#totally not stressed about the whole thing at all nuh uh

[rillabrooke]

wasn't hungry so didn't cook. got (productively) sidetracked for two hours. am now hungry. too tired to cook.

[dysfunctionalmaki]

Say My Name

Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Chapter 05/?

Summary: You work all around at the local country club, to your advantage you flirted and used your beauty to get what you want, though with this certain woman your own way can't seem to work.

Warning: This work contains smut and foul language, minors DNI!!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.───

You pace round and round the living room and Yelena couldn't help but get distracted as you walked past her for the nth time. “God! Can you sit your ass down?” your friend grumbled considering she couldn't enjoy her TV show when you'd be there covering the screen from time to time. “How can I sit my ass down exactly? I pissed off Diana!” you stopped exactly right at the center of the television and the blonde which made her groan out of frustration. “See? Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.” looking at her with your brows furrowed. “I didn't know Wanda was going to be there!” you say and Yelena was honestly enjoying your little meltdown.

“Okay, from what you've told me about Diana when you met her, she's nice, rich, and so pretty that you think she may be a goddess.” Yelena just decided to turn off the television knowing it's useless to even attempt to focus and watch her show. “And she works at Wayne Enterprises, knows our boss Tony Stark… and also knows Wanda and her husband since both companies somehow work together?” you say and she couldn't help but laugh softly. “So you're screwed?” she asked and you decided to pace around, taking a seat next to your friend on the couch. “Yes, I'm screwed. Like, when she saw me and Wanda talking at the party… she wrapped her arm around me and then pulled me close! Like she's mine type of close.” your friend tilted her head at what you're saying. “Okay, that's kind of a stretch.” Yelena says.

“No! It isn't… is it? Am I reading too much into it?” Now, you're doubting what you're trying to say, though you can't help but groan. Your stomach's doing cartwheels, you can't help but imagine that the next time you step foot outside the apartment you'll be shoved in a white van… well, you happened to fuck around with someone who's crazy rich and now you're worried, which is understandable and that's why you're also shitting bricks. “Do you want me to text your redhead girlfriend?” Yelena teased, you instantly looked at her and shook your head. “No! I'd look totally uncool if you did that.” you exclaimed and Belova widened her eyes at what you just said. “Y/N, no one thinks you're cool.” you place a hand on your chest taking offense to what she said. “The one you should be talking about this is Wanda, after all, you two were the ones who fooled around.”

“I’m sure she can do something about it and if you talk to her about it then voilà she helps you, I mean it's pretty obvious that you two aren't going to be a one-time thing.” Yelena added, which reminded you of another thing you can't help but stress about the whole situation. “Everything’s about Wanda, it's Wanda here and Wanda there.” you let out while your friend couldn't help but agree with what you're saying. “I think you like her.” The blonde commented and you let out a sigh. “Nope, no can do, nuh-uh.” you are quick to deny what your friend says and she chuckled as if you're acting like a child. “Nuh-uh? What are you, a five-year-old?” You roll your eyes at her comment once more. “I've slept with many people, Wanda isn't anything special.” you stated yet a hint of doubt went through your head.

“I've hung out with Wanda a couple of times before, she's easy-going, can be mean at times, but she's charming in her ways... easy on the eyes too.” Yelena went to list down some of the redhead's characteristics then she looked at you once more. “The downside is she's married, not just any man but a man who works close to Stark, who also happens to be our boss, Y/N." she reminded you then the queasy feeling came back to your guts once more. “Can you stop reminding me of that? I'm still worrying about what Diana may do and there's me messing around with Wanda.” The blonde reached for her phone and without your idea she just decided to message Maximoff, she's a good friend honestly but she'll burst her eardrums if she listens to you go on and on about your worries, and you can't blame her for that.

This time you're in your bedroom trying to sleep off the uneasiness you're feeling, your face buried against the soft pillow, you were a total mess and this wouldn't have happened if you had taken control of yourself and didn't have a whole make out session with the older woman back at the party. An hour went by and honestly, you were just staring at the ceiling as much as you attempted to stop thinking about a certain redhead, she wouldn't stop running in your mind. You've never been kissed the way she kissed you, how she easily found ways to get you weak in the knees and tremble before her, Wanda knew how to please you when she had you cornered at the sink that night.

You hear a knock on your door, doing your best to get your ass off the bed. You knew this was just Yelena probably needing something from you, fixing the shirt you were wearing, adjusting the volleyball shorts that you have had since high school. The moment you opened the door, and those green eyes instantly met with yours, you couldn't help but be surprised and looked behind the older woman then Yelena was there with a smug smile on her face, mouthing “You’re welcome” rolling your eyes at her then you went to look at the redhead in front of you. “Hi- What are you doing here?” You ask confusingly while the woman before you lets herself in your bedroom. “Yelena told me you're freaking out about Prince and she can't spend another second listening to that.” Wanda explained. “Well, are you really worrying about Prince?” she asked.

Taking a moment before answering, you crossed your arms over your chest and nodded. “She probably noticed at the party, I mean probably caught a glimpse of the mark you left and noticed how we were easily conversing.” At the mention of the hickey the older woman smiled and you looked at her. “I mean it, Wanda.” you muttered then she sat on your bed, biting her lower lip while her eyes somehow landed on your legs then looking into your orbs once again. “What do you want me to do about it?” you sighed at her question and you looked away from her enchanting eyes for a second. “Assure me that your husband and especially Mr. Stark won't find out about us.” you requested.

Wanda ran her fingers through her hair then she collected her thoughts trying to come up with words to tell you. “Alright, come here.” she said, you did hesitate for a moment but you can't help but do what she asked you to do. Her hands went to your waist, gently pulling you towards her, and eventually, you found yourself straddling her lap while you faced her. “You don't have to worry about Jarvis and as for Tony… he's not a problem, he's got far too many on his plate to think about this or us.” Her answer sounded too confident and you didn't like how that easily came from her. “Wanda, you told me before that your husband likes to cause a scene.” you reminded her and she tilted her head staying silent as she wanted to hear what you had to say.

“Sweetheart, Jarvis and I are basically separated at this point.” she scoffed. “I mean, we do live in the same house but it's been years since we've slept on the same bed.” she assured you and slowly, Wanda moved her hand from your waist and went to the small of your back. “What about Diana?” you ask her. “Well, from how I see things with you and Prince… I made her jealous.” she says with a proud smile. “She won't do anything to harm you, you're too precious for her to even lay a finger on.” The redhead noticed that you weren't 100% on board with her yet and she thought maybe you were really worried. “Y/N, I promise you, no one's going to harm you, I won't let them.” she whispered, this time you moved your arms around her shoulders and the both of you knew what you both wanted.

“This little affair will be our secret, alright? Yelena, Natasha, and Carol are the ones who know about it, and probably that bartender guy you're friends with.” The older woman assured you once again, though the moment she was about to lean in for a kiss you pulled back. “Why stay with Jarvis, though?” you asked all of a sudden and you got off her lap knowing how distracted she was with you, so you sat on the chair by your work desk so she could tell her story straight. “It’s a long story, malysh, I don't see it relevant on why he should be brought up.” she said and you can't help but raise a brow. “I think he's perfectly relevant, I mean am I your little experiment if you like girls, you need someone to play with to pass time, or he cheated and you're trying to get back at him.” you rambled through the different scenarios and Wanda shook her head. “None of those, and I guess we're really talking about it.” Wanda says with a sigh.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ᗢ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

The redhead got comfortable on your bed while you went on to get some snacks and drinks for the both of you in the kitchen, after all, she did say it's going to be a long story. “I met Jarvis when we were in college, we shared this class and he was good when we met, he's a level-headed guy, he was kind of a nerd and I thought he's kind of charming for that.” She went on to tell details of how much she thought that her husband was such a good man and while she did you were pouring some red wine in your glasses since that's the only drink you currently have at home. “Then, we went on a couple of dates, and did the deed a couple of times until I got knocked up.” Wanda casually says then you widen your eyes not expecting that at all, then you take a sip from your glass just as you listen to her talk.

You loved how her accent would slip now and then, how she fiddled with her finger while she went to tell you the story of her and Jarvis. “Oh and even way before I met him, he has been under Stark's wing… Where was I?” “You got knocked up.” you answered her. “Right, I got knocked up and of course, he told Stark about it and he's told that he should take full responsibility, eventually we got married during my pregnancy.” Wanda took a moment then she went to take a sip from her wine then biting her lower lip. “Unfortunately, he started acting so differently, he has become hot-headed, he has been going out to more parties and all that, not to mention he's a drunk, add to the fact that we're graduating so pressure's through the roof.” she added. “I had a miscarriage with all the stress and… when he found out about it, he didn't care about the unborn child, all he cared about was that he got the hot girl.” the news sure did shock you, which made you finish the glass and you went to fill up your drink once again.

“I’m so sorry for what happened.” You softly spoke and this time you sat next to her on your bed, then she smiled sweetly at you. “It's been years since that happened, I've moved on and eventually, I've also moved from Jarvis.” she said. “Why are you guys still together though?” Your question caught Wanda off-guard, well, she did think that all questions about her husband’s over but it seems like she’s mighty wrong. “You really are going to push this as far as you can go, don’t you?” Wanda chuckled, then she lifted her glass of wine to her lips, looking at you for a second before deciding to take a small sip. “I’m only staying so he could keep his image squeaky clean.” it was a short answer and you knew better than to push the topic even further.

“Is the interrogating done, sweetheart?” The redhead asked as she finished her drink, asking for a fill when she handed her glass towards you. “Yeah- I was just expecting the whole cheating husband schtick and not even an ounce of what you said.” you honestly spoke as you poured her another glass of wine. “Is that all that you need from me though?” she questioned you once more, only moving her hand when you handed her back her drink. “Well, it’s just that I’ve never had someone catch me fooling around and didn’t know that it’d feel something like that–” “Something like what, malysh?” Wanda moved herself closer to you, faces only an inch apart from one another, your eyes were looking at her alluring ones. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so thrilling yet nerve-wracking.” you say as if you’re under her spell once again.

“I think you and I know that this isn’t going to be something that’ll only happen once.” Wanda whispered. “I think I’d have to agree with you.” you replied, finally, the older woman took your drink and placed it on your side table next to hers. You feel her soft hand palming your cheek, the redhead admiring you and looking at you as something… better yet someone she could treasure. The redhead caressed your skin for a moment with her thumb, it is something so simple and so innocent, you didn’t know whether it’s the wine acting up or it’s just Wanda who’s making you feel hotter, you scooted closer towards her and as you flutter your eyes close you caught a glimpse of her smiling when leaned into her. Wanda made the first move… She gently pressed her lips against yours, this time it’s much more gentle compared to how the both of you were the last time, you took your time matching her rhythm, taking a moment to get a good feel of her soft pair on yours. The two of you were picking up the pace steadily, she wasn’t rushing and honestly, you liked that she lingered at this pace.

“Wanda…” you whispered, yet you only received a soft “Hmm?” from the latter and after that it was just more kissing “The walls are thin here.” you purred against her lips. “Then I think we should be quiet, sweetheart.” the redhead cooed, with that being said the both of you went back to your makeout session. You were so used to taking the lead and now that someone’s taking that responsibility for you… you can’t help but fall right into her hands, allow yourself to be taken care of. Wanda shifted her hand from your cheek and located it back to your waist once again, her free hand moving towards the side of your thigh, grasping on it so she could usher you to move your legs and lay on your bed. Doing what she wishes for you to do, the redhead took off her office blazer, revealing the spaghetti strapped tank top before you, god, she was such a sight to look at. “You know I’m assuming that you like what you see.” Wanda chuckled softly and you can’t help but grow a smile due to what she said. “I do actually… I like what I see.” you replied.

She placed a finger below your chin making you look up to her, somehow a move this simple was enough for you to pool your underwear, as you gaze upon her emerald orbs you can’t help but see it so darkened with lust. Wanda went ahead to move her hands at the hem of your shirt, she did want you to see her taking your clothes off, so that it’ll be only her stuck in your mind, making sure that it’s her and her alone. You assisted her in taking your top off as you sat up and did the same for her, you easily discarded her tank top and you proceeded to put your hand on her back so you could take her bra off. Watching the strap fall over her shoulder, biting your lower lip as you admired her naked top right before you, the older woman knew that you liked this view even more, she took both your hands and guided them to her bare breasts, allowing you to massage them so gently, the way you held and fondled her was enough to make her grow sensitive to your touch.

While you're occupied with her breasts, she took the moment to take off your as well, her lips were instantly painted with a smirk when she saw that the mark she left was still there. “I see that you've kept it.” she teased, though the moment you felt both her hands on your tits, you knew it's her turn and she'll take such good care of you, letting go of her breasts the older woman gently pushed you to lay back on your bed once more. You know how to please women and that you're confident with, you've had dozens of one night stands hitting you up so you'd do them for a second time and that's how good you are, somehow when it comes to this woman on top you… you're the one who's craving, wanting for a second night, desperate for her touch.

Wanda knew her way around you, maybe it's just the fact that you're easily pleased when she's the one doing you, as you lay underneath her you can't help but place a hand over your lips, letting out muffled groans as the redhead wrapped her mouth on your sensitive nipples, her tongue swirling against your nub and you can't help but feel your own wetness soaking your panties. The older woman made sure both your breasts got the equal attention from her mouth, she'd suck on them to her own contentment and she loved the fact how you couldn't keep your eyes on her, more so that your eyes kept on fluttering close all because of the pleasure she's giving you.

Eventually, her lips moved downwards leaving a trail of her kisses from your breasts and heading to your stomach, her hands found its way on the waistband of your shorts. “Do you want me to continue, Y/N?” the way your name slip from her lips sounded way too good, this woman is heaven sent. “Yes, please– please do continue.” you whimpered when she'd tease you with kisses on your lower abdomen. Wanda took your shorts off along with your underwear, she finally saw how much of a wet mess you are underneath your clothing. You somehow got shy with the fact that you're so desperate for her and Wanda got a feel that you did feel embarrassed about it, she smiled at you. “Oh, malyshka, this really is long due isn't it? I probably made you wait too long.” she purred when she moved herself so she'd face you once again.

“I’ll make sure to give you such a good time that none of your women could ever match with.” Wanda whispered, her lips lightly brushing against yours as she spoke. You felt the tip of her fingers feeling your skin, she gently ran her fingertips from your lower abdomen, heading down to your thighs, and her hand rested on your inner thigh. The redhead kissed you once again, her tongue swiped against your lower lip and you slightly moved your lips so she could gain more access. You could feel her hand against your private and it's more than enough to send shivers through your body, the older woman went on to move her tongue along with yours though just as she took over, you felt her finger slide in between your folds.

You softly moaned against her mouth, her finger moved painfully slow against your clit, knowing to herself that she's teasing you, she can't help but smirk seeing how frustrated you were getting that you were moving your hips just so you'd be able to feel more of her touch. “Wanda, please… just fuck me.” your words were honest considering the fact that it really is what you want. “Hmm, I need to hear it one more time and I think I want you to nicely ask for it.” her finger kept still considering you were shifting your hips against her digit, you weren't one to beg but with how desperate you're getting you didn't want to protest against hers anymore. “Wanda, can you please fuck me?” never in your life you thought once that you're the one asking to be fucked but here you are.

“Your wish is my command, malyshka.” her thick accent came on once again, Wanda took her finger off from your pussy for a moment and placed it against your lips. “Lick and suck it good, sweetheart.” she tells you, making sure that you obey her, you kept your eyes on her as you licked the base of her finger, your tongue moves to the very top of it. The older woman felt herself get soaked as she watched you move your wet muscle against her digit, before you'd take her finger into your mouth she added her ring finger along with her middle.

Wanda watched how obedient you are as you took both her fingers in your mouth, she felt how you're sucking on them and just as she knew that they were lubricated enough with your saliva, she gently took them off your mouth. The older woman rubbed her fingers on your clit in a circular motion, just the right pace to keep it stimulated but not enough to get you close to your orgasm. The moment she moved her finger at your entrance, you bit your lower lip trying to muffle whatever sound that may come out of you the moment she pushed her fingers into you. You gasp at the feeling and the redhead pressed a kiss on top of your head, she can't help but groan softly when she feels how wet and warm you are inside.

The redhead started to pump her fingers in and out of your pussy, you couldn't get a single word out of your mouth other than the sinful moans that you were holding back considering you didn't really want to traumatize your best friend next door. Wanda was thrusting her digits knuckle deep into your hole, you loved how you're a wet mess for this woman before you, she was taking such good care of you and took mental notes of where you are most sensitive, used it to you advantage so she could take you closer to your orgasm. “You’re taking me in so good, malyshka.” she purred and as much as you wanted to respond to her, she only got your moan as her feedback and it was more than enough for her.

Picking up her pace, Wanda went to thrust her fingers into you much faster and rougher than it is earlier, this time your legs were involuntarily shaking with pleasure, your toes curled up with how much she's making you feel good. Your mind was clouded with lustful thoughts and all of it contained Wanda, you thought about more ways she can fuck you, your mind went over to different ways she can do you and you wouldn't even mind being her own bitch. “Fuck, just do me like that please…” you begged Wanda when she finally got you where you're most sensitive. “Say my name, I want you to moan my name, malyshka.” she growled. “Please, Wanda, I'm so close… please fuck.” you cried out at this point, string of curses left your lips along with the older woman's name being moaned at as well.

The moment Wanda felt how you tightened around her finger, she knew you're about to hit your orgasm, the redhead pressed a kiss on your lips so she could at least help you muffle your moans during your orgasm. The redhead had let you take your time to ride off your high, just as your lips parted with hers you took a moment to catch your breath and the latter moved beside you, moving her arm under your head so you'd rest it there instead of the pillow, when your eyes met with hers, she looked at you with her kind smile once again. “And you're not even out of all your clothes.” You say when it sunk in to you that she still has her pants on. “What can I do? I've got a girl who needs to be taken care of.” she teased you before leaning in to peck on your lips. “Why don't I take it off for you?” You offered and the redhead nodded her head, after all… she knew how much you craved for her.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ᗢ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

You lay on your bed naked and beside you was Wanda who's currently in a phone call, it did sound important though you're wishing that she'd stay a little longer on this bed with you. You two had multiple amazing rounds of sex and it did tire you both, and not because you have favoritism or something but this could be the best sex you've ever had. The redhead had set her phone down and had looked at you as well when she noticed that you were staring. “You've got to go, don't you?” you ask her, the latter nodded her head and you can't help but let out a sigh. “You know that there will be a next time, Y/N.” Wanda softly spoke as she sat up.

She got up to use your bathroom and you decided to get up and tidy up the room once again, picking up the clothes on the floor and you went on to neatly fold her clothes at the bed, you put on your shirt once again and it's enough to cover your privates. A couple of moments later, Wanda went back in the room, probably took a quick shower and she went to press a kiss on your cheek when she noticed that you arranged her clothes. “Maybe you'll see me again tomorrow, Carol’s been asking us to play golf with her for the past couple of days and we happen to have a clear schedule.” she said. “By seeing you, you mean me being your waitress.” you replied and while she puts on her clothes, she tilted her head at your answer.

“Let me know when is your next off, maybe I can match my schedule with yours, let me at least take you out.” She offered and you bite your lower lip. “Sure, just friends though?” you ask and she can't help but chuckle softly. “Friends? Is that what we are?” she purred. “Mhmm, of course that's what we are, friends who happen to have such hot sex.” she teasingly says and you softly laugh. “I make sure not to disappoint.” While you two went on to chat while Wanda’s getting ready, you went ahead to wear your shorts and it didn't take long for the redhead to finish.

“We both know that if we want something serious it's not going to start now, sweetheart. Plus, as I said before I want you all for myself.” she honestly spoke. “And as for you, I know well that you wouldn't want to share me with anybody.” she confidently said and she pressed a quick kiss on your lips once more. “It’s like you read my mind.” you say and she winks at you. “I’ve got to go, okay? I'll see you around.” she says and you went to walk her towards the driveway outside the apartment, the two of you didn't see Yelena so you figured she must've went for a walk with Fanny. Wanda bids her goodbye and you can't help but instantly think about your next time with her, until it hits you.

Maybe you really are now hoping for something serious with that woman.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.───

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta @reginassweetheart @lvinhs @alexawynters @mfd-101 @dorabledewdroop @sokovianbaby @scarlettbitchx @nickelyy @lovejaylux

[im-sleepdeprived]

Seasonal • Pt. 1

pairing: peter parker x reader

summary: inspired by the taylor swift song ‘peter’, you’ve known peter parker pretty much your whole life but after an incident one evening, you two become closer than ever

a/n: ahhhhh here is the long awaited ‘Peter’ inspired fic !!! (i changed the name obvs but you’ll get why i chose this one later) this is actually pretty slow (in my opinion, compared to what’s to come duh) but its cute and I really enjoyed writing it, i hope you guys enjoy reading. also TOTALLY feel free to tell me what you think and what you might like to see !! i always love some feedback

warnings: awkward teens lmfao (they’re such cutie pies), there’s some mention of injuries, but dw I made it funny, mostly building up for what’s to come later, fluff (for now lol) !!

masterlist, requests are open !!

There were few certainties in life. Tuesday followed Monday, Five plus five equals ten, and you had no shot in hell with Peter Parker. 

You’d known each other for most of your lives, going to the same schools, and growing up in the same neighborhoods, until eventually, sometime around the start of freshman year, he and his Aunt moved into your apartment building. 

You still remembered the excitement your little teen self had felt as you’d watched them move their things in. You remembered thinking his aunt looked like the sweetest woman in the world. And Peter…well he looked like the sweetestboy in your world. The boy of your dreams. 

Dreams you always kept to yourself of course. 

Dreams that suddenly, didn’t feel so far away, and for once in your life you felt like maybe, just maybe, you had the tiniest shot at having something with him. Something real. 

It all started one day after school. 

You’d had a long day. Longer than usual. 

Classes had been tough with exams coming up and you were stressed out from all the notes you had to make sure you had, to the homework that needed to be done, to the piles upon piles of books you needed to read, study, and memorize parts of. It was a lot. 

So, naturally, you weren’t really aware of your surroundings as you were walking home that evening. You’d been cramming in the library and you hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, but of course, that didn’t stop you from continuing your studying on the way home. With a book in hand, you made your way through the streets.

Of course, it was New York. So, of course, that wouldn’t fly. Faster than you could blink, someone had grabbed your bag and was running off. you stood there, mouth gaping. Fuck, your keys were in there and your parents weren’t home. How the hell were you going to-

“Here you go ma’am, sorry about him, he has daddy issues,” Spider-Man said to you with a wave of his hands. Spider-Man. You didn’t reply at first. 

“Y’know, you should be more of your surroundings,” he said gently this time. “Maybe put the book away for now? I don’t know, just a suggestion.” He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged slightly. 

You’d know that voice anywhere. It was the voice you daydreamed about, the voice you heard across the hall, the voice you’d been hearing basically all your life. But that action, that little quirk, confirmed everything you were just thinking. 

“Peter?”

“WHAT?” The white eyes of his mask were blown wide. “No. Nuh-uh, I don’t even know anyone named Peter. Sounds like a douchey name if you ask me.”

You would’ve laughed if you weren’t so shocked. “Peter I know what you sound like,” your voice was soft so no one around you could hear. It was late and this particular street was pretty deserted but you figured you couldn’t be too careful. 

He was quiet for a moment before sighing and bringing both hands to rub at the face of his mask. He grumbled. “Ok fine, it is me. But Y/N you can’t tell anyone, I mean anyone, okay? Otherwise, this whole thing is ruined.”

You felt a pang in your chest. You knew you weren’t the best of friends or anything, but you’d known each other for a long time and you thought there was a certain respect that came with that. Of course you weren’t going to go around yelling out his secret. 

“I would never do that. Actually, I’m sorry I said anything, that was stupid. We can forget this ever happened. Thanks for the bag,” you held it up for emphasis, “I needed my keys.” You moved to walk past him but he grabbed your shoulder.

“Wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to totally freak out on you it’s just…no one knows about this. And I don’t want them to know. It would complicate things.”

“Things like what? Like running around in a bright onesie and calling yourself a man when you’re barely a teenager?” You replied in a teasing tone, hoping he wouldn’t feel as bad that you figured him out so quick.

He laughed. “Among other things, yeah. What book are you reading anyway?” He asked, nodding to the book you still held in your hand and you wondered if he was trying to change the subject. 

You figured you’d let him. Holding up the book, you replied, “‘Biology: A Self-Teaching Guide’,” you smiled sarcastically. “It’s self-teaching because Mr. Harrington is shit at his job!”

Peter cackled. “I know exactly what you mean. You know, the other day he spent the last thirty minutes of class checking his fantasy football? Class is forty-five minutes!”

You shook your head, smiling slightly. “I wonder how he still has his job,” you mused. 

“Oh, that’s easy, no one is reporting him because no one minds. He lets every do as they  please so they all love him.”

“True.” You laughed. Some time since you’d started talking, you’d both started walking towards your building. 

“Are you walking me home now?” You held your breath. Obviously, he had every right to just swing away right then but…you hoped he didn’t.

“Well you obviously can’t be trusted to walk alone, honestly I really think that if I left right now, you’d open that book back up and walk into a lamppost.”

You threw your head back laughing. “Okay,” you held up both your hands in surrender, “fair enough.”

And while you’ve both known each other for a long time, you truly think that this walk was when you really clicked with Peter. He was funny, he was smart, and he was obviously the most selfless person you knew if he spent all his free time ridding New York’s streets of criminals without anyone giving him credit. 

When you reached your apartment building, you wished you hadn’t. You could’ve spent all night talking to him and youwere scared that once you walked through those doors things would go back to polite smiles and quiet ‘heys’. You didn’t want that. 

“Hey…if that ever happens again, and I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t,” he gestured to his suit, “but if it does and you lose your keys or something, you can always hang out at mine. If you want to of course.”

“You wanna hang out?” You asked confused

He seemed to have taken it the wrong way. “Oh! I didn’t mean to sound weird, I was just thinking-”

“Yes!” You blurted out, your face heating up. “I mean, yeah hanging out sounds cool. Maybe even…if I still have my keys?”

“Yeah, yeah that sounds great. Obviously I didn’t mean you had to be locked out to hang out but yeah…” He scratched the back of his neck again and you imagined his cheeks flaming up just like yours under his mask. 

“Cool,” you nodded. 

“Cool,” he nodded back. 

You two stared at each other for a while. 

“Well, I should…” You jutted your thumb at the door as your voice trailed off. At least he wanted to see you again. That meant something, right?

“Right. Yeah, of course. See ya later Y/N.” He waved and you returned it. 

“See you later Peter,” your hand flew up to your mouth. “Shit. Sorry, um, I’ll see you- I mean bye Spider-Man.” Idiot. 

You rushed to through the door, leaving a smiling Peter in your wake. 

You were psyched Peter wanted to hang out with you on more casual terms. It was all you’d dreamed of for as long as you could remember. You’re little crush on him dated back further than you could really remember, but you knew it started sometime back in kindergarten. So you were rightfully excited that things were finally progressing, you just weren’t expecting it to happen so soon.

Later that day you were sitting in your room when suddenly you heard a tap on your window. Peter, fully decked out in his Spider-Man suit, was perched on your fire escape. 

Your brows furrowed but you rushed over to let him in. “Um, hey? What’s up?”

“Oh nothing much, same old same old. You?” He said casually as if you’d known each other your whole lives. Well, you kinda had. But still.

You stared at him a bit before you heard a dripping noise. At first you thought it was rain. And then you realized it wasn’t raining, nor had it rained at all recently. You looked down to see blood dripping. From Peter. Blood was dripping from Peter onto your fire escape. Shit. 

“It’s okay. It’s not that bad honestly.” He said lightly, but you noticed the slight edge to his voice. It definitely was that bad. 

You wanted to freak out. You wanted to tell him to go to a hospital so he could get proper treatment but you had a feeling he wouldn’t listen. 

“Peter,” you said, your voice soft but urgent. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re the only one who knows. I wanted to see a familiar face right now and if I went to see anyone else it would take too much explaining,” he shuffled around on your fire escape, wincing as he did so. He finally settled, leaning his backagainst the railing and laying his feet in front of him. He ripped off his mask, “I’m sorry Y/N, I don’t wanna freak you out. This was just the first place I thought of and-”

“No no no. It’s okay! Better than you passing out in some alley somewhere.”

“Exactly, you get it!” 

You side-eyed him. “Y’know, I think you’re too enthusiastic for someone who looks like they had sex with a cheese grater.”

He chuckled. “Funny. You’re real funny, you know that. Sex with a cheese grater,” he mumbled, leaning his head back. He chuckled again. “That’s hilarious.”

“Okay….alright just…..” You worried your hands. You had less than no clue what to do. But you had to figure out something. Soon. Otherwise, you’d have a dead teenage boy on your fire escape and you really didn’t know how you would explain that to your parents, and you didn’t want to figure it out.

You held up your hands. “Wait here and I’ll be right back.”

“I can’t imagine where I might go right now, but alright.” You heard him mumble under his breath, his head lolling to one side. You would’ve sasses him right back if you were so worried. You had to admit, it was admirable how he still managed to cling to his humor even when he was so hurt. 

You ran to the shared bathroom in your apartment, making sure to keep quiet so as not to wake anyone. Things were already hard enough. 

You grabbed an old first aid kit (you’d always thought it was stupid and unnecessary to carry around but here it was, saving your ass) before making your way back to your room. You closed the door and locked it for good measure before crawling out of your window and sitting on your knees beside him. 

“Ok. I’m gonna need you to help me though, do you think you could do that?”

He nodded softly and you got to work. It was nerve-racking but you got through it. Peter helped a lot, explaining what needed mending, and what would be fine being left alone. “I heal faster.” He’d explained to you and you had no choice but to believe him. 

When you’d finished you went to the kitchen and poured both of you cups of lemonade. “You should probably be drinking water or tea or something but oh well.” You shrugged as you stepped out of your window again, handing him the cup and settling on the other side of the fire escape. 

“I prefer this.” He said as he took the cup from you. “Thanks.”

“No thank you,” you said in a serious voice. “For serving this city.” You placed your now empty hand on your heart and bowed your head in respect. 

“Shut up,” he said, but he was laughing. You laughed as well. “So how did the whole Spider-Man thing start? Last I remember you were just little Petey in the robotics club.”

“Still in the robotics club, but somewhere in the midst of that I got bit by a radioactive spider.” He went off, telling you the whole story and you listened with both ears, tuned into his every word. It was crazy to you that the boy across the hall, the boy you’d known since you were children, had been through all of this. Alone. Your heart broke a little for him at that moment and you were glad he finally had someone he could talk to about this, even if it was just you. 

“Wow.” You shook your head in disbelief after he’d finished. “Not really sure where you got the whole ‘I need to put on a suit and get out there!’ attitude after being bedridden from a spider bite for a whole day, but good for you!”

He let out a loud laugh. “Alright Ace, enough about me. Tell me something about you.”

“Ace?” You asked with a furrow in your brows. 

He shook his head smiling, “Think it suits you, don’t you?”

Your face lit on fire. You looked down at your hands, “Um, well there’s not really much. What do you wanna know?”

“Anything. What are you interested in, something you’ve never told anyone?”

You peered over the fire escape railing and looked up at the sky. “Stars.”

“Stars?” He asked. 

You nodded. “Stars. Constellations. They all have stories, they’re named after certain things. People used to use them as guides when they traveled! But it’s stupid, I mean,” you scoffed, “we live in New York. There’s no regular stars here, let alone constellations.”

He stared at you for a while and you stared feeling nervous. He probably thought you were weird for bringing that up, how fucking random to just start going off about stars, normals people are interested in sports, art—

He started nodding, “Tell you what, when I’m healed, which won't be long, we’re gonna go see some stars.”

Your brows furrowed together. “What?”

He chuckled at your expression, all he could think was how cute he thought you looked. “Yeah, you heard me. We’re gonna go see some stars. Consider it a thank you for helping me today.”

Your cheeks flushed. “You don’t need to thank me for anything Pete, I’d help you no matter what.”

Now it was his turn to flush. “Thank you,” he said in a sincere voice. “But fine. Just think of it as two friends stargazing together.” He grinned.

Friends. That sounded nice. “Wait I didn’t know you could drive?”

He grinned even wider before standing up. You followed his lead, making sure he didn’t hurt himself in any way. “Thanks for everything Ace, but I think that’s enough for now.”

He moved to jump off the balcony but you stopped him, “Wait! At least use the front door, everyone’s asleep.” 

He slipped his mask back on and quickly shook his head, “Thanks but May’s asleep and I don’t wanna risk it.”

You nodded. “Right. Well bye then, and if you need anything Peter, you know where to find me.”

“Ditto,” he said, moving to stand on the railing of your fire escape. He gave you a two-finger salute. “G’night Ace.”

“Goodnight Pete-” your hands flew up to your mouth and you had to hold back a scream as you watched him completelyfall backward off your fire escape. “What the fuck!” You whisper-shouted, moving to the railing just in time to see him swinging away. 

“Son of a bitch,” you whispered softly and you could’ve sworn you heard him laugh. 

“Peter there’s no way I’m doing that.”

“C’mon Ace, I do it all the time!”

“That’s not the same and you know it! Have you ever tried swinging around the whole city with someone else?”

He went quiet for a moment. “Well, not around the whole city per se, but…I’ve swung while holding someone!”

“How long?” You deadpanned. 

He looked down and mumbled something incoherent. 

“How. Long.” You repeated. 

“Like, around the block maybe?” He looked at you sheepishly. 

You scoffed, “Peter fucking Parker I can’t believe you're trying to get me to agree to letting you drop me from thousands of feet in the air!”

“Hey come on! If I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t ask for permission, I would just do it.”

You narrow your eyes at him and he raises both his hands. It’d been a week since the night on your fire escape and Peter was fully healed. He really did heal faster than average because when you’d asked him to see the wound, it had been completely gone. Not even a scar was left.

“Y’know, if you wanted me to take my shirt off Ace, you could’ve just asked.” He’d said with a boyish smirk. 

“You fucking wish dipshit.” You had shoved him away but you couldn’t help the little smile working its way onto your face. 

You’d spent time together after that night, walking to school together, Peter popping by after patrol if you were still awake to just hang out for a bit. It was great. Until now. 

Peter had decided it was time for him to make good on his promise to take you to see the stars and you were refusing. 

“Please Ace, let me do this.” He gave you a little pout making you bite your lip in consideration. He tried not to smile, he was winning and he knew it. 

Silence. And then, “Where are we even going?” Bingo. 

He didn’t try to hide his grin now. “You’ll see. I know a place, it’s perfect for something like this.” He approached you and his voice turned sincere. “And I promise I won’t drop you, trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“How can I trust you when you just told me the furthest you’ve ever swung with someone was a block,” you grumbled, but you didn’t push him away when he moved to hold you. 

“Enough complaining,” he said as he wrapped an arm around your waist. “Arms around my neck Ace, hold tight.”

He suddenly pulled you in, clinging to you tighter than before and you had just started to think maybe this wasn’t so bad. But then he jumped. And you screamed. 

Your stomach fell and you kept thinking you’d hit the pavement, he’d swing too low, or maybe he’d accidentally run into a building he hadn’t noticed. But when none of those things happened it actually became sort of…fun. 

“I can’t believe I’m riding Spider-Man!” You screamed, thinking he wouldn’t hear you because of the wind but you were proven wrong when you heard him hollering with laughter. 

You smiled as you clung to him. You should have trusted him at the start although there were times when he would dip lower than normal and if you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought he was doing it on purpose because every time he did, you clutched him even tighter.

Soon, the ruckus of the city seemed to die down and you could hear the thwip of his webs clearer than before. It wasn’t long after that you were landing on a tall hill making you wonder just how fast he could get around with those webs. 

Peter set you down and you immediately missed being in his arms. But then you turned around. 

“Oh my god,” you whispered. You could see the entire New York skyline and it was stunning. This city really was beautiful, it wasn’t for everyone, but it would always own a special place in your heart. 

You heard Peter chuckle beside you before he placed his hands on your shoulders. “I know, but that’s not what we’re here for Ace.” He pulled you a bit, making your head lean back. And then you understood. 

“Oh my god,” you said, louder than before. The stars were glittering above you both, the sky like a sparkling black fabric shielding you both. “They’re real!”

Peter laughed again. “I know right?” 

You looked back at him. “Peter this is….I don’t even have words for how amazing this is. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

His heart melted at that moment. He gave you a smile so soft it reminded you of fluffy clouds and soft ice cream on a hot summer day. “You like it?” He asked almost as if he wasn’t expecting you to. 

You looked at him in disbelief. “Do I like it? Of course, I do! It's beautiful! How’d you find this place anyway?”

He shrugged, “Oh y’know, just found it while I was swinging along one day. But hey,” he said quickly, making you question if that was how he actually found this place. “Look I set up a place for us.”

You decided not to question him any further and you let him lead you through a few overgrown bushes until you reached a small clearing. There lay a small picnic blanket with snacks and drinks set up.

You look back at him. “Are you for real right now?”

His mouth falls open. “I’m sorry! I—I didn’t mean-”

You pulled him into a hug. “Thank you so much, Peter. I mean…wow, I just…wow.”

He held you even tighter. “You don’t need to thank me, honestly I’ve been waiting for forever to go on a date with you soreally thank you for even being here-”

You went slack in his arms and Peter had never wanted to beat himself up more than he did in that moment. You pulled away and looked up at him with questioning eyes, “Date?”

Peter blanched, you never knew someone could look so pale, yet be blushing so much at the same time. He was gaping like a fish, his mouth kept opening and closing as if words were supposed to be coming out, they just weren’t reaching your ears. 

“Because,” you continued, deciding you needed to step up and help him out a little, “a date sounds good. Really good. I’d just like to be aware of the fact that I’m on one.”

He looked at you with wide eyes. “Are you—are you sure? Cause I can just shut up and we can totally pretend that never happened.”

You laughed and shook your head. “I’m sure. If you are, of course.”

“Yes! I mean—” He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “I’m sorry I just made this really weird didn’t I?”

You laughed again and gently placed your hands on his shoulder, making sure to look him dead in the eyes. “Peter,” you made sure he was listening. “S’not weird. At least, I don’t think it is. Okay, so we’re on a date! Love that for us. The onlything I would’ve changed is my outfit.” You looked down and pouted. “First time I’ve gone out with someone in my pajamas.”

“Well, I love it. I think you look beautiful.” He grinned. He seemed to have relaxed a little after your reassurances. 

You looked down to hide the blush forming on your cheeks. “Yeah yeah, save the flattery for the second date.”

“Will do.” He laughed and grabbed your hand. He led you to the picnic blanket and moved some things around. You realized he must’ve come here earlier to get things ready and your heart warmed at the thought. 

Peter set out the snacks and drinks and the two of 

“Here lay down,” he said to you after he’d cleared things out of your way. 

“God Parker, at least buy me dinner first.” You rolled your eyes dramatically but obeyed and laid flat on your back.  

“What do you think all that was?” He shot back with a grin. 

You shrugged as you settled yourself on the blanket and he moved to lay next to you. “More of a midnight snack.”

He laughed, “Noted.”

You turned your head towards him and nudged him a little with your elbow, getting him to look back. “So…what are we doing.”

He laughed again. “We’re stargazing Ace, that was kinda the whole point.”

“Oh, right, right.” You nodded and went quiet.

“What’re you thinking?” He asked. 

“Star stuff.”

“What do you mean ‘star stuff’?” He asked, voice full of poorly concealed laughter. 

“Like the fact that I don’t know shit about stars.” You admitted. 

He chuckled beside you before bringing his head right beside yours. “Okay see that really bright star with a bunch ofother stars crowding around it?” He pointed until you got it. 

When you nodded he said, “What does that tell you?”

“That it’s an extrovert?” You leaned back to look at him.

“No,” he shook his head smiling. “That’s Rigel. It’s a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. And actually,” he shuffled a little closer. “See those three big stars all next to each other?”

You nodded, forgetting all the jokes and focusing on everything he was saying. 

“That’s Orion's belt,” he continued. “Each of those three stars is actually way bigger, and brighter than the sun.”

“Woah,” you looked at him wide-eyed. “Where’d you learn all this?”

“Oh y’know,” he waved a hand casually. 

You gaped. You propped yourself up on your elbows so you could look at him. “I absolutely do not know. First, I thought you were just Peter Parker. Then, I find out you’re also Spider-Man. And then, I find out you’re Peter Parker, Spider-Man, and also, extremely well-informed on star stuff!”

He laughed, There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me yet Ace.”

You nodded softly. “That’s true. We should change that.”

He looked deep into your eyes and you saw something like wonder in them. “Yeah?” He asked

“Mhm.” You poked him softly in the side. “Wanna know you, Peter Parker. All of you, from the dorky lego-obsessed-kid to the nerdy science genius who secretly fights crime.”

He grinned so wide and you swore it was brighter than any star in the galaxy. You were completely content with this being your view for the rest of the night. “Alright, come here,” he tugged you down making you squeal as he held you in his arms. 

“Hey, eyes on the sky Ace,” he said when he caught you staring.

You blushed and rolled your eyes, “Fine, whatever. I don’t wanna look at you anyway.” The complete opposite of what you were just thinking.

He smirked as if he knew too. “Sure thing babe. Now let me dazzle you with more star stuff.”

The ‘ride’ (if you could even call it that) back to your place was quiet and peaceful, and a part of you thought it was a tad bit longer than the way there

Peter landed softly on your fire escape but he didn’t let go of you just yet and you weren’t in a hurry to end the night. 

“So…we’re here.” Said Peter, his voice a bit muffled from the mask. You nodded and reached up, carefully working it off his head. 

“Thank you,” you said, hoping your voice conveyed the sincerity you felt. Everything about tonight was perfect and you hoped he felt the same. 

He smiled softly. “You already said that.”

You nodded. “Maybe. But it doesn’t hurt to say it again. I had an amazing time Peter.”

“Even though you were in your pajamas and you didn’t know it was a date? Well, not at first.” He gave you a questioning look, almost looking unsure. 

You grinned, “Especially because of those things. I don’t know,” you shrugged, “thinks it makes us unique.”

“And if wanted to do something that’s not so unique for the end of a first date?” He gulped. “Figured I kinda owed you something basic about tonight…unless you don’t want to?”

“Peter Parker, are you asking if you can kiss me?” You smiled up at him and he blushed all the way down to his neck. He mumbled something you couldn’t make out. 

“I’m sorry what was that?” You turned your head and leaned in dramatically and you heard him sigh. “Isaidifthatsokaywithyou.” He rushed out. 

You pulled away and stared up at him. “That’s more than okay with me actually.”

He didn’t waste a second. His hands that were resting lightly on your waist gripped you tighter and you grabbed his face, his mask that was in your hand falling to the floor. He captured your lips in an urgent kiss but it was somehow soft at the same time. It felt as if he’d just been waiting to get this chance and now he was savoring it and trying to memorize every part. 

You both pulled away breathlessly. His face was flushed and he looked so cute you had to lean in and give him a few softer pecks. He grinned so wide that you started to laugh. “Why’d you stop?” He asked. 

You laughed harder. “I can't kiss you when you're smiling so hard!”

“Ok ok fine I’ll stop!” He tried to keep a straight face but it didn’t last for 5 seconds before he was grinning again. He rubbed a hand over his face while you giggled at him. “Sorry if I’m super psyched I got to kiss you, I mean look at you.”

That got you to stop laughing and you felt your face start to heat up. You leaned over and landed a big smooch on hischeek. Peter turned pink. “Okay see, that was really great Ace but I really wanna kiss you.”

You smiled, “Then kiss me, bug boy.”

He started to lean in but you pulled back at the last minute, “Hey wait. Did we take longer on the way back than we took going? Or was that just me?”

“Oh that,” he nodded. “Air traffic.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Air traffic?”

Peter cleared his throat, “Look I’m the designated driver, or swinger, I know what’s going on. You don’t need to worry about it Ace, I’ve got it covered. Now I need your lips covering mine, right now.”

“Fine whatever,” you rolled your eyes with affection and leaned in. 

Things couldn’t be more perfect in your life. 

After you and Peter had made things official, he’d invited you over a few times to spend time with May, and you’d asked the same of him with your parents. Of course, your parents knew who Peter was, and May definitely knew who you were (she’d told you as much and you started to wonder if Peter’s crush might date back almost as far as yours. There was a chance) but it was different now that you two were together. 

“Is she gonna make you leave the door cracked?” You whispered as Peter led you by the hand through his apartment and to his bedroom. You two had just gotten back from school and you were going to work on your homework together. Homework which would mostly consist of the two of you making out on his bedroom floor. 

He scoffed. “No. She trusts us.”

“Mhm,” you pondered. “And that has nothing to do with the fact that you asked her to stop embarrassing you when I’m over?” You entered the room and Peter closed the door behind you, but not before he gave you a look. 

You shrugged and smirked a bit as you placed your bag on his floor and started pulling out your textbooks. “Did she say something to you?” He asked. 

Your smirk turned into a full-blown grin. “Y’know I’m actually starting to think she likes me more than you.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s started, amazing.”

“What’s started?”

“The two of you ganging up on me,” He grumbled which made you laugh out loud. You reached over and squished his face with one hand, your thumb on one cheek, and the rest of your fingers on the other. “You’re adorable when you’re grumpy.”

You felt him fighting off a smile under your fingers. “Adorable enough for a kiss?”

“You can always get a kiss from me, Petey.”

He gave you a serious look. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

You returned his seriousness with a solemn look of your own. “I hope you do.”

Just as he started to lean in, the door to his room burst open, making you jump away so fast you fell on your back. 

“Hey, kids!” You scrambled back up as May entered the room. “I just wanted to make sure you guys were…okay. Are you okay?”

Peter threw his hands up in exasperation, “May!” 

She held her hands out and quickly said, “I’m sorry! Sorry, but I also wanted to tell you I’m going out and I won’t be here. So be responsible.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re just going to do some homework.”

She nodded, “Yeah okay, and I totally believe you!” She started inching towards the door. Placing a hand on the frame shesaid, “Pete, remember our talk.” Peter went red. But before he could stop her she went on, “Use protection.”

She flew out the door, leaving you wide-eyed and Peter as red as a tomato. It was quiet between you two for a moment before you decided on what to say. “Soooo….your aunt definitely thinks we’re fucking.”

Peter looked mortified. “Ace I am so sorry-”

“No, it’s okay! Fair assumption, I mean, we are teenagers so it's kinda of what we’re known for right now. Plus, she’s only looking out for us.”

“You’re not mad?” He asked worriedly.

“Why would I be mad Pete? She was actually super chill about it, my parents would’ve dragged you out of the apartment.” He laughed but there was something else on your mind. “Can I ask you something though?”

“Anything,” he answered quickly. 

You smiled, “Have you um—Have you ever…” You trailed off but you knew he understood what you were getting at.

‘OH! Well, no but yes?” You gave him a weird look. “So I mean like…I’ve done stuff but not all the stuff. Y’know?”

You nodded. “Have you…ever?” His voice was quiet as if he were afraid you’d shun him for even daring to ask. 

“Not all the stuff,” you answered simply. 

“Okay,” he looked down, unable to meet your eyes, and you weren’t quite sure what to say at the moment either.

“Do you think-” he still wasn’t looking at you as he tried to finish his sentence, “do you think we…we…Do you?”

“Yes. Probably.” That got him to look up.

“Really?”

“Well not right now obviously-”

“Oh of course not,” he cut you off quickly. “But like…eventually? Do you see yourself being with me like that? Trusting me enough?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Now it was your turn to avoid his gaze. “Do you? See yourself trusting me and…whatever.”

He laughed a little. “Yeah, I do.”

“Cool.” You nodded quickly and cleared your throat. “So I actually had a question about this science problem.” You held up one of the worksheets you were sent home with.

“Oh no, you’re not switching the subject that easily.” He gave you a knowing look.

“No,” you faked offense. “Can a girl not ask her genius boyfriend a science-related question?”

“No,” he said simply. “You still owe me a kiss.”

You rolled your eyes, “I think we’re forgetting what really matters here.”

“Me?” Peter suggested.

“Homework.”

Next thing you knew, he had tackled you and had you pinned you on the floor. 

“Wait! No stop!” You yelled when you felt his hands creeping up your sides. You’d made the mistake of telling Peter you’re ticklish and boy had he been using it against you. 

He grinned with triumph. He knew he’d won but that didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna milk it. “Are you gonna give me kisses?” He leaned over you, letting his nose brush yours as some of his longer curls fell onto your face. 

“I really like these,” you whispered as your hand moved up to play with them. Your tone was more sincere now, completely forgetting the game you were playing and completely focusing on Peter’s hair. It was getting a little longer than usual and you adored it. 

“Yeah? I’ve been meaning to get it cut but I haven’t had a chance. Between school and Spider-Man-”

“No! Don’t cut them please,” you begged, eyes suddenly wide in horror at the fact that he was even thinking of chopping off his beautiful curls. 

“Really? Didn’t know you liked them that much.” He gave you a boyish grin.

“I treasure them as if they were my own,” you said sincerely making him shake with laughter. “So you wouldn’t even be cutting your hair Petey, you’d be cutting our hair.”

He laughed again, “Fine you win! I won’t be cutting it anytime soon, but I’m gonna need you to hold up on your kissespromise.”

“Yay! I love you!” You leaned up to kiss him where he hovered over you but he pulled away. You pouted slightly, howdare he give you such a hard time about kisses and then not accept them?!

“You love me?” He asked quietly. You froze. Why did you have to say that? Sure you two had been together for a while now and you’d known each other for even longer but…what if he didn’t feel the same? What if you had just ruined everything?

“Um…” You tried to move out from under him but he kept his arms locked around you. You were stuck, there was nothing to do other than talk. “Look Pete, I don’t want you to feel weird-”

“But do you love me?” He insisted. 

You sighed and turned your head. You might not be able to get away but that didn’t mean you had to look him in the face while you embarrassed yourself. “Yes.”

“Good.” He leaned down until your noses were touching again, “Because I love you too.”

Your heart skipped a beat in your chest. “Really?”

He chuckled softly, “Think I’ve loved you for a lot longer than you’ve loved me, Ace.” He leaned down and closed the distance between you, finally getting that kiss he’d been after you for. 

“Now do a pose!” Peter yelled over as he squinted through his camera. 

You rolled your eyes, feeling shy all of a sudden. “Peter, we’re in public, can we please stop now?”

The two of you were taking an after-school stroll through Central Park. It was autumn now and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous and Peter had demanded to take pictures of you the whole time. School had started back up almost a week ago and already the two of you were facing the heat of your senior year.

“Oh come on,” he jogged back to you and threw an arm around your shoulder. “Gotta get used to me showing you off Ace,” he pressed kissed the side of your head. “This what it’s going to be like when we go to school together.”

“We already go to school together.” You smirked at him. 

He rolled his eyes dramatically. “You know what I mean Ace,” he squeezed your shoulder softly. “I mean when we go to Columbia.”

You looked up at him with a smile so wide there was no way you could hide it. “I know,” you said softly. “I can’t wait.”

“Me either.” He smiled back. 

The two of you had discussed schools and where you’d be going. You spent a lot of your time during summer going overthe pros and cons of different universities and settled on going to Columbia. Of course, you weren’t just going for each other, but that was definitely a perk. 

It was perfect, really. Peter was planning on majoring in biophysics (a major you’d told him you thought was created just for him, two of his best subjects combined) and they had the perfect courses for that, not to mention their photography classes. He’d done a ton of research on them already. It was a hobby of his you’d learned about shortly after the two of you had gotten together, and you had to admit, he was really good. And he was only getting better.

And you were planning on majoring in Journalism, with a minor in English. You and Peter had a joke where he’d be making the groundbreaking scientific discoveries and you would be writing the award-winning articles about it. 

“I know you’re gonna make me sound smart,” he’d said smugly. “And sexy.”

You’d laughed at him. “Peter, how am I supposed to make you sound sexy?”

“I don't know, but as an amazing writer, that’s for you to figure out Ace.”

“I’m not a journalist yet.”

He winked. “But you will be.”

You bit your lip at the memory. You had this small fear (or silly as Peter had put it when you’d voiced it to him) that you wouldn’t get into Columbia. You weren’t even worried about Peter, you were pretty sure he’d get into every school he’d enrolled in. The boy was a genius after all. 

“Hey,” he said softly. He stopped walking, pulling you to a stop as well. Pulling his camera strap over his head, he stood in front of you and grabbed both of your hands. You looked down. 

“Uh uh,” he shook his head and tsked as he moved one of his hands to hold your chin between the knuckle of his index finger and his thumb. “Look at me,” he said and gently pulled your head up. “I know what that look means.”

You shook your head a little. “Means nothing. What do you mean?”

He gave you a sad smile. “I don’t like when you think like that y’know. I don’t want you upsetting yourself.” You didn’t answer so he continued. “Fine. It’s just up to me to distract you then.” He pulled away to grab one of your hands, intertwine your fingers together, and start walking again. He started to swing them back and forth dramatically. 

You giggled, which made him smile. His plan was already working. “Oh, by the way, I’m taking you out tonight.”

“What?” You asked. You didn’t remember making any plans for tonight.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna pick you up and we’re going to our spot. I was thinking around 10.” Your ‘spot’. The place where Peter had taken you on your first date, where you hadn’t known it was a date at first and had shown up in your pajamas. The two of you had kept going back since that initial night. Most of your summer nights (and sometimes early mornings and even afternoons) were spent up there, gazing at the stars, and talking about your futures. That place had grown to mean so much to the both of you and it held the sentiment of more than one of your firsts together. 

“Are you sure you won’t be busy, y’know with Spider-Man or school or something?” You looked up at him questioningly. Of course, you wanted to spend time together but you didn’t want him worrying about cheering you up so much that he slacked on his own stuff. 

He slapped a hand on his chest and feigned offense. “I’m sorry, what is this I’m hearing? You don’t wanna hang out with your boyfriend Ace?”

“No of course it’s not that,” you laughed and shoved him lightly. “I just don’t want you feeling like you need to spend time with me when you have so many other responsibilities.”

Peter laughed and shook his head. “No way. You can’t seriously think like that Ace.” He gave you a side-eye and sighed. “Maybe you really aren’t smart enough to get into Columbia.”

“Peter!” You shrieked and slapped his shoulder while he hunched over with laughter. You couldn’t help it, you joined him. 

Once he’d calmed down he straightened himself back up and looked at you with such adoration in his eyes, you nearly melted. He grabbed one of your hands and brought the knuckles up to his lips. “You know I’m only joking Ace, you’redefinitely getting in. In fact, they’re probably getting your place ready as we speak.”

You threw your head back and laughed. “Pete I haven’t even applied.”

“Exactly! You’re so amazing, you don’t even have to apply, they totally want you.” He wiggled his brows suggestively making you snort. You shoved him forward to continue your walk. “Enough about school for now,” you looked at him. “You said we’re going out tonight?”

“Oh yeah,” he grinned at you and you saw the nerdy part of him he tends to be a little insecure about. You’d told him multiple times it was your favorite part. You absolutely loved it when he started ranting about something he loved. “So there’s some new-” He shook his head quickly. “Actually, I’ll keep it a surprise and tell you when we’re there.”

You gaped at him, about to demand he tell you right now what he was about to say but before you could get the words outhe was positioning you infant of a tree bursting with different shades of orange, red, and yellow. New York really was beautiful in the fall. 

“I need some more pictures for my portfolio,” he said as he backed up a few steps. “Also, I’m loving today’s outfit.” He winked at you. 

You looked down. You weren’t wearing anything special, just a sweater, a pair of soft, baggy jeans, and some Converse.You were pulling down your sleeves when you realized what he meant. It was his sweater. You grinned, “Fine. A few more, and then you’re done.” You waved a finger at him. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He muttered and snapped a few pics. He pulled the camera away for a moment. “Stop looking so grumpy Ace, c’mere.” He walked toward you and grabbed your hand. He started leading you onto the grass which was completely blanketed in colored leaves. “I need you to lay down.”

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous.” You held your hands up. 

“Wait, no. Hear me out, Ace. I need to share my artistic vision.” You rolled your eyes but that didn’t stop him. “I’m gonna have you lay down in the leaves, look how bright and pretty they are! You lay down, let your hair down and spread it out a bit, and smile!” He punctuated his sentence with his own smile. 

You stared at him for a bit before grumbling, “You are so lucky I love you.” Sighing, you moved to lie on the ground in front of him while he grinned above you holding his camera eagerly. “Y’know the only reason I’m so okay with this isbecause this is your sweater.”

“S’alright,” he casually waved a hand as he checked something on his camera screen. “You can have it, it’s yours now.”

“What?”

“Well it’s been on the ground of Central Park, I sure as hell don’t want it.”

You burst into laughter. You didn’t even realize he was taking photos until you opened your eyes to see his camera lens in your face. After a few more clicks and him instructing you on some different poses, he leaned back and held out a hand. You ignored him and pushed yourself onto your feet, dusting off your clothes.

When you looked back at him, he was looking at you with a hurt expression and you almost felt bad for rejecting his hand. “You said you don’t want anything that’s been on the ground of Central Park.” You joked. 

Next thing you knew he had you in a hug, holding you tight. “I’ll always want you, Ace.”

He pulled away, “No matter what dirty part of New York you just came out of.” He tried to kiss your cheek but you shoved him away. 

“Absolutely not!” You yelled and started running away from him. 

“Wait Ace, come back.” You could hear him behind you laughing, as he chased you. You knew logically, with his superpowers and all, he could absolutely outrun you if he felt like it. And it seemed like he felt like it. 

After about a minute of chasing you, he started gaining speed. Next thing you knew, he had picked you up and he was dragging back to the ground with him. 

“Peter let me go,” you tried to shove him away, but it was no use, the boy had an iron grip. 

“No. We’re gonna be gross together.” He rolled around a bit in his spot for emphasis. 

You laughed at him. “You are such a weirdo.”

He grinned at you and this time succeeded in kissing your cheek. “Maybe. But I’m your weirdo.”

You rolled your eyes. “Thank god for that, I don’t think anyone else could handle you.”

He kissed your lips this time. “I don’t want anyone to handle me. Just want you.”

“Good, 'cause you’re stuck with me.”

“So what’s the special thing you couldn’t tell me about until now?”

You were currently lying on your back, with Peter’s arm under your head as the both of you gazed at the sky. 

“Well, it’s nothing crazy, but there’s a new star I wanted to show you.” He replied, which made your brows furrow in confusion. “New star?” You asked. “How the hell can there be a new star?” You gasped, “Oh my god did Orion knock a girl up?”

Peter laughed beside you, “No. No, okay so, there are these things called seasonal constellations.”

“Alright,” you nodded as if you had any idea what he was getting at. You had learned a lot about astronomy (or star stuffas you two had taken to calling it) since your first night here with Peter, but he still had some things on you. 

“Basically, stars are always in the sky, right? But we can’t see them because of the Sun. If it weren’t for the Sun, everyone would be able to see all the stars, all the time. But because the Earth is always moving around the Sun, the Sun’s position on the celestial sphere changes.”

You give him a confused look and he laughs before explaining some more. “So the Sun is on one side of the sky during summer, okay? During that time certain stars are super vibrant at night. And then when it’s winter, it’s on the oppositeside of the sky, giving some other stars and constellations their time to shine, and during this time, you can’t see the summer constellations as much, or at all.”

“Oh, so the Sun is kind of their reverse-spotlight.” It was starting to click for you. 

“Yeah exactly! The darker the sky is the more they shine.”

“Hmm,” you considered his words for a moment. “I dunno the Sun kinda sounds like an attention whore to me.” Peter laughed out loud but that didn’t stop you. “I’m serious! Who does she think she is? Stealing everyone’s spotlight but never dimming her own!” 

“Ace we’ve talked about this, come on.” He gave you a pointed look and you huffed. “What did we say?”

“Personifying the stars does nothing but hurt my own feelings,” you grumbled. 

“Because they don’t have any.” He finished for you. 

“Whatever.” You shoved him softly but they only made him pull you in closer. “So tell me about this new star.”

“Alright so, do you see that?” He leaned his head closer to yours and pointed up toward a bright star you hadn’t reallynoticed before. When you nodded he continued. “That’s the brightest star in the constellation of Andromeda. Andromeda is an autumn constellation.”

“Wait I know that name, we learned about this story in English. She’s from that old Greek myth with Perseus and Poseidon.”

Peter nodded. “Her mom was bragging she was more gorgeous than the sea nymphs, who didn’t like that and snitched to Poseidon. When he got mad, her father asked Zeus for advice and Zeus said the only way to get Poseidon to back off would be to sacrifice his daughter.”

You finished. “And then Perseus saw her, immediately fell in love, slayed the beast, and saved her. Then they got married.” You made little jazz hands, “Hooray for happy endings.”

He laughed before saying, “Wait, wasn’t she engaged to her uncle?”

“Yup. Perseus killed him too.” Peter made a weird face which made you giggle. “All Greek myths are kinda…off like that.”

“That’s one way to put it,” he mumbled. “But yeah, that’s her constellation. And Perseus,” he shuffled around so he couldpoint to another cluster of stars. “He’s right over there.

“Is his a seasonal constellation too?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Perseus is an all-year-round constellation. You can see him whenever. There are certain timeshe shines a little brighter, but for the most part, he’s always there?”

“But she isn’t?” You asked, referring to Andromeda.

Peter shook his head again. 

“Wow. All that and they don’t even get to spend their eternity together.” You said in a soft voice. 

“What do you mean? I thought it was romantic?” Peter replied.

“It is, in it’s own way. I just mean, she’s only around for a few months every year. And look how far apart they are, to us it seems like nothing, but up there, they’re probably galaxies away from each other.”

“Okay,” he nodded beside you while he considered your words. “But think of it like this, she’s actually up there all year round, she’s only visible to us a few months a year.”

“That’s true.” You smiled. It was sweet of him when he listened to your little stories and added his own thoughts, not just brushing you off. Your little saying from before, however, he had made up and constantly reminded you of ever since one night went a little too far; Peter had told you that actually, not all the stars in the sky were alive, in fact, a lot of them were dead but we just didn’t know because their lights were still shining for us (cue a long conversation of him explaining light years and regular years and how they affect what we see in the sky). That had made you start sobbing, the first time you’d cried in front of him actually. 

In his defense, Peter had handled it quite well. After his initial shock, he comforted you and tried to cheer you up by telling you to think of it as their final act, one last ‘look at me’ before they extinguished. That hadn’t really cheered you up but you had tried for him, after all, he couldn’t have known giant gas balls in the sky would hurt your feelings so much. You hadn’t known either. 

“As for the distance between them,” he continued. “I’m sure they have something figured out, like a tin can telephone. Or FaceTime.”

You laughed and pushed out of his hold, maneuvering yourself so you were looking down on him. 

“Hey Ace,” he whispered with a large smile on his face. 

“Y’know something Peter Parker? I really really love you.”

His smile grew wider. “Yeah?”

You nodded, your face lit up with its own cheesy grin. “Yeah.”

“Tell me again.”

“I’ll tell you however many times you want.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

If only it were that easy.

read part two

‘seasonal’ taglist: @keira-kaz2y5

[demonslayedher]

It didn't seem right to skip over episodes I didn't draw recaps for! Things that ran through my head while watching this episode:

--When making this episode, Ufotable had the advantage of knowing what would come later in the manga. While rewatching it today, I had the advantage of knowing what would come later in the anime.

--By that, I mean the judicious use of Nezuko's lines in Tanjiro's dream in "Kamado Nezuko no Uta" *cough which I was just singing again at karaoke a few hours ago so it's even fresher in my brain cough*

--By that, I also mean the imagery of the field of Nichirin-to, wisteria petals, and dawn-like light as Tanjiro contemplates if he were to become a demon, and how he would trust that someone in the Corp would cut his head off for him --It never gets old how the Shabana siblings are a foil to the Kamado siblings, especially because Tanjiro recognizes how close they were and takes it to heart. I love how Gyutaro took a liking to Tanjiro on account of Tanjiro being laughably pathetic, and by merit of both of them being big brothers. That gives them something to relate to which is totally independent of whether they are demons or humans.

--I love that scene with Gyutaro mocking Tanjiro so much; it's one of those scenes that Ufotable really slowed down and dialed up the drama in, while still making every action make sense and count. One of the most tense conversations in the whole anime, and Gyutaro's glee is palpable. I love that all the names he calls Tanjiro are names that he was called when he was human, and while I don't think Gyutaro is conscious of it, it feels like at some level, he's yelling these things at himself because he's angry with himself for having failed to protect Ume.

--Speaking of, I love how Daki is like, "nuh uh, Oniichan, don't you dare make these two our friends, I hate them" and Gyutaro ignores her because she's an annoying little sister. Such siblings. Also, the way she's just casually sitting totally unphased at the top of the building is the biggest mockery, as it rubs him how useless their hard-earned triumph in the previous episode was. I love how much that theme gets stressed in this series--that is what it means to fight demons!

--Kimetsu logic: don't give us any idea what the characters are doing until after they've already done it. Tanjiro wasn't running away, but instead grabbing a kunai and covering its scent? Oh, ok, cool. Zenitsu had another variation on his one technique and he can only use it twice in one fight? Ok, cool. Inosuke can move his organs and resist poison? You know what, okay. Also, a note of voice acting--I love how heroically deep sleeping Zenitsu's voice is (I'm sure that's how the hero of Legend of Zenitsu always speaks), and how Inosuke is clearly Not Okay.

--Uzui can stop his heart? Sure. Alright. I wonder how much of that was voluntary in the middle of a fight with his little Tsuguko on the line, though--perhaps he also went into that state to prevent himself from bleeding out from his arm? But man, he is no-o-o-o-t looking good, that is truly fighting with desperation, however elated he is to have completed his sheet music technique.

--His wives were watching when he was down on the ground and supposedly dead. ;__;

--Ufotable always has such a challenge to make every Breath technique look amazing and they keep raising the bars. Even though a lot of the height of this battle was just being flashy and yelling at each other, they still had to thing about battle mechanics, like what hits they actually manage to get in on each other (Uzui didn't just lose the eye, he took a nasty hit in the abdomen, too!) and the moment Uzui drops one of his swords. Although a lot of the fighting in this episode is slowed down by character thoughts, if you put it all in sequence, it was very, very quick.

--This entire battle, actually, probably did not take very long. The initial blows exchanged between Tanjiro and Daki took a while, but once it got going with Uzui involved, it was very, very fast-paced. Considering people only started to evacuate during the Daki and Tanjiro battle, and most of them were still there during Nezuko's fight, it was probably very lucky if it was vacated by the time this episode started. We don't know how long Tanjiro was out cold, but hopefully that was enough time for the stragglers to get away before Gyutaro's final attack (but Nezuko saves them, yaaay, I also get to enjoy knowing that Nezuko's fire at the end of this episode because Ufotable made that cool choice too!). Anyway, part of the reason I bring up the speed of this battle is because I am still cross at Ufotable for messing up the timeline by placing this arc in very late autumn, which is should had been in summer, thereby making the night short in the first place--and uncomfortably hot even before you add all the flames! (Added bonus: hot and muggy for the boys when they're in kimono and makeup, because that's funny.)

--THE MARRRRKKKKKK

[daisyvisions]

aww daisynim wait can I call you unnie

literally I love that concept and let me expand on this now-

sunric having been on the phone with you on your whole walk home and slamming your back into the door as soon as you walk in. within seconds sunwoo has your clothes off and eric's got you pressed up against the door, making out with you harshly and tugging your hair. before too long things escalate, with sunwoo hoisting you up and wrapping your legs around his waist before rushing you both to the bedroom and slamming you on the bed to fuck you at a brutal pace, legs slung over his shoulders, free hand pressing down on your throat while eric lies next to you casually drawing circles on your clit while whispering filth in your ear. his baby had a rough day? well she should be angry, she deserves better, and she's gonna get it. but that doesn't give her an excuse to take it out on her loving boyfriends, so they're just gonna have to put their sweet baby in her place for such poor behavior, right? can't take it? too much? well surely such a good girl can take one more round right? doesn't she wanna take everything they give her like the precious baby she is? besides, only good girls get rewarded, and didn't she want to be fucked so dumb she won't remember she had a bad day? aww, still complaining? well then she can have eric's cock in her mouth to shut her up. maybe she can learn to be a good girl and let him fuck her mouth until she's numb

afterwards tho they'd totally run you a bath, cuddle you, and let you rant about your day (possibly all at the same time) and if anyone's bothering you at work you best believe they'll show up and spend the whole day making that person as uncomfortable as possible just so you can laugh at said person.

🐈

(if you wanna call me unnie sure! or any really hehe)

oof the way they would flip the script on you the moment you get home. You think you can take out all the stress and pent up frustration on them until they're all like "nuh uh. Who said you could do that? just because you're angry you can do that to us?" putting you in your place and with a mix of fake sympathy in-between too omfg that would be so 😮‍💨

but ofc they're sweethearts so the level of roughness they've brought into you, the sweetness level would be higher to make sure they didn't go overboard with you and be there for you as you rant or whatever you wanna do really!

[chipper-smol]

Hollow Knight Telephone Round Two: Babysitter SL

Prompt: Shade (lord) is in the midst of final exams and they’re more stressed and tired than usual while babysitting. They accidentally fall asleep in the middle of a calm spell and the god babies become worried. The next time Shade comes over, all of the god babies present a gift they all made together!

By @minnesotamidian-blog​

Shade barely noticed their surroundings as they entered the nursery playroom. Plastic clattered and they sighed as Radiance yelled at the top of her lungs. At least she wasn't screaming. Yet. The scene was set: Unn was still in a crib and chewing on a bar, Root was climbing slowly onto a chair. Radiance was knocking over plastic blocks as Grimm cackled away. For once, Wyrm was playing peacefully with a kick toy, batting at it with his tail. Root got onto the chair and squealed, raising her arms. "Big Root now!" The little blue-eyed godling squeaked out.

Shade picked her up, hugged her to their chest before holding her out. "Now you're a flying Root."

She screamed laughter as Shade tiredly walked her around the room before setting her down near some of her favorite toys. They made sure nobody else had claimed the chair and took a seat, bending over to pick up the fussy moth. "Ancient enemy!" Of course she bit their hand.

Shade winced and just ran a hand over her fluff. "Are you hungry for something that isn't void?" They spoke tiredly.

"Oranges!" She yelled out.

The teen sighed as he went to the mini-fridge with snacks and found some miracle of miracles! pre-peeled oranges. Shade pulled them out and put her in a high chair with one at a time so she wouldn't be tempted to throw the extras at them.

Finals were here and they were really taking it out of the gangly god. Why did they have to know stuff about inorganic chemistry? Why did they have to know about history nobody cared about? There were some fun subjects, but the finals seemed to even suck the fun out of those classes, going over notes and studying everything just in case. They'd been pulling long nights and the night before had been an all-night cram session-and they still had to come to work, they couldn't afford not to. They'd underlined all the stuff the teacher had said was important to remember and had written down stuff from the last finals about each teacher's usual tests.

It made narrowing down what to study from impossible to I'm totally toast. They groaned as they set down a calmer Radiance the opposite side of the room from Wyrm. She found toys that interested her, at least. Root wandered over to Wyrm, who was really into knocking at the kick toy and purring. Root settled nearby and burbled as she hugged and gnawed a plushie.

The teen couldn't help it. The kids were calm for once; their head started to tilt forward, eyes heavy. They were exhausted. Shade's eyes closed and their breathing deepened. At first, their toys were too interesting to notice their babysitter's state; but it didn't take long for Grimm to get bored enough to fly over and notice. "...Shade? Shade's eyes are closed." They landed and the four children not in a crib headed for the batlike godling.

"Is Shade dead?" Wyrm sounded worried.

"Don't be stupid, they're having a nap!" Radiance huffed.

Root looked up and swayed before patting Shade's leg. "Grown-ups don't have nap times." She was tearing up.

"Nuh-uh, they're having bad dreams and it's tasty!" Grimm clamored onto their lap.

The others joined, Radiance grabbing Unn to join them on the sleeping teen. Grimm rested between Shade's horns, Unn was on one shoulder, Radiance on the other, with Root and Wyrm curled up together on Shade's lap, Wyrm purring for once.

When Shade woke up, they were surprised by the weight on their body and forced themself to look down and around before moving. "Uh oh, I fell asleep… sheesh, I'm glad this place isn't a fiery disaster." They picked the godlings up. "You're not dead!" Wyrm exclaimed.

Root burst into tears and even Grimm joined in on the crying spat. Shade sighed and spent the rest of the time comforting them until meal time and settled them down. Time to go home for them all!

But the worry didn't leave the heads of the little godlings. "We should make something for Shade. If they're having nightmares, they might be sad." Radiance sighed. "But that doesn't mean I feel bad for my ancient enemy!" "What do we make?" Root twirled around, slowly turning in place until she fell onto pillows in her dizziness.

"Something of clay! I can burn it dry!" Grimm hopped around.

"But there's no clay." Unn spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "But there's crayons and paper."

"Oooh. We can make a pretty picture for Shade!" Wyrm waved his head happily. The group went for papers and each started to draw on the paper. "You're taking up too much paper!" Wyrm whined.
Radiance complained in turn, pointing at the color he was using. "I want that color!"

Wyrm growled and argued back. "I had it first!"

They started rolling around over their drawings, biting and clawing. Grimm gave a solid scream that startled the two. "You ruined Shade's pretty pictures!" He yelled.

The two looked at each other and hung their heads. "...sorry." Radiance muttered.
"-'m sorry." Wyrm looked away from the moth, skulking. "Start again? You can have the crayon, Radiance…"

Radiance took the crayon and they all picked up the last piece of paper. "I think this is better." Root spoke cheerfully.

It was three days later, once Shade had a solid night's sleep and finals completed that they'd returned to work. A large construction sheet of paper in grey covered in scribbles and rough names and messages was waiting for them.

Feel better soon Shade

Love you

Best babysitter

Tastiest nightmare!

Not the worst anciant ancient enemy.Shade could only feel warmth and laugh, hugging the drawing to themself. There were some days the job felt like the best thing in the world.  ------------------------------- By @tomatotimes

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

By @loud-whistling-yes

"No."

The kids protested louder. Shade lifted the TV remote higher up, now above their head.

"Screentime's over, I said no."

Wyrm attempted to crawl up their leg in what was a rather pathetic attempt at stealing the remote, but was promptly shaken off. Grimm tried next, flying overhead to snatch the controller. Shade ducked and grabbed him by the tail before he could send himself flying straight towards the ceiling fan for the third time that day.

"Find something else to do," Shade said as they stuffed the remote deep into their pocket, much to everyone else's dismay. "Look, as much as I'd love to shut you guys up for the whole day, you've all been staring at the TV for hours now and I don't want to get in trouble with your parents."

Louder complaints.

"No, no, no. I am not cracking this time." Shade announced as they pulled Radi, who was hissing like an angry cat, off their jeans and pulled their phone out. "You guys got me last week, never again. No more TV for you, we're doing something else before I lose my money for tonight. Google almighty, what is your suggestion."

activities to do with children

fun activities to do with children

activities to do with toddlers

what can I do with kids that isn't a major headache to deal with goddamnit

Go to the park? Shade took about half a second to consider the thought before wondering why they even thought it was possible anyways. Five kids from the deepest depths of hell, outdoors? No. No park.

Finger painting? A pain to clean up, but better than outdoors. Then they looked up from their phone and considered the idea with greater thought. Grimm's wings, Radi's legs, Unn and Wyrm's… er…. Body?.... Nevermind.

Play pretend? …. If they hear the name Hallownest one more time they might just go insane.

Hide and seek? No. No no no no no. No more hide and seek. Shade was utterly sick of hide and seek. If they had to spend another second stuffed inside the closet or trying to get Radi off the roof they'll probably quit the job right there and then.

Baking?

… That might work. Sure, cleaning up is gonna be absolute hell but it's the only thing Google suggested that they haven't tried yet without horrible results.

Shade stuffed their phone back into their pocket and made a getaway to the kitchen, everyone else following, probably still trying to get the remote back. Butter, eggs, flour, sugar, oh, even some chocolate chips…

"Well then," They declared, pulling every ingredient out of the cabinet and fridge. "We're making cookies! And no, no one is allowed to touch the oven when it's hot. If you guys behave we'll have cookies in like, an hour or something like that."

The kids watched in confusion as Shade ran around the kitchen, pulling out bowls and spoons and a bunch of other utensils while typing furiously on their phone.

Cookies recipe

Cookies recipe easy

Cookies recipe for beginners

Cookies recipe for kids

"What do you guys think about chocolate chip cookies?"

Multiple chitters of approval. "Chocolate chip cookies it is then."

Step one: sieve the flour. Oh wyrm, first step and it's already gonna go to shit.

"Okay, you guys can watch this but for the love of the holy wyrm, do not touch it." Shade measured the correct amount of flour before scooping Wrym and Unn off the floor onto the table so they could see while Radi pulled herself onto the chair. The Lady had already clinged herself onto their sweater and Grimm was doing just fine flying nearby.

“You guys get one chocolate chip each if you guys behave and don’t get flour everywhere.” Shade added. “Now, Lady, hold still and don’t move, I gotta keep my hands steady for this…”

************

"Okay, chocolate chip time." Shade popped open the jar of chocolate as the kids cheered. "Actually, we’re not supposed to be eating this plain, cause it's going into the cookies. But no one actually does that so you guys get five chips each for not setting the kitchen on fire so far."

"The recipe says a cup of chocolate chips but we all know that's a lie." They added while shoving their phone back in their pocket and grabbing a handful of chips before mixing the batter together. "I'm probably not someone you should take life lessons from, but here's one thing I can guarantee you should take to heart: never follow the recipe when it comes to chocolate chips, you count that with your soul."

Final step: oven time. The oven was preheated earlier, and the only thing left was to get the cookies into the tray and into the oven. "Now, who wants to make heart-shaped cookies?"

****************

Three deformed stars, five mutated trees, two malformed cats, several irregular hearts, a couple handfuls of chocolate eaten straight from the jar, and one (1) perfectly round cookie later, the cookies were on the tray, in the oven, and in a surprising turn of events, no one burned themselves… yet. Shade grabbed everyone and made sure no one was in a five-meter radius within the oven before picking up all the dirty bowls and utensils. “Cookies will have to sit in there for about 15 minutes, we’ll be cleaning up in the meantime.”

“Don’t look at me like that, and no whining, if you want cookies you gotta deal with the mess afterwards. That's the payoff, unless you're a wizard who has a passion for baking. Then that's fair, I guess." They dumped all the used utensils they could find and turned on the sink. The sief, three bowls, tablespoons and teaspoons.. Oh wait.

"Radi, the big wooden spoon, please?" Shade called, sponge in their hand and bowls being thoroughly rinsed.

Radi, of course, was not willing to help, because she's basically a feral house cat that just so happened to grow more legs than the average feline. Shade sighed and moved on to finding the next helper they could find.

"Grimm, I know you're touching the oven, stop it. I'm pretty sure you're immune to fire but not everyone else and you're setting a bad example for them. Get me the spoon please."

“Lady, here’s a cloth, help me dry the bowls up. Wyrm, … i have no idea how you can help, no limbs and all but uh, could you go get Unn? I have no idea where she went. Thanks.” The last sentence was to Grimm, who flew over with the mixing spoon and dropped it into the sink while Wyrm scurried away to find Unn, wherever she’s napping at.

"Radi? Radi, I know you're right behind me, stop pretending that you can't hear me. Lady has an extra cloth with her, you're on table wiping duty."

*********

“See? That wasn't so bad,” Shade sent the last of the bowls back into the cupboards and closed it shut. “And the cookies are pretty much done.”

“Also, no. You may not eat the cookies the moment I pull them out of the oven. These rules also apply to Grimm because it's unfair to everyone else.. Don’t look at me like that Grimm, I know you’ll eat them all before they cool and leave us nothing.”

The cookies smelt delicious, and were left on the dining table to cool. “Now that it's cooling down, it's naptime.”

A chorus of groans and wailing.

“It’ll be ready when you guys get up. Up up up, sleep time.”

**********

If you’ve been anywhere near toddlers before, you’d know that getting them to nap in their bedrooms is a near-impossible situation. And Shade was not a person who deals with near-impossible situations well. So following the months old custom, Shade turned on the tv, remote miraculously not pickpocketed, collapsed onto the couch, and waited for everyone piling on them to fall asleep before moving them into their bedroom and pretending they managed to wrangle them all into bed.

And it all goes to plan, the Lady and Wyrm were sound asleep on their lap, Radi and Unn were dozing off on their shoulders, and they're pretty sure the snoring from the top of their head was coming from Grmm. Now, step 2: get everyone off them and onto the beds.

… Or maybe later. It's been a long day, and the couch is pretty comfy. Yeah, just five more minutes, nothing wrong with that…

And if the parents came home to see a cleaner-than-expected kitchen, a tray of chocolate chip cookies, and five kids snoring on top of their babysitter, also sound asleep, then that’s nobody’s business.

And if the originally completely full jar of chocolate chips was pretty much empty, then that’s no one’s business as well.

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By @astronomicartz​

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By @hollow-kin​

Shade lord wanted to take a nap. They are sooo tired, but they are babysitting 5 baby gods for 5$/H. Grimm is a brat, Radiance his sister is also a brat. Unn was ether eating or seeping, same with grub1. Lady was, well sweet and cuddly. they needed to find a distraction for the kids, what would work?

Would tv work, would cartoons work? They had dinner already. Tv had to work or grub and radiance would destroy the house. They needed to take a nap. Now what to watch was a different question, they would have to ask the kids. “so, what do guys want to watch? “Movie!” well they were all in agreement, what was good. “What kind of movie do you guys want to watch?” “Fire!” “dath” “animal” “tree” “ok. No, we are NOT watching fire.” “awww” “i do not know what dath means so no. So nature show it is then.” they go over to the tv and turn it on, then select the world around us. Lady was quick to fall asleep, on their lap. Shade lord slowly fell asleep, and grub nested between grub and shade lord. Grimm climed up to shade lord's head. 

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By @hawaiianbabidoll

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By @neoliberalsatan

A gentle darkness surrounded the shade lord. He finally felt at ease. "finally", he thought, "rest." it didn't take long after that before the darkness started to take shape and a whole new world created out of shadows sheathed him.

But the happiness of the shadows didn't last long. A new and a new sound drowned out their world and all the animals and plants took to hiding back in his head. The shade lord felt the distressed creations stir inside his mind and woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He rubbed his lowest eyes and accepted the call

"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Oh sorry dear, i know it's terribly late but we got an unexpected call and need to leave. Since you've babysat Unn multiple times we assumed she would like to stay with you. Is it okay for you? Can we bring her to your place?" The shade lord thought for a moment and decided he could use the money. "Yea it's fine, she's always such a pleasure to babysit." The voice on the other side sounded relieved. "Thank you. You're a life saver. We will make sure you're compensated accordingly."

Feeling a bit more awake after the phone call he started to prepare for having baby Unn over. After a while her parents arrived and after some greetings he was home alone with the baby. He walked with her in his arms towards the living room and placed her gently inside the crib. She opened her eyes for a moment after losing the feeling of someone holding her, but then closed them again and fell back asleep.

The shade lord decided he couldn't sleep anymore and made some popcorn and decided to put on a movie. It didn't even take 20 minutes before he got called again.

"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Oh yes finally someone who answers. Sorry but you're our last hope. We were going somewhere tonight but our babysitter called off. Do you think you could babysit our lovely Radiance? She's very good behaved and won't cause you trouble." "yea, no problem. You'll just need to bring her to my place if it's no trouble"

Not even 5 minutes later the parents showed up and dropped of their larva. Shade lord looked at it a bit confused but didn't get the time to say anything because the parents left as soon as they handed her over. He closed his front door and gave the larva a good look. She was white and had a fluffy appearance. She had 5 pairs of legs and yellow-orange eyes. She started to writhe a little bit and shade lord made sure to hurry to the living room. He took a pillow and placed it on the couch and softly laid her on it. She seemed at ease and rested on the pillow all stretched out

Shade lord continued his movie, which was finally starting to get interesting, but as usual the commercial break hit. He was in the kitchen making more popcorn when he got another call.

"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Hello, is this the babysitter?" "Yes, that's the one you're speaking with." "Great, a family member had an accident and i need to be there for them so do you think you could babysit for me?" "Yep, totally." "Thank you, can we bring him to you?" "Oh yea, no problem."

A few minutes later his doorbell rang and he hurried towards it. The father carried his toddler in what could only be described as wing-esque appendages. The shade lord extended his arms for the man to put his toddler in and felt a gentle brush of the leathery membrane. He shivered lightly before feeling a sudden warmth light up in his face, like someone has started a fire. When he looked back up the man was gone and he closed the door. The creature he was holding in his arms was unlike anything he had ever seen. 2 horns sprouted from its black head. The face was as bleak as white linen on a summer day. It seems she likes make-up because she had already 2 black lines running from her cheeks towards her eyes, eventually fading into the darkness of her head. She had the same membranes as her father and no limbs besides it.

He wasn’t even in the living room before he heard his front door being was under siege. He put the weird creature down and opened the front door. Immediately he was assaulted by Hollow, a very energetic child. He was wearing a green cloak today and it finally seemed he was starting to grow bigger than a hand. His horns has also branched into the inside. Immediately after Hollow jumped on his he could hear Pale complain about his unprofessional work attitude. Although he was bigger than most it seems he wouldn’t grow much anymore. His tiny stature didn’t discourage him from being bossy. Finally White entered. By far the biggest of the bunch, she was also the most introverted. Her roots slid elegantly over towards him and even managed to stop Pale from talking for a moment.

He took them inside the living room only to find that somehow the larva and the winged creature had somehow gotten into a fight and now both were in hiding in opposite sides of the room. Normally he wouldn’t make such a big deal out of this if somehow his couch wasn’t full of tiny needles and a chair was on fire. He rushed to the tap to fill a bowl of water to extinguish the little fire. With the attention being diverted Hollow managed to slip from the watch of Pale and could now be found in the corner Radiance was hiding. The larva figured out quickly he liked to play games and had soon enough set up a plan to make him betray Pale.

In the meantime White had climbed the couch and started pulling out the needles while Shade lord had figured out what the membrane between the appendages from the weird creature were for. Namely, for flight. And now she was attacking his horns and he couldn’t reach her. As if her flying was not good enough alone, whenever he raised his arms she would back off and launch a little fireball  All this commotion woke up baby Unn who slowly started to slither away from her crib to find food.

The shade lord finally had enough of the little fire hazard and rushed towards the pantry to get a kettle. Once he had found it he peeked around the corner only to find that fire hazard eating his popcorn! All caution was thrown aside and he grabbed her by the guts and put her inside the kettle. She tried to heat it but he added some water to it. While it evaporated quickly it was apparently enough to bring over the message. Now he could focus his attention back on the larva again, only she could’ve produced those needles, which White was making great progress with removing them as a quick glance told him.

Now back to Pale and Radiance who were apparently having a fight (Darkness, that larva really has a talent to provoke others). They were arguing near the coffee table, because apparently they wanted a fight so bad they just ran to each other and met in the middle. Hollow was climbing one of the legs of the table, but wasn’t noticed by the shade lord because he was too occupied with the other 2. He tried to separate the arguing pair but they were at each other’s throats. They even had summoned a needle and a tiny dagger to fight each other. The shade lord obviously didn’t count on this tiny factor and had soon enough one in each hand. He screamed, trying not to curse, barely not failing miserably, and Pale managed to escape. In any other situation this wouldn’t pose a problem, but Hollow, after eating some popcorn, found himself at the right edge of the coffee table and pulled out his tiny wooden sword he got from Pale. The larva, Darkness curse her, used this to her advantage and made the sign to Hollow to betray Pale. The act of betraying Pale involved jumping off of the coffee table and hitting Pale as hard on the head as possible. Naturally, all of this went according to plan and even brought some extra spectacle. After Hollow had hit Pale on the head he wasn’t prepared for the recoil of the wood and ended up hitting himself in the face.

All of this lead to 3 crying children (1 of them from laughing, the others from pain) and 1 very angry young adult. He put the larva on the couch and took care of the others while White held a close eye on the damned 10 legged thing. After Pale and Hollow weren’t crying anymore he took the little fire hazard out of the kettle and continued his movie, which was getting to an end.

After the film ended a documentary started and had all the kids hooked. He went to check on Unn only to find an empty crib. He could however see a slimy trail lead up his wall and onto the ceiling. It went through the door into the pantry where he kept his food and toys for the toddlers. He looked up on the ceiling only to find a sleepy Unn with a letter block in her mouth. Suddenly Unn started to make a very weird noise and fell from the ceiling onto his face. He swiped her off of his face onto his shoulder and then washed it.

He returned back to the tv to watch the documentary that was still playing and plopped down on the couch. Not long after he was asleep with White on his left shoulder, Unn on his right shoulder, the little fire hazard on the same arm and Pale curled up in his lap. Radiance and hollow were still awake but occupied with the documentary instead of causing trouble. After the documentary ended they crawled up against his sides and fell asleep.

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By @constantlost 

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By @bugbeee

Exhaustion seeped into Shadelord’s body, limbs weighed down by a heaviness they hadn’t experienced in a while. The smatter of godlings that lay around them on the couch, or on them in Radi’s case, was enough to convince them that they had died and that this was the Eternal Void that was created to punish them for cheating on that test in the 8th grade. In their defence, it had been on rock sedimentation.

Wyrm continued his grumbling from the corner of the couch, still infuriated by the attack on his person only moments before. Root, the aggressor, looked remarkably pleased with herself. Shade knew they should probably punish her further in some way but... well, to be perfectly honest, they simply were not paid enough to do so.

They really should have charged more. Fifteen dollars at least per tiny demon they had to look after rather than the whole bunch. Fifteen dollars was not enough to encourage discipline. It was enough for them to make sure none of the godlings killed the other. And they had thought they had come up with an ingenious plan to secure some peace and quiet.

After much wrangling, they had finally managed to set up two separate playpens, each far enough away that the godlings wouldn’t start screaming if one of them saw their rival. Wyrm and Root in one pen, Grimm, Radi and Unn in another. It was a gamble, but one that thankfully seemed to have paid off. Radi was still exhausted from the tussle she had just had with Wyrm, and Grimm seemed content to chew off the heads of the plastic Garbies they had found. Unn continued to watch, and occasionally helped Grimm execute a Garbie in a spectacular manner. It was both reassuring, and beyond disturbing. Root and Wyrm meanwhile were cheerfully ignoring each other as they both played with their own toys.

It should have been foolproof.

Unfortunately for Shade however, they were dealing with infants instead of fools.

For some damned reason, Root had decided that now was the perfect time to act up, instead of being the sweet little darling she had been so far. Her target, much to their dismay, had been Wyrm. In all fairness, the godling had probably deserved it in some way; most likely he had tried to worm too close in order to steal some of the grubpaste and mushroom sticks Shade had left out as a snack. Root had seen this theft as a cardinal sin, and had subsequently decided that Wyrm deserved nothing less than absolute annihilation.

The momentary doze Shade had managed to fall into was abruptly interrupted by loud shrieking and wailing, resulting in them vaulting over the couch to hurriedly find out which one of the godlings was being tortured.

The scene that greeted them was... well, it wasn’t any less ridiculous than some of the other stuff the little goblins had pulled before.

Using her flexible tendrils, Root had seen fit to wrap them around Wyrm, and aggressively dunk him into the bowl of grubpaste he had attempted to steal from. His shrieks and hisses had woken up Radi and drawn the attention of the other children, who were now cheering on Root’s attack on Wyrm’s person.

“Enough,” Shade declared, shooting a glare behind them, “Root, let him go.” Root looked up innocently.

No, she seemed to say with her eyes, justice must prevail.

“Justice won’t get me my fifteen dollars,” they hissed out in return, and they could have sworn that Root shrugged, turning away from them to dunk Wyrm into the bowl yet again.

“No!” they cried out, quickly whipping down to grab the poor child before he could be further humiliated. After finally being saved from his vicious tormentor, Wyrm decided it was time to go into hysterics, lashing out with a sharp tail to fully show his displeasure. Root simply watched impassively as the rest of the children cheered.

Shade wondered if fifteen dollars was even worth it at this point.

“Alright, alright, enough! Root, you go in time out. We do not waterboard our fellow godlings in grubpaste. Wyrm, calm down, it’s just grubpaste- Settle down!” they yelped out, flinching as something heavy settled onto their head. The soft fluff revealed that Radi had decided to fly out of her pen and taunt Wyrm in person. Shade wanted to sob with frustration.

The door cracked open, and Ghost peered in, head tilted curiously.

Need help? they signed, and Shade wanted to collapse in relief.

“Please,” they begged, and their sibling nodded grimly, even as amusement danced in their eyes. Shucking off their school backpack, they quickly headed over to the other pen and signed to them, bobbing their head up and down in a soothing motion. Grimm and Unn were entranced. Radi less so. She remained seated on their head, but at least seemed to have finally stopped provoking Wyrm.

“I’m just going to clean him up,” Shade explained uselessly, watching as Ghost simply nodded and waved them off. 

With a tired gait, Shade wandered into the kitchen and turned on the tap, listening as Wyrm’s panicked yelps grew louder at the realisation of what was going to happen next. Radi snickered softly, before leaping off and gliding back into the living room.

Bath time, according to the godlings, was a fate worse than death, and something to be avoided at all cost.

Unfortunately for both Wyrm and Shade, it was a necessary evil. Wyrm disagreed. Loudly. And with claws.

He howled furiously as Shade slowly lowered him into the warm water, softly scrubbing at the now-dried grubpaste sticking to his skin. Despite his attempts, Wyrm failed to prevent them from continuing his bath. He turned to pathetic pleading instead, making soft mewling sounds as though he was nothing more than a poor innocent child who had done nothing wrong, ever.

Shade, who remembered the little bastard knocking a glass ornament onto their head, was not convinced. Ultimately there was no escape, and Wyrm reluctantly gave in to the soft scrubbing, though he made sure his rumbling complaints were known.

“Yes, yes,” Shade said quietly, “I truly am the worst. Close your eyes so I can rinse you.”

Wyrm, in a dumb act of defiance, did not close his eyes. The hysterics started again, and Shade contemplated drowning themself in the half-filled sink. Fifteen dollars, they repeated. Fifteen dollars.

Grabbing a tea towel, they quickly dried the godling off, carefully teasing out water droplets from soft scales. He child gnawed on their fingers in revenge. “I’m done,” they announced, wandering back into the living room with a now clean, and furious, Wyrm.

Ghost looked up from their position on the floor, back leaning against the couch as they played with Grimm. Radi immediately perked up at the sound of Shade’s voice, and quickly flew over, making herself at home on top of their head. Unn seemed to have decided to undertake the momentous task of scaling up the back of the couch, leaving a thick trail of slime behind. Root, still stuck in her pen as punishment, let out a wail, demanding to be let out.

Shade was all out of energy to fight back or deal with a tantrum.

“Alright, alright, out you go,” they muttered, depositing Wyrm on the couch before reaching down to lift out the petulant child from her terrible prison. She clung to them desperately until they finally collapsed on the sofa. She quickly wriggled out of their hold and instead plonked down beside them. Wyrm had hissed at the sight of her, and slunk to the other side of the couch to sulk.

Grimm let out a raspy cackle at the sight, before diving down to nip at Ghost’s fingers.

Unn finally made her way to the top of the couch and waved her eyestalks victoriously. All Shade could do was give her a tired pat.

They sank into the couch, the exhaustion creeping back in. It should have been foolproof.

Fifteen dollars.

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

By @arandoskeleartist​

[waltermis]

Or Back For Good?

MASTERLIST ↠ SPITFIRE MASTERLIST

Part 1 : Back For Now?

↠↠↠ 

Mount Justice November 8, 21:42 EDT

Artemis watched as her friends embraced her speedster. Finally after 5 months of sadness, Nightwing had finally brought the love of her life out of the speed force. It seemed like an eternity since she'd last seen her beloved Baywatch. She stood off to the side when everyone started crowding around them, all she could hear were 'Welcome back's' or 'Don't you ever do that again'.

"So... you happy?" Nightwing asked, startling the blonde out of her daydream.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Just seems like you've been doing a lot of staring instead of hugging... Or kissing." He pointed out, adding the last part quietly. Artemis socked him the shoulder, having heard the last part.

"I guess I'm still in shock about the whole thing. I mean not even two days ago I was crying over a pint of ice cream about the fact that Wally was dead and now here he is, but is he back for good? Or is this just temporary? What if he disappears again? What if we lose him forever this time? What if..." Artemis stressed.

"What if you stop worrying about the future because right now, I'm right here babe. And I promise I'm never leaving you again." Wally said, walking up from behind her.

"Promise?" she whispered.

"Speedster's honor." Wally said, placing his right hand over his heart. Artemis chuckled, before lightly slapping him in the chest.

"Dork." she mumbled. "You know, you really scared me..." she said, seriously. "I thought I'd never see you again. Hell, I was so close to falling into depression." Artemis confessed, looking anywhere but Wally.

"Hey," Wally said. "Look at me... please?" he begged, she continued to avert her eyes before Wally tilted her chin up so she was looking into his emerald eyes. "I'm here now... and I promise, I'm never leaving you ever again." he reassured.

"But what if you do? I don't think I would be able to handle losing you twice." her voice quivered. She hated being so vulnerable and yet the past few months have left her more vulnerable than she has been in years. Wally pulled her into a hug, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest, breathing in his smell of peppermint and a hint of pine. After so many years she found the smell comforting, she always found it strange because he would run through hell and back and still smell fresh and comforting. Wally pulled her closer, and she felt his warmth engulf her. She felt tears prick her eyes as the speedster comforted her.

"Shhhh, babe. I'm not leaving you again. Believe me, I love you so much, Beautiful." he whispered in a soothing tone. He swayed them, side to side.

"What if-" the blonde started.

"Babe, no more what if's" Wally said, holding her at arm's length. "I spoke with Uncle Barry and he said that we're gonna start training to make sure I can control my speed. It's going to be like when I first became Kid Flash but this time I just gotta control myself from running into the speed force."

"I love you... so so much." Artemis said, wrapping her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck as a tear fell.

"I love you too."

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

"So..." Zatanna said, as the original members of the team watched Artemis and Wally's reunion.

"So...?" Dick repeated, curious on what the magician had to say.

"You sooooo owe me $5000!" She cheered, throwing her arms over head.

"What?! No way! I totally won that bet!" Dick protested.

"Excuse me?! I totally won! Did you see that gigantic tear?"

"Well, I didn't hear her sniffle so IT DOESN'T COUNT!" Dick countered.

"You don't need to sniffle to prove your crying! As long as there's tears then ARTEMIS WAS CRYING!"

"M'gann!" Both cried out at the same.

"Oh no! Don't you dare bring me into your squabble." M'gann interrupted before they could ask. "But Zatanna's right, as long as there was a tear then she cried." the martian added quietly.

"Ha!" Zatanna cheered.

"Nuh uh! Conner! Tell her!" Dick begged. The kryptonian looked at the acrobat for a second before answering.

"Dick..." Conner sighed. "Zatanna and M'gann are right... as long as Artemis shed a tear, then she technically cried." Dick looked at Kaldur and Rocket but judging by their faces, Conner was right.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dick screamed, falling onto his knees.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Zatanna countered.

"Please! Please don't make me gimme $5000!" Dick begged, grabbing onto her legs.

"Nuh uh! A bet's a bet, Boy Wonder. No backing out now, not when I've won!" she said, as she shook him off.

"What'd you bet on?" M'gann asked, as Dick pulled out a huge wad of cash. But Zatanna didn't answer as she began counting her money.

"Well, while Missy Rich counts her new wad of cash, I'll tell you." Dick mumbled bitterly. "When I first found out that I could bring Wally out of the Speedforce, I went to Zatanna first. Because of her magic... Anyways, when we were positive that we could bring Wally back, Zee and I made a bet. We bet that when Wally came back, if Artemis cried then I had to give her $5000. But if she lost then she would have to go on the worst date ever with me. BOOM... but not only did I lose five thousand dollars, I think I also lost my dignity."

"Oh, you totally did. Who's got $5000? I've got $5000!" Zatanna gloated.

"Please give me back my money, Zee! Pleaseeeeeeeeeee?" he said, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

"Ah ah ah," Zatanna said, wagging a finger at him. "Your puppy dog eyes don't work on me anymore!" Dick sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do to persuade the magician to change her mind. "But, I'd be willing to give you half of the $5000" the raven haired girl said.

"REALLY?!" Dick perked up, excitedly.

"Only if you can get Artemis to kiss you."

"B-but that's impossible! You know that!"

"Oh, I know." Zatanna smiled smugly. "So... deal or no deal?" she asked, as Wally and Artemis started walking towards the group.

"Uh..." he hesitated.

"Come on... I'm giving you a chance to win $2500 over here!" she taunted, rubbing the money all over his face.

"Fine, deal." They shook each other's hands just as Wally and Artemis walked into earshot. "No Zatanna, your theory is wrong. The Greeks did not climb out of the Trojan Horse's butt." Everyone looked at Dick like he had grown two heads, just as Artemis and Wally reached the group.

"Hey guys! What were you just talking about?" Artemis asked.

"Zatanna thinks that the Greeks climbed out of the Trojan Horse's butt. Pffff, can you believe that?" Dick scoffed.

"Uh... no?" Wally asked, unsure of what was going on.

Suddenly Artemis pulled Dick into a tight hug, startling the 18 year old. "Thank you for bringing him home, Dick." she whispered before lightly pecking him on the cheek. She pulled away just as Dick got over his shock.

"Pay up!" he turned towards Zatanna who still looked shocked.

"What?!" she asked, snapping out of her daze.

"You said that you'd give me $2500 if Artemis kissed me and she did. BOOM!"

"But that doesn't count!" Zatanna protested.

"And neither does crying with any sniffles!" he shot back. "She kissed me but you didn't specify whether she had to kiss me on the lips or on the cheek."

Zatanna sighed knowing that Dick was right. Her best friend did technically kiss him, even if it wasn't what she was expecting.

"Dnah Kcid owt dnasuoht dna evif derdnuh srallod," Zatanna said, as her wad of cash turned smaller.

"Thank you!" Dick said, as he handed Artemis $300. "And thank you!"

"You were in on it?!" Zatanna gasped.

"Technically no, but I heard you guys make your bet and I thought it'd be funny to see your reaction. And believe me, it was." Artemis chuckled.

"You are a cruel lady." Zatanna playfully glared.

"I know," she replied, before everyone burst out laughing. And just like that, everything was perfect again.

↠↠↠ 

1382 words

Part 1 : Back For Now?

[moony-meadow]

Food Envy (1)

Part 1 of the series

Next Part

Over a week had passed since what I mentally referred to as the “Beelzebub Incident.” Of course, I’d sworn both Beel and Mammon to secrecy, which was why I was completely and utterly stunned when Leviathan dragged me into his room and began to drill me about the situation.

“How could you let Beel eat you first? I was your second pact, remember?” Levi urged, his voice was quickly becoming more and more tinged with jealousy.

As for myself, I was currently undergoing a tangle of various emotions. There was the obvious anger at whoever had let slip the fact that I had been eaten not once, but twice. There was the complete and utter mortification that came with having a shameful secret revealed. And then there was panic, because if Levi knew then that could mean the rest of the brothers knew as well. I didn’t even want to imagine Lucifer’s reaction to learning two of his brothers had swallowed me whole.

“Who the hell told you?!” I demanded, too pissed off to notice the dangerous waves of energy beginning to radiate from the Avatar of Envy.

Levi waved a dismissive hand. “No one told me, I overheard Beel and Mammon talking about it.” A fraction of the weight that had been weighing down on me lifted away. Of course, I was still faced with the issue of Levi knowing about my being eaten, but at least now I knew that neither Beelzebub nor Mammon had sold me out. They were still idiots for talking where listening ears could hear, but it was good to know they hadn’t intentionally spilled my dirty little secret. It was a small consolation at least.

Arms folded tightly over my chest, I scowled at the orange-eyed demon. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” I said simply. Realistically I had no business telling other people not to eavesdrop when I had secret access to other people’s text conversations on my D.D.D., but that was beside the point. It wasn’t like I asked to have access to those conversations, plus I was a human in a world full of dangerous demons, surely I deserved some special privileges?

Leviathan, seemingly unphased by my chastising, just shook his head. “Nuh uh, you’re the one keeping secrets,” he hissed. “You said we were best friends--if we were, you wouldn’t have let other demons eat you before your supposed best friend!”

Using my thumb and index finger, I massaged at the bridge of my nose. This conversation was quickly causing a stress headache to develop in between my eyebrows. It was ridiculous. Letting myself be eaten shouldn’t be treated like something I owed people. Why did demons have to be so weird about it?

“Levi,” I started, trying to keep my composure. “I only let Mammon swallow me because I was doing him a favor, and what happened with Beel was an unplanned accident,” I explained. “Besides that, you are in no way, shape, or form, entitled to--eating me.” I hesitated on the final words. Saying them out loud felt so bizarre. It certainly wasn’t something I ever would have said while living in the human realm.

It was then that I finally noticed the dark energy pulsating around me. It was something I had encountered several times during my stay in the Devildom, and it almost always preceded a near death experience with a demon.

Pushing aside my own emotions for a moment, I stopped to take in the appearance of the demon standing in front of me. Leviathan stood with fists clenched at his sides. His jaw was tight, teeth grinding against one another. And then there were his eyes, those vibrant eyes of his were clouded with unbridled jealousy.

That was all it took for me to realize the gravity of the situation I had stumbled into. Levi, on a daily basis, was harmless. Okay, perhaps harmless wasn’t accurate, he was still an incredibly powerful demon lord who could snap me in two with ease if he so chose. But the point was, Levi wasn’t really the violent or aggressive type. Most of the time, the guy was just a big dork. However, like all the demon brothers, he was weak to his own sin.

I had seen it firsthand during the TSL trivia quiz. Leviathan’s jealousy at losing had transformed into deadly rage. Had Lucifer not stepped in when he had, chances were I would’ve been obliterated then and there. Thankfully, I made it out of that encounter with no more than a scratch. But this time Lucifer wasn’t here, and I was once again faced with Levi’s uncontrollable envy.

“No, it’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair!” the Avatar of Envy roared, and in the blink of an eye he transformed. Jagged horns now stuck out from the demon’s purple hair. From behind him, a long scaled tail snaked out, swishing angrily.

I took an instinctual step back. “I need to command him to stop,” I thought to myself. So long as Levi didn’t try to pull the same trick as Beel had, I could end it all right now. So then why was I hesitating?

Yes, I always felt kind of bad ordering any of the brothers around, but it was more than that. Honestly, I did feel bad for Levi. Just as had happened with Beelzebub, Levi was being overwhelmed by his sin. The easiest thing to do would be to use the power of our pact and save myself any further trouble. Of course doing so would force Levi to live with his festering jealousy.

I blew out a long sigh. I couldn’t believe I was even considering this. “I must be insane--how can I even think about letting another demon eat me?!” But if I was honest with myself, my past two experiences in demons’ stomachs hadn’t been...altogether horrible. Really, once you got past the weirdness of it all, it wasn’t all that bad. It was a warm comfortable place that was totally cut off from all of my responsibilities and troubles. Plus, if letting Leviathan eat me helped him feel better, then it was hard to say no.

“Okay, you can eat me.” I had a feeling I was going to regret saying so, but it was too late now.

Levi’s eyes went wide, and suddenly all the dark energy that had been radiating off of him suddenly faded away to nearly nothing. “Y-you’re serious?” he asked incredulously.

I gave a nod. “If eating me makes you chill out, then fine, let’s do it,” I replied. “Of course, there’s gonna be ground rules.” At least if I did it willingly, I wouldn’t have to worry about nearly getting digested as had happened with Beel.

Nodding vigorously, Levi took a step closer. “Yeah, yeah, okay,” he said quickly.

“God, they’re always so excited about eating me.”

[softboyuris]

Doctor’s Orders

Spencer Reid x Reader

Words: 5.2k+

A/N: I did a thing. It became this thing because of @eideticmemory. I am in no way shape or form half the writer she is but I had to do this. Inspired by this anon. 

Summary: Spencer losing his virginity. That’s it. That’s the plot

Warnings: sex, swearing

{masterlist}

Spencer Reid did not party. He did not go to bars or get drunk. He rarely had more than one drink when he did go out with his coworkers, or more, was forced to. Don’t get it wrong, he loved them. They were more like a family to him than work buddies but in his line of work, he rarely had a day off. So when he did, he would prefer to spend it his way- curled up on his leather sofa with a good book, or ten. And no one could change his mind. 

Now Derek Morgan, Spencer’s best friend and one of his aforementioned coworkers- although some might say they’re more akin to brothers than either of those labels- he liked to party. He loved going out with his friends, doing shots and drunkenly destroying open mic night. And he always, without fail, dragged Spencer out with him.

What? He was concerned for his friend. His best friend. Spencer never talked about what happened while on the job but Derek knew it got to him. It got to them all something that came with the territory. And recently he had been extra stressed and tense and Derek knew just what he needed. 

A night out on the town where, hopefully, he could help pretty boy get laid. 

Spencer didn’t want this. He begged, literally begged Derek to let him stay in but ultimately lost the fight. Because in the end, Spencer did enjoy hanging out with him he just wasn’t always too happy about the location. Or getting stranded at whatever bar and/or club they stumbled into after Derek, without fail, went home with a girl. Sometimes two. 

Trilly’s was a local bar, often frequented by cops meaning it wasn’t too heavily trafficked and even when it was a busy night, it’s numbers didn’t compare to the bar Spence knew Derek would drag him to. 

Which is why when Spencer agreed to go out, “Just for an hour, tops,” his one condition was that they go there. While his best friend may enjoy hitting on an entire group of girls at once, Spencer much preferred to sit in a corner and observe. 

Flirting was not his forte and he had little to no desire to make it one. Sure, he’d been on a few dates before. Kissed one or two girls in college but dating just wasn’t really his thing. Really, it wasn’t. It’s not like he didn’t have game or anything. That totally wasn’t the reason. 

As bad as it was, Trilly’s very rarely saw females. Spencer knew the statistics, and with under thirty percent of law enforcement being female, the odds were in his favor. He could go out, have a drink with his friend and avoid any awkward confrontations when Derek would inevitably try to be his wingman. It would be a fun, easy night.

After almost a month of detective work, Y/N had finally caught the son of a bitch who had been ransacking local, small businesses over the past two months in Alexandria. She was exhausted. Twenty-seven days of non-stop work, late nights and early mornings that sometimes bled into each other. She hadn’t taken a single day off. 

Many of the businesses the culprit hit had to shut down because they didn’t have the means to stay open. Citizens didn’t want to shop at a store that had been burglarized by a man in the wind, worried he’d come back for more than just a few valuables. So Y/N put all her effort into finding him with some sliver of hope that it could save the business that hadn’t gone under already.

John Willis was pulled over for his taillight being out and the cop that apprehended him noticed several of the missing items that had been reported laying in his backseat. Y/N wondered how, after evading law enforcement for two months, he was caught so easily. 

She didn’t let it weigh on her mind for long though. Willis was locked up and she finally got a night off. 

She wouldn’t call herself a party girl, but she was known to get a little mischievous at the local cop bar, Trilly’s, every now and then. And tonight, she planned on having some fun. 

Y/N dragged her best friend and crime-fighting partner, Jasmine, out with her. Jasmine had reluctantly agreed, having just gone through a pretty rough break-up. Y/N reminded her that he was trash and she would find someone better. “Or at the very least a very hot cop to have rebound sex with.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “I will do no such thing.” But she agreed to come out anyway. 

When Y/N got to Jasmine’s apartment to pick her up, Jas was already waiting outside, dressed in a low cut deep blue dress that hugged her curvy figure. “Damn girl, I’d take you home in that outfit.” Y/N quipped as Jasmine got into the car. 

Jasmine looked her best friend, who wore a similar dress that was red, up and down with a smirk. “Right back at you, sexy.” 

Trilly’s was unusually busy for a Wednesday night. When Y/N and Jasmine finally made it through the door, the place was pretty packed. The music was turned up louder than normal and a large group of people had made the middle of the room into a makeshift dance floor. Or grind floor would be more accurate, as that’s the only dance move these people evidently knew how to do. 

They squeezed their way past sweaty bodies to the bar, hailing the attention of the bartender almost immediately. Y/N ordered them a round of shots. 

“Starting the night off strong, are we?” Jasmine popped one eyebrow up as she leaned against the slightly sticky bar littered with peanut shells and drops of missed alcohol. 

Y/N nodded. “Only way to do it!” She partially yelled over all the commotion around her. The bartender set down two shots in front of them. “To rebound sex.” 

Jasmine laughed, a barely noticeable blush dotting her cheekbones. “Mmhmm, sure.” She raised her glass but Y/N stopped her before she could down the liquid. 

“Nuh-uh,” She tutted. “Say it back or else it won’t work.” With reluctance, Jasmine just barely whispered the cheer back but it was enough to satiate Y/N. “Much better.” She chimed. They clinked their glasses together and downed them simultaneously, placing them upside down on the bar after.  

Spencer was already uncomfortable. Derek and him had literally just stepped foot in the bar and he was already regretting his decision to go out tonight. It being a Wednesday, he never thought in a million years it’d be this busy. 

People pushed past each other in front of him. A group of at least twenty people were grinding against each other in the middle of the room where they’d deemed it the dance floor for the night. The floor was sticky as was the booth and table the two men eventually found themselves seated in. Spencer grimaced, his phobia of germs eating at his mind. 

“Breathe pretty boy.” Derek smiled, slapping Spencer’s arm across the table. Spencer inhaled slowly, looking around at all the people bustling around him. This was clearly not his scene.

“I didn’t expect it to be this crowded.” Spencer yelled over the noise. 

Derek laughed, “Where’s the fun in an empty bar?” Spencer held back the glare that was fighting to make itself known. When he didn’t respond, Derek slapped his hands on the table. “I’m going to go get us drinks.”

Y/N scanned the crowd for Jasmine who had said twenty minutes ago that she was going to slip out to the bathroom. 

After a few minutes of searching, she spotted her friend practically sitting in the lap of some stranger at a booth across the room. She laughed to herself, setting some cash down on the bar for their drinks before making her way through the crowd. 

When she gets to the booth, Jasmine looks up at her. “Y/N, you found me.” Her words are a little slurred. Y/N forgot how much of a lightweight her friend is. “This is Derek. He’s an FBI agent.” She whispered the last bit, or thought she did but the men at the booth laughed.

Which is when she noticed the guy sitting opposite them. She made eye contact with him and smiled. She could feel her face get hot but she passed it off on the alcohol coursing through her veins.

He was cute. Y/N studied his face for a second, hoping he wouldn’t notice her blatantly checking him out. He looked pretty young. Obviously he was old enough to be an FBI agent but had she not known that, she would have guessed him to be fresh out of college. 

His hair was longer but it suited him and he had really kind eyes that Y/N was drawn to. Even though he sitting, she could tell he was tall. His shoulders slumped slightly as if trying to fold in on himself, something she knew all too well being quite tall herself. 

“Y/N.” She introduced herself, snapping out of her dazed state and returning her attention to Derek, who was the exact opposite of the guy she was just looking at. “Nice to meet you. Sorry, about my friend.” She joked. 

Derek shook his head, a wide smile on his face. “Nothing to be sorry about.” Any other guy and she would have been pulling Jasmine away but there was something about Derek that was non-threatening. She somehow knew her friend was in good hands. 

Literally, he had great hands. His muscled arm was wrapped tightly round Jasmine’s waist as she leaned into his side. Y/N would be lying if she didn’t admit to his obvious allure. 

Y/N looked back over to the other guy, who she now noticed had been staring at her the whole time. Upon them locking eyes, he swallowed. “Is this seat taken?” She asks him, pointing to the empty spot beside him. He shakes his head, his hands falling nervously into his lap. 

Spencer was mentally scolding himself for being at a loss of words, which he never was. He could rattle off facts about literally anything and talk for hours but right now, he was speechless. 

Y/N slide into the booth beside him. “So, are you with the FBI too?” She asked, her hands cupping her glass. She figured he was but since he didn’t offer her a name, she figured she would try and make conversation. 

He nodded. Derek cleared his throat and Spencer looked up at him, pleadingly. His friend just aggressively nodded in Y/N’s direction, a way of telling him to say something. 

“I’m Spencer.” He squeaked out. 

Y/N looked up from the table. “It’s nice to meet you Spencer.” She smiled. Spencer waited for the inevitable offering of her hand, getting prepared to explain how he doesn’t shake hands because the amount of germs that are passed in a handshake are staggeringly high. 

His eyebrows pinched together when a few moments passed and her hands didn’t move from her glass. “You don’t shake hands?” He asked, slightly dumbfounded. 

Y/N chuckled. “Did you want me to?” She asked, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. Spencer’s cheeks ran crimson and Y/N smiled at herself. “Not on the job, don’t feel the need to be so formal.” She summed up, leaning against the worn leather of the booth. 

“Where do you work?” It feels like such a dumb question but it’s left his mouth before he can process it. You’re at a cop bar, Spencer, where the fuck do you think?

“Alexandria PD.” Y/N answers without thought, sipping at her drink. “Been there for three years now.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest.” Jasmine waves her hand at her best friend, scoffing. She turns to Derek, pressing her pointer finger into his chest to accentuate her words. “She's the lead detective. Youngest to ever be promoted.” 

Spencer’s eyes don’t leave Y/N while Jasmine talks. Y/N looks at her friend incredulously but there’s a small smile on her face and a blush is creeping up her neck. “I don’t like bragging.” She says to Jasmine, a small laugh leaving her lips.

Spencer has never been mesmerized before but he’s completely lost in Y/N’s laugh that he barely hears Jasmine continue talking. 

“Pfft, it’s a big deal, Y/N. It’s not every day that a twenty-five year old gets promoted to that position.” Jasmine continues. 

“Sounds like congratulations are in order.” Derek smiles, his eyes never leaving Jasmine. Y/N shakes her head. Jasmine is definitely not going home in the same car she came in. 

“Thank you, but it’s not a new promotion.” She takes another sip of her beer, welcoming any distraction at this point. She hates it when she’s the center of attention. 

“She never wants to celebrate her successes.” Jasmine tuts, rolling her eyes. She finally breaks eye contact with Derek to look at Spencer. “You know, she was top of her class at UCLA and has three masters. Three. I barely got through my one.” Jasmine hiccups at the end, nodding.

Derek looks over at Spencer and Y/N. “Looks like pretty boys gonna have a run for his money.” 

Y/N looks over at Spencer, quirking an eyebrow. “Oh.”

Spencer’s cheeks darken but he doesn’t offer further explanation. Y/N looks to Derek for answers instead. “Three PhD’s.” He says, raising three of his fingers up in conjunction with his words. 

Y/N nearly chokes on her beer. “Three?” Getting her master’s was hard enough she couldn’t fathom doing it again for her doctorates. 

“He goes by doctor.” Derek winks at her. 

“Morgan.” Spencer warns, looking up at him with stern eyes. Derek throws his hands up in surrender. “You don’t have to call me doctor.” He says to Y/N, running a hand through his hair. “He just likes messing me.” 

Y/N smirks. It’s small and nearly imperceptible but Spencer notices and it makes his breathing pick up. “Who said I didn’t want to, Doc?” Spencer swallows, pressing his hands together to distract himself. 

The conversation moves on but after a while, Jasmine and Derek are in their own little world, leaving Spencer and Y/N to talk. 

She learns that he was the youngest person ever recruited for the FBI, a fact which he didn’t want to own up to. Similar to Y/N, he didn’t like the spotlight on him. Unlike Y/N, he had a reason to have the spotlight on him, which she told him after finding out he’s a literal genius. 

“You can’t have an IQ that high and expect people to not put you at the center of their attention.” Spencer blushed at her words. 

“I don’t mind your attention.” He replies, making Y/N’s heart skip a beat. “But normally, people are more annoyed by it than they are fascinated by it.”

Y/N tucks a pieces of hair behind her ear. “Well they’re clearly missing out.”

They talk for what feels like hours. Every new piece of information Y/N gets, she savors. There’s something about Spencer that makes her want to know everything about him. And she damn near does. 

He doesn’t just work for the FBI, he works for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, which is like the best of the best. He has an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute, a skill which Y/N is borderline envious of, and he’s from Las Vegas. Which is where his mom lives, in a clinical facility because she has schizophrenia. 

“I’m so sorry, that must be really hard on you.” Y/N says, placing her hand on Spencer’s arm soothingly. Her eyes are soft like her hand which he notices when he accidentally brushes it. She really means it.

Spencer learns that Y/N came to Virginia after university because her dad passed away and she was the only person in her family close to him. He left everything to her which also meant she had to go through all his belongings. 

A tenant in his apartment building found him dead. The initial report said he had died of natural causes but after his autopsy they found signs of foul play. As it turns out, he was murdered. It’s what propelled Y/N to become a cop in the first place. “I set up base here and never looked back.” 

He also learned that she’s probably the sweetest and funniest person he’s ever met, and he’s friends with Penelope and JJ. She’s smart, she seems to pick up on all his little quirks and respects them. And she’s beautiful, which he knew from the instant he saw her but is even more pronounced now that he’s getting to know her. 

The two had been so engrossed in their conversation they didn’t notice that their friends were no longer sitting across from them. With a quick glance behind them, Y/N saw Jasmine slip out the front door, holding Derek’s hand and laughing flirtatiously.

Spencer groans next to her. “He was my ride home.” 

“Did you really think the night was going to end any differently for those two?” Y/N asks, settling back into the seat. 

“No.” Spencer relents. Without thinking, he reaches across Y/N and takes her drink, taking a few sips before realizing what he’s done. “Sorry.” He says, placing the cup down. 

Y/N moves a fraction of an inch closer to him. “I don’t mind.” Her hand lightly brushes his thigh. “But, as you probably already know, we practically just kissed.”

Spencer’s breath hitches in his throat as Y/N’s hand comes to rest fully on his thigh, her fingertips lightly tracing circles on his inner thigh. He tries to focus on anything else but he can practically feel the blood rushing to his dick. 

Y/N notices the change in his demeanor, leaning in closer so she can whisper. “I’ll stop if you want me to.” Y/N doesn’t know what’s come over her. Sure, she’s hooked up with guys she just met at the bar before but she’s never been this straightforward with someone. Not right off the bat, and definitely not with this much ease.

The tension between them has been palpable ever since she sat down an hour ago and now, with their friends gone, there was nothing stopping her from commenting on it. 

Spencer shook his head at her words, mumbling something Y/N didn’t quite pick up on. “What was that, doc?” She emphasized the last word, her hand slowly moving up his thigh. 

He started to bounce his right leg nervously. Y/N smirked. “I make you nervous?” He nodded slowly. Y/N stopped what she was doing, removing her hand and putting some space in between them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” She was suddenly overcome with embarrassment, her actions finally seeping into the logical side of her brain. 

“I didn’t tell you to stop.” Spencer nearly growled. Now it was Y/N’s turns to blush as she nervously looked over at him. There was a hunger in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. She unconsciously squeezed her legs together. 

He leans closer to her until his lips are grazing her ear. “The bathroom’s empty, we could sneak away, no one would even notice.” 

Y/N swallows at the implication. He’s been watching, waiting for the right moment to initiate whatever the fuck this was. Which means he knew it would get to this at some point. 

Without a second thought, Y/N grabs his hand, hauling him out of the booth and making a beeline for the bathroom. 

Just as Spencer had told her, the bathroom was empty. That, of course, didn’t stop her from checking all the stalls to make for certain that they were alone. Trust me, no one wanted to hear what was about to happen. 

Spencer was still standing by the door, his once cocky demeanor now dwindling into the awkward nervousness that Y/N had grown to love about him. 

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” She says softly, grabbing both his hands. They just met, she doesn’t know what he has or hasn’t done before and while Y/N might have some experience with bathroom sex, she’s found that not all people do. In fact, it’s very rare for her to find someone who has. 

Spencer lets go of her hands and for a split second she thinks he’s going to turn around and walk out but then his lips are on hers and she’s trying to get her brain to catch up because she’s missing it. 

In a surge of confidence, Spencer cups Y/N’s face, smashing his lips against hers. After a moment, she kisses back, her hands coming up to run through his hair. 

The moans that fall from her lips at the contact has him hard. He moves them so she’s the one pressed against the door, his hands coming down to grab her hips and pull her against him. 

His tongue asks for entry and she gladly concedes. In a swift motion, she’s wrapped her legs around his waist, his hands supporting her by holding her thighs. 

Y/N’s dress has been effectively hiked up from the change in position and while she respects his respect for her, she wants his hands on her. She reaches down to move them up until they’re resting on her bum. With a satisfied grin she pulls away from his lips. 

He looks at her, out of breath and red in the face. “You’re not wearing underwear.” He breaths out. 

She laughs, curling her finger around the hair at the back of his neck. “Actually, I was. Seemed to have lost them.” She shrugs innocently. 

His eyes widen as he realizes what she’s saying. Something in her knew he would get it. He chastely kisses her cheek, his lips hovering over her ear. “You took them off, didn’t you? When you went to the restroom twenty-seven minutes ago.” 

Y/N bites her lip, partially to fight back the laugh that wanted to come out knowing Spencer had counted the minutes, and nods. “Naughty, naughty girl.” He whispers, biting her ear. She gasps at the action, not expecting it, which propels him to grind against her. 

“You gonna do something about it, doc?” She giggles, leaning forward to place a kiss on his collarbone. 

Spencer moves them over to the sinks and sets her down on the counter, standing between her legs as he kisses her neck. Y/N starts to undo the buttons of his shirt just enough to expose his chest, which she runs her fingernails down, leaving red tracks in their wake. 

“Fuck.” He groans, his forehead pressing into her chest. She lifts his head up to kiss him, fingers combing through his hair again, an action she’s coming to thoroughly enjoy. 

“Do you have a condom?” Y/N asks as she kisses down his neck, her hands following in motion until they hit the top of his jeans. 

Something about the question jars Spencer. Like his thoughts finally register exactly what he’s doing and the nerves slowly creep back into his stomach. He nods hastily, reaching into his back pocket where his wallet is. He sets it down beside Y/N on the counter. 

Y/N unbuttons his pants and pulls the zipper down, tantalizingly slow, being careful to avoid touching his erection. Still attacking his neck with kisses, she pushes both his jeans and boxers down and they land bunched around his ankles.

She can’t help but look. I mean, really, it’s human nature to be curious. 

His whole body is flushed red, or marked red by her fingernails and mouth, and that doesn’t exclude what he’s packing. And boy, is he packing. Y/N swallows at the sight. 

Spencer avoids eye contact now that he’s fully exposed but Y/N is gentle in bringing his eyes to hers. She kisses him. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. Bathroom sex is just like normal, bed sex.” She laughs a little at her phrasing. 

Spencer just nods nervously, reaching next to her to pick up the condom. He rips the package open and, with slightly shaking hands, focuses on putting it on. 

After a few moments of fumbling hands, ragged breaths and a deep red blush that’s been slowly creeping up his neck, a smile slides across Y/N’s face. She places her hands over his and he looks up at her with worry in his eyes. “This is your first time doing this, huh?” 

He swallows nervously, a small nod of his head indicating that her assumption was correct. “Like, ever?” He nods again. She responds by bringing his lips to hers. Y/N kisses him gently, a lot more calm and composed than they had been walking into this bathroom. 

There’s still a nervousness about him but Y/N feels him relax into the kiss, slowly gaining back some of the confidence he had a minute ago. His tongue swipes over her bottom lip, her jaw dropping to allow him to search her mouth with his tongue as if he’s done this a hundred times before. 

Had she not asked, she never would have guessed that he was a virgin. Aside from the obvious nerves, which she had passed off as a combination of alcohol and public sex, there was nothing about the way he held himself that made her second guess it. 

His blush has completely taken over his face and it makes Y/N’s heart beat faster, if that is even possible because it was already running at a million beats per second. The taste of him overwhelms her senses which is why she lets out a small whine when he pulls away.

Spencer looks into Y/N’s eyes, his own glazed over with lust. “It’s okay.” She whispers, dragging her hand down his chest until it lands right above his sex. “I’ll teach you.”

He gulps, audibly gulps, as she wraps her hand around his cock. His forehead falls to her shoulder briefly as a barely audible “fuck” falls out of his mouth. 

Y/N shuts her eyes and tries to contain the excitement boiling inside of her.  

She slips the condom on with ease. Spencer watches her do it before looking up at her. Now she can see just how nervous he is. His hands are slightly fidgeting at his sides so she grabs them, placing them on her hips. 

She scoots forward enough for access while still being supported by the granite beneath her. Spencer’s hold on her hips tightens. 

Y/N hooks her hands behind his neck, giving him a nod of approval. “Whenever you’re ready, baby.” She whispers, looking in his eyes. Her entire demeanor has changed. She’s settled down so that he can enjoy this as much as possible and her eyes reflect that kindness.

Spencer removes one of his hands from her hips to help guide himself. He fumbles a little but after a few misses, his tip gently pushes into her. Y/N inhales sharply at the contact. 

“Is this okay?” Spencer asks hesitantly, searching Y/N’s eyes for any sign of regret. She nods her head enthusiastically, a whimper falling from her lips. 

“Yes, please, Spence, fuck me.” 

He obliges, inching into her slowly until he’s buried to the hilt. “You okay?” He asks again, freezing his motions. 

Y/N, overcome with pleasure, takes a minute to reply. “Please keep going.” 

He finds a steady rhythm. It takes him a bit of time but he gets there eventually, fueled on by the soft moans that fall sporadically from Y/N’s lips. His thrusts are slow at first, picking up in speed as he grows more confident. 

Spencer, being the person he is, knows everything there is to know about sex. But knowing about it and actually doing it are two very different things and he’s coming to that realization very fast. 

Words cannot describe how good this feels. The way her walls clench around his cock with every thrust. The feeling of her hands on his back, fingers pressing little crescents into his skin hard enough to leave a bruise. And the noises she makes when he hits that perfect spot, encouraging him to continue. 

Pure bliss is what it is. If this is what heaven’s like, Spencer Reid would gladly die in Y/N’s arms right now. 

Y/N hooks her ankles around his waist, pulling him closer. She gasps out a moan at the new angle, her head falling back. Spencer somehow manages to pull her hips even closer. He thrusts faster but at a steady pace that has Y/N’s legs shaking. 

“Spencer.” She moans when his lips attach onto her neck and start sucking the spot just above her collarbone. She’s close, which honestly shocks her. She also knows Spencer’s not going to last much longer, she doesn’t expect him to at least. 

“Shit.” He mumbles against her neck. 

“You gonna come?” Y/N asks between gasps of breath, one of her hands moving down to rub circles on her clit.

“Mmhmm.” Spencer moans. 

“Then come baby,” She encourages, getting closer to her own release now that her fingers are working are her core, electricity jolting her body. 

He tuts, a moan breaking the action. Y/N can tell he’s holding back. Spencer lifts his head so he’s looking at her and it nearly sends him over the edge, that look of pleasure plastered on her face. “Wanna wait, for, fuck- for you.” He manages out between moans. 

“I’m right behind you baby, just let go.” As if under her complete control, Spencer releases and within a second is tumbling over that edge, stilling inside her. His orgasm knocks the breath out of him.  

He’s jerked off before, had countless orgasms in the privacy of his own bed but nothing like this. Never like this. His head falls onto Y/N’s shoulder, slick with sweat.

The feeling of Spencer unloading inside her has Y/N coming, Spencer’s name leaving her lips in broken moans as she wraps her arms around him. 

Spencer remains motionless for a minute, trying to catch his breath. Y/N can’t fathom trying to move right now, so she welcomes the stillness, her hands rubbing Spencer’s back. 

After a moment, he stands up and helps clean Y/N up. She smiles the whole time at the gesture. After pulling his clothes back on, Spencer stands in front of Y/N. 

“That was…” Spencer breathed out, his hands landing on Y/N’s thighs. 

“Unexpected.” She finished his thought. “Amazing. Best you’ve ever had?” She laughs, her hands propped on his shoulders. 

“I have nothing to compare it to but I’ll get back to you on that.” Y/N laughed. 

“I’ll hold you to that.” She smiles. He leans in and kisses her softly. 

“It was definitely something.” Spencer says as he helps Y/N down from the counter, balancing her when she stumbles slightly under her weight. 

Spencer’s arm wraps around her waist. “It definitely was.” 

“Did you really think the night was going to end any differently?” He asks, repeating the words she had said to him right before everything changed.

Y/N smiled, shaking her head. “Nope. It was just what the doctor ordered.” 

[amerrierworld]

Oh, brother

for the request: Galadriel and her brothers

Summary: Galadriel’s surprise birthday bash! Modern AU 

Characters: Galadriel x Celeborn, a whole lot of Silmarillion and LOTR elves :D

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: none really, family fluff, annoying older brothers. a whole lot of blondes. 

If there was one thing Galadriel couldn’t stand, it’s surprises. She likes to know when things happen and have everything planned out. If she had the choice to foresee the future, she totally would.

But Celeborn wasn’t like his wife. And he really couldn’t refuse three ruthless blondes from barging into his home to throw a surprise birthday party for Galadriel, their baby sister. They would’ve broken the door down anyways.

It was a weekday, so of course Galadriel was working. Celeborn had taken the day off to pick up the cake that Galadriel had chosen for herself, and pick Celebrian up earlier than usual from school to help get a few decorations. The decor included a handful of balloons, and some party hats, which were mostly for their daughter than for Galadriel herself.

The door practically shook in its hinges at the sudden knock later that afternoon, making Celeborn jump. If it had been Galadriel, he would have been worried, but she had said she was working late. So who on earth...

“Celebooooooorn!”

“Oh... great.” Celeborn sighed and cursed internally. He set his laptop aside next to where Celebrian was colouring and hurried to the door, bracing himself.

“Is that Uncle Angrod?”

“Sadly.. yes,” Celeborn grumbled. He opened up and nearly fell back at the sight of three grinning faces. They were carrying large plastic bags and a few gift bags, and he immediately regretted opening the door.

They pushed inside, with Celebrian jumping into one of her uncles’ arms without any preamble, and Celeborn had a looming sense of dread about why they had shown up randomly at their home.

Finrod was the eldest, and the more approachable of the three. He explained their plans to set up a surprise party. 

“You know she hates surprise parties! The actual birthday dinner is this weekend, you know that!”

“Yes, yes, we know, but we figured we’d do something different this time.”

“Why?!”

“Galadriel works wayyy too much, Celeborn,” Aegnor huffed, flopping down on their couch. His blonde mullet was sleek and straight, and Celeborn caught a section of pure white that shot through one side of his hairdo. Another last-minute dye job, no doubt. “You both work way too much. If you’re not going to do anything about it, then we will.”

“She’ll kill us all.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Come on, help me with the disco ball.”

“The disco ball?!”

-

Galadriel knew what was going to happen the minute she pulled up to her home. If the half a dozen extra cars in the street didn’t say anything, the flashing lights from the living room window gave enough away. She sat inside her car, genuinely debating if she should speed away and just come back in the morning, leaving Celeborn to deal with the aftermath of what looked like an attempt at some sort of party.

But then she remembered her chosen cake and pursed her lips in defiance. She had been very excited to eat it, and curl up with her own  family to just watch a silly movie the rest of the night. She’d find a way to enjoy her birthday, even with her nagging extended family.

But the first person who greeted her at the door wasn’t her husband or any of her relatives. It was Gandalf, with a butterfly painted on his cheek and a top hat on his head. He had a juice box in hand and pulled her into a hug when he saw her in the hallway.

“Happy birthday, dear friend!” 

“Oh, Gandalf. What have you done?”

“For once, this idea wasn’t mine. I was simply invited.”

“I’m sure you arrived on time.”

“I always do!”

He promised there’d be no fireworks this time; when he had set off his pyromaniacal schemes last, poor Radagast’s hedges and flowerbeds had burned to a crisp. 

In the kitchen, Celeborn was nursing a wine glass filled with apple juice. Galadriel didn’t see any alcohol opened anywhere, which did help relieve her stress. He saw her come in and his face scrunched up in an apologetic expression, and it made her laugh.

“My love.. I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t start, Celeborn. What’s done is done. I suppose I’ll be forced to enjoy my birthday now?”

He grimaced and sipped his drink a little more. “If it helps, Celebrian is enjoying herself immensely.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Orodreth is here. I promise everything is family-friendly, even if it is a little... wild.”

“Was the disco ball Aegnor’s idea?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Galadriel’s siblings were all successful, hard-working people. At least, when they were on their own. Once you put the three brothers together, all hell would break loose. Despite their sheer differences, they were able to put things together and become a team. Often to the dismay of their younger sister who had to endure the torture.

Finrod was the eldest, and therefore the most responsible. He was a successful CEO who took his time to travel and explore every corner of the world. He was stern-faced, and defiantly defensive of his family and his life choices. 

Angrod was the middle brother, and the most outlandish. His passion could lead to anger very quickly, but it made him the most emotionally expressive. His son was practically the sheer opposite of him. Orodreth was a little older than Celebrian, and very soft-spoken and quiet. He was incredibly gifted and intellectual, but you would never be able to read his face and discern that yourself.

And Aegnor was the unhinged youngest brother. As an artist and creative thinker, he explored one medium of art to the next. Galadriel believed he had a lot of potential, and being the two youngest they bonded and got along very well. But she had no idea where his life would lead him. One week it would be pottery, the other it would become architecture. But he was kind and encouraging, which made him the most favourable to babysit Celebrian out of the three uncles.

But once put together, all precedented rules of their characters went out the window.

Eldalote was in the bathroom giving people painted faces, and Galadriel assumed that was where Gandalf got his colourful butterfly. She knocked on the door and came in on Orodreth getting a big fish painted on his forehead. Her daughter was watching diligently next to her aunt as she painted. She had a large flower and heart on one cheek, and a party hat tied snugly on her head.

The minute she saw her mother she squealed and ran into her arms. Galadriel picked her up swiftly, and suddenly felt she  couldn’t be mad at her brothers anymore. Nor could she be mad about them getting ahead of themselves and starting the party before she got home. It made it easier to blend in rather than have all the focus on her as soon as she had opened the door.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she nuzzled her daughter’s unpainted cheek who began babbling about the party thus far. Orodreth said a shy hello and wished her a happy birthday. Galadriel wondered how her idiot, reckless brother had ended up with such a diligent and sweet son. Nonetheless, she gave him a hug before Celebrian tugged her back to the living room, where the main socializing seemed to be happening.

The three elder brothers were plotting in a huddled group near the disco ball, and as soon as they saw Galadriel, they swarmed her. Aegnor set Celebrian on his hip, and Celeborn rushed to Galadriel’s side, still looking a little forlorn and guilty for letting the party get so rowdy.

“Sister! Happy fucking-”

“Hey! There’s kids.”

“Sorry. Happy freaking birthday, sis. Do you like our party?”

“I hate it.” Galadriel crossed her arms, but her eyes were twinkling. “You know how I hate surprises.”

“Hey, that’s why we’re not giving you a speech, alright? You should thank me.” Aegnor bumped Finrod with his fist. “Fin was planning on drawling on for forever if we hadn’t stopped him.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Finrod rolled his eyes, but he gave Galadriel a quick side hug. “We know you never celebrate yourself, Galadriel. So this is for you. We practically had to tie down your husband to let us decorate.”

“I mean, clearly.” Galadriel looked at the overwhelming amount of  paper decorations and bright balloons. “He’d never allow it to look so hideous if he could help it.”

“You wound me, sister,” Angrod clutched his chest. 

“Your cake remains untouched though,” Celeborn pointed out. “That’s the one thing I was able to protect. The rest of the house.. not so much.”

“Oh, well I suppose that’s alright,” Galadriel sighed. She watched the small group of friends and other people in her life gather in the living room and other spots in the house. The music was cheery but not blaring. And from the looks of it.. people brought their own dinner items, like an impromptu potluck.

Elwing and Earendil came over to greet Galadriel with happy smiles and a congratulations. The couple were constantly glued to each others’ side, and Galadriel was glad to have another set of seemingly sane parents in their social circle.

Their twins, Elros and Elrond, were sprawled out on the carpet with Lego and toy cars. Elrond’s face had been smeared with cupcake icing that he had scarfed down, and Galadriel watched, amused, as her daughter went over to him, tutting like she often would. She had a napkin in hand and proceeded to wipe his face, effectively smearing the icing even further onto his cheeks. 

The sight made her chuckle, and the initial stress she had seemed to finally leave. She supposed she could enjoy as much of it as possible. 

“To be fair, this party is looking to be the best I’ve ever had.” She looked around, slipping her hand into Celeborn’s. “Food I don’t have to pay for. No idiot college friends or condescending relatives. Kids who are actually enjoying themselves? I’d rank this in the top five, boys.”

“Then our work here is done!” Aegnor declared, bouncing Celebrian who giggled happily in his arms. “Now let’s get that cake.”

“Nuh-uh,” Galadriel wagged a finger at him. “That’s for me and my family alone. There’s enough food for you behind you. Go on, you swine.”

Aegnor stuck out his tongue, and she swatted him. He went off to explore the dishes that were laid out on the dining table. So did the rest of the group; going to get their faces painted or wolf down whatever fatty snacks were in reach. Galadriel turned to her husband and gave him a firm kiss.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t defend our fortress, my lady,” he sighed. She rolled her eyes. 

“It’s quite alright. I’m not angry. Maybe because I was met with a very gleeful Gandalf at the door rather than my overbearing siblings. Besides, we didn’t even have to cook.”

He laughed. “I knew that would be the thing to win you over.”

A/N: I love these guys ;-; This is my character interpretation of Galadriel’s brothers/family in a modern AU. I posted this out of order for CB’s birthday- I finished it over a week ago but then I realized how close it was to the 14th so I just waited! I hope you enjoy my loves 

[poptod]

Hello hello! I have a total spanking fetish (don’t judge me). I’ve been thinking about it all day. Can I just have a detailed spanking fic with whichever Ramigo you choose. Storyline is completely up to you! (No smut, just reader doing something stupid and purely getting punished for it, and lots of aftercare cause I’m a soft b 😽) If this is out of your comfort zone I completely get it 👌🏾 Still think you’re awesome 🤩 

Notes: im gonna judge u a little since ur anon but otherwise, COMPLETELY understand. here u go. have a lovely day WC: 800 something

+

To be fair, you were being a bit of a bitch, but it wasn't on purpose. Just the edge morning had put on you that day. He thinks you're doing it just to get a rise out of him, but by the time you catch onto that you're already aching for a punishing hand. Something to set you right. Something that will hurt.

"You. Are being. Impossible," he grits out, hand twisted in your hair to hold you in place. You whine softly at the sting.

"I'm not fucking doing anything!" You say in full awareness that this will only make the situation worse. Josh is slow to anything resembling anger, but God slay him if he doesn't take every opportunity to play with you.

He says nothing, just drags you from your place on his couch to his bed, releasing your hair to toss you on. The mattress squishes around you as he crawls towards you, leaning all his weight on you to keep you in place.

"How many do you think you deserve?" He asks.

"What?" You ask in genuine curiosity, the many punishments he has for you blurring.

Again he uses his actions instead of words, landing a sharp slap right beneath your thigh. Your exclamation is short lived but just as loud as usual. Even ignoring the fact that he's a good deal taller than you, his hands are large, with long fingers that always know what they're doing. He knows how to get your attention.

"Um," you try to think of an answer before he can slap you again, trying your best to look past the weight of his eyes on yours. "Ten?"

"Nuh-uh baby, I think it should be a little higher," he says, trailing his fingers higher up your inner thigh, bringing a sharp gasp out of you.

"T - twenty?"

He seems to take a moment to contemplate the number, ultimately nodding and pulling himself off you. Before you can situate yourself properly he's pulling you into his lap, your waist on his legs and face dug into the bedsheets. Already your hands are twisted in the fabric, awaiting the feel of his hands on you.

At first his touch is gentle – sliding up and down your naked thighs, tracing the curve of your butt and the skin on your back. Anticipation settles itself in your head, swirling through your fantasies with pin-point accuracy. You wiggle your hips a little.

"Someone's being needy," he says in a low voice, and all touch on you ceases. You whine, burying your face back in the blankets.

"Josh, please," you beg before he can even ask you.

"Really?" He chuckles. "No, go on. Beg me to hurt you. Beg for me to punish you."

"Fuck," you mutter beneath your breath, "please touch me, Josh. Please put me in my place."

Your cheeks burn with embarrassment. He doesn't usually ask you to do such direct things.

"Mmm, there you go. Such a good little slut," he says, almost whispers it in your ear before his hand is coming down fast, leaving a stinging sensation in its' absence. You lurch forward just slightly, mouth falling open with a soft moan.

He doesn't make you count – which you thank God for since you can barely bring yourself to form words – but he does make sure you're still alert for all of it. He doesn't hold back either, each spank its' own feeling that burns heat throughout your whole body. From your blush to the warmth beneath your thighs and the red marks on your butt, you're practically humming with sick satisfaction.

"Ten."

You're only at ten?

Eleven comes a little harder than the last and you can't break down the moan you let out, so pornographic you could swear you're melting into him. The smack sound that comes from the contact echoes in your ears. You fade into the touch, just slightly, appreciating the pain he gives you.

"You're doing so good for me, baby," he says, and even in your state you can hear the need that laces his tone. "Six more."

By the time he reaches 20 there's unshed tears in your eyes. This isn't the most he's ever given you, by far, but it's still a lot. His praise fills the gaps in your trailing thoughts, disturbed by him moving and returning with cool lotion that he massages into your red skin. Coos and whispers of 'you did so well,' and 'so perfect' come from him as he does his best to soothe the biting pain away.

When he finishes and you're curled up into his chest, he strokes your hair, letting you relax for a moment before he speaks.

"Is there anything wrong today?" He asks softly, careful not to disturb the peace.

"No, I'm okay," you mumble. "Just a bit stressed."

"Do you want me to help with that?"

"More than you already did?" You ask, shifting so you can look up at him.

A devious little smile crosses his face.

"Something in that vein of things," he says with that shit-eating grin you adore and hate at the same time.

"You're such a manwhore."

"Ouch. Says the one who loves getting spanked."

"I did say ouch," you giggle, and though it takes him a second to process the joke you're making, he does chuckle.

"I fucking love you."

He says that every time you say anything resembling a pun. Fucking doof.

[anywhozits]

All I Really Want Chapter 7

Rating: M

Pairing: Kristanna eventuallyyy

Verse: 90s High School AU / frozen retelling

Chapter Summary: Anna celebrates her 15th birthday.

Notes: Thank you for reading!!! Also there is some language, underage drinking, and homophobia in this chapter - be warned! (also tw emotional abuse)

Read on Ao3 here!

June twenty-fucking-first.

Another year. Fifteen, now.

And… Anna was excited, objectively, sure. At her very core, she felt excited because she knew she should be excited. But still, the very nature of this date always left her with a huge pit in her stomach.

There was just so much pressure. So much hope and want and desire for the love she craved to fill her first moments of fifteen.

Anna used to think she loved her birthday. The attention… the entire day naturally being about her—like, she knew she was supposed to enjoy it. She loved attention. She’d never deny that.

But…

In reality, her birthday stressed her out. There were all these expectations. Wanting people to acknowledge her, surprise her, and do all these special things to show they care. And yeah, this was probably way too much to ask on her 15th birthday but she wanted to feel … desired.

And yet she worried that wouldn’t happen this year.

Because her birthday was and had always been so full of disappointment.

Elsa forgot. Her parents forgot. Over the years one or two or all three of them forgot. They would ignore her the whole dumb day and then Anna would end up sobbing alone in her huge stupid room that had no reason to be so huge when it felt so lonely.

So far today, not one member of her family had acknowledged her. Her mother was definitely taking a nap or something. Who the hell knew where her dad was… and Elsa hadn’t called (yet, Anna thought, maybe too optimistically), but she was busy at this pre-college academic program at Pomona. So she had an okay excuse.

At least this year Anna got to spend her birthday with Hans. With Hans, maybe it’d be different. He already made the prom milestone so special that she had no doubt he’d do the same for her birthday.

No disappointments this year. Fingers crossed.

And how could she forget? She had Kristoff, too. And Kristoff never forgot. Kristoff always tried his best to make it special.

In fact, he’d already done something for her—he’d left her a card and a mixtape. This had to be her 37th Kristoff Bjorgman mixtape. And every new tape was better than the last.

He... well, um—that gesture alone made her feel desired.

She was officially on her third listen of the mixtape, and the sweet sweet tunes of Modest Mouse’s Dramamine filled her room.

In the past, he tended to include recordings of Pissed Off Kids, but Kristoff had made it extra special this time—the final song of the tape was instead a solo of Kristoff’s smooth tenor singing Better Man by Pearl Jam. Naturally he also hit all of the epic guitar riffs.

Anna loved it.

This lovely thought paired with the swelling sounds of Dramamine put her in a trance. Deep in her emotions, Anna swayed to the beat, instantly craving something more.

Traveling swallowing Dramamine

Look at your face like you're killed in a dream

She crawled on the floor and under her bed, pulling out a blue plastic box that housed her entire stash. The stash was once discovered by the family’s housekeeper, Anna (pronounced A-nuh not Ah-nuh), who subsequently revealed it to Agnarr and Iduna. Obviously, they did nothing about it. Duh. They gave zero shits. Zero. And it had devastated her, somehow. To not be yelled at or grounded… to not have her entire stash confiscated.

And you think you've figured out everything

I think I know my geography pretty damn well

Clearly, Anna had no reason to hide it anymore but leaving it out in the open took most of the fun away. So here it was back in the blue plastic box under her bed. Various bottles of alcohol, rolling paper, a pipe, a lighter, some weed, and an unopened bottle of Xanax with Iduna Larsen’s name on the label.

You say what you need so you'll get more

If you could just milk it for everything

Actually, come to think of it—Anna’s entire stash had been collected from her parent’s room.

I've said what I said, and you know what I mean

But I can't still focus on anything

Looking squarely at the box and its contents, Anna bit her lip. She needed this. And, why? Well, it was a combination of her baseline birthday nerves and the aftermath of the intense sob-fest she had when the oh-so-topical So Unsexy by Alanis Morrissette played on Kristoff’s mixtape. Oh, and of course the fact that her parents probably fucking forgot her birthday yet again… So, she took out the rolling paper and the Ziploc baggie that contained a few grams of weed.

Then, some weird crashing sound echoed from her window, which made her gasp and spook slightly.

Walking over to the window, drawing the curtains, and emerging onto her Juliet balcony, she noticed Hans and his goofy grin, standing in the driveway like he was a regular John Cusack.

When she saw that he had a bunch of tiny pebbles in his hand, it all made sense.

Anna’s heart fluttered. She loved it. She, like, literally loved it. So romantic.

“Can I come up?” He shouted, and Anna blushed. She was basically real-life Juliet at this point.

“Of course!” Anna called, and Hans started off in a sprint toward the rose trellis that led up the side of the house and into her window. “You don’t have to sneak in, you know!”

But he smiled devilishly and yelled, “I want to!”

Anna laughed and rolled her eyes at his definitely not-necessary efforts, but her stomach also did a few backflips. It was literally 500 times more romantic for him to climb up the trellis than it was for him to simply walk through the unlocked front door.

He pulled himself onto the balcony and Anna kissed him deeply. She couldn’t help but sigh—she was so, unbelievably happy to see him today.

“Happy birthday, babe,” he cooed in between kisses.

“Aww, thank you! I’m so happy you’re here.” After kissing a few more times, they ended up back in her bedroom where Kristoff’s singing now boomed through the room. Anna’s eyes fell to the blue plastic box—right. She had plans. “I was gonna do a little something to, uh, match the general vibe of this mixtape Kristoff made for me if you maybe wanted to join?” Anna gestured to the rolling paper and Ziploc bag.

Hans shook his head but then did a double-take. “Kristoff made you a mixtape?”

“Yep! He’s made me, like, tons of them.”

She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man.

“Who’s this? Pearl Jam or some shit?”

“Yeah, but not—"

“Damn, he really thinks he’s emo, huh?”

“—because it’s Kristoff who’s singing. Pearl Jam cover, yeah, but…”

She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man.

Hans laughed, heartily. “He’s pathetic.”

…huh?

“What?”

“You’re telling me he specifically chose this song to sing for you, recorded it, and then actually had the balls to give it to you?”

“Uh-huh.”

Another robust chuckle from Hans.

Anna furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s the big deal?”

“Are you even listening to these lyrics?”

“Um, yes, I—"

Hans laughed again. “You have no idea, do you?”

Anna pouted. She hated feeling naïve. Especially now that she was such a woman. Fifteen and a woman. Not naïve, not anywhere near naïve.

“No, I ... I know. Duh. I totally know what you’re talking about.” But she really didn’t. She had no idea what the hell he meant.

“So fucking pathetic,” Hans said, shaking his head. “But whatever. He’s not even a little bit threatening, is he?”

Threatening?

Oh.

Ohohohoh.

Hans thought… no way.

Kristoff wasn’t pathetic. He wasn’t pining after Anna or whatever. No duh he wasn’t. Absolutely no way.

They were just friends.

And, besides, Kristoff chose these songs because he knew Anna would like them. There was no connection between the themes or lyrics of the songs and how he felt about Anna. None at all… there couldn’t be a connection, because if there were, then… the whole sister thing was bullshit. But it wasn’t. No way in hell. Like, it couldn’t be.

Then why was Hans so convinced?

Before Anna could give this another thought, her bedroom door flew open.

She reflexively ran to the plastic box stash and kicked it back under her bed. For no real reason beyond wanting to keep some kind of classic-teenage air of mystery about herself.

Not that she had any earthly idea who the hell was coming barging into her room on this particular day at this particular hour.

But then when she saw the hint of blonde hair zooming past her and then engulfing her in a huge hug, she beamed. Elsa. Exactly who she wanted to come barging into her room.

“Anna!” She exclaimed as she hugged and hugged and hugged her sister. “Happy happy happy birthday! Fifteen—wow. I’m absolutely thrilled that I get to celebrate with you today.”

Anna didn’t want to pull away. So she didn’t. She held on tighter, savoring this moment she thought would never in a million years come to pass. “I’m really happy too, Els. I thought… weren’t you at school? How’d you even get here?”

“Mom and dad picked me up.”

“…really?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why?”

“So I could be here for your birthday.”

“They should really just get you a car or something so they don’t have—” And then the pin dropped. “Wait, what?”

Anna finally pulled away from her sister and stared at her incredulously.

“Yeah—they picked me up so we could have a proper celebration.”

“But…wait. You’re saying…a proper celebration for… for my birthday? Our parents wanted to do this? For me?”

“At Hans’s insistence, actually.”

“Hans?” Anna’s eyes darted to her not-boyfriend. “You… did this?”

“Only took a couple phone calls with your parents, a few with Elsa. And then magic was made.”

“I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“Of course I did, babe. I love you.”

Anna’s heart fluttered the most it had ever fluttered. It fluttered so much she honestly worried it might fly away out of her chest and off the balcony or something totally wild like that.

Hans was perfect. She was so lucky to have Hans. The perfect not-boyfriend who made her birthday okay again. More than okay, rather. Magical, wonderful. Perfect.

She didn’t even notice as Kristoff’s next selection, All Over You, started playing in the background.

And then the door swung open again and the two essential strangers she called parents walked in to also swarm Anna with massive hugs.

It felt… strange. Uncharacteristic. Almost like… almost like seeing a teacher at the movie theater, sitting down to watch the same movie you’re seeing with friends.

That level of weird.

But at the same time, it was a type of weird that Anna embraced more than anything else.

Because her parents were hugging her… they were acknowledging her.

They hadn’t forgotten her birthday.

“I rented us a Duffy boat for the afternoon,” Agnarr explained. “Kai set it all up for us—stocked with the best Cristal and naturally Anna’s favorite charcuterie board.”

“Ooh cured meats. A birthday delight.” Shit Anna had no idea how to interact with her parents anymore. Who even was this person—cured meats? Like yeah, she loved cured meats of course but damn this felt awkward.

“Actually, we should consider heading out soon. Don’t want to find ourselves on the blacklist at the Yacht Club, you know.”

That may sound like a joke but their close family friends actually did get blacklisted from the Yacht Club. Well, it had much more to do with some kind of scandalous drug and prostitute type situation than it did with being late, but… the fear was there.

“Should we bring your stereo?”

“Oh, yeah! Yes. Great idea. Kristoff actually made me a mixtape for my birthday, so—yeah. I’d love to have that along for the celebration too!”

They brought the speaker. They brought the Cristal and the charcuterie. Anna brought her now sunny and enthused birthday disposition.

Her family. And Hans. All together. Right now. On her birthday. Like, shit.

It felt like something out of her absolute favorite dream of all time.

And, yes, this whole Duffy boat thing was the most freaking Orange County plan of all time. But that meant her dad had to have planned ahead, since Duffy boats booked up ahead of time.

She felt so loved. So loved.

Once they arranged themselves in the boat, Anna turned on the stereo. So Unsexy played again, but Alanis didn’t get to her this time. Nobody had forgotten her birthday. She wasn’t alone. She felt, like, confident for once… damn. This was nice.

Hans moved to sit next to Agnarr, looking for a lesson about driving the boat, and Iduna sat close to the two of them, smiling. It was a Good Day. Anna could already tell.

“Aww, Alanis?” Elsa asked.

“Yeah!”

“Wouldn’t’ve expected Kristoff to put this on his mixtape.”

“Well, I mean, it’s because of you.”

“What? Really?

“Mmhmm. Because he, um, he knows how much Alanis means to you and because Alanis means so much to you she means so much to me. I really—”

“That’s so sweet.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah.” Elsa leaned in to give her sister a huge hug. “I’m happy I get to spend more time with you.”

Anna relaxed into Elsa’s hold. She would thank the stars every day for this magnificent change. “Me, too.”

“Did you know the song You Oughta Know is about Uncle Joey?”

“Shut up. Really? For real?”

“For real for real.”

“No shit,” Anna laughed. “I didn’t think he had it in him.”

“Yeah!” Hans chimed in. “No pull for Uncle Joey.”

“But, wow, yeah. Um,” Anna’s cheeks flushed red and she locked her eyes with Hans. “Guess he must’ve been pretty mind-blowing in bed.”

Hans winked at her and Anna all but shivered on the spot. Hold it together, Anna. Hold it together.

But Elsa entertained them zero, shaking her head. “He took advantage of her,” Elsa explained, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s fifteen years older than her. And they’d already broken up when she was 21, so who knows how old she was when they started…”

Anna bit her lip, worrying this was getting a little personal. Hans was only two years older than her, so. Different story, right?

Eh. Maybe not according to Elsa.

She needed to change the subject and impulsively blurted out, “I wanna get blackout. Right now.”

Elsa shook her head again. “Anna…”

“Yeah! I mean it! You too, right? You’ll do it with me? Let’s blackout on this Cristal. Yeah?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Oh, come on. Ms. Boring! I didn’t ask for your judgmental-as-shit opinion. Do you wanna blackout or do you wanna blackout?”

“Uh—neither?”

Anna pouted. “Boo. Boring.” She looked to Hans for more support, but he’d turned his attention back to Agnarr and the steering wheel.

“I’ll drink with you, but I don’t want to blackout. I wanna remember you turning 15.”

Anna chewed on her bottom lip. “Oh… yeah. Well, I guess I do too. Since it’s so great and all.”

“I’m not boring,” Elsa smirked.

“Prove it.”

Elsa grabbed the bottle of champagne and twisted the cap a little hesitantly but still enthusiastically. It made a loud popping sound and a little bit of the liquid spilled from the top, but both Anna and Elsa cheered when the champagne was deemed officially free.

Elsa poured them both tall glasses, and then she poured three more, remembering there were other people on this Duffy Boat and not just the two sisters.

All five raised their glasses.

To Anna. Who was now officially fifteen. Old enough to legally drink Cristal on a Duffy Boat, right? Totally.

And then Agnarr perked up, suddenly remembering his eldest daughter was also on this boat. “So, Elsa… can you tell me again why you chose Pomona over Harvard?” The way he said both school names made it more than clear how he felt about Elsa’s decision. Pomona sounded like he smelled the sweet stench of vomit infested garbage. In contrast, Harvard sounded like a choir of angels sang at the gates of heaven.

“I needed a change of pace.”

Agnarr laughed. A literally massive guffaw. “Harvard could’ve been a change of pace.”

“I don’t really—”

“But, at the end of the day, fine, you’re majoring in what—finance? Which means that your classes at this bullshit liberal arts doohickey will be miniscule. And you’ll get more time with the professors, get better letters of rec, and then end up at the Stanford GSB like your old man. That’ll really seal that fucking deal, you know? You’ll be in tip-top shape to take over The Company. Harvard or not.”

“I’m not gonna major in finance, dad.”

“Oh? So what’s the plan, then?”

“I don’t know. I like Anthropology, or maybe something like PoliSci?”

“Politics? Really?”

“Yeah,” Elsa said, her jaw clenched. “I’d love to clean up some of the damage you’ve done to this country.”

A tense silence filled the air. Elsa crossed her arms over her chest and took a nice long sip of champagne.

Until Iduna piped up, “Well, if you want my opinion—”

“I don—" Elsa started.

“—a pretty young thing like you can’t work around Bill right now.”

Agnarr guffawed again. Profoundly. He raised his glass and cheered, “Oh ho ho!” Like he won some kind of stupid battle he wasn’t even in.

Anna was utterly lost. She’d already downed one whole glass of Cristal and poured herself an entire new one without anybody noticing. Hah. Classic.

She didn’t really want to admit she was, like, this stupid or politically unaware or whatever but she also wanted to feel like part of the conversation, so she said, “Wait, what? Has something happened?”

Hans gave Anna the benefit of the doubt. “Nah, but he’s known for being a pussy hound.”

“Okay! Enough! That’s not why I said I wanted to major in PoliSci. We don’t need to get into—"

“No, no, no. This is important, Elsa. You better watch out,” Agnarr said, ignoring her plea entirely. “Listen, I don’t know how a man like Bill gets it up for a woman like Hillary. She looks like such a dyke. Not that I respect the bastard that much, but he could have any broad he wants. Any broad like you.”

“No—” Elsa raised her voice, but Iduna chuckled.

“Since she’s got my cheekbones!”

Elsa’s entire face had turned a cherry red. She was mad. Fuming, really. “—you can’t say that.”

“I can say whatever the hell I want.”

“You can’t say that,” she repeated.

“Why not? You think you’re some holier-than-thou judge of character?”

Elsa’s jaw was still insatiably clenched. “I want to go home.”

“Els?” Anna reached out her hand to touch Elsa’s shoulder in a way she hoped brought at least a marginal amount of comfort.

“Seriously,” Elsa begged, her eyes glistening with what looked like fresh tears. “Can we turn this boat around? Please?”

A lump formed in Anna’s throat and she swallowed it down. She didn’t want today to end like this, so she tried to redirect. “Um… but—we’re having fun, aren’t we? You… how about we drink more champagne?”

Anna knew Elsa was mad. She knew that their parents had upset her beyond belief, but this was the only time she’d spent with all of them in the same place in… literally forever. She didn’t want it to end prematurely. No matter how mad Elsa was. Besides, Anna had been there, too. She’d been on the receiving end of comments like that countless times.

It stung, sure. But it wasn’t unexpected. That was just what happened when you spent time with Agnarr and Iduna. They were like parasites.

But the kind of parasite Anna still yearned to have in her life… if that made any sense at all?

Thankfully Elsa seemed to snap out of it a bit and turned back to Anna. “I’m sorry, yeah. You’re right. I…” She added in a whisper, “I shouldn’t let them get to me.”

“Yeah—no. Never!” Anna beamed. Crisis averted. “Drink more!”

Elsa took one big gulp of the champagne. “Maybe now’s as good a time as any. Um… I have something for you.”

“Oooh for me?!” Anna squealed when Elsa pulled out an envelope from her back pocket.

“Open it.”

It was the cutest handmade card ever. What Anna recognized instantly as something they would exchange as kids. Classic white printer paper, cut out into the shape of an A. And inside was the sweetest note of all time. Not long. Never long. Elsa wasn’t the most feelings-y. Or not so much that she wasn’t feelings-y, but she didn’t really have a knack for expressing all of the feelings that brewed deep inside her soul.

Inside this note of absolutely wonderfully sweet words was the fact that Elsa had decided to get her the most fun gift of all time—a night at the local roller rink. A disco roller rink night, too, which sounded five hundred million times more fun than any old roller rink night.

So, Anna squealed again. “Oh my God! Elsa! This sounds so, so, so fun! I’m so excited I can’t wait I’m, like, literally the most excited ever for real I’m, like, oh snap I’m rambling but that just means you know how excited I am!”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Like it? I love it!”

“You can choose whenever you want to go. I can find a way to get here.”

“Okay! I can’t wait!”

Anna had always considered herself forever an experience over a material present person. And an experience present from Elsa of all people only made it all the more special. Quality time with her sister. Shit, she was so excited.

Honestly, ‘so excited’ hardly began to cover it. Anna was ecstatic. Absolutely ecstatic.

It felt almost like… everything was going perfectly. Kristoff’s music played in the background. Hans and her dad had started laughing and carrying on what seemed like meaningful conversation… Iduna was smiling to herself as she usually did on a Good Day. And here Elsa and Anna were. Together. For the first time in forever.

“I’m so happy!” Anna yelled this loud enough that everybody snapped to attention, expecting a speech or something of the like. “This has to be the best birthday I’ve ever had in my whole life. I… thank you for not forgetting. I know—that’s happened before, but—"

Iduna clicked her tongue. “What are you talking about? We’ve never forgotten your birthday. We’re your parents.”

…what?

Was Anna wrong? Had she made it up? She thought she remembered several birthdays in a row her parents had forgotten… since… probably since Elsa had been shipped off to boarding school. It happened at least every other year.

But.

Her mother seemed to think differently. And Anna knew she could be a bit dramatic sometimes.

So…

Maybe that was all a load of BS and Anna was actually absolutely bonkers.

Shit.

“Anna, dear, your mother’s right. We’d never forget your birthday,” Agnarr explained.

Okay, yeah. All right. So then she was literally bonkers. Batshit crazy. Living in some kind of crazy dream world?

“Okay,” was all Anna said, in a tiny voice. She didn’t know what to think.

Except that maybe she really was crazy after all.

But she tried to push that aside. Something to unpack a bit more later.

She needed to enjoy this moment.

And due to this decision, from that point on, the Duffy boat ride went smoothly. They drank their champagne. They finished a few bottles. More than any of them would care to admit, especially because Agnarr and Iduna served the alcohol to minors and whatever. But regardless, they had a great time. In the end.

Sure, Elsa refused to speak to their parents, but thankfully she was never put on the spot again so that really didn’t put a damper on anything.

Hans kept Agnarr company, Iduna kept to herself, and Anna and Elsa spent the entire time talking each other’s ear off about literally everything.

Anna made sure to include all of the dirty details of her own life. Her chest puffed out when she talked about Hans and everything they’d done to celebrate their not-relationship that Anna still continued to make Elsa believe was a real relationship.

But eventually, it came to an end.

The end of an era. The end of this somewhat happy family dynamic Anna wanted to have 100% of the time.

Agnarr and Iduna hugged the girls goodbye. They were getting dinner with some friends and had to dash.

Which left Elsa, Anna, and Hans to fend for themselves.

Anna was a little bit disappointed that her parents had left them alone, but after what she considered such a great afternoon, she didn’t want to dwell on it.

Focus on the positives, Anna! Keep those in mind!

So, she turned to Hans. The orchestrator. The one who made it all happen.

“Oooh, Hans!” Anna jumped up to give him a peck on the lips. “That was awesomesauce! Like, hands down the best birthday—I totally, totally loved it, thank you!”

“Hold that thought, babe,” he smiled, snaking one hand around her waist and using the other to cup her chin. “I’ve still got one more thing planned.”

“Really, really? You do?”

“To the beach house!”

Anna giggled. She loved him. She now officially loved her birthday. She couldn’t wait.

[x1protector]

adventures of gyul

Authors Note: super sorry this took so long, college is hard; i love gyul so much so i hope i satisfied your request anon!! -g

r e q u e s t: “helloooo may i request a little au with hangyul :D it could be anything, kite lover gyul, gyul the explorer, etc hehe thank you in advanced~”

p a i r i n g: hangyul x reader

g e n r e: tooth rotting fluff; boyfriend!au;

w a r n i n g s: this is corny, none

w o r d  c o u n t: 1.7k

s u m m a r y: Your boyfriend wakes you up one morning with the promise of adventure. What sort of adventure does he have in store for you?

Hangyul wakes you up one morning rather annoyingly, roughly shaking you out of your comfortable slumber. It’s not often that he wakes you up like this, usually he would stay in bed with you until you’re both awake even when he’s woken up first. You squint at the interruption, hands instinctively coming up to cover your eyes as you stay put in the warm bed. It’s too early to be awake judging by hand on the clock so you close your eyes, trying to go back to sleep, knowing that he won’t let that happen. Hangyul smiles and shakes you once again as you groan, tossing your hands up at your persistent boyfriend.

“Alright! I’m up!” You sit up on the bed, glaring back at him with as much vitriol as you can muster at dawn. Which is not much. 

Hangyul grins at your cute expression, pinching your cheek. “Get up, you little bed bug, I have the day off and I want to make the most of my time with you.”

“Bed bugs are supposed to stay in bed,” you whined, your eyes just won’t stay open long enough. You contemplated on flopping back into bed but your loving boyfriend is already one step ahead, grabbing your waist and physically dragging you out despite your protests. 

By the time you re-emerge from the bathroom, the smell of breakfast hangs heavy in the air. You follow the scent towards the kitchen and spot Hangyul by the stove, humming a tune as he flips the pancake and making small noises of triumph every time he lands one in the pan. Slowly, you wrap your arms around his waist, looking over his shoulder as he cooks. The scent of the delicious pancakes is almost overwhelmed with the scent of comfort Hangyul provides. You can feel him giggling, back vibrating as he turns his head to look at you, his tongue poking through when he smiles. It was a nice morning, and you fought the urge to smother him in kisses and instead settled for a soft kiss to his cheek.

It’s a nice, regular morning for you two, but for some reason you can feel the mischievousness radiating off of him the whole time. Taking a peek in his direction, you spot Hangyul with this knowing smile on his face. Even as you two engage in small talk through breakfast you know that he is most certainly up to something.

“Alright, spill it.” 

He looks up from the dish he’s cleaning, voice dripping with feigned innocence when he responds, “Spill what?”

You roll your eyes and nudge at him, “You’re a terrible liar, I know you’re up to something. So spill.”

He grins sheepishly as if embarrassed that he was found out so quickly. “We’re going on an adventure today, I’ve already planned everything out. Just make sure to wear something you don’t mind getting dirty and some good walking shoes, alright?”

You sigh and smile at the boy, leaving him to finish cleaning up so you can change. It’s not exactly often the two of you get to have a day together, what with your busy schedules and all. More often than not your “date nights” were the two of you getting home at the same time. An adventure, he said. You change into athletic clothes because you don’t totally trust that this little excursion wouldn’t turn into a workout of some kind. 

This is Hangyul we’re talking about.

Sunscreen is a must, and so are bandages and maybe a small umbrella since you never know what might happen. Hangyul was in sweats and a long sleeve shirt, a cap sitting on his head. Even in such mundane clothes, he still manages to look ridiculously handsome. How did you get so lucky?

You reach a hand out to take his hat, playfully stealing it away and placing it backwards on your own head. Hangyul makes no effort to take it back from you, instead grins and goes about his routine while you still shove things in your bag. Occasionally he chimes in, telling you that no, you probably won’t need that or yes, that would be nice to have. 

The two of you curl up on the bus ride to a place “just outside of the city” as Gyul would put it. You open up a book you brought along for the ride, leaning against your boyfriend as you read. The warmth of his arm as he wraps it around your waist lured you into sleep again, and given in to the comfort you ended up sleeping on the ride. 

In an hour or two--you lose track of time--both of you hop off onto a small bus stop. It looks eerie, but Hangyul seems pretty confident in leading the way, so you took his hand as he guides you off to a rather secluded path until the two of you find yourselves in the middle of a large field. 

“We’re here to look for frogs!” 

You love this man, but you wonder what goes through his head sometimes. 

But he looks so excited about the prospect of catching frogs that you oblige him, searching high and low. You’re glad you grabbed a pair of beater sneakers this morning so you didn’t worry too much about the mud messing anything up, but it’s getting deep and you worry they might get into your socks soon. 

While Hangyul stares off into space, trying to tune his ears to listen for the frogs, you root through some bushes on the side. The two of you spend a few hours in the field, and by the afternoon, you’re both covered in mud and sweat but smiling and laughing so hard your cheeks hurt the entire time. You love all his little antics, including all the times he nearly knocked you into the mud just so he could wrap you up in his arms and plant kisses on your cheeks without you running away.

You don’t know how long you stayed after a quick break for snacks, but long enough that you can hear a loud grumble interrupting your frog search, and the two of you realize just how hungry you are. You’re just about to suggest that the two of you head back to grab some food but then Hangyul starts rifling through his bag. 

He pulls out a large picnic blanket and two small lunch boxes he had apparently packed the previous night. Seems he really did think of everything. The two of you sat on the dryer ground on the blanket, eating slightly soggy sandwiches (“I forgot lettuce has water in it”) under the open sky. It was peaceful, watching the clouds pass by, giving each of the weird-looking clouds a name of your friend. 

“That one’s Seungyoun.”

“Hangyul, please, apologize to the cloud.”

“Fine, that one looks like a frog holding a kite,” he chuckles, pointing up to one of the fluffy white clouds floating in the air. 

You giggle, pointing to another one, “This one looks like a lion with a crown on its head.”

“Mine’s better.”

“Nuh-uh.”

The two of you laugh at your childish antics, leaning on each other for a moment. You rest your head on his shoulder, and allow your eyes to close. The wind curls around the two of you as you rest, playing gently with the ends of your hair. The whole world seems to stop around you to allow this moment to settle deep into your bones. 

Hangyul wraps his arm around your waist, giving you small kisses on your forehead and smiling lovingly into your hair. He rests his head in the crook of your shoulder and you lean back into his chest. His warmth was comforting, seeping into your muscles and relaxing your body against his. 

You’re more than happy to be here with your boyfriend, simply allowing the world to move around you. Words aren’t needed between the two of you anymore, being near each other was more than enough to know how the other was feeling. Your schedules may be hectic and have few moments to spare, but at the end of the day, you love each other. It’s a soft warmth that colors everything you do, even when he wakes you up far too early in the morning. 

The two of you stay like that for a moment longer, committing this moment to memory. You close your eyes, memorizing the feeling of being held in his arms, even though you doubt you could forget such a feeling. 

“Ribbit.”

And just like that, the spell is broken as your boyfriend ribbits into your neck. You giggle, feeling this arms tighten around your midsection as he does it a few more times.

You feel him speak into your neck, “There’s a frog in your throat.”

Hangyul is… a little weird.

You split from him, reluctantly pulling away from his warmth. Unfortunately, this picnic won’t pack itself up no matter how much you wish it to. As the two of you packs in comfortable silence, you were thankful for moments like these, a moment of calm amongst the storm of your daily lives. It was easy to find your ground here, to reorient yourself before pushing back into the winds once more. 

The bus driver gave the two of you a look as you boarded, tracking mud into the interior and almost onto the seats. You smile sheepishly, lowering your head in an advanced apology as you take your seats. Hangyul slides in next to you, resting his arm on the back of your seat and watching you as you dig through your bag, a sort of softness crossing over his features. 

“Hey.”

You look up from where you’re hunched over, smiling up at him. 

“You know I love you right?”

You straighten, and lean forward, placing a small peck to his lips. 

“I know, and I love you too.”

He chuckles, making a face of disgust, “Gross.”

The two of you giggle, resting your foreheads together once more in the fading light. In a moment the spell will be broken, and in a day the stresses of the world will come back to barrage you from all sides. But for right now? Right now the only word to describe this feeling would be happiness. 

[aching-tummies]

Late Night Hunger

This happened a few nights ago.

It was late, like...3AM late. I was still up 'cuz the problem with staying with family is that you don't really get your own 'me-time'. Wanna write fanfic? It takes about 2-4 hours to write and edit a short one-shot...not gonna have 2-4 hours to myself if family is awake. Someone's gonna come by and decide "you're not doing anything important--go cut up some onions for me" or "You're not busy--go weed the yard"--you get the idea. I usually power through exhaustion/heavy eyes to squeeze in 2-3 hours of 'me-time' after family goes to bed...so I'm usually up until 4AM writing fics or doing whatever.

An unfortunate consequence of this stolen 'me-time' is hunger. I'm tired and ready for bed, but dinner was more than 7 hours ago and my stomach's not going to stop rumbling or cramping until it gets something. 3AM--I've already done the whole teeth-brushing routine and don't want to mess that up...also, food is downstairs and is likely to make noise to procure...and I don't want judgemental family sneering about my eating habits or weight or whatever if they overhear or if they find the evidence in the morning.

My options are either to find something quick and quiet to fill my stomach with, chug water, or try to ignore it and hope I'll be able to fall asleep soon.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've gotten fairly good at slipping down to the kitchen and preparing stuff undetected. I've also learned how to hide the evidence (e.g. empty plates, packaging) so that family is none-the-wiser. Hey, I was the one that bought those pizza pockets and I'll eat them whenever I please! The drawbacks to this are obviously having to hide the evidence, including the smell if your food of choice is something like instant noodles, which fill the whole house with their scent. There's also the fact that people tend to over-do it when they're hungry and I could end up being up all night with a case of indigestion rather than hunger (generally, I think hunger is the lesser of the two evils). Or there's the chance that despite it being the one to gripe for sustenance, stomach will decide, "whoa! It's 4AM. I wasn't serious. I was gearing down to shut up and sleep for a few hours too...you want me to work now!? Nuh-uh--not gonna. Enjoy all this instant-garbage stewing in your tummy for the night--I'll work on the aftermath in about 6 hours." Of course, the bacteria in one's tummy are gonna make a HUGE mess of the stuff if it's left to ferment in one's stomach for more than an hour.

I've tried the "chug a bunch of water" method with mixed results. If I'm not too hungry, it usually is enough to lull me to sleep. If I'm starving, it amplifies the growls and my guts become way more active and angry that I tried to trick them. The water also does something to the hollow ache of hunger. It's hard to describe, but completely empty it's sore...hungry and waterlogged it's still sore and queasy...but it's like that weird weightless feeling you get when you're falling or doing 'starfish' while swimming. That feeling of your guts swirling around inside of you...then again, with that much water in them, I guess it's actually swirling in me and it's not just some phantom feeling?

Currently thinking I'd want a partner that rubs my tummy, calling it on the bluff of, "yeah, you're hungry...but if we feed you you're gonna decide to shut down and sleep for the night and then we're going to have a major upset stomach on our hands first thing in the morning", rather than someone that decides to feed me. I just wanna sleep. I don't want to wake up with a tummy ache from whatever stomach decided not to work on overnight. I wonder if things like belly-warmers or something would work, keeping pressure on my tummy while I try to sleep through the rumbles and hunger pangs.

I’d totally planned to go to bed early tonight--as in, 9PM early. Long day ahead tomorrow and I’ve been dealing with anxiety over work-schedules that glitched on their way to me...so I don’t know if I’m working tomorrow or when or whatever. Stressing over that caused me to be up late and with nothing else to occupy my time, I turned to my kink-blog and found some lovely send-anons responses as a distraction. Welp...it’s late and I’m getting hungry again. What to do...what to do?

[artificialqueens]

Couples' Therapy: Chapter two and three (Branjie) - Blackhighheels

(Read on AO3)

Chapter 2: Annoyances and little love notes

“Hello, how are you doing?” Dr. Laurie smiles at them from her arm chair. Her hair is dyed dark red now and curled. Jose thinks that he liked the blonde better, but decided to keep his mouth shut about it.

“Good,” Brock smiles, but as his boyfriend Jose knows that he is nervous and jittery and just hides it behind the wide smile. He gets the feeling that the good doctor is on to him as well.

“Doing good. Nervous, but good,” Jose replies with more honesty.

“You really don’t have to be nervous coming here. Just see it as a way to have an extended conversation about things that are important for you as a couple. And I am your guide through it. Alright?” They both nod. “So, how did your homework go?”

“It was hard, doctor Laurie. Brought me right back to school, but this one wouldn’t let me copy the shit he wrote down, so I had to do it on my own.”

“It’s kind of the point that you do it on your own. I don’t think the stuff that annoys me about you is the same stuff that annoys you about me,” Brock points out and Jose knows he’s right. “He tried peeking the whole time. I had to hide the list, so he wouldn’t read it,” Brock adds in direction of the therapist.

“I didn’t wanna copy it, just get an idea what to write. What if I write stupid shit and you go all deep and intelligent. It ain’t cute to be a dumb ho the second session already.” Brock fixes him with an unnerved look that is a teeny tiny bit amused. “And I knew you hid the list in your red glittery pumps and still didn’t look.” Jose adds with a smirk.

“So, since it looks like you both managed to write something down, why don’t we start? Jose, how about you start with the first thing on your annoyance list?”

“We’re going to take turns?” Brock asks.

“Yes, that’s best. And one more thing before I forget it: No comments or justifications when you hear what the other one says. Just listen.”

“Ok, mama, here we go.” Jose rubs his hands, then takes the folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket with a lot of flourish. “The first thing that annoys me that I wrote down is that he can’t clean up for shit. There’s always stuff everywhere. Clean and dirty clothes in the bathroom, on the floor, the chair, the door… when he eats he puts the dirty plate in the sink instead of just putting it right into the dishwasher. His jacket ends up on the couch, his empty cigarette pack on the table, his whole lotion, cream stuff around the sink along with his hairbrush… I think you get what I’m saying,” Jose stops his rant when he sees the small smile on the therapist’s face. Brock remains silent but pouts a bit.

“Brock, just a one word answer: Do you think Jose has a point here?”

The pout gets more pronounced, but is followed by a sigh. “Yes.” He admits.

“Jose, why does it upset you?”

“Why does it upset me that he a messy ho?” he asks just to be sure.

“Yes.”

“‘Cause I am not his maid! I mean, we have a maid but she only comes over once a week. So when we could be chillin’ for once when we both home, all I do is clean up after him. And then we start fighting cause I’m complaining and he thinks I’m overreacting. When he home alone and I’m gone, the maid comes in the day before I get back, because, mama, the last time she didn’t and I got back… Lord, it wasn’t pretty. If my momma hadn’t stopped me, I would have dumped all of his clothes into the pool, 'cause he just threw them all over the bed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to sleep without cleaning up his shit.”

“I was in a hurry and…”

“Nuh-uh, you heard the good doctor. No excuses.” Jose puts his hand up and interrupts him.

“So what did you do in the situation?” Laurie asks Jose.

“I slept in the guest room till I had to leave a day later. When he got back, he was home alone for like a week. If he wanted to sleep, he had to get his shit off the bed. Know what he did? Dumped everything on the armchair in the bedroom and dug through it when he needed to get dressed. I lost it first thing when I got back.”

“Ok, thank you, Jose. Brock, what is the first thing on your list?”

“The first thing on my list is his constant yelling and also just being incredibly noisy all the time. And it’s not only when we’re watching a movie together at home and he’s yelling at the tv. Also at the movies. It’s a wonder we haven’t been kicked out yet. But, yeah, most of all it annoys me at home when he's so loud.”

“Jose, you think he has a point?”

“Boo, there are moments when you love it when I’m loud,” he chuckles and Brock rolls his eyes, a little smile tugging at his lips.

“One word answer, please,” the therapist reminds him.

“Yes.”

“Can you also explain a bit more why it upsets you, Brock?”

“One, I never really understand much in a movie or TV show because all I hear are his comments. That’s when I’m actually watching with him. But also it’s hard to be on the phone, talking business when he’s constantly screaming obscenities at the tv because of some stupid reality tv show. Sometimes even when I’m asleep, I wake up because he’s singing, well, screaming in the shower or because he decided he wants to play with the cats and runs around chasing them. Or our friend Silky comes over and they party. After travelling for fifteen hours, that’s not really what you want to wake up to after just falling asleep.”

“I said I was sorry. The bachelor was just really fucking up when picking the right girl,” Jose mumbles and looks down to his feet, fiddles with a loose thread on his shorts. The moment when he woke up Brock three weeks ago and the fight afterwards was the actual reason why they finally made an appointment for the couples’ therapy. Jose had rarely seen his boyfriend as angry as he had been back then. Yelling was more his thing and less Brock’s, but that day Brock really lost it and had been so livid he’d slept in the guest room for three days.

“You’d woken me up already! Sorry didn’t fix it.” Brock bites back. His demeanour changes when Jose shrink back into the cushions of the sofa without looking up. “Sorry. I know you didn’t mean to wake me up,” he quickly says in a much softer tone and pulls Jose into his side. When Jose presses his forehead against Brock’s shoulder, he presses a quick kiss to his hair and gives his shoulder a squeeze. Jose instantly feels better, looks up, kisses Brock’s cheek and sits back up.

“My turn again?” he asks and looks at the therapist. She looks at them with curiosity written over her face, taking in every little detail of their interaction and then nods.

Jose is aware of Brock’s arm around his shoulders when he reads out the next thing on his list. “Number two on my list is that he always has to be early to everything. Not just a couple of minutes, but like an hour or more.”

“Brock?”

“It’s true,” he agrees without any protest.

“Why does it upset you?”

“It’s so inconvenient. He’s stressed and bitchin’ before we leave, all anxious that we could be just a minute late. Then we get there, way too early. At the airport it’s not that bad 'cause we can just get a coffee, but have you ever been an hour early to a club or show venue? Your dressing room ain’t ready, nobody expects you there and you’re just in the way. Once we had to wait in the freezing cold for half an hour because everything was still closed. All I’m saying is we could spend that time doing something more fun than just waiting. Your turn, boo.” he nudges Brock’s side when he is done.

“Funny you mention the 'being early’ thing, because my next point on my list is that you’re always late to everything.” All three have to laugh about that.

“You making that up,” Jose screeches and tries to glimpse at the list.

“I am not. Also, you know it’s true,” Brock holds his paper out of reach.

“Yes, it might be true… most of the time,” Jose laughs.

“And it upsets me, because I think that job wise it’s simply unprofessional. In private it’s rude to make others wait for you all the time. And sometimes it’s totally inconvenient, like, for example, when we go see a show and he’s so late he basically misses the first half, then walks in and asks me, mid-show and drink in hand, what happened so he can follow. He’d know if he were ready on time for once.”

“So, are you two usually early or late when you go somewhere together?” Laurie asks.

“We early when he thinks it’s important enough to nag about it. Sometimes he gets annoyed and leaves without me and we just meet there. And if he doesn’t really care where we going, like a birthday party or something, he lets me be late.” Jose elaborates on the matter.

“Ok, then. Jose, your turn again.”

“Alright, my last annoy-ment is that he’s always half naked in his insta lives for no fucking reason. He sitting on the couch with the kitty cats and Riley, talking about merch or some shit and suddenly he just takes off his shirt and talks about his hairy nipples.” Brock blushes and starts laughing quietly. “Stop laughing, bitch. It ain’t funny when you wake up all the way in Europe and first thing you see is your boo’s naked ass posted all over instagram, cause he posing in drag and didn’t put on pants!” Jose swats his chest, when Brock is still giggling. It’s not funny!

“Is that true?”

“Yes.” Brock is still laughing.

“Go check out his insta account or watch his horrible lives and you know what I’m talking about, Dr. L! Totally slutty naked ho, that one.”

“Why does that upset you?”

“Cause, you know, when you like single and looking for a new mans then I get that you posting sexy pics to reel them fish in. But we exclusive, he agreed and he still posting that shit. If he wants to send sexy pics, send them to me in private and not to the thirsty ass hos on insta, who then go and tell my man how he so sexy and so hot and send him all the dick pics, that I know he’s gonna look at. Makes me wonder if that’s why he’s posting that shit.”

“Oh, Jo, no…” Brock starts, but is interrupted.

“Mama, when I was single the only reason why I posted half naked selfies was to get them dick pics and get some trade without going on grindr. And if I catch you with any of that, you’ll be a dead sexy ho and single too!”

“Ok, let’s not get into this right now. This is something we will talk about in depth at one of the next sessions. For now: Brock, your last point on the annoyance side, please.”

“Ok, fine.” Brock takes a deep breath and Jose knows Brock doesn’t like leaving it this way either, but follows the lead of their therapist.

“My last thing is that Jose always speaks Spanish with the people closest to him, like his family or his drag mom, even some of his Puerto Rican friends, but he never teaches me any Spanish. All I know in Spanish I had to look up in the internet.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah, yes, it is,” Jose agrees and is so surprised that his mouth hangs slightly open. It’s not like he refused to teach him, he just never thought it was important.

“Can you elaborate on why that annoys you?”

“It’s hard to follow a conversation when his mother or aunt are over because they mix English and Spanish. And from what I can tell, especially when the conversations get intense or emotional they switch more to Spanish and I’m out. Like, when we talked to your mom about the pool and key thing, she started yelling and later crying and both times I didn’t really know anymore what was going on, because both of you were speaking Spanish. And then you started yelling and got really upset and sad and I had no clue what was being said. It sucks. But when I ask you about words I picked up during conversations once we’re alone, you always brush it off, like it’s not important. I just… I wish you would teach me so I can at least follow what’s going on.”

“You could also watch telenovelas with me and my mama,” Jose smirks and takes Brock’s hand.

“Won’t happen. No way,” Brock laughs and Jose feels the squeeze he gives his hand.

“Great, then before we come to the little things you love about each other, I want to give you your homework. I want you to exchange your lists at home and then offer solutions for the things on there. I’d advise to try and do it on your own at first. Once your have at least one idea for a solution for each problem, you sit down and discuss them. Next week we will then talk about what you have come up with and how that process went. Alright?”

“Sure,” Brock agrees and Jose nods as well.

“Now, Brock, please go ahead with the first thing on your love list.”

“Oooh, love list, I like that,” Jose smiles and wiggles in his seat excitedly.

“First small thing that came to my mind that I love about you, is that you always make time for me, for us, no matter how busy you are. You always call, always pick up your phone, always reserve time for dates and just spending time together and make me do the same. I really appreciate that.”

“Of course, boo,” Jose shrugs and doesn’t really think it’s a big deal but only natural.

“Your turn. Tell me something nice,” Brock teases him.

“I love how damn cute you are with our babies at home. Always caring for them and petting them, spoiling them when you think I can’t see it. And when you talk to them it’s so cute it makes my okapis explode,” Jose gets very excited and basically yells the last part.

“You mean ovaries, papi, and I’m sorry to say but you don’t have any,” Brock is laughing again. At this point Dr. Laurie is also laughing so hard she snorts and they both turn to look at her.

“Sorry, sorry, don’t mind me. Just keep going. Brock your turn,” the doctor says when they both just keep looking at her. She wipes away her tears of laughter and tries to get a grip.

“The second thing I really love, are the small romantic things you always do. Making dinner look real nice and setting the table with candles or slipping little notes into my suitcases and then I find them when I unpack, wherever that is. Stuff like this. It always makes me happy because it shows that you really care and make an effort, even when you don’t have to. It’s so damn thoughtful and just so you.”

“Aw, I know you’re a secret romantic, honey,” Jose squeezes Brock’s cheek, before he sits back down. “My next thing on the list is that I looove what a great cuddler you are. Always holding me, pulling me close and touching me, because you know I like actions more than words.”

“You’re welcome,” Brock grins and pulls Jose close again, by wrapping one arm around his waist. “Last but not least on my list is how much you make me laugh. I can have the worst fucking day or have an anxiety attack and you do or say something that makes me laugh so hard I cry and suddenly everything is better, lighter.”

“I know my stupid ass Vanjie shit always makes you lose yours,” Jose feels his cheeks grow hot at the compliment. He knows that Brock thinks he’s funny, but he didn’t know how much he appreciates it when he makes him laugh when he needs it.

“Jose?” Laurie reminds him that it’s his turn again.

“Right,” he tries to stop grinning like an idiot before he speaks. “I love that no matter how crazy I get, how angry, emotional… whatever, you always stay calm or hold me, stop me from doing crazy shit… you my rock,” Jose sees Brock’s eyes filling with tears when he hears the last sentence. Before they can fall however, Brock pulls him in for a short but sweet kiss. “Love you.” Jose says when they pull back.

“Love you too,” Brock replies quietly and only for his ears. Dr. Laurie is smiling when they pull back and turn towards her again.

“Ok, that’s it for today. Thank you for your participation, honesty and trust. We will see each other next week and please remember your homework,” she bids them goodbye and gets up.

“See you next week,” they both reply and leave the office with their arms wrapped around each other.

Chapter 3: I knew I loved you

“Considering what you told me so far, I think we should take a closer look at three things: Trust, communication and anxiety slash fear. If it’s ok with you, I’d like to address anxiety and fear today, because we will need to take a look back and see where it’s coming from.” Dr. Laurie tells them after they talked about their homework. It had gone well and they both were surprised how easily they found solutions for the problems.

“Just hearing that is giving me anxiety,” Brock mutters. A moment later Jose’s hand comes to rest on his knee, as a simple reminder of support.

“All the more a reason to tackle it. Just imagine what a relief it is going to be when the anxiety is gone.”

“Honestly, I can’t imagine it. For as long as I can think I’ve dealt with it.”

“You gonna be fine, toes.” Jose encourages him, like always his biggest cheerleader. Brock covers the hand resting on his knee with his own and keeps it there.

“To ease into the heavier things, I think we should start with a small fun exercise. Knowing each other is the basis of every relationship and no matter how long a couple has been together, there are always things one doesn’t know. So, I have this bowl here with questions. I want you to draw one paper each, then read aloud the question, that your partner then has to answer.”

“Sounds good.” Brock is relieved to get a bit more time before he has to face his issues head on. He reaches over to the small box the doctor holds out to them and picks a paper and waits until Jose does the same.

“Name one vice you have?” Jose reads slowly after unfolding his paper and wrinkles his forehead. “Who dat?” he looks at Brock.

“Like a weakness,” he explains, knowing which word is causing trouble.

“Oooh, I know that one. I know what you gonna say.” Jose is bouncing up and down in his seat with excitement.

“Smoking?” Brock replies slowly. Not because he is unsure of the answer, but because he knows his boyfriend’s excitement will be gone as quickly as it has appeared, if he doesn’t say what Jose thinks he will say.

“I knew it! That was too easy, Dr. Laurie! Can I get another?” Before she has time to reply he has already reached into the box, taken another paper and unfolded it. “What was I wearing when we first met?” he reads and then smiles. “Oooh, that’s a good one, mama. No way you will get that one right.”

“Which time?” Brock asks and feels a bit smug, just by asking that question.

“What do you mean which time? The first time.”

“Yeah, but like seeing you from afar? That would be at a pageant when you were dancing for Alexis. I don’t remember which pageant it was, but you were wearing black pants and a black top with some kind of white blue sparkles.” He smirks when Jose’s mouth falls open. “Or online? Like when we became Facebook friends? Back then you had a profile pic that showed you at the MAC store and you had a bit of stubble and wore just a bit of make up.” Now Brock goes in the for the kill. “Or when we met at Drag Race, because that one is actually really easy, because it was the red dress with the blonde wig. And then later after we de-dragged you had glitter everywhere and wore a black shirt, black jeans, a leather jacket, and  the red…” he doesn’t get any further, because Jose’s lips are suddenly on his own and he is kissing him in a way that is totally inappropriate for where they are. He has to laugh and breaks the kiss, glancing at the therapist, who is just grinning.

“Fuuuck! You remember! And you think you’re no romantic, toes. You a liar, that’s what you are,” Jose exclaims so loudly that Brock suspects he can be heard three houses down the road.

“What? I know you remember as well what I wore,” he shrugs and refuses to make a big deal out of it.

“You bet I do!” Jose proclaims proudly.

“My turn,” Brock interrupts before Jose can go on to list every outfit he ever wore.

“Name one song that reminds you of me or our relationship.”

“Only one?”

“Only one, that’s what the paper says.” Brock confirms. “And please, try to NOT make it a Rihanna song,” he adds.

“Hey, don’t fuck with Ri-Ri! You know 'Rude boy’ would kinda be it right now,” Jose cackles and Brock rolls his eyes. “Uhm, you remember that one song I posted?” he becomes serious.

“That doesn’t really narrow it down. You post songs every day.”

“The one I posted with that picture of us at the show when we were together the first time? The post that the network made me take down and I got in deep shit for because no one was supposed to know we were together? That one always makes me think of you or us. But, fuck,  I don’t remember the name.”

“Oh, what was it?” Brock wonders. “I know they had another song called Truly, Madly Deeply.”

“Savage Garden,” the therapist supplies.

“Thank you, doctor Laurie, that’s it!” Jose gets excited again. “Savage Garden and the song is 'I knew I loved you’. I was listening to some love-song playlist and the song came up while I was touring and it made me think of you. And then I tried callin’ but you didn’t pick up the phone and then I posted the pic and then the network called me to whoop my ass. Mama, I thought they’d murder me through the phone,” he recounts.

“I remember the mess with the network and I remember the picture, but I don’t know the song. I just remember the small tag in the picture, because someone taggeded me on insta.”

“You didn’t listen to it when I posted it?”

“You’d taken it down before I could. I only know of this because of the whole network mess.”

“Jose, do you want to play it for him?” the therapist proposes.

“Now?”

“Why not? If you want to.”

“Sure, let me just…” he fiddles with his phone and after some car commercial on youtube the song starts playing. Brock faintly remembers it from the radio, but has never really payed attention.

“I dreamed you into life and a thousand angels dance around you?” Brock can’t help but snort once the song is over.

“It sweet and romantic!” Jose insists.

“It’s cheesy and tooth rotting fluff!” Brock laughs.

“Don’t mock my song, jerk,” Jose slaps his arm, but Brock knows he’s not really angry. “What song would you ho choose for us? 'Pony’ by Ginuwine? 'Let’s get it on’ by Marvin Gaye? Or the classic Candy shop?” Jose is on a roll now, but Brock can’t stop him, because he’s laughing so hard.

“'If you’re horny let’s do it, ride it, my pony. My saddle’s waiting, come and jump on it’,” Brock presses out. “Are you serious? That’s your idea of our pillow talk?” Now all three of them are in stitches; even Jose is laughing so hard he can’t continue his rant.

“Oh my god. You two made me laugh so hard I cried for the second time in a row,” the therapist points out and wipes away her tears.

“Welcome to my world.” Brock is still chuckling, but slowly gets himself under control.

“So, mama, spit it out. What song do you pick?” Jose, of course, doesn’t let it go. Brock thinks about it for a moment and when the solution presents itself rather quickly, because he has thought about this before, because there are songs that remind him of Jose, he suddenly gets nervous. “What is it? You don’t have to tell me, you know,” Jose offers, obviously picking up on his sudden anxiety.

“No, it’s just… you know, back when we first got together or when we broke up and then started hooking up again, there was one song that hit home for me. I always turned the radio off or skipped it on spotify,” he admits.

“Which one?” Jose asks quietly and seems to brace himself.

“'Too good at goodbyes’, Sam Smith.” Again Jose wrinkled his forehead and tries to remember the song.

“Can you play it for us?” Laurie encourages him and Brock does.

“Oh,” is all Jose says when the song is over. “Walked out a lot back then to do all the shows fucking everywhere.” He doesn’t look at him and the laughter from a minute ago seems light years away.

“But, uhh, if I had to pick a song now, and this is going to be very cheesy, I’d pick  Beyonce’s 'Halo’,” he admits and isn’t embarrassed at all, knowing he’d do anything to make the pain in Jose’s eyes go away. And then suddenly Jose smiles brightly, his eyes crinkling at corners and his dimples showing.

“What did you smoke that you can see my halo?” Jose asks with his usual sass, but kisses him softly.

“Ok, then let’s continue. You’re still okay with talking about fears and anxiety?” the therapist bursts their love bubble.

“Yes,” Brock sighs, knowing they have to talk about it sooner or later. Jose nods as well.

“Which of you wants to start?”

“Can I? Before I lose my courage and have an anxiety attack about talking about my anxiety?” Brock asks. Jose’s hand is back in his, gripping it tightly once more.

“So, Brock, what are the things that make you anxious?”

“Everything and nothing? Like, really, it can be anything. A doctor’s appointment, flying, talking about things I don’t want to talk about, thinking about a possible illness,  fear of failing at something, strangers… you name it,” he shrugs.

“How about meeting strangers at meet and greets? Does that make you anxious?”

“Not really. Before, yes, sometimes, because I worry that everything runs smoothly. But I don’t mind the pictures and small talk, no.”

“Can you describe a situation where strangers made you anxious?”

“My brother’s birthday party,” Jose provides immediately, even though Brock never really admitted to having an anxiety attack linked to this party. He knows the surprise shows on his face.

“Uhm, Jose’s brother celebrated his birthday and we were both invited. Because we had to work we couldn’t make it to the family part of it and we were supposed to just join him and his friends for dinner and a night out. But then Jose’s flight was delayed and like, the thought of going there on my own… I just, I couldn’t do it. Beside his brother I didn’t know anyone and they’re all so much younger and it’s not like we hang out with his brother that much… and I just, like, there was no way. So I called him and told him that I’d wait for Jose and the join them… he didn’t want that, wanted me there for dinner. I was freaking out.”

“How did that manifest?”

“I was nauseous, sweating, nervous. Like, all I wanted to do was hide in bed until it was all over.”

“Ok, what happened then?”

“Jose had changed flights and hadn’t told me. He came home in time and we went together.”

“From your reaction I gathered you didn’t tell Jose about your anxiety. But, Jose, you still knew, right?”

“I get home and he pacing in the living room, whiter than my teeth, all jittery and with eyes so large I thought he’d popped some pills. That’s when I knew he was freaking out.” Jose just shrugs, like it’s nothing that he can tell Brock’s moods just by looking at him.

“What did you do then to make him go to the party with you?”

“Nothin’.” Another shrug of the shoulders. “I kissed him hello like I always do, told him about the horrible flight and made the shit funny, then took him by the hand and pushed him into the uber.”

“I felt better as soon as he walked in and I knew I wouldn’t be alone with all these strangers.”

“Would you have gone on your own?”

“I don’t know. Maybe… I don't… I really can’t say for sure.”

“What did you fear would happen, if you went there alone?”

“I would just sit there like an idiot, not knowing what to say and who to talk to? People wouldn’t like me? What if they did something I didn’t like? Like drink and drive or get into some sort of physical altercation. They’re not exactly choir boys.”

“It seems like what makes you anxious are two things: Fear of rejection and the fear of losing control of a situation.” Laurie rephrases what she just heard.

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe that’s why meet and greets are ok, because I control the situation and I know people like me.”

“Would you say you faced a lot of rejection on your life?”

“As a kid, yeah. I wasn’t really popular. Got bullied really bad. And, like, my parents didn’t know I was gay, but I knew that being gay wasn’t acceptable because they were really religious. It was something shameful and bad and even once they knew it took a while for them to really accept me.”

“How about lack of control?”

“I had no control over anything. There were rules for everything: The music I was allowed to listen to, the movies I watched, the friends I was allowed to have… church and religion controlled every aspect of my life and I didn’t even believe in any of it, because I knew I was gay and therefor living a lie.” Brock fights hard against the tears, but a couple of them win. It’s Jose who gently wipes them away with his thumb. He also leans into Brock’s side to show his support. They are as close as they can be without sitting on each other’s lap.

“It might be necessary to talk about this some more, maybe even in a session alone, but for now what I want you to do when you feel yourself getting anxious is that you ask yourself what you really fear. Lack of control or lack or rejection. Maybe you’ll find something else, too. And when you figured out what it is, I want you to take a step further and think about what would happen if you lost control or if the rejection happened.”

“How?” He can’t really follow.

“Let’s stick with the birthday party. Let’s say you got there and no one would have talked to you. What would have happened then?”

“I guess Jo’s brother would have made an effort? Or I would have had dinner and then made an excuse and left? Or simply listened until Jo got there?”

“Does any of these scenarios sound like something you should be scared of?”

“Not really.” He admits.

“What about his fear of flying? He’ll kill himself one day with the Xanax he pops all the time,” Jose speaks up even though Brock wishes he hadn’t.

“Ok, before we continue with the exercise: I didn’t know you were on Xanax,” the therapist says.

“I was treated for anxiety and panic attacks before and they prescribed Xanax.”

“But you said you haven’t been to therapy before, right?”

“It wasn’t like real therapy. I was given the pills, it got better and that was it. To be honest, I didn’t really want to talk back then. I was dealing with depression as well and was not in a good place.”

“Taking Xanax is a way to treat the symptoms, but it doesn’t cure anything. And it’s highly addictive, the feeling of numbness and relaxation. If you are up for it, we can try other things, that are less dangerous and might actually help with the cause for the anxiety.”

“That sounds really good, but also really scary,” he admits, glad that Jose is still leaning into him. The weight and warmth of his body is what keeps him calm.

“There is no quick fix, but I think you can do it. It looks like in some situation you already found a way of coping without realising it.”

“Like what?”

“Like when Jose came home and calmed you down and distracted you. None of the reasons for your original fear had changed, but you were still calming down and went to the party.”

“True. I never thought about that,” he admits and smiles.

“So I’m your drug now?” Jose laughs and pinches his side.

“Yeah, but something opposite of Xanax. There’s no way you numb any kind of emotion,” Brock chuckles and feels so much better already.

“Call me cocaine, baby.” Vanjie is back in the house.

“If you want to we can make an appointment to look more closely at these things,” the doctor offers once they all finished laughing.

“I’d like that,” Brock nods. “Can Jose come though? Just in case I need it?”

“If it helps you showing up, then yes, absolutely.” She agrees and suddenly Brock doesn’t dread it as much. “Speaking of Jose: Your turn,” Laurie continues and as quickly as she had arrived, Vanjie leaves again. Jose deflates, becomes small and timid, the grip of his hand desperate.

“I don’t take Xanax,” he mutters, trying to bullshit his way out of the conversation.

“Last time you said you’re scared all the time, mainly scared of loss and rejection. Have you experienced that before?”

“Yeah.” Then there is silence.

“Why don’t you tell us about it?”

“Lost my dad, couple of step-dad’s, friends when we moved. Friends who fucked me up cause I wasn’t a tough guy. Then I got in trouble all the time and was bad news for a while, so I lost some more friends. When I told my mama I was gay she already knew, but some in my family didn’t like me no more. Got beat up at school a bit for it. When I started drag I embarrassed, like, the men in my family. Even, like, my brother didn’t wanna hang out with me no more. We were fighting all the time. Got so bad I moved out when I turned eighteen. My uncle got killed…. And my boyfriends… we either got into like real fights, like beating each other up or they cheated…” Jose trails off. Brock knows bits and pieces of this, but he is ashamed when he realises he can’t provide a full story on any of it.

“Brock, I can see that you’re shaken by what Jose just said. Can you tell him what you’re thinking?”

“I’m just so sorry you had to go through all of this, but I am also really shocked that I didn’t really know. I guess I never asked, but you know you can talk to me, right?” He turns in his seat so he faces Jose.

“I didn’t wanna talk about my fuck ups so you don’t, you know,” Jose doesn’t finish the sentence, but Brock gets it anyway.

“You’re not a fuck up. I told you this before and I’ll tell you again and again until you believe me. Nothing of what happened is your fault. I got beat up because I was flamboyant, you got beat up because you were out. It’s not something that was any of our fault. Kids are idiots, teenagers even more so.”

“I beat the shit out of others. I was the idiot,” Jose argues.

“And I was mean to others. But that’s not who we are anymore. What I understood at some point is that bullying is more about the bully than the person they are bullying. I was mean because for once I didn’t want to feel like crap. And I guess you beat up others so they wouldn’t beat you up,” Brock takes a wild guess.

“Not really. I wanted to run with the cool kids again and that’s what they did. Beat someone up, stole their money, messed with them.”

“Was that before or after you came out?” the therapist asked.

“Before. After there was no way they’d let me hang with them anymore. But I wasn’t allowed around them fuckers anymore anyway. My mama found out, because a some kid’s mother called and she found his shoes in my room, that I’d taken from him. Shit, she was mad. Thought she’d kill me with his shoes. They were these hard white trainers and I couldn’t sit down for like a week.”

“How old were you?”

“Like maybe 14? Was grounded forever, too. She only let me out for school and dance practise.”

“And you didn’t escape a couple of times?” Brock asks teasingly, wishes to lighten the mood.

“And fuck with my mama’s orders when she Latina mama mad? White boy, you have no idea!  When your mama gets mad that one thing. When my Puerto rican mama gets mad, that’s like… she’d be like 'No te mato porque dios es grande’ and then you can’t run, baby, you can’t hide and I knew I’d get it.”

“What does it mean?” Brock asks, because he doesn’t understand the Spanish part.

“Like, 'I’m not gonna kill you cause god is good’, but, yeah, there was always a 'but’ in there. You remember in the Harry Potter movies when they destroy the tiara in the room and then Voldemort’s heard comes after them with fire? That’s my mom when she’s real angry.” Jose is glad when Jose smiles a bit again.

“What is your relationship with your mother like today?” the doctor asks.

“Real good. She my best friend, my everything. I love my mama.” He’s fully smiling now.

“She’s really amazing. And knowing her explains the temperament and the crazy of this one,” Brock teases and pulls Jose into his arms before he can slap him or do something else crazy.

“Ok, sadly our time is up for today.” When the doctor speaks up, Brock checks the watch and realises they are actually twenty minutes over the time already. “Your homework for next week is that each of you picks a story from his youth or childhood, where he was either bullied or bullying someone and tell the other about it for four minutes in as much detail as you remember. Then you talk about it. And I want each of you to write down what he’s feeling afterwards, how the talk made you feel and how you’re feeling after the exercise, ok?”

“Ok,” Jose agrees.

“And Brock, let’s look for another appointment for your session real quick.”

“Sounds good,” he agrees and they both follow their therapist over to the reception area to make new appointments. For all they talked about today, Brock feels strangely ok with it all, especially because Jose is still right by his side, ready to tackle the next session and their homework.

TBC

[platypanthewriter]

Comment tag game!

Tagged by @ihni by way of @kingsandsaints who started a wonderful tagging game, which puts the spotlight to the wonderful people who comment on fics (and art and other things) <3  @ao3commentoftheday, might want to get on this awesome friendly commenter-appreciating action!

Share (excerpts from) 5 of your favorite comments you got on your fics (etc) this year and tag some friends!

I don’t know the Tumblr of some fabulous commenters, and if I didn’t abbreviate this would get REALLY LONG, but here are some of my highlights (I want to tell EVERYONE they’re awesome, oh no):

@bluewitchshaycora22. It’s always fantastic to see your specific reactions to lines and general delight--you say you’re bad at words, but you makes me feel all the feelings, so I think you are in fact PERFECT AT WORDS:  I swear, my heart is beating just for this scene, my teeth are getting cavities because Billy is totally red because he's blushing! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! i AM SO ZONED INTO THIS FIC!!  Like i am glued to this chapter!!!  Seriously, your writing makes me feel warm.  Roller-coaster of feels, love it

@tbehartoo: You bring a laser focus to individual lines and why you like them, noticing interactions I wrote specifically knowing you’d love them!  Makes me feel every sentence was worthwhile, and encourages me to write more!  XD  YAY THANK YOU:  Am I sorry I started reading this story in a place where I couldn't laugh freely? Yes. Am I sorry I STARTED reading this just as people were going to bed so howls of laughter would have been severely punished? Also Yes. Am I sorry to have read this? NO! Nuh-uh! No way! No how! 

Who doesn’t love ECSTATIC ESSAYS on the emotions of your characters.  You notice everything they felt and everything they did and DIDN’T do and make me feel like a genius:  @susiecarter:   And that's before this whole amazing sequence, g o d, my feelings were going EIGHTEEN DIRECTIONS in all the best ways! Obviously the awkwardness is hilarious, but at the same time there's something so earnestly touching about the entire scenario

@horson , Thanks for being so chatty and reading my weird side project, it’s always so fun to talk about fandom with you!  I love hearing your opinions!:  I'm so glad you were able to finish this story - it was an absolute pleasure to read all of it. Main characters felt just like the ones in the original series, especially Greg :D Your OCs were interesting and complex, with their own backstories and I really loved them all (yes, even the goblin-priest, who I loved to hate)!! I'm sad about Phoebe, I mean, it is sad they had to part ways with her but her role and her story - it was such a bitter-sweet ending.And yeah, your titles are really long, but they're honestly great ;D 

Thanks for tagging me in, @ihni!  It’s so fun knowing somebody who thinks they’re as goofy as I do likes my writing!  I’ll keep writing these idiots, thinking of you giggling and sighing!  And I’ll try to get on...describing those pictures?  XD:  *happy sigh* This was so incredibly sweet, I love it so much! I mean, how is Steve worried about Billy with the kids when he's this adorable with Will? Also, I'm gonna need to see those pictures at some point. Adorable.

To all the people who pass in the night and leave one comment I’ll always remember, THANK YOU: Sad Anon:  i cried. im crying right now. it's 1;37 am and im crying over this fic i just binged for real though I'm so glad i clicked on this fic bc idk why but it just really resonated with me aaa. the emotions feel so genuine and i hardcore relate to billy sometimes and Damn It Steve Is So Sweet. it's too late at night for me to compose real sentences but i loved your characterization of... everyone, honestly, and I ADORE the romance and shit and i love the little bits of comedy worked into the fic, and i appreciate your commitment to writing like a whole novel about these boys and im gonna shut up or I'll cry again. tldr thank you for this. so much :')

For being completely sweet and nice and crying almost as often as I do (I thought of you writing the latest chapter of Strangest, because it’s the first time I’ve ever cried writing MY OWN FICTION...*HIGH FIVE* we who are capable of great joy and sadness and are marathon criers) thank you, @cameforthecat​: I don't know how to stress this enough that this is a GOOD THING but I can literally never read this without crying. Is that weird?   Pretend I'm giving you the biggest hug ever! I'm absolutely glomping you

Also some lovely people I believe are the ones who commented but I’ve never actually talked to on Tumblr (and if you aren’t the right people I’m sure you’re rad also so thanks for being you), thank you thank you: @sirsparklepants​, @siriuslyrose​,