#when my mom first told me this joke and asked me what the moral was

[itsonlypolite]

(Tumblrs having trouble with the image order, I've been trying to fix this and that's why the ask is a screenshot 😅)

Sure thing! (And don't worry, you haven't!) I don't know how to introduce this comic, beyond that the joke Contra tells in it I first heard when I was like 6 and I cried my eyes out.

[btsficsandsuch]

Everything’s Going to Be Okay

You’re going through a rough time and your husband Yoongi is there to be the support that you need.

Warning: Mentions of depression/anxiety, specifically postpartum depression and anxiety.

I wrote this as kind of a therapy. I mentioned that part of the reason I was starting to write again was because of my anxiety. I have a newborn at home and postpartum anxiety is no joke and I wish I had someone as supportive as this Yoongi in my life. It really does get easier though and I’m starting to feel better.

——————————————————————————

You never thought motherhood would be this hard. You expected the physical pain and the sleepless nights, but you never expected the mental toll it would take on you. Maybe struggling with anxiety long before you gave birth definitely wasn’t helping, but you noticed a significant decline in your mental health once your son was born. Your husband Yoongi noticed this as well.

Your anxiety was starting to become debilitating. Were you a good enough mom? Are you doing everything right? Were you still being a good wife? Does your son love you? What will his future look like? All these thoughts ran through your head day after day.

Yoongi tried his hardest to be there for you in any way that he could. He managed to get a few weeks off to be able to stay at home with you and your son. He kept up on all the household chores making sure the house stayed clean and organized for you. He cooked you three meals a day and made sure you stayed hydrated. He’d wake up with you at 3am when it was time to feed your son though you told him several times he didn’t have to since there wasn’t much he was able to do, but he insisted that if you had to wake up so would he even if it was just to offer moral support.

He was the perfect partner which you should’ve been so happy about, but it just made you feel guilty. You have a beautiful healthy son and a husband who’d walk to the ends of the earth for you and you still couldn’t make yourself to feel happy.

When your son was 6 weeks old it was time for Yoongi to go back to work. He was worried about you, “Y/N I can talk to them and see if I can get more time off. I don’t want to leave you yet.” The two of you were laying in bed together just after Yoongi’s alarm had gone off signaling it was time for him to go. You wrapped your arms around his waist even tighter, “No babe it’s okay. You’ve missed so much as it is. I’ll be okay. I promise.”

Deep down you were worried. You were struggling with Yoongi around so you didn’t know how you were going to manage without him here, but you didn’t want him to give up everything because you couldn’t handle it.

You were sitting on the couch holding your son when Yoongi came walking over car keys in hand. He leaned down and kissed your son, “Be a good boy for your mom alright. She’s doing her best so go easy on her.” He then turned his attention to you, “Please call me if you need anything Y/N. I already let the company know that I won’t hesitate to leave if I need to. My mom also said she’s just a phone call away if you need any thing.” You nodded as he leaned in for a kiss and you watched him walk out out the door.

The first few hours were surprisingly easy. Your son was napping and you were even able to get some stuff done around the house. Yoongi checked on you every hour, asking if you needed anything. You kept thinking how lucky you were to have someone like him. Someone that added so much extra stress to their own life just to try and ease the stress in yours. You were mid thought when the guilt set in. Yoongi was making his life harder because you were weak. He was constantly worried about you because you weren’t able to cope. He couldn’t fully enjoy the first few weeks of his sons life because he had to constantly dote on you because you couldn’t get this right.

You could feel the panic attack starting. It was getting difficult to breathe. Your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest. Your body was beginning to sweat. Luckily your son was still sound asleep in his crib. You decided to try and get your mind off of things. You put a load of laundry in the dryer and decided to start on dinner. You were chopping some vegetables trying your best to get this attack to pass when you heard your son start crying through the baby monitor.

You walked to his nursery and brought him with you over to the rocking chair. You began to feed him staring into his tiny eyes. “I’m so sorry Y/S/N. I’m sorry I’m not a good mom. I’m really trying. I promise I’ll get better. But even if I don’t you have the best daddy in the world and he’ll always be there for you when I can’t.” He finished his feed and you changed his diaper and set him back in the crib.

While staring at his perfect little face it hit you in full force. Tears streaming down your face you walked into the hallway and slid down onto the floor. You pulled your knees to your chest finally letting out the sobs you had been holding in. Worried that you wouldn’t be able to take care of your son properly you made the phone call you never thought you’d make.

Yoongi picked up on the second ring, “Y/N are you okay?” You couldn’t say anything. “Y/N tell me what’s wrong.”, he said the concern evident in his voice. “I’m sorry.”, was all you could say between sobs. “Stay right there Y/N. I’m already in my car and I’m on the way.”

You didn’t know what to do. Normally you’d go for a walk or take a hot shower to calm your anxiety, but you knew you needed to be close for your son in case he needed you. You sat outside his nursery and cried. Just when you thought you had run out of tears Yoongi walked through the door. He came right over and crouched down helping you to your feet, “I’m just going to check on Y/S/N real quick okay. Stay right here.” You nodded and watched him walk into the nursery. Yoongi smiled looking down at his baby boy, peacefully sleeping.

Yoongi walked back out and took your hand leading you to the bathroom. He turned on the shower to the temperature he knew you liked. He helped you take off your clothes and undo your hair from the bun it had been in for the last week, “I’ll keep an eye on Y/S/N. Take your time and come out when you’re ready.” You nodded and stepped into the steamy shower. The water hot enough to calm the ache in your chest, but just below the point of burning you. Once again Yoongi was there for you and knew how to help you and all you did was force him to come home early and take care of you.

You spent a while in the shower trying to wash away all the anxiety and guilt and depression. When you got out of the shower you noticed Yoongi had placed your favorite sweats and one of his T-shirts on the counter for you.

When you walked into the bedroom Yoongi was sitting on the bed. He grabbed your hand and pulled you to sit next to him. You tried to pull away, “I need to go feed Y/S/N.” Yoongi shook his head, “I fed him with one of the emergency bottles. He’s sleeping comfortably.” “Well I need to go finish dinner so you have something to eat.”, you said trying to avoid the conversation you knew was about to take place. He shook his head again, “I already ordered some takeout.”

You nodded and the two of you sat in silence for a few minutes until Yoongi began, “Y/N I’m sorry.” You couldn’t hold the tears any longer. You buried your face in his neck wrapping your arms around him, “No I’m sorry Yoongi. I’m the worst wife and mother. I should be happy but I’m not. And all I do is make you worry about me. You have to stop your life to take care of me. I don’t know how to make these feelings go away.”

You cried into his shoulder for several minutes while he slowly rubbed your back. Once he felt like you had calmed down some he lifted your chin so that you were looking at him, “Y/N it’s normal to feel these things. You’ve been through so much over the last couple months. Hell even the nine months before that. You are the best mom. Y/S/N is always fed and changed and loved. Even today when you had a breakdown you still made sure he was taken care of and the first thing you thought of when you got out of the shower was making sure he was okay. And you’ve always been and still are the best wife I could’ve ever asked for. Even in your distressed state you’re worried about making sure I have dinner to eat. You gave me the best gift ever of a child and now it’s my turn to be there for you and give you everything that I can by being whatever you need. We’ll take it day by day. I know things are tough right now, but everything will be okay.”

You could feel the tears start again, a mix of sad tears and happy tears. “How did I get so lucky?”, you said before kissing his cheek. Yoongi smiled, “Have you looked in the mirror lately? I think I’m the lucky one.” You gave him another kiss before getting up to leave the room.

You grabbed your son and brought him out to the living room with you. Yoongi sat on the couch next to you feeding you bites of your dinner while you fed your son. Yoongi’s words repeated in your head. You were going through a rough time, but you had your beautiful son to watch grow up and you had the best support system in Yoongi. You knew he’d never let you fall and just like he’s said, Everything’s going to be okay.

[noonaishere]

Online/Offline [C.S] - fifty-six | plucky servants

The next day at work you stood with Minsoo in the kitchen and discussed her options concerning her crush on Seonghwa. Sure, it might have been unimportant by other people’s standards, but you were happy for anything to take your mind off your current situations, plural.

“Okay, so…” you sighed, “Wooyoung’s an idiot, and not helpful.” 

“I am literally standing right here.” 

Both of you turned to Wooyoung, who was standing with one hand on the edge of the counter and the other on his hip. Minsoo looked at him with a face of mild shock, indicating she might not have seen him behind you. You viewed him with a raised eyebrow.

“Just do it like I said.” He said.

“She’s literally not doing that, Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung sighed and went back to what he was doing.

“So what should I do--”

“Get out of my kitchen if you’re not going to listen to me.”

You angrily narrowed your eyes at Wooyoung as you ushered Minsoo out of the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes back and you stared at each other for a few seconds before you joined her behind the counter.

“So what should I do?” She asked again.

“Ugh, I’m so not good at this. Just like… be… yourself.” You gestured uselessly.

“But I want him to like me.”

You looked at Minsoo blankly. “Do you think you’re unlikable?”

Minsoo looked away and nodded a small nod. “Well…” she whispered. “Yeah.”

“Minsoo, if he doesn’t like you for you then you shouldn’t want to go out with him.”

“Why not?”

“Because… he would never respect you. Someone who doesn’t like who you are deep inside won’t actually care about you when you need help, he would never be happy when you’re happy, he’d never defend you if you can’t defend yourself.”

She looked at you, seeming to consider your words before looking away again.

“How about this?: Why do you like him?”

“Because he’s… At first I liked him because he’s so pretty. But now… he’s stern, but he’s kind. He doesn’t really make jokes a lot because I think he wants people to think he’s serious all the time, but when he does, he’s funny.”

“Hmm,” you leaned against the counter and folded your arms. “Funny is something a person should be, if they possibly can.”

Minsoo smiled a small smile and nodded at your agreement.

“But why do you think he wouldn’t like you?”

“Cause, like, I’m me.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“I’m like… awkward and fat and not on his level on terms of appearance--”

“I need to stop you. Do you know what Wooyoung and I both said when we first saw you walk into the café?”

“I-- no?”

“‘She’s chubby and cute.’ That’s what we both said.”

“Isn’t ‘chubby’ just ‘fat’?”

“Okay so, your problem is that you’re using ‘fat’ in a negative way.”

“But… It's bad to be fat.”

“Who told you that?”

“Umm… my mom. And my aunts. San’s mom, especially. My grandma liked it because I always ate all the food she made when no one else did because they were all watching their weight.”

“So… in the list you just gave me, which people were more important to please? Your grandma who was so happy that you ate all her home-cooked food? Or your mom and aunts who were so concerned about their appearances that they didn’t eat what their mother made them?”

She thought for a moment.

You thought for a moment. "Why don't you talk to your grandma about this? Maybe she can say something to your mom."

"She died a couple years ago"

“Ahh,” you nodded. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded back.

You sighed as you thought. You had been raised totally differently from how Minsoo was raised, differently than most people you knew, actually. You didn’t know if it was just your parents’ morals or because of the Terror Triplets who wanted to get you out of the way so they could have Yeosang, but you could always remember your parents saying things like, ‘What a body can do is more important than what it looks like,’ and, ‘Even if other people would describe your body as broken, at least you’re living and can experience life,’ and ‘Even if living with your body is hard, there’s always good things to look forward to,’ and their constant cheering you on when you were a kid-- what other parents would show up at the school to fight with the principal because he wouldn’t just move you away from students who were making your life hell? They were solid people, your parents, and you were lucky to have been raised by them. But, because of that, you just could not fathom a mother who would tell her own daughter that she’s fat, implying that it made her ugly and unlovable. Surely she’d have to know how that would affect her in the future, right? That she might be causing an eating disorder or depression that she could end up living with for years or even the rest of her life? Not to mention the self-loathing that would make it impossible to engage in relationships-- like right now. How could a parent do that to their child? You sighed again as you thought of a different line of questioning.

“Did they cook you anything? Your mom and aunts?” You asked.

“Oh, no, we had a chef. They never cooked anything.”

Your eyebrows ticked up at the news of them having a chef and you blinked in disbelief for a moment before recovering. “Okay, so were they too busy to cook or too lazy?”

“Mmm… none of them cook much. They don’t like cooking.”

“Then who cares what they think? They can’t even cook and they want to be mad at you for having a healthy appetite?”

She looked confused.

“Listen, there’s nothing wrong with how you or me or anyone else is shaped, every body is different. And your body is not your mom’s body or your aunt’s body, so they can’t have an opinion on it because it's not theirs to live with. And the one person who actually made you food with love and care, was happy when you ate it all.”

She seemed to consider this.

“Food is what sustains us, right? So making food for people we love - and seeing them eat it - is way more important than starving yourself just so you look a certain way. I think your grandma would agree with me on that.”

She nodded slowly.

“So: it seems like you being chubby - and cute - is totally okay. And your eating made your grandmother happy, are you happy you made her happy at all?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s good.”

She stared at you, her brows knit from trying to understand. You put a hand on each of her cheeks and she stared at you, wide-eyed, as you held her face.

“Listen to me when I say this to you:”

She tried to nod, her cheeks squishing because of your hands.

“None of that shit matters anyway because you're sweet and kind and a precious human being. That’s the important part, the rest is all incidental.”

She blushed as she pulled away. “You sound like San.”

“He says those things?”

“Yeah. Whenever my mom gets on my case for my weight, I go and talk to him because I have no one else to talk to about it and he tells me stuff like that.”

You nodded. “We'll… he's right.”

She processed this for a few moments. “But… Seonghwa isn’t chubby.”

“And?”

“What if he doesn’t like chubby girls?”

“Well, one he’d be an idiot, because you’re adorable. And it’d still just be what I said before: if he doesn’t like you for you, then you shouldn’t want to date him.”

She nodded slowly. She idly walked a few feet away, watching her feet as she did so. She turned back to you.

“Have you ever confessed to anyone before?”

“Mmmno.”

“Oh.”

“You know what? Just ask him out.”

“What?”

“Just ask him out. Like Wooyoung said, only less yelling and less…”

“...Sounding like I’m threatening him?”

You laughed. “That too.”

She smiled.

“You have a really cute smile, Minsoo.”

Her hands came up to rest on her cheeks. “Y-you think so?”

“Mhm.”

She blushed.

“Listen, if he rejects you, you can tell me and we’ll watch sad movies and get drunk together, okay?”

She smiled. “That’d be fun.”

You smiled. 

Seonghwa walked out of the kitchen. “Everything okay up here?”

“Yeah, uh…” you looked at Minsoo and winked before turning to Seonghwa, 

“It’s good you came up here, I was just about to ask Wooyoung what he could train me in next.”

You nodded at both of them and left for the kitchen… 

And bumped directly into Wooyoung, who shushed you and pulled you behind him so you could both watch if Minsoo said anything. 

“I feel like we’re plucky servants in some British TV show from the 70s.”

“The café’s only one floor, though.”

Wooyoung widened his eyes in an expression that was somewhere between anger and being impressed that you understood his reference, and went back to listening.

You chuckled.

“Umm…” Minsoo started.

“Are you okay Minsoo? Adjusting to knowing everything you have to?”

“Yeah… Thank you for asking.” She smiled.

He smiled back.

“Um… oppa, do you remember when I said I thought you were cool?”

“When we were younger? Yeah.”

She nodded.

Wooyoung grabbed your hand. You put your own over his as you shared in the suspense.

“Umm… So… I still think you’re cool.” She wrung her hands for a moment as she got up the courage. “Umm…” Her voice shook. “I think you’re cool and I wanted to know-- if-- if you were dating anyone! And… if not… if you’d like to go on a date with me?”

You and Wooyoung turned to each other, eyes wide as if you were asking each other what you were seeing, then turned back to what was happening.

Seonghwa’s eyebrows ticked up in surprise. “O-oh.” He stuttered. 

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments; Minsoo beet red and looking at the floor, Seonghwa viewing her passively.

“Umm… you might as well look at me while you ask me out, no?” He asked.

She looked up in shock. “What?”

“Shouldn’t one look at the object of their desire when they ask them on a date?”

She stuttered uselessly for a few seconds before finding her words. “Uh-- I-- Oh-- Um… I… it depends.”

He smiled. “On what?”

“On… if you’re saying yes?”

He nodded, turning away from her for a moment as he thought. She watched him. He turned back and she jumped. 

He chuckled. “You seem to have grown up quite well, Minsoo. You’re very brave.”

She didn’t respond, confusion across her features.

“I think I should love to go on a date with you.”

“I-- you-- really?”

He smiled and nodded. 

You and Wooyoung held hands and jumped as much as you could without making any noise, mouths open in silent celebratory screaming.

“Oh--” she inhaled and covered her mouth, collapsing to the floor in a squat. “I’m sorry!”

He crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t wake up today thinking I would ask you out,” her breath shuddered as she fought off her emotions, “And I never thought you’d say yes.”

“What? Why wouldn’t I say yes?”

“Well, you’re older.”

“I’m only three years older than you,” he laughed.

“And you… you look like you and I just look like me.”

He was quiet for a moment as his mouth opened in shock. “Minsoo… you’re so beautiful and… I’m so surprised that you’re not already dating someone on that account alone.”

“Not a lot of guys like chubby nerds,” she rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“Yes… I remember the models you bought when your family visited Japan…”

She looked at him, worriment across her face; in mentioning her interests she had fucked up, and now he was going to refuse her.

“Minsoo, can I choose the place of our first date?”

“You-- you still want to go out with me?”

He smiled. “I promise.”

She nodded, still in disbelief. “Okay, you can pick.”

“I promise you’ll love it.”

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

Send an ask or leave a comment if you want to be added to the tag list! 🧋

@rachs-words • @stayatinykatsy •

[bloshik]

“Drown.”

Tashi Duncan x fem!reader

TW: angst; reflection; inner monologue; feelings-thoughts-feelings about thoughts-thoughts about feelings; endless circle of self-consciousness and self-hatred established into ourselves from that tricky thing called genetics. Fuck genetics. wc: 1,3k Author’s notes: I’m drunk and in my feelings rn + listening to Russian songs that don’t help the cause. English isn’t my native language, for that matter. (Something short to let out after a shitty week.)

If anyone ever told you two months ago that THE Tashi Duncan would let her eye fall upon you, a mere mortal that was just entering the field of sports—tennis, precisely—in this myriad of chaos and chronic prostration, you would’ve let out a laugh of the week from how impossible and absurd the thought sounded aloud. Because what the fuck? Have you seen Tashi? Have you seen yourself? No, but really... when was the last time you really looked into the mirror and saw something more than the reflection of the person you remember was running down the halls of the middle school, gossiping about boys who you totally ‘didn’t’ like—what was there to like about them?—or the halls full of voices that didn’t give you a migraine or two from just needing to spend another second thinking,

Am I the only one who doesn’t want to know anything about all of this? ...about all of them?

What was your life about if you were not thinking, weighing your options, thinking about the options you weighed, weighing if the options you weighed were even worth weighting, or if it was in your damn head? Always your head.

Head... where was your head exactly when you graduated? Tashi liked to joke, ‘shoved up the crevices of your ass, apparently,’ which wouldn’t be so far away from the truth, considering all of this started because of your head. Not your heart, no—because you didn’t have one.

Remember when your mom used to say you were meant to do something greater than where you are right now? What was that greater exactly now? Slipping into the covers with the wife of your best friend? Seeing their friend, Patrick, stealing drunken kisses and leaving sweaty marks on Tashi’s latest Gucci—she could not deserve anything less—cashmere jacket, and then grabbing those calloused, manly hands and guiding, sliding, them into your underwear, while judging Tashi’s dishonesty? You were anything but truthful, and less to your own self.

What was there about ‘friendship codex’ which you heard years ago in one of the bathroom stalls when you first kissed your friend’s ex? Seems like a pattern no, doesn’t it? Thought you learned the lesson even though your eyes always seemed to strike away from Art’s? Out of pure respect or utter guilt—unknown.

What is good? What is bad? What is correct? What defines it? Humans? The engrained morals we’ve been carrying within ourselves since the origins of our birth? Was it what our parents used to yell into our faces when we would ‘accidentally’ let out a curse or two to our teachers under our breaths and they would ‘accidentally’ overhear them? Was it the recognition that the apple, indeed, doesn’t fall far from the tree? No matter how hard you might try and fail, over and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and...

What are we if not sinners meant to work for what we did in Sodom and Gomorrah? Was it fair if it happened centuries ago when humans couldn’t possibly imagine if they were gonna be able to survive, and to procreate for more masses that would eventually lead to this?

“Swallowed your tongue?” You remember Tashi asking you one day after yet another strenuous practice in which the ball hit your head so hard that you must’ve forgotten who you were talking to if the first thing leaving your mouth was,

—Patrick told me you two had broken up.

The following silence was accompanied by a feeling that you couldn’t properly describe now, but it was something akin to when your parents pushed you into the water so you would learn—by sheer instinct—how to swim. The utter panic. The terrific realization that you are, indeed, falling into the pit that was about to drown you if you don’t move your ass and fucking do something. Was it a dream? Another example of your overdrawn imagination that you never lacked, even when you were alone? When weren’t you? Don’t we come alone and go alone in this life? What was the point of trying to make friends if anything was meant to end like this... with Tashi staring at you as if you’d disappointed not her— her entire line of thinking that was practically built around both of you these two months that you knew were meant to end. What hasn’t ended if this life is all about the natural order of things: creating — ending it.

“I’m just thinking,” you told her in the most sincere way you could manage through the gathering tears that you wanted to scratch out of your eyes, because what the fuck, weren’t you enough,, haven’t you done enough to deserve this tone thrown into your face like the bag that you saw was pushed under Patrick’s feet with Tashi’s heel? After all, we all are dispensable and meant to be thrown away, isn’t it? It was good while it lasted... right?

“Why’re you looking at me like this?” Gosh, you sounded pathetic—get it together, girl; were your trembling hands, your prickling eyes, your thrown to the brim feelings, the seemingly unstoppable sensation of trying to make your way out of that water that seemed to grow hands and claw their way over your sinking body worth it? Your overcompensated circle of victim-victimizer: ‘I’m not worse than Tashi if she does the same’?

And blurting out, unthinking, really, “I haven’t done anything you wouldn’t in my place, too. Weren’t it us from the beginning?”

“You were never in the equation.” Okay, shoot her, it would’ve hurt less than whatever the hell Tashi just straight-up shitted in her face. “You want to feel special, want to be part of something?” That questioning hm felt like a finger being put on the trigger about to be shot, and not just anywhere. At you.

“Then play like you are something; I have no interest in playing with a person who can’t see their own worth.” The way Tashi crossed her arms and tilted her head felt like a mother disapproving of a child who just said they haven’t studied in the time given for that same purpose— but Tashi wasn’t a Mother Theresa, nor was she a lifeline, or the hand that you saw blurry waving out of the water for you to grab. Help yourself yourself. “What worth can be there if you can’t even focus on something as basic as not sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” she muttered the last part to herself. Ouch, for fuck’s sake.

“You wanted to be alone? Felt overly confident in your strengths, saw an opportunity and struck like the snake that you always were? I taught you this, after all, I should probably feel proud ‘n shit—but the only thing that comes to mind is that I want to choke you right now.” Your eyes could only watch how Tashi grabbed that cursed bag with big cursive capital “Art” sewn into the fabric, before throwing it over her shoulder like it weighed nothing. It probably didn’t in comparison to the weight that was left on your shoulders, leaving you grasping the doorframe as if it would’ve saved you from the undone damage. ‘No, it wouldn’t,’ whispered your consciousness, ‘you started this — now watch her finish it.’

“Please; be fucking alone.” Tashi never said a mere thank you to you, so to hear a simple please felt like everything you had and couldn’t have.

You could have if you had a heart, which you don’t.

[ginsengkitten]

Nightfall: Chapter 6

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧

You had thrown on clothes and jump on slashes bike. He sped through the night streets, to a rural wooded area just outside of the city. The moonlight casted fully upon the two of you as he parked in a grove of trees. A beautiful moss covered meadow sat in the moonlight. You realize it's a cemetery. "What is this?" You questioned confused.

"That one there." He pointed to a smaller older headstone engraved with roses and moss. You read the name. "Samantha..?"

"Our beautiful daughter who loved to paint. We love you." You read the engraving.

"1934" slash answered. He pointed over to another one nearby.

"Hattie Reynolds. Our dearest angel.."

"1951" he added.

As you walk through the graveyard, you see gravestones near and far all the way up to 1972.

"What is all this? Why are you showing me this?" You ask confused.

"This is what happens when the churches find out you're an ally to vampires.." he answered solemnly, coldly.

Your heart sank. "They...they killed them? All of them?"

"Very few have survived, and it's only because they've told no one." He said, he looked to you with a desperate look in his eye. He approached you closely now. He towered over you, his smooth skin reflecting moonlight. He gripped your arm lightly. "You can't let anyone know what you've seen. Ever." He warned.

A new layer of fear swelled inside you. You lose yourself in thought as you stare off for a moment. What a lonely secret to keep.

"All these people, died so long ago..." you look to slash again. "...how old are you?" You ask. You can tell he didn't want to answer that. He sat on the ground next to a headstone. "Old enough..." he said lowly, sorrowfully. You sit next to him and read the headstone.

"Clarissa Rose...- there's no death date." You say confused.

"I never met her myself." Slash said. "But Axl, he refused to put a death date. Crazy bastard thinks she'll still come back one day.."

"Axl-......he's the clan master, isn't he? This is Clarissa, his wife..." You piece it together. Slash nodded.

"We've been alive...for far too long." Slash said quietly. He looked at the ground.

"Can I ask how..-" you start.

"It was duff. He uh-saved me." He hesitated to use the word save. "My mom and I moved out here in 44, for her new job as a seamstress. She uh- she was really really good. Talented. And uh, one night, our store was attacked by the northern clan. I was bitten by a northern vampire but he fled, and I started bleeding out. I had cried out to my mom- that I didn't want to die. That I wasn't ready.." he chuckled slightly to himself.

"And duff heard my cry and came. He was new at being a vampire. Thinking he had to answer that plea with an eternal solution, some sort of moral obligation I guess.

By the time he reached us, Cyrus had ripped my mom's head from her body. He was gone. So was she. But he changed me. Took me home, and healed me. Been with him ever since."

Your heart wrenched. The pain in his voice was numb. "Slash....Im so sorry..."

The silence lasted long, the two of you sat in silence until you felt to move the conversation.

"1944...so you're, old, very old..." You mumbled. "72." He answered. You looked at him shocked.

"Well...you look pretty good for 72. I always had a thing for older men." You admit a joke hoping to lift his spirit. He laughs slightly.

"And you laughed at my joke...so you don't hate me after all." You say. Slashes head lifts up and he looks at you. The moonlight glimmers in his eyes. "I don't hate you.." he says. He resumes that similar haunting stare. His eyes washing over you. "I'm sorry if I made you think that I- from the first moment I saw you. I sensed you. And your presence is-so strong. It's like I couldn't think. And it frustrated me . And then- and then you touched me, when I took you home. And when you touched me- I don't know it was like I had blood in my veins again. It was this warmth rushed inside me under my skin-it was the most human I've felt since I changed..." he trailed off. You completely softened to his candid vulnerability. Your cheeks flushed red. He snapped out of his trance and looked at the ground embarrassed. "Uh- sorry I- that was probably weird to hear." He apologized. You took his hand in yours, making him ignite to your touch. "No, it wasn't, it was wonderful." You soothed. His eyes met yours again.

Slash watched you in the moonlight.  As it dripped down your skin and hair. The way it illuminated your bright eyes. From the moment he laid eyes on you, he had been completely taken by you. Your energy, your beauty. It was impossible to look away. You were something so different than anything he'd felt in decades and it shook him to his core. He studied you. He wanted to figure out why he couldn't figure you out. It puzzled him. His eyes scanned down your lips and then back to your eyes. Your hand still touching his. He felt your warm touch, buzz into his skin and he leaned forward into you. You leaned to meet him. The two of you tiptoeing into a kiss. Both pulling away hesitantly for a second, and then slash grabbed your face in his large hands and pressed his lips against yours gently. You dissolve into his lips. Your lips brush lightly against his fangs. Your tongue reminding you of his vampiric form, but it didn't phase you, you wanted him and he craved you. Surpassing your previous notion of hatred, and now to this, passionate kiss under the silver glow of the full moon.

He pulled away for a moment to study you. The time which he had suffered alone all these years, the lonely sorrow melted away with something warm in its place. He had brief encounters with meaningless women. None had ignited this feeling in him. None had made him feel alive again, not until now. Until you. You were changing everything so quickly.

"I've never thought I'd feel alive again.." He whispered as he caressed your face.

You resume a kiss, which now drifted from gentle passion to a buzz of fierce intensity that you want to try to match but he begins overpowering you, which you initially take a liking to at first. Then his grip on you firms. You feel on your tongue, his fangs grow out further. His kiss becoming more ravenous and animalistic. He released low growls through increasing pants. You feel something sharp pierce your wrist from his grip and yelp in pain. Slash pulls away immediately and you see his face. His face was slightly transformed. His mouth not only had fangs, but all of the teeth came to a sharper point. His eyes are extremely dark and glossed over. You hold your wrist in pain, claws had grown out of his fingers, accidentally cutting you. You held your wrist and looked at him in fear and shock. Slash completely paused and drew himself back. He looked at your expression and glanced from his extended claws to your now bloodied wrist. The both of you panting. Everything escalating so fast. "Y/N- I'm so sorry." He said. His apology was earnest and real, but his appearance and sudden depraved mannerisms made you second guess him. "I- I don't know what took over me Y/N I'm-" he breathes frustrated with himself. You see his eyes continue to pace from your face to the dripping blood. Your blood, the red spillage, drifted sweetly in his face. He pauses for a moment, trying to gain control over himself. He knows the danger of the situation. He had never craved human blood so badly before. He practically licked his lips. Seconds felt like eternity. He struggles to wrangle his control. Vampires- do they all have claws like this? And teeth like that? His appearance was huskier and larger than it was before. Something about his body was formed differently than before. Like he grew more muscular, his hair, longer and more unkempt. You watch him pant for control as he shrinks back to his initial normal human size. "We have to go. Now." He stands up and rushes you back to the lair where Izzy could tend to your wound. Slash said nothing the whole way home.

-

Izzy carefully stitched up your small puncture wound. You winced. Slash couldn't let himself watch what he had done to you. He had fled the lair and disappeared.

"He'll be back." Izzy consoled you.

"It was so weird...it was like he was more than just a vampire. Like some sort of beast. Izzy calmly kept his eyes on the wound. "Well slash is what we call a morph." . "A morph?" You questioned. "The northern vampire that had first bit him, was part vampire, part werewolf. Up in the north, they bred with werewolves for stronger vampires, essentially. But this act is considered illegal in our world- morphs are especially dangerous and unpredictable.

But when duff halted the northern bite with his own strain, it cut off the full infection, but enough had entered his body to alter him into a morph. They are...especially difficult to deal with." He explained with a sigh.

"Couldn't stay away huh?" Duff teases you as he leans against the doorway. "More like slash couldn't.." you mumble. Duffs expression goes more serious. "Be careful around him, Y/N. He's not like the rest of us. He's stronger, more aggressive. He hasn't been changed for very long. He still doesn't have full control of his form. Morphs are bred for violence. While I changed him yes, the dna is still there inside of him."

"I remember the early days after he first changed. Changing into a morph is different. It's more painful. More intense. I spent a lot of time researching them so I could learn how to take care of him better, after all, I was the one that damned him to eternal suffering.

He was ravenous then. Extremely dangerous." He continued. "How did he get better?"

"Time- and patience...and regret. He accidentally killed someone. He lost control and tore a girl apart in the woods. He went missing for days until I found him hiding out in the mountains. It shocked him so badly. I don't think he's forgiven himself for that still. I don't think he ever will. "

Your throat was dry and you completely lost focus of the pain.

"Tracii and his crew got word that a westerner had killed a human and began pursuing slash. They believe he's one of the strongest morphs still alive so They tried to recruit him to the north. They are convinced still he's one of them and belongs up there with those savages. It was a mistake. "

"He's not one of them. I know it." You blurt confidently.

Izzy wrapped your wrist up. "But he's still dangerous." Izzy added.

[nikossfwfics]

Tis the MFing Season

Total word count: 3490

Background  

46 words 

 Set in  1994. Duff is 30 and Izzy is 32. I changed Duff’s family dynamic to where Duff has an older brother: Bruce, 43, and two older sisters: Tina,35, and Christine,40. his mom’s name is Alice and there is no father figure in the picture

Part 1  - Holidate 

789 words 

Duff couldn't believe he had stooped this low, but here he was sitting next to Izzy on the beat-up couch in their beat-up apartment. “Please Iz,” Duff pleaded, “I already told my mom I was bringing someone to Christmas this year, I can't go back on that now.” Izzy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “get Axl to do it,” Izzy shooed away the blonde.

Duff cringed at the thought, “You don't understand, man-” Izzy cut him off mid-sentence, “I do understand; you are desperate and begging me to accompany you to Seattle for your family’s Christmas party. Well, guess what? It's not happening”

Duff knew it was stooping low but if this were what it had come to he would just have to pull out the puppy dog eyes. “Don't look at me like that,” Izzy said plainly, “you look stupid.” despite his friend's words he continued to press, “Please. Please! PLEASE!”

Izzy stood up from the couch and sighed. “Fine,” he said, giving up, “I'll go with you, but I'm not going to enjoy it!” he accused. Duff jumped up in excitement, “Trust me, there's never a dull moment with my family.” he joked before walking away to pack his bags. 

Izzy felt a single moth flutter in his stomach. He cursed himself for letting his stupid feelings get in the way of his morals. He was 32 years old, damnit. He shouldn't let his childish crush get in the way of his rational decision-making. Izzy had no idea how this was going to go.

I mean, fake dating? Really? What was he, a middle schooler?  He retorted in his mind. He must be half out of his mind to have agreed to this. nonetheless, he did… and he had to go pack his bags as well. This will go swell! 

The plane ride to Seattle was less than terrible. First, he forgot his walkmen, secondly, he had to sit behind a guy who obviously did not care about his legroom, finally, Duff slept on his shoulder the entire time. ‘Why would that be such a problem,’ you ask. Well for one, Izzy sat completely still for a 3-hour flight, going absolutely insane. That wasn't even the least of it when they got to Seattle, it was 40 degrees outside. 

As they stepped off the plane into the piercing cold air, Duff sighed happily and Izzy groaned. “How are you so happy?” Izzy grumbled. “It's colder than a polar bear's toenail.”  

“Im home,” Duff replied with a warm grin that brought a tinge of heat to Izzy’s cheeks.

When they stepped off the airport grounds, they saw a group of people with signs saying their names. Duff chuckled at the signs and ran up to hug the older lady of the group, who Izzy assumed was Duff’s mother. 

After a couple of exchanges of “Welcome home,” and “I'm glad to be here,” they caught a glimpse of Izzy standing nervously a few feet away. They all shared a look of equally perplexed as they were excited. Duff got wind of their confusion and decided to properly introduce Izzy to his family.

“Guys, this is Izzy,” he said to his family members, “Izzy, this is Bruce, Tina, Christine, and my mother Alice.”

Izzy nodded in acknowledgment and extended his hand out to Alice, “It is very nice to meet you, Mrs. McKagan,” he smiled kindly and genuinely, “You’ve raised up a very lovely person.”

Alice accepted the compliment and shook Izzy's hand, “it's wonderful to meet you as well, Mr Stradlin”

“Please, ma'am, call me Izzy” Izzy requested. now it was Duff's turn to swoon over his best friend. He shifted his weight from side to side wondering if anyone noticed the slight blush that crept upon his face.

 Bruce looked at Izzy, then to Duff, then back at Izzy, completely addled “Hold up,” he interjected, “Izzy is a dude?” 

Both Duff and Izzy were taken aback by this question, “Of course, Izzy’s a dude. Why wouldn't he be?” There was an uncomfortable pause and the air was thick for a second. Then it dawned on him. Duff chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, “I guess I didn't specify if Izzy was a girl or a boy. Sorry,”

“Duff I didn't know you were gay,” Tina spoke up. Duff laid his head in the palm of his hand. “Tina,” he sighed, “I came out when I was 16.”

this wasn't news to Izzy because, duh, Duff was gay. Why else would he ask Izzy of all people to be his “date”? But at the same time, why not slash? They're pretty buddy-buddy. Could it be, maybe, Duff actually likes Izzy? No, that would be absurd.

Part 2 - Sleepy Drive Home 

533 words 

The steady beat of last Christmas by wham! Flooded the ears of the passengers. The car ride to Duff's childhood home wasn't the worst, but Izzy was exhausted. So exhausted, in fact, he was falling asleep while sitting up.

“Iz,” Duff whispered, calling the attention of the crow-haired male; there was no reply, “Izzy! Wake up, we’re here,”

Izzy hummed and popped back to life “What?” His voice was groggy and filled with sleep. Duff couldn't help but chuckle at Izzy's sleepy nature; Needless to say, it was adorable. He was so sound and peaceful that Duff dreaded waking him up. 

“Let’s get you to bed, sweetheart,” Duff spoke softly as he propped Izzy up, slinging one of his arms around his shoulder. “God, you're heavy!” he exclaimed, knowing Izzy wasn’t in the mind to snap back. 

Once in the house, Duff struggled to help Izzy take his coat off and get him into bed. Duff turned around to his family who were all watching the scene unravel, “im gonna get this one to bed he’s had a long day.” they all mumbled quick okays as the two boys retreated to the guest room.

At this point Duff was also extremely tired; too tired to give a hoot about how there was only one bed for them to stay in for the next week. Duff threw Izzy down on the bed, soon following suit. 

The room was silent, the only noise being Izzy’s soft snores. But Duff couldn't seem to fall asleep there was so much on his mind. “Izzy?” Duff turned to the side to face him, “Izzy, are you awake?” 

Izzy also turned to his side so that they were face to face, “I am now,” he grumbled. Duff let out a sigh of relief, he wasn't alone. 

 “It's Christmas Eve tomorrow…” the blonde stated. Izzy nodded in acknowledgment, “I know…” 

“You don't seem excited. what's wrong?” Duff pressed.

“I dunno…” Izzy breathed, “I guess I just never really liked Christmas time.” 

duff looked taken aback, how could someone not like Christmas?! He said in his mind. He placed a reassuring hand on top of Izzy's. 

“You see, I didn't have the best childhood,” he went on to explain,  “when I was born I was a crack baby, but her own son coming out an addict didn't stop my mom from quitting. Not at all. When I was 13 she overdosed, leaving my dad to take care of me and my two younger brothers, Kevin and Joe.  My dad worked three jobs just to provide for me and my brothers. I remember scrounging up as much money as I could to buy them at least one gift on Christmas because as far as toys went that's all they had. So when I think of Christmas I think of absent parents and loneliness.”  When he spoke Izzy's voice was barely above a whisper, full of sadness and regrets. 

“Iz…” Duff felt apologetic for bringing up the subject, “Iz, that's terrible, I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be,” Izzy gave Duff's hand a squeeze, “it's not your fault. Now go to sleep.” And so they slept, hand in hand, Feelings bubbling about in their hearts. 

Part 3 - Christmas Eve morning 

548 words 

The next morning Duff woke up like, well, a kid on Christmas Eve. He was quick to notice his and Izzy’s sleeping arrangements; with Izzy spooning Duff in his sleep- You'd think with how tall Duff is he'd be the big spoon, but I guess not- A familiar heat spread to Duff’s ears as he rolled over to be face to face with the crow haired male. 

He shook Izzy awake, “Izzy!” he exclaimed softly, “Izzy, you've got to wake up. It's Christmas Eve!”

Izzy grabbed onto Duff's waist, unconsciously searching for warmth, “No, it’s not.” He grumbled. Duff couldn't help but chuckle, lovingly. Abruptly came Duff’s entire kinship, along with his mother holding the camcorder. 

Great, duff thought, this was somehow getting back to Axl, so that he could torment them for the rest of their lives.

“Awe!” his mother cooed, as Duff stood up trying to find clothes. He'd have to talk to her about personal space later.  A mass of messy black hair shot up off the pristine pillows, “what the hell is going on?”  he queried. “Merry Christmas Eve, sleepy heads!” Christine honed in.

Now that Duff was fully dressed he strung the blind open, letting the sun stream through. Izzy groaned, sitting up in bed and glaring up at Duff.  The family members started getting bored of watching the two “lovers” scramble to get themselves together and started leaving one by one. 

“What time is it?” Izzy asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. “It's early enough for my whole family to catch us cuddling,” Duff teased, a small smirk playing on his lips. 

“We were not cuddling,” said Izzy, 

“You were literally spooning me!” Duff snapped back playfully. 

“Shut it, Mckagan!” Izzy stepped closer, all in good nature. 

“Make me, Stradlin.” Duff also took a step closer, their warm breath mingling. It was an unspoken challenge to see who would back away first. It was Izzy. He couldn't take the tension anymore, not when real feelings were behind it. 

“Ha!” Duff said, victoriously, “I gotchu!”

Izzy just smiled, rolled his eyes, and walked out into the living room, where the family sat in a circle on the couch. “What did we miss?” Duff raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, boys!” Alice spoke gleefully, “Perfect timing, I've got a job for you two.” 

Duff looked at her intrigued, while Izzy… not so much. “Of course! what is it, ma?”

“You two boys will be in charge of my last-minute Christmas shopping!” she said as if it were the greatest gift to be given this holiday season.

“I love Christmas shopping!” Duff squealed with delight

“I hate Christmas shopping,” Izzy muttered under his breath so that only Duff could hear. 

“It's settled then,” Alice clapped her hands together, handing Duff the list, “you boys go out to town and get all these things from the market,”

“Will do!” Duff gave a quick sweet smile to Izzy as they slipped on their heavy coats. He loved causing izzy agony, but this time that wasn't the case. This time he had a mission; a mission to make Izzy love Christmas- along with other things along the way. Hearing about why Izzy didn't like Christmas shattered Duff's heart to pieces and he was determined to change that fact.

Part 4 - Holiday Market 

234 words 

By the time they got to the market, it was already dark. if you ask Duff, it was the perfect time because they got to see the lights. If you asked Izzy he would probably say that it was loud and he wanted to go home. He could barely hear the soft piano playing over the hundreds of people talking, shouting, and yelling. 

Duff took notice of Izzy's nervous behavior and looked at him concerned, “Are you okay?” He spoke quietly and softly. Izzy shook his head ‘no’ and sighed. 

The blonde looked at Izzy with uncertainty, showing brief hesitation, before grabbing ahold of his hand. Izzy snapped his head up, “is this better?” Duff asked, looking concerned. Izzy nodded and smiled coyly. And just like that everything was fine, they could enjoy the holiday market together. 

About halfway through the list, Duff stopped in his tracks, “you good?” Izzy looked at him puzzled 

“Yeah…” Duff said shyly, “Listen, how about we split up for a bit, yeah?” 

Izzy gave him a knowing look, “no,” he said bluntly, “you're not getting me a gift, duff.”

“Whaaaaat?” Duff said, his tone giving away his lies, “I’m not- I just- uh- I-” 

Izzy snorted, “I guess I should get your gift too…” 

Duff's whole demeanor changed, “great! So we’ll meet back here in an hour?” 

“Yeah,” Izzy sighed and they went their separate ways. 

Part 5 - Gift Exchange 

   [im screaming at this part, it's so cute ^_^]

  373 words

They made it back to Duff’s mom’s house after going way over budget- it was all Duff’s fault, I swear. People chattered happily and announced it was time for a Christmas Eve tradition where you open 1 gift from someone else. Duff was ecstatic; he liked receiving gifts but he loved giving them. They all settled down in the living room, in a circle. went down the line opening gifts and Duff made sure he and Izzy were last.

It finally came to their turn and Duff smiled warmly handing Izzy a very neatly wrapped box, izzy smiled even wider and accepted the gift only to hand one back to Duff. It was extremely messy, so messy that im pretty sure it had more tape than wrapping paper. Duff’s eyes went wide and socked Izzy's shoulder.

 “Ow!” Izzy interjected.

 “I told you not to get me anything!”

“Well I did,” Izzy said, turning up his nose, “so open it. “

“Not until you open yours!”

“No, you first!”

they went back and forth until Bruce rolled his eyes “God, you are children! Open them at the same time.” He suggested. The two boys looked at each other and just like that an agreement was made. Once they tore into the gifts they both paused in shock. They had just essentially bought each other the same thing.

“How much did you pay for this?!” Izzy inquired, looking down at the shiny ring.

“How much did you pay for this?” Duff replied, a small smirk playing on his lips. 

Cristine peered over to the boxes and shouted out, “OH. MY. GOD. DUFF IS PROPOSING!” The entire room gasped in unison and Izzy's face suddenly felt hot. He looked at Duff with an ‘Are you serious right now?!’ look. 

“No, no, no, no!” Duff tried to explain, but his mom had already pulled out the Polaroid camera, “it is not a proposal! See, he doesn't even have it on his right finger!” Duff lifted Izzy’s hand to show his family. He did have it on the wedding ring finger. Whoops!

“Why would you put it on that finger, iz?”

“I dunno which finger it's supposed to go on, I've never been proposed to before!”

^ These are the rings ^

Part 6 - Missile Toad

“This eggnog is great,” Duff slurred his words, “Iz, you should try it.” he held up the glass to Izzy’s lips.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Izzy said, denying the glass  “I’d like to keep my sobriety around your family.”

“Awe,” Tina cooed, “The lovebirds are under the missile toad!”  

“Pardon?” Izzy gave her a puzzled look as if she were speaking another language, “the what now?”

Duff gasped dramatically and looked above their heads, “The missile toad!” 

“Don't you mean the mistletoe?” Izzy questioned, starting to think they all drank the spiked eggnog. 

“No, silly,” Christine piped up, “it's our family tradition, when two people stand under the missile toad they’re gonna fall in love… look like that's already happened,” she chuckled, gesturing to Duff who was bent over clinging to Izzy's arm. 

“Yeah…” Izzy looked at Duff wistfully, placing a soft kiss on his forehead, “he sure is something, isn't he?”

Duff looked surprised by Izzy action, “you missed,” Duff whispered. Izzy looked at the blonde, slightly confused but when he puffed out his lips and stared down at Izzy’s, he got the idea. 

Izzy scanned the room to see if anyone was watching, and when he saw they weren't he leaned over placing a sweet kiss on Duff's forehead. After a couple of seconds, Izzy pulled back, “Duff, you're not in the right mind.” 

Duff gave him a small pout “Yes I am!” he attested.

“No, love,” Izzy sighed, “let's get you to bed it's late.”

“But-” Duff tried to object, but Izzy interrupted him with an offer he couldn't turn down, “I'll let you watch Die Hard,” said Izzy. 

 Duff’s smile widened, “okay!”

As they retreated into the guest room alice, Duff’s mom, followed after them, “Hey, izzy?”

Izzy turned around at the sound of his name “Yes ma’am?” 

The older lady sighed and smiled, “please be careful with his heart,” she requested with sorrow painting her voice, “it's just… he’s had it rough.”

Izzy smiled completely understanding what she was talking about, “Of course, I could never do anything to hurt him,” he said knowing every word was the truth, “ever.” 

And with that note izzy and Duff went to their room to watch the world's most action-packed Christmas movie.

Part 7- Big Brother 

The moment Duff’s head hit the pillow he was out, but for some odd reason, izzy couldn't seem to settle the thoughts in his head. He walked out of the guest room and into the kitchen where he found druce, sipping on a hot cup of tea. 

“You couldn't sleep either?” izzy asked trying to create small talk. 

“Yeah…” Bruce’s mouth opened and his brow furrowed slightly as if he were going to say something important, “listen,” Izzy looked up, preparing himself for the ‘big brother’ talk.

Bruce shifted his weight from side to side “You know I know you and Micheal… I mean duff arent really together, right?” 

“No…” izzy said wide-eyed, “I thought we were doing pretty good at keeping up the act”

“No, yeah, You are. I can just see past it all,” izzy nodded, “but i can tell how much you care about him and how much he cares about you.”

Izzy wasn't quite following, “What are you trying to get at?”

“I just want to say thank you.” izzy looked at him confused 

thank you? His thoughts buzzed, why is he thanking me?

“You see,” Bruce continued, “Mikey is my younger brother; my only brother. And, well, he hasn't had the easiest life. When he is with you I can see all the love and excitement in his eyes that I haven't seen in a long time.” Brue patted Izzy's shoulder, “Keep it up… and uh… he’ll keep  you around.”  

Izzy nodded in agreement “You want some coffee?” Bruce offered.

“Yeah, thanks,” Izzy said.

Part 8 - Santa Baby (I ran out of names) 

Duff woke up on Christmas morning with his head pounding, but the worst thing was that he was alone and cold. duff stumbled into the living room where he saw izzy sitting by the fireplace wearing the single most ugly Santa sweater he had ever seen. Izzy didn't seem to mind though. The usual scowl on his face was replaced by a genuine smile and, boy, was it contagious. Izzy noticed Duff standing by the doorway and made his way over to the blonde. 

“G’morning, sleepyhead!” izzy said softly, placing a small kiss on Duff’s cheek.

“Morning.” Duff groaned.

“You ready for Christmas, dear?” izzy asked.

Duff grumbled a tiny “my head hurts…” and izzy was already handing him a pain pill and a glass of water. 

“You're an angel,” Duff chuckled as he glanced down at Izzy’s lips. Izzy raised a brow, smirked, and then held a missile toad above Duff’s head. A small heat crept on Duff's face as izzy leaned in. Duff leaned in slightly, his eyes flickering from Izzy's lips to his eyes. 

“Is this okay?” izzy asked in a whisper.

They were so close to each other that their breaths mingled. duff nodded as izzy closed the gap between them, placing a comforting hand on Duff’s cheek. Duff felt his eyes flutter shut as he melted into the surprisingly passionate kiss. izzy smiled against Duff’s lips as the room roared with cheers.

[seiwas]

THE SHADOWBAN IS GONE MY QUEEN IS FREE!!!!!! Anyways I forgor this happened but reading all the sleepover asks made this memory resurface again (also iris wtf was ur story that was so cute y'all were crushing hard 😭 and niku oh my god your story *head in hands* )

Ok so in short: my previous childhood friend turned relationship turned ex cheated on me 1 month after he went abroad (damn what a headline)

So here's the tea, we've known eachother since we were preeschoolers, he's a year older than me, we became friends soon after that and he is the textbook definition of a gentleman. Like literally the grenenst green flag out there. Neon green. Fast forward to 7th grade, he confessed during a christmas party at his place. He took me out to his little garden and sat on one of the benches and yeah. Now lil old me was also crushing hard but was too pussy to fess up so when this happened ofc I said yes. A small voice in my mind I thought he was joking cause let's face it 7th grade me wasn't exactly the prettiest rose in the bush ok It's kinda lopsided and a bit uneven but at least I was funny. I was fully expecting it to last like 2 weeks. A month at most. But I said yes anyways cause I wanted to give it a chance. It lasted almost 5 years.

He was my first everything, and overtime we grew closer and if we weren't joined at the hip before we sure are now. Fast forward to highschool, he's in his last year and will be graduating soon. He decides to go abroad and ofc I support him. We'll make this whole ldr work. No it didn't work LMAOOOO after he went abroad we started texting and vidcallibg but that lasted 2 weeks. I kept trying to get trough to him but he didn't answer, not even a read.

Now one day I decide to call him cause it's been 2 weeks since I heard anything from him. And to my surprised he picked up, but it wasn't him that spoke. It was another girl. I told her that I'm his girlfriend and asked her if he was there and she just hung up. My heart dropped. And that's how I found out he was cheating 😃👍 and to make it worse he cheated on me 3 months before our 5th aniv <3 3 months before CHRISTMAS <33333333

Not long after that happened the girl found me on instagram (I think via my ex) and dmed me telling me the whole story. About how they met at a house party, got shit faced, made out, and hooked up. When she asked if he was single he said yes so she was basically lied to. She left him after our convo so good for her I hope she finds someone better.

Cue a montage of desperate texts and many phonecalls I declined from my ex who tried to make excuses on how he was drunk and it was an accident. I ignored all of em and blocked him when he didn't stop. I went by to his parents place to drop off his things and his parents didn't know yet so I told them, legit broke down in front of his mom and she called him and yelled at him on the phone shdjhffh 💀 I'm still close with his family (esp his sisters) cause well we've known eachother since we were kids, I'm basically their daughter at this point. And thankfully they're also mad at him and idk what happened after that but one of his sisters told me he's "all on his own now" so I guess they cut all contact from him? Or cut his funds? I'm not sure.

But yeah end of story, I think this is my juciest life story yet. And what's the moral of the story? No matter how neon the green flag it only takes one switch to make it blood red *eats snacks* anyways how are you sel :D

midi!! hello again!! 🥹 & yes omg i’m so happy the shadowban is gone pls 😭

oh my god midi you sent such a long story and i feel bad for not responding in equal length but i’m literally just 😦 at everything 😭😭 idk what to say oh my god??? i can’t believe he did that… literally what the fuck. and i’m so so so so sorry that you had to go through that, that young also 😭 what he did to you is so shitty i hope he got what he deserved for it 😭 i’m also glad that the girl reached out to you to talk about it.

i can’t even imagine how hard it must have been, especially since you’ve known his family since forever too 😭 it’s good that you were able to confide in them about it 😭 i feel like that type of relationship is so rare despite everything that’s happened, and it’s so refreshing to see that you’re still close to them.

& that’s so true!! i think there are certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed and are completely unsalvageable once they are.

thank you for sharing this midi omg i feel like it’s super personal, i’m touched that you’re trusting this with all of us here 😭 i hope YOU’RE doing better now 🥺 esp with your current partner!! i can see that u’re very much in love & am so happy that they’re treating you the way you deserve to be treated 🥺

i’m doing great 🥺 so thoughtful of you to ask!! i was kinda hesitant to go out today bc my bf wanted me to join him and his friends (but i kinda felt bad bc i wanted him to have his own time w them 😭 idr the last time they were all together without me for their boy time yk? they definitely don’t mind having me around but i kinda wanted to give them that space)

but!!! i’m really glad i went still 🥹 lots of laughs and talks and eats for the entire night!! one of the newer gf’s was there too, and bc she isn’t really as close as the rest of us (context: i’m one of the older gf’s ahsbhaah i’ve been w my bf for like 5+yr and have known these boys since hs too haha) i guess she still felt kinda nervous!! but she was really making an effort to get close to me (asking abt makeup!! and she even asked if she could braid my hair 🥺 most of my friends are guys so talks like this r pretty rare for me lmao) it was so sweet 🥺

my heart is very full rn!! i love friendships 🥺 i think it’s especially sentimental rn bc we’re growing w each other as life goes on!! how our conversations have shifted along with where we are in life 🥺

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #5

Dear Gianna, I got detention at school because I used forbidden words in class, this new city blows. On another note, my Mom is having another baby, and she's way too old to be pregnant. I don't know why they'd want another child anyways, they struck gold with me. -Violet

Everyone was starting to get settled into a routine. Leo would get up each morning and go for a job, while Violet would practice her piano, and Mads, who was now in her second trimester, would get breakfast started.

Leo had yet to make friends at school, it was difficult starting at a new school so far into the year, but he didn't mind. He made sure to get to class early so he could go over his notes from the day before, Leo was determined to be valedictorian in four years when he graduated.

"And with that I want you all to go over chapter 12 and answer the questions on the worksheet I handed out," the teacher told everyone right as the bell rang. "You're a Freshman, right?" the boy sitting next to Leo asked. "Uh, yes," he answered. "Why?"

"This is just junior chemistry," the boy answered. "So, you're two years ahead in science, that's cool. I'm Noah." "I'm Leo." "So, I'm really bad at chem, you interested in tutoring me?" Noah asked. "I mean, I guess," Leo answered. "You can come over after school if you want."

After lunch the second class of the day was canceled due to career day. Leo was looking forward to leaning about different careers. His first stop was to the criminal table, Leo found this career morally wrong instead of interesting.

The next table Leo visited was that of a veterinarian. He's always loved animals and he loved hearing about the career. Leo had a hard time believing that this was work.

After speaking with the rep. from the veterinarian table Leo decided to talk about his options with his teacher. Leo felt like he had a pretty clear idea of what his future would be like after speaking to his teacher.

After school Leo headed home "How was school" Mads asked while giving her son a hug "It was great we had a career fair and I think I want to be a vet after I graduate college" "That's amazing" "Also is it alright if someone from school comes over? I'm tutoring them" "Absolutely"

"So ionic bonds occur between a metal and a non-mental, like sodium and chlorine. They bond to make salt," Leo explained. "That's cool," Noah answered. It was clear he wasn't paying attention. "So, you're friends with Nat Wilkes, right?" "Uh, yeah…we've been friends for years"

"Can we get back to chemistry," Leo asked. "Yeah, no problem, I was just curious," Noah answered. "Okay, then covalent bonds-" Leo was cut off "It's just Nat's hot" Noah quickly added "I wanted to ask her out, do you think she'd say yes" "Can we please just get back to chemistry"

"Jeez, sorry dude," Noah responded irritated. "I was just wondering, no need to be an ass about it." "Oh, uh," Violet stuttered as she walked into the room, she was certain she'd never seen a boy as cute as Noah before. "Hi!" "Violet get out of here," Leo snapped.

"Cute kid," Noah said quickly. "Chemistry," Leo repeated. "So, your mom's pretty hot," Noah added. "She and your dad, are they like committed? Or is she up for the whole adultery thing?" "Get out," Leo told him. "But-" "Get out of my house."

After Noah left, Leo headed upstairs to get started on his own homework. Soon he received a call from Nat. "Are you friends with Noah Brooks?" Nat asked. "Absolutely not," Leo answered. "I saw you leave school with him though," Nat pointed out.

"I thought I was going to tutor him in Chemistry, but he's a jerk," Leo explained. "He's the most popular guy in school," Nat told him. "Can you maybe do me a favor?" "What?" Leo asked. "See if he's into me," Nat said. Leo felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Nat, he's a jerk," Leo said again. "All he wanted to do was hit on my mother and tell me how cute he thinks Violet is, she's 12 it's wrong." "He was probably just kidding, Noah jokes like that all the time," Nat explained to him. "Look, Leo, I really really like him."

"Nat I won't," Leo told her. "I can't." "Please, Leo," Nat pleaded. "No," he said again. "I'm telling you; he's just going to break your heart." "No, he won't, he's not like that." "He is," Leo said. "Goodbye, Nat." "But-" Leo hung up.

In an attempt to calm himself down Leo decided to play some video games once he'd finished with his homework. Soon after he began, his mother knocked on the door asking to come in. "Is everything alright bud?" Mads asked. "Your friend wasn't over very long." "He's not a friend."

"I take it he wasn't very nice," Mads said. "Biggest jerk ever," Leo told her. He paused not knowing if he should tell his mother the whole story or not. "I thought he wanted me to tutor him, but I guess he just wanted me to set him and Nat up."

"Then he starts hitting on you and calling Violet cute," Leo continued. "So I kicked him out. Then Nat calls and turns out she liked him too, and that just blows" "Because you have feelings for Nat?" "How'd you know?" "Bud" Mads smiled. "You're really bad as hiding your feelings"

"Look," Mads began to say. "And you might not want to hear this, but you're a great kid. You're smart, and you're kind and as much as I love Nat and her family, if she doesn't see that then maybe she isn't worth it. It'll get better. As for the other guy, fuck him." "Mom!" "What"

"Didn't Violet get in trouble the other day for using forbidden words?" Leo asked. "Let's not tell her." Leo smiled. "Love you, Mom." "Love you too bud."

[viksalos]

ok so he *did* and he found two evals actually!! the first one was as useless as i thought but apparently there's a second one that has some comments about social skills and mannerisms. he didn't say what the comments *were* but he says he mailed it to me

i didn't use the word "autism" when asking my dad about this bc i didn't want him to yell at me about how i'm wrong and there's nothing wrong with me etc.. in a way he's right, there's nothing wrong with me, but i'm realizing a lot of the obstacles he put in the way of me getting sufficient medical or psychiatric care my whole childhood were bc NOT doing so would mean admitting that whatever was weird about me was also weird about him. doesn't excuse his behavior of course but i understand why he did it now

anyways i'm putting together a case for an ASD assessment so i can keep my work accommodations and my stimulant script at whatever job i end up landing at after grad school (grad school is going MUCH better btw; it turns out my joke post a while back that was like "pretty sure my phd has just been 2 undiagnosed autistic women locked in a death spiral for 5 yrs" was probably right; my advisor has been VERY accommodating now that we know what my actual deal is and i can work again lmfao)

basically what happened was i had an ADHD assessment where the guy said i didn't have it bc i was "gifted," which i think is an outdated understanding/bullshit, but also i was told that the center that did the assessment also does ASD testing which i took to mean both tests would be done at the same time bc the current understanding is that ASD & ADHD can be comorbid. nope, turns out this place does them separately. i asked the evaluator about ASD at my followup and he was like "oh yeah that's entirely possible" bc he noted eye contact difficulties and history of social alienation on my report. not sure why he didn't bring it up at the initial appointment but w/e lol

so after the first appointment i'm super upset, go to my therapist and am like "please just medicate me ;-;" and she refers me to their in-house psychiatrist, i tell him i think i'm auDHD and he believes me *instantly* and treats me accordingly--i got SNRIs for the sensory/nerve pain i mentioned earlier, and stimulants for the executive dysfunction. dude is a miracle worker fr. (also he looks and talks like Colin Robinson from WWDITS, but like, if he was actually helpful. which is not relevant but it *is* super funny.) my therapist was skeptical about the auDHD at first but with backup from the in-house psychiatrist and some family stories i got from talking to my parents, she believes me now and therapy is productive again yay

and the family stories were like--oh yeah you toe-walked, spun around a lot, and also your current stims (which btw i had suppressed conscious knowledge of so much that i can't do them around people anymore and had no idea i was even doing them alone until my arms and legs got tired, and would freak out about it bc i had no idea what was happening) are *really* restrained compared to when you were little, which was the classic autistic hand flapping thing, but we just thought it was cute bc you were obviously excited. lmao.

oh and by the way apparently i could read at one year old, which is INSANE if my dad isn't bullshitting me. (autism quizzes will be like "do you have an unusual interest in letters and numbers?" and you'll be like "fuckin uhhh. idunno. what's unusual?" and then your parents will casually drop that you could read at ONE, which would not have been physically possible without an unusual interest in letters!!) and ALSO also i'm pretty sure i was only able to figure out that engineering would be a good major for me and was able to navigate the social aspects of college & my master's degree bc i had constant advice from my stepdad (who knew he had asperger's) while i lived near him & my mom, and his advice made more sense to me than anybody else's. lmao lmao

so MORAL OF THE LONG-ASS STORY, despite my psychiatrist, therapist, and ADHD evaluator guy all more or less agreeing with me, none of them can diagnose me formally, so now i'm gathering evidence and am on a waiting list for a center that actually knows its shit and does the ASD & ADHD assessments at the same time... in 8 months. :p (so yes rn i'm still only self dx autistic in THEE most technical sense, but if you read all this and still give me shit about it, idk what to tell you lol.)

that said, allowing myself to act & be psychiatrically treated as if i am for sure autistic has so far been the best thing i've ever done for myself. part of me kinda wishes i knew sooner so i might not have had to develop so many maladaptive coping mechanisms, but the other part of me knows that people didn't know nearly as much about this stuff when i was a kid, and i probably only got as far as i did bc my parents *didn't* pathologize my weirdness, lol. still, i feel mentally and physically better than i ever have; it legit feels like almost 30 years of pervasive shame has been lifted and i've been able to improve my relationships with everyone around me irl, including my shitty ass dad lmao. anyways sorry for all the lurking & sadness for the past several years; i appreciate u all my dear followers and thank u greatly for sticking around 🖤🖤🖤

actually for the Ten Days of Teshuvah i think it would be dope if my abuser gave me back the folder of results from the neuropsych eval i did as a child. probably doesn't say anything useful other than ""gifted"" because it was done in the late 90s or early 2000s but i'd like to have them anyway

[withahappyrefrain]

Glad You’re Home (TASM! Peter Parker x fem!reader)

Summary: You’ve known Miles Morales for years. You knew high school would be an interesting time for him. What you didn’t know was that would involve him becoming Spider-Man’s protégé. Nor did you know it would involve him bringing an injured Spider-Man to your apartment one night for you to take care of.

Warnings: Fluff, descriptions of injuries, hint of angst, mild sexual innuendos and lots of flirting. Reader also has a nickname. Set after No Way Home. Reader and Peter are in their 20s (post college).

Notes: I haven’t written in literal years, but couldn’t get this idea out of my head. Shoutout to @lipstickbisous​ for inspiring me to write the fluff you want to see in the world. 5.5K words later and here we are. 

Part two is up! As is part three!

You were beginning to prep dinner when you got his text.

MM: Hey, you home?

Yeah. Why?

MM: Need your help. Be outside in 5.

You gulped. Ever since Miles told you that he was working with Spider-Man, you had been worried for him. You couldn’t help it-you’ve known the kid since he was four. He was the first person in the apartment building to greet you when you moved in. You still had his ‘Welcome’ card on your fridge. You babysat him, watched him grow up, even offered to pick him up when his parents were busy with work. His mom joked a few times that they should include you in their annual Christmas card.

So, you knew that once he entered high school, it wouldn’t be the easiest. As much as you tried not to think about it, a decade later you still remembered how awkward things were in high school. You didn’t want to be overbearing, but you let him know that he could always talk to you about anything.

You thought ‘anything’ would be about crushes, bullies, classes, or annoying teachers. Maybe a puberty question or two. Not ‘I got bit by a radioactive spider, now I have these superhuman abilities, also Spider-Man is teaching me how to be a hero and now I’m helping him save New York City’.

Nope, you were not expecting that one. Though it did explain why he had started coming home late at night, injured, and bruised over the last few months. You always offered to fix him up, which he always took you up on since you didn’t ask as many questions as his parents.

After proving it to you-which involved him swinging you around through the city-you promised not to tell anyone.

“I won’t tell a soul. Promise. But tell that Spider-Man he needs to do a better job keeping you safe. You’re just a kid,” You told Miles, your protective side coming out. There was a reason his mother teased that Miles just had one dad, but ‘tiene dos madres’.

Miles rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I’ll make sure to tell him that. Any other message you want me to pass along to him? I can also tell him you’re single and-”

“Are you seriously trying to set me up with Spider-Man? Really Miles?” Now it was your turn to roll your eyes.

“I mean, at this point your options are friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Mrs. Daniels’ great-nephew, or the Amazon guy that delivers packages to Mr. Lee.” You laughed. Ever since your last relationship ended two years ago, it seemed your whole apartment was desperate to get you a date.

“Wow, such wonderful options. How can I possibly choose?” You both laughed.

Usually, he didn’t text you ahead of time. He tended to just show up outside your window. So, for him to text you meant something was wrong. Very wrong. You couldn’t help but pour more wine into your glass. If he was seriously injured, he probably wouldn’t have texted you. So why was he asking you? What had happened?

The tapping outside your window startled you. You looked up, relieved to see Miles standing outside the fire escape, appearing to be in pretty good shape.

Your eyes widen when you realized he wasn’t alone. He was holding someone. Someone dressed in a red and blue suit with cuts and tears that you could see from across your apartment.

Holy shit. You knew Miles was working with him (he made you well aware of that). You just never thought Miles would actually bring Spider-Man to your apartment.

You needed more wine.

You chugged the remaining liquid in your glass before running over to your window. You could see Miles rolling his eyes at your action, but you didn’t care. You knew it would help you keep your cool.

Upon arriving to your window, your theory was confirmed.

“Miles, is-is that-“You pointed to the person in Miles’ arm, whose head was down. He still had the mask on, although it had several noticeable tears.

Miles nodded, “He’s really hurt and your apartment is much closer than his place,” His voice dropped to a whisper, “You also have a better first aid kit.”

The body let out a groan, “Where are we?” He mumbled, barely lifting his head. You were caught off guard with how deep the voice was.  Also, it sounded like he was from Queens? Who knew.

“We are going to get you taken care of, Bud,” Miles told him.

“Really Miles? You know I’m not an actual nurse, right?” You whispered to your neighbor.

“Well he’s stubborn and refuses to go see a real one, so you’re the next best thing! And like I said, your apartment is much closer.”

“We live in the same building!” You glared.

“Yes, but if I brought an injured white man to my home, my parents would freak out.” He wasn’t wrong.

“Wait, this isn’t my apartment,” the hero muttered. It took everything in you not to laugh at the remark.

“Alright, bring the guy in.” You said, opening the window all the way.  Miles motioned towards the limp Spider-Man, who was about halfway through your window. You grabbed his legs so Miles wasn’t the only one carrying him.

“You’re so lucky I haven’t removed that towel on my couch from the last time I patched you up,” You told him. You had worked hard to be able to own nice furniture that wasn’t purchased off of Craiglists and you’ll be damned if Spider-Man got blood on it.

“Where the hell am I?” The spandex clad hero mumbled, trying to lift his head up.

“Just take it easy Tiger,” You told him, unsure if he could even hear you. You and Miles gently laid him down on the couch.

“I’ll go get the first aid kit,” Miles said, running to your kitchen. You were thankful that you splurged and got the premium version a few weeks ago.  

As Miles went through your cabinet, you looked down to inspect the guy on your couch. It was clear why Miles brought him over. The guy looked like he had been through hell and back. He had several gashes on his torn suit, a mix of dried and fresh blood on the wounds. You were also certain there was gravel mixed into the wounds on his torso. You could also see dried blood on his face-at least on the cuts that had partially opened his mask.

“Jesus Christ, what happened to him?” You asked Miles, running a hand through your hair.

“Pushed me out of the way, which caused him to be the one to be pushed through not one, not two, but three walls.” Miles explained. You immediately thought back to what you had told Miles a month ago. He needs to do a better job keeping you safe. Whether Miles relayed that exact message to him or not, the superhero had done just that.

“I-I’m fine,” the hero grunted out, trying to sit up. You could tell he was in great pain, that it hurt to move his own body.

“You,” You placed your hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him back down, “Need to lay down. You are clearly not fine. You’re the opposite of ‘fine’ right now.”  He tried to push back against your hands, which you could tell was quite the struggle based on the hiss he let out.  

“M’am, I-I appreciate your help, but I shouldn’t be here. It’s putting you in danger-“

“I already know one bug boy who regularly visits here, I doubt having two in my apartment is going to do anything besides increasing my heart rate. Now lay down.” You ordered. You didn’t have time for this. You were planning to have a nice evening that consisted of eating pasta, drinking wine, and watching the latest show on Netflix. Not become the nurse to New York’s favorite web-slinging hero.

“Yeah man, she’s not going to let you walk out of here looking like that,” Miles commented to him.

“I heal really fast. By tomorrow morning, I’ll be fine,” He argued.

“No! You have multiple wounds that need to be patched up so you don’t bleed out. From the looks of it, you also have some debris in a few of these cuts that need to be taken out as soon as possible so you don’t get an infection and you know, loose a limb or die.” You argued back. Why was he so stubborn, so adverse to the idea of someone helping him out?

“Look, this isn’t even my worse injury. Give me like ten minutes and I’ll be able to swing back to my place-”

“So what’s Spider-Man like?” You asked Miles.

“Peter’s really nice. Don’t tell him I told you his name though, he would flip. Incredibly smart, like it’s insane. His web shooters? He made those himself! But he tends to keep to himself. I keep telling him he needs to get out more. Not as Spider-Man, but as…well, himself.”

“Well, I guess Spider-Man and I have that in common. Who would have thought?”

“Not exactly. You may be stubborn, but you’ll accept help and talk to people. He tends to just…keep himself in. Don’t tell him I said any of this,” Miles quickly added.

You laughed, “I won’t. I mean, I can’t, considering I don’t know the guy.”

“I can change that,” Miles said, a gleam in his eyes.

“I’m good but thanks though.”

“I’m helping you, okay? You’re hurt and need help. It’s also the least I can do to thank you, since you kept my favorite babysitting client safe,” Your voice softened, “We’ll clean and patch you up, give you some food, and then you can go home, deal?”

It was hard to read him since most of his face was still covered by the mask.

“Fine,” He grumbled, lying back down. You smiled, glad you got that argument out of the way.

“Alright, Miles where did you put that first aid kit?” You turned to see your neighbor holding it up. He laid it down on the nearby table and opened it, handing you gloves and wipes. You crouched down next to the couch so that you were at eye level with Spider-Man. That was when you realized that it would be next to impossible to clean the wounds on his face with his mask still on.

“Alright, I know you’re not going to like this, but you do need to take off the mask so we can clean those wounds on your face.” He let out a groan.

“Miles, I swear to god-“ He started and it took a lot in you not to laugh because finally someone else understand the (loveable) pain in the ass your neighbor could be sometimes.  

“Hey man, she’s safe. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I had any doubt,” Miles commented. You smiled at him, happy that your neighbor of twelve plus years still backed you up. Not that you had any doubt, but confirmation was always nice.

“Plus, I have no need to exploit your identity. I make decent money,” You told him.

An exasperated sigh came out of the hero’s mouth, along with some mumbling on how ‘if you had just taken me back to my place like I told you’, before speaking up “Fine.”

He grabbed the edge of his mask, pulling it off to reveal his face.  

Fuck.

You knew he was around your age, single, and incredibly smart but what Miles had failed to leave out was that he was also incredibly attractive. This guy was single? With that amazing bone structure, incredible hair and wow, his eyes. You normally didn’t find brown eyes attractive, but wow was he an exception.

“You…okay?” The now unmasked bug boy asked. You realized that you had been caught staring.

“Yeah, I just…. didn’t realize Spider-Man was my age,” and incredibly attractive but you could give Miles grief for leaving out that detail later. Once the friendly neighborhood web slinger was out of your apartment.

“This is going to sting, so I apologize in advance,” you said, leaning in so you could begin cleaning up the wounds on his face. Miles went back to your kitchen, filling the kettle with water. He was being unusually quiet.  You wished he’d start talking about his recent web-slinging adventures so you could be distracted from the fact that you were inches away from Spider-Man’s stupidly attractive face.

“It’s fine, this isn’t my first time.” He muttered.

“First time having someone do it for you?” You asked, trying to make small talk.

“No,” He whispered. A look of pain and sadness flashed across his face, which instantly told you to move on.

Miles’ words about how he kept to himself rang in your ears.

“He told me he lost someone a while ago. Someone he really cared about. I think that’s why he keeps to himself.”

Whoever had helped patch him up in the past was clearly not there anymore. And from what Miles had told you, it was easy to infer that he hadn’t had someone there to help in a while.

“Wait, were you about to make that pesto dish?” Miles asked. You realized that many of the ingredients were still laid out on your kitchen counter. Luckily the shrimp was still defrosting in the sink, so maybe once this was all over you could still cook. Or order takeout.

“Yes, I was until you dropped by.” You said without even looking at the kid. A small smile crept across your face.

“And you didn’t tell me?!” Miles said, feigning an offending tone.

“No, I thought I could have a normal night for once. How silly of me to expect that,” You said, giving him a wink before you diverted your attention back to your patient. You were surprised to find that his scowl had been replaced with a small smile.

“Are you the babysitter?” He asked. Because of course Miles would refer to you as ‘the babysitter’ and not your actual name.

“Yeah, I’ve known the kid since he was four. I had moved into this building when I was nineteen. He was the first person to welcome me. Can you look up so I can get the one on your chin?” you couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Moving to New York City at such a young age was scary. You probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Miles, his family, and many of the other residents in this building.

He lifted his chin up and wow, why was having a long neck suddenly attractive to you? Christ, you needed to focus so the dude could get out of your place and you could potentially have some peace and quiet for one night.

“Alright, looks like your face is clean. Now the rest of you,” You looked down at his chest and eyes widen again.

Shit.

“What?” He asked.

“Uh…you’re going to need to take that off. Your-your suit.” You quickly turned your attention back to your first aid kit, pretending to have trouble finding something so he didn’t see your flushed face.

“You know, usually I like to be taken out to dinner before taking off my clothes for someone,” He remarked. You looked back to see a smirk on his face. Because of course he was hot and sarcastic. Because the universe was just going to really rub it in that you probably could have been on several dates with this guy by if you had taken Miles up on his offer when he made it the first time.

“Sorry, but you’re doing my way tonight. Take your clothes off for me first, then I’ll treat you to dinner, okay?” You remarked back. You couldn’t tell if it was the wine you chugged earlier or your determination to not have a guy make you flustered in your own damn house.

He reached up to his shoulders and began pulling down the outfit, pulling it down until it was hanging off of his waist. Even with the dried blood and gashes, it was quite obvious the guy was ripped.

“Hey Miles! Can you get this guy some clothes from your place? We can make his comfortable at the very least,” You called to your neighbor, who was currently cleaning your tweezers. You figured the guy didn’t want to be half naked in a stranger’s apartment. Plus it meant his abs would be covered which would help you focus on the task at hand.

As soon as you saw the gleam in the kid’s eyes, you knew you made a terrible mistake.

“Of course! I’ll go swing by, let my parents know I’m okay, have dinner with them, and swing back!” He said, placing the tweezers on your table way too quickly.

“Just tell them you’re having dinner with me. I still need your help-“

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back with clothes for our Spidey. But MJ, I know you’re going to do a great job taking care of him!” He said, practically giddy as he ran out your door, leaving you two alone. Because of course he saw this as an opportunity to introduce you to each other and fucking took it.  

“MJ?” You turned your attention back to the way too attractive for his own good hero that was laying down on your couch.

You noticed right away his body language had changed. His eyes were so wide, you could barely see the beautiful brown color around his blown irises. He was sitting up (kind of, the best he could do given his injuries). He didn’t look worried, but more shocked? Surprised?

You laughed, “Yeah, that’s what Miles use to call me when he was a kid. Had a hard time saying my full name, so I told him he could call me by my initials, which-in case you haven’t already figured it out- are MJ.”

“You’re MJ?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“Yes, I’m MJ. Nice to meet you, Mr. Spider-Man,” you said, sticking out your hand to break the tension. You were trying your best to ignore the intensity of his gaze. You knew you were good-looking, but no one had ever stared at you quite like that before, like they were in awe of you.  

He stuck a shaky hand out, gently grabbing it, “I-I’m P-Peter. That’s, that’s my actual name.” He managed to get out. Why was he nervous around you suddenly?

“It’s nice to meet you, Peter. Are you okay?” You asked. You could tell his mind was going through different emotions from the look on his face. You saw sadness flash through his face again, followed by….hopeful?

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I just….Miles talks about you a lot and I...I didn’t realized the neighbor he talks about was…you. MJ.” You smiled. Something about the way he said your name made your heart flutter. Usually, your rule was only Miles was allowed to call you that, but you were more than happy to make an exception for him.

You then realized that he was still holding your hand, “I should…probably get that gravel out of your torso.”

“Right right, sorry,” He stumbled, quickly dropping his hand. You grabbed your tweezers and leaned down so you were at eye level with his torso, which happened to include his abs. God, why did he have to be attractive? It made concentrating on his wounds incredibly difficult.

You two sat in silence as you focused on getting out the bits of gravel that had lodged themselves in his wounds. You occasionally looked up at him to make sure he was okay. You were met back with that intense gaze. You were usually so good at making quick remarks when people stared at you, why were you coming up blank now?

“I…I’m sorry for earlier. I was being stubborn,” He said. You looked up and smiled, shrugging your shoulders.

“I honestly don’t blame you. Miles told me you’re use to working alone, so I imagine this is a change of pace for you.”

“Yeah, working with someone again has been…an adjustment. But it’s been a nice change of pace.”

It was clear as day that this guy-Peter-clearly had been through some shit. And thanks to years of therapy, you could tell his way of coping was to keep to himself. Which was a shame, because from what Miles tells you, he sounded like a good guy.

“I mean, it’s always good to shake things up-at least that’s what my therapist tells me. Not saying you should start tapping on random women’s apartment windows when you’re injured. That would be weird and probably get you arrested,” you were relieved to hear him laugh. God, he was so cute when he smiled.

“Alright, I think I got almost all of it, just need to get this last bit,” you said, pushing back your hair that kept falling over your eyes. You were so caught up in the fact that Spider-Man was in your apartment and injured that you forgot to grab a hair tie. There was no point in grabbing one now since you were so close to being done.

“Here, let me help you,” Before you knew it, his hands were gently grazing past your cheeks, pulling your hair into a makeshift ponytail that was held together by his hands.

So that’s what your directors meant when they said to act as if their touch was electric.

“Thanks,” there was no hiding your smile. It was pointless to even try.

“Least I could do for the person taking care of me,” His voice was so soft and soothing. You took another look at him, smiling before you looked back down to focus on getting out the last few pieces.

“So…Miles told me you’re an actor?”

“Yes. In addition to be a neighbor and part-time nurse, I act. I’m actually about to start a new show. First time on Broadway, which is exciting,” You said. All those years of endless auditions and casting calls were finally paying off.

“Miles says you got a great voice.”

“Miles says you are incredibly smart. You’re a scientist during the day, right?” Turning the attention back onto him made you feel less self-conscious.

Peter groaned and ran a hand through his hair, “Is he just giving away identifying information about me?” You were sad about the sudden loss of contact, but you couldn’t let him know that.

“Only when he’s trying to convince me to go on a date with you,” You said. Now it was his turn to blush and boy, was his face red. “Does he do that with me, or just refers to me as his babysitter?”

He nodded his head, still covering half of his face with his hand, “Yeah, he’s reminded me several times how great you are. And that you’re single. If I had known….”

“Known what?” You interrupted, curious.

“Uh, well, if-if I had known I would have been meeting you tonight, I…..I would have cleaned up,” He said, pointing to the stubble on his face. You had a feeling that wasn’t the whole answer, but also knew that prodding would not give you your desired outcome.

“It’s fine, I like guys with stubble,” you couldn’t deny how much fun you were having making him nervous. You finished wiping the wounds-now free of gravel-and knew it was time to start covering them.

“Oh. That’s…. that’s good to know I guess.” You could tell he immediately regretted that line. It was quite clear that the guy was not used to talking to women. Which, in a way, made him more attractive? It was endearing that the guy who regularly keeps New York City safe and had fans nation-wide, had a hard time talking to someone he found cute.

“If it makes you feel better, I also turned down his offer. I don’t like the idea of blind dates. It feels weird, you know?” You said as you cut another piece of adhesive bandage to press on his chest.

“Yeah, I just…. don’t have a lot of time for that kind of stuff.”

“Don’t have time or just chose not to?” He looked startled, which made you realize how big of an accusation you were throwing him.

“Sorry, are you also a therapist in addition to being a nurse, neighbor, and actor?” He asked.

“No, I’m just someone whose therapist has told her she does the same thing. She also says it would be good for me to get out, but I’m no longer a party animal. Much rather have guys just drop in, you know?”

It was most likely the wine, but you felt a new surge of confidence. You leaned closer, partly so you could get a closer look at the cuts near his collarbone, but also so that you were now inches away from his face.

“Miles…. he’s not coming back for a while, is he?” Based on the hitch in his breath, you could tell that your plan was working.

“Oh tiger. He’s not coming back for a long time. You didn’t catch that?” Miles wasn’t subtle. You were surprised you hadn’t received a text from him, asking if the two of you had fallen in love yet.

“Tiger. Is there a reason you’re calling me that instead of…. Spider?”

“Spider doesn’t feel right.”

“But…. it’s my name.”

“A, it’s not your name. Your name is Peter. B, Tiger suits you better,” You said matter of fact.

“Are you just an expert on nicknames? Is that your superpower?” His tone was playful. It was a total departure from the absolute grump that had entered your apartment earlier.

“It is. Miles didn’t tell you that when he was trying to convince you to ask me out?” You asked, pretending to be shock as you placed another bandage on his chest.

“No, but he did tell me you make really great snickerdoodles.” You groaned and buried your face into the pillow that was propping him up. The fact that a sixteen-year-old was your best help at finding a date was sad.

“You know, for how determine that kid is when it comes to getting us in the same room, he really struggles with selling someone,” You said with a chuckle. It was then you realized that you were right next to his face. You could hear his shaky breathing and your chests were practically touching.

You felt his hand gently push some hair behind your ear, “Yeah, he failed to mention you’re an absolute knockout.” You were really glad the pillow was still covering your face so he couldn’t see your widen eyes or red face.

His hand immediately dropped from your hair, “I’m sorry, that was way out of line. You’re just….really, really amazing and-”

“You know,” You sat up, essentially straddling his waist which got him to shut up, “I think if we told Miles that we kissed, he might leave us alone for day. Maybe two.”

Getting him to laugh felt so good. Maybe it was the fact that you were once in a similar boat or just a strong hunch, but something told you he hadn’t laughed like this in a long time.

“But it’s not good to lie. It kinda goes against the whole morally good superhero shtick,” He said, pushing hair out of your face.

“Who said we would be lying?” You bit your lower lip, hoping it would get your message across.

Thank God it did. He leaned up to close the gap between your lips and his and fuck, his lips were soft. Your hands found a place in his hair, desperate to find a way to deepen the kiss. You felt one of his hands gently place itself on the back of your neck, the other gripping the edge of your t shirt because he too was desperate to keep this going. Despite how much he stuttered and stumbled around you, he was a surprisingly good kisser.

“Hey guys, I’m back with-OH.” You regrettably broke away, so you could turn your attention to your door. Standing there was matchmaker of the year, Miles Morales with his mouth hanging wide open.

“Don’t you dare act surprised, this is exactly what you wanted to happen,” You quipped before he could get a word in. You could feel Peter’s large hands resting on your waist and you were really regretting giving Miles a key to your place.

“I….I brought clothes,” Your neighbor said, holding up a pair of sweatpants and shirt that he probably stole from his dad.

“Great, Peter can shower and change and while he’s doing that, you’ll help me make dinner and we can eat”

“I already ate-“

“You’re helping me make dinner,” You repeated, giving him a knowing look that you had perfected from years of babysitting the kid.

“I-I don’t want to overstay my welcome. You’ve done enough already-“ Why couldn’t this guy take a hint? You wouldn’t have kissed him like that if you didn’t want him to stay.

“But it’s part of the deal, remember? You took your clothes off, I fixed you up, we kissed, and now you can be taken out to dinner. Also my shower is one of the very few that is actually easy to figure out how to operate and it’s quite lovely if I do say so myself.”

“Are you saying I smell?” He asked with rather cheeky smile on his face. He absentmindedly began to move the hand he had on your back up and down, in little circles. It was such a soft, gentle gesture you were surprised you didn’t melt.

“I work in theatre. Unfortunately, I have smelled way worse. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather take a shower and change into clean clothes after going through a wall. Unless you want to just walk around my place shirtless-“

“Should I leave?”

“No Miles, because I’ve been waiting years to make you uncomfortable,” You smirked as you got up from Peter’s lap to walk over and grab the clothes from Miles, “Be careful what you wish for.”

“I told you that you wouldn’t complain. I just want to make that known.” You stuck your tongue out before walking back to Peter, bending over to hand him the clothes and give a kiss on an unscratched check of his because why the hell not.

He took the clothes, but not without a big, almost goofy, smile on his face.

“I’ll let you know if your shower is as intuitive as you claim it be,” He said, standing up.

“I look forward to it. Go down the hall and take a left, first door you’ll see.” You turned around because if you didn’t, you would probably kiss him again and while you loved to tease Miles, you didn’t want the boy traumatized.

You walked over to the kitchen to join your neighbor, who was giving you a knowing smile. You put a finger to your lips, and motioned to Peter, who was almost out of view. You waited until he was gone completely and you could hear the sound of your shower running before you let out a small squeal.

“And just think, if you hadn’t been so stubborn this could have happened sooner,” Miles told you as you buried your face into your hands. You felt like you were sixteen again, which was ridiculous because a guy you just met shouldn’t make you feel that way.

“Well, if we end up getting married, you can give a speech about how you’re the reason we’re all there,” You said as you moved over to the sink to focus on the shrimp that was now completely defrosted.

“Can I do a mic drop at the end of the speech?”

“No Miles.”

“Can I pretend to?”

“Sure,” There was no containing your smile.  You didn’t know where this was going and for once, that didn’t scare you like it would have in the past. The only thing you knew for certain was that you were incredibly thankful to be home tonight.

[scarlettriot]

Along for the Ride PT 1

Pairing: KirishimaxF!Reader

Summary: A drunken mistake had you marking the little Plus One box to your snobby cousin's wedding. Kirishima told you not to worry, if you couldn't find a date, he'd go with you. When the wedding gets moved up, there's absolutely no time to find a date and you're now about to be traveling to America with Kirishima on a private jet no less, dreading having him meet your rude and impossibly arrogant family.

Contains: Kirishima and Reader both come from very well-off families. Plus-Sized Reader. Fluff. Hurt/Comfort.

Warnings: Kinda smutty for a minute. Minors DNI. Drunken Sex. TW: Manipulative Family Relationships. TW: Body Image Issues

A/N: This story has been rolling around in my head for a while now. I might rewrite this and repost. Or I might just post the whole thing soon. I dunno yet. It does get smuttier.

Word Count: 4,974

"What's up with Y/N?"

Eijiro stepped out of the locker room with a towel slung over his shoulder and made his way into the kitchenette where Mina was chugging a bottle of water before getting back to her patrol. His eyes were trained on their mutual friend out on the patio, pacing.

You had your phone pressed to your ear, the high neck of your hero costume unzipped to your collarbone and he noticed your gloves discarded on a chair.

"No clue." Mina shrugged. "She got back from patrol and she noticed a bunch of missed calls from her mom. She's been out there, flailing on the phone for the last fifteen minutes now."

The three of you had met in your second year at UA when you transferred into their class and were quickly accepted by their little squad of friends. You were a bit quiet at first but quickly found comfort in the group. Eijiro had grown especially close to you when you both interned with Fat Gum.

Late nights traveling on the train back to school, a few close calls while helping patrol, and days spent playing cards while you both healed up in the hospital left plenty of time for Eijiro to get to know you better than most. It was how he knew you had a pretty bad relationship with your family, why you hated returning home for the holidays almost as much as you hated any and all forms of tomatoes.

He considered going out there just to see if there was anything he could do but before he had the chance, you were sliding the glass door open. "Oh, good, you're back." He offered you a bottle of water for your throat that he assumed was sore after that argument. "I- um- can I borrow you for a second? Alone?"

Mina snorted a laugh. "If you guys wanna bang it out on the counter you can just say so. I gotta go to work anyways."

Eijiro threw the towel at her as she left the room leaving you two alone. "What's goin' on?"

You hoisted yourself up on the countertop while he leaned against the fridge. "You remember my cousin's wedding that's happening this winter?"

He nodded. He vividly remembered the both of you getting waste a few weeks ago when you were filling out the RSVP and accidentally marking 'plus one'. Then you ran around trying to find White Out but he'd told you if you didn't find a date or have a significant other by the time of the wedding, he'd just go with you.

You argued that your family was bat shit crazy, had more money than they could spend in their lifetime and because of that, they were among some of the rudest people you knew, and you didn't want Eijiro or anyone else around that.

The thing was, Eijiro already knew that and was still okay with going. He came from money too. A lot of it. His family was just more welcoming than yours, the wealth never really going to their heads. But, he reminded you that he'd ran into enough people like those in your family that he knew how to handle them. You finally agreed to let him accompany you, leaving the plus one box checked but the name line blank.

"Well, my cousin just found out that surprise, she's pregnant! And, obviously, she can't have a wedding while seven months along so they've decided to move the wedding up to this weekend."

He nearly choked on his own spit. "This weekend? As in four days from now?"

"Yup! Saturday at 4 in the evening. Oh! No one's supposed to know she's pregnant either. So, I'm just supposed to compliment her on how flattering her dress looks, how thin she is," Your hands strangled the water bottle between them, "And I have to find something flattering to my figure because my mother has seen me in my hero outfit and she's so glad I wear a mask because if anyone knew her daughter ran around looking like I do, well, it'd ruin her!"

You massaged your temples circling back to the actual point, "Anyways, I just wanted to bitch for a sec and let you know you're off the hook since four days is just a little short notice and I told her my plus one wouldn't be able to get the time off that fast."

He pushed off the fridge. "Well, wait, hang on! I'm not letting you go in alone to deal with them! Hell no! You need backup!" You looked almost taken aback by his abruptness, "Yeah. I can work this out. Is the wedding at the same place it was supposed to be or has it moved?"

"No, it's still that fancy lodge in California. I was planning on leaving Friday morning and then coming back either Sunday night or Monday morning since my mother insists I go to their brunch the following day. But, Eijiro, I already have this weekend off..."

"Denki owes me a favor or twelve. He's supposed to be off this weekend too, I'll just see if he can cover me."

"And if he can't?"

"Then..." He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, "Y/N, am I feeling warm to you? I think I might be starting a fever!"

You folded your arms, shaking your head, "Thought you said lying isn't manly."

"Technically, correct. But, what would be real unmanly is for me to let you deal with your family's bullshit all alone." You watched him closely, "To be honest, I'm sure we could just explain you had a family thing come up and asked me to come along for moral support. I don't really think anyone would think twice about it. Hell, you took a few days off to console me when my turtle died suddenly!"

"Eiji, you refused to eat."

"And you brought me my favorite dumplings! Same thing!"

You might have shaken your head at him but your arms opened wide. The telltale sign you wanted affection. He walked forward, consuming you in a tight hug. Your arms latched around his neck, face buried in the hollow of his throat. "You're the best."

"I just do what I can."

>>><<<

You should have canceled. Instead of Eijiro faking sick to get out of work, you should have faked it with your mother so you didn't have to go in the first place. You crumpled to the floor of your bedroom in pure frustration amidst the twenty or so outfits and dozen pairs of shoes you'd thrown out of your closet trying to find something that your mother would deem appropriate.

It wasn't your fault you had a fuller figure. You worked out, ate right, not to mention your job kept you very active, and yet your, hips, ass, and breasts were by no means subtle.

Your mother had also insisted on the dress being floor-length and modern, "Do try not wearing all black. It's a wedding, not a funeral. And, get your hair looking natural, please." And, just like that, 70% of your wardrobe was out the window!

"It's open!" You called from the floor when the doorbell rang.

"You really should lock this." Mina tutted, walking through the door with a bag full of takeout.

"I do. At night."

"Honey, it's 9 PM."

"Night like bedtime."

Mina just rolled her eyes and walked into your tiny kitchen. "I see the dress hunt is going well."

"I actually figured it out!" You got off the floor, careful not to step on a heel as you made your way to the pink haired woman, "I'm just gonna go in my birthday suit. I figured, my mother made my body technically therefore she can't disapprove of it. Because, you know, she's never done anything wrong in her life!"

Your best friend snorted out a laugh and passed you the take-out container stuffed full of stir fry. "you're a wonderful person, you know that?" You loved the fact Mina didn't even have to ask what you wanted.

"If you'd just move closer to work then you could pick it up yourself and I wouldn't have to bring it to you."

"Too expensive." You declared after a mouthful. "You pay almost twice as much as I do per month and I just don't see the point. I have damn near the same amount of space you do for half the cost!"

You adored your small one-bedroom apartment. It was perfect. Right above a bakery that you visited each morning after your run and a little balcony that provided you with the most stunning view of the sunset.

"You and Kiri, I swear." Mina just shook her head and curled up with her food on the loveseat. "I thought he'd end up with the biggest house out of us all the moment we started making that real Pro money. You've seen his parent's house. It's massive! You could get lost in that place!"

Eijiro's place was barely bigger than your own. He lived in the same condo he had since you'd graduated UA, claiming it was perfect for him in each and every way. But, you knew that he donated a sizable amount of his paycheck every month to charities, the same as you. With savings to spare, neither of you saw the point in hoarding it and therefore the small condo was all he could afford with what he actually kept.

"Just don't understand how a guy that big can live in such a tiny little space. At least with you, it's you know, physically feasible."

Eijiro's bedroom was barely large enough to fit the king-sized bed the man needed to sleep comfortably and even then, his feet were dangerously close to dangling off the bed. And, as if the man's ears were burning, your cell phone went off under a pile of discarded shoes.

Shark-E: Figured out your dress situation? If not, I'm just gonna pack like ten different ties and hope for the best.

You: Yeah! I totally did! I'm just gonna wear this birthday suit I got and call it a night.

You chuckled at your own joke all over again. Watching the grey ellipses appear and then vanish, appear and vanish again. After a third time, you took pity on the man.

You: Joking, Ei. I still don't have it figured out but Mina's over so, hopefully, she can help.

Shark-E: Gonna give me a damn heart attack! Seriously, I wouldn't put it past you just to see the look on your mom's face. Tell Mina hi and good luck to you. I vote the dress from the Hero Gala two years ago.

You: Hi from Mina. Can't. Too much boobs.

Shark-E: You take that back right now! There is NEVER such a thing as too much boobs!

You chuckled to yourself, putting your phone down, and then finished off the last of your delicious dinner, thinking about the dress Eijiro mentioned.

You wondered if maybe there was a way you could make the thing work but it was so very low cut. So much tape had been used to make sure no slips happened but damn was it worth it! The beaded bodice with the sparkling long sleeves, gods, how you loved that dress.

"I'm inclined to agree with our shark boy. You're busty, who gives a damn. You looked hot as hell in that dress."

"My mother, that's who. As much as I'd like to not give a flying fuck what she thinks, for some dumb reason, I do. On top of her telling me that the amount of cleavage I would show would be vastly inappropriate for a wedding, she'd also say the way it hugs my hips makes them look too fat."

Mina rolled her eyes. "She's such a piece of work." Pushing herself up, she held her arms out to you, wiggling little pink fingers for you to take. "Come on then. Let's get you sorted."

"What about that one you wore to the charity art thingy with Kyoka last winter? The one with the silver top."

"Silver is too close to white." You called out from within your closet.

"What! Not true!"

"You know that. I know that. Every person with two brain cells knows that, which is why most of my family does not know that."

"Fine..." She whined and started sifting through the opposite end of your closet. "Oh, what about this?" Mina waved about the blue and green plaid skirt that made up your uniform from your middle school days when you lived in America. "Please try this on. I'm begging!"

You were pretty sure it wouldn't even go over your thighs anymore.

"It's got a better chance of fitting you!"

Mina threw it at you anyway. Slipping off the sweats you wore, somehow, someway, you were able to tug it on AND get it zipped, barely. It no longer covered your ass but you still enjoyed the way it swished around when you wiggled your hips.

"You could be fulfilling so many people's fantasies right now." Mina mused.

You pulled the skirt off and sweats back on, throwing the former back at her. "Yeah, you can take it and go fulfill Hanta's fantasies if you like. Not like I've got anyone to impress." You pulled down a dress you bought on sale a year ago but Mina was quick to dismiss it.

Too puffy, she said and then held up one that was from Momo. "I needed to get it shortened and I don't have time for that now."

"Wait..." She hummed and dropped the Momo dress. "I know what it should be!"

Mina hurried through the closet, grumbling about not finding it. "Just tell me which dress and I can tell you where it's at."

"It's that one you got for grad night and then you got sick and couldn't go!"

"Mina, Mina I can't wear that! That's actual vintage, not like, made-to-look-vintage!"

"But it's so elegant and has that off-the-shoulder sleeve thing. The wedding is at a damn sky lodge! It'll look so pretty in the snow! Ah! Found it!"

She yanked up the long, elegant gown from the garment bag you'd never removed it from. There wasn't a single wrinkle in the burgundy fabric. It looked just as beautiful as the day you found it in that second-hand store, on a mannequin with gaudy stage jewels that you just had to buy so the look was complete.

You ran the back of your hand over the velvety fabric, soft to the touch. "It'll be too tight now. If I was the same size I was at graduation-"

"Bullshit!" Mina cut you off with a dismissive hand, "You've got hips now. We aren't 18 anymore! It's not like it's some clubbing dress. And I bet no one would say a damn thing about your figure if they knew how easily you could crush them with those thighs!"

A smirk tugged at the corner of your lips. Without quirks, you gave every single one of your classmates a run for their money in hand to hand. Most were fairly easy to beat. You could usually take down Eijiro in about five or six minutes and Katsuki in half the time. Funny enough, it was Ochaco that gave you the hardest time.

"I'll consider it. But help me find something else just in case."

>>><<<

It was another two hours before you finally agreed on an a-line, empire waist green and gold number that had been the bridesmaid's dresses for Tetsutetsu's wedding. Mina thought they were a crime the first time they had to wear them, she had no idea what you were thinking.

That's why the moment you were preoccupied with trying to find yet another dress for the Sunday brunch, Mina pulled out her phone.

You: DO NOT, under any circumstances, allow Y/N to wear the green dress. She's bringing two because she can't decide. Red is the winner!

Jaws: Aw, come on. If she likes it, let her wear whatever she's comfortable in. She'll be under enough stress already.

You: Kirishima, it's the dress from Tetsu's wedding. The one that looks sparkly baby food.

It took him a second to respond.

Jaws: Alright. Understood. I thought you guys looked good but damn, she hated that dress.

You: We all did.

Mina looked at the message chain again and couldn't help but asked, "Are we just gonna ignore the fact that you and Eiji are flying all the way to America, last minute, to attend a wedding together, even though you're not together?"

"We've flown to the states before."

"For work!" She sat up eagerly. "This is different, Y/N! This is a date and not just a, like, casual date but a wedding date!"

You poked your head out of the closet. "No, it isn't. This is a friend helping another friend who stupidly mismarked an RSVP." You corrected very plainly but Mina wasn't one to give up so easily.

She whined, dragging out your name, "You guys have been doing this thing for ages. Why do you have to be so stubborn about it all!"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Mina started ticking off points on her fingers. "He was the first person you opened up to at UA. You saved his life when he was busy saving Katsuki's life second year. You spent all that time interning together, became sidekicks together. Went to America together for three whole months, ALONE, and you honestly expect me to think there's nothing between the two of you!"

The truth of it all was simple really; 17 year old you had a massive crush on Eijiro Kirishima. He was sweet, always listening to you, providing comfort when you needed it, and always encouraging you to push your limits. He was bright and honest, a little slow in the head from time to time but that made him all the more endearing.

He was also head over heels in love with Katsuki Bakugo.

It was why you never made a move. Never spoke a word of the feelings you harbored. You didn't dare to cross that line with him because you couldn't ever hold a candle to the explosive man.

In the three years Eijiro and Katsuki spent together, your brain finally started registering Eijiro as just a friend, nothing more, and certainly nothing less. You thought your heart had followed suit but it was becoming more and more apparent that wasn't the case. Because the night he showed up at your door, tears in his ruby eyes, every lock you put on your heart broke open.

The same way you couldn't hold a candle to Katsuki, Eijiro couldn't hold one to Izuku. You knew exactly what he was feeling even if you never intended to tell him. Too overcome with fear. If Katsuki came back... that'd be it. Eijiro would go back and you wouldn't even blame him!

Still, the redhead consumed a decent chunk of your heart though, you couldn't deny that after the three months you spent together in America, gathering intel on a smuggling ring, living in the same apartment. The groggy, 'good mornings' when his voice was still scratchy with sleep, hair falling in his eyes. The late nights bandaging wounds and killing cheap bottles of wine while watching terrible American reality shows.

It was those bottles of wine that did you in on your second to last night in America. Supplying you with courage and draining your sense of reason, allowing you to crawl onto his lap, into his arms. You could still remember the pressure of his lips on yours, those sharp teeth gently dragging along your lower lip.

Scared hands tracing the curve of your ass before taking handfuls to squeeze. The laugh that came from you was unlike anything you heard before, something so genuine that you couldn't reproduce.

How it felt when he lifted you up and took you to his bed, laying you down taking his time removing your clothes, and watching with awe as you pulled away his own. The way he looked over top of you, his hair a curtain of red around you just before you closed your eyes, gasping while he filled you.

You also remembered the guilt that crept into your head during the wee hours of the morning, the doubt that was louder than the snores coming from behind you.

It made you slip from under his massive arm, gather up your clothes from his floor, you tucked the blanket around him, and pressed a kiss to his temple before padding out of the room.

You told yourself you'd talk to him about it if he brought it up, but he never did. Not the next morning, or night, not on the plane ride back home, nor anytime since. It was a memory you'd hold close to your heart, one you wouldn't let slip away or share.

"There's nothing there, Mina. We're just good friends is all." You lied with a smile on your face, something that had become surprisingly easy to do.

If only you knew that Mina saw right through it. That Mina already knew the truth of it all.

>>><<<

It was nearly one in the morning when your phone rang. The goofy picture of Eijiro with face half painted at a festival a few years back never failed to make you grin.

"It's a little late." You answered by way of greeting.

"Don't pretend like you were anywhere close to sleeping, you little night owl."

Chuckling at the nickname that had followed you since high school, "What's up, Eiji?"

"I was going over flights. You said in the office that you wanted to leave on Friday?"

"Yeah. I have patrol tomorrow and I didn't find any flights after 6 PM so, Friday is the earliest."

He was quiet on the other line for a moment. "Yeah, you don't have patrol tomorrow, or work at all for that matter."

You sat up a bit straighter in bed. "Um, yes I do."

"No, you don't. I called Mina, asked her if you'd mind taking that shift for you and, since she knows what's happening, she agreed the extra day for travel would do you some good. So, she's covering you tomorrow then you're off work until next Wednesday. As for me, thanks to all that overtime I put in when Denki, Kyoka, and Hitoshi got married, the three of them are splitting up my days so I have until Wednesday too."

Eijiro sounded impossibly proud on the other line, you could almost see the smirk on his face. "You've got this all planned out, don't you?"

"And a bag nearly packed. Just need you to tell me what ties to bring."

"Gold, burgundy, and black."

"Thought your mom said no black for you?"

"She said no black for the wedding. She said nothing about black at the brunch!"

You couldn't wait to put on the tea-length dress that had been a favorite for years. Satin with a lacy top and, best of all, pockets.

He let out a rumbling laugh that fell off into comfortable silence as you laid back in your bed, lights still on, the room still a mess. You tapped the speaker icon and laid the phone on the pillow right beside your head, listing to the various sounds of Eijiro moving around.

A door creaking open, a hanger clattering against another, and a zipper. "And just like that, I'm all set."

"Don't forget your passport or hero license."

"I have one in my wallet and the other in my backpack."

You swiped up on your iPad, off Netflix, and going to google, lazily searching through flights. "So, did you find any good flights since you've clearly been looking?"

Another chuckle, "Eijiro, why are you laughing?" More stifled giggles had you sitting up in bed again. "Just tell me a site you were on. They're just flights, what's so funny?"

"There isn't a site."

"You said you were checking flights."

"And I was... on my family's jet."

"Eiji! No! No, no, no! That is supposed to be for their business or hero things! My stupid cousin's wedding is neither of those things!"

"Relax, Y/N. My family has multiple and they don't have any business trips planned right now anyways. I already cleared it with my mom. Seriously, I just mention your name and she's likely to let me have it for a whole year at least. Plus Todoroki's is back up in working order so the agency is covered too."

Damn, why'd he have to be so good at planning from time to time! You'd completely forgotten about the second jet his family had. Always opting for the larger one since the few missions they needed it for required them to bring fifty or so heroes along.

"Besides, if we fly private, we can land at an airstrip closer to the venue and won't need to drive four hours on top of a ten-hour flight."

"Alright, okay, thank you but, let me take care of the rental car, please. It's the least you can let me do."

"Deal. I just have one more question for ya."

"What's that?"

"Wanna leave tonight?"

You nearly dropped your damn iPad in shock. "Eijiro! What the fuck has gotten into you! It's the middle of the night!"

"I'm excited!" He boomed, "I haven't had a vacation in months!"

"I hate to break this to you, buddy, but this isn't going to be a vacation. You really shouldn't get your hopes up. This isn't going to be a good time with laughs and fun memories... my family, they just, they aren't those kinds of people."

"But we are." He stated matter-of-factly. "If they want to have sticks up their asses then let them! We'll have a good time on our own, laugh and make fun memories! So, what do you say, Y/N? I can be at your place in fifteen. I just gotta put shoes on and grab my keys..."

"Wait, hang on. Are you forgetting that we need someone to, oh, I dunno, FLY THE PLANE! Actually, we need two someone's, can't forget about a co-pilot!"

He hummed happily and you rubbed your temples. "You, you have a pilot and a co, don't you, Eiji?"

"Mhm! There is a company we use. Two can be at the hanger in an hour and every hour after that. I just have to make the call and get the flight plan approved which will be done before I even get to your house."

There was literally no reason to say no. You had mostly everything packed, nothing you needed to get from the store, all you had to do was put on pants and pack up your hygiene bag and you were ready too. Maybe getting there quicker and getting the whole thing over with would be better than staying home dwelling on everything.

"Better put your shoes on."

The glee in his voice, that was enough to make this whole thing worth it, "I'll see you soon."

>>><<<

Eijiro reached into the backseat and plopped a bag down on your lap the very moment you were buckled in. "Had to make a pit stop." He explained.

"It's after two in the morning, where'd you have to..."

"Just open the bag and don't complain."

You found it filled to the brim with all your favorite snacks.

"I'm sure the plane will have a bunch of snacks we can raid but I know for a fact they don't have these." He held up a pack of cookies and creme flavored pocky that had been his favorite for as long as you'd known him, quickly followed by your favorite flavor too. You also found a massive bag of gummy worms and jolly ranchers.

"So, what you're telling me is our teeth are going to rot by the time we land? Not that I'm complaining."

You ripped open the bag of ranchers knowing that was what he'd go for first and sure enough his hand dove inside just as he pulled away from the curb. You could hear his dangerously sharp teeth biting through the rock candy like it was nothing while you still rolled one around your mouth.

Eijiro asked you about the resort you'd be going to, wondering if you'd been there before or what other stuff you guys could do when you weren't dealing with your family. "I figured we could fly back Monday night or Tuesday morning, you know, just play it by ear in case there was anything else we wanted to do."

More than anything, you wished you could just leech a little bit of that excitement from him. The glimpses of his smile you caught as you drove under the street lights made your heart ache.

"What?" He asked with that wide smile of his. You'd been caught staring, red-handed.

"I, uh, I just don't know what to tell you."

You could see the subtle change of his grin, watch as it softened and his hand came to rest on your thigh. "Hey, it's gonna be fine! And if we run into them while out doing stuff, you can just avoid them or hide behind me!" At least hiding behind Eijiro is an easy thing to do, damn mountain of a man.

His thumb slowly brushed back and forth. "'S gonna be okay. I'll beat 'em up if they're assholes!"

You snickered at his Katsuki impression and let the drone of the radio fill the air around you both. Enjoying the silence the rest of the way to the hanger with Eijiro's hand atop your leg.

[secondbeatsongs]

you mentioned sam’s home life earlier- can we hear your thoughts on that?

(previous iCarly posts: 1 - 2 - 3)

hell yeah, let’s dig into what we know about Sam Puckett.

firstly, unlike many of the other characters in this show, Sam’s absent parent is actually mentioned! (shocking, right?)

Sam talks about her father a few different times, but every time she does, it’s...not good. and, it’s always a part of a joking and/or snarky comment about something else.

one example is in s04e10 (iParty With Victorious). in this ep, Carly says (about a guy she’s worried might be cheating on her), "He told me I'm one of a kind!" and Sam responds with, "Yes, and my dad once told my mom he was coming back!"

another mention is in the finale (iGoodbye) when Carly asks Sam’s opinion about her going to live with her dad, and Sam says, “Dude...if my dad asked me to spend some time with him in Italy, I’d say - well, first I’d say ‘Oh, so you’re my dad...’ - and then I’d go.”

between these snippets, we can see a clear (but upsetting) picture - Sam doesn’t know who her father is, and it’s because he abandoned her.

cool, so, off to a dark start! but don’t worry - it only goes downhill from here.

a major part of Sam’s character is her love of food - and that’s great! it’s cool to see a female character have that personality trait, because that’s pretty uncommon. but although her relationship with food is often played for laughs, I think there’s a serious concern here that nobody in the show really talks about.

Sam raids the Shays’ fridge almost every time she comes over. Sam hoards food in her pockets, and reacts violently when people try to take food away from her. Sam eats very quickly, to the point where it’s almost dangerous.

these signs all point to one thing: Sam has experienced food insecurity from a very young age.

I mean hell, Sam and Carly’s very first interaction with each other happened when Sam tried to steal Carly’s tuna sandwich, because she didn’t have a packed lunch of her own (shown in a flashback in s01e17).

and when Sam got a decent amount of money for the first time in s01e18 (iPromote Tech-Foots), she hired her own personal chef. why, you may ask? because (and this is an actual quote from the episode), “Well, my mom doesn’t feed me...”

unrelated rant: speaking of s01e18, it’s absolutely wild to me that this show had an episode where the moral can be boiled down to “1. don’t take money to promote products that you haven’t personally used, and 2. smart technology is often dangerous or, at the very least, unnecessary.”

back then (in 2008), it seemed like kind of a weird thing to teach to children, but considering how influencers and sponsorships and easily-exploitable smart tech have flourished in the years since, I feel like more people probably should have taken that episode’s message to heart...

anyway, back to the topic at hand. here’s something you might have forgotten: Samantha Puckett is not an only child! she has a twin sister named Melanie who shows up in exactly one episode (but is mentioned in a few others).

Melanie is everything that Sam isn’t - she goes to a fancy boarding school, she gets good grades, and she’s the only mentioned member of the Puckett family that doesn’t have a criminal record. and here’s something else we know: Melanie is their mother’s favorite child.

this actually comes up in s04e02 (iSam’s Mom) when Sam’s mother (played by Jane Lynch, by the way!) yells at Sam, “Why can’t you be more like Melanie?!”

we can see from all of this why Sam hates Melanie so much - she’s spent her whole life being compared to her, while at the same time being raised very differently. Sam was abused and neglected by their mom, and had to fight to survive - but it seems that Melanie didn’t have those same struggles.

I’m not saying that Melanie had it easy (I mean, they were both born on a bus, and did probably have some shared trauma from when they were young), but at the very least, being at boarding school meant that she escaped a lot of their mother’s anger and neglect.

personally, I’m of the belief that Sam’s mistreatment stems from her mom’s own self-hatred. on some level, Pam Puckett hates herself, and so she takes that out on the child that most resembles her - Sam - while rewarding and praising the child that she most wishes she could be like.

it’s fucked up. Sam’s entire life is fucked up...which is why she needs Carly as much as she does.

when Sam and Carly met, they were 8 years old, and both of them had already been through so much. Sam’s mom was neglectful and abusive, and Carly’s mom had died. in the show they’re painted as polar opposites, but it’s not really surprising that with their shared trauma, they’d find in each other a deep and lasting friendship.

I think Spencer saw that too. he saw this scrawny, angry little 8-year-old trying to fight her way through life, and he knew that he had to help her. that’s why the Shay fridge is always well-stocked for when Sam comes over, and it’s why he doesn’t really mind when he finds her in their apartment when Carly’s not home.

I know I talk a lot about Spencer Shay, but I really think that he’s the glue that holds this entire show together. he may be a big goofy man-child, but he’s also the main role model for three kids, only one of whom he’s related to. sure, he’s done some weird and messed-up stuff, but I truly cannot shut up about the good that he’s done, and the impact he’s had on these kids’ lives.

and speaking of...

I see this ask, and I appreciate it. I’m still convinced that Spencer’s closeted for a reason (as I mentioned in my other post), but I do think that Spencer would see Sam and know that she wasn’t straight. the queer energy just bleeds off of her, mixed in with all of the anger and desperation that’s kept her alive.

the real question is, does Sam have the self-awareness to realize this about herself?

maybe. I like to think she does, especially near the end of the show. the signs have been there from the start: Sam got jealous almost every time Carly had a boyfriend, or even another close friend. she once got a job at the Pear Store just because Carly said that Freddie looked cute in his uniform. if Sam spent a moment in introspection, I think she’d figure it out.

but I also think it might be hard for her for another reason: she’s never really seen what a healthy relationship looks like. all of her friends’ parents are either divorced, widowed, or otherwise separated, and Sam’s mom is...I mean, she’s a mess. Pam Puckett’s been engaged eighteen times, and she’s fucked so many Italian guys that Sam learned how to speak fluent Italian, and yes, that is a canon fact (s04e01).

even when Sam dated Freddie, it was awkward and forced. they were basically two kinsey-5s trying to turn their mutual hatred for each other (and maybe even their mutual crushes on both Shay siblings) into a relationship, and when things got tough, they crashed and burned.

my point here is that when you haven’t seen healthy relationships, it’s harder to figure out if that’s something you might want. and if you do want it, it can be hard to reconcile what you’re feeling with what you think society expects from you, based on the relationships that you have seen.

and it’s not just about dating - Sam hasn’t seen many examples of healthy behavior in general. most of the adults in Sam’s life either ignore her, treat her like a criminal, or are themselves criminals! when it comes down to it, the only good adult role model that Sam has is...Spencer Shay.

Spencer knows that Sam is a troublemaker, but he never once tries to stop Carly from being friends with her. Spencer encourages her interests, offers her advice, and helps her out when things are rough - like the time she was having recurring nightmares about soup being stolen from her (which again, ties back into the food insecurity thing).

and in the series finale, Spencer gave her what is maybe the most important gift she’s ever received - he gave her a way out. he gave her that motorcycle, and told her she had a good heart, and that set Sam free.

Spencer saw the kindness (and the queerness) in her, even under the layers she’d built up to protect herself, and he gave her a way to carve her own future.

because of this, Sam got one of the happiest endings in the show. although her future was uncertain, she got to escape her abusive mom and create a new life for herself, under nobody’s terms but her own.

I just think it’s neat.

[vdlest]

On Labor

Characters:

Husband!Steve Rogers x Wife!Reader

Summary:

You're about to give birth to your first baby with Steve Rogers, and your husband is more nervous than you are.

Warning:

Fluff

Husbands are allowed to join their wives when they're giving birth when they're in labor, but for some reason, you asked the doctors and nurses to let your husband, Steve Rogers outside the room.

Why? Because Steve Rogers is more nervous than you are.

You were in the middle of groaning in pain when you commanded everyone in the room to let your husband go out because you could see him shaking and sweating so much. You're not that afraid about giving birth, but seeing your source of strength go into chaos makes you nervous a bit.

At first, Steve was hesitant about leaving you alone in this, but you told him that you can do it and the nurses will just call him once they finally got the baby out of your womb. Steve kissed you one more time before he went outside, and before he could finally get out of the room, he gave you one last glance, one last glance before you two become officially parents.

Steve went outside and the first person to approach him was his best friend, Bucky Barnes. The latter rushed to the hospital once Steve gave him the news, knowing that he's excited to be a godfather.

"Hey," Bucky squeezed Steve's shoulder, he felt his pal is nervous and stressed out, "I guess, your wife kicked you out because you're stressing her out."

Steve glared at his best friend.

"Okay, easy, soldier," Bucky said and gave Steve's shoulder another squeeze, "I called everyone and I think, Wanda, Vis, Nat, and Sam are on their way now. Tony and Pep are still on the plane and I'm gonna give them a call once they landed."

It's a good thing that everyone will be here to give their moral support to the soon-to-be parents.

Everyone was thrilled when they first found out about your pregnancy, they're so happy that the youngest Avenger is coming. You and Steve were the happiest after finding out about your pregnancy, Steve was having tears of joy when you handed him your four pregnancy tests that all resulted as positive. Finally, after being married for two years, you and Steve are finally expecting.

For the past nine months, Steve never left your side, from your morning sickness, your Lamaze classes, cramps, and up to this very hour, Steve was beside you. He made your pregnancy more bearable and easier. He would always do the groceries and would bring you and your little one healthy foods. He would always talk to your tummy at night and will draw circles in it using his fingertips. He would always help you get up in the morning whenever you're having a hard time because of your weight. He would always understand you and your mood swings. You were strong on your whole pregnancy journey because of Steve. If it weren't for him, maybe you gave up in the first trimester.

"Hey," Bucky called Steve's attention, who is currently walking back and forth, "You have to relax. You're freaking me out already."

Steve stopped from walking and put his hands on his waist as he try to calm himself down.

"Buck, Steve!"

Steve and Bucky turned their heads around and saw Wanda, Vision, Nat, Bruce, and Sam running towards them.

"How's Y/N?" Wanda immediately asked when they approached Steve and Bucky, "Is the baby out yet?"

Steve shook his head, "I don't know. I have no idea what's happening inside," he looked at the door where you are at, "She kicked me out."

"It's because you're more nervous than her," Nat pointed out.

Steve was about to comment on Nat's answer when he noticed she and Bruce are together. The two of them broke up a few months ago because Nat is not yet ready to settle down, while Bruce has been wanting to start a family on his own. The two called it quits then, not until today.

Everybody is looking at Bruce and Nat right now. Wanda and Vision only realized it when Steve noticed it first.

"Why are you two together by the way?" Wanda asked Nat, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

"Yeah, didn't you two like broke up?" Bucky agreed.

"Uh, we were..." Bruce was about to answer when Nat cut him off.

"Okay, we're back together," Nat practically couldn't take the heat and everyone's attention so she instantly shifted the topic, "But right now our concern should be Y/N and the baby. Let's talk about this thing later."

"Fair point," Vision commented.

Nat, Bruce, Wanda, Vision, and Sam sat down in the chairs along the hospital hallway, while Bucky stood beside Steve who's still nervous because he has no single idea about what's going on inside the room.

He blames himself for being too nervous. Maybe if he's not too sweaty and nervous as hell, maybe he's inside right now, holding your hand and helping you push your little bundle of joy out of your womb. But he isn't. He's too scared to lose both of you, he can't even take a look at you having a hard time.

"She's gonna be fine, Steve. She's strong," Sam said to calm Steve down.

"Sam's right, pal," Bucky tapped Steve's shoulder, "It's your wife we're talking about. She can even take you down in an instant, so she'll just be fine. I'm sure my godson will be fine too. He has your and Y/N's blood. He'll be stronger than both of you."

Just when Steve is about to thank everyone for giving him and you moral support, the door behind him opened.

"Mr. Rogers," the nurse called and Steve raised his eyebrows, "Your wife is now permitting you to go inside."

That's when Steve rapidly went inside the room. His world slowed down when he saw you all sweaty and all tired from pushing your baby out of your womb to finally join you and Steve. He can't even walk towards you properly knowing that you're in so much pain right now. But you managed to look at him in his eyes and gave him a sign that you're fine.

You didn't know what happened, the next thing you know, your back was already back on the hospital bed, nurses assisting you, and a cry echoed in the whole room.

A baby's cry.

Your baby's cry.

Steve walked towards you and run his hand through your forehead, "You've done it, baby," he kissed your forehead, "Our Joshua is out."

The doctor and nurses wrapped the baby in a cloth so they can finally hand him to you. And when they did, your eyes began to cry for Christ's sake.

You have in your arms the best proof of your and Steve's love for each other.

"Hello, baby," you gently grabbed your baby's hand and played with it, "I'm your mom."

You often hear that when you finally carried your baby for the very first time, all the hardships and challenges you experienced when you were pregnant and giving birth will just vanish in thin air. You thought it was cliche and just a lie — but it's not. It all disappeared when Joshua was in your arms.

You looked at Steve and smiled at him, "We're parents," you said.

He nodded, "We are."

You saw tears in Steve's eyes, just like when you two were exchanging vows two years ago, and now here you are, proud parents.

"I love you even more right now," Steve said as he leaned forward to give you a quick kiss on your lips, "You really are the strongest woman I know."

"I love you too, Steve. You have two bosses now," you joked.

He chuckled and nodded before he moved his eyes back to Joshua, "Hey, baby," he said to your baby.

It was a dream come true for you that you married a man like Steve Rogers, he was never perfect but he's a good man. That's all that matters to you, you married a good man. And now, you love him even more, and you gained more honor to be his wife.

-v.dl

[deluluass]

Red, like blood. Blue, like love.

Content warnings: rape/noncon; nsfw; bullying; soulmates au

Prompt: 88 & 183

There’s someone for everyone, you’d learned growing up.

 "Remember, blue means happy," your mother would say. "The happiest you'll ever be.”

She liked reminding you about this fact— for it is an indisputable truth, every so often when she could still carry you. You’d be hugged from the back, as she recounted stories of first meetings, serendipitous and life changing in their nature; belonging to those who’ve lived long before you, sometimes even those who’ve only lived in tales.

Mostly, your mother loved telling those involving the people she knew. And if you’ve behaved properly, she would tell you about hers. 

Tracing your palm, starting from the forked lines to the dashed ones on your fingers, she’d say, “These would start to glow like stars.”

“That’s weird!” you’d burst out, shrieking a laughter as she tickled you. 

“Listen carefully,” she chastised. “Blue is for your soulmate, okay?”

And you’d repeat: Blue is for my soulmate.

“Then, mama,” you tugged at her sleeves, “What if it’s really, really bright red! Like! Bloody glow sticks! Say, mama, you see, everyone at the park was talking about the man who died because he touched someone and his hand became bright re— ”

You never brought that up again. What your mother said about it had been enough to never make you forget.

“Tell me if you get red,” she said firmly, clutching your arms as if she feared someone would snatch you away from her. “Red is bad, my heart. Red means run.”

 It hadn’t nearly been as gruesome as your mother made it out to be. 

Case in point, when you turned twelve the couple three houses down your street found out, shortly after their honeymoon, that their palms gleamed a fierce red once they clasped each other’s hands in front of the neighborhood aunties.  

Their marriage ended with a swift and ordinary divorce, a year or so later.

Red: Not just an ominous warning for homicide, then. That was a relief, you’d thought.

Contrary to how your mother framed it, you were thankful, actually. It helped some of your friends escape from potentially hellish relationships. How lucky is it that you lived in a reality where the universe seemed exceedingly benevolent. Though, you sometimes have to question if that generosity extended to everyone.

Fat lot of good it did for you. 

Because, from where you’re standing, it doesn’t have to take some arbitrary and unsolvable scientific mystery to heed that Oikawa Tooru must be avoided like the plague.

Any person in your shoes would be conditioned to do exactly that. 

You’d first met in Elementary. You thought he was the prettiest kid you’d ever seen, with chestnut curls and doe eyes and lashes that swept past his cheeks, and when you’d asked for a hand shake he’d called you “the ugliest girl I’ve ever seen” and “fart face.” 

Recess and lunch were when he’s most fearsome. Spiky burdocks slapped on the collar of your dress; dead lizards in your food; the boy was determined. The worst part was that it always happened when no one was looking. And if someone were, it was his best friend. So when you finally told on him to your mom, both your teacher and the principal simply judged Oikawa as the victim of an attention deprived child.

“Please discipline your daughter,” they told her. “We are all aware of your situation at home, but do ensure that she’s not getting out of control.”

You couldn’t even muster up the strength to defend yourself. In that moment all you could do was swear that you’d never allow anyone to talk to your mother in that way again. 

You moved out of that school. 

You didn’t wait for your palms to flash a warning signal because, somehow, you knew that boys who discover early that they could get away with anything cannot get any better. 

There’d been no way to be sure of that until Aoba Johsai— after a peaceful interim of no Oikawa; no red palm lines (and no blue ones, either).

The proof hit you in the face. Literally. 

“Oi, Shittykawa!”

Heat permeated from your nostrils as you patted your cheek, detached and staring back at the large gymnasium. 

“You hit someone!”

How unlucky did a person have to be to bleed right on the first day of classes? 

You tried to lean forward. “It’s okay,” you slurred nasally, pinching your nose and averting your embarrassed gaze from the boy kneeling next to you.

“Trashykawa! You better hurry and apologize!”

“Don’t be mad, Iwa-chan,” that disgustingly saccharine voice came from behind you, making you flinch, as if the years you’d spent apart had done nothing to purge it out of your system.

In all honesty, you hadn’t really cared for whoever was responsible for the ball that careened all the way to where you were standing, so sure that it had to be an accident. No one in their right mind would want to injure someone they barely knew, especially if said someone is a couple of feet away from you. 

Morally and athletically, it should’ve been improbable. But then you saw who did it and everything made perfect sense.

Iwa-chan. The boy beside you. Iwaizumi Hajime.

If he’s here, then— 

“You,” he whispered. 

“Eh?! Gosh, I’m so sorry!” Oikawa Tooru gasped. “You’re bleeding.”

Time is cruel. It wears down on you, tears you and molds you into something you can’t even recognize, if it decides to. (Fate, more so). You didn’t know if you wanted to cry or laugh, looking at him. If the universe were so benevolent, then perhaps Oikawa Tooru had received all of its favor.

He was beautiful. You’d known this before, but with all the baby fat replaced with sharp yet slender angles, figure lean and imposing even when he’d lowered himself to meet your eyes, Oikawa didn’t seem real.

“I did hit someone, didn’t I?” he pouted, wiping the dried blood atop your lip. “And such a pretty girl, too.”

That volleyball existed should’ve made life better for you. It didn’t. If anything, it seemed that out of the court, when he’s not taking names and being praised like a god, you were his little pastime. Something fun to take his mind off whatever it is he thinks about it. 

The mocking comments, you could handle; every time you’d recite and he’ll interject with something playful and then the entire class would laugh (because he’s Oikawa) and your professor would reprimand him but you could always tell that they, too, are holding in a giggle. 

Those were easy to bear, because although his insults hit way too close to home, it’s just— it’s just so petty.

Really, it’s the aftermath that does the damage.

“They’re like Christmas lights under your skin!” 

This topic pops up every month or so. Most people your age can be lucky enough to meet their soulmate this early. 

“And it’s the most awesome feeling in the world,” your classmate sighed. “When we touched hands? Man. We just- we glowed.”

Then, the others would poke fun, faking a gagged expression, but they’d always ask afterwards, “What happened next?” And everytime, you’d watch from the sidelines. Like an uninvited audience. 

You tried being a part of it once, wanting to share about the time your close friend met her soulmate. But all you’d gotten were side eyes and titters, as if they were laughing about a joke only you didn’t know about. 

“They’re so mean to you.” 

You groaned.

Oikawa was seated behind you, resting his head against his elbow. Everyone was too busy talking about blue lights and destined souls to notice what’s happening at the back of the room. 

He continued, “Not including you in conversations, treating you like an outsider.”

You didn’t bite, focusing on the opened book in front of you.

“Must be lonely, having no one.”

“Oikawa,” you muttered under your breath. “I don’t have the energy for this.”

The silence that came after that was unexpected. You were sure it would be short lived; he’s just gearing up for more. He usually went at it until you’d have no choice but to physically remove yourself from his presence. You’d thought once that that may be why he does this so much. Maybe he still thought you were the “ugliest girl” he’s ever met and he wants you out of his sight. Because Oikawa’s infantile like that.

But the silence stayed, accompanied by the background noise of eager conversations; lingering some more as white, fluffy clouds passed by the glass windows. 

When he broke it, all Oikawa said was, “Soulmates, huh.”

You felt a finger touch your back, drawing the barest of lines over your uniform. He removed them just before you could stand up and leave. 

You disliked those moments with him. 

You disliked him especially when he played. 

Oikawa’s a monster, be it in volleyball or with you. There are times, though, that you’d notice some things that you think you’re not meant to see. Like after a serve— its impact booming throughout the court, he’d have this puzzling expression on his face. 

It looked like....anger. 

He scored a point, right? Everyone’s cheering for him, aren’t they? Wait, didn’t they win?

You thought maybe it’s the adrenaline making him nastier than usual, but sometimes you’d pass by the gym when he happens to be alone. And that anger is still there, punctuated by the sound of the ball exploding against the floor. Jump. Hit. Spike. Jump. Hit. Spike. He’d do it, again and again and again. 

As if he’s trying to grasp something even he cannot reach. 

Those instances should’ve taught you that the best thing to do is look away. 

That’s what you should’ve done. Look away.

They lost the Interhigh tournament.

You knew this not because you’d watched, but because for one day, Oikawa Tooru wasn’t your bully. 

The derision was replaced by sulking. He didn’t speak for the entire period. The funniest thing about it was that everyone kept staring at you. Like somehow you’d been the cause of this, when all of them were lamenting the loss just as much as the team itself. 

 What was supposed to be a reason for celebration suddenly became a crime that you had to explain for.

 “Great,” you grumbled to yourself. “One time I don’t have a target on my back, now I’m the bad guy.”

Trash bag in hand, the scraps inside rattled against each other as you stomped to the recycling bin, both sleeves of your P.E jacket folded up to the elbows. You affected a tone, choosing to mock the grating way some of classmates talked:

“Oh, hey, if it’s not too much,” you began. “Can you please be his punching bag again? If you will, can you relieve our superstar’s burdens? By, I don’t know, alluring him into walking all over you? Like the good old days! Please, oh please? We rely on you, oh Great Punching Bag! We Beseech thee, oh Esteemed Doormat! We compel— dude, what the fuck?!”

Crumpled papers and steel and tin cans rolled to the ground. You didn’t pick them up, like you should’ve; you left it there, trash bag lying open, and grabbed the ball that whisked mere inches from your face. 

This time you’re not making the same mistake. The asshole is more than capable of suspending what little morals he has, just to hurt someone he barely knew. As well as athletically adept (an understatement, that) at hitting a walking target; or not hitting it, in this case.  

You stormed the almost empty gym. Oikawa is a ray of sunshine, greeting you with that smile. It makes you want to punch him.

“What is wrong with you?” you spat. 

He chuckled. “Whoops. Sorry!” 

“I’m not having this-” you shoved the ball to his stomach. He didn’t even blink. “This isn’t gonna slide anymore, Oikawa.”

Wide grin still in place, he took it from your hands with his much larger ones and said, “Wow, you’re actually mad this time. ”  

Then, he added, “I didn’t mean it! Honest!” 

Must be nice, you thought with a scowl, to be him. Anyone can be sincere if they look anything like Oikawa. 

“Sure. Fine. No, actually,” you glowered. “You know what?” 

“Hm?” He tilted his head. Oikawa tilted his pretty little head.

You seethed. “I get it. You lost. That doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me. I mean, what did I ever do to you, Oikawa? I have-” you exhaled, surprised by the break in your voice. 

“I haven’t done anything to you. We stopped being kids a long time ago. That shit you pull should’ve ended by now. We’ve grown.” You jabbed his chest. “But I see that maybe not all of us have.”

His pleased expression hadn’t dropped. “Ouch,” Oikawa grimaced, glancing amusedly at the place you’d touched. “How mean.”

This isn’t going anywhere. 

You don’t know why it took you this long to realize this, as you shifted your gaze away from him, noticing the gashes on the floor that tear the surface like scars that never healed. That must’ve been because of him, with the amount of practice he does. 

“It won’t be enough, won’t it, Oikawa?” you whispered. “Not for you.”

The smile that’s been there since you arrived tensed, straining at the corners of his lips. 

“Yeah, I’ve been told,” he beamed. 

He was bathing in his own sweat, seeping through his shirt and matting his hair to his face, and he looks— Oikawa looked tired. His eyes were sunken in, too. Did he even sleep?

You’re so used to seeing him not a hair out of place, with a sweet scent that you amusedly thought lures his gaggle of admirers into following him everywhere. It takes you aback, honestly. Particularly the wobble in his step as he bent and squeezed his knee with shaky fingers.

You don’t think he’s aware he’s doing it in front of you.

Then, just like that, everything seemed to have added up.  

“You’ll never be happy,” you said.

You should’ve stopped there. You should’ve left. Instead, you looked him in those brown eyes, the warm hue becoming a lot colder as he moved closer. 

Oikawa sneered. “And what do you know, huh?” 

(Go. Leave.)

“Nothing,” you told him. “I don’t- I don’t know. Because, I don’t get it.”

(Shut up. Shut up.)

“Why you try any harder, I don’t know. Win or lose, it’s all the same. You’re still the same. You’re still awful and annoying and- and still you.” You laughed, unsure why you’re running your mouth like this. 

“Win or lose. Oikawa is still Oikawa,” you breathed in. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

His teammates must’ve gone somewhere. For lunch, maybe, you thought as you eyed the abandoned bottles and used towels scattered around the court. “Besides,” you huffed, not without a twinge of envy. “They’ll all still love you, either way.” 

Everything went still for a while, and you’d just realized what you’d just said.

“What about you?” 

You looked back at him.

“What?”

He tipped his chin. You stepped backwards. 

He brushed your wrist.

“Don’t touch me,” you hissed, but he only smiled and wrapped his entire hand around it. 

Oikawa had been your first bully. Before you could even comprehend what that meant, Oikawa had been the source of your mother’s worries whenever she parted with you at the school gates. It is funny, thinking about it, for letting this boy affect you despite making an effort to stay away the first time. 

But it is only now— now that he has a firm hold on you, gentle yet smothering— that you truly feared Oikawa Tooru. 

It rattled your breath, squeezing your heart and refusing air to pass through your lungs, as you felt a shock zap through you. And apparently through him as well.

You broke away from each out with a cry.

Your hand was burning. That’s the only explanation for it. Your hand was burning and any moment now smoke will diffuse from the pores. 

You waited. Any moment now. But the more you stared at it the more tiny spots of flames sparked under your skin, bursting along the palm lines— first, the forked ones; then, the dashed lines— glaring back at you, glowing brighter, blotting and spreading until they mapped your palms then your entire hands like constellations. 

“Red is bad, my heart,” your mother said. “Red means run.”

“I knew it,” you scoffed, shaking your head. 

Well, it’s not as if this is news to you. 

“What about that, Oikawa?” You put both your radiating hands in the air. “The universe is telling us, you and I? We just don’t—”

Why are you crying?

Why is Oikawa crying? 

“I knew it,” he croaked.

Your mother made the red light sound so horrifying for a reason. 

There has to be a reason, too, why the universe is warning you so late into your life. You’d actually ran before. And when you thought it a waste of money, you chose to stay and not fight back; thinking that his punches have become less severe, degraded into verbal taunts that induce social exclusion at most; that, certainly, red doesn’t forbode something as bad as murder, right?

Well, what now? You were wrong, after all. This time you have a feeling that you actually need to hide. 

Because Oikawa’s looking at you like you’re the last two people left in this Earth. 

Just you and him. Without any need for anybody else. 

You didn’t breathe, attempting to bolt despite the overwhelming need to throw up right where you're standing. He stepped closer, faster than you’d liked, and touched your face, caressing your cheek up to your aching temple.

“You should really stop trying to run away,” he said, voice low as if he’s sharing a secret. “I’ll always find you, you know?”

You didn’t have to look to know. Even if you closed your eyes, as well, you know it’s still going to be there; glowing in the darkness behind your eyelids.

“Me and you—” Oikawa sighed. 

Listen carefully, your mother said.

“ —we have a connection that no one else will ever understand,” he said.

The light emitting from his hand was so harsh it hurt you, pricking your sight until it drew fat tears, reflecting against your damp face and tinting the fallen streaks with bright—

Blue means happy, she told you. The happiest you’ll ever be.

And you’d repeat: Blue. Blue is for—

“My soulmate," Oikawa said, before locking you in a deep, searing kiss. 

The lights didn't die even as he dragged you into the storage room.  

"Hey, where'd senpai go?" 

The rest of the volleyball team came in droves, occupying the hollow court with their squeaking shoes and questions about Oikawa's whereabouts.

"Must've gone somewhere," you heard a deep voice say. 

You could answer that question. All you  had to do was scream. They weren't so far from the room that they wouldn't pick it up over the noise of their volleyball practice. Really, if you needed to, you could even outshout their guttural yells of "Nice kill!"

Though, you'd have to remove the underwear lodged in your mouth first. 

Yours, in fact; soaked now by your own saliva, drool dripping to your chin as your wrists chafed against the rope that's keeping them tied at your back.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" You felt every sickening movement of Oikawa's lips against your throat. "Feels good when you- ah, fuck- when you give in."

With the cloth muting your shrill bawling, you tried your best to recall how you ended up here: seated on his lap as he sluggishly humped himself against you, his still glowing hands cupping your ass.  

The only thing left on your body was your bra, and even that he's already lowered to let your tits spill over the top. Your pants and t-shirt and jacket are lying around somewhere. You couldn't determine where in particular; the only sources of light were behind you.  

He was leaving imprints of blue all over your skin; around your waist as he slithered his hands to reach your breasts, scantily brushing over the hardened nipples and making you keel over.

"So sensitive," he tutted, smooching your neck so gently that even the underwear couldn't muffle your loud yelp when he suddenly bit into the flesh. Hard. 

You wanted to claw his eyes out and call for help and you wanted badly to scream don't do that Oikawa someone please save me he's gonna kill me he's gonna kill me-

But the gag remained intact and the boys outside continued their game, ignorant that their precious captain is taking everything away from you. 

Sharp canines bruised your skin, provoking a fresh batch of tears as he sucked and licked every after cruel bite. 

Then, when you thought the worst had passed, he removed his mouth from your neck to spit onto your bare cunt, allowing it to slide from the hair on your mound to the nub sticking out in the middle.

(It is not enough that he is killing you. Oikawa must defile you, too.)

His fingers gripped the insides of your thighs open when you tried to shut them together. "Don't be a brat," he clicked his tongue.

"Be a nice little kitten for me," Oikawa drawled, smearing the slick that's soaking your folds against the spittle coating your clit.

You didn't notice when he'd taken his cock out, you only realize that he's about to enter you when he teased your entrance with it, pushing the tip to nudge the drenched hole, only to pull it back again.

And you didn't dare look. The feel of it almost stretching you out with just the head is already driving you to insipid begging.

"What'd you say, kitten?" he pouted.

Oikawa you've already taken too much is it never going to be enough Oikawa let me go.

"I can't understand you," he chuckled. "Here—"

He pulled the underwear out of your mouth as he thrust all the way inside, your back arching, driving him deeper, as his cock throbbed against your pussy walls.

"Now, what were you saying?"

You swallowed your cries and heaved and swore you were gonna tear his heart out after this. 

"Say," he whispered, sniffing your wet panties without breaking his gaze. "If everyone saw us right now, how'd you think they'd react?"

It was so reverent, the way he did it, blue light revealing that he closed his eyes as he took a whiff, as if he hung onto your scent like a lifeline.

But you thought that'd been a calculated move, because as you dumbly stared at him, he immediately gyrated his hips under you, rocking back and forth ever so slowly, and you remembered that you had to keep quiet.

His cock was so big inside you, making you bite your lip as it filled you up, the curved tip hitting a spot that has you squirming in his embrace.

"At this point they'll know how much of a whore you are," he said, tangling his muscled arms around yours and anchoring you to his body. "Made just for me."

"Oika-Oikawa…"

You don't know this person. 

"Help..me.."

You don't know who's speaking out and whimpering for Oikawa, on her knees and bouncing up and down on his lap with weak, quivering thighs. 

It couldn't be you.

"Help you?" You felt him nuzzle your neck. "I thought you wanted me to stay away, though?"

Someone mewled out a pathetic, "N-no."

"No? Then what d'you want, kitten?"

(Oh. Oh, he feels so fucking good.)

Your belly has never felt this hot before and it's driving you crazy that you're chasing for something you cannot see and it feels so near but there's something, something that's keeping you from it that all you can do is grind your sopping cunt closer to him.

"Wanna- I wanna cum."

Oikawa kissed you on the forehead, and then he said, "Go ahead, then."

He released your arms. 

Then, he's scooping cum off your pussy, making sure to drag his fingers under the lips, before circling your large, swelling clit. Then, he's sucking your tits and swirling his tongue around a nipple and you're so so close.

"That's it," Oikawa sighed. "Ride my cock, baby."

His rough palm slapped both your ass cheeks and the cry that erupted from you only made him laugh. 

"Make yourself cum on my cock," he grunted, licking his smiling lips as he leaned back against the wall, hand idly rubbing your dripping clit. "You're making a mess, darling. Leaking like that."

You're quivering all over; your cunt is spasming and your legs are complaining beneath you, but you don't stop. You lift your hips and then sink your pussy down, down until you feel his balls touching your sore ass, the sloshing sound growing louder as you move faster. 

You don't think about what this'll all mean later, what you're doing giving in to him, when you scream out his name. But as soon as you did, Oikawa's growl had been your only warning.

He grabbed the back of your head and kissed you, plunging his tongue into your throat, his strong arms pressing you so close to him you can no longer tell his skin from yours, his battering heartbeat from yours. 

You didn't move—weren't allowed to, when he hammered his cock into you, pounding your cunt and fucking you raw until you're breathless and nothing but a shuddering wreck, splitting at the seams in his hands as you feel thick spurts of hot cum slide out of you. 

"My pretty girl," came his hoarse whisper. "My pretty, pretty girl."

The lights have dimmed, when he cradled your shaking form and moved out of you, faint traces left on just the palm lines and fingertips. 

They were flooded by the sudden brightness that enveloped the storage room.

"Holy shit."

You pressed your eyes close, your entire body prickling at Oikawa’s touch.

It shouldn't be surprising, at this point, that Oikawa, as quick as he'd stripped you off of everything, has already covered you back in your jacket. The smell of it striking you ruthlessly, that old cologne that you always use to school reminding you of who you were, before all this.

Had it only been a few hours? It felt like a lifetime ago.

"Ah," Oikawa murmured. "They caught us."

"Oikawa,” someone roared. Oikawa held you, hiding your face against his chest. “Why you son of a-"

"C-coach..! Stop- Oi, someone help me hold him- no, coach! "

You heard him chuckle. “Sorry about this, everyone.” He held up his hand and you had to keep yourself from sobbing. “But, look.”

There were several gasps. 

(Everybody knows now.)

“You..and her?” 

The boy who said that sounded so astonished, clearly overjoyed for some reason, that it revolted you.

“Mhm,” he nodded, a smile in his voice. “Now, can you guys please give us some privacy?” 

Feet shuffled out of the room, along with stuttered apologies. They all left. 

Except for one.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa pouted.

“What did you do, Oikawa?”

A beat. Then, he repeated, “Iwa-chan.”

Please. 

Iwaizumi didn’t say anything. 

Please help me.

“Sure,” he grunted.

He was gone, too, after that.

You were back in the darkness, with nothing but the faltering red and blue on your hands and his, while he untied your wrists and kneaded the abrasion away, cooing sweet nothings to your ear. 

“I hate you,” you rasped. 

“Don’t say that.”

“I fucking hate you-”

“Please stop yelling-”

“I won’t ever forgive you, Oikawa!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he cried, shaking his head as he brushed your tear-stained cheeks with both thumbs. You clutched them, wanting him off you, but he only latched himself firmly into you. “We’re meant to be.”

“You’re the only one for me.” 

Oikawa brought your numb hand to his face, pressing a kiss to your palm, the red light basking him in its soft glow.

“And I’m the only one for you,” he said, intertwining your fingers together. 

The lights flickered in and out, at first, as you stared vacantly into it, the red and blue swallowing each other. Until they finally disappeared, leaving just you and him, curled against each other in the shadows. 

[scarletwidowaf]

Yelena Belova x reader “fake dating” to actual!!!!

Plssssss :) 🥲💛

Moral Of The Story

Yelena Belova x female reader, scarlewidow mentioned.

A/N: might be messy, might be cheesy, but I truly don't care because I live for this chaotic due.

warning: stupidity maybe

words: 2000ish- probably more. 

masterlist

You don't know how but somehow training with Yelena always ended up with you being pinned down on the training mat.

"Fuck" you cursed frustrated as she pinned you down for the 3d time in a row. Yelena laughed before she stood up and held out her hand for you to take.

"I let you win!" You said as she pulled you up.

"Sure you did" she joked.

"Seriously. I let you stomp on my dignity because I have a favor to ask!" you said back, a goofy grin playing on your lips as you passed her one of the water bottles.

"Now, that's gonna be interesting" she said as she sat on the floor, her back facing the wall. She gratefully took the bottle from your hand as she waited for you to talk.

"be my girlfriend" you said. The two of you were always comically stupid, so of course that you said that at the same moment she was taking a gulp from her bottle and of course she choked- and of course you laughed.

"I'm Sorry" the blonde glared at you.

"You're not" she responded in between coughing.

After a few moments, she finally stopped coughing and your laugh dyed out as well.

"You're right. I wasn't." You laughed again and she shoved you playfully.

"So, did you seriously just asked me to be your girlfriend?" She asked. Her lips forming her famous-troubled-maker cheeky grin.

"Well.. my fake girlfriend to be exact" you corrected yourself and she laughed again.

"You know you could've started with that, right?"

"And what's the fun in that?"

You smirked at her, knowing full well she found the random question amusing.

"So Why me, anyway..? - Wait, Let me guess.. kate and carol said no and you're scared of Wanda?"

"Okay first I'm not scared of Wanda, I'm scared of your sister.. there's a difference. And Second; my parents in town.. and I kinda told them I have a girlfriend.."

"Oh, now that's classic" Yelena, obviously, found the situation hilarious and you couldn't blame her since you found this dumb conversation amusing as well.

"Does it mean you'll do it?" You asked.

"Yeah why not" she responded you raised an eyebrow at her waiting for the catch. With Yelena, there's always a catch or at least a stupid comment.

"Yeah. I want to meet the poor souls who had to deal with your stupidity on a daily basis for the last 20 years..."

And here it is. You thought.

"I will punch you" you threaten her.

"Kinky" she smirked.

"Whatever stupid. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8" you said as you got up from the spot next to her.

"Wear something nice"

_______________________________

The thing about Yelena is that you can never know what to expect. No matter how much time you spent with her, and it was a lot, she somehow still managed to surprise you.

This time was no different. but in her defense, this time the blame is definitely on you. You saw Yelena wear different kinds of outfits, from gear to fancy dresses, yet for some reason, you just didn't expect the other girl to wear a suit, and damn she looked good.

The gray suit fit her perfectly and her long blonde hair was down. She looked painfully beautiful and you couldn't help but stare- and she couldn't help but notice.

She wasn't doing better, on your defense. The blonde checked you out shamelessly before she sent you a smirk "How lucky I am" she joked and you rolled your eyes.

"Very lucky.. and so am i" Yelena smiled at you and held her hand out for you to take.

The ride was short and 15 minutes later you were standing outside the restaurant.

You could feel Yelena's gaze on you as you bit your lip nervously. "It will be alright" she assured you as she interviewed your hands together. "Thank you" you looked at her gratefully "Don't sweat it" she replayed with a soft smile.

That was the thing about Yelena, people always misguided her for someone she wasn't and it always made you mad. God, Of course, she was strong and fierce and brave and absolutely terrifying at times- but She was so much more than that. She was sweet and loyal and caring, and kinda funny (don't tell her) and absolutely beautiful- inside and out. One of your favorite things about her was her shy and sincere smile, which seemed reserved only for you.

"You ready?" She squeezed your hand. you took a small shaky breath before smiling back at her. "As ready as ill ever be"

The restaurant wasn't busy and it didn't take you long to catch your parents in a corner in the far back of the room. Both smiling wide as you walked towards them. Your mother's smile was contagious and you couldn't help but smile back. God, you missed them.

"We've missed you so much" your father said as he hugged you, your mother doing the same.

"I've missed you too" you confessed before tugging Yelena forwards them.

"I'm assuming that's the girlfriend," Your father said and you nodded. God, You were nervous and Yelena could sense it as she reached for your father's hand.

"Yelena." She introduced herself As they shook hands. Her grip firm and her smile dazzling. "I'm Y/D/N and this is my wife Y/M/N" he introduced himself as well.

"Glad to finally meet you. I heard a lot of great things about you" She said with a confident smile.

Both of you could tell the older man was impressed by the blonde and you couldn't help but smile.

"Were happy to finally meet you as well- although we can't say the same since pumpkin over here hasn't said much about you"

Yelena smirked at you as you blushed deeply. You knew she wouldn't let you forget about the nickname. Like, never. "Yeah, it's actually pretty new. It wasn't really planned neither" she explained.

Your mother, God bless her, wasn't the one to shook hands. The moment Yelena was free from your father's grip she found herself in the woman's warm embrace.

"Okay... I think we should start ordering" you said when Yelena was free again. Her cheeks were a bit flushed. The Russian Assassin wasn't used to be hugged and you couldn't help but smile.

The conversation was light, the wine was good and most importantly, your parents loved Yelena. which was understandable considering the fact she was annoyingly charming.

The Yelena that sat next to you with her hand on your lap was the best version the blonde could pull and you felt stupid for being worried in the first place. Yelena led the conversation with politeness, charm, and grace that you never knew she had in her- and your mom seemed impressed. Impressing your dad was even easier- Yelena didn't even have to try, all she had to do was show her intelligence and add some light humor.

After an hour of light and mostly general conversation, amazing food, many embarrassing stories of you on both sides, and 2 glasses of wine, your mom decided to take the conversation into her hands.

"So Yelena. Tell us about yourself."

Oh boy. Now that might be a problem.

"Well... I joined the avengers a few months ago" she explained "Not long after I met your daughter actually," she said simply.

"That's nice, and before that?" The older woman asked.

"I was a freelance.." Yelena gulped. Her hand squeezes yours

"As?" Your mom asked. You knew she didn't try to push Yelena into this corner, she wasn't this kind of person, but she definitely put the blonde on the spot.

"Well... I was involved with the black market and different criminal organizations. Jobs like getting undercover to dig information or well.. getting rid of powerful men in the criminal world.."

Your parent's eyes went wide. Your dad stared at her with wide eyes and your mom cleared her throat.

"I don't do it anymore" she continued. The blonde seemed as nervous as you felt.

"How did you ended up in this line of work? If I may ask?"

"Mom I don't think-" you started and Yelena smiled at you.

"No, It's fine babe.." she said before moving her attention back to your parents "Sometimes life gets you to places where you have to do bad things to survive."

Your dad's expression was unreadable and your mom seemed worried as she glanced at you.

"Yelena and I met when her sister recruited and pulled her out of this life. Yelena is a good person, despite everything she's been through. That's what I love the most about her." You said.

Yelena smiled softly and your parents exchanged looks.

"I'm a different person now" Yelena promised

"We believe you... but I can't help but worry for my daughter, as you can surely understand. What if the people you've been involved with. Try to get to you through Y\N"

Your father asked calmly. Both were taking it better than you expected and you couldn't blame them for being worried.

"Dad. I know it might come as shocking.. but I'm a big girl and I'm well aware of the risk of being involved with Yelena. I need you to trust me when I say that risks, some worse than the mafia, were a part of my life long before we met."

Yelena bit her lip to hold a smile and you interviewed your hands again.

"You're a doctor" your mom argued "I'm a field doctor. Of the avengers." you corrected her. "which means I'm more of capable of taking care of myself."

Your dad nodded softly to your mom before he smiled at you. "You're are.. Don't you?" He laughed. "Mu little pumpkin.." he sIgh and your mother smiled as well

"I just want you to understand that all we want for you is to be safe and happy. And even a blind man can see Yelena gives you that." He sent Yelena a soft smile. Yelena smiled back at him.

"Take care of my daughter.. she's a keeper" your father said firmly.

"She is. And trust me, I will" she promised.

_______________________________

"Well, that went well" you laughed when you got into the passenger seat. Yelena volunteered to drive which was a relief since you were exhausted.

After the two of you got into your seats the blonde sent you a small smile and took something out of her pocket.

"Is that? A bullet..?" You asked confused as you took the copper cylinder from her hand.

Yelena laughed softly.

"It is. It's the same bullet you stopped me from shooting at Natasha"  she confessed.

"I was in such a bad place back then and I blamed Natasha for it. If it weren't for you things would've been very different now" Yelena whispered

"Yeah, both of you were dead since you would've shot her, and Wanda would've probably hunted you down and kill you" you laughed and Yelena's shoulders relaxed.

"Probably" she said. "But with all seriousness... I was aiming a gun at my own sister and instead of pulling your own gun at me, you decided to shield her with your own body and dare me to shoot you as well. Who does that!?."

"You thought I was insane" you laughed.

"I thought you were stupid, putting your life at risk to save someone fucked up like us! someone like me.." She confessed and it downed on you.

No matter what happened or how many good things Yelena had done in her life, she couldn't let go of who she was trained to be. She still blamed herself for all the terrible things she did back at the red room and she constantly tried to get closure by doing the exact opposite- which was probably the reason she killed all these bad men in the first place. But then Natasha came back for her, and Yelena blamed her for leaving her behind to live with the things they did. She felt betrayed and broken, and Natasha's return only made it worse. Like she was just pitting her broken sister.

"All I know is that the Yelena I stood up to and the Natasha I saved that day were not the villains the red room tried to create." You whispered.

"You truly believed that? Even then?" Yelena was crying softly and you cupped her cheek.

"Especially then! I know you don't see it, but I'm here to remind you, you're a good person. Truly. You have a good heart- and I've seen it"

Yelena's cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes red and puffy and her famous crooked smile was plastered on her lips.

"And that's why you love me?"

She was a mess just like back then- when she was aiming a gun at her own sister as who she thought she was and who she truly is were fighting for dominance.

She was tragically beautiful and scared both then and now, yet somehow at the same time, she was more sure and confident than ever before. And I guess that what life is all about. Sometimes, things start to make sense only when everything else doesn't.

"Wasn't it obvious, stupid?" You said and stroked her cheek carefully as she melted into your touch.

Yelena smiled before kissing your hand softly, without breaking eye contact with you.

"You're the stupid one and you know it. Taking an assassin as your dinner date." She joked and you nodded and looked briefly at her lips.

"Well, stupid or not, I still manage to get a kiss at the end of it." Yelena laughed and got closer to you.

"Yeah you did" she whispered and kissed you.

And that was the thing about Yelena. She was good and kind and loyal. And a damn good kisser.

[emerald-chaos]

Coney Island

Hi friends! I appreciate all the love and response I’ve gotten for my writing over the past week or so. You guys sure know how to make a gal feel loved! This is another little idea that came one night when I was screaming to a good friend of mine (which is how a lot of my ideas come to me lmao) about how pre-serum 1940s Steve deserves the best. It’s not necessarily my best work, but Steve Rogers deserves some love too. I hope you guys enjoy! Also please feel free to let me know what you guys would like to see me write next :) Enjoy! xo

Pairing: Pre-Serum!Steve x Reader

Word count: 1895

Warnings: swearing and bad attempts at being funny lol

a/n: this was uploaded on mobile because I’m at work tonight so if it looks funky I apologize! I’ll try to fix it after I finish my 3 night stint lol.

As the sun began to set and the hot July air began to cool, Steve couldn’t believe the situation he’d found himself in yet again.

“Come on, pal,” Bucky chuckled as he pat his friend roughly on the shoulder, “I’ve never met someone who was this upset to meet up with a couple of beautiful ladies.”

“What? And somehow be the third wheel on a double date again?” Steve quipped back at his long time friend.

Bucky replied with a roll of his eyes and waved off his friend, turning his body toward the Coney Island parking lot to see if he could find the girls they were supposed to be meeting.

Steve regretted that he sounded so bitter, but these “double dates” that Bucky dragged him on were somewhat of a joke. It was always the same song and dance. The girl who Bucky was attempting to court would bring a friend, either for moral support or to try and set her up, and that friend would always be wholly disappointed when she saw that Steve was who she was stuck with. Steve knew that not every girl had to like him, of course, but occasionally it would be nice to be as sought after or wanted as Bucky was - or at least to not be looked through by every girl he met.

“There they are,” Bucky grinned, raising his arms above his head to signal the two, “over here!”

Steve took a deep breath and prepared himself for the inevitable look of disappointment that he had become so accustomed to. Instead, as he turned he was met with a stunning pair of eyes and a soft smile splayed across the most incredible pair of lips he’d ever laid his eyes on. Seeing you made him feel like all the air had been forced out of his lungs and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t catch his breath. The only other time he remembered experiencing the sensation was after a particularly bad time that he had gotten the living hell beat out of him in the alleyway - except this time, it was a good feeling.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Steve.” You said, your voice soft and warm - like honey.

There’s no way that could be a blush on your cheeks, right?

“Well, we already got our tickets,” Bucky’s voice brought Steve back to the present, “so what do you say we head in?”

---------

For the first time in, well, forever, Steve actually found himself enjoying the evening. The small talk didn’t feel stiff or forced, you never recoiled at any of the accidental touches throughout the night, and you actually looked him in the eyes when you were having a conversation. If you were disappointed in being stuck with Steve, you hid it pretty well.

The unrelenting sun had finally set and the colorful lights of various rides and booths reflected off of the water. You had been on a couple rides, enjoyed some hot dogs and funnel cakes, and now the group of you had been sucked into one of those carnival game booths. Bucky was attempting, as usual, to show off for your friend by trying to win her a stuffed animal.

“Would you like to take a walk or something?” Your voice captured Steve’s attention as he turned to look at you. You grinned a little before adding, “It’s kind of sickening to stand here and watch them act like this.”

Steve was caught off guard, both at the jab directed to your friends and the fact that you would even consider being alone with him.

“I, uh, yeah, sure, we could do that,” he nodded quickly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

You smiled and started down the boardwalk.

This is too good to be true, right? He thought to himself. She’s obviously just trying to be nice.

“Steve?” your voice cut through his doubts. He hadn’t even realized that you made it several feet away from him and he was still planted in the same spot.

“Oh! Yeah, coming! Sorry!” Steve blushed as he hurried to catch up with you.

The two of you walked side by side for a few minutes, an oddly comfortable silence lingering between you.

“How are-”

“Have you-”

Steve’s eyes met yours as you both began to speak simultaneously and you shared a laugh together. Steve could feel the warmth rising in his face and he hoped to God that he wasn’t blushing like an idiot.

“You first,” he smiled softly.

“I was just going to ask how long you and James have known each other?” you asked, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

And there it was.

To anyone else the question would seem innocent, but Steve knew better. You had only drawn Steve away so you could question him about his friend - the same way every other person before you had done. There was a heat building inside Steve’s stomach. How could he be so stupid? How could he actually believe that someone like you could be interested in someone like him?

“T-the only reason I ask is,” you blurted, sounding...nervous? “well, because the two of you are so different. I mean, not in a bad way! Just like, James is so...cocky and loud and you’re...well you’re not.”

Steve stopped walking and looked at you. His thoughts were racing through his brain like a freight train. What exactly were you trying to say?

“God I'm so bad with words,” you laughed, shaking your head, “just forget I said anything at all.”

“You don’t have to feel bad for me, you know. If that’s what this is.” Steve couldn’t hold back the words, and they sounded much colder than he meant them to. He was just so tired of living in his friend’s shadow. The only time girls were ever nice to him was because they wanted to impress Bucky. He was sure that’s what you were doing too.

Once he noticed your brows furrow and a look of sadness overcome your face, he wanted nothing more than to rewind time and take his words back.

“Is that the type of person you think I am, Steve?” Your voice came out a little shaky, but Steve could still hear the hurt he had caused.

Steve sighed and rubbed his face.

“I’m sorry,” he started as his hands fell from his face and he met your gaze again, “I’m just...I’m not used to this.”

“And what exactly is this?” you asked, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

“Someone on these double dats being interested in me.”

He could tell that his words caught you off guard. You were quiet and your arms slowly fell to your side. Steve was having trouble reading your expression, but it looked somewhere between someone who saw a puppy left on the side of the road and someone who was trying to understand a foreign language.

“Just...Just forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.” Steve waved his hand, as if he was trying to dismiss the conversation.

What he didn’t expect was for your hand to intertwine with his.

Steve’s gaze lingered on your connected hands for a minute before traveling to meet your eyes.

“You’re not very good at this, Rogers.” You said with a small laugh, “Here I was, thinking I was being too obvious.”

“I-I’m afraid I don’t follow,” Steve slowly responded.

You laughed again, the sound slowly becoming one of his favorites. Before he knew what was going on, you were pressed flush against him and capturing his lips with yours.

This would make the third time Steve had felt the wind be knocked from his lungs.

The kiss was slow, soft, and unlike any other he had ever experienced. It reminded him of the time his dad told him how he knew his mom was the one.

Well, when we kissed it felt like the rest of the world melted away. At that moment in time, it was just her and I.

A shiver ran down his spine as the warmth of your lips left his. As though he was drunk or coming out of a haze, it took him a moment to open his eyes and focus his vision back on you. There was a cute pinkness to your cheeks and you had a doe-eyed expression. It took a moment for the heartbeat in his ears to fade away - the joyful screams of park patrons and whirring of machinery returning.

“I like you, Steve,” You told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, “In fact, I've liked you for a while.”

You watched as Steve’s adam's apple bobbed up and down as he gulped.

“You,” Steve cleared his throat as the word came out as a squeak, “you do?”

That smile he adored returned to your lips as you nodded, “I do.”

Before he had an opportunity to respond, you were speaking again.

“I see you at school, you know, around town too. I’ve always noticed how kind you are to everyone. The way you hold the door open for the old ladies at Church. That one time you gave Johnny your lunch because his parents forgot to pack him one?” the smile on your face growing bigger as you recounted the times in which you fell for Steve Rogers, “I mean, what’s not to like.”

Steve felt an asthma attack coming on.

“James is nice and all,” you leaned in then, as if you were telling a secret, “but he’s also kind of a bastard.”

Steve couldn’t hold back the laugh that tumbled from his lips and you quickly joined him. This felt like some sort of twisted dream to him - you standing here, confessing your feelings to him. Never in a million years did he think someone as beautiful as you would even talk to him, let alone have feelings for him.

“Obviously I’m kidding, but in all honesty... you are one of the best men I’ve ever met, Steve. I’m sorry that any one has ever made you feel less than.” You squeezed his hand again.

This time it was Steve who initiated the kiss, holding your face between his hands as he moved his lips against yours. Your hands found a place on his waist and your bodies slotted against one another - like they were two puzzle pieces made to fit into one another. You tasted sweet, like funnel cake, and your lips were soft against his slightly chapped ones. Steve hadn’t kissed very many people in his lifetime, but if this were the last kiss he got to have - he could die a happy man.

“Ahem,”

The two of you separated to see your friend, holding a huge stuffed bear, and Bucky standing before you, grinning like fools.

“Are we interrupting something?” Bucky mocked the two of you, sending a wink to Steve.

“Shut it, Buck.” Steve warned, although he couldn’t help but grin back at his friend.

“Come on, lovebirds” Bucky teased, “my girl here wants to ride the ferris wheel again.”

You smoothed out your dress and smiled at Steve, lacing your fingers once again with his as the two of you followed your friends toward the ferris wheel.

For once, Steve was going to have to thank Bucky tomorrow.