#they'd hang out over tea all the time i think

[boxofoxberry]

I wanna see two mcsm characters talking over a cup of tea (this is the first thing that came to my mind.)

the hero and the weird old man they saved the world from /pos

[loeh]

Just imagine the Agriche children trying to convince themselves that they aren't interested in milf!reader, who is their fathers young wife.

like okay sure you are near their age but they'd never be interested in someone like you who had given everything up (without your consent) just to become their father's wife.

sure they pitied you but the urge to protect and take care of you was just platonic or was it?

i mean the only reason roxana ever hangs out with you is because in the novel you were said to be one of the prettiest woman and she just wanted to make sure if the novel was exaggerating or not (it wasnt), there is nothing wrong with admiring your fathers wife's beauty although just ignore the lingering gazes on your bosom, after all she is just a growing kid. <3

as per for dion, he never was interested in you but your parenting methods. you would be the only one to raise your children in such a...normal way despite being an Agriche. his fascination started at one of his mother's tea parties (he crashed the party since you were there <3) where he witnessed you shielding your kid from the horrors of his mother's party and going as far to berate his mother for organizing such an event in front of a child. from that day onwards, he had become a hawk who observed you for the duration of time he was in the estate, well hawk who had perhaps become too involved that he forgot he was watching his father's wife satisfy herself with her fingers but evidently failing.

jeremy swore he just wanted to find the woman who fascinated his sister roxxie but to think he walked in on you getting bathed by your handmaidens was just embarrassing for him (he was warned vaguely). he had thought he was done for, when you calmly wore a robe and told everyone to leave, thinking you were surely going to tell his father and sister, but no, instead you had just opted for talking to him in a gentle voice explaining his mistake. sure he didn't like you at all at first but slowly and gradually he too fell for you and well started thinking more about your first meeting, yk the one where you were naked<3

when griselda got to know her father had married a young woman close to her age she was intrigued and just wanted to meet her. not knowing that the woman she'll meet would have been the famous painter, [name]. She was fascinated how the people of the manor did not worship the mere ground you walked on for you were perhaps the talent of the century yet somehow the great artist such as you didn't want her to disclose your identity. this woman was already heads over heels for you, no need to explain and agreed but, won't you draw her like one of your french girls in exchange for your secret? <3

in conclusion, all the siblings came together to protect you from the sky white haired pedelian!

[slytherinshua]

BOYNEXTDOOR WITH KIDS !

summary. you invited your boyfriend to help you babysit! here's how he does. genre. fluff. warnings. kids but nothing else. not proofread. pairing. boynextdoor x fem!reader. wc. 675. request. originally a request from lovely 💗 anon for bonedo x baby fever gf reader. i kinda tweaked it a bit to be bnd with kids but implied that reader still has baby fever which is why they babysit <33 a/n. ugh i wish these were a bit better idk i tried my best!! i literally started writing it out as baby fever reader but then i was stumped how to do it differently for all 6 of them so... i hope this is alright ??? net. @onedoornet

PARK SUNGHO ﾐ 박성호

Sungho would do so well with the little girls you babysit. He would be so down to have a princess tea party with them, and they immediately are in love with him from that moment on. I can see them berating you two with questions about your relationship, especially if the girls were around 4 or 5. They successfully get Sungho to admit that yes he’s in love with you and yes he does plan to marry you someday (if he said no then the girls would have said true love was dead). They plead you to invite Sungho over again to play because they had such a good time. 

LEE SANGHYEOK ﾐ 이상혁

Riwoo is hesitant. He has no idea whether the kids will like him, much less if he would be any good with them. He hasn’t had much opportunity to be around children or babies, so he’s very cautious. He lets them take the lead, but soon finds that it’s easy to entertain them by challenging them to a dance battle or playing just dance lol. He’d probably win over the kids favour by buying them donut holes as well. Overall, he’s pleasantly surprised at how well it went, and maybe he understands your chronic baby fever just a little more now.

MYUNG JAEHYUN ﾐ 명재현

Jaehyun is best with little kids ages 3 and up. His energy matches them so well and he loves to play with them. His imagination also matches that of a little kid, so nothing is out of reach. Whether it’s playing with toys, a board game, or play pretend, he is fully invested in it. Every time he hangs out with the kids you take care of, he ends the day completely exhausted. But you know he had so much fun with the little ones. You just might have to recharge him with a long cuddle sessions cause he swears 6 hours of dance practice is less intensive than 1 afternoon of babysitting.  

HAN DONGMIN ﾐ 한동민

Surprisingly he is the number 1 match for your baby fever. He adores babies, especially the infants that you babysit. He loves to hold them, and they love to be held by him even more. His calm demeanour is very soothing for them. I could see any baby falling asleep in his lap super easily. His prior experience with his sister also helps. He knows how to be gentle and patient with kids, and really understands exactly what they need. In his mind there really isn’t anything cuter than babies :( He talks in a slight baby voice to them as well, he really can’t help it. 

KIM DONGHYUN ﾐ 김동현

I think Leehan would struggle the most. If there’s no common ground between him and the kids, it’ll be hard. But, if any of the kids you babysit are just slightly as weird as Leehan, good luck trying to separate them. I think he would definitely love to draw with the kids, but make sure he is not making any food for them. He’d be unable to say no to whatever they wanted, and they'd either get sick on sweets or sick from impulsively wanting to try his fish food. Then he'll probably be banned from ever going near them again by their parents. Although he doesn’t really get the appeal of little kids, he does admit that it was fun at times to hang out with them. He leaves the babysitting job to you, though.

KIM WOONHAK ﾐ 김운학

Woonhak is so good with kids omg!! At the beginning, he matches their energy so well, but he crashes so fast as well. He would accidentally make jokes that the kids take entirely seriously and end up having to comfort them when they cry. But, despite his mistakes, he’s great at rallying all the kids and being the leader for group activities. If you were babysitting 3+ kids at once, he could definitely help keep track of them all and keep them busy. He doesn’t feel confident with babies, though, as he’s worried he might do something wrong. They’re just so fragile and definitely outside of his comfort zone. 

↳ boynextdoor taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @rizzshimura,, @captivq,, @icyminghao,, @eternalgyu,, @metalchick529,,

@schmocolateschmchip,, @kpoprhia,, @candewlsy,, @weird-bookworm,, @blossominghunnie,,

@kangtaehyunzzz,, @snowflakemoon3,, @lovialy,, @lecheugo,, @okshu,,

@wccycc,, @seunghancore,, @ujisworld,, @sobun1est,, @emmylksblog,,

@talkingsaxy,, @talking-saxy,, @nicholasluvbot,, @cupidslovearrows,, @dimplewonie,,

@hrtsvivis,, @50-husbands,, @hursheys,, @kristianities,, @gong-fourz,,

@nonononranghaee

[killerpancakeburger]

Being Ghost's BFF Headcanons

(while also dating Soap cause you deserve the best of both worlds)

If you told anyone that Ghost was your favorite person to see in the morning, they'd write you off as clinically insane. Or laugh in your face. It didn't make it any less true though. When you don't want anyone speaking to you before you had your coffee, the Ghost feels heaven-sent. Others might see it as rude, but you're content with him acknowledging your presence with a nod of head or by raising his mug of tea in your direction.

You've never been afraid of him - more like displaying a healthy apprehension towards a guy exceeding 1m90, weighing over 100kg, and hiding his face.

After spending a couple hours with him, you quickly came up to a new conclusion about him: he just had a resting bitch face. Just because he had a deep voice and a monotonous tone didn't mean he was angry 24/7. He treated people how he wanted to be treated. He had high expectations for himself and for others/teammates. All in all, a pretty reasonable guy.

You like to think he started to respect you for your combat skills and experience, but evidence pointed to the fact that he began to look at you differently after seeing you decisively slap Soap in the face to wake him up after he passed out from blood loss.

There had been a few milestones in your relationship: when he told you a bad joke for the first time (you briefly thought you were having an aneurysm), when he told you to call him Simon (in private), when he awkwardly tried to cheer you up by patting you on the shoulder (first time he touched you outside of combat/training).

Outside of missions, the time you spent together was divided between shooting matches on the training grounds and hanging out with a smoke at night when both of you struggled to sleep. He was one of the rare men not pulling any punches against you, allowing to enjoy the competition freely. Soap tried time and time again to stay awake to join you two, but failed systematically.

Acting like a divorced couple with Soap as the kid you have shared custody of. "Yer man escaped medical again" "Before 6 a.m he is YOUR man, Lieutenant"

Frequently finding yourselves shouting both at the same time: "English, MacTavish!" In the same exasperated tone.

You can handle yourself, and Ghost is perfectly aware of that. That doesn't stop him from standing behind you menacingly like the Grim reaper himself when he thinks someone's taking too many liberties with you.

If Soap's a golden retriever when he's in a good mood, Ghost reminds of your parents' cat: silent, deadly, and shows affection by deigning to occasionally hang out in the same room as you.

You always carry a spare mask for him; and he wears spare hair ties on the wrist - plain, black ones. Cannot mess with his vibe.

People keeps asking how you managed to have a relationship with "The Ghost", and your answer is very simple: "learn when to shut the fuck up".

A/N:

Me in the beginning: I'm only gonna write Soap content

Ghost:

Me: Oh FFS

BONUS:

When Ghost told you a bad joke for the first time:

You still remembered the joke incident vividly: you were on a mission together, just the two of you, and as you were focusing more than usual, anxious to disappoint him or to be a liability, you suddenly heard in your com: "Ye heard the rumour 'bout butter?"

If Ghost's voice hadn't been unmistakable, you would have thought he had been killed and replaced by someone else.

"What (the fuck)", you exhaled, not because you wanted to know about butter, but because you had no idea what the hell was happening. The fact that his tone was exactly the same as usual - deadpan, flat - contributed to making you feel insane.

"Nah, I shouldn't be spreadin' it". was the answer. Torn between demanding explanations and not wanting to commit a faux pas, you replied the way you replied to your parents' bad jokes:

"Ha. Ha. Haha...?" 

The seasoned killer on the other side of the mic didn't seem to mind, but you texted Soap in panic as soon as your butt touched the helicopter's seat.

“JOHNNY”

"Sup hen"

"Cannae go wan mission without missing me, ae? ;)"

"Did Ghost hit his head recently??"

"Negative Ma'am" "Why? Did something happen??"

"He told me a dad joke. A fucking dad joke."

"😂 Thats kinda his thing"

"thought I was losing it"

"Congrats, ye can consider yerself stamped wit The Ghost seal of approval"

"Ok? Cool???"

"Mah too favourite people gittin along" *trails of smiling emojis and hearts*

[sharkboywrites]

Wait, This Is a Date!?

Riddle, Idia, and Malleus with an autistic reader who didn't realize they were on a date

Male/gn reader, autistic reader, missed signals, Idia is implied to also be autistic

A/N: I've noticed that some people aren't very obvious when asking someone out or generally establishing their feelings. I actually realized that one of my ex-friends stopped being friends with me because I wasn't picking up on their signals, what's up with people lmao

One afternoon after you had finished all of your classes, your closest "friend" approached you looking rather nervous and asked you to accompany them later. Seeing this as just a request to hang out was friends, you accepted. When he suddenly thanks you for going on a date with him halfway through your activity your caught off guard.

"Wait, this is a date!?"

Riddle Rosehearts

Oh boy, be prepared to start apologizing because the once surprised look on his face at your sudden outburst melted to one of pure sadness. He was absolutely dejected

He took this as you rejecting him halfway through the date he put so much effort into

He even baked all the pastries for your little tea party date :(

He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. He put on a serious face despite clearly being on the verge of tears, and apologized for... making you uncomfortable? Wasting your time?

Well that wasn't what you wanted

In another quick outburst you cut him off and say that you didn't actually mean it in a negative way

You started doing the usual over-explaining hoping that he wouldn't get the wrong idea (more than he already had) and apologizing for not getting his signals

The relief he felt in that moment was something he doesn't think he can compare to anything else in his life

He actually started crying for the fact that "oh thank the sevens they're not rejecting me"

After he calmed down the two of you went back to your tea party date, although both of you aware aware that it was a date this time

bonus: Trey and Cater screaming internally after watching all of that from afar (They'd be there for Riddle's first date as emotional support you can't convince me otherwise)

Idia Shroud

Lord have mercy you're going to kill him

It took him so much to build up the courage Ortho blackmailing him to come over and play video games just for you to not know he was asking you on a date???

He played Stardew Valley with you what could be more romantic than that???

He kinda just sits there and stares at you

He's processing give him a minute

Literally the only response he gives you is just a "Uhh..yeah. Duh." (he's trying to not give away how disappointed he is)

And in you just respond with an "Oh."

Awkward level 100%

After sitting there for a few seconds rocking back and forth to make yourself a little more comfortable, you take a deep breath and lean your head on his shoulder

"Well I like this date."

He tries to hide his flustered face after that, but you can see the tips of his hair turn a soft pink in contrast to the usual blue

He really is bad at hiding his emotions

for the rest of the night the two of you keep playing video games together, and you eventually fall asleep on him, which he freaks out about but tries not to wake you up

Really just two autistics trying to figure out how to date and flirt

Malleus Draconia

So funny thing

He thought the two of you were a couple long before the two of you went on your "first date"

You know that thing on tiktok that's like "check with your autistic s/o that they know your dating because it turns out I've been dating someone for months and had no clue" Yeah that's the two of you

In his eyes it was established that the two of you had been dating. He probably confessed in his old poetic fae way of talking.

So he was just like "You are the sunrise to my day, the cool breeze on a summers day, the blood in my veins." and you were just like "Yep me and my good ol' pal Malleus. besties :)"

What do you mean friends don't give each other little trinkets they find pretty? What to you mean that's fae courting?

What do you mean friends aren't that affectionate? What do you mean friends don't hold hands, hug, and tell each other how much they appreciate them?

Honestly when you burst out with the question, he just laughs after a minute while you sit there flustered and confused

he has to sit you down and explain to you that you've both been dating for at least three months by this point. Lilia was even starting to ask him if he was going to ask you to marry him (he's impatient)

He does make sure that you're okay with this relationship and that you actually want to date him

After this you're relationship grows even stronger rather than growing weaker, he thinks it's endearing

He'll make sure to be more forward and literal with you from now on

if I'm being honest all three of them give me "autistic just not diagnosed yet" vibes. Ty for reading and have a nice day

[gaiathemexicanbeauty]

one finds the other crying

(bingo challenge prompt #3 :D)

pairing: sanji x reader word count: 756 warnings: angst to comfort, sanji but epic, LOTS OF COMFORT

don't ask me what arc this takes place during, just know its pre time skip

sanji steps onto the going merry with grocery bags in his arms and a cigarette hanging in between his lips, sighing softly and small tendrils of smoke slipping from between them. he'd been out all day wandering the city they'd docked in, making sure to find any new ingredients unique to the area; the crew was never hesitant to try new dishes from their cook even if he brought produce that sometimes had names only he could pronounce. the ship is quiet, everyone seems to be out doing their own thing if the lack of napping crew meant anything. sanji smiles cotentedly: no one to disturb him for his dinner prep just the way he liked it. he makes his way to the kitchen as he hums a small tune to himself, already mentally mapping the meals and side dishes and- and you.

he's about to call your name, a smile already etching onto his face. he never really got the chance to spend some alone time with you considering how nosy the crew (luffy and usopp) were. your back is turned to him and he considers sneaking up on you, a mischievous smile on his face before he hears a sniffle from you. he stops in his tracks instantly, groceries bags crinkling in his arms and making him freeze in place; now he's done it. he's not sure what to expect, but it wasn't this. you jump in the chair you're sitting in, looking over at sanji with wide eyes. your eyes are rimmed a swollen red and glossy, tear streaks down your cheeks. he doesn't seem to have any words, staring at you just the same way you stare at him with bated breath; what happened to you?

"i'm fine-" "are you-" the two of you stop talking, the silence thick between the two of you. sanji isn't proud enough to let it stay. before you can begin to excuse yourself, he's already walked over to you and effectively stopped you from getting up. you look up at him, your cheeks flushing before he outstretches his hand to you. "you don't have to talk about it, but i don't expect you to grovel on your own. let me help you. please." sanji says smoothly, his tone steady but the look in his eyes showing that he won't take no for an answer. you look at his outstretched hand before taking it with a shaky exhale, earning a subtle smile from sanji.

wordlessly, he leads you away from the table and to the stove; you don't need much instruction to realize he's helping you make tea. you aren't lost to the way sanji's hand will graze yours for a moment too long, rub a circle into your back or brush some hair away from your face. for once, you don't swat him away or giggle at him, you let him. his touch soothes you in ways you couldn't even believe, trying not to lean into his touch when you're bringing the teapot over to the table and he touches your arm so softly you could cry again. when the two of you are finally at the table, he sidles up to you with a soft hum, just close enough that his arm touches yours. there's a comfortable silence between the two of you as you blow and sip at your tea, feeling any and all sense of frustration washing away.

"i don't know what's got you down and i'm not gonna make you tell me. but don't try to tough it out on your own. what'd you think, this crew's just here to keep you company?" you look over at sanji who takes a drag of his cigarette away from you, your cheeks warming and a smile forming on your face; "don't go crying on me again, alright? you'll ruin that pretty face of yours." he says with a hum, cigarette hanging between his lips again when he turns to look at you again. before he can say anything more, you lean over and leave a small kiss on his cheek, giggling at the way he goes stiff. he blinks at you before the red rises from his neck to his face almost cartoonishly, his lips parting in shock as you get up and head for the doorway. "thank you, sanji." as soon as you are out of ear shot and away from the kitchen, sanji rises out of his seat and pumps his fists in the air, even doing a little dance of celebration.

◦°˚\(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

im not gonna lie to yall, i didn't really know how to end this but you KNOW i had to bring in that sanji charm LOLL

PSSTT here's the link to the bingo masterlist to find all the prompts in one spot ;3

next prompt:

miscommunication

[schoenpepper]

And If You Slipped Through My Fingers

Intro: Emotional constipation turns to emotional diarrhea.

Warnings: bad grammar, awful writing, Ace being a dickwad, not proofread so read at your own risk, open ending ig, short af, bad words

A/N: Okaaay and that's the second request done. Struggling for ideas about that Jamil songfic might change the song idk. Whoever asked for this I hope you like it.

Masterlist

Feelings are such complicated matters.

He couldn't make sense of them at all.

Sure there was nothing but a sprinkling of superiority complex when he first met you (powerless, magicless little human that you are), but then that chandelier thing happened and it all went rolling (downhill or uphill, he still hasn't decided). Ace was nothing if not flexible, though. He went the ways the waves did when it came to you, even though you seemed to have just the perfect knack for getting into trouble. But lately...you've been different.

His super very platonic bond with you is shifting in your hands, all the lines blurred together and tied into a braid by your deft fingers. Suddenly, you're a little more needy. You're hanging off Ace like a feral cat, claws sunk into his arms. He hears his name from your lips no he wasn't staring and he realizes you've begun to see him as some sort of reliable figure in your life. You're in danger, and the first thing you do is reach for him.

But what can he even do for you?

He's smart, but he's no Riddle or Azul. He can fight, but he's not like Leona or Vil. He's resourceful, but he can't beat Jamil, and his magic doesn't hold a candle to your Tsunotarou.

What is he to you?

And now you're gravitating towards him like the moon orbiting his planet—but he thinks the pull might be too strong and you'll just crash right into him. Always on call, circling him like a shark in the water. He's not afraid of you. He's not afraid of the problems you bring with you. But what if one day, you reach out to him, and he can't hold your hand? What if the next time trouble finds you, he can't pull you out of the mud anymore? What if, when you stare at him with those lovely eyes and plead for him to stay, he's still forcibly pulled away by all the other planets that are in your orbit?

You're not his moon. You're the sun that everyone longs for.

He's not afraid of anything. But there's this inkling of fear swirling within him, curling around his torso and squeezing the life out of him.

He's scared of you leaving.

He's scared of you staying.

He doesn't know what to do.

Why not choose someone else?

Somehow, at some point, the place next to him is your seat. You're always by his side with one arm wrapped around his shoulder or your hand holding his. It's so suspiciously close in a way that friends shouldn't be. At 3 am, under his covers, he's texting the night away with you while his roommates are asleep. You're at every corner and every turn. You're at every classroom and in the cafeteria and Riddle invited you to every unbirthday party. And you sit next to him and smile. You smile that stupid smile that makes his heart beat so fast in his chest he has to choke down his tea to calm himself. You're in the mirror when he looks, but no, you couldn't be. It's just...Ace.

He wants to be alone for a while. He needs to think.

Why are you everywhere?

[nomagicnolyf: aceeeeee come over lets play super stario squish sisters]

[aceUNOone: noooo im sleeping]

[nomagicnolyf: bish ur typing]

He puts his phone aside and closes his eyes. What do you want from him? Why are you always bothering (yes, bothering) him? Why not bother Deuce, Epel, Sebek, Ortho, or Jack? Or anyone in your roster of friends in the higher years? They'd love to hang out with you, don't you know they practically fight each other just for a sliver of your time? Why him, then? There's a knock on the door. He gets up with a groan to open it.

"What do you want?"

It's you, and he tries to push down the chaotic magma of feelings bubbling in his chest. He's just been too confused lately. You don't deserve its outburst.

"Sorry, I just wanted to hang out with you."

"Didn't we hang out yesterday?"

"But I want to hang out today too."

He can't stop himself. The lava, it boils over and the words spill out his mouth faster than he can think. You don't deserve its outburst but fuck your timing was really off, you know?

"Well I don't want to hang out with you. You're always clinging onto me, aren't you tired of being such a burden? It's annoying, Y/N, you're getting real annoying and every single time you show up something is wrong and something needs to be done." It's not true, he knows it's not true, but he doesn't even know what he's saying anymore.

"Sevens, can't you handle your shit by yourself? Do you seriously still need to be babied every time? Act like an adult and deal with your problems like the rest of us. Alone."

...What?

When it's erupted and done, the words come flying back to him like a boomerang made out of razor blades. No, he doesn't think any of those things. He likes helping you. He likes defending you, he likes fighting for you and— oh.

Oh, he likes you. So that's why he's been in such a mess mentally.

It's too bad you're already gone by the time he's dealt with his feelings.

[sunflowersandsapphires]

hello my darling love i would like to purchase a peony!

Matt and Foggy trying to cook dinner in college once they finally get a room with access to a kitchen 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

i just think they’d both be hilariously clueless

Flinching at the sound of thick metal slabs clanging together, you dug your nails into clammy palms. “Are you sure you don’t need any help in there?”

”NO!“ ”All good, bug!“ Were the two responses that flew from the warm light of the kitchen, the men yelling them still concealed by the thin wall separating you.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you willed your anxiety to quiet, running through the quickest route out of the building in case a fire broke out. Which seemed far too likely at this point.

You couldn't blame the boys for their excitement, living a whole year without a kitchen must've been torture. But you didn't quite trust the pair of them with knives. Or open flames.

Unfortunately for your anxiety, they'd insisted on cooking you dinner when you got back to town. It was sweet and so adorably them that you agreed to the idea, only regretting it when their smoke alarm was set off. For the third time.

Abandoning the code of manners you'd been bound by, you darted into the kitchen, fanning a hand in front of your face to waft the pale smoke away from your nose. Blinking through the sudden irritatant assaulting your vision, you made out the shadowy outlines of your two best friends, the shorter of the pair straining to reach the ceiling to reset the smoke detector. Poor Matt had his hands mashed over his ears, hunching further and further in on himself as the white disc shrieked from above.

Jogging past Foggy, you placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, leading him out of the room when he toppled into you with a whine. Once you'd half-walked, half-carried Matt over to their second-hand couch, the beeping ceased. Both of you sighed heavily, tilting farther into each other's space with relief.

”Ow,“ Matt chuckled weakly, nudging your pulse point with his nose.

Humming sympathetically, you brushed his fringe from his forehead. ”You should take some aspirin before you get a migraine.“

”I would, but all my stuff is still in boxes.“ He murmured with a shudder.

”Well,” Foggy entered the room, looking like a weary housewife with a scorched tea towel hanging over his shoulder and a fraying apron tied around his waist. “Chicken's toast. No coming back from that. Ideas?”

“Pizza?” Matt suggested, his voice still hushed, as if he were still hearing the beeping and his vocal chords hadn't adjusted.

“I could eat pizza.” You agreed, stomach grumbling its assent. Looking to Foggy, you beamed at him when he gave a firm nod.

“Great plan kids. Hang tight.” Whipping out his phone, he paced toward an armchair while dialing.

“Probably for the best,” Matt remarked with a smirk. “There was no way you were making it out tonight without food poisoning if we cooked for you.”

With a shrug, you elbowed him gently. “Cut yourself some slack, trouble. You have plenty of time to practice.”

[grogusmum]

Please Mister Please

JOEL MILLER X F!READER (nicknamed)

SUMMARY: You can't seem to escape that one song even after the apocalypse. Joel and Ellies friendship brings you some comfort, and maybe Joel is interested in more.

WORD COUNT: 1700ish

WARNINGS: None to speak of. Unless you need one for soft Joel. As always, if you see something I've missed, let me know in my DMs, and I'll add it.

A/N: Just a little something inspired by the Olivia Newton-John's song of the same name. (She was in her country music era) It's hardly edited, written on my phone, and Imma just yeetin' it out there. Oops. It's just the usual fluffy hurt comfort. But it IS my first go round with Joel. I hope you enjoy it! 💚

The jukebox was found on a supply run at some honky tonk out Fort Collins way called Sundance something or other. You laughed at your first thought, which was it's wasn't one of those new ones with CDs, realizing "those new ones" were now 40 years old... but this one was truly an antique, with vinyl in it and everything.

A Wurlitzer in all its chrome, brightly colored bakelite, and satisfying push button glory.

You shake your head now, thinking you should have known the moment you heard. Everyone was so excited. Because, of course, they were! How fun is an old timey jukebox full of country-western ballads, anthems, and line dance classics?

It brought an energy into Jackson, the likes you hadn't seen before it. You'd gotten in early on, and watched its evolution from place where people were merely surviving to an industrious hive of busy bees, creating abundance but there wasn't much room for joy and then out of the clear blue sky - line dancing. At first they couldnt keep it plugged in all the time, it was turned on for a half an hour at the end of the day, until they had a good handle on the dam and the power plant was working consistently. You're sure it was the inspiration for Maria's attention to holidays and socials after seeing the excitement and morale lift from it. Suddenly, y'all were living, not just staying alive. So it seems silly, with so much real life and death shit to deal with, to get so hung up on one song, but it carried so much weight for you, you just couldn't shake it. If only it wasn't so sweet, if only it wasn't so catchy… Maybe people wouldn't have noticed it among all the other tracks. But it was sweet and it was catchy, and about making it after all the shit they'd been through...

So naturally, at five songs for a quarter, it ends up in the mix at some point. (It's the only reason the town has any coins. Paying it could have been bypassed, but dropping the 25¢ seemed to be part of the fun.) So when you least expected it, it would start to play, and so far, it continued to flip your stomach and make your eyes glass. And think about how he and you didn't actually make it.

Joel and Ellie have been in Jackson several months now. Ellie dove right in, school, taking care of the horses afterward, trying to socialize. She's a little guarded sure but mostly funny and eager. Joel started helping Tommy right away, but it seemed to you more to keep busy than to join the community. He's wary and taciturn. When they weren't in those organized work times, they stuck close. When Ellie ventured into social activities, Joel let her go, but he was ever watchful, with Ellie checking in often even just a look over her shoulder, just to see if he was still there. He always was. They reminded you of a bonded pair of strays.

You liked your place, Catnip's Apothecary. They'd come in twice so far, once when Joel brought Ellie in for a poison ivy rash and once when Ellie brought a very grumpy Joel for inflammation in his knees Ellie found all your jars of tinctures, teas, herbs, and powders fascinating. Asking what everything did, looking at drying plants hanging from rafters in wonder, pspspsing the cats.

“Are you a witch?”

“Ellie!” Joel admonished, but looking at you for a tell. Were you? You could see him wondering.

You only laughed. Sure you were, but what they were seeing here was hardly witchcraft, just herbalism, mostly. Joel and Ellie are both bright and observant - you're pretty sure they both noticed you didn't answer.

Tonight, Ellie is at the rec center, a movie theater for the evening, awaiting the start of none other than Star Wars.

Where did they find all these 70s flicks? Nevertheless, A New Hope's a great find. You can't resist going, even though you know it by heart, and you'll have to force yourself not to recite all the dialogue. Sitting smack dab in the middle, surrounded by all these kids and young adults, seeing it for the first time, you munch your popcorn and smile.

You don't see Joel, but it's not like you are actively looking for him… just curious, given their penchant to stay together and you figured he will know the movie too, maybe he's more of a Trekkie. When you catch Ellie's eye, she waves animatedly and moves to sit beside you.

“Sssoooo, you're like one of the only grown ups here.” there is a gremlin glint in Ellie’s eye.

“Yeah, I thought there'd be more nostalgia watchers-” you say a little sheepishly. “ But it's okay, I'll see it with a soon-to-be New Generation of Star Wars Fans. Bear Witness!”

“And what if it sucks?”

The noise you make is somewhere between an indignant scoff and a gasp of purest offense. But you rally.

“Oh just you wait padawan-”

"What's a pada-"

As quickly as the lights go down the attention commanding drums of the 20th Century Fox fanfare begin.

“Oop here we go! Buckle up, buttercup!!”

You live vicariously through the new audience for the next two hours, and it is a pure joy.

The young people of Jackson laugh at the Laurel and Hardy comedy stylings of Threepio and Artoo, they eat up the “though she be little she is fierce” snarky spirit of Princess Leia, gasp at Alderaan's fate and Obi Wan's sacrifice, cheer at Hans return, hold their collective breath when Luke turns off his targeting device to use the force, and burst into applause when he makes the one in a million shot, womp rats in Beggars Canyon take heed.

“Aw man I really hope we can see Empire some day,” you say as the credits roll.

Ellie is elated, peppering you with questions about the sequel and then Return of the Jedi as you walk out of the rec center, and everyone begins to head home. You do you best answering, not wanting to spoil too much if she actually gets to watch it.

“I'm this way,” she says suddenly, as she peels off from the town center, “see ya!”

You head toward the Tipsy Bison, to join the adults, most of which took advantage of the kids being off at the movie to do a little drinking and dancing.

The spring has brought high spirits, and with it bright chatter and the stomp of line dancing in progress. Grabbing a spot to watch, you order yourself a drink. When the song ends, there's hoots and applause, and the next one is slow and sweet, and it only takes the first note for you to feel the drop in your belly.

Joel saw you come in, he had seen you from the street actually, when the community center emptied after the film, he had his eye out for Ellie and saw her come out with you, talking animatedly and laughing. He smiled. You were his age, or close enough, he guesses, not only from both the smile and worry lines but your points of reference when talking, only missing references that are local to growing up in Texas. It's comforting, you remember Before. You also have a light he can't get enough of. You didn't confirm nor deny it, but he is sure you've enchanted him witch or not. He's just been too, 'shy' isn't the right word... he just hasn't been able to make any sort of move.

Then he does his best to saunter over to your little table, drink in hand. He's pretty sure his sauntering days are over.

Now you sit alone, a moment ago smiling, tapping to the music. He had been taking in some liquid courage, in the form of whiskey, to ask you to dance. But the light in your eyes is replaced with a shine, not in the way he loves. He's seen this a couple times, he realizes. Times when your eyes go far away and a sadness descends on you.

He gets up and checks the jukebox, taking note of the song. He's pretty sure he's right. He can't bypass a song on a jukebox, nor can he tell a DJ to change it. But he's gonna talk to Walt the barkeeper, first chance he gets.

“Hey Catnip, can I sit?”

You look up wiping your wide eyes.

“Oh, sure, Joel, please,” your smile tries to reach your eyes, but it flickers and can't stay.

“So," Joel starts, he's not good at this. He's gotten better but, “You're Still the One, huh? For me, it's Vince Gill- When I Call Your Name ”

You just look at him, and he starts to think maybe he hasn't improved at all.

“I don't know that one, it was kind of a fluke that our song, his song was a country song. It's not my usual genre.”

“Well it wasn't my lady and my song, it was the song that I listened to after she left. Sarah was so little. I felt so lost in those early days. Now I can't even hear the open-”

“Opening chords,” you finish with a chuckle, “yeah, I can't- and now of course it all wrapped up in the Before Times, too. But here it is, in a jukebox of less than 200 songs, the one song that represents my husband walking out on me before the shit hit the fan.”

“I can't even picture anyone leaving you with nothing but a song.”

“Yeah, well, I can picture it quite clearly. I can't imagine someone leaving you with a little baby girl to raise.”

“We are in the same boat, darlin’ until it happened I would have been with you on that. We were very young, 22, she panicked.”

“Aren't we a pair?”

“Why don't this pair go for a walk then?”

Joel holds his breath, looking into your lovely face.

“I'd like that.”

Standing, Joel holds out a hand to guide you up and out of the bar, it settles comfortably on your lower back, the song long over. His hand tingles and theres a flutter in his chest at being allowed to touch you this way.

It smells like petrichor, though the skies are clear. Joel's hand leaves your back to your chagrin, but he gently holds out his elbow, and with a crooked smile you slip your hand in the crux of it.

“Such a gentleman.”

He smiles and brings you to the newly constructed, yet to be painted, gazebo.

You climb the handful of steps and look at the town from this new vantage point.

Behind you, Joel comes close, his hand casually on your hip, like you did this everyday. His mouth close to the shell of your ear and a quiet hum floats in, the controlled breath tickling, you smile knowing the very apt song choice,

“Are you making fun of me Joel Miller?”

He chuckles, then the words over take the hum -

“Please mister, please, don't play B-17

It was our song, it was his song but it's over

Please Mr. please, if you know what I mean

I don't ever wanna hear that song again…”

Joel turns you, arm around your waist, his other hand sliding into yours -

" I'd sound a bit better with my guitar, but when we couldnt dance, so-"

He starts a simple box step, as he sings quiet and low, just for you, while turning you around the gazebo.

You join in singing, whispering in his ear the chorus when it comes again. It feels cathartic. Then you step back - who is this man? Not the guy who came in with a little girl, a gut wound that should have killed him, poorly healed knuckles, and the wary eye of someone who is always waiting for the other shoe to come down on him like it's made of lead. But looking at him now, those brown eyes wide but the little crease between his eyes holding his concern. His jaw soft, making you take more note of his natural pout and the salt and pepper scruff, the little spot that just won't fill in, it looks like a heart… you wonder if it's as soft and smooth as it looks and if he'd let you touch it to find out.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING 💚

Please consider commenting and reblogging. If you are interested in reading more of my writing, you can find my masterlist here. If you would like to be notified when i post more work, you can find my taglist form here.

[bottledkriegmen]

ZERO DAY HEADCANONS!! >O<

xoxo @calcyum helped me write some of these go look at his art its so yummy!! literally the loml MWAH

☆ Cal tells white little harmless lies like, all the time. He doesn't mean to, it just happens

⋆ Example, he says he doesn't like ice cream but he can and will absolutely destroy an entire tub of chocolate icecream in a heartbeat

☆ Andre burned the shirt he got called a faggot in the bonfire before Zero Day.

☆ Cal's half Russian, his bio dad lives in the European half of Russia.

☆ They both call Mel, "Mel Bell" or "Melanie Bellanie"

☆ Andre played softball when he was little.

⋆ He quit because he got hit really hard in the head by a bat.

☆ Cal's a total metalhead. He has a ton of diff band tee's, but he's never gone to a concert.

☆ Andre has especially sharp canines!! (Feeding into Dogdre propaganda/j)

☆ Cal is a chronic doodler. If he and Andre are sitting next to eachother and Cal has a pen or sharpie in his grasp, Andres getting a whole SLEEVE of silly little doodles all over his arm.

⋆ he's also a stick n poke master, he's got little tatoos littering his ankles.

☆ Andre is a left handed shooter, right handed writer..... Cal is the opposite.

☆ Andre is a polyglot!! He forgets words in English and has to try to convey what he's trying to say to Cal in literally any other language he can think of. (Never works.)

⋆ This makes him so unbelievably mad.

☆ Cal watched Duckman growing up.

⋆ He introduced it to his siblings and they used to all watch it together!! TRUST!!

☆ Andre watched M*A*S*H growing up...

☆ Cal knows how to play a few diff instruments, other than a guitar and sitar.

⋆ Violin, piano, trumpet, all that good stuff.

☆ There's definitely a few holes in the basement walls of Andre’s house. He'll swear it wasn't him. (It was.)

☆ Cal is very awkward with love in general. He'd be an... okay boyfriend, but he would NOT pay enough attention to his partner because he'd be too busy hanging out with Andre.

☆ Andre 100% grew up on older fashioned values with new fashioned eyes iykwim. He'd treat his partner with the utmost respect, but he'd also have the same problem as Cal. He wouldn't pay much attention to them.

☆ (A personal fave) Cal and Andre have matching dog tags!

⋆ Before their final scene in Zero Day, Cal and Andre decided to switch dog tags with eachother. (fags..)

☆ Andre got a little teddy bear as a birthday present when he was itty bitty, and kept it. He's wayy to embarrassed to show anybody.

⋆ Cal found it one day and Andre nearly lost his shit.

☆ Cal often meows or hums in response when talking to Rachel or Andre when he doesn't feel like actually speaking.

☆ Stealing this from another post (I can't find creds rn i am SO sorry), Cal's siblings absolutely love Andre. He's like their other older brother.

⋆ Andre loves them just the same, he's such a good big brother. :(

☆ Cal's sister paints both Cal's and Andre’s nails, and makes them attend her tea parties with her stuffed animals.

☆ Mel follows Andre around the house wherever he goes. There's literally not a second when she's not behind him.

⋆ She gets jealous of Cal whenever he's too close to Andre.

☆ Andre and Cal share a bed everytime they spend the night with eachother.

⋆ They totally spoon but like hell they'd ever admit that.

these were so fun to write guys ty again ml MWAUGHH

[outsidersheadcanons]

Hi! Favorite Two-Bit headcanons?

Hii I'm back :D ofc!

Despite being the "funny" member of the gang, Two-bit's also one of the most mature (second to Darry). He also knows when to be serious, and if it's needed he'll even act as an authority to Ponyboy or anyone else.

He absolutely adores his little sister. He would spend hours playing w/ her as a kid, and they'd always have lil tea parties with her stuffed animals (one time Two even let her put his mom's lipstick on him). His sister eventually grew out of playing tea party and a part of Two bit really misses it :(

Two-bit kinda sucks at drawing but he embraces it. The only thing he can draw REALLY well are disney characters (one afternoon he spent like 6 hours copying them down from a book he had). But if u ask him to draw a person? it will be the most uncanny image ever 😭

He can do insanely good impressions (i think this is kinda canon, at least in the musical?). He only knows he can do them bc he was messing around one day, but he loves prank calling people as Mickey Mouse.

He has 4 chickens and they're all his lil babies. One time Pony and Johnny stopped by his house to hang out and they were greeted by Two-bit at the front door with one under each arm (it was cold outside and he had felt bad for them so he brought them in the living room. Needless to say his mom WASN'T happy). For some reason the chickens hate Dally so he doesn't like going over there that much

Speaking of the chickens. Two-bit's mom sells the eggs for some extra cash (she also washes clothes for some of the neighbors), but she always gives the Curtises a bunch for free.

Two-bit's Mickey Mouse shirt is a children's xxl he stole from a thrift store. he had to cut the sleeves off too

(kinda modern) but Two's wardrobe consists of the most diabolical t shirts he can possibly find

[pppeachyyys]

Good day!

I like your last nagi headcanons very much! If your requests are open, can I request headcanons about Nagi, Reo, Hiori and Chigiri? About how they'd act if they have a crush on reader and how they'd confess?

Have an amazing day! Thank you!

✩ hey anon ! ty for the req, i couldn't cook up anything for chigiri 😞 but i hope everything else is smth you enjoy &lt;3

puppy love | ft. nagi, reo, hiori

✩ what are the bllk boys like with their crush ?

nagi seishiro

✩ nagi's the type to not really have a crush, so the fact that you caught his interest not only surprises reo but nagi himself.

✩ surprisingly super chill around you. he doesn't try to change his personality because he thinks it's too much work and he wants you to see his true self.

✩ reo would attempt to help him flirt, but in the worst ways possible.

✩ "okay, repeat after me, babe you just gave me asthma cause your beauty just took my breath away."

✩ "but reo i don't have asthma."

✩ "just say the damn line. 😐"

✩ eventually realizes he shouldn't rely on reos tactics and decides to make a move with his own choices. it first starts by sitting next to you during class, his desk right next to yours.

✩ unfortunately he would fail trying to talk to you because he would fall asleep, forcing you to wake him up gently.

✩ this becomes a daily routine for the two of you. nagi sits next to you, tries to make a move, ends up sleeping, and you wake him up. you slowly start to warm up to him and you're actually the first to strike a conversation with him.

✩ nagi is direct when it comes to confessing, but it's so straightforward that it ends up looking indirect.

"thanks again nagi, but you really don't have to do this for me."

it was the third time nagi has bought you your favorite drink from the vending machine this week. the drink felt cold to the touch, its metal casing gleaming against the light of the windows.

nagi once again had his head on his desk, his fingers fiddling with his own lemon tea. "ts really nothing. don't couples always do this anyway ?"

you short circuit. couple ? as in you and nagi ? there's no way. you blink and white haired boy does the same in response. "couple... ?" you ask. suddenly his hands reach for yours and you swear this whole situation is a dream.

"yeah ? i like you and you like me, so that means we're dating right ?"

mikage reo

✩ 100% all bark no bite. he acts so confident when it's just him and his friends but the moment you walk in, he's all red and dead silent.

✩ poor guy gets SO nervous around you 😭 he's scared he'll creep you out but he also has no idea what to say.

✩ luckily he'll get the hang of it and soon enough you guys actually get really close. he treats you amazing once he manages to situate himself.

✩ passive / friendly flirting is the first move he does when he's confident enough. secretive winks, cute compliments, he does it all.

✩ gives you the most romantic gifts but makes it seem so platonic that it gets you thinking.

✩ "hey y/n ! i just saw this and thought you would really like it. you know as your friend i always want the best for you !" hands you a bouquet of roses and expensive chocolate omg he sso romantcisjbw

✩ he's so smooth with it 🙏 all his actions are so polite that you can't help but swoon over him.

✩ it's the way he treats you so well and different compared to other people (with the exception of nagi). he would talk to you longer compared to others, give you the lighest touches, and always flash you that damned handsome smile. (i want him so bad)

✩ it ends up being him falling first and you falling harder. he's just too charming to resist ;)

reo was just a friend.

this something you have told yourself for the past few days over and over again like a broken record player. you couldn't help but daydream about him and the way he would present himself to you. he was dreamy, but clearly just a friend.

"-ood morning y/n !"

your dozing was cut off by reos hand gently patting your head. you look up to see him, smile on and uniform neatly buttoned up.

you fight back the urge to stare and return his smile. he takes his seat right next to you. you're not sure how long you started to drift off because once again reo is calling out for you.

"y/n- are you okay ? you seem a bit more aloof today." he says with furrowed brows. "you sick ?" reo zeroes into your face, purple eyes blooming into yours.

"nothing ! i'm fine."

reo is observant. he smirks, quickly catching on to your mindful thoughts that were hiding in your brain. the desk isn't cool enough to bring down temperature of your nervous body.

he reaches to twirl a piece of your hair. "have you been dreaming about me lately ? sure looks like it."

hiori yo

✩ the cutest when it comes to crushes. he's so giddy and sappy its adorable :(

✩ i see hiori as the type to fall in love with his best friend, like he suits the friends to lovers troupe so well.

✩ the more he spends time with you, the more he starts to have feelings that are romantical. he knows most things about you so it's easier for him to talk to you even when he likes you. the issue is showing his feelings to you.

✩ he spends most of his time with you. going to cute cafes, playing games, walking together to anywhere.

✩ hiori is quick to accept that you probably don't feel the same towards him but he doesn't mind. he just wants to keep the close bond you two have even if it can't become anything more.

✩ he still acts the same but he's a bit more careful around you. he's willing to protect you in an instant or make your day better.

✩ constantly making sure you're doing okay. if not, he's quick to run over to your home with your favorite snacks and a cute plushie.

✩ SO CUTE :( talks abt it to his online friends and the whole time his heart is racing and he's blushing.

✩ once his feelings become to big to fight, he decides it's easier to just tell you as a way to get over the crush, but he isn't aware that you feel the same.

hiori plays with the drawstrings of his hoodie, your figure standing right next to him on the playground bench. he's glancing between you and the ground.

"so what's up yo ?" you yawn tiredly. "make it quick though... i was sleeping before you woke me up."

deep inside of him, hiori feels bad that he called you during the middle of the night just to confess his feelings to you. he isn't sure if he should do this anymore, but the way you still have a smile on your face makes him change his mind.

he takes a deep breath. "y/n, i just needed to tell you that i actually like you- like, more than friends. like the like that makes me nervous and sickly. i can't get over you and i hate it, so i just had to tell you. i'm sorr-"

his gloating is cut off by your lips against his, the cold feel of your hands touching his burning cheeks. the kiss is short but feels like an eternity to the both of you, making him want more. you smile once again.

"and i like you too. now shut up so i can kiss you again !" with a giggle, you bring him into your embrace. his lips quirk into a smile.

hiori would gladly go mute if that meant he could recieve your love.

[vilevenom]

Hello, Anon! Thank you for your prompt!

I've seen a couple of fics where Branch has that conversation with his brothers, and it tends to get explosive. I tried to take a bit more of a calmer approach to it to help with the fluff. I also won't lie, John almost stole the spotlight from Branch, but I managed to wrangle it back, lol

Enjoy!

Things had been going so well. Branch's brothers were all sat in his bunker, clustered around his tiny kitchen table, the surface laden with half empty plates of snacks and various cups and glasses from drinks they had been going through as the evening had progressed. But then, there was a lull in conversation.

"Hey, uh…not to be that troll, guys-" Clay began, interrupted by a quiet snort from John Dory.

"Then don't."

Clay shot John a glare, but continued, a look of concern settling on his face as he looked to Branch. "Look, I don't wanna be the troll to bring the mood down, but I gotta know. It's been bugging me since you said it, Bitty B." He ignored Branch's grumpy "It's Branch", pressing on as he fiddled with his mug of tea. "Did Grandma really get eaten?"

A hush quickly settled over the brothers. Branch looked taken aback by the question, while John scowled at Clay. Bruce looked a bit squeamish as he stared at his own glass of water, while Floyd gasped and sat back in his chair.

"What happened to grandma?!" Floyd asked, turning urgently to Branch.

Branch looked distinctly uncomfortable, swallowing thickly to try and rid himself of the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. "Oh, right. That," he mumbled, pulling his hands from where they'd sat on the table top to fiddle in his lap. He took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to explain to his brothers what the last two decades of his life had entailed. "Okay. Quite the change of topic," he let out a nervous laugh. His brothers deserved to know what had happened to their grandmother. "I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Uhm…a year or two after you all left, the chef started grabbing one or two trolls at random, rather than just on Trollstice. We never knew when, or even why. I think, in retrospect, the previous Bergen king probably just got greedy and wanted to feel happy outside of Trollstice." He cleared his throat, glancing up at his brothers, who were now all staring at him intently. He flushed, ducking his head back down to stare at the crumbs on the plate in front of him. "So, one day, grandma and I were outside. She was hanging laundry, while I practiced singing." He clenched his fists in his lap, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "I got so wrapped up in my song, I didn't hear her yell. I didn't notice until she was running at me. I looked up, and there was chef. Reaching for me." He paused to take a shuddering breath, letting tears slowly track down his cheeks. "Grandma pushed me out of the way. She got taken, instead."

"Oh, Branch," Floyd murmured softly next to him, his brothers hand landing gently on his shoulder. He shrugged it off out of habit, curling a bit in on himself in his chair.

"If I'd been paying attention, she wouldn't have been grabbed," Branch muttered, his colors dulling slightly as he spoke.

"That's not your fault, B," Bruce said, shaking his head as he put his hand on the table in front of Branch, "You were just a kid." He paused, noticing the way Branch's blue fur seemed to grow a shade duller. "Does the color of your fur have something to do with…all that?" he asked, his voice gentle.

Branch sighed, rubbing his hands roughly over his face, angrily wiping tears away. His brothers should be furious at him for getting their grandma killed, but they were treating him so gently. He was both angry on their behalf, but also relieved that they hadn't walked out on him once again. "Yeah. I turned grey after that."

A collective, quiet gasp went around the table.

"Grey? For how long?" John Dory asked, sitting forward in his seat, "It had to have been a long time, if you're still dark."

Branch glanced up, a sardonic little smile on his face. "I guess twenty years is a long time."

"No way. Twenty?! Branch…" Clay shook his head as he trailed off, disbelief on his face.

"I had to take care of myself, after that. Other trolls thought there was something wrong with me, because I didn't sing or dance anymore. I was never happy. King Peppy was good about telling trolls to leave me alone, but that was a bit of the problem. They all just…left me alone," Branch explained, feeling Floyd's hand on his shoulder again. This time he let it stay. "When we escaped the troll tree, I almost got caught in the tunnels. I was small, and because of my colors I almost blended into the dark. No one really noticed me. Somehow, though, I made it out. I travelled with the other trolls until we found where we would build pop village. I was about five or six when I started digging the bunker."

"Six?! Oh, Branch," Bruce said, tears in his eyes. Branch glanced at him, and he could tell his brother was thinking about his own children, and what might become of any of them if they were left on their own at that age.

"You're made of tough stuff, kid," John piped up from across the table, lifting his chin defiantly as his other brothers shot him glares. "You made it. You persevered, and survived. I'm proud of you."

Branch blinked, shocked by the sudden show of support from his oldest brother. It made something angry and bitter flare in his chest, though. He clutched a hand to his chest, letting out a breath. He sniffed back the tears that had formed in his eyes again, glowering slightly as he looked around the table at his brothers. "It would've been easier if any of you had come back."

At that his brothers all immediately looked guilty. Floyd especially as his parting words rang in his head. He wrapped his arms around himself in a self-soothing gesture, staring at the table as Branch spoke.

"I'm angry, and I'm sad. I feel so bitter about all those years, where it seemed like none of you even /thought/ of me," Branch said, turning his gaze upon each of his brothers until each one, in turn, looked away in shame. He waited a moment for his words to settle, before speaking again. "But…I'm also so happy to have you all back in my life. Even if it's twenty years too late. I missed you guys. Every day."

"Branch," Floyd gasped next to him, his voice waving as tears ran down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry. We're all sorry," he added, glancing at the others, who all nodded in agreement. "I don't have any excuses. I should have come back," he said, reaching out to take Branch's hand. "I made you a promise, and I broke it. And I don't really think there's anything I can do to make it up to you."

Branch gave Floyd's hand a little squeeze, offering a watery smile. "You can. You can stay. You can spend time with me, and we can get to know each other again."

"I would love that, Branch."

"I just want to state, for the record," John Dory piped up from across the table, "I did come back."

Clay rolled his eyes, while Bruce scoffed, but John sat firm, a look of determination on his face as he stared Branch down. "I did come back, and I thought you were dead."

"You thought he was dead? Come on, John, that's a bit much," Clay snorted, shoving lightly at his brothers shoulder. But John just shook his head, scowling.

"I thought you were all dead," John stated bluntly. "I came back after the trolls escaped. The tree was dead, and most of the pods were wrecked. I had no idea you all left Grandma's pod after I did. What else was I supposed to think?"

"You just assumed we all died? Not that we'd escaped?" Bruce asked, arching an eyebrow at John.

"We left when the escape plan was still in talks. A small handful of trolls getting away wasn't unheard of, but the whole tree? I mean, I had a little hope, but what was the likelihood? What would /you/ have thought, finding grandma's pod covered in half dead vines and not a troll in sight?" John half snarled, shooting Bruce a scowl. "But, oh, that's right. You were off on a tropical island, drinking mai tais under the sun and learning how to surf."

"Hey, now," Floyd interrupted as Bruce puffed up indignantly, obviously about to get into a fight with John, "Let's just take a moment to breath. This is all a lot, and emotions are getting high."

Bruce let out the breath he'd taken, visibly deflating, while John huffed and crossed his arms, scowling at the table top.

"What happened after you came back to the tree?" Branch asked quietly, John's head snapping up at the quiet question.

"I looked for you," John admitted with a shrug, letting his shoulders slump and his arms uncross. "I looked for quite a while. I lost track of time, but it had to be for at least a year. The forest is huge, and the village was well hidden. After a while, I thought I must be the last pop troll alive and decided to go see the rest of the world."

"And you…did you go grey?" Branch asked, watching his oldest brother curiously as he reached up to fiddle with his goggles.

"For a little bit," John admitted, "While I was looking for you. Not anything as drastic as twenty years. And I got my colors back. The world is big, and beautiful. It's hard to stay hopeless when you see some of the stuff out there."

Branch smiled tiredly at John, nodding a little. "Yeah. It is. Poppy helped me see that."

"Is she the reason you managed to get your colors back?" Clay asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

"She did, yeah. A little over a year ago, Chef found the village. She kidnapped a bunch of Poppy's friends, and we went to Bergen town to rescue them. We brokered peace with the Bergens, and I got my colors back all in one fell swoop," Branch said with a light little laugh.

"And then you saved the world from the rockapocalypse with her," Bruce teased, grinning.

"That was mostly Poppy, but yeah," Branch returned the grin, startling as John suddenly stood up. He watched as his oldest brother rounded the table, staring wide eyed even as John suddenly engulfed him in a hug.

"I heard you on the radio," John muttered into Branch's hair, "It's how I found out you were alive."

"JD," Branch murmured, reaching up to half return the hug, ignoring the light smattering of tears that were hitting his shoulder.

"You are the coolest, Bitty B!" John suddenly crowed, pulling back from the hug with a broad grin on his face, shaking Branch a little, "Saving the village, then the whole world! Dating the Queen of pop!"

"Bringing us all back together," Floyd added, offering a watery smile as Branch looked to him.

"You grew up into an amazing troll, Bitty B," Clay added, grinning at his youngest brother.

"We're all really proud of you, Branch," Bruce finally added, nodding a little as Branch began to tear up once more.

Branch squawked as John engulfed him in a hug again, laughing as the rest of his brothers rose from their own chairs to join in. "Thanks, guys."

[kimbapisnotsushi]

As far as public bathrooms go, the one at Ocean’s Edge isn’t all that bad for throwing yourself a pity party in.

The sinks are all sleek and modern-looking, with gold faucets and polished stone basins. Large oval mirrors hang above them, and—true to the club’s name—little neon fish swim all over the navy-blue walls. [Speakers somewhere in the ceiling play the lulling sounds of waves rolling against the shore.] There’s even an air freshener plugged into the corner that puffs out coconut-scented mist every ten minutes[, so that you can truly feel like you’re in a tropical paradise while throwing up from however many drinks it takes to make you forget about a shitty day.]

The black stall isn’t exactly roomy, but Morisuke has just enough space to stretch out his legs while he perches on the edge of the toilet, chewing his bottom lip as he stares at his phone. The screen is bright in the bathroom’s dim lighting and draws all of Morisuke’s attention like a moth to a flame. 

Please, reads the last message. It had been two weeks since then. Kuroo, talk to me. What did I do?

Kuroo never responded. Rereading the conversation makes Morisuke feel like he’s dragging the claw of a hammer across his heart, but he keeps scrolling farther and farther back. 

Let’s end it, Kuroo had written. This didn’t really mean anything, after all. I have better things I could do with my time.

Six months. Six fucking months, and none of it meant anything, apparently. Not the late nights they stayed up to make fun of inaccurate sci-fi series, or the times they met early at the cafe for breakfast because it was their only chance to get together for the day. Not even the time Kuroo opened up about his mother, his gaze distant, and Morisuke had held his hand to anchor him to what was real and here and whole. He still remembers that soft smile Kuroo had given him after, the way they'd curled up on the couch like two puzzle pieces slotting together. Morisuke had offered him tea, hot chocolate, whatever he needed. Kuroo just laughed and kissed his temple.

All I need is you, he had said. You're perfect, Yakkun. i couldn't ask for anything more.

And then not even a week later, Morisuke was getting dumped over text.

"Stupid," he says out loud now. “Dumbass. Idiot. Why the fuck did I ever fall for him?”

The bathroom door creaks open, letting noise from the club spill in, but Morisuke doesn’t pay it any mind until he hears a familiar voice calling out his name. 

“Morisuke? Are you here?”

“No,” Morisuke grumbles. His voice echoes off the bathroom walls. “Go away.”

“You made me promise to stop you before you do anything stupid.” Footsteps fall closer until they pause right outside Morisuke’s stall. Damn Sugawara Koushi and his unwavering loyalty—he’d probably break in if he had to. “Are you planning on doing anything stupid?”

Morisuke unlocks the stall door and lets it swing open. He glares at Koushi, who just smiles back at him. It’s a hot summer night and they’d been surrounded by heated bodies on the dance floor, but Koushi still looks totally put together. Meanwhile, Morisuke is sweating through his socks and the back of his neck feels way too warm.

So, yeah, he’d needed a break. It’s not like he came to the restroom just to feel sorry for himself. 

“You had me worried,” Koushi says. “The last time I saw you, you were downing your seventh shot. And that was after the two drinks you already had.”

Was it really? Morisuke hadn’t been keeping track. He’d just asked for something strong. And again. And again. And then for one more, perhaps two or three times. Maybe five. 

Whatever. Morisuke is feeling perfectly fine. His head is a little foggy, sure, but he’s fine. He can totally think this through. 

“I wanna text him.”

Koushi makes a choked sound. “Oh, no. You are very drunk, aren’t you?”

“I’m not.” Morisuke frowns at his phone. “He never told me why. I want to know that much, at least.”

The door to the stall next to Morisuke’s flies open with a bang, and he and Koushi jump. A body wedges itself between them: tall and broad-shouldered, with artfully-tousled chestnut hair, glasses framing brown-sugar eyes, and a jawline that could cut through steel. Hot, but not Morisuke’s type.

Kuroo had been Morisuke’s type.

-- an excerpt from don't text your ex, a kuroyaku exes-to-lovers fic where yaku gets unsolicited advice from a stranger in the club bathroom

[bella-rose29]

Puppy

Request from anon:

hiiiii, first I wanna say that I enjoy reading your works, they're wonderful. <3

Now, I've seen you post about wanting Lockwood requests and I might have an idea. Lockwood and reader are in long-term relationship (they know each other since childhood, the reader is talentless but Lockwood comes to her when he need to relax/help with a plan/whatever), and no-one knows about the relationship besides them. And after some rough case when kipss crew had to help out, Lockwood and co and kipss crew are drinking in a bar to ease up (the reader works in the bar as part-time job) and in the drunken state Lockwood is even more confident than normally so someone makes a bet with him that he won be able to get a kiss out of the bartender (the reader) by the end of the night... I don't really know what after but maybe you'll be able to find a fluffy/funny ending to it?

I hope I'm making sense.

Have a nice day! :)))

First of all, thank you for the love anon, and I hope you have a nice day too!! <3

Second, I am completely in love with this idea (it's totally something Lockwood would do let's face it) and I had so much fun writing this!!!

Hopefully this lives up to expectations my lovely <3

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: descriptions of injury, fight scenes (with dead people), swearing, suggestive comments, drunken activities (mostly Lockwood), everybody is over 18 so they can legally drink in the pub

Tag list: @anathemaloren, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @dangelnleif, @el-de-phi, @ell0ra-br3kk3r, @karensirkobabes, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @ran23sblog, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @wandamaximoffbae, @whenselenefallsinlove, @wordsarelife

As always, if you'd like to be added to/removed from the tag list, let me know here <3

(not my gif <3)

Lockwood was tired.

He'd barely slept the night before, despite not having a case, and he'd barely eaten the whole day. It was nearing 7pm now, the sun having set over an hour ago and leaving the city in almost darkness. There would be no sleeping tonight, either, since he and his company had to tackle a Type One in an old lady's house. All Lockwood really wanted was to see her, and have her tell him stories about her day until he fell asleep in her arms, but he couldn't do that right now. Hopefully this would be done quickly, this job, so that he could get to hers before she went to sleep.

Lockwood and Co had been in the kitchen of Mrs Lovey's house for a while now, cups of tea left empty on the counter and the packet of biscuits finished off. Initial readings had been low, giving Lockwood hope that they really would be done quickly, and they'd made note of the likely places for the Source.

"Lockwood? You're staring into space again. You alright?"

He blinked back into reality, pulling himself out of his thoughts of warm rooms and soft kisses.

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, I'm alright. Just surprised this Visitor hasn't turned up yet." He checked his watch. "Time for another reading in the living room?"

George nodded. "I'll go first."

The three of them headed in, rapiers at the ready.

"One degree. And a feeling of unease. It's definitely getting close to being here."

"Never mind close, I can see it," Lockwood whispered, taking up a defensive position.

"Yeah, I can hear it, too. Sounds like someone crying. I don't think this is a Type One either," Lucy added, and Lockwood couldn't help but agree.

"Any murders or anything happen here, George?"

"Not that I'm aware of, and I researched for days for this one. Didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

"Male or female, Luce? The voice."

"Uh, hang on, shut up a minute." She closed her eyes, focusing her efforts on Listening. "Male. Definitely. Sounds older, and like he's got some sort of trauma."

"Right. George, you figure out where the Source is. Lucy and I will watch it, make sure it doesn't go for you. Can either of you see it yet?"

"Not really. There's a sort of shiny mist over by that armchair, though," George said, pointing in the direction of the ratty old seat.

"Yeah, okay. That's where it is. Lucy?"

"Same as George. Getting stronger though. Maybe the chair is the Source?"

"Could be. George?"

"You're sure you've got my back, yeah? Because I really can't see it that well right now and I'd rather not die tonight."

"We're sure. Go on, have a poke around."

George did so, hesitantly getting closer to the chair and holding the scanner up. "Yeah, the Source is here somewhere." He prodded the side, and Lockwood saw Lucy flinch.

"It didn't like that at all. God, that was awful. Wait, George, don't-"

She slammed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the scream that even Lockwood could hear now.

"George, get the net," he cried out, rapier moving swiftly as the Visitor grew brighter and aimed for the head of the company.

"Incredibly clear visual, Lockwood! Lucy was right, it's definitely a Type Two!"

"GET THE NET, GEORGE!"

Lockwood had been backed into a corner, arm starting to ache from the continuous motion of the rapier holding off the ghost in front of him. Lucy had recovered (just about), and was picking up her rapier to help him. Sensing a second opponent, the ghost turned, and targeted Lockwood's coworker. The two of them spent the next few minutes sending the Visitor between them while George repeatedly chucked the net over various parts of the chair, expression growing more frantic each time.

"George, what's going on?!" Lucy shouted.

"It's not working! I don't think the chair is the Source! Or if it is, it's inside the chair!"

"Then get searching! Rip the whole bloody thing apart if you have to! But get on with it!" Lockwood gritted his teeth, fighting off the cold unease he felt flooding through his body. He thought of her, and her smile, and her laugh, and pushed back twice as hard against the Visitor. At some point he'd injured himself, the cut on his upper left arm bleeding slightly, but he couldn't think about that until the ghost was dealt with.

"GOT IT!" George shouted, voice triumphant. He slung the net around the object he'd found, and all at once the living room went silent apart from the heavy breaths of the three agents. The ghost disappeared, and the temperature started rising. George sat back on his knees and held the swaddled object up, bits of foam stuffing caught in his curls. "Knife, it's got blood on it. I'd wager she killed her husband. There was a cut already made in the back, made it easier to find." He looked vaguely manic, what with his wide grin and foam-covered hair, but Lockwood couldn't deny his gratitude for his weird friend.

"I reckon we need to have a chat with DEPRAC, then. Mrs. Lovey clearly doesn't live up to her name," he replied, smile matching George's.

~~~

Half an hour later, Lockwood was on his way to hers. He'd left George and Lucy in the taxi, telling them he had something to sort out and he'd be back later, and to not wait up for him, and had caught his own cab to his destination.

He dragged himself up the front steps, knocking on the front door, and couldn't help the smile that appeared when it swung open to reveal his girlfriend.

"Jesus Christ, you look like shit."

"Charming as ever, love. Can I come in?"

Y/n stepped to the side, giving him a peck on the lips as he went past. "Shoes off, then up to my room. I'll be there in a sec. Gimme your coat, I'll hang it up for you."

He pulled himself up to her room, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake her siblings, and collapsed on her bed.

"Look at you. You're like a puppy, all cute and cuddly."

He lifted his head as Y/n walked in, closing the door behind her with a soft click as she balanced a tray in her hands.

"Jacket off. And shirt."

"If you wanted me naked you could have just said so, darling." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, revelling in her blush.

"Shut up and strip, Anthony," she mumbled.

He complied, smirk turning into smile as he saw the medical supplies on the tray, right next to a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits.

"What even happened?"

"Honestly? No clue. Type One turned out to be a Type Two murder victim though, so that was fun."

"You know, there are times I wish I had Talent. Then you come here looking like this and saying things like that and I wonder why I ever wanted it in the first place. Easy on the shirt, I think it's stuck." He'd winced trying to peel the fabric away from the wound, and Y/n immediately replaced his fingers with hers, touch gentle as she attempted to prise his shirt off. Sucking in air through her teeth as she got it off, Lockwood knew it was bad. It had been a dull throb the whole time he'd been travelling over, too exhausted to think about it more, but now that he had nothing else to think about the pain sharpened.

"This is gonna hurt, okay? I'm just gonna sterilise it, so try not to move. Three, two..." He waited for one, but before she got there, Y/n had placed the cotton wool on his arm, dabbing the alcohol on the wound. He gritted his teeth, asking her about her day. She spoke while she worked, cleaning it out and covering it in protective wrapping. Her voice distracted him, letting him lose himself in her words, and she was done before he knew it, pouring a cup of tea and offering it out to him. "Put this on," she said, passing over an old shirt of his that he left at hers specifically for times like this.

"Do you really want me to?"

"No, but if it means that when my parents inevitably walk in they don't kick you out forever, I'll live with it." He laughed slightly, placing the tea down and pulling the top on, careful not to disturb his wound.

"You know you don't have to do that, right? I'm perfectly capable of looking after my own injuries."

"I know," she shrugged, sitting down next to him on the bed. "But I don't mind. Just another excuse to be close to you, I guess."

"You don't need an excuse for that, love. You know I'll happily give you anything you like."

"Anything?"

He nodded.

"Alright," she said, leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips, breaking away when their smiles got too wide.

"I thought you were going to make me dance naked in the street or something." Her eyes went wide as she took in his words.

"Oh my god, I am totally making you do that sometime."

He groaned, unable to fight the smile on his face as she peppered his cheeks with kisses, finally pressing one to his mouth.

"Remind me why I love you?"

"Because I'm amazing, and the most incredible person ever?"

He chuckled, kissing her again. "Yeah. You are."

~~~

"Where the hell have you been, Tony? We've been waiting for you!"

"Just had some last minute things to sort out, don't get your knickers in a twist, Kipps. Oh, thanks Luce," he said, smiling at the girl as she handed him a flask of tea. He'd actually been at Y/n's, spending time with her before her shift at the pub. He'd almost been late, her parents wanting him to stay for dinner (he had politely declined, reminding them that he had a job to go to as well as their daughter), and her younger siblings wanting him to play with them. Lockwood and Y/n's parents had been friends since before either of them were born, at one point the two families living next to each other on Portland Row, and it was only the arrival of the fourth baby five years ago that had made the L/n family move. It had only been natural that Anthony and Y/n started dating, having been childhood friends, and her parents were delighted at the pairing. Unfortunately that now meant that they wanted him to spend every spare minute at their house, which more often than not made him slightly late for work.

"I'm not wearing knickers," the older boy muttered indignantly, clearly unable to come up with a good enough retort.

"Oh, are these the files? Thanks George."

"Wait, have you not even read these?" Kipps said, eyebrows rising.

"Of course I have, just not the whole compiled thing. I'm not stupid." Kipps scoffed at that.

"Yeah, sure you're not, Tony. C'mon. Hurry up and read, we're late because of you and we need to set everything up before it gets dark."

~~~

Three hours later, the two teams were close to death.

Both in the sense that they were run ragged, energy severely depleted and bodies aching, and also in that they were completely surrounded by ghosts, Type Ones and Types Twos blocking every exit. The report had said that there were only meant to be two Spectres in the whole abandoned department store, but before it had even been properly dark Lucy had heard voices crying out and shouting, and Lockwood had seen death glows so bright he'd needed his sunglasses.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?!"

He was taking a break, eyes aching from the brightness surrounding them and arm protesting the weight of his rapier. He scanned the area, sure that Lucy would have his back for a moment, and spotted something through a gap in the Visitors.

"Lucy?"

"What?!"

"I need you to not kill me and cover me with flares."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to run through the ghosts."

"You're WHAT?!"

"What? What's he saying?" Kipps was trying to get closer to them, rapier cutting arcs into the air and not giving him much headway.

"You're impossible, you know that?" Lucy glared at him, grabbing some flares from her belt.

"Yep. Ready?" She threw, the magnesium creating a break in the swarm of ghosts large enough for Lockwood to cut through. He made it to the other side (although a near miss from a badly aimed flare made him think that Lucy was trying to hit him and not the Visitors), trying to block out the sounds of his team mates yelling as they fought swathes of the undead. He ducked under a chair that a poltergeist had thrown, dodging the knives hurled afterwards. Skidding to a halt in front of a large iron box filled with objects, the lid hanging open, Lockwood slammed it shut, throwing a net over the top for good measure and securing the edges. Within seconds the majority of the Visitors disappeared. A few still remained, including the two poltergeists, but the number was much better.

The two teams spent the next thirty minutes finding the various Sources of the remaining ghosts, all the while trying to not get hit by the items the poltergeists were throwing, and by the end of it when Kipps suggested going to the pub, nobody disagreed.

~~~

Lockwood and Co were in the taxi on their way to the pub when George piped up.

"Why'd you agree to going to the pub with Kipps? I would have thought you'd rather eat your own foot than spend more time with him."

"I need a drink, and he said he'd buy the first round. If it's free, I'll take it. I don't really care who's buying it, even if it's Kipps."

They clambered out the taxi, Lockwood paying the driver and jogging to catch up with the other two just as they entered the pub. Spotting Kipps' team already sat down, the three of them headed over, taking seats and giving their order to the older agent. Lockwood looked around, certain he recognised the building but unsure why, when his gaze caught on the girl behind the bar.

Ah.

Of course the pub Kipps picked was the one that Y/n worked at. Lockwood had been here before, which is why he thought it was familiar, but nobody knew about his relationship with the bartender. Kipps came back with the drinks then, one of the other servers following with the rest and asking for ID. Taking his first sip, Lockwood felt himself relax a little more, happy to not be going anywhere for a while after the gruelling job earlier.

~~~

"You," Lucy pointed at him, "are so drunk right now."

"Seriously, you cannot hold your alcohol, can you Tony?"

"Don't call me Tony, you prick." It was true that Lockwood was a lightweight, and he knew it, but he grumbled about the accusation anyway. Kipps only laughed, not doing much better than his rival in terms of handling alcohol, and took another swig of his beer.

"You're probably rubbish at picking up girls, too. Y'know, you're probably rubbish at every normal guy thing."

"Shut up, I can so pick up girls." He wasn't going to let Kipps tell him he was bad at anything.

"Oh really?"

"Yep. Amazing at it."

"Bet you can't get a kiss out the bartender though."

"Which one," he said, hoping Kipps would pick the right one.

"The one in the blue top, about your age. In fact, I am so confident you'll be shit at this, I'll bet ten quid you can't do it."

"Oh you're on," Lockwood said, knowing already he'd win the bet. Kipps had unknowingly picked Lockwood's girlfriend, and this would be the easiest ten pounds of his life.

"I'll bet a tenner too. I'm looking forward to watching you fail dramatically," Kat Godwin added, smirk on her face. Bobby placed his own bet, and soon enough there was fifty quid on the line, with George and Lucy agreeing with Kipps.

"Off you go, Lockwood," Lucy smiled, giving him a pat on the back. "Try not to traumatise the poor girl."

"Oh, just you all wait," he slurred, pointing a finger at them. "This is gonna be easyyyy." He headed for the bar, confidence filling him and giving him the ability to walk a lot straighter than he would otherwise have. He leaned forward on the wooden surface, fingers drumming against it. "Heyyy," he said, smiling up at his girlfriend as he slid (unsuccessfully) onto a stool.

"Hi... you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm great, and you," he wagged his finger at her, pausing for effect, "are gorgeous." He winked, and she suppressed a laugh, making him pout. "Why're you laughing? It's true!"

"Ant, honey, you are very drunk right now. Please go home," she said, pressing a hand to her mouth to stop the giggles bursting out.

"But I can't go home," he said, suddenly very serious.

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"Because I need a kiss if I'm gonna go home." He puckered up immediately, leaning forward over the bar and closing his eyes.

"Oh my god, Anthony, stop it!"

"Aw, do you not wanna kiss me?" He pouted again, and Y/n couldn't stop her laughter anymore. Lockwood sat back, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing. "Well, I'm not going away until I get a kiss from the prettiest bartender person lady that I've ever seen, so you'll have to get used to me being here."

"Okay, alright! Lemme serve this customer, yeah?" She turned away, leaving Lockwood to stew in his seat at her lack of kisses. Waiting for her to come back to him felt like an eternity, and when she came around the bar to stand next to him, he perked up, half launching himself at her. "Woah! Hold on, Ant! Jesus!" He was still sat on the stool, Y/n being only slightly taller than him despite being stood up, and he pulled her between his legs, arms wrapping around her waist. "Wait, what about your friends? I thought they didn't know?"

"Don't care, jus' wanna kiss you. There's a share of fifty pounds in it for you," he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows like he had a few weeks ago when she'd patched him up.

"Oh wow, you really love me, huh? Kissing me for money?" she asked sarcastically, but her eyes were warm. He nodded, dopey look on his face.

"Please? 'Cause Kipps said I can't pick up girls, and he bet money that I couldn't get a kiss out of you, and then the others bet money too, and mostly I wanna prove him wrong, but also I want the money so I can take you on the most amazing date in your life and get you ice cream."

"You are such a golden retriever puppy of a boyfriend, aren't you? Come here." She took his face in her hands, placing a few soft kisses on his mouth. His arms tightened around her waist, holding her closer to him, and Y/n had to brace a hand on the bar so that she didn't fall over from the awkward angle. When she pulled back, he chased her lips for a moment, opening his eyes slowly. His gaze was full of love, and he had a gentle smile on his face.

"I love you, Y/n/n."

"Love you too, Ant. Now get your fifty pounds and drink some water."

"Ugh, but water's boringgg," he complained, frown forming on his face. Y/n chuckled, kissing the crease between his eyebrows.

"I'll give you more than kisses when you come over on Saturday if you sober up." Lockwood stopped frowning immediately, and Y/n could practically feel the happiness radiating off of him.

"Where's the water?"

~~~

"Shit, how'd you do that, Tony?"

Lockwood shrugged. "I'm just really good at picking up girls."

"Sure, is that vodka?"

"Nope, water."

"Why have you got that?" Kipps wrinkled his nose, handing over his portion of Lockwood's winnings.

"Because she told me to drink it," he said, sipping the liquid through the straw he'd asked for (it made drinking boring things more fun, he'd told Y/n).

"Uh... okay?"

"Yeah. I feel like- hang on, Lucy, where's your tenner? Thanks. I feel like it's a little bit unfair, the bet, 'cause she is actually my girlfriend, but- no, you can't take the money back! You made a bet! No take-backs! But thanks anyway."

"So you can't pick up girls!" Kipps shouted, thinking he'd finally found something Anthony Lockwood couldn't do.

"Well technically I can, 'cause I had to pick her up in the first place to get her to be my girlfriend, and also she's not that heavy, so I can definitely pick her up if she doesn't wriggle too much. I know 'cause I've done it before."

Kipps groaned. "Wait... she just told you to drink water, so you are?"

"Yep. She's very persuasive. Basically said that if I drink it all then when I go to her house on Saturday we're gonna have sex," he said casually.

Everybody around the table choked on their drinks.

[chihirolovebot]

being so normal and regular abt modern domestic physouma . he makes sure phys takes their antidepressants every single day. he knows when theyre having a bad day , when they curl up on the bed or sofa under the weight of a bunch of blankets, head turned against the sunlight , and he's just sort of there, hovering ,never leaving them alone. quietly opens up all the windows and brings them food under the guise of having leftovers . holds them a little tighter when they sleep. and you know he kicks up a fuss if phys doesnt want to share the bed ( or couch, or wherever because ouma can sleep anywhere ) .

like whatever . phys likes buying flowers and plants to look after because it gives them a routine and something to get out of bed for even on days when they dont feel like it. they make ouma sneeze but he'd die before he says anything about it.

theyre both bad at cooking but ouma can make a couple of basic meals and phys likes experimenting . i think phys makes breakfast and ouma makes tea/dinner and beyond that they Scavenge . phys drinks a relentless amount of tea and hot chocolate but ouma isnt allowed caffeine . neither of them like spicy food . phys likes making eggs in the morning but is finicky about texture and finds that the safest way for them to eat them is either as an omelette or hidden in something else ( ouma encourages them to keep making eggs because theyre good for you ) .

they have a strict laundry day because they both know they'd let it slip otherwise , ouma because he hates doing it and phys because they'd get distracted and forget.

phys starts working a salaried job with the professor as soon as they graduate university ( which they do at seventeen or eighteen ) and he buys them a cute little apartment in the city. ouma moves in not long after they get together ( maybe they met at hopes peak .. ? ) and they share the space . and phys watches this apartment with a nice view of osaka turns into Their Home. every time they come home from work exhausted , sensory overload with stuff sticking to their neck and shoes too tight and hair in their face , ready to throw their bag down and scream—they see him . curled up like a cat on the couch or experimenting (to detrimental effects) in the kitchenette or sometimes just waiting for them to come up and they just feel themself light up .

incompatible sleep schedules but once phys is asleep Theyre Asleep so its okay . they go to bed anywhere from 11pm-2am and ouma will go with them but not sleep for ages . combo of fucked up sleep schedule , undiagnosed insomnia and trust issues abt falling asleep in front of someone first . hes a creep and stares at them whilst they sleep bc he finds it kind of adorable and also , like , theres a person so close to him in a way that he never thought there would be , like theyre here and theyre asleep and vulnerable and they trust him and its so surreal he has to jam his fist in his mouth before he screams sometimes . hes a stick insect once hes asleep btw . phys wakes up at 7am and hes clinging to them like a koala bear.

the Big Light never get used . they have so many lamps and phys loves stringlights so much . ouma find fun and cute and creative ones with coloured lights and cute shapes and they hang them up everywhere , all over the doorways and walls, and instead of doors they have those beaded curtains that hang down because they both like how they swish and ouma loves using them to make dramatic entrances and exits .

casual touch . sleepy nights curled up on the couch watching shitty 70s spy flicks , ouma with his back to phys' chest with his head lolling on their shoulder whilst they fiddle with his hair to keep their hands occupied .