#why amI so much more stupid than everyone else in the room

[heartlandians]

Filling Empty Spaces (Amy/Mitch), part 219

Mitch and Amy find an unexpected connection due to absent lovers. Set around season 11->.

A/N: I didn’t have a beta for this story, so hopefully there won’t be too many grammar errors.

****

Mitch glanced at his laptop's screen where he still had the Facebook tab open as he held onto his cellphone. Just few minutes ago he had been lost in the world of finding Leah, but now after Lou's call all he could think about was Amy.

If the call from Lou had felt awkward and uncomfortable for him, he couldn't help but wonder how it had felt for Amy, who was - after all - in a much more vulnerable position with this.

Slamming the computer's top cover close, Mitch turned around and walked into his living room, simultaneously looking up Amy's number from his phone.

After pressing the phone against his ear, he could hear the call trying to connect.

Mitch's gaze was directed at the line of cottonwoods at his backyard, drinking in the beautiful sunlight, and among them were deer, following a narrow path to cross his property.

Any other time, it would have been a fascinating watch, like nature's own screensaver, but right now all he could think about was the possible damage Lou had been able to impose on her sister.

"Hi", Amy answered after a click noise.

Mitch could immediate tell she had either been crying or was about to, as her voice trembled a little bit. It only made him more concerned.

The distance between them wasn't much, as they were at neighbouring ranches, but it felt like she was on the other side of the world right now as he couldn't just go over to Heartland and hold her.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Mitch asked right away.

Amy let out a sigh.

"Not really", she admitted. "But how did you know to call me right now as I'm about to crumble...?" she wondered, thinking it was almost like it had been scripted.

"Lou called me too", Mitch shared. "I suspect right after you ended your phone call."

Amy scoffed.

"She told me she had to go because she had something else to do, but... she called you instead", she recounted for herself, somehow feeling even more stupid than before. "Why did she call you, anyway?"

There was no jealousy or animosity in her voice, just pure curiosity.

"She tried to ask me to keep my distance, and when I refused, there wasn't anything she could really do. I mean, it's our life", Mitch said, aimlessly walking around the living room. "Do you want me to come over?" he asked, even though they had decided that he would not drop by to see Amy until people were aware of them.

But it didn't hurt to try.

Maybe situation had changed now that Amy was feeling the way she was.

"No", Amy refused, as expected, "not that I wouldn't want that but... it's just... I feel like I don't have the energy to explain everyone here why you're coming over exactly, especially when I'm a mess like this..."

"I don't want you to be alone, Amy", Mitch said.

There was a brief pause on the line before Amy continued.

"Meet me at the meadow. I'll take Spartan for a ride", Amy planned.

"Okay. I'll be there", he promised.

****

Mitch had laid down a blanket on the grass, next to an old fallen log, on top of the hill where they could look at the scenery, but also have some privacy for a conversation.

Maverick was standing close-by, swishing away flies in the shade of the trees, while they waited for Amy and Spartan to join them.

The man checked his phone, wondering if maybe Amy had texted him that she'd be a little late, but when he saw no message notifications, Mitch tried to just trust that she'd be here when she'd be here.

For some time now, Mitch had learned that patience wasn't his strongest quality - but it was something he was actively working on. Instead of pacing around, like his body almost demanded, Mitch decided to sit on the log, to try and focus on enjoying the moment; the scenery, the weather, this nice summer day.

He had to stop doing this, going at every chaotic moment like he had to be able to save everyone from whatever they were going through. He could be there for Amy, offer his support, but that was it. He didn't need to be some type of hero.

He was good enough like this.

Breathing in, breathing out, Mitch tried his best to relax.

As far as places to relax were concerned, he couldn't have picked a better spot than this.

"Hey", Amy's voice said behind him after a while as he was still sitting on the log, grounding himself.

Mitch turned his upper body toward Amy, still having the worry over her, but now feeling more rejuvenated just from that small moment of centering himself.

She looked like an angel, with the way the sunlight beamed behind her and lit her outlines on fire.

"Hey", he said, getting up just as Amy unmounted Spartan and brought the horse closer to Maverick, tying him loosely so he wouldn't wander off. "I'm glad we were able to still meet up."

Amy nodded, then stumbling toward him in the long grass, and without saying anything, sought his cover almost like it was the only way she could breathe out the ache within her.

Mitch wrapped his arms around her, pressing his cheek on top of her head, allowing her to take her time. Her warm breath seethed through his t-shirt and onto his skin, sending a signal of connection through his body.

Now he was fully grounded.

"So..." Mitch said after a while when he felt Amy leaning back, "do you want to talk about it?" he asked, gesturing toward the blanket he had rolled over the grass.

"Yes, I do, actually", Amy nodded, sitting down.

Mitch sat next to her, leaning onto the log just like she did.

"I just feel like... the more I talk about my feelings - the more I explain myself - the more I'm being... misunderstood or misinterpreted, almost like on purpose", Amy sighed, shaking her head and blinking off the tears that she couldn't hold back.

Her tone was worn out, as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"And after a while it just gets exhausting to even try to be heard. Because what's the point? No one listens, anyway... No one wants to hear me", she continued, sounding drowsy.

Wrapping his arm behind Amy's shoulders, Mitch pulled her closer gently.

"And there's just something so cruel about the way sisters know how to inflict pain on each other. It's psychological... Something about the intimacy of it all", Amy scoffed, almost shuddering. "Or that's been my experience, at least", she added, clenching her jaw.

"I'm sorry", Mitch wanted to say. There was a part of him that wondered if he had brought in some of that pain, but Amy's last sentence made it sound like maybe it ran deeper than here and now. "Do you feel like you at least could say everything you wanted to say to her?"

"I did, but... I don't know how much of it she heard", Amy's voice trailed off into a mumble. "But... whatever. I tried. I can't put my energy into that anymore. It's too draining. At some point I just gotta live my life", she sighed heavily.

"Well, you have a right to live your life like you want", Mitch said, figuring maybe Amy needed someone else to say it in order to feel validated. "Not just with this, but... whatever it may be."

"I know... but I just feel like my feelings have been weaponized against me. I've shut down and not expressed my needs, because it's been safe, but I don't want to do that anymore. Especially not with you, when this feels so right and when you make me feel so alive", she said, looking at Mitch.

Mitch kissed her forehead gently, hoping it would let her know he felt the same way.

"But I feel like I'm not allowed to, for some reason. Like everyone else has a plan for me that I should follow. But I don't want that. I want this. I want my life", Amy went on.

Mitch nodded, then kissing the top of Amy's head again and caressing her shoulder.

"And if I don't do that - if I don't live my life - I'm afraid I become sad again. Like everyone else will be happy, but I will be sad", Amy was hardly able to push the words pass her vocal cords. "And it's so terrifying to feel sad..."

The man next to her tilted his head back, trying to see her face. He could sense this was a big reaction for her - and maybe there was even a bigger one coming.

"Why?" he asked, as for him sadness was a thing that always passed, just like every other emotion. It was part of life, something that people felt in order to then appreciate the good times.

"Because I've finally been able to find a little bit of happiness for myself, but... if I allow myself to feel sad again, it's scary to have no idea if this just... a bad day or another dive into darkness", Amy said, holding back a sob.

"Hey..." Mitch said softly, his brows furrowing out of worry.

"I don't want to feel like I've felt for years; taking turns feeling sad or numb. It almost destroyed me the last time, I don't know if I'm able to do it again. I don't know if I have any fight in me anymore. I just want to feel happy. I just want to feel happy..." she continued, crying now and turning herself against Mitch, clutching his shirt in her fist.

It was becoming hard for Mitch to convince himself that this moment didn't need some sort of hero to know the right words, but since he didn't have the right words, as he didn't know what there even was to say to make it all go away, all he could do was the best that he could in this moment.

He could listen.

That was what Amy wanted - and needed - in this moment.

And so, he did.

[aceontheline]

Helluva Good Time (Maybe) (Pt. 1)

((OC here: https://www.tumblr.com/aceontheline/725110040623775744/helluva-boss-oc-amy?source=share))

I was only meant to attend this house party tonight, so I texted back my friend, Damien, in a hurry. He stated that it would be a small get together, but I knew what that really meant. Either way, I didn't mind. Parties of any size are usually fun for me anyway & it means I get to go out and socialize... When I'm usually just stuck behind a cubicle all day long. Monday through Friday, 9-5 as per everyone else's usual grind. I get ready with some nice looking makeup & cute clothes. An off the shoulder top with shorts & a cat eye makeup look. I put my hair up in my usual messy bun and head out the door. Damien gives me a quick call to ask me where I'm at and I tell him I've just stepped out of my house. "I'll be there in a few, chill your jets bitch" I say in a joking tone. Damien chuckles, saying he's just a little overexcited, commenting about how it's been a while since I've actually gone out to a party with him and our usual crew.

"I know. But unlike the usual crew, I have a bit of a higher paying job now. It kills me, but it's honest work" I say, walking along the sidewalk. Damien's house wasn't too far in the Gluttony ring, so I didn't want to waste gas.

"Fair enough, I guess. So I assume once you get your check that you'll want nothin' to do with us?" Damien asked.

"Don't be stupid. I'll still love y'all to death. I'll just only be able to go to parties on weekends. Like a regular adult" I reply in a sly tone.

Damien hangs up on me once I step foot onto his driveway. There is MORE than a few people there already, so I just make myself welcome. I'm talking to a few random people at the party and enjoying myself for a little while, before getting somewhat tired. I sit down on the couch with my drink in hand as I watch everyone mingle and dance about. Suddenly, I feel the space next to me sink a little. Someone just sat down and I don't know why I don't want to look. However, I feel a tap on my shoulder. It's rather frantic and nervous. I turn my head and see an Imp. He looks somewhat familiar but I can't entirely place him. He asks me what time it is, saying he has to get home soon. "It's like 8:00 pm" I reply. He wipes the sweat from his brow, seeming relieved.

He said that he honestly thought it was much later in the evening already, as it felt like time was moving at such an incredible speed. I asked him if he had taken any drugs that could've caused this. He firmly shook his head, insisting that he already has done one too many at some point in his life, not wanting to risk anything more. Shit, why was that funny? Why did I just laugh at that? And why was he looking at me like he thought it was... Cute? He gets closer to me and asks me for my name.

"My name's Amy. And you are-?" I ask with pleading eyes.

"My name's Blitz. The 'O' is silent" Blitz says, his eyes trailing around the room a bit, then back to me.

"Good to meet ya, Blitz! Have ya at least had a drink or two yet?" I follow up, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, maybe like 2 screwdrivers. No wonder my head is already kinda fucked up, huh? What about you?" Blitz asks.

I shake my head, saying that I just got here not too long ago. Blitz takes me to the kitchen and orders two shots for me. My friend, Jasmine, is working the bar. She makes excellent shots, so I know that if I have too many of hers that I'm done for. I take two and shoot them back quickly. Blitz seems... Impressed. He takes me back to the living room area and we chat for quite a bit, before moving outside so our conversation felt a little more one on one. After a long while of us just talking, eating and drinking, the two of us parted ways for the time being. Blitz gave me his number, saying we should hang out sometime. I joked that he may not even remember me tomorrow, to which he replied with: "We took a selfie together and I barely had like 5 shots. I'll remember ya"

I smiled softly as he walked away back to his place for the night. In the meantime, my other friends were all partying it up. I joined them after a quick deep breather. We all had an amazing time and enjoyed each other's company. After the party was over, I helped with some of the cleanup and then went home at around 1:00 am. I took a quick shower then scrolled on my phone for a bit. I looked at that selfie that Blitz and I took together, smiling. He was an eccentric guy, I could tell. I didn't get much information about him at the time. However, I could tell that we were going to hit it off in one way or another.

It was a lovely looking Saturday morning, so I just texted my friend Caitlyn to see if she wanted to meet up for some coffee and a chat. She agreed, saying that she wanted to get a shower first. I changed into some cute clothes once more and then stepped out of my house. I saw a few friends on the way and quickly caught up with them before heading straight to the coffee shop. I knew how Caitlyn liked her coffee, so I waited to get a text from her saying she was on her way. Once I got conformation, I ordered both of ours and then sat back down. I didn't wait too long... Caitlyn and her boyfriend, Frankie, arrived. I greeted them both with a smile on my face, apologizing that I didn't get Frankie a coffee, as I thought it'd only be Caitlyn.

"Oh, you're good. Almost no one gets my order right anyway. And I ain't in the mood for a coffee. Just wanted to swing by. How you doin' by the way?" Frankie asked.

"I'm good! I finally scored that office job, so I'm getting paid well enough now" I reply, beaming.

"Oh that's great! I'm so happy for you! Tyler scored a gig too. He's a cop now" Caitlyn stated in her typically bubbly voice.

Suddenly, the door swings open again. Blitz! I smile and wave at him, asking him to come sit with us. He smiles in return, saying he will momentarily. Caitlyn and Frankie exchange looks of "Holy shit, is that-?" I ask them what's up. "That's Blitz. Leader of I.M.P. How do you know him?" Frankie asks. My jaw drops briefly... Holy shit, THIS was the guy I recognized. Blitz comes and sits down right next to me, putting an arm around me and asking me if I was coming here because I was hungover. I laugh, insisting that it would take more than 4 shots to do that to me. Blitz smirked, stating that "We'd have to test your limits at some point"

I smirk. Blitz pretty much dominates our conversations but it's welcome, as he's quite an interesting conversationalist. After our scheduled hangout was over, Caitlyn asked if we can do this again sometime. I agreed to next weekend on Saturday. Blitz said he was free on that day too, insisting that he hangs out with us. Caitlyn seemed reluctant but said that was fine. Before I could leave to go back home, Blitz took my hand and asked if I wanted to head out with him. Not really having much else to do, I agreed. He took me back to the Pride ring, in Imp City. We hung out for a good chunk of the day, never really leaving each other's sights. We talked a bunch and just enjoyed each other's company.

Once the day was nearing a close, I already felt my eyes getting a bit heavy. We were watching T.V, when I suddenly felt myself cozying up to him. My head leaned on his shoulder, to which Blitz didn't really dignify with a response. He sort of just let it happen. After a while, I asked if he could take me home. He agreed to, only if I fronted some gas money. I sighed, pulling out my wallet and giving him some. He seemed genuinely shocked, implying that he was sort of joking.

"Oh, I can take the money back then-" I jokingly reply.

"Oh hell no, I could use that" Blitz said, taking the money out of my hand. He opens the front door for me. "Get in. We've got quite the way to go" he continues.

I smile softly, getting in the front seat of his van. He put some music on the radio and was jamming out for a moment, making me giggle softly... Shit. Did I find him cute? No way. We literally JUST met. "Don't do that to me, Brain" I thought, jamming along with him to distract myself. We enjoyed each other's vibes from the moment we left the Pride ring. Once we arrived in the Gluttony ring, and to my house, I opened the door and then hung over his window. "See ya later, Blitz. Maybe tomorrow?" I ask, filled with hope. "Why not? See ya here. Same time tomorrow" Blitz replied, rustling up my hair a bit. He drove away shortly after that, as I walked into my house. I held my phone close to my chest, sliding down the door.

"Fuck. I do like him. And we literally only hung out for one day. Damn it... I don't even know if he's in a relationship. Or really much else about his business... Ya know what? I just have to ASK him. Don't play games though. Just let it build up though, so you don't fuck this up" I say to myself, in a stream of consciousness.

I tell all of this to my friend, Damien. He strictly advised me to follow my own advice, unless I wanted it to go down like any of my previous relationships, where I fell to deeply and quickly in love. I sighed looking at that text... Thinking of the 3 exes I've had before and everything I did to keep them around much longer than I needed. I, then, laid down in my bed looking up at the ceiling and just vibing to some music for a bit. Then I succumbed to my usual routine of putting on a long form video while I cleaned up around my house a little, then played some video games for a bit. After all that, I had some late dinner and then went to bed shortly after. I guess I attempted to think of Blitz, but I had to push down my own thoughts for right now. Otherwise, they'd go out of control. I fell asleep shortly after putting on some relaxing music to help me go to sleep a bit faster.

[feliix]

halloween hookup ↠ lee minho

↠ CEO!Minho x Reader

↠ Genre: Smut, fluff(ish), coworkers 2 lovers

↠ Rating: M (18+)

↠ Word Count: 4.9k

↠ Summary: The details of your company Halloween bash are all a blur once you wake the next morning, well, at least until you notice your boss Lee Minho lying beside you in an unfamiliar bed.

↠ Warnings: unprotected sex, creampie, dirty talk, fingering, nipple play, semi-public sex, nudes (but not the kind you think of lmao), dum/sub themes, mentions of alcohol and drinking. (though this fic does not include sexual intercourse following the consumption of alcohol, please remember to drink responsibly and that consent is not consent if you are under the influence!)

↠ A/N: here’s to spooky season and minho day (even though i’m a day late oopsie). and as always thank you to @jinterlude​ for beta reading ily ♡

The bright morning sun creeps through your curtains, scattering light through your bedroom and grazing your bare skin with its rays. A peaceful way to start your Saturday morning, you muse, snuggling deeper into your bed. As you come to your senses, you notice something is quite off. The room smells stale, your sheets feel slightly more scratchy than usual, and something is weighing down over your waist.

Your eyes snap open, realizing that the object weighing down your waist is in fact, someone's arm. The sheets you’re lying over are not yours, and the odd aroma that’s filling the room can not compare to the sweet scent of your own apartment. As if that isn’t bad enough, you’re not able to identify whose arm is slung over your body, pulling your waist backward against their warm bare chest.

Where am I?

Without waking up the unknown man, you carefully shift your weight to release yourself from his grasp. You take your head into your hands, gently massaging your temples trying to relieve the hangover paging through your brain.

The memories from the previous night are stale in your mind. You rack your brain, trying to come up with some reason as to why you’re here and exactly how you yourself got into this position. You sit up in bed, cautiously wrapping the sheets over your body. It seems like a dream or distant illusion, and you can’t quite piece together how it all went down.

You remember being at the company Halloween bash, you remember having useless small talk with a bunch of your coworkers, playing some stupid game that definitely would have been better if it involved some alcohol, and then it got even lamer, so you left with Minho.

Oh my gosh. You left with Minho. As in your boss, Lee Minho.

Your head whips around your body to look at the sleeping body lying next to you as if you’re expecting to see anyone else placed beside you. The memories of what happened last night come flooding back to you, and it went something like this.

The party was held in your office conference room, which was just big enough to squeeze all 20 people in your department into one space, but small enough where you would bump up against the person next to you if you moved too abruptly. Various types of appetizers and finger foods lined the long meeting table which stretched the entire length of the room. There was also a small end table in the corner topped with various types of soda, a bowl of punch, and some booze that George from IT brought. Not that you would ever drink at an office party, that was way too risky.

A few girls from HR had decided to decorate with some cut out pumpkins they printed off some computer paper and orange streamers that were probably leftover from your last boss's going away party.

After your last boss had left, your company hired Lee Minho, a young business professional from a different location that your company owned. Mr. Lee was a pretty laid back guy compared to your last boss. It was pretty weird having a boss as young as Mr. Lee, but he always made sure to bring some fun into the workplace whenever he could, like this Halloween bash for instance. Not to mention, he was the most attractive boss you'd ever had. All the other female employees seemed to agree, swooning over him with every opportunity that they were given.

Mr. Lee also really enjoyed flirting with his employees, male and female. It was hard to tell if he was being nice or just hitting on you the first time he complimented your outfit. The next time he complimented your blouse you noticed his eyes wandering down to your boobs, and you knew it was not just an innocent compliment, but hey, he was attractive so you were definitely not complaining about it.

The feeling of your phone vibrating in your back pocket of your denim skirt startled you, causing you to jump before fumbling your hands back to reach for the device.

Mr. Lee: I like your cat ears ;)

The sides of your lips lifted into a small smirk before picking your head up to look for Minho across the room. He gave you a small smile and finished his gesture off with a wink before you looked back down, sliding open your phone and responding.

Y/N: thanks! where's your costume? corporate won't let you join in on the fun for once :(

Mr. Lee was dressed in his usual attire, some black dress pants, and a black button-down, but accompanied by a very festive orange and black halloween tie. The slender fit of his shirt made his shoulders look especially broad in comparison to his narrow waist.

Before you could even look up from your phone Minho was standing by your side with a cup of punch in each hand, tilting his head towards one of the glasses to offer it up to you. Nodding your head, you smiled a thank you and took the red cup from his grasp.

You coolly leaned your back against the wall behind you, trying to stay out of the way of all the useless chatter going on between the coworkers surrounding you. Mr. Lee was quick to follow suit, sliding his legs down a little further away from the wall so he could match your height.

"This party is kind of lame," he whispered in your ear, earning him a small grin and soft chuckle from you. Most of the employees at your office were much older than you, so it was hard for you to connect with them. They all had their own families and children, where you had just become financially stable enough to move out of your parent’s house.

"You think anyone will notice if we leave?" You said sarcastically, playing along with his charade, just equally bored of the small talk your coworkers were making around you.

"Yeah, but I think I can get us out of it," he replied smoothly, pushing his back off of the wall and walked towards the conference room door, shooting you a quick wink before he made his exit. You had no idea what Minho had in store to get you out of this party but you sure hope it was good.

Not a minute later, the desk phone in the conference room began to ring. Everyone shot each other questioning glares, slightly confused as to who would be calling the office after hours on a Friday. Minho's secretary sauntered over to the phone before holding her index finger over her lips, signaling everyone around her to be quiet.

"Hello this is Amy," she said, cocking her head to the side and furrowing her brows, trying to understand what the caller was saying at the other end of the line. Her expression quickly changed to a small smile as she looked around the room, eyes landing on you before responding to the caller.

"I'll let her know. Thank you, Mr. Lee," Amy replied before hanging up the phone, "Y/N, Mr. Lee needs help with something and would like for you to meet him in his office as soon as possible."

Trying your hardest not to let a smirk creep onto your face, you nodded your head and placed your unfinished drink down on the table. Curious to see what Minho had in-store to get you out of the party, you made your way out of the conference room and to his office.

Peeking through the office window, you saw Minho seated at his desk on his phone. His legs were crossed with his feet placed upon the surface in front of him. The small lamp on his desk dimly illuminated the room, reflecting some light off of his shiny black shoes. He raised his head, eyes wandering away from his phone as you cracked open the door to his office.

"Mr. Lee, you needed help with something?" You inquired sweetly, giving him a grin while making your way into the room.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you." He joked smiling back at you, "Shut the door behind you." You obliged, carefully wrapping your fingers around the handle and closing the door lightly, sure to not make a sound.

"Is everything alright?" You asked, moving closer to Minho as he swung his legs off the desk and placed his feet on the ground.

"Well I figured we could have our own fun, that party was so lame," he said, holding his hand out for you to take. You hesitated, wondering where this was going but you took his hand in yours, curious to find out. He pulled you in closer so your frame stood between his legs, making your heart jump in your chest.

"What did you have in mind?" You smirked, feeling your body beginning to grow warm with anticipation.

"Hmm," he started, patting his thigh for you to take a seat on, "something not so spooky I suppose."

A knot began to form in your throat, causing you to swallow hard before stuttering out the word "Spooky?" and sitting down on his thigh.

Minho softly chuckled, "I've never seen anyone look so sexy in cat ears before, you were driving me insane in there."

Your breathing hitched as he placed a hand on your thigh, gently stroking your skin up to the hem of your skirt. "Is this okay, baby girl?" His eyebrow raised in question, watching your expression shift into a flustered one. You keened at the pet name, feeling heat rush right to your cheeks. Slowly, you nodded your head in response, unable to trust your voice in a time like this.

"Um, I didn't know you thought about me this way Mr. Lee," you stifled out while uncomfortably shifting around on his lap. Minho caught his bottom lip between his teeth, suppressing a low groan before shifting his body as well, feeling his member harden as he leaned further back into his chair.

"Call me Minho," he smirked, brushing his thumb over your cheek and to your hair, sweeping it over your shoulder.

"O-Okay," you stammered, growing flustered from his sweet yet sensual actions.

"Do you think about me this way, baby girl?" He said smugly, almost as if he knew the response you would be giving him in return.

"Yes, Minho," you unknowingly admitted. The words felt foreign coming out of your mouth, it felt odd calling your boss by his first name. But in some weird way, you liked knowing that he felt more turned on by you compared to the other female coworkers that were desperate for his attention.

"What do you think about, hmm?" Minho hummed, a short smirk fixed on his face. Your eyes widened in embarrassment, choking back a whimper as his hand brushed up past the hem of your skirt. Biting your lip in an attempt to control your breath, his hand wandered higher, pushing your skirt further up to expose your panties.

His long fingers grazed the fabric of the underwear over your core. Letting out a short gasp, you quickly brought your hand up to cover your mouth to muffle the sound. Dragging his fingers along the growing wetness on your panties, Minho kept his eyes locked on your expression.

"I, I think about how nice you always look in your dress clothes," you stuttered, "but I really wonder what you look like under them."

Ending the statement confidently, it seemed as if someone else had taken control of your tongue. Minho raised his eyebrows, smirk still plastered on his face from his prior question. As you felt the bulge in his pants begin to protrude under you, he shifted in his chair once again. He cleared his throat, loosening his tie in the process before speaking up.

"We should go somewhere more private." Minho suggested as he moved you off of his lap. "I don't want to be somewhere that anyone could find us," He finished before pacing towards the hall outside of his office. Following behind him you obliged, walking towards the door and into the corridor. Before you could get very far a faint voice sounded off down the hallway.

"Mr. Lee?" Minho's secretary called out from down the hall.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath, grabbing your hand and swiftly pulling you into the nearest room to avoid Amy.

The copy room was dark. The small touchscreen on the copy machine and the light that peeked in through the small, rectangular window on the door barely lit the room enough for you to see what was right in front of you.

Breathing heavily, Minho pushed your back up against the door trying to remain out of sight as he followed suit beside you. The feeling of hiding from your coworker with your boss was thrilling, something that was easily so wrong, and definitely against HR policy, excited you.

"Mr. Lee? Are you still here?" Amy called from the hallway outside the copy room door. Minho's startled eyes wandered out the small window on the top of the door to see where his secretary could be.

"Fuck," he let out a deep breath before ducking away from the window.

Minho flipped his body so that he was facing you, placing his arms on either side of your head and his forehead resting on yours. He slowly brought his index finger to your lips, motioning you to stay quiet so you wouldn't be found.

Minho's warm, deep breaths met the skin of your cheeks, his long arm hovered over you, restricting you between his body and the wooden door behind you. The mere inches between your bodies left you craving for his touch yet again. You bit your lip to try and ease your breathing, looking up at Minho through your long eyelashes.

He placed his palm over your lips, trying to silence your deep breaths from the woman pacing around the corridor only a few feet away. His gaze was deep and sultry, it felt as though he was looking straight through you and directly to your thoughts. If only he knew the types of things going through your mind right now – such inappropriate things for an employee to think about their boss.

Tension grew as you stood there, body pressed against Minho’s as you waited for Amy to pass. Being in such close proximity to him was affecting you in ways you would've never imagined. Heat flooded to your core with each deep breath you took; Minho’s seductive stare only furthered your desire.

Without saying a word, Minho removed his hand from your mouth and replaced it with his own. The kiss caught you off guard, causing you to let out a small gasp in return. Minho smiled at your reaction, clearly satisfied with how he was taking you by surprise. His tongue swiped along your bottom lip asking for entrance, in which you easily obliged, slowly parting your lips and allowing him to kiss you even more passionately.

Minho’s knee found its place spreading your thighs apart slowly, teasing you as he rubbed it against your throbbing clit in the process. With slight hesitation, he quickly peeked his head up to the window one more time, making sure that the coast was clear before leaning back down to attach his lips to yours. His hands roamed your body down to the small of your back, pulling you in even closer to him.

Pressing your breasts to his chest, you slid your hand between your two bodies. Your hand found its way down to the bulge in his pants, lightly groping it before earning a moan of approval from him. Instinctively he began to grind into your hand, becoming even needier for your touch.

Minho’s breathing became instantly jagged from the moment you first touched his growing member. Perspiration began to gather at the top of Minho's exposed forehead, the small strands of dark hair framing his face hastily became damp. Your callous touch accompanied with sweet kisses to his lips sent Minho into a state of hunger; his demeanor instantly changed, electrifying the mood of the room.

Minho’s fingertips dragged down your body and to the hem of your blouse, tugging on it slightly before seeking approval to remove it from your body. There’s not enough time to respond before you were fiddling with the tie around his neck, loosening it and slipping it over his head to have better access to the buttons that lined his shirt. Your hands moved swiftly trying to undo each one before Minho's hands reached for his belt, causing you to bring your hands back to your own body.

In an unspoken rhythm, you both discarded your bottoms, leaving Minho standing naked as you wore just your silky black bra. A low moan left his lips as his hand cupped your breast, massaging gently before slipping his thumb underneath the thin fabric to play with your nipple. His touch left goosebumps all over your body, taking the sensation of his calloused fingertips against such a sensitive area.

You threw your head back in pleasure giving Minho access to your neck. Hungrily, he attached his lips just above your collarbone, sucking light marks into your skin. His hands moved to your back, unlatching the clasp of your bra and removing it from your body. The stimulation from both his lips and his fingers left your core aching for more, leaving moisture to accumulate between your thighs.

Without a second to spare, Minho’s hand’s were roaming down your body, parting your legs and dragging his finger down your wet slit. You moaned in response, keening into his touch as sweat began to gather on your brow.

With one quick swipe against your clit you were jumping at the contact. “Minho,” you moaned, “need your fingers inside me.”

A stern look crossed his face, making his seductive expression even more dark and lustful than before. “You have to be quiet,” his voice carried a serious tone as he placed a finger to your lips, “we don’t want Amy coming to look for us again, do we?” His question lingered as he leaned in closer to you, whispering the words softly, before leaving with a small nip to your earlobe causing you to shudder.

“Jump,” Minho ordered, grabbing your ass with each hand as you followed his request, jumping as his strong arms secured themselves around you. Each of your legs rested on each side of his body, gripping him tightly so you wouldn't fall. Minho held his body tightly up against you, taking his time by teasing you and dragging his member along your wet slit ever so slowly.

His hard member slid into you carefully, allowing you time to adjust to his size before pushing himself all the way in. You threw your head back against the wall in pleasure, becoming accustomed to the feeling of his hard shaft stretching out your walls. Slowly, Minho began pumping in and out of you at a slow pace. He was careful not to make too much noise, giving you slow and shallow thrusts before working his way to a faster pace.

He soon attached his lips to yours, moaning into the kiss as you basked in the taste of fruity residue left from the punch he was sipping on earlier. The room was becoming hot and stuffy, the window above you becoming cloudy as your bodies perspired. His movements were fluid and intentional, rocking you against the door as he held you tightly in his grip.

"Hold on," Minho whispered, pulling you off of the wall and walking towards the back of the room. His muscular arms held your body tightly against his, making sure no space was left between you.

Minho pulled out slowly, the sensation of your aching pussy berating your thoughts as he and let go of your legs. Your shaky legs were left to steady themselves on the ground, stumbling to hold onto Minho’s firm chest for support.. Grabbing you by your waist, he quickly turned your body to face the copy machine. In one swift motion you watched him lift open up the top of the machine, letting the beam of light underneath the glass panel illuminate your naked figure. His bare chest was placed flush against your back, standing so close that you could feel his racing heartbeat.

"Bend over," Minho ordered as his hand rested on the small of your back, guiding you to push your chest closer to the copy machine. Following his orders, you pressed your body against the machine, shivering from the cold sensation of the glass panel brushing against your sensitive nipples.

Minho grabbed onto your ass, squeezing it gently as he guided himself back into you. You let out a quiet whine, wrapping your fingers onto the sides of the copy machine to try and stabilize yourself. He returned back to a steady pace, rocking into you with ease while his firm hands caressed your back.

"Fuck Y/N," Minho moaned, "you're taking me so well."

His hand grabbed at your hair harshly, making a makeshift ponytail with his fist, as he pulled your head up. Arching your back, you couldn't help but let out a loud moan in reaction to the new depths Minho was reaching in your dripping core.

"I wanna hear you," Minho grunted between thrusts, his strokes becoming faster and harder. Incapable of using your words, you let out another whine squeezing your eyes shut completely, focused on the sensation of his thick member filling you up and the feeling of his hips hitting your ass with each plunge.

"I'm close," your voice was whiny and weak. Minho picked up his pace, snapping his hips harder into you as one hand left its position on your hip. The loss of contact made you whine, but his hand soon found its place between your legs. His fingers lightly brushed against your swollen clit, the sensation making you see stars. Legs beginning to shake, your grip on the copy machine became firmer, needing to hold onto something in order to steady yourself. The added pleasure from his fingers sent you spiraling, choking you up and causing your eyes to water in bliss.

"Come for me Y/N, I wanna feel you cum all over my cock," he grunted, his voice low and sensual. Moving his hand faster, your clit was rolled between his fingertips. Your orgasm was just out of reach. The satisfaction was just out of reach. But Minho’s tender touch sent you over the edge, relying on the copy machine to hold his unstable body up.

"Minho," you mustered out, riding out your high, pussy throbbing around his dick. He hummed in response, too focused on chasing his own high to form any audible words. The low grunts leaving Minho’s lips became more and more frequent as his thrusts slowed, growing sloppier and careless. But his hands gripped your hips firmly, holding you still as he let out a string of profanities before collapsing onto your back.

Minho rested his head between your shoulder blades, chest heaving as he regained his composure before pulling out of you. Slowly, he stood up, taking a deep breath and admiring your exhausted figure before you followed behind him.

"Wow," was the only word that you could manage, wiping your forehead with the back of your hand as you turned to face him. Minho chuckled in response, smiling gingerly as he picked up your clothes, handing them back to you so that you could get dressed.

After pulling your top over your head your eyes did a quick scan around the room, confirming that you weren't leaving anything behind. If someone were to find an undergarment in here, it would be the talk of the office for at least a week. In the corner of your eye, you spotted a sheet of paper resting on the tray of the copy machine. Raising an eyebrow, you paced back over to the machine and lifted up the sheet.

"Oh. My. God."

You were frozen in place, eyes wide with shock as you look at the image before you. Minho soon whipped his body around, finishing off the buckle of his belt before wandering over to the copy machine.

"I'm so keeping that," Minho said, looking over your shoulder at the picture of your bare breasts printed on the paper gripped harshly in your hands. A smug smirk was plastered on his face as he continued to admire the crude photograph.

"Minho, do you know how this happened?" Your voice was filled with concern, turning your head to face him, sure he was up to something. His eyes were glued on the graphic photo you held in your hands, too zoned out to hear you speak.

"Minho," you repeated more firmly this time, finally gaining his attention back to you from the image, "did you do this?"

A small grin formed on his face, one side of his mouth lifted while he raised his eyebrows. He looked smug...too smug.

"Can't have anyone finding this, now can we?" He chuckled, taking this paper in his own hands and taking one last glance before ripping it into small pieces before tossing the pieces into the recycling bin and extending a hand to you. "I say we go celebrate the occasion with a drink, you in?" Taking his hand in yours, you nodded your head in agreement, following Minho out of the copy room.

"How does a some more punch sound? George brought an extra bottle of juice that I can snag and I’ve got a bottle of vodka at my place with our names on it." Minho spoke, earning a smile from you before walking out the office doors.

Suddenly you feel the mattress shift beside you, pulling you out of your daydream. Minho rolls over to face your direction with his eyes still closed, his mouth slowly opening before taking a deep breath.

"Good morning," he speaks, eyes fluttering open and taking in your disheveled appearance.

"Morning," you manage to mutter out, quickly breaking eye contact, unable to face him from the pure embarrassment filling your system.

"Last night was fun, huh?" He asks, the cheerfulness barely peeking through the groggy tone of his voice. "Last night?" You know exactly what he was talking about, but hope he’s referring to anything except what happened in the copy room.

"Yeah, we came back here to have a drink after we–"

"Oh okay yep! I remember. No need to go into any more details!" You cut him off before he can continue any further, covering your eyes to shield you from his gaze. The flesh on your cheeks are scorching hot with embarrassment.

As you go to stand up from the bed, hoping to quickly gather your things and rush out the door before Minho could mention anything else, his hand reaches for yours. He pulls you in closer to him until your face is near enough to touch; grazing the side of your warm cheeks before speaking again. You lower your head in embarrassment, unsure of what Minho is about to say.

"I really enjoyed our time together last night, I wouldn’t mind having you over again." He brushes the stray hairs away from falling into your eyes, lifting your chin up to meet his gaze afterward. Heart fluttering in response, you catch your lip between your teeth in an attempt to hide the large smile that’s threatening to peek through.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Minho stands up, reaching into the pocket of the pants he wore last night and pulling out a small folded up piece of paper.

"I believe this belongs to you," he curls up the ends of his mouth, biting back a smile while handing it to you. Confused, you unfold the paper revealing a picture of your very own breasts. As if the situation could not get any more embarrassing, Minho stares down at the paper in your hands, admiring your bare chest plastered in black and white, letting out a small chuckle.

As mortified as you are, you figure that the natural instinct to never talk to this man again would not work, seeing that Minho is your boss. Taking a deep breath, you try to find any sort of confidence that could still be left inside you. You look back up at him, cocking your head slightly to the side before reaching your arm out and handing him back the photo.

"Keep it, think of it as a Halloween gift." You say shooting him a smirk, internally crossing your fingers hoping for a good reaction. Minho snickers, taking the paper from your hand and looking at it one last time before folding it back up and holding it tightly in his palm.

"I'll keep it somewhere safe," He gives you a wink and shoves the paper deep into the pocket of his pajama pants.

"Happy Halloween, Minho."

‘Halloween Hookup’ is copyright 2020 @chaangbin​, all rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.

[ladykissingfish]

The Akatsuki at Karaoke Night

Being a group of insatiable killers is hard work, even in the best of circumstances. Like anybody else, the Akatsuki is constantly seeking out ways to unwind and de-stress during their off time. One day Konan goes out and comes back excited; a local tavern hosts a karaoke night every week. The others are reluctant at first, but this quickly becomes one of their new favorites pastimes. Drinking, eating, singing; what could be more fun than that?

Deidara

Has to be really drunk to get up on stage and sing. Like, incredibly drunk. Like how-is-he-still-standing-drunk. When in this state, there’s one song that he’ll sing and one song only: “I’m A Barbie Girl.” Nobody in the Akatsuki knows why he chooses this particular song, but everyone has to admit that it suits him. He’ll take his hair out of his ponytail and have it cascading down his back, he’ll tie up his shirt in a front knot, and, if she’s wearing them, will borrow Konan’s heels to wear. And he’ll always try and drag Sasori on stage with him to sing the parts of Ken (C’mon, Danna! You’re literally like a doll, hm!), but Sasori will only comply if he’s in a really good mood/there’s not that many people around. Despite his intoxication he’ll actually sing beautifully, so much so that he’ll receive requests for encores; which he’ll do, until the booze catches up with him and he falls head-first off the stage and into someone’s (usually Tobi’s) lap. Won’t remember a thing the next day and feverishly insist that he’s never even heard of “some weird Barbie song”.

EDIT:: After days of this being on my mind I can also believe that Deidara would sing “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood(?) and stare directly at Sasori the entire time even though they’re not really dating they‘re “in a situation” and even though if they WERE dating Sasori isn’t the cheating kind but he’s listening to the lyrics and noting how intensely Deidara is singing it and his face is just 😳

Sasori

He only goes because the others insist that he does. Honestly, this guy has a severe allergy to anything Fun. Chances are he’ll bring one of his puppets with him to work on/modify. He mostly refuses to get on stage and sing any songs of his own, BUT he’ll use his chakra strings to control his puppet and have it dance along on stage to a song of his choosing, that he has one of the other members sing for the puppet (giving them a taste of ventriloquism). The song he likes his performers to do most frequently is “Dancing With Myself” by Billy Joel; this must be his favorite song because he always silently mouths along to it as it plays. If literally nobody else is there besides the rest of the Akatsuki, he sometimes “makes” Deidara join him for a duet; he’s particularly fond of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John, although he and Deidara always fight over who sings the part of the girl.

Tobi

It’s dangerous to let Tobi sing in front of people. Not because he’s bad at it, but because ... he’s good. Startlingly good. His voice changes completely from a goofy childish timbre, to very deep, and smooth, and mellow. There are sea legends about sailors being lured to their deaths by the songs of sirens, and the same principle seems to be at work here. Waitresses will drop their trays, people walking will run face-first into each other, and the area around the stage will be packed with men and women alike trying to get as close as possible to him. The fact that he sounds like that but won’t make his mask off makes him even more mysterious and alluring. His song of choice? “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers; which brings tears (and swooning) to the eyes and minds of anyone who hears him. After the song it’s like someone flips a switch, and he goes back to the weirdo that the Akatsuki knows and tolerates, seemingly completely oblivious to the chaos his singing caused. He also enjoys having drinks with his Senpai, as the alcohol makes the blonde much more friendly towards Tobi than he usually is; however he can’t keep up with the amount of booze Deidara can put away, and he feels sleepy after just a few beers.

Hidan

As with most group outings, he’ll complain about thinking everything is stupid. His religion prohibits the consumption of alcohol, so he’ll occupy himself with eating lots of food and “lovingly” heckling his fellow Akatsuki members when they get up on stage. Once in a blue moon he can be persuaded to get up and sing himself, although again this is a complete rarity. He has no real music preferences and will usually just flip through the available choices until he finds something he knows the lyrics to. Tries to pick songs with a lot of swearing in it, which he won’t bother to bleep out and will instead scream out at the top of his lungs (which often results in the whole group being threatened with getting kicked out). Sometimes, though, when he’s in a more mellow state of mind ((a rarity for Hidan)) he’ll get the urge to do a duet (because that takes the pressure off of everyone staring only at him) and can convince Konan to go up with him. Their rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” always brings the room to its feet, and gets them thunderous applause. After the song Konan will blush and kiss his cheek, which Hidan pretends to act embarrassed about (but is secretly thrilled by). His favorite song to do solo, however, is “Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones, which he ... really ... gets into.

Kakuzu

Mostly comes out with the others as a sort of chaperone; making sure they get home safe after drinking, and trying to prevent them from blowing all their money on the “outrageously priced” food and drinks. Karaoke isn’t really his thing, and neither is being on stage in front of people. However if he’s in a decent mood, and there aren’t that many people around, he can be persuaded to get up and sing. He sings the most amazing rendition of “Ain’t No Grave (Can Hold My Body Down)” by Johnny Cash; his deep gravelly voice and slow speaking pitch are absolutely perfect for it, giving everyone listening goosebumps. Kakuzu is also a skilled guitar player, and sometimes he will sit on stage and play the guitar bits of certain songs for other Akatsuki members singing, “But I’m taking my fees out of your next paycheck.”

Zetsu

Surprisingly, this is one activity that the plant-man enjoys engaging in with the others. He’s not much of an alcohol drinker, and “human” food isn’t really his thing, either; but he loves to hear the others do their best at singing. It takes a lot to get Zetsu up on the stage himself, but when he does, he’s a fairly decent singer. He’s able to change the pitch of his voice quite effortlessly, so that it intend sounds as if two people are singing, instead of one. His song of choice is a long one: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. It takes a lot f stamina to get through this, but Zetsu always finds that half the time he can’t even hear his own voice with this one, as everyone in the place sings with him (because seriously, who alive doesn’t know this song?). But it’s not all fun and games; Zetsu will always be scoping out the crowd, discerning who the most intoxicated people are. He’ll lure these poor souls into the alley out back, and gave himself a tasty little snack. He tries his hardest not to let the others catch him doing this, though, as this is supposed to be a fun and stress-free night for all involved.

Konan and Pein

This whole thing was her idea, yet, unless it’s a duet with one of the others, she’s very reluctant to try and sing on her own. Thinks her voice is “nails on a chalkboard”, although everyone vehemently disagrees with this perspective. Never has to bring any money with her to the bar, because all of the boys will take turns buying her food and drinks. She goes crazy for fries of any kind, and can eat carloads of these alone. Konan is exceptionally beautiful, and she will be mercilessly hit on from the moment she walks in until they all leave. Well, not always — the boys ALSO like to take turns acting as Konan’s bodyguard, and protecting her from anyone who tries to come within three feet of her. They hide their more vicious tendencies for when Konan’s not paying attention, because they know she wants a relaxing evening, but still: there’s been quite a number of guys escorted out of the bar by Kisame and Hidan, that mysteriously never return. When persuaded to sing, almost anything she chooses will be an Amy Winehouse song, as this is her favorite artist. Her favorite song is “Wake Up Alone”, which moves her fellow teammates (Pein included) to tears. Joins Kakuzu as helper to make sure everyone gets home safe and sound. Pein doesn’t like singing, and does not want to sing ... but Konan always manages to convince him to be a good sport at some point in the evening. But the song he picks is disappointingly predictable: “Pain” by Three Days Grace. Expected, maybe ... but he puts real heart and soul into his rendition, nearly falling off the stage with his enthusiasm. As with all group outings, Nagato loves to experience everything through the Pein-body’s eyes, and spend time with this makeshift family of his.

Kisame

One of the biggest drinkers, but something (perhaps his half-animalness) makes it near impossible for him to be totally drunk, no matter how much alcohol he consumes. Sometimes he’ll make a deal with Kakuzu: Kakuzu will scope out other drunks in the place, inform Kisame of their whereabouts, and Kisame will hustle them for money in either drinking contests or pool games. He’ll split the money with the old guy, making both happy. When it comes to the karaoke aspect, Kisame doesn’t really like singing, or being in front of a crowd; but decides to be a good sport and do a song lIke the others. He can sing almost anything (he has a wide vocal range), but he really seems to favor love ballads. His favorite is November Rain by Guns n Roses, and the rest of the Akatsuki is shocked at how damn soulful he sounds singing it. If not singing or hustling drunks, he likes to spend some quiet time with Itachi, buying him snacks and coaxing the thin ((TOO thin, in Kisame’s opinion)) young man to eat.

Itachi

Is quiet and shy by nature, so naturally things like karaoke bars aren’t really his deal. But Kisame always insists that it’s good for him to get out ((out of the hideout and out of his head)) and socialize once in a while, so he goes. It’s the same deal as Konan, almost, where women flock to him and hit on him for nearly the entire duration of his visit. However, the group doesn’t act as a collective bodyguard for him, as the majority of them feel like he’d be better off, as Hidan delicately puts it, “If the fucker just got laid.” But Itachi doesn’t seem interested in anything like this; he’s polite to those who approach him, but so closed-off that eventually they give up. When one particularly persistent woman wouldn’t leave him alone, Itachi resorted to grabbing the person nearest him (who happened to be Deidara) and telling the admirer that he was his boyfriend. He even put his arm around the guy’s waist, squeezing him. Deidara went along with it, but after the woman left he angrily informed Itachi that he’d “blow your ass up if you ever try something like that again, hm!” That’s what he SAYS, but it should be noted that he blushes quite hard for some time afterwards. Itachi was only ever convicted to go up and sing one time, and it was a duet with Kisame. The song was “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie. At the end of the song, Kisame was beaming, and Itachi had more admirers than ever clamoring for his attention. Not used to late nights so if they’re out past midnight will usually fall asleep sitting at the bar, and be carried home (and put into bed) by Kisame.

[edna-skiffens]

Ooo what about some teacher!Haz angst? Him and the reader get into an argument and avoid each other for a few days, their students find out and remind them of why they're together - the perfect couple - and they forget about the argument?

I love this! I hope it is okay. I got a bit carried away - sorry it took so long.

Lesson Learned

Summary: You and Teacher!Haz had an argument. Everyone at school can see the tension and they try to help.

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: Some angst, Some fluff, Some bad attempts at writing an English lesson

The moment you pulled your car into the parking lot, Tom knew something was wrong.

“Haz not coming in today?” You only gave him a small smile and a shrug as you walked by the boy that got stuck doing car rider duty each morning.

Less than a minute later, Haz pulled in, trying not to glance at your car as he made his way towards the building.

“How come you didn’t pick up Y/N?”

“Ask her, mate.” was the only information Harrison gave out, before he made his way inside.

When you signed in, the office staff noticed the tension as well. Usually Harrison would be holding your bag or the two of you would be way too giggly for the early mornings. Today you were managing your purse, work bag and mug of tea all alone while signing in. You’d have to put on a better act if you wanted to make it through the day. The last thing you wanted was to be the subject of workplace gossip or have your students interrogating you.

When the first bell rang, you knew you needed to stand in your spot in the hallway to watch the students, but knowing Harrison would be out there across from you made you drag your feet.

When you saw him standing there- in his stupid glasses and his stupid jumper - you froze. How could you be angry at such a face? But you were angry.

You were still stalled in the doorway when one of your students started walking in.

“Hey Emma, will you help me with something?” Sure. You used her to get away from the hallway.

“Sure, Ms. Y/L/N. What do you need?”

Once you were safely inside you turned to her. “Oh uh.. never mind I think I’ve got it actually..” You knew you were a coward, but you couldn’t face him yet. Harrison saw you retreat and hung his head. He noticed how you had an excuse to avoid the hallway all day. You two used to be inseparable and now it felt like across the hall was a world away.

He wasn’t the only one to notice. The students and other teachers noticed. Even the custodian pointed out how during lunch you were eating in your separate rooms.

“You must have a lot of work to do?” He joked light heartedly while emptying Harrison’s trash.

“Sorry?”

“To not be eating with Ms. Y/L/N today you must have a lot to do.” He smiled before leaving the room.

After school Harrison coached Track practice. You would usually busy yourself with work while waiting or occasionally host Yearbook Club and Prom Committee meetings. Today you had no reason to wait. After the dismissal bell rang, it felt odd to start packing up immediately, but you did. Avoiding anyone’s questions or awkward run ins, you made a quick exit and headed to your own place.

The next day was much of the same. The staff noticed the tension even more, though they tried not to point it out. The students were also beginning to pick up on the sudden change.

You couldn’t just avoid the hallway for another whole day, so in between classes you moved down to Mrs. Greene’s area and made small talk with her, occasionally calling out a student to put their phone up or hurry to class.

During lunch Tom popped in to check on his friend, noticing that he was eating alone again.

“Hey, mate.”

“Hey Tom. What’s up?”

“You tell me.” Tom responds while leaning against a students desk with his arms crossed.

“Sorry?”

“What’s going on with you and Y/N?” Harrison stared at his friend for a moment. He loved having a close friend that cared so much, but sometimes hated how persistent he could be.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t do that. Everyone has noticed how you two are acting differently, so you can’t say it’s nothing. And I’m your best mate so I’m going to worry about it if I can see it’s affecting you.”

“We got into a fight.” He said after a moment.

“Was it bad?” Harrison gave his friend a ‘seriously?’ look before rolling his eyes. Obviously if they weren’t speaking it was bad. “Okay okay. Well, you didn’t break up right? So you can still repair things. That is, if you want to?”

“Of course I want to.”

“So then what are you waiting for?”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me. She does everything she can to avoid me and we work right across from each other.”

“Okay, but sitting in here and moping about it isn’t helping anything.” Harrison knew Tom was right, but it was still tough to hear. “Look, I don’t know what the fight was about or who was right or who was wrong, but if you don’t want this to ruin the relationship then you’ve got to suck it up and go over there and talk to her. The silence isn’t doing anything for anyone.” Harrison just nodded, taking in his friend’s advice before the bell rang. “I’m here if you need me.” Tom called out as he made his way back to the science lab.

It was the last class of the day, your AP Literature class, and you were discussing Little Women.

“What are some themes we saw throughout the novel?”

“Love.” Shouted out one of your students, Jessie.

“Yes, love is a big one. We see it in many different ways that we can explore as well. But let’s go a little deeper into those relationships, shall we? What themes do we see?”

“With Jo and Laurie there is tension.”

“Yeah we see that a bit.” You turn to add it on the board.

“Could you say war? Because of the actual war but also the arguments the characters have.”

“Good one.” You say with your back to the class as you write it on the board.

“And with Amy and Jo, they don’t communicate very well. They just argue a lot.”

“You’re right. They do.” You say turning back around, suddenly uncomfortable with where this is headed. “Okay that’s a good starting point. Why don’t you write down all the themes you can think of being consistent throughout Little Women and turn it in at the end of class.” You smile before heading back to your desk.

It wasn’t long until the end of the day approached and the afternoon announcements came over the loudspeaker. After they were over, your students started turning in their papers to your desk.

“Ms. Y/L/N?”

“Yeah, Sam?”

“Um-” they looked back at their small group of friends who seemed to be encouraging them. You smiled, waiting for them to continue, “Did you and Mr. Osterfield break up?”

“Oh my god, Sam. You can’t ask that!” Hannah gasped from her desk. The classroom seemed to suddenly get very quiet. The color drained from your face and you were thankful there were only minutes left in the school day.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. No, we haven’t broken up. But that’s all I’m going to say because this is a personal matter and not something to discuss with our students.” Sam smiled sheepishly before returning to their desk.

“I’m glad you didn’t break up.” Carter, one of your typically quieter students, commented.

“Me too. You two are better together than Laurie and Amy.” Megan remarked as other students nodded.

Thankfully, the bell rang before you needed to make any reply. “Thanks guys. See you all tomorrow.” You told them while ushering everyone out the door. You headed back to your desk when you heard the door shut. Wondering who and what it was, you whipped around.

“Harrison.”

“We need to talk.”

“We can’t do this here. And now.”

“If not here and now then when? I know you’ve been avoiding me and I can’t stand not seeing you or talking to you any longer.”

You hated conflict. You hated not being able to control your feelings in moments like this.

“Harrison.” You turned around to face your desk. Your emotions were a confusing cocktail inside of you. You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to pick somewhere to begin.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry because I know you don’t like being cornered like this, but I didn’t know how else to talk to you. And I’m sorry about this weekend and the things I said and the way I acted. I didn’t mean it. I love you and would never want to hurt you. And I’m sorry I let you avoid me this long as I sat there and did nothing. I should have come to you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t. But I’m here now, will you please talk to me?” You bowed your head, taking in everything he just said. “Will you at least look at me?”

You turned to face him with tears brimming in your eyes. “Oh Y/N.” he stepped closer, but stopped short in front of you. Unsure if he was allowed to hold you still. Unsure where you stood.

You gave him the answer by reaching out and pulling him in. He quickly wrapped his arms around you.

“I’m sorry too. I should have just talked to you sooner, I’m sorry.”

“Oh love.” He kissed the top of your hair while holding you in his arms for a moment. “Are we okay?” He asked, holding your face in his hands as you stepped back.

You nodded and sniffled, letting your tears subside. “Yeah. If anything, this has shown me how much I enjoy being with you. I don’t want to not talk to you again. You are what matters most. Not winning silly arguments.”

“I couldn’t agree more. How about I take you home and we make up for lost time?”

“Harrison!” You hid your face in his chest and giggled. He just smirked before picking up your chin with his finger and kissing you yet again. “Well, I drove my own car so I guess I’ll take myself home.” You reminded him while you gathered your things.

“Just for today, love.” He said as he took your heavy work bag from your arm. “Tomorrow, I’ll be there with your tea, a blueberry muffin and a ride to work.”

“Back as things should be, yeah?” You both walked to the door of your classroom, turning off the lights and locking up for the day.

“Back as things should be.” He gave you a quick peck outside your classroom door, knowing you could now possibly be seen by students. You weren’t though, they were long gone.

Tom, however, saw the brief exchange and smiled to himself, ‘lesson learned.’

[sofwrites]

I Do (Again)

The last of the eight Bridgerton weddings.

Written in honor of the beautiful and lovely @jake-amy 💛

Themes: fluff, family, light angst, blatant sentimentalism, Bridgertons being Bridgertons

Length: 4.5k

ao3 link | masterlist | read under the cut if you want!

“Well, then you’ll never wake him up.”

“Why don’t we dump some water on him and get it over and done with?”

“Why don’t we dump some water on him and get it over and done with?”

“Hm, I think there’s a mug right-”

“Oh, bloody- Gregory, wake up!”

“Agh!”

The previously sound-asleep gentleman bolted into an upright position as a hand roughly shook his shoulder. With a low moan, he squinted into the darkness, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. When they did, and he could clearly see the three silhouettes in front of him, he groaned.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Colin quipped, a huge, aggravating grin plastered to his face.

“Congratulations on the big day,” said Benedict.

Anthony nodded his agreement, lips perked up into a smirk. “Have a good sleep?”

Gregory looked towards the window, seeing dim orange light spilling into the room. “What time is it?” he asked, his voice still gruff with sleep.

“Mmm,” Anthony glanced at his pocket watch. “Quarter to six.”

The youngest brother stared at him, then back at the window, then back to the three wide-awake idiots standing before him. He then blinked several times before letting out a long sigh. “And why, pray tell, have you woken me up before sunrise?”

Colin stepped closer to him, grin widening as the other two looked to him to answer. All of them were practically bouncing with excitement. “Why, it is your wedding day, is it not?”

Gregory let out another tired breath, slumping down against his headboard. “It is.”

“Which means that it is Lucy’s wedding day as well, is it not?”

There was a beat of hesitation before Gregory flatly repeated, “It is.”

Colin nodded thoughtfully. “So, I thought that we’d continue our tradition, and, of course, wanted to give Anthony and Benedict the chance to join us in such brotherly bonding.”

Benedict leaned over to give him a heavy pat on the back, a lopsided smile so irritatingly placed on his lips that Gregory had the urge to knock it off. Meanwhile, Anthony’s smirk only grew as he gave him a solemn nod.

“Our tradition?” There was a small crack in his voice as he said it, dread washing over him as he looked between their disturbingly cheery faces.

This time, all three of them grinned and looked at each other for a moment before nodding simultaneously. And just a few seconds later, Gregory’s arms and legs were met by six hands, all hoisting him up and out of his bed with frightening swiftness.

There was a cry and some rather foul language grumbled, as well as some hearty laughter, but soon enough, Gregory had been pushed into the washroom, put into his wedding attire, and then placed into a carriage on its way to Fennsworth House.

“We aren’t really doing this, right?” he asked, still a meager smidgen of hope left within the youngest man.

“Oh,” Benedict laughed, one leg eagerly bouncing on his other knee. “We’re doing this.”

“We could have walked instead of taking the carriage, of course, but I’m afraid poor Anthony’s a bit old for all of that,” Colin teased, giving his older brother a nudge.

Anthony gave him a deadpanned look in return but simply shook his head. “I’m too old for your nonsense, that much is true, at least.”

“I really can’t believe this,” Gregory muttered, crossing his arms. “You’ve all really done this. And on my wedding da...” But he trailed off as his mouth curved into a small smile.

It was his wedding day.

Wedding. Day.

Him. Gregory.

And Lucy. His Lucy.

Lucy Lucy Lucy.

They were getting married.

In just about six hours, they would be married. And she would really and truly be his Lucy.

Gregory was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his three brothers exchanging amused looks and prideful grins. All he could think about was Lucy, and how beautiful she was going to look, and how happy they were going to be.

When they arrived minutes later, the four Bridgerton brothers climbed up, by order of youngest to eldest, in the very same tree Gregory and Colin had sat in just a few weeks ago.

Once they were settled and decently comfortable, Gregory glanced at them reluctantly. “... We aren’t really going to sit here until Lucy leaves, right? Isn’t it bad luck for me to see the bride anyhow?”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ve planned for that,” Benedict smiled, patting him on the knee in a mock-reassuring manner. “We’ll push you off and you’ll hide behind the tree until she’s out of sight.”

Gregory looked at him blankly, waiting for a laugh, but it was clear that none of his brothers were joking. In fact, Colin even brought out the bag Gregory hadn’t noticed him bringing and removed an impressive assortment of sandwiches, fruits, and cheese from it. When he noticed his younger brother gaping at him, he, taking a bite of the first sandwich before handing off the bag to Anthony, shrugged. “I certainly wasn’t going to come unprepared this time.”

“I think it’s rather nice,” Benedict said, biting into an apple. “Your last morning as a single man, spent with your three older brothers.”

And although Gregory murmured something like, “We could have gone to the club instead,” there was something surprisingly sentimental about it all, and it seemed to hang in the air for a few moments. There were no sounds other than those of the birds chirping, carriages riding down the road, and four men chewing on their makeship breakfast.

Finally, Anthony cleared his throat. “Now, Gregory. Is there anything you’d wish to know about marriage?”

There was a pause, during which everyone’s minds went to the most wicked of places. Gregory looked at him with a small smile, his neck tinging red, while Colin and Benedict both snorted.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Anthony groaned, rolling his eyes, but no one missed the quirk of his lips.

They spent the remaining hours watching the sunrise and talking, sharing stories and jokes and “marital advice” (some of which Gregory stored away and some of which he knew was utterly useless). It was a bit surreal, in all truth. His three older brothers had always been lumped together, the notorious A, B, and C, whereas he’d always been at the end of the row, happy with his lot but separated all the same.

But that morning, he just felt like ‘one of the Bridgerton men’. It was as if he’d finally crossed from boy into man and was truly a part of them now.

Anthony, Benedict, and Colin, in the meantime, also took notice of how much their little brother had grown, shaping up to be another one of them. They’d all watched him transform from infant into man, but it was only that morning that they’d really noticed it.

The last of the Bridgerton siblings was getting married. A new part of life was truly beginning.

The food had disappeared long before the doors to Fennsworth House opened and servants began bustling out, but the excitement hadn’t stopped. And true to their word, the three older brothers pushed the youngest out of the tree once he’d made it onto the lowest branch, forcing him to stand behind the tree, facing away from the house and his bride.

It was then, while Gregory was standing with his back against the tree and listening for a specific voice, that fear materialized. He’d been distracted thoroughly enough by his brothers throughout the morning for his anxieties to hide away, but then, it was like he was almost alone. And suddenly, he pictured it. Servants exiting the doors, followed by Robert and Hermione, and then-

And then no Lucy.

Robert and Hermione showing up at the church alone, wearing somber expressions and pitying glances.

“She’s not coming,” Hermione would say, her voice soft and condoling.

She wouldn’t marry him. She’d reconsidered and realized that it wasn’t right- that she was making a mistake.

Gregory roughly shook his head, forcing his eyes shut. He was being stupid, he knew that. Lucy had done nothing to make him feel as though she didn’t love him as much as he loved her. She wanted to marry him just as much as he wanted to marry her, there was nothing he was more certain about in his entire being.

But he’d been there, just a few weeks ago, sitting and waiting for her to come out. And then she had, wearing a wedding dress and a smile on her face, absolutely no intention of calling off the wedding.

“Stupid,” he muttered to himself, just quietly enough so that none of his brothers heard.

He heard voices, ones that did nothing to reassure the groom’s failing nerves. He didn’t dare turn around nor look at his brothers, hearing little more than the sound of his beating heart.

But then there was something else.

Among the voices came a giggle, one that was giddy and lovely and made his heart sore like nothing else in the world ever could.

“Please, I don’t want to be late!” he heard Lucy say- his Lucy, her voice filled with joy and just the slightest hint of exasperation.

“She looks lovely, Greg,” Benedict said, the smile clear and bright in his voice.

“Yeah?” Gregory asked, his voice sounding so relieved that all of his brothers caught it.

Anthony, who was closest to him, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “She really does.”

“Happy as well,” Colin added, grinning down at him.

And with that, Gregory let out a great breath, relaxing back into the tree. “It’s a fine day for a wedding, I think.”

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

It was more modest than her first.

With the rush of the wedding, the decorations proved to be fair but sparse, the gown was pretty but not magnificent, and the chapel was nice but not breathtaking.

But it was better.

So, so much better.

Because the smile on Lucy’s face was so genuine and contented that it made her radiant.

They were in a small back room of the church, Lucy sitting serenely in a chair while Hermione flitted about and doted on her, doing little fixes to the bride’s hair and fluffing out her skirts whenever she saw fit. Every now and again, she’d look up at Lucy and give her a smile so beaming that it was almost overwhelming. “I don’t think there’s ever been a more beautiful bride,” her friend said, reaching up to squeeze her hand.

“Not since your wedding I think,” Lucy said before her lips pinched and her voice weakened, “Or mine, I suppose.”

Hermione tutted softly, standing up to fidget with Lucy’s veil. “Stop that, Luce,” she cooed, “none of that was your fault.”

Lucy glanced at her in the reflection before sighing. “Sorry,” she muttered.

Her maid of honor gave her a thoughtful look, but a knock came and the door opened before either could say anymore.

“I just wanted to take a peek at our blushing bride,” Kate said, affection bursting from her as she smiled at Lucy. “You look gorgeous,” she gushed. “The blue really brings out your eyes, you know?”

She gave her a tiny smile and a wobbly nod, knowing that it was too early in the day for any tears. “Thank you, Kate. Is everyone ready?”

And though she hadn’t meant for it, there was a hint of hesitation in her question, one that Lucy desperately wished didn’t exist. Despite knowing that it was ridiculous, a small part of her was terrified that it really was all too good to be true. That it wasn’t possible for her to really be this happy- that it wasn’t possible for her to get the life she’d only recently realized she wanted.

She hadn’t noticed that she’d tensed up until Kate’s hand met her shoulder, giving her a silent, reassuring squeeze.

Her smile was warm and happy as she answered, “They’re all in there eagerly awaiting you.”

Lucy let out a breath and nodded, relief flooding over her. Her lips curved upwards, and then, with a bit of irony, she asked, “Even Hyacinth?”

Kate laughed, giving her hand a light pat. “She’s not smiting the entire thing, which I think is good progress.”

The bride let out a small laugh and shrugged. She couldn’t really blame her future sister-in-law for the hostility, knowing that it’d be matched had the roles been reversed. Still, Lucy did hope that they’d be friends one day, at least ones close enough for holidays to be pleasant.

“Now, are you ready?” Kate asked, and Lucy blinked at her several times before her face took on a peaceful smile.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for anything in my life,” she said, absolutely sure in her answer.

She loved Gregory in the way that she had spent most of her life believing didn’t exist. She loved him in all the romantic ways poets wrote about, enchanting ways musicians played about, and impossible ways dreamers talked about.

It was unbelievable how lovely life could be with love.

So, yes, she was ready to marry him as long as he was ready to have her.

Kate squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad for you both, Lucy, I truly am. And I’m so glad to be able to call you family, as well.”

This time, Lucy had to blink to rid away the tears stinging the back of her eyes. “Thank you, Kate,” was all she could manage, her voice cracking on the word.

Kate smiled once again and nodded before ducking out of the room to take her seat in the chapel. And then it was time for Lucy and Hermione to make their way, meeting Richard as he waited for them.

He pecked his wife before turning to his sister with a merry smile. “A true vision in blue, Luce.”

She nodded at him as Hermione handed her a bouquet- delphiniums, ones that had been partially ruffled in the transport. It was absolutely different from the bouquet for her first wedding, which had featured perfect white and pink roses and peonies.

Lucy wouldn’t have traded her bouquet of delphiniums for all the money in the world.

She ran a petal between her fingers before she looked up, catching Hermione staring at her with her great big green eyes. “What is it?”

Her friend shook her head, wearing a smile so bright and soft that Lucy almost wondered if it was her wedding day instead. “You just- you look happy.” Hermione then sniffed rather uncharacteristically, “No one deserves this more than you, Lucy.”

And then she blew her a kiss and disappeared into the church, leaving brother and sister alone in the hall. Richard let out a quick breath before offering her his arm, his smile a bit sadder than that of his wife’s.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, worry sounding in her voice.

Her older brother looked down at her, lips pinching together. “I’m so sorry, Lucy.”

Her brows creased in concern and the hold on his arm tightened. “For what?”

He paused for a moment, his eyes moving across her face slowly. “For not stopping you last time. For knowing that you were unhappy and still letting you go through with it.”

“Rich, you didn’t know-” she started, but he hushed her softly.

“I may not have known everything, but I know you, and I should have realized. I haven’t always been a great brother to you- no, don’t try to deny it- but I’m going to try harder now. Now that I’ve seen you when you’re really happy, I never want to see you any less again.”

Lucy’s lip quivered, but still, no tears fell from her eyes. He smiled at her, wondering when in the world his baby sister had become so grown.

“Now, I believe that it’s your turn,” he said, giving her a pat on the hand. “Shall we?”

She chuckled and nodded. “I’d like nothing else.”

And then they entered the main hall of the small church, and Lucy’s heart instantly fluttered.

She didn’t look at him, not yet, for she was sure she might burst from joy and have to race down the rest of the aisle. So, she looked towards the guests, feeling an unfamiliar warmth wash over her. She had a small family and even fewer friends, and she’d expected her meager list of Hermione and her mother to be overwhelmed by Gregory’s never-ending family.

But the Bridgertons were a different sort of people she was beginning to learn, and they’d done something she hadn’t even considered.

They’d split themselves down the middle, giving her side just as much support as Gregory’s.

It was worth more to Lucy than a thousand prime ministers.

She blinked as she walked down, nodding politely to her newfound family and friends. Her eyes were dying to move- to see the one person she cared for most in the entire room- the entire planet, really.

And then she did it, and the symphony in her mind roared with all its might.

Gregory looked only at her, wearing a grin so bright and so large that it took up half of his face. There she was, in all her glory and wisdom, walking down the aisle to meet him.

He had no idea how he’d missed it when they’d met- how he’d been blinded from just how radiant and splendid and dazzling she was. She was like a tide coming in, subtle at first, but then so overpowering and all-consuming that one wondered how it had gotten there without notice.

God- he loved her so damned much that he was imagining poetry in her honor.

As far as he was concerned, there was no one else in the world as Lucy took the steps toward him, matching his smile with one that made her look even more beautiful than he thought humanly possible. And when she finally made it to him, it took all his strength not to take her into his arms right then and there.

He felt it though, behind her loving eyes and happy smile, the worry that held her. He saw it in her lips- though upturned, tight and burdened.

He smiled and leaned in just a few inches. “How many steps did it take to get to the altar?” he whispered as the priest readied himself.

Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise, but her mouth formed a bashful little smile after a moment. “Twenty-six,” she said, a small, eased sigh escaping her.

He nodded and gave her a small wink before turning back towards the priest.

Throughout the ceremony, though the couple exchanged adoring smiles and loving looks, they remained relatively composed. There were no tears or blubbers, no stutters or stammers.

That was, until the “I do’s”, when both bride and groom forgot their past and thought only of the future, and the tears freely flowed. (And trust that they were nowhere near alone in their reactions- for even Anthony Bridgerton was seen subtly dabbing at his eye with a handkerchief.)

And then it was all sealed with one perfect and loving kiss.

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

“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy,” Gregory said in the bridal carriage as they rode to Bridgerton House, making her name sound as though it were a serenade.

“Gregory,” she whispered, staring at him with the sparkling smile that seemed to be permanently resting on her lips. “I can’t believe this is real.”

He grinned, “No annulment then, I hope?”

She giggled (actually giggled) with delight. “I don’t even think that would be possible at this point.”

“Fantastic, you’re stuck with me then,” Gregory said, pecking her cheek.

“Or you’re stuck with me,” she pointed out, a blush (my word- who was she becoming?) spreading across her cheeks.

“We’re married now, and Benedict told me that marriage requires compromise. So, then, can we agree to disagree, Lady Lucy Bridgerton?”

She laughed softly and nodded as he brought her hand to his lips. “I can agree, Mr. Gregory Bridgerton.”

“I love you, Lucy,” he said, pulling her close to settle themselves against each other.

“I love you, Gregory,” she whispered, laying a soft kiss on his jaw.

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

The reception, though planned hastily and kept simple, was elegant and lovely, made all the better by the enamored couple and their merry guests. Lunch consisted of foods poised for enjoyment rather than impressions, which proved overly splendid for the group. The newlyweds laughed and smiled over their own favorites- down to the delicious ham sandwiches provided by Anthony and Kate’s kitchen staff.

Cake and sweets following seemed to animate every child in the room (of whom there were many- far more than even dear Lucy could count), and soon enough, everyone was out of their seats and the happy couple had taken their place on the dancefloor.

“Have I told you how marvelous of a dancer you are?” Gregory asked as he twirled her around the room, feeling perfectly in place as he held her in his arms.

She beamed at him, seeming to cherish every word he said more and more. “Maybe, but I will never tire of hearing it.”

He grinned. “I love you, Lucy.”

She smiled. “I love you, Gregory.”

And he loved her when she left his side to comfort one of his nephews who had stubbed his toe on a chair. He loved her so much as she knelt down to meet little William without even a second’s thought about her dress, giving him her greatest smile and managing to say just the right thing to make the boy giggle and hug his new Aunt Lucy.

She loved him when he went to whisper something to Hermione, causing her to blush crimson and adamantly shake her head. But after a few more seconds, Gregory ultimately said the right thing, for her best friend gave him a conceding nod and took Richard’s hand, leading him to the dancefloor. She loved him so much when he laughed in her ear, watching Hermione struggle along with the steps but giggling and enjoying herself all the same.

The room was filled with so much love and happiness that it enveloped the very air, leaving nothing but merriment and contented sighs in it.

It seemed that every guest in the ballroom wanted to wish the happy couple their congratulations, sharing love and kind words.

Anthony and Kate looked onto the pair as if proud parents, promising that they would be around to support them however they required, and Anthony gave Gregory a handshake that was worth more to him than a thousand words.

Benedict and Sophie met them with hugs and an open invitation to My Cottage whenever they so desired, gushing at the infatuated pair. “I don’t think there’s a couple half as perfect,” Sophie whispered in their ears.

Colin and Penelope extended teasing smiles and knowing looks, reassuring them that their doors were free to use whenever needed. “I can respect anyone who enjoys a good kipper as much as I do,” Colin announced loudly to the slight mortification of both women.

Daphne and Simon granted them hearty felicitations, wishing a lifetime of happiness and kind hearts to the newlyweds in addition to their unyielding loyalty. “I’m always happy to extend the privacy of my dressing room,” Daphne said with a wink, causing Lucy to gape at her. “Secrets don’t last very long in this family,” Simon muttered to her before following behind his wife.

Eloise and Phillip gifted them lifelong encouragement and true disbelief at how perfect of a couple they were. “I swear you were in nappies yesterday,” Eloise said, shaking her head incredulously as she gave her baby brother a hug.

Francesca and Michael wished them love and unbreakable attachment, along with an offer to visit Kilmartin whenever England proved to be too tiresome. “Oh, you’ll see,” Francesca added as Michael laughed and gave a little shrug of agreement.

Hyacinth and Gareth offered mixed wishes- the former vowed her undying devotion (while watching Lucy with a rather harsh look), while the latter just chuckled, giving them both a pleasant smile and good tidings. “I’m sure we’ll all be great friends,” was Gareth’s final word before he pulled his wife to the dancefloor.

The little ones (those who were grown enough) came forth as well, led by Lucy’s newfound greatest fan, William. Caroline, in particular, took an immediate liking to her as well after the bride let out an endearing (and rather loud) snort. “Auntie Lucy!” she giggled, giving the new family member a tight hug.

And then, finally, it was time for the last of the Bridgerton brood to come forth, having waited her turn patiently that entire afternoon.

“My darling boy,” Violet cooed as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. She beamed at him, bestowing onto him with the warmth only a good mother can truly provide.

It made Lucy long for the mother she’d never really known, for the care and kindness that Gregory had grown up receiving. Her heart fell for a moment but rose just as quickly as Violet turned to her, and she realized that there was no reason for her to long anymore. The smile she was given was just as sweet as the one gifted to her own son. “And my darling new daughter.”

Though they’d begun with a rocky start, Violet’s kindness couldn’t be helped once she truly met the lovely girl in front of her. No family except for a brother, with late parents and an estranged (and partially deranged) uncle. No one there to offer her the love she needed.

And it only took one glance of Violet seeing the love Lucy bestowed onto Gregory for her to love her as well.

“I’m so pleased to see you two together,” she said, taking the bride’s hand and squeezing it with affection. “To the life you’ll build, and the children you’ll have, and to the love you’ll share.”

And with that, she kissed them both on the cheeks, eyes shining as she was whisked away by a grandchild.

Gregory turned to his new wife and was delightfully surprised to see her eyes brimming with tears. He smiled, taking her hand and pressing a slow kiss to it.

She looked at him through her own wobbly smile, reaching up to flatten his brow with her thumb. “I almost wish that this day could never end."

He raised a brow, a small smile playing on his lips. “Do my ears betray me or is Lady Lucina Abernathy being sentimental?”

“Oh, heavens no,” she shook her head resolutely, though her watery chuckle betrayed her. She looked at him with a sideways smile. “But I have a feeling that Lady Lucy Bridgerton might be an idealist.”

“I hope so,” Gregory said, his own wet eyes matching hers as he wrapped both arms around her, “because I certainly believe in happy endings.”

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Love On-Set (Pt. 09 of 10)

Pairing: Dacre Montgomery X Reader

Word count: 2.9 K

Summary: You knew acting on Stranger Things season 3 would be a challenge, and you also knew, from the start, you'd have to work closely with Dacre Montgomery. But is wasn't a big deal for you, since this is your job and you're determined to act professionally. You had it all figured out, or so you thought, until the moment you were out face to face with Dacre. Then, this job became a lot harder than it was supposed to be, since you can't seem to focus whenever you're around Dacre. And you'll have to be around him a lot until the end of production.

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{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

The Heart Is A Wild Creature

The good part is that you passed out more from exhaustion than from the metal bar hitting your face, and the wound on the apple of your cheek is small. The bad part is that you have a concussion, and the doctor said you have to rest for ten days. Which means the shooting will be frozen for all this time. You tried telling them you're fine, because you feel fine putting aside the headache, but James said he won't put you through all the stress of shooting at the risk of getting you more hurt than you are now.

So there's nothing else to do. After you shower and change out of Amy's outfit, you head out of the dressing room happy to find only Dacre by the door and not everyone else. They were pretty worried, talking all at the same time and pissing off the doctor more than once. Giving Dacre a small smile, you watch as he takes the bag from your hand.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, a hand on the small of your back as he guides you through the set.

“The headache is fading thanks to the painkillers but every now and then I feel dizzy.” Shrugging your shoulders, you touch the small wound on your cheek. “Who would guess such a small thing would give me a freaking concussion.“

“James said someone miscalculated something.” You can see your trailer at a distance, and you brace yourself when a cold wind blows. “He was mad. It could get someone badly hurt, maybe even killed.”

“I bet he fired the guy.”

“On the spot.”

When you get to your trailer, you go straight to the bed, resisting the urge to just throw yourself on it, and instead just lying down carefully. “A freaking concussion. Can you believe that?” Hugging a pillow, you lie on your stomach. Dacre soon joins you, lying on his side so he can look at you.

“You scared the hell out of me,” Dacre says, and you move to be on your side too. In the last two weeks or so, you've been sharing his hotel room, as well as his bed. So you're used to this proximity, but it doesn't mean you don't feel a little nervous.

“I got pretty scared too.” You mutter, looking at your hands. “Ten days off. It's way too much.”

“Yeah, I was kinda hoping the shootings would be over soon.” His tone changes and you furrow your eyebrows. You want it to end too, to get some well-deserved vacation after these rough months. You don't even know if you'll be called for the next season, since Amy's ending is still a mystery. James won't tell until you have to shoot the scene. The same goes for Billy.

“Why? I mean, I want some vacation too, but... It sounds like you have some other reason.” It might be sleep overwhelming you, or the trailer that decided to spin around, but you move closer to him, hiding your face on the crook of his neck. “You're warm.”

“Let me...” Trying not to move too much, Dacre pulls the blankets, wrapping them around both of you. “I just want us to go back to LA. So we could have, Uhm... A normal life, you know. Go out on dates without worrying about rushing back to a hotel.”

He's right. Going out now is always a mess. You barely have time, and you're either rushing to get to set or to the hotel and somehow manage to get some sleep and be well-rested for the next day. “It would be nice, but...” You can't help but think about it. What you have with Dacre is good, is amazing, but it's not official. People on the internet are talking about it since there are new pictures of you two together being posted on Instagram on a daily basis. But that's them, and this is you. Two different things entirely.

“What?” He mutters, and you wonder how long it'll take until you fall asleep.

“I was just thinking that... We're... You know...” Your cheeks are burning, and you're thankful he can't see it now.

“You know you can tell me everything.” His voice sounds distant now, and you only mutter something in response, your head spinning a little as you breathe in deeply, sleep overcoming you.

“Yeah... We should be dating by now, but that's ok.” Whispering, you lazily pull the blankets closer. “But I'll get some sleep now. Love you.” Then you let your body sink into a peaceful, calming sleep.

•••

You're aware of the sunlight, coming through the window and making you close your eyes tighter. You don't want to wake up yet, and since the first thing that comes to your mind was that metal thing hitting you in the face, you know you won't be shooting anything today. So why bother? It's probably pretty early yet. Pulling the blanket over your head, some undistinguished chattering fills your ears, and you furrow your eyebrows. Who's being so loud this early in the morning? And why are they hanging around so close to your trailer?

“Oh, my.” A low voice says, and it is very, very close. But it can't be Dacre. Dacre hasn't even moved yet.

Slowly, you push the blanket away, raising your head from Dacre's chest just to check what's going on. But when you see a bunch of people by the end of the bed, standing like a small crowd of idiots, you're suddenly wide awake, sitting up straight, a yell caught up on your throat as your sleepy brain struggles to process what's going on. “What. The hell!” You shout at your co-stars, who also seem to be a little surprised. Joe and Gaten have their eyes wide, Natalia is just smirking, and Noah and Charlie are exchanging a glance. You're still working on why they have this stupid look on their faces when the mattress moves as Dacre sits up as well. Then you already know.

“I knew something was going on but... Guys...” Joe mumbles and your eyes get when Noah picks up his phone, turning the camera at you.

“Gimme that!” You yell, crawling through the bed and grabbing Noah's phone as he tries to set it free from your hands. It doesn't take much until you're both laughing, trying to make each other fall.

“Hey, hey. Both of you.” Dacre raises his voice, and soon enough he's separating the two of you, but you smile victoriously since Noah's phone ends up in your possession. “You can't move like that. You have a concussion, remember?”

“I'm alright.” As you say it, you feel yourself losing balance. Holding on to Dacre, you shrug your shoulders. “A little dizzy, but besides that, I'm ok.” Quickly, you go through Noah's camera, happily noticing he didn't have time to take any pictures. “Here. Better luck next time.”

“I'll be ready.” He says with a smile.

“Hey, my people. The van is waiting.” Millie shouts and moving to the side a little, you see as she opens the door and comes in. So that's how they got in. You didn't lock the door last night.

“Millie you're not gonna believe it.” Noah starts, running off, away from where you could reach.

“Well, we just came to say that the van is ready to take us back to the hotel.” Joe, being the idiot he always is, teasing the hell out of you, says in a fake, mean voice. “You're very welcome.”

Rolling your eyes, you wait for them to leave before gathering your stuff. You decide to take it all back to the hotel since it'll be ten days until you have to get back here. You also wait for Dacre to do the same, and you're happy to know that nobody noticed his things are here too. Then you head to the van, holding on his arm because he basically forced you too, despite you feeling completely well. You both take the usual sit, on the back, ignoring people's stare. Well, you're ignoring and blushing, trying not to let them see it.

But something is off. All the way to the hotel, Dacre is silent, thoughtful. When you're nearby, just about to enter the parking lot, you lightly elbow him. “Hey... Is everything alright?”

He nods, giving you a small smile. “Yes, it's just... Remember when I said you talk in your sleep?”

“Remember when I told you not to listen?” You feel relieved when he giggles.

“Well, it's more like when you're almost falling asleep. It's cute, actually.” As he speaks, the van stops and you move to get out. “But you said something important and we need to talk about it.”

“Ok.” Swallowing hard, you nervously run a hand through your hair.

In the elevator, you keep up with the small talk, managing even to make sassy comments at Francesca. But when you get to the hotel room, you can't help but try to remember what you might have said, but nothing comes to your head. Biting your lip and taking a deep breath, you leave your luggage on the hall that leads to the bedroom and moves to sit on the couch. Dacre joins you soon after, and when he opens his mouth to speak, your phone starts ringing.

“Sorry. I'll just hang up.”

“It's alright. You can answer it.”

“Are you sure?” Holding your phone towards him so he can see it's Natalia. Whenever Natalia calls, it's not just to say something.

“Yeah.”

Squinting your eyes at his expression, you answer the call, bringing the phone to your ear. “Hey, Nat. What's up?”

“Where the hell are you?” She basically yells, and there's a laughing Millie on the background, saying something you can't understand. “We knocked on your door and this completely random person showed up.”

“Oh...” You haven't told them yet, but you probably should. Giving Dacre a glance, he furrows his eyebrows, a question on his eyes. “I... I kinda checked out of my room and then checked in to another room.” The sentence sounds a little confusing, and you roll your eyes at Dacre's fun expression.

“And why haven't you said anything? Where are you?”

“Uhm...” Looking down, you feel the heat spreading through your cheeks. “Do I really have to say...?”

There's a moment of silence before Natalia takes a deep breath. “She's in Dacre's room.” She mutters, probably to Millie before hanging up. They won't let this go. Ever.

“I think they're coming here.”

“You think? I'm sure.”

“Dacre, I–”

“Hey, relax, alright.” He cuts you short, leaning closer to place a sweet kiss on your lips. “I promise what I want to talk about isn't bad.” You breathe out, relieved. “So let's see what they want and we can talk later. We kinda have a lot of time in the next ten days.”

“Alright.” Taking a deep breath you move to get the door, and when you open it, Natalia, Millie, and Sadie are coming from the elevator. “Hey, girls.”

“I can't believe you let me knock on someone else's door.” Natalia starts as Millie gives you a meaningful stare before just walking inside with Sadie.

“I didn't know they'd give my room to someone so quickly.”

“Since when you've been sleeping here?”

“A while...” When you try to remember exactly when, your head starts pounding a little harder, so you just give up.

“Look, I was promised a group reunion, movie night, and room service.” Sadie raises her voice from the inside, and both you and Nat move to the living room. “Can we get this going?”

Sadie got what she was promised. A few moments later everyone is here, fighting about which movies you'll be watching and then fighting over what you'll eat. Dacre has to tell them to keep it low every time someone's voice starts rising, but you wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the headache.

Hours later, after three movies already, Gaten joins Millie on an Instagram live. And of course, since you're the newest couple, even though you're not official, she turns the camera at you and Dacre, seated on the couch with his arm around your shoulders. She talks about the accident and how Dacre, apparently too far from you, ran like a lightning bolt when he saw the metal bar hitting you. And you really hope her phone camera won't get that you're blushing.

“Alright, people. I love you, but I gotta go...” She waves at the camera, smiling and spinning around so everyone has a chance to wave too. “But let's end this with a kiss from our OTP. What do you think?”

It doesn't take a genius to know who she's talking about. “If we do this, it'll become public so we should just–”

“Look at them. So cozy together.” She sing-songs, gesturing for you to get it done. “C'mon. Kiss the girl.”

You were just about to protest, to say anything to make her let it go when Dacre's hand come to your chin, pulling you close until his lips connect to yours. You weren't planning on kissing him right back, since it'd be better to just keep it simple, but it's stronger than you. And there's this thing in your head that turns everything off the moment Dacre's lips touch yours. So you're quickly deepening the kiss, a hand holding the collar of his shirt.

“Uhm... Alright, alright.” Millie says, and it makes you pull away with your cheeks burning. “That was even better than I thought, so... Goodbye, everyone.” When she ends the live, she gives you a stare and a smirk, to which you roll your eyes. “When are the two of you becoming official? I expect a formal announcement.”

“You're very nosy, did you know that?” Dacre says and Millie shows off her tongue. “Well, I don't know if you guys have any plans for tonight, but I do, so...”

“Are you kicking us out?” Gaten asks, crossing his arms.

“Good to know you got it.”

“They're planning a romantic night, that's so cute,” Sadie adds, making everyone mutter something stupid at the two of you.

Even so, it takes half an hour for the last conversations to end and for the whole group to leave. When you close the door after saying goodbye to Noah and Finn, you make your way back to the living room.

“Alright. I'm dying over here so let's just talk. What did I say?”

“You said you love me.” Dacre just bursts out from his place, standing by the coffee table.

You don't know what to say. It's too early for that... Right? Even though you have this feeling, it's way too early to let him know that. Biting your lip, you look down, unable to sustain his stare. “Oh...” Nervously, you run a hand through your hair. “I'm sorry. I know it's too early for this, I just–”

“Do you?” He cuts you off, sitting beside you.

“Do I what?” It's a stupid question, but it comes out anyway.

“Do you love me?” With his index finger under your chin, Dacre lifts up your head until you're staring into this amazing ocean blue eyes.

There's no other possible answer, just the truth. The overwhelming, crushing truth. You've been trying to hold back your feelings, but the heart is a wild creature, or so they say, and it wants what it wants. It loves who it loves, and nobody can control it. “Yes.” You mutter, voice weak and low because wild hearts can also be broken, and that's the last thing you want. “I know it's too early to say that, but when I'm sleepy the words just come out and I can't control them.”

A laugh escapes his lips. “I've been telling myself to hold back. That it was too early to call it love but I guess it's just how it's supposed to be with us.”

“What... What do you mean?”

“I'm completely, wholeheartedly in love with you and I never thought it was even possible to love someone this much.” Dacre cups your cheeks, placing a delicate kiss on your nose. “I know it happened fast, and quite unusual if you ask me, but it was perfect. The truth is that the only reason why I went to talk to you on your first day on set was because I couldn't stop thinking about you since we shoot that scene for season 2.” As he speaks, a smile comes to your lips. Not in a million years you'd think you'd catch Dacre's eyes. “It took a hell of a long time, and that love at first sight thing was wearing off but when I saw you again... It came back like an avalanche. So I had to go and talk to you and ever since... You're everything I can think about.”

“So...” Biting back a smile, you wrap your arms around his neck. “What happens when two people are in love with each other?”

“Correct me if I'm wrong but they start dating.”

“They start dating.” You repeat, standing on your toes.

“So it's official now.” He states. “We can change our Facebook status.”

“Dacre, we don't have a Facebook account.” Giggling, you remind him, your lips brushing on his.

“Then I'll make one just so I can update my status.”

“Or you can just kiss me already and be done with it.” You suggest, smiling victoriously when his arms encircle your waist, pulling you even closer to his body.

×

@baker151910 @shinydixon @dreamin-of-dacre @hanoi15 @lickmymelaninn @foccus @multific @uncookspaget @kellysimagines @peakascum @thisbreakableheaven @nope-thanks

[yesmooshoe]

6) (i) from the AU list for ironhusbands? 👀💖

You’ve got a date tonight and you asked for advice on what to wear but I’m so in love with you and damn you look good in the outfit I picked out for you.

“Rhodey Rhodey Rhodey! I need help!” Tony cried out as he burst through the front door of their drafty apartment.

Rhodey’s head shot up to look at him, but he didn’t move from the nest he’d created on their couch. He was wrapped in several blankets with a few large stacks of books and notebooks surrounding him. Mid-Terms started next week, and he had a lot of material to get through.

As Tony stumbled over some of Rhodey’s books on his way into the living room, he finally noticed all of the shopping bags that Tony was carrying.

“Did you get a haircut?” Rhodey asked, seeing that his friend’s usually unkempt hair was freshly trimmed and styled.

“Yeah, and I got a bunch of new clothes. I have a date! An actual date! And all of my clothes are trash and I’ve got no idea what to wear so I went to the mall and just like bought everything that looked cool because I just really want her to think I’m cool.” Tony rambled as he dropped the bags to the floor and started tearing through them.

“Wait, hold up. You have a what?”

“A date!” Tony said with a big smile.

“With who?” Rhodey asked as he closed his book, realizing that this was going to be a thing. Tony didn’t date. If he wasn’t at the apartment he was either at class or in the robotics lab, and he didn’t really have any other friends.

Until this year, at least. Tony was 17 and finally the same age as some of his fellow classmates, so Rhodey had noticed him being a bit more social. Still, Rhodey felt very protective, and while he’d never admit it out loud, he kind of missed having Tony all to himself.

“Uh, Amy Lin? She’s a freshman! And she’s on the robotics team and she’s just super cool and smart and we were sitting outside today and she was like 'hey do you want to go out sometime?' and I was like 'what do you mean, we're already outside.' and then she laughed and was like 'no like...go out. On a date.' and I just felt like such an idiot and I didn't know what to say but eventually I managed to say yes I think and well now we're going on a date! And I have no idea what to wear, you gotta help me. Everything I own is ripped or has burn holes from welding or is covered in grease and who knows what else and I just want to look good."

Rhodey resisted the urge to tell him that he'd look good in a paper bag, and did his best to swallow his own jealousy before he started helping him look through the bags.

The crush on Tony was very new. 

Two years ago Tony had just been this quiet, nerdy kid who didn't know how to do his own laundry and was afraid of his own shadow. This year though? This year he was just different. Over the Summer he'd grown a few more inches, gotten his braces off, discovered contact lenses, and overall just came off as more mature and confident. Rhodey's jaw had literally dropped when he saw him for the first time at the beginning of the semester, and ever since then he'd been struggling with a lot of feelings.

"Uhh, ok. Well first of all, where are you going?" Rhodey asked as he pulled out item after item, which ranged from a leather jacket to a tuxedo, so he wasn't sure what the vibe was going to be.

"Bowling."

Rhodey just laughed. "You bought a brand new tuxedo to go bowling? Is that what you rich white people do?"

"I...I mean, I don't know. She mentioned maybe getting dinner at one point and I think I just panicked like what if she wanted to go somewhere fancy instead of bowling and all of a sudden and I just started grabbing everything I could possibly need." Tony explained, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Dude, take a deep breath. It's going to be ok."

"I know I just...I want to do everything right. I want her to like me, ya know?"

"She will! She already does. She asked you out, didn't she?"

"Yeah but...I don't know. I don't know what to do. I'm just not used to this. People liking me. I’ve always been so much younger than everyone at school and no one ever talked to me and I always just feel like I missed out on learning how to be a normal teenager. I don’t know how to date." Tony admitted, being way more candid about his feelings than Rhodey was used to.

"You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Just go out and have fun. Be yourself."

"I’m just afraid she’s going to see what a huge nerd I am and change her mind."

“You guys are on the robotics team. You’re both nerds. It’ll be fine.

“I just - 

“Tony.” Rhodey Interrupted. He hated when Tony got like this, and something in him just snapped. “Stop being so down on yourself. You’re funny and smart and sweet and you tell great stories and you’re so enthusiastic about your work and about learning new things so that you can change the world. You’re incredible. And I’m sorry that no one in your life has ever told you that before, but it’s all true and if she sees what I see then...then she’ll love you, ok?”

Tony was just staring at him like a deer in headlights, and Rhodey immediately knew that he’d said way too much. He just hated when Tony got like this, and he wanted him to just see how great he actually was. 

“Rhodey I…” Tony started, clearly unsure of what to say in response to that, and Rhodey’s stomach just dropped. Had he completely fucked this up? Had he made everything weird? There was nothing weird about telling your friend that you love him, right? Even if you did happen to have a huge crush on that friend? 

They were both silent for what felt like forever, though in reality it was only a few seconds.

“You’ll be fine. Anyway. So when is this date?”

Tony glanced down at his watch. “I’m supposed to meet her in 45 minutes.”

“Well, then we’d better get to work.” Rhodey said as he stood up and grabbed an armload of clothes.

They made quick work of it, just putting Tony in jeans, a red t-shirt, the leather jacket, and a fresh pair of Chuck Taylors. They were a little quiet at first, but soon they found their way back to the joking and teasing they were used to. As Tony stood in the hallway trying to fix his hair the way the lady at the hair salon had told him too, Rhodey just stood back and admired his work. There was nothing spectacular about the clothes, but they were new and clean and fit him well. And the leather jacket was driving Rhodey crazy. As he watched Tony from behind, he wanted nothing more than to grab him, pin him against the wall, and have his way with him.

There were a million reasons why he shouldn’t do that, especially since he was literally about to leave to go on a date with someone else. With a girl.

“How do I look?” Tony asked, spinning around and giving him a big smile.

“Great.” Rhodey replied simply, resisting the urge to say hot. He didn’t want to make anything else weird.

Tony seemed unsure, but looked at his watch again and took a deep breath. “Right. Well, I gotta go. Thank you. For everything. Don’t study too hard, all right?” He said with a little smile before taking one more look at himself in the mirror and then heading out.

Rhodey tried to focus on studying after that, but he just couldn’t. He was jealous, he was embarrassed, and most of all he was horny. He took care of the latter problem a few minutes after Tony left, but after that he just laid on his bed and started at a crack in the ceiling while a million thoughts raced through his head.

This crush on Tony was stupid. Tony obviously wasn’t gay, right? And being gay in the Air Force sounded like a not-so-great idea anyway, so Rhodey really had to work on resisting these crushes if he ever wanted the chance to fly. Still, he couldn’t get that image of Tony in the leather jacket out of his mind, nor could he get over how jealous he felt. 

He figured that the best way to get over it was to distract himself, so he got up, took a cold shower, ate some dinner, and settled in back on the couch to watch TV and wait for Tony to get home. Despite the jealousy, he wanted to hear about the date and how it went. He just wanted Tony to be happy, and if dating Amy made him happy, then he’d do his best to be enthusiastic about it. At least on the surface.

Not long after Rhodey settled on the couch Tony came home and immediately plopped down next to him.

“Hey, you’re home early. How’d it go?” Rhodey asked, genuinely shocked that he was home. It hadn’t even been two hours, and he was just glad that he hadn’t decided to jerk off again.

“Yeah, it was fine. I mean, I had fun. We bowled and had some pizza and then sketched up an idea on a napkin for a bowling robot that we might try to build next week.” Tony said as he stared at the floor while fidgeting around with his zipper. “And then like, we were in the arcade part. Playing pinball. And she kissed me.”

“Well hey! That’s good, right?”

“I don’t know. It was weird. I mean, I’ve never kissed anyone before so I’ve not got much to compare it too. But like, it was like kissing my sister. If I had a sister, I guess. I don’t know. Just didn’t do much for me.” Tony admitted quietly, and Rhodey had no idea how to respond to that. Luckily, Tony kept talking. “And then it was a little awkward and she said that she didn’t feel like bowling anymore so we turned in our shoes and then she said that she thought that maybe we should just be friends.”

“Oh. Well shit, that sucks man, I’m sorry. But this is only your first date, there are plenty of other girls out there! There’s even at least 1 more on the robotics team, right? I’m sure you’ll find someone that makes you feel that spark.” Rhodey said as he put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. He just didn’t want him getting too down on himself.

Tony just looked up at him and smiled, and it was a look that Rhodey would have to file away to use later. “Thanks. Yeah, it’s fine. She still wants to be friends, so that’s good. Friends are good. I’m gonna go change, ok?”

“Sure.”

Tony stood up to head to his room, but then stopped and hesitated for a moment.

“Tony? You all right?” Rhodey asked as Tony turned to look at him. He was quiet for a moment, like he was searching for what to say.

“Are you doing anything Friday night?” Tony finally asked.

“No.” Rhodey answered, confused.

“Do you - would you be interested in like - going out?”

“W-what?” Rhodey stuttered out as his heart started pounding. This wasn’t actually happening, was it?

“Go out? Like...on a date? I guess? Unless I read that whole situation earlier wrong.”

“I…” Rhodey just trailed off, completely taken by surprise by all of this. “Um. A date?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Uh...ok. Yeah. We can do that, if you’re sure.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sure. Been thinking about it all night.”

“Oh.”

“Ok, so. It’s a date, yeah? Dinner? Movie? I don’t know, that’s what people do, right?” Tony said as he shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets.

“We’ll figure something out.”

Tony nodded again and turned to head to his room.

“Hey, Tony?” Rhodey called out after him, causing Tony to stop and turn to him. “Whatever we do, promise me you’ll wear the leather jacket.” Rhodey said with a confident little smile, finally regaining a bit of composure.

A huge grin spread across Tony’s face, like he was finally relaxing too. “All right.”

Rhodey was terrified, but also so excited that he couldn’t imagine focusing on his notes anymore. After Tony disappeared Rhodey ran straight to his room and to his closet, desperately looking through all of his clothing. Nothing seemed good enough, so he figured he’d have to take a trip to the mall himself tomorrow. He wasn’t sure he could look as good as Tony did in the leather, but he could certainly try.

[curewhimsy]

Vocal Synth Total Drama Island AU Concept (so far)

———Very Short Character Introductions——— (56 campers in all, aged 14-18) Haku Yowane- A sweet, lonely, sensitive girl with a lot of heart. Age 17. Neru Akita- A courageous tomboy who is misunderstood. Age 17. Miku Hatsune- A bubbly, cheerful, outgoing girl with a lot of friends. Age 15. Luka Megurine- An artistic girl who has a bit of anxiety. Good friends with Meiko. Age 18. Teto Kasane- A bubbly, cheerful girl with an unexpected temper and badass side. Age 15. Megumi “Gumi”- A bit shy, but underneath, she is very brave and resourceful. Age 16. Meiko Sakine- The Mom Friend. Confident and likes to help people. Age 18. Momo Momone- The nicest girl, to the point of being a pushover… Age 15. Rin Kagamine- Unhinged gremlin sibling 1. Loves causing mayhem. Age 14. Len Kagamine- Unhinged gremlin sibling 2. Loves causing chaos. Age 14. Eleanor Forte- The mean girl and drama queen. Cause of lots of drama. Age 17. Kaito Shion- The dorky boy who always has a cheesy smile on his face. Age 17. Akaito Shion- The moody playboy. More serious than Kaito, but bad-tempered. Age 18. Koto Fuuga- Nature girl. Knows all about bird calls, animal behavior, and more. Age 16. Taya Soune- An extremely polite guy. Always dresses formally. Always. Age 15. Ruko Yokune- Despite her height and quirky love of coffee, quite level-headed. Age 15. Ritsu Namine- Loud and obnoxious, but has a caring and wise side? Age 15. Merli Aoki- A snobby, pretentious girl. Not Like Other Girls. Age 17. Lapis Aoki- Mischievous and up to trouble. Merli’s sister. Age 15. Gakupo Kamui- He’s… just strange. And eccentric. And awkward. Age 17. Miku “Zatsune”- A wannabe goth. Basically, she’s in training. Thinks she’s edgy. Age 15. Uta “Defoko” Utane- A sarcastic, moody teenage girl. But she does have a sweet side. Age 15. Dell Honne- Haku’s grumpy, angsty half brother she hasn’t seen in years. Age 18. Yuuma- The popular boy. Eleanor likes him. Can be materialistic. Age 18. Dandy “704”- A very arrogant and vain guy. Quite selfish and loves to show off. Age 18. “Lady” Parsec- A commanding bully who demands and orders people around. Age 17. Yuu- A cheerful guy who likes parties and fun. Age 16. Wil- A somewhat quiet, mysterious guy who keeps to himself. Age 16. Kyo- A wild guy who is impulsive and kind of dumb. Age 16. Daina- Basically, she’s a furry. Her fursona is a fox. Age 17. Dex- Basically, he’s a furry. His fursona is a wolf. Age 17. Ruby- A girl who likes memes and is basically just vibing through life. Age 16. Yukari Yuzuki- A modest girl who has a crush on Ruby. Easily impressed. Age 16. Shian- An innocent girl who is also quick-tempered and pouts easily. Age 14. Muxin- A kind, knowledgeable boy. He loves history and astronomy. Age 14. IA- A bit mysterious and seems cold and expressionless. Age 16. Piko Utatane- Shy, quiet, and cold. Gets along with Muxin due to similar interests. Age 15. Genbu- Overly-enthusiastic and brash. A bit of a loudmouth. Age 18. Chiyu- Bold, brash, and brave. Kind-hearted and strong. Age 17. Haiyi- Talks a lot. Usually has something up her sleeve. A prank perhaps? Age 16. Leeds Kasumiga- A timid girl with a mysterious heart illness that inhibits her. Age 14. Mew- A real goth, unlike Zatsune, who is a goth-in-training. Age 18. Tei Sukone- A dastardly, manipulative villain who fools people, then bites. Age 16. Cider- A smug, self-absorbed inventor of elaborate but stupid inventions. Age 17. Bruno- An agreeable, outgoing guy who likes spreading good vibes. Age 18. Clara- Bruno’s girlfriend. A little bit timid, but always kind and optimistic. Age 17. Aku Yamine- Quiet and a bit melancholic. She’s… a different type of goth. Emo? Age 14. Lily- A tough high-school delinquent who stands up for the weak. Age 17. Amy- Cheerful, optimistic, yet quite chill. Doubts herself often however. Age 16. Chris- He might be a big guy, but he is quite shy and very gentle. Age 18. Kaori- She seems confident and bright on the outside, but hides sadness? Age 17. Ken- He’s talkative, smart, kind of a dork, but very focused and brave. Age 17. Iroha Nekomura- Innocent and sweet, but agile, with cat-like reflexes. Age 14. SeeU- Energetic, hyperactive, makes bad puns, silly, makes bad puns… Age 16. Kiyoteru Hiyama is the host of the game show. Big Al is in the role of Chef. ——Episodes——— Prologue 1- Introduction to concept. Characters see the advertisement for the game show and contemplate going on it. The winner gets a million dollars! Prologue 2- Introduction to characters via their audition videos, part 1. Kiyoteru chooses contestants. Prologue 3- Introduction to characters via their audition videos, part 2. Kiyoteru chooses contestants. Episode 1- Everyone arrives at Total Drama Island and meets each other. Some get along, and many clash. Notable big-drama-causers include Tei, Eleanor, Dandy, Parsec, Cider, Merli sometimes, and Zatsune sometimes. Koto, Genbu, Ritsu, Haiyi, Daina, and Dex stick out for being especially wild. But really, everyone’s unique personality contributes to the drama and pot of chemistry in their own way. Another camper who sticks out is Gakupo Kamui, who enthusiastically boasts about his skills in martial arts and how ready he is to win Total Drama Island. He begins to get on the nerves of the other campers. “I can out-run, out-kick, out-sing, out-wit, and even out-PISS anybody else here.” Gakupo says. “Well, can you do us a favor and GET-out?” Meiko says. Episode 2- Campers have to jump off a one thousand-foot cliff into a shark-infested lake. Then they have to pull some crates back to camp, and the team from before with the most people who jumped get carts to help them. Then they have to build a hot tub from material found in the crates. The team with the best hot tub wins the challenge. The campers who were too scared to jump off the cliff have to wear chicken costumes for the rest of the day. Despite his incessant bragging previously, Gakupo is one of the few campers who does not jump off the cliff, because it is revealed he is scared of heights, sharks, AND deep water! He even pisses himself and dramatically faints when he gets close to the edge of the cliff... and then he faints off the cliff! However, his jump isn’t accounted for, because Gakupo was not conscious during his fall. Luka has to be the one to jump in after and rescue him! This causes Gakupo of The Dangerous Dolphins to be the first campter voted off. “Well… I guess he was right about out-pissing everyone here.” Neru laughs. The other campers too scared to jump are Taya, Dandy, Eleanor, Clara, Muxin, Chris, and Kaito. Haku is at first too scared, but her best friend Neru encourages her to be brave. They jump together and yell funny things on the way down. Even though Eleanor is scared, she ends up going over anyway after Chiyu pushes her off the cliff, being sick of Eleanor’s arrogance. However, it isn’t even accounted for, because Eleanor did not jump by her own will. Clara is too frightened and doesn’t make the jump, which is surprising, because she was so enthusiastic before. However, her boyfriend Bruno jumped without her… Taya takes one look down the cliff and starts backing away, crying from fear. He feels ashamed that he’s so scared, but he cannot help it. He gets pats on the back from Clara. Dandy makes an excuse as to why he can’t jump. He says he has an open wound from a fencing accident. In reality, Dandy does not fence. Muxin is too scared, but asserts that he doesn’t have to jump off the cliff if he doesn’t want to, and that the challenge is ridiculous. He then comforts Taya, who is curled up sobbing, and tells him not to feel shame. Taya and Muxin become friends, but sadly are on different teams. Chris is too scared and actually starts crying too. People don’t expect it. Kaito is scared to jump, panics and makes a bit of a scene, and is then picked on and belittled by his brother Akaito for the rest of the day. Kaito then vows he will become braver from here on. Braver, and stronger! Leeds actually does jump from the cliff, but it causes her heart to become weak and she has trouble walking for the rest of the day. Some of the members on her team rudely deem her a nuisance, but others tell her to take it easy and understand her. Afterwards, Clara gets a bit sour at Bruno, who is her boyfriend, for jumping the cliff without noticing she was too scared. Koto jumps the cliff and she actually has fun. But afterwards, she wears a chicken suit anyway, because she loves birds. Episode 3- The challenge is to stay awake the longest in the "Awake-A-Thon" after running twenty-kilometers and eating a huge meal that includes turkey, which is known for making people sleepy. Dell of The Killer Porpoises gets voted off for falling asleep first. He generally has a bad attitude and is apathetic. Haku feels heartbroken because Total Drama Island was the first time she had seen Dell since her parents’ divorce (by complete chance, even,) and he is not the warm person he used to be. Also, the time was so short. But unexpectedly, Dell acts nice to Haku right before he leaves, calling her to his room when he’s packing to go off the island. They have a nice conversation. Before Haku says goodbye, Dell says “Listen, I’m just not cut out for this wacky game. So you better win. I KNOW you can do it.” Haku begins crying and hugs Dell. Just like when they were kids. There will eventually be a list of who falls asleep first to last, but that’s quite convoluted. So I will say Dell falls asleep first, and Ruko second. Campers were not allowed to drink coffee during the challenge, rendering our Long Sleeper without access to her “secret weapon.” Koto stays up the longest, because she is a bird lover and loves birds too much to consume them. She was the only one who didn’t eat any turkey with her meal, and therefore didn’t become as sleepy. Also simply because she is badass and feral. Episode 4- A best-of-five dodgeball game. Five people are randomly chosen on each team. This is repeated three times for a total of three rounds of dodgeball. The Dangerous Dolphins win 2 out of 3 games. Zatsune of The Killer Porpoises gets voted off for being scared of dodgeball. It was a fear ingrained into her from her elementary school days, when the “dodgeball kids would bully her.” Sadly, since Zatsune always acts so cocky, nobody feels much sympathy now. Taya and Muxin want to spend time with each other. Being on different teams, they can’t, and are deemed traitors. But when Tei, on Taya’s team, suggests Taya could get valuable information about the other team via Muxin, Taya refuses to sabotage their friendship. This causes Tei to begin picking on Taya… Episode 5- A three-on-three talent show contest. Dex of The Killer Porpoises gets voted off for no reason. He wasn’t even in the talent show! Dandy wanted to get chosen by his team, the Dangerous Dolphins, to be in the talent show, claiming his “talent” was unmatched. However, he wasn’t chosen because he didn’t exactly have any real actual skills despite his claim! Taya, Luka, and Gumi are eventually chosen by the Dangerous Dolphins for their talents in music. Luka will play piano, Taya will play the violin, and Gumi will play the electric bass as they all sing a song cover. This causes Dandy to criticize their every note and call them amateur. Given Taya and Gumi’s low self-esteem, Dandy’s criticism gets to them before the final talent show. As for the Killer Porpoises, Yuuma, Ritsu, and IA get chosen as the team’s musicians. They form more of an idol dance group, with a pre-recorded background track. (It will also be a cover.) The Dangerous Dolphins actually win. If they were to have lost, Dandy would’ve probably been the one voted off for being a prick. Episode 6- Campers have to go to the forest, stay out there overnight, then race back to the campgrounds in the morning. Yukari of the Killer Porpoises gets voted off. See, it wasn’t really Yukari’s fault, but… she got attacked by a bear and is now too injured to stay for the game, so the voting off was mandatory, even though the Killer Porpoises otherwise won. Everyone becomes more-or-less traumatized at this, and feel very hurt for Yukari. Episode 7- Campers have to face their worst fear, specific to each camper. Yuuma gets voted off. Koto’s worst fear is the perfume department from Spongebob, because that scene scarred her as a little kid. So the host of the game show, Kiyoteru, magically opens a door to the perfume department at a real department store and Koto has to walk through it. Koto only makes it 5 steps in before she runs out, screaming. She does not pass her fear test! Yuuma is scared of the Crab Rave because there are too many crabs. So he is taken to a part of the island overrun by crabs, and Kiyoteru turns on the Crab Rave song and they all start dancing. Yuuma dives into the water screaming. But the crabs chase him. He doesn’t pass his fear test. Taya attempts to outwit Kiyoteru and pretends he is afraid of strawberry shortcake, which is actually his favorite food. But everyone remembers how scared he was in the first challenge at the cliff. So Taya’s specific challenge is to jump off the cliff this time… Episode 8- Row a canoe to Boney Island, portage across the island, start a bonfire, and canoe back to camp. Wil gets voted off. Episode 9- Hunt the other team dressed as deers with paintball guns, or if one is a deer, avoid being hit by them. Piko gets voted off. Episode 10- Create a three-course meal for Kiyoteru to judge. Three chefs are chosen from each team. Miku gets voted off. Episode 11- Participate in a set of three-out-of-five trust exercises. Shian gets voted off. Episode 12- Make it through Big Al’s life-threatening and disgusting boot-camp challenges. IA gets voted off. Episode 13- Participate in three extreme sport challenges. The challenges are "sofa skydiving", riding a moose while avoiding being tossed off it, and water-skiing on mud. Lapis gets voted off. Episode 14- Eat a nine course meal of disgusting food made by Big Al. Drink shot glasses of blended cockroaches. Yuu gets voted off. Episode 15- Episode 16- Episode 17- Episode 18- Episode 19- Episode 20- Episode 21- Episode 22- Episode 23- Episode 24- Episode 25- Episode 26- Episode 27- Episode 28- Episode 29- Episode 30- Episode 31 Episode 32- Episode 33- Episode 34- Episode 35- Episode 36- Episode 37- Episode 38- Episode 39- Episode 40- Episode 41- Episode 42- Episode 43- After this challenge, the teams are disbanded. It’s now every camper for themself. Episode 44- Get through several rounds of torture, lasting at least ten seconds in each one. Eleanor gets voted off because she can’t take torture. Episode 45- Receive a clue to find a key hidden somewhere in the island to open a treasure chest containing a prize. Ritsu found a dud chest and his prize was… getting voted off. Episode 46- Avoid getting sprayed by Big Al’s water gun in a game of hide and seek. Parsec gets voted off. Good riddance! Episode 47- Build a bike from scratch, and then race it. Who rides who’s bike? Anyway, Dandy gets voted off. Probably because he’s 7 foot 4 and huge. He probably broke all the bikes. Episode 48- Watch a horror movie and then avoid being captured by a "deranged killer". Gumi gets voted off because she was scared. Episode 49- Catch the specific animal assigned by Kiyoteru and bring it back to the campground unharmed. Taya had to bring back a raccoon. He came back first. Koto had to bring back a bear. She came back second. What a total beast! And I’m talking about KOTO! Genbu had to bring back an eagle. He came back third. Leeds had to bring back a frog. She came back fourth. Kaito had to being back a squirrel. He came back fifth. Haku had to bring back a moose. She came back sixth. Tei gets sent off because she couldn’t bring back a mere chipmunk. The little chipmunk was trained in king-fu and ended up beating her up! Hooray! Episode 50- Compete in the following while handcuffed to one of the other campers: eat disgusting food with your hands behind your back while the person handcuffed to you feeds you, return a fragment of Haku’s cursed tiki idol to Boney Island, and assemble a totem pole with the wooden heads of the voted out campers in the order that they are eliminated. Taya gets voted off. Episode 51- Campers have to find Kiyoteru and Big Al after being washed away by a storm. Leeds gets voted off because her condition came to its worse. Her weak heart had finally failed on her and she suffered a heart attack. She was doing so good in the game despite her shortcomings, and will serve as an inspiration for many. Leeds will not die. She is in good hands. She will get top medical care. Now, a twist is revealed to the audience. Everyone who was voted off actually went to go to a beautiful island resort. The remaining campers still don’t know about this. When Leeds finally gets consciousness back, she finds she is in paradise. At first, she thinks she is dead. The room then fills up with everyone else voted off, and she begins crying. “They really killed you?” She cries. “No, Leeds!” Yukari says. “You’re alive! You made it… to Paradise Island!” Episode 52- An episode dedicated to the Island of Losers, which is actually a five-star island resort paradise. Yukari has fully recovered from her injuries. Gakupo and all the others who were eliminated early finally get their time to shine! The losers will also be involved in the episodes to come, as they will be the audience. Episode 53- The campers have to find their way back to camp after being left in the wild with limited supplies. Unexpectedly, our total beast, Koto Fuuga, comes back last. Rumors have it, this is because she found a bird sanctuary and got distracted. Episode 54- Survive a series of dares, given by the eliminated campers until someone drops out. Haku is forced to do something horrible by Tei. Tei dares Haku to joke around and portray offensive stereotypes. On national TV. She just can’t do it… She drops out, but not before insulting Tei to her face. But Kaito says Haku made the right choice. She sacrificed her chance to win a million dollars so that Tei didn’t have to force her to make a choice that could hurt people when they see it on TV. Kaito thinks Haku deserves an amazing consolation prize. Genbu respects Haku for this as well. Episode 55- The two remaining campers have to climb a pole and retrieve a flag, walk across a board on top of shark-infested waters while carrying an eagle's egg, and run a race to cross the finish line. Kaito is about to give up… but… There is ice cream at the finish line! Kaito makes a mad dash to the finish line and wins Total Drama Island!! Episode 56- Kaito won! But there is a twist. In order to actually win the million dollars, he has to find the a case containing the $1,000,000 and bring it to the Dock of Shame before anyone else does! This is a race between him and all the other campers! If any of the other campers being it to the Dock of Shame before Kaito, there will be a whole second season of Total Drama Island, and Kaito will have to win all over again before he gets his million dollars… ———Teams——— ———The Dangerous Dolphins——— Taya Chiyu Meiko Kyo Koto Tei Momo Neru Akaito Clara Gakupo Gumi Shian Dandy Luka Merli Daina Haiyi Lily Len Amy Ken SeeU Cider Teto Haku Uta ———The Killer Porpoises——— Yuuma Zatsune Mew Eleanor Ruby Dell Kaito Ruko Ritsu Wil Leeds Genbu Dex Bruno Iroha Miku Piko IA Chris Kaori Yuu Parsec Rin Lapis Yukari Aku Muxin ———Notable relationships——— Familial- Akaito and Kaito are brothers. Lapis and Merli are adoptive sisters. Haku and Dell are half-siblings who don’t live together, and haven’t seen each other in years before Total Drama Island. Rin and Len are twin siblings. Haku and Miku are cousins. Amy and Chris are cousins. Kaori and Ken are twin siblings, yet distant. They didn’t grow up in the same household. Ruko has a close cousin named Rook, who isn’t on TDI. Momo has an older brother, Momotaro, who isn’t on TDI. Uta has a younger sister, Koe, and two older brothers, Hibiki and Kanade, who aren’t on TDI. Teto has an older brother, Ted, who isn’t on TDI. Leeds has an older brother, Loop, who isn’t on TDI. Yukari has a little sister named Akari who isn’t on TDI. IA has a little sister named One who isn’t on TDI. Friendship- Miku, Rin, Len, and Luka have been a group of friends before TDI Haku and Neru were best friends before TDI Dex and Daina were best friends before TDI Momo, Teto, and Uta were best friends before TDI Ruko meets Ritsu and they become best friends Taya and Muxin become unlikely friends, despite being on different teams Romance- Bruno and Clara were dating before TDI Teto and Momo’s friendship eventually becomes romance. Haku meets Luka and they form a budding romance Amy meets Kaori and they form a budding romance Taya meets Uta and they form a budding romance Muxin meets Piko and they form a budding romance Lily meets Gumi and they form a budding romance Crushes- Len has always a crush on Miku. Tei has an obsessive crush on Kaito. Yukari has a crush on Ruby. Leeds has an embarrassing crush on Genbu. Eleanor has a crush on Yuuma. Ken has a crush on Chris. Dandy has a crush on Parsec. Akaito has a crush on Haku. Zatsune has a crush on Mew. She denies it. Gumi has a crush on IA. Dislike- Dandy and Cider always fight… with a weird sort of tension. Akaito and Uta don’t get along Miku Zatsune and Miku Hatsune don’t get along Lily and Merli don’t get along (MORE COMING SOON)

[flawedamythyst]

Hi Amy! For your mashup can I have a coming out Fic with a slice of stranded on a deserted island with platonic Clintasha? 💜🖤 (thank you! Also hi- I hope you are doing well!)

Ooooh, okay. Lemme think how to best do that...

Okay, so, it's all the Avengers that are on the desert island. I guess their quinjet crashed (again), and at some point someone will come find them but there's a couple of weeks of fucking around with building shelters and attempting to learn how to fish and all that fun desert island stuff first.

Tony thinks he should be good at most of it because he's an engineer, but actually he's just kinda rubbish because he's also a spoilt rich boy. He's probably also not doing so well without any booze, which makes him kinda short-tempered and a bit bitchy. He is also madly pining for a non-Clint or Natasha Avenger, probably Steve. Yeah, Steve works best. Tony is finding all the shirtlessness in the sea and sun very hard to deal with. This puts him in an even worse mood.

The whole team has assumed that Clint and Natasha, super best buddies who sometimes cuddle during movie night, are together. Neither of them have corrected that because a) they kinda think it's funny b) it's none of their damn business and it's not like any of them actually asked and c) Clint is asexual and doesn't really want to have to go through the hassle of explaining that given he's had some really annoying questions and conversations about it with people he's come out to in the past. As long as everyone thinks he's dating Natasha, he can just quietly duck out of conversations about whether or not someone is attractive or anything similar, and they just assume it's because Nat would stab him if he talked about other people like that.

Tony, who has weird issues about whether or not people are really his friends or just faking it because they need his money/tech/brains and so is a bit hurt by the assumption that Clint and Natasha are keeping a secret from him, and who is also hot and sunburnt and just watched Steve strip down to his underwear and dive into the sea from a rock and just really can't cope, focuses all his stress on bugging Clint and Natasha to just admit they're together, why don't they kiss around the others, why don't they share a room back home or a badly built pile of leaves attempting to be a bed here, don't they trust their team, come on guys, just admit it, go on.

Clint and Natasha just ignore him as long as possible, but it's really fucking annoying after a while, and everyone is hot and pissy, and one night around the campfire, when Tony has had a little bitch about how it would make more sense if Clint and Natasha just admitted they were dating and slept together because fuck knew it was cold on the island at night and they could all do with someone to snuggle. (Mostly because he's thinking about snuggling Steve. God, he would be so warm and comfy, so much better than a stack of palm leaves.)

Clint snaps and decides, fuck it, there's nothing else to do on this fucking island, he might as well spend a few days being asked all the endless stupid questions he's always got in the past from people he's come out to and get this over with.

"Natasha and I aren't together, I don't date anyone," he announces. "I'm asexual."

He pauses, waiting for someone to ask what that means and already getting ready to trot out the little explanation he has prepared, but Tony just blinks at him and says, "Oh, huh, okay. Actually, that makes sense now you say it." And then pats Clint's shoulder and says something a bit Stark-ish, like, "Good for you."

Clint doesn't know how to respond, and he looks around at the others to see a bunch of understanding, accepting faces. "None of you need me to explain?" he asks, then glances at Steve. "C'mon, you can't tell me the WW2 vet knows what I'm talking about."

Steve just shrugs and says, "I did a lot of reading when I first came out the ice. There were a lot of new words, but most of it was stuff I'd known about from folks I knew back before I joined the Army. I reckon I knew a couple of guys who'd be calling themselves asexual if they were still around now. Back then, we mostly just all called ourselves queer."

And then Tony does a weird choking thing and flails a bit, because did Captain America just come out? and Clint's announcement gets....not forgotten about, but moved on from, I guess, and he's left sitting there thinking, 'well that went easier than I thought it would.'

And then, the next day when Steve strips off to go swimming, Tony lets himself make the suggestive come-on he's been bottling up since they crashed, and Steve flirts right back, and they ended up boning on the beach and getting sand in unnecessary places, just in time for the rescue party to turn up.

Clint and Natasha snuggle on the helicopter out of there, and no one says a single goddamn word about it, or even looks twice at them, and Clint feels himself properly relax for the first time around them all.

Yeah, sorry, I kinda got some Steve/Tony all over it, sometimes that just happens.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #808: Enter Team Dark (Sonic X SSBU)

10:34 p.m. at Game Guy's Casino.......

'Loud Sirens'

'CRASH'

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega starts running away from an angry Game Guy and his group of security guards and hounds.

Game Guy: DON'T LET THOSE CHEATERS GET AWAY!!!

Guard Hounds: (Barks Angrily at the Running Trio)

Shadow: Rouge, this is the last time we're ever letting you take charge in gambling. Or even going to anymore casinos for that matter....

Omega: I agree to that motion.

Rouge: ('Sigh') Okay, look, before you boys starting pointing fingers, just know that none of this would've happened if that stupid Game Guy didn't try and cheat first.

Shadow: Does the saying "Two Wrongs, Doesn't Make a Right" never occur to you throughout your life? You didn't have to stoop to his level to begin with.

Rouge: (Starts Rolling her Eyes) Well, excuse me for having a weaker moral compass than yours, DAD! But you know just as well as I do that I don't let that kind of thing slide.

Shadow: (Starts Rolling his Eyes Himself) Yet you have no problem trying to steal the Master Emerald.....

Rouge: (Glares at Shadow) Hey! I don't do that anymore. That's all behind me now.

Shadow: Is this all because you're dating Knuckles?

Rouge: You're goddamn right. And as much as love to tell you how much that handsome knucklehead of an echidna means to me, I think now will be a perfect time for you to warp us out of here.

Shadow: Can't. I left the Emerald back at home.

Rouge: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) You WHAT!? WHY!?

Shadow: Because I thought since we were going to a relaxing, trouble and stress free vacation, I wouldn't have any use for it. Guess you proved me wrong.

Rouge: ('Ugggh') What are we going to do now? We can't out run them forever!

Omega: Fear not, companions! I have just now thought of a perfect plan for our escape!

Shadow: (Turns Back to Omega Along with Rouge) You have?

Rouge: What's the plan, sweetie?

Omega: (Pulls Something Put From his Fanny Pack) We can use these Dimensional Rings to sent us away from our current location.

Rouge: (Eyes Widened in Shock) Wait. You have them this entire time? How!?

Omega: Futuba Sakura had given them to me before our departure from the airport. She informed me to use them to visit her and the rest of the Smash Family in Isle Defino.

Shadow: Since when did you two started interacting with one another?

Omega: We have interacted on multiple occasions. She even invited ROB and I to Dungeons & Dragons on most nights. (Smiles Brightly) We are known as highly skilled alchemists of our party.

Shadow: (Smiles Softly at the E-Series Robot) That sounds great, Omega.

Rouge: (Already Started Gushing Over Everything Omega Said) Awwwww~ My baby's making new friends!~

'ARF ARF ARF'

Shadow: Okay. (Takes One of the Dimensional Rings From Omega's Claw Hand) I think it's time for us to leave now.

Shadow turns himself back around to throw the ring in front of them, causing it to enlarge itself while creating a portal.

Shadow: You two are ready?

Rouge: Yep.

Omega: Affirmative!

Shadow: Great. Let's go.

With a simple boost in speed, Team Dark has successfully when into the ring, leading them to their requested destination. It wasn't long until the ring itself managed to disappeared right in front of Game Guy's Eyes in time.

1:45 p.m. at Isle Defino......

It was a normal day in the tropical, resort like island....That is until a Giant, Rotating Ring sudden appears in the middle of it before slowing down stopping while showing Team Dark jumping out of it.

'THUD'

Rouge: (Starts Getting Herself Up From the Ground While Stretching her Back a Little) That.....was a close one.

Shadow: (Sighs While Getting Himself Up While Picking the Ring Up From the Ground) Yeah. Too close for our comfort.... (Turns to Omega) Are we at the right place, Omega?

Omega: (Uses his Eyes to Briefly Scan Around the Place) According to my sensors.....(Turns Back to Shadow and Rouge with a Thumbs Up) We are, indeed, in the correct destination.

Rouge: (Starts Looking Around the Place) So this is Isle Defino, huh? (Smirks a Little) Looks lovely.

Shadow: I can agree to that. Oddly enough, this is the place where father has gotten arrested at in the past.

Rouge: (Turns to Shadow with a Bit of a Surprised Look on her Face) Seriously? What did he do?

Shadow: Nothing. According to mother, he was falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit.

Rouge: ('Sigh') Ah jeez..... Well, here's hoping bygones be bygones for then I suppose.

Shadow: Agreed. But in the meantime, I'm gonna find ourselves a hotel room to stay in. (Walks Away) You two are welcome to come along if you like.

Omega: I will accompany you. (Follows Behind Shadow)

Rouge: You two go on ahead! (Walks Away in the Opposite Direction) I'm gonna a take a tour around the place.

Shadow: 'Kay.

Few Minutes Later at the Beach Side of Isle Defino.......

Rouge: (Sighs Relaxingly While Sitting on the Laid Back Bench Tail While Wearing a Bathing Suit) This is true paradise~

????: Enjoying the tour?

Rouge: (Looks up and See Shadow and Omega Looking Down at Her) Oh very. If I'd known this place would be this nice, I would've convince you to come here sooner. Did you boys find us a room?

Shadow: The hotel manager told us that the entire rooms are full. So we decided to rent one of the cottage houses nearby.

Rouge: Neat. So you two have any plans here in the meantime? I'm already planning on relaxing here~

Omega: I plan on exploring and learning about this island as much as possible!

Shadow: (Place his Hand on his Chin) I haven't really about it until now.... But I guess I could start by finding where everyone else is at first-

?????: (From the Distance) HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS! Shadow, Rouge, and Omega are here!!

The trio turns and see a few familiar faces (Sonic, Amy, Tails, The Phantom Thieves, and etc.) making their way to them while sone cheering Shadow's name.

Rouge: There's everyone.

Shadow: I can see thATT! (Immediately Gets Pulled into a Group Hug)

Futuba: (Happily Rushes Over to Omega and Hugs Him) Omega-Kun!~ You came.

Omega: (Smiles Brightly While Gently Patting the Top of Futuba's Head) Yes. That I have, Futuba Sakura.

Futuba: (Giggles Softly) Dude, come on. You don't have to keep calling me by my full name. Futuba is fine enough as it is.

R.O.B.: (Happily Claps his Mechanic Hands Together While Making his Way to the Duo)

Omega: (Smiles Brightly at his Robotic Friend) R.O.B!!

Sonic: (Place his Arm Around Shadow With a Playful Smirk on his Face) It's been a while, faker.

Shadow: Sonic. (Starts Rolling his Eyes a Little) I see that your as hyperactive as usual.

Sonic: And you're just as moody as you've always been.

Tails: What made you guys come here in the first place?

Shadow: Well, due to a.....(Glares at Rouge) "certain" incident that happened back at the Casino.....

Rouge: (Sticks her Tongue Out at the Black Hedgehog)

Shadow: We decided to come here for the rest of our vacati-

Before he could finish his sentence, Shadow suddenly felt something hugging the lower half of his body. He looks down and see that it was none other than his adopted little sister, Hat Kid.

Shadow: (Chuckles Lightly) Hey there, you. It's been a while. (Gently Ruffles the Top of Hat Kid's Head) Did you miss me?

Sonic: Like crazy. The poor kiddo has been like that since we first got here.

Shadow: Really now? (Turns Back to Hat Kid) Is that true?

Hat Kid: (Happily Nodded) Mmhmm.

Shadow: (Chuckles Lightly Once More Before Kneeling Down to Hat Kid's Level) Well, you have nothing to worry about now that I'm here. And I can assure you that I won't be going anywhere else soon. So let's continue to enjoy the rest of the vacation together now, okay?

Hat Kid: (Nodded in Agreement Before Hugging Shadow Lovingly Again) I love you, Shadow.

Shadow: (Finally Hugs Hat Kid Back) I love you too, little siste-

?????: MY BABY!!!!~

And with that, Shadow suddenly gets hug tackled by Mario and Peach. And all was good in the world.

@keyenuta

@caleb13frede

@26shann

@cyber-wildcat

@ma-lemons

@albion-93

@princekirijo

[pebblee-penguin]

Hai @ficsandgiggles !! I'm your squealing santa!!! I hope you enjoy your fic, and happy holidays!

And thank you to @ticklygiggles for organizing all this!! <3

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(A post-Unus Annus tickle fic!! Lee!Ethan and Ler!Mark, platonic.)

Ethan is nervous because he thinks that since Unus Annus is dead, no one will remember him or his channel. Mark seeks ways to comfort him

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a couple days after Christmas and Mark had invited a couple friends over, safely. Some of his “YouTuber friends” took the C0vid test, and all tested negative so they got together, still being as safe as possible. Along with Ethan, Mark had the entirety of “Teamiplier” and more. Everyone was thankfully safe beforehand, and afterwards.

The others had left for some personal business, but Ethan stayed for a bit longer, not entirely motivated to drive home by himself. Mark was used to having Ethan around his home. Thanks to Unus Annus, Ethan felt like a roommate to him every once in a while. And he didn’t mind! As much as he made fun of Ethan, the two were best friends.

Ethan helped Mark and Amy clean up after the dinner. Amy had noticed Ethan’s eyes began to look wet, and seemed like he wasn’t doing okay.

“Hey, uh–would it be okay if I sat down f-for a moment. I’m—feeling dizzy.”

The other two looked up from their work and nodded.

“Yeah sure, go sit down.” Mark motioned his head towards the couch.

“Thanks..” Ethan sat on Mark’s couch with his hands on his forehead. Mark immediately got back to cleaning up. Amy smacked his arm.

“He’s clearly not feeling well. You should go talk to him.” she whispered.

“He seems..fine. I thought he was just dizzy...”

“Something’s on his mind. Just–go!”

“I don’t want you to hafta clean up everything by yourself-” he whined.

“I’ll be fine, just go talk to him.” she smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she nudged him towards his friend. Mark smiled and headed towards Ethan.

Ethan heard footsteps coming toward him, so he quickly wiped his eyes and masked a slight smile for Mark.

“W-What’s up?” he stuttered, hoping his friend wouldn’t notice his current condition.

“What do you mean what’s up? Somethings not okay with you. Do you feel sick or something?” Mark sat down next to his friend. He was genuinely concerned. He didn’t want Ethan to feel bad.

“No, not sick.. Just…..tired. I guess..” He smiled, truly trying to be considerate, he shoved his emotions down inside himself to not burden anyone else. “I feel fine, Mark. Don’t worry about it.”

“You do not feel fine. I’m here to help! We can talk if you’d like. I just wanna help.” Mark’s eyes were locked on Ethan’s, making no error in showing him that he wanted to help. Ethan scoffed a bit and  looked away.

“I’m fine..just don't worry about it-”

Mark sighed. He hated seeing his friend feel down.

"Tell you what. Can I at least try to make you feel better, however you're feeling?" He raised his eyebrows, feeling determined to make sure Ethan could go back to being his best self.

"Yeah..sure." he chuckled slightly.

"Good. That's all I need." Mark ran past the kitchen for a moment, then ran back dog in hand.

"Heh, hi Beeks." He ruffled the top of Chica's fluffy face. Mark's eyes widened at Ethan's lack of emotion.

"Really?? Chica can't even help?" He put Chica's paws on Ethan's leg and pretended that Chica had a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling it!" Ethan threw his hands in the air for a moment. Mark stared at him, ideas flowing through his head for what could work even better than shoving a dog in his face.

"C'monnn! C'moooooon~" Mark cood while poking all around Ethan's torso. "I just wanna heeeeelp~"

Ethan swatted Mark's hands away. Mark noticed the slight grin forming on Ethan's face. He was attempting to hold down the bubbly giggles in his chest.

"Ohohoh... I got an idea to make yous feel bettah~" Mark used his 'Yancy' voice, indicating a playful tone towards Ethan.

"Mahark, don't you dare. It's not the time for this-" Instead of getting up from the couch, he began to shrink himself in to the couch's corner. With the realization that this idea wouldn't be the greatest, he continued executing it.

"Ohhhohoh I think it IS the time for this~" Mark playfully wiggled his fingers towards the younger man's stomach.

"Nohohoho!!" Ethan sunk further into the couch. As far as he could until Mark's fingers barely made contact with his quivering stomach.

"Yes!" Mark pounced and dug his clawed hands into Ethan's sides. Ethan twitched and squirmed as if he just got electrocuted, laughing hysterically.

"NAHAHA YOHOHOU AHAHAHASS-" He writhed and locked his arms in a position that almost made him look like he was operating a jetpack.

"Ass? I'm trying to help you out! Trying to make you feel better! I don't even know the reason for the horrid feeling has overcome you!" Mark's clawed hands scribbled over to the side of Ethan's ribs, Making Ethan's loud giggles go up an octave.

"NAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MAHAHAHARK QUIHIHIHIHIT IHIHIHIT-" Ethan jolted again to the side.

"Nnnope! I'm gonnnnnnnnaaaaa......tickle your tummy! Tickle tickle!! Tickle tickle tickle!!" Mark's teasy voice was one Ethan had never heard before, but was enjoying thoroughly.

Through Ethan's incoherent giggles, Mark could barely understand all of what he was saying except for a mere "whyhyhyhy".

Ethan's major giggle fest was urging Ethan to fall off the couch. Before Ethan could 'escape' in any way, Mark thrusted his leg between Ethans' to keep him in place.

"Nuh-uh-uh~" Mark clicked. "I will sit here and tickle the information out of you if I have tooo~"

Ethan had no time to retaliate when he was at Mark's mercy once again. The tickling fingers moved and began vibrating at the crevice of Ethan's neck.

"FAAAHAHAHAHAHAHACK NAAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Ethan screamed as his hands moved to try to push away Mark from his sensitive neck. The two could even hear Amy giggling at them from the kitchen.

"AAAHAHAHAHAHAMY AHAHARE YOHOHOU ENJOHOYIHING THIHIHIS-" Ethan squealed to her from across the room.

"Am I doin' good Amy?" Mark began attacking Ethan's exposed underarms, from blocking his neck.

"You're doing great hunny!" Amy giggled again from the kitchen.

"YOOHOHOU TWOHOHOHO SHUHUT UHUHUP" Ethan's laughter grew twice as loud, and thrice as joyous. Mark chuckled at his friend who was clearly smiling. Not just from the tickling sensations, but he seemed to be feeling a lot better than before.

After what seemed like hours, but was really about 20 minutes in all, Mark slowed his tickles down to slight scratches on Ethan's back. Ethan, who was laying face down on the couch now, was giggling, almost sleepily.

"You feelin' any better? You ready to talk?" Mark moved so Ethan could sit up and breathe if he needed to.

"Yeah, I feel better." He grinned. "But..do we hafta talk about shit?"

“Come on, I really want to help whatever you’re going through. Please?” Mark nodded his head, showing that he was being serious.

Ethan saw Mark’s intent, and unraveled his feelings.

“I’m just having a bit of a harder time with Unus Annus. I’m fine with it being over, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad..but it’s making me feel like I’ve been forgotten already.” He looked down, avoiding eye contact. What he was feeling seemed so silly, so inconvenient. He didn’t know why this made him anxious, it normally never did. Mark’s eyes widened.

“Man are you serious? You’ve got literally nothing to worry about! Your fans absolutely adore you! You've got touring plans! You just hit 2 mil!! That’s a win in my book!” He pat Ethan’s shoulders.

“I know, I know! And I’m nothing but thankful! But.. I just feel like ever since Unus Annus is gone....people are forgetting about me already. Views have gone down and likes have gone down and ‘hate comments’ have gone up and all sorts of shit like that! And I know it’s petty to just think about views, but to be honest it kind of hurts my feelings. Which is really stupid.”

Mark understood Ethan’s feelings. It’s hard to feel unfulfilled. It’s hard to feel forgotten. He’s had times like that too.

“Hey, no one is forgetting about you. If anything Unus Annus probably boosted your channel!” he chuckled unharshly. Ethan sighed.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I really think you’ve got nothing to be worried about. Honestly, I see you working harder than ever now that Unus Annus is dead. And you’re making so much progress. You’re progressing faster than I hoped to have when I was where you are. You’re doing so much, and your fans love you. You’re amazing, man.” Ethan looked up and smiled at Mark.

“Damn, that really means a lot to me. Thanks Mark.” he smiled widely.

"No problem, you ticklish dork." He ruffled Ethan's hair like a child. "And thanks to you for being ticklish enough for me to get you to talk." He winked and Ethan chuckled.

“No problem, asshole.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! This is the first full fic I've written and posted to tumblr! I hope yall like it!! :D xx

[liron-ao3]

Brilliant

A Doctor Who–Destiel–Malec Oneshot

"This is brilliant!" the Doctor exclaims. She pushes some buttons on the console of the TARDIS. "Brilliant!"

"How is this 'brilliant'?" Alec asks. "We're trapped in a TV show."

"No, we are trapped in a TV series, Shadowhunter," Yaz hisses.

Castiel huffs in frustration. "It's probably just one of Gabriel's stupid jokes."

"Gabriel?" the Doctor asks. "Oh, the Archangel. Amy loved him, but not as much as she loved you, Cass."

"Where do you know his name from?" Dean demands to know.

The Doctor rolls her eyes. "I watched the show, Dean. Crappy ending, sorry."

"You... what!?" Dean asks.

"Nevermind. That's more brain-wracking than the usual time travel paradoxes. But I'm thrilled to meet you all. Umm—what are you doing, Magnus?" She raises an eyebrow at the warlock who lets his magic run over the console.

"This is worse than the technology in the Institute," he mutters.

Alec pulls him away cautiously. "Maybe you shouldn't mess with it then, love?" he suggests, smiling strained, holding tight on his husband's hand.

"Aww, you're the reboot version. I was so happy when Netflix saw sense. And your boys are the cutest," the Doctor chirps.

"Boys?" Magnus asks.

"Doctor, they might be from episode one of season four. Look at their clothes," Yaz whispers, but it's loud enough for Dean to hear it.

"There are only three seasons of Shadowhunters," he states. "It ends when they marry and Clary loses her memories, but gets them back in the last few seconds. It wasn't the best ending, but at least the gays were happy." Dean's grin reaches from ear to ear before it falters at Castiel's stern look.

"Dean, did you watch 3b without me?"

Dean shrugs. "If you wouldn't always run out on me or die then we coulda watched it. It was on my playlist for aeons. And I needed something to distract me from… You know." He waves his hand up and down the angel.

"Jesus! That's like that time when Sam and I were in this weird Hollywood dimension, with that Russian guy that looked like Cass!"

"Wait!" Magnus says. "I watched Doctor Who for six decades and Supernatural for fifteen years—I agree, Doctor, the 'finale' was crap. But if you all know us from a show called Shadowhunters, then we must be in some kind of dimension that morphs everything into a TV series that everyone else has watched."

The Doctor claps her hands together. "The French mistake—one of my favourites!"

"No, Russian." Dean shakes his head and rolls his eyes. He always loved the Doctor and was excited for a woman to take over the role, but he thinks he might have been able to live without her enthusiasm about their little get together. They have a world to save, after all.

"Chuck has a strange sense of humour, but that doesn't sound like one of his interventions," Alec states. "Why would he put us all in the TARDIS?"

"What do we all have in common?" Dean asks.

"We're kinda humans," Alec says.

"Time Lady."

"Angel."

"Warlock. And you're not fully human either, Alexander."

The shadowhunter chews his lips.

"But you three have some kind of mojo," Dean supplies.

The Doctor furrows her brow. "You're right. Cass has grace, Magnus magic, and timelord technology is so highly evolved, it could be seen as magical. If there is a—" she trails off and points her sonic screwdriver first at the warlock then at the angel. Then she listens to her ship. "You're right," she says and putters about the console.

"Care to fill us in?" Alec asks.

The Doctor pushes a button and a high-pitched sound makes them all cover their ears. "Gotcha!"

"What?" Castiel asks.

"I know what we have in common. We all have a fam. You've got the SPN family, and you," she turns to Alec and Magnus, "your fans call themselves shadowfam. And I?" She smiles brightly. "I have Yaz, Graham, and Ryan."

"You agreed on team TARDIS, Doctor," Magnus reminds her.

"Still, feels like fam to me." She shrugs. "So…" She quirks her lips in thought. "Some blood magic, maybe?"

"But family doesn't end in blood," Dean argues.

"Right, Bobby taught you that. Wish the showrunners remembered that in season 15," Alec murmurs. Dean gives him a strange side look.

"Is something wrong, Dean?"

"Nah, Cass," he says and pulls his gaze from the intertwined hands of the Lightwood-Banes. "So, maybe some rune thingy?"

Alec pulls a face. "Could turn Yaz and you into forsakens. Maybe even the Doctor. Better not."

"Can't you just put the coordinates in and throw us out in the bunker. Or in front of it? No idea if the warding would keep the TARDIS out or not." Dean frowns.

"Wouldn't work," Magnus says. "If this dimension, or whatever it is, thinks that we are all fictional, then the coordinates can't bring us into our worlds. We might end up in your dimension. I like our vampires better."

"Awesome!" Dean groans.

Magnus curls his fingers around his chin in deep thought. "I could summon a dimension demon, but they usually demand things one would rather die than do."

"Like what?" Castiel asks.

"The last time I had to pay one, he wanted me to drink seelie wine."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Dean says.

"You've never had seelie wine. That stuff is worse than the touch of a Djinn." Dean whistles in acknowledgement.

"Could still be worth it. I mean we need to get back to our friends, and yours are surely waiting, too," Yaz supplies.

"The TARDIS is stuck in this dimension, Doc?" Alec asks.

"Yes. Positive."

"Then we should begin," Magnus says, conjuring chalks. "We all will be home soon."

***

They stand in a circle around the pentagram drawn on the floor of the TARDIS.

"We must initiate a bond. Once this bond is sealed,..." Magnus starts.

"...it cannot be broken until the demon retreats," Castiel ends his sentence and smiles softly at Alec, who blushes fiercely.

"Well, this time, I won't be the one who'll break it in a gay panic," he huffs. Yaz snickers.

Dean furrows his brow, ignoring Castiel eyeing him. He recites the summoning spell together with Magnus and the Doctor. Green flames rise in their midst. They aren't hot, but their sight hurts the eyes. A deep growl speaks to them, and Castiel turns pale.

"I haven't heard this demonic dialect in a while," he calls over the noises. "Did he say what I think he said?"

Magnus worries his lip between his teeth. "I think he did."

"I can't."

"What, Cass. What does he ask for? Give it to him. It can't be that bad," Dean shouts.

"It isn't. At least not for me." Castiel looks at the Doctor. "Any Supernatural sequels you've seen by any chance?"

"No, sorry. I got stuck at the Destiel YouTube vids. Didn't get around to checking future releases. But you two always reminded me of Rose and me, you know?" She looks sad at the memory of her lost love.

"No. A human doppelgänger won't do," Castiel says firmly. He says something in the demon's tongue and gets a rumble in reply.

Magnus nods at him. "My magic can hold the circle. But hurry."

The others stare at them. "Why doesn't the TARDIS translate his words?" Yaz asks.

"This demon is too old," the Doctor says. "Even older than evil itself. No one speaks this language anymore but angels and demon-blooded ones, as it seems."

"Lucky me, huh?" Castiel presses out. He lets go of Magnus' hand and turns to Dean. The warlock holds the gap with his magic. "I know how you see yourself, Dean…"

"We don't have time for the whole death speech. Fast forward," Magnus hisses, clearly struggling to hold the bond.

Castiel frowns at him but nods. He turns his face back to Dean. "I'm sorry. I know you never wanted that to happen. It's simply what the demon demands. It doesn't have to mean anything, okay?"

"What are you talking about, man?"

Castiel smiles at him. "I love you." And then he leans in and kisses him. It's chaste but after a moment of shock, Dean returns the kiss, and his hand cards through Castiel's hair. Thunder booms around them and dense fog separates the different duos. The demon disappears with a screeching noise and when the fog thins out, the places where the two couples were standing are empty.

"It worked!" the Doctor rejoices. Yaz grins at her. "Let's get to the boys."

"No, Mulder, this isn't a UFO. It's surely just a high-quality film set," a redhead in pantsuit and coat says as she strolls into the room.

"Scully!" the Doctor cheers. "Brilliant!"

[letsperaltiago]

right next to the right one

Nothing special but here is a small, 100% fluff moment from very early Peraltiago. I imagined it taking place somewhere in between ‘New Captain’ and ‘The funeral’. Enjoy 💕

Read on AO3

It’s their first night together – or, more like, the first night they go to bed together without ripping each other’s clothes off in the heat and heaviness caused by four drinks.

They’re at Amy’s place this time. Jake is nervously fiddling around her bedroom trying to get ready for bed without interrupting or getting in the way of whatever punctual night routine Amy Santiago must have. They did just have their first date a few days ago, and maybe there are a lot of sides to her that he hasn’t met yet; although it doesn’t take a genius to know that surely Amy has some kind of step-by-step pattern she walks through before heading to bed.

Or that’s what he thinks. Suddenly she reemerges from the bathroom, only five minutes after first leaving the bedroom, and looks completely calm and ready for bed. Not freaked out because she’s running behind schedule or missing steps. No kind of ritual seems to be playing out and Jake has to admit to himself: he’s slightly confused.

“That was fast?” Jake quizzes from where he’s standing by the foot of her bed still dressed like he’s about to leave and Amy frowns. Both because of the statement, which sounds more like a question, but also because she thought he too would be ready for bed by now.

“You sound confused? I just removed my makeup and brushed my teeth – it doesn’t take that long.” She cocks her eyebrows telling him that no, not all women spend an hour in the bathroom… Jake feels bad for questioning her, and all women out there, but is quickly interrupted by her picking up on him being far from ready for bed.

“But why are you still dressed? Get in bed, silly!” She chuckles and gets into bed on what he assumes is her usual side. He secretly hopes that one day the other side will become his. Too soon, he thinks and shakes it off. One step at a time.

Jake contemplates whether or not he should explain himself but quickly figures that it doesn’t matter. Her lack of strict routine just tells him that she’s relaxed in her own home, around him, and that he likes - a lot. Also, Amy looks really cute in nothing but an oversized NYPD-shirt and panties.

“Oh, yeah sorry. Just didn’t know where to put my stuff and I didn’t want to like…” he shuffles nervously to the free side of the bed, probably looking stupid, and he hates that he’s so nervous. By no means does he want her to notice; maybe think she’s the one making him nervous. Actually he just likes her so stupid much that he’d rather stand there and look stupid than mess up her room or do something else that’ll give him away; do something that’ll let her know he isn’t the one for her. “… I didn’t want to Jake up your room.”

She’s just gotten under the covers, sitting against the headboard with her current book in her lap, but seems to forget about it and suddenly freeze on the spot with her eyes on him. Not in an accusing way or with an expression that lets him know he needs to leave; rather a look of warmth and appreciation… Maybe even a hint of amusement. Then she crawls across the bed to his side and stands on her knees.

“Jake…” she grabs him by the hoodie and pulls him in so that he stands as close to her as the edge of the bed will allow. Everything she says comes out with a special warmth radiating from her lips and eyes, something he’s only ever seen in her. “I appreciate the thought, but… You’ve already Jake’d up my life so a little Jake’ing up my bedroom won’t hurt me. Okay?”

The way the words fall from her lips, full of calmness and serenity, has him pacified without delay. The soft peck to his lips radiates a welcoming feeling Jake can’t deny. Confidence slowly seeps back into him, and he finally feels as if he can answer her searching, soft brown eyes.

“Okay,” he’s finally able to let down his shoulders, his overall guard, and return her smile with a matching radiation of serenity and calmness.

It’s so stupid how much he likes her, he thinks. It partially scares him although never enough to chase him away. Before he even has the time to realize it, as if it’s second nature to him, he rids himself of his clothes. Few minutes later his outfit is, somewhat, neatly hanging on a chair nearby. He smiles sheepishly and Amy chuckles, nodding in approval: perhaps he’s not too bad at this after all, he thinks and falls into Amy Santiago’s bed.

Everything is so brand new to the both of them yet quickly falls into a rhythm that feels normal: everything from Amy reading her book by his side to the way the Jake’s late night cartoon’s flicker in the background without bothering her.

Amy feels it too. The normality of the new them. For the past few days they’ve been together, Amy’s already wondered many times: how? She puts down her book and lies down on her side to get a better look at his side profile.

She can’t tell if the cartoons that deserve credit for calming him down, causing him to zone out of reality, but Amy enjoys this side of Jake. The Jake that is just… there. With her.

She wonders, after going through what they both went through to get to each other, how she got so lucky? Suddenly, very out of nowhere, she finds herself fully focused on the mand beside her and something feels just a tad different. All night she’d felt so nonchalant, so easy going about him being around, that it didn’t occur to her just how lucky she is and now she can’t stop wondering, over and over, how? How is he here after all their ups and down, exes, friend zones and whatnot?  

“Hey.”

It falls out of her before she can comprehend it or try to stop it, and as soon as his head calmly turns to look at her Amy knows she has to carry through with this. The shifting colorful light from the TV casts a warm shadow on the side of his face that is turned away from it, and Amy halts for a second taking in the sight in front of her. The man by her side is so gently, so easily tuned in to her and the flickering lights enhances all of her favorite facial features. Features she can kiss now, whether she believes it or not, and features she gets to run her hands and fingers along if she wishes to.

“Hey,” he answers with a soft smile inviting her to speak her mind, because of all people, Amy Santiago alwayshas an agenda. Jake knows.

In contrast to how ready she felt just seconds ago, she all of the sudden, now that the first word is out and the attention is on her, feels so shy. Probably has furiously blushing cheeks too. Knowing Jake, he’s probably already noticed.

“What’s up?” he tries.

Amy considers not speaking her mind, instead just joke it off like they often do. Most of the time that’s a fine solution… But this moment, for some reason, feels more important. Like it’s not supposed to be brushed off. Amy genuinely has some things on her mind.

“I just,” she cuts herself off nervously biting down on her bottom lip. “I just can’t believe we’re here… Like, together.”

If her blush wasn’t very evident before then it definitely is now, and she has to look away from him just to keep calm. His eyes, especially with the soft look he has right now, all of the sudden seems so overwhelming. In the good way. The scary way too. Just a year ago she would’ve never believed anyone telling her that Jake Peralta would come to make her feel this way.

“I know.” Jake chuckles and Amy dares to look back at him. He’s looking straight ahead again but this time not at the TV, she can tell. He looks deep in thought, smiling, and Amy feels less scared. If the man of a thousand issues is smiling at the thought of them (she hopes) then everything is probably alright.

“Like even after everything that’s come between us, constantly demotivating the process like… wrong timing, being undercover, Sophia, Teddy…” she trails off realizing just how many odds have been against them for the past two years or so.

He slowly nods in agreement still staring into air with a small smile on his face as if he’s seeing something she isn’t.

“Yeah… To me, the whole thing with Teddy was never that demotivating though. On the contrary.”

Amy’s eyebrows dip into a confused frown.

“Really.” Jake finally turns his head to look at her and the flickering lights make him look that more handsome, like in a movie scene, all over again. She loves when he looks at her, even if it’s just been a few days. If Jake was the last person to ever look at her, just like he is right now, she would die happy. Somehow it feels like he’s done it for longer – maybe he has and she just hasn’t noticed?

“This is going to sound super dumb, but every time I saw you with him I was bummed out, yes, but it also made me even more sure: I wanted to be the one to be with you. I wanted all the small moments he got with you… Like siting at Shaw’s making you smile and laugh while drinking beer; competing with you about dumb stuff that only we care about and everyone rolls their eyes at us; picking you up from work – even though we literally sit across from each other, I now realize as I’m saying it out loud.”

They both chuckle in unison but on the inside they both feel their hearts burst with joy at this small confession. Silence, a comfortable one, takes over. Amy sees his face switch to the one he always put on when he’s being serious and genuine. Her heart skips yet another beat.

”I guess I kinda always knew I wanted be where he was standing, you know? Next to you. Holding your hand even, if I was really lucky.” He chuckles but so softly that Amy can tell he’s still being serious.

Amy nods, entranced, and if it wasn’t for what said next then the moment definitely would’ve been a fully and completely soft moment - alike nothing she’d ever witnessed Jake Peralta in before. The man beside her is nervously fiddling with his fingers and she can tell Jake has crossed some emotional boundaries with this confession tonight. Which is also why she doesn’t comment on it when he flees the intensity of the romantic moment with a joking remark.

“And if that isn’t motivation for ya then I don’t know what is.” His voice switches to the goofy tone he speaks in most of the time and soft Jake slowly fades away, into fun Jake with his still tall walls up. Although Amy knows he means every word he’s just said. That is enough for her; enough to keep her cheeks blushing and lips in the shape of a moved smile. Enough to keep her around for what feels like will be a long time.

“Well…” she scoots over to his side of the bed and pulls his head down to press a playful kiss to his cheek, like a schoolgirl would to her crush, and it’s Jake’s turn to blush. She pulls back but stays close, turns his head with her hand bringing them nose to nose. She’s still blushing but she doesn’t care. He can see her colors - all of them.  

“Here you are, Peralta. And it feels so much better having you here.”

[haikyu-hoe]

Group Project

Oikawa Tooru x reader

one shot, fluff

Hope you guys enjoy this, I appreciate any feedback!! Dm for requests xx

———————————————————————

You part ways with your friends in the corridor, since you have Social studies and they have History first. So unlucky that you got separated! Especially for a class where there’s always group projects. You miss working with your best friend Amy so much! You guys always had so much fun and got good grades.

You sit down at the back of the class, so you can look out the window if it gets too boring. Just as you were thinking about how it’s unfair that all your friends are together for your last year except you, the teacher announces a group project... with imposed teammates.

You wait for her to name you and reveal your partner, hoping it’s not that dumb boy Yuki or Mina, that girl is so mean!

“Y/k and Oikawa Tooru, Sakura and...”, says the teacher. You turn your head to see Oikawa smirking at you. This is definitely worse than Yuki or Mina.

Oikawa is mostly known for being an amazing volleyball player (he’s not the captain for nothing), and apparently does amazing services. But he also has a ton of fangirls because of his good looks, making him the biggest fuckboy in the whole school, maybe even the whole prefecture.

He’s definitely not going to work on this project, busy flirting and hooking up with a different shallow girl each night. Guess you’ll have to do it alone. You just hope he won’t bother you too much...

Once the teacher is done calling the teams, everyone sits down besides their partner.

“Oi, y/k!!!”, says an overly excited voice beside you. Oikawa is smiling at you at the desk on your right, even waving.

“hey, Oikawa. Let’s start the project, yeah?”, you reply, unenthusiastic. You’re not about to become one of his fans or anything. How is that guy always so enthusiastic anyways?

To your surprise, he’s actually quite smart and works pretty well throughout the whole period.

“How about we go to my place after school to continue?”, asks Oikawa. This sounds like a bad idea, but refusing you have no excuse to refuse.

“Sure”, you reply, uncertain. Let’s hope you won’t regret this.

He gets out of the classroom, waving frantically and winking at you. Weird guy. You understand why he’s popular though. Hot, smart, talented, extroverted, surprisingly nice. But fangirls? That’s a bit overboard, right?

At lunch, you tell your friends about this weird encounter. They of course get soooo excited, since they think Oikawa is attractive, like most girls at school. If you’re being completely honest, you found him attractive too. But you wouldn’t admit it for a 1000$.

That afternoon, you wait anxiously for the bell to ring, staring at Oikawa across the class. “Dear God, i’m i turning into one of those boot-licking fangirls?”, you think. You sigh and look away. You need to focus on this.

When the bell finally rings, you go to your locker and go wait at the school’s gate. A few minutes you hear “y/k-chann~! you waited! sorry i took so long”, says Oikawa, running up to you. He looks so adorable when he does that closed eyes smile and scratches his neck...

You snap back to reality, since this is stupid anyways. Oikawa is a fuck boy. A serious relationship with him would be impossible, with all those fangirls. Not that you’d be interested.

“it’s fine. But hurry up next time.”, you say, trying to stay annoyed.

“What, you plan on waiting for me often, y/k?”, he says with a smirk. “I wouldnt mind that”, he adds in a flirty tone, leaning close to you.

You blush a bit, but Oikawa doesn’t notice. You just sigh and roll your eyes whispering “idiot”.

Oikawa is quite chatty and keeps the conversation alive for the whole time you’re walking. It’s strangely not so annoying. You normally can’t stand too bubbly people but it’s not the same with him. Realizing what you’re thinking, you shake your head.

Oikawa notices and stops talking, looking at you with concern.

“Everything okay?”, he asks.

“myeah! it’s nothing”, you say with an embarrassed smile.

It’s not like you could’ve told him “I think i’m falling in love with you, but i know you’re just a fuck boy so i’m disappointed with myself”, right?

You arrive a few minutes later, and you sit down on the living room couch besides him but on opposite ends.

“Hey y/k i won’t bite you, you know that?”, he says, brows furrowed. “unless you want me to...”, he adds seductively, raising an eyebrow.

“You really are an idiot”, you say.

You then both worked pretty hard on the project. After two hours, Oikawa brought some snacks and you took a break. You started chitchatting casually.

“You know, you’re smarter than I thought. Here I was thinking that you were one of those boys who’s only strong point is their looks”, you say. You were surprised that Oikawa worked so hard on the project, but for nothing in the world would you compliment him openly.

“Hey! that’s mean, i didn’t assume you were dumb just because you’re pretty!”, he replies, pretending to be offended.

Your cheeks turn pink, and you look away. He thinks you’re... pretty? You change the subject quickly: you start talking about volleyball and such, and the subject of his fangirls eventually comes up.

“How does it feel to be so adored by so many girls? How come you’re still single?”, you ask.

“You just won’t stop roasting me huh!”, he says with a huff. “The truth is I don’t care that much about these girls”, he finishes.

“Then isn’t kinda mean to lead them on? I mean you always hang around them, take their offerings-”

Oikawa cuts you off. “It’s not like that y/k” he says. “They’ll do this no matter how i react, so it’s better if I just accept it”, he explains.

“Wow fame sounds hard”, you reply mockingly. “But seriously... how are you still single? So many girls have a crush on you, and not just at our school.”, you add.

“Well you see, there’s only one girl I want. I won’t settle for anyone else then her.”, he says. His eyes look deeply into yours and you’re forced to look away as you start to feel your cheeks heating up.

“Who? I have to know now!”, you say, as if none of this bothers you.

Oikawa gets closer to you, then leans in to whisper in your ear. His warm breath tickles against your nape.

“It’s you, y/k.”, he says simply.

You blush like mad and you’re about to ask questions but he softly drags a finger along your jawline, to finally lift your chin so you’re looking up into his eyes.

Your mind goes blank as you feel his soft lips crashing onto yours. You kiss back with everything you’ve got and it goes on for what seems like hours yet just a few seconds.

When you pull away from him, you both just stare at each other, at loss for words. Does he really mean this, or are you just another girl he can toy with?

As if he could read your thoughts, Oikawa finally talks. “You know, I’ve only had one serious girlfriend. And serious is a big word... It was in second year and she just wanted to use me to become popular” he sighs. “No girl ever wants to truly want to get to know me. I’m pretty and that’s enough for them.”

“you’re so cocky...”, you huff.

He smirks, while his right hand reaches to stroke the back of your neck. You shiver at the touch, realizing the awful truth. You love him, even if he’s cocky and full of himself. There’s just something irresistible about that smirk and his silk-like voice.

“You know... we didn’t get matched at random. I asked to be with you. Ms. Taikeda couldn’t really refuse, especially when I told her why. She says we’d be cute together you know...”

So this was his plan all along? This boy just keeps getting more interesting. He takes both your hands in his left one, and you get a shiver at how long and precise his fingers are. No wonder he’s the best setter.

“So what do you say? You, me, boyfriend & girlfriend?”, he says, cheeks becoming a pale rosy shade.

“How could I say no...”, you reply.

His face lightens up, like a little kid on his birthday. He’s so cute, you can’t resist but to place another kiss on his lips, who are still hot from the previous kiss.

[time skip]

Oikawa walked you home about 30 minutes later, after an intense making out session. He gave you one last kiss on the forehead and held you in his arms several minutes.

You’re still thinking about all of this, wide awake even if it’s way past midnight. You stare at the ceiling, reliving every second of this wonderful, almost surreal afternoon. Your only fear is that he’ll act as if nothing happened tomorrow. But could someone really be that much of a player? Sounds like a stretch.

The next morning, you take much more time than usual to get ready. Maybe it’s because you have Social Studies today... You apply a one last layer of lip gloss on your lips, grab a jacket, slip your shoes on and leave.

You cross the school’s gate with a big knot in your stomach, walking quickly towards the locker room. But someone wraps their arms around your waist from behind.

You gasp and turn around to see a smiling Oikawa, who quickly pecks your lips.

“Oi- Oikawa wha- what are you doing..?”, you ask, looking around nervously.

He grabs your face so you can only look at him. You stare into his hazel eyes which are sparkling in the morning sun. He smells like Axe deodorant, which is strangely sexy.

“Shhh, others don’t matter honey”, he whispers in your ear, his warm breath tickling your ear.

You try to protest, but he places a finger on your lips. It’s enough to shut you up.

He takes your hand in his and you walk together to the lockers. A small crowd of students points and whispers as you pass by, but Oikawa doesn’t care so you don’t either. You then part ways, but not before a soft, tender kiss.

You go to your morning classes, blushing like mad. Some people whisper around you in the hallways, but it’s not as bad as you expected at all. Maybe people don’t really care, in fact.

At lunch break, you’re about to go sit down with your friends (Oikawa had a volley thing), but a group of fangirl approaches you. You feel extremely nervous, wondering if they’re going to be mad...

“Hi! I’m Emma”, says the first one.

“I’m Yumi, we just came to ask you if you’re dating Oikawa haha”, says another one. They seem pretty... friendly?

“well not exactly...”, you start. You explain what happened yesterday, and the girls look so happy as you go into details.

“Wow that’s amazing!! I totally ship you guys!!”, says another one.

You chat a bit more with them, and they then leave to eat. The fangirls are less dumb and superficial than you thought, which is great.

Your friends go crazy when you tell them everything. Especially Amy, who lightly hits you for not telling her earlier. They all ask so much questions, which you don’t really have answers for. Are you guys really dating?? You, dating Oikawa?

[time skip]

You’re staring out the window. Social Studies was never your cup of tea, to be fair. You kept your grades high, but without so much interest.

You snap out of your daydream when a balled-up paper lands on your desk with a slight thud.

“date with me tonight, coffee shop, 4pm, meet me at school gate”

You turn around to see Oikawa sneakily smirking at you. You smile at him and nod.

The rest of the day seems to go on forever, but it’s all worth it to feel Oikawa embrace you again after the bell. You walk to the coffee shop, teasing each other a bit and holding hands.

You order milkshakes, eat lots of sweets, talk for hours... A perfect evening. You end up holding both his hands, staring endlessly at his sharp jaw, his fluffy hair, his cute nose, his small rosy lips...

“Y/k”, he suddenly says. He looks serious, or at least less in a silly mood than usual.

Your eyes meet, and it feels like gazing into a clearing, with a thousand fireflies. He squeezes your hands, take a breath, and finally says it:

“Will you officially be my girlfriend?”,m

“Ye- yes!!”, you reply, blushing.

He comes sit beside you so he can kiss you with all the passion he’d been saving up until now, a hand on your tigh, the other on your waist. You cup his face, amazed at how soft his pale skin is.

[time skip]

You walk home side by side, both smiling. Is this what love feels like? His hands feels so big around yours, and just hearing his steady footsteps calm you.

He hugs you goodbye, but as he’s about to become out of reach, you grab his wrist. He turns around to face you once more, the moon reflecting in his widened pupils like on a dark lake.

Unsure what you truly wanted to say, you just take a step closer, putting your hands on his chest. You stay like this for what seems like an eternity, yet it’s still too short.

He smirks, and after kissing your forehead, he finally says it:

“I love you, y/k”

~ the end ~

[riversofmars]

Mirrorverse cut/alternate scenes

For @capybaraonabicycle​, as promised, and anyone else that cares, 5k worth of cut and alternate scenes from “Through the Looking Glass”. Finally had a chance to sort through them lol. <3

Alternate version of Clara trying to convince 13 to help her

“Why would I trust you.“ The Doctor shook her head, finding it hard to believe that she thought her so naive. 

“You know me, don’t you?“ Clara offered softly.

“I knew my Clara, I don’t know you.“ The Doctor replied firmly, reminding herself that there was a big difference, no matter how much she wanted to look into those big eyes and believe her. 

“And your Clara, does she care about you?“ Clara asked leaning closer. 

“Yes.“ 

“And I care about you, too.“ Clara reached out and cupped her cheek. 

“Maybe you care about her, not me, you don’t know me.“ The Doctor pulled away defiantly. 

“I’m finding you a lot easier to care for than her right now.“ Clara smiled softly. “Alright fine, you have no reason to trust me, I get that. How about you ask me some questions?“ She straightened herself up. “Get to know me. Maybe we can find a way forward together.“ 

“Did she ask you to speak to me?“ The Doctor needed confirmation. 

“Yes.“ Clara nodded matter-of-factly. 

“So she trusts you.“ The Doctor carried on.

“Absolutely.“ Clara agreed again.

“And you would still betray her?“ The Doctor couldn’t believe it but at the same time, she couldn’t discount the possibility. If this Clara was also a sort of evil counter part to her Clara, it certainly was something she should deem her capable of. And if she was capable of betraying someone that regarded her a trusted advisor, she was probably just as dangerous as the Emperor herself and not a suitable ally either. 

“She’s gone too far. We all know it. Holds too little regard for those loyal to her…“ Clara explained. 

“You mean to you.“ The Doctor deduced, trying to read between the lines. 

“Let’s just say her moods swing… and her favour falls elsewhere.“ Clara answered. 

“You’re jealous.“ The Doctor realised as slowly the pieces were falling into place. Clara shrugged as if it didn’t matter. 

“Maybe.“

“But jealous of what? Or who? Do you want her power or her?“ The Doctor couldn’t read her expression, she just smirked, indicating she was getting close to the truth. 

“So either, you want to punish her for ignoring you and go after her power. Or you’re trying to play me and you think if you can deliver me to her, her favour will fall to you? Which is it?“ The Doctor shot back firmly. “I’m fairly certain, whichever it is, you’ll have to go through River first.“

(…)

“Maybe we can topple them, you and me, no-one would have to know you’re not her… Why don’t you stay for a little while Doctor? Believe me, I’m the closest you will get to having your friend back and I think we can help each other, a lot…“

“You can’t be serious.“ The Doctor tried to pull away.

“She doesn’t appreciate me. I think you and I can have a much better relationship and help each other out. There are things I want and perhaps, if you were to stick around and work with me, we can both get what we want…“ 

(…)

“How long has your wife been dead now? When did you last see her? Must have been quite some time.

“Please, stop.“ The Doctor averted her eyes quickly. 

“Oh darling, I’ll be gentle with you.“ Clara smirked, reaching out for her cheek to make her face her again.

(…)

This time the Doctor managed to push her over and free herself. She scrambled to her feet putting some distance between them and Clara sighed exasperated. She stood and her demeanour was changed, she dropped her act.

“What you’re doing here, what she is doing… you know it’s insane right? You said it. It needs to stop.“ The Doctor exclaimed. 

“And you think I should put an end to it?“ Clara tilted her head in amusement. 

“You could, with the quantum shade… have you never been tempted.“ The Doctor gestured towards her while Clara idle ran her fingers along the swirls of the tattoo. 

“Oh Doctor, there are beings even a Quantum Shade won’t cross.“ Clara laughed as if it was a preposterous suggestion. “Besides, it’s treason, to even suggest it.“

“You were trying to rope me into your scheme only a moment ago, all lies then?“ The Doctor bit back. 

“I thought you might be sympathetic to the cause.“ Clara shrugged and sat back down. She crossed her legs and spread her arms out to rest them on the back of the sofa. She regarded the Doctor who looked back at her with disdain. 

“You’re all as bad as each other.“ The Doctor growled, scolding herself for being tempted to believe her at one point. “I’m already marked for death, aren’t I.“ She touched her hand to the back of her neck.

“Not by me. Not yet anyway.“ Clara hummed. 

“I think the Quantum Shade would find my life rather hard to extinguish as well.“ The Doctor tried her best to sound confident in that fact. Surely her unlimited regenerations should be difficult for the Shade to deal with.

“Perhaps.“ Clara didn’t seem to care one way or another. “So Doctor, what do you think? Can we become fast friends.“

“I don’t know what game you’re playing but… either you will report everything back to her or you truly are working your own agenda in which case, I wouldn’t give you the information either.“ The Doctor shot back and looked around, finding herself in an almost identical situation as she had been with the Emperor. The only exception was that Clara remained seated and fully composed, her expression unreadable. Where the Emperor had been quick in her temper and cruel in the execution, Clara appeared devoid of all emotion now, cool and collected, unnervingly so. 

“That’s a shame, Doctor, a real shame. I was so hopeful that you would listen to reason…“ Clara said at last. “But I should have guessed, you’re just as stubborn as her, aren’t you… You have more in common than you realise.“ She mused. “Your bullheadedness will be your downfall.“

“Have you ever seen her fall down?“ The Doctor shot back, anger rising inside her. They kept making fun of her, kept painting her as weak and pathetic, even though they didn’t know the first thing about her. Clara tilted her head raising her eyebrows, waiting for her point. “Because if we have one thing in common it’s that I always win as well.“

“We will see about that.“ Clara chuckled and got to her feet at last. “I promise you, that won’t be the last injury you sustain here…“ She pointed to her shoulder as she strolled towards her. 

“I’m not scared of you.“ The Doctor bit back, standing her ground. 

“Then you are very brave and very stupid indeed.“ Clara laughed and came to a halt in front of her. “Do have a think about it, Doctor. Think about who you want to cooperate with. Maybe if you chose to trust me, we could at least have something together…“ She smoothed the collar of her coat and the Doctor pulled away. 

“I’ve never liked Clara in that way.“

“Oh, I know… Doesn’t change the way I feel though, does it.“ Clara sighed, her expression unreadable. “And it has no bearing on this dilemma of yours… How about we talk again tomorrow, have a good long think about it?“ As if on cue, the Monk stepped back into the room. 

“I don’t think we have anything else to discuss.“ The Doctor retorted icily, determined to have the final word. She turned making her way to the door. The Monk nodded to Clara, indicating he would take it from here while the Doctor voluntarily switched the deception filter back on as she stepped out of the room. She just needed to get out of there and walked down the corridor they had come, breathing more easily.

Alternate version of 13 scheming with the rebels 

13: “How can I help you?“

Missy: “Well, you do look like her…“

Monk: “We have informants around the palace too, they can keep us up to date with the Emperor’s movements.“

13: “You want me to impersonate her?“

Monk: “You would be able to move around the palace freely, you just… need to change your mannerisms a bit…“

13: “And what would you want me to do?“

Missy: “There is only one thing the Emperor truly cares about, just one.“

13: “River.“

Missy nodded. 

Manton: “She wasn’t always like that you know? She was with us once.“

13: “You kidnapped her?“

Manton: “We’re not proud of it but… we were kind to her, we raised her well and she wanted to help us, she despised what her parents were, what this world was like…“

13: “But she fell in love with her.“

Missy: “And with the power.“

13: “Just one different choice…“ “In my universe, River was also taken from Amy and Rory… and she was raised to kill me. But she chose not to.“ 

Manton: “Maybe it’s still there, you know? Maybe she’ll see…“ 

The Doctor shook her head. River’s love for the Doctor had undone any hold the Silence had had on her, this would be no different. 

13: “River would have died… did die… for me. She would do the same for her. You won’t turn her to your side in the same way as they were never able to turn her back against me.“

Missy: “She is her only weakness, Doctor.“

13: “Her weakness is her disregard for everyone else, her selfishness, her cruelty.“

Missy: “You might think that, but that’s to the reality we live in. It’s survival of the fittest, everyone else bows or gets cut down.“ 

13: “We will see about that.“

Missy: “So you will help us.“

13: “If you tell me what I can do, I will.“ 

Manton: “The easiest thing, surely, would be to have her replace her.“

Missy: “No she needs to get back home.“

13: “I can’t stay here and I don’t want that responsibility.“

Monk: “And that’s what will make you a kind and just…“

13: “No, I need to get back.“

Manton: “Who says you will find a way back? There hasn’t been a crossing in hundreds of years, yours was an accident, you don’t even know if you will ever find a way back.“

13: “I have to! I can’t stay here, I can’t… She them, see her, like that, every day, I can’t bare it.“

13 and talking to a lucid Kovarian about the universe’s past

Kovarian: “They stole a TARDIS and travelled the universe cause they were bored, found a species they liked in humans… so much violence, fighting each other, needless wars, destruction of their planet… They would rob banks and wreak havoc, gave them a taste for it… And then came the Time War…“

13: “What happened?“

K: “The Doctor destroyed them all… the Daleks… wiped them from the face of the universe…“

13: “It isn’t just a trick or…“

K: “Oh no, Doctor, they still tell stories about it… all that destruction…“

13: “And that’s when the Empire started expanding?“

K: “Oh no, that’s when the Timelords decided they had enough. Not even them, a race known for it’s hunger for power and dominance, could stomach it. So they exiled them. The war hero, the butcher. And they disappeared into a little bubble universe.“ “If anything, it only fuelled their fire more… That’s when they returned to Earth and they found the people who now reside by their side now… They all have their own stories with them.“ “That’s when they met Amy and Rory and things began to spiral. They were so perfectly matched…  That’s when the stories started… do you… in your universe, does the Pandorica mean anything to you.“

13: “The Pandorica contains the mightiest warrior in history. There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.“

K: “They didn’t have a name anymore, stopped calling themselves the Doctor… they’d just… go from world to world and destroy and conquer…“

13: “It didn’t start with Gallifrey then?“

K: “If anything, it ended with Gallifrey.“

13: “Where are all the Timelords? This is Gallifrey, is it not?“

K: “Of course it is.“ “But do you think she would forgive them for casting her out, if you do, you’re even more naive than I thought… They returned eventually and of course they found them… And took her revenge… She left the general alive… killed their families instead… had them swear their allegiance…“

13: “It’s no wonder they despise her…“

K: “They are too scared to do anything… there is plotting and scheming but she is the most powerful being in this universe and surrounded by people she trusts… with River and Clara… She’s far too powerful.“

13: “Has no-one ever tried to stop her.“ “What have you been doing this whole time?“

K: “We tried, we really did…“

13: “River…“

K: “Did something similar happen in your universe?“

13: “You could say that…“ “Did you…“

K: “We’re not proud of it… to take someone’s child but… we raised her well, we looked after her, surely it was a better childhood than she would have had growing up amongst that violence… and she started out wanting to help but…“

13: “She fell in love with them… some things seem to be inevitable, no matter the timeline or universe.“

K: “That was when we lost, Doctor. When she turned on us, all hope was lost.“

13: “All hope?“ She looked to Missy who was dishing out food.

K: “Missy, yes, she tries… we do our best to look after the people here but it’s been a long time since any of us have tried to do anything. But the voices of unrest are getting louder. They just don’t look after their empire. You can’t just keep conquering, you have to look after you people as well, rule if you have to, but look after you people.“ “Maybe you arrival can spark something…“

13: “I doubt that very much…“

K: “I think you’ve already done something.“

13: “What?“

“Look around you Doctor.“ 

Cut flashback to the Pandorica

“What the hell are we doing here?“ Amy stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. Earth. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. How boring. 

“Just following an invitation“. The Doctor answered ignoring her displeasure. 

“Who from?“ Rory asked, equally as annoyed as his girlfriend. 

“A very special someone.“ The Doctor replied with a sense of excitement. 

“Not the one with the hair again.“ Amy groaned. 

“What can I say, she intrigues me.“ He smirked.

“And what exactly are you planning on doing here? This seems really bloody boring in comparison to what we usually do.“ Amy huffed looking around the countryside. 

“Well, it can’t all be burning down civilisations and bathing in riches now, can it.“ The Doctor chuckled. Though he couldn’t deny, he was rather sceptical himself. Usually, an invitation from River Song spelled excitement. The rolling British countryside seemed the complete opposite. 

“We’re literally just here so you can get laid, aren’t we?“ Rory rolled his eyes and the Doctor shrugged.

“Hello Sweetie.“ A voice sounded behind them and the Doctor grinned. About time. 

“Ah we were just talking about you.“ He smirked looking around. He looked River Song up and down appreciatively. Oh how he longed to work out this woman’s secrets. They had met a few times now and with every meeting, his intrigue grew. “I like your guns.“ He observed.

“Is that a euphemism?“ River smirked and stepped closer.

“Yeah, we’re here too, by the way.“ Amy huffed. “What are we doing here?“

“I have a present for you.“ River answered her question but addressed the Doctor who’s grin widened. 

“Are you the present cause that’s certainly something I would appreciate.“ He smirked. 

“The Pandorica is here…“ He answered in amusement. 

“The Pandorica is a fairytale.“ He laughed.

“What’s the Pandorica?“ Amy raised her eyebrows, it sounded as though things might get interesting after all. 

“It’s said the Pandorica contains the mightiest warrior in history. There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless terrible thing, soaking in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.“

11: “If the shoe fits.“ 

River: “A nameless thing… What do you call yourself these days?“

11: “Haven’t decided. Sweetie always works.“ 

River: “Alright, Sweetie. Everything that’s ever hated you is coming here tonight, looking for the Pandorica.“

11: “That’s my kind of date night.“

Amy: “I think I’m gonna be sick.“

Alternate version of 13 making out with Mirror!River while pretending to be the Emperor

Mirror!River: “I’m glad you’re okay…“

13: “Did you worry about me?“

“You know I did…“ She pressed a firm kiss to her lips, it was full of relief and devotion and it took the Doctor’s breath away. She returned the kiss, knowing if the didn’t she would be found out but she couldn’t control the feelings it invoked inside her. It isn’t fair. How was she alive and her River wasn’t? It was cruel. “They tried to take you from me so many times, so every time I worry that maybe…“ River broke off, she couldn’t finish the thought and the Doctor looked into her eyes, shook to the core by the depth of the emotion in her eyes. How was someone like her capable of it? How did someone like the Emperor deserve this level of devotion? It wasn’t just jealously and frustration, it was anger and rage that bubbled up inside the Doctor. This wasn’t fair. She envied their life together. It wasn’t about their power or the lifestyle but the simple fact of them being able to be together. Staying together. In a linear fashion. They had everything her and River never did and never would. How did she get to live and her River had had to die? No good deed goes unpunished. Maybe the Emperor had been right. Maybe they had all been making the wrong choices all along. Why couldn’t they have made the selfish choice? Just once? The Doctor felt herself being dragged down in a spiral of emotion. 

She lunged forward and kissed River deeply, forcefully, passionately, with no small measure of aggression. She knocked her into the wall and River gasped in surprise, her eyes widened in shock. She wanted to say something but the Doctor didn’t give her the opportunity. She pushed her hands into her air. God, how she missed that feel of her soft curls around her fingers. She ripped her head back and River actually whimpered, part pain, part arousal. The Doctor kissed her again, pulling at her lip with her teeth. She brought her hand up and curled it around her throat. 

“You underestimate me.“ The Doctor growled and tightened her grip on her. River pushed herself against her and the Doctor felt herself loosing her inhibitions. What did she have to lose? She was already trapped in a terrible nightmare. She had failed at bringing her wife back, she probably wouldn’t get another chance now, if she ever managed to get back home at all. And here was this River, alive, breathing, gasping, whimpering, as she held her close. Beautiful, intoxicating River Song. How, perhaps, wasn’t even all that different from the woman she loved. They all carried both light and dark inside them, she was beginning to see that now. She hated her for being the one that lived.

Was it wrong to take out her emotions on her? Who was there to judge her? This was the closest she could get for being with River again. Not to mention it was her most convincing play.

“I’m sorry for doubting you.“ 

“You will be.“ 

Alternate/cut scenes from the Wedding flashback

Kovarian: “It’s from River…“

Manton: “Why would she be contacting us now?“

K: “It’s an invitation…“

M: “We can’t trust her, since Berlin, she’s… there are so many reports of her meddling through time and space, bumping into the Doctor, causing chaos together…“

K: “And now they’re getting married.“

M: “They what?“

K: “It’s an invitation to their wedding. On the planes of Utah, April 22nd, 2011, 5pm.“ 

M: “It’s a trap.“ “Why else send us this?“

K: “Unless… what if after all this time, she’s finally realised. We raised her well, we tried. What if she’s realised that what they’re doing is wrong and she's giving us a last shot at stopping him.“ “And even if it is a trap… we have never been able to catch up with him, at least this time we know where he’s going to be, we can’t pass up this opportunity.“ “Well, what does one wear to the wedding of your adoptive daughter and the most deadly creature in the universe?“

——

“Why Utah.“ Amy looked around as they stepped out of the TARDIS. The sun was blaring down on  Lake Silencio and the surrounding dessert. It didn’t agree with her pale skin. 

“It’s a still point in time. Easier to create a fixed point.“ River explained. “We don’t anyone to be able to rewrite any of this.“

“But Utah? It all just sand and dust! You could have at least put up a marquise or something.“ Amy huffed. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be a wedding to remember.“ 

“Right then, where is this aisle? And where is the Doctor.“ 

——

River blinked against the blinding sunlight of the Utah dessert. There was this unsettling, yet terribly familiar feeling, that she had forgotten something. That’s when she realised it probably had something to do with the gun in her hand. The gun she was currently pointing at her soon to be husband. Or had they had the ceremony already? All of a sudden, she couldn’t remember. She knew that feeling, something or someone was messing with her memory. She looked around and saw them again, the Silence. They stood amongst the crowd of invited guests, representatives from the civilisations they had conquered, all bearing witness to their union. It was all coming back to her now. What a triumph it had been supposed to be. On the planes of Utah, at a still point in time. They had meant to turn their wedding into a fixed point, easier to do at a still point, so nothing could ever undo their bond.

(…)

11: “And yet she didn’t chose to do your dirty work.“ 

Kovarian: “River, please, put an end to this, you’re the only one who can.“

11: “Yes, very clever of you, to use her in that way, to appeal to her better nature and all that. All your mind control and conditioning…“

K: “We never did anything of that sort.“

11: “What else is an upbringing? And you would turn her against her parents, against me.“

K: “Any decent person in the universe must take a stand against you.“ She looked to the guests, fear and dread painted on their faces. They weren’t here for the joy of it, it was an obligation. 

11: “You’ve been foolish to come here but of course we knew you would.“ 

K: “River, please…“ The window was closing. If River didn’t take the shot, they would have to try their luck, there would be a blood bath. 

River looked back to her husband, all memory of the silence in the crowd gone again. Attention back on the gun in her hand. What was she planning on doing with it?

(…)

11: “You would try and steal my wife away on our wedding day, I suppose you would try after stealing a child…“ 

Suddenly, they were surrounded by stone statues. 

Kovarian: “But they are…“

Manton: “They can’t be…“

11: “Weeping Angels, yes. I didn’t use to believe in them either, but bumped into them a few times now and thought surely they can be useful. Always running and hiding when you look away, the ultimate cowards, jumping back in time every time you touch them just to get away… but you know what a little bit of love and attention can do.“ “So clever, this, love it, really clever if I say so myself. Stops them from jumping back in time, anchors them to a timezone. So instead of running away, they make you disappear, send you back. So in case anyone fancies a trip to early days Utah, I’d stay quite still.“ “I thought we might need some security around the place.“

Alternate 13 and River reuniting in Clara’s quarters scene

River: “What is happening?“ “I was in the Library, you were there, so young and I…“

13: “I… used something called an extraction chamber, ancient Timelord technology, extracts a person from their timeline at the moment of their death.“

R: “So I’m… dead?“

13: “Technically… you’re caught between a heartbeat and your last, one day you will have to return to it, your death is a fixed point, the consequences would be…“

R: “Then why did you do it?“

13: “I missed you.“ “I just… needed more time with you. I wanted you to travel with me again…“

R: “So where did we travel?“ “Some sort of parallel universe?“

13: “More like a mirror universe, it’s almost as if everything is flipped on its head. The Timelords have conquered the universe, oppressing the peaceful Daleks and Cybermen… Missy… I’ve met the Master and she is… good and kind and… and I’m… Clara.“ She pointed over to her as if it didn’t need saying. “Amy, Rory, you… we’re all…“

R: “Through a mirror darkly.“

13: “When I used the extraction chamber, I got knocked into this universe, I didn’t know I succeeded in bringing you back until Clara crossed over and brought you here.“ 

R: “And what is my purpose of being here? I doubt she did it out of the goodness of her heart to reunite us.“ 

Clara: “She’s a clever one, isn’t she.“ 

13: “Clara wants my help to secure power.“ 

C: “In exchange for your life.“ 

Cut/alternate dialog between 13 and Missy back at the camp

Missy: “I was so happy when you turned up. It was like having my childhood friend back only just the good bits, before he turned…“

13: “Same.“ “But that is not enough for me to stay here. I know most of my friends, they’re gone but… I can’t bare to see them like this. And River…“

M: “Tell me about her.“

13: “What?“

M: “I want to know about her. About your wife, what was she like?“

(…)

13: I just thought if I could…“

M: “But an extraction chamber, Doctor…“

13: “I used it once before… stupid really… and it cost me a lot then too… but at least she’s out there, travelling the universe, I know she’ll return eventually so… no harm no foul? I thought that… now that there are no timelords left I could… no-one to police the bloody thing…“ “We could have eternity together and then when it is my time, she would return to her moment of death and we both just…“

M: “It’s a wonderful idea… but how many people do you actually know that would go to their death knowingly?“

13: “Clara will… else my universe would have broken apart long ago. I would. I have done it, many times… And I know River would, too. She… we… are not like the people you know.“

M: “Then I hope you will succeed Doctor, truly.“

(…)

13: “What are you hoping to accomplish here?“ 

M: “I don’t know. But I can protect the people here, not everyone is like them…“

13: “Of course not, there are good and bad people everywhere, it’s just the other way around here…“

M: “And everyone has both good and bad inside of them as well, Doctor. No-one is born good or evil, they’re all choices. Choices made due to different circumstances and values and…“

13: “I can see that. I could have gone her way… I really could have… and in my world, you did… And I tried so hard to get you back, get my best friend back. Another failure added to a long long list.“ “She’s kept them all alive and close… Amy, Rory, Clara, River… Maybe she is right, maybe I was just too weak to protect them.“

M: “Kindness is not weakness, Doctor.“ 

13: “Here it certainly seems to be.“ “What’s worse is, I don’t want to be part of any sort of assassination attempt, not even on someone like the Emperor…“

M: “Regrettably, I feel the same way. She may be… cruel, violent, a terrible person but she’s also… she used to be my best friend. I know I might not be able to get her back, in the same way as you didn’t get your Master back… but I don’t want her to die. I want to stop her, not kill her.“ “And I don’t want Clara Oswald to stand in her place, either.“

13: “The we disregard Clara, whatever she is planning and we come up with something of our own. Whatever she tries to do tomorrow, she will need me, that puts us at an advantage. There will be confusion, whatever happens, we can use that.“

M: “And we can free your wife. Maybe, if we can uncover Clara’s plot, the discord amongst the Emperor and her so called friends will give us an opportunity.“ 

Alternate Version of the gladiator games, the Emperor decides to kill River herself rather than having her and Missy shot

“I’ll do it myself.“ The Emperor decided and before her wife or anyone in the royal box could protest, she made her way down the stairs to the arena floor. 

“Round two it is then?“ River grinned excitedly. “You might want to step back for this.“ She gave Missy an apologetic smile. She could only assume that she disliked fighting just as much as the Doctor did. She watched the Emperor as a guard rushed towards her when she reached ground level. He offered a long sword to her. “What? No weapon for me?“ River called out.

“Wouldn’t be much of an execution then.“ The Emperor smirked. 

“I hope you know what you’re doing…“ Missy reached for River’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

“Not usually but when has that ever stopped me.“ River winked and let go of her hand, gesturing for her to get out of the way.

“This time, I won’t go easy on you.“ The Emperor said, pointing the sharp blade at her. 

“Likewise.“ River grinned as she kicked off her heels. She wasn’t exactly dressed for a fight, she still wore the same gown she’d come to the Emperor’s quarters in to impersonate her wife, but she would make due. They started circling each other. River had scanned her surroundings, there were no weapons to be found.

(…)

Emperor: “She betrayed you, you know.“ “She was sneaking around the palace, trying it on with my wife while you were trying to get to her, probably.“

River: “Who can blame her? I mean, look at us.“ “You think I’m so insecure that I care? Do you have any idea how many times we’ve each been married to other people? You think what we have is so small and confining? You don’t know the first thing about what we have.“ “We don’t tie each other down.“ “Well, unless we do but that’s an entirely different context.“

E: “She left you here to die.“

R: “Did she? Or did we just split up to carry out our bits of the plan? Because we’re not joined at the hip and able to look after ourselves?“ “You’ll see, she’ll be back.“

Cut dialog between the Emperor and the Doctor after the Doctor outsmarted them and decided not to kill her

13: “Don’t mistake mercy for weakness. How are things ever going to change if you don’t break the cycle.“

Emperor: “The moment you leave, someone else will take my place, you’ll see, you just don’t understand this world, Doctor.“

13: “I understand enough. It won’t be easy but if good people band together and make a promise and stand their ground their cause will outlast you and any other destructive force looking to tear it down.“ “Because that’s the difference, equality, freedom, kindness, they are ideals, they are ideas and you can’t destroy ideas, you can try and bend and distort them, doctor them, if you will, but they can’t be destroyed. People can be destroyed. Not ideas. And there will always be people prepared to stand up for their ideas.“ 

E: “And they will DIE!“

13: “And what will you die for? Who I am is where I stand, where I stand, is where I fall! And even if I never get to return to the people I love, I will stand by my ideals, if that means staying here and keeping these people save then thats what I will do.“