#they love watching the wizard of oz together

[rocktheholygrail]

Hannibal 3x13 - “The Wrath of the Lamb”

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Of course we know that Eddie is the big fantasy nerd, with his love of D&D, he was probably an avid reader of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and almost definitely made Wayne sit through numerous re-watches of The Wizard of Oz as a kid.

But when he gets together with Steve he realises that Steve 'the hair' Harrington isn't quite the meat-head jock that he remembers him to be in high school.

Eddie was flicking through the channels looking for something for them to watch when Steve comes in holding a bowl of popcorn in his hands as he scoots up close to Eddie.

"Hey, go back a minute, I think I saw something good." Steve says, tapping Eddie on the arm.

Eddie flicks back the channel and it lands on a re-run episode of the original series of Star Trek.

"Man, I used to be obsessed with this show as a kid." Steve says, throwing back a handful of popcorn. "Never missed an episode."

"Wait, you wanna watch Star Trek?" Eddie asked, raising his eyebrows at Steve's admission. His boyfriend was a secret geek.

"Yeah it's a good show. I think I even dressed up as Captain Kirk for Halloween one year. " scratch that Steve Harrington was a full on nerd.

"Sure, we can watch this." Eddie smirks, settling back against Steve.

"Hey, Eddie, did you ever watch that show about the alien in the time-travelling police box?"

It appears that the nerd-levels ran deep with Steve.

Eddie shakes his head at his boyfriend.

"Always watched that one too, actually, I still do." Steve smiles. "My grandma knitted me the long multicoloured scarf for Christmas when I was younger."

"Stevie, why didn't you tell me you were such a science fiction nerd?"

"You never asked."

Eddie might have been the fantasy lover between the two of them, but when it came down to it, Steve was most definitely the sci-fi geek.

[wheneverfeasible]

So we all know the mechanic Eddie aus out there, all love a greasy dirty Eddie Munson in coveralls, but what about mechanic Steve?

Steve, who has a nice car, who learned how to take care of it himself. Steve who found that he was actually pretty good with his hands, and a knack for fixing things. He understands cars, likes to tinker with them in his spare time, even if he had to teach himself at first.

Eventually he sees a Help Wanted sign at the mechanic’s and…well, why not? He applies, and he’s inexperienced, but they hire him. He sweeps and keeps things clean and tidy at first, and then he learns some hands-on experience, moves up in the job, and eventually he becomes the guy everyone wants to work on their car.

When the owner retires, it’s Steve who takes over the place, making the shop his own and making certain that it’s a safe place in a town where safety isn’t always guaranteed. The kids he used to babysit who aren’t kids anymore all learn car basics, Steve making certain they’re not caught in a jam and unable to help themselves, especially the girls. In the window, a small picture of Dorothy from Wizard of Oz rests, letting those who know…know.

And then maybe one day rockstar Eddie Munson returns to the small town he blazed out of after finally graduating, packing his shit up and high tailing it outta there like the bats of hell were chasing him. Maybe he’s still driving a shitty van, or maybe he got something a little more fancy. Maybe fame and money got to him a little bit and he’s got some fancy high end sports car and a bit of a dick personality. And this car breaks down. Who does he have to call?

King Mechanics.

And Eddie is huffing and complaining at it all, at his car for crapping out, for being late to meet his uncle, for having to wait for some mechanic to show up. And one does, not too much later after that first annoyed phone call. And the mechanic has surprisingly well-styled hair, and a body firm with muscle, filling out those oil stained coveralls nicely, and maybe Eddie starts to sort of flirt with the guy, until he looks at him properly.

Until he sees it’s Steve fucking Harrington.

And maybe they don’t get along well at first, and it’s all Eddie’s fault really, who is now huffy and puffy about having to deal with King Steve. Steve, on the other hand, is nothing but polite and professional, maybe even friendly. He might have taken back the moniker of king for his shop, might have even taken it as his last name after his parents disowned him when he came out as queer, but he’s far from who he was in high school.

And honestly? Teasing Eddie is kind of fun. Watching him get flustered and annoyed is funny because enough time has passed that Steve is comfortable with who he is and everyone in town knows he’s turned over a new leaf and it’s just amusing watching Eddie not realizing this yet.

They didn’t really have the parts he needs to fix Eddie’s car at the moment, however, so he orders them in. Offers to give Eddie a ride to wherever he needs to go. Maybe even mentions Wayne, with whom he actually got kind of close with, and who sometimes comes around for a cold drink now that he’s retired and has more free time on hand.

Eddie is incensed Wayne never told him he was friendly with King Steve, but Wayne never cared much for gossip, and Steve has been a godsend more than once when Wayne’s old clunker died frequently.

And so Steve and Eddie are thrown together, and Eddie realizes that maybe there’s more to Steve than meets the eyes, and that’s even before he discovers the Dorothy in the window. Sadly, he doesn’t discover it until after he goes on some rant about how Steve is clearly homophobic, but Steve just stares at him amused because he hadn’t even known Eddie was gay back in high school.

Eventually, Eddie realizes he and Steve have more in common than he ever realized. Realizes he’s become the sort of people he always despised and was a bit of an ass. Steve meanwhile was already aware of his crush on Eddie and was merely waiting for the right time to make his move.

Anyways. I just like the idea of done-up Eddie, slick and fancy, and dirty grubby mechanic Steve.

hostage tag: @derythcorvinus

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

Charlie: “Whhhew...! That was-”

Vaggie: “A lot?”

Charlie: “-better than expected!”

Vaggie: “No kidding. If I’d known inviting your dad here would get Alastor looking like a wet cat, I’d’ve pushed for it sooner.”

Charlie: “I’m just glad you pushed when you did.” (smooch) “Thank you. I’ve missed him.”

Vaggie: “Looks like he’s really missed you too, babe.”

Charlie: “Mm. Not enough to call, though.”

Vaggie: “Ehh, calling can be scary. Good thing you’re plenty brave.”

Charlie: “Only when you’re holding my hand!”

Vaggie: “Husk would say that’s an act of fucking bravery all on it’s own, letting yourself get grabbed by the small, mean, grumpy lady. Remind me not to help him out at the bar again ever. I think there’s vodka in my hair.”

Charlie: “I’ll try, but you know you’re gonna help anyway.” (second smooch) “Can I get a ‘you’re welcome’?”

Vaggie: (chuckling) “Charlie, I didn’t do anything.”

Charlie: “You do lots.”

Vaggie: “And thank hell Angel Dust isn’t around to hear that…”

Charlie: “I’m serious! You got me to call dad in the first place!”

Vaggie: “I just suggested it, you’re the one who did it, and you two worked things out together like a real father-daughter team.”

Charlie: “And we’re a great team too.”

Vaggie: “Well I’m definitely a pretty big fan of us. Although…. Sir Pentious and Keekee are giving us a run for our money. And the Niffty plus a lock of Lucifer’s hair combo might just have us beat.”

Charlie: “Blegh! She actually got that in the end? I thought her scissors couldn’t even cut it!”

Vaggie: “They didn’t. She used my spear.”

Charlie: “She WHAT-”

Vaggie: “And asked your dad very nicely to please take off his hat so she could trim off a piece without ruining the rest of his hair.”

Charlie: (sigh) “I guess as long as she ASKED…”

Vaggie: “D’you think her whole room is just a shrine to quote unquote bad boys?”

Charlie: “Oh don’t say that. We need to introduce her to some boybands or something.”

Vaggie: “We?”

Charlie: “Yes ‘we’, little miss likes making lesbian covers of the songs normally sung by teenage boys while you’re in the shower and think the sound of running water can in any way drown out your beautiful, heart stopping voice-”

Vaggie: “I- you- You’ve been listening!?”

Charlie: “Eeeev-er-y morning yep! Heheh~”

Vaggie: “Diablo mio… I need a drink.”

Charlie: (giggling) “To go with the vodka hair?” (nibbles Vaggie’s fringe) “Nom nom nom. Delicious~”

Vaggie: “Scratch that- clearly WE need some SLEEP.”

Charlie: “How can I sleep at all tonight, though? Vaggie- we’re gonna get a meeting with the top angels of creation! We’re gonna be on cloud nine! Literally! In HEAVEN!!”

Vaggie: “And sleep won’t be enough to prepare me for that but you definitely need it.”

Charlie: “It’s impossible! I need to SING!!!!!”

Vaggie: “You need to go shuck off those shoes and get in your ruby slippers while I put in your fav movie so we can get some rest.”

Charlie: “If you put in the Wizard of Oz you know I’m 100% gonna sing anyway right.”

Vaggie: “Yeah, but you’ll be singing in bed so you can keep watching the movie, and that’s good enough for me.”

Charlie: “I love youuuu~”

Vaggie: “Love you too sweetie. Slippers. Bed. Z’s. Now.”

Charlie: (kicks off shoes) “Ta da! There’s no place like home!"

Charlie: (clicks hooves together)

Charlie: "Heheheheh...!”

Vaggie: “I meant on the bed in your pajamas and under the actual covers- vaya, whatever. Scoot. Don’t go running off to Oz without me.”

Charlie: (snuggling vaggie in a hug instead) “I’m never going anywhere without you, Vaggie. Including heaven.”

Vaggie: (awkward laugh) “Great…”

Charlie: “Wanna know whyyyy?”

Vaggie: (smiles) “I make a great hand-holder, apparently.”

Charlie: “Yes. And, you’re home.”

Vaggie: “….yeah? I’m here? This is our room?”

Charlie: (snorting) “Vaggie-”

Vaggie: “In our hotel??”

Charlie: “Vaggie nooo- Anywhere else would be home too, with you there.”

Vaggie: “…..”

Vaggie: (deep breath)

Vaggie: “…... Charlie-”

Charlie: “You gonna press play?”

Vaggie: “-huh? Oh. Yeah.”

Charlie: (snuggling her) “This has been an amazing day. Wish every day could be like this, forever.”

Vaggie: “Yeah.” (hoarse) (curling up as close to charlie as she can) "Me too.”

-101 minutes of Oz later-

Vaggie: "Charlie?"

Charlie: "... nnnoooo..."

Vaggie: "Charlie, c'mon, at least let's get your coat off."

Charlie: "Mmrrr... mi mi mi..."

Vaggie: "You can go 'snork mi mi mi' afterwards. Work with me here, Dorothy- I can't get you settled into Oz without help."

Charlie: "Hmmheheheh... so im Dorothy..?"

Vaggie: "Definitely. You've got the ruby slippers on and everything."

Charlie: "I love that you call my hooves that~ Thats so silly. You're so silly, Vaggie."

Vaggie: "And you're already half asleep. Suspenders next, okay?"

Charlie: "Remove the suspenders... delete the suspenders..."

Vaggie: "Get your horns tangled in the suspenders somehow, wait, hold on-"

Charlie: "SUSPEND the SUSPEDERS!"

Vaggie: "Alright, good enough. That's all the annoying stuff gone anyway. You should be good like that, right?"

Charlie: "Sleeeeeepy. Snuggles?"

Vaggie: "Snuggles right after I change, give me one sec okay."

Charlie: "Mmm."

Charlie: "...vaggie."

Vaggie: "That was half a second."

Charlie: "Vaggiiiiie."

Vaggie: "I'm right over here, stop making grabby hands."

Charlie: "Vaggggiiiiiiiee...!"

Vaggie: (huffs) "Fine, fine..." (snuggles) "Not like my nightie would cover much anyway. But if we end up having to get up in the middle of the night for something exploding again, you're going out first, and I'm stealing your jacket."

Charlie: "You look good in my clothes."

Vaggie: "I look like a ten year old. The sleeves have to be rolled back to the elbow just so I have hands."

Charlie: "I like your hands..."

Vaggie: "Thanks." (kiss) "Go to sleep, Charlie."

Charlie: "Wait- heheheh- wait, Vaggie-"

Vaggie: "What?"

Charlie: "Vaggie, Vaggieeee~!"

Vaggie: "Giggling into my boobs isn't helping me understand what you're saying, babe."

Charlie: "Vaggie. If I'm Dorothy, and youuuu are GAY, then.."

Vaggie: "Little scared to see where this is going, not gonna lie."

Charlie: "Does that make-" (snickers) "Does that make you a girlfriend of Dorothy's?"

Vaggie: "............."

Charlie: "Vaggie~?"

Vaggie: "...Charlie. Please."

Vaggie: "Go the fuck to sleep."

Charlie: "HEH!"

[mousedotjpeg]

cw: price being a cutie patootie for his wife, tooth rotting fluff

John Price was quite certain that, of all the moments he's shared with you, this had to be one of his most treasurable. Each and every time the weather forecast predicted storms, from gale-force winds to a gentle Sunday shower, his sweet little wife insisted upon starting a pot of coffee and building a little nest in the nook of the windowsill; the spot he had built especially for you.

Without fail - not counting the times he was away from deployment - you'd always have a hot cup of coffee awaiting his arrival, and a warm pair of arms to fall into, surrounded by blankets and pillows. More often than not, you'd both end up foregoing the comforts of your own bed in order to bask in each other's arms, squished together against the window.

"Honey?" Stepping into your shared home, coat damp from the rainfall, John softly calls out to you. Just as he expected (and found himself looking forward to the whole drive home) the Wizard of Oz was playing at a low volume on the living room TV, blankets pulled from open cabinets, and your shared nest already neatly fluffed up with pillows and the aforementioned throws.

"Welcome home, handsome." You coo, catching him slightly off guard as you pad over from the kitchen. Immediately beginning to help him shed his soaked layers, you press a gentle kiss to his jaw, then his cheek, then finally on his lips. "Your coffee is on the counter. Go put some warm clothes on." You instruct, before giving him another chaste kiss.

Price groans appreciatively into your lips, hand giving your waist a soft squeeze before he's off to the bedroom, rushing to get changed into boxers and a loose-fitting crewneck sweater. Upon his return, you were precariously balancing two very full mugs, shuffling over from the kitchen to the living room. He's taking them from you with a chuckle, pressing sweet little pecks on your temple and forehead, then motioning for you to walk ahead to the windowsill.

Setting them down gently in the little square hole carved out by the window, (another handy little thing John insisted the builders add) John's quick to crawl onto the padded wood, making himself comfortable.

"C'mere, darling." He calls, voice gruff as he finally relaxes into the copious amounts of blankets surrounding him. The harsh wind and rain create a juxtaposing lullaby, his eyes already droopy by the time you're settling into his eager arms. With a contented smile, you drape yourself over your husband, the chill of the room quickly being chased off by his warm embrace. Turning so your back is to his chest, (so you could still see your favorite movie play out) you take a moment to fully appreciate the loving warmth radiating from your husband.

"You're like a space heater, y'know?" You murmur, words muffled against his chest.

"That so, love?" He responds, a breathy chuckle to his words. John is met with only a brief nod, then he's gathering you up further into his arms, squeezing your smaller body tightly against his.

"The main reason I married you, actually." You tease, meaning only a slight bit of it.

"And here I was, thinking it was jus' for John Junior." He concludes.

"Oh God..don't... don't call it that."

"Sorry, love. My cock. Thought it was all for my cock."

"Not sure that's any better, John."

"Mmph."

You giggle softly against him, prompting John to smile broadly into your hair. Shit, how he fucking loves that sound - he'd do anything just to hear it.

"Reckon it'll flood, dear?" He prompts after several minutes of silence, only to be met with the very same thing. John precariously tilts his head back, only to find you dozing off, cheek smushed oh so preciously against him. Reclining his head back onto his pillow, it only takes a few more moments of watching the little rain drops race to the bottom of the glass, and the captain's out like a light bulb, snoring loudly into your ear.

cute lil shitty drabble cause it's "raining fucking hard" down here in texas, and mouse loves rain. anyways, i feel like this one turned out like poopoo doodoo. next one will probably be Nik or Rudy. ~ mouse

[auras-moonstone]

Hii! Could you please write an ethan fic based off the ybwm music video but y/n and ethan are childhood bestfriends and but doesnt notice her until prom? ALSO IM LISTENING TO 1989 TV RN AND ITS SOOOO GOOD

been here all along — ethan landry

word count: 3,306

pairing: ethan landry x fem!reader

summary: ethan and y/n had been best friends since they were little, but y/n, unbeknownst to ethan, has always been i love with him. it isn’t until prom night that he finds out.

warnings: none!

Y/N WAS STUDYING ON HER DESK WHEN SHE SAW HER BEST FRIEND’S SILHOUETTE THROUGH HER WINDOW. Ethan threw himself to the bed, lying on his back as he tiredly rubbed his face with the hand that wasn’t holding his phone to his ear. He felt eyes on him, so he turned around and saw the girl staring at him with a worried expression. He smiled instantly and, after hanging up the phone, he went to grab a small board and a marker.

hey, creep, he showed her the careless handwriting with a smirk.

Y/N stuck her tongue out before grabbing her own board. you okay?

i’m fine, he replied with a shrug and a forced smile.

Y/N arched an eyebrow, i know you better than that.

His shoulders slumped, can i hang out with you for a while?

always. back door is open!

Less than five minutes later Ethan entered her room and plopped down on her bed, resting his head on his hand. Y/N noticed his eyes were a bit red and had dark bags under them, and yet he continued to be he most gorgeous human she had laid her eyes on.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly, resisting the need to run her fingers through his wet brown hair.

“Coach killed us at practice today. My whole body hurts.” he mumbled.

“And…” she urged him to go on, knowing that was not it.

Ethan sighed. “I hate that you know me so well.” he groaned. “I fought with Mila.”

“Again.” she added, trying to hide her bitterness.

Mila and him had been dating for a couple of months, and she had managed to turn the ray of sunshine that Ethan used to be into a person who was always tired and in a gloomy mood. She had completely brought him down.

People at school loved the couple. And, on the outside, they seemed perfect. Ethan was the captain of the hockey team and the most good-looking boy at school, and Mila was the cheer captain and most good-looking girl at school—perfect pairing, right? On paper, yes.

But Y/N had the disgrace of witnessing most of their fights and the toxicity that filled the air whenever they were together. At the beginning, they had a normal relationship but eventually, the attention got the best of Mila and she turned into a controlling, jealous girlfriend who was also obsessed with painting the perfect image.

“Yeah… this time it was about prom.” he scoffed.

“What about it?”

“She came to practice and said we had to go buy her dress and my suit. Then she wants me to take fucking dancing classes because everything needs to be perfect and I can’t mess it up with my dance moves.”

“She’s going to have to buy tons of oil bottles for that. The Tin Man from Wizards of Oz can move better than you.”

Ethan laughed and threw her a pillow. “You’re such an asshole.”

Y/N smiled like the Cheshire cat. Ethan had no idea that his smile could practically light up the whole town, and it made her furious that Mila managed to take that away. Ever since they started dating, Ethan very rarely smiled around others.

“Anyways, the thing is I refused to do that. You know how tired I am after practice, and she got pissed and wouldn’t let me leave. I ended up holding back hockey practice and coach was furious.” he explained. “Then, after practice, she called and silly me thought—nice, she is going to apologize, but no. She wanted to see if I’d changed my mind. And that made me mad, so we started fighting about her interrupting practice and how furious she would be if I were to find her during cheer practice. Then she started yelling and I just hung up because my head fucking hurts.”

Y/N watched with sad eyes. What was he doing with a girl like that? She clearly didn’t care about him. “I’m sorry about your psycho of a girlfriend. You deserve better” she said, and he gave her a small smile. “There’s Tylenol on my drawer and the bottle is filled with water.”

“Thanks. You’re the best, did you know that? Being with you is lately the only thing that makes me feel at peace.”

“I love you, Eth, and I’ll always be here.”

The boy grabbed her hand and pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly. “I love you, too.” he placed a kiss on the crown of her head. “Can I stay over?”

“Of course.”

Ethan fell asleep quickly, contrary to Y/N, whose thoughts kept her brain working like crazy. Ethan’s sweet words about her making him feel at peace should be heartwarming, but instead it made her heart hurt. Why couldn’t he see her the way she saw him? The way he saw Mila. Why couldn’t Ethan see that she was dying to be in Mila’s place and that he deserved so much better than her?

Ethan deserved to be with someone who treated him like he hung the moon, and instead he was settling for someone who overwhelmed him and brought him down, someone who cared more about what other people said than about his feelings and happiness. It made Y/N both sad and angry, and she prayed he would wake up and see he was worth more.

ETHAN ENTERED HIS ROOM AND DRAGGED HIS FEET TOWARDS HIS BED. He wanted to take a long nap and disconnect from the world, ignoring all the things that were overwhelming him lately. He wanted those feelings to be gone, he needed a good sleep and a good cry. And as if God had heard his prayers, the problems evaporated once his eyes caught sight of his best friend dancing around her room without a care in the world. He crossed his arms and watched with a smile, waiting for her to notice.

The girl stopped as soon as she felt eyes on her. Frowning, she quickly scribbled something on her blackboard.

i don’t do shows for free, quit looking

Laughing, he wrote back, what kind of shows do you do? i’m interested.

Y/N pretended to throw up and replied, i’m calling 911 pervert. And as he shook his head, she quickly wrote something else. you look stressed. wanna talk about it?

And as every afternoon, Ethan ended up sprawled on his best friend’s bed with her lying beside him. “First of all, I broke up with Mila.” he started, and Y/N’s heart stopped.

She tried her best not to smile at that, and managed to mutter “I’m sorry about that.”

Ethan shrugged, “It’s fine. We both know we weren’t really invested in that relationship. I’m stressed because she was furious, screaming something about ruining her chances of being prom queen and disappointing the school by our break-up.”

“And you feel bad about it.” Y/N stated, knowing him like the back of her hand.

“A little bit. I mean, I don’t get it, but prom is important to her for some reason. And now she needs to find another date.”

“That won’t be a problem, though. She’s literally the most gorgeous girl in school.”

“She’s not the most gorgeous girl in school.” he said, but quickly shook his head and moved on. “But it’s us who they want. Ethan and Mila, not Mila and some other guy.”

“Well, if it makes you feel so bad, you should go with her.” Y/N said out loud as her inner voice called her stupid in different languages.

Ethan frowned. “I don’t want to get back with her. And I thought you hated her.”

“I don’t hate her.” she argued.

“I heard you said you’d like her to recreate Regina George’s bus scene.” Ethan said, trying not to laugh at the guilty face she made.

“Look, everyone has intrusive thoughts.” she defended herself and Ethan bursted out laughing. “I’m not proud of it. But, moving on, I’m not telling you to get back with her, but just be her date to prom and then go your separate ways. We’re leaving for college soon, anyways.”

“I suppose you’re right.” he nodded. “That’s another reason why I’m stressed, college.”

“What about it?”

“I’m scared.” he confessed

“Why? Eth, you’re an stellar player. Lots of colleges already told you they’re interested.”

“I’m not scared of not getting into any college. I’m scared that we won’t end up in the same one.” he explained. And his eyes got glossy by just thinking about Y/N not being part of his every day life.

They had known each other since forever. They grew up together and it was in his plans to continue to grow alongside her. She was his person, and he knew he was her person too. She was his other half, he wasn’t complete without her. He rolled his eyes everytime he heard someone say that ‘we are our own person and it was wrong to believe someone complemented you’. He thought that was bullshit. Him and Y/N complemented each other and their lives wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t have each other. A part of them would be missing.

“I’m positive we will both end up on the same college. But even if that doesn’t happen, there’s absolutely no way that will be the end of our friendship, Eth. Come on, you really think our bond is not strong enough to handle a little distance?”

“You’re right.” he said, wiping his tears with the heel of his palm. “It still would suck not to have you there to annoy me every minute of the day.”

“Fuck you, Ethan.” she pinched his side, making him squirm. “And bold of you to assume I wouldn’t call you and text every one second.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you.” he hugged her tightly to his chest, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

“Love you, too.” she whispered. She wanted to kiss him so badly she had to hide her face on his chest to die down the temptation.

“Hey, I never asked you. Who are you going to prom with?”

“With no one.”

Ethan frowned. “I can’t have that. We are going together.”

Her heart started beating faster. “You’re going with Mila.”

“I haven’t told her we can still go together. And I’m not going to, we are going together.”

“No.” she shook her head. The inner voices screaming at her again. “It’s important to her. I really couldn’t care less about prom. Don’t worry about it.”

“All of your friends have dates, Y/N/N. I know you don’t care about prom, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a good time.” Ethan said, and she shrugged. “I don’t understand, though. I heard, unfortunately, the guys talking in the locker room. A lot of them were planning to ask you.”

“And they did, I just said I was going alone.”

“But why?”

Because I don’t want anyone but you, and I just turned your offer down. “I just don’t want to. Really, don’t worry about me. I don’t like parties anyway, so I won’t stay long. You will have to dance with me at least once, though.”

“Obviously.” he replied softly as he run his fingers through her soft hair until he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Y/N laid wide awake, picturing that moment. Him, looking like a daydream in a suit, with his big hands around her body and her head on his hard chest, listening to the beat of his heart, which clearly won’t be beating as fast as hers. Yes, she didn’t know how she was going to survive that.

ETHAN STOOD NEXT TO MILA AS THEY TALKED WITH THEIR FRIENDS. Well, Mila did the talking and he was just standing there, looking anxiously at the entrance door, waiting for his best friend to arrive. Ethan had offered to drive her, but she instantly turned him down because there’s no way she was going to share the confined space with Mila.

“Your break-up lasted less than I expected.” one of Mila’s friend said.

Sensing Mila’s intention of not denying the statement, Ethan spoke first. “We aren’t together, we came as friends.”

“We’re always breaking up and making up, we both know you’ll take me back in no time.” Mila laughed.

“Mila.” he sighed. “We talked about this. I told you that we can still be each other’s date, but as long as it was clear that we are over for real. Don’t make me regret it.”

“Wow.” Zach, Ethan’s friend, said. His eyes were wide and his jaw was practically on the floor. And following his gaze, he found out the reason behind his reaction.

Ethan’s body stiffened and felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Y/N walked through the gym, making her way towards her friends. No one, expect for his group, was paying attention to her. Why was no one paying attention to her?

She looked absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking would be most accurate word, because she took Ethan’s ability to breath as soon as his eyes landed on her figure. She was wearing a long, satin green dress. Her hair was up in a tidy bun, making her look elegant. Fuck, he couldn’t get his eyes off her, nor did he want to.

“Green is not her color.” Mila said between gritted teeth.

Ethan frowned, but his brown eyes were still glued to the girl across the room. “Every color is her color.”

“I’m going to ask her to dance with me.” Zach said confidently.

“Dude, get a hint. She told you she didn’t want to come with you.” another of Ethan’s friend said.

With that, Ethan finally looked away and instead glared at his friend. “You asked her?”

“Well, yeah. Can you blame me?” No, he couldn’t. But still, for some reason, it bothered him. “I can’t believe she said no.”

“Oh, come on. It’s obvious she was going to reject every offer. Well, anyone but one.” Mila said, and the boys’ curious glances landed on her. “What?”

“What are you talking about?” Zach asked.

Mila rolled her eyes. “Really? Literally everyone figured it out”

“Figure out what?” Ethan asked impatiently.

“She’s been in love with the same person for years.”

Ethan’s fists clenched and he felt like his whole body was on fire. “No way, she would’ve told me. We tell each other everything.”

Mila laughed. “It’s you, dumbass. She’s always been in love with you.”

Ethan froze and shook his head. “No. I would’ve- she should’ve… No.”

“Yes, Ethan. Ask anyone. I swear boys are so oblivious” she rolled her eyes. “It’s obvious she didn’t tell you because she knew you’d reject her. I mean, she is out of your league and you’ve never given her any signs that you might feel the same.”

Well, in that she’s right. But only because he had never let his mind wonder about being more because he didn’t want to ruin anything. Besides, he hadn’t seen her signs either and he also started dating Mila. But now… he could see them together. Now he couldn’t understand how he hadn’t thought about it before. After all, Y/N had always been his person—the one that understood him unlike anyone else, the one that made him laugh harder than anyone else, the one he always wanted to have by his side, the one who he belong with.

“She’s not out of my league.” he said, glaring at Mila. “I’m the one out of her league, hell, I don’t think anyone is really deserving of her! You know, she was the one that suggested I still should bring you here, because it was important to you. I asked her to be my date, and she said no. Even though she probably wanted to say yes. She’s that amazing, and I never saw her. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

Before anyone could say anything, Ethan let his feet guide him towards her. Y/N saw his silhouette making his way to her and her mouth broke into a smile. He did look like a daydream and the smile she loved was present on his face, shinier than ever.

"Hi, Eth." she stood up to hug him.

How could he have been so blind to notice it? The way her cheeks turned a light shade of red, her shy smile and the sparks in her eyes. Y/N was in love with him. "Hi. You look... like a daydream."

That made her blush even more. "Thank you. You look very handsome." Ethan smiled like a little kid, which made Y/N laugh. "What is going on? You're acting odd."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, you're looking different."

"Is that bad?" Ethan frowned.

"No, it's a good different. You look happy. But what is happening?" she laughed with uncertainty. Ethan shook his head, trying to wipe the smile off his face. "Come on, you're making me nervous."

my love was as cruel as the cities i lived in

"First we have to dance to your favorite song." Ethan said, grabbing her hand and guiding her to the dance floor.

Just like she had it pictured it in her mind, her best friend's arms were wrapped around her waist, her hands resting on his broad shoulders and her head lying on his chest. But, contrary to what she had thought, his heart was beating inexplicably fast.

i don't wanna look at anything else now that i saw you

"I love you, Y/N" Ethan whispered in her ear. He felt her shoulders tense and she slowly raised her head to look at him.

It wasn't like any other previous I love you's, there was something about the way he said it—so softly and vulnerable—that gave her the hope that there was another meaning, that it was another type of i love you.

"Ethan..."

been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night

"I do. I really do love you. I am in love with you, and I'm really sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

and now i see daylight, i only see daylight

"For not realizing it earlier. For not seeing how you really felt."

Y/N widened her eyes. He knew. "Ethan... don't."

"Don't what?"

"You're confused. You don't love me like that, I don't want your sympathy. You just think you love me because you don't want to reject me." she said. He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. "I promise you that our friendship won't change. I've always known it wasn't reciprocated, and I've come in terms with it."

Ethan just smiled. "Are you done overthinking? Because you have two options—you can keep on trying to convince yourself I don't love you and that my heart hasn't been skipping since you walked into this room," he put her hand on his heart. "or you can accept the truth—that I love you and I want you more than anything in the world—and let me kiss you while your song is still playing." he tilted his head down, nose brushing hers. "What is it, Y/N? One or two?"

"Two" she whispered.

He smirked "Good girl."

The kiss stopped time. When they finally pulled away, they stared at each other completely awestruck. Taylor Swift wasn't playing anymore, and they truly didn't have a clue how much time they had spent tasting each other. What they did know is that nothing had ever felt more right.

"Okay, enough show. Let's get out of here, I want you all to myself." he said pressing kisses to her neck.

"I want ice cream first, then we can make out."

"Whatever my girlfriend wants, she gets." with one last kiss, they walked out of the room hand in hand. “By the way, I have always thought you were the most gorgeous girl in school.”

[goldengalore]

Slutty Little Shorts

Summary: Y/N is turned on by Harry’s tiny running shorts.

Word count: 880

Warnings: smut (sub!harry, dom!reader, teasing, edging)

A/N: I’m having a terrible bout of writer’s block. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to write stories 🙃 So I thought I’d just work on something small, like a random blurb about Harry’s shorts. Enjoy!

***

It’s a bright and sunny Saturday morning. Y/N stands in the kitchen, staring out at the garden through the window, admiring the meticulously arranged flowerbeds and vegetable patch that she and Harry planted together in the spring.

She doesn’t hear him enter the kitchen until he says, “Babe? I’m heading out for a run.”

Turning to look at him, her eyes are immediately drawn to the tiny orange shorts hanging off his hips, not even reaching the middle of his thighs. His tiger tattoo stares back at her.

“Wearing that?” she asks.

He looks down at his outfit. “Uh, yeah? These are the new running shorts I bought last week, remember?”

“I didn’t know you bought those for running.”

“What else would they be for?”

She shrugs. “To seduce me?”

He places his hands on his hips and glances down at the shorts again. “I’m not sure they look sexy enough to be used for seduction purposes. I mean, they’re neon orange, for one thing.”

“You can make anything look sexy. It’s like your superpower.”

She may be biased, but she can’t think of a single instance where Harry looked unattractive in whatever he was wearing. Whether he’s dressed in a tailored suit or a hoodie and sweatpants or as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, he never fails to look like a Greek god to her.

“I’m almost hesitant to let you out of the house wearing that,” she says, only half-joking.

“They’re just shorts, Y/N,” he laughs, oblivious to how thick and juicy and delectable his thighs look. “You’re acting like my ass is hanging out the back or something.”

She lifts her brows. “Is it?”

“No!”

“Let me see. Turn around.”

He sighs and turns around slowly, keeping his hands on his hips.

“Seeeee?” He wiggles from side to side a bit, enticing her even more. “The ass is nicely tucked away. There is nothing to worry a—”

His sentence is interrupted by both of Y/N’s hands landing firmly against his cheeks. He jumps slightly in surprise.

“I love your cute little butt,” she says, squeezing it over his shorts, feeling the toned muscle flex beneath her fingers.

He frowns over his shoulder at her. “Little? I don’t do forty squats a day for you to call my butt ‘little.’”

“Forty squats, huh? How come I never get to see you doing those squats?”

“Because I’m shy,” he mumbles quietly, playing up the act.

She snorts. “Right.”

Moving her hands to his hips, she guides him back against the edge of the kitchen counter and stands in front of him. She pulls his head down to kiss him, instantly gliding her tongue across his plush lips and into his mouth. He tastes like toothpaste.

One of her hands sneaks into his shorts. When she reaches his cock and gives it a firm squeeze, he whimpers against her mouth. She knows he must be extra sensitive after how much she teased him in bed earlier this morning, licking and caressing his hard length, refusing to let him come no matter how much he begged and begged. It’s part of his punishment for coming without her permission last night.

“Y/N, please,” he whines, pulling away from the kiss. “Have t—to go for my run.”

Sliding her other hand to the back of his head, she gives his hair a sharp tug. He moans.

“I’ll let you go soon, puppy,” she tells him gently. “Just want to play with my toy for a bit.”

She kisses him again but just briefly so that she can watch his reaction as she pumps her hand back and forth over his cock in quick, unrelenting strokes. His mouth falls open. He’s almost panting in pleasure, and the sound is music to her ears.

“Stay still,” she warns when he starts rocking his hips against her hand.

“Sorry.”

His hands are at his sides, gripping the edge of the counter so hard that his knuckles have gone white. She keeps her eyes on his sweet face, grinning at how his cheeks flush a deep red under her watchful gaze.

“Oh, please, please,” he whispers as he gets close.

She pulls her hands out of his shorts abruptly and says, “Okay, I’m done. Off you go!”

“Wh—what?”

She smiles and fixes his shorts around his hips before stepping back. “You can go on your run now, puppy.”

“But… But...”

“But but but what?” She tilts her head to the side, challenging him to continue, to ask her to keep touching him until he comes, but she knows he won’t. Because she made it very clear last night that he won’t be coming for the rest of the weekend and possibly the entire upcoming week if he keeps misbehaving.

So, all he does is stand there and pout. And while he has a knack for putting on the cutest puppy-dog eyes Y/N has ever seen, she’s not about to give in that easily.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. You’re the one that came down here wearing those slutty little shorts. What did you think was going to happen?”

She laughs evilly and starts to leave the kitchen, turning back in the doorway to say, “By the way, we need to buy you more of those. In all different colours.”

***

Thank you for reading! MASTERLIST

[cosmicluci]

So, I wanna watch Wicked. I want to love it and be invested in it.

BUT I know the stage show is a load of queerbaiting and then just ends with heterobland. I’m also aware than every single romantic moment with the Scarecrow lad is done better and earlier between the two women, which just makes it all so much more annoying. And to make it worse, I heard his arc is one of learning self-reliance, but they then just throw him in an unnecessary relationship, and that would’ve made more sense for Glinda and Elphaba to stay together and him to be the one in charge at the end (especially since in Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow becomes king of the Emerald City).

So I wanted to know from anyone who’s watched the film: does it seem like it might be at all more and properly gay? Is there any chance they’ve toned down the baiting and just made it queer? Because if not I’m not wasting my time

[up-to-some-good]

Solid plans

A little late, but happy birthday to one of my favourite characters! Written for @wolfstarmicrofic prompt - scarecrow (513 words)

4 November 1983

The problem with having a three year old, Remus thought, was that nothing ever seemed to go according to plan. Though, that could be because the three year old in question was the son of James Potter, who hadn't ever followed instructions in his unfortunately short lifetime.

The plan was quite simple: Sirius had been away for a week for work, which had included his 24th birthday, so Remus had planned a surprise birthday lunch for when he arrived home, including all his favourite foods and a cake, baked using Effie Potter's red velvet recipe. It wasn't anything major or complicated, but Sirius would enjoy a simple meal with his family more after his long week.

The plan hinged on two things: first, Remus's ability to bake a cake without screwing it up the way he had always done previously, and second, Harry's cooperation.

The first, shockingly, went fine. Remus followed Effie's instructions to the letter, and managed to produce a tasty, if poorly iced, cake for them to enjoy.

The second part, Harry's cooperation, was where the problem came in. Because he'd been away for a full week, Sirius had not only missed his birthday, but Halloween as well. As such, Harry was insistent that they should welcome his godfather back by recreating Halloween and going trick-or-treating together.

Remus had tried to explain to the little boy that trick-or-treating was not an option, given that it was four days after Halloween and the middle of the day. He had tried to appease him by letting him wear his scarecrow costume, accepting that their birthday lunch would be slightly Wizard of Oz themed, but Harry was still not happy.

Remus spent the morning darting between setting up the table for lunch and stopping Harry from escaping out the front door, armed with his pillow case for candy-collecting. Eventually, Remus cast a shield charm over the door, at which point Harry decided to sit directly in front of it and throw his leftover Halloween candy at the shield, giggling as the sweets bounced off the magic into the room behind him.

Remus was in the kitchen when he felt a tug at the wards, and turned to see Sirius step through the Floo - only to be hit in the middle of his forehead by a flying peppermint toad.

He watched as Sirius took in the scene, from the little scarecrow staring up at him to the half-set table and lobsided birthday cake. Harry ran over to him, letting his godfather scoop him up into a hug and press kisses all over his face.

"Happy Halloween, Padfoot!" Harry yelled.

The pair then turned to Remus, Sirius grinning brightly as Harry giggled in his arms.

"Happy birthday, love," Remus said. "and welcome home!"

Sirius walked across to him and kissed him gently, before pulling him into a hug, Harry still squirming in his arms.

"You're wonderful," he whispered. "I love you both so much."

[rainbowdaisy13]

Ok I watched a few more times and have more screenshots of parts I love—these are things I myself enjoy discussing this isn’t a fucking defense of a doctoral thesis don’t send me Anons why I’m wrong

1) I love all of these Taylor going through the mechanical door scenes—very man behind the curtain Wizard of Oz vibes—reminder that this is all just a performance!!

2) “I CAN SHOW YOU LIES” and we get her going into the cleaning cart which feels very intentional in that there was so much debate about this fucking cart (closet) in the beginning of the Tour—is she or isn’t she in there?? Is she or isn’t she gay?? I just get heavy symbolism vibes from this image paired with those lyrics

3) Focusing on the glass closets being put into place by others while Taylor’s in the background doing her job of performing is innnnteresting

4) I don’t know how the fuck she gets through that door on a bike smoothly every time— I would absolutely at some point have knocked into the walls and fallen off the stage

5) Just realized this scene with Mandy M is my WILLOW WITCHES FIREBALL SCENE ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

6) This is just a cool image

7) This was such a weirdly long scene of her pretending to play the piano…I do not have any clues as to why it was so long when most of the clips we are getting are a second or less but it made me 🧐

8) The love they all share after spending literal years of their lives together is really beautiful

9) This scene was so beautiful as these fans are clearly not together based on how they are interacting but they all got into the music and vibed together🥹—in MN I wanted this vibe so bad but it was nonexistent in the higher up seats I was in—maybe on the floor it happened

10) Thought it was interesting that the last scene we get isn’t Taylor taking a bow or everyone on stage waving to the fans it’s her sneaking off stage, looking over her shoulder and mouthing the word BYE 🥺

[acquariusgb]

During the pandemic, when our frenetic travel schedules came to a sudden stop, we spent more days and nights together than we had in decades. We put together puzzles of all sizes and degrees of difficulty with our family. Chelsea and Bill were, by far, the most prolific. My favorites were the Zen puzzles with wooden pieces. For a time during COVID, Chelsea, Marc, and the kids moved in next door so we could all be together in a “pod.” Bill and I loved it. Many mornings before eight a.m. our grandchildren came over to play or eat breakfast. It was sacred time. No Zooms, no calls. Just family. At home we’re not Mr. President and Madam Secretary, we are Pop Pop and Grandma. There’s nothing better. We spent our secluded days playing countless games of hide-and-seek or Tiger, which consisted of Bill or me pretending to be a tiger pursuing Charlotte and Aidan. We spent long summer afternoons in our pool, introducing Jasper to the water and watching his brother and sister gain confidence as swimmers. Water fights and dunking contests kept us all laughing. We even produced our backyard version of The Wizard of Oz. I searched online for a much-abridged children’s version of the script, ordered costumes, and convinced everybody to participate. Charlotte played Dorothy with her family Yorkie, named Soren, playing Toto. Aidan was the Scarecrow; Bill, the Lion; Chelsea, Glinda the Good Witch; Marc, the Wizard; and little Jasper, a flying monkey. Other friends in our pod played the Tin Man and the Wicked Witch. I was (no surprise) the director. It went off without a hitch but closed after only one performance.

Something Lost, Something Gained - Hillary rodham Clinton

[verdemoun]

BOO!!! Did I scare you? What's Halloween like in timewarp au? What's the gangs first experiences with it, and do others help the ones experiencing it for the first time navigate the holidays? Also sorry for being the insane Micah bell fan in your asks but does Micah get a Scrooge moment for each Holiday

yes you terrified me silly

Bessie is so careful to explain Halloween because children in costume approaching house full of gang of outlaws that are used to shooting people who come on their camp 'territory' on sight is a recipe for a goddamned disaster. Like sit down conversation breaking down the concept and answering all their questions and begging them not to eat all the candy because it's socially acceptable to egg the houses of people who do not provide candy and various other tricks.

The 1899 gang are all together for their first Halloween and do end up loving it. Lenny forces Sean and Jenny to dress up in matching Dorothy, tinman and scarecrow costumes and go out clubbing. Hosea and Bessie go out for a fancy Halloween dinner party dressed to the nines like 19th century aristocracy.

Arthur gets to take Isaac trick or treating just wearing his actual timewarped clothes complete with replacement gunslinger hat (rip he never gets His hat back).

Kieran contently watches horror movies alone snickering to himself about how fake the effects look only to still scream in terror and need to be talked through a panic attack when Bessie and Hosea got home.

--

The whole gang come around to the idea of Halloween, only because 90% of them see it as a chance to wear their pre-timewarp clothes and get drunk.

John dresses as a pinkerton one year because Abigail Jr insisted on dressing up as her daddy the rancher and wearing John's timewarp clothes. His justification was it was the scariest thing he could think of, which still did not save him from nearly getting his nose broken when he went up behind Arthur and shouted 'this is the pinkerton detective agency!'.

At Abigail Jr's insistence Abigail is almost always dressed as some variation of princess goddess fairy queen angel. She then blank stared at John and said he had to be dressed as the frog prince but still as an ugly frog no one knows is a prince. She wanted to dress as a witch.

They usually do some sort of get together for Halloween, because there's something really innocent and fun (read: cathartically traumatizing) about being able to see each other in their canon era clothing. Of course, some still insist on dressing up but that's just as fun.

With the additions of Karen and their daughter Maeve, the MacSummers quartet+child finally complete Lenny's vision of a full wizard of oz group costume. Before anyone could poke fun of them for making Maeve dress as Toto they realized she absolutely insisted on dressing as Toto as an excuse to bite people. Sean is very proud of her. Karen also insists on being a sexy cowardly lion.

Arthur and Charles going on modern era dates in their canon era clothes making up for all the time they didn't get to have being in a relationship in canon era. Big scary outlaws having milkshakes at a 24 hour diner.

Between Abigail Jr being a witch and Maeve being Toto no one was save from bitten or whacked with a magic wand as Abigail Jr cursed them.

Micah in the club in outlaw garb getting offended when he boasts his costume is the famed gunslinger Micah Bell III only to be met with blank stares and 'who??'.

Isaac and Jack, who of course dressed as the fabulous killjoys, also go hang out with Isaac's gang and will absolutely be arrested for graffiti and trespass that is escalated to destruction of property when it is discovered they mixed sugar into the still-wet concrete slab of a commercial site being built on what should have been protected land.

At least once someone dressed as an O'Driscoll. Fuck it it was probably Micah and Sadie almost sent him to the next life before she realized it was Micah and was still contemplating using it as an excuse to kill Micah when Kieran, to everyone's surprise and slight pride, absolutely walloped him with a two by four and Micah spent the rest of Halloween in emergency with a concussion.

[whotfletamothhyperfx]

BLAZE (+SILVER) WIZARDS OF OZ DESIGNS! :))

I love blaze and silver in my au they’re so sweet, they’re just living their best lives in the woods. They’re brother and sister with blaze sometimes taking on a motherly role for silver.

Blaze is a traveller who lives her life away from the public. She used to be a knight for eggman by his side to protect him. She had been training for it ever since she was five and on the day she was meant to become a proper knight she ran. She didn’t want to be a knight anymore and decided she wouldn’t dedicate her life to someone and something she didn’t agree with. She has a tiny bit of magic that she was born with but its only enough to make a small flame. She only really uses it to light fire to cook meals and for warmth. (also to do shadow puppets for silver) shes just living her best life ngl!

Silver was born in emerald city and caused kind of a problem at his birth as in objects being thrown around and broken, When eggman found out about this he took silver and decided that he wanted him dead. Eggman didn’t like when children were naturally born powerful, only a few with simple and small powers were kept alive and then forced into being knights to protect him. The task he assigned blaze so that she would officially become a knight was to murder silver. She just couldn’t do it, so she grabbed the baby and ran out of the city and into the woods. She prefers it there and would never go back on her decision

I love them they’re so soft and they care about each other so much, while everyone else is getting angsted they’re living their best lives.

I do love them also for a fact they parallel sonic and tails. Blaze and silver are what sonic and tails should have been if it was for Eggman, Starline and shadow. If those three didn’t come after sonic then they could have had a similar life together where they could put their past behind them and just live but its just no longer possible for them. Sonic met blaze and silver once and it broke him a bit more, he wanted to kill them for having the thing he dreamed of every night but he just couldn’t, they didn’t deserve the same fate he and tails faced.

They don’t know it but sometimes sonic watches them from a distance and pretends that they’re him and tails

Requested by @krakengoggles

[yallthemwitches]

Some Headcanons for Jily/MWPP that I will probably never use in a fanfic (so they will go here)

--Lily is pretty proud to be a muggleborn actually and tries to keep up as much as she can with particularly witch/mystical coded books and movies (which were very popular in the 70s). She's a fan of LOTR and (as stated in CitW) has watched Rosemary's Baby. James also is really interested in these things (sometimes byway of Lily, others just because he finds it amusing) and him and Sirius often enjoy when Lily shows them a particularly awful depiction of magic in muggle films. Lupin also really enjoys a good showing of "American Werewolf in London" once in a while. ( Maybe I will make a "marauder's favorite muggle movies list one day....")

--^ I sometimes have this outlandish idea that Lily was so good and charismatic about explaining muggle culture to her peers that Dumbledore considered offering her the Muggle Studies position after she graduated. This of course was derailed by the war. But Dumbledore himself was quite amused with Lily's knowledge and often attended when she would organize midnight showings of Wizard of Oz for a laugh in the common room. ( It was Dumbledore's favorite muggle film)

--Included in CitW but both Lily and the Marauders love listening to muggle music as well. The Beatles obviously, but Led Zeppelin and Bowie were also huge favorites ( Led Zeppelin being the reason Sirius knows what Lily was reading when he catches her with"The Hobbit" on the grounds one day---effectively shocking her). I like the idea that back before the war, the three broomsticks would have shows and during their 7th year Lily and James would sneak out to go to them (despite breaking head boy and girl duties). McGonnagall and Dumbledore were very aware they did this but never stopped them.

--I think Lily would have listened to basically everything. She really liked punk music as much as she liked the Beatles and this is what Sirius and her bond over a lot.

--- Remus ( without James' knowledge) would visit Lily on breaks semi regularly. Being half-muggle, he had a phone and had no issue being integrated into a muggle environment. For a while Lily's parents pushed for her to date him ("He's such a sweet and calm boy!") but she always shot it down, embarrassed that her parents couldn't understand that a platonic friendship was possible. Petunia felt ambivalent toward Remus which is better than she could say for any of the other Marauders.

--^ Lily had strong suspicions about Remus being a werewolf since back in 3rd year as Snape was constantly going on about it. Being his friend, she often tried to test the waters and give him little hints whenever they were together. Notably, she once played him The Cramps' I was a Teenage Werewolf and watched him get so uncomfortable, she dropped her prodding entirely.

---Lily initially felt worried about being welcomed into the Potter family. She was a muggleborn after all during a time where hating people of her birth was in fashion. Even if the Potter's themselves didn't care, their ties to other Wizarding family's might and she didn't want to cause problems. This was very quickly dispelled by James and his parents during her first visit there.

---Before Vernon knew she was a witch, he really took no issue with Lily. He even thought for a bit that his girlfriend was being harsh on her younger sister who, to his understanding, was shipped away to some hippie school in the country while Petunia got "a quality education." He pinned her as one of those "new age, drug loving, free loaders" until Petunia finally told him about her being a witch. From then on he went through varying stages of being afraid of her, then despising her---finally fully accepting Petunia's view that Lily was nothing but a freak who somehow mucked everything up every chance she could. ( probably will make it in to my fic)

--Peter had a bit of a crush on Lily and for this reason was quite scared of her. He didn't EVER want to tell James and when he was left alone to talk to her, he got so nervous he never really got much out. Lily found this amusing and cute, but didn't catch on that it was feelings but rather that he was just socially awkward. She often treated him like a little brother.

--I go back and forth on this a lot, but many people tried to date James and Lily at any given time. There was a while where rumors spread that Lily and Remus fancied each other ( much to James' dismay) but otherwise both would either go on some meaningless dates or outright dismiss any pursuers. This isn't to say that either of them let feelings get the best of them and snogged a person or two in their 4th or 5th year--it just never amounted to much.

--Slughorn loved Lily so much that he let her use the potions classroom after hours to practice and study ( being a prefect she never got in trouble for being out after hours). In the early years Snape and her would do this together, but by the 5th year, Lily had full dibs and would spend hours in the middle of the night working on things while listening to music. Once or twice James and the marauders( under his cloak ) would catch her there and James would want to linger a bit too long in secret to watch her sing along as she cut her ingredients.

Very Niche Hot Take incoming!

--Lily was a Manson Family supporter* and this can be directly tied into her troubled feelings about Snape becoming a death eater.

*After 1969 and the murder of Sharon Tate, many people ( including famous artists and writers like Joan Didion and John Waters) came out in support of NOT Manson himself, but the girls who were ultimately imprisoned for life for their acts. Their logic was that Manson had preyed upon very young girls who came from broken homes or were otherwise homeless or lost in life. He showed them compassion, love, and seduced them with a free thinking life where they could have power---as long as they followed his every word. Of course this brain washing ultimately led to the murder of innocent people. It's a very compelling argument about the power of human charisma and cults and is still debated to this day( John Waters' remains friends with the Manson girls behind bars and often speaks in court in support of their release).

I think this would have struck a cord with Lily as she watched her closest childhood friend turn to darkness. Snape also came from a broken home where he had no agency; of course he was seduced by the power that came with dark magic. I think this argument to "hate the orchestrator and not his puppets" gave Lily hope that he could "come back" one day.

--Lily and Sirius developed a very slow burning, but strong friendship. During the war and especially after the birth of Harry, Sirius would stay with Lily while James had to go on Order missions and would often be found curled up in dog form at the foot of the bed when Lily and Harry slept.

--During their 7th year, their friendship was also already strong and Sirius would often be seen wrapping his arms around her or her giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Despite this causing some whispers, it was ultimately clear they had a very tongue and cheek platonic relationship. At the early stages of their friendship, Sirius would try to intentionally bring up uncomfortable or awkward subjects to see if he could make her squirm, but lily was always a on board and Sirius deeply respected that.

--Sirius was a great dancer and him and Lily danced often together (and roped James in too by the end)

If I think of more I'll update this list. I might make a NSFW too, we will see ;)

[ghostking4m]

TORNADO WARNINGS

Joe Burrow x male reader

Summary: Y/n reflects on his relationship with Joe in therapy. What his therapist doesn’t know won’t kill him.

——————————————————————————

“So tell me your favorite memory with Joe.”

Y/n didn’t know why he was wasting his time in therapy if he’s just going to be asked questions like this. It’s like he was being asked what his favorite childhood vacation destination was and it makes him feel like a little boy being mentally evaluated.

“I don’t know. I mean- there was this one time when I went to his game against the Kansas City Chiefs and we got this tornado warning. We were just sitting on the swings at this park and it was already cold and windy. The alarm started going off and the look on his face was like he was a character straight out of a horror movie.” Y/n said with a tiny smile and turned to his right to look out the window. “Neither of us had ever seen a real tornado, maybe in the Wizard of Oz, but never in person. Sure, we were both scared, but seeing his eyes wide with pure fear and his knuckles white as snow when he was gripping the chain on the swing was the most hilarious thing I had ever seen. He tried to convince me that we need to go and seek shelter, but I just sat there in the swing laughing. Eventually he sat down in the swings with me and just laughed with me. We even saw the tornado in the distance, but we didn’t move a muscle and we were luckily still safe. Well, no, that was kind of a lie. We did move, but it was only so we could play on the seesaw, then we just laid in the bark together. His arms were wrapped around my waist and I felt so safe. We were so close, not only in proximity, but also on an emotional level. We had feelings for each other, but we both refused to admit it. We were like teenagers playing 7 minutes in heaven, in the sense that we were like kids teetering with our feelings in the dark, both too afraid to make a move.”

Y/n felt a twinge of sadness deep in his heart when he thought of the memories. Remembering what it was like to face danger in the face with Joe hurt him a little more than he would like to admit.

“From what i’m understanding, the two of you stayed at the park in the middle of a tornado and risked facing the tornadoes wrath, just because you thought it was funny?” Y/n therapist asked him. It’s like he couldn’t believe that two people could be so in love that they just wanted to stay there and live in the moment, even if it meant being in the wake of a natural disaster.

“Well, when you put it like that, yeah, I guess we do sound a bit crazy.” Y/n chuckled in response.

“Like, don’t get me wrong, it was totally crazy to just sit there when we saw the tornado destroying everything in its path, but somehow it all felt like everything would be okay.”

“Why?” Dr. Wallard questioned Y/n.

“Because I was with him. I knew we would be okay as long as we were together.”

————————————————————————

“CINCINNATI, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SO AMAZING TONIGHT!”

Y/n felt a jolt of electricity while he was onstage. Performing in Paycor stadium was something different for him to get used to, but he felt so comfortable in Paycor, considering how many games he had been here to watch, despite being a California native.

“So, you guys know I’ve been doing this thing at the end of every show where I play a surprise song. We have 1 song left, so what do you guys think the song is going to be?”

Y/n didn’t want the night to end, so he was more than happy to keep the crowd engaged. He heard people yelling all around him in the stadium. He heard Vicious, Sue Me, Because I Liked A Boy, Decode, but he had something else in mind.

“Jokes on all of you, because i’m doing a song that no one has ever heard, not even my team. I just finished the final master last night and I’m so excited for you guys to hear this song. Only three people in the world will know what this song is about, myself, the person I wrote it about, and my therapist.” Y/n joked as he was introducing the song. The entire stadium howled with laughter and cheers after he said that.

“This song is called Tornado Warnings”

————————————————————————

“You always blow me away with your performances.”

Y/n knew that voice in the dark, if he were blind, even if he had his ears covered. Just the sound made his heart pick up to an inhuman speed.

“You just want to see me on my knees in front of you, Burrow” Y/n made a teasing joke in response.

“Well, I would never turn that down, but I mean it, you’ve always been such a captivating and talented performer. It was fun to come to your show today.” Joe pleaded. Y/n turned around and his breath dropped the second he saw those eyes, cool as ice. It never ceased to amaze him how much of an effect Joe’s eyes had on him.

“Thank you. That means a lot. Did you have a favorite song or part of the show?” Y/n asked him, trying to be as casual as he could.

“There was one song I heard tonight that I couldn’t get out of my head. It was something along the lines of you lying to your therapist. That seems like it’s the opposite of helpful, don’t you think?” Joe spoke, poking fun at Y/n.

“Yeah, but it was only ever for the lyrics. It fit the melody and theme of the song. I’ve been entering more of my popstar era than my songwriter era and now i’m just singing what fits the melody than making sure my lyrics are true to me.” Y/n said sarcastically. Joe could always see right through him.

“Right, because you’re a popstar, not a singer-songwriter who the internet claims is the son of Taylor Swift.” Joe said laughing. “Anyway, I really liked that song. I really liked being called a son of a bitch.”

Y/n laughed and it felt so natural to be with Joe like this. Oh god, Dr. Wallard would be so disappointed in Y/n right now if he knew about this.

“No, that one was actually just a line that worked for the melody. I don’t think you’re a son of a bitch. Your mom is an angel.” Y/n said with a smile on his face. He slow started inching his way towards Joe and wrapped his arms around his waist, looking up at him.

“I’ll tell her you said that” Joe chuckled back. He wrapped his arms around Y/n and leaned down to kiss him. No matter what happened, no matter how hard either of them tried, they just couldn’t stay aware from each other. There was something magnetic, something out of this world about their relationship. Joe didn’t want to be with anyone else, even if they were officially in a relationship. “You know, sometimes I can’t tell if we’re in a relationship, just hookup up, friends with benefits, or if you just like kissing me.”

“Oh please! Don’t flatter yourself, Burrow. You look like the green giant from that vegetable company.” Y/n retorted. “If anything, YOU just like kissing me.”

“Cant argue with you there.”

————————————————————————

Y/n thought about Joe all the freaking time. In the shower, driving to the grocery store, on stage performing, but his thoughts about Joe just hit a little differently when he was in his therapy sessions.

“If Joe were to tell you, right now, that he wants to get back together with you, would you do it? Would you reignite that spark that started your relationship in the first place?” Dr. Wallard asked Y/n.

“Oh fuck that! No. Absolutely not. I’m over that son of a bitch. I’m at a point in my life where I almost want to put all of that behind me and pretend like it never existed. I’m just gonna start telling everyone that we never dated, we never saw each other in the first place, we never kissed.” Y/n lied with no hesitation and absolutely no conviction.

Maybe some part of him thought that if he could convince Dr. Wallard that if he couldn’t see the lie that it doesn’t exist. Deep down, he knew that he wasn’t as mysterious as he thought and he’s not as good of a liar as he thinks he is. Dr. Wallard has GOT to be catching on as much as Y/n denies anything ever happened with Joe.

“You wouldn’t go back to the person that you described as the most epic love of your life? You’ve once told me that you think he’s the only person you could ever be with. You had plans or dreams to marry him. Do you still get those dreams sometimes?” Dr. Wallard investigated further.

“No. No. No. In fact, I actually met someone else. There’s a man i’ve been seeing who looks like Joe in a way, maybe it’s the eyes, but character wise, he’s nothing like Joe. He’s so much better than Joe. He’s like he was a predestined thought in Santa’s mind before he was even born and has been on the nice list from birth. He’s the upgraded version of Joe.”

“Does this man have a name?”

“I’d rather not say that right now. I don’t want to jinx anything, you know?”

“Ok. That’s a valid argument. Does this man have any green flags that Joe didn’t?”

“This man is nothing but green flags. Joe was like a walking red flag, or like a walking, talking, breathing natural disaster warning.” Y/n argued.

Y/b had to think a little more about his next response. He thought of Joe and his sweet kisses.

“Joe was a walking tornado warning.”

[darkomoth]

Insomniacs

Chapter 2: Birthday Dinner

Aaron Hotchner x reader

Summary: Pending a full evaluation, you're stuck at home while you heal from your injuries. Hotch is worried and Reid's birthday is around the corner.

Notes: This is sort of a slow burn I guess. Slightly shorter chapter, hope you enjoy! :)

Also uploaded on Ao3 under the same title

Word count: 6.7K

Ch. 1 Ch.3

You were cleared to fly back home but had to spend a little over a week in the hospital while you recovered. They told you that you had a mild concussion, three bruised ribs, and a broken nose. So, ultimately, not as bad as it could have been. 

Still, it didn’t feel awesome. Of course, the doctor recommended that you stay in the hospital for observation for at least 3 weeks, but the sheer thought of being bed-ridden for that long made you pick at your nails. The monotonous hum of the machines and the low volume of the tv combined with the chilly hospital air put you severely on edge. Honestly, they were lucky you made it as long as you did. 

Everyone came to visit you at one point or another, which made you very happy. Penelope had gathered a basket-full of goodies for you which consisted of a teddy bear, many chocolates/candies, a coloring book that was obviously made for children, and three balloons which said, “It’s a Girl!” in pretty pink cursive. 

“They didn’t have any “I’m sorry you were kidnapped and tortured” balloons at CVS...” Garcia had said with a pout. They were appreciated, you assured her.

Spencer had reserved time to read to you, stating that he always felt better when his mom did the same for him as a kid. You’d drift off to the sound of the young doctor's voice who recited line after line from “The Wizard of Oz,” which he knew you loved. 

Derek came by a couple times to drop off food and watch a few episodes of whatever shitty soap opera happened to be on at the time. Somehow, they seemed better quality when he was there. His easy conversation made you relax in the stiff hospital bed and often you found yourself laughing a little too hard, straining your sides and reminding yourself of why you were here to begin with. 

JJ and Emily often visited together, since they were carpooling. They brought personal hygiene items from your apartment and flowers, talked about work and how the team was. “Oh, we’re falling apart without you, for sure.” JJ stated once. It made you smile, though you knew everyone was getting on just fine. 

Rossi wasn’t super talkative, but you were used to that. His company was welcome in the late hours when the ticking clock made you want to rip your hair out. He cooked some really good pasta, but you suspected it may have been take-out. Rossi denied it completely. 

Hotch was there more than anyone else, however. You could hear him pacing outside your door some nights, like he was debating on whether to come in. He always did after knocking gently on your door, which you eagerly answered.  

He’d sit by your side and ask how you were feeling, and you would answer the same way every time with a smile, “Like a million bucks.” It made him scoff and shake his head a little, though you knew he found it a little funny. After several minutes of small talk, his hand would search for yours and you would accept it with a small smile. Hotch wasn’t accustomed to doing nothing either, so he’d fidget. He’d check on your vitals, request an extra blanket, crack open the window for fresh air, or pace whenever you did succumb to sleep. 

Your request to go home was granted, but not to return to work. That would take at least another two weeks. Hotch thought even that was pushing it, though.  

“I’m seriously fine, Hotch. See, look,” You said, crumbling some trash into a ball so that you could toss it into a nearby trash can. You got it in one shot. “Look at that coordination,” You laughed, nudging his side softly. 

Hotch only stared at you, seemingly unamused. “That is not a good measurement of capability.”  

The two of you were walking out of the hospital, and you felt a heaviness lift off your shoulders as you passed though the automatic sliding doors. Finally, you were back to the real world. JJ and Emily brought you your own clothes which made you feel like yourself again and not some lab rat. The sun was warm on your skin, and you took a deep breath the moment you were outside. It made you forget about how you must’ve looked still, with a black eye and purple bruises littered across your cheek and neck.

The team had another case already, but Hotch stated he would be catching up with everyone as soon as he made sure that you got home safe. That set off a feeling of butterflies in your stomach which you tried to push away. That was genuinely the last thing you should be thinking about right now.  

“Well, what is a good measurement?” You ask, turning towards him and looking up into his eyes. They were already trained on you, stoic and resolute as always. 

“Your evaluation is scheduled in 12 days from now.” He says, impassively. 

You don’t try to stop the groan that escapes you, “That’s so long.” The two of you make it to Hotch’s car, he opens the passenger side door for you and holds onto your upper arm to help you inside, it sends a pleasant chill up your arm. You wince in pain as you change from an upright position to sitting, and Hotch notices. 

“Are you alright?” He hovers next to you as you reach for the seatbelt. Your ribs were actually on fire, but you nodded in response, not trusting your voice at the moment. Hotch looks at you skeptically for a second, hands twitching at his sides, before closing the door and making his way to the driver's seat. 

He looked good, you thought. Hotch was in his usual suit, but no jacket or tie, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and you tried not to let your eyes linger for too long. Halfway through the drive, he speaks again. “You should’ve stayed at the hospital.” 

You look over at him again, his eyes are fixed on the road and his face neutral, but his hand grips the steering wheel tightly. “I couldn’t take another minute of that place.” You say, a little bitterly. 

Hotch glances at you but turns his attention back to driving. “I know... still.” He sighs like he’s resigned to the fact that you’re very stubborn and almost always get your way in the end. “How’s the pain?” 

Over the past week, Hotch has checked in on your pain level. He’d ask where you were from 1-10; 1 meant almost no pain, 10 meant it was unbearable. Typically, you’d say 3/4, maybe 5 on a bad day, but if you were being honest, 4 meant 6 and 5 meant 9. If Hotch noticed that you were lying, he didn’t say anything. 

“Mm, 5.” You mumbled in response. 

He only nodded, making sure to keep his eyes forward. A few seconds pass, as if he’s debating if he should speak again. Eventually he does. “Are you sure?” His voice is tentative and soft now, “You’ve been controlling your breathing and clutching your side.”

You release your side in response and take a deep breath as if to prove a point, “I’m sure.”

Hotch doesn’t say anything for the rest of the drive. When he pulls into the parking lot of your apartment complex, he prevents you from opening your door. “Stop, I’ll get it.”

“Hotch, you really don’t need to-“ You were cut off by the sound of the driver side door shutting closed. When he makes his way around to the passenger side, you were looking at him disapprovingly. “I can open a door.” You mutter as he opens it and offers a hand.

“I’m certain you can.” Is all he says in response, not budging from his spot. With a small sigh and a suppressed smile, you take his hand and hop out of your seat.

You notice how close Hotch is to you, the way he’s put himself between you and the rest of the lot. It’s intimate in a strange way, his hand is still in yours even though you were fully stable now. Your heartbeat quickens in the way that it does when he’s near and you fidget.

Hotch probably noticed your behavior because he lets you go immediately, turning towards the trunk of the car that has your go-bag. He grabs it and starts walking with you to your door. You want to protest again, tell him that you were okay and capable of doing normal, everyday things like carrying your bag, but you decide against it. You know that nothing you say is going to change Hotch’s mind so you allow yourself the moment to enjoy his company. 

“I can handle it from here.” You say once you open your door and step inside. The apartment was fairly empty, save for the sparse furniture and fake plants that sat on your windowsills. As you move to grab your bag from Hotch, a sharp sting shoots up your right side and makes you still. “Ahhh,” You hiss in pain. 

“Y/N?” Hotch asks worriedly, holding his hands out for you to grab onto if you needed. “Are you alright?”

With your hands clutching onto him, you take a second to regain stability and test your breathing, “Mhm… sorry.” You let him go and decide to lean against the island counter in your kitchen instead, but he continues to hover. “It comes and goes.”

“Where’s the painkillers the hospital provided?” Hotch asks, setting down your bag on the counter next to you and rummaging through the side zippers. You don’t have a chance to respond before he finds them. “Here,” He says, as he drops two pills into his hand, “hold onto these, I’ll get some water.”

He hands them to you, and the warmth of his hand is comforting. You hold them and watch as he moves freely around your kitchen, searching for your glassware. It was strange, but not unpleasant, to see your boss inside your home moving around like he’s been here a hundred times. Almost domestic. You shook the thought from your head and took a seat in one of the barstools. Shortly after, Hotch slides over a glass of water across from you.

“Thanks.” You say and down the pills with a gulp of water.

Hotch is looking at you with an unreadable expression, it makes you shift in your seat and take a few more sips of water to distract yourself.

“You need rest and plenty of water…” Hotch trails off, like he wants to say more but doesn’t. Then, like he can’t take it anymore, he moves around the counter to be next to you. “I’m sorry.”

He’s so close again, even taller than usual since you’re sitting. You have to crane your neck to look up at him, his expression has softened from earlier. Confused by what he said you replied, “What are you sorry for?”

Hotch sighs a little, his jaw is tense. “I shouldn’t have sent you away.”

You didn’t know what to say at first, struck by the way he was acting. It was very unlike himself to display any sort of unprofessional behavior, and this was definitely not professional. You furrow your brows and hesitantly reach out to place your hand on his.

“You were doing your job. I shouldn’t have gone to the park, I knew the risks and did it anyway.” You say, trying your best to keep your beating heart under control at Hotch’s proximity.

He looked just past you, not meeting your eyes and shook his head, “I was worried I may never see you again.” Hotch seemed genuinely distraught at his own words, it made your gut twist in an unpleasant way.

“Hotch… Aaron.” The sound of his first name finally made him meet your eyes. You smiled up at him, “You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily.”

It felt tense in the room now, you were used to the team being all together, interrupting moments like these and pulling you back down to reality. But now it was just you and Hotch, and he wasn’t pulling away.

“I-“ Hotch starts, but a loud ringing cuts him off. He closes his eyes for a moment, obviously upset at the interruption, but he answers anyway. “Hotchner.” He pulls back and paces a few feet away from you.

You know that whatever was being said, it wasn’t good and by the look on Hotch’s face and the furrow of his brows, it was probably minutes before he’d be out the door. When he hung up, he looked over at you sympathetically. 

“Go on, boss. I’m good.” You say, trying to ease the stress that was evident in his frown.

Hotch’s hands twitch at his sides again and you make a mental note of it. He tends to do that when he’s considering his next move. Ultimately, he nods and strides to your front door, pausing when his hand lands on the doorknob.

“We’ll be in Pennsylvania. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.” Hotch says, regretfully.

“Can I call even if I don’t need anything?” You ask, trying to lighten the mood.

He gives you one of his rare smiles, “Yes, Agent.”

-

Hotch left Y/N’s apartment with a mix of emotions. He wasn’t sure if she was truly alright. Mentally, maybe, the events with Mazdin didn’t seem to wreck her emotional state, she still joked and smiled at him which was a good sign. Physically, though, was another story. 

One of her tells that Hotch caught early on when she were hired was deflection. He’d ask if she was okay, she'd ask if he was. If she answered, it was quick, as if she were afraid to elaborate too much and make herself seem suspicious. He knew that she was in pain and afraid to show it in case it affected her return to the BAU.

Y/N’s fear was unwarranted, though. Hotch was counting down the days of her return despite knowing she needed time to heal. It was difficult to leave after having spent the last week checking in on her, keeping her company.

One day when he paced outside her hospital door, unable to stay still, Y/N called out his name. “Hotch, just come in, you’re stressing me out. And I need help changing the channel.” Her voice was still strained but he could tell she was smiling. It calmed his worries about intruding on her, and from that point on he didn’t linger outside as much. 

It was still difficult to see her covered in bruises and looking at him like he was the only person she wanted to see. Her black eye was getting better, the swelling had gone down considerably, but she had a dark ring underneath that was an ever-present reminder of what happened. The lines on her neck were barely starting to fade, still an angry-red color, and the bandages surrounding her torso hid the damage beneath, but Hotch knew that bruised ribs were serious injuries. Any time he thought about it, he felt a little sick.

After everything that he’s seen in the BAU, nothing compares to having a teammate go through something that traumatic. Regardless, Hotch knew that she was recovering. Even if it wasn’t at the hospital with trained professionals, he thought bitterly.

His phone rang again as he was driving towards the office, “Hotchner.”

“I had a thought.” Y/N’s voice rang out from his speaker and his frown softened a little.

“Yes?”

“I may not be able to be in the field, but if you send me the case files I can work on it from here.”

Hotch should’ve expected that one. With a shake of his head he responds, “You need to focus on getting better, not causing yourself stress.”

“No, you don’t get it. If I’m left alone with literally nothing to do for longer than 30 minutes, I’ll lose it.” Her voice was coming out rushed, he could tell she was either pacing or tapping her fingers nervously. The image made the corners of his mouth turn up a little.

A few seconds passed with silence, Hotch debating what the best thing to do was in this situation. “If you promise to take care of yourself… I’ll have Garcia send over the paperwork within the hour.”

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Y/N said excitedly. “Oh- also, I wanted to remind you of Reid’s birthday, it’s Friday.”

Hotch laughs at that, “Yes, I did actually remember.”

“Okay great, because I was thinking the team could get together that day and celebrate. Either at the bar or maybe Rossi’s since it’s bigger…” Y/N says, sounding like she’s just thinking out loud.

“I’ll discuss it with everyone, though you really shouldn’t be leaving your home-“

“Yeah, yeah I know but you only turn 29 once and I want to see Reid’s face when I give him his “Happy 30th Birthday” card.” She replies.

Hotch tries his best not to laugh and give her the satisfaction. “Well, in that case. I’ll get back to you about it.”

“Thanks Hotch.”

-

The week actually flies by, to your pleasant surprise. You were often sat on your couch, eating some type of take-out and going over victimology of the team’s case in Lancaster, PA. The unsub was a family annihilator, targeting middle-class families and spending extra time torturing the fathers.

Without being there, you were limited to your access of information, but frequent calls to and from Garcia kept you in the loop. Ultimately, you suggested to the team that the unsub was a father himself and most likely had his children taken away from him at some point.

Of course, you were trying to keep your promise to Hotch and taking care of yourself. That mostly meant drinking at least two cups of water a day and trying your best to fall asleep once the clock read 12:00 am. That second one didn’t work out as well.

Hotch knew that you weren’t sleeping again, given the times you had called him. Since there was no time change between Virginia and Pennsylvania, it was obvious that your insomnia had crept back.

A particular call one night left a bad feeling in your stomach. It was past 1:00 am already, but you knew Hotch would still be up, working. You were proven correct when he answered on the second ring, “Hotchner.”

“I was looking over the night that the Clarkson family was murdered and I noticed something off with the children’s position in the house-“

Hotch cut you off before you could finish, “Agent L/N, you need to go to sleep. Now.” His voice was curt and a little angry, you thought.

“Hotch, I will, but listen to me-“

“No. I’ve allowed you to work remotely under the assumption that you would be prioritizing your health. Now that I know that is not your intention, I’m relieving you of this case.”

For a moment, you were speechless. You winced from the pain in your ribs as you shifted your position at the dining table. “Hotch, I am prioritizing and I have been sleeping, it’s just later in the night.” 

“I will not allow you to continuously jeopardize yourself, if need be I can and will suspend you.” His voice was monotone as always, but you sensed irritation in it. 

“Fine.” Was all you said in response, quickly ending the call and slamming your phone down onto the table in front of you. You can’t remember the last time you were this angry at Hotch. Even though it came from a place of concern, he had no idea how much worse it was for you when you had nothing to preoccupy yourself with.

The nightmares returned very soon after the Mazdin incident. In fact, they were even worse. Before, the dreams would consist of you and the team on a typical case, trying to find an unsub before the clock runs out. You would see image after image of decapitated bodies, mutilated corpses, the faces of missing children. Every time it shook you so badly, you’d wake up in a cold sweat, involuntary tears in your eyes.

After your own kidnapping, you’d dream of that basement. How this must’ve been how all those other girls had felt, terrified that they would never see sunlight again, never hug those closest to them, never have the luxury of another boring day. You’d experience the pain of that night over and over and over again. The feel of the strangers fist connecting to your stomach, face, and ribs was so real, you could practically smell the musty air and taste the blood in your mouth. 

When you were in the hospital, hopped up on painkillers and connected to an IV, you had dreamless sleeps. They felt like temporary comas and you were aching to feel that again. You could feel Hotch next to you, holding your hand and talking but you never made out what was actually being said. It was perfect.

Now, back inside your own apartment alone yet again, not even a case to distract you, the thought of sleep petrified you. You made yourself coffee, did laundry, washed dishes, even cleaned out your closet at one point. Nothing could stop the inevitability of you closing your eyes and being transported back to that night.

You were told by Garcia that the team had caught the unsub just before he was able to take out the Williams family and they were flying back Thursday night. You were glad that everyone was safe and on their way home, but it hurt that you didn’t feel like you could even talk with Hotch now.

You wanted to call and check in on him since you knew how hard he took family annihilator cases. Still, you didn’t reach for your phone. You would be seeing them all tomorrow, anyways. It was decided by Reid that Rossi’s place would be better than any public outing, so the team had made a plan to meet there at 6:00 pm Friday night.

Throughout the year, you tended to buy things for the team. Small gifts, anything that stuck out to you that someone may like, and you kept them for birthdays and holidays. So when you came across a dusty antique bookstore during one of your cases in New York several months ago, you knew you had to look around. You found the most incredibly bound and gorgeous hardback copy of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde and just knew it’d make a great gift for boy-genius.

You also happened upon an old collection of classic vinyl records, with dozens of artists varying from Frank Sinatra to Harry Belafonte and you had to get it. Not for you, but you knew one very serious Unit Chief that loved oldies.

-

By the time that Friday morning rolled around, Hotch hadn’t spoken to Y/N in over 48 hours. It put him a little on edge, he was too used to seeing her every day, hearing her voice asking how he was. He knew it was his fault for snapping at her the way he did, but he couldn’t take another night of worrying about her. He had enough to deal with already.

She had called him at least twice a day every day that they were in Pennsylvania, offering some of her insight. It was welcome most of the time, especially after they’d hit a wall in their investigation. Y/N not being on the scene allowed for a unique outside perspective. But Hotch wasn’t going to allow her to compromise her health for the job.

He debated calling her several times and it just never happened. Either he would get busy or he’d rationalize that she didn’t want to hear from him, but they were all excuses. So he decided to bite the bullet and dial her number when he finally settled into his office that morning.

“L/N.” Was all she said when she finally picked up. Usually, when she noticed it was Hotch calling, she would answer the phone with a “Hey Boss” or some variation of it. The change made him look down at his desk with a frown.

“Hey…” Hotch said, completely forgetting the reason he had come up with for calling so early. “I wanted to check in with you, see how you were… will you be coming to Rossi’s tonight?” He scolds himself internally for sounding so unsure of himself.

“Well, yeah, I wouldn’t miss it.” She said as if it were obvious. He supposed it was, seeing as the get-together was her suggestion. “Was there anything else?” She asked after a minute.

Hotch wanted to ask what her pain level was, if she had actually slept since the last time they spoke, and quite a few other things, but instead he shook his head a little, “No. We’ll see you there.” He hung up quickly after that, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Several hours of paperwork later and Hotch was finally leaving for the day. He arrived at Rossi’s mansion at 5:50 pm, noticing that he was not the first. Morgan and Prentiss’ cars were both there, and he was relieved that Y/N hadn’t shown up just yet. He was still trying to figure out what he was going to say to her.

As he rung the doorbell, he could hear talking and laughing inside. “Answer that, would you?” Rossi’s voice could be heard echoing from the kitchen. A couple seconds later he heard footsteps and then Y/N was there, holding the door open.

She was stunning. Her usual work clothes were nice and complemented her, but Hotch had never seen her like this. She wore a mid-length, off the shoulder gown with long sleeves, it was black with a lace trim. Her makeup was done but it wasn’t a lot, he suspected it was to cover up the remaining discoloration from that night. Her hair was done in a different way that he’d never seen before, and she was so gorgeous.

It took a moment before Hotch could speak, “I brought wine.” He holds the bottle out to her and she takes it with a small smile and nod. As she walks away with it towards the kitchen and he follows, he thinks about what the hell was wrong with him. 

“Ahh, Aaron, this is perfect.” Rossi says as Y/N hands him the bottle of red. “Why don’t you all take a seat, the rest of the team is on their way and the food will be ready shortly.”

Morgan and Prentiss were hovering around the island counter, also dressed up in less than casual outfits.

“What’s up man?” Morgan asks as he makes his way over to Hotch, “Didn’t you bring a gift for wonder boy?”

“Spencer’s gift is all of the paperwork he does not have to do for the next three days.” He responds, shrugging off his blazer.

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Prentiss says, “does that extend to the rest of the team?”

“What you guys get is his workload.” Hotch says with a growing smile.

A collective groan is heard as everyone takes their seats. Y/N is still in the kitchen, helping Rossi with kneading some type of dough. He tries not to glance over too often, but it’s hard not to. She’s laughing at something Rossi’s said and the smile on her face is infectious. 

Hotch notices how she’s still favoring her right side, moving only when she has to. Her breathing is controlled and her posture is purposefully casual. She’s certainly gotten better since the last time he’s seen her, but she’s not fully healed and he resists the urge to go speak to her about it.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Emily asks.

Y/N responds before Rossi can, “Burrata Caprese Gnocchi with balsamic bruschetta and garlic bread.” She shares a look with Rossi who smiles at her.

“Sounds amazing.” Emily says just as the doorbell rings.

JJ, Penelope, and Reid were all at the door, which Hotch answered this time, beating Y/N to it. 

“There’s the birthday boy!” Derek said, getting up to give Spencer a hug.

“I really don’t think the word ‘boy’ accurately describes my age anymore.” He replies, returning the hug a little hesitantly. 

“Ah, come on Spence, you’re still the second youngest agent in the team.” JJ says, pointedly looking at Y/N from where she still stood in the kitchen.

“Hey, I am not much younger than him.” She says defensively. Hotch smiles at the interaction.

“Well, regardless,” Penelope cuts in, taking Reid’s arm in hers, “you are still the residing genius of the BAU, myself excluded.”

“Well, thank you very much.” Hotch hears Spencer mutter as he’s dragged along to the dining room with everyone else.

Rossi commanded that everyone help set the table as the last bit of dinner was being prepared. Y/N was moving around seemingly effortlessly, stirring something in a pot and then pulling bread out of the oven. Hotch thought she looked very graceful, until she must’ve turned the wrong way and she stilled completely.

Y/N clutched the edge of the counter like she had back at her apartment last week and Hotch stopped passing plates around. He watched as she excused herself to the restroom and after a second of deliberating, he followed.

The light underneath the bathroom door was on and Hotch knocked on it lightly, “Y/N?” There was no response for a minute. “Hey, are you okay? Please open the door.”

Another few seconds went by with no sound and he was thinking maybe he should just go back to the dining room when the door unlocked and swung open a fraction. Hotch took that as an invitation to open it fully and walk in.

Y/N was leaning against the bathroom sink, hand on her side and eyes closed. “What do you need?” He asks, hands clenching at his sides, not sure if he should reach out and touch her.

“Um…” Her breath shakes slightly, “If you could, my bag has my medication, I left it out there.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.” It took Hotch less than a minute to go out into the living area, find her bag with the painkillers and bring them back to the bathroom. He knocks twice before entering, “Here.”

“Thank you.” Y/N says, taking them with a mouthful of tap water.

“How’s the pain?” It’s a long shot that she’ll even continue speaking to him, but Hotch doesn’t feel like leaving her alone like this.

“Uh, a 6.” She looks at him finally, and his frown deepens. She’s never actually gone past 5, and he knew 5 was bad. “It’s okay, really, I think I just strained my side while cooking.”

Hotch nods, but he doesn’t feel reassured. “Well, I’ll help you to the table, and please don’t move again unless you have to.” He thinks that she wants to argue but that would take energy she doesn’t have, so she allows him to wrap an arm around her waist. She leans against him and he inhales her scent, it’s warm and sweet, like cinnamon he thinks.

If anyone noticed the way the two of them walked out together, no one said anything. The team wasn’t oblivious, they knew Y/N was in pain as well, and that she wouldn’t want to speak about it. Especially tonight when it was about celebrating a fellow teammate.

Hotch set her down in a seat directly next to him, his hand lingering where it had been a moment before. Rossi was passing around the main course and the conversation had been redirected to Spencer’s weekend plans.

“I’ll be in Vegas for the next couple days. I’ve been meaning to visit my mom but haven’t really had the time.” He says as he grabs two pieces of garlic bread.

“That’s nice.” Emily says, taking a sip of her wine. “I would rather be working than visit my mother on my birthday.”

“Cheers to that,” Rossi says, also taking a sip.

Everyone raises their glasses, Y/N included. Her face gives no indication that the movement bothers her at all. She takes a sip and rests the glass back down where she starts tapping nervously on it and Hotch knows the meds haven’t kicked in just yet.

“Time for gifts!” Penelope yells excitedly and claps her hands, getting up from her spot after everyone had finished with their meals.

Y/N makes a move to stand up, but Hotch catches her wrist before she can. He shakes his head and says, low enough so that no one else can hear, “Don’t even think about it.”

She gives him a look but doesn’t try to shift out of her seat again. His hand stays on her for a moment longer under the table and she doesn’t try to pull away.

“Well then, would you mind grabbing the gift I brought over on the counter?” Y/N practically whispers.

Hotch has to clear his throat before responding, “Of course.” He’s up in a second, already missing the warm contact. He locates the present with white wrapping paper that was covered in gold stars, attached to it was a card that said “You’re 30!” on the cover with a picture of an cartoon senior citizen underneath the text. The sight made him laugh under his breath.

“Open mine first, please.” JJ says, handing over a rather large bag to Reid.

As he grabs it, Hotch takes his spot back next to Y/N. Spencer is ripping out the tissue paper until he reaches the gift. He pulls it out with a gasp, “Ohhh no way.”

In his hands is a model replica of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek, and by the way he was holding it, it seemed fairly heavy. Hotch smiled at the Doctor’s reaction and noticed that Y/N did too. The corners of her eyes crinkled with her grin and he wanted to lean down, just a few inches so that he could come face-to-face with her. He thought about brushing her hair out of her face, behind her ear. He would tilt her head back until she couldn’t go any further, then lean down closer, closer…

Hotch was snapped out of his thoughts by Y/N’s voice. “That one’s from me and Aaron.”

He looked at Spencer, who had the gift in his hands. “I am not thirty years old.” He tossed the offending card down onto the table and the sound of laughter filled the room from everyone.

“Is there something wrong with being thirty?” Derek asks, feigning offense.

“No, I’m just stating the fact that I am not actually thirty years old, I have another 364 days before I reach that milestone, in fact-“

“Just open the present!” Emily says, laughing.

“Okay.” Reid does as he’s told and unfolds the wrapping paper carefully. When he’s done, a hardcover book lays in his hands, but Hotch can’t make out the title. It seemed to make Spencer very happy though, if his widening smile was any indication. “Where did you find this!”

“New York, that case where we were snowed into our hotel and couldn’t leave for an extra week. Gave us time to look around.” Y/N said, making brief eye contact with Hotch. She was keeping up the ruse that he had helped in picking out Reid’s gift.

“You know, out of all of Oscar Wilde’s books, I’ve read this one the most,” Finally Hotch could make out the title ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ “it’s actually very short but it’s masterfully done, almost no other author compares from this century.”

“You’ve mentioned it a few times.” Y/N says.

“Thank you both, very much. This is great.” Spencer replies. 

Hotch tries not to look at her again, he’s not sure what he’ll do if he does. His professional nature was slipping with each sip of wine.

Another few minutes of Reid opening gifts goes by and they were all very thoughtful. Rossi gave him a new suit jacket, Italian made of course. From Garcia, he received several doctor who related items including the full series on blue-ray. Emily got him an iPod, mostly so that he would stop playing his music out loud on long car rides, she explained. Lastly, Derek stated that his friendship was gift enough. Though, later Hotch discovered Morgan had already given Reid a certificate for an all-expenses paid stay at a resort in the Bahamas which was run by a good friend of his.

The night ended on a good note, everyone was buzzed and in deep conversation. Hotch never left Y/N’s side. She seemed to be doing significantly better than earlier, no longer wincing at every move and engaging with the teams banter.

As everyone started to trickle out, Hotch turned towards her. “Do you need a ride?” He hadn’t noticed her car when he got here and it was unlikely that she could drive home in her state anyway.

“Oh, Emily drove me-“ Y/N said, looking around for their friend, who was nowhere to be found.

“I don’t mind, your apartment’s on the way.” Hotch replied, hoping she would say yes. He needed just a few more minutes with her. She looked up at him like she was debating it, eventually pursing her lips and nodding.

“Okay, thank you.”

The two of them said their goodbyes to those remaining, Y/N gave Spencer a hug and wished him Happy Birthday once more before they made their way outside towards Hotch’s car.

Hotch made sure to keep an eye on the way she moved, ready to support her if she needed, but it was unnecessary, she seemed to be fine. He made his way over to the passenger side door and opened it swiftly.

Y/N laughs a little, “Such a gentleman.”

Hotch smiles back and closes the door after she’s settled. Once they’re on the road, he remembers everything that he’s been meaning to say.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” He says lightheartedly.

“Do what?” She asks with that little crease between her brows. His hand tightened around the steering wheel just slightly.

“The gift for Spencer. I had no idea about it.”

“Oh, right… Well the no paperwork thing was nice. I know he appreciates it.” She says with a smile. This is torture, Hotch thinks. She’s so close to him, literally less than a foot but he can’t do anything. 

“About the phone call-“

“Hotch, don’t, I already know.” Y/N says, as if she was expecting this conversation all night. “I know I still have five days until my evaluation and if tonight was any indication, I’m still not really to be in the field yet.”

He was glad that she knew that, at least. But his intention wasn’t to scold her all the way back to her home, “Y/N, please let me… I didn’t mean to insinuate that your help wasn’t appreciated on this last case, it was.” She doesn’t say anything in response, just looks over at him with questioning eyes. “I need you to know that everything I do, everything, is for the well-being of this team.”

“I know that, Hotch-“

“Then you know that I would do anything for you.” He cuts her off, but doesn’t take take his eyes off the road, even for a second.

The tension in the car feels high, but Hotch can’t tell if only he can feel it. The seconds that go by without Y/N’s response is agonizing.

“I do know that.” Her voice is softer, almost far away. “And I would do anything for you.”

The words make his shoulder’s slump in relief, he dares to glance her way. She’s looking at him in a way he’s never seen before, a little sad maybe, but smiling. He’s tempted to pull the car over to the side of the road for a few minutes.

“You just passed my place.” Y/N says then.

“I know.”