#tiniest bit of angst

[redpaintsplatter]

Hii here’s chapter two of AlmondBread

Chapter 3 is in the works currently! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Familiar Feelings

After a short but loving car ride and an odd way to smuggle someone into a building and up an elevator, the two now stand in Almond’s apartment. It’s a tad messy and got an old 70s feel to it. The couches are fruit leather and the rug is a weird pattern. Every piece of furniture is covered in wood or dark paint. It’s uniform, and warm. Far more comforting than the bright whites and grays that Shortbread saw in prison. The overhead lights weren’t even being used, it’s dim candles and lamps that lit each room. It’s a very welcomed and wanted change. It didn’t take long for Shortbread to make himself at home. He kicked off his shoes which Almond neatly put away by the door almost immediately, then he flopped down on the couch. His comfort didn’t last long though.

“Please at least clean yourself before you lay on my furniture. I can only imagine how filthy your prison cell was.” Almond nagged, he didn’t enjoy it but he had to keep that furniture nice.

“Ugh, ya serious? I just got back from Magic City prison and I can’t get a moment of relaxation?” Shortbread rolled his eyes but got up, doing as he commanded.

“I’m stealing your clothes then!” He shouted before walking off to the bedroom.

Almond knew he was going to do that, hell he even knew he was going to say that. He didn’t mind. It was cute to see Shortbread wearing his clothes. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. All the shouting he did was funny to him. They’re always on the same track; agreeing on most things. But, Shortbread always feels the need to yell it out like it’s an argument. Almond is convinced Shortbread can’t stand compromise, always feels like he has to be right. It’d be annoying if it wasn’t so dorky.

After Almond got lost in thought about the shorter cookie he seemed to appear right in front of him. Almond jumped back a little, startled by his sudden appearance. Shortbread was cleaner now and in different, softer, clothes. He’s very comfy but he’s not going to admit that. He doesn’t need to. It’s obvious. His new clothes add to the homey feeling of Almond’s apartment. Hopefully this visit will be much longer than his last one. As soon as things get normal for them they’re ripped apart. But now isn’t the time for the two to start worrying about that. Shortbread brushed off the looming thoughts and then spoke once more.

“Now can I lay down, you big baby?” He rolled his eyes and did so without even waiting for a response.

It’s not like he was going to get a No. In fact Almond laid down right on top of Shortbread. He used his chest as a pillow and naturally Shortbread’s arm wrapped around Almond, pulling him closer. A giddiness shot through both of them. Bringing a wide smile to Shortbread's face. He’s trying to force a straight expression but it’s not happening. His attempt was so cute to Almond, and pathetic, frankly.

Then suddenly it seemed like one of Almond’s hands just appeared on his cheek. His hands caressed him, feeling the crack on his cheek. That was new. Almond sat up with a new worried expression. His thumb kept tracing the crack. Everytime he did, Shortbread winced quietly.

“Aye… take it easy wouldja ‘mond? You’re hurtin’ me..” Shortbread muttered.

He was a little annoyed by all the touching until he looked at Almond's face. His then formed into a similar worried expression.

“I’m alrigh’! You know I’ve been through worse!” He forced out a little chuckle. His voice was quick and unsure sounding.

That didn’t soothe or calm Almond’s thoughts. His hands moved down gently to examine Shortbread's arms since they were already exposed. He hadn’t noticed all these cracks before when he saw him again. Sure some have been there but a lot must be new. It makes him wonder what he's been through since the last time they were together. It’s bad enough he always has to leave eventually... but seeing him hurt more each time… that was devastating.

“What happened? Who cracked your dough?” Almond spoke with a firm tenderness. He demanded an answer but was trying to be as gentle as possible.

Shortbread scoffed, “Who do you think? People. Cops, prisoners, prison guards. You name it. Can you ease up now? I’m fine. That hurts—“ He winced again.

“I wish you’d stop treating this as something so minor. Something could be seriously wrong. Tomorrow I’m having a doctor look at you.” Almond laid back down and slid his hand underneath Shortbread's shirt.

“I don’t mean to make you sound weak. So before you get pissy with me don’t take it that way. I’m just concerned. I…love you. I love you a lot. I can’t stand the idea of bad things happening to you and I have no way to prevent or stop it!” He forced himself to stop talking before he’d make himself and the blonde upset. He didn’t want to sour this moment. They’re at peace, he can make a big fuss some other time.

Shortbread smiled a little. Hearing those words created a symphony of music in his mind. He can ignore everything else he’s said and forget how he felt about it now that he’s said those three precious words. Without thinking, besides about the “I love you”s, he gently placed his hand over Almond’s head and guided it back down onto his chest. He held him a little closer after that. Almost as if he’s reassuring him with his touch. Things he’d never be able to say verbally all can be done through his hands. To most he speaks with his punches. To Almond it’s caressing, petting, hugging, touching, fixing. All these things that make him less barbaric than how he is on the streets. It’s a beautiful change. As soon as he comes inside this stray dog goes from feral to domestic right away. All thanks to him.

Almond smiled as he was pushed back down. His lover's hands were all he desired when he was away at prison or lost out on the streets for months. He wished he’d stop running and hiding from everyone including him. Maybe then he’d avoid all the injuries. Maybe then his hands wouldn’t be such a luxury. They’d be a little more common, until he’s dragged away again. While he’s being held he still can’t help but worry. That leads him to gripping onto Shortbread’s shirt. Shortbread notices this and opens his mouth to speak, struggling to find the words at first but eventually they come out.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leavin’. Stop focusing on the future so much and focus on me. What we do now. …..Okay?” Shortbread muttered. He was surprised with how nice that sounded.

That actually took Almond by surprise too. He just nodded along with what he said. No reason to reply since he can clearly read his mind. So instead he reached back and draped a blanket over the both of them. The warmth engulfed them, making them feel safer. Shortbread was so tired. He couldn’t fight his exhaustion much longer. He hates being the first to fall asleep. Makes him paranoid, usually. But right now he feels as if it’s better if he did fall asleep first. Almond would take care of him. He has someone to lean against again. He has his support. With knowing that his eyelids slowly close. He mutters something not very audible to Almond as he drifts asleep. Almond just nodded along to whatever he said and then began to caress his hair. His hand went through his hand then slowly moved down to hold his cheek. Almond sits up a little to then bring the side of Shortbread’s sleeping face closer to his mouth. He began to press a few kisses into his forehead and then his cheek. As kisses moved down to his jaw he smiled widely and just admired the beauty before him. The ruggedness of his lover. How it doesn’t match what’s on the inside at all.

Almond eventually stops and slides off of him. He bends down a little and then scoops him up in his arms with a bit of struggle. This was a lot easier when they were younger. He groaned softly as he hauled the brittle cookie away and into his bedroom. Almond opened the door with his foot then gently placed Shortbread on the bed. He pulled the covers out from under him then tucked him in. He scooted in on the other side of bed then pulled him in close. He spooned him before eventually falling asleep. He didn’t expect to sleep so fast, he wanted to cherish this moment more before doing so. Oh well, each little moment counts, but he can’t fully appreciate it unless he’s properly rested anyways

[chloecherrysip]

"I hope you told your brother how much you loved him, because you're probably never gonna see him again."

"..."

"Was that too dark?"

"YES!"

"Sorry."

[louiseolivier]

Saturday Snippet

I finally felt like writing again. This is the first chunk for Pride pt 4. Really hoping to keep the momentum up. famous last words.

Buck was on his back, head in Tommy’s lap with Tommy’s fingers carding through his hair. It had been a full week since they’d seen each other. Tommy filled in for a sick coworker on Thursday, and Buck switched shifts on Friday, so he could be off today. He didn’t know about absence making the heart grow fonder, but it did make him more desperate for all things Tommy. He leaned into Tommy’s touch and almost purred as Tommy scratched blunt nails in the short hair behind his ear. 

Their day could be divided into three parts: sex, sandwiches, and cinema. Although, calling D.E.B.S cinema was probably a stretch. They were sprawled out on a blanket at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, waiting for the movie to start. Buck had packed a bunch of snacks, and Tommy dug out a pair of stadium chairs for them. 

It was a nice evening. A persistent breeze kept the temperature bearable while the sun was out, but Buck was glad they remembered to grab their hoodies out of Tommy’s truck. They were going to need them later. Right then, though, Buck was perfectly comfortable leaching heat off of Tommy. 

A text notification chimed. “Is that yours or mine?” Buck asked. 

“Yours.”

Buck reached out and randomly patted the ground for his phone. Tommy snorted but took pity and placed it in Buck’s hand. “Thanks,” Buck said and smiled up at his boyfriend’s adoring face. He unlocked his phone, and his smile dipped. 

Brooke sorry, i’m booked. i have a few openings next sat and one sun. let me know. it’s good to hear from you buck!

The tips of Tommy’s fingers made it under Buck’s t-shirt and gave his stomach a scratch. “What’s wrong?”

Buck abandoned his comfy position on Tommy’s lap and sat up. “So, I was going to let it be a surprise. Although, now that I think about it, there’s no real ‘surprise’ for you. Like, you're not getting anything out of this, but it’s meaningful for me, and I want you there, but now it looks like it’s not going to happen? Are you working both Saturday and Sunday next week?”

“Evan,” Tommy said in that way that denoted Buck needed to get it together and stop rambling.  

Buck gave the text a second look before locking his phone. “Right. Do you remember Rose from the parade?” Tommy nodded, and Buck pushed forward. “So she has this really cool tattoo, and it kickstarted this urge for me to get a new one. Normally, my tattoos don’t mean anything, just something I thought was cool in the moment, but this year has been, like, transformative. I met you, I became aware of my bisexuality, our relationship - I want to commemorate that. And I was kinda hoping to do it when we were off next week, but she’s booked. She has openings next weekend, but I’m pretty sure you’re working.”

There was a wariness in Tommy’s expression, “And you want me there because…” 

Buck’s head tilted in confusion. “Because I want you to be part of the experience. Does that make sense?”

“I think so.”

Buck smoothed his thumb over the furrow between Tommy’s eyebrows. “You seem weirded out”

“Not weird so much as, I guess, I'm just processing. You’re not going to get my name tramp stamped on you or anything like that, right?”

Buck’s eye bulged and he burst out with an ungainly cackle. “Oh my god, no!” Tommy watched him, cheeks flushed from embarrassment but also charmed by Buck’s reaction. Buck swooped in and kissed him because he looked so cute. He then pulled their hoodies from a bag and tossed Tommy his before pulling his over his head. 

It was fully dark, and the screen in front of them burst to life. Buck gathered a couple boxes of candy and two beers from the cooler. Instead of sitting in the stadium chair next to Tommy, he settled between Tommy’s thighs and rested his back against Tommy.

Tommy wrapped an arm around Buck and lightly kneaded his ribs. “I’ll take Sunday off.”

“Really?! You don’t have to, you know, if it’s going to be a hassle,” Buck told him. He twisted off the cap of one of the beers and handed it to Tommy.

“You want me there, I want to be there. No hassle. I’m swimming in PTO time. If you actually want to do that Redwoods thing, we could spend a month there with the amount of PTO I’ve accrued.” 

Buck craned his neck to get a look at Tommy’s face. “Probably not a month, but I do want to go.”

“Really?” Tommy said, surprised.

Buck’s forehead furrowed, surprised at Tommy’s surprise. “Yeah, really. I was actually thinking this fall.”

“Oh. That’s good. We should make plans.” Tommy kissed the top half of Buck’s birthmark, and Buck closed his eyes, knowing a second kiss to the lower half was next. Tommy tightened his hold around Buck as the Destination Films logo appeared on the screen.

Buck cradled his beer between his knees and pulled out his phone. He texted Brooke that Sunday was a go, and then settled back to focus on the movie in front of him, and the heat of the man behind him.

Pride

[misscinnamonroll16]

Brozone diner au: the day John Dory took off part one

this au does not belong to me, it belongs to @bzjohndory its gonna have to be multiple parts bc i write too much apparently

Business was slow, it was a hard winter and most trolls didn't leave their pods unless they had to. Bruce was the one to suggest it, knowing his brother hadn't had a day off in seven years. They all had special days that they got off like birthdays or anniversaries, except for John Dory. He didn't take days off, he worked open to close seven days a week. Bruce brought it up with others, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere without back up from their younger brothers. Bruce talked with Clay in between orders on the line. “I'm just saying, we haven't been that busy these past few weeks so I think he can just take a day off at least. We're all responsible enough to take care of the diner while he's gone.” Bruce said as he pulled some fries out of the fryer, portioning them on a plate and passing it to Clay. “Yeah but how do you plan on making him? We've tried making him before and he literally spent the entire day in the diner, working on other stuff ." Clay wondered as he finished plating a couple burgers, putting them in the window to be ran. At that moment, Floyd came into the back and leaned against the wall. “You good Flo?" Clay asked as he worked on the next order. Floyd nodded and held up a thumbs up but they noticed how his hand shook. Bruce threw some fries on a plate and slid a milk crate over to Floyd. “Sit down and have a snack. And while you're back here I wanna talk to you about something." Bruce said, handing the plate of fries to Floyd as he sat on the milk crate. Floyd nodded and started eating the fries while still leaning with his back against the wall. After a few moments of no orders coming in, Bruce crouched down next to Floyd. “Feel better?" Bruce asked while rubbing his back. “Yeah, I skipped breakfast this morning so I started to get the shakes." Floyd chuckled, placing the empty plate on the floor. Clay grabbed some dirty dishes they had on the line and grabbed the plate for the floor, taking them to the dish room. “So before you go back up there, I wanna talk to you about this thought I had. Clay thinks I won't be able to do it. I won't be able to do it by myself, I'll need all of your guys' help." Bruce said nonchalantly, watching for JD to be walking around. “What's up? I'm sure I can help somehow." Floyd said as he pulled his money out of the pocket on his apron. “I wanna get JD to take a day off. He hasn't taken a day off since he got ownership of the diner. If he had his way, we'd still be open on Christmas, and he would totally run this entire place by himself if he had to. He deserves it, he's kept this place afloat, put each of us through college and is here every goddamn day. This isn't gonna be like the last time, he's not gonna be allowed back in here until the next day.” Bruce said, looking Floyd in the eyes telling that he is completely serious about this. Clay came back in with clean dishes and began setting them up on the line. “I think he's crazy if he thinks he's going to get John to do it. He practically lives here, I don't think I've actually seen his place.” Clay said, placing plates in their proper spots. "Yeah but if we work together, I'm sure John will listen to us. You guys don't see him on the floor as much as I do. He's constantly moving, like if he stops, he'll pass out. Sometimes he shakes too. And Bruce is right, he's more than earned a day off, heck a week, we'll be lucky if we get one day.” Floyd said as he sorted his money, putting it back into his book. "I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it or need it. I'm saying that we might have to actually tie him down to get him out of here. He's not going to like the idea.” Clay said, cleaning up their prep area.  "What are you guys talking about?” Branch said through the server window. Bruce stood up and motioned for Branch to come back there. Branch walked back onto the grill line, confused.

[jamandjazz]

Guys we got some fucking bonding in WSMS today it was GREAT go read it

[waytooinvested]

Small Problem... Chapter 2

You can find the full story on AO3

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Lena was in the middle of grinding up a chunk of dried rhubarb for her latest spell to try and de-miniaturise Kara when Dreamer came hurtling into the room at full speed, almost running right into the far wall when she failed to slow down in time, and startling Lena so much that she dropped her pestle.

‘Nia! What is it? What’s happened?’

She would have been more worried by the sudden entrance, if not for the fact that Nia was now bouncing excitedly from foot to foot, and holding -something- behind her back like a child who had just raided the cookie jar.

‘Have you seen Kara anywhere? She’s not on the snack table’.

There was a tiny huff of air against Lena’s ear, and an indignant little voice muttered ‘I don’t spend that much time with the snacks!’

‘She doesn’t spend that much time with the snacks’.

Nia chuckled at the passed-on-message, tilting her head to peer past the fall of Lena’s hair to where Kara was sitting comfortably on her shoulder, legs dangling by her clavicle and one hand fisted in her shirt for balance.

‘I don’t know why I even asked – I should have known if you weren’t making the most of a fresh batch of crullers you’d be in here with Lena’.

‘There’s CRULLERS???’

Lena didn’t have to speak up for Kara this time, because that had come out at a volume loud enough to make her wince, and definitely loud enough to carry to Nia standing a few feet away.

‘Kara, remember what we said about shouting and proximity to people’s ears?’

‘Oops, sorry…’ Kara patted the lobe of Lena’s ear apologetically. ‘But crullers Lena! I haven’t had a giant cruller yet, and you know they’re my favourite!’

‘Well hang on, that’s not what I came here to tell you! I got you a surprise!’

Nia was bouncing again, and at last Kara was diverted from the promise of fresh doughnuts by her obvious excitement.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s- drum roll please-’

Nia stamped her feet in a rapid tattoo to simulate her own drum roll, then brought out the thing behind her back with a flourish, plonking it down in the middle of Lena’s grimoire so it would be right in Kara’s line of sight.

‘-YOU!’

The big (well, little) surprise was a miniature Supergirl action figure. Just under five inches high, complete with Supersuit, cape, boots and flowing waves of plastic hair. They all stared at it for a moment, and then Kara lifted gingerly off Lena’s shoulder and floated down to have a closer look.

It was not a perfect likeness by any means, but one of the better of its kind, and seeing the two of them side by side was… a little uncanny, honestly. Kara walked a slow circle around her doppelganger, taking in its fixed plastic grin and hands-on-hips pose with a perplexed frown on her face.

‘Thank… you?’

‘What’s she supposed to do with it?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

Kara and Lena looked at the doll, then at each other, then shrugged.

‘Not really?’

‘The clothes. You can take the supersuit off, I checked! Even the boots are proper leather. Well, pleather, but I think they’ll be comfy enough – they’re soft anyway, not stiff plastic, and they look about the right size’.

Kara perked up at that, keen to get back into something that would feel more like her usual self.

Once it had become clear that getting Kara back to her proper size wasn’t going to be a quick fix, they had done their best to get her properly outfitted. Alex and Kelly had taken Esme home to raid her doll box for anything that might come close to fitting Kara, and they had found a few things that worked, which Kara had been wearing on rotation. Her favourite so far had been a tiny pair of blue jean style stretchy pants, and a matching blue shirt with long sleeves layered under short that had once belonged to a Tiny Teen!TM doll. Her LEAST favourite was the ill fitting ‘sleepy bunnikins’ baby doll onesie she had been forced to wear for one humiliating afternoon while chocolate frosting was washed out of her other clothes after an incident of over-exuberance helping Esme decorate cupcakes for her upcoming birthday party. The rest fell somewhere between the two on the spectrum of acceptability, but none had made Kara feel entirely herself, and they had had no luck at all so far with shoes.

Until now.

‘YES! Thank you Nia!!! Lena, would you mind…?’

Kara gestured at the open grimoire and Lena obligingly stood it up on its end to hide her and the doll from their view, hoping that it wasn’t inadvertently insulting to her mother’s memory to use her revered magic book as a changing screen. She and Nia waited patiently for the reveal, sharing an amused glance at the mutters and grumbles that emerged from behind the book as Kara wrestled her plastic twin out of its clothes and pulled them on herself.

When at last she emerged the twee floral dress and pinafore she had borrowed from Esme’s littlest china doll was gone, and Kara was once more dressed in an approximation of her own clothes. She struck her familiar Supergirl pose, hands on hips, newly shod feet set wide apart, and looked hopefully up at them.

‘What do you think?’

Lena examined her tiny friend and nodded admiringly.

‘Much better. You look like yourself again’.

It was true, but not wholly true. The sizing was no worse than any of the other outfits she had been making do with lately to be fair – better if anything, since it was made of stretchy, forgiving material, but knowing how her suit was supposed to fit made it all the more obvious that the sleeves of this one were straining around Kara’s biceps, while the too-long pants wrinkled and the top hung loosely across her chest. Apparently the manufacturers had taken some liberties with Supergirl’s bra size…

Nia squealed and clapped her hands in delight. ‘I’m so glad I stayed up til 4am in an ebay bidding war for it, it was TOTALLY worth it!’

‘Nia, you didn’t!’

‘Yep – there’s loads of Supergirl dolls out there, but most of them are too big, or the clothes are just painted on. THIS one is a much sought after “Superhero In My Hand” model, and the clothes come off so that you can swap them out with other dolls in the series if you want to. I really wanted to get little Dreamer too, but that one still had another two hours on the auction and Brainy changed the wifi password to force me go to sleep, so my nemesis got her instead’.

Lena raised an eyebrow. ‘You have a nemesis?’

‘I do now. Ebay user Iheartdreamer98’.

Nia glared darkly at nothing in particular, then dropped to a crouch so that she was at eye level with Kara on the table, grinning again as if nothing had happened.

‘This is so cool. What do you think of the doll?’

‘I love the clothes, but the actual doll is a bit creepy, and they made me look kind of constipated. Now she’s out of the outfit I don’t think she really looks much like me at all’.

‘So you don’t want to keep her?’

‘Not especially’.

‘Can I have her then?’

Kara frowned. ‘What for?’

Glancing between Kara and Lena, Nia beckoned them both closer before whispering ‘hijinks’.

‘Go on…’ Kara whispered back conspiratorially (then had to repeat herself more loudly, because at her current size a whisper was inaudible unless she practically climbed into your ear canal).

‘Well -’. Nia reached over the grimoire to pull out the doll, which Lena noticed was now wearing Kara’s cast off frills (apparently despite thinking it didn’t look like her she had felt weird about leaving it entirely naked, even though it must have been a pain trying to dress a from-her-perspective-life-sized plastic dummy). ‘-Brainy knows I bought this because he was there when I was ordering it. But no one else does. Alex doesn’t. I thought there might be some good pranking potential in it. What do you think? Something to do while you’re stuck in here?’

Kara grinned back wickedly ‘oh yes’.

After the first couple of days spent getting used to her new size and taking part in a dozen different (failed) attempts at de-shrinking spells, Kara’s mood had shifted from distress to boredom. She couldn’t go to work. She couldn’t fly out to save the day from villains (though she had waged an hours long battle to oust a rat that had been attempting to set up home in the tower, then spent a further day amusing Esme with stories and re-enactments of her daring exploits). She couldn’t even go out without someone’s pocket to hide in, in case anyone saw her and decided to use her relative vulnerability to their advantage. In fact as Nia had alluded to, the main solace Kara had now was her continued delight in over-sized snacks, but even her appetite had its limits, and she was desperate for things to do. It seemed that Nia might just have found a neat solution to both her need for proper clothing and her need for entertainment (even if it was at the expense of her long-suffering sister).

‘You’re with us, right Lena?’

‘I’m theoretically with you. I won’t tell Alex what you’re up to or do anything to spoil your fun, but I don’t think I’ll have time to actively join in. I really need to keep working on this spell so you can get back to normal’.

Lena hadn’t been doing anything but working on spells since Kara’s accident, even though she had long since tried even the most tenuously promising charms in her mother’s book, and was more or less just making things up now. She was using rhubarb, because it was known for its speedy and extensive growth. Bamboo shoots for the same reason. A dose of her artificial yellow sunlight to boost Kara’s innate powers and lend the spell strength… she was about 48 hours away from suggesting that Kara drink up her milk and go to bed early in the hopes that it would help her grow up big and strong, or else poking about in rabbit holes to find the way down to Wonderland and the caterpillar’s magic size changing mushroom, but she couldn’t admit it.

Not when whatever had happened had to have been her fault. She and Kara had been standing over the workbench together at the time looking through her grimoire. Their hands had collided as they both reached to turn a page and Lena had felt the usual surge of butterflies that came with touching Kara unexpectedly. Then suddenly all hell had broken loose and everyone else had been thrown across the room while Kara shrank to dolls house proportions. It must have been some unforeseen magical accident linked to the surge of emotion, or the physical contact while touching the book, or… something. And if Lena’s magic had caused this, that meant it must also be able to fix it.

The trouble was that despite going over the interaction second by second in her mind every hour since it had happened, she still had no idea what she had done, or how. She hadn’t been trying to do a spell. Not just a shrinking spell, but any kind. The idea that magic could just burst out of her uncontrollably like that was terrifying, and another reason why she had been spending most of her time holed up in this room away from the others, where she couldn’t accidentally hurt anyone.

In fact the only person she hadn’t made excuses to stay away from for more than five minutes at a time lately was Kara.

Kara, who was the one Lena had most hurt with her accidental witchcraft, but also the only other person who was as trapped in the tower as Lena was until she learned to keep her magic under tighter control. It felt unfair to turn her away when she was already so lonely and overwhelmed by her new size. Besides, Lena harboured a secret, desperate hope that if they were together enough then whatever she had accidentally done might be undone the same way. They would brush knuckles in exactly the right place at exactly the right moment, or Kara would step onto some special part of the grimoire, and just as suddenly as she had shrunk, she would grow back to her usual size and this would all be over.

She didn’t say that to Kara of course – to her and to everyone else she remained optimistic, assuring them that they weren’t out of options yet, and the next spell might just be the one that would do the trick. Well then, the next. Or the one after that. She would find it eventually. She had to. So she couldn’t let herself get diverted into playing games with Nia and Kara, no matter how hopefully they were looking at her now. That would be like admitting she was giving up. And besides, somebody might get hurt.

Kara crossed the table to her and patted her knuckle gently, understanding something of her distress, even if not all of it.

‘I know you want to work this out Lena, but you’re allowed to take a break. It’s okay if it takes time. I’m okay’.

Lena smiled back at her gratefully, but shook her head.

‘I know, and I’ll take a break if I need to. I just want to do a little more work on this one first’.

‘Are you coming up for dinner at least? J’onn’s cooking something Martian-inspired’.

‘Sounds good, but I’m not really hungry. Save me some left overs?’

‘Sure…’

Kara still didn’t look happy, but she flew up from the table to perch on Nia’s shoulder, and Lena listened to the two of them talking about how best to prank the others with their look-alike Kara as they clattered off back down the hallway, leaving Lena alone with her spells.

Rhubarb.

Bamboo.

Artificial yellow sun.

There had to be a way.

[sagesolsticewrites]

Lonely But I'm Good - A Vika Interlude

Had a not-great mental health moment recently, decided to project it all onto one of my OC's and... this was the result. Fondly referred to as "Vika lore" by my dear @winniemaywebber 🫶

hi @winniemaywebber @blakelysco-pilot

tw for depression, self isolation.

It had been nearly a month since she’d last properly spoken to her friends when the thoughts began to pop up in the back of her mind.

Vika was no stranger to these thoughts— they’d cropped up in the time she and Jules had first drifted apart, when she’d had only her family for companionship for a while. They had finally waned — ironically— during the war, when she and Jules had reconnected and her circle of friends had grown more than she’d dared to imagine.

But it seemed that time spent alone had allowed them to rear their ugly heads once more.

What if they’ve decided they’re better off without you? What if they’re all together right now, not giving you a single thought? What if they’ve forgotten about you? What if, what if, what if…

Logically, Vika knew, these thoughts were nonsense. There were perfectly reasonable explanations for why their little group had gone quiet for the moment.

Juliet was busy turning her new house into a home with John, and on top of that the new school year had started.

Olive was happily starting a life with Dougie out in Michigan.

Val and Ev, Rosie and Jo… all of them were in newlywed bliss, Jean and Croz had their hands full with Little Croz, and Benny…

Her heart squeezed the tiniest bit, but she did her best to ignore it.

Benny had found a job— she was ecstatic for him—  and had his hands full with his new responsibilities.

They’re all perfectly happy without you, that awful voice in the back of her mind hissed, see?

She exhaled slowly, staring determinedly down at the ledger in front of her. Then bit by torturous bit, her gaze shifted to the phone on the desk.

Perhaps she could call one of her friends, see if they’d like to meet for lunch or some little thing… it was the hotel’s slow season, after all…

You’d only be bothering them, the cruel thoughts sparked up again, if they really want to see you, they’ll call you themselves when they have the time.

Vika screwed her eyes shut, trying to find fault in the cold logic, but—

Well.

They had a point.

They were all busy, she let the cool flow of reason persuade her, it would be rude to butt in on their various honeymoons and domestic affairs and jobs.

She would wait for them to contact her first.

And as she waited, the cruel thoughts grew louder.

It was gradual. An occasional sharp reminder to wait whenever her thoughts drifted to setting up an outing with her friends. A periodic fantasy about how happy her friends surely were at the moment, and how unwelcome her interruption would be. A sporadic imagining of all of them finding time to spend together, while she sat at the front desk, or at the dinner table with her parents, or— increasingly more frequently— alone in her room.

Because she was the outsider, wasn’t she?

She knew that wasn’t true, she knew. She knew her friends cherished her place in their little group, knew that on the rare occasions she wasn’t able to join them in the early days of their friendship she could at the very least anticipate a phone call filling her in on all she’d missed, how much they wished she’d been there and what she’d have to look forward to next time she joined them.

But that little part of her that knew was growing smaller and smaller, overtaken by the dark cloud growing in her mind— the one that, when her friends finally had clear schedules again, convinced her to make excuses as to why she couldn’t come, lying that she’d see them at their next little outing, all the while a shadow purring in her ear that yes, this was for the best, they wouldn’t have her dragging them down, they won’t even notice she’s missing.

Eventually their phone calls went unanswered entirely, letting them be picked up by her parents, who gave well-meaning excuses about Vika being busy with the hotel, or needed at home, or simply tired from a busy day.

She was tired. It wasn’t a lie.

It just wasn’t exactly from busy days at the hotel.

It wasn’t not her work, but lately it was less caused by the strain of logging which rooms were reserved for an upcoming weekend and which were available, lugging what felt like tons of linens back and forth from the rooms to the laundry and back, making sure every inch of the building that was her family’s livelihood was spotless… 

And more due to the weight of the cruel thoughts spinning in her head. She didn’t have the strength to fight them off with the logic and reassurance of her friendships, especially when that reassurance was fading faster by the day with each unanswered call, each outing she skipped out on.

The calls would stop eventually, she reassured herself— or was it the shadows reassuring her? It was getting harder to tell.

They’d soon realize they could stop pretending to want her as part of their little group, she’d be alone with her family and the hotel to care for, and everything would go back to the way it was.

Pressure built behind her eyes at the thought, but she clung to the cold, cruel logic that lived in the shadows of her mind.

They didn’t need her. She didn’t fit in their group. She would always be the odd one out— the one that wasn’t allowed into the fancy clubs they wanted to visit, the one that was stared at, the one dark spot amid their bright complexions. It was better that she cut herself off, slowly drift away from them on her own rather than deal with them pushing her away bit by bit.

It had been several weeks of carefully cutting herself off before Juliet showed up at the hotel.

Vika blinked, stunned into silence at her dearest friend rushing into the empty lobby, worry etched all over her face.

For one horrible moment, Vika thought something was wrong with Jules, with John, with one of their friends—

Juliet’s expression relaxed the tiniest bit as her green gaze settled on Vika, thought not by much.

“Jules,” Vika stammered, “What are you—?”

“Are you alright?” Her friend demanded, marching up to the front desk. Her frown deepened as she took in the dull brown of Vika’s eyes, the bags underneath them that makeup did little to hide, the downward turn of her lips. Her tone softened the slightest bit, “We’ve been worried sick.”

We?

Motion caught her eye as the rest of the girls, their respective gentlemen in tow, followed by Benny, tumbled through the front doors.

“I—” Vika couldn’t find the words to react to the scene before her, “What..? Why—”

“Vika,” her friend’s tone was almost fearful, full to the brim with worry and anxiety and love, “It’s been nearly a month and a half since any of us have seen you, I— we can hardly even get you on the phone anymore, what’s wrong?”

For all the cruel whispers and dark thoughts, that shadowy, sorrowful part of her mind hadn’t planned for this— for them to be worried about her.

“I—”

Her breath caught as she looked out at her friends— the friends she hadn’t had a proper conversation with in far too long, the friends that should want nothing to do with her— and the dam broke.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, tears streaming down her face, “I’m sorry, I just— I was so lonely, but I didn’t want to bother any of you when you all had better things to do, and then I don’t know what came over me but the next thing I knew I thought you’d all be better off without me, and— oh, I didn’t think you’d actually worry—”

The words left her in a rush as she felt herself almost collapse. She would have ended up crumpled on the floor had it not been for the girls swooping in to hold her up, stricken looks on their faces.

“Vika,” Juliet said carefully, eyes shining with tears of her own as the girls guided her to a cushy loveseat nearby, settling in next to her, “I— ‘better things to do’? You didn’t think we’d worry?”

Vika sniffled, trying to stem the flow of tears as she did her best to catch her breath, focusing on the girls squeezing her hands, pressing in next to her, the warm hands on her back, the soft words of comfort they were murmuring.

“I was lonely,” she said again, quieter this time. “And sometimes I get… I don’t know how to describe other than this shadowy cloud of sadness closing in around me. It’s… it’s mean, and it takes my meanest, saddest thoughts and makes them louder, until they’re all I can hear, until—”

She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a slow breath in and out as she gathered her thoughts.

“I wanted to give you all space while you were on your honeymoons and setting up your homes and starting new jobs and all that,” she said eventually, “But that cloud rolled in, and…”

She sighed. It sounded so silly when she said it now.

“I was convinced I’d be bothering you if I called. I convinced myself that if you all wanted to see me, you’d contact me, and then when you did, I had that cloud whispering in my ear that it was out of pity, that you didn’t really want to see me, and eventually… that it would be best if I drifted away from you all entirely.”

“Oh, Vika.”

There was a heartbreaking silence, and then she was enveloped on all sides by warmth.

“Never, I promise—”

“You can call us anytime, I thought you knew—”

“Please, please, never think that again—”

“If there’s ever a time we don’t hear from you for a while,” Jules said, her voice muffled from where her face was pressed into Vika’s hair, her arms like a vice around her friend, “I’m marching in here and dragging you out with me, I swear it.”

Vika let out a watery laugh, still not quite believing the amount of sheer love radiating from the girls around her.

“And we’ll be right behind her,” Val spoke up, eyes blazing, tears threatening to spill over.

“Would it help if we had a scheduled outing? Or even a phone call?” Olive suggested, brushing away the tears on her cheeks, “I know our get-togethers have been a bit on the fly lately, but I know I’d love having a weekly or even monthly phone call to look forward to with each of you. That way even if our schedules won’t allow a proper get together, we can still have a chance to catch up.”

“That sounds very nice,” Vika sniffled, doing her best to remember how to smile properly.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Olive,” Jean smiled, her voice warm.

“I can see the boys getting fussy about the phone bill, so monthly would probably be best,” Jo chimed in, giving Vika a squeeze.

“We can work out the details later,” Jules said, “What matters is—” she pulled back, making sure to meet her friend’s eyes— “We’re going to make sure you never feel that kind of lonely again.” 

Her gaze softened, guilt flashing in her eyes, “And I’m so, so sorry you ever felt that way in the first place, Vika.”

Unable to find the words to soothe her friend, Vika used what little reach she had— with the rest of the girls’ arms still wrapped tight around her— to pull Juliet into a fierce hug.

“I love you girls,” Vika said tremblingly, hoping that all she couldn’t say was understood in her voice.

“We love you, too, honey.”

[namjinreads]

READ ON AO3

[headdaze]

hi guys this is your daily reminder to comment on fics because it gives happiness both ways: to the author because you're commenting obviously BUT ALSO TO YOURSELF because when author replies you are recognized by them for a moment and that is just so glorious and beautiful

[cyber-streak-extra]

Just something sweet :) The ITP: Happy Ending AU was made by @maraariana01

Title: Shall we?

Description: The two hang out quite a lot, not surprising——but after certain events, spend further time together, and relax.

Ralpho laid across the couch, waiting for Spring Bonnie to return. The orange rabbit was too tired to remember why the bunny had left in the first place.

Glancing at the clock in the darkened room, he knew it had to be somewhere around eleven PM—although the rabbit wasn’t the best at telling that sort of time.

Either way, he knew it had to be late—and that Jackie would return soon, if he was remembering what Oswald had told him once about her job.

A few hours prior, when he and Spring Bonnie had actively been watching a few new rom-com’s, he remembered Oswald heading back to his room with Ben and Gabrielle.

The kids seemed to have a break from school—although Ralpho didn’t know why, he hadn’t asked yet. Either way, they all seemed to like that.

From what he’d heard from Jackie over the phone prior to the two’s arrival, the whole sleepover thing would last until Tuesday—tomorrow would be Sunday.

He knew that they were all sleeping. Earlier, he’d passed by Oswald’s room when trying to retrieve something, and he had heard snoring. The rabbit had wondered if they still had their fort up.

The orange rabbit got to learn a lot whenever he decided to hang out with Spring Bonnie and them—which, he had been doing a little more recently.

After the encounter with the bear, he’d been brought back here—and Jackie had thankfully been able to help him out. Spring Bonnie had thanked her a lot, he remembered.

Ralpho hadn’t really left all that often recently—originally, it had been because he was still recovering and resting from the encounter with him.

Now though, it was more about Spring Bonnie—he could tell how worried the bunny had been ever since the encounter.

The bunny was concerned—Ralpho knew that—especially since Spring Bonnie had told him what he was worrying about. Funtime Freddy was still out there.

He knew Spring Bonnie was scared about what could happen—so, when he did want to leave, Ralpho simply allowed his Honey Bun to come with him.

Ears beginning to twitch, Ralpho heard something from down the hall. It sounded like it was rather close to where Oswald’s room happened to be.

Ralpho looked around for a moment, before deciding to go see what was going on—if anything really was, at least. Maybe something fell.

It was rather dark in the living room, though. So, as he got off of the couch, the orange rabbit tried to watch where he was going—not wanting to trip over anything.

As he watched where he went, slowly making his way out of the living room, he stared down at his feet and the floor. There wasn’t anything there.

For a moment, Ralpho considered turning the lights on so that it would be a little easier—although, the rabbit could never remember where that was.

The orange rabbit sighed. As he stared down, he could notice how he was moving—limping. Frankly, he’d forgotten that he was doing that, but, his Honey Bun...

Ever since the three of them returned, he knew that the bunny had been upset—and he still was, Ralpho knew.

He’d noticed how more protective Spring Bonnie had started becoming—in general, and of him and Oswald, especially. He knew the bunny wanting to accompany him was part of it.

He’d rested a lot after it had first happened—Ralpho knew that he had needed time to recover. And, even now, he still needed to do so a bit longer.

When the rabbit had started to walk around again, he’d only realized that he’d been limping when Oswald noticed it first, and mentioned it.

He could remember Spring Bonnie suggesting that he still rest, or for him to carry him—although Ralpho wasn’t exactly against that second option.

Walking down the hallway, Ralpho came to a stop when he noticed something. In the middle of it, Jinx was laying there.

The cat seemed to be awake, as the rabbit saw little eyes staring up at him. She meowed.

“Hey, Jinx.” The rabbit said. He reached down to scratch her chin, before continuing on his way to Oswald’s room.

Ralpho’s tail twitched. He knew how the rabbit animatronic felt—how they both did—partially, at least. The orange rabbit didn’t know everything.

He never thought that he was exactly good with situations like this. A part of the orange rabbit thought that he might be getting better at comforting—yet he wasn’t sure.

Ralpho’s ears twitched. They lowered, and he needed to move them—they were blocking what little he could see in the darkened house. He didn’t need to trip.

He wanted to help them both out—yet he just wasn’t sure how exactly. Does Oz think...

The rabbit’s thoughts came to a halt when he finally reached Oswald’s room, and he spotted a familiar yellow bunny in front of the door.

The door to the room was fully opened, although Spring Bonnie wasn’t entering—he remained where he was, simply watching.

From where Ralpho himself stood, he could see Gabrielle still in the little fort that had been made, chest rising and falling.

Oswald lay in his bed near where the three had made it the comfy little fort. Fetch slept peacefully beside the boy. Oswald shifted slightly.

He hadn’t realized it originally, but Ben was in the fort, too. He remained sprawled out, a blanket across both him and Gabrielle, as he snored.

Spring Bonnie relaxed—no longer as tense as he had been—as he saw those signs. Ralpho could see the bunny’s ears go back up as he started to close the door.

“Springy?”

Spring Bonnie turned away, still closing the door—trying to be quiet. In the darkness of the hallway, he could easily make out Ralpho standing there.

“Spring-“ Ralpho had started. Before he could finish, the bunny was quick to make his way over, and gently hug the orange rabbit.

Ralpho returned the hug. “Did it happen again, Spring?”

While he didn’t technically need to, it was still possible for the orange rabbit to sleep—it was nice. Though, he knew that it wasn’t possible for Spring Bonnie.

Some time ago, he remembered when he had first learned of what occasionally happened. He’d been in the living room with Oswald, half asleep, while trying to watch something with him.

Oswald himself was laid across the couch, watching the monster movie that played, when Spring Bonnie had approached the two in a panic. He’d been leaking.

From what the bunny had told him, it was like a flashback—but with what else he’d said, Ralpho figured that it was like both—sort of.

Spring Bonnie nodded.

Separating from the hug, Ralpho reached to take hold of the animatronics hands into his own. “C’mon, Springy. Why don’t we head back?”

____

Ralpho sat beside Oswald on the couch, as some sort of monster movie played on the TV. It was just the two of them, as Thomas and Jackie were at work, and Spring Bonnie was doing chores.

He wasn’t too sure about Jinx and Fetch, though. The last he’d seen either of them was when he first arrived—the dog greeting him, while Jinx was eating.

Although he had sat down to watch the movie with Oswald, Ralpho was partially distracted as he busied himself with writing something down on a piece of paper.

While Oswald couldn’t exactly see what was on the piece—Ralpho was keeping it to himself—the boy thought that he could see “Springy” written down on it for a moment.

“What are you doing?” The boy finally asked.

“Just trying to make a little special something, Oz.” The orange rabbit answered with a grin. Although, he was admittedly having trouble with what exactly he should do.

“For Springs?”

Ralpho nodded.

The two sat there for a little longer—Oswald simultaneously watching the film and watching Ralpho write—or at least attempt to. While Ralpho talked on and on.

After another minute or two, the orange rabbit finally stopped. Having nowhere else to put the paper, he took his hat off, and placed it in there.

“I should probably get going, Oz.” He stated, before reaching over to mess with Oswald’s hair, before getting off of the couch.

Oswald watched as Ralpho left the living room—he went down the hallway, so the boy assumed that he was wanting to say goodbye to Spring Bonnie.

He refocused back on the movie—only to realize that he had missed his favorite part of it. So, grabbing the remote beside him, Oswald pressed ‘rewind’.

After another minute, he heard footsteps getting closer—and Oswald turned just in time to see Ralpho approaching the front door. “See ya later, Oz!”

Oswald waved, even if Ralpho wouldn’t see because of the direction he was facing. He glanced back towards the TV as the door opened.

“Wait, Ralpho-“ The boy started, a thought having rather quickly crossed his mind.

“Whenever you leave, where do you even...” Oswald turned back, only to no longer see the orange rabbit there, and the door closed. “...Go?”

____

Ralpho stared at the words on the screen, one ear twitching. He’d never done anything like this before—which was why he needed to practice, anyway.

He stood up, moving back a little bit—but remained close enough to the screen so that he could actually see the words and images.

Just as the orange rabbit began to carefully move, partially wondering if he could get someone for this, a noise coming from the kitchen distracted him.

Stopping, and shutting the device off, he made his way over. Spring? The orange rabbit wondered.

However, when he got there, it wasn’t Spring Bonnie. Instead, it was Jackie. She was beside the counter, having gathered a few things.

Does she know how? He thought with a tilt of his head, ears twitching. Maybe she could help?

“Ralpho?”

He stared at her for a moment, before waving. “Hey, Jackie.” He smiled, and made his way over to her. “What are you doing?”

“Before I head off to work, I want to make the kids some pancakes.” Jackie answered, holding in a yawn.

“Maybe I could help?” The orange rabbit offered with a shrug.

She blinked at him.

“It won’t end up like the time with the cake, promise.” He... well, that was at least what he hoped for.

____

Spring Bonnie made his way out of the bedroom with his son and his friends, and towards the kitchen. Gabrielle was still half asleep, and a bit far behind.

“Oh- hey, Springy.” He heard Ralpho’s voice, followed by Ben snickering about something. He noticed Gabrielle and his son just staring.

He turned away from the kids, and towards Ralpho. The orange rabbit was standing there, covered in both pancake batter and syrup. There was a bit of a mess on the counter.

“Ralpho, what happened?”

“I tried to make breakfast,” Ralpho answered with a shrug, “I should’ve expected this.” He wasn’t sure if this was better or worse compared to the cake.

“Mom should’ve done this.”

“Yeah, probably.” Ralpho nodded in agreement.

Spring Bonnie finally moved. He made his way over to Ralpho, trying not to step on anything. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” The yellow bunny wrote.

____

Oswald, Fetch, Ralpho, and Gabrielle all sat around the board game. Spring Bonnie would’ve liked to play, too, but he was busy at the moment.

Oswald had suggested that he could play with them in the next round whenever he finished—whenever that would be—and he had seemed to like that idea.

Technically, both Gabrielle and Oswald had already finished. Oswald first, followed by his friend. Now, they were just watching and Ralpho.

When Oswald had discovered what all the animatronic dog could do—such as write—he made sure to keep a lot of paper around for Fetch.

With how everyone was seated, Gabrielle sat to the left, with Fetch halfway laying across her lap, with a pen and a few pieces of paper surrounding the two.

Oswald sat to the right, beside Ralpho, who was no longer wearing his hat. Earlier on, the orange rabbit had decided to place it atop Oswald’s head.

The boy didn’t mind all that much—although considering that it was rather big, he kept having to move it. He just hadn’t decided to take it off yet.

“Who do you think it’ll be?” Oswald had wondered earlier, leaning over a little closer to Fetch and Oswald. The animatronic dog had taken the chance to give him a lick.

“Ralpho, maybe?” The young girl had guessed with a shrug.

As Ralpho continued to play against Fetch, he could very clearly hear Oswald and Gabrielle talking to each other—mostly discussing things about the game.

There happened to be a few other games, and Oswald had been debating if he should go get those, too. He still was. Ralpho didn’t know the names, though.

“Why don’t we get a snack?” Oswald eventually spoke up again—before the boy had said anything, Ralpho had heard the sound of something growling.

“Sure,” Gabrielle nodded. Gently, she nudged Fetch off of her, before standing back up. She reached down for a moment to give the dog a quick pet.

She joined Oswald’s side a moment later, and the two started to make their way out of the bedroom, and towards the kitchen.

Just as the two made it through the door, the sound of a groan—and some excited barks—stopped the kids. Gabrielle was the first to turn back around.

Fetch seemed rather excited—if the speed of his tail meant anything. “What happened?” Oswald asked. He and Gabrielle reentered.

In Fetch’s mouth, he held one of the many pieces of paper. The writing on it consisted of “Yay!” And “:D”.

____

After Thomas had given his son some money, the kids, Ralpho, and Spring Bonnie had all settled for heading over to Jeff’s Pizza for some lunch.

Hopping out of the car, Spring Bonnie paused for a moment, and looked around. He didn’t see anybody except for the orange rabbit and the kids.

The last time, he’d learned that Funtime Freddy had ran off before he actually entered—he didn’t know where the bear could possibly be now.

The bunny’s ears lowered slightly. This was where they’d...

Spring Bonnie’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand grab his own. When he focused, the bunny realized that it was Ralpho.

“You okay, Honey Bun?” The orange rabbit questioned.

Spring Bonnie nodded.

Moving closer, Ralpho gave the animatronic bunny a kiss on the cheek, before beginning to lead him into the pizzeria. “C’mon, Springy.”

Entering the pizzeria, it only seemed to be them, the kids—who were seated in a booth nearby with some pizza—and Jeff himself, who looked half asleep.

Moving closer to the booth, Spring Bonnie decided to sit next to Oswald and Ben, while Ralpho sat beside Gabrielle.

The only other time the orange rabbit had been around here, was when he and Oswald went there some time ago. Minus the animatronic bear situation, he enjoyed hanging out with the boy.

“Ralpho.” The rabbit’s ears twitched at the voice—which belonged to Ben. He turned to look at the boy, ears continuing to twitch.

Ben sat in his spot, holding out a slice of pepperoni pizza. Ralpho stared at it. “Why don’t you try it?” The boy offered.

Ralpho kept staring it for another second or two, debating on it. He’d tried some food before in the past, but he just hadn’t been able to taste it.

He’d declined the last time he’d been offered by Oswald—but it still looked good. Maybe he could try it this time.

He reached over, taking the pizza slice from Ben, who then went to eat his remaining slice, while talking to Oswald about something he’d thought of.

The orange rabbit held the slice in his hands, before moving it closer, and taking a few decently sized bites from the slice.

Just like he had figured, the orange rabbit still didn’t taste anything, just like the last time he’d chosen to eat.

Despite that, Ralpho decided to continue to eat it.

____

When Oswald and Gabrielle had decided to go to the park to hang out, Ralpho accompanied them alongside Spring Bonnie. Even Fetch had joined.

Fetch was rolling around in the grass and running around, while occasionally staring at a squirrel or two—but he never went after them.

There was a bench not too far from where the two where standing, which Oswald and Gabrielle were using to sit around and chat.

It had been getting pretty cold recently—which was why Ralpho guessed that the two had some jackets.

He’d never liked whenever it got cold like this—especially at night. The orange rabbit remembered getting pretty chilly during a lot of Bunny Calls.

The rabbit, ever so slightly, began to shiver. He never did well with it, either—but there had never been much that he could do for that.

From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Spring Bonnie beginning to write—and it didn’t take that long for the yellow bunny to finish.

“Cold?”

Ralpho nodded.

Spring Bonnie motioned for the smaller rabbit to come closer, and with another nod, Ralpho did just that, wondering what his Honey Bun wanted.

Once he was close enough, Spring Bonnie brought the orange rabbit into a hug, while wrapping his coat around him, placing his chin against Ralpho’s head.

Ralpho grinned—more than normally—as he was quick to return the hug, his tail beginning to wag. He moved a little bit, so that he could kiss Spring Bonnie’s cheek.

“Thanks, Springy.”

____

Spring Bonnie had been gone for a while—if Ralpho remembered correctly, then he had gone to go get groceries. The orange rabbit was excited.

While his Honey Bun was gone for a while—an hour or two at best, Ralpho continued to check things out for what he had been wanting to do for a while.

As the orange rabbit entered the living room, he spotted Spring Bonnie there, laying across the couch, just now starting up a rom-com.

“Spring!” The orange rabbit called out.

Ears twitching, the yellow bunny looked away from the TV, and towards Ralpho. He tilted his head to the side.

“C’mere!”

Nodding, Spring Bonnie got off of the couch, making sure to pause the rom-com—he didn’t want to let it keep going—he’d miss something.

As Spring Bonnie approached, the orange rabbit could feel his tail starting to wag.

“Sooo...” Ralpho started when the bunny stopped in front of him, tail continuing to wag. “Honey Bun, have you ever danced before?”

He never really had—he’d made some attempts here and there, but that was it. He’d never done it with anybody before, either. That was going to change, though.

Ralpho was certain that it would go well—he doubted that it would be all that bad or something.

Quickly, Spring Bonnie shook his head in response.

Just like Ralpho, Spring Bonnie had never done it with anyone—or in general—but he’d noticed others dancing together before—it always seemed nice.

Ralpho lightly hummed. “I haven’t either, Springy. But,” He reached over, taking the bunny’s hands into his own. “Why don’t we try?”

The taller bunny almost seemed nervous. “C’mon, Springy, it’ll be fine. Trust me!” The rabbit grinned.

Spring Bonnie took a second to think about it, before nodding.

“Okay!” The orange rabbit’s grin grew.

Ralpho still held onto one of Spring Bonnie’s hands, while the bunny freed his other, and placed it gently on the orange rabbit’s back.

Once they’d both adjusted, Ralpho took a few steps back, and Spring Bonnie took a few steps forward, trying to be careful.

Before he had finally asked Spring Bonnie, Ralpho could remember several dances that he’d found—and he wondered if they could try all of them.

Accidentally, as another step was taken, both the orange rabbit and the yellow bunny stumbled—and Ralpho felt himself falling back.

Although, Spring Bonnie had, fortunately, reacted quickly. He leaned forward, and wrapped both arms around Ralpho to keep him in place, instead of just falling.

At the same time, Ralpho hurriedly wrapped his arms around Spring Bonnie.

The orange rabbit stared up at Spring Bonnie with a small smile. As the bunny began to lift him back up, Ralpho placed a hand on his cheek.

He snickered a little bit. “This may take a while, Honey Bun.”

____

During some of their attempts, both still stumbled around here and there—mainly over each other—but sometimes because of a misstep that didn’t involve the other.

Music had come across Ralpho’s mind shortly after the two of them first began—so, using Thomas’s phone that the man had forgotten, he settled for playing music from there.

He didn’t know most of the music that was playing, but he recognized a few here and there—mainly because he’d heard the same ones on a few rom-com’s.

With his little research, he’d seen a lot of dances—and with the ones that provided videos, it had all seemed relatively easy—but it wasn’t.

Carefully, Spring Bonnie had chosen to spin Ralpho—much to the orange rabbit’s delight, before bringing Ralpho closer to him again.

Once he was back by Spring Bonnie, the grinning Ralpho inched closer, before pressing a kiss on the yellow bunny’s lips, wrapping his arms around him.

Ears shooting up, Spring Bonnie could feel himself starting to heat up, before returning the kiss, wrapping his own arms around Ralpho.

The bunny could spot Ralpho’s tail wagging, and he could feel his own doing it, too—although he wasn’t sure if it was all that noticeable, due to it being somewhat hidden with the coat.

Ralpho pulled away, and stared up at Spring Bonnie with a grin. “I love you a ton, Honey Bun.”

Spring Bonnie gently placed his hands on the sides of Ralpho’s face. I love you, too.

[vexdont]

i do not know if i can wait (a minimum of!!!) two more years… i am NOT that strong i was NOT built to tolerate angst where is the seventh episode

[whysamwhy123]

Dear God, I'm actually doing it.

I'm putting Daniel in Situations that he cannot dance his way out of.

I mean, it wasn't much, to be honest. I haven't gotten to the Situation or the dancing yet. But it's a start. And considering how I hadn't written a single word in over a month, I'm pretty damn happy that I got 800 words down today. So I'm gonna take the microscopic W on this one.

[fissions-chips]

Angsty Shit: Pt 3

Fairies don’t belong in the city or suburbs, do they?

Life is not easy when you’re two-to-three inches tall and resemble a little moth or butterfly. If the natural world already having it out for you, you mouse-sized little creature, wasn’t bad enough- you look like a bug. Humans hate bugs.

Jon, by all logic, shouldn’t be anywhere near humans- if he had his way, he’d be right back out in his nice little field, terrorizing the other fairies and hiding in his cozy little home. But, this year, the local farmer decided he wanted that field too, and Jon has now found himself evicted. Unintentionally, granted, but when they started spraying bug-killer, Jon the bug-adjacent fairy had to flee, quickly.

So now he’s fled to the human city, and so far it’s been… mixed. He’s safe from that awful shit they spray the air with, but now he has to contend with the humans themselves. Indirectly, they’re a threat- their huge feet could crush him before they even realized he was there, or he could get clipped by a car, or kicked as they walk. He could get slammed in a door. He could get trapped. The human world is so, so big.

But that’s indirectly- directly, they’re monsters. That’s all he can think, watching them frantically rush kill spider, beetle or bee whenever it treads to close to them (Jon doesn’t like spiders either, but come on). Mouse traps are absolutely terrifying- they could snap his arm or leg in an instant. The poison ones probably would have gotten him, whatever was inside it had smelled good, and he was hungry- but the mice got to it first and he watched them die from it, so now he knows better.

The sticky ones… the sticky ones are nightmares. He’s seen the bodies on them- in a morbid way, it makes them easier to avoid. Those, he understands and can spot early, simply going around them- he doesn’t want to know what would happen if his wings got caught in such a thing.

However, sometimes he isn’t really looking where he’s going- particularly when he’s being chased by a cat. Fucking cats. They’re terrifying, their claws like daggers, their teeth like swords- he’s dodged them before, but there’s so many here, and they cluster around the human dens looking for food and shelter too. Unfortunately for Jon, they think he’s a perfectly fine dinner- he managed to get out of the cat’s teeth, thankfully (he bit it right on the nose) but now it’s chasing him and he’s hurting and oh fuck- now they’re both caught. The cat squalls, caught by the paw, and Jon flails around to avoid it- but he’s smaller and lighter and he gets stuck. Really stuck

The cat’s wailing is what brings the humans, and when they see it caught they hurriedly shout and try to grab it- Jon is dragged right up with it as they frantically try to get it loose. He can tell by the collar it must be theirs, and maybe that’s why they’re so worried (some humans like cats, he’s learned, and keep them in their homes, he’s mocked them from outside the windows often enough- maybe this is karma).

Somehow, they manage to get it loose, and the cat runs off limping with its fur bushed out, to hide- but then they spot him, frantically trying to tear himself loose, little wings beating, entirely stuck. And their tones change- ‘bug’, they call him. ‘Pest’. The insult of it makes him want to scream.

They freed the cat, but he doesn’t get the same treatment- perhaps because he is a ‘pest’, perhaps because a paw is one thing, and Jon, caught by the entirety of one side of his body, is another. Either way, they talk amongst themselves and Jon just has to sit there, trying to get loose and failing miserably.

They put him outside. Still stuck. On a pile of their human trash. The indignity- he’s not fucking trash!

The more he tries to get loose, the more it hurts- he’s tearing his skin, already wounded from the cat. He doesn’t even know how he’ll free his wings, because those will surely rip, and then he’ll be flightless in the human world, which is no doubt a death sentence. This whole trap might be a death sentence, actually, because he can’t get free and it’s cold outside and he’s hungry and he’s thirsty and-

Someone picks him up. Or, they pick up the trap, with him on it- Jon hisses, as best as he’s able. He can’t really turn his head to see them, but he hisses anyways, because what else can he do? He’s put in a box and put in a car. Some small part of him is a little awe-struck, actually, by that… he can’t help but be fascinated by their machines. Sure, he can’t really see it, but the purr of its engine sounds nice.

He’s taken home and put on a table and suddenly there is a very bright light being shone on him- he wants to hide so bad. All the rage has bled out of him and now all he wants to do is run away and die his miserable little death somewhere dark and warm.

The human pours something on him, something gross and oily, and starts messing with him, gloved fingers poking and prodding him, at the seam between his wings and limbs and the adhesive. Jon’s too tired to bite him, or do much- he chirps a little, but that’s about it.

And, gradually- he starts to come unstuck, little by little. The human holds him so he doesn’t slump right back into it, carefully freeing his wings, sore and damaged, but mostly whole. He didn’t break any bones, at least. The human lets out a sound when he sees Jon’s injuries, and the little, shivering fairy finds himself tucked up in a dish towel while the sink warms up.

He’s washed off- Jon at first thinks he’s being drowned, and struggles a bit. Then he tires out, and the human goes back to cleaning all the oil off of him, carefully scrubbing his wings and his hair to make sure he’s cleaned up. He’s dried off, and something is dabbed onto his wounds- Jon chirps, and tries to twist around to scrub it off, but they’re covered before he can manage it and he gives up the effort. It’s not too bad, really- Jon wonders why this human is being gentle, and what he’s doing.

The unpleasant bit is when he’s picked up, a syringe shoved towards his face. Jon snaps, hisses, and sinks his teeth into the human’s thumb. Then he finds himself caught by the jaw and he becomes frightened again, chirping with alarm. Whatever the first stuff he’s given is, it’s bitter, and he wants to spit it out but can’t quite manage it. The second, thankfully, is easily recognized- water. Water and sugar, and that, at least, he takes without a fight.

After that, he’s not really sure where he winds up, only that it is indeed dark and warm, set on a pile of soft things. Jon doesn’t have the energy to question it- instead, he just curls up to sleep, absolutely exhausted.

[misscinnamonroll16]

Brozone diner au: the day John Dory took off part seven

holy fuck seven?!? this is the last one tho

The two of them had a playfully stare off when they heard the front door open, they both looked up before going up front to see which brother had arrived. It was Floyd, waving good morning to them as he sipped his coffee. It wasn't long after before the other two arrived, John going in the back to retrieve the cake while his brothers drank their coffee and prepared for their shifts. John Dory hid the cake behind his back for as long as he could before revealing it to his brothers. Just like Bruce, they all were practically drooling, equally excited to get a piece. JD knew his words would fall on deaf ears until they had a piece of cake, he quickly cut it and served it to them. While they ate the fluffleberry cake, John started talking. “I made this fluffleberry cake as a thank you gift for you guys for forcing me to take a day off. I understand it's because you care and I work too hard. But I only do that because I care, I just have a bit of a hard time showing it. I figured this would get my point across.” " You're such a fuckin sap.” Clay teased before stuffing a large chunk of cake in his mouth. " God dang it Clay, he was trying to be nice, don't be a jerk. That was lovely John. Thank you for the cake, it tastes just how grandma used to make it.” Floyd said, smiling softly. Branch made a noise of agreement as he licked his plate (he really liked the cake), the brothers laughing at him a bit. " Geez Branch, no one's gonna take it from you.” Bruce joked before remembering the box of stuff. Bruce went into the back, to the office, and grabbed the box of stuff. Bruce brought the box back up front and placed it on the counter. “What's this?" Clay asked before peeking in the box. “Well, ask good ol’ sentimental John over here. He got it all.” Bruce said, nudging JD's shoulder. John blushed a little before speaking, scratching the back of his head nervously “It's just some stuff I found yesterday when I went back to Grandma's old pod. I thought you guys might like it.” The other three looked into the box, seeing the items John had picked. Clay pulled out the book, tearing up a little. Floyd cooed over the picture of him and Branch. Branch looked close to tears seeing his favorite old plushie, giving it a squeeze. It pulled at John's heart strings to see his brothers happy like this. “If this is what happens when you take a day off, I think you should take more days off." Bruce teased, nudging John Dory again. “Yeah right, then who'd be here to keep you guys in check." JD joked, the mood felt light and soft. Soon it was time for them to open the diner to the public, putting the cake away and their items with their stuff. The shift went by without a hitch, except for Poppy coming in to bother Branch especially when she saw his old plushie. The diner felt more alive and comfortable, maybe John Dory should take more days off. 

@bzjohndory

[xmcu-fietro]

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

@whumpril Day 5 Prompt: Defiance/Alt Prompt - Un/Forgiveness

Summary:

Bucky tries to apologize to Natasha for what happened the night before during a nightmare.

Warnings: basically none other than reference to past accidental injury

[starlightvld]

My Love is Like an Apple Pie

A fic with chapters based on the Sheith in Autumn prompts.

Chapter 2: Apple Picking

Keith can't quite believe it when Shiro shows up to the apple-picking festival the weekend after Keith fumbled their (second) meeting. One apple pie later, though, Keith is pretty sure he's stepped straight into a dream.