacy to the occupation; Quark mostly tries to stay out of stuff and just keep people entertained, while being willing to commit crimes on the side. I wish their three ways of relating to the occupation got more time to, like, bounce against and contrast with each other. Instead, however, Odo spends most of his time in a drugged up haze, which kind of means the contrast and tension between the three styles doesn't get as much play as it could.

Thing I liked: I liked the exploration of Odo and the female changeling and linking. I thought there was a lot of interesting worldbuilding here; I think Odo's characterization as largely instinct-driven especially when it comes to his people is an interesting part of his character; and I buy that Odo would do this weird thing (including having actual sex with the female changeling) and everyone else would be like "WTF???" the entire time in utter horror. That said, I also kind of think the main reason why Odo got this plotline is because they had to nerf Odo / get him out of the way somehow in order for the story here to have stakes/tension (because Odo as a character is quite OP).

Related, a thing I found frustrating: In a lot of ways, the strings on the plot were showing a bit throughout this plot arc. Odo being shuffled out of the way is one thing needed to make the plot work, as is the Defiant getting through the defensive line and somehow making it to DS9 without being blown up (I 100% buy that Dukat would have let Sisko through, but Weyoun?? Doesn't the Dominion have joint control of their military? Even if Dukat was arrogantly like "Nah it's fine it's just one ship" I don't really buy Weyoun doing anything other than immediately countermanding that decision). A lot of nerfing had to happen in order to get the situation to look bleak for Sisko and co. (only one ship making it through the defensive line) but not SO bleak in that they still do make it to the wormhole intact (that one ship absolutely HAS to make it all the way through) which is a bit contrived and unrealistic.

Another thing I found frustrating: It's not actually explained why Odo eventually snaps out of his Link addiction (unless it was and I just missed it???). I think he starts slipping out of it a bit and then the female changeling tells him that Kira is going to be killed and then (despite the fact that Odo seems to be resisting more), she doesn't link with him again or insist that he stay with her when they relocate to Ops (three major missteps that allow Odo to slip out of her control further, and I'm unsure why the female changeling would make them???). Anyway, it's never really made clear why Odo starts slipping out of it in the first place. Odo says, "The Link was paradise. But it appears I'm not ready for paradise," and I think it's implied that his attachment to Kira is what snaps him out of it but like... what actually, emotionally-speaking, was going on there? It's never actually shown why Odo, who keeps on going deeper and deeper into a state of peace and feeling like the immediate concerns of the world are less and less significant, suddenly reverses. His feelings for Kira are what drove him to the Link in the first place, and you would think they would get weaker rather than stronger over time. When he sees paradise, what makes him realize he isn't ready? The show doesn't actually give a satisfying answer on any of these points. You can come up with an explanation (for example, I think one thing keeping Odo addicted to the Link is his curiosity, and the more time he spends in the Link, the more his questions get answered and his curiosity is sated, so you would expect the pull of the Link to just naturally grow weaker over time) but the explanation you get from the show itself is unsatisfying and incomplete.

Also, like everyone else, I find it a bit baffling that Odo apologizes to Kira both by saving her life and talking things out with her over a whole night, but he never apologizes or explains his behavior to Quark, who (1) believed in him and was just as upset and disturbed by his behavior during this occupation, (2) almost lost his BROTHER because of Odo's irresponsibility, and (3) ended up risking his life to fix a situation created by ODO. It is very glaring and not satisfying, this dangling plot thread!

I kind of think the above two issues could have been solved by doing a minor tweak: having it so that Quark intervenes in order to snap Odo out of his Link addiction. I'm not sure how this would work -- either Quark using his debating skills/reasoning in order to persuade Odo that he should actually care about what happens to insignificant solids, or Quark just baiting and irritating Odo so much that Odo starts to feel negative emotions again, which ground him once more in the real world. I think narratively this would be quite satisfying, because it would be his love for and fear of rejection by Kira that drives Odo to the Link, and his steadfast, extremely reliable connection to/hatred of Quark that brings him out again -- two very different relationships with different meanings to Odo but that both have sway at the most basic level over Odo's emotions. Odo's line about not being ready for paradise would also fit quite well because it would be Odo's love of arguing and being annoyed by Quark (which is honestly a petty, not very noble pastime) that would tempt him away from the Link and render him not yet worthy of paradise. So this fix would solve both of the above problems simultaneously: it would explain in detail why Odo started slipping out of the Link, and also, Quark being able to successfully pull Odo out of the Link would itself constitute Odo's apology to Quark for having fucked up earlier.

That said, thing I liked: Quark and Ziyal breaking Kira and Rom out of prison. Just everything about that scene and the character dynamics involved was great.

Thing I simultaneously liked and found frustrating: Ziyal's death. On one hand, I think it's great character work for both Dukat and Damar, and really closes the book well on Dukat's plot arc while providing an interesting starting place for Damar's plot arc. On the other hand, Ziyal was such a good character (half-Bajoran half-Cardassian optimistic artist whose father is Dukat and whose adopted mother is Kira -- all of that is so interesting!!) with so many promising aspects to contribute to DS9's post-occupation themes. It's a shame to just kill her off.

Overall, a very mixed bag! I like the writing and there's a lot of food for thought in this arc, but also I think it should have played out quite a bit differently.