#there's an awkward silence and then he just goes “i guess based off your silence you're not interested in what i have planned for my birth-

[agentartemus]

I thought today was a good one..

[floral-force]

Lay Me Down to Sleep

Simon "Ghost" Riley x GN!Reader

summary: Insomnia plagues you during your first night on-base with Task Force 141. A little midnight stroll leads you to the imposing masked lieutenant you'd been warned about. Maybe a common struggle can lead to comfort...

words: 1.8k+

warnings/tags: just really soft stuff here (but my work/blog is always 18+ only), this one goes out to my fellow insomniacs, insomniac!simon "ghost" riley, pride and prejudice mention, all fluff, technically pre-slash, soap is a lil shit

a/n: hi, hello, I am back (sort of). I took a long hiatus bc of work/life stress but I cranked this out a while ago and finally feel confident enough to post it. thank you for reading and sticking with me <3

masterlist | read on ao3 | taglist

You stared up at the ceiling of your room, rubbing the heels of your palms into your tired eyes. Hours had passed since you’d gotten into bed to rest up before a briefing in the morning. Sleep still hadn’t found you yet. Maybe it was the time difference—you had flown into England from the States not even 12 hours ago—or maybe it was the stiff mattress. Or maybe it was the way you still thought of the masked lieutenant at Price’s side when you’d gotten off the heli. 

Whatever it was, you needed to get over it. You’d read online that sometimes leaving bed to do something other than try to sleep helps, so maybe it was the perfect time for you to check out that tiny little excuse for a kitchen the Scottish private—nicknamed Soap, he’d told you with a wink—had shown you earlier. With a sigh, you got up and wiggled out of your sleep shorts and into more modest sweatpants, anxiously pulling at the hem of your shirt as you stepped into your crocs and walked out of the door.

Your eyes finally adjusted to the bright fluorescent hallway light as you reached the kitchen, surprised to see a light on when you opened the heavy door with bated breath. You peeked inside and saw a broad man sitting at a table, absolutely dwarfing it with his size. 

“Can’t sleep, eh?” 

You jumped at the deep voice and nearly let the door slam, catching it right before impact and slowly closing it. “Uh, no.” You chuckled, walking behind him to the right side of the table.

You reached the chair, then stopped in your tracks when you lifted your gaze off the floor. 

It was him—the masked lieutenant. 

You could barely make out a quirked-up eyebrow under the shadow of his sweatshirt’s hood as he took a sip from the mug his large hand dwarfed, his fabric mask scrunched up over his nose. Your heart raced and you looked down at the seat of the crummy plastic chair in front of you. The kitchen was now the last place you wanted to be, but you were too tired to make up some shitty excuse to flee. 

So, you stood awkwardly in front of the chair, hands in your pockets, biting your lips.

“I’m—” you cleared your throat, “I’m guessing you can’t either, Lieutenant?”

“Never can these days,” he replied gruffly. 

There was the sound of another sip from his mug, a thump when it was lowered to the table, and then silence. It was heavy and awkward, and you were certain you’d never felt more embarrassed in front of a commanding officer before, even though you’d fainted in front of one during a basic training run.

There was a heavy sigh. “Christ, ‘m not gonna fuckin’ bite ya.”

“Soap told me you would,” you quipped back.

Soap had warned you about the masked man—Ghost, he’d called him—and told you not to bother him much. “That’s my job,” he’d laughed. 

Right now, you felt like you were definitely bothering him.

“Figures,” he grumbled. 

You finally looked back up at Ghost, meeting his brown-eyed gaze for the first time since you’d entered the room. He looked at you with curiosity, not malice; somehow, that made you feel a little better, even if it still made your heart race and your palms sweat. 

“I just—I can’t stop thinking,” you blurted out, finally responding to the question he’d asked when you’d opened the door with a solid answer beyond your meek “no.” 

“I get nightmares.”

It felt like a confession, and you pulled out the chair, cringing when it squeaked across the linoleum floor. You sat down to hear more, crossing your arms on the table and resting your chin on them. Ghost’s eyes tracked your movements, even as he took another leisurely sip from his mug. Now that you were closer, you could smell that its contents weren’t coffee, but tea, the herbal notes reaching your nose. 

Before you thought better of it, words rushed out of your mouth. “It’s stupid, but when my insomnia is really bad—like it is now—I call my best friend and ask them to read to me. I’d do it now, but they’re at work.” You shrugged your shoulders. “Gotta love the time difference.”

Ghost shook his head. “Tha’s not stupid at all.” He took a long drink from his mug and set it down. “Whatever works. I jus’ make myself a cuppa, then see what happens.”

“And what’s happening next?” you probed.

He nudged his thumb against the mug and tilted his head. “I think ‘m gonna try reading.”

“Y’all keep books in the kitchen?” you teased.

“Hell no,” Ghost scoffed. “Did’ya bring any wi’you?” he asked.

You pursed your lips and squinted as you thought. “I think I brought Pride and Prejudice with me. I told myself I’d start rereading it since the plane ride over here was the perfect opportunity…but I fell asleep.” You sat up and smiled at him. “Why do you ask?”

He shifted in his seat and his hood fell, revealing short hair and red-tinged ears. “Could I read a bit of it?”

You blinked, a bit stunned at his shy question. Ghost, a man with a taste for Jane Austen? Something about a man like him wanting to read a period romance novel lit a tiny fire in your chest.

“Um, sure.” You stood and took a few steps, pointing at the door. “I can go grab it—”

“No, no, I’ll go wi’you, save you the trip back, yeah?” He rushed to his feet, and you stopped in your tracks at his side, gulping at the way he towered over you. 

“If you say so, Lieutenant.”

“Ghost,” he nodded.

“Ghost,” you repeated with a soft smile, leading him to the door.

The walk to your room was silent except for your footsteps tapping on the floor; his boots and your crocs mixing into a twilight harmony. Ghost kept up behind you. Your cheeks burned at the thought of him seeing you in your ratty sweats and shirt and crocs—fucking crocs—as you finally reached your door. You fumbled with your keys, swearing under your breath.

You unlocked the door and hurried across the room to flick on the lamp at your bedside. Ghost closed the door, then loomed over you as you crouched down and rummaged through your backpack. You hummed in triumph when you finally pulled out the beat-up and well-loved book, turning and reaching up to hand it to him. You stood and sat on the edge of your bed, expecting him to leave. Instead, he pulled the chair from the desk across the bed over to your bedside, settling in as he read the back cover. You were suddenly aware of his musky, amber scent because of the short distance, and you would be lying if you said it didn’t feel inviting, much unlike the person it clung to.

“Making sure you like it?” you asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Do you like it, love?” Ghost’s eyes flitted up to meet yours.

The pet name and Ghost’s suddenly soft voice caught you off guard. You reminded yourself it wasn’t personal, that it was a common British thing, that he didn’t mean anything by it, that it was colloquial. It didn’t feel bad or gross—it felt like a warm hug, a gentle kiss on the forehead, a thumb softly stroking across your cheek. 

You swallowed and dug your nails into the mattress. “Yeah, yeah! I’ve—I’ve read it, like, twice now.” You silently cursed yourself for stumbling over your words.

He nodded. “Have you ever listened to someone read it?”

“No,” you answered hesitantly.

“Would you like to?”

You nearly choked on your breath. You couldn’t stop your eyes from widening and your lips from parting. Having Ghost read to you would be absolutely unreal—his voice was strangely soothing, washing over you with a gentleness you didn’t think he’d be capable of. And yet, here he sat, staring you down as his thumb stroked the front cover of one of your favorite books, his offer dangling in the air.

“You said being read to helps you fall asleep,” he continued. “You’re gonna need the sleep to handle Price’s brief, I promise you that, love.”

“I mean, yeah,” you replied. “But I don’t want you to think you have to or need to. I’m a big girl, I can force myself to fall asleep if you say Price is really that bad.”

Ghost shook his head. “Nah, I want to.” He reached for the lamp and jerked his head at you. “Get settled, love. You can still get a decent amount’a sleep in.”

“What will you do?” you asked as he dimmed the light.

“Me?” he shrugged as you lay down. “I’ll live.”

“Then I should stay up too.”

“No, sleep. That’s an order,” he said, the command stern yet playful and stoking the fire in your chest. You swore he winked at you, but it could’ve been a trick of the light. 

“Fine,” you huffed. You closed your eyes so you could focus on the silky tones of his voice.

“Now then,” he cleared his throat. “Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.”

You smirked. “Off to a great start already, Ghost.”

There was a low chuckle. You smiled, hoping he was looking at the page, but also secretly hoping he was looking at you. Maybe he was, but you could already feel your mind relaxing even though he’d only read the title. There was something in your gut telling you that Ghost was softer than he seemed. The imposing, threatening lieutenant was just a man that enjoyed tea and struggled with insomnia—and apparently, he was a bit of a softie underneath his vest and mask.

As he read, you began to let your mind drift off into dreamland, lulled by Ghost’s dulcet tones and the way he tried to engage with the text, varying his intonation and even chuckling at some of the dialogue and sentences. If he truly didn’t care, you couldn’t tell; he seemed to get more wrapped up in the book the more he read. 

“..but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, and noble mien, and—”

“Hm, like you,” you mumbled to your pillow, thinking of Ghost.

There was a pause, then he continued, sounding amused. He probably hadn’t heard you. He was probably just smirking at the next sentence about Darcy’s money, not your sleepy comment. You yawned, your eyes heavy and brain finally quiet enough for sleep to overtake you right as Darcy commented on Elizabeth’s appearance, Austen establishing their complicated and dramatic love-hate relationship.

Ghost wouldn’t tell you he’d blushed at your comment. That would be his sleepy secret.

masterlist | taglist

taglist: @tizylish @dheet @sinfulsalutations @oliviagreenaway @johfaam0 @sofasoap @nickangel13

[nevermorgue]

ok so a while ago i made a Will HC that he has super vivid dreams but nobody cares enough to hear them when he wants to tell people. then @/itzkawaiiduh drew EULALIE telling him she’d wanna hear it. which is perfect and got me thinking. so now here it is:

Will and Eulalie interaction HCs

- Eulalie encourages him to keep a dream journal. It finally gives him something to be excited for when he wakes up, at least.

- She also tries to analyze his dreams even though she really just has bad guesses. “You dreamt about Ada getting a really bad hair cut? I think that means you need more protein in your diet :)”

- Will asks about her dreams ONCE and regrets it. They’re always gruesome for no reason. He got scared just listening to her describe one.

- Eulalie - “Montresor is in your dreams every night, it seems.”

- Will - “Huh? Oh, haha…yeah. He’s just always there somehow.”

- Eulalie then goes on to grab him by the shoulders and try to tell him that friends don’t treat each other the way Montresor treats him. She starts asking questions without getting any answers. “Why do you let him talk to you like that? Why do you get hurt for him? You know he doesn’t care, don’t you? I know you’re smarter than this!”

- Will snaps. “I know he doesn’t care!” then an awkward silence. a long pause. a nervous smile, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“But if I get better…if I improve, maybe he’ll start to.”

sorry that got sad, anyways

- Will and Eulalie totally have OCs. Based on their dreams, of course. Eulalie tells him about the OC she begged Berenice to make too.

- If Eulalie can pick up DUKE with ease, she can certainly do the same to Will. They’re only an inch apart in height.

- Will doesn’t want to piss Montresor off so Eulalie only really comes by super early in the morning or super late at night. Imagine Ada sees and gets the wrong idea-

- Lastly: Friendship bracelets. Made of flower stems, because what else could be found and used for this in this dreaded academy? Will uses it as a fidget during the day.

[matttgirlies]

Matt & Me🎀

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

a story heavily based on Priscilla Presley’s Book “Elvis & Me” based in the 1950’s - 1970’s.

fem! reader x singer! matt

disclaimer!! - in no way am i saying matt would ever support or do these kind of things, for the sake of the book certain unethical things do happen at times.

warnings - mentions of cheating

y/nn = your nickname for any confusion🩷

Chapter 13

Matt joined me two weeks later. Little was said on the night of his return. We exchanged forced smiles. Luckily, there were a lot of familiar faces around and this helped disguise the awkwardness of the moment.

After everyone left, Matt and I finally had to face each other. He walked up to me, took my face in his hands, looked into my eyes, and said, “It’s over, y/nn. I swear to you. It’s over.”

I didn’t speak. I just listened carefully as he continued. “I guess I got caught up in a situation that was out of hand from the beginning. She and I come from two different worlds. I don’t like being exploited. I can’t live like that. Don’t get me wrong. She’s a nice girl, but not for me.”

I didn’t want to hear any more. I looked up at him, half-listening to what he was saying and at the same time asking myself how I could go on, knowing that the future would bring only more temptations for him. Love was much more complicated than I had ever imagined.

The silence between the two of us continued until Matt had had enough and said, “Let’s forget it. Forgive me, please.” Then, with that little-boy look that always seemed to capture my heart, he said, using Flip Wilson’s favorite Geraldine line, “I guess the devil made me do it!”

I agreed.

I would be a little more skeptical now.

And there was still one more matter to take care of. I walked into his bathroom, went through his makeup kit, and pulled out a telegram I knew he’d received earlier. It simply read, i just don’t understand—scoobie. It was from Julia Ernst. I knew it. Scoobie was a name she had given herself, he confessed later. That line was also the title of the first hit record she’d recorded in the early sixties. Obviously, Matt had totally disassociated himself from her, cutting off their ties.

“It bothers me knowing it’s there,” I said. I simply tore it to shreds and with total gratification flushed it down the toilet.

“Not too much goes by you, does it, Little One? For such a little girl, you’re a typical woman.” He was laughing. “I guess I’ve got to keep on my toes.”

I returned his smile but thought: No, I’m the one who has to keep on her toes. After the ordeal with Julia Ernst, I still suspected that there were other women.

Occasionally I’d read or hear about Matt romancing his latest leading lady. I’d see press-released pictures of them riding down Sunset Boulevard on his new motorcycle or hear about a new car he’d bought for a young starlet just before they’d started shooting a picture. There was always room for doubt. It was difficult to differentiate between gossip and fact, and I’d get crazed with worry.

Before I started traveling with Matt on a permanent basis, I discovered notes and cards tucked away on a shelf in his closet, notes that read, “I had a wonderful time, Honey, thanks for the evening.” Or, “When are we going to get together again? It’s been two days, and I miss you.” When I voiced my suspicions, he denied everything and accused me of “imagining things.” He told me I was ridiculous for believing the gossip columnists. Yet I couldn’t help remembering that he’d told me the same thing when I’d asked him about Julia Ernst.

If I really challenged him, I always ran the risk of his threatening to send me home to my parents. He knew this tactic always worked. The first time it happened, he was filming Spinout and we were talking about his costar, Shelley Fabares. I suggested going to the set and meeting her.

“It’d be a good idea if you didn’t,” he said.

“Why not? I’m not doing anything. I could come and have lunch with you.”

I’d obviously said the wrong thing. He shot me a menacing look and said quietly, “That’s it, woman! I don’t want to hear another word.”

It was foolish of me, but I didn’t ignored his warning. “Well,” I persisted, “is there something you’re hiding that you don’t want me to see?” He flew into a rage.

“I don’t have a goddamn thing to hide. You’re getting a little too aggressive and demanding. It might be a good idea if you visited your parents for a while.”

Shocked, I yelled, “Well I’m not going!”

“I think you should. In fact, I’ll help you.” He walked over to my closet and proceeded to throw every piece of clothing I had on the floor, hangers included, along with my suitcase on top of the clothes.

“All right, woman. Start packing!”

I couldn’t believe this overreaction. It was one of four things: He was innocent, or I had made him feel guilty, or he was guilty, and I’d made him feel even more so, or it was simply his ongoing disgust with the inane plot of the film and he’d chosen me as a target for his anger.

Sobbing, I started to pack as he turned and strode out of the room. Moments later I heard him yelling for Nate to make a reservation. “Get her on the next flight out. She’s going back to her parents.” There was a finality in his voice that I had never heard before. Hysterical, I began folding my clothes as he continued yelling in the other room. I packed slowly, stunned by the blowup.

When he came back into the room, I felt humiliated. I continued folding clothes, sobbing uncontrollably. “You’re too goddamn demanding,” he said, staring at me in silence. “Hurry up. It’s time to go.”

I got up slowly and started toward the door. Just as I reached it, I felt his hand on my shoulder, turning me around, and then, miraculously, I was in his arms, and he was holding me tight.

“Now do you understand?” As he spoke, I was sobbing against his shoulder. “Do you see that you need this? You need someone to take you right to this point and put you in your place.”

I was relieved and happy to be back in his arms. Anything he’d have said would’ve made sense to me in that moment. What I didn’t realize until later was that this was Matt’s technique of keeping me under control.

Excerpt from: "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Scribd.

This material may be protected by copyright.

a/n - sorry for the short chapter i just needed to get one out!! ill double post tonight🎀

[crabonfire]

Oo can I have a platonic hcs of reader just gossiping with any of the mercs?

oh my god.

Platonic! S/O gossiping with Merc.

characters: all mercs 😱😱😱😱

note: hehehehhehhHYahhahaHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHhhahahhhagagagagHaggaHAGHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhhahahahahahahhahahhHhHahHA A

sorru if some r short! My excuse is cause I'm lazy, or idk what to write for em. (You take a guess for which one is the real one.)

warning: gossip girls tick me off 😡😡😡

♧Scout♧

• It all started one day, Engie was arguing with Heavy about something, and you knew what happened on Engie's side, but you didn't know about Heavy. You asked the other mercs for information but they didn't budge, saying they didn't wanna get involved. But scout approached you, whispering and giggling about what happened, why they argued.

You two really hit it off!

And even after the whole thing went down, you still found yourself gossiping with him after matches about anything interesting you found.

Fortunately for you he did the same!

• Since then on, you guys gossip a lot. Enemy drama, team drama, and sometimes gossip on dumb shit on the newspaper or a celebrity thing.

• "Dude, have you heard about the enemy Pyro? I heard they might be a chick."

"What? Really?"

"Yea, like...I overheard it from one of the janitors."

"Huh. I can see it."

"Really? How? I always thought they were some sorta...weird..alien in a suit."

"Why?"

"...Cause they're frickin' weird and...don't talk."

"That's so rude man, are you saying all aliens are quiet? You don't know them."

"You sayin' you know any?"

"No. But don't say stuff like that. That's so stereotypical."

"FYM STEREOTYPICAL??????"

"IDK DUDE JUST STOP BEING A DICK. The girl thing makes more sense then whatever stupid theory you have."

"Fuck you, I have great theories!"

You scoff, "Me when I lie."

♧Soldier and Demo♧

• if your buddies with Soldier, Demo is gonna be buddy buddy with you.

• Soldier honestly doesn't like to gossip much, but on the rare occasion where he knows something, he's gonna be up at night with you, talking about what he saw and making theories about it.

• Demo likes his cup of gossip now and then, not as big on it as you'd think though, he'd love to know but if it doesn't interest him he won't care.

• Usually Demo and Soldier do their own thing together a bunch, and man have they heard some things.

• They'd both approach you with new gossip, Demo trying not to laugh while Soldier shoves pictures of Scouts naked mother and Spy together in your face, exclaiming that "THEY ARE MAKING LOVE! SCOUT IS NOT A TRUE AMERICAN! HES A FRENCHIE :*("

♧Pyro and Engie♧

• same goes for em, you friends with Pyro your bound to hear shit from Engie.

• It was your first day, you were assigned as a janitor in the base and you were cleaning. Already you would hear all sorts of funny shit that would happen in those walls. Arguing, drama, secrets like how Spy is Scouts dad? Honestly it was a lot to hear in one day but wow.

• You were cleaning the common room, and you didn't notice as you were mopping but somebody had walked in. They were so quiet, you didn't know how with the fact they had a very heavy looking fire retardant suit on. You jumped a bit, laughing to yourself.

"Sorry I didn't see you there."

They replied, but it was muffled by their mask. You blinked, "Oh um, sorry dude I can't really hear you." They continued anyway, muttering muffled "huddas" like you would understand. You didn't.

An awkward silence overcame the room, you decided to break it.

"Hey, you know...I heard while I was cleaning...is it true that there's living...pieces of bread here?"

They nodded, chuckling under the mask remembering the situation about it. You smiled, laughing along. "What? That's crazy. I thought that was a joke. It's my first day and I'm already hearing so much about this place. These walls are NOT thick."

• From that moment, you talked with them in your own way, they'd write their replies on a piece of paper and even tell you some things about the other mercs.

• You two really hit it off, after their matches, if they could find you, they'd slip pieces of paper in your cleaning supplies for you to read on your breaks, and you'd reply by leaving notes under their door.

And as time went on, you had learned to understand them. Now it was much more fun to listen to them actually tell the stories and giggle over gossip.

They LOVE gossiping honestly. Since they are unnoticed usually they can get away with blending in the background to listen to whatever the others talk about.

• Because of your new friendship, Engie respects you for not belittling Pyro, and finds your company to be a nice change to the quiet and sometimes even crude folk he works with.

• "ENGIE YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT WE HEARD-"

"MMHUDA MMHU-" [WE SAW-]

"Wait I thought I was gonna tell him?"

"Mmmhuh mmhuh, mmhhf mhuh hhhuhd." [Oh yeah, sorry go on."

"NO NO it's okay you do it."

"Mmhuh mmhuh, mmh-" [Okay okay, so-]

Insert the three of you laughing your asses off shittalking the enemy team for dirt you found of them.

"No way, are you two serious?"

"DEAD SERIOUS ENGIE, We literally saw it happen. Pi has photo evidence."

"Mmhh!" [Yeah!] Pyro pulls out the pictures, having a lot more of them than they should. Engie holds them in his hands, pausing before erupting into howling laughter.

"PFFT- OH MY GOD." He exclaims, slapping his thigh as he laughs uncontrollably.

• Engie doesn't hear much gossip, but if he hears gossip about him from you two he's gonna be grumpy for the rest of the day 😭😭😭 so if you hear anybody talking bad about him do not tell him or else he's gonna look like this

♧Heavy♧

• hates gossiping IM SORRRYYYY

• Will gladly listen to you gossip, but won't say anything, even if he has his own opinions about the situation. Best you'll get out of him is "That's absurd." Or "Haha, that is funny." But he will not say shit on it.

• He likes to listen because it's interesting to him, but he does not like to gossip himself because he finds it rude to gossip. Will not judge you though, you bring him quality stories to laugh and think about. (Plus now he has dirt on those people.)

• BUTTT if you're upset, he'll try to cheer you up by telling you gossip. And the gossip? It's always juicy. Like, "no fucking way" type of juicy. He has so much dirt on the other mercs and so much he knows about them, but he only tells you these things so that you can laugh and smile again. But won't say anything else, just let you theorise.

♧Medic♧

• loves gossiping.

• gossips with Heavy, and his birds.

• sorry idk what to write he's just a silly gossip girl 😋

• though surprisingly, he tends to keep that gossip to himself, and never actually gossips about anything he's unsure of. He thinks it's rude to speak of things that are merely "rumors"

• plus its better if it's proven to be real gossip anyway

• he's an asshole but he has his standards

♧Sniper♧

• Likes his fair share and also knows his fair share of gossip.

• Usually your the one talking, but the reactions you get out of him with the shit you tell him are priceless. Sometimes he laughs so hard he hits the table you two are talking by repeatedly, telling you to "Cut it out" or "No way"

• His gossip is mostly about the team, he doesn't care or know much about the enemy team.

• you two actually got along because of gossip, you two were out on a mission, and to break the boring yet awkward tension, you started to gossip with him, and surprisingly he enjoyed the talk.

• you guys are best friends because of this honestly, like Heavy, he likes to cheer you up by telling you some "hot goss" you cringe a little whenever he says that but he just wants to make you happy again.

• honestly idk how else to make this long, he's gossips, but not an insane amount

♧Spy♧

• never gossip but knows EVERYTHING 😭

• very rarely gossips with anybody, but he simply tells you very...subtle details about a certain thing, leaving you curious and wondering about what it's about / who's involved.

• he only actually gossips with you if it's late at night, everyone is asleep, he's in his smoking room having drunk a couple glasses of wine here and there, and maybe then he'll do it.

But it's a rare occasion.

Still, it's always fun for him to hear your thoughts on it. He simply listens to you, smiling here and there and rolling his eyes at your quips.

• he doesn't really gossip? more like...just...insult the person you two are talking about. he gets a kick out of it, especially when you make such funny jokes about the situation.

• yeah u guys r kinda mean 😭😭😭😭

anyways hope yall enjoyed woo (can you tell engie's text is always the longest in every one of these nevause he's my favourite? Yeah I do it on purpose.)

[daringdaisy]

Rocky Rickaby? Nah more like Rocky Ricky

I had to make a short story for Spanish class near the end of the year. I decided to partner up with a friend, and she asked me about that cat I liked. I'm confused so I ask if she means Rocky. She says yes and that we should write a story based off him(I ended up writing most of it). Please enjoy this obnoxiously silly story that follows a bootleg Rocky

Once upon a time, there was a cat named Rocky, a violin playing traveler. Everywhere Rocky went, he tried to enlighten people with his beautiful melodies, but no one took him seriously. He was born to be a violinist, but was forced to be a cat.

One night, while he was sadly playing his violin on a bridge, he began to cry, and it fell into the river. Suddenly, a bubble formed and began to float towards Rocky. Surprised, he started to back away, but the bubble was coming straight towards him. Suddenly, the bubble burst into a thousand pieces and formed a beautiful queen (a female cat). However, this she wasn't just any queen, she had crystal-like fairy wings and a white ballgown that looked like it was made of silk daisy petals. She had divine golden fur covered in black and brown spots. She looked to Rocky and said,

"I will grant you three wishes."

Rocky was surprised that he had never heard such an offer. The fairy continued:

“But no wishing for more wishes, you cannot wish for more lives and you cannot change your physical form.”

Rocky nodded and contemplated for a few seconds. Finally, Rocky meowed and made his first wish. The fairy nodded and raised his wand.

"If you wish to speak, then speak you will."

A beam of flashes shot Rocky and he fell onto the cold, metal bridge.

"OW!"

Rocky's paw covered his mouth. He just said his first word. Before he could thank the fairy, she was nowhere to be seen. He runs to the bar and sneaks in through the open window. He walks up the stairs to the empty stage.

When he comes out on stage there is a mix of gasps and cheers. The sounds of glass bottles crashing against tables before an awkward silence fills the room. Rocky picked up his violin and began to play one of his original tunes. However, before he got very far, the bartender came up on stage and grabbed him by the back of his neck.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you can't play here?” the bartender questioned. What he didn't expect was to hear an enthusiastic, booming voice.

"Well, sir, if you would allow me to give you my rhythmic tunes for everyone’s entertainment tonight, I would change that feeble mind of yours," Rocky announced with a toothy grin.

The next thing he knows, he is thrown out the window and scurried under a cardboard box.

"Well, I'm not too surprised, but my heart is still full of disappointment," Rocky mutters, "I guess I'll have to try my luck again tomorrow." And with that, he slowly falls asleep.

A couple of nights later, Rocky returned to the bridge. He is enthusiastically reciting some poetry under the full moon with his new gift to a sweet melody from his violin.

“Old River! That seems far too austere a name for something made of mirth and rage. O-roiling red blood river vei…” "It's good to see you again, Rocky!" The fairy suddenly clapped her hands with joy.

“AH-” Rocky jumped, he was barely able to keep his balance on the railing. He takes a second to catch his breath before shakily responds, "Pleasure is all mi…"

The fairy interrupts abruptly and asks, "Have you thought about your second wish?"

Rocky announced confidently, "I wish I had some clothes."

“Can I do whatever I want?” The fairy questions

He shrugs, "I'm not particularly picky about this, but at least make it classy."

A glitter ball hit him and he was wearing a blue suit, an orange suit, a daisy in his breast pocket, and dress shoes. Before he could thank the fairy, she was gone.

Rocky runs to the bar once more and sneaks through the window again. He makes sure the waiter is out of sight and secretly goes on stage. The bar goes silent as they hear Rocky start playing. They don't laugh at him or wonder why he's there, they just listen. Rocky, pleasantly surprised, puts his heart and soul into his first real performance.

The final note is played and Rocky looks out at the crowd with a confident smile, despite his nervousness. The bar roars with cheers and applause, a first for Rocky. Rocky bows, soaking up the attention he's been craving for so long.

After that performance, he was allowed to live in the bar on the condition that he played his majestic music every night. Rocky enjoyed it at first, but quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to share his music with everyone if he just played at the bar only.

He decides to go to the old bridge to think about his next course of action. While he was deep in thought, the fairy sat next to him: "So, what is your last wish?" Rocky turns to her with a smile: “My last wish is to enlighten the whole world with my music!”

[hopusthebrainlessfloof]

A fanfic based on @thekoopalingsandstuffs blog! Specifically, a non-canon event where KAS canon Dieter meets an alternate version where Kaley and Beef put him up for adoption.

TW: Use of the f-slur, forshadowing of death, mention of child abandonment

The Difference Between Us

They stared at each other, their identical eyes locking through the barrier of their identical shades. Identical bandanas, identical ties, identical names... It was like looking into a mirror. A twisted mirror. They were the evil versions of one another, a selfish pervert and a faggot pansy. The latter's mind was preoccupied with an upcoming football game that weekend. The former was mentally reciting his plan for Theresa to finally "open up" to him with force. The chatter of the other patrons of Applebuzzys filled the air, but were soon muffled by the deafening silence that overcame them. Neither had spoken a word to the other. They didn't know what to say.

"I don't feel like sharing a name with a wannabe, so... I'mma call you Dee." The other bit his lip. Fine. Dieter and Dee. "So Dee," Dieter sneered as he bit into a boneless wing, not even stopping to finish chewing before resuming his thought. "Ya heard of this cute girl named Theresa?"

Cringing at the brute's lack of basic table manners, he took an awkward sip of his drink. "I know someone who used to be Theresa. He goes by Spewart now. We now live near each other after being apart for a long time." Dieter grimaced. "Yer one of them queers, arentcha?" He stared back at the former with contempt. "Whaddaya mean by that?" Dieter scoffed.

"Thinking you can change your gender and stuff. You believe in that faggot stuff?"

Hearing the slur made his blood boil. The differences between him and his doppelganger were becoming more evident. Still, he decided to resume the conversation... Perhaps it would get better as they went on? "I just do what makes him happy. Wouldn't do that for your... Partner-friend?" Dieter gave a loud sigh. "When I'm with my girlfriend, we have a good time. Don't stop to think if I'm happy, cause I already am."

Oh great, he talks in circles too, he thought to himself. "So uh... What kind of dates do you and... "Theresa" go on?"

"Glad you asked!" Dieter beamed, though it looked like a sinister smirk. Guess he always looked like an evil bastard. "We do everything... Go to games, go to watch movies, go out to eat... The only thing we don't do yet is sweet lovemaking, but I'll get her to do that soon."

The only word he could think of was "gross". The way he thought of his girlfriend, assuming his Spewart didn't discover he was Spewart yet, as an accessory and not a person... Whatever events led him to not be like Dieter, he thanked the gods for. "How are you able to pay for all that? Do you work, or something?"

"Uh, no, my parents pay for it. Why would I work?" Because I do so I can pay for my dates. He obviously didn't say that, not wanting to argue with a brick wall. Or worse, a conservative. "Just asking..." Dieter stuck up his nose, if he had a nose. "My parents give me anything I want. They're like, the best." "I can tell." He took a sip of the iced drink to cool off a bit, just talking to Dieter was making his blood boil.

The waiter came by to hand them their entrées. "What about yours? Are they as cool as mine?" He hesitated and cleared his mouth. "My dad is cool, I'd say." "What bout your mom?" "I don't have one." "What??" Dieter was so taken aback, it seemed like he didn't know what a single parent was. "Where's you mom? Did she die or something?" He humbly smiled. "No. My birth parents put me up for adoption. I was eleven. It was the last time I saw Spewart before we met again in Darklands."

Dieter thought for a bit. "That means... You're an orphan? HA! Imagine being an orphan..." This was the final straw. He called the waiter over. "I'd like a to-go container and my half of the check, please." The waiter nodded and left.

"What- Hey, what the fuck? I thought you wanted me here to discuss how cool it is to be Dieter Fitness, or something!" Dieter threw his arms to the air. "Why are ya leaving so soon?" He placed his food in the containers and wrote the tip amount before handing the waiter the cash. "My uh... My head hurts. And I don't want to get you sick."

Dieter blinked. "I guess that's fair... It would be pretty pathetic to get sick, at a time like this." He politely nodded and took his food. "Nice meeting you." "You too, I guess. Seeya, orphan." He forced a smile and left. They would not see each other ever again, as Dieter would fall to a sharp and chilling fate just two days later.

[ghostssweetgirl]

crazy over you ~ simon ghost riley x reader slow burn/enemies to lovers

description: y/n gets transferred to task force 141 and quickly becomes friends with soap and gaz, but her and ghost "hate" each other for the first part. warnings: mentions of violence and death (duh), alcohol intake, smoking (at some point), nsfw (at some point), subtle flirting with soap. i'm new to writing? so don't expect this to be the greatest. this is not in line with the game campaigns or missions. the only characters i included are y/n, soap, gaz, price, & ghost. i have no knowledge of the military this is just creativity disclaimer: i do not own modern warfare or any of its characters.

chapters: next [mission successful] last

You wake up allowing yourself time to shower and fully prepare, physically and mentally. You pack your bag with everything you may need, not knowing how long this mission will take. This is not the time to make any mistakes, you have to prove yourself. Finally, you head down to the kitchen to hydrate with several glasses of water to see everyone else in the same room as well.

"Morning, Diamond," Price said.

"Morning!" you murmured with a tired voice.

Price orders everyone to head to the conference room since everyone was already up, figuring to go ahead and get started.

As he goes over the details, you learn you're being paired with fucking Ghost to keep a set of eyes on Soap while he retrieves a USB that contains data full of intel while Price and Gaz talk to the leaders.

You fight yourself internally, telling yourself that you will not allow yourself to fail just because you're going to be with Ghost. He'll get used to your presence; you're not going anywhere. It can't possibly go wrong. How much simpler could it be? If anything, you were thankful this was your first mission. You will be able to get used to seeing how the Task Force handles their selves, and how you can conform your abilities to fit in best. You're relieved they're not sending you to retrieve this data.

--

After gathering weapons, and equipment. Everyone gets in the helo, and you sit in the furthest corner, to cherish the time to yourself before getting this mission over with. You notice how everyone else is cutting up and laughing, and you smirk at their optimism.

Your loneliness was interrupted by the Captain, who came over to check on you.

"Hey," he groaned while he sat down. "Damn these old bones... Listen, you're gonna do fine, kid. Ya nervous?"

"Little bit, I guess," you shrug and reposition yourself. "Guess I'm just scared of rejection or failure. I don't know... but thank you, sir."

"What about your old base and the missions you used to do there, huh?" he questioned.

"Yeah, well, I was good but not as good as them," you gesture to the group of men. "We did some crazy things, and even lost some people. But after reading the files, I can't imagine what they've gone through, yet they're not nervous."

He nods and stands up, "Shit'll grow on ya, y/l/n. We do the dirty work that keeps the world clean... 'n rid the world of filth. Chin up."

--

Everyone gets dropped off in their respective areas securely. When you and the Lieutenant finally arrive at the site, he breaks the awkward silence, though not nicely.

"Don't fuck this up, y/n," he instructs. "Don't fire unless Price or I order you to. That simple."

"Yes, sir," you nod, getting into position. Yeah, no shit. You glance over and see Price and Gaz conversing with a group of men, then back on the floor Soap's on.

Soap comes through on the comms, "Got eyes on the file, Ghost."

"Easy, MacTavish. Watch your six, two men coming up behind."

Soap takes notice, and in 4 quick moves, takes down the enemies with expertise. New enemies approaching him on either side, you and Ghost nod at each other.

"I got the one on the right," you nodded at Ghost as he understood.

Steadying your aim, you shoot the guy in his jugular, causing blood to squirt out as he collapses. You see the other enemy hit right between the eyes.

"Nice shot, soldier," Ghost called. You smile, quite proud of yourself, and weirdly happy Ghost acknowledges your success, for now.

"Soap, how copy?"

"Solid. Got the USB."

"Head up to the rooftop for an exit," Ghost rasped.

You look over at Ghost who was already looking at you, "Get in the chopper, wait for me."

You obey and get in, leaning against the wall. Your heart almost steadies as you think the mission is over. Ghost gets in after you, and when you head over to collect Soap, to your surprise, he's surrounded by 10 men, making him drop his weapons. Fuck, you complain.

"Price, Soap is surrounded," you speak over comms. 

"Shit. Distract them. Take 'em down," Price ordered, surprisingly calmly.

Your eyes widen when you have to think of a way to distract them on the spot, so, you leave your rifle and holster your pistol, hoping that if there's a God up above, he'll certainly help you at this moment.

As the helicopter approaches the building, the squad of men points their guns at you while you hop down, holding your hands up. "Hi, boys," you smirk, praying this will work. You walk around a generator, letting them focus on you so Ghost can get out and sneak up on them. "What're we doing out here? Whatcha got? Or who do you have here?"

"Oh, relax, I'm not going to do anything!" you lie, hands still up, smiling at them as they look at each other in confusion. You slowly step closer, carefully observing the surroundings, watching Ghost creep up and take one out silently, stabbing him 5 times in his carotid. Then another... and another. Damn, he is good at his job.

The chopper flies away, letting you guys' sort this out.

"Ugggh," you groan. "You guys are no fun! Not going to invite me to the party?"

You had no fucking clue what you were doing but it was confusing them, too as they were speaking another language, trying to figure out what the fuck you were doing. You're surprised they haven't shot you yet.

You figure this is it, Ghost has taken out 3 men without them noticing, and you don't know how. You and Soap make eye contact and nod at each other - mentally understanding. You and Soap move in unison as he grabs his pistol that was kicked to the side, and fires it at the enemy, and while the one in front of you looks behind themselves, holding their gun up, you take the opportunity to grab your knife and puncture it through one's neck, blood splattering all over you.

5 down, 3 to go.

Ghost is lucky you didn't feel him staring at you for a quick second. The sight ahead of him, you covered in blood, did something to him.

You felt a gun staring at you, but before it could go off, Ghost body slammed him and sliced his throat, Soap fist fighting one, and that leaves the last one to you. He must have gotten his gun knocked out of his hands because he runs at you with a knife, and you move out of the way quick enough to let him fall. You tower over him from behind, pick his head up from his hair and slit his throat with ease.

Well, the mission was successful after all.

"Captain, we got 'em. Ready for pickup," Ghost declared, out of breath.

Soap walks up to you, patting your shoulder, "Good job, lass, didn't think that was working. Hi, boys!" he mocks you in a higher-pitched tone, literally giggling.

"Shut up, I didn't know what else to do to distract them," you chortled.

"It worked," Ghost chimed in. "Fortunately."

"Aye, she did nice."

"I did most of the work," Ghost hissed. You scoff internally. You really can't please this man. You forgot about him as you couldn't wait to eat, you were starving. Glad the mission took less time than you expected, you silently pat yourself on the back for surviving.

[sinning-23]

Socket Wrench: Chapt. 3

Sooooo this chapter ended up being kinda lengthy ngl. Im REALLY tryna build that tension between DK and the reader but also make it kinda awkward cause they just met but they can't help but like take jabs and flirt back and forth with each other cause they've gotten a bit comfortable with one another. ANYWHO, enjoy! Maybe 3-4 more chapters after this annnnd then it shall be COMPLETE lol.

ALSO, Chapter 2 found here

ok, I'm done fr. enjoy :D

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Blow dice, Kiss tires

“So we ambush them at the end of this road?” You question making sure you got all the details right as Peach nods sternly. 

The plan was to use the carts to try and get to Bowser before he even knew it and not only save Luigi but the Mushroom and Jungle Kingdoms from being attacked. If he was coming to the Princess he wasn't going to just stop there, he’d take over everything. The next step was to prepare, and quickly. Luckily, the garage wasn't too far, and based on what you’d learned from your last time being there, they could build their carts easily, and you'd be able to finish yours with that kind of tech. 

“Let's make moves then.” You hum, leading the way to the garage, DK close behind. 

There were a few things that needed to be addressed but you kept your mouth shut, trying not to think about how well this whole plan would play out. Worse comes to worse, you die here or even one of them gets hurt and the plan goes to shit. You sigh heavily, gaining even more of DK’s attention as if he wasn't burning holes into you every time he thought he could catch a glance at you while you walked. 

“You look tense,” He begins, following you to your bike once the garage is opened, trying to get you to break your silence. 

“I'm kind of freaking out, but it's fine.” You admit, trying to shake your nerves off as you place the tires onto the bike you crafted, the model and color of the rims contrasting nicely with the overall build.

“You're gonna be fine, just stick close to me, and no worries.”He offers, voice raised an octave

“With how you got your shit rocked earlier? I’ll take my chances.” You shoot back jokingly as he laughs sarcastically at the jab. 

“Very funny.” He responds, watching you work in awe. You moved so quickly yet so precisely. He had hardly noticed you placing the final details before hopping on and revving it. 

“Perfect.” You whisper out, jutting your head for him to come closer. 

“Kiss 'em.” You chuckle, motioning towards the tires. 

“What? Why?” He laughed back, trying to figure out where you were trying to go with this. 

“For luck, it's like blowing dice right?” You question, revving the engine again.

“I need all the luck I can get pretty boy. So how about this, you kiss my tire and I’ll kiss yours. Deal?” You joke, seeing him shake his head as you hop off the bike, a flustered look on his face. 

“I'm just messing with you, let me change and I'll be back to help with the rest of the karts.” You gulp, patting DK’s shoulder before heading off. 

He shakes his head, making his way to his own kart. Kiss the tires? Weird request but you did ask nicely. Though, he was more reeling over you calling him ‘pretty boy’ more than anything. 

—-----

Not much time had passed when you returned, a biking suit matching your motorcycle much like how the Princesses matched her own. Guess great minds thought alike. 

“Looks nice, yeah? You should take a picture, it'll last longer.” You hum, catching DK eyeballing you a little bit longer than usual. He smirks at your statement, watching you fix your boots.

 You pause for a moment, motioning for him to come closer, which he has absolutely no problem doing. Before he can even process what you were trying to do, your fingers are already adjusting his tie with a soft smile. 

“Now we both look nice.” You hum, driving forward and leaving him somewhat slack-jawed

It was about time for you all to leave, the bike and karts aline revving to prepare for the battle ahead. You sigh, rolling your bike next to the Princess as she smiles back at you, happy to have another woman on the team. Girlbossing alone gets exhausting after a bit. You rev your bike and dart out, eager to get to where you needed to as Peach follows next to you.

You hadn’t been able to ride a kart on your own yet, but damn did it feel nice speeding on these foreign roads, the wind blowing your braids back, the ponytail you once had discarded for your usual down look. You were so caught up in your own head you hadn't noticed Peach trying to get your attention.

“So, did they make you duel too?” She jokes, keeping up the conversation. You giggle in response

“Fortunately for me no, I wouldn't have won that fight. DK seems to know what he's doing. I just proved myself by working on the karts. It was fairly simple to understand.” You explain, a prideful look splayed over your features.

“I see. Soooo, that's why you two are on good terms, or maybe?” She side-eyes you, smirking but you quickly shut it down. 

“Oh stop! He just showed me around the kingdom and the garage…and we talked.” You explain, reminiscing over the eye contact and light touches. Hell, even the quick interaction from the garage. How stupid was that to ask him to ‘kiss the tires’ jesussssss. 

“Wait no! Listen, he's a prince and I'm some random girl from Brooklyn. Besides I mean I'm sure he's got plenty of fans drooling over him. Honestly, I don't know how to feel, he's such a dork.” You giggle, trying not to steal a glance at him and failing. Looks like a quiet conversation with Mario surprisingly. 

“Honestly, I wouldn't mind staying here with him. He may seem like a showoff, which is very true but he's a sweetheart under it all. I actually think he wants me to stay too.” You explain, that same hotness crawling up your spine and into your face.

It wasn't long before Mario drove up beside her, also striking up a conversation while you lean back and take his previous place next to DK. The silence seemed to drag on as you both looked at each other simultaneously, only to look away and clear your throat. There's definitely tension here, awkward, flirty, or otherwise and god was it suffocating. 

“How's it riding?” He chokes out, trying to cover up his embarrassment. 

“Oh, um it's perfect! I’ve never built my own bike before.” You giggle, adjusting the way you were sitting, catching his eyes again. 

“I'd hope so, otherwise that kiss was for nothing.” He quips, avoiding your gaze with that stupid boyish grin. 

He actually did it for you?

“You…really?” You sigh, heart beating out of your chest as your face feels as if it's gonna melt from how hot it is. 

“Yeah, I figured why not. The fact that you suggested it was cute.” He admits, seeing you tuck your bottom lip between your teeth. 

“Didn't think you’d take me seriously, I didn't even follow through with the deal.” You hum, finally gaining the courage to look at him

“I know, you can make it up to me later.” He chuckles, the statement laced with something suggestive.

You speed up, seeing the ramp come to an end, DK catching up behind you as you begin following down Rainbow Road. There wasn't much left to cover before you made it to your destination, and anxiety eats away at you.  It wasn't hard for DK to tell so he sped up just to catch up to you, wanting to keep you from isolating yourself. 

“The crease on your forehead is gonna be permanent if you keep looking like that.” DK jokes, poking the spot as you smile into the touch a bit, pulling away just before he could notice. 

“I know, I know. Just nervous.” You admit, a heavy sigh filling the air. 

“I get it. A lot has happened to you so far. Like I said, just stay close.” He hums, shooting you a smile you so desperately needed to see. 

You giggle a bit, shaking your head. 

“Hey, I got a question about that duel earlier.” You add, seeing his interest spike. He loves answering questions you had for him, and it seemed he was comfortable enough to ramble on and on about whatever the next topic led to. And you were happy to listen. 

“You have a theme song? That's actually hilarious, but kinda cute.” You joke, as his face seems to flush and he clears his throat. 

“I-I didn't think you were paying attention to that.” He admits, trying to avoid your teasing gaze. 

“Ohhhh I paid quite a lot of attention to your showing off, saw you flex, kiss your muscles, pop your pecs, and thrust the air back to back…You’re quite the showoff aren't you?” You taunt, a laugh escaping your throat. 

He’s cute when he’s embarrassed, hand gripping the wheel for dear life and he looks elsewhere.

“Ohhh don't get shy now. Your fans adored it, and I'll admit, watching you fight was pretty fun. You play dirty though.” You explain, noticing his once embarrassed expression warp into a flirty smile.

“First of all, I'm like, the most UN-SHY person you’ll ever meet. And second, you just admitted to liking the show, so I must be doing something right huh? I bet you liked me playing ‘dirty’ huh?” He bites back, watching you freeze up.  

It was your turn to be shy now. 

“Y-You… I never said-....shut up and drive boy.” You sputter, trying to hide the fact that you may or may not have exposed yourself. He laughs in response, shaking his head at how you could dish it out but not take it. Despite the moment being nice, something was wrong….If this Bowser was any kind of smart, he would have insight into your plan and come up with some kind of counterattack.

And sure enough, there was a brigade of soldiers from who you could only assume was Bowser. “It's an ambush!” Peach calls as you speed up on your bike, trying to figure out the best strategy. 

The rest of the army speeds up as well and war ensues upon the road ahead, shells and banana peels flying from either end, anyone bound to get caught in the crossfire. You dodge a red shell, using one of the other koopas as a projectile, tossing the shell over your shoulder and passing one to the princess. 

You managed to get separated from the main group, a gang of 4 hot on your tail as you try to lose them, slamming on your breaks as they speed past and you make a U-Turn, heading back to the group. 

The sound of screeching tired and angry shouting fills your ears all before a loud boom shakes the road, making you lose balance off your bike and fall off. The blast was looser than you expected, the wave sending you backward and leaving your ears ringing. The world spins as you try to regain balance, a sense of panic taking over as you hear Peach call for Mario and sure enough falling into the water below, was Mario and DK. 

Your feet move on their own, your books padding against the road as you try to dodge debris and dive in after them. DK was almost immediately knocked unconscious by a tire that had fallen, leaving you and Mario to swim after him to pull him back to the surface. You’re 

gasping for air, trying to catch your breath as you choke on the salty ocean water.

 “Find something to float on!” You cough out, grabbing onto whatever you could while DK chokes out the water he swallowed.

“You saved my life.” He huffs, more surprised that Mario did but grateful you helped as well.

"Yeah well, I won't tell anyone," Mario responds, hoping for a lil camaraderie.

"Good please don't," Gk responds, seeing you snicker and shake your head. The moment was unfortunately cut short as the three of you found yourselves scrambling to get away from an eel that was hellbent on swallowing you whole. 

-Meanwhile-

Peach speeds down the remainder of the road to get back to her kingdom. The plan had obviously failed and as far she knew, you Mario, and DK were as good as gone. The Kong army had been captured and scooped away to be held as prisoners by Bowser. There was almost no time to evacuate the kingdom but she was quick and concise in her decision, rushing any of her citizens to safety before preparing to face Bowser alone. 

The ground shook and trembled as his floating castle hovered overhead. It was now or never, if she could at least keep him occupied here and keep her subjects safe, she’d fight til the end. She was surrounded now with Toad by her side as she held her weapon defensively. 

-at the bottom of the FUCKING ocean-

You're pacing now, trying to see if this eel had an exit. Hell if it wasn't gonna open from the front your best bet was the back, but after walking for so long you figured there was no use. Your head is pounding and your clothes are soaked. It's dark and cold and you're trying to figure out how this whole ordeal would be explained to your dad when you never came home.

You sigh heavily, holding your head in your hands, peeling off the soaked biking jacket, and dropping it beside DK’s busted kart. Pausing for a moment, hearing footsteps approach you and of course, DK decides you look like you need some company. 

“How’re you holding up?” He asks, standing beside you as you sigh heavily and shake your head no.

“Why did you dive in after us? You could have gone with the princess to help her-”

“And leave you here to drown? Yeah right. I know it wasn't the smartest but it's like my body moved on its own.” You admit hands clenched at your sides. 

“I guess I've grown a lot more attached to you than I thought.” You hum, seeing his eyes soften at your frantic state. 

“Attached how?” He presses, hoping you'd be the first to confess the growing feelings in the pit of your stomach just so he could have a chance to confess and make it less awkward.

“I-...I don’t know, I just think we’ve grown closer as friends so far.” The word is bitter on your tongue and damn does your chest ache when his lips press in a line and he nods slowly. Ouch.

“Yeah, yeah totally me too.” He hisses out, rocking back and forth a bit to try and clear the tension.

“…”

“....”

“Any ideas? You huff out, forcing yourself to talk away from the situation despite feeling every bone in your body tell you not to. 

Bits of swallowed Rainbow Road illuminate the area as Mario shakes his head, nothing coming to mind. Your hands shake as you pace again, Mario and DK’s eyes following your panicked state. 

“Everything was going so well, I shouldn't have let you guys down there and separated from the group I-I could have done something.” You ramble, chest rising and falling quicker with every word you ramble. 

“Hey, it's not your fault…IT'S HIS!” DK points, Making the Italian furrow his brows. 

An argument was sure to ensue now, insults being thrown back and forth while you contemplate your existence. You tried to devise a plan but nothing was coming to mind. The sound of bickering was getting louder and it sure as hell wasn’t helping your situation. 

“At least you’ll die without your father thinking you’re a joke.” DK huffs, looking more defeated than anything. 

At the end of the day, he was probably acting how he did because he wanted his father's approval. You knew that feeling too well…Back home the only thing you wanted was for your dad to acknowledge how hard you work. You stopped eventually, realizing that you should be proud of yourself regardless of what he or others think. He settled for the same old 9-5 he hated and you followed your heart and dreams. If anything that was far more commendable. 

“My dad thinks I'm a joke too,” Mario confirms, the air thick for a moment as DK breathes heavily going to speak again. 

“Yeah well….YOUR DAD'S RIGHT!” He shoots back, making you pinch the bridge of your nose as they continue to bicker back and forth. 

“ALRIGHT GIRLS.” You interrupt, scowl present as they take the hint to stop. 

Arguing wasn't going to solve anything.

“We all have daddy issues, fantastic. Now can we figure out how to get out of here and prove them wrong?” You question, a brow raised as you look between the two of them. 

“There has to be a way out...it's not rocket science.” You chuckle, realization hitting you.

“Wait wait….your kart. Follow me!” You interrupt, booking it to the discharged kart with one lone rocket looking like a glimmering beacon of hope. The three of you share a look. 

Let's get this shit.

[ohmycale]

of trust, betrayal, and maybe some accountability (long read)

Been gone. Life happens. Now back. It's a long read and I will put a (hopefully) good TLDR at the bottom 

 Okay, first off. I guess the TCF/ fandom can all agree on one thing - the Henituse family does love each other but are very bad at displaying or communicating it. Just like in any human relationship, communication matters, and I believe we could have a somewhat functioning happy-ever-after family ending if that happened. But then again, where will be the lovely angst if everything went the ideal and happily ever ending? The familial love that exists among the members of the said famous (or infamous) family is unassailable and is widely acknowledged. While love is extremely important, many people seem to forget that another element is missing, which is also crucial (but not exclusive to love) in functioning relationships - trust. 

I guess we can also agree that love makes a good foundation for good and ideal outcomes, especially in familial or romantic relationships. Based on the family's history, it's easy to say that trust is lacking, if not severely lacking, in those particular members. Distrust is also not farfetched to imagine in their interactions. 

 Of course, the family patriarch caused the said problems. Whatever one thinks of the said patriarch, we call agree that he screwed big time in forming bonds and bridges in his family. Another sin he commit is his habit of kicking the issue down the road hoping it will be resolved somehow because of time. Let me be clear, time does mellow done the effect of anything (good or bad) that happens in a relationship. That is just the good side that can happen. But it can also produce a negative effect - the long, awkward silence of waiting it out can also create perceptions that are not healthy for the people involved and deepen the existing negative things. For me, the negative effect is what happened in the Henituse family. The problem started when ogCale was 8, and somehow the issue continued well before he reached his supposed 18th year (when KRS took over his body). So we have bad communication, mistrust connected to this faith of hoping things will sort out and waiting for the best (if that even exists at all). 

 Okay, back to trust. For me, the deterioration of the father-son relationship was triggered by two events. First, Deruth left his child because he could not stand to deal with his grief and harbored feelings of resentment of his son over some physical resemblance the said son cannot control. Two, he brought a wife and child into his and og!Cale's home without any consideration of his own child's feelings. He created a relationship with two new people (cool) but also forced a relationship between og!Cale and the new addition to the family (not cool). (Sorry, Deruth fans but your boy does know how to mess up his self-confessed priorities in life.) Just one of those events can cause massive distrust and resentment. Some adult children that I know (yes, anectodal I know) cut off their parents for one of these reasons (even for less). That is how serious these actions can mean and how severe the consequences are if the said issues were not addressed. 

 I guess even those who never had experienced any form of abandonment or neglect would not recognize that these two events, in og!Cale's eyes can be outright actions of betrayal from his father. And from distrust or lacking trust come forth feelings of further resentment and betrayal. Both are self-explanatory and extended not just to Deruth but to Violan, and the whole family unit. Of course, the biggest share of both goes to Deruth along with a particular feeling called parental rejection. And from this, it becomes a cyclic process where og!cale rightfully does feel mistrust even if his family is trying to reach him. After all, how can somebody envision that the same people who hurt him are trying to make amends if the said family still relies on bad communication (aka not initiating communication because how does someone expects a child to bring this complex situation and terrible power dynamic to his elders) that wasn’t addressed and no forms of remorse on their part were given to him? 

 Some fans will bring out that og!Cale self-isolated him and that is the reason there has been no communication or progress in reconciliation. Point taken, but who doesn't practice self-isolation/distancing when somebody hurts them? This reasoning justifies that og!cale has to lead and do the legwork in repairing the relationship. That is unfair to expect for the injured party and the child in this scenario. The reason also excuses or displays the increasing lack of accountability from Deruth (and in a smaller instance Violan) as parents and adults.

 I will concede that the family does try to reach him but inefficiently. I don’t feel that they tried enough and exhausted every effort they had. I understand their fear, but the situation is hardly sustainable and beneficial to all. Everyone is on eggshells with a constant cloud of mistrust. The only reprieve everyone has is to continue with their fractured set-up. 

 TLDR – trust is not love but is an important element ignored by everyone, Deruth loves kicking things down the road and crossing fingers on his relationships, distrust/lack of trust amplifies the negative feelings and interactions, and please stop asking for responsibility/accountability for the character who tries to be the mature adult (even if he wasn't the adult in the situation).

[ahjae]

Zombie Apocalypse ft. Biko Sekai

CHAPTER 1:

Characters: Rookie, Rinne, Aysh, Suro, Rev, Toko, Nora, Yuki, Koe, Kaitou

It's been months ever since this absolute chaos occurred. The once perfectly clear sky, now grey and dull. Even though the apocalypse is quite recent, the gang adapted to the environment quite fast, still being bruised after errands but it's a learning opportunity, as long as none of them got bit, they'll survive for quite some time. 

"Ah-!" Aysh flinched at the sudden pressure on her wound. "Stop moving Aysh, I'm trying to clean this cut you have.." Suro muttered while holding Aysh's wrist, keeping her arm in place. Aysh just shook her head, hissing at the stinging pain of the ointment combined with her open wound. "You two are reckless.." Suro sighed then put away the ointment and cotton back to its proper place. "We got ganged up on by a ton of zombies, what else are we supposed to do?" Someone butted into the conversation. "Maybe not be so reckless to the point where you'd get injured because of a fucking debris" Everyone sighed when Suro kept on scolding them though not paying much attention. 

"I know you and Aysh are skilled with guns, but please, once you're back to running errands I want you to be a little more careful" 

"I'll keep that in mind then, Rinne- Ah- ow-!" The gal flinched at the sudden pain, trying to pull away from Rinne but was pulled back. "Stay still, Rookie, I'm not done yet." Rookie whined but just stayed still 'patiently' waiting for Rinne to finish cleaning up the wounds she has. 

It was quiet for a couple of minutes, no one daring to say anything— either felt too awkward or too tired; though the silence was cut off when they heard the door creaking open. "Are you four done bickering?" the director asks, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She peeked her head out the door and smiled at the four of them. "Do you need something, Toko?" Rookie looked up, meeting Toko's eyes, Toko shook her head and fully opened the door. "Just wanted to let you guys know that Rev and I cooked, so you four better hurry the fuck up”

Toko then leaves the room, "Finally, food!" Aysh complains and takes Suros hand, "WAIT IM NOT DONE WITH YOUR INJU-" Suro was cut off by the door closing leaving Rinne and Rookie alone. "Well I guess we should just fix this mess.." Rinne says as she finishes with Rookie's injury, Rinne then fixes up the medkit and gives it to Rookie to put on the shelf. "Hah, Now that we've fixed up. Lets go Rinne!" Rookie takes Rinnes hand and goes to the other room. 

As Rookie opens the door, They see Toko and Rev talking about their next expedition as she also sees Suro hand feeding Aysh.

' God, how much of a baby could Aysh be.' Rookie thought while smiling awkwardly.. "Alright, so Toko, What's our plan to get materials?" Suro asks, noticing both Rookie and Rinne at the table. "Well. I've thought about it and now. I think the best decision is for you and Rinne to go. Me and Rev will defend our base. Does that sound good for tomorrow's expedition?" Toko says while making eye-contact with both Suro and Rinne, "But can't we help them?" Aysh asks "Well, it shows that YOU AND ROOKIE. Are a bit too hyper on the battlefield." Toko glared at Aysh

"Urgh.. Alright then." Aysh rolls her eyes. 

Everyone took their own plates and utensils and started to scoop up some food before sitting down on their chairs.

"Haah! I'm stuffed!" Rookie says while yawning with Rev silently giggling "Everyone had their food I assume?" He asked and everyone nodded. "Let's head to our rooms then" Rev suggested. "Alright! Goodnight everybody!" Aysh and Suro enter the room they share and go to sleep. 

Time skip .. 

"Hey Suro, you have the stuff ready?" Rinne asks while putting a bat in her backpack, "Mhm, I have" Suro assures Rinne while loading the bullets into his gun. "Alright, we're all set up. Bye Toko, Rev , and Aysh!' 'Rinne says, waving at them while heading for the door, "Alright bye Suro!" Aysh says and continues to kiss Suro ``REALLY? RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?" Toko says disgusted, Aysh just stuck her tongue out at Toko and waved at the two heading off 

"Alright so, we have to get to the store right?" Rinne asks while walking "Mhm, Since we've already gone there, I have a map on how long and far it takes to go there." Suro says while looking for any zombies that are nearby. They both continue to walk, "Huh, is it me or I hear something loud?" Rinne asks while looking around. "But I don't see any-" A small group of zombies suddenly come forward into Rinne and Suros' view. "Or.. Yes you may be right Rinne.." 

"Alright! Time to clean you guys up" Rinne says while heading in with a bat but keeping a close distance, "I'll back you up, Rinne." 

In no time, Suro and Rinne defeated all of them. "Haah.. Finally..!" Rinne says while cooling down. "Fufu, you did excellent Ri-" 

(FUCK YOU!!)"PUTANGINA MO!!!!"

A scream was heard from the left,

"I DONT FUCKING CARE, KASALANAN MO TO KAITOU"

(THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT KAITOU)

A second person screams at the so-called 'Kaitou' person. Both Rinne and Suro come close, "Hello, Are you guys also survivors?"

"AAAAAAAAAA- '' Kaitou was cut off by the other person covering his mouth. "Uhm, Yeah! We are.." The person covering Kaitous mouth confirms the question. 

"Can't believe you two have the time to argue in such circumstances.." Rinne muttered while still keeping an eye on the surroundings. "If you don't mind me asking, '' Suro started, earning more of the two survivor's attention. "What are you two uhmm.. bickering.. about?" As soon as Suro asked, a boy scoffed, glaring at his 'friend' before answering. "We were being chased down by a few zombies so we tried to fight it, but that 'few' zombies instantly turned into dozens so I insisted that we should run and hide but this idiot-" He cut his sentence off to smack the back of his companion's head. 

("Ow- You bitch!") "Ow- Punyeta ka!" The other cussed, rubbing the back of his head, but the boy paid no attention and kept telling the story. "-wanting to be the hero, decided to run head on to the crowd of zombies, this bastard actually has a death wish." Suro and Rinne looked at each other then back at the duo then back at each other. It was silent for a couple of minutes before Rinne chimed in. "Do you two.. have anywhere to stay?" They shook their heads and Suro immediately looked at Rinne. "I- Let's talk somewhere" Rinne nervously laughed and grabbed Suro's arm. "You two stay there, run to us if you need anything" He said before dragging Suro away. 

"Is there a problem, Rinne?"

"Not really, I know you want to invite them to the shelter but.." Rinne trailed back. "I don't think Rookie and the others are going to be fond of them.." Suro cocked his head to the side. "What makes you think that?" Before Rinne can answer, Suro added. "Without sounding biased." The comment made Rinne a tad bit flustered but continues to explain anyways. "For starters, the noise or ‘bickering’, whatever you call it. It will attract a handful of zombies if not more, and if we take them to the shelter, considering it isn't all that big... knowing some of our members are a bit sensitive when it comes to loud noises" Rinne explained, his voice getting quieter and quieter the more he proceeds. 

"You have a point on the first part" Suro taps his fingers on his chin. "But the second part.. list a few member" 

"Rev, Rookie, Yuki, sometimes Toko" 

"Aren't they all loud individuals themselves?" Suro looked at Rinne. "That doesn't mean they don't enjoy peace and quiet." Rinne sighed and looked back at the duo who was just chatting at a volume only the two can hear. "As for the size of a shelter" Suro chimed. "Yuki and I found a location just in case we find survivors, we can always go there.. Fortunately, Toko agreed we can move there" Suro smiled. 

"And you didn't even tell me?" Rinne looked offended, rolling his eyes and puffing his cheeks a bit. "It was supposed to be the topic for tomorrow's meeting," Suro chuckled and walked in the direction of the two. "I have no space to argue huh?" 

"None." 

The duo saw Suro and Rinne walking back to their direction, one of them waving at them with a smile. "I forgot to ask," One of them started. "What.. are your names?" He asked nervously. "How rude of me to not introduce ourselves. I am Suro and this is my partner, well partner for today: Rinne" Rinne waved his hand at them. "and you two are?" 

"Koe and this wanna be hero is Kaitou" Koe simply introduced. "What brings you two here?" Koe asks once again "Well, we were on an expedition, that's it. Wasn't expecting to run into some survivors" Rinne giggled when he saw Koe nudging Kaitou. "Well since we're here, why don't you come with us and help with the expedition?" Rinne offered which had Koe accepting immediately but leaving Kaitou skeptical. 

"Kaitou?" 

"I don't trust it." He crosses his arms and looks away. "How would I know you're not gonna stab me in the back or something?" Koe rolled his eyes at his friend's antics and insisted that they just leave him be. "Alright, suit yourself. Let's go" Koe started walking, having the two follow behind.

"Eh?! Oi! What the fuck?!" Kaitou began running up to them without hesitation, leading the three in a fit of laughter. 

Once the laughing had died down the four just chit chatted the whole walk to the market. 

"When you recruited people, did they immediately trust you?" Kaitou asks and Rinne shakes his head in response. "It's normal for people to distrust us, especially with what's going on" The two nodded. 

"That reminds me of the first time we recruited Rookie."

Suro chuckled at the thought. "The moment she saw us, she pointed a gun at Nora" Suro then shook his head. 

"It is quite an impression," Rinne smiled. "Anyways we're here" 

—— 

Rev looked at the clock then sighed. "What's wrong?" Nora popped out of nowhere and asked. "Suro and Rinne are taking their sweet time, hm?" He chuckled and continued to clean the weapons that's laid down in front of him on a table. "Rookie is definitely gonna freak out when Rinne comes home injured" Nora teased and sat next to Rev. 

"Oh definitely" 

The two started to joke around, not noticing a person had stepped out of their room and came to check up on them. 

"Nora?" A voice called out from the kitchen and Nora immediately looked up. "Yuki?" She called back, getting up from her seat and walking to the kitchen; there, she spotted Yuki. "You wanna eat?" They offered Nora a plate and Nora, not wanting to be rude, just agreed to eat with Yuki. 

A couple minutes passed and Rookie stepped out of the room, hair drenched and a towel on top of her head. "Hm?" She looked around the room. "Are they not back yet" 

"I was surprised, myself.'' Rev chimed in as he was putting away his cleaning tools. "I see" She sighed and walked to the kitchen— grabbing an energy drink from the fridge, popping it open before drinking it.

"Rookie in distress" Nora giggled at her own comment. "A bit stressed, yeah" Rookie gave Nora and Yuki a quick smile before sipping the drink in her hand. 

Soon enough— they heard the jiggling of the door knob and revealed Suro, Rinne and two new faces. Though Rookie could care less about the two new faces as she puts down her drink and instantly approaches Rinne, wrapping her arm around Rinne's waist and pulling him into a chaste kiss. Suro cleared his throat and Rinne pulled away, panting a bit— a face red and flustered. Rookie rolled her eyes and grabbed Rinne's hand and dragged him to their shared bedroom. 

"Off they go.." Rev commented then got up to greet the two new people. "Hello, I assume Suro and Rinne recruited you. I am Rev, one of the survivors if that wasn't obvious" He held out his hand to Koe and Koe gladly shook it. "Hello! I'm Koe and this is my friend Kaitou, I'm glad there's more survivors than just the two of us" Koe smiled. Kaitou noticed the two people occupying the kitchen. "So exactly how many people are in here?" He asks, looking at Suro who just shrugged. "Honestly, I lost count" He laughed and picked up the bag filled with materials and foods. "Help me with these Rev" He instructed and Rev followed suit. 

"I'll inform Toko that there's new people" Nora stood up and walked to where the Director's room is located. Yuki got up grabbing two cups of water and some snacks. They walked up to the two boys and led them to the couch and placed the snacks and water on the coffee table. "We're most likely going to have a meeting so we can all introduce each other," Yuki said, resting a hand on their hips. "Don't look so nervous now, we won't bite." Yuki then chuckled. "You two can relax now, we're all safe here" Yuki assured and walked to the Director's room and knocked. 

"Come in" They heard Toko yell out, opening the door which revealed Toko and Nora having a little chat in the bedroom. "I heard there's new people?" Toko asks and Yuki nodded. "Yeah, I can tell they're a bit nervous but that's no surprise" Yuki smiled softly and Toko nodded. "We might have a meeting tonight" She said while tapping a finger on the desk. 

"I thought you'd say that" Yuki then leaned against the wall and admired Nora. "Make them feel at home for the time being" Toko reminded them and the two followed.

[lemmilemura]

Or, alternatively, you and Janae bonding over your crushes liking eachother. Sadge. Also very fun Maeve, Janae, Simon and You group dynamics. I'm having a lot of fun with this one. I hope you enjoy :D

All kept gender-neutral Based on the show

This party sucks. I only came along because Janae, Simon and Maeve needed a ride. We haven't even been here for more than half an hour and we've already lost Maeve and Simon. Janae just left to go look for them, I'm staying in the kitchen in case they come back. The party's host, Jake, comes in a minute or so after Janae left. "You're not going to drink anything?" He holds up a bottle of some sort of alcohol to me. "No thanks. Driver" I take a sip from the glass of water that I've barely touched all this time. "Oh. So you brought Simon." He takes a swig of his drink. I just roll my eyes at him. Luckily he's gone before I can really snap-back.

I decide to text Janae to see if she's made any progress. You find them yet? But she doesn't answer. I'm not really worried though, she's probably more focused on finding them. Which makes sense. So many people here have absolutely bombarded their social media with images, videos, and what not. Some people even complaining about Simon being here. Can't really blame them, can I?

"Can we leave?" I hear from behind me and nearly throw my phone across the room. "Jesus fucking Christ, Janae! Gave me a heart attack." I turn to her and try to catch my breath. "Sorry. Can we leave?" She asks again. "Yeah, of course. Did you find Simon and Maeve?" She just looks off to the side. "Just wanna leave" "Of course, no problem. I'll just text Simon we'll be in the car."

My car isn't parked far, but the walk is still kind of awkward since neither of us says anything. I get into the drivers seat, Janae into the passengers. I connect my phone to the aux and play some music. "So... wanna tell me what made you want to leave? I know the party sucked, but still." Janae is just sitting there, looking into the distance.

"So..." she starts. "You know I like Maeve, right?" I nod. "Yep. You two would look really cute together, if I may. Did something happen between you two?" I know Janaes had a crush on Maeve for ages, but she hasn't really done anything yet. Simon keeps trying to push her, but that'll never end well. "Well, I did find her. And Simon." "Where were they?" She's quiet again.

"Making out in one of the bedrooms." Now it's my turn to be quiet. "I just... didn't want to be there anymore." I turn my head to Jake's house. Janae turns to me after a minute of us sitting in silence. "Holy shit, you like Simon, don't you?" She asks. "And you only figured that out now." I reply, pulling my feet up on my seat and resting my head on my knees.

"Seems we both had our heats broken, huh?" She lightly pushes my shoulder. "Yeah..." Again, we sit in silence, both just processing things. Guess today is a shitty day for both of us. My phone then vibrates in my pocket. oow from Simon. "They'll be here soon." "Wish they wouldn't." Janae says as we both buckle our seatbelts and I start the car.

I can see them on their way, but they're taking their sweet time. So, I start honking. A lot. I open my window and start yelling like an angry mother. "You get in this car right this instant or I'm coming to get you myself!" Janae is dying of laughter beside me. I keep honking, and after rolling their eyes at me, they eventually hurry up.

Simon instinctively goes to the passenger door and opens it, almost not noticing Janae. "Not this time, fuckface." She proudly says with a shit-eating grin on her face. Simon stands there for a moment, offended to hell and back that he wasn't, like always, sitting passenger. "I don't fit back there, so get out." He retaliates. Janae scoffs. "You dick isn't that big, now go sit down or we're leaving without you."

He basically slams the door and reluctantly goes into the back. Maeve is just snickering from back where she's sitting behind me. He's pouting like a kid when I turn around to back out of my parking space. "Where do you wanna go now?" Maeve shrugs. "I don't really care, honestly." "And you, Simon?" I ask, but he just pouts and refuses to talk. "You're such a drama queen." I joke.

So I just drive for a bit. The entire time, nobody is saying anything. But it's not an awkward silence this time. In no time, we're at the beach. "The fuck are we at the beach for? We just came from a pool party." Simon, once again, complains. I park the car and we start to get out.

"Me and Janae planned on coming here anyways. If you don't want to be here, you can go home." I open my trunk and get out mine and Janae's stuff. "I don't have anything with me though!" He gets out of the car. "We were literally at a POOL party, Simon." "You know damn well I never planned on actually swimming." He crosses his hands infront of him.

"Sucks to suck." I smile back at him and me, Maeve and Janae go to get changed. "Even Maeve knew about this? Did you not tell me to make me look like an idiot?" "We went to a pool party, Simon, and unlike you I was actually planning on swimming atleast a little."

It only takes us a few minutes to get changed and ready. When we get back to the car, Simon is sitting on the hood, on his phone. I throw my towel at him, completely catching him off-guard. He yelps, pulls it off and looks at us.

"Since you're not joining us, could you be a sweetheart and set up our towels? We'd really appreciate it." Simon puts his phone in his pocket, stands up and walks over to me. "Now why would I do that?" "You got something better to do?" I ask back. "I do, actually." "Like what?" "It's actually none of your business, last time I checked." He smirks at me.

"Fine. We'll be in the water if you need us." Me and Janae walk away first, Maeve takes a few seconds before she follows us. For the next like 10 minutes we don't pay much attention to Simon. We just splash around, swimming, mess with eachother. Then, I get probably my best idea of the day.

I grab a bucket I brought. Yes, I brought a bucket to make sand castles, eventhough I'm in High School. Live with it. I fill it up with water and motion for Janae and Maeve to be quiet. I can see it in their faces that they know exactly what's about to happen. Luckily, we're sort of at an angle to Simon, so he doesn't notice me get closer. I do my best to step very slowly and quietly.

I get behind him. I raise the bucket. I turn it over. I do pay attention though to not get any on his phone, though I'm pretty sure it's probably waterproof. All of the water falls onto Simon. Janae and Maeve lose their minds and start laughing. They can see his face, I can only imagine his expression. He tries to shake some of the water off by flapping his arms. "What the fuck!" He curses and turns to look at me.

His eyes scream bloody murder. "I'm going to fucking kill you." He threatens. "Gotta catch me first." And right as I say that, we both start running. I, however, have an advantage. Eventhough I'm barely faster than Simon, I immediately jump into the water. Simon, stupidly, also jumps in, completely forgetting his previous statement about his clothes.

It takes him a moment to realize that now he's even more drenched. He goes quiet, just kind of staring up into the sky. "What was that about not having any stuff with you?" I ask. "I still don't." He complains and runs a hand through his hair. "Well, you got your underwear though. Unless you're commando right now." I say back.

He looks at me with anger on his face, then turns around and walks out of the water. "Oh come on, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! You just seemed bored and..." then I notice he's getting undressed. Janae immediately turns to me. "Not a word, Matthews" I whisper to her, she raises her hands up.

Since I'm looking at Janae, I don't notice Simon running at me again, tackling me into the water. "Fuck!" I yell out as we both go underwater. "Holy shit" Janae starts laughing. As we come back up, we're both gasping for air. "Fucking warn me next time!" I complain. "You didn't warn me either!" He complains, but then also starts laughing. It's then that I'm suddenly lifted out of the water and onto Janae's shoulders. "Fight us, then!" She yells at him. "Oh you two are on!" Maeve throws back.

So, Simon picks her up and we start 'fighting'. Everything is extremely wobbly and very un-serious. We're pushing at eachother, trying to topple eachother over. Simon tries to kick at Janae, but just ends up losing his balance, causing them both to fall over. "Ha ha!" Me and Janae tryumph.

"Real smart move, Simon." Janae rolls her eyes at him. Because of the adrenaline, I only now realize that I am absolutely freezing. "Okay, you can let me down now Janae." I shiver a little. She kneels down so I can climb off, but SImon just kind of yanks me down instead. "Oh come on! It was one bucket!" I complain. "This is actually payback for, what, a year's worth of torment?" He thinks for a second, but then holds a hand out for to to help me back up.

"I think we should go. It's getting cold." Maeve says. We all agree and start walking back to my car. "Shit." We hear from Simon. "My fucking clooothes" He whines, picking up his absolutely drenched clothes. "Guess you'll have to drive home like that. You can have a towel though to dry off, first. Else you'll get sick."

It was so that Simon ended up wrapped burroto style in the passenger seat of my car, heating on full blast, mine and Janae's jackets on him too. "You really are just a toddler today, huh?" I joke. "oh shut up." He rolls his eyes, but I can see him smile out of the corner of my eye. I drop him and maeve off first, since they live across the street from eachother.

Me and Janae drive back to my place, she's staying the night anyway. The drive from their street to mine is about a ten minute one, so I put on a playlist me and Janae always listen to when it's just us two. We made it together, and called it Love Sucks. It's got all of those classic songs about unrequited love, being in love, all that stuff. "Ya know, if we're not married by 30, we should just marry eachother." I say and look over at her. Janae laughs. "That's stupid." She rolls her eyes.

"Well..." I take a pause. "With the way things are going, it seems more than likely it'll end up that way." I hate that I'm saying that and that it's actually true. "Yeah..." We fall silent.

"Love fucking sucks."

"That it does"

oh my god I love how this turned out, I did not intend for it to be so long I'm sorry about that xD 1933 total words =0.o And I got done just in time because I gotta go to bed now xD I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to send any suggestions my way for more OOUIL and Simon, Janae and Maeve content!

[beifongsss]

the boiling rock [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Disclaimer!: The reader is Sokka and Katara’s older sister!

Requested?: Yes! By @thegirlwholikestomanythings​: “ Hi! I have a Zuko x reader request if you don't mind. Maybe something like the reader being Katara and Sokka's older sister and Zuko having a big crush on her after he joins in S3?”

Summary: Sokka goes to break Hakoda out of The Boiling Rock and is shocked to find you there as well. He’s even more shocked when he figures out that Zuko’s a simp for you.

this is based off of the boiling rock episodes but there are a few changed made! there’s also like a pov change halfway i’m sorry. TIS A LONG ONE!!

.masterlist.

~

When Zuko defeated Combustion Man, Aang didn’t let him join the group until he gained approval from all of his friends.

“Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”

The blind earthbender smirked, a sinister look on her face as she pounded her fist into her palm. “Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

Satisfied with her answer, Aang turned to the Water Tribe boy. “Sokka?”

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it,” he said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall near him.

“Katara?” Aang asked uncertainly, noticing the stony look on the Water Tribe girl’s face.

“I'll go along with whatever you think is right,” she replied, glaring at Zuko.

“Great!” Aang said, ignoring Katara’s reaction. “Then that’s settled. Welcome to the group Zuko!”

Zuko paused slightly, looking around as he noticed the absence of the other Water Tribe girl he had always seen with the Gaang.

“Not that I’m complaining,” the prince said, a questioning look in his eyes. “But isn’t there someone else you should be asking? Where’s the other Water Tribe girl?”

The group went silent at Zuko’s words as Katara’s face hardened and Sokka looked away, a sad expression making it’s way onto his face.

“She’s gone,” Sokka said roughly as he began to storm off.

Katara reached out for his arm, grabbing onto him as he passed her. “Sokka, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Not my fault?” Sokka roared, stray tears escaping his eyes as he faced Katara. “It was my invasion plan Katara! I should’ve taken the fall. Not her!”

He shrugged her hand off before walking off deeper into the Air Temple. Katara sent Zuko another glare before hurrying after her brother, leaving him alone with Aang and Toph. Zuko glanced at Aang uneasily, not wanting to ask about what had happened. With a sigh, Aang sat down looking at Zuko expectantly.

The prince sat down across from Aang as Toph sat to his left, the usually loud-mouthed girl abnormally quiet.

“The other Water Tribe girl that would travel with us is (Y/N),” Aang explained quietly. “She’s Sokka and Katara’s older sister.”

Zuko nodded in response before speaking. “W-What happened to her?”

“She got captured by the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun,” Aang replied, looking down at his lap. “You know about the invasion right?”

Zuko nodded once more.

“Well it was Sokka’s invasion plan,” Aang continued. Zuko’s eyebrows rose up in surprise, going unnoticed by Aang. “He came up with it and (Y/N) and Hakoda, that’s their dad, fine tuned it. They thought of everything that could possibly go wrong and when the day came, Sokka was the one leading it.”

Aang’s face suddenly turned into one full of guilt. “I-It was actually my fault that she got captured. If I hadn’t gotten distracted by Azula, we could’ve gotten away before the eclipse was over. Instead, they caught up to us before we could get back to the beach. Hakoda told us all to leave on Appa and to take the youngest members of the group but (Y/N) didn’t fit because we had Teo, Haru, and The Duke with us. So she decided to stay behind and take the blame for the invasion so that they wouldn’t go out and look for us. She said that they’d believe her because she was traveling with the Avatar and because she was the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and she had a reason to want to attack the Fire Nation.”

Aang couldn’t stop the tear that slipped out. “I guess she was right because we weren’t followed after we escaped.”

“C’mon Twinkletoes,” Toph said, leaning back on her hands. “(Y/N) knew what she was getting into. She’s not dumb. She’s strong, smart, and patient. In fact, I’m willing to bet she’s making those Fire Nation guard’s lives hell.”

Zuko observed Toph as she spoke about the missing Water Tribe girl. “How are you so sure?”

“Please,” Toph scoffed, cracking her knuckles. “She’s the only idiot here that can beat me in a fight. She’ll be fine.”

“Oh,” Zuko said, slightly surprised. “Is she a waterbender too?”

“Nope,” Toph said. “That’s how I know she’s okay. She can beat me in a fight, and I’m the greatest earthbender in the world! I invented metalbending.”

Zuko’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at Toph’s words. “She beat you without any bending?”

“She did,” Sokka’s voice rang out. The group (except Toph) turned around to find Sokka walking towards them. “Which is why we needed her here, not in prison. She shouldn’t be paying for my mistakes.”

Without another word Sokka climbed onto Appa, shooting Aang a look when the Air Nomad shot him a worried glance. “Don’t worry Aang. I’m just gonna clear my head. Yip yip.”

The conversation ended with Sokka’s departure and silently, Aang showed Zuko to his room.

~

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Sokka asked, catching Zuko’s attention as he handed him a cup of tea. Zuko set down the tea and followed Sokka to where he was standing, softly petting Appa when he opened his eyes to look at them.

“So, what’s up?” Zuko asked, looking back over at the group before focusing on Sokka.

“If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?” the Water Tribe boy asked, trying to look nonchalant. At Zuko’s suspicious look, he spoke again. “When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be.”

“We both know this is about your sister, Sokka,” Zuko replied. “I can’t tell you.”

“What? Why not?” Sokka asked, mildly irritated. 

“Trust me,” Zuko said, turning to leave. “Knowing will just make you feel worse.”

“It’s not just about (Y/N)!” Sokka hissed, causing Zuko to stop in his tracks. “It’s my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put them through.”

“It’s not good Sokka,” the prince replied, not meeting his eyes.

“Please.”

Sighing deeply, Zuko gave in. “My guess is, they were taken to The Boiling Rock.”

“What’s that?”

“The highest security prison in the Fire Nation,” Zuko ignored Sokka’s horrified look. “It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable.”

“So,” Sokka said, trying to appear indifferent. “Where is this place?”

“Why do you need to know?” Zuko asked, eyes narrowing. “What are you planning?”

“Nothing!” Sokka tried reassuring the prince. “Boy, you’re so paranoid.”

Zuko rolled his eyes before replying. “It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here.”

“Thanks Zuko,” Sokka said before letting out a very fake yawn as he stretched. “Just knowing makes me feel better.”

“Sure it does,” Zuko scoffed, watching the Water Tribe boy walk away. Noticing that everyone was getting ready to go to bed, he stealthily climbed up onto Appa’s saddle, gently shushing the sky bison when he once again opened his eyes.

~

At this moment, Zuko sort of regretted joining Sokka on his journey. After having successfully convinced him to take his war balloon instead of Appa, the two boys found themselves existing in awkward silence.

“Pretty clouds,” Sokka spoke first, slightly startling Zuko.

“Yeah...fluffy,” the Fire Nation prince replied before focusing on the fire again. Sokka began whistling casually, drawing Zuko’s attention. “What?”

“What?” Sokka asked, the awkwardness between the two boys palpable. “Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons.”

“No kidding,” Zuko said with slight surprise.

“Yep. A balloon...but for war,” came the other boy’s reply.

“If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war.”

“Yeah, it seems to run in the family.”

“Hey, hold on,” Zuko said, slightly offended. “Not everyone in my family is like that.”

“I know, I know,” Sokka replied, hands raised in defense. “You’ve changed.”

“I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down.”

“I think your uncle would be proud of you,” Sokka said, looking at Zuko intently. “Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard.”

“It wasn’t that hard.”

“Really?” Sokka asked in disbelief. “You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?”

“Well I did have a girlfriend,” Zuko replied, smiling slightly. “Mai.”

“That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?” Sokka asked, trying to hold back his smile.

“Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it,” Zuko explained before hesitating slightly. “Besides, I didn’t truly like her. Trust me, I know that sounds bad. When we were kids we liked each other, but we’re not kids anymore and we’ve both changed and things just weren’t working out.”

Sokka nodded in understanding before crossing his arms. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko paused for a few seconds, looking up at the moon and wondering if Sokka was being serious before turning to him. “That’s rough buddy.”

Silence ensued again, the scene almost relaxing if it weren’t for the fact that the two of them were heading for the most high-security prison in the Fire Nation.

“So,” Zuko broke the silence, looking at Sokka uncertainly. “What happens if we get there and (Y/N) isn’t there?

The question caught Sokka off guard, causing him to scowl. “She will be.”

“But,” Zuko pressed, trying to make the boy understand. “What if she isn’t?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Sokka replied, crossing his arms and looking away as he tried not to think about Zuko’s words.

“Why don’t you just wait until after Aang defeats my father to set everyone free?” Zuko asked softly. “You’d have a much better chance then.”

“You just don’t get it!” Sokka yelled, looking back at Zuko. “See you and your sister might not get along very well but (Y/N) is the most important person in my life. She was the one who took care of me and Katara after our mom died. She was the one who basically led our tribe after the men went off to fight. She always knew what to say and what to do. We need her Zuko. I need her, Katara needs her, Aang definitely needs her, heck even Toph needs her!”

Zuko stayed silent as he focused on the fire, giving Sokka a few minutes to calm down.

“You’re right Sokka,” he finally said. “I don’t get along with Azula. We’ll find her.”

Sokka didn’t reply, instead choosing to look up at the moon, hoping that he had made the right choice.

~

Soon enough, they had reached The Boiling Rock. Zuko followed after Sokka, a bit disgruntled at the fact that his war balloon had been destroyed. They had somehow managed to get guard uniforms and sneak into the prison, a feat Zuko found impressive considering that Sokka didn’t have a fully thought-out plan.

“I hope these disguises work,” Zuko hissed, shoving Sokka softly with his shoulder.

“We just need to lay low and find (Y/N) and my dad as soon as possible,” Sokka quietly replied, rubbing his shoulder. “Ow!”

“Guards!” another guard ran past Sokka and Zuko, causing them to flinch. “There’s a scuffle in the yard. Come on!”

The two boys exchanged looks before running after the guard, eventually coming to an open space where a guard was harassing a prisoner. The rest of the guards were trying to keep the other prisoners away from the confrontation. Sokka subtly tilted his head, motioning for Zuko to join the other guards. They split up slightly, trying to keep the crowd in control.

“I didn’t do anything,” the prisoner in the middle of the platform stated, walking away from the guard. “I’m going back to my cell.”

“Stop right there Chit Sang,” the guard said, sending a fire whip towards him. “I’ve had it with your unruly behavior.”

One of the prisoners Zuko was trying to hold back began to slip past him and he reached out to grab them. His eyes widened when he made eye contact with the girl, who then promptly proceeded to shove him off of her and onto the ground. Zuko stared at the girl, his heart speeding up slightly and his stomach lurching as she shot him a glare and marched right up to the guard who had created the fire whip.

“Leave him alone!” she growled, stepping in front of Chit Sang. The guard simply laughed before stepping forwards.

“What are you gonna do Water Tribe scum?”

Zuko flinched as Sokka swatted him, tilting his head towards the girl. “That’s her! That’s (Y/N)!”

Sokka grasped Zuko’s arm tightly, knowing that he couldn’t jump to his sister’s defense. The two of them watched in anticipation as the guard shot out a blast of fire, aiming it at you. Zuko’s eyes widened at the sight. You weren’t a bender, you were going to get burned.

His jaw dropped as you gracefully slid underneath the blast before coming up and swatting the guard’s hand away. When the guard tried to aim at you again, you swept your leg in a graceful arc, knocking him down. You were amazing.

“Cuff her!” the guard barked, embarrassment clear on his face as all the other prisoners cheered. Two of the other guards grabbed you roughly, cuffing your hands behind your back and shoving you roughly in front of the guard you had knocked down.

“You think you’re tough, don’t you?” the guard asked. You didn’t look at him.

“Look at me when I speak to you!” the guard screamed. The yard went silent as everyone waited to see what you would do. Slowly, you lifted your head and met the guard’s eyes. His face held a smug expression, which was soon wiped off when you leaned forward and spit in his face.

The yard went wild again, the guards struggling to keep the prisoners under control. The bully guard lunged forwards, gripping your face tightly in his hand. He stared you down for a few seconds before tossing you to the ground. Scowling, he turned to Sokka and Zuko, who seemed to be the only guards not busy at the moment. “You two! Take her to her cell.”

Sokka picked you up and Zuko led them inside, stealing glances at you as you walked. At one point Sokka caught his gaze, giving him a confused look before his eyes widened in realization. He looked between you and Zuko before glaring at the prince and shaking his head furiously. Zuko avoided his gaze after that. They found your cell quickly enough and Sokka softly pushed you in before stepping inside and pulling Zuko with him.

He took off your cuffs easily enough and you stepped away from him, rubbing your wrists gently.

“What do you want?” you snarled, eyes shifting from one guard to another.

“(Y/N)!” one of them cried out, moving towards you. You sidestepped quickly, grabbing his arm and shoving him up against the wall. He groaned in pain as you pulled his arm back.

“What do you want?” you hissed, not taking your eyes off of the other guard.

“(Y/N/N),” the one you were holding squeaked. “It’s me!”

Your eyes widened at the voice and you stepped back, still keeping your hand on the guard’s arm. “Sokka?”

Sokka used his free hand to take off his helmet, a large grin on his face as he turned to look at you. “Yes! It’s m-”

His words were cut off when you yanked on his arm, pulling him close to you as you wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug. Sokka melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around you tightly as he held tears back.

“Spirits,” you whispered, pulling back and looking at your baby brother. “Sokka what are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“Uh, we took my war balloon,” the other guard replied. You froze slightly at the familiar voice, turning to find Prince Zuko standing there, waving awkwardly.

“You,” you snarled, stomping up to the prince and pushing him up against the wall. You held your forearm against his throat, staring him down. Zuko didn’t do anything in return, a dazed smile on his face as he stared back at you.

“(Y/N) what are you doing?” Sokka yelped, placing a hand on your shoulder. You looked away from Zuko, glancing at your brother in disbelief.

“What do you mean? Have you forgotten that he’s tracked us all over the world? Or that he’s tried to kill us? Multiple times!” you glanced at Zuko again, noticing that he was still smiling. “Why are you smiling at me? Sokka, why is he smiling at me?”

Sokka snorted softly, the scene in front of him reminding him of the first time Aang had met him and Katara. Shooting a tired look at Zuko, he gently pulled you away from the scarred prince. “I don’t know why he’s smiling at you but I do know that he’s part of the team now, so lay off okay?”

You looked at him in disbelief before whirling around and facing Sokka. “Alright but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“We’re here to break you out?” Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his gaze to the floor.

“Seriously?” you hissed, stepping closer to him and causing him to stumble back. “This couldn’t have waited until after Aang defeated Ozai?”

“I told you so,” Zuko mumbled, shooting a pointed look at Sokka.

“Stay out of this,” you whisper-yelled, pushing him back up against the wall with one hand. “You have to leave. Both of you.“

“Well you see,” Sokka said, chuckling slightly as he met your gaze. “We can’t exactly do that.”

“Yes you can,” you replied, grabbing Sokka and proceeding to push the two boys towards the door. “Just get back on your little war balloon and leave.”

Zuko and Sokka exchanged nervous glances at the mention of the war balloon, causing you to narrow your eyes at them.

“Don’t say it.”

“It popped!” Sokka squealed, bouncing away from you as he noticed your expression. “But we’ll get out of here, and you’re coming with us.”

You couldn’t help but facepalm at your brother’s words.

~

The guards had only released you from your cell when it was your turn to do the cleaning. You hadn’t heard from Sokka since he had left you, and you were worried that he had gotten caught. You were so distracted by your thoughts that you didn’t notice the other prisoner who was mopping, resulting in you bumping into them and falling down.

“I’m sorry,” the other prisoner said, extending a hand to help you up. You glanced up, making eye contact with Zuko. Your eyes widened almost comically and you grabbed his hand, simultaneously pulling yourself up and pulling him closer to you.

“Where is my brother?” you asked as you leaned in close, panic in your voice as you whispered in his ear. Zuko tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks as your close proximity, focusing on your question.

“He’s fine,” he whispered back. “It was just me who got caught.”

You let his hand go, stepping back and nodding subtly before going back to mopping. Zuko stayed close to you, pretending to be focused on his mopping as he stole glances at you. Feeling his gaze, you looked up and arched an eyebrow as you made eye contact. The prince flushed when he realized he had been caught, looking back down before speaking.

“I-I never introduced myself,” he spoke softly. “I’m Zuko.”

“I know,” you replied flatly, walking further away from him. Zuko stood awkwardly for a moment before inching closer to you again.

“So you’re (Y/N),” he spoke again. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

You snorted at his words, your eyes not leaving the ground. “Yeah I’m sure it is.”

“You’re a really good fighter,” Zuko continued, still trying to make conversation. “Even back when I was still hunting the Avatar you were the one that I was most worried about holding off.”

“Good to know,” you said drily, finally looking up at Zuko. “Look, Sokka may trust you but I don’t, okay? First of all, you haven’t really done anything but cause trouble for us. Second of all, you actually brought my brother here. I appreciate the sentiment but I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of my baby brother breaking into a Fire Nation prison.”

Zuko swallowed harshly, looking away. “I’m sorry. But he was really adamant about rescuing you and your dad and-”

“Wait,” you interrupted Zuko. “I’m the only Water Tribe member here. My dad is still being held somewhere in the Fire Nation capital.”

Zuko’s eyes widened briefly before he composed himself. “Oh. Alright then I guess that means we can leave as soon as Sokka comes back to meet us.”

The two of you continued to mop in silence before someone suddenly grabbed your upper arm, causing you to stiffen and causing Zuko to get into a defensive stance.

“Calm down, it’s just me.”

“You really have to stop doing that Sokka,” you hissed, yanking your arm away from him. “Zuko told me about why you’re here. I hope you know we can leave now. Dad isn’t here.”

Sokka’s face fell briefly before he forced a smile onto his face. “He may not be but guess who is? Suki! Why didn’t you tell me she was here (Y/N)?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” you whispered. “Maybe because I was too busy freaking out about the fact that my kid brother and the Fire Nation prince broke into prison and don’t have a way to get out!”

“Shh!” Sokka hissed, putting his hand over your mouth. “Be quiet! And I’m not your ‘kid brother’, you’re only a year older than I am.”

Zuko stayed quiet as the two of you stared each other down before Sokka let out a yelp and took his hand off your mouth. “Did you just lick me?”

You didn’t reply, a smirk on your face as you crossed your arms. Zuko stifled a laugh at the scene in front of him, coughing quietly when you shot a look at him. The three of you stood still as a new voice interrupted.

“So, what’s the plan?” Suki stood near you, hiding in the shadows that the staircase provided. You exchanged a glance with Sokka, nodding in encouragement.

“So, listen, I think I have an escape plan,” Sokka began, a little nervous at being in charge of the escape plan. “I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko replied, unsure as to where this was going. 

“So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?”

Zuko and Suki exchanged confused looks before looking over at you, only to see you smiling widely as you caught on.

“Just get to the point Sokka,” Suki said, glancing around nervously.

“It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water!” you said, eyes sparkling as you looked at Sokka proudly. Despite the situation, Zuko found himself smiling at the sight of your smile.

“Sokka,” you said, leaning in close to your brother while keeping your eyes on Zuko. “He’s doing it again.”

Sokka scowled and smacked Zuko’s head, causing the boy to straighten up and ignore Suki’s smirk. “The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?”

“I’m telling you, it’ll work,” Sokka said, giving them each a serious glance. “I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free.”

“But how are you going to get the cooler out?” Suki asked, a worried frown on her face.

“Yeah. How are you gonna get the cooler out?”

The four of you turned as Chit Sang landed next to you, causing Sokka and Zuko to stutter as they tried to tell Chit Sang that they weren’t planning anything. You rolled your eyes, stepping closer to Chit Sang before speaking. “That’s easy, isn’t it? We just need to get a firebender into the cooler.”

Sokka and Zuko gaped at you, shocked that you had given them away.

“Calm down,” you scoffed, patting Chit Sang’s back. “Chit Sang and I go way back. He’s the one who made all the other firebenders leave me alone.”

Chit Sang nodded before turning back to the group. “Look I won’t tell the warden about your plan if you let me come along.”

Sokka stared at you intently, the two of you having a silent conversation before turning back to the group. “Fine! But we need to get someone into the cooler.”

Sokka handed Zuko a wrench. “Here. You’re going to unbolt the cooler, from the inside.”

Zuko looked back at Sokka, confused. “How am I going to get in there?”

You grinned widely, patting Zuko’s chest as you walked past him. “I got this. Follow my lead.”

You picked up your mop, motioning for Zuko to do the same. You began mopping, casually walking around as you kept Zuko in your periphery. The prince didn’t dare look at you so he was caught by surprise when you bumped into him from behind.

“Hey!” you snapped, turning around and glaring at him. “Watch where you’re going.”

Zuko froze for a split second before realizing this was your plan. “You’re the one who bumped into me. How about you watch where you’re going?”

A smile played at the corner of your lips as you stared each other down. Zuko noticed and felt his cheeks grow warm as he tried to hold back a smile of his own. The two of you stood there for a few seconds, staring at each other until Sokka coughed loudly.

Tearing your eyes away from the prince, you lunged at him. He easily dodged your swing before throwing a halfhearted punch back at you. You rolled your eyes as you kicked at him, losing your balance slightly as he swatted your leg away. You recovered quickly and threw another punch, a soft gasp leaving your mouth when he grasped your wrist and twirled you around, your back pressed against his chest as his arm held you tightly in place.

You struggled for a moment, sighing in defeat when you realized just how strong he was. You tilted your head back slightly, your lips brushing against his ear as you whispered into it. “You have to firebend at me Zuko.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he mumbled back, causing you to roll your eyes again.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” you replied. With a grunt, you elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a soft ‘oof’ and you took that chance to break out of his hold. You dropped down and spun, your leg outstretched as you tried to knock him down. He jumped over your leg easily before shooting out a blast of fire at you. He held his breath for a second, sighing in relief as he noticed you roll out of the way.

“No firebending!” a guard shouted, roughly grabbing Zuko from behind. You sent him a soft smile, receiving a smirk in return. As he was led away, Suki came up to you, a big smile on her face.

“So,” she said, her tone teasing. “What was that?”

“Yeah (Y/N),” Sokka said, crossing his arms as he came up to you. “What was that?”

You rolled your eyes before walking past the two of them. “It was a fight.”

“That’s not what it looked like from my point of view,” Suki called out after you, causing Sokka to send a glare at her. You simply chuckled at her words.

~

“(Y/N)?”

You stood up from the floor of your cell, looking at Sokka as he stood outside your cell. “Yeah?”

“It’s time.”

Sokka opened your cell and threw you a guard’s uniform before quickly closing the door and allowing you to change. When you were done, you knocked on the door three times, fixing your helmet as you waited for him to open the door.

Together, the two of you made your way towards the cooler, trying to avoid any guards on your way.

You opened the door to the cooler, a small frown making its way onto your face when you noticed that Zuko was shivering.

“I can take you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson,” Sokka said, looking way too smug. You rolled our eyes and focused on Zuko as he looked up at the two of you. His eyes met yours as he let out a breath of fire, his shivering stopping completely. He sent you a cocky smirk and you ignored the flopping you felt in your stomach at the sight of it. (A/N: y’all know what smirk i’m talkin bout)

“Yes I have,” he breathed, showing you both all the bolts and screws he had removed. “Completely.”

“I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago,” Sokka whispered. “They'll be waiting for us at the shore.”

“Someone’s coming!” you whisper yelled, letting out a small yelp when you were pulled into the cooler. The three of you barely fit into the cooler but that didn’t make it any less cold. Even though you had grown up in the South Pole, you found yourself shivering at the temperature, your breath coming out in icy clouds.

Zuko glanced down at you, a frown appearing on his face as he noticed you shivering. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around you, bringing you in close as your expression changed into a bewildered one. You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when you realized just how warm he was. Sokka, unfortunately, didn’t stay quiet at the scene playing out in front of him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he screeched quietly, trying to pry the two of you apart. You quickly pushed him away.

“Sokka, shut up,” you mumbled as you wrapped your arms around Zuko, your teeth still chattering. “He’s warm and I’m freezing.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped as you casually buried your face into Zuko’s chest, a content sigh escaping you as you got warmer by the second. Sokka stayed quiet as the voices outside got closer, instead miming a throat slitting motion as he stared Zuko down, causing the prince to swallow harshly.

“...Yeah. new arrivals coming in at dawn,” a male voice sounded, catching your attention.

“Anybody interesting?” a female voice asked in reply.

“Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners,” you and Sokka exchanged a disbelieving look.  “Though I did hear there might be a pirate.”

“No fooling!”

The voices faded as they walked away and you all took that chance to leave the cooler.

“War prisoners,” Zuko stated, his eyes not leaving Sokka’s. “Could be your father.”

“I know.”

“Well, what should we do?” Zuko asked. “Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?”

“I don't know!” Sokka cried out, looking distraught. “Is it right for me to risk Suki and (Y/N)’s freedom, all of our freedom, on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?”

You stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

“It’s your call Sokka,” Zuko finally said, trying to let the other boy know he was there for him.

Sokka thought about it for a moment, eyes focused on the ground. After a few seconds he looked up and scowled, crossing his arms as he glared at you. “You can let go of him now (Y/N).”

A bright blush erupted on your cheeks as you looked at Zuko, an embarrassed expression spreading across your face as you realized you were still holding onto each other. You stepped away from him quickly, clearing your throat as you did so.

~

The three of you had somehow managed to get the cooler down to the shore, not that it mattered considering the fact that Chit Sang had just taken your only means of escape. It wasn’t his fault really; it was you and Sokka who had been extremely hesitant to leave, not wanting to risk the chance of your dad being on the gondola the next morning.

Suki and Zuko had stayed behind with you, the four of you waiting in the blind spot for the gondola to arrive. It had almost been light out when alarms were set off, causing all of you to whip your heads to where the cooler had been floating off.

“The plan failed!” Sokka said sadly. “They got caught.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t go along with them huh?” you said, earning a dull look from your brother.

“The gondola's moving,” Sokka said suddenly, grasping your hand. “This is it. If my dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing.”

“We had to,” you whispered back, squeezing his hand. The four of you now stood in the yard as you waited in anticipation, looking up as the gondola doors opened.

“Is that him?” Zuko asked as the first prisoner got out.

“My dad doesn’t have a nose ring!” both you and Sokka exclaimed, looking at the prince weirdly. More men came off the gondola, both you and Sokka shaking with anxiety as you kept an eye out for Hakoda.

“Where is he?” Sokka asked as the last man stepped off. “Is that it? That can’t be it.”

“I’m sorry,” Suki whispered, rubbing both of your backs.

“Hey you!” the guard called out, drawing your attention. “Get off the gondola.”

You waited with bated breath for the last person to emerge, your hand tightening around Sokka’s and causing him to wince. Your eyes widened as you watched the final prisoner get off, dark jaw-length hair surrounding a face that held tired blue eyes. You immediately turned to Sokka, tears threatening to spill.

“Sokka,” you whispered. “It’s dad.”

~

You had been pacing back and forth worriedly ever since Sokka had gone to join the other guards and quite frankly, both Suki and Zuko were tired of it.

“Please just stand still (Y/N),” Suki said, gently reaching out and grabbing you. “If something was wrong, we would’ve heard it already. Your brother isn’t exactly the quietest.”

You nodded in agreement and sat down, nervously biting your lip as you waited for Sokka to return. You barely flinched as Zuko sat next to you, Suki giving him a knowing glance as she wandered off slowly.

“Look,” he began, staring straight ahead. “I know you don’t like me, but I need to tell you this okay? As much as you can’t help but worry, you shouldn’t. Sokka’s smart and he knows what he’s doing...sort of.”

He chuckled at the halfhearted glare you directed at him. “I’m kidding. But really, Sokka’s smart and brave and he was so set on coming up here and breaking you out and I know he’s going to do it because he has heart. Plus he has you helping him out. So stop worrying so much okay? Also, never repeat any of what I just said to him”

You snorted at Zuko’s words before bumping his shoulder with your. “Thanks Zuko. You know what? Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.”

The prince’s eyes widened in shock and he smiled down at you, blushing slightly when you smiled back. Your moment was ruined when Sokka came sprinting back, causing Suki to join you as well.

“(Y/N), c’mon! I found him,” Sokka exclaimed. Without another word, he grabbed your arm and dragged you away from the group. A wide smile was on his face and you felt yourself smile as well when you came to a stop in front of a cell.

Sokka slid the door open, looking around before ducking inside and draging you with him. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Oh you’ll see just how ‘okay’ I am,” Hakoda replied, swinging at what he believed to be a guard. You stepped in front of Sokka before pushing Hakoda’s arm out of the way, ducking under it and pushing him softly before pulling Sokka out of the way.

Hakoda’s eyes widened at the familiar movements,searching the faces of the two guards standing before him. “Sokka? (Y/N)?”

"Dad!” you cried out in unison with Sokka, the two of you removing your masks as you smiled at Hakoda. His eyes filled with tears as he brought you into a hug and you couldn’t help but let a few tears slip as well.

“Where’s Katara? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine dad,” you said, tightening your hold on Hakoda. “She’s not here.”

“Where’s Bato?” Sokka asked, pulling away. “Where’s everyone else from the invasion?”

“The others are being held at a prison near the Fire Nation palace,” Hakoda replied. “They sent me here because I kept being difficult after they singled (Y/N) out as the leader and sent her here. But before I left, I met some young women who said they knew you. The...Oshinama Fighters? ”

“You mean the Kyoshi Warriors?” you asked.

“That’s right.”

“Their leader Suki is here,” Sokka said, a blush visible on his face. “She’s gonna escape with us too!”

“Good. We'll need all the help we can get.”

“And you know Prince Zuko?” Sokka asked, getting excited at the thought of finally leaving.

“The son of the Fire Lord?” Hakoda asked hesitantly. “I don't know him, but I know of him.”

"Well he’s here too!” Sokka exclaimed.

“That sounds like a major problem,” Hakoda replied, crossing his arms as his face hardened.

“Actually,” Sokka said, smiling nervously. “He’s on our side now.”

Hakoda shot him a disbelieving look, causing you to step in.

“I had the same reaction dad,” you said, putting a hand on Hakoda’s shoulder. “But he really has changed. He came here with Soka to break me out. He’s been a big help.”

Hakoda’s face softened at your words. You had always been a good judge of character, so if you approved of the prince, then he did too. “So, do you have a plan?”

“We had one,” Sokka said, looking down sadly. “But some of the other prisoners got involved and ruined it. I dunno if there's another way off this island.”

“Sokka, there's no prison in the world that can hold three Water Tribe geniuses.”

“Then I guess we’d better find two more to help me plan something,” you teased, making Hakoda laugh and earning a dull look from Sokka.

~

You sprinted towards the yard, having been distracted by another guard for a few minutes before all the prisoners had been let out. When you reached your dad, Suki, and Sokka, you were surprised to see Chit Sang speaking with them.

“Hey you! You're lucky I didn't rat you out,” Chit Sang said, staring Sokka down. “But my generosity comes with a price. I know you're planning another escape attempt, and I want in.”

You nodded at Sokka, telling him to go along with it. He sighed softly before facing Chit Sang. “Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need a riot. You wouldn't happen to know how to start one, would you?”

“You seriously couldn’t start a prison riot?” you asked in disbelief, looking at the three of them in disappointment. “C’mon Chit Sang, let’s show them how it’s done.”

The two of you stepped forwards, Chit Sang picking up another prisoner as you strutted up to one of them.

“Hey everybody!” you yelled, the yard going quiet as you spoke. Without hesitation, you punched the prisoner closest to you. “Riot!”

The yard exploded into chaos as people began fighting and throwing stuff around. You quickly fought off the prisoner that you had punched before returning to your friends.

“Impressive,” Hakoda said, looking around at all the chaos.

You turned and swung as you felt someone bump into you, the person letting out a loud grunt as your fist met their face. Your jaw dropped as your eyes met piercing gold ones, your hands coming up to your face in slight horror as you realized that you had just punched Zuko.

“Yep,” he said, clutching his face. “I probably deserved that after everything I’ve done to you.”

“I’m so sorry,” you choked out in between giggles, earning a smile from the prince.

“Zuko! Good, we’re all here,” Sokka said, drawing you all into a huddle. “Now all we need to do is grab the warden, and get to the gondolas!”

“And how do we do that?” Zuko asked.

Sokka hesitated for a few seconds. “I’m not sure.”

Zuko groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I thought you thought this through!”

“I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through”

“Maybe not everything, but this is kind of important!” Zuko cried out.

“Hey fella,” Chit Sang interrupted, tapping Zuko’s shoulder before pointing at you. “I think your girlfriend’s taking care of it.”

“You’re dating my daughter?” Hakoda asked, glaring at Zuko.

“W-What? No!” Zuko cried out, slightly fearful of the Water Tribe Chief.

“Damn right you’re not,“ Sokka said, crossing his arms before Chit Sang spun him around.

“Your girlfriend too buddy.”

All four males went silent as they observed both you and Suki. You swiftly made your way up the tower, effortlessly taking guards down as you inched towards the warden. Suki took a stance at the base of the tower, fighting off any other guards who attempted to rush to the warden’s rescue. She was a truly impressive sight, her training as a Kyoshi Warrior shining through as she took down every guard that came at her effortlessly. Sokka stood a few yards away, awestruck at the sight in front of him.

Meanwhile, you had successfully made your way up to the top of the tower. You made quick work of the remaining guards before finally facing the warden.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he snarled, getting into a defensive position.

“Watch me,” you quipped, lunging at him. You avoided his punch, grabbing his wrist and spinning him around before shoving him up against the railing. You grabbed his sash, tying his hands before knocking him down and making sure he was tied securely before smiling over at your dad. “You’re my prisoner now warden.”

Down in the yard, Hakoda, Zuko, and Chit Sang all stared at you in awe, Sokka still focused on Suki.

“That’s my girl,” Hakoda stated, a proud look on his face as he looked up at you.

“Do you think she’d want to be my girl?” Zuko muttered dazedly, unintentionally speaking louder than he meant to. When he realized what he had said, he looked up in embarrassment, being met with an amused glance from Chit Sang, a harsh scowl from Hakoda, and a sharp slap from Sokka.

“Shut up!” Sokka hissed before grabbing Zuko’s arm and rushing to join you and Suki.

You all ran to the gondola, making sure that the warden was still tied up as you dragged him with you.

“We’re almost there!” Suki cried out.

“Spoke too soon,” you groaned as a group of guards came across your path, immediately sending two blasts of fire at you. You yelped as Zuko pulled you out of the way before stepping in front of you and dissipating the blasts. He sent a series of blasts back at them before grabbing the warden from you.

“Back off! We've got the warden!“ he shouted, successfully stopping the guards. When they didn’t make any movements he grabbed your hand and tugged you along. “Let's go”

Suki was the first to make it to the gondola, holding the door open for everyone else. “Everyone in!”

You all clambered on and you glanced around, realizing that someone was missing.

“Zuko!” you yelled, looking back at the prince. He started the gondola and you felt yourself panic as the guards closed in on him. “What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“I’m making it so that they can’t stop us!” With a few kicks, Zuko managed to break the lever that controlled the gondola before sprinting towards you. You leaned out of the door slightly, watching him in anticipation.

“C’mon Zuko,” you whispered to yourself, biting your lip as the gondola left the platform, now hanging freely. Zuko sped up and jumped, his feet landing on the edge of the gondola. He wobbled for a bit before you grasped his arm, fully pulling him into the gondola and into your arms. Zuko looked at you in confusion before wrapping his arms around you as well.

“Are you sure they’re not dating?” Hakoda asked, his voice quiet as he addressed Sokka. Sokka sent Zuko a menacing glare, the scarred prince gulping and loosening his hold on you when he noticed.

“What were you thinking?” you cried out, finally pulling away from Zuko and slapping his head.

“Ow!” Zuko hissed, rubbing the spot you had hit. “I was thinking ‘let me get rid of this lever real quick so that they don’t catch us’.”

“You could’ve gotten captured!” you yelled at him, taking a step towards him.

“Way to think ahead,” Sokka commented, saving Zuko from another slap.

“We’re finally on our way.” Suki sighed, sharing a soft smile with Sokka.

“Wait,” Hakoda said, leaning out of the window. “Who’s that?”

You leaned out of the window on the other side of the gondola, resisting the urge to blush as you felt Zuko’s chest press up against your back as he tried to get a good look at the platform.

“That’s a problem,” Zuko groaned. “It’s my sister and her friend.”

“This is a rematch I’ve been waiting for,” Suki growled, cracking her knuckles.

“Get in line,” you scoffed, your eyes narrowing as you watched the princess approach. You climbed out of the gondola and onto the roof, being followed by Sokka, Suki, and Zuko.

Suki and Sokka turned to face Ty Lee as she landed onto the roof gracefully, quickly becoming preoccupied with the chi-blocker. You carefully observed Azula as she landed a few feet away from you, staring you down as she stalked closer.

“Well, well, well,” she spoke, her voice taunting. “If it isn’t the Water Tribe scum.”

“Don’t speak to her like that,” Zuko barked, stepping slightly in front of you.

“Aww, does Zuzu have a little crush?” Azula teased, pouting as she shifted her gaze to Zuko. “Snap out of it Zuko. We raided her village multiple times. She’ll never see you as anything other than a monster.”

“Still not over what your mother used to say about you huh?” you shot back, missing the hurt look in Azula’s eyes as she shot lightning at you. You swiftly dodged the blast and ran at her, sliding onto the ground when she let out another blast.

Zuko watched as you stood up, landing a solid hit on his sister before bouncing back and dodging the hit she sent your way. He tried to find an opening to attack Azula but eventually gave up for fear of hurting you. Instead he chose to jump into the fight and wipe out the blasts Azula kept sending at you, even if you were expertly dodging them.

Azula soon grew tired of the fight, and knowing that she couldn’t beat you in the moment decided to send a blast of fire at Zuko. She caught him off guard and although he managed to wipe out the blast, he ended up tumbling back and landing dangerously close to the gondola’s edge.

“Zuko!” you yelled, momentarily distracted from the fight. Azula took this chance to kick you down, punching you before kicking you once more when you tried to scramble to your feet. You were sent stumbling against the metal handle that attached the gondola to the cable, gasping in pain as you crashed against it. She grinned widely when your head hit the metal.

You blew your hair out of your face, wincing as you reached up to touch the sore spot on your head and sighing when you noticed the blood on your fingertips.

“You have nowhere to go,” Azula stated, stalking towards you. Blue fire danced at her fingertips, her eyes hungry with anticipation as you struggled to stand. “Such a shame, you could’ve been a great asset to me.”

“I would rather die than join you,” you shot back, finally managing to stand up.

“Fine,” Azula spat, the fire growing as she narrowed her eyes. “Have it your way.”

You closed your eyes and braced yourself, knowing that you were in no shape to block her attack. You felt the heat approaching before it disappeared. Opening your eyes, you gasped softly as you saw Zuko standing in front of you. He sent blasts of fire back at Azula before the gondola swung dangerously, sending them both stumbling.

“They’re about to cut the line!” Ty Lee shouted at Azula.

“Then it’s time to leave,” the princess smirked. “Goodbye Zuko.”

Azula blasted away as Ty Lee backflipped gracefully onto the other gondola. Zuko glared at Azula briefly before rushing to your side, reaching down and gently picking you up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his face twisting with concern as you stumbled.

“Yeah,” you breathed. “Just peachy.”

You tried to walk on your own only to stumble once more and fall right into Zuko’s arms. You shook your head slightly, trying to walk off once more.

“(Y/N), stop,” Zuko said, scooping your legs up and fully carrying you.

“P-Put me down!” you yelled, drawing Sokka and Suki’s attention.

“Hey! Put her down,” Sokka cried, rushing over to your side. He was stopped when the gondola swayed again.

“Stop struggling,” Zuko hissed, tightening his grip on you. “You can’t walk without stumbling. You probably have a concussion.”

You pouted but stayed silent, knowing that the prince was right. Carefully, he made his way over to the edge of the gondola, noticing that Hakoda was leaning out of the window. Carefully, he handed you down to him, making sure that you were safely inside before swinging himself in as well. Sokka and Suki quickly followed.

“They’re cutting the line,” Zuko stated, exchanging glances with everyone else. “The gondola’s about to go!”

“I hope this thing floats,” Hakoda said, fussing over your head wound as you tried to push him away.

“Hey!” you suddenly cried as the gondola began to move. You glanced out the window. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Mai!” Zuko exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing as he observed her fighting with the guards.

The gondola made it to the other side without any other mishaps. When you got there, Zuko carefully picked you up once again, making his way out of the gondola. Sokka kept his gaze on him, only looking away when he felt Suki grab his hand. She shook her head at him before looking at you and Zuko. “Calm down. There are worse people she could be with.”

Sokka rolled his eyes at her words before trailing after Zuko, a barely visible smile appearing on his face as he noticed how Zuko was fussing over you as well. Hakoda and Chit Sang tossed the warden back into the gondola before joining the group. They all walked for a while before Zuko paused, standing on the cliff that was overlooking the rest of the volcano.

“What’s wrong Zuko?” you asked quietly, your eyes not leaving his face as he scanned the landscape in front of him. At this point, everyone else had backtracked to where you were standing.

“My sister was on that island,” was his only response.

“Yeah, and she's probably right behind us, so let's not stop!” Sokka said, trying to convince Zuko to keep moving.

“What I mean is she must have come here somehow,” he replied, his eyes still looking around.

“There!” you exclaimed, pointing at a large airship. “That's our way out of here!“

~

The six of you all managed to make it to the airship quickly enough and Zuko quickly lit the fire and guided it away from The Boiling Rock. The atmosphere was lively as everyone tried to catch up with each other, the excitement from the day eventually leaving everyone as the sun began setting. One by one, everyone fell asleep until it was just you and Zuko awake.

You had been looking around the ship, smirking in victory when you found a first aid kit. Silently you wandered out to where Zuko was, trying not to startle him.

“Long night?” you asked, leaning on the wall next to him.

“Someone has to keep the fire going,” he retorted, a faint smile present on his handsome face.

“Can you help me?” you asked quietly, meeting his eyes as he turned to face you. He nodded and you handed him the first aid kit before sitting down in front of him. You flinched slightly as his hand grabbed your jaw, closing your eyes as you reveled in his touch, remaining oblivious to the way his heart was racing at the close proximity. His touch was feather light in comparison to the guard who had grasped your jaw in a similar way back at the Boiling Rock. You snorted softly as you recalled the incident that had taken place a mere day ago; it seemed like it had happened ages ago.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko whispered, tilting your head to get better access to the cut on your head.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt,” you murmured back, eyes still closed.

“Not about that,” Zuko replied, cleaning the wound as best as he could with the supplies you had given him. You hissed softly as he tried to place the bandage on, breathing deeply to try and ignore the pain. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry for hunting the Avatar down and chasing you all around the world. I’m sorry about your mother. I’m sorry for the raids that tore your village apart. I’m sorry that I kept causing you harm even when I had the chance to do good.”

You opened your eyes at his words, reaching up and gently grabbing his hand to bring his attention to you. He could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat. You stared at him in silence, his golden eyes never leaving yours even as he fidgeted uncomfortably under your gaze. Your face softened as you realized just how full of guilt Zuko really was, your heart aching as you realized that you couldn’t spend any more time hating him. Not when he had already done so much to try and make up for his mistakes.

“No Zuko,” you finally spoke, guiding him to take a seat in front of you. “I’m sorry for being so harsh towards you. You did more than enough to prove that you aren’t the same bratty prince you were when we first met but I wasn’t willing to look past the fact that you were once our enemy. You left the Fire Nation to help Aang and I can’t imagine how hard that was-”

“Trust me,” Zuko interjected, laughing humorlessly. “It wasn’t that hard. My father and sister are horrible people.”

“Still,” you said, leaning in a bit. “They’re your family. Betraying your family isn’t easy, even if you don’t get along with them.”

Silence ensued as Zuko stood up and carefully finished bandaging your cut. He took his seat in front of you once more, watching the fire as you watched him.

“What?” Zuko asked, his cheeks heating up he realized that you were still staring at him.

“Thank you Zuko,” you stated, finally looking away from the golden-eyed boy.

“Don’t thank me,” Zuko replied. “It was Sokka’s idea to break you out.”

“I mean for saving me from Azula,” you whispered, looking back up at him. “She really had me backed into a corner.”

“I wasn’t going to let her hurt you,” Zuko stated, staring into your eyes. “Sokka would’ve killed me if we came all this way just to lose you to her.”

You giggled at his words, causing him to smirk in satisfaction as he realized that he had made you laugh. “He would’ve, wouldn’t he?”

There was another silence before you spoke up again. “In all seriousness, thank you. I never thought that I’d be calling Prince Zuko my hero.”

Zuko gulped as he realized just how close the two of you were. Neither of you made a move to back away and you flushed when you caught yourself glancing at the prince’s lips.

You blushed harder when you realized he had caught you in the act.

“Zuko,” you whispered, squeaking softly when said boy leaned forwards and connected his lips with yours. The kiss was soft and hesitant, with both of you holding your breath as you realized you were kissing each other.

Pulling away, Zuko’s eyes widened. “Oh spirits. I-I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just did th-”

You cut Zuko’s apology off with another kiss, this one a little less awkward. His hand came up and grabbed your waist, pulling you a little closer as his other hand cupped your cheek. Your hand came up to grab his forearm, your brain trying to comprehend the fact that you were kissing Zuko and wondering how in the world he was such a good kisser.

“I thought you said you weren’t dating my daughter.”

The two of you flew apart as you heard Hakoda’s voice.

“D-Dad!” you exclaimed. “We weren’t- I wasn’t-”

Hakoda held up a hand to stop your stuttering. “It doesn’t matter. He risked his life to help your brother break you out of prison which means he’s good in my books. Just please don’t kiss in front of me. And maybe don’t let Sokka find out about this just yet. Good night.”

You turned to Zuko in embarrassment as Hakoda walked away, making eye contact with him before the two of you dissolved into laughter.

“Well that’s one way to get the parent’s approval,” you muttered, smiling at Zuko as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into him.

The two of you spent the rest of the night awake, talking about everything and nothing, stargazing as Zuko kept the flame alive.

“You know, I used to know the moon spirit when she was alive,” you said smugly, glancing up at Zuko as he smiled widely at you.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah! In fact, she was Sokka’s first girlfriend.”

Zuko smiled and pressed another kiss to your lips, smiling softly when he felt your hand come up to his chest.

And in that moment, Zuko knew he had made the right decision by deciding to join the Avatar. After all, if he hadn’t then why would the universe have chosen to reward him with something as amazing as you.

~

taglist!

@musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby​, @bubblebars​, @iguessthefloorislava​

[peachhcs]

Love Languages

Pairings Luke Patterson x reader

Summary Luke asks the reader what love languages are. 

Warnings none but fluff :)

Word Count 1.8k (short I know but I'm working on it)

I haven’t really written on Tumblr before so don’t judge too harshly because there’s some insanely talented people on here who might judge hahaha. (hopefully not though) I don't know what the boy’s love languages are so I kind of just assumed based off of what we saw but I did see somewhere that someone said Luke’s was touch so I just went with it. 

Gif is not mine so credit to the owner! I don’t know if anyone has done this idea before but I kind of like it because it popped into my head last night. Anyways, enjoy!! :) p.s. I sort of left this on a cliff hanger but idk if i’m going to continue it or not hahaha

PART 2

* * *

You were seated peacefully on the couch as you worked away on your laptop while listening to Julie and the guys practice a few songs for this weekend’s upcoming gig. You always loved listening to them practice, they sounded like absolute angels and you would never get tired of listening to them. However, Luke thought you should be doing your homework somewhere else because he didn’t want them to be distracting to you but truthfully, you really didn’t mind. If you were being honest, it actually helped you focus and the music didn’t let your brain wander. 

You glanced up at the group after realizing they had stopped playing. Julie met your eyes with a warm smile, already reading your mind,

“We’re just taking a break. I got to catch up on some homework.” Julie explained to her best friend. You nodded in response, smiling slightly as she went back to work. The boys were talking amongst themselves over by the piano, using hushed voices so whatever they were talking about you or Julie couldn’t hear. 

By some weird magical notion, you were able to see the boys even when they weren’t playing like Julie could. They haven’t been able to figure out why yet, though. Why you could see the guys but their other best friend, Flynn, couldn’t. Or why Luke’s parents couldn’t see him either but you still could. It was all just one big mystery they were all still unravelling. They had a theory that it had something to do with their unfinished business and the connections they all shared with one another, but that was yet to be explored with you and the boys. Julie and the boys sort of figured out how they were connected, but they hadn’t gotten that far with you yet. 

Julie made an attempt one time to suggest that maybe it was because you were so close with Luke ever since you guys met, the connection just helped you see all of them, but you chose to deny that theory. Especially when Julie threw the word feelings into the mix. Julie knew all too well about your “little”crush on the lead guitarist. There was no doubt that she caught on to it right away when the pair first met and hit off right away. From there, she proceeded to question you about it once they went back to her room. Of course you denied, denied, denied, but after awhile you finally gave in and agreed to your best friend’s observation. Julie saw all the looks that you two exchanged and she knew very well about the boys talking about you here and there. It was just a matter of time until one of you finally broke and admitted your stupid feelings for one another.

“Hey..Y/n?” The cautious voice made you glance up from your computer, first looking at Julie thinking it was her who called your name but then turning your head to the boys who were glancing at you with quizzical looks. 

“Yeah?” You ask glancing at Luke since he was the one who spoke up. You watch as the boys exchange a glance with one another and you push your eyebrow up in confusion. You meet eyes with Julie for a moment who was now looking between the boys and you just as confused as you were. 

“We have a question.” 

“Well, Luke does, but we’re curious too.” Alex cut in before you could respond. You chuckle slightly at their visible nervousness about what they wanted to ask. 

“Okay, shoot.” You gave them your full attention, pushing your computer screen down and a small smile sat content on your lips. Julie also gave them her full attention too, because she was equally as curious as to what they could possibly be asking you.

“What..what does love languages mean? We heard you and Julie talking about it yesterday..” Luke’s asks softly. Oh. That was what they were asking..Your face goes a little red at the thought of them hearing your conversation yesterday since it started out as band schedule and then led into your crush per usual. You glanced to Julie for help who only shook her head with a quick shrug.

“They asked you, not me. Take it away, sister.” Julie laughed and your face went even redder. It wasn’t an inappropriate question or anything, you just didn’t really know how to describe it. Or because it meant talking about feelings and relationships which was something you didn't really want to get into with them, especially Luke. 

“Uhh.. well.. I guess it’s a certain way somebody likes to express their love for someone. There’s different types of love languages like um, touch, words, gifts, spending time with that person, and doing nice things I guess..” You trail off slightly while scratching the back of your head, feeling a little flustered. 

“What do you think my love language is?” Alex asks excitedly, not really to you but just to anyone who would answer him. 

“I see yours being affirming words or something like spending time with them. You always love it when someone compliments you and reassures you if you’re having too much anxiety about something.” Julie cuts in with a smile and Alex points to her to say she was correct. Julie chuckles and you do too. 

“Reggie, yours would definitely be gifts or like spending time with people. You always like to hang around Ray and stuff.” You say glancing at Reggie who smiles warmly at your statement. 

“What about me?” You met eyes with Luke who was softly looking at you. You avoided Julie’s burning gaze into your head and Alex and Reggie’s small smirks as they waited for you to answer. You flushed again, looking to Julie for help who only shrugged. They both knew you knew the answer, that was what you guys had been talking about yesterday. 

“I’m..I’m not really sure..” You lied and you hated the small hint of disappointment in Luke’s eyes. You quickly looked away and started to reopen your laptop.

“Hey, I’m hungry, I’m gonna grab some snacks. Y/n do you wanna come with?” Julie asks making an escape for you to avoid the now awkward tension in the room.

“Yeah. Yeah.” You were quickly nodding your head and jumping up from your laptop. You didn’t even wait for Julie as you made a beeline for the garage doors and pushed them open, hurrying up the pathway to Julie’s house. 

Julie exchanged a knowing glance with the boys, reading Alex and Reggie’s glances before following after you saying you’d be back in a minute. You were pacing around on the patio when Julie finally got to you. She raised her eyebrows slightly trying to read your thoughts. 

“Y/n, why did you lie? That could have been the perfect opportunity to tell him how you feel.” Julie says and you shoot her a small glare. 

“Julie, he doesn’t like me like that. I just didn't want to embarrass myself but I guess I embarrassed myself even more by saying nothing.” You admit, slowing your pacing to look Julie in the eye. She lets out a small laugh.

“I don’t think you embarrassed yourself. You were just flustered which is understandable, but I say go for it. You never know what can happen. The Y/n I know doesn’t back down from a challenge either.” Julie puts a comforting arm on your shoulder and you were thankful for it. You squeeze her hand in response.

“Thanks. I don’t know, I guess I’ve just never felt this way about someone before..” You trail off and Julie squeezes your shoulder even tighter,

“Look, I get it, it’s scary, but you can do it. Think of this as me encouraging you to talk to him like you did for me and Nick. Just go for it. Have some confidence.” Julie winked at you and you chuckle at her actions. 

“There’s the Y/n I know. Now come on, we still need to get snacks. I gotta make my lie somewhat believable.” Julie nudged your side before making her way inside as you followed after he with a laugh. 

The two of you walk back into the garage a few moments later where the boys met your glances. Luke was now moved onto your spot on the couch while Alex and Reggie hung around by the piano still. You rolled your eyes that Luke took your spot but at least he was gracious enough to move your computer. You walked over to him where he smirked as you made an attempt to move him out of the way. 

“Get out of my spot.” You tease trying to move Luke out of the way again but he didn’t budge and instead kept holding that smirk on his lips. You rolled your eyes so you instead took a seat beside him and grabbed your laptop from the coffee table. 

“I’ll move if you tell me what you think my love language is.” Luke says and you quickly met his eyes. You glanced at Alex, Reggie, and Julie for a moment where they only shrugged. You huffed under her breath knowing you had no way out of this now. 

“I don’t know.” You say simply trying to get off of the topic but Luke kept pushing. He leaned in closer towards you and you could feel his breath on your neck. 

“I think you do..” Luke says and you meet his gaze again. You purse your lips together before glancing back at your computer for a moment. 

“Touch.” You say plainly and simply. You refused to meet Luke’s eyes as you furthered your answer, “I always noticing you touching Alex or Reggie in one way or another. Whether it’s something small or a hug or just a reason to touch them. It’s sweet.” You finish a small smile on your lips as you opened the tab you had been working on previously. A comfortable silence filled the room and you felt pretty content with your answer. It wasn't as bad or as embarrassing as you thought it would be. Luke was silent beside you and you were afraid to look at him so you just kept her gaze on your computer. 

You didn’t actually know if you could touch the boys, you just assumed you couldn’t because Julie was the only one with the real special powers. You had just been randomly gifted parts of them somehow. You all just walked around each other because the guys found it slightly weird to just walk through people they knew. Luke stared at you beside him and he wanted to at least try. If anything, his hand would just fall through like it did with everyone, so slowly and carefully, Luke reached out to turn your chin so you would look at him. The guys raised his eyebrow at his movements and then, he touched you. 

You felt his hand under your chin and you both did a double take. Luke quickly pulled his hand away in surprise that you actually felt that. The two of you exchanged a wondering and surprised glance. 

“We just touched..” 

[lonely-lost-soul]

First Lady of the Court Pt. II

(Wilbur Soot x Reader) Part I, Part II, Part III

Part 2: Moments

      The first time Tubbo snuck you out of the city it was like a breath of fresh air. Schlatt was on your last nerve while you tried to keep everything else together. Your duties included collecting unfair taxes, answering questions from concerned citizens, getting Schlatt cigars and booze but you tried to keep your main focus on watching over Fundy. While Fundy was on Schlatt’s side now you still wanted to keep an eye on him for Wilbur, trying to sow the seed that this wasn’t the best decision in the world. Plus Fundy always saw you as a mother figure so you hoped you had a little bit of influence over him and his actions. Although you never wanted to replace Sally, his actual mom, he still looked up to you like one and you treated him as a son. You let the breeze tickle your cheeks as Tubbo led you towards Pogtopia, you were disappointed seeing you were now headed inside of a cave and couldn’t stay in the fresh air. Did they need to make their base an underground bunker? You supposed that logically, it did make the most sense, considering they were in hiding from the government. 

      “Be careful okay?” Tubbo smiled over at you, “There are no railings or anything I don’t want you to fall. I think Wilbur would kill me!” You nodded as he led you down the steps of the cavern, you were in awe at the lights that were set up all around you. It was amazing what they managed to do in such a short amount of time. While you were away from the boys Tubbo managed to fill you in on who Technoblade was and would constantly update you on what Tommy and Wilbur were up to. You couldn’t wait to experience everything they created in person. “Hey, guys it’s me!” Tubbo shouted his voice echoing off the walls of the cave, “I brought a surprise.” He flashed a big smile in your direction, his eyebrows wiggling at you suggestively. 

       “A surprise?” Tommy raised an eyebrow stepping out into the open and once he caught sight of you he let out a loud shrieking laugh. He ran over and tossed his arms around your neck, you were much shorter than him so the hug was a little awkward but you appreciated it nonetheless. 

      “Hi, Tommy. I missed you too.” You hugged him back with a squeeze and a soft giggle of your own, “You holding up okay?”

      “I’m gonna be much better when we get Manburg back from Schlatt’s clutches. God, it’s so good to see you, women, I can’t believe I’m saying that! Wilbur’s gonna lose his shit! WILBUR GET IN HERE!” 

      “Shut up Tommy I’m coming, I’m coming.” Wilbur groaned walking into the room, his trenchcoat floating behind him. “What exactly is so important. I was in the middle of something rather importannnnnnn- (Y/N),” He sputtered jaw-dropping as he saw you. You looked just as beautiful as he last remembered you, the bags under your eyes were new, as was the suit, but other than that you were the epitome of a goddess in his eyes. Meanwhile, he looked like a homeless mess covered in dirt and grime, hair a greasy mess, clothes tattered. Wilbur never wanted to die more than he did at this moment. 

You didn’t care about any of that though he was still your Wilbur, you could tell by the look in his eyes that he was. “Hey, Wilby long time no see.”  You walked up to him and wrapped him in a hug, you pressed your head to his chest, “I missed you so much.” Your voice was soft, as you squeezed your eyes shut, you felt the ex-president tense up in your hold. 

Oh god did he smell? He totally smelled. Wilbur prayed that he didn’t smell, could you tell how fast his heart was beating? He hesitantly ran a hand through your hair and caressed it softly, it was just as soft as he remembered. He missed it more than he ever would’ve imagined.

      “I missed you too my darling,” He whispered, “so much. You have no idea.” Wilbur looked up to see the smirking faces of Tommy and Tubbo and his face turned bright red. They both were mouthing ‘simp’ at him, well it was more Tommy than Tubbo but still. He glared at his companions and pulled away from you, “Let’s go talk in private okay?” You tried to turn around to glance behind you but Wilbur only dragged you away so you couldn’t get a good look at the teenagers. As soon as the two of you were alone Wilbur cupped your cheeks and pressed an almost desperate kiss against your lips. You sighed happily into it, grabbing the collar of his trench coat to hold him close to you. Wilbur rested his head against your own and after a few minutes of silence he finally spoke up, “How’re you doing?” 

      “Usually that’s asked before you kiss.” A smirk was planted on your lips as you reached up and twirled his curls between your fingers. He burned red up to the tips of his ears and he nudged you while scoffing, “I’m hanging in there Wilbur. I’m stronger than I look, remember that.” 

      “And Fundy?” Wilbur asked a bit hesitantly, “I’m sure he has no desire to know about me and I guess I don’t deserve to know about him but even so…”

      “He’s doing good...he’s very… I guess confused is the right word. He’s desperately trying to gain Schlatt’s approval, I think he just to make someone proud-”

      “I’m proud of him!” Wilbur tried to argue and you shushed him softly, 

      “I know Will, I know. But does he know that?” You raised an eyebrow as he shrunk in on himself. “I’m looking out for him though so try not to worry, he still seems to tolerate me.” Wilbur looked relieved at the fact that you were still in Fundy’s good graces and were keeping an eye on him. 

      “You’re an angel, (Y/N). When this is over I’m gonna marry the shit out of you.” 

      “Oh stop.” You tossed your head back with a laugh, your (h/c) hair falling in front of your eyes shyly. Wilbur could only smile at you as he pushed your hair out of your face to kiss your nose. 

      “Now tell me everything you know about Schlatt and his band of misfits.” 

---

The second time you snuck out with Tubbo was the day before Schlatt’s festival. Tubbo spent the entire day decorating for it and with your help, the both of you managed to get the decorations up in a timely manner. Sometime after the preparations were complete Tommy requested to meet up with Tubbo. Immediately you pleaded with Tubbo to let you go with him but he seemed very hesitant to let you join. He told you that the last time he visited Pogtopia Wilbur was acting very strange and he didn’t want you to get hurt by him in any form. You were flattered that you had him looking out for you but you assured him that Wilbur would never hurt you and that talking to you might be positive for his mental health. Tubbo gave you a tense smile and interlocked his hand with yours, 

      “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” 

      “I won't, I promise. Plus I’ll have you to protect me if anything goes wrong.” 

      “I appreciate that but I am very weak,” Tubbo sheepishly smiled scratching at his chin, his face turning slightly pink. You tossed your head back and laughed, as you squeezed his hand tightly, 

      “Okay, I’ll look out for both of us then.” 

You both had to sneak past an overzealous Fundy who wanted mother-son bonding time but eventually, you shook him off your scent and made your way into Pogtopia. Tubbo called out your arrival and once again Tommy beat Wilbur in greeting you at the entrance. You frowned seeing that he looked a little worse for wear, the bags under his eyes were darker and a clear indicator that he wasn’t sleeping very well. Your motherly instincts kicked in automatically at that moment as you cupped his cheeks in your hands. He made a groan of protest but didn’t pull away from the warm embrace of your hands. 

      “You look like you haven’t been sleeping, what’s been going on?” You asked and Tommy looked hesitant to tell you which worried you, even more, no one was giving you a straight answer but it all revolved around Wilbur. 

      “(Y/n)!” Wilbur called as Tommy opened his mouth to answer your question, “It’s so good to see you!” He grabbed you by the waist and drew you into a deep kiss, you couldn’t help but smile into it, you loved this man. “So much has happened, I can’t wait to catch you up. Come, come, let’s talk.” Wilbur led you down the long corridors of Pogtopia, from behind you both Tommy and Tubbo frowned in worry. 

      “Will she be alright?” Tubbo looked up at his tall friend, 

      “Obviously she's a badass.” Tommy scoffed but Tubbo knew him long enough to tell that he was just as worried about the girl as he was. 

      “I missed you, Wilby.” The soft tone in your voice seemed to make Wilbur melt into you, but there was something in his eyes that made you pause. You bit your lip as he placed his hand on your cheek, they were rougher than you remembered but then again it was to be expected. He also smelled like cigarette smoke and wood, the smoke was new and wasn’t necessarily too terrible. After all, you’ve dealt with Schlatt’s smell of alcohol and cigars for months at this point. 

      “I missed you too my darling, but things have been finally coming up Wilbur. It’s amazing and I know we didn’t get invited to the festival tomorrow but it doesn’t even matter.” Wilbur hummed stroking your cheek with his thumb, “Cause something is going to happen that’s going to change everything.” You tilted your head to the side in confusion, 

       “What do you mean? I mean shit Will I’m happy for you, I want the bastard out of power as soon as possible. He’s an absolute mess.” You gave an awkward laugh, “at this point Tubbo, Quackity and I are running things.” 

Wilbur didn’t seem to find that as funny as you did considering that his smile turned into a bitter frown, “He’s ruined everything I built, it’s disgusting.”

      “Shit.” You gave another uncomfortable laugh and crossed your arms, “I wouldn’t say he’s ruined everything. After all the country you built is still standing, right now it may have a different name but it’s still there, the people who love it are still there-”

      “Tommy and I aren’t.” He snarled at you and you flinched backward in response, you waited for an apology but you didn’t get one. “The people who loved it, who made it what it was aren’t there anymore. They didn’t care about it as I did. It’s MY country,” You glared at him and crossed your arms, your jaw was set in place. 

      “Excuse me?” 

      “You heard me.” 

       “Okay just making sure.” You wound your hand back and punched him in the stomach, not hard but just enough to stun him, “you son of a bitch! How DARE you insinuate that Tubbo and I don’t care about L’manberg as you and Tommy did. We all lost a life in the control room to Eret! We fought beside you against Dream for the revolution so the country you dreamed of could even come to fruition! We’ve done our best to keep everyone happy when everyone under Schlatt is fucking miserable and you know what we’ve done a damn good job of it! You’re insinuating that Niki and Fundy’s struggles have met nothing to you either, we’ve fought just as much as you have. This isn’t a competition.”

       “You’re wrong. It is a competition because it’s MY country!” He grabbed your shoulders, nails digging into the skin, you kissed your teeth in pain. You supposed the pain was justifiable considering you had just knocked him in the stomach. “MY country that isn’t MINE anymore, what’s the point in it even standing!” 

       “What…?” 

       “What’s the point in it even standing.” He smiled wickedly moving your hand to brush your hair out of your eyes, suddenly scarily gentle with you, “(Y/N) don’t you get it? The solution was right there the entire time. We blow it up!” 

       “WE WHAT?! Wilbur are you nuts! People live there, I live there! So does your son? If you blow it up Schlatt’s won!”

      “No, I win. We win.” He purred leaning close to rest his head against your own, “We can start a family afterward. You know my love like we always wanted...after everything after the smoke clears. We can be together-”

      “Wilbur.” 

      “We can kiss in the remnants of what once was. Then we rebuild something new, something grand-” 

      “No.” Your voice quivered in fear, “Wilbur that’s not what I want.” The smile was wiped off his face and his brows furrowed. 

      “Sorry? Come again?” 

      “I don’t want it to be gone. I want it as it was-”       “IT CAN NEVER BE WHAT IT WAS! CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!” He slammed you up against the walls of the ravine, you let out a choking gasp as pain shot down the back of your skull and your spine. A brief glance of old Wilbur flitted across his face, he pulled away from you watching you sink down onto the floor. “I...darling I’m so sorry.” He whispered softly, his hands shaking at his sides, “I never meant to hurt you. Please know that. I’d never hurt you.” Wilbur reached his arm out and you flinched, a heartbroken look spread across his face. “Please...I can’t lose you-” He paused as you raised your hand in a stopping motion, 

      “Wilbur. You blow up that country, and we’re done.”

      “That’s not fair-”

      “Me or the country. Your choice.” You snarled, baring your teeth as you rose to your feet, “I love you. So fucking much but I won’t STAND being treated like I’m garbage.”

      “You’re not garbage. You’re not you’re my entire world. I-I’m doing this for you and for Fundy and for everyone-”

      “You’re doing this for yourself you prick!”

      “Am I interrupting something?” Tubbo murmured finally coming into the room, 

      “Yes-NO.” Both you and Wilbur said simultaneously, you both glared at one another as Tubbo’s ears flattened against his skull.

      “We have to go.” Tubbo spoke up, “Schlatt will get worried. Let’s go (Y/N).” 

      “We aren’t done- (Y/N) please.” Wilbur reached out to you and you shook his arm free from it. You glared back at him and walked past Tubbo, 

      “Let’s go. See you soon Wilbur.” With one last glance at Wilbur, Tubbo followed you out of Pogtopia. 

---

The third time you saw Wilbur was the day of the festival. Schlatt had tricked you all, Tubbo’s head was pressed against your chest as you both were trapped inside his execution box. He had found the both of you out and decided it was the perfect time to get his revenge for your treasonous acts. You were staring death straight in the eyes, and the almost hesitant eyes of Technoblade stared right back at you. 

      “I’m sorry. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.” His smooth voice echoed through the chamber, Tubbo only clutched onto you harder. 

      “Technoblade please.” He tried to plead with the pigman, and Schlatt only cackled loudly in response. Technoblade closed his eyes and shot, you heard a loud snap of the crossbow and saw colors beyond your wildest imagination; in between the chaos you swore you saw a flash of Tommy and hear a cry from Wilbur. You woke up in bed, one single heart levitating above your chest, two cannon lives down, your ears were still ringing from the fireworks moments prior. ‘Tubbo…’ You thought squeezing your eyes tightly, ‘I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you…’ You tossed your legs over the side of the bed quickly tumbling out of it, Tubbo burst through your door moments later. Anxiety was written all over his face but even he knew now wasn’t the time to talk about your interconnected trauma. “We have to go. NOW.” Tubbo motioned to the door with his head, you stood up grabbing what you could momentarily, and ran. The both of you sprinted past a devastated looking Fundy, you made the mistake of looking behind you as he let out a soft, 

      “Mom?” 

You closed your eyes and turned away from the fox hybrid, not before mouthing an ‘I’m sorry,’ in his direction. Tubbo dragged you behind him all the way back to Pogtopia both of you eerily quiet the entire way. Entering the ravine the first thing you heard was Tommy’s ferocious yelling, Tubbo flinched a little and rushed away to comfort his friend the best he could. You noticed Wilbur was scarily silent, as you approached you saw how small his pupils were, the smile on his face was nothing less than mad. It turned your stomach but even so, you wanted comfort from someone you loved, you took his hand and squeezed. Still smiling he looked down at you and kissed the top of your head. It didn’t take a genius to understand he was oddly enthused with what went down between Schlatt, Tubbo and you, the man you once loved was gone.

      “My darling, I’m glad to see you’re alright.” 

      “Do whatever you want. Blow it up.” Your voice was icy and soft so only he could hear you, “Fuck it.” 

Wilbur’s smile widened and he kissed you passionately, he tasted like smoke and it was so overwhelming it burned your eyes and almost choked you. He pulled away to rest his forehead against yours,

      “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say those words. You won’t regret this I promise.” He turned towards Tommy and the Blade with the damned smile still on his cheeks, you didn’t respond to him. You felt gross, this isn’t what you wanted, you only hoped when the time came you would convince him otherwise. He began to go on and on about a pit, and a fight between Technoblade and Tommy; supposedly in you and Tubbo’s honor. You watch the two climb into it, even though you knew Tommy was going to get his ass kicked you couldn’t bring yourself to care. Even when The Blade won and Tommy was getting patched up by Niki you could only stare at the flickering torches on the wall, the only person to be able to pull you out of your stupor was in fact, Tubbo. 

      “(Y/N) it’s gonna be alright. I promise.” You gave a tired nod, stroking his hair fondly he let out a soft whine. “You’re scaring me a little, I don’t like that you’re so silent.”

      “I know Tubbo. I know. Everything will work out one way or another. We just have to have hope.” You spoke, but your tone was anything but comforting, it was flat and it chilled Tubbo’s core. He wouldn’t let you turn out like Wilbur not if he had anything to say in the matter. 

---

It was finally the day of the Manburg vs Pogtopia war, surprisingly the rebellion had earned a lot more members than you had originally expected. Obviously, you had your core members, Technoblade, Tommy, Tubbo, Niki, and obviously Wilbur and you. However, it seemed Quackity was done with Schlatt’s bullshit just like everyone else, Fundy saw the error of his ways and fought by your and Wilbur’s side as did Eret. As everyone gathered around to discuss the plan, Fundy got your attention with a snap of his fingers, you blinked turning towards him. 

      “Hi, little champion...how’re you doing?” You smiled towards him ruffling his bright orange hair. He frowned swatting your hands away with a disgruntled huff, 

      “I’m alright. How’re you doing?” It seemed Tubbo wasn’t the only one worried about your mental health, Fundy’s frown only worsened. “My dad’s a dick.” 

      “Fundy-”

      “No. No, he is and you know it. He’s changed (Y/N), don’t follow him down that path...please. I need you. I can’t lose you too...” Your eyebrows furrowed and you smiled sadly, his words touched your heart and you felt nothing but fondness for the young man. You reached out and cupped his cheek with your hand, his eyes lit up and he nuzzled into it almost desperately. 

       “You haven’t lost me yet and you won't lose me today.” You assured and he let out a soft breath of relief, “I’m going to do all I can to save your father. I know he can bounce back from this, but if I can’t.” A watery look came across your face and Fundy kissed your forehead quickly,

      “I’ll be there to help pick you back up. So will Tubbo we all love you.” 

      “Thank you little champion.” You spoke, a smile spreading across your lips, his tail began to wag insanely fast. “You stay safe today too, I don’t want to see you hurt or worse.”

      “I will. Now come on Technoblade apparently has something to show us.” Fundy hummed holding out his arm for you to take, you did so joining the others. Once you all were gathered Technoblade led everyone to what he called ‘the vault,’ and the vault it certainly was. Everyone was equally as shocked at the sheer amount of gear The Blade managed to gather in such a short amount of time. There were Netherite weapons and armor and in almost every chest were potions and bows for the entire milita. Everyone made a mad dash towards the chests gathering whatever artillery they could find, and taking it for themselves. You made sure all the kids and Fundy were suited up and geared properly before taking what you could for yourself, there was some Netherite left which you applied to your body, you also grabbed an ax and a crossbow of your own. You glanced over at Wilbur and saw him bare, no weapon or armor insight, you furrowed your brow in concern and shook his arm gently. He glanced over you with a hint of the tender expression he used to always look at you with, it made your heartbreak. 

      “Wilby?” 

      “Hm?” 

      “No armor?” You questioned and he brushed a stray piece of hair out of your face. 

      “No. I won’t need it,” Wilbur hummed as you gave a disbelieving scoff. He chuckled a little at your disbelief and nudged your shoulder, “Trust me. Everything’s going to work out.”

You could only nod your head in understanding even if you truly did not understand his reasoning. The battle was long and bloody, tearing apart Schlatt’s allies was no easy task but Pogtopia managed to get them to surrender. You couldn’t help but be hesitant and suspicious, it wasn’t like Dream to just call off his forces and surrender so easily. You’ve fought against him enough times now to know that, yet Wilbur seemed unperturbed. Even when you all had Schlatt cornered Wilbur only seemed to get a little bit of glee from it, only seeming to feel more when the old ram had a heart attack and keeled over. You all had won but you didn’t feel good. You didn’t feel like it was over, not even when Wilbur took your hands and kissed them lightly on top of the podium beside Tommy and him. It did come as a surprise to you when Wilbur gave up power in favor of handing it off to Tommy, then Tommy gave it up for Tubbo, Tubbo began to give a nervous speech and you couldn’t help but be proud of him. Tubbo would make a great president much better than Schlatt ever was and maybe even better than Wilbur. Tubbo was warm and compassionate he might not even need your assistance as the first lady, honestly, you didn’t even know if you wanted the title again. Although any thoughts of happiness were wiped away as your stomach churned seeing Wilbur sneak away from the crowd, that wasn’t good. 

You followed behind your boyfriend on high alert, it’s not that you didn’t trust him, it was just that he was clinically insane. Eventually, Wilbur entered a small room that was cold and dark, you took a deep breath before stepping inside behind him. Your eyes widened in absolute horror, nonsensical scribbles were all over the walls and in the middle of the room sat a familiar button, chills rocketed down your spine. The setup of the room was an all too familiar sight, Eret’s words echoed through your mind and you felt the burn of betrayal run hot. Wilbur’s hands hovered over the button with a longing smile, caressing it like it was the face of his lover. You reached your arm out to call to him but felt a tight hand come around your waist, 

      “What’re you doing?” 

Shock flooded through your system as you looked up at the man touching you. It was Phil, Wilbur’s father, you had only met the man briefly a few times so you both had knowledge of one another's existence. 

      “Phil?” Wilbur turned around his jaw clenching, “(Y/N)? Shit,” He let out a disbelieving laugh. “You're both trying to gang up on me, that’s just unfair.” He leaned his head back, his beautiful curls falling around his face as he stared at the ceiling. “Do you know what this button is?”

      “Uh-huh. I do.” Phil gruffly stated his big grey wings curling around you protectively. 

      “Have you heard... the song? On the walls? Before? Have you heard the song? I was just saying, I made this big point, it was poignant, and it's um... There was a special place where men could go, but it's not there anymore y'know, it's not-” Wilbur let out a frustrated sigh punching the wall right next to the button. You jumped a little as Phil cut in, 

      “It is there. You've just- You've just won it back, Wil!” 

      “Phil’s right! Wilbur, we did it together, we don’t need to blow it up anymore! We can be happy!” 

      “(Y/N), PHIL, I'M ALWAYS SO CLOSE to pressing this button, Phil! I've BEEN HERE like seven or eight times, I've been here seven or eight times...Phil, I've been here so many times…” All of you jumped a little at the sound of crackling fireworks outside, your body went numb as you remembered the execution, “They're fighting. They're fighting!” Phil and you glanced at one another, there was a beat of silence. 

      “And you want to just blow it all up.”

       “I do,-” Wilbur started before letting out a frustrated sigh, “I think, I-”

       “You fought so hard to get this land back... So hard.”

       “We all did Wilby. Please listen to us.” You pleaded and he flinched at your tone, it was so tender and loving. He didn’t deserve it, he didn’t deserve your forgiveness. 

        “I don't even know if it works anymore, Phil, I don't even know if the button works, I could, I could... press it.” 

       “Do you really wanna take that risk?” Phil laughed, “There is a lot of TNT potentially connected to that button.” 

       “Phil... There was a saying, Phil. By a traitor. Once part of L'Manburg. A traitor- I don't know if you've heard of Eret? He had a saying...” 

        “Yeah.”

       “Wilbur. Don’t please.” You let out a frustrated cry stepping forward in front of Phil, “I know what you’re about to do. This isn’t you.” He looked at you with such pity he cupped your cheek with your hand, staring dead in your eyes, 

       “It was never meant to be!” He tossed his hand back and slammed it against the button, you let out a loud cry as explosions fired all around you. Wilbur pulled you close to protect you from any stray debris, he let out a roaring cry “MY L'MANBURG, PHIL! MY UNFINISHED SYMPHONY, FOREVER UNFINISHED! IF I CAN'T HAVE THIS, NO-ONE CAN, PHIL!”

      “Oh, my god…” Phil spoke, his voice quivering with horror, Wilbur looked down at you and he captured your lips with his own. Once again he tasted like cigarettes, but there was a hint of warm honey and coffee...a hint of old Wilbur. He murmured a gentle, ‘I love you’ before pushing you away from him and onto the floor. He turned to Phil letting out a loud declaration, 

      “Kill me, Phil. Phil, kill me, Phil kill me! (Wilbur throws Phil his sword) Phil, stab me with the sword, murder me now, kill me! Killza, Killza, do it! Kill me, Phil! Murder me! Look, they all want you to! Do it, Phil! Kill me! Phil, kill me!”

      “I- You're my SON!”

      “Wilbur NO! PHIL DON’T!”

     “Shut up (Y/N). PHIL, KILL ME!”

      “No matter what you- dude, no matter what you've done, I can't-”

 Wilbur slammed his fist against the wall, “Phil, it's- LOOK! LOOK! HOW MUCH WORK WENT INTO THIS, and it's GONE!” A loud pause echoed as Wilbur shoved his sword into Phil’s hand holding it to his chest. “Do it. Do it.”

       “PHIL DON’T.” 

The man ignored you running his sword through his son's chest. Wilbur choked blood staining the front of his shirt before spilling out of his mouth and down his chin. He looked over at you and reached his arm out in your direction. ‘Watch out for Fundy,’ He mouthed before smiling at you, the look would always be ingrained in your memory, the smiling face of Wilbur Soot the love of your life, as the light left his eyes. 

      “God! You couldn't just let- You couldn't just win! You couldn't- You had to just throw your toys out the pram!” He snarled through tears of his own cradling his son's lifeless body. You crawled over and gently put your hand on Phil’s shoulder, he turned and pressed his head into your chest. The father of the man you loved mourned beside you, not sure what was next for you but both were in agreement that this country changed Wilbur for the worst. It caused him to blow up a nation, hurt his loved ones, something he never would’ve dreamed of doing when he was young. It twisted his mind making him forget what was important to him, you’d never step foot in this crater again. 

---

We’re back BITCHES! This is the second part out of I think I’ve decided 3 parts, thank you so much for waiting and being patient. I hope it was worth it! Stay healthy and safe little spirits! @blossom-702 and @mayempress

[yikesharringrove]

It’s a book Steve’s actually read.

Well, Nancy kinda mostly read it to him. Which really just makes the whole thing hurt a little bit more.

His speakers were crackling and he had turned the bass up high enough that the song was distorted, vibrating through his car.

It was embarrassing. Scream-singing to Kate Bush while sobbing into your steering wheel in the high school parking lot.

He’s just got a lot of feelings, and Nancy dumped in that alleyway, he can literally see it and Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy. I’ve come home, I’m so cold.

Which, it’s all just bullshit. Pardon the word.

Because, Catherine and Heathcliff don’t even fucking end up together. There’s something about family difference and he remembers Nancy saying socioeconomic like that word meant anything to him and Catherine winds up dead of bad brain-itis and Healthcliff is a dick so they never should’ve been together anyway.

But, whatever.

He’s feeling very much like Catherine right now. Standing on the moors with a broken heart.

Because fuck Heathcliff. And fuck Nancy.

Kate Bush is the only one he can trust anymore. 

Her and her red dress and Steve’s insides feel like that red fucking dress in a way he can’t explain and Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy. I've come home, I'm so cold. Let me in your window-

He just about jumped out of his skin when the passenger door opened.

One too-tan hand reached out to crank the volume down on the song, and a too-pink tongue slid across too-white teeth and

“Harrington, I’m obligated to tell you that you’re acting like a pussy.”

Hargrove.

Y’know, he’s the top of Steve’s Fuck List. Right there with Nancy and Heathcliff, and everyone else who sucks shit and makes people feel bad.

“Can it, dickhead.”

To be fair, Steve was ugly crying to Kate Bush by himself in his car, but he’s allowed to be a pussy by himself in his car.

Hargrove just gave Steve a look that Steve’s pretty sure meant I’m resisting the urge to punch you in the face right now, but was undercut by that stupid fucking tongue of his lolling around like some kinda hyper-sexual golden retriever.

Meanwhile, Kate Bush was still singing and Steve was still Cathy on the moors.

“I’m fucking sad, or whatever. Let me be a pussy.”

“Oh, come on, Harrington. You really this cut up about some prissy little princess? She’s not even the best this town has and that is saying something.”

“Y’know, for a guy that’s constantly calling all the girls in town ugly, you sure do fuck a lot of ‘em.”

“At least I’m getting some. When was the last time the princess put out, eh? Or was she savin’ it for marriage? I could see her bein’ one of those types.”

He said those types like he wasn’t wearing a saint’s pendant around his neck. Like Steve didn’t see his family all sitting uncomfortably silent together in the diner after mass every single Sunday afternoon.

It was weird, seeing Billy in a nice shirt. All buttoned up properly with his hair looking all respectful. Especially since Steve was usually high off his ass and slurping down a strawberry milkshake with cheese fries like he’d die if he didn’t.

“I’m not gonna talk about my sex life with you, Hargrove.”

“Aw, why not, Harrington. Don’t wanna compare body counts? You embarrassed or something?” Billy was grinning that shitty sharp grin of his, still waggling his fucking tongue as he leaned closer to Steve. “You still a virgin, King Steve?”

The song ended. Steve rewound the tape. It started up again.

He needed Kate now more than ever.

“Of fucking course I’m not. I’m just not some gross asshole that goes around telling everyone who’ve I’ve fucked. It’s called being a decent guy.”

“It’s called being a prude. Now, c’mon. Tell me who’ve you fucked. Maybe we’re tunnel buddies.”

Steve wanted to throw up. Kate was on the moors again.

“You’re disgusting. Tunnel buddies. How gross can you even get?”

“I hope that’s a rhetorical question.”

“I don’t know what that means and you’re a shithead.”

Hargrove tossed his head back and laughed, showing off those teeth that looked like they could take a chunk out of Steve’s flesh if Billy got close enough to try.

You had a temper like my jealousy. Too hot, too greedy.

“Seriously, though.” Billy had stopped laughing. “What is this shit?”

“She’s Kate Bush and she speaks to my heart.”

Billy just stared at him.

Yeah, that was a pretty pussy thing to say.

“I just got fucking dumped, dude. Let me be sad about it,” Steve backpedaled.

And then Billy did something very unexpected.

Well, he did something very normal for his character, and then he did something unexpected.

He lit up a cigarette.

And then passed it to Steve.

Steve filled up his lungs with a thick drag of smoke. He held it for as long as he could.

Which was really long.

Swimmer’s lungs. And that.

He blew out the smoke. Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy. I've come home, I'm so cold. Let me in your window.

“Is this fucking song based on Wuthering Heights?”

“Yeah, you dumb dumb. It’s fucking called Wuthering Heights.”

“Okay, dumb dumb, I clearly don’t even know this song.”

“Maybe you’d be less of an ass if you did. Dumb dumb.”

Billy lit a cigarette for himself, letting the smoke trail out of his mouth like he was some kind of dragon.

Billy probably fancies himself a dragon. Thinks he’s this big scary creature that just goes around breathing fire and ransacking villages for their gold.

Ooh, it gets dark, it gets lonely on the other side from you. I pine a lot, I find the lot falls through without you.

Really, he’s probably like a dog of some kind.

Domesticated.

“You’re staring at me.”

Yeah. Steve was staring at him. Watching him smoke while Kate Bush played loudly. The speakers still sounded like shit even though Billy had turned down the song considerably.

Steve didn’t know when he had stopped crying.

Probably right when Billy had let himself into his cave of self pity, but his face was still wet.

He wiped it off, not pointing out that Billy had been staring at him too.

“Why are you here so late? Practice ended like, an hour ago.”

Billy shrugged lamely. He kinda looked like a little kid.

Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy. I've come home, I'm so cold. Let me in your window. 

“Bored. Didn’t feel like being home.”

“So you came to sit in the break-up mobile with me. How nice.”

“Mostly I just wanted to make fun of you for listening to this garbage. I could hear it across the lot.”

And sure enough, Billy’s car was parked a good ways down from Steve, about as far away as their two cars could be from one another.

Steve doubts Billy heard Kate all this way, but what’s he gonna do, bring that up?

No. He’s rather sit in this weird silence that settled between them, feeling awkward about himself and his body and listen to Kate.

I'm coming home to wuthering, wuthering, Wuthering Heights

“She’s not worht it, y’know.”

Steve had to do a double take to make sure it was still Billy sitting in his passenger seat, and not some cheap imposter wearing a Billy-suit and saying almost nice things to Steve in a not-mean voice.

“What’d you say earlier? Plenty of bitches in the sea?” Steve would’ve laughed at that comment when Billy made it if they weren’t naked together.

There’s something things you don’t do while naked with another guy, and laughing just isn’t one of them.

Plus, he had been a little too focused on figuring out why Billy’s nudity had given him that same hot feeling that nearly seeing Rob Lowe’s dick in The Outsiders movie gave him last year.

“I mean, it’s true. Don’t sweat this break-up. She seemed like an uptight bitch anyway.”

“Hey.”

Steve was still a little too sore, a little too fresh from the split to trash talk Nance like that.

“Whatever. Get high. Look at some porn. You’ll be fine.”

Ooh, let me have it. Let me grab your soul away.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Silence again.

Kate was back to the chorus.

The song was almost over.

“You could always go on the rebound. get her out of your mind with someone that’ll actually put out.”

Hargrove had barely even said it before he was yanking Steve forward, giving him no time to prepare as their mouthed smooshed together in something that was very very awkward, and very very sloppy.

Steve still had tears on his cheeks, and his cigarette was getting dangerously close to the filter, threatening to burn his fingers, and Kate was still singing, and Billy was kissing him, and dear God Steve’s at least a little bit gay.

Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy. I've come home, I'm so cold. Let me in your window. 

They drifted apart from one another just in time for Steve to rewind the song again.

“So, uh, yeah,” Billy said, and his cheeks were this wonderful shade of red, and Steve couldn’t stop thinking about Kate’s red dress and that fucking kiss and he was on the moors again, but this time he and Billy were making out in the grass and oh fuck, oh fuck-

“Yeah. Good.”

“Good?” Billy raised on of those dark eyebrows at him, his cheeks still burning.

“Good. Very good.”

Billy nodded a few times, sucking on his cigarette. Steve suddenly remembered he had dropped his on the floormates and tried to stamp it out before it got singed to bad.

“Okay then. Good.” Billy opened the passenger door, stepping out and flicking away his cigarette. He seemed to think for a moment, before turning around, leaning his upper body into Steve’s car.

Steve thought they were going to kiss again.

He was ready to go for it, ready to let his eyes close and maybe let it lead to more. He was Cathy and he was ready for some action.

But Billy just grinned again.

And skipped the song.