#what is it about a first laugh or smile line trip getting me every dang time Feyre Rhys Celaena Rowan AHHH

[acourtofquestions]

“Yrene laughed, and the sound of… Beautiful as the sound was, it was nothing like the smile on her face. The delight. He’s never seen a face so lovely.”

[bratkook]

eleven months. (m) myg. one.

masterlist.

pairing: min yoongi x reader genre: fluff, slow burn!!!, eventual smut, warnings: none this chapter. word count: 2.8k author’s note: this chapter is on the shorter side, just diving into them meeting and giving you all a small glimpse into them as individuals! im really excited for this story so let me know what you think, feel free to scream about anything in my inbox bye ily lmao summary: it’s been years of yoongi living his routine life, accustomed to his pace of living, going with the flow and simply existing. until you come along. yoongi absolutely can not see the logic in the way you live, but he weirdly craves it. craves the feeling of not being afraid of not knowing what’s coming, being able to just let the cards fall wherever they land. and maybe you can help with that.

Yoongi loves the rain, really he does. The way the clouds gloom over the city, encompassing it in this darkness that reminds him of underexposed film. He wishes he could always see the world through this filter, always smell the scent of wet soil and tarmac as he makes his way through the streets. Something about hearing the soft patter hitting the sidewalk, bouncing off the rooftops and dripping from the gutters calms him. A soft smile spreads across his face as he exhales the smoke in his lungs, letting the stick hang loosely off his lips while his hands clutch onto his umbrella.

When he stomps his foot into a wide puddle, the cold water splashes up onto his ankle and he grimaces. He hates being caught in the middle of rain. It didn’t matter if he had his umbrella or not, or if he managed to bundle enough for the downpour, he hates stepping into puddles and getting his socks wet. Hates how some of the raindrops that slipped under his umbrella—since it was now raining sideways—have managed to make his cigarette slightly soggy.

Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth this time, he holds it in front of his face with a frown. It was halfway done but no longer burning properly due to how wet it had become. 

What a waste.

As he passes a trash can, he stubs it out fully and tosses it inside, a small pout on his face at the loss of something to fidget with. But then he sees the glowing sign inching closer, the bright neon yellow standing out in the grim weather. The illuminated Rkive360 in the distance stops him from slipping out another smoke, choosing to stuff his unoccupied hand into the pocket of his jeans, moving his legs a little faster to get to his destination.

The bell at the top of the door jingles as he stumbles in, his foot tripping over the small lip of the mat by the door. That was a safety hazard he’d playfully bitch to Namjoon about later. 

“Yoongi, hey!” When he balances out, closing his umbrella and giving it a good shake by the door, he looks up and grins at Taehyung. He spots him standing by a flat spread of clothes a few feet away, folding out some new items as he stares at Yoongi with a genuine smile. His curls flop over his eyes and Yoongi chuckles to himself as he wonders how a guy like him was here folding shirts when he should probably be the face of Gucci or something. 

Well, that’s life. 

“Hey man,” Yoongi mumbles out, his eyes catching the plastic bin beside the door that’s labeled ‘umbrellas here’ in a messy scribble he can only attribute to Taehyung. Not needing to be told twice, he sticks his dripping umbrella upside down into it and shuffles inside the shop, taking a minute to look around like he always did. 

Record stores have always been his safe space, even as a teenager. The amount of time spent in one after school, loitering inside with his friends as he sorted through the racks of CDs and vinyl, exiting with his bag of new goodies that left him excited to get home and play them. It was god sent that his best friend decided to open up his own place years ago, keeping it fully stocked with anything he could imagine. Maybe Yoongi was a little biased, but this was definitely the best shop in the country. 

It’s a welcoming place, pops of color in every corner, tall standing sculptures mixed in with displays of music, autographed albums and posters framed onto the wall behind the counter. It’s the full embodiment of his best friend, down to the tiny KAWS figurines perched beside the register and the music playing through the speakers. The small melody in the background fills his ears once the door is shut, recognizing the song playing as Dang! by Mac Miller and he bobs along as he approaches Taehyung.

“Quick question,” he starts, his hands coming up to shake at his gray hair that was slightly damp from the rain. Taehyung sets the shirt down, resting both of his palms on the table as he leans towards Yoongi with interest. “Any chance you guys miraculously got Seventeen Seconds in your stock this week?”

Taehyung hums in thought, his brows furrowing together as he tries to mentally sort through the massive boxes of new vinyl Namjoon had brought in a few days ago. New shipment comes once a week but every now and then Namjoon goes out of his way to find specific records, never missing with his selection. 

A small flash of blurry trees crosses his mind and then he's smiling at him. “Yeah, we actually got it the other day. Pretty sure Namjoon hunted it down for you since you’ve been asking. It should be in the back.” His thumb points behind him, towards the display tables that held all the LP’s available at the store, a very familiar spot. 

Yoongi mumbles out a thanks as he makes his way over, eyes already locked onto the bin that he knew would hold his prized possession. It’s not until he gets a few feet closer that he sees your crouched frame over a box, figure slightly hidden by a giant CD rack. You’re rummaging through the records, almost making him flinch when you quickly stand back up and find their proper spot in the display. You don’t notice him approaching until he’s right beside you, eyes once again glued to the bins lined in alphabetical order once the initial shock of another person subsided.

That’s when you give him a glance, sending him a soft smile as you slip the record in its rightful spot, crouching back down to grab the next bunch. His hand pauses on the edge of the bin at the glimpse of something familiar, momentarily distracted by your shirt. When you stand back up, feeling him staring at you, you slowly turn to face him once more with your eyebrows raised up in question.

He takes note of the tag clipped to your shirt, it reads Sana but he’s used to dealing with Sana and you are definitely not her. You’re new.

The smile remains on your lips as you rest your hip against the edge of the table holding up the record bins, preparing to put your best customer service voice to use. His eyes glance at the writing on your shirt again, cracking a grin when he confirms it's a New Order shirt tucked into your black jeans. “You like New Order?”

Your smile falters slightly, your arms crossing in front of you as you narrow your eyes at him in defense, not entirely sure how to take his tone. “If you’re about to ask me to name five of their songs I’ll have to walk away to avoid getting fired.”

His smile widens at that, soft and gummy, breaking his cold appearance as his arms raise up in front of him in surrender. “No, just an observation.”

Your demeanor softens again, your arms sagging back down to your sides and smiling once more. “Good, it's my first day on the job and I’d really like to keep it.”

Yoongi chuckles softly, going back to his searching for his precious album, leaning over the third bin dedicated to bands starting with the letter C. His nimble fingers flip through the LPs until he gets to the Cure, sorting through Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, passing Pornography until he reaches Wish and his brows furrow, flicking back and forth as if the album he wanted would magically appear.

“Need help finding something?” You speak up again when you take note of him sorting through the same chunk of vinyl. He grunts lightly, letting the stack slant back in a heap as he purses his lips.

“Yeah actually, Taehyung said you guys got the album Seventeen Seconds but I don’t see it.

You step back from reorganizing the bin labeled S, trying to remember if you had brought the record out or if it was still sitting in the second box ready to be unpacked. Your brain was already overwhelmed from all of the information you had been given on your first day, trying to unscramble the entire backroom and it’s countless boxes—most of which were unlabeled because Taehyung said it’s not necessary since he knows where everything is. 

Much like Taehyung, you recall seeing a flash of the album cover when you sorted through the new box of records, knowing exactly where it was tucked away since you had been the one to store it. You were under strict orders to not put it out on the floor, because according to Namjoon, if someone else took this album you’d be attending his funeral. 

“Oh, uh gimme a sec.” You shuffle away, leaving him behind as you approach Taehyung, still folding away. “Hey, Tae?”

He hums in question, turning to stare at you with a small smile. “Whats up?”

“That guy is asking for Seventeen Seconds but Namjoon told me he’d be murdered if I gave this out to anyone.”

Taehyung starts laughing instantly, setting the shirt down as he stares at a confused looking Yoongi still standing by the LP’s. “Yeah, he was saving it for him specifically.”

“Got it, okay. Thanks.” You make a beeline back to the tables at the back, passing Yoongi with a polite smile. “Be right back!” you exclaim, wagging your finger at him as you make your way towards the back room, clearly on a mission.

Yoongi just stands there as you enter the employee stock room, not trying to cross any professional lines and follow you since you have no idea who he is. It's only a few feet away and you left the door propped open so when a few minutes pass and he hears rustling, followed by a heavy sounding thud and some curse words, he can’t help but wander over and peak his head in.

“You okay?” he asks, leaning against the door frame with a smirk on his face when he sees the way you’re frozen, one foot on the ledge of the shelf and the other on a not so sturdy looking stool, caught in the act of a poorly made decision. Below you lay two brown boxes that carry shirts you’re meant to unpack later, definitely the cause of the loud thud he had heard.

“Yep,” you confirm as you pluck out the record you need, shoving the box back into its safe spot and hopping down haphazardly. “Here you go.”

Grabbing the record carefully, he flips it over to skim the track list and smiles widely when he looks back up at you. That familiar warmth fills his chest as he holds the new item, making him feel the same way he had as a teenager when he bought his first LP. He had been searching for this vinyl for months now. It wasn’t as if it was no longer in production, he just couldn’t seem to find it in stock anywhere he looked and buying it internationally was the last resort he would take since the shipping fees were downright illegal. “Thanks.”

You’re already hunched down on the floor as you open up one of the boxes that had fallen in your haste to scale the shelves, deciding to just unpack in now since you were here. 

“Yeah, no problem. Tae can ring you up at the front.” Sending him off with a smile and a wave, he takes that as his cue to exit, making his way to the front again. 

When he leaves the backroom you flop onto your butt with a huff, your legs sprawling out with the second box in between them. You were hoping your words didn’t come across as rude to him but you couldn’t take the way his sharp eyes stared at you. Had he lingered any longer you would have embarrassed yourself, it was a miracle your footing hadn’t slipped on your way down from the shelves. You can’t imagine your ego being able to recover from a tumble like that. 

Taehyung spots Yoongi leaning against the front counter, setting the final shirt down and going to stand behind it with a smile. “Did you find everything okay?” he asks automatically, the general phrases they had to use coming out without a thought and Yoongi scoffs, sliding the record across the counter and nodding.

“Of course I did, you let Namjoon know that I said your customer service is unmatched.” His finger gently rubs against the first black KAWS figurine, smiling at the remaining four as he remembers how Namjoon had excitedly told him that this was their friend group, representing them all perfectly. 

Taehyung grins with a roll of his eyes, scanning the album and slipping it into the brown paper bag they provided. “Wonderful. Your total is 40,000 won.”

“Wow, your customer service voice is phenomenal.”

Taehyung laughs now, his nose crinkling up at Yoongi's sarcastic tone, watching how Yoongi grins back at him, succeeding in getting him to crack. “Fuck you, man.”

“Ah, there he is.” Yoongi hums with a chuckle as he pulls out his wallet, sorting through his bills and handing them to Taehyung. “Who’s New Order girl?”

Tae raises his brows as he enters the amount into the POS, the drawer popping open against his hips. “Oh, Y/N?” Yoongi only shrugs, you had Sana’s name tag on so how the hell should he know.

Taehyung stuffs the money into the drawer and slams it shut, ripping off the receipt from the machine and slipping it into the bag. “She just started today, can’t remember where she moved from, some place far though.” He shrugs as he hands the bag over to Yoongi.

The older boy ruffles his damp hair up, accepting the bag with his right hand. “Oh, cool. Well thanks, I’ll see you guys later then?” Taehyung just waves him off with a smile, similar to the way you did and he laughs to himself when he realizes Taehyung must be the one in charge of training you.

As he approaches the front door he pulls out his pack of cigarettes once more, sliding one out and slipping it between his lips. He finds himself looking towards the back of the shop again, seeing you resuming your organization, but your head lifts up as you feel him staring at you from his spot at the door. The spark of his lighter flashes across his face when he lights up his smoke, opening his umbrella once more now that he's partially outside. When your eyes meet, he smiles around the stick, giving you a nod before turning and walking back out into the rain.

You watch as his figure disappears down the street, his dark silhouette blending in with the rest of the people roaming the city, and when you can no longer see him through the store window you turn towards Taehyung. He’s stood at the POS, fidgeting with the screen, but when you call his name he glances up at you. “Is he a regular?”

He nods in response, eyes going back to stare at the screen as he begins to print out a sheet to fulfill the online orders the store received. “Yeah, he comes in at least once a week. Buys strictly vinyl. I think Namjoon mentioned he’s a music producer, or maybe it was a DJ, I can’t remember.”

Taehyung evidently doesn’t have the best memory, that much had been made clear in the short span you’ve known him. He had forgotten your name twice during your interview, Namjoon having to subtly repeat it for him, he had also asked you three times where you were from and at first you thought he was joking but when his face remained serious you realized he had really forgotten already.

“Hey, where’d you move from again?” he asks one more, genuinely curious as if you hadn’t told him a handful of times already. 

“I told you, Iceland.” It’s a lie, but when he hums in thought—pretending to suddenly remember—you chuckle at the newfound way to mess with him. 

He’s quick to start questioning you about Iceland, nodding along to the lies you spill while you both go back to your tasks of sorting albums and folding shirts. It makes your first full shift eventful, passing jokes back and forth as the sky grows gloomier. As distracting as your conversations get, you can’t help but glance up through the windows whenever a dark clad figure walks by, the thought of the sharp eyed stranger lingering in your mind. 

[garbagevanfleet]

Brightest Blue (series)

PART ONE

Pairing: Josh & female!Reader Warnings:  None yet.  Summary: Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: Here we are everyone. This fic has been a long time in the making, but I’m pretty dang happy with it so far! I made Josh extra lovable and squishy for you all. I hope you enjoy! This fic is edited by the amazing and gorgeous, @lantern-inthenight. And big thanks as always to @myownparadise96. I literally could not have found the motivation to do this fic without you. 

MASTERPOST 

taglist: @myownparadise96 @n1-party-anthem @valleyd0ll @bigblack-catattack @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @oblvions @hansonobsessed​ @satingrass-maidensfair​

The scenery in Michigan was vastly different than back home. You were used to and comfortable with the nearly unforgiving heat of the American South West, but the farther away you got from home, the more foreign everything seemed. The scrubland slowly started being replaced by emerald green grass and dense forests of towering pines. Once you hit Illinois, little farmsteads were scattered along every road you took, boasting fields thick with corn and beans. 

It was a bit over a full day’s worth of driving. You had originally thought you could just drive right through - after all, you were young and you had plenty of caffeine at the ready. In reality, you wound up digesting the trip over two days. 

You were a fortunate enough person that you had a reliable car, which made up for the fact that it wasn’t very pretty to look at. It didn’t exactly sip gas, but that had never even been a concern before this - it wasn’t very often that you left home, let alone make a trip across the country. But you were able to breathe a sigh of relief when you started seeing the exit signs for Ann Arbor. 

Your parents had been a bit judgemental about you picking a school so far away - they were even worse homebodies than you, and they knew that you being across the country meant they wouldn’t be seeing you until the school year was over - but there was no way you could turn down an opportunity like this one. You had worked your ass off to qualify for a scholarship, knowing full well that there was no way you could afford higher education otherwise. MU hadn’t been your very first choice but with one of the better programs in the country for your desired field, you just couldn’t turn it down. 

You had to pull over into a McDonald’s parking lot to pull up the address you were looking for and program it into your phone’s GPS before continuing further into the city. Your mother had been particularly wary about your living situation. See, she was a woman that adamantly liked to have a plan and then stick to it - she didn’t see any value in just letting things happen. “Go with the flow” wasn’t in her vocabulary, but you’d always romanticised the idea. Which was why, when you pulled up to the apartment that you were going to be living in for the next year, it was the first time you’d ever seen it. 

You had found the listing on the Facebook marketplace for the area, looked at a couple of pictures, and signed the lease agreement online - all without knowing what you were really in for. You’d been informed that you’d have a roommate when you’d contacted the landlord, but she hadn’t mentioned a thing about the person other than that. All she really said was “no pets, no smoking, and one month’s rent for the security deposit. You had told yourself that it didn’t really matter what the situation was as long as the other person wasn’t outwardly malicious and the place wasn’t infested with pests or anything, even though you knew it mattered a little. 

An audible sigh of relief left your lips when you pulled into the apartment parking lot and found that your new home looked well kept. The building had old, slide-up windows, but the brick siding was clean, and the shrubs that lined the property were trimmed and neat. You and your back seat stuffed to max capacity with house plants had made it - and with only a bit of sleep deprivation and caffeine jitters for damages. 

After you got out of the car, you grabbed your very favorite potted cactus and found your way into the building, meandering down the dim hall until you came upon the door marked 6. You hadn’t been given a key yet, so you knocked with your free hand and waited until you heard someone shuffling around inside.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous - obviously, you were - but more than anything you were excited. Anxious, maybe? That seemed like the right word. 

The door opened to reveal a boy, around your age, hair a mess of curls on the top and shorn tighter to the sides of his head. You were immediately taken aback by the depth in his eyes, chocolatey and warm. 

“What’s up?” he asked casually, leaning against the door frame, a pair of old-school headphones dangling from his hand. 

You frowned at him slightly, suddenly terrified you’d gotten the wrong apartment number. You weren’t sure how you’d live with that embarrassment, especially if you had to live next door to him - you’d just be that stupid girl that didn’t even know where she lived.  “Oh, I think I’m your new roommate? This is number six, right?” You peered around the other side of the open door, just to confirm.

A beaming grin spread over his soft face, showing you his blindingly white teeth and the deepest pair of dimples you’d ever seen. “Oh, cool, yeah. Come on in.”

He stepped aside, giving a dramatically flourished bow as a gesture for you to enter. You obliged, and even though this was your new house too, you paused and waited as he shut the door behind you. 

“Sorry, I was expecting you yesterday, so.” He trailed off with a sheepish smile and then extended his free hand to you. “Anyway, I’m Josh.” 

You shifted your cactus to one arm so you could shake his hand. “Y/N. Yeah, sorry, it took me longer than I expected to get here. Which is why my stuff apparently showed up before I did.”

You eyed around the apartment, spotting boxes of your things in piles. The original plan your parents had come up with was to have you rent a U-Haul, but since you’d never driven anything bigger than your Camry, you had quickly shot that idea down. After some expert negotiating, they had agreed to hire a moving company. You hadn’t had the balls to ask what a service like that had set them back - decided instead that it was better if you didn’t know. 

“Oh yeah,” he replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It all showed up yesterday at like noon. One of the boxes was open a little, and I saw records so I looked through them to make sure you weren’t some kind of freak.”

It was more of a statement than a warning, and the smile he gave you showed not even a shred of an apology so you just smiled back. “Find anything you like?”

He turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen - connected to the living room by a huge square archway. “Your music taste is,” He paused, opening a cupboard and pulling down two mismatched glasses. “Eclectic.”

You laughed at him, bending to gently set your plant down on a side table. “That’s true.” 

“But I found plenty I could listen to, so I guess you’re okay. You want some juice?” he asked as he held up a paper carton of store brand orange juice

. 

“That would be lovely,” you agreed, standing stick straight the way you did when in the presence of new company. “My dad used to take me to a lot of thrift stores and we’d go home with a minimum of two records per trip.”

“I love thrifting,” he said simply, giving you an alarmingly serious look. “There are three here, I think. Every once in a while you can find something really worth keeping. I have kind of a ‘catch and release’ policy where if I don’t instantly know what I’m going to do with an item, I leave it there, but I think - like - a third of my wardrobe is from thrift stores.”

You listened, feeling oddly entranced by the way he was handing you thoughts as they came to him. There was something truly honest about it - a quality people back home didn’t seem to have. It was charming. 

He brought your glass of juice to you and then motioned to the rest of the apartment. “You want the grand tour of Casa De Joshua-” He gave you a pointed look and a cheesy grin. “And Y/N?” 

You breathed a laugh at him, nodding as you sipped. “Please.”

“Okay, try not to get lost - this is obviously the living room. I do most of my living here as the name would suggest. I found this couch on the side of the road - actually almost all of my furniture is adopted.” As he explained, he was gesturing to items like Vanna White.

The couch looked. Well-loved. You could tell just at a glance that it was probably past it’s prime when Josh had stumbled upon it, but it did look comfortable, and it wasn’t like you had a couch to offer, so you were happy with it. 

“I have this TV but it’s really only for movies and stuff because I’m twenty-two and I’d rather die than pay for cable. But there are literally hundreds of DVDs in the TV stand that you are welcome to peruse at your leisure,” he informed, his hands gesturing almost arbitrarily as he talked. 

You followed as he moved on through the archway. “This is the kitchen. All of the food lives here. There’s lots of stuff, but I try to just make two bigger meals per day. I don’t have a real ice tray so I’ve been using a chocolate mold- Well anyway, our ice will be in the shape of wiener dogs.”

You were shocked at the laugh that escaped you, genuine and uncontrolled. He grinned over at you, clearly also surprised - but pleased with himself for getting the reaction he was aiming for. 

“I think I can live with that.” 

“Good,” he agreed simply, giving you a new kind of smile - something sweeter. After a beat, he motioned down the hall with his eyes, letting you lead. “The bathroom is this way. The water takes like three or four minutes to get hot. I realized that I have a lot of products for some reason, but I condensed them all into this one area in the corner just in case my new roommate was a girl, and you are so that’s great. I’ll probably get a shelf.”

There was a proud quality to his voice like he felt gentlemanly for letting you have all the space you needed. For some reason, that made you feel warm and fuzzy. 

“And what if your new roommate had been a boy?” you inquired with a smirk. 

He put a finger on his chin, taking on a contemplative look for you. “Hmm. Then I guess I slowly would have moved my stuff back to the cabinet - probably just one thing per day so he wouldn’t notice. Unless he had a lot of makeup or something, then I’d just let him have it.” 

He grinned as you teasingly shook your head. 

“This way is the sleeping quarters. My room is there on the right and yours to the left.”

You stepped into your new room and let a sigh of relief. Two huge windows took up a lot of the far wall, framed underneath by large sills. The space was bright and roomier than you’d pictured. Your bed was set up in the very middle of the room, but you already knew exactly where you wanted it to go. For some reason, you had been concerned that you wouldn’t like the space, but it was kind of perfect. 

“This is great,” you breathed, turning to him and giving him a sly grin. “Wanna give me a hand moving my furniture around?”

He pretended to consider for a moment until you spoke again. 

“My mom sent money for pizza while I get stuff unpacked,” you said coyly. “If you needed any convincing.”

He laughed, showing you his teeth. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay, I’ll help as long as I get to look through your stuff while we move it.”

You gave him a questioning look, earning a one-shouldered shrug in return. He looked benign enough standing there, propped against the door frame with a goofy upturn to his lips, so you relented.  

“Deal,” you agreed.

You were positive you would not have been able to move stuff without his help. For being a slender boy, he seemed to easily be able to get things where they needed to be. He dutifully helped you shove your furniture into place - your bed against the window wall, your desk and vanity on the wall with your closet door. Then, bless his little heart, he helped you move it all again when you decided you didn’t like the arrangement (but not without some light griping). 

One by one, you brought in your boxes from the living room and you allowed him to poke through them, perched on your bed. He flipped through your books, thumbing pages of ones that piqued his interest - you could only imagine that he was already planning on borrowing some of them. He reacted similarly to your framed photos, as he unwrapped them from their packing paper.

When you got your record player set up, he put on a vinyl and started to hang your art prints on the wall where you instructed him to. The look of concentration on his face was rather endearing as he held a few nails between his teeth and hammered them into the wall, one by one. There was a time or two you were convinced that he was going to mutilate his thumb, but he didn’t, and when the last picture was hung, you breathed a sigh of relief. 

You called in a pizza, adorned with his requested toppings as you hung your clothes into your closet, your phone tucked against your ear and shoulder for maximum efficiency. 

Plants collected on your bed until there was no more room for them - after that, he started setting them on the floor as he brought them in from your car. He didn’t seem to be judging the sheer amount of them, even though he had every right to. 

“It’s going to look like a jungle in here,” he stated finally as he took a bite out of a slice of pizza that he was holding like a taco, his eyes raking over all of the foliage scattered around your room. Rather than sounding like he was teasing, his tone seemed excited. 

You grinned at him, starting to arrange them on the window sill and your bookshelf that had only ever served you as a plant shelf since you’d bought it. “Plants are my passion. Botany major,” you explained as you fluffed up your Monstera’s huge leaves. 

“Ooh.” He raised his eyebrows at you, pulling one of his legs up underneath him on your bed - now fitted with sheets. “I think that’s going to be nice. Give it some life in here.”

You grabbed another slice from the pizza box on your nightstand and tried to think of the right tone of voice to use to ask the next question. “How long have you lived here by yourself?”

He hummed, eyes flicking around distantly as he thought. “Well, I’ve lived here just over a year, and my first roommate dropped out and moved back home about...six months ago?”

“Have you been lonely? You seem like a social guy.” You gave him an empathetic look but he just shrugged at you. You hadn’t known him long enough to know for sure, but you suspected he was more affected than he was letting on. 

“I mean, a little lonely. But I got used to it for the most part.” He paused for a good couple of seconds before a smile spread across his lips. “And Penny’s kept me company.”

“Oh, does your girlfriend stay here too?” you prompted, trying to remember if you’d seen any feminine looking items lying around that weren’t yours.

“What? No,” he said under a chuckle and stood, gesturing for you to follow him across the hall. 

The second you walked through the doorway, you were met with the smell of incense sticks and linen. His room was dimmer than yours and kind of cramped with all of his mismatching furniture, but he had a huge bed - you thought it could easily fit three people in it. There were some clothes strewn about around a laundry hamper by the door and you tried to not be jealous that his closet seemed to be about twice the size of yours. 

He crossed the room to crouch in front of a coffee table that he seemed to be using as a catch-all. The varnish was worn off the top of it in rings because sitting on the coffee table was a globe of water and a calico colored goldfish swimming around aimlessly inside of it. 

“Ah, so this is Penny,” you giggled as you bent over next to him. When the fish spotted him, it rose to the surface of the water, opening its mouth in demand for food.

He grinned down at it. “Light of my life. We’re not allowed to have pets but I figured that a fish didn’t count.”

You hummed, admittedly a bit charmed by the whole situation. “But don’t goldfish require a lot of space?”

The smile fell from his face, adopting a level of concern you hadn’t yet seen from him as he peered over at you. “Do they?”

Immediately, you felt guilty for putting that look on his features. Your brain kick-started - trying to think of a way to make it right again. “I think so? Maybe we can find her a small tank? Put a few little plants in there for her?”

Josh nodded at you, stroking his fingers over the glass with a frown. “I’m a bad dad.”

“No, no!” you assured, putting your hand on his head but then removing it instantly when you realized that you didn’t really know him, he’d just already made you feel like you did. Either way, you figured it would be inappropriate to touch him. “You’re great. She looks really happy.”

“She’s great at begging for food, so don’t get tricked,” Josh instructed after a moment, seemingly able to put his concerns aside to jest you.

You nodded in agreement. “I’ll be ever vigilant,” you promised, making him smile again. 

He stood back up, so you did as well. 

“Well, I’ll give you some time to get comfortable in your room,” Josh said, sitting back on his bed. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” 

“I promise I will,” you assured, tapping your hand on the doorframe on your way out. 

By the time the sun was set, your room was shockingly well put together. The emotional rollercoaster that was the album Rumors helped you keep on task, losing yourself in the music so it didn’t feel like work at all. You hadn’t been expecting it to come along so quickly, but you guessed that was because you hadn’t anticipated such a friendly roommate. The nesting had always been your favorite part, so you took your time to enjoy placing out all your knick-knacks and photos. 

You took a break to shower when you decided you were done for the day, reveling in the feeling of the water after such a long time in your car - He was absolutely right about how long it took to warm up from ice cold. When you got out and changed into your pajamas, Josh was sitting in the living room with a laptop across his legs. 

“You wanna chill?” he asked when he heard you padding down the hall, shutting the lid of it and setting it on a side table. “Or if you’re too tired, that’s okay too.”

“No, no. I’d love to talk.” You sat next to him, leaving a comfortable amount of room between you as you pulled your knees up to your chin. “Tell me more about yourself,” you requested, tugging a blanket from a beat-up wicker basket on the floor and wrapping it around your body.

“Hmm, okay,” he started. You wondered how long it had been since he had to introduce himself to someone new. “I’m from a tiny little town here in Michigan. I’m the oldest of four - two brothers and a sister. My brother, Jake, also attends MU and lives just off campus.”

You frowned at him. “Wait, why wouldn’t he live with you?” you asked through a disbelieving laugh. 

“He lived with me long enough,” Josh explained in a humored tone. “There are only so many people where I’m from and well - we wanted to meet new people, you know?” 

“I guess I should be grateful for that.” 

“Yeah, probably,” he teased and then paused to think. “I’m in performing arts - I’m actually putting on a production around Christmas with some elementary school kids.”

You suppressed the aww that was threatening to pass your lips. “You like kids?”

He beamed you a smile, shaking his head. “Love them. I want to have like ten of them someday.”

The thought of him surrounded by kids made you soften. You were genuinely shocked about how easy he was to talk to - how easy he was to like. You had never thought in a million years you’d get along with your roommate so well, let alone the first day meeting them. 

“I hope you get to,” you said as genuinely as you could muster, prompting him to give you a grateful smile. 

A yawn escaped you before you could hide it, and you quickly breathed an apology, but he just waved you off. 

“You must be exhausted from that drive,” he said, his voice soft. “You should get some sleep.”

You nodded in agreement and gave him a thankful smile. “Is it okay if I sleep out here?”

The look on his face was quizzical, forcing a laugh from you. “Why would you do that?” 

“I have this tradition where whenever I’m in a new place, I always sleep in the living room on the first night. It’s good luck.”   

“Whatever you say.” His lips pulled back into an unconvinced smirk. “Well, yeah, you live here now too, so you can sleep wherever you’d like.”

He disappeared into his room for only a moment before popping his head back out, fingers wrapped around the door frame.

 “Do you mind if I join you?” 

You tried not to look too taken aback by the question, but you could feel your cheeks flushing warm. You raked your eyes along the couch, entirely positive that there wasn’t enough space for the two of you to lay out on it together fully - at least, not without being pressed flush against one another. However, his face looked innocent and soft - not a single tint of mischief colored across his features.

“Yeah, that-. I guess that’s okay,” you agreed sheepishly with a shrug. “But I’m not sure we’ll both fit if I’m being honest.”

He frowned questioningly at you, his brows lacing together until he realized what you thought he meant. His face instantly turned a light shade of pink to match yours. “No, no,” he quickly assured in between a breathy laugh. “I’m not going to sleep with you - I’ll take the recliner.” 

“Oh, right.” You gave a nervous laugh of your own, cursing yourself out in your head for being so dull. 

You were still well embarrassed as you made a nest of blankets on the couch and he brought out a pillow for you when you realized yours were still tucked deep in your bag of bedding. When each of you was situated on your respective pieces of furniture, he flicked the light off with a comfortable sigh. 

It was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice taking on a tone that was far too smug for your liking. “You were awfully quick to agree to sleep next to me. You don’t have a crush on me, do you?” 

You knew he was teasing, but your heart rate still managed to pick up under the pressure. You had never been particularly good with awkward social situations; you rolled your eyes in the dark, thankful he couldn’t see how red you were. “No, Josh. I do not have a crush on you.”

“Okay,” he said through a melodic laugh, and you got the feeling that he’d gotten the reaction he was aiming for from you. “Should we be best friends though?”

You snorted a laugh of your own, wanting to be annoyed at how likable he was, but falling short. “You are the most peculiar person I’ve ever met, I think.” You curled up, clutching your blanket tight to your body. “But yes. We can be friends.”

“Okay, cool - I’ll order matching t-shirts for us.” You could hear the pleased grin he was wearing, making you feel warm and cozy. You pulled the worn blanket up to your chin.

“See to it that you do.” 

Author’s Note: okay, I hope you guys like it! please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list or removed from it. I’m using the same taglist from my Jake!fic, so no hard feelings if you don’t want to be tagged!

[angstyx]

Satisfied

C!Wilbur Soot x Reader

Word Count: 1.1k words

Song: Satisfied [Hamilton]

Summary: You realize you’ve developed certain feelings for someone but so did your best friend

Bolded words are lyrics; [words with brackets around them are changed lyrics]

TW: don’t thinks there’s any?

Requested?: [Yes] [No]

Note: (F/n) - Father’s name (F/l/n) - Father’s last name (B/f/n) - Best friend’s name

Masterlist // Rules for Requesting

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

“I remember that night, I just might regret that night for the rest of my days. I remember those [nervous] boys tripping over themselves to win our praise."

Niki raises an eyebrow at you as another boy walks towards you two, his friends pushing him towards you and cheering him on. You sigh, knowing how the confession will end.

"I remember that dreamlike candlelight like a dream that you can't quite place. But [Wilbur], I'll never forget the first time I saw your face. I have never been the same."

You were tired honestly. You never wanted to go to this party anyway but Niki was able to convince you to go from the fact that there was going to be food there. Your eyes scan the people who attended, most of them you knew and were friends with. However, one person caught your attention.

"Intelligent eyes in a hunger-pang frame. And when you said "Hi", I forgot my dang name. Set my heart aflame, every part aflame. This is not a game."

You remember your friends talking about him before yet you couldn't pin down a name. Lost in your thoughts, you hear a "hi" behind you, making you jump.

"You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied. I'm sure I don't know what you mean, you forget yourself. You're like me, I'm never satisfied. Is that right? I've never been satisfied."

Turning around, you see the man who caught your attention, he had a friendly smile on his face along with a pair of light brown eyes.

"My name is (Y/n)."

You give him a smile as you introduce yourself, not wanting to give a bad first impression.

"[Wilbur Soot}"

He dramatically bows, making you giggle.

"Where's your family from? Unimportant, there's a million things I haven't done. But just you wait, just you wait"

Although he dodged your question, you quickly brushed it off, not wanting to seem like you were forcing him for information.

"So, so, so. So this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level. What the hell is the catch? It's the feeling of freedom, of seein' the light. It's Ben Franklin with a key and a kite. You see it, right?"

You two hit off right away. He seemed like a good guy you thought to yourself. Soon, you told him you had to check up on your best friend who left to get more food to make sure she wasn't doing anything stupid. You couldn’t wait to tell Niki about him.

"The conversation lasted two minutes. Maybe three minutes, everything we said in total agreement. It's a dream and it's a bit of a dance. A bit of a posture, it's a bit of a stance. He's a bit of a flirt, but I'ma give it a chance. I asked about his family, did you see his answer? His hands started fidgeting, he looked askance. He's penniless, he's flying by the seat of his pants."

As you made your way through crowds of people, saying hello to those you knew, you thought of your conversation with Wilbur. You two had similar interests which made you smile. Although he jokingly flirted with you with cheesy pickup lines throughout the conversation, you couldn’t help but wish that he wasn’t joking.

"Handsome, boy, does he know it. Peach fuzz, and he can't even grow it. I wanna take him far away from this place. Then I turn and see my [best friend’s] face and she is..."

You thought of his charming smile and how passionate he was when he talked about something he enjoyed. You then snap out of your thoughts when you finally spot Niki. Walking towards her, she seemed to be staring at something, or someone you think to yourself. You turn your head to see who Niki is staring at but your smirk disappears as you recognize the person.

“Helpless. And I know she is. Helpless. And her eyes are just. Helpless. And I realize. Three fundamental truths at the exact same time.”

You froze, not knowing how to react. You look back at Niki and then at the person she was staring at. Were you annoyed that you and Niki both liked the same person? You weren’t sure yet why were you heading towards Wilbur?

“Where are you taking me? I'm about to change your life. Then, by all means, lead the way.”

You half laugh at his response as you lead Wilbur towards Niki, putting on a smile as you reach him.

“Number one. I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich. My father has no sons so I'm the one who has to social climb for one. So I'm the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in [L’manburg] is insidious. And [Wilbur] is penniless. Ha! That doesn't mean I want him any less.”

You, (Y/n) (L/n), are the oldest daughter of the famous (F/n) (F/l/n), making you the main subject to gossip about. Even though you have feelings for Wilbur, you knew your father would never approve of the relationship. He already had many suitors who wanted to marry you yet you were never interested in any of them, much less wanted to marry one of them.

“[Niki], it's a pleasure to meet you. [Niki]? My [best friend].”

Niki has a wide smile on her face as she introduces herself. She turns to you and gives you a grateful smile, you give a smile back, one that doesn’t reach your eyes but Niki doesn’t notice.

“Number two. He's after me 'cause I'm a [L/n] sister, that elevates his status. I'd have to be naïve to set that aside. Maybe that is why I introduce him to [Niki], now that's his [girlfriend]. Nice going, [Y/n], he was right, you will never be satisfied.”

You were confused about your actions yet you knew why you did them. Dating Wilbur would’ve ruined your family’s name, make your father mad at you for dating a “low class” person, and have rumors spread around about you two and your family. Not wanting that to happen, you chose a different option, introducing Wilbur to Niki.

“[Im glad you’re enjoying the party]. If it takes [attending a party] for us to meet, it will have been worth it. I'll leave you to it.”

You left the two alone but as you were about to leave the party, you turned around one last time to see Niki laughing at a joke Wilbur told her. Your heart broke as you remember that you could’ve been the person in Niki’s spot íntead of her, could’ve been the person laughing at Wilbur’s joke, could’ve been the person who at the end of the night, kissed him. But instead, it was Niki. And your heart ached cause of it.

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

Taglist: @thenotsohottopic @0-0littlem0-0 @alec-lostboy @bi-narystars @707xn @sakurapartridge @justsomegnomesinatrenchcoat

Send me an ask or dm to be added to my taglist! :)

[janeyseymour]

I saw the second preview of six and here are my thoughts (along with a few fun stories at the end):

My heart literally fell out of my ass when the queens started walking out They changed a few small little things here and there and it was perfect If six doesn’t win best lighting at the Tony’s I will sue Ex-wives was WOW I literally could not stop smiling Some of the poses were different 

ADRIANNA FREAKING NAILED NO WAY

I am convinced she just is beyonce always

She’s just fantastic in that role and that’s what I have to say about that

Ig abby danced a little too hard during no way because she kept messing with her wig after

Actually she lowkey played with it throughout the whole show and it was adorbs

Britt was helping her fix it and like pointing out where it was a little cray (also abby’s wig looks so good omf)

ANDREA IS- WOAH DURING DLYH

Her delivery throughout the whole show was a bit more mature, but it was still so babey I love her

(On a side note someone today told me I look like Andrea, which is very kind but so untrue because I literally look like a broken thumb and she is gorgeous)

Her “IM NOT SORRY” was amAZING

She like low-key cut made the whole head joke short and im kinda sad ab it, but it was still fantastique

Through the “Wearing Yellow To A Funeral Bit” abby looked confused through the entire thing and I was cracking up

HEART OF STONE HOLY SHIT

She was INCREDIBLE and her dress was so pretty and sparkly and I just wow 

Shes just so pretty in general like ma’am how do you do that please drop the skin care routine 

The emotion that was conveyed was enough to make me tear up BUT I DID NOT CRY AND I AM VERY PROUD OF THAT 

she did the “you lift me high” line and kinda went into this airy place in her voice and it was angelic and heavenly and all the good things

HER RIFFS WERE JUST DFJDHJLFH

She was just fantastic and thats all I have to say 

Thats a lie I have so many things to say about that woman but the time will come

HOH was a whole acid trip there was a point during this song where I literally just took it all in and then thought “Janey, you really spent your hard earned money to go on an acid trip for a solid few minutes good job”

Their dancing is hilarious and thats that

ABBY SAYING “BUT WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU’LL STILL WALK AT FORTY” I had to stifle a laugh because my queen is indeed 40

THE GERMAN ACCENTS HAD ME QUAKING

Brittney Mack is… all bad bitch energy and I was living for it

She is a queen

When she did the “my horses can trot up to twelve miles an hour”- in the boot (not that I watch those…) abby is always making a 😳😶😲 kind of face and this time she just couldn’t stop smiling and it made me laugh

WOOF

Her reveal was SO GOOD she literally just started checking out her nails while everyone just applauded… AS THEY SHOULD

When britt told the person to get up, this person full on WENT and britt was like shook it was hysterical

THE INTERLUDE BETWEEN GET DOWN AND THEN KAT’S ROAST WAS ICONIQUE

i dont think it was here but I cant remember where it was but BRITT WAS PLAYING WITH ABBY’S WIG AND IT WAS REALLY CUTE SHE WAS LIKE PLAYING WITH THE ENDS OF IT AND AWH

justice for the beheaded cousins 

BOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO BABY MARY HAD THE CHICKEN POX AND YOU DIDN’T GET TO HOLD HER HAND… YOU KNOW ITS FUNNY BECAUSE WHEN I WANTED TO HOLD MY NEWBORN SON…. IIIIII DIIIIIIEDD. Abby lowkey went feral and I loved every second of it and then her pose after got so many laughs it was truly amazing

THE K HOWARD ROAST WAS JUST SO GOOD IT WAS SO GOOD

Aywd destroyed me

I also teared up here but I did not let those babies fall because I was not about to ruin my look

justice for my pink queen

Her delivery is insane and honestly its gotten better and I didn’t even know that was possible because WOW SHE WAS ALREADY STUNNING BUT DAMN MY HEART GOT RIPPED OUT OF MY CHEST

The whole “Catherine not singing” bit was fantastic

Abby looked so confused the entire time 

Andrea’s “hahaha what” was perfecto 

when Anna said “should we really be doing this” someone in the audience went “yes” very loudly and made the queens break for a solid second abby almost forgot to say her line and you could barely hear it because the audience was laughing at the rando 

Anna acknowledged it and just went “I know” before turning to the queens and saying “I know” it was hysterical 

“I’m Catherine parr, I draw the line in arbitrary places bLaH bLaH bLaH”

THE CLAPPING- BRITT GOT IN HER FACE AND JUST *CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.”  It was the funniest thing oh my gosh

“Are you sure Catherine? I-we don’t mind if you wanna sit this one out… I mean you must be exhausted from all those backing vocals”

IDNYL WAS INSANE AND ANNA UZELE IS WICKED TALENTED LIKE DANG

I dont know if this was intentional or not but when they all start to understand the purpose of parr’s thing- abby is the last to stand up and in my head im like “no yeah that makes sense because shes “the one he truly loved” and shes still trying to get to a point where shes realizing he wasn’t all that great and I dont know I just really like that minor detail

The whole “remember that I was a writer…” part got loud cheers, especially from abby it was very cute

She did a new riff on the “we all disappear” line and WOW my eyes went so wide it was so good I was genuinely shook

the “i dont get it” was sooo good

“My sixth finger” was said so casually and so determinedly that it was a whole new joke and I loved it

“Everyone notices Jane cant dance” -abby just looking so sad

“Yeeeaaaahhhhh. I read!” Was so cute and she sounded so proud of herself it was adorbs

The way they just stood there awkwardly was amazing and got so many laughs it was so good

When sam said the line about competing, abby really almost cut Anna’s line out but she caught herself and it was funny I dont know if anyone else noticed it, but I did and it was glorious

REMIX

“Rise abo-o-o-o-ove” WAS BEAUTIFUL THEY WERE IN SUCH GOOD HARMONY

AGAIN, ANNA’S RIFFS HOW DOES THAT WOMAN DO THAT AT THE END OF THE SHOW LIKE SHIT

After it was over, of course it got long applause and the entire time abby was doing her like “sparkle hands” but also awkwardly moving her arm kinda like a noodle and then going back to sparkle hands and it gave me a good chuckle

Six

The slow acoustic part was so soft I died

The harmonies was delicious

The audience was so hype

Megasix

Super hype

Amazing

Fantastic

All the good things ever

Basically it was just adorable and amazing and absolutely stunning

The new costumes are gorgeous and the lighting is wild if they don’t win best lighting for Tony awards I will full on riot

Aragon and Boleyn interacted a lot and so did Seymour and Cleves and it was very very sweet

Abby interacted with the band a lot to the point where she almost missed a cue and it was very endearing

AND THEN THEY DID THE CURTAIN UP THING AND FIRST OF ALL WOW THEY ARE ALL SO CUTE AND IT WAS SO SWEET SEEING THE WAY THEY ALL WATCHED EACH OTHER WHILE THEY WERE SINGING AND I JUST JDKFDJLA

abby’s hair is SO LONG but I am here for it

So I was looking for my friend when I hear “Make some room, make a path!” From a security guard, and the queens legit walked RIGHT PAST ME

I wanted to go to the theatre anyway to take pictures, but when I saw them, I did follow them back to the theatre because wow I wanted to bask in their glory I didnt even want to talk to them I just wanted to be in their presence

So im like, walking behind them when this happens:

I guess abby saw someone she knew because I heard this “abby!” And then she was like “OH MY GOD” and like RAN to hug them and i legit almost walked right into her/got stepped on but i freaking stopped like a noob i should’ve just let her run me over but I did not I just stopped in my tracks and let out a soft “aH” and then went around her

And then I got to meet a friend and apparently toby heard us squealing and watched us hug for a solid however long so that was awkward

And Julia schade was like talking to him and stared at us for a good amount of time

And then I was walking away and passed Julia again and she kept looking at me, but she was talking to someone else and I think she thought I was going to stay to talk to her (and I would have loved to) but I didnt I just gave her a smile, a nod, and a little wave because I can not do confrontation like if I could not confront abby ma’am I cannot confront u either I am SHY

And that is a very detailed run down of my time in nyc at the brooks

[sylvie-writes]

“Funny Seeing You Here.”

a/n: inspired by this tweet I saw: I’m in Target rn and i just overheard a woman tell her daughter. “Come on baby. Daddy will be home around 8:30 and we have to beat him there to hide all the clothes we are buying.” @saradesdinn on Twitter.

another a/n: also, you all are gonna see a lot more of Aurora. For some more background, read Dumbfounded Drew where the reader tells Andy they are expecting!

Freedom at last, you happily waved goodbye to all of your coworkers who were just as equally as glad to see gone. It was Friday, meaning you’d be able to be free from their irritating and fatuous gossip for the next two days. Half of the time, while you’d be diligently working at your desk, they’d be sitting around, picking their nails and loudly yap about whomever they pleased.

Once in your car, you quickly called your nephew who babysat your daughter, Aurora, for you since you’d gone back to work. Fresh outta high school, your nephew gladly took the opportunity since it meant he’d earn some money.

You arrived home in no time. Unlocking the door, you were greeted with the sight of your nephew playing with Aurora. With a giggle you came over to hug him, the young man smiling at you with a light tint to his cheeks.

“Thanks again for babysitting her, Ethan. It means a lot to me and your uncle.”

Digging in your purse, you fished out your wallet along with a check you had prepared for Ethan. You handed him the piece of paper with a bright smile as his jaw dropped.

“Aunt (y/n), I can’t accept this. We agreed on less than this. I won’t take it.”

Ethan stood in his place, holding out the check for you to take back. Shaking your head, you pushed his outstretched hand.

“Nonsense, you do a lot for us and you deserve this. Now go on! It’s Friday, have some fun!”

The young man laughed and accepted the check. You gave him a quick hug and he then walked himself to the door.

Once Ethan left, you turned to the floor where Aurora sat, chewing on some rubber toy you had gotten her.

“Hi sweetie! What do you say about a girl’s trip with mommy?”

You bounced Aurora on your hip and she grabbed at your hair, a large smile on her chubby little face.

“I’ll take that as a yes, Miss. Ro.”

With that, you grabbed Ro’s baby bag and brought her to your car.

Once you parked at the mall, you unstrapped Aurora from her seat and then adjusted her in the baby carrier that you had bonded across your chest.

With Aurora secure, you placed a soft kiss on her head and then grabbed your purse from the car.

Inside the mall, you went to the first department store in sight which happened to be a Macy’s. Rarely did you ever buy anything when you went on these spontaneous shopping trips. They were more of just window shopping trips to be honest.

After a few minutes of walking around, you caught sight of the most beautiful blouse you think you’ve seen in your life. Picking it up, the temptation to buy the dang thing grew stronger and stronger.

“One little blouse won’t hurt. Right, babe?”

You peered down to see Aurora asleep, as if you had actually expected an answer from the baby.

Oh how wrong you were.

From there, everything went downhill pretty fast and you ended up buying a bunch of clothes for Aurora and then a pair of shoes for yourself. Yes, you bought more things for the baby, but that’s how it worked now. You enjoyed spoiling Aurora, especially with her being your first born and all.

By time you were in line, you hadn’t even realized you’d picked up so many things. Instead of worrying, you just shrugged it off and whispered to Ro who had finally woken up.

“We better hurry up, sweetie. Your daddy should be getting off soon and we need to get home in time to hide all of our shi—-stuff.”

You softly laughed at your slip up and pecked Ro’s kissable baby forehead once more.

Leaning up, you peeked around the woman in front of you to see how many more people were in line. As you did so, a man in a suit turned to leave from his place checking out at the register. The handsome man turned his head in your direction, revealing two cerulean orbs that locked with yours. In shock, your eyes widened and said man started to strut over in your direction, heavily chuckling.

“Andy! What are you doing here?!”

You were caught in the act, your husband couldn’t stop laughing as you attempted to hide the many items and ultimately ended up miserably failing.

Andy held up the small plastic bag in his hand, slowly pulling out a box.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise, but I guess it’s kinda ruined now.”

He frowned for a short second and then immediately contorted his lips back into a beautiful smile. Taking the small box in one hand, Andy removed the lid to reveal a white gold band encrusted with microscopic gems that seemed to be diamonds.

By now, you had stepped out of line and brought your hands to your face in shock.

Andy tugged your left hand from your face and gently held it in his own. As he had done so many times before, Andy slipped on the ring, stopping just above your wedding band.

“I figured I’d get you a little something to remember when our precious Ro was born.”

You smiled at your husband and pulled his tie, bringing him closer to you, all while being mindful of Aurora who was still strapped in the carrier on your chest.

Without second thought, you sweetly kissed his lips for a long moment in time.

Against his plush, pink lips, you spoke up, “What did I do to deserve you, Drew?”

The man sighed, “Oh honey, I ask myself the same thing about you and Ro, every day.”

The two of you were oblivious to the many staring people, but just carried on.

Eventually detaching yourself from Andy’s lips, your husband offered to take Aurora while you went to go checkout. Yes, you were still going to buy those things.

Just as you walked away, you saw Andy strolling around the store, Aurora strapped to his chest as he maneuvered her pudgy little arms to wave at the people who smiled at her. With a small giggle, you turned away from the sight, relishing in a blissful sigh at the thought of your wonderful family.

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts on the New York Special!

I never thought I’d see such an episode but here we are. I think I screamed a dozen times or more, I’m not even sure. But I have a sore, scratchy throat to show for it and I’m okay with that. Most of it was at how many times Adrien kept being not-just-a-friend and both secondhand embarrassment and pity for Marinette’s attempt to see him only as a friend kicked in. But I’ll start from the beginning. No, the voice actors aren’t different, the audio’s been manipulated and is pitched down! **Except Nino. Nino’s voice actor resigned and has been replaced**

Ladynoir friendship + a glimpse of their Astro forms? Heck yes!

Ms. Bustier having a baby was something I had a feeling about but can’t actually believe it’s happening and I’m just so happy for her. Best teacher award should go to her and her student’s reactions just prove that.

“Adrien, you’re our Sock Washington!”

this is his version of Marinette’s

“You’re our everyday Ladybug.”

Sad Adrien and trying-too-hard-to-be-just-friends-Marinette interact and she’ll do what she has to do to get him to go along.

Honestly, I think Marinette trying not to reveal her feelings is better than this, this is just painful to watch her try so hard. Dx

Sad Adrien not being able to fence properly so Kagami who he possibly? likely? is dating, considering she kissed him, asks what’s wrong.

You know, instead of what a good girlfriend/love interest/friend would do and try to sympathize and attempt to make him feel better, she pushes aside his feelings and makes it about her... Oh Kagami, this won’t bode well. Poor Adrien deserves better than being told he and his feelings aren’t as important. He gets plenty of that at home.

Absolutely love the attention Gorilla gets in this, it’s so cute.

LUKA IS THE BEST FRIEND EVER UGH. How many girls have a guy in their life that has feelings for them, yes, but still would do anything that would make her happy, even be with someone else? Who would go to lengths to make sure things work out how she wants them?

Okay, the whole plane scene before everyone fell asleep was intense. I can feel Marinette’s anxiety and desperation so hard, I feel so bad.

I also feel bad that Adrien sounded disappointed by her not sitting by him (and probably doesn’t quite understand why she won’t, either) as well as Ms. Mendeleiev knowing her students think less of her than Ms. Bustier and doesn’t like that.

AND also that both Marinette and Adrien for having to feel guilty for making a trip out of the country. :/ Nobody deserves it more than them.

Wow, that’s a lot of things to feel bad about early on.

Marinette’s luck really sucks on this trip, doesn’t it? Turbulence in the bathroom. Yikes. But of all people to notice her walk by, it has to be Adrien while they watch the beautiful sunset together. Of course it does. It’s like he has some sensor that knows when Marinette is sad or something. x3

Adrien, looking sweetly and IN LOVE at her: “You’ve got something, Marinette...”

“So-something?”

“Yeah, there. In your hair.”

....

Alya: I can’t decide if they’re the cutest people I know, or the most embarrassing.

Nino: I love Adrien, but he’s like a baby chick that just started cracking out of his egg.

I- They’re just so done 😂

Then you see more of Alya/Nino and their Operation New York plan and it’s freaking adorable, but you think Adrien’s done talking but OH NO there’s more

“...Well, what I meant to say was...thanks for managing to convince my father. *gives her a hug*”

Okay, first off

OH MY GOSH I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS. THIS IS JUST SO SWEET AND CUTE AHHH THIS IS THE FIRST ADRIENETTE HUG EVER! I screamed so loud I just... my heart is so happy. ;~;

Second,

slyly grinning

IS THIS NERVOUS ADRIEN, I SEE? He tried to say it the first time but chickened out. 😉

Also, you cannot convince me that when they both went and sat back in their seats, anxious as the plane was getting attacked, that they would not be holding hands if Marinette had actually ended up sitting by him.

Aeon sees them together for ONE MINUTE. Just one. And she knows.  To all the people that

still

somehow doubt that they’ll be together...what will it take for you to realize that they are?

Sabrina liking that boy makes me so happy, she actually gets some scenes that aren’t related to Chloe!

Alya: And you might make a friend. *elbows Mari*

Marinette: 😑

Hehehe the teasing’s not gonna stop, you set yourself up for this.

I’ve counted people referring to Marinette and Adrien as “friends” of some degree 21 times so far. Let’s see what it gets to at the end.

Class: We just got here but LET’S SNEAK OUT TO GO TO A PARTY....and almost get busted.

The sound effects in this are everything, I adore them. xDDD

The way Adrien smiled at Marinette when they had their backs to the door, and how his smile faded when he realized they weren’t alone. 😂

Jess: Ugh people in my room

Aeon: HAHA THEY’RE SO ADORABLE THIS IS THE BEST. I TOLD YOU THEY’RE MADE FOR EACH OTHER

Marinette: Is it a bird?

Adrien: Is it a plane?

Sabrina’s crush: No, it’s Hot Dog Dan!

Why do you have to get me with that xDD

Okay, but the girl saying “Go Sabrina!” made me happy too ugh. Just the fact that Sabrina came to America and people like her is just the best.

Highpitched!Nino: FINALLY, MY CHICKS WINGS ARE GROWING

Not that the show didn’t make me laugh before but dang, I keep laughing at this humor. It’s like a crack video mixed with the sweetest romance.

“OH! That’s the song we danced to at Chloe’s birthday party, remember?”

“Oh, yes, hahah”

looks at her sweetly, shyly

“Then...will you?”

ADRIEN, MY LOVE, I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING THROUGH THAT PRETTY HEAD OF YOURS. So... you remember. And it makes you happy. And you, again, nervously ask her. To dance with you. Again.

You’ve looked at her with the most soft of expressions more times in under an hour than I’ve seen anyone look at someone

ever

. Uggggh the way he’s falling for her is just so sweet.

And I’ve lost count of how many “friends” there have been due to the overwhelming cuteness. I think 25?

The fact that Adrien and Marinette can’t get through an automated door. I’m wondering what’s causing that? The fact both have a Kwami with them? Is Aeon messing with them? I don’t really think the latter is happening so I’m puzzled but it’s hilarious.

“I don’t mind being stuck somewhere with a friend like you” with the most adorable expression on his face ever.

ADRIEN PLEASE, ARE YOU TRYING TO DESTROY ME WITH THIS? 

Jess: And in order to save him...

Aeon: Don’t kidnap him, I LOVE him!

😂 I wanted Jess’s plan to work out so badly though.

Maybe next time.

Miraculous out here teaching American history. 👍 Totally forgot Lafayette was only 19 when he arrived in America and asked to become a general, but he had just turned 20 when he fought his first battle. The white powdered wig always threw me off of everyone’s real ages.

I think this is the closest Marinette and Adrien have transformed out in the open like this.

Ooof @ pissed off and sarcastic Ladybug.

Chat Noir: I was afraid of losing your trust!

Ladybug: Well I can’t trust you anymore, can I?!

Ooohh that hurts. That really hurts. And that distraction like that really went bad. Good thing Aeon’s not human. x.x I really do feel like them finding out their identities would solve more problems than it’d cause at this point.

I get that the situation was bad, but excuse me, they have no right to demand their Miraculouses. Ladybug’s the

Guardian

.

Knight Owl: “Stop right there, that’s an order.”

LB & CN: WE DON’T ANSWER TO YOU

Lol love the way they ran off and got away without being seen.

Sad and in pain Ladynoir. Wow, this whole scene feels so mature.

And Marinette’s reaction to Chat Noir renouncing Plagg and crying as he ran away hurt so much. I was not expecting all the angst!

Poor Adrien’s traumatized now. He knows he’s lucky she wasn’t human and things worked out, but he also knows that he came this close to Cataclysming Ladybug, and he couldn’t deal with that.

Liiri is so cute I want to see more of her! Very grateful she doesn’t end up in the hands of Gabriel for long.

But really Gabriel, it would’ve been smarter to take it to Paris than give it to a villain in New York where it ends up with a superhero. xD

Depressed Plagg is another level of ouch. Depressed Marinette and Adrien looking at each other like they’re about to cry is yet another.

Marinette about Chat Noir: He made his choice. What were we supposed to do?

Adrien: I wouldn’t have minded being stuck here a little longer with a friend like you.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO why did you have to go there again?

And then she gasps and really looks like she’s going to burst into tears, and then he gets even

sadder. “My father’s right, I should’ve never come to New York.” Alya: “What is wrong with you, Marinette?! Couldn’t you see that he was just waiting for you to tell him to stay?” “He made his choice. What did you expect me to do?” “It doesn’t matter what I expected you to do! Who’s Adrien to you? A friend or more than a friend? There will never be a better time to be clear with yourself, Marinette! Do you want him to leave or do you want him to stay?”

Within minutes, Marinette said the same thing about both Chat Noir and Adrien. o.o

Also hold up. If what Alya’s saying is true, which very well could be considering how he went from looking sad but still smiling, to looking utterly crushed after saying that line to her and her reaction, and the fact he said it before... Along with every single thing he did the whole trip.... Are we missing something, here? At first I thought it’s just Adrien being Adrien but about to actually acknowledge his feelings, just not yet. Seeing just the trailer I thought it was gratitude maybe, but obviously this is much more than that. But is it possible at all that he already has and, considering how she’s told him she doesn’t have feelings for him more than once before, that he’s been hoping to drive her to say otherwise this entire time and find out if she actually really does have feelings for him? 🤔

Because dang that’d explain everything he’s been doing.

I know he’s hurting over what happened with Uncanny Valley and giving up his Miraculous and leaving Ladybug. But it

still

came down to him with Marinette, looking at her like that was his last bit of hope and happiness he wanted to hold onto and was dashed....

NOT OKAY.

Again, Marinette’s luck on this trip SUCKS so much what the heck, you can’t even let her phone have battery??

Her rushing after him in the pouring rain on a bike screaming for him to stay and then falling hard (oof mustn’t have felt good for Plagg and Tikki) to just lie there in the street whispering “Adrien I...love you,” broke me. It really did. It’s so beautiful and so sad and I just want them to be happy oh gosh. 😭

But please get out of the road sweetie, you’re going to get run over.

By the way, I think I’m at 29 times they referred to each other or others referred to them as friends. Not sure though, I lost count and my heart’s a mess.

So Majestia decided to just blow skyscrapers far through the city and into the water that would no doubt kill everyone inside... in New York City...where skyscrapers were literally destroyed in real life killing thousands? I really hope this isn’t supposed to be a kind of reference.

Also the President of the United States being a superheroine that’s in harms way interacting with supervillains that can do horrific things such as forcing her to spill national secrets or use her power from things such as mind control to control the nation, for example, probably isn’t the smartest thing to do. Cool for plot but dang that’s dangerous.

You know, like right now when he’s making her press the nuke button where a million missiles and bombs are getting ready to go.

“I don’t know if I can do this. I can’t imagine being Ladybug without...

him

.”

“I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in her eyes.”

I’m not crying. This isn’t twisting my heart all up at all. X.x

But yes the action and Astro Chat! He looks so cool flying through the sky like that omg. He’s BAT CHAT

But the way she just ran and hugged him, saying never to do that to her again.

And how he returned that hug and she hugged him tighter and then wiped her tears away.

This is everything. Absolutely everything. I could watch this a thousand times and not be sick of it.

He also after this better know how much he truly means to her.

Hawk Moth: Ladybug, Chat Noir, if you don’t do as I ask, I will launch a nuclear rocket that will undoubtedly start World War III. If you don’t do as I ask, it will be on you.TICK TOCK TICK TOCK

Geez, you think he can’t get any crazier and he just does. How would another World War help him live happily ever after? Unless he could use two wishes to undo it once he got their Miraculous. Hm.

Majestia is like Captain Marvel because she’s the only other superhero I’m familiar with that could launch a rocket to the sun with her hands.

The animation in this is so beautiful. I haven’t said it yet, but some of the scenes are so breathtaking.

I’m sad that Aeon won’t remember they’re Ladybug and Chat Noir, but surely she’ll remember Adrien, Marinette, Ladybug, and Chat Noir right? x.x

And appreciation to Nadja Chamack for letting Parisans know Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t abandon them, but just had serious issues to attend to elsewhere.

Wow there’s an ice sculpture/statue of sorts in New York of Ladybug and Chat Noir (along with Uncanny Valley and Eagle) now? Sweet!

Okay, I believe it’s 30 times now  that “friend” is used. I may be off, I got really into it the second time watching when I was counting and it’s too late to be serious about it.

Hmm, Marinette can ask herself

the question

on her way back to Paris the following day. I’m assuming about how she feels and if she should still try to let him know her feelings?

Also that Adrien smile, knowing full well Marinette was responsible for that clip for him. Awwww x33

Ohh that ending I’m so looking forward to seeing more of Eagle, Uncanny Valley, and possibly that new superhero team with the new Miraculous.

This special was as if they took the best from S1-S3, then threw in a bunch of amazing new things that I couldn’t have thought would happen, and gave us such an amazing special. Also that it opened up things for the next special and S4! I don’t think I could’ve asked for much better. I’ve missed this show terribly and love that it’s back in a way.

Also terribly sorry for such a long post but I mean the thing was 52 minutes long after all. xD

[bbykpoper]

𝓑𝓵𝓾𝓮𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 🦋

Inspired by this post 🌼

Pairing: swimcoach!seonghwa x artist!reader

Warning: sexual content further in the story, read at your own discretion!

Index: Jongho // Hongjoong // San // Yunho // Wooyoung // Mingi // Yeosang

･*:༅

The canvas was covered in smudges of blue paint as you stared at it from your spot on the floor. You were disgusted by your work, by the mere atempt at the whole thing. Your whole being screamed ‘lack-of-inspiration’ and you were fed up with this shit you were trying to achieve. A groan left your lips as your phone started to ring somewhere in the background.

“Hello?” You sounded much more composed than you actually were, seeing as anger was slowly taking over you. 

“Hey, bad time?” The soft voice of your friend came through the phone.

“I don’t know...” You sighed, placing your paint brush on the ground. “I’m not exactly going anywhere with my work.” You looked up your canvas but disregarded it the moment you saw the frustration reflected on it. “Anyways, what’s up?”

“I need a favour.” You could hear the stress in his voice. “I forgot my swim bag at home...”

“How could you forget your swim bag?” You stood up and went over to the room next to yours and that’s when you noticed it. “You haven’t slept at home have you?”

“Maybe.” A silence passed over the speaker. “Can you bring it over please? I’m pretty sure Park will have my head either way, but I’d at least like to be prepared.”

“Sure Chan, but don’t come crying when JIhyo comes after you.” You giggled, grabbing the bag and slinging it over your shoulder. “Dang, this is heavy.”

“Sorry again.” He spoke now guilt lacing his words.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re friends. And I do need a break from just blindly throwing paint on my canvases.” You giggled along with him. “I’ll be over in an hour or so. I hope Park doesn’t kill you by then.”

“So do I.”

Your steps were quick down the stairs of your loft appartment which led to the small florist shop underneath it. You passed by Yeosang who greeted you with a smile and grabbed the pair of keys from the back room. Jihyo was currently serving a customer as you hurriedly ran past them.

“I’m borrowing your car for a short while.” 

“Did Chan forget something again?” She asked while she prepared the bouquet for the customer.

“His swim bag.” And you left the store.

You’ve lived with your two best friends, the very scary yet beautiful florist Park Jihyo and forgetful playboy Bang Chan, since freshman year of college. You guys were well adults now, doing your own thing but still living together above Jihyo’s flower shop. Chan worked as an assistant swim coach at the local college swim team and he enjoyed his job drilling those poor students the best he could. Jihyo opened her flower shop during her last year of college and has been working there with Yeosang ever since. And you? You held art exhibitions from time to time, selling some paintings here and there. 

The ride to the local college was uneventful as you parked the car and made your way towards the pool. Students stood around, some going to class, some studying in the soft breeze and others just casually chatting with each other. With a small smile you entered the pool area, squeaking in surprise when a group of girls shuffled passed you annoyed.

“Are you okay?” A voice spoke, pulling you out of the way so the girls wouldn’t stomp all over you. “Sorry about them, they get angry when I tell them to leave practice so that the boys can focus.”

“It’s okay. They surprised me is all.” You sighed, looking up at the blond man who helped you out. “Thanks Park.” You beamed up at him.

Park Seonghwa was the main coach for the college swim team and technically Chan’s boss. He was also friends with Yeosang and you’ve known him since college. He was a nice guy with you, sometimes holding danger in his eyes but overall he was just soft with you.

“What brings you here?” He asked as you two entered towards the pools.

“Chan forgot his swim bag.” You looked at the unamused expression Seonghwa had on his face from the corner of your eye and only giggled now fully facing him. “Don’t be too harsh on him. He’ll get a much more doom filled talk when he comes back home from Jihyo.”

“I sure do hope so. He’s really become irresponsible as of lately.” The blond muttered.

“He’s just going through some stuff.” You sighed noticing Chan sitting on the bleachers, his mind wandering. “I’ll just give him the bag and leave. I won’t hold up practice for you guys.”

You ran over to your friend, flicking his fore head to bring him back to the land of the living. He looked up at you and smiled, taking the bag off your shoulder and throwing it on the ground. He pulled out a pack of baby wipes and started gently rubbing off some paint you had on your cheek.

“You have baby wipes?” You asked, closing your eye so he doesn’t peck it out.

“Of course! I have to take care of my struggling artist.” He giggled with you. “Jihyo has some too in her bag for these exact reasons.”

“Thanks.” You nodded your head as Seonghwa joined you two.

“Get dressed Bang, I’m gonna need your help today more than so.” He said, his eyes not amused by the exchange of affection you two displayed.

“Yes sir!” He said and got up to go. “Thanks for bringing this over y/n.” 

“No problem!” You yelled out after him as he waved goodbye to you.

“Are you guys like dating yet or not?” Seonghwa muttered out lowly but you still caugh on.

“You know Chan and I are just roommates. And he has this undying crush on Jihyo not me.” You sighed looking after his frame. “It’s sad that she now has a boyfrined and he’s alone, but at the same time it’s his own fault for not saying something to her on time.” You looked over at Seonghwa and shrugged your shoulders. “Love’s harsh in that way I guess.”

You turned to leave so that you won’t bother their job anymore and noticed how the boys in the pool looked to be having fun as they splashed each other. It made you smile when Seonghwa blew his whistle fiercly telling them to do a few laps to warm up. That whole picture gave you an idea but you couldn’t exactly place your finger on it. 

Something was missing.

“Good luck Park.” You waved him goodbye and left.

･*:༅

Waiting in line for coffee at Sugarberry’s you and Jihyo chatted along your mind wandering a bit. You were scared for the upcoming days because you had a gallery show in about two months but only had half of the pieces done. 

“You’re still struggling with your art?” Jihyo asks as she pays for your coffee.

“Yeah. I can’t seem to find inspiration anywhere...” You sigh and give her a thanks for your coffee. “I don’t even know where to look.”

“Well, the bookshop down the street has something like a poetry night. Maybe you’ll get inspired by some words?” 

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“What’s not a bad idea?” Chan suddenly grabbed you both by the shoulder, pulling you in for a bear hug.

“Poetry night.” Jihyo answered with a huff.

“Sounds boring.”

“I may find my inspiration there.” You giggled out. “Wanna come with?”

“Sorry y/n, but Daniel is coming back from his business trip so I’m going over to his house.” Jihyo apologised and you saw Chan’s mood darken a bit.

“What about you Chan?” 

“Poetry ain’t for me.” He simply stated. 

“Aww, I guess I’ll go alone.” You sighed trying to get the two with your puppy eyes. “Not working?”

“No, sorry.” Both answered.

From the corner of your eye you saw something blue fluttering around and your friends also turned to look at you at the same time. They followed your gaze and were also mesmerized with the creature floating around you suddenly.

“A blue butterfly?” You whispered out the quesiton as it landed on your head. “And it landed on me!”

“I’ve never seen a blue one before.” Jihyo commented.

“Where’d you come from little guy?” Chan brought his face close to your head.

“You’ll scare the butterfly away.” The waitress laughed as she came over to you three. “It’s a rare sight. Blue ones aren’t that common.”

“You know, they say that if you wish upon one it may come true.” She said with a smile. “You better make a wish before it flies off.”

As she left you looked up at the winged creature on your bangs and smiled, whispering out a small wish. 

I wish to find inspiration again.

The butterfly flewed off in the direction of the exit of the outside terace of the caffe and you noticed Seonghwa walking in with two other boys. His eyes caught yours and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn’t expecting to see you all together. The small creature circled the blond man and disappeared into the skies. And in that moment it clicked to you. The inspiration was there for you all the time. 

It was in Park Seonghwa.

“I see you still like Irish coffee.” He chuckled at your half dazed gaze at him.

“I haven’t stopped.” You laughed as his friends entered the shop. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” He stopped in his tracks.

“This may sound weird, but bear with me for a moment.” You sighed as your friends walked up a bit so they could let you talk to him in private. “I want to draw you, but like would you be willing to let me draw you?”

“I know it’s a weird request, but I finally found my inspiration in you.” You blushed at the last bit. “And I’d like to explore it fully if you’ll let me.”

“To draw me?” He thought for a second, his eyes following your every reaction. It was fascinating to him how you still looked on at him in wonder, since college to now. “Why not? I think It will be fun.”

“Really?” You were surprised at the answer.

“Yeah.” He smiled at your happy expression.

“Awesome!” You exclaimed. “You know where we live right?”

“Yeah, I took Chan home enough after drunken nights to know.” He laughed out. “Does Wednesday sound good?” 

“Yeah. Come by whenever you’re free.” You said excited and jumped over to your friends. “Oh and Seonghwa?” He looked after you. It was the first time since college that you said his name. “Thanks.”

･*:༅

A sharp knock on your front door got you to your feet from your position and you went to open it, revealing a cool looking Seonghwa. He was neatly dressed in a jumper and some washed out jeans, his hair still a bit wet from his job. You let him in with a smile and he placed his shoes by yours, entering the small appartment.

He noticed how the living room was cozy with a simple couch, a few swinging chairs hanging off the ceilings and flowers scattered around. The kitchen was close by warm as ever and four more doors decorated the walls. He noticed how every door was painted over except for one.

“Interesting doors.” He said observing them.

“Right?” You giggled. “When we first moved in Jihyo had this idea for me to paint the doors of our rooms with something that represents each of us. That’s why her door has so much flowers, Chan’s has the coast of Australia and if you look closely I tried painting him on a surfboard but failed miserably, and my door has the view of the Eifel tower because I feel like that’s something every artist needs.” You shrugged your shoulders and led him into your room.

Your canvas and paints have been prepared neatly in front of your bed and Seonghwa took notice just how artistic your room was. Especially the floor with all the paint splotches covering it.

“Ignore the floor.” You said as you noticed him looking at it. “I tried scrubbing it off but it didn’t exactly work so I just gave up.”

“Nah, I think it’s kind of cool. It gives this room your personal touch.” He laughed and went over to sit on your bed. “So how do you want me?”

“Um well, can you lay on the bed? But like sideways. Propt by your elbow. Maybe one leg up too.” You went over to position him as you thought right and Seonghwa felt his breath hitch when you went to touch his shoulder. 

It was a feather touch, just enough to let his jumper slide off his shoulder but it got him all hot and bothered. You were so focused that you didn’t pay attention to any of his expressions while you were this close to him, only looking up when you went back to your canvas.

“This is perfect.” You said with a smile. “I’ll just sketch this out today.”

As you said that you plopped a blueberry from your bedside table into your mouth and went on to your work. The man just observed you and enjoyed this silence which was much needed after a long work day.

The hours passed and you noticed that Seonghwa was eyeing the bowl of blueberries on your table. You laughed out loud when you caught his off guard as you threw one at him.

“If you want some just take them.” You said and handed him the bowl. “I don’t bite if you want some.”

As Seonghwa took the bowl your whole perspective changed and it was then that something hit your heartstrings like a truck.

“Keep the bowl.” Is all you said and rearranged your sketch.

“You like blueberries?” He asked, filling the room with his deep voice.

“They’re my focus berries.” You answered laughing along with him at your words. “They help me focus.”

The comfortable silence which filled the room coated your being with warmth as you continued to do an outline. Chan came home not long after and greeted you both, but locked himself in his room and you sighed. 

“Is he okay?” Seonghwa asked.

“He will be.” You shrugged your shoulders and looked over at the time, jumping to your feet and startling the man. “Oh no, I’ll be late.”

And you remembered he was still in the room with you and you blushed in embarrassement with everything.

“I wanted to go to the poetry night at the bookshop and it’s starting soon.” You said with a small head scratch. “I hope you don’t mind if I cut our session here.”

“Not at all.” He said sitting up and watching you grab a jacket and some stuff so you can leave. “Would you mind if I tag along?”

･*:༅

“That was so beautiful.” You whispered out as the poetry night came to an end. “Those romance poems really have my hands tingling. I can’t wait to get back and start painting.” You sighed in content, finally coming back with a new found inspiration. “Jihyo was right, I needed this.”

“I’m glad.” Seonghwa stated as he walked beside you.

“But that still doesn’t change the fact that I want to paint you.” You stuck your tongue out at him. “Same time next week?”

“Sure.” 

You walked up the steps to your appartment and went back into your room, getting a new canvas out and happily getting lost in your thing. The days passed and so did a month, the painting of Seonghwa almost finished. You guy became much closer friends over this period and he was actually amazed at how well you drew. Today was the last day of working on his painting and just as you finished, you took the canvas to the kitchen so it could dry. 

“We’re done.” You said as you went to get your brushes.

“Awesome, can I see it?” He asked.

“Nope. You have to come to my gallery show to see it!” You excitedly waved one of your brushes and it sploshed some blue paint onto his face. You snorted out a laugh. “Sorry.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay.” He looked next to him and quickly took a brush and placed a large dot of black on your own cheek. “Now we’re even.” 

The huff of surprise you let out was followed by a giggle and a battle of paint broke out between you two. Even one of your blank canvases was now fully covered in greens, bluess, reds and some whites. Seonghwa splashed some paint on your uncovered back and the play time stopped.

“Seonghwa! How will I wash this off now?” You laughed thinking how Chan was out for the night and Jihyo was spending the weekend with her boyfriend.

“Come on, I’ll help you.” He laughed along going to the bathroom.

You followed after him, moving your hair from the way so he could easily access your back. As you did, the strap of your shirt fell off your shoulder and it had the blond man gulping with nerves. He was very gentle in rubbing off the paint, easily cleaning it from your skin. On the other hand, you were blushing like crazy, heat spreading through your body.

“Hey.” He whispered out. “Why were you so scared of me in college? Whenever I hung out with Chan you’d run away from me.”

His touch made you shiver and you know he noticed. 

“I wasn’t scared.” You whispered back. “I was just shy. I had this huge crush on you but didn’t act on it because I thought you didn’t like me like that...” You sighed. “I still do.”

You felt the feathery kiss on your exposed shoulder.

“There was a whole magnificent soul burning brightly behind her shy.” 

The whisper was close to your ear and you turned around, your heart hammering away in your ribcage. His eyes were tender, but there was hidden lust in them, something you didn’t notice before. Even though he had it all the while while looking at you. 

“Have you ever wondered why I never had a girlfriend throughout college? Or even now?” His fingers travelled down your back, the touch leaving fire in it’s wake.

“Rumors were that you were a playboy.”

“I’ve had my fair share of hook-ups, but only because I couldn’t have the one girl I really wanted.” 

“You really wanted to have sex with me?” You turned around, raising your eyebrow. “I’m not the type to do this one night.”

“I know, and I really don’t want to.” He came closer to you now, your noses touching. “I want to fuck you everyday, the whole day.” His breath faned over your face. “How does that sounds?”

“Tempting.” You whispered back. “But we’re covered in paint.”

“A minor set back which can be washed off.” He chuckled, pulling you even closer than before, his hands landing on your hips. “Care to join.”

In slow motion his hands brushed against your skin, pulling your shirt over your head. His hands made their way behind your back and climbed up to reach your bram skillfully unhooking it, all while not breaking eye contact with you. The minute his breath hit your neck, you tugged on his shirt, his smirk striking as he stepped back to take it off.

“You enjoying the view baby?” 

“Are you?” With a strong tug you unbuckled his belt.

“Well look who’s been working out.” He laughed, grabbing the waistband of your jeans. “You’ll have to slow down a bit baby, we still have some paint to wash off.”

Soon enough you were both standing in the shower, the hot water pooling by your legs in a specter of colours. He kissed along your jaw, his hot kisses left stings on your body as the electricity transferred from his mouth to your skin. Your shoulders were now stained blue and purple, the bulge which was his dick now struggling against your ass. You moaned and whimpered at the same time when his hands wandered down your body towards your folds, that ticklish feeling becoming stronger as he teased your clit. 

“God, I can’t take it anymore y/n.” He breathed out as he pressed you closer to him, his hardness growing even more. “I need you.” He mumbled into your ear. “I want you.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Your hazed eyes looked back at him as you stepped on your toes to give him better access.

He didn’t hesitate, he thurst in full strength, the surprise and pleasure filling you fully. The moan which followed made him shiver with something so unknown that his heart skipped a beat.

“Oh my God.” He groaned, hips coming to meet yours full force. “This is, uh, fuck, you’re perfect.” He stuttered. “You just feel so fucking good.” The breathlessness he was showcasing was matched with your loud moans which you were sure Yeosang could hear downstairs.

“H-Hwa...” The groan which left his throat grumbled in your abdomen how strong it was. “F-Faster, I need to take you whole!”

His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He couldn’t believe you would say something like that. Hell, he never imagined he’d have the chance to fuck your brains out like this. 

He pulled almost fully out of you, pausing for a moment only to slip back into your core, a moan erupting from both of your throats. You could feel him inside of you, moving along the ridges of your core and giving you that electric feeling deep inside of the pit of your stomach. He leaned down, bitting on your shoulder as he thrusted into your lower half. He was getting faster, harder, and rougher, and still, it wasn’t enough. His hand came to slap your ass harshly, your walls tightening around him as a result.

“You like that baby.” His shit eating grin had you pulling him into a kiss.

He hooked one of his arms under your leg to get a better angle, pushing you up against the glass doors of your shower, your boobs becoming more sensitive with the cold friction provided.

“I’m really close Hwa.” You cried out.

It’s a mess. Loud. Wet. Uncomfortable. But the high rippling through your body makes it all up to you.

“The way you moan my name has me going places y/n.” He whispered in your ear, pushing your leg up higher and reaching your sweet spot. The way your leg shook had Seonghwa smile to himself knowing he was making you feel like this. When your eyes made contact with his, when he saw just how fucked you were, and when a whimper of his name left your lips... Seonghwa went crashing down. His thursts were so good you let yourself go, tightening around him and cumming with a squeaze of your eyes. 

Seonghwa lost his footing and fell with you on top of him, hitting so deep he released his seed inside of you, making you spasm all over. 

The water came over you much stronger than before and you noticed from your tired vision that as you both fell, you broke the handles and the water wasn’t going to stop soon.

“Fuck...” You layed back onto him, letting his dick fall out of you and the jizz to come out your throbbing hole. “This will be fun to explain to Chan.”

“It’s okay, I know how to fix it.” He said his breathing barely coming back to normal. “I’m sorry I came inside you... It wasn’t my intention.”

“I’m on the pill so we’re good.” You huffed out tired. “Though I’d like a nap.” 

“Come on, let’s get cleaned up and I’ll fix the shower head while you take a nap.” He helped you up and you giggled.

“I hope we can have more of these.” You commented.

“More accidents in the shower?” He laughed.

“More sex.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” He came up to you and kissed you on the lips. “We will.”

･*:༅

“But y/n, that painting could make hundreds of thousands of won!” Daniel yelled after you as you walked the gallery halls. “Come on, you have to sell it!”

“Daniel, for the last time.” You turned to him, glaring daggers at his pleading eyes. “I’m not selling the painting of my boyfriend to anybody!” 

With a huff you walked up to Jihyo and Chan as he followed after you. You pleaded with her to stop her stupid boyfriend before you commited a crime and she was quick to put him in his place.

“Why don’t you deal of the rest of my paintings? Why must you target that one?”

“Because you can feel the emotion you put into it.” He whined.

“Yes, and that’s why it will hang in my living room.” An arm snaked around your waist and a kiss was placed on your shoulder. “Please stop trying to sell me off.”

Daniel grumbled but pulled back. You greeted Seonghwa’s friends as they scattered around the hall, enjoying your pieces which hung off the walls. Seonghwa turned to look at the picture in which he laid on your bed, surrounded by sunlight and your many knick-nacks, one hand holding the bowl of blueberries and the other plopping one into his mouth. The most intense gaze staring back at him.

“What made you consider me to be your main piece?” He asked you suddenly.

“I wished upon a blue butterfly and you happened to walk in.” You smiled at him. “I guess that waitress was right.” Your eyes held so much affection for him. “I found my inspiration in you.”

[spnfanficpond]

September Angel Fish Awards

(New Angel Fish design by @slytherkins!!)

WELCOME TO THIS MONTH’S ANGEL FISH AWARDS

Every month all of you fantastic writers work your asses off to post some truly incredible stories. Our Angel Fish Awards are the way for all of us, as a community of writers and readers, to lift each other up and give praise to those who have captured our attention and deserve a few kind words.

The monthly Angel Fish Awards are peer-nominated, meaning ANYONE IN THE POND CAN NOMINATE ANY POND MEMBER’S FIC. Everyone in this community deserves to be showered with love and feedback, and we hope that this fun, thoughtful award will do just that. 

Be sure to read through this whole post as people who were nominated more than once only had one tag activated for tumblr tagging purposes!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE ARE SEPTEMBER’S ANGEL FISH AWARDS!

Nominated by @impalaimagining

From Far Away by @plaid-lover-bay25

This fic is all kinds of sweet. We all know Jensen is perfect and will probably never need glasses to see, no matter what time does to his eyes, but HOO the thought of that man looking over the brim of his glasses when he looks up from his book to meet your eyes? Even if it’s through a screen? Count me ALL the way in.

Silver Lining  by @luci-in-trenchcoats

All I want for the rest of my life is to be right in the moment that exists within this fic. It’s so warm and cozy, even if it does get a bit overheated at times with all that shared body heat. I will gladly accept a few uncomfortably sweaty moments if it means having the two of them just like this.

Pit Stop by @stusbunker

This made me feel so many things. Honestly, it’s thrilling to think about hiding in plain sight like this. 10/10 would recommend public sex with Dean, even if it does mean the occasional scrape from the tree bark.

Nominated by @emilyshurley

Beautiful Ghosts by  @herstarburststories 

Okay picture this, me holding my cup of tea in the morning, crying my eyes out as I’m reading this. Because that’s exactly what happened. 

( Ahh… the angst in this one. This fic left me in tears. Can’t wait to read more parts.) ((submitted twice))

Calm after the storm by @thegirlwhorunswithwinchesters

An adorable Dean fluff. There is something so comforting about how Dean interacts with the reader.

How not to kill someone by @myinconnelly1

A short but chaotic fic and is totally worth the read.

What a wonderful world by @wingedcatninja

The imagery is so great, you can almost feel everything  Sam must be feeling.

A little trip by @mariekoukie6661

Though I have never been inside an Ikea I had a constant smile on my face reading this. And now my face hurts…

Nominated by @waywardnerd67

Mr Pretty Face by @carryonmywaywardcaptain

I want to nominate @carryonmywaywardcaptain Mr. Pretty Face. This was the most adorable fic in the world. Jordan aka Cap is getting her groove back and the world should be graced by her talents! Plus she’s just an awesome person.

Nominated by @sorenmarie87

No More Living A Lie by @fictionalabyss

I know it’s an older fic but the idea of Cas and reader being in a fake relationship (I’d say more but it gives away the story) is fantastic.  

The Real Deal by @firefly-in-darkness

I’m no stranger to reading smut but holy crap!  After a hunt, all you wanna do is sleep but your friend sends you something… and you can’t help yourself.  I don’t know what else to say besides that you should check it out.  

Flesh - January Jingle by @myinconnelly1

I still need to listen to the song this fic is based off of but damn.  This one is great~~ Definitely leaves you wanting more.  

Nominated by @mariekoukie6661

Know How It Feels by @supernatural-jackles

I love that one because then the boys would understand what cramps feel like for real!

Some Kind of Sadness by @supernatural-jackles

I love this one because Jen just writes all the emotion so well!!

That’s Alpha or Sir To You, Baby Girl by @sorenmarie87

Dawn worked so hard on this one!! It’s so good!! I just love the fluff and the domestic!!

What’s The Little Guys Name by @sorenmarie87

The Weechester, the little banter between everyone! My heart!! I love this so much!

Nominated by @fictionalabyss

The Way You Lie by @cockslut-padalecki 

 this one hit the nail on the head. How you can know with ever fiber of your being that you need to leave, run, but you find yourself right back there.

Wanna Help A Girl Out? by @sorenmarie87

“Now, will you be a good girl and get on your knees for me?  I believe you owe me something…” that last line had me demanding, nay screaming, for more.

Bikini Inspector  by sorenmarie87 

because sometimes it’s just fun to mess with a guy.

Pineapple and Pizza  by @cloverhighfive 

STILL SCREAMING ABOUT THAT CLIFFHANGER lol. Seriously, though. I don’t dive too deep into ships usually, but I LOVED this little series.

All The Good Girls Go To Hell. (Prologue - chapter 9)  by @cockslut-padalecki 

This fucking series. Holy shit. The smut = perfection and the jealousy and need are on fucking point. Hell yes. this is a must read. a filthy, dirty, must read.

Nominated by @ellewritesfix05​

Don't Test Your Luck  by @downanddirtydean

All the smutty goodness that you could possibly need. The attention to detail, the way it flows seamlessly, the heart-stopping fluff. It’s a total hit and literally one of my favorite fics I’ve ever read! I adore everything Lydia writes and this is simply a must-read.

Homework Help  by @downanddirtydean

Lydia is an amazing writer and talented creator. College-me had a heart attack reading this! It’s so delicious and naughty! 100/10 would recommend!

Life For Rent Chapter 27 by @winchest09

The entirety of Life For Rent is absolutely amazing. Tabby is extremely talented and creative, but this particular chapter is just so wonderfully written, I think it deserves a spotlight. The whole time, you can see yourself in the moment. The way she captures and conveys emotion is nothing short of genius.

Nominated by @mrswhozeewhatsis

His Property by @negans-lucille-tblr

I’m nominating this whole dang series, plus both of the sequels!! Yeah, it’s smutty, but it also gets into the psychological issues, especially in the third series, Her Property. There is some possibly triggering content in the first series, which is discussed throughout the second and third, so if that could be a problem, then you might want to skip it. If you’re not easily triggered, though, this is a great story. And the smut is primo, too!!

The Last Visit by @laxe-from-outer-space 

Well, crap, guys. This one just hurts. Talk about taking my heart out back and beating the crap out of it. If you’ve got the tissues handy, definitely give this one a read!

Nominated by @manawhaat

About Bar Fights and Moobs by @cajunquandary

This is a perfect example of the ridiculousness that seems to follow the Winchesters everywhere. This is totally believable and gave me a good laugh.

Keep Me Company by @butiaintgonnaloveem

I’ll never get over how spot on this is for Ketch. It not only shows us a side we don’t get enough of on the show, but it also just shows a whole other side of him that feels so incredibly real and part of his layered persona. 

Calm by @winchesterswoonathon

This is a seriously lovely series about John and all those feelings he has the power to evoke in the people around him. It’s everything I love about him all mashed into a fucking delightful story. 

You Ever by @luci-in-trenchcoats

One of the things I love about Dean is his willingness to be there and help others when they’re having a hard time. He’s the ultimate comfort buddy and this fic is a prime example of his loyalty and sincerity. It’s a little sad but it’s sweet and comforting even in the angst. 

Nominated by @myinconnelly1

The Baby In The Impala by @a-fallen-angel-with-a-shotgun

 DADDY!DEAN!!!! to the max. This was so sweet, I can't even word properly!

One Room Left by @luci-in-trenchcoats

The amount of fluff present in the fic overwhelmed me

Imagine Getting A Sunburn by luci-in-trenchcoats​

Some cute fluff right here and nothing else needs said, read it

Dirty Little Secret by @hardcoresupernatural

 This had the trinity! Hot as fuck, adorable as all get out, and funny as shit. Read it!

Love Me Or Leave Me by @princessmisery666​

 This hurt so much and i wanted to cry. It had that feeling of being real.

Daddy’s A Superhero by @msmarvelouswinchester

Being a parent is hard and hearing a child of any age say they hate you is so hurtful. This was written so well.

Loving You by @emilyshurley​

I will never have enough good things to say about @emilyshurley but this fic was so hurtful and i'm still mad at her.

Finding Dean Masturbating In Your Room by @carryonmywaywardwriters​

 Very dirty and very hot!

Because Of Mistletoe by @idreamofplaid​

Happy half christmas drabble!

Halfway by @holylulusworld​

Dude i was crying so hard.  I just can't even talk about it.

The Frog Prince - or How To Kiss the Impala by holylulusworld

SO CUTE!!!! Absolutely adorable and i love protective!dean

Enough Both Of You by @fictionalabyss​

HOLY FUCKING SHIT this was so dirty and wrong and i love it!

Fatherless Son by fictionalabyss

I really like this series it was exactly what i think of for step!dad Dean!! chef's kiss 

You’re Home Early by fictionalabyss

This was just fun.  They both knew it was bad but they both loved it!

Risky by fictionalabyss

Alright look, if you ever post anything like this again, i want to be tagged.  I will make the fucking time for this every goddamn day!  So wrong, i love it

Finally by @there-must-be-a-lock​

super well written.  it felt so real to the characters and it was incredibly hot

A Huntress In The King of Hell’s Court by @crashdevlin​

I love when time travel is incorporated well in a fic, and this is exactly what i'm talking about!

Fan Mail by @waywardnerd67​

I can't not deal with my emotions on this fic.  It is so fluffy and i'm here for all of it 

One Night Changes Everything by @a-winchester-fairytale​

This ride was so hard i couldn't even comment on ever part.  I just had to rush through the whole thing so i could find out what would happen. 

Mated In The Darkness by @mummybear​

There are not enough words in the world to explain why i loved this fic so much!

Caught In The Act by mummybear

It's smut people.  Its dirty and fucking amazing smut!

Thank you all for the awesome work and great feedback!

These are not actual awards! This system is set up so everyone in the pond has a chance to share the love and promote a fic/author that has grabbed your attention. The more people that participate, and the more everyone remembers to submit their own fics after posting, the better this will be :D

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK, AND AS ALWAYS, HAPPY WRITING!

[dragoqueen]

Whoops! Wrong Way 6/8

Summary: Peter has been living at Avengers Tower for 2 years, known to the workers and Avengers as Peter Parker-Stark-Rogers.  When his teacher announces that they're going on a field trip to Avengers Tower, or SI,  he's going to have to attempt to survive a day of embarrassment and keeping a secret identity.

Words: 1558

“Okay guys here’s the plan, mostly just protect Peter because he and that idiot Flash kid need to be the last ones so Peter can do something cool and get him out. That’s your only goal- get everyone out and protect Peter, alright?” There's a chorus of yesses that confirm her plan. She nods and motions for them to spread out around the base to be ready to run to better guns when the round starts. Just in time too. Right when they get to the starting positions FRIDAY begins counting down, “three… two… one… begin!” there’s an airhorn sound and the Avengers start their nerf gun battle.

Peter immediately starts climbing up the floating parkour platforms, dodging a few bullets while he’s at it. He jumps from platform to platform till he reaches a giant automatic nerf gun with a strap attached to it. He slings it over his shoulder and continues climbing until he gets to a high point where he can see the entire arena. There’s a snipe with extra ammo there, which he takes before laying on the ground to start sniping the other side. 

His first target is Sam. he’s at a disadvantage because he can’t use his wings in the nerf arena. He’s grounded and without a good gun. Peter smiles as he steadies his gun, focusing on Sam he takes a shot.

Misses. 

He quickly reloads while Sam begins looking around wildly, trying to figure out where the first bullet came from. Peter aims at Sam again and before Sam can retaliate, there’s a second bullet and he’s out, “Bird Brain #2 is out.” Friday announces. 

“Dang it Sam,” Steve calls out from across the arena, “already?” 

“Shut it, the kid freaking sniped me, you know how he is in these games,”

Peter laughs and begins looking for his next target. Meanwhile, Scott has shrunk down and begun sneaking over to Peter’s side. He turns back to normal size right behind Ned, quickly shooting him with the starter pistol. FRIDAY announced that Ned is now out. MJ takes the advantage of Scott celebrating and not paying attention to sneak up behind him and shoot him. He groans in frustration as FRIDAY announces he’s out, and goes to join Ned and Sam in the spectators section. 

Peter watches the commotion behind him and shoots MJ a quick thumbs up before returning to watching the opposing team, oblivious to the merc slowly making his way towards him. For some reason, his spidey-sense doesn't alert him of Wade until he’s jumped in front of him with the pistol aimed right at him. Peter puts his hands up and yells dramatically, “just kill me now!”

Wade chuckles, “I’m not here to kill you, BabyBoy. I’m here to team with you. I’m still mad at you for now putting me on your team, but I also hate my team. So, here I am!” 

“Heck yeah! Unfair advantage for the win. Great to have you on out- HOLY CRAP, watch out babe!” 

Their teaming is interrupted when a bullet hits Wade straight in the head. “Ha! Headshot it doesn’t count!” he announces glaring at Natasha who had shot him from behind one of the bunkers. She’s still smirking and a few seconds later they figure out why, “unfortunately, Deathboy, headshots are counted in this game. You are out.”

“You’re the worst Natasha! I was going to team with you!”

“That’s payback for stealing Peter from me during Hair Club.” she announces smugly. 

“Nat, really? Did you have to get my boyfriend out?” Peter asks. 

“Sorry маленький паук (little spider) he’s from the other side.”

“It’s alright мама паук (mama spider), ready to get the rest out?” 

“Let's do it.” 

Peter picks up his sniper and rushes off the platform, jumping towards a rope. He swings from rope to rope until he gets to another platform. He jumps and does a flip before landing and getting back in a sniper position he sees a flash of blue before he gets shot with a bullet. “I’m hit, dang it! FRIDAY who shot me?” 

“Turbo shot you. Although, you are still in because he used his powers so he is disqualified.”

“What the heck FRIDAY? How did you see that?”

Peter laughs, realizing that the update that he had been working on and uploaded on FRIDAY last night had upgraded her ability to see Pietro while using his powers. He watches Pietro exit the arena, leaving his guns by the door. Wanda and Nebula decide to take this moment to go get Pietro's guns and extra ammo. Wanda grabs the gun while Nebula covers for her. 

Suddenly, a bullet comes out of nowhere, hitting Nebula. Wanda turns around when FRIDAY announces that Nebula got shot, only to get hit by another bullet. Peter looks  across the arena and sees Clint in a dark corner with a piece of the arena covering him as a shield. He wants to tell him that he’s cheating but he knows that Clint will probably just shoot him anyway, so he remains silent. 

Steve finally decides to emerge from his bunker. Since he’s not allowed to use his shield, he’s taken to using a giant nerf gun instead. He runs across the arena, way too fast for Peter to be able to snipe him, towards MJ. all of her shots ricochet off of the giant gun he’s carrying until he’s within shooting range. Then, he pulls out the starter pistol and shoots her square in the chest. “That’s cheating, Cap.” she tries telling him until FRIDAY announces that she’s out. She glares at him as she exits the arena, and Peter knows that the next time there’s a prank war Steve is as good as dead. 

Meanwhile, Bucky creeps towards Steve, who’s currently looking for his next victim. He jumps out from behind one of the bunkers and uses his automated gun to shoot Steve. Around 100 bullets hit him, one after another. FRIDAY announces his ‘death’ and just like that it’s down to 5, 2 on Flash’s side and 3 on Peter’s. 

Clint and Peter are still on their perches, hidden from one another by a large tower at the center of the arena. Bucky is still creeping around where Steve got you and Natasha is a few feet away, hidden by a bunker. She appears to be strategizing. Flash is still hidden and hasn’t come out the entire game, so only Clint knows where he is. 

Peter detects movement out of the corner of his eye and turns to watch Clint slowly creep out of his corner; he silently places the piece of the arena on the platform before jumping away to another. He moves closer to the center of the arena to get a good aim of Bucky before Peter can shout a warning, Clint fires. Bucky’s out and it's now a 2 vs 2. 

Peter looks down towards Natasha, trying to signal to her they need a plan. She motions towards him and the huge tower at the center where he would be able to make a clear shot on Clint. He nods as she grabs Bucky’s fun and begins running from bunker to bunker, shooting at Clint every once in a while for good measure. 

Meanwhile, Peter moves silently throughout the arena, parkouring from platform to platform and swinging from a few ropes until he makes it to the tower. He jumps through the window and rolls to the food before jumping back up and moving to the window that has the best view of Clint. Just as he gets the shot lined up he hears FRIDA announce, “Scary Woman #1 is out.”

Three things happen in the moment one, Natasha shouts to Peter in Russia, “avenge me spider child, then get the bully out. I believe in you!” Two, Clint shouts, “I’m coming for you kid!” at the same time as, number three; Peter shoots Clint. 

Dramatically, Clint falls to the floor on his knees yelling, “No!” while FRIDAY announces that he's out. Peter grins, shouting, “I have avenged you мама паук (spider),” before returning his focus to winning the game. Flash is definitely going to stay hidden unless he’s been keeping track of- “Come out Parker! It’s just you and me. Don’t be a coward!” Flash announces, emerging from his bunker with two of the starter pistols. 

Nevermind, Peter thinks, this is going to be easier than I expected. And, as an added bonus, I’ll show off because I’m pretty sure Aunty Nat will run me through drills until even my enhanced healing can’t keep up if I don’t. 

He watches as Flash walks confidently around, trying to find where Peter is hiding. Just as he walks underneath the tower, Peter lets out a loud “whoop” sound and flips out of the widow. Flash looks up in panic, trying to find whatever devilish creature had just decided to rein it’s terror upon him. Instead, he’s met with the sight of Peter doing several flips as he falls towards him. 

Flash just manages to dodge out of the way, as Peter lands gracefully in front of him in Black Widow’s famous superhero pose. Flash falls to the ground and just lays there in school. Even when Peter walks towards him, grins maliciously and pulls out the giant gun that had been strapped to his back the entire game, pointing it directly at him. 

Before he can even think to react, Peter presses the trigger, causing all 150 bullets to hit Flash, rapid fire. 

There’s momentary silence as Peter runs out of ammo where only his heavy breathing can be heard. Finally, FRIDAY announces, “Eugene Thompson has been eliminated, Team Parker wins!” 

He noise in the arena suddenly explodes as Peter’s team and the tour group run in, congratulating Peter on his epic win, tormenting Flash for not doing anything, and talking about how awesome that battle was. Flash still hasn’t moved or talked, opting for sitting on the floor, his mouth opening and closing, gaping like a fish out of water. MJ uses this moment to sketch Flash in her crisis notebook. 

Peter, on the other hand, is grinning like a mad man and soaking up the attention for once. When everyone first came in it was surprising. His super senses weren’t too happy about the sudden explosion of noise, but Natasha had quickly yelled at them after seeing how distressed her baby spider appeared. 

After that, the questions come barreling in one after another. 

“How’d you learn to do that” (training with the Avengers)

“Why’d you act like that when getting Flash out?” (dramatic entrance) 

“Why’d you do Black Widow’s superhero pose?” (because it’s freaking awesome) 

The pose story actually was much longer than that. Some guys were harassing Nat one time about her pose and began to be super sexist and what not. After that the guys had all made their poses similar to Nat’s and even at one point all got dresses personally designed for each of them to wear to a special event. It was pretty awesome. However, that’s a lot to explain for one question so he left it at that. 

Finally, Nat tells them all to leave and meet the tour guide in the hallway, and that Peter and Flash would be with them shortly. They filed out, leaving their two classmates with the group of Avengers. 

Once they're all gone, Steve walks over to Flash and offers him his hand. Flash takes it, gratefully, and is lifted about halfway into the air before being dropped back on his butt. “Don’t mess with my kid again! I don’t condone bullying and, unfortunately for you, neither do any of the other Avengers.”

“I… what? Uh, I.. I di- didn’t. No sir!: Flash manages to stutter out before standing up and running to join the tour group. 

“And you, don’t think we aren’t aware that this kid has been bullying you for who knows how long. Your father, you, and I will be having a conversation about  it tonight.” Steve tells Peter sternly. 

“On that note… that was amazing! You finally listened to  advice on how to make a grand entrance! 

“Figured there'd be some sort of consequence if I didn’t.” “You’re dang right, маленький паук (little spider). Now go join your class.”

He nods, leaving after a quick hair ruffle from Bucky and a kiss from Wade. Ned grins at him as he rejoins the class, too starstruck from having a nerf battle with the Avengers to be able to talk. Flash, who Peter hadn’t previously noticed walking strangely close to him, begins slowing his pace until he’s directly behind Peter, “next place we go, meet me in the bathroom… or else it will be 10 times worse when we get back to school.” 

Peter mentally groans at the last part even with his enhanced healing Flash could cause some serious bruises and leave him limping, something Peter didn’t want his family seeing. So, when they arrive at the higher-up intern labs and Flash asks to go to the restroom, Peter waits a few minutes before also excusing himself to the restroom.

[bts-trash-blog]

Rainy Day- Jungkook

Summary: You had a bad habit that you just couldn’t break and it only happened on rainy days like this.

Parings: Jungkook X Reader

Warning: Nothing really, just a whole lot of fuff and a slice of life. 

It started at a young age, where you would crawl back into bed after your mother called out of school as 'sick' and just honesty slept the rest of the day away. The days where dark grey, sometimes black clouds would loom over the sky creating a melancholy beauty. The day where the pitter-patter and drips of the raindrops falling against your rooftops sang the sadder songs that helped you sleep.

You truly blame your mother for this, for the need to sleep the rainy days away, to enjoy them in a cocoon of blankets on top of your bed as you listen to the rain hitting the earth around you. You blame her for the tendency to ignore the world, including your phone for once, and just enjoy the cold feeling of the walls, and the softness of your blankets.

So in hindsight, it was your mother's fault for your boyfriend's panic.

You see Jungkook and you had only started dating three months ago, the relationship still new and fresh. Still, so many things to learn about one another, so many flaws and tendencies undiscovered, pet peeves and habits unknown or have yet to be spoken.

So when he reached out to you today on one of his rare days off, his hope's of cuddling on your couch while you show him your favorite childhood movies as he watched your eyes light up as you recite every line. Oh, how he wanted to see that spark in you like the time he had randomly put on Mulan and you just belted out your heart during every song. He wanted to see your nose scrunch up when you got excited, or how you would mindlessly play with his hands or the hair on the nape of his neck.

He honestly just wanted to be in your presence.

Yet you still hadn't answered and it was nearing two in the afternoon. So he called you.

And you didn't answer.

So he called you again.

Still no answer.

Jungkook grew slightly agitated, primarily worried, but still agitated, and just wanted to give up and ignore you back. He wanted to make you feel the way he was at that very moment, but he knew, oh how he knew, that you would just send a picture of yourself and make his heart melt in a second. So he stood up from his bed, grabbed one of his hoodies and stormed out of his room and dorm and drove to yours.

Once he arrived at your door, hoddie slightly damp and hair slowly fluffing up from the humidity he looked for your spare key on his keychain. He had been gifted it when he had agreed to watch your place a month ago when you went to Japan for a work trip and he had yet to give it back, though you had yet to even ask for it back.

Once inside, he noticed how cold it was inside, and how dark. As if it was still shut down from the night before, kicking off his slightly muddy shoes he walks further in, no lingering smell of your morning coffee or afternoon lunch. No buzz of a freshly turned of T.V, not even the sound of the heater running.

Turning to your doorway, a smile being fought off as he saw one of his drawings he had gifted you had been taped up onto it next to a few of your own. When he froze as he heard the slight creak of your bed and the shuffling of covers with a slight huff of breath from your lips, making his head tilt to the side.

Where you still asleep?

He slowly opened your bedroom door, there he saw a pile of blankets on top of your bed, bunched up against a wall. He saw the wild strains of your hair waving out from the top of the blankets onto a pillow, your phone still charging on your desk, and when he touched it to unplug it was cold to the touch. Almost like ice.

You really have been asleep this whole time.

He smiled at the thought as he grew closer to the bed, the sound of his shuffling into your room must've woken you up. Cause as he was about to climb onto the bed and slowly cuddle you awake you yawned and peak out from the cocoon on blankets you had built around yourself.

"Who...kook?" Your question, your eyebrows squinting together as you smack your cotton dry mouth. Jungkook takes a note on your raspy voice, the way it was much deeper then he thought it would be, and how your voice even cracked towards the end of his name. God, I would love to wake up to that voice every morning. His ears started to burn at that thought, as he chuckled rubbing a hand behind his head as you motioned for him to join you into the bed. The creaking of his weight made you flip around the best you could to face where he would end up laying, making sure to cover your mouth, knowing damn well how bad your morning breath would be.

"Yeah...have you been sleeping all day? Do you not feel good baby?" He asked, concern filtering through his voice as he laid next to you, a hand placing itself on your forehead making a chuckle escape you.

"I'm fine..just a rainy day." You mumbled making him look you, lips parted as his eyebrows slowly scrunch up.

"What? Why would that take into account of you being asleep till almost three?" He asks with confusion laced in his voice, making your eyes widen as you fight your way out of your blankets. He couldn't help but laugh as you fall splat onto his chest, legs on either side of his thighs as you look up at him. Wide eyes and mouth slightly parted, a loose-fitting shirt and shorts as your attire and your hair was the definition of an absolute mess.

"My streaks!" You squeal pushing yourself off of him and thrown yourself somewhat into your desk. Phone in hand as you point it to the ceiling and take a picture, and in seconds his phone was buzzing from a Snapchat notification making him let out a laugh as he sees it was from you.

"Really?" He chuckles as you shrug and swipe through notification, smiling brightly when you opened the snap he had sent you that morning. He was still half asleep, shirtless in bed, hair falling in his face as he gave the camera a tight-lipped smile. The caption, 'Morning baby💕', making your hands move faster than your brain as you screenshotted it. Another notification ding. "Y/n!" Looking up you see him sitting up with a small playful glare making you giggle as you quickly rush out of your room to the bathroom. "Bush your teeth while you're in there."

"Hey!" You gasped making him laugh as you grumble under your breath, grabbing your toothbrush and toothpaste and getting to work. Once you were done, hair as fixed as it could be, teeth cleaned and your bathroom needs had been attended to you left the small dimly lit room and back into your bedroom to see Jungkook had ditched his sweater and was sitting in your bed in a loose tank top and joggers.

"Teeth cleaned?" He asked looking up from his phone as you walked over to him with a nod of your head. Pushing your way between his legs you smile at him, showing your teeth making him smile as you started to make faces, him slowly mimicking you back.

"Kiss?" You mumble making his cheek turn slightly pink as he nodded, pushing forward to the two of you met, with a soft, warm kiss. It didn't last long but it was enough to make him, and you, almost grasping for air. His hands wrapped around your shoulders as yours went to his waist as he stared down at you.

"Back to rainy day..why do you sleep?"

"I honestly don't know, and sometimes I'm not even asleep just drifting in and out of daydreams while I listen to the storm outside. When I'm not off of work, I'll just start randomly daydreaming, and thinking what it would feel like to be wrapped in my blankets half asleep half awake." Your words, spoken softly, and slightly full of embarrassment, make his heart flutter. His eyes stare at the top of your head, as you had nuzzled your way into his chest, with nothing but fondness. "I know it's a bit weird...may be seen as lazy...but my mom told me that a rainy day is a perfect day off. A perfect day to relax, and kinda..reboot..it a bad habit I know. But I don't think I'll ever be able to break it."

"No..no it's not a bad habit baby. It's actually...pretty dang adorable if you ask me." He said with a shake of his head, you push yourself back slightly, making you look up at him. Your cheeks were flushed as your teeth grip your slightly dry lower lip. "So it's okay if you don't ever break it..just..I just got worried that you were ignoring me that's all." His words made you frown as you shake your head and move one hand to cup his cheek.

"Trust me, if I was ignoring you I would opening all of your messages and stuff and not reply. I'd make sure you'd know I'm ignoring you." Your words made him toss his head back in laughter, but it broke when the rumble of your stomach caught his attention. "Please tell me that in this habit, you at least eat and drink something."

"Well, you see..funny story."

"Baby you gotta take care of yourself."

"I legit just brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom for the first time all day just five minutes ago. So what makes you think I would make myself food." Your words made him scoff as he pushed you away from him, his warm hand grabbing your arms as he dragged you to your small kitchen. “All I have is ramen.”

“Then we’re eating ramen.” He stated bluntly making you hold your hands out with a small smirk on your face at his dramatic tone. He sighs as he pecks you on the lips and gets to work. “After we eat, we can lay back down and enjoy the rainy day how you like to.”

“So..are you sleeping over then?” Your question made his movements freeze, as he looks at you over his shoulder and gulps. “Cause if you do, I hope you know I am a total blanket hog, you can have as much space as you want on the bed, I sleep against the wall, but you will not have any blanket by the time you wake up.”

“We’ll see about that, baby.” He teases making you huff with a sarcastic laugh biting at him.

“You’re on.” 

Let's just say Jungkook had woke up with a shiver.

[ace-in-a-shopping-cart]

Cerberus, The Giant Black Dog

Part two out of three! One Three

Word Count: 2,927

Taglist: (Send an ask to be added or removed!) @starlocked01​​ @spoopy-turtle​​ @lizluvscupcakes​ @far-too-many-fandoms-to-die

Summary: Logan being a disaster gay.

Logan turned to ask Remus a question, only to see his child barreling out of the store toward someone else. He had just enough time to shout, “Watch out!” while Remus called, “Coming through!” and hit the man full on.

They both went flying backward as Logan raced to get there, practically having to drag Roman behind him. He had to catch his breath but he at least looked at his child to make sure Remus was fine and hadn’t harmed the man too much. Once he got his breathing back, he pulled Remus carefully off the man’s legs, the man’s head followed the movement.

“Are they alright?” His voice was almost frantic even as his dog stood practically on top of him.

Logan nodded. “Remus is perfectly fine, thank you. Are you?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m great.” The man patted the dog, causing the creature to reverse course and step off the man but stayed close. The man dressed in all black stood, brushing his hands down his person to get the dirt off. “Cerberus,” he addressed the dog, “where’s my stick?”

The dog bumped against the stranger, causing him to stumble slightly closer to the side of the building. He moved to the corner and picked up a white stick in his mouth, bumping it against the man to give it to him. He crouched to pet the dog and murmur praise to the animal as he took the stick and slipped the strap attached to the top over his wrist. Turning back to Logan, he smiled. “I didn’t realize it was rush hour.”

Roman giggled at the joke but Logan sighed, already feeling drained. “It’s not. Are you sure you’re fine? Do I need to make anything up to you?” He was worried the man might have been hurt but was playing it off. The man didn’t answer the question, choosing to ask one of his own instead. “Where are you heading in such a rush, anyway?” 

“We’re getting ice cream!” Remus said a bit too loudly before Logan could stop him.

The man turned his head to follow the source of the voice. “What a coincidence! I was going to get some ice cream too.”

Remus giggled and Roman spoke up. He was on Logan’s other side as he held the twins by their hands. The man’s head turned, again following the source of the sound. “Do you wanna come with?”

Logan shook his head. “Roman, we don’t invite random strangers on our family outings.” He sighed, knowing it was almost no use at this point.

The man stepped back, hand gripping the dog’s leash. “I in no way meant to get in the way of a family outing. Cerberus and I can get to the ice cream parlor on our own.” Whistling, he called the dog to his side before the pair began walking down the sidewalk in the same direction the trio was already heading.

Remus broke away from Logan again and ran ahead, tugging on the stranger’s pants leg before Logan could catch him again. “Mister?” He asked.

As Logan was running to catch up, swinging Roman up into his arms to get there faster, he heard the man respond. “Yes, small child?”

The next portion of the conversation was drowned out by Logan’s frantic running to catch up and Roman’s giggling at being carried. He put Roman down once he got there, the child still giggling. Logan tried to once again catch his breath as the stranger said, “This seems to be a thing today.”

Logan laughed, the noise sounding strained due to lack of air. “It seems so.” he agreed. Once he got his breath back and was standing up straight, he continued. “I guess it would be right to assume you are heading in the same direction as we are?”

The man nodded. “If you’re going to the ice cream parlor that's right across the street, yes.”

Logan adjusted his tie. “Would it be agreeable to be accompanied by myself and two small bundles of insatiable energy?’

The man laughed and part of Logan’s brain shut down at just how cute it was. “Only if we exchange names. I’m Virgil and this guy is Cerberus.” He reached down with a hand that was immediately bumped by the dog’s wet nose. 

Logan almost offered a handshake before realizing that the man was blind and would not notice it. “My name is Logan and these two are Remus and Roman.” They both said ‘hello’ at the mention of their names, Remus still holding the man, Virgil’s, pants leg.

Virgil nodded. “Now that we are all acquainted, shall we be off?” He clicked his tongue to Cerberus and they continued walking. 

Now that they were side by side, Logan had the chance to get a good look at Virgil. His hair was messy, like he hadn’t bothered to do anything with it. He was wearing a black hoodie with purple plaid patches and black skinny jeans that hugged his legs quite nicely. He had sunglasses on, making Logan immensely curious of what his eyes looked like.

He was so caught up in surveying the man, he almost tripped when they stopped suddenly. Virgil spoke, a hard edge to his voice. “Is there a child on my dog or his leash?”

Logan’s gaze snapped to Cerberus, where Roman was pulling on the leash slightly, one hand buried in the animal’s fur. “I just wanted to pet him.”

Virgil sighed, crouching down. “Do you see his vest?” His voice took on a softer tone.

“Yes.” Roman was close to tears. 

“That vest means he’s working. You’re not supposed to pet a dog while they’re wearing a vest like this, okay?”

Logan spoke up. “I should have noticed him sooner, my apologies.”

“It’s fine. It’s always nice to educate people on working dogs.” He stood back up and Cerberus started going again, sitting next to Virgil when they got to the crosswalk and the light was red. Virgil smiled and patted his head. 

“How come you get to pat and pet him while he has the vest on?” Roman asked, head tilting in the same curious habit he’d picked up from Logan. 

“Well, I do it when he’s doing his job well. It’s to let him know he did it right. He’s relatively new to being a working dog as he was just certified a few months ago.” Virgil’s tone was patient as he explained.

“What jobs does he perform, if you don’t mind my asking?” Logan asked.

“I don’t mind at all. He doubles as both a seeing eye and emotional support dog. This is due to my being blind and having anxiety. The petting and pats are also part of his emotional support role as he keeps me calm and it lets him know I’m fine.”

“Ah.” Logan said as Cerberus stood back up, the group crossing the street and making it to the ice cream parlor with no mishaps. He held the door open for everyone, smiling as the twins bounced into the building and Virgil got comfortable enjoying the cold. They made their way into the line and Logan leaned close to Virgil to be heard above the general chatter.

“Are you sure you’re okay with us joining you? If we are being a bother or hindrance please let me know.”

“You are all perfectly fine. In fact, what flavors do they have? I usually only ever get mint chocolate chip.”

Logan told him every flavor that was on there. After he was done, the two boys standing near them piped up with their favorites and recommendations. Virgil laughed at their enthusiasm. He sent them on first so they would be on separate bills, even though Logan offered to pay for him. 

The boys ran to the tallest table they could find, having to climb into the seats and giving Logan a figurative heart attack with how many times they almost dropped their ice creams. Just as they finished settling in, Virgil slipped into the empty seat at the table and tilted his head down at his hand. “Is it really blue?”

Remus laughed. “It’s blue!” He clearly had yet to transition to his inside voice.

“Shh, Remus. Yes, the two scoops are both blue.” Logan confirmed for Virgil.

 “Dang. I thought the bubblegum would be pink.” Virgil sighed, fishing his free hand into his hoodie pocket and pulling out a phone that he handed to Logan. “Would you mind taking a picture for me. I wanna show Emile.”

Logan took the picture as requested and handed the phone back, getting a soft thanks in return. “You should eat it before it melts.” He advised. “Or one of the twins eats it.” They giggled from their side of the table.

Virgil put his phone away and ate the ice cream. The conversation stilled as everyone was consumed with consuming their treat. After finishing, Logan threw away the table’s trash. They parted ways outside the store as Logan and the boys went across the street to the hardware store. Logan lamented not being smart enough to ask for his number or even getting it while he had the phone in hand. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the boys gushing about the birdhouses they wanted to make. They were there for what must have been only a ten, fifteen minutes at most before the sound of claws and running footsteps met them outside, a black Labrador jumping on Logan as soon as they exited the store. Recognizing the dog as Cerberus, he patted his head. 

“What’s wrong, boy? Where’s Virgil?”

Cerberus barked and took off running back the way he came. Logan followed, only vaguely aware of his children following him. They entered a pet supply store and Cerberus navigated the aisles with ease. He had obviously been here multiple times before as he quickly got them to the back where Virgil was curled on the floor, a death grip on a bag of dog food still on the shelf. He was breathing raggedly and his hands were flexing on the bag, like he was trying to read the words printed on it. Standing nearby with arms crossed was a woman who was clearly the antagonist in this situation. 

Logan was aware of Cerberus returning to his master’s side and the twins standing at the end of the aisle, uncertain. On his part, he walked right up to the woman and demanded she leave. He didn’t think about his words beforehand, simply speaking his mind enough to get her to go away. 

Once she was gone, he turned his attention to Virgil. He knelt by his side, taking his face in his hands and checking him for injuries. He had to say his name a few times before Virgil’s head seemed to weigh a bit less, as if he was supporting himself as well. “Virgil, are you alright?” Logan could tell his voice was frantic but tried to keep calm.

Virgil nodded before he buried his head in Cerberus’ fur. Logan didn’t  let his head go, turning to scan his body for injuries. “I’m okay.” Virgil murmured.

Logan nodded. “Good. May I ask what happened?”

Virgil took a deep breath, letting it out as slowly as possible. Once his breathing managed to get to a rate similar to that of earlier when he had been calm, he moved his hands along Cerberus’ sides, looking for something. He found a pouch and took a bottle out, opening it with unsteady hands and shaking two gummies out. He chewed them before summing up how the woman had accosted him for no reason. His voice was steady and monotone, little to no emotion coming through among the facts. He concluded with a muttered, “I was just trying to buy dog food.”

As food was mentioned, Cerberus moved away from Virgil and pointed his nose at a bag close to the floor, barking. Logan leaned over to look at the label on the bag, hands never leaving Virgil’s face. “Do you know the brand of food?” Once told, he laughed. “I do believe Cerberus just found it.”

Virgil laughed, the sound coming out shaky but there. “Cerberus, you told me you didn’t see it earlier.” His voice was playful, not really being mad at the animal. His hands moved along the floor, grabbing and using his cane to stand. Logan let him stand on his own, standing with him but making sure to stay close as Virgil walked to Cerberus. He picked up the bag the dog was pointing at before pressing a kiss to his forehead and saying, “Good dog.”

Logan was overcome with a protective instinct and put a gentle hand on Virgil’s lower back, leaning in slightly. “Do you want us to stay with you for now?”

Virgil nodded, hand twitching as if he wanted to hold onto Logan. “Does one of the boys want to carry this for me?” 

Remus giggled and stepped forward, grabbing the bag from Virgil while Roman carried the wood for the birdhouses. Virgil began feeling around on Cerberus for the end of his leash. Logan’s heart hurt. “I’m afraid the leash seems to have snapped.”

Virgil sighed. “Fine.” he grabbed the handle on Cerberus’ vest before asking him to take them to the leash section. Cerberus took off, going at a noticeably slower pace as Virgil was attached at a different angle than what must have been the usual. When they arrived at their destination, Cerberus barked softly, as if he knew Virgil was still recovering.

Roman squealed as he ran to hold a pink leash covered in glitter. “Look, Daddy! This one is sparkly!”

Logan chuckled, amused by his son’s antics. “That it is, my boy. Please, keep in mind that we aren’t here for ourselves.”

Remus grunted as he shifted the bag to a more comfortable position, causing Virgil to turn his head to him. “Is it too heavy? I can carry it if needed. “

“No!” Remus responded without hesitation. “I’m strong, I can carry it.”

Logan put his hand on Virgil’s back to warn him of his proximity, leaning close for no other reason than he felt like he needed to protect him. “Would you like help picking the leash?”

A blush dusted Virgil’s cheeks in a decidedly charming way. “What color is the one he has now?” 

Logan looked at the part of the leash in Virgil’s hand. “Uhhhhhh . . . Hot pink. Like bright pink.” He was tempted to add, like your blush but paused. “Wait, have you ever seen color before?” He didn’t mean to sound rude, he was genuinely curious.

Virgil laughed, his face lighting up. “Yes, I have. You have to get at least friend level five before you unlock my tragic backstory.” A playful grin stayed on his face, making it just that much cuter.

Logan chuckled and decided to push his luck. “What level am I at now?”

“Like a two.” His blush deepened.

Logan smirked. “Well, maybe we should change that. May I see your phone?” Virgil handed it over without question. Logan quickly found his way into the contacts, saving his number as Logan<3 but Virgil didn’t need to know the whole thing. Texting a simple hello to himself, he made sure it went through before returning it.

“I’m saved under Logan, in case you were wondering. I also went ahead and sent a text to myself so I’ll have your number too.”

“You really are curious about me, aren’t you?” Virgil’s tone was light as the playful grin still danced across his lips.

Logan burned with a desire to know more about this mysterious stranger but didn’t want to say that. Instead, he said, “I can’t say I’m not intrigued. I also think my children like you too much to get rid of you. I think you’re stuck with them and, by extension, me.”

A small shiver ran down Virgil’s back. “Could you grab a black leash?” His voice was quiet, as if he were using all of his power to process what Logan had just said.

Logan stepped away and almost picked up a leash before looking back at Virgil. “Extendable or not?”

“Preferably in the same style as the one I already have.”

Logan looked at the leash still attached to Cerberus and still in Virgil’s hand and grabbed one as close to it as he could find. Pressing it into Virgil’s hand, he asked, “How does that feel?”

Virgil felt over the leash, testing the handle and moving down to the clip. “It feels perfect, thank you.”

They walked to the checkout counter, Logan keeping a protective hand on Virgil’s back to ward off other people like the woman from earlier. When they got there, the twins put the items on the conveyor belt while Logan talked with the manager and explained the situation with the woman, getting a promise that she would not be allowed into the store again.  Virgil entertained the boys while checking out.

When they parted outside the store, the boys wanted to go to the park while Virgil said he’d skip the rest of his errands and get home. The twins only allowed him to leave after he promised to meet up with them again. Logan didn’t say anything but was happy his children took the initiative neither of the adults were willing to take. He looked forward to their next meeting as he was dragged away by the hands, the twins already running to the park.

[solavillain]

Pas de Deux Chapter 9: The Return

+pairing: Spinel x fem!Reader +genre: Drama, romance, angst, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers +warnings: mentions of shattering +word count: 6.5K +Chapter 9 / 10  previous || next

As Spinel leads you down to the beach hand in hand, you can’t help but stare at the back of her form in wonder. Just a few weeks ago this Gem had shaken up your whole life, ruined your summer plans, hurt your friends. And then just as you were starting to warm up to her, she kidnapped you- hell of a first date. You honestly thought you could never look past that, and granted, it was a pretty horrible thing to do. But then something just... changed. Or rather, she did.

And now... now you feel so incredibly lucky to have her. Everything is still new to both of you, her especially, but the prospect of getting to learn together absolutely thrills you. And though Spinel isn’t as talkative or open about her feelings... you suspect she feels the same.

The two of you burst through the tree line, almost sprinting towards the water. Spinel turns slightly to give you a grin over her shoulder, and your stomach flips happily.

“God, she’s trouble for my heart,” you think warmly as you return the smile.

You stop at the ocean’s edge, and release Spinel’s hand as she morphs her pinky into the horn to call the injector. It rises from off the coast- much closer than you ever imagined she’d leave it.

“Has... that been there the whole time?” you ask incredulously, turning to the pink Gem.

“Uh... y-yeah?” she replies sheepishly, shifting her pinky back to normal.

You shake your head with a small smile. “Dang. Could have escaped at any time,” you joke.

Spinel’s answering smile spreads across her face. “Oh yeah? Go ahead, get up there on yer own,” she replies, accent slipping in as it always does when she teases you.

“I’ll do It right now!” you exclaim, and begin to race through the surf. You look back in surprise as Spinel grabs your middle and pulls you back to her, both of you giggling and laughing as you pretend to try to get away.  

You sigh and try to calm your laughter, turning in Spinel’s arms to look up to her. She unwraps her arms and rests her hands on your hips, gazing down at you with a soft expression.

“Are you... sure about this, doll?” she asks you softly, “I know you were nervous a few days ago...”

“Spinel, I... I know, and I’m sorry for that. It was just me being irrational but... I really want to go back with you. Besides the pluses of being able to be back in society again, I want to show the others that you’re a good person and that... I care about you,” you finish, blushing and ducking your face into the crook of her neck.

She wraps herself around your shoulders, settling her chin on the top of your head. “Okay, doll. I’m nervous, but... I want that too. And apparently someone needs a shower?”  

“Pff, maybe...” you reply, burying your face more in embarrassment. After a moment you pull back and take her hands off your shoulders, holding them between the two of you.

“Spinel... I just want you to know I really care about you. And whatever happens, I’ll be by your side. We’ll show everyone that you’ve changed. Okay?”

Tears well up in her eyes and she flings herself around you once more, squeezing you tightly. You shift a little so her Gem isn’t pressing up against you too hard, and rub small circles into her back.

“Ok, c’mon Miss Dramatic,” you joke, trying to lighten the mood, “don’t want to be crying when we get back to Beach City.”

Spinel lifts her head from your shoulder reluctantly and cups a hand to your face.

“Ready, doll?”

x * x * x * x * x

After scooping you up rather deftly and leaping to the top of the injector (which, you have to admit, was kind of fun), you’re soon setting off for Beach City. Or rather, the direction Spinel thinks is towards Beach City.  

“If you know how to get back to Empire City from here, I could probably direct you towards Beach City?” you suggest, scooching closer to Spinel so she can hear you over the rush of wind. She nods, and directs the injector slightly more towards the left, wrapping an arm around your waist once she’s done. You smile at the contact and lean into her, settling in for what you know to be a long flight.  

It had taken at least a couple hours on the way to the island; Spinel having taken you in the early morning since you’d been up all night racing from the concert to the Garden and back again. You don’t know how long it was for her trip to Empire City, but it must have been at least an hour, since it had taken her around 3 hours to return to you with all the definitely not stolen goods.

You muse silently for a while, enjoying the sun beating down on you and the feeling of Spinel holding onto you- maybe a little too tightly.  

“Probably worried about me falling off the edge or something,” you figure. You swing your legs around so they’re lying over her lap instead of dangling off the edge, and you see her visibly relax.

“Aww, were you worried?” you tease, poking her on the shoulder.

She rolls her eyes but can’t fight the smile that finds its way to her face. “Mm... Maybe a bit,” she replies, pulling you closer to her and moving the both of you more towards the middle of the injector.  

You place your hands on top of her arms, holding her against you. You look up at her and smile, watching as she concentrates to try to remember the way she needs to go.

“Are you nervous?” you whisper after a moment, startling her slightly.  

“Bout what?” she asks absent-mindedly, still gazing out over the horizon.

“Going back. Having to... face everyone,” you say, trying to keep your voice from wavering.

“W-well, yeah. Can’t say I’m not,” she says with a slight chuckle, “but I’m also... Oddly calm. Having you with me right here, right now...”

She trails off and idly runs her hands over your arms, making you shiver even in the hot sun.

“I know it’ll go great,” you reply, eyes fluttering closed at her touch.  

You float like that for a while, head against Spinel’s shoulder, just reveling in the feeling of her gentle touches. You resolve not to drift off, to just enjoy being with her in the simplicity that is the moment. As you gaze across the ever-approaching horizon, you can’t help but smile to yourself at the way things have turned out.

You’d fallen for a Gem or two in your time, sure- namely, Pearl- so you didn’t find being with one like this particularly odd, but... what you did find odd was that you ended up with a Gem that you hadn’t known for long in comparison. But in a way, that made this all the more exciting- you got to discover everything about each other.

And god, were you looking forward to that.

After an hour or so of idle chatter and lots of cuddling (while, of course, hurtling through the air on a giant injector), you start to see a city peak up over the horizon.

“Oh! Spinel, look! It’s Empire City!” you exclaim, getting as close to the edge as you feel comfortable with.

“Oh yeah, wow! Guess I remembered the right way after all,” Spinel replies with a light chuckle. “Okay, toots, it’s all you now. Where do we go from here?”

Spinel directs the injector up higher, just above the clouds- enough that you can still see the land below but hopefully high enough that you won’t be easily spotted.

You look for a road you recognize, the main highway that you usually take to get to and from Beach City for the summers. It’s harder to tell from up so high, but you figure the general direction should suffice anyway, since you’ll be able to see Beach City in the distance as long as you go the right way.  

It’s still a ways away, so you sit back with Spinel once more, this time simply holding her hand while you gaze down below. After a moment, you notice Spinel fidgeting next to you, crossing and uncrossing her legs, clenching your hand in hers, her other hand reaching up to her hair.

You turn to face her once you check that the highway is still directly below you.

“Spinel? You... you doing okay?” you ask gently, reaching out to take her other hand from her hair.

“I... I’ll be okay, Y/n. Don’t worry ‘bout me,” she gets out breathily, voice shaking.

“Spinel. You’re clearly not okay,” you stay sternly, cupping her face in your hands. Her eyes focus on yours, and she relaxes slightly to your touch.

“I’m sorry. I’m... just freakin’ out a bit, is all. I don’t know what’s gonna happen when we get back and I’m terrified... that they’ll send me back somewhere. Or they’ll just hate me forever and...”

She trails off and averts her gaze back to the world below. You sigh and lean back a bit, clasping your hands together in between the two of you.

“Spinel, I know these thoughts are hard to ignore sometimes. And you have every right to worry about this stuff, I’m... a little nervous too. But when things like this come up, I want you to know you can talk to me, ok? You don’t have to sit next to me in silence when you’re suffering. I want to try to help you through it as best as I can.”

Spinel turns back to you and nods, and surprisingly, you see no tears in her eyes this time.  

“I don’t mean to keep stuff from ya... It’s just habit, I guess. Not used to having someone to talk to, y’know?”

She squeezes your hand softly and offers you an apologetic smile.  

“I know, Spins. But whenever you can, try to remember I’m here for you, all right?”  

She lets out a shuddering sigh and meets your eyes with resolve. “Thank you. And I will always be here for you too, ok doll?”

You open your mouth to start to reply, when the injector suddenly rushes through a particularly thick cloud. It’s hard to see much of anything, and you’re startled from finishing your thought.

“Did we lose the direction?” Spinel calls out.

“I don’t know, I can’t see the ground!” you reply, frantically searching for any break in the clouds below you.

“It’s ok, I’ll keep it steady until the clouds-”

She cuts herself off as the sunlight rushes back in. You squint at the sudden brightness, before your eyes widen and you gasp.

“Spinel! It’s right there! We made it!” you exclaim happily as Beach City quickly comes into view. You sound happy even as your insides flip. No going back now, no matter how nervous the both of you are.

“We... we did make it,” she replies, sounding every bit as worried as you feel.

As you loom closer to your favorite city, your face falls as Lighthouse Park comes further into view- you'd forgotten about the damage that last battle had done to the ground there...and the surrounding ocean still had traces of pink in it. You glance over at Spinel to gauge her reaction, and her face seems... crestfallen.

“Spinel, it’s ok. We can help undo this,” you say softly, taking her hand in yours once more.

She simply nods and morphs her pinky to direct the injector. Finally you were going to be home safe and-

“HEY!”

Your knees almost buckle at the voice that sounds behind you. Amethyst!  You turn to greet your friend, who is riding with Peridot on a large piece of metal, floating just behind the injector. Instead you’re met with an expression that is decidedly unwelcoming. But her gaze isn’t focused on you- it's on the Gem sitting next to you, who is recoiling in fear.

“Give her back to us!” Amethyst calls out, much to your dismay.

“Amethyst, wait-”

Before you can finish your thought, Amethyst is pulling out her Gem weapon, and you can only guess what she means to do with it. Your gaze shifts to Peridot, who you note is holding the retracted rejuvenator slightly out of sight. This is not how you wanted this to go. How were they even ready this fast? Had they been following you or something?

You turn to Spinel, who is already one step ahead of you. The injector zooms forward, and you hear the snap of Amethyst’s whip behind you, just narrowly missing the pink Gem.  

“Bring her back you clod!” a scratchy voice calls out as you race forward.

“Spinel, wait! We have to talk to go back and talk to them! Remember?”  

You grip her arm frantically and look up at her with pleading eyes.  Her face falls as she registers your expression, and she sighs heavily.

“I know, doll, but... they’re tryin’ to attack you! Us! Peridot... she had the rejuvenator-!”

“No, no, I think they think you’re still trying to hurt me for some reason! But if we talk to them, we can explain!”

Spinel closes her eyes for a moment, and you feel like you can see the thoughts racing through her head.  

“Yeah. Ok, you’re right. We can-”

“Y/n!”

You immediately groan and roll your eyes, turning once more to face the voice. This time you’re surprised to see the Gem calling your name- flying in what looks like a modified Peridot ship?

“Pearl?!” you exclaim incredulously, “What are you doing?”

“Saving you!”

“Pearl-”

“I can’t do this!” Spinel exclaims, interrupting you. You turn back to face her, and she’s already blowing on the horn, directing the injector to speed off again, this time over land, thankfully.  

You huff in anger and turn back towards Beach City, where you can see the two groups of Gems racing to catch up, joined by Lapis carrying Steven.  

“It’s all of them,” you mutter. “Spinel, we can’t leave again! Find somewhere to land!”

She doesn’t answer you and continues pushing the injector faster- faster than you thought it could go, honestly. You hold on to the Gem and brace yourself, shutting your eyes against the wind whipping across your face.

You turn back after a moment, away from the wind, to see if you’re still being followed. You heave a sigh of relief when you realize you can no longer see Pearl’s ship, Lapis, or Amethyst and Peridot. Your relief is short lived, however, because Spinel has apparently picked a spot to land.

The injector comes to a swift halt over top of a giant field, way out in the countryside. You grip Spinel’s arm tighter as it lowers into the ground, luckily having no poison left to use on the Earth. It settles with a loud rumble, and you finally relinquish your grasp on the Gem.

She takes the opportunity to slump down, wrapping her arms around her knees and hiding her head between them. You sigh and sit down next to her, gazing out across the landscape and watching the wind blow through the tall grass below.

“I... I’m sorry,” Spinel finally says after a few minutes.

“I know, hun, I know. It’s ok,” you reply quietly, circling your arms around her middle and pulling her closer to you.

“I just... that was so scary,” she continues, her voice small and pitiful, “I couldn’t see a way to make them listen and I didn’t want them to take you away from me...”

“I wouldn’t have let them,” you retort sternly, trying to reassure her. “Even if they had been able to grab me, I could have talked them down... I think,” you add, suddenly unsure.  

“What... what do we do now?” Spinel asks, lifting her head and wiping the tears from her eyes. Your heart melts at the sight- she's been through so much and still has the drive to keep going, to keep asking ‘what’s next.’ You truly admire her for that.

“Well... we have to go back,” you point out, “or we could let them find us I suppose, but that might end pretty poorly.”

Spinel doesn’t answer, so you continue, “We can probably spare a few more minutes though, if you need a chance to calm down?”

The pink Gem nods and snuggles in closer to you, burrowing the top of her head under your chin. You wrap your arms around her small frame and hold her, hoping the beat of your heart can be as calming as it once was back on your small island of paradise.  

You let her sit there for a bit, but once you feel her trembling start to subside, you move a hand to the back of her head and give her a few soft pets.

“We have to be strong now, okay Spins?” you say gently, prompting her to lift her head and meet your eyes.

Before she can say anything, you give a quick kiss to the tip her her nose, earning a light chuckle. You smile and squeeze her tightly for a moment before standing.

“All right. You can do this, Spinel. We can do this. I believe in you.”

You reach out a hand to her which she takes, pulling herself up off the top of the injector.  

“All right. Yeah. We can do this,” she repeats back, trying out a confident smile.

“That’s the spirit!” you exclaim, “Now... we may not want to fly back on this big intimidating injector... you up for a walk?”

x * x * x * x * x

Twenty minutes into the walk back to Beach City, and you’re already regretting your life choices. The tall grass is much rougher to walk through than it had looked, and you had apparently severely underestimated how far Spinel had flown the damn injector, what with your eyes being closed most of the ride.  

After bringing you down from the injector in her arms, Spinel had offered to carry you the rest of the way, which you of course refused- you weren’t sick anymore and could walk fine on your own, thank you very much. Now you almost wish you’d taken her up on the offer, just so you could reach Beach City faster. But you weren’t one to relent so easily, so you kept trudging on.

Spinel had been silent most of the walk- most of the day, really. You knew she was incredibly scared of going back, and though she had felt ready this morning, you can’t imagine the ‘greeting’ the two of you received had done much to ease her nerves.  

“I’ve done all the comforting I can do,” you think, looking over to your favorite Gem sadly, “she has to figure out the rest on her own.”

The silence as you walk is... uncomfortable, to say the least. You don’t seem to have much to talk about outside the current situation, and you don’t really feel like talking anyway- you're too wrapped up in your own worries to be concerned with how the Gem is feeling at the moment.

You had tried to avoid considering it before, but you had to face reality now- what if they really don’t accept Spinel? Disregarding the whole relationship thing, if they don’t even let her stay in Beach City... or even on Earth? What if they poof and bubble her before you can get a chance to do anything?  

You don’t have any answers to these questions that are building inside you. You can guess, but ultimately, you decide that things are going to play out as they will, and all you can do is help them get to where you want them to be.  

You can only hope Spinel will feel the same way.

The nerves return to ravage your system around 45 minutes into your walk, when you can start to see Lighthouse Park peeking up over a hill. You want to stay strong, present a unified front to the Crystal Gems, but you can feel yourself unraveling on the inside.

Still, you manage to keep it together as the two of you walk up the peak of the hill overlooking Beach City. You stop to catch your breath as Spinel walks up from behind you, and gingerly takes your hand in hers.

“Ready to try again, doll?” she asks softly.

You huff, rather exhausted from the long hike, but nod in agreement. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

You start the journey down, being the first one to break from her hand. Spinel may have all the grace and balance of a perfect lifeform, but you certainly do not, and this is a pretty steep hill.

You almost trip over a protruding rock that you hadn’t noticed, and Spinel quickly stretches her arms to support you, holding you in place until she can make her way to you.

“Woah there doll, havin’ a little trouble walking, huh?” she teases as she releases you, leaving you to your own devices.

You furrow your brow and stick out your tongue in response, knowing full well you look ridiculous. She laughs heartily, the loudest you’ve heard all day.

“Never seen that face before, love,” she comments in between giggles, “it’s certainly... a look!”

“Yeah, yeah, I make dumb faces,” you huff, continuing down the hill more carefully. You know you’re being a bit childish, but the closer you get to home, the more on edge you feel. You’re not really in the mood for joking, and Spinel seems to register this, as she falls silent after your comment and continues walking behind you.

You reach the base of the hill with no more mishaps, thankfully. As you wait for Spinel to catch up, you sigh heavily, gazing out at the city you love so much. Whatever is waiting for you upon your return... you just hope you’ll be strong enough to face it.

A hand closes around yours, soft and unsure. You look up to your left to see Spinel giving you a tentative smile, and you give her a curt nod before beginning to lead her down the path to Beach City.

As you walk towards the town, you notice it’s eerily still. You have no idea what day it is, so it could very well be a weekday and people are still inside at work or school, but... the fact that the Gems were nowhere in sight either was concerning.

You grip Spinel’s hand tighter, and the two of you make your way down onto the boardwalk. You want the Gems to see you and Spinel together, wherever they are. They need to know not to attack first, and they definitely won’t when you’re this close to the pink Gem.

You hear the slight flap of wings before you see her- Lapis makes her way down from the air, with Steven behind her- for a moment you’re startled, but then you recall his floating powers; something you had only seen a few times years ago.

Next come Pearl and Garnet in the new ship, probably worked on in tandem by both Pearl and Peridot, judging by the green exterior. The front opens and you lock eyes with Pearl, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto your cheeks before you can stop it. You’re gripping Spinel’s hand impossibly tight now, and you’re glad that she doesn’t feel as much pain as a human; you’re sure you’d be crushing her hand right now if she did.

You have to avert your gaze from Pearl as your stomach sinks- she's looking at you exactly as you had feared she would. Confusion, mistrust... you can’t believe this is happening.

Peridot and Amethyst fly in last, zooming over from somewhere else in the town. You look almost pleadingly at Amethyst, hoping she’ll try to take your side on this- or at least meet you somewhere in the middle. Her expression is unreadable to you, which with her is... usually not good.

You sigh softly and decide to get this over with. No use delaying the inevitable.  

“So, uh...hey guys,” you say quietly after clearing your throat, “Long time no see?”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Amethyst says with a roll of her eyes, stepping off Peridot’s floating metal.

“How... how long has it been?” you ask, glancing around the group.

“About seventeen days, nine hours and... fifty-five minutes,” Peridot answers swiftly, glancing at her strapped-on wrist tablet.

“Oh...gosh.”  

You genuinely hadn’t realized it had been that long. The days all sort of blurred together, especially with the sickness. It was no wonder they looked concerned and pissed off that you saunter in holding hands with your captor.

Subconsciously, you let go of Spinel, and take a step towards Pearl’s floating ship.

“Guys, we need to talk. Spinel-”

“Spinel what?” Pearl spits out rather aggressively, leaving you taken aback and wide eyed. “Spinel took you, we don’t hear from you for weeks and now you come back holding hands? What is this, Y/n?”

You suck in a breath and turn to Spinel, whose face seems to be shifting between expressions of anger and worry. This time it’s her turn to reach out and grip your hand too tightly, but unfortunately you can be hurt- the sudden pain causes you to yank your hand back from her grasp involuntarily. She startles backwards, and shoots you a pained look. Your heart sinks and you shut your eyes for a moment, trying to regain composure. This is not how you wanted this to go.

“Ok, look, everyone stop for a second and let me explain.”

You pause and watch for the groups’ reaction, nodding slightly when they all seem to agree to stay silent.

“All right. Thank you.” you turn to the pink Gem who has recoiled into herself, looking more nervous than you’ve ever seen her.

“Spinel, hon? Do you want to say anything?”

She closes her eyes and sighs, a resolute look passing over her features. She quickly unwraps her arms from herself and steps in front of you, looking at each member of the group before finally locking eyes with Steven, who stood next to Lapis.

“I am... so sorry for all that I’ve done,” she says, her voice quivering in fear, “I h-have no excuses, but I’d like t’make things right in any way I can. If you’ll let me.”

You look to Steven, the first person you’d expect to extend the olive branch.

He sighs and shakes his head, and your eyes go wide- is he really going to refuse?

“Spinel, I want to give you that second chance. Well, third chance at this point,” he says with an awkward chuckle.

“I just... the Gems and I need to talk to Y/n and hear what happened while you were...gone,” he finishes, giving Spinel a shrug.

You turn to your companion and she glances between you and Steven frantically for a moment, before clasping her hands tightly in front of her.

“Fine,” she says, voice louder than before. “Just... don’t try to pull a fast one and take her away from me, yeah?”  

Pearl furrows her brows as she ushers you a couple feet away, leaving Peridot and Lapis hanging back to watch over Spinel.

You form a sort of circle with the Crystal Gems, hands on your hips and glancing between them expectantly.

“Well? What’s up with everything, Y/n?” Amethyst spits out, “What the hell is the deal with all... that?”

“Y/n, it just seems... like a really weird situation,” Steven admits, scratching the back of his neck.

You heave out a sigh- something you’re doing frequently today, you’ve noticed.  

“I told you guys I could take care of it,” you reply, giving them a pointed look. They need to know that you’re not incapable just because you’re human, and while you appreciate the protectiveness, it’s time to back off a little.

The group reacts... much differently than you had expected.

“Oooh,” Pearl breathes out, a look of realization crossing her features.

You tilt your head in confusion, and mutter out, “Huh...?”

Amethyst looks towards Pearl, who motions her forward to whisper in her ear.

“Oh, I gotcha!” Amethyst exclaims, looking your way.

“What? What are you getting?” you ask, clearly missing something.

“Don’t worry, Y/n,” Garnet says, speaking up for the first time since you got back, “We can handle it from here.”

“O-okay...” you stutter, still terribly confused and a little concerned.  

They lead you back to Lapis, Peridot and Spinel, who seem to have been standing in silence the whole time.

You try to meet Spinel’s eyes, but she looks downcast, avoiding your gaze.

“So!” Pearl exclaims, clasping her hands together, “We’ve figured out what’s going on!”  

“What? I barely told her anything,” you think, wondering what she could have surmised from what you said.

“We just need to sort everything out with some... things...” she glances towards Spinel at the last word as she trails off, and you cross your arms in front of you. Whatever she is thinking, she very clearly has the wrong idea.

“I heard,” Spinel cuts in before you can speak your mind. She turns to you with swirling eyes, and a sense of dread and déjà vu washes over you.  

“I heard what ya said- when I took you. ‘I can handle this.’ Yeah, that’s what it was.” Her voice grows deeper and she narrows her eyes, but doesn’t move.

“You can handle this... as in, you can trick me into thinkin’ you care about me to get me to take ya back? To play with my feelin’s like I’m just a toy that you need to get rid of as soon as possible?”

Your stomach sinks, and you feel nauseous. How is this happening again?

Suddenly, a springy pink arm shoots forward, but not towards you. Spinel catches Peridot by surprise, grabbing the rejuvenator from her grip before she can react. The Crystal Gems get into position around you, ready to protect you and each other if need be.  

She looks at you sadly, her eyes returned to their normal pink hue. Glancing between you and the rejuvenator in her hand, she shakes her head, then suddenly turns and runs back the way you had come from.  

“Spinel!” you call out hopelessly. She’s too fast, springing through the outcropping of trees and out of sight before you can even move.  

Tears well up in your eyes as you turn on the other Gems.

“What the hell?” you scream, not caring about keeping it together at this point.

“You made her think- I wouldn’t... why would you think I would manipulate her like that for weeks just to get back here?” you screech, tears freely falling down your cheeks.  

“Y/n, no, I...” Pearl whispers pathetically, placing a hand over her mouth.

You glare at her before rounding on Garnet. “And you! You have future vision, yeah? How the hell didn’t you see this coming? That Pearl had completely misinterpreted what I meant?”

Garnet sighs and removes her visor, gazing at you with her trio of multicolored eyes.

“You know I see possible and probable futures, not certain ones. I didn’t...see things going like this,” she finishes, putting her glasses back on. You roll your eyes, but you realize she’s right- it was just a giant, dumb misunderstanding. Granted, Pearl could have actually asked you to clarify everything instead of immediately assuming, but...

“Ok. Here’s what’s gonna happen,” you say sternly, addressing the group. Pearl casts her gaze downward, and you avoid looking at her all together.  

“I’m going to go find Spinel, whom I care about deeply. I don’t care what any of you think, so please just let me find her.”

Steven steps forward, placing a hand on your shoulder. “We’re not going to stop you, Y/n. Is there any way we can help?”

You give him a small smile and glance up at the forested hill you had traversed down to get back to the boardwalk.  

“Well, I could use a lift...”

x * x * x * x * x

After going through the various options of transport, you all decide the safest for you is the small ship that Pearl had been piloting earlier, much to your disappointment. You didn’t really want to be alone with her right now, but you had no choice.

You climb into the small opening and give Pearl a grimace of a smile.  

“Can only hope Spinel isn’t too far away...”

Pearl sends the ship straight up, and you have to grab onto the surrounding seats to keep your balance.  

“Geez, careful,” you mumble, righting yourself once the ship has steadied.

“Sorry.”

You sigh and roll your eyes, deciding now is not the time to press any issues you have with her. Your focus needs to be finding Spinel- fast.

The ship crests over the top of the hill, and you look towards the way you came, back towards the injector. No pink Gem, as far as you can tell.

“Y/n, look...”

Pearl calls you over softly, pointing out her side of the small circular ship.  

“She’s on Rose’s hill,” the Gem remarks, a faraway look in her eyes.

“Pearl, can you... please bring me there? Not too close, and don’t let her see the ship,” you direct, and Pearl follows your request immediately. She pilots the ship expertly, landing at the base of the hill.  

You clamber out awkwardly, earning a fond smile from Pearl.

“I really am sorry,” she retorts stiffly, before flying away and leaving you to your own devices. You watch her leave for a moment, hoping that no lasting damage had been done to your friendship. Turning towards the hill, you take a deep breath and begin the climb.

“My journey with her began at the base of a hill. I suppose this is only fitting.”

You stare at the back of Spinel’s form, much as you had this morning before you’d left the island. She’s perched on a rock, staring at something in her hands, presumably the rejuvenator. You don’t want to startle her, so you wait to approach a moment, observing from afar.

After a moment, she heaves a loud sigh, loud enough for you to hear from your place slightly downhill. She gazes forlornly out over the city and moves closer to the cliffs edge.

Your eyes go wide, and suddenly there’s only one thought in your head.

“She’s going to try to shatter herself off the side of the cliff.”

“Spinel!!” you screech, rushing forward, a hand outstretched.

Spinel jumps back in surprise, clutching the rejuvenator to her chest.

“Y/n?! What are you d-doin up here?” she asks, eyes going wide.

“What do you think? I’m coming after you, Spinel. I wanted to explain-”

“Oh, don’t bother. Heard everythin’ you had to say.”

You roll your eyes. “That’s the thing though, you didn’t. I said one sentence and they all assumed what they wanted to assume, because none of them really wanted to believe that I could have learned to care for you so quickly. But they were wrong.”

Spinel turns back to face the city, and the cliff’s edge. “Yeah, well. Can’t say I blame ‘em. Pretty damn unlikely, you and I.”

Your face blanches as she stands on the precipice, and there’s only one thing you can think to do.  

“Spinel, please, please don’t!”

You dart between her and the cliff’s edge, making sure you have proper footing.  

“Please don’t jump... please don’t go and leave me...”

Spinel glances behind you and then meets your eyes, one eyebrow raising.

“What... did you think I was gonna do?”

“J-jump, and... try to shatter yourself,” you stutter out, tears forming in the corners of your eyes.

Spinel sighs and turns away from you, plopping back down on the rock she had been sitting on earlier.

“No, doll, I... considered it, but I’m not that eager to cease to exist. I just thought...”

She trails off and glances at the rejuvenator in her hand.

“Thought it might be easier on everyone if I went back to the way I was before. Cheery, fun...”

“...Stupid?” you offer with a small smile, recalling another time she’d compared her current form to her previous.

The joke doesn’t take, and Spinel rolls her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Just... something that’s not me. I want to forget. I can’t... I don’t want to live with all these painful memories anymore.”

Her voice cracks on the last word and she breaks into silent tears, burying her face in her hands.

“I’ve just d-done so much wrong here. I just want t-to start over.”

You gaze sadly at the Gem you’ve come to care about so much, and wish you had the magic words to make everything better, to help her see the value in herself. But you had no such words, and could only offer what you knew.

“Spinel.”

You touch her shoulder gingerly as you say her name, and sit next to her on the rock, wishing you could just hug her right here. But you suspect she might need some space.

“Spinel, I won’t lie, you’ve messed up a couple times.”

A sob wracks her body, and your heart just about breaks right then and there.

You hurry and continue, “You’ve messed up but you’ve also grown so much! You’ve learned from those mistakes and are bettering yourself through them. Just like humans do. Humans constantly learn and change, our entire lives. It’s part of why Rose loved this world so much, I think.”

“And you don’t need to worry about everyone else, I sorted everything out with that. We’ll need to talk more later, but for now... they’re not going to do anything to you, or attack us, or send you somewhere else.”

At that, Spinel finally lifts her head. “Yeah?” she asks hopefully, wiping away a tear.

“Yeah,” you say gently, taking the opportunity to move the rejuvenator from her hand to the ground, replacing it with your own hands.

“And we can have... a life here, Spinel. We can do all those fun things we talked about, and you can see snow, and... isn’t that just exciting?”  

Spinel sniffs once and sits up slowly, turning not to the city, but to you.

“Yeah. It’s amazing,” she says softly, cupping your face in her hand. You lean into her familiar touch, blinking away a few tears.

She pulls you to her shoulder gently, and you rest your head on your favorite spot, snuggling in close.

The two of you gaze out over Beach City as the sun sets on the horizon, illuminating the faint pink ocean into a brilliant magenta.

“Hey, Y/n?” Spinel asks shyly.

“Yeah?”

“...I love you.”

Well. That was unexpected.

“I love you too, Spinel.”

[dauntless-cakeneedstobe-eaton]

Jeff x Annie One-Shot: AU-What if Jeff and Annie actually went skiing? (Community-Conventions of Space and Time, Season 4, Ep3)

You wouldn’t catch me anywhere near an Inspector Spacetime convention; no matter how many tears Troy cried, or how many staredowns Abed and I had. Skiing on the other hand, was cool. Skiing alone, however, possibly uncool. Therefore, it made perfect, logical sense to invite Annie skiing this weekend. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. Hear me out. Abed and Troy couldn’t even be considered options since they would be at the convention. Britta would obviously be there to support Troy, unfortunately being the third-wheel despite being his girlfriend. Shirley was busy with her kids. Pierce was never an option to begin with. Who was left you may ask? Annie Edison. 

“Do I look ready to shred some slopes?” Annie asked, coming out of her room. She was wearing a full-on neon pink sweatsuit. I smiled at her dorky pose. 

“Maybe in the early 80s. Annie, what’s with all of the pink?” She frowned at me.

“Look Jeff, I’m just trying to stay warm, ok? I’ve never been skiing before and I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.” Classic defensive Annie. She scanned my look up and down. “At least my color palette has character. Might want to try it sometime Mr. Neutral Colors.” Annie crossed her arms. This was a battle I definitely wasn’t going to win. Like every battle against Annie. 

“Okay, how about this. I’ll wear a pair of your neon pink socks, but you wear my black Gucci scarf?” Her eyes lit up. I knew she’d love the idea. Annie rushed back into her room and returned with a pair of neon pink socks in one hand, extending it to me. 

“This just might be the smartest idea you’ve ever had Jeff.” 

“Hey, I take offense to that. Everything I say is basically a TED talk in the making.” She laughed as I put on her socks. I don’t know why I only do stupid stuff like this for her. I looked at myself in the full body mirror and felt one hundred percent ridiculous. But, seeing her give me that wide smile she always does when something makes her happy made me think that small things like this were all worth it. I took the scarf hanging around my neck and put it on her, making sure that her hair wasn’t tangled inside it. I felt her eyes on me, making my heart beat a little faster than usual. 

“There, perfect.” I said looking back into the full body mirror in front of us. She blushed. 

“Perfect indeed.” Any bystander may mistake us for an actual couple. Especially with the way we were now coordinating outfits. Especially with the way we were standing right now--my hand on her shoulder, hers around my back. Even if it was just a small thought--a figment of my imagination if you will--it still made me grin...for reasons I still don’t fully understand. 

***

When we arrived at the ski lodge, it was teeming with people carrying skis and sleds. It was way more crowded than I thought it would be. Annie instinctively held onto my arm as we were walking over to the ski rental desk, her eyes worriedly scanning the room. I knew she hated large crowds. I reassured her that we would only be in here for a couple of minutes. 

There was a guy in front of us in line, along with a few of his friends. They were laughing and smiling, a little too loudly for my opinion. The commotion wasn’t helping Annie’s anxiety. I think the main guy felt me glaring at him because he turned around, his smile fading. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he noticed Annie beside me. He looked at her from head to toe, his mouth agape. I felt my hands tense up. He probably noticed how pretty she was. 

“Have you guys been to this slope before? My friends and I are regulars here, and I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” he stopped and looked at Annie. “And trust me, I would’ve remembered.” I felt my jaw clench. Annie--being Annie--blushed and giggled. She wasn’t used to being flirted with--which was something I was secretly grateful for, because something about it didn’t sit well with me. The guy, whose hair by the way looked like it had way too much product in it, extended his hand out to me. 

“Aiden.” What a jock. 

“Jeff. And this is my friend Annie. It’s our first time skiing together.” He shook my hand with an extra firm grip as if to say just friends? Okay. You said it, not me. 

“Well Jeff and Annie, it’s your lucky day because I can give you guys some free skiing lessons so you don’t hurt yourselves out there.” This guy needed to get some more original material. Did he think we were stupid? He obviously just wanted to get closer to--

“We’d love the extra help Aiden. Thanks for offering,” Annie replied, smiling sweetly at him. 

“Great! Meet me on the slopes. I’ll cover the tickets. Want a hot chocolate Annie? My treat.” She nodded her head politely while I took her arm and pulled her to the side. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” I questioned with what I hoped was only a hint of annoyance. 

“Jeff, Aiden was generous enough to offer us help. For free! I don’t want to make a fool of myself out there. I also don’t want to see you get hurt.” She gently touched my chest. Dang it Annie. Why did she have to be so genuinely caring all the time? I knew she meant what she said. I don’t know if I could live with myself if she ended up getting hurt on my behalf. 

“You know, if you wanted hot chocolate you could’ve just asked me. You didn’t have to let pretty-boy get it for you.” At this point, I wasn’t really thinking, I was just saying what I was feeling...which normally got me into trouble, but I didn’t care this time. Annie looked at me with a confused expression, but then her eyes softened. 

“Don’t worry Jeff. I know I can always count on you.” 

“Good because I always want to be there for you. Even for the small things.” We looked at each other intensely and I felt myself leaning in. 

“Ready you guys?” Annie and I got snapped back into reality as stupid-smirk Aiden returned with our rental equipment and Annie’s hot chocolate. She took it graciously while Aiden smiled warmly at her. His teeth were way to white. No way that it’s natural. 

***

We walked up to one of the smaller slopes. Aiden suggested that since Annie and I were beginners it was probably best we didn’t try one of the more advanced mountains yet. Annie remained between Aiden and I, even in the ski lift up the mountain. She stared out the window with wonder in her eyes. I liked watching her many facial expressions. Her eyes glowed whenever there was a scenic view. Her soft smiles were my favorite. That was Annie’s way of living in the moment. When she got extra excited about something, she would touch my arm and tell me to look out the window too. 

“So how do you guys know each other?” Aiden asked skeptically, his eyes pausing at Annie’s hand on my arm and my hand on her knee, which I don’t remember putting there. 

“We go to Greendale Community College together. We’re part of the same study group.” Aiden nodded thoughtfully. 

“I go to City College actually. I want to go into hospital administration some day.” No. freaking. Way. Annie turned her head towards him, suddenly gaining interest. 

“Really? Me too! Well the hospital administration part, not the City College part obviously…” she replied, nervously laughing. Aiden gave her an amused look. 

“We should totally meet up again. Maybe you could help me study some time?” My fists automatically balled up into fists once again. Annie looked down, noticing that my hand turned into a fist shape. She covered my fist with one of her hands, which instantly made me feel better. 

“Haha yeah maybe! I’ll think about it.” She gave me a concerned look as we got off the ski lift. I had a bad feeling about this ski trip after all. 

***

“The most important aspect of skiing is balance. The moment you lose balance is the moment where it’s game over. Believe me, falling downhill is not fun.” Balance. Sounds easy enough. I was able to get into my skis pretty easily and helped Annie get into hers without much of a fuss...except the three times that she almost tripped. Each time she caught on to a part of my jacket. 

“The Leaning Tower of Pisa has more balance than I do,” Annie let out a defeated whisper. I tried to hide my slight grin. Her perfectionist tendencies were coming out. I guess it was just a part of who she was, no matter if it was academic related or not. 

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. This is literally your first time skiing.”

“Easy for you to say. This is also your first time skiing and you're balancing just fine.” 

“Can’t argue with you there.” We both smiled and it felt like the most comfortable thing in the world. Being the iceberg he was, Aiden walked over in between us with--once again--an award winning line of his. 

“Before you guys go down this slope, watch me first. You’ll get to see the turning and jumping patterns I do.” He leaned forward and whispered something to Annie, resulting in a laugh before heading towards his ski lane. 

“So, what do you think of Aiden? He seems nice right?” Why was she interested in what I thought? 

“He seems a bit...arrogant…” I trailed off. Annie gave me a bemused expression, which then turned into a mischievous grin. 

“Jeff Winger, are you jealous?” 

“Pffffft. Me? Jealous? Are you being serious right now Annie? Why would I be jealous?” She was definitely enjoying seeing me squirm. I hated the fact that not only was she right, but I couldn’t think of any clever retorts because of that fact. 

“I honestly don’t know Jeff. I don’t think you have anything to be jealous of--” she started, and I was really curious to hear her continue, but Annie was cut off by a bunch of spectators talking about Aiden on the slopes. I hated to admit it, but Aiden’s skiing looked really impressive. He was--in the words of Annie--shredding the slopes. All of his landings were smooth, his turns were smooth...his whole body was moving in perfect coordination. 

“Wow! Aiden’s really good isn’t he? He could honestly be a professional!” Annie’s eyes were glued to him the whole time. I saw her jaw drop whenever Aiden made an impressive landing. Two could play at this game. Before Annie could stop me, I disappeared behind her and marched up to the top of the same slope Aiden was on. I had excellent balance too, you know. This skiing thing would be a piece of cake. As I jumped to start my descent, I realized that there was no going back after this. 

***

I couldn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t move a single muscle. But I did feel this intense throbbing in my head and pretty much everywhere. Where am I? What happened? I was definitely lying down somewhere...it felt like a couch. I summoned the courage to slowly open my eyes. Everything was blurry at first as my eyes attempted to adjust to my surroundings. Man, even opening them hurt. The first thing I saw were a pair of blue eyes I could recognize anywhere in a crowd. 

“Oh my god. Jeff, you’re awake! Oh my god. Thank goodness,” Annie breathed a huge sigh of relief and collapsed her face on the side of the couch. It took me a second to realize that she was holding my hand. I felt it. I gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. 

“Did I ever tell you how blue your eyes are?” In hindsight, that was probably not the smartest thing to say, but it was an honest question. 

“I just watched you practically fall and flip over a huge mountain and lose consciousness and you want to talk about my eyes????” Annie raised both of her eyebrows in complete anger. 

She immediately winced after yelling. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you, especially right now when every bone in your body must hurt. It’s just that you made me so worried and when I saw you at the bottom of the mountain all limp and bleeding I didn’t…” She couldn’t continue because she started doing the last thing that would have ever crossed my mind. She started crying. Hearing the sound of Annie crying almost hurt more than my actual injuries. 

“Hey, look at me.” She turned her head upwards at me and I lifted my hand to wipe the tears from her face. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you.” She finally smiled.

“Jeff, why would you willingly plummet to your almost death? I know you do a lot of stupid things, but this may the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do.” She was absolutely right. Like always. 

“I just...felt the need to compete with Aiden. I wanted to show you that he wasn’t some hot-shot handsome guy that could do anything.” Annie looked bewildered.

“Why would you think that? I barely paid that much attention to him.”

“Oh come on Annie. This guy was a first-class flirt. It takes one to know one.” 

“Ah, ok. So he was flirting with me. I thought he was just being overly nice. Guys are just really hard to read sometimes.” She stared right at me when she said that last part. This time I had nowhere to hide. Particularly because if I tried, I’m pretty sure I would just fall over again. 

“I really am a pain in the neck, aren’t I? I’m all snarky and standoffish, and think I’m the coolest when in reality I can meet my demise when I notice a guy try to flirt with you.” I don’t think I’ve ever said anything that forward before. Annie’s eyes bulged out of her head, which confirmed what I said to be true. 

“You know I meant what I said earlier, right? You really have nothing to be jealous of. You have a lot going for you already. Sure you can be stupid sometimes, but you can talk your way out of any situation. I know you’re snarky, but you also have a heart made of jello,” she laughed at the end of that. She took a damp washcloth from a bucket on the floor and started dabbing it on my head. “I like you just the way you are. Even if sometimes you act like a handsome devil.” I flashed her one of my Jeff Winger smiles. My heart can turn into jello, especially for Annie. 

“Have I ever told you that you make a really good nurse?”

“Maybe once or twice.”

“Well, you make a beautiful nurse, milady. Caring for a person like me isn’t the easiest.” 

“Yeah well...you’re worth it to me.” I guess some good did come out of these injuries because that is the best thing anyone has ever said to me. And with that, I kissed the top of Annie’s hand. She was worth it to me too.

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Shaken

Whumptober 2020 Day 4: Running Out of Time Prompt: Collapsed Building

Summary: An earthquake strikes while Ed and Eric are out in the city together, one that destroys half the building they're in and separates them. Ed is determined to find Eric and rescue him, and equally determined to ignore the paternal emotions that Eric makes him feel.

Warnings: Earthquake, blood, injury, implied death

Read on AO3 (Full Whumptober 2020 series)

Enjoy!

~

Ed and Eric don’t go out together much. Neither of them do a whole lot outside Ego Inc. – at least, not much that needs company. But Ed decides to invite Eric along with him for a trip to his favorite barbeque place for lunch, and Eric happily obliges. It goes great; Ed hasn’t seen Eric laugh that much in ages, and even the pauses in conversation aren’t awkward. Eric seems so comfortable with him, so happy, and it warms Ed’s heart to see it. Afterwards, they stop at a multi-floor department store on their way back home. Not to buy anything, just to browse and extend their outing a little longer. On the second floor, Ed looks through clothes not far from where Eric’s doing the same, and thinks about the day.

Truthfully, Ed isn’t really sure what to make of his relationship with Eric.

To call him a friend feels too casual, though they certainly hang out like friends. But even their time spent together is different. Ed’s seen Eric with his other friends – he has plenty of them in Ego Inc. The way he and Eric act has a different timbre than the way Eric and Oliver act, or Eric and Bim, or even Eric and King, or Eric and Silver. Maybe because Ed is older, maybe because Ed was the first to start breaking down Eric’s walls, maybe because Ed understood him better from the jump.

But if Ed were being fully honest with himself, he’d have to admit that he already knows the word he wants to use for how he feels about Eric. But it feels too soon to say. It feels too early, too wrong.

From across a clothing rack, Eric catches Ed’s eye. Ed looks back, though he can only see Eric’s eyes above the rack. But he can see them crinkle as Eric smiles. Ed smiles too, though he wonders if Eric can see, given his sunglasses.

It’s in that quiet moment that the ground starts to lurch.

Eric’s eyes go wide with alarm, and cries of surprise and panic begin to echo from throughout the store.

“Earthquake!!” someone screams.

Ed whips around, looking for somewhere to hunker down. The clothing rack they’re near is too dangerous, it could fall on them at any second. He spies a small table with folded shirts sitting on it. It’ll have to do.

“Eric, get under the table!” Ed yells, before diving for it himself.

“I – I’m –” Eric gasps, paralyzed with fear, wobbling as the building keeps shaking. Bits of plaster and dust start falling from the ceiling, the lights flicker, and the floor ripples.

“Move, boy!!” Ed shouts, getting more worried for Eric by the second.

Eric finally moves to run, to dive under the table like Ed has, but the room splits in two before he can. Ed’s half of the building lurches up, and Eric’s half starts to crumble, and more chunks of ceiling fall down, and Eric screams, and Ed screams, and the power cuts out, and the building groans, and a cloud of dust blankets the room. Ed can do nothing but cling to the table leg and shut his eyes, waiting for it to be over.

Moments later that feel like minutes, the room finally stops swaying. The rumble stops, and Eric can hear people start murmuring, crying, asking what happened and who’s hurt. Ed opens his eyes to a gaping maw of a building. There’s no floor where the other half of the room was, only crumbling ceiling and holes in the wall letting in sunlight.

There’s no floor where Eric was standing moments ago.

“Fuck, Eric,” Ed gasps, heart clenching in fear.

Eric must be somewhere below on the first floor, probably hurt, probably terrified, probably already crushed under rubble–

“Pull it together,” Ed tells himself, “You have to find him.”

He gets out from under the table and stands, and his legs are unexpectedly shaky. He wobbles along, taking care to stay away from the edge of the floor, going to where the stairwell should be. He can only hope it’s still standing. He passes by people covered in dust, some bleeding, some crushed under chunks of ceiling or heavy toppled shelves. There’s a child crying somewhere, and Ed can’t help but look towards the sound. He sees a little boy, unhurt but clearly shaken, being comforted by his mother. Both are gray from dust, but both seem okay, and the mother is holding the little boy and rocking him gently, trying to soothe. Ed turns away with effort and continues towards the stairwell.

To his relief, he finds the stairwell mostly intact. He traverses down, only stopping to take cover when an aftershock makes what’s left of the building shake. Partway down, he’s forced to clamber over a chunk of ceiling that’s blocked the way. His leg catches and scrapes on a rebar pipe sticking out of the chunk, and he cries out as he tumbles down.

“Dang nabbit,” Ed hisses as he sits up, examining his injured leg. There’s a jagged gash down the front of his lower leg, and blood is seeping down his leg and into and around his boots.

As he’s sitting and trying to get his breath back against the pain, he hears another person start climbing over the chunk of ceiling on the stair, huffing and puffing with effort. Ed manages to scoot out of the way before another man, heavier set than Ed and a good bit shorter, scrambles over the chunk and lands on the ground with an “oof.” Fortunately, he managed to avoid the rebar.

“Jesus,” the man says. His voice is a little high-pitched, a little reedy, though it could just be from stress.

“Yer tellin’ me,” Ed grumbles. His leg is still throbbing sharply, and Ed is beginning to realize that no amount of sitting and waiting will make it hurt any less. He can’t waste anymore time, not when Eric needs him. He starts to stand with a grunt.

“Shit, man, hold on!” cries the other man, getting to his feet as well, “Your leg’s busted, and you’re bleeding everywhere! Maybe I can help, make a tourniquet or something–”

“I ain’t got time for that,” Ed huffs, limping away down the stairs, holding the warped railing for support, “My boy fell to the ground floor, I gotta find him!”

“Alright, alright,” placates the other man, “At least lemme help you before you fall down the stairs.”

Ed allows the man to come beside him and support him with an arm on his waist. As they traverse down the stairs, they begin to hear sirens blaring in the distance.

“That was a terrible quake,” the man sighs, “I wonder how many other buildings look like this one?”

Ed sighs too, but can’t answer. He briefly wonders if Ego Inc. was damaged at all, but he can’t take his phone out to text King or Silver and walk at the same time. Besides, there’s probably too many power lines knocked down for his phone to be of any use.

There’s more obstacles on the way down the stairs in the form of gaps, or sections of stairs warped so badly they can’t be traversed like normal. Ed has to admit he’s grateful for the other man helping him through; he probably would’ve fallen by now if not for him.

“What’s yer name, anyway?” Ed asks him, “Realized I never asked.”

“Oh, it’s Bruce,” the man says, “Wasn’t thinking about it, to be honest. You?”

“Ed. Did you…come here with anyone?”

“Nah, was just grabbing some things for the wife.” Bruce’s face screws up with worry. “She’s seven months pregnant, you see. She started on bedrest a bit ago, this pregnancy’s been so rough…I hope she’s not watching the news.”

“Sorry about all that,” Ed murmurs. He can’t help but think of when he had a wife and a kid, and about how his greed ruined it all.

“No one’s fault,” Bruce replies, but he seems grateful for the acknowledgement.

It’s not much longer before they finally reach the end of the stairs. The door leading out of the stairwell barely exists anymore, and the frame is warped wide. It’s easy for the pair to walk through onto the ground floor. The sun immediately becomes brighter, so bright that Ed momentarily shields his eyes and Bruce sneezes. Here, half the walls are knocked away, collapsed in rubble. If Ed thought the second floor was a disaster area, the first floor is carnage. The air is thick with dust, rubble and pieces of ceiling cover everything, and people are yelling and crying. The sirens are louder as help starts to arrive, but it’s clearly too late for some.

Ed only hopes it’s not too late for Eric.

“Thanks for the help,” Ed tells Bruce, breaking away from him.

“Man, you’re really going in there?” Bruce sighs, “It’s still dangerous, shit could still fall on you, or you could step on glass or something and maim your other leg.”

“I told you, I gotta find my boy,” Ed says, trying not to sound too desperate.

“Ah, alright,” Bruce says, in a tone that suggests he doubts there’s a boy left to find, “I’ll head out of here, try to gather with others who’ve left. Join us if you get the inclination.”

Ed nods, and leaves Bruce to search for Eric.

He wanders through the ruined store, searching under every piece of rubble. He finds other people, finds purses and shopping bags, finds bloodied limbs, but no sign of Eric. He starts asking the still-living people for help.

“You seen my boy?” he asks, “Young man, tall, glasses, prosthetic legs?”

Some are too disturbed and upset by the earthquake to answer him, and those that aren’t have nothing but sympathy to give. Ed begins to fear that Eric truly is lost, that he’s been so badly crushed he can’t be recovered, that there’s nothing left of him to recover, that he’s–

A thin, wheezing cough sounds from a distance up ahead. It’s far from the first cough Ed’s heard since he started looking, but this one sounds different. This one sounds familiar.

He looks ahead, and there’s Eric, lying on his back, pinned by rubble crushing his legs. Blood pools under him, but he’s moving, he’s alive.

“Eric!!” Ed cries, rushing to him as fast as his injured leg will let him. He nearly trips over the bits of concrete scattered across the ground, but quickly gets to Eric’s side. Eric blinks up at him through irreparably cracked glasses. His face and hair are covered in dust, and there’s a long scrape on his temple caked in dried blood, and smaller cuts and little bruises on his face and all over his arms.

“Dad?” Eric mumbles weakly.

Ed’s heart shoots all the way up into his throat, for a hundred reasons.

“Y-You’re delirious, kid,” Ed stammers, lifting Eric’s head and back off the ground to hold him as best he can. “It’s just Ed.”

Eric whimpers and hugs Ed back with shaking arms.

“Hurts,” he gasps, “A-And my pros–, my prosthetics...”

“Now ain’t the time to worry about your prosthetics, ya hear?” Ed tells him, stroking his hair, “They ain’t important right now. You focus on staying awake with me.”

“I wanna go home,” Eric whimpers, before beginning to sob.

“Hey, shh, you’ll be alright,” Ed murmurs, hugging him tighter, “I’ve got you, Eric, I’m here.”

“Oh my god, Ed!?” cries a new voice not far away. New, but familiar. Ed’s head shoots up to see Silver running towards him and Eric.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes,” Ed says, unable to keep a relieved smile off his face.

“There’s other buildings that got damaged, but this one pulled at me the most,” Silver says, kneeling down next to Ed, “Maybe this is why. Oh, Eric, you hanging in there?”

“Hurts,” Eric sobs.

“I know, I know,” Silver murmurs, “I’ll get you out of here and we’ll go home to the clinic, and Dr. Iplier will take care of you.” Silver stands again and walks around to the rubble on Eric’s legs. “I don’t think removing this will make your injuries worse, but it’ll still hurt. I’ll try to be quick, but brace yourself, okay, Eric?”

Eric nods shakily, and Ed squeezes him gently, trying to reassure.

As Silver starts to pull away the rubble, Eric screams in pain. Ed holds him as tight as he can, whispers to him, and Eric clings to his shirt with a white-knuckled grip.

“It hurts, it hurts!!” he wails.

“I know, kid, I know,” Ed murmurs, “Just a little longer, we’ll be home soon.”

And they are. Time passes in a blur as Silver frees Eric’s legs (Ed would rather not think about how they looked) and gets him and Ed somewhere secluded for Wilford to spirit them away back to Ego Inc.’s clinic. Once there, Dr. Iplier takes Eric into surgery for his crushed legs and Ed gets his own leg stitched up by Plus. It kills Ed to be apart from Eric, but he trusts Dr. Iplier to fix him. Before Ed knows it, Dr. Iplier is explaining Eric’s injuries to him.

“If he wasn’t already a double amputee, he sure would’ve been after this,” Dr. Iplier tells him, “It’s probably somewhat fortunate that he had less leg to lose, because it meant less trauma. I did have to remove parts of his legs, but since he’s a figment, they’ll eventually come back. And he’ll be alright. He’ll have to stay in the clinic for a while and get new prosthetics, but he’s going to be fine.”

“Thank god,” Ed sighs. The adrenaline from the day’s events has worn off, leaving him aching and drained.

“You can go see him,” Dr. Iplier says, smiling gently, “I’m sure you want to, and I bet he’ll want to see you, too when he wakes up.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Ed says, getting up, leaning on the crutch Plus gave him.

“Hey, it’s my job,” Dr. Iplier replies, though he doesn’t stop smiling.

Eric is still asleep when Ed walks into his room. He’s no longer covered in dust, the scrape on his temple and all his other cuts have been cleaned and bandaged, and his expression is relaxed and peaceful. His spare pair of glasses, probably found by Plus, sits on the table beside his bed. His old glasses have probably been tossed, leaving Eric without. He looks even younger without them, even more vulnerable. Ed hobbles to the bed and sits in the chair left beside it, probably by Doc.

“Told you we’d be alright,” Ed murmurs, beginning to stroke his hair. “Can’t remember the last time I was so worried. And you…” He sighs. “You have any idea how much of a heart attack you gave me when you called me ‘Dad’? I know you must not’ve been in your right mind, but…”

“Can you blame him?” asks a voice in the back of Ed’s mind. “You kept calling him your boy to everyone, didn’t you?”

Ed doesn’t have an answer to that. He can only silently continue stroking Eric’s hair, silently being grateful that hi–… that Eric is alive.

[askbittyerror]

      The little bell above the front entrance gives a small ting as Moose opens it, the box of belongings heavy in his arms. He looks around the shop, pushing the door open the rest of the way and stepping through.

 This... this is finally it, the orca-like monster gulps. It’s his. Zoteara's Bitty Center. Or Moose's now, he supposes.

 Moose sighs, dropping his things by the door and shutting it with a swing of his tail. He flips on the light and walks over to the counter, pulling out the chair behind the register and sitting with his head in his hands.

 Stars, why was he even here? Why couldn't Aunt Anya had picked someone else to run the place after she retired? He was the worst monster for the job! He couldn't be bothered to change out of his pajamas most days, he panicked attacked himself out of college, he still flinched at raised voices, and every plant he'd ever tried to take care of had died! He was an absolute mess! But she still picked him! And he only accepted because-

 The bell rang again and he looks up, a smile on his face.

 That's right.

 Because Mom wanted him to.

 "Hey, sweetie." The white dog monster says, putting the box she carried on top the other one. "How are you holding up? Still nervous?"

 "Yeah..." Moose says, the long, red-tipped fins on his head falling slightly. "How could I not be? I've never done anything like this before."

 "Sure you have." His mother says, coming over to pull his head down and give his forehead a kiss. "You've helped me at the rehabilitation center your whole life."

 "'Helped' is a strong word..." Moose grumbles, pouting when his mother shushes him.

 "Nonsense, dear. You've always been a great help. The bitties love you and you're always so careful with them."

 "I tripped while carrying that Blueberry and fell on my face."

 "But you still kept him safe." She smiles, looking him in the eyes. "You tucked him close to your chest and broke your snout instead. He refused to leave your side until you healed and you two were bound at the hip until he got adopted."

 "And I cried for weeks, just like I always do when someone gets adopted. I'm not gonna be able to help customers without turning into a huge mess!"

 "That's what Huitzi’s for. He'll handle customer service and all you have to do is take care of the bitties." She says, giving him a gentle hug. "You two will make a perfect team."

 "Huitzi hates me!" Moose whines into her fur.

 "No he does not." His mother scowls, pulling back. "He's just bad at showing his emotions and-"

 The bell rings again and Moose tears himself away, relief on his face.

 "Papyrus!" He shouts, tightly hugging the humongous skeleton and tugging him down to whisper in his ear. "She's about to do the Huitzi lecture again, help."

 "Nyeh-heh-heh!" Papyrus whisper-laughs, squinting deviously behind his glasses. "Have no fear my friend, the Great Papyrus will protect you!"

 "Madame Dame!" He says, standing up straight and almost hitting his head on the ceiling in the process. "Might I regale you in my recent adventures in cookery?"

 Dame gives Moose a look of "I know what you're doing and you're not going to get away with it mister" but nevertheless nods.

 "Of course, Sugar." She smiles. "I always love hearing your stories. Why don’t we put Moose's things up and you can tell me all about it."

 Papyrus smiles enthusiastically, the braces on his teeth shining, and picks up both boxes, jogging up the stairs to the apartment without even breaking a sweat.

 Dame gives Moose a pointed look before following.

 "Huitzi will be here soon. Go check on the bitties."

      Moose nods and sprints to the back, not wanting to upset his mother any further.

 He unlocks the door to the backroom and swings it open, flicking on the light to a chorus of tiny groans.

 Moose smiles to himself.

 People? No thank you, people suck.

 But bitties? Bitties he loved.

He slips his bag over his shoulder and drops it on the table in the center of the room, the Tupperware box filled with breakfast thudding inside. There was food here for the bitties sure, but it was his first day on the job! He wanted to make a good impression, even though this was far from the first time he’s been here. And, he was feeling pretty good today, so he made breakfast! The really good kind that was so sweet and fattening that it left you feeling sick afterwards! He really hoped they liked it. He knew he did.

       Moose comes to the first little cubby set into the wall, reaching in and gently rapping his knuckles on the floor. He’s careful to avoid touching any of the strings. He knows what those little blue strands lead back to and he does not want a repeat of what happened the first time he was here. The lacerations and punctures wounds on his hands scarred, and even though the marks are faint against the deep blue of his skin, he doesn’t want to end up with more.

 “Excuse me, Error, Jay? Its eight a.m., time to get up. I brought breakfast.”

 “YAY, FOOD!” A blur of bones and blue feathers shrieks, launching himself at Moose’s face and hugging his snout. “I LOVE YOU NOW FEED ME!”

 Moose giggles, gently prying the bitty off while a pair of mismatched eyes watches him from the darkness.

 “I will, I will!” He says while Jay stares up at him with the cutest look he can muster. “I gotta get everyone else up first!”

 “Aw, come on!” The bitty whines, hugging his thumb. “Pleeeeeeeeeease?”

 Moose laughs again, shaking his head.

 “Go sit at the table, food’ll be served soon, I promise.”

 Jay pouts but jumps from the monster’s hand, spreading his wings and landing on the table with only a few flaps.

 Moose looks back at the cubby.

 “It’s chocolate cake pancakes.” Is all he says to the watcher, but that’s more than enough for the eyes to widen and then vanish.

 A delighted squeal, a tackle and glitchy screeching follow shortly after and Moose grins, moving to the next compartment in line.

       “Sup.”, Luke greets him, leaning casually against cubby’s side with his orange wings closed behind him. “Seems my bro’s excited this morning.”

 “He’s excited every morning.” Moose says back, smiling wider at the Swap Papyrus’ ensuing chuckle.

 “That he is.”, Luke says, glancing over his shoulder when he hears swearing and thuds. He looks back at Moose and shrugs. “Zack’s tryna find his pants. We’ll head to the table once he’s got ‘em.”

 Moose gives him a thumbs up and nods. That Edgy could never find his clothes in the morning. It was frankly concerning how often it happened, but as long as he didn’t have to think about why, he wasn’t too concerned.

       He moves on to the next cubby, grinning at the sight of Paladin pulling on the last arm of his jacket, carefully balancing his snoring brother on his other shoulder.

 “He up late again?” Moose asks, receiving a sigh in return.

 “He was doing something on the internet. Kept watching videos and cackling to himself.”

 “You fear for your safety?”

 “I expect to be pranked as soon as he regains consciousness.” Paladin says with an exasperated but fond look on his face.

 Moose laughs and steps to the side, gesturing behind him.

 “Well, you know where the table is, head on over when you’re ready.”

 “Of course.” Paladin says, dismissing him with a nod.

       On to the next pair then.

 “Hey, taxi’s here.” Moose says, holding out his hands to a very awake Dream bitty and a very not awake Nightmare bitty.

 “FUNK you.” The Nightmare grumbles, rubbing his eye and yawning.

 His brother smacks him upside the head and gives Moose a bright enough smile for both of them.

 “Thank you, but I think I got it today.” He says politely, grabbing one of the now very awake and very angry Nightmare’s tentacles and shortcutting them to the table.

 There’s a whole mess of yelling for a few seconds before it gets silenced by a soft kiss and Moose sighs, shaking his head. Nightshade and Thistle… Were a weird pair to say the least. Nice on Thistle’s part, but still weird.

      He moves on to the next one and-

 “WIGGITY WIGGITY WHATS UP BRAH?” A feathered bitty made of neon and enthusiasm yells, making Moose flinch.

 “Well, dang, sorry brah, I forgot you spook easily.” Fresh grins, both of them well aware that he’s not sorry in the slightest.

 “It’s fine.” Moose sighs, rubbing the bridge of skin between his white eyespots. “Just… Just get Drake and head to-”

 “The table, yeah, I know broski. Same dealio as always.” Fresh says, waving his hand dismissively.

 Moose sighs again and for a brief moment, the bright colors fade away to a more sedate navy blue, the Sans that makes up Fresh’s host giving him a genuinely apologetic smile before being overtaken by the eye melting garishness and infuriating smirk of his passenger.

 Fresh shoots the monster some radical fingerguns before heading back to get his host’s Papyrus and Moose sighs again, deciding to go ahead and move on to the large terrarium sitting against the back wall.

       He gently taps the glass enclosure, making a soft crooning sound and beams as he’s answered in turn, the shy smile of a Dust Lamia Papyrus looking back at him from the undergrowth. Moose picks up the wide scoop hanging off the side of the tank and holds it against a branch, patiently waiting while the bitty slithers up and coils on the plastic.

 “Ready to move, Ghost?” Moose asks, his voice gentle and soft.

 “Please wait f-f-f-for-” Ghost starts to say when his brother flings himself off a rock, Moose catching him easily with his free hand while the purple-tailed lamia cackles.

 Ghost gives his brother a dirty look and Moose just shakes his head, letting Dusty fully coil himself around his arm before taking the pair back to the table. He lays the scoop down so Ghost can get off, trying not to move as Dusty quickly navigates from one arm to the other and climbs down next to his brother. They both give him a smile, although Dusty’s seems more predatory than friendly, and Moose takes the scoop back, hanging it on its hook and letting the plastic tink against the glass.

 Moose just stands there and takes a deep, steadying breath.

Just one more.

 Then after that…

 Him.

       Moose tries not to pick favorites. Easier said than done, because he always likes one bitty over another no matter how hard he tries, but not picking least favorites…

 Now that was pretty much impossible.

 It’s not his fault, not really. That bitty was just so… weird. He was creepy!

 But also…

 He frowns, fins drooping.

 Really, really sad.

       He knew… He knew something had happened, before he came around. There was a period of time that his Ma just wouldn’t tell him about, no one would! He had asked and asked, but from his Aunts to his Uncle to the bitties to everyone-

 No one would say a thing.

 They would just look away and sigh.

 Moose didn’t know what happened.

 But he knew it left them different.

 Changed.

 And none more so than Rogue.

 From what he’d been told, Rogue wasn’t that great to begin with.

 He was dangerous, evil, didn’t care for anyone beyond what he could make them do and was just horrible in every way-

 But now it was like he had been broken.

 He didn’t move, he didn’t talk, he barely even ate-

 He just sat there.

 In this old, battered crate with dented walls and bent bars, painted with rust and filled with the shattered remains of a home.

 He would just sit, his back to the entrance, staring at this old star projector.

 Waiting for it to turn on.

 And when he did move, when he finally seemed alive-

 He was feral. A rabid, corned animal who screamed and thrashed and attacked anyone that came near with teeth and claws and everything he had.

 He would cry and wail and if he couldn’t go after someone else…

 He would go after himself.

 Moose had patched him up countless times after the other bitties had to practically beat him into submission, bandaging Rogue with delicate hands and wrapping where the bone had been clawed at and chipped with extra care.

 The bitty would always watch at him.

 Watch him with those tired, glitch filled eyes.

 And he would sometimes ask, his voice quieter than a whisper,

 “Kill me. Kill me, please.”

 …

 Moose would always call it a day after that.

 Text Papyrus, head over to his place, pun with Sans, watch some MTT, get strong armed into making an emergency therapy appointment.

 And then life would go on.

      “Hey, hey buddy?” A voice shakes him from his thoughts.

 It’s Ink, staring at him from his little dollhouse on the floor, looking at him from the roof with his brows furrowed in faux concern.

 “You alright there, pal?” He asks and Moose sighs, kneeling down and holding out a hand.

 “I’ll be fine.” He says, smiling weakly.

 Its clear Ink doesn’t believe him, but it’s not like he cares either.

 He just climbs aboard and points dramatically with his brush, proclaiming, “Onward!” and Moose drops him off at the table and ignores the looks, the questions of “Are you okay?” and “What’s wrong?”.

 And walks over to the crate.

      It sits on a low table and Moose crouches, balancing on his toes, his elbows on his knees as he looks inside.

 It’s dark.

 It’s dark but he’s there, he can see him.

 And he knows Rogue can see him too.

 He’s… Looking out for once.

 Looking directly at Moose-

 No.

 Looking beyond Moose. Looking at something that isn’t there.

 And he’s grinning.

 Grinning like he won the lottery

 Like he saw something amazing.

 Like all his dreams have finally been achieved.

 Like someone he loved has finally come home.

 Moose doesn’t move.

 Neither does Rogue.

 Error yells from the table.

 “Excuse me, I was promised chocolate cake pancakes! If you don’t introduce me to what exactly that is right the FUNK now I’m flipping this DIGGITY DARN table!”

 And just like that, the spell is broken.

 Moose coughs, his shifting his weight to his heels.

 “W- well, uh…” He says, hands clenching and unclenching, looking anywhere but ahead. “I’ll bring you some pancakes later, okay?”

       He doesn’t wait for an answer and stands, almost running back to the table to dish out food, shivers running down his spine.

 The bitties eagerly dig in and Moose sits, cramming his own portion into his mouth.

But he sees him still, out of the corner of his eye.

 And Rogue’s just there.

 Smiling.

   RP ASKS ARE OPEN

 YOU CAN TALK TO AND INTERACT WITH BITTIES

 YOU CAN TALK TO AND INTERACT WITH DAME

 YOU CAN TALK TO MOOSE. HE CAN NOT SEE OR TOUCH YOU.

 YOU CANNOT INTERACT WITH PAPYRUS

   WELCOME BACK