#y'all need to sit down and think about yourselves for a moment. or a year. maybe longer.

[ladyinthebluebox]

wE wAnT cOmPaNiOnS tO bE mEaN aGaIn!!!!!!!!!!

my siblings in the maker, you can't handle Taash calling Emmrich a death mage couple times or [checks notes] ...asking Neve about her clothes [?????????????]

[redroses07]

F**k It I Love You /// Michael Langdon

Michael Langdon x Fem!reader

Summary: Reader is a witch, but her and Michael seem to have a special connection. So what happens when her coven has to oversee Michael taking the test of The Seven Wonders. Will she stay loyal to her coven, or herself?

CW: Swearing, Kissing, Alludes to smut, Sexual themes, some violence.

WC: 3.2k

A/N: Hey guys!!! My first full fic after my year long disappearance!!! I really like this and I'm super excited to post it! I'll definitely make a part two if this does good, or upon request. With perhaps smut? Anyways I hope everyone is doing well!! Love y'all and as always, enjoy! ♡⋆˙

You sit in your lonely, over sized room at Miss Robichaux's academy, awaiting this afternoon's daunting task. You and the rest of the witches on the council, including Zoe, Myrtle, and Cordelia, were to visit Hawthorne school for young warlocks.

It was a place where none of the witches, including you, enjoyed visiting. Mostly due to the crude and pompous attitude of the warlocks towards you and your sisters.

It's not your fault that warlocks were naturally inferior to witches. Come to think of it you had never met a warlock who was so much as tolerable. Well...that is until a few months ago.

This particular visit to Hawthorne was something no witch, or warlock for that matter, had ever thought would come to pass.

For the first time ever, the test of the Seven Wonders will be performed on a warlock. A young man named Michael Langdon.

From the beginning Cordelia, your coven's supreme, had refused to perform this test deeming that it would be suicide. That was until Michael brought two witches, Queenie and Madison, back from the dead.

While this changed her mind, it also raised her concerns about Michael.

Cordelia had called a meeting with you and the rest of the council prior to your departure. She had described a darkness in Michael, one she had never seen in someone before. She described his energy as almost inhuman, something otherworldly.

"I am warning you all, proceed with caution." Cordelia had said.

While you smiled and agreed like you had been made to do, you had other thoughts on your mind.

You had connected with Michael from the moment you first met him, and in a way you had never experienced with another. Your fellow witches had been standoffish and dismissive to him, most likely feeling threatened by his power, you didn't feel the need.

He seemed to feel comfortable around you from the beginning. You didn't know if it was because you were the only witch who cared enough to treat him like a human being, or if there were other reasons. Despite that, conversation with Michael came easy, and the more interactions the two of you had the closer you became.

What was originally a simple act of kindness turned into prolonged eye contact and uncontrollable eye contact. The increasingly frequent visits to Hawthorne began to feel less like a punishment and more like a reward.

No matter, your sisters came first, which meant you had to push your growing emotions away.

Under any other circumstance you would be excited to see your friend, but the Seven Wonders weren't just any other event. Especially after Cordelia's warning, so unfortunately today was going to be stressful no matter what.

"Hurry up everyone, time to go!" you heard Cordelia call, annoyance in her voice.

You jumped up, not wanting to anger her further, fixed your hat, and headed down the stairs.

You, Cordelia, Zoe, and Myrtle all gathered in a circle in order to transmutate to Hawthorne collectively. Queenie and Madison also joined you, Madison wearing her iconic scowl.

You stood next to Zoe, your favorite among the council. Not that you disliked the other witches...but Myrtle was a little batty and Cordelia was well...Cordelia.

"Prepare yourselves sisters." Cordelia said softly, a serious look on her face.

Next thing you knew, your group was standing outside the strange structure that was Hawthorne School for Exceptional Young Men.

The six of you walked in, all trailing behind Cordelia.

You passed through the dark corridors, trying to hide the fact that you hoped Michael would appear around the corner.

When you and your magical companions made it to the room where the testing would take place you were greeted by warlock Ariel Augustus.

Out of all the warlocks you despised he was by far the worst, there was just something so off-putting about him. Yet you still shook his hand and gave him a half-hearted smile.

You gave the room a quick glance, looking for Michael.

"And when will Michael be joining us?" You asked Ariel.

"I would like to get this over as quickly as possible" You add, in an effort to seem disinterested.

Ariel looks at you with a sour face before looking over your shoulder towards the door.

"Well, it looks like you've got your wish because here comes the young warlock now." Ariel replies with distaste.

You turn around, and are faced with Michael's golden locks and icy blue eyes. He's wearing his usual, a long black cloak over his school uniform, yet he somehow manages to make the basic outfit look better than ever.

"Hello Michael." You say formally, keeping your serious composure. All while the two of you exchange a playful look, agreeing that these formalities are ridiculous.

Michael greeted you and the two of you drifted off to the far side of the room where you pretended to make small talk.

"God, this is so stressful." Michael says to you, breathing out a frustrated sigh.

Around others Michael had the tendency to put on a show, but never for you. With you, he was free of judgement.

"It'll be okay, just trust your instincts. You've got this." If Cordelia knew you were giving Michael advice you would surely be punished, but she doesn't need to know.

Michael shifted on his feet and looked at the ground, failing at hiding the blush creeping up his pale cheeks.

You almost reached out to give him a hug of reassurance but then remembered the others in the room. If you were being honest with yourself you really did have feelings for him, although reality told you that would never work out.

"Can we all just shut up and get on with this shit." Madison announced with an eye roll.

It was never a dull moment with her around.

"Yes, yes." Myrtle said.

Everyone took a seat as Cordelia began to explain the rules of the seven wonders.

You and Michael stood near each other behind a couch.

You figured since your lower bodies were hidden from the others it would be safe to reach out and squeeze his hand for reassurance.

You slowly put Michael's hand in yours and ran your fingers across his knuckles. His palms were sweaty. You truly believed you were the only one who sympathized with him on this, and you were glad you could give him that.

You and Michael made eye contact and exchanged a look of longing.

You broke the eye contact to look at Zoe who was giving you a look as if to say "stop what you're doing." She knew, of course she knew. Zoe was your best friend, of course she could tell when you liked a boy. Even if the circumstances were far more dire than your average high school romance.

You drop Michael's hand but he reaches back over and pulls it back, signaling "stay"

You sigh, what on earth were you getting yourself into.

"Okay, now if the rules are understood, we may begin." Cordelia announced, while scanning the room.

No one objected, and Ariel motioned for you all to follow him.

You felt the warmth of Michael's hand leaving you, and you were released from your own thoughts. You looked over at him to see him slowly walking towards the exit.

"Come on," Michael called back to you giving you a half-hearted smile.

You hurriedly caught up with him and the rest of the group, although the both of you remained at the end of the pack.

Ariel led you down a series of dark corridors. They all looked the same, and you began to lose count of the amount of turns you had taken.

Good luck getting out of here if you needed to make a break for it, you thought to yourself.

When you finally reached your destination, everyone gathered in the center of the large room. It looked just like every other room at Hawthorne, drab and dungeon-like. The only difference here was that it was larger and relatively empty.

Cordelia stood in the center of the room, a stern expression on her face.

"The first of the seven wonders, Telekinesis." She pointed to Michael, calling for him to join her in the center of the room.

You watched him as he walked towards her. He did almost too good of a job at hiding his nerves, walking with such effortless grace. You were almost envious.

Michael pointed to a candle hanging on the wall along the far side of the room. The candle quickly floated into his grasp.

The warlocks applauded, looking thrilled with his performance.

Telekinesis was the easiest of the seven wonders, and one any basic witch or warlock could easily achieve. So, naturally you and your fellow witches remained unimpressed.

"Next is Concilium, or mind control." Cordelia explained, gesturing for Michael to begin.

Michael also demonstrated this with ease, making Zoe and Madison perform a dance before everyone's eyes.

The next four Seven Wonders, Transmutation, Divination, Pyrokinesis, and Vitalum Vitalus, were all demonstrated by Michael perfectly. Even better than yourself you had to admit, which was odd considering how inexperienced he was.

The further the test progressed, the more concerned the members of your coven looked. You were torn, as you usually were when it came to Michael. Part of you shared your coven's concerns, after all, a male supreme would change the course of all of your lives. The rational part of you did not ever want to see a world where the powers of a warlock surpassed yours. Yet another part of you, the part that cared for Michael, wanted him to succeed despite all other factors.

Although the hardest test of the Seven Wonders, Descensum, had yet to be tested. And you knew Cordelia wouldn't let Michael get off without adding a catch.

"Today, I'm not asking you to perform this wonder...I am asking you to conquer it." Just as you had expected, Cordelia was going to twist the rules.

Cordelia proceeded to ask Michael to retrieve the long lost Misty Day from the underworld, where she was banished after being unable to achieve the seventh wonder.

You glanced over at Michael, who stared Cordelia dead in the eye. You weren't surprised that he looked unfazed, he had in fact done this before when he brought Madison back from the dead.

Despite that, the warlocks were outraged, arguing with Cordelia about the task's unfairness.

"It's okay, I'll do it." Michael said calmly and definitively, shutting everyone up.

You gave Michael a concerned look, which he combated with a soft smile.

Michael laid down on the floor, getting in the position needed for the task. He began reciting the spell, which was a jumble of Latin words.

Michael then fell into a deep trance, signaling that the process of Descensum had begun.

Now all that was left to do was to wait.

You walked to the back of the room and sat in a chair next to Zoe and Queenie. You tapped your foot on the floor nervously, your heel making a repetitive clicking noise.

You waited in silence for about ten minutes, your eyes glued to Michael just in case.

"My god how long is this supposed to take, some people have things to do." Madison huffed, and as if on cue Michael shot up into a sitting position.

You, along with everyone else, rushed forward in anticipation.

"Where's Misty?" Cordelia demanded angrily.

Michael said nothing. He stared blankly at the wall, breathing heavily.

Before you could stop yourself you leaned down to check if he was okay, but just as you placed your hand on his shoulder someone's tight grip pulled you back.

"Watch out!" Zoe yelled, as she yanked you towards her.

You stumbled over your feet, nearly losing your balance. You looked below you and your eyes widened at what you saw.

Misty had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and right where you had been only moments before.

You were in shock, and apparently so was Cordelia.

She dropped to the ground and pulled Misty into a tight hug, tears falling from her face.

You looked over at Michael, who staggered back towards a table in the corner of the room. He looked exhausted, and you fought the urge to ask him if he was okay.

Your focus shifted when you heard Misty call your name.

The curly haired woman gave you a long teary eyed hug, and you only now realized how much you had missed her. You made a mental note to thank Michael for this reunion later.

"Cordelia!" Queenie yelled, and once again you were forced to shift your attention.

Cordelia was hunched over, blood running down her nose. She looked weak, like she had after seeing Queenie and Madison return.

"What's happening?" Madison shouted.

"What happens every time a new supreme rises, the old one begins to fade." One of the warlocks said proudly.

"You're a pathetic pompous ass!" Myrtle spat, pulling Cordelia close to her.

You followed her example and stepped closer to your supreme, putting your hand on her shoulder in reassurance.

"There is no denying it...Michael is the new supreme." Cordelia huffed before nearly collapsing to the floor.

You gasped, scrambling to help her back to her feet. Once Cordelia was stable again Myrtle and Misty carried her to a private room to help her recover.

"Well...I guess we will reconvene later." Ariel announced to the rooms remaining occupants.

As everyone began to file out of the room you saw Michael head in your direction. You began walking over to meet him when Zoe grabbed onto your arm once more.

She pulled you in the opposite direction and loudly announced, "Can I talk to you for a moment."

Before you had time to object she had pulled you out of the room and down one of the many dark corridors.

"Zoe is everything o-" She cut you off.

"Do you know how dangerous what you're doing is?" Zoe scolded.

Your stomach dropped.

"What do you mean..." you replied, acting clueless.

Zoe sighed in frustration.

'I'm your best friend, you think I don't see how you two look at each other?"

Dammit. Was it that obvious?

"Zoe, I know it's wrong. I know the coven will disapprove. I'm sorry. I'll make it go away, I promise." You sounded defeated.

Zoe pursed her lips. "Listen, I'm not saying you have to stop. I'm just saying be better at hiding it. Cause you know what will happen if Cordelia finds out."

You sighed, she was right. Cordelia would be furious if she knew, especially since she was already so suspicious of Michael. It would likely even be grounds for being burned at the stake.

"I'm just saying be careful is all, but other than that my lips are sealed." Zoe said.

You nodded in agreement and smiled at your friend.

"Be safe." Zoe hugged you quickly before walking off to go check on Cordelia.

You turned on your heel and walked down the hall, a long sigh escaping your lips.

As you turned the corner you felt someone's strong grip pull you down a darkened hall.

"What the hell-"

You looked up to see Michael looming above you.

"Jesus, Michael you scared me." You gasped, hand on your fast beating heart.

"I heard everything, everything Zoe said to you." Michael said, his piercing blue eyes burning into yours.

Your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach.

"Michael. She's right you know. I mean my coven hates you, what would they think?" You explained.

"Shhhh.." Michael whispered as he brought his index finger to your lips.

"I don't care, what we have is more important."

"Don't you agree?"

Michael took your hands in his and brought them to his chest. He looked at you in a pleading, almost desperate way.

"Michael, I-" You said unsure of your actions. You knew the consequences of betraying your coven, but were you ready to embrace them? you didn't know.

"Please..." Michael stammered.

You felt his hot breath against your already warm skin. The strong scent of his cologne filled your nostrils. everything about him was irresistible, it was all just too much.

"I can't wait any longer. I need this, I need you." Michael said.

That was it for you.

"Oh just fuck it." You said before pressing your lips harshly to his.

You pulled Michael down by the front of his shirt to better adjust to his height.

The kiss was short lived, but that didn't stop you from wanting more.

Thankfully Michael felt the same because he reached for the nearest door and opened it, pulling you inside.

He kissed you sloppily and hungrily as he yanked you through the doorway. He slammed the door behind you while continuing to kiss you.

"Is this a closet?" You asked, looking around at the small space.

"I believe so..." Michael replied, smiling at you.

You laughed and kissed him again.

Michael pushed you into the corner while kissing you slowly. He bit down on your lip, drawing a significant amount of blood. You let out a soft moan as Michael sucked at the small wound.

Michael broke the kiss and gazed at you lovingly.

"God you're so beautiful."

You smiled, trying to hide your flustered reaction. He made your heart do back flips.

Michael kissed you on the cheek, then your lips again.

"Everyone's probably looking for me, I can't be gone too long. After all I am the supreme now." Michael said with a smirk.

"Just a few more minutes please." You whined, pulling him into you.

'Well, I guess I can make time for you." Michael kissed you harshly as if this was the last chance he'd ever get to.

His hand snaked down your back and stopped to tightly wrap around your waist. You couldn't hear anything except heavy breathing from the both of you.

You reached up, lacing your fingers through Michael's hair. You pulled at the long blonde locks.

Michael put his hands under your thighs and hoisted you up around his waist. This gave his easier access to your neck and chest, which he began pressing desperate kisses to.

Michael nipped and sucked at your neck and parts of your slightly exposed chest. Only then did you feel something poking you beneath where your legs were wrapped around Michael's waist.

"Well someone's excited." You stated.

"What can I say?" Michael laughed softly.

You smiled, rolling your eyes at his sarcasm.

"Want me to take care of that for you?"

Michael's face turned red, clearly embarrassed. As much as he tried to hide behind his 'bad boy' persona, he truly was just an awkward guy.

"As much as I'd love that it'll have to be another time. Unfortunately I have more important things to take care of." Michael sighed.

You frowned, disappointed. He was right.

"How about this. Tomorrow night we meet, and we can finish what we started." Michael inquired, tracing his finger across your jawline.

You smiled,

"That works for me."

On that note you and Michael exited the cramped closet. But before stepping out into the hall Michael pulled you in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around you lovingly, and you sank into his touch.

"I love you." Michael whispered so quietly you could barely hear him.

"I love you too." You replied with no hesitation.

Michael kissed you on the forehead before stepping out into the hall.

"Till tomorrow, my love." Were his parting words as Michael disappeared around the corner.

You laughed to yourself, what an adventure this was going to be.

[dotster001]

Found Chapter Two

Requested by @somany-fandoms-solittle-time

Summary:Lilia x gn!reader. Now that you've been reunited, Lilia is forced to remember how hard it is to care for you. But he's not the only one starting to remember....

A/N: hopefully y'all enjoy this, cause I have a whole series idea for this 😁

3k celebration masterlist

Part One

You were dreaming.  You were the maid to a queen, and you were watching what looked like a court case.

"You're nothing more than a tyrant!"

You and your fellow maids all stiffened and murmured amongst yourselves. This stranger from who knows where dared to speak to your queen that way? Didn't she know how dangerous that was? People were beheaded for less in this kingdom!

The queen's face turned beat red as she prepared to issue a sentence, and a loud one at that.

Before you could hear it, you were hit with a dizzy spell, and sharp pain in your stomach.

"Louisa," the maid next to you looked concerned, "do you need to sit down? Did you take your potion today?"

"I'm fine," you groaned, but still felt yourself smile.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

All the maids nodded. This was the expected verdict.

You looked down at your ring with the fuchsia gem, and smiled through the stomach pain. Everything would be alright.

….

Lilia couldn't keep his eyes off you. He was so happy you were here and alive, but damn, he was so nervous you'd vanish.

It wasn't too long before he caught the whole story. That you were from another planet or dimension and just…showed up. He supposed it made sense why he hadn't seen you in so long. You were somewhere outside of his reach. He could only imagine how lonely it had been. If it was anything like what he'd gone through, it was a horribly painful existence. Going lifetime to lifetime without the man you'd bonded your soul too. His heart broke thinking about it.

"Father? Is everything alright?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Silver's concerned whisper. He'd been staring at you again.

"Mm. Yes, I'm alright," he took a bite of his lunch to prove it, which did little to assuage his sweet boy, but he still nodded and looked at his own lunch.

"That's Diasomnia," he heard from Trey Clover, who had been telling you all about the other dorms.

He rattled off a couple more insignificant facts about the thorn fairy, some of them incorrect, much to Lilia's amusement.

Then he saw the red headed freshman playfully bump shoulders with you.

"I gotta take care of something," he said to his lunch table, before poofing over to yours.

"Were you talking about me?" He giggled as you shrieked at his upside down form that had materialized between the two of you.

You took a moment to catch your bearings.

"What the actual fuck," you breathed.

"I heard you talking about Diasomnia, and me, and my young Lord so I thought I'd join the fun."

"You heard all that?" The red headed freshman asked incredulously.

Lilia turned to him, feeling the joy drain from his eyes, that is, until the freshman shivered. Then Lilia had some sick glee return to him

The conversation continued casually, you pretty silent for most of it, Eventually, he figured continuing the conversation with you would do nothing. At least with an audience. He had a whole year, probably longer, considering the headmage was useless. He had time to reconnect with you.

After popping back to his own table, grinning like a lovesick fool, he was met with Silver and Sebek's concerned gazes.

"What? It's fun to prank the freshman, fu fu fu!" He laughed. They both shared a glance before shrugging and continuing dinner in peace. 

….

"Did you hear? Housewarden Rosehearts overblotted."

The murmurs were all over the school, and Lilia wanted to kick himself. Of course you'd get into trouble. You always did. Even in a world where the mortality rate was so low, you somehow were so hard to keep alive! 

"Sevens, Y/N, why is it so hard to hold onto you?" He whispered to himself, as he watched you wander the school with your two freshmen friends.

He didn't have time to think too hard about it before,

"Lilia!"

"Fa-Lilia! Lord Malleus is-"

"SILVER HAS ALLOWED OUR LORD TO GO MISSING AGAIN!"

He sighed inwardly, before throwing a final glance your way. If you ever did remember your past lives, he would definitely ask if this is what you wanted when you both talked about the family you were going to start. Not that he'd trade it for anything, but it felt unfair that you were getting out of all the hard work.

….

"Their next target is Malleus Draconia."

Malleus had a tendency to never actually be informed about housewarden things, but the one time someone actually came looking for him, Lilia selfishly decided to take the meeting himself.

Only to be told that his boy was likely to be the target of the Savannaclaw Housewarden at tomorrow's event.

"That's a rather large accusation, prefect."

Of course he believed you. But he wanted to hear your voice again. Keep you talking to him. Keep your eyes on him. He simultaneously felt like dirt, but also like the happiest man to ever exist.

"But it's true!" You cried. "He's been taking people down with his signature spell for weeks now."

Lilia leaned back, pretending to think. Not that the thorn fairy's general had to actually think twice about that. He just…needed to stare at you for a moment.

"I have an idea," he muttered. "That is, if you're willing to listen."

You nodded, and he did his best to hold back a grin.

….

"Pearce." His voice whispered in the darkness.

After months of taking the night shift to guard him, you'd learned to pick up his emotions from his voice, and the shimmer of his glowing pink eyes. This was a new one though. If you had to guess, it was a mix between desperation and fear. 

"Evening," you said, trying not to let this deter you.

"Pearce."

"What's wrong?" You said, giving into morbid curiosity.

"Run away with me."

You stiffened.

"Li-"

You heard shifting, and his hands were cupping your face, his face slightly more illuminated, but features still obscured.

"How long have you been able to-"

"These ropes could never hold me. Pearce, run away with me. The queen's army is coming to the castle. If I'm there to let them in, great. If I'm not, they'll just double their forces. They're all going to die either way. But at least we could-"

You cupped his cheeks and softly kissed him. He stiffened before returning the kiss. Softly. Tenderly.

You separated and pressed your forehead to his, closing your eyes so that you couldn't see the heartbreak in his.

"I can't."

"Don't say that," you heard him choke on his words, as he clutched your face harder.

"You have a duty to your people, I have one to mine. I swore to protect my king. And if I have to die to fulfill my oath-"

"Stop."

"-then I'll die happy."

"Y/N! Wake up!"

You groaned as Grim slapped your face with his soft paws. 

"What? What time is it?"

"We gotta help those Diasomnia guys, remember?"

"Right," you sat up and rubbed your eyes blearily. 

On top of the already weird dreams about lions, now you were having some weird fantasy tragedy dream. Although, that story sounded interesting. If you remembered the dream later, you'd have to write it down and write a book or something.

"Why would they want to go over the plan so early in the day?" You groaned again

….

"Malleus Draconia is twice the king you will ever be!"

"Lilia, shut up," he heard you whisper. Of course it would be your voice snapping him back to reality. He'd lived a long time, but he'd only ever witnessed one overblot. If the ink rising in the air was anything to go by, Kingscholar was about to be the second one he witnessed.

Why did he just say that? Was it because of his love for his adopted son? His anger at the injustices done on the students? The need to show off so you could see how cool he was?

"Vanrouge!" Housewarden Rosehearts snapped. "Go get the headmage."

He watched Riddle pull his pen. He should really stay. This was partially his fault. And it was so damn hard to keep you alive…

"Lilia, please, we need backup," you pleaded. Sevens, those eyes. He'd kill for those eyes.

He nodded and poofed away, praying he was back fast enough to ensure you stayed alive.

….

He was always terrified when he saw you sleeping, no matter what life time it was. He'd seen you stop breathing far too many times, so it was always the first thing he looked for; the tell tale slow filling of your lungs.

Of course it hadn't been the overblot that had put you here. It would be something as simple as a disc to the head.

"Enjoying the view?" You croaked as you slowly woke up, causing him to snicker.

"I wanted to apologize, but you were preoccupied."

"Is preoccupied the medical term for a concussion?" You winced.

He laughed, a boisterous laugh that he hadn't released for several generations.

When he'd calmed himself momentarily, you sat up a bit, and gave him a soft smile.

"You don't need to apologize. I get it, you were upset that he was insulting your friend."

Friend? He could burst into a fit of laughter all over again. He supposed, you did believe he was a normal college student, so friend would be the accurate word for him and Malleus. Normally.

"Uh, yeah," he said, fighting back another laugh. "Still, I swear I'm far more intelligent than that normally."

He was really trying so hard to dig himself out of this hole.

"It's college. You're allowed to be a dumbass from time to time."

He bit his lip as he nodded. Was it truly unethical to just tell you everything? To just tell you you were supposed to be with him because you always used to be? To tell you that he was far older than anyone you'd ever met? That you were far older?

It would be unethical.  You had to make your own choices, unimpaired by him. He just had to have faith that you'd choose him. He had no reason to believe otherwise! You'd always chosen him before.

Why should it be different this time around?

[curtis-corner]

STAND BY ME (Darry Curtis) PART 10

Truly can not believe we are at Part 10!! This fandom is such a gift and y'all are inspiring me to post a few one shots in different Curtis POVs (but don't worry this story isn't going anywhere...especially because I am very excited about the next chapter).

Taglist : @lovelylegolas2123 @amnestyliketaz @spuffyfan394, @sleeplessskeleton

PART 10

“Ponyboy, get down from that ladder.”

“You said I could do the edges.”

“The floor edges,” Darry sighs. “I’ll take care of the ceiling ones.”

“I can do it.” But as Ponyboy says it, he starts to wobble and you hold your breath as the ladder shakes. A few drops of pale blue paint fall onto kitchen floor.

Darry gives him a look. The youngest brother starts to climb down the ladder.

It turns out, painting was a far bigger process than you thought. You and Darry had spent Saturday night fixing the cracks in the walls and washing off years of grease splatters. Now it was Sunday and Soda begged for you all to wait until he was finished his morning shift, so you found yourselves painting well into the afternoon.

“This color looks real nice.” Soda smiles, admiring the section of the wall he finished. “Like a happy sort of blue.”

“You did a swell job.” You barely see any of the brush strokes. “You like painting?”

“I guess so.”

“Good because we’ll need to do the garage this summer.” Darry stretches both hands above his head and you hear a pop.

“Are you alright Darry?” You don’t bother hiding the concern in your voice. You always got on Darry to rest during his day off, and here he is doing more work. “How about we finish this tomorrow. It’s only the edges left anyway.”

“I can do it tonight, just need a minute.” He stretches again and you see him try to hide a grimace.

“Come on Darry, I’ll work out the knots for ya.” Soda offers and you put the lid on the paint can and carefully set your brush down.

After a dinner of sandwiches and an hour of tv, painting had lost its appeal to Soda and Pony, but Darry insisted on finishing before the night was over.

You had finished the floor edges and he was nearly finished the ceiling when you hear the front door open.

“I go out of town for one weekend and a girl moves in and the kitchen is blue.” Two-Bit’s drawl enters the room before he does. He swings an arm across your shoulders. “You okay?”

He’s causal about the question, but you’ve gotten to know him enough to see the concern in his eyes.

“I’m alright.” You shrug. “I just wish I knew what sort of trouble my dad is in.”  Out of the corner of your eye you see Darry pause for a moment. You’ll ask him about it later.

“Saw a sign when I was on Easton.” Two-Bit opens the fridge to get a beer, careful to not let the door hit the wall. “The Drive In is opening back up soon.”

Darry finishes up the last few brush strokes and climbs down the ladder, offering a ‘hm’ in response. Two-Bit takes a swig of his beer.

“You think Pony will be up to the Friday night double when it opens? Finally get out of the house?”

“No.” Darry says firmly and you bite your bottom lip, wishing you were closer to the edge of the room and could easily slip out. “He ain’t ever going to that drive in again.”

“Come on-“

“No. Not after what happened last time.” Darry drops the paintbrush into the bucket of water and closes the lid on the paint can.

“That wasn’t the drive-in’s fault.” You knew Two-Bit meant well but you also knew the set of Darry’s jaw meant he wasn’t interested in discussing it.

“It certainly didn’t help. He ain’t going.”

“Alright.” Two-Bit must have seen Darry wasn’t budging. He finishes his beer with one final chug. “Was only mentioning it.”

Later, you and Darry sit on his bed as he changes the bandages on your arm.

“It looks better that yesterday.” He brings your arm up slightly and inspects the cuts. “You might only need the bandages for another day or two.” You hiss when the peroxide hits the cuts and Darry grimaces in sympathy. “Sorry sweetheart.”

“It’s alright,” you get out through clenched teeth. He kisses your forehead after it’s over and when he takes the first aid kit back to the bathroom, you change into your pajamas.

Darry had showed you two empty drawers to put your things in and you got a small thrill from unpacking your few items into them. It was probably silly since you would only be there a few days, but something felt right having your clothes next to his.

Your head rests on his chest and he mindlessly plays with your hair before he takes a deep breath.

“It’s not like I don’t want Pony to have a social life.”

You knew it had been on his mind since his conversation with Two-Bit and you knew Darry was never one to share the burden of his thoughts with anyone.

Except you.

“I know honey.”

“And spring track will start soon, that will get his mind on straight and get him out of the house.”

“That will be great for him.”

“It’s bad enough he has to see all of those Socs in school. Goin’ to the drive in would be askin’ for trouble.” You nod against Darry’s chest. “I mean, you’ve been to the drive in-“

“I haven’t.” You say and Darry’s hands stop running through your hair.

“You haven’t?”

“I always worked the late shift on Fridays, even in high school. And on Saturdays I would try to pick up babysitting jobs. I had a few friends who would go and tell me about it, but I could just…never make it.” When you say it out loud it sounds a lot worse than it actually was, and you try to tell Darry that when he says something that surprises you.

“Then we should go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You deserve to at least see if you like it.” You snuggle in a little closer to his chest and decide to be brave.

“Maybe we should all go. You, me, Soda…and Pony.” Darry lets out a low breath and you give him a few minutes to mull it over.

“Maybe.” He says but it sounds more like a maybe-yes than a maybe-no.

--

Mornings in the Curtis household tended to be chaotic. Your schedule changes each day, so you never had a set routine but you figured with the boys generally having the same schedule, they would have it figured out.

You were wrong.

“Darry! Where are my jeans?” Soda slides through the kitchen in nothing but a wet towel and drips all over the floor. Pony immediately steps in one of the puddles and grimaces.

“Now I need new socks!” He rips off his wet socks and stomps down the hall, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth.

“Soda, if you aren’t dressed in three minutes I am leaving you and you can hitch hike to work.” Darry balances his coffee in one hand and tucks in his shirt with the other. “Your jeans are in my closet, I ironed last night.”

A loud honk comes from the front.

“Pony! Steve will leave without you if you don’t get out here!” Darry shouts into the room and you slide a piece of buttered toast over to him.

“Where’s that grocery list?” You sort through a stack of papers on the coffee table.

“Don’t buy too much, you can I can take the car out this weekend for a big trip.” Darry finishes the toast in record time. “I don’t want you carrying all of the bags home.”

“Mr. Murphy is letting me borrow his car after work, I’ll be fine.” You assure him. The horn outside sounds for longer.

“Ponyboy! Now!” Darry calls down the hall before pulling out his wallet. “Alright, here’s money for the food-“

“I got it.” You shake your head and he gives you a look. “Darry, I’ve been here five days, just let me do this-“

“Sodapop Curtis, you have thirty seconds!” Soda comes out of the bedroom, mostly dressed and looks around for his shoes. “Honey, I’m not letting you pay for everyone-“

“Where’s my backpack?” Pony is tearing apart the living room.

“Here,” you locate the backpack and hand it to him. He runs out the front door towards an impatient Steve.

“Do we have any toast left?” Soda asks and you point to the two pieces on the counter. He shoves both in his mouth before putting his DX hat on his head and walking out the front door.

“I love you. I’ll see you later,” Darry gives you a quick kiss and then he’s out the door as well. When you look back at the grocery list on the table, you see he left a ten-dollar bill on top. You shake your head and decide to use the money to get some extra things to stock the cabinets.

And maybe buy more hair conditioner because you had a sneaking suspicion the younger two Curtis brothers were using yours.

--

Thursday night saw everyone home at a decent time for dinner, which you and Soda elect yourselves in charge of. Darry sits at the table sorting through bills and Pony makes various groaning noises at his math worksheet.

“Are we thinking green or red?” Soda eyes the box of food dye and the pot of potatoes he’s currently mashing.

“Green.” You answer, flipping the chicken fried steak in the pan. It’s an old pan and it’s starting to smoke up the tiny kitchen. You make a mental note to see if the general store has any pans on clearance when you go in the next day. “Soda, you mind opening some windows? The pan is smoking up again.”

“Got it,” Soda opens the back one and heads to the living room to open more. “Hey Darry?” you hear him call. “How come Tim Shepard is coming to our door?”

NEXT: Oh Darry why did you keep your 'find out info for me and I'll rumble for you' deal a secret....

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Reacting to Contemporaty Comics (Without Context) 10/?

Returning to completely no context. Pre-old Loki's death, pre-everything good about my boi, pre-MCU (technically. I think it's concurrent with The-Hulk-Movie-That-Will-Not-Be-Acknowledged)

Spoilers for The Mighty Thor: Lord of Asgard #64 (2003). Also quite a lot of religious (mainly Catholic) commentary. (Actually commentary is putting it lightly. I go on a couple rants about Catholicism as an institution and the hypocrisy of the Vatican. It relates to aspects of the comic, but I'm drawing a lot on real world history and my own upbringing in the Catholic Church when I react to it. So if that triggers you or even if you feel like that will bother you, you might want to skip this one.)

This is a long one.

Who in the shit are these people?

Just call yourselves pagans and have done with it, you pretentious idiots

Thor stop being Odin. I'm about to be rooting for Loki for more than just principle

Oh I do not like this art I'm sorry

Mmkay, Imma need JP 2 to sit the fuck down and chill

"The church is quite tolerant." I'm sorry, it's what, now? Y'all drove me out for being gay and trans 16 years after this comic came out, you dumb shit

Sorry my Catholic trauma is showing

Shut UP my dude. You don't own the world. Stop

Okay I'm back to rooting for Thor if it's gonna be Thor Tells the Vatican to Fuck Off

Like (sorry I'm not done) where the FUCK does the goddamn Catholic Church get off trying to tell Thor not to go all Imperialist on Midgard's ass??? The Catholic Church! How fucking unself-aware do you gotta be to still reap the benefits of your centuries' old terror fest on the entirety of the goddamn world and turn around and be like "But he can't do the colonizing, boo hoo, it's not allowed if he's not being Catholic about it. :((( " Fucking SHUT UP

Okay rant over for now. I'm sorry, the Vatican's real world hypocrisy pisses me off too much to not address it in a comic book

NORSE. PAGANS! VIKINGS!!! What the fuck is this dumb man

this dipshit really just used the "my son" shit on THOR. You condescending son of a bitch, that man is older than you by several centuries!

(Commercial break I guess lol) The ads in this comic remind me that unlike the comics from like 2013 or 2019, or the vintage 80s comics, I was in elementary school in 2003. I remember this flavor of Kool-Aid. I don't remember what this ad is actually for, the mad voice twister (with Kool-Aid points? whatever those were), because I didn't read comics as a kid, but the flavor it's promoting I sure as fuck do.

Guys! People training to be warriors don't use real, sharpened blades, you dumbasses!

Okay, I was gonna say I was leaning slightly toward the priest's opinion after two pages of the Thor cult, but then I remembered all Catholic everything was conducted in Latin prior to like 1960 for basically the same reason these guys think they're talking like Shakespeare and actually no, you're all fanatics.

I did not expect this comic to be Religious Commentary: the Comic, with Lord in the title referring not to a medieval/Asgardian title but drawing parallels to Lord Jesus/ The (Christian) Lord

I guess I should've seen it coming. I've picked up on a lot of Judeo-Christian (I know that phrasing is contentious and for good reason, bear with me) imagery in Thor comics. Hell (no pun intended), they've been drawing parallels to the Norse gods and Christianity since Snorri (and I've commented on his Holier than Thou bullshit before)

Is there no other religion in this comic world but Thorism and Catholicism? I feel like I'm gonna look up this author and he's either gonna be an ex-Catholic or a current Catholic

You know I looked it up right after I wrote that, and wouldn't you know it, I both maybe spoiled myself and couldn't find out his religion or lack thereof. It's an interesting angle, and at the moment it feels like either a) he's specifically going after just the Catholic Church on purpose because he's got personal beef (or reverence, if the Catholics come out on top), or b) he knows Catholicism from a personal perspective (either as a current or ex-Catholic) with a lot more confidence than any other religion, and rather than risk grossly misrepresenting other religions out of ignorance or laziness or possibly more sinister reasons like an upsetting number of other white people, he has chosen to focus on what he knows (a religion which has coincidentally done quite a lot of harm to people who practice or historically would have practiced those religions he is not as well-versed in). But we're very early in the book and I also didn't read anything before or after this, so maybe Jurgens explores how other religious people respond to Thor in later pages or issues, or maybe he already did.

Oh. Oh no. When WASPs pull the religious persecution card, you know they're doing this shit for the wrong fucking reasons. (I mean, using WASP loosely here, since at least one of them isn't ex-Protestant but ex-Catholic, but the other three criteria fit these men. The demographic becomes slightly more racially diverse later in the text, but the three guys talking right now are all white.)

I'm getting flashbacks to when the Knights of Columbus came to talk to my Sunday School class in eighth grade and the guy got progressively more irritated with my classmate because he kept asking questions about the sword that came with the uniform, which supposedly was not the point of the order. I mean, c'mon, Mr. B_____, look me in the eye and tell me with confidence that the majority of those old suburban white men in your order did not join exclusively to get a sword. For the record, my (unknowingly) transmasc genderfluid ass was also extremely interested in the sword, but I was already aware I was barred entry into the order, and also already pissed that I'd officially been confirmed and then told I was not allowed to be gay, trans, ordained, or a knight by Catholic standards, two of which I already was but as yet unaware, one I wanted to be now out of spite, and one I'd always wanted to be. (But that's a story for a different blog. The point being, half of these Thorists joined to get a sword and that's it.)

The least believable thing about this comic is these kids go to Catholic school and don't have to wear uniforms. I'm sure those schools exist, but even if they don't have to, there is absolutely nothing on Ginny's body that would meet a dress code aside from maybe that turtleneck that covers everything.

Trent, a lot of non-Catholics enroll in Catholic school. Though the Pope is real pissed with Thor at the moment, so maybe not going to Catholic school is a good idea

They absolutely would not delay Mass for two teenagers unless they were getting married (which usually isn't a thing the church necessarily condones I don't think) or one of them was the Virgin Mary herself

that portrait of Jesus has the longest hair I've ever seen someone give him

LOL oh my god this priest is still arguing with Thor

"You are on the cusp of destroying the Catholic Church, Thor." PROMISE?!

"Your church is part of the ruling class and has been for centuries." PREACH, THOR!!! Also, Jurgens is ex- Catholic, I'm calling it now

"What good have you done?" THOR ODINSON, GOING FOR THE FUCKING KILL! We STAN

Loki continues to be nowhere in sight, but you know what, this is cathartic, a balm on my ex-Catholic soul, I don't even feel the loss

"...while befriending some of the world's most heinous dictators." hahaha, Thor knows what you did in World War II, Pius. He wasn't even fucking here and he knows. I'll bet Steve told him.

...did...did you just admit that the Catholic Church still uses tithes?! I don't think you're supposed to mention it!

Baby, being a nun doesn't make one a steadfast believer. Having a sister who's a nun but not you means even less

Oh we're comparing our plight to Native Americans now, huh? You do remember you live in a (non-religious) Protestant nation, right? The Catholics have limited legal sway aside from being white, but guess what? Most of you are white, too. They're not gonna go Trail of Tears or Cholera epidemic on your asses. I'm begging y'all from the distant future of 2024 to learn your motherfucking privilege before it's too late.

I'm gonna need your source for your second religious persecution claim, guys. This smells an awful lot like "Christians are so oppressed because someone told me once how bad missionaries are, boo hoo, my rights are being infringed upon" bullshit

"You really think we'll be arrested?" No. No, dude, I really doubt it. I think you could walk down the street with your sword sharpened and unsheathed and you wouldn't get arrested. You know why? Because you're a white man and ACAB, that's why. You might run into an issue if you try to take it on a plane, because it's 2003 and if I remember correctly it still takes like 3 hours to get past TSA, but other than that, I think you're good, man. This is just good old-fashioned fear-mongering.

THE PRIEST JUST DREW A FUCKING GUN WHAT THE FUCK

Oh now Loki shows up

I cannot believe Loki just restarted the fucking Crusades. I mean, the Pope lit the match, but Loki stoked the flames into inferno.

Wait. Did both kids die? That's what these panels mean right?

Fuck that's the end. What an insane concept for a comic issue holy shit

Well enjoy my residual Catholic issues and cynicism about white men getting away with whatever they want, I guess. This is what you come to this blog to see, right?

[advnttt]

This might be a bit long-winded, and I'm pretty sure no one's even gonna be here to read it, but I just wanted to reminisce for a bit. After all my name-changes I'm not sure who will even remember me, but this blog was named "siiq" and "addict3d" for the longest periods of time. Bear with me as I just word-vomit all over the place.

TL;DR It's been fun, but this might finally be the last time I hop on here.

Hell, the last time I logged in was like a year and a half ago. Nonetheless, it's been kinda fun coming back here and just seeing what's what who's still around, who's deactivated, and what the site even looks like.

I still remember when shortly before the end of my Senior year of high school in 2011 God I'm fucking old when one of my friends in my GFX class decided to make a Tumblr account for me against my will because SHE felt like I needed one. I didn't even do anything with it over that whole Summer either. It wasn't until September I decided to get on here and see what it was all about. Very quickly it became sort of a home away from home. Myself and my immediate family members had had our entire world rocked and flipped upside down shortly before I got on here, and Tumblr became an escape for me. A way to disconnect from my world and circumstances at the time. An outlet for me to express myself and my creativity as well. Never did I think upon logging in here for the first time that I would eventually have over 25,000 people following me, and that a fair few of them would become great friends for that season of my life. People that could relate to me. People that would listen. People that were also, in different ways, broken like I was. People that needed a friend, like I did. Side note, it amazes me that people still talk shit about friendships online. One of my best friends of 15+ years is a guy I first met gaming in like '08 and we didn't even meet each other in person for the first time until about 5 years later.

But anyways, I don't think y'all will ever really know how much everything meant to me. The messaging back and forth, getting to know each other, the late night phone calls when one of us just needed to talk, all the times we'd get the gang together in Tinychat and just hang out, the roasting and trash-talking, reblogging each other's selfies just 'cause we just wanted our friends faces on our blogs, all of it.

All the little things. Such simple things. They meant so much.

So now here I am. Sitting at my desk, almost 12 years to the day after my first post. Scrolling through my archive and my messages for the last little while, just reliving some moments, scrolling through who I'm following and remembering simpler times. A lot of us have moved on and away from this site. A lot of us have grown up and subsequently grown apart as life has carried us in different directions and down different paths. And I know at this point most of y'all will never see this, but just know, wherever you are in life, whatever you're keeping yourselves busy with, I'm thinking about you and truly wishing all of you the best of luck in whatever you set your hand to. You, unknowingly, helped me through arguably the toughest years of my life and I'll never be able to repay you for that. You deserve the world and more, and I wish I could give it to you.

Again, sorry for the wall of text but I just wanted to get this all out in one sitting. I feel like it's been a long time coming.

With that all being said, I'm not going to deactivate this blog (at least not until Tumblr decides to do it for me), but it's at this time that I will bid you all a very fond farewell.

Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. And keep on keepin' on.

Adieu, my friends. And thank you.

Josh

[kaitsawamura]

would you like to stay forever?

SUMMARY⎮   Sparring with Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro in his private gym at his home doesn't seem like a bad idea if you don't count the fact that you really, really like him.

STATS⎮ minors do not interact, 18+ ⎮  Rating: M (for mature)  ⎮  WC: 5525  ⎮   Pairing: Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro x Fem!Reader  ⎮   Tags: Aged Up Character(s), Friends to Lovers, Sparring, Smut, Fluff, Age/Experience Gap (if you really squint)  ⎮  AO3

NOTES⎮  Thanks to @spacelabrathor​ for listening to me scream about this and to @some-kindofgnome​ for fueling my Kiri fever dreams.  Yes, that title is based on a Mulan quote. This whole fic was based on THIS POST and Kirishima seemed like the perfect character for this pwp.  Hope y'all enjoy!  (Also please for the love of God, click on the banner to see in HD if you’re on mobile, it looks so much better lol)

It was Saturday and even though you’re on your way to becoming a Pro Hero, you can think of several things you’d rather be doing with your one day off than going to Kirishima Eijiro’s house to spar.  But here you are pulling into his driveway, going over combat moves in your head as if your life depended on it.  They weren’t really serving their purpose which was to distract yourself.  Kiri had offered up his personal gym, encouraged you to stop by with one hand in his pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck as if he was nervous.  

A couple of his friends had already taken him up on the offer.  You were the only one he’d offered who hadn’t come over yet.  He had texted you a couple of weeks later saying he was starting to take it personally…  and then immediately texted with a laughing emoji just to clarify he was only giving you a hard time.  It brings a smile to your face now as you remember it.  Yesterday he had also clarified it would just be the two of you if you were self-conscious sparring in front of other people.  You’d have the whole place to yourselves.  Like that should mean something.  Which it did.  It does , you realize with butterflies growing in your stomach.  Kiri doesn’t need to know that though.

The two of you had been toeing around something since you had been hired at Fatgum’s Agency a year ago.  Neither of you had made a move.  Kirishima, the Red Riot, was a big Pro Hero and while you took pride in your quirk, it didn’t hold a coin to some of the others you’d come in contact with.  It had surprised you when Toyomitsu had brought you on.  But he had mumbled something about “liking your spunk” and that he thought a teleportation quirk would be a useful one to add to his agency.  The first day you had shown up, Kiri had immediately caught your eye.  Not for the obvious reasons.  Obvious reasons being the fact that he was climbing the Pro Hero charts or the fact that he had a dynamically interesting quirk or that at twenty-five he was already built like a brickhouse. 

Those were all valid reasons, yes, but what had pulled you in was his smile and his genuine interest in you outside of your quirk.  But he was just like that you had quickly discovered.  He knew everyone’s coffee order and what they liked for lunch.  He knew when to push and when to back off.  He knew when to talk and when to listen , knew when he still had a lesson to learn.  The kids flocked to him.  Even now you’re still entirely convinced that’s actually his quirk, getting people to like him.  It’s not a difficult thing to do though.

Your brain stutters back to the present when a text notification pings from your cell phone as you sit in Kiri’s driveway, picking at non-existent lint on your gym shorts.  The cute ones you’re still convincing yourself were your only clean pair and that’s the only reason you wore them.

KIRI : i saw u pull up, u gonna come in or what 😂

Had he been waiting for you to get there?  You tapped out a quick response, one that hid the little flip in your stomach at the thought: creeper, you were watching for me lmao

Response bubbles immediately flash on your phone screen but you’re angling out of your car and shutting the door before he can reply.

Somehow, this house fits Kiri perfectly.  It isn’t big.  You had seen pictures of other top-ranking Pros’ houses.  Enji Todoroki’s house, for example, was fucking ridiculous.  But even without a massive floor plan, Kiri’s house is nicer than any you’d been in for some time.  Clean, straight lines and lots of windows.  In fact, you can see straight through the floor-to-ceiling windows out to his backyard when you reach the front door.  Is that a pool ?  Kiri had tons of fun showing pictures at the agency; it was a well-deserved investment for his already multiple years of service as a Pro.  The pictures hadn’t done the place justice though.

Kiri comes to the door, throwing it wide open with a huge grin that shows off his sharp teeth.  You ignore the way your mouth goes dry as he drags you in, babbling on like an excited little kid at you actually coming.

“I really thought you were gonna back out!  I mean, that would have been fine, of course.  I just can’t see the point of having the whole place to myself all the time.”  He’s irresistibly cute, walking around showing you the living room and the kitchen and pointing out to the backyard where, yes, there is indeed a pool.  “You can come over any time and use that too if you want!”  You thank him, warmth pooling in your stomach at how incredibly nice he is.

“Uh, we should probably get in the gym.  I have… stuff to do later,” you finish lamely.  You don’t have anything to do later but very quickly you’re realizing how far out of your depth you are here.  The familiar beginnings of the head over heels fall is washing over you in steady waves.  But you’re coworkers and the thought of coming to work every day and having to see his adorable face and not doing anything about it is almost making you nauseous.

“Oh, yeah, it’s just down the hallway,” he rumbles, leading the way and you follow trying and failing miserably to calm the nerves flashing through your veins.  You’re here alone with Kiri , the man you’ve been crushing on since you’d started working with him a year ago.  And now your stupid brain isn’t just thinking about what it would feel like to run your tongue along his teeth or how his hands would feel between your legs.  No, your stupid brain is thinking about what Kiri looks like when he first opens his eyes in the morning.

Your one-track mind is not getting any help, especially when Kiri walks through the doorway of the gym addition and immediately proceeds to pull his shirt up and over his shoulders and tosses it to the side.  Shit.  His back muscles ripple with the movement and when he turns to face you, it’s heart-wrenchingly obvious that he has no idea the effect he’s having on you.  He has to know .  Doesn’t he?  From your end, it seems wildly obvious that someone as good-looking as him should know .  

You glance around, eternally grateful for the fact that the gym is also attractive.  Floor to ceiling windows span two of the walls here as well and there’s a large set of French doors leading out to the yard.  You find yourself actually in awe when you get a better look at the landscaping.  It’s so green .  There’s a small patch of lawn but the rest is just artfully arranged native flora and fauna.  Violets, tulips.  Huge hosta plants.  And cherry trees heavy with their signature sakura blossoms.  

“Kiri, it’s beautiful!”  He comes to stand beside you, looking out the French doors as well.

“You like it?  I guess it is pretty nice, huh?”  You glance up at him, your chest expanding on a lurch looking at his smile.  You’d never noticed before but he has a light dusting of freckles across his nose.

“Yeah, really nice.”  You look out again, letting the silence grow until it feels like the most comfortable thing in the world.  After what seems like an eternity Kiri clears his throat, rocking back on the balls of his feet.  “What are you thinking for today?”  The question leaves your lips and you’re immediately regretting it; your stomach flips again when Kiri looks at you like you’re prey.

“Close combat, hand-to-hand combat.  You did mention a while ago you wanted to strengthen that, right?”  You throw your head back, rolling your eyes, and groan.  The two of you make your way to the center of the mat.

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be scared to take me on too,” Kiri says, large hands on even larger hips.   He isn’t as tall as some of the other heroes at six foot three inches but he’s wide , thick.  You know for a fact you couldn’t wrap your arms around his waist and have your hands meet.  He’s wearing the biggest shit-eating grin you’ve ever seen.  The sharpened points of his canines are out and on prominent display.   Famous last words you think as a snarl erupts on your face.

“I’m not scared , Kiri.  I just don’t want to wear you out .  You’re a Pro Hero.  You’re on the job a lot more than I am.  Plus, you’re getting kind of old.  Is that a little gray I see coming in?”  Kiri bares his teeth even more but it’s not lost on you that he quickly reaches up to rake his fingers through his hair.  There isn’t any gray, obviously , but the thought has Red Riot distracted.  Distracted enough that when you plant your feet and your fist connects with his face, your knuckles hit skin and not the reinforced rock of his quirk.

“ Shit.”  Kiri takes a step back, reaching up to cradle his jaw.  His tongue swipes out to lick at the blood on his bottom lip.  His vermillion eyes find yours and if you didn’t work with him on a regular basis, you would have felt fear at this moment.  You know he wouldn’t hurt you but even now, a thrill races through your veins like electricity.  He looks as if he’s going to devour you.  You take your own step back, readying your quirk, reaching out to it as your fists hold their position in front of your body.  A dark chuckle spills from his chest as Kiri calls on his own quirk.

Now it was your turn to be distracted; you had always been fascinated by Kiri’s quirk, the way his body looked when it hardened up.  The ripples of muscle still visible under the toughened skin.  The divots and ridges and how they mapped their way across his shoulders and chest and abdomen.  You knew how it felt to the touch in fake combat.  The Fatgum heroes all took pride in maintaining a healthy routine; sparring was a common workout that was previously done at a local public gym.  You wonder absently what it would feel like to touch him slow and at the moment.  When you could give extra attention with extra time. 

Kiri closes the space between the two of you at the moment your mind strays and you barely are able to teleport out of the way to avoid him crashing into you.  You try to take a swipe at him as you materialize from in front of him to behind but this time he’s ready for you and he’s using his quirk.  Instead of moving out of the way, he plants his feet and allows your punch to hit.  Pain radiates up through your fingers and wrist.  It always irritated you that you had to prepare yourself to strike Kiri when he was using his quirk.  Otherwise, you’d be in for a whole lot of hurt every time you landed a punch.

Teleportation is a pretty handy quirk.  It gives you a pretty good advantage the more you work on your close combat skills.  The trick with Kiri was to keep going at him until he ran out of energy.  You hadn’t gotten to that point yet; your quirk had its limits as well.  You were only two years out of UA, Kiri was out by seven.  His strength was already fairly unmatched; sparring with him was always good practice.  You relish the thought of the day you can win a sparring session without tapping out.  It surges through you like pure energy.  

You teleport to stand in front of him again, shifting your weight into your hips and up through your right hook.  This time your fist connects with Kiri’s side and he lets out a small grunt.  Your fingers don’t hurt so bad this time and by the time Kiri is retaliating, you jump back a few feet.  He hmms, a sound that reverberates from his chest.

“That’s all well and good but how do you expect to do anything if you jump that far away?”  He lunges forward at a running start, leaping at the last second, sending his gloved fist into your stomach.  You were fast, but still not always fast enough.  You double over, the air rushing from your lungs and your pre-workout protein smoothie threatening to exit back the way it went in.  Sweat is already beading on your brow and sliding under your tank top.  You take a few breaths through your nose when an idea pops into your head; you stay bent over.  “Hey, I didn’t hit you that hard.  You good?”  

Kiri comes to stand in front of you, leaving him vulnerable.  He can’t see your smirk until it’s too late.  You wail on him, using some of the basic combos he’s taught you before today.  Satisfaction rolls through you when he actually takes a step back.  But then he puts his arms up in front of him, clenching his abdomen and bending inward to protect his core.  He drops just a fraction and before you realize what’s happening, he’s swiping his leg out to push through yours.  You watch in slow motion as you see his laughing face then the ceiling of the gym as you flip and land on your back.

If you thought you were out of breath before…  “Fuuu-.”  It’s a wheeze that feels like it’s ripping your chest open.  You’re seeing stars.  Kiri stands over you, hands on his hips again.  You stare at his face; the hero has his hair pulled back into a bun.  You snort, rolling your eyes.  Why does he still look so fucking good?  The sweat has caused some of the pieces falling out of his hair tie to curl.  His hair has curl to it?  You’ve never noticed before, considering he always gels it into spikes.  You like the curl.  “Are you--are you gonna help me up, or what?”  It was still painful to talk.

Kiri tilts his head to the side, just slightly, and crosses his arms.  “I’m thinking not.  Last time I let down my guard you got those good combos in.”  You stare in stunned silence, sitting up so you’re supported by your elbows.  Kiri shifts slightly and if you didn’t know better, you’d say he’s backing up to… get a better view.   

“Is that any way to treat your student,  Red Riot?”  You know you get under his skin when he clicks his tongue against his teeth and holds out a hand with a begrudging eye roll.  He pulls you up with ease, quickly enough that you almost lose your balance, swaying into his space.  You look up, eyes moving back and forth between his.  

He draws in a breath and drags his bottom lip between his teeth.  “First of all,” he says as he places his hands on your upper arms, “I’m not your teacher.  I’m not that much older than you.  Secondly,” he mutters as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind your ear, “our relationship isn’t that formal is it?”  He’s so fucking close.  This is getting dangerous.  Dangerous because Kiri is within kissing distance.  Dangerous because this gentle side of him is making you lose more breath than falling on your ass.  Dangerous because the thought of Kiri taking you on the floor right now is almost too much to bear.  

So you fall back on what you’re here to do.  Fight.  You flash him a wicked smile before rallying your quirk and teleporting a few feet away.  His hand is still raised in mid-air and when his head whips to look in your direction, his crimson eyes are narrowed and his nostrils are flared.  He laughs and rolls his neck, dancing on his toes.

“Okay.  I see.  I’m not gonna go easy on you, you know?”  You snort and put your fists up in front of you again.

“As if you were going easy on me before, Kiri.  Bring it on.”  He smiles, the sharp points of his teeth enough to make your thoughts swerve again before you bring them under control.  “Bring it on,” you whisper more to yourself as you brace for the fight.

Two hours later, you feel the strain in your muscles.  Your quirk is running low on reserves and you know you won’t be able to use it much more.  Kiri looks like he hasn’t wasted a breath but you can see he’s getting tired in the way his feet don’t move as sharply.  And if the length of time he’s using his quirk is any indication to his state of mind, you know the two of you will be calling it a day soon.  But you’re also both stubborn.  And you’re dying to get one more good move in on him.

The cockiness the two of you had at the beginning of the sparring session hasn’t gone away but has burned hot into determination.  No more smiles, only clear-headed concentration.  The two of you are an arm's length from each other, throwing various punches and switching quickly between using your quirks and not.  You’re breathing hard, sweat gathering at your brow as you throw another right hook that Kiri easily blocks.

“Get out of your head.  You can be too predictable sometimes.”  He doesn’t mean for it to come across as rude but the words strike a match to a guttering fire.  You bare your own teeth at Kiri even though they aren’t sharp and probably don’t look nearly as threatening but it helps you feel powerful nonetheless.  You drop without a second thought, lowering to your palms and sweeping your leg out in front of you in a wide arc.  A grin spreads across your face when your calf meets Kiri’s ankle.  He’s too physically dense for this move to work if he had seen it coming.  But he doesn’t.  And his solid 220 pounds of muscle falls hard.  

You allow yourself the satisfaction of the moment for only a split second; Kiri’s recovery time is much shorter than yours so it isn’t long before he’s scrambling forward.  He goes straight for your wrists to subdue you but with a smirk, you realize in his haste he’s put himself in the perfect position for you to possibly gain the upper hand.  You scoot up away from him just enough to drag his arm forward and swing your legs around his neck.  Then you elevate your hips and lock your core.

It’s over from there as you squeeze with every last ounce of strength left in your body.  It doesn’t take long for him to tap out.  You release as soon as you feel his loose hand tap your arm; he collapses over you and you’re too tired to move away or push him off.  Now his breathing is rough and you feel a surge of pride.  You reach up and place your hand on his head where his bun has come undone; he’s so heavy but it doesn’t feel bad.  In fact, the feel of Kirishima resting his head and upper chest on your stomach is feeling nothing short of good .  He’s still between your legs and suddenly the air is crackling with a new kind of energy when you gently comb your fingers through his hair.

He rises up, his hands on either side of you.  His hips rest between your legs; the mingled heat radiating from both of you is almost more than you can take but there is no way you’re going to move anywhere.  He leans forward, so close you can see the flecks of burnt orange in his eyes.  If you moved forward just a little, you could close that space between you.  He leans down more, his mouth right next to the shell of your ear.

“Maybe not always predictable.  You did good today.  Probably some of the best fighting I’ve seen from you so far.  Keep it up.”  He grunts, a shift of his hips allowing the curve of his cock to brush against your clothed sex through his gym shorts.  He stiffens in what you think might be embarrassment.  “Shit, sorry, let me just, uh--”  The stuttering mess he becomes right before your eyes makes something lurch in your chest; you reach for his face without thinking.

“Kiri,” you whisper, rolling your own hips against his.  His cheeks are burning a shade of red almost as vibrant as his hair.  You bring up your other hand, holding his face between them and bringing him down to settle over you once more.  Your lips meet his; he seems to war with himself for just a moment.  A suspended second in time.  But then he gives in, slipping his tongue against yours in a delicious sliding vision of what’s coming.

He reaches between you to slip his hand under your tank top; his hand is big and nearly encompasses your side.  But it’s warm and gentle.  Gentle.  Who would have guessed that Red Riot could be so fucking gentle?  But he is and when his hand moves lower to slide below the hem of your shorts, you give yourself to him with no reservations.  His middle finger passes through the mess of your sex; a hissed breath rattles through his chest as your back arches on a ragged groan.

“ Shit.  You’re so wet .”  He slides his finger back and forth, gathering your slick on the thick digit.  He takes his hand away and you mewl.  “Can I?”  He asks breathlessly as he hooks his hands on the hem of your shorts.  You nod, eyes half-lidded.  He pulls them down along with your underwear and the way he looks at you, at what’s between your legs, you don’t even have the wherewithal to feel self-conscious.  Adoration.  It’s the only word you can think of and it makes you wonder if you’d made a mistake waiting so long.

He’s on his knees when he takes your legs and drapes them on either side of his hips; this time he doesn’t hesitate in slipping his finger into your cunt.  You nearly see stars just from that and if one finger is any indication, you’re in for it.  Slowly, he adds another, his hand pumping into you in a steady rhythm.  You’re grabbing for the ground, grabbing for him as a strangled noise pushes from your throat.  He reaches out with his other hand to splay it across your sternum and it’s the only thing anchoring you as he adds the third finger before scooting down to put his mouth on your clit.

“ Kiri,” you keen, shoving your hips into his touch, frantically scrabbling for his wrist that’s on your chest just to have something to hold on to.  He’s done this before, he’s had to.  He’s too good.  Too fucking good.  Already there’s coiling in your gut as incomprehensible words tumble from your mouth.  “Shit.  Shit.  Kiri I’m--I’m gonna--”  He rumbles approvingly against your clit; the vibrations send you closer and closer to the edge and when it crests, your back arches near pain as you cry out, your voice echoing in the gym.  It’s deep, roaring through all of your limbs but  Kiri keeps going, fingers still pumping, tongue still swirling around your sensitive nub.

Another orgasm breaks over you sharp and quick and the overstimulation has your legs quaking as your arousal gushes over Kiri’s hand and tongue.  But then he’s moving again, and you’re blearily aware that he’s shoving his own shorts and boxers past his hips to free his cock.  You stare as it bounces back to sit near the planes of his stomach; it’s already leaking steadily with precum.  Kiri looks back at you and when your eyes meet, you dart your tongue out between your lips to wet them.  Another time, maybe.  

Kiri leans forward to lift you up and the closer you get you can barely see any red in his eyes; his pupils are blown, his nostrils flared as he lifts you like you weigh nothing .  He could snap you like a twig.  But he won’t.  You know without a doubt this is the safest you’ve ever felt, even as he lowers you slowly over his cock and it does feel like you’re being split .

“ Fuuuck…”  You wrap your legs around him, your mouth dropped open, your hands gripping his shoulders.  You try not to dig your nails in but it’s almost impossible with how you’re being filled.  You knew Kiri was big but this was almost too much.  His forehead drops to yours as he pants.  But he’s not moving, won’t move until you tell him to.  It makes your heart ache and your cunt floods, drunk on the affection thrumming through your veins.  You roll your hips experimentally and the friction is bliss.  “Oh fuck, ohfuck.”  You move again, pushing yourself up and back down, listening to the hitch in his breathing.  “ Kiri, please, ” you whisper.  Those words… they’re enough.

Kirishima grips you by the hips, his fingers splayed and digging into the flesh; it’ll leave bruises and the knowledge cracks through you like electricity.  Let him leave marks.  Let him leave them everywhere.  He’s moving you up and down his cock, grunting, mumbling.  “Tell me, Kiri, tell me.”  His eyes meet yours again and his own mouth drops open.

“Fuck, you’re so good.  S’ tight.  Jesus, I-- ” Kiri moves his hands from your hips to support you as he lays you down on the floor of the gym.  The idea should be questionable but it’s not, it’s fucking not and you can’t concentrate on any other thoughts when Kiri grabs your wrists and pins them gently above your head with one hand while the other comes back to your hip.  He thrusts into you at a brutal pace but… it feels like home and you think in that moment as your cunt begins to seize around his cock that you would give up forever to continue touching him.

“Yes, Kiri, yes.  Right there, right--shit yesyes yes. ”  He pistons up, the veins of his cock rubbing just right and when he releases the grip on your hands, they’re moving to wrap around him on instinct.  He’s planting kisses along your jaw, mouthing up to your lips and back down to graze his teeth over your pulse point.  “Do it, fuckin’ do it, let them know ‘m yours, ” you slur and when he bites down you crash over the edge on a groan that’s really more of a scream.  Everything goes black but you're cradling him to you as his movements become more erratic.  The snapping of his hips is getting sloppier by the second and a steady growl punches from his lungs with each breath.  “Cum, Kirishima, cum inside me.”

He’s never heard those words before and it lights a fire in his veins.  His head is buzzing and then he can’t hear anything as his cock releases and he’s spurting searing hot ropes of cum into your cunt.  He goes until you’ve milked every last drop from him and he’d be lying if he said his world didn't suddenly feel whole.  Finally, his body settles and his chest drops to yours.  Everything slowly bleeds back into focus and somehow, everything seems more colorful than it did moments before.  You’re still clinging to him.

“Kiri.  Kiri, babe, I can’t breathe,” you say and he slowly rises, taking in your blissed-out expression.  Your eyes can barely stay open, your cheeks are flushed.  He backs up to see his handiwork on display, hyper-focused on the trail of the mingling cum dripping from the mess of your sex.  But you’re smiling.  Lazy and tired, completely at ease.  “Wanna take a shower?”  When you nod he doesn’t hesitate in standing to kick his underwear and shorts the rest of the way off his legs and then he’s grabbing you, scooping you into his arms and against his chest.  He pads out of the gym and across the hall to his bathroom where he deposits you on your feet, only after he’s sure you can stand and only long enough to turn the shower head-on.

He puts his hand under the water, waiting for it to get warm.  Steam billows from behind the glass door when he’s turning back to you to remove your tank top and your sports bra.  Thank god you chose the front-closure one today; you didn’t think either one of you wanted to struggle to get one up over your head right now.  When your breasts spill out of the high-impact fabric, you notice with tender amusement that his cock is half-hard again.  His eyes go dark again and he leans in for a kiss.  But it's slow and sweet. 

"You're so fuckin' beautiful," he whispers.  He ignores his arousal, ushering you into the stream of water.  Your care is the only thing that matters to him right now.  The heat slides across your body, and when Kirishima steps up behind you and begins soaping up your shoulders, it feels like heaven .

You take turns washing each other until you’re both blissed out in a different kind of way and the only thing either one of you can think about is sleep.  But the afterglow is fading and doubt is creeping in.  When you step out of the water, you stand awkwardly as Kiri hands you a towel.  “You okay?”  He’s actually concerned and you can’t put your finger on why you’re so fucking grateful for it.

“Yea, just tired.  I should, uh, probably get going.”  Kiri freezes and you think you’ve said something wrong, already crossed a line.  Your brain is like a broken record as the stomach-curdling image of having to see him at the agency flashes across your eyes in vivid detail.  But then he’s stepping into your space and pulling you in for a hug.  A hug.

“Don’t go,” he whispers into the crown of your head and it has you smiling like an idiot against his chest.  His skin smells clean and warm with a hint of spice.  You bury your face further in as you nod against him.  Then he’s leading you to his room, to the king-sized bed.  He peels back the comforter and the white sheets and pulls you in beside him.  Your back is against him and he hooks his foot around your ankles, bringing you even closer.  

He doesn’t say anything more, just lets out a huge sigh as he wraps his arm around you.  The last thing you notice before your eyes flutter shut is how your heartbeats are thumping at the same steady rhythm.  

Late afternoon sunlight slants in Kirishima’s bedroom window, creating interesting patterns across his blanket.  It’s pushed towards the end of the bed, your legs intertwined and tangled in the sheets.  He’s still dozing, his breathing not quite that of someone sleeping but not of a person fully awake.  You reach out to cup his cheek, stroke above his eyebrows, caress his lips with your thumb.  A contented sigh leaves his chest as he grabs your hand and kisses your wrist.  His eyes are open now and he watches you.  You smile at him, snuggling closer, not wanting the moment to end.

“Hey,” he says quietly, suddenly serious.  “I just want you to know, I don’t do this all the time.  I mean, I’ve been with other people before but I don’t…  I don’t really hook up .”  Things start clicking into place as you realize what he’s trying to get across.  He just fucked you stupid in his personal gym and somehow he looks bashful.  And because you love it, you’re not going to help him along.  You just watch, biting your lip to keep from giggling.  “I just.  I guess what I’m trying to say is I like you.  I’ve liked you for a long time.  And normally I would have wined and dined you first but...  Well.  Here we are.  Would you like to stay for dinner?”

That’s the last straw; your laughter comes bubbling out of you and Kiri is leaning back to look at you with a quizzical expression on his face.  “Is something funny?”  That just makes you laugh a little harder but the confused look he’s wearing has you leaning in to press your lips against his.

“I’ve liked you from the first day I met you, Kiri.  I’ll one-up your offer and tell you that I might like to stay forever.”  A grin rips across his face and your heart blooms with warmth and affection.  The world seems full of possibilities but none of them matter except for the possibility laying right in front of you.

[felswritingfire]

I NEED TAKEMARU DAD HC, TADATOMO AND XOLOTLS WERE SO GOOD

SO, FIRST OF ALL: THANK YOU, DEAR ;0; I'M SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED THEM-

AND SECONDLY: Y'all- this has been fucking sitting as a WIP in my google docs for so fucking long- I have so many others too. Like, Claude, Zab, Jacob- ALL THE TEACHERS ARE IN THERE- Hakuman, Durga, Babylon- uuuuuuhhh, fuuuuckiiiiin' TANGAROA. HOMBRE'S IN THERE AND TETSU AND NOMAD-

FUck- I just, there's a lot fjsdlkjlskdjs

ANYWAY! Under the cut for length because this- ah,,,, this is a big boy-

THIS DUDE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR ALL HIS LIFE- HE’S SO READY TO START A FAMILY WITH YOU

You two planned this out- like, in depth have planned this out because first of all, the dude made it very clear, in the beginning of your relationship, that he was in it for the long haul and he wanted a family with you, like, a horde of children. But after he made your guys’ house and you two established yourselves first

Which, spoiler, you both did all that, so now it’s either baby making time or adoption time

You guys probably end up with a huge ass family, and I’m not joking when I say that, because five children is big. But you know what, that’s better than the 15 (especially if you have to birth that many- like, oof) he was trying to sell you on tbh

Like, shit- this man wore a suit and made a powerpoint to try and convince you why 15 was the golden number, to which you responded that you’d like to have a retirement one day. He couldn’t really fight you there

But your kiddos end up being an oldest girl and the rest boys- which he loves his girl so much, she tries her hardest to keep the boys in line

WHICH WORKS TO VARYING DEGREES TBH

She’s so soft spoken and shy and they’re all… rough and tumble little gremlins

Speaking of the babies, she’s probably older than the youngest by five years; the oldest boy is a year younger than her; the second oldest boy is two years younger than him; and from there, you had the third boy a year from the second and finally the fourth boy a year from the third- (I had to literally do math to make sure I was right on that jsl;kfdjdfslk)

ANYWAY

You’re guys’ baby girl??? Absolute angel, but she had a lot of anxiety as a baby so she had to be held by one of you guys or she would whimper and cry- not even a loud cry, but a heart broken one??? It just- UGH-

The first time Takemaru heard her whimper, he just about sobbed with her- it really didn’t help that she was trying to get out of the blanket she was swaddled in, so she was rocking back and forth on her back, so he could see her little fingers push and pull at the fabric- he forgot all about the bottle he was trying to make for her and picked her up and held her so close in his hands-

He was wide-eyed and terrified he was going to break her as he just held her, but he didn’t and her sniffles died down and she sighed against his neck (he really cried there- but you never heard that shhh)

Kurogane became the favorite uncle when he gave you guys a personalized baby carrier for a little get together to celebrate her birth (they have one for all of the babies too!)

You and Kuro just about jumped when Take wrapped his arms around the man in near tears

But then the title was revoked and presented to Heph instead because the man hand sewed this little stuffed pegasus, his fingers all bandaged and he had this nervous smile on his face as he handed it to your little girl, who LAUGHED AND MADE GRABBY HANDS FOR IT???? When I say that you’ve never seen Takemaru shove a man away and bring another one into a hug so fast (Heph looked fucking constipated as soon as the impact happened- you almost cackled at the pure offence on his face)- you mean it

Kurogane was sprawled on the floor staring blankly at the ceiling until you went up and asked him if he was alright; his reply was raising his fist and declaring “This is war!”

And thus, the story of how your baby girl ended up with a horde of plushies, that she refuses to get rid of to this day began

You have yet to tell them that her favorite uncle is actually Amatsumara- you guys can rest assured that he is the go to babysitter for her because she clings just as hard to him as she does to you guys (no, you two aren’t a little jealous, what makes you think that-)

When you’re first boy is born- you two are not prepared for the mass chaos that is held in his little body- he is an absolute gremlin

You don’t even know how- Takemaru blames you; you are offended

He’s such a needy baby and he cries constantly- and then he laughs when he knocks something out of one of your guys’ hands

You two love him to death- you swear

His sissy tries to help since you two keep her right next to you when your tending to your little boy- always giving her head pats or nodding along when she softly coo about something- but, there’s only so much a one year old can do to help

But she really tries her hardest

It’s easier for all three of you when the next boy comes along because he’s exactly like your oldest boy was and your girl has aged a little bit so she can do a tad bit more than when she was younger- not much, but still

Though your oldest boy brings his own bouts of problems to the table too because boy does he want to see how bouncy his brother is

You and Takemaru both dived to keep your oldest boy from using his little brother as a literal baby trampoline. Suffice to say, he got in trouble

By the time the last two are born/come in, you guys are basically baby experts- like, hot damn, you guys got everything lined up with zero hesitation and can read the boys like a damn book

You guys immediately know what they need/want without them even uttering a cry; your daughter has also picked up this skill and she takes care of the other two toddlers too, which helps you guys a whole bunch

Oh! Oh! You’re little girl really likes holding her baby brother- like, really likes to hold him and can hold him for hours on end

She’s very attached to him and Takemaru lives for it tbh

Though she loves all her brothers and her brothers all really love her too

When the boys are all toddler aged, they will literally work together to keep Takemaru from going to work by ganging up on him and clinging to his legs; little do they know is that their papa doesn’t have tree trunk legs for nothing- so he just walks, albeit with the funniest gait because of the four children clinging to both of his legs, and just goes about his morning until he gets to the door where he begins to pull them off with one hand and lift them up so he could plant a big ol’ kiss on their forehead and tell them that he loves them and he’ll see them when he gets home; the boys are all squealing in delight when this happens. You’re daughter will trail behind the fiasco while holding your hand and he’ll always hold open his arms for you and her to rush into his arms and hug him- and so he can also give you two forehead smooches uwu

When you guys need babysitters literally the Crafters are all for it, though Heph is a little nervous about it, but Talos is literally raring to go! He fucking loves kids!

Your girl loves Amatsu, as mentioned before; your oldest boy LOVES Musashi, they get into so much trouble together, though they both calmed down a bit after your little girl almost got hit in the head with a rock and Amatsu about hung them from their toes; your second and third oldest love watching Kurogane work, like, they will actively be asking him questions at rapid fire speed. It’s honestly amazing how he keeps up with their questions while he’s tinkering with whatever he project he’s working on this week; your youngest one is fascinated with Heph himself, he’ll always seek him out, usually hobbling to Talos and asking him if he could hang out with them and Talos is always quick to say yes. At first, Heph was really nervous about having him there but over time he started to get used to his presence (and this is technically his little brother right? He has to be nice to him!) and now he sits him on his lap so he can see what Heph is doing and he’ll even let him help with the smaller stuff in the project. It’s most likely gonna be with something harmless, like a little toy robot lion tbh

Sometimes they don’t want to give them back tbh

Takemaru almost threw hands with Musashi because he hid your oldest and refused to tell you guys where he was because “you aren’t taking away our little buddy, old chap!” Turns out you kiddo was just taking a nap inside of one of Musashi’s napping nooks-

By the time their tween years role around, the boys are bouncing off the walls and your little girl is trying so fucking hard to keep them under control

You swear you guys have white hairs from the boys specifically because your third oldest came

running in with his whole hand stuck in the pickle jar- you don’t even know how?????? Takemaru literally had to break it open because he couldn’t pull your kid’s damn hand out of the jar

Oml, puberty is a trip, especially when it happened to your oldest boy: you come into the living just to see your him sitting and staring at the fire in the fireplace, looking like he saw something horrific and so, like the good mama/papa/nano you are, you come and put a comforting hand on his shoulder and ask: “honey, what’s wrong?”

To which this little shit replies in the most distraught voice: “My balls look like moss balls.”

You sit, blinked, and had to let it sink in with what he meant, when you heard a horrified gasp from behind you and you turned to see your husband covering your daughter's ears. “WE DON’T TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS IN FRONT OF THE LADY/LADIES, YOUNG MAN.”

“BUT THEY DO, DAD! IT’S TERRIBLE- THEY’RE SO ITCHY-”

You had drowned out the conversation by that point and from the look on your daughters face- she has too

Your other three are much more… calm? About the whole ordeal; at the very least they’re not loud like their older brother is about it

Your daughter is the chillest with it, she reads a lot of books so she kinda pieced together what was happening of her own accord

The boys all cackle together when their voices crack and have made a whole game about who’s voice could crack the most

They all like to tinker with things thanks to Takemaru and the other Crafters influences! Your daughter is into intricate things, like limbs and the likes; your oldest son is into metal work, especially with swords; your second and third are both really interested in making little rockets; and your youngest is fascinated with robots because Talos and Orihime are so cool?????? Oml???

So you two got a horde of brainiacs and you’re so proud of them

By the time they’re in high school, your daughter is already wracking up scholarships for her little inventions and essays on her observations. Your boys are taking it a bit more slowly than their sister is, but that doesn’t meant that your oldest boy isn’t selling his metal works for a good price, and your two middle sons are already piecing together a little shop of their own (with dad’s help- Take’s pretty good with money and budgeting), and you’re youngest has really been brushing up on robotics! He studies under Uncle Heph and Uncle Talos and it’s super fucking cute??????

Heph is suprisingly good at teaching (despite him swearing that he’s not) and your little boy just soaks up the information like a fucking sponge.

One thing that they all do together is ask Takemaru how to build things and work with wood and carpentry- you can bet your ass he shows them all the ropes of how to make a home. He even goes over electrical and plumbing work with them. You have so many videos and pictures of them working together and just learning by Takemaru’s example- it makes your heart swell with happiness and love.

God forbid your daughter ever gets a significant other because they have Takemaru, her three brothers, and the entirety of the Crafters (and you if you're an overprotective parent) to watch out for.

They get five different shovel talks in a span of three minutes. But, ultimately, she’s not dumb with her choices in partners, so they’re most likely good people. And you can rest easy with that knowledge.

When they graduate, there’s tears for each of their graduations. Takemaru pulls them into bone crushing hugs and blubbers about how broad he is of them and how they’ll still always be his little Onis (regardless of if they’re actually Onis or not). Your girl straight up sobs and hugs her dad back, her brothers piling in the group hug, crying just as hard. Your oldest boy is in hysterics when he graduates, and your last two boys tackle their papa in a hug and they go tumbling to the ground laughing and crying.

They don’t leave right away after high school and instead, all of them find a college/trade school close enough for them to go to and fro without having to leave the nest yet- which Takemaru has no issue with, he’s very much a tight-knit family type of man.

Having a family with Takemaru is the most domestic and tooth rotting sweetness you can ever ask for. And, at the end of the day, he’s just so grateful that you were willing to go on this journey with him.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me consider donating to my Ko-fi!

[jd-loves-fiction]

Kiss Cam

➤ Atsumu quickly regrets inviting you and his brother Osamu, whom you’ve been crushing on since highschool, to one his games once the kiss cam lands on the two of you and he has to witness his friend and brother swap spit onscreen.

➤ genre: fluff

➤ wc: 2k

➤ warnings: 

➤ 🌑 I actually don’t know if there are kiss cams in volleyball games but oh well😅

You understood the thought process that led to the situation you would soon have to confront.

You understood why Atsumu did it and why he didn’t think twice about it.

But it really wouldn’t hurt him to learn how to read the room, but more importantly, your tone of clear distress.

“Look, I’m sorry, didn’t think it’d be a problem. And I still kinda ain’t seein’ the problem?” Atsumu said, sounding genuinely confused, which would’ve made you pity him in any other situation because he truly seemed lost, but not in this particular case.

“Ok, you didn’t think it’d be a problem. And now you know it is! Can’t you do anything to change it?” You were practically pleading, pacing back and forth nervously across the length of the stadium’s bathroom.

“I thought ya got over him!” He said, clearly frustrated. “Nothin’ can be done now. Yer just gonna hafta sit with him. Or ya can just go home, if ya want. Wouldn’t hold it against ya.” He spoke over the phone.

Your shoulders dropped. There’s the pity.

“No. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be calling you just before the game. I’ll be fine, just focus on winning, alright?” You sighed, defeated.

“’s ok, nothin’ like a lil needless argument to warm up and get the blood pumpin’.” He chuckled, relaxing once more, judging by his voice.

You checked yourself in the mirror again, fixing any stray hairs and wishing you had put more effort into your appearance. If only you had been warned that you'd be sitting next to your highschool crush, Miya Osamu, who you definitely still had feelings for, in the VIP section--

That's enough. No reason to be thinking about that. No time either, as you were already approaching your seat when you came back to your senses.

It had been so long since you'd last seen him. You thought that maybe your memory betrayed you and he wasn't nearly as attractive as you remembered him to be, or perhaps he wouldn't age well. All those possibilities were proven to be completely incorrect the moment you spotted him.

Gone was his warm grey hair, now replaced with his natural black, his shoulders seemed even wider (which didn't seem possible at the time) and he seemed leaner, not at all out of shape but not as filled with muscle as before. It suited him.

You wondered for a moment if he even remembered you (you'd be quite hurt if he didn't) let alone as vividly as you remembered him.

Did he remember you as the shy girl from his class who didn't fall at his brother's feet (and instead fell at his, but he didn't know that) and instead chose to befriend him and find her way into his circle? Did he remember what you looked like? The jokes you made behind Atsumu's back? The lunchboxes shared? How he always seemed to want a pice of yours more than any other, despite the deliciousness of his own? The little game you started where you would try to get him to laugh with the dumbest of methods because you were curious on what his laugh sounded like and why he didn't show it more often?

Did he remember you at all? Sure, those memories seemed significant enough, to you, because you were smitten with him.

He, on the other hand, had a hoard of fangirls waiting on his neck and call much like his brother, and various girlfriends (if the rumors were to be trusted, which they usually weren't, but it had to be true, with everything he had. The body, the face, the personality, the humor).

Sure, him and Atsumu didn't befriend a whole lot of girls, but there were at least a few. Would he confuse you with one of them?

"Y/N?"

Before you could step all over your own heart once more with worst case scenarios, already thinking about turning back and leaving, you heard his low voice call out your name, slow and unsure.

He blinked at you for a moment, wondering if his eye betrayed him, until you waved shyly at him while approaching. His pout immediately turned into a small and soft smile that made your heart flutter.

"Hi! Haven't seen you in a while!" You greeted amicably as you sat down next to him, mentally struggling to come up with topics to discuss. If you remembered correctly, he was never one for small talk, and nothing would be worse than silence right now.

"Right back at ya! How've you been doin'?" He asked politely, still smiling at you. You don't remember seeing him smile for this long (genuinely) before. Oh God, his smile is so cute--

"Oh, nothing much. Looking for a job at the moment." You said dismissively, mentally scolding yourself for making yourself sound so uninteresting. Osamu didn't seem fazed though.

"Well, I'm probably gonna need some help durin' the summer. So, if ya need a part-time job while in Hyogo or something, come by my shop: 'Onigiri Miya'. Sure Tsumu's told ya about it already though, heard y'all kept in touch." He offered, successfully managing to seem calm and collected despite the excitement he felt at the possibility of spending time with you, doing what he loves. That and hide the envy he felt for your having kept in touch with his brother and not him, but then again he could've been the one to reach out so he didn't really blame you.

"Oh! Well I am planning to pass through... Maybe I'll take you up on that offer." You smiled, ignoring how easy it was to talk to Osamu. Who the hell would talk about a summer part-time with their highschool crush after however many years it's been? You two apparently.

But it was nice. Everything about Osamu was nice.

"But honestly, it's real nice to see ya again. Ya look great, I mean it." He said softly, hoping you hadn't noticed the way his eyes had roamed your figure for a moment when he saw you.

You blushed, looking away in response and giving his a meek 'thanks', acting like a highschool girl with a huge crush all over again, but then again, what really had changed?

"You don't look so bad yourself." Was all you managed to say before the game was announced to be starting soon, followed by the fans' loud cheers.

You and Osamu traded comments and jests, poking fun at people in the audience as well as some players (mostly Atsumu), and even though it seemed childish, it made you feel like a highschooler again. Actually it seemed to almost transport you fully onto a very specific day.

You remembered that day quite clearly, for whatever reason. It was during your first year, Osamu had injured himself and had to sit out of a practice match that Inarizaki had against another school. Atsumu (or was it Osamu? You couldn't remember exactly) had asked you to come see the game and "cheer him on". Truth be told, he knew that you wouldn't be doing any of that, and in a way he was glad you wouldn't.

As you entered the gym, you noticed Osamu right away, sitting dejectedly on the sidelines, on the bench, seemingly unbothered and uninterested, but by the grip he had on his shorts and the light tapping of his foot in the floor, you could tell it wasn't so.

The team all knew you by this point, so the coach simply nodded at you as you entered, headed straight to where Osamu sat, eyes wide and glued to the match in front of him, passing in front of him purposely to bring his attention towards you instead.

You placed your bag on the ground before sitting next to it, receiving an odd look from the younger twin.

"Why're ya sittin' on the floor?" He asked as you simply smiled. "Why do you look like you're plotting a murder?" You asked bluntly, to which he gave you a surprised but impressed look, shaking his head and motioning for you to sit with him.

"I'm not. Now come sit with me. Bet it's cold there." He tried tempting your but you merely shook your head, staying where you were.

Reason being that 1. Yes, you were close to most people on the team but you weren't part of it and that's what the bench was for and 2. You had a plan.

"What kind of face do you think that middle blocker's gonna make when Suna spikes?"

"Well..."

You remember making comments about both teams and laughing quietly amongst yourselves, and with where you sat, Osamu had to lean in your direction to hear what you were saying, therefore taking at least a little of his attention away from the game so that he didn't stomp through the floor in restlessness.

The halftime interval was announced finally, each team taking the time to recover some of their strength.

One of the huge screens situated at the edges of the stadium switched on, showcasing a vignette in the shape of a pink heart with the words 'Kiss Cam' at the top, the camera attached settling on two people making them lean towards each other to do as the screen indicated while the crowd cheered.

"Wait. Atsumu told you I was coming? Why? And why didn't he tell me?" Osamu shrugged at your question, seemingly not privy to his brother's thoughts on the matter. Which was a lie.

Atsumu had told him because he knew of his crush on you, and saw this little encounter as the perfect way to 'rekindle the flame' as he put it, as if you were some old couple who were simply bored of each other and not too young adults hopelessly head over heels for the other but unable to make a move.

As you tried to wrap your head around Atsumu's reasoning (useless, knowing him), Osamu took notice of a camera preparing to settle on your position.

Both of your faces appeared onscreen inside the (to some) dreaded pink heart, the crowd cheering once more as you looked around yourself, confused, until Osamu pointed you in the direction of the screen and watched as your face became beet red, before you hid it in your hands.

So that's what Atsumu meant when he told him to 'take any chance to make a move if he got one', the bastard. Osamu glanced briefly at his brother below, looking at his stupid smirk and dumb thumbs up of encouragement. He set this up.

As Osamu turned to you, so pretty, so cute, an image he could never truly erase from his mind fully since highschool, he realized that this was his chance. And he had to just man up and take it. Not repeat the same mistake.

The black haired man placed a gentle hand on the back of your lowered head, ignoring the way the crowd roared louder, and leaned towards you as you raised your head to look at him, being met by his face mere centimeters away from yours.

He looked at you in concern, wanting to make sure that you truly wanted this as much as him.

And you, realizing that fuck it he looked like he wanted it as much as you and you really had nothing to lose, leaned forward to meet him halfway as the crowd's ruckus crescendoed one final time.

The exchange must've lasted maybe a full minute, if that, but it seemed so much longer to you. It seemed like an eternity before you felt his soft, flavoured lips meet yours in a shy kiss, sweet but hesitant. Exactly like two highschoolers would do after confessing.

You parted after a moment, timidly opening to your eyes to check Osamu's expression, only to find him smiling as giddily as you felt inside, hand still steady on your head, simply cupping it and not pushing.

Spurred on by his clear excitement, you leaned back towards him, joining your lips passionately with your eyes closed as the cheering faded from your ears, solely focused on the feeling of Osamu's lips against your own, slow but firm.

As you parted, looking away from each other shyly, you both caught a glimpse of Atsumu, gagging down by the benches.

He was obviously happy for his brother and friend, but he would've preferred to not watch as they locked lips as passionately as they did.

[limenysnocket]

Attention and Company

I couldn't help myself. @honorarytenenbaum

Summary: Sometimes you need someone to chill with, and that's okay. Maybe that person is your boyfriend who also gets a little roughed up at work sometimes. Pubs can sustain you both for only so long, but what you really need is to curb yourselves in the mall parking lot, right next to a shaved ice food truck.

Warnings: Just some light swearing, a bit of angst, a lot of fluff, and some brief mentions to "raunchy" behavior. This is a soft fic for y'all tonight, out here needin' some gentle lovin'.

A/N: Got some lonely feelings right now. I just wanna hug someone, dude. Yo, we could totally watch a movie over discord sometime... maybe.

○●□○●□○●□○●□○

Today sucked. Flat out. The bags under your eyes didn't lie, and now here you were, outside of your studio, sitting on the hood of your car, eating a granola bar to stave off hunger for a few more hours. Hopefully.

You pull your phone from your pocket, looking at the time for a moment, then looking at your screensaver. It was the only thing that could make you smile. You had your arm wrapped around one of your closets friends, Taika, and the phone didn't capture it, but he had his arm wrapped around your waist. His curls were all messed up, and the picture perfectly showed how drunk you both were by the fuzzy pink on your cheeks. It was 99 cent beer night at one of the local pubs, and unlike the first one held at a baseball game, all went well.

Of course, there was a limit to how much the two of you were allowed to drink, but that didn't stop the many failed attempts at stealing other people's drinks while they were looking away, just to get a taste more. Didn't matter that you guys were eventually thrown out of the bar for breaking rules and coming close to breaking a few faces, you had a great night.

That night also lead to a few other places, including his hotel room, but that end of the story has to be saved for another time.

Instead of staring at your phone for another century, you decide to unlock it and dial the man up. You knew he was somewhere around here, either charming his way onto another movie set to mess with his rich friends, or getting his tired ass kicked by daylight savings.

His number was saved to your favorites, so dialing him was quick and easy. The wait for him to pick up didn't last long either.

"Talk to me..."

God, his voice sounds like one big yawn. Looks like he needs a bit of perking up too.

"I've got two curbside tickets to eat a snow cone and watch kids do loops on their bikes in the parking lot. One of those tickets has your name on them," you grin, despite sounding exhausted too. The day really made you strain your voice.

His musical laughter really makes the sun look brighter from its low position in the sky.

"That's oddly specific... where would these magical tickets take me afterwards?" He had cocked his eyebrows up and leaned against his office door while he spoke to you.

"If this were a booty call, I would have told you already, Taik," you snort and tease him. "So, it's either make yourself fat on some weirdly flavored snow cone, or take your horny-ass home."

"Okay, okay... I'd like to make myself fat for a night, as long as your there," his voice is dreamy, desperate and warm. "You there already?"

"Nope," your lips pop the p, "but I'm nearby."

"I swear to God, if you're talking and driving, I'm gonna whoop your ass," Taika stood up, acting serious when he was just really worried about your safety in general.

"I'm not, I'm fine," you laugh again. "Not even in the car. Sitting on it though, trying to convince the world's sexiest man to go out with me again."

"And you said this wasn't a booty call," he retorts over the phone, making you playfully glare at the asphalt on the road. It's like he's in front of you.

"You coming or not?" you change the subject and you hear him laugh again, but softer.

"Yeah... I'll be there in a few minutes, gorgeous."

He always made goodbyes so easy. Maybe it was because you both knew you would be seeing each other again, no matter what circumstances you were thrown into. But the dial tone still had its effects.

You slip off the hood of your car, and take a seat in the driver's seat. The warm summer air makes your skin glow, and your brain went fuzzy only imagining it doing the same to Taika.

The drive feels so quiet. For a moment, you actually thought about calling him again, but you knew for a fact that he wouldn't pick up if he was driving.

As predicted, kids are zooming around on their bikes, showing off to their friends or trying to be cool, even though they all were obviously teary-eyed each time they scraped a knee. It was amusing to you and Taika, especially when some of the older boys would try to catch your attention and zip past you and Taika. It ended up being a heckle fest in the end, and some kid always went home with his butt hurt.

Keys and wallet in hand, you trek to the small, blue trailer tucked in the corner of the parking lot.

"Damn, you must have beat me here by just a few seconds," Taika calls, rustling his way through the small spaces between a couple of cars.

"Well, you've never been a speed demon type, so last place is your calling when it comes to racing," you guwaf and grin at him. He rolls his eyes and comes to walk right next to you.

"I pride myself on road safety," he hums, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

You glance at him from the side, just to silently check up on him. His hair was tousled and his eyes were resteless. It looks like he had it rough from the start. He had struggled to get dressed this morning, but picked the most eccentric clothes in his closet to make up from his lack of sleep.

"Dare you to try the dill pickle flavor this time," his cocky tone wakes you up.

"Like hell I will," you snort as you finally reach the trailer, where a teen boy happily greets the both of you.

"Oh come on, it'll be funny," he eggs you on, his bottom lip pouting.

"Keep trying to make me get dill pickle, and the next time we have a movie night together, I'm getting the pizza," you sniff and he rolls his eyes. He thinks it is an odd threat. "And I'm making it all Hawaiian pizza." That got his attention.

"Bull shit, you would never. Not on a perfectly good pizza!" He gasps.

"Oh, just watch me, pineapple boy," you snicker and point to his pineapple print shorts. You break conversation to order two piña colada flavored snow cones. Taika usually took for-fucking-ever when it came to picking a single flavor, so ever since the second time you've been out here with him, he assigned you to choose for him. He usually got what you got.

Now, you wait.

You plop yourself down on the curb, as you promised, and he joined you with a long, loud groan. You give him a bewildered stare, wondering if his age had really gotten him this much. He smiles at you through a wince.

"Sat on my keys," he wheezes and chuckles at his own stupidity under his breath.

Your eyes float down to where he pulls out his keys and you start giggling quietly.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you've done the same thing," Taika says, not handling the fact that you have new material to mess with him, and also trying to get some stories out of you.

"Well yeah, but I don't sit down as violently as you do," you prod his bicep, and he laughs.

"Such a lady. Must sit down gracefully and slowly," he says, mocking an English accent, but he was horrible at accents so of course it was bad. You smack his bicep this time, and he playfully flinches, like it hurt.

"I really need to get you into some accent classes or some shit, before you get your teeth knocked out," you shake your head with a smile.

"What? I think I'm great at accents. My American accent is the best one yet, don't you think?" He smirks at you, and proceeds to demonstrate. "All you have to do is put an 'er' at the end of everything, right? That's totally how they speak around here."

"I would be careful, Mr. Waititi. Could get in some trouble if you say that too loudly," you roll your eyes, and he sighs. Yeah. Things were going to shit in LA. It was clear to everyone, but what could two hollywood producers do to stop things like that? Keep making films, you guess.

"Two, large piña coladas!"

You look up, and so does he.

"I'll get them," you volunteer, but he places his hand on your shoulder before you could get up.

"Let me," he speaks softly, in a damn near whisper.

He stands up and strides right over to the trailer with so much confidence, you're envious. He comes back with two large styrofoam cups in hand, spoons, and a warm smile. His smile was always warm. It set fire in your belly.

He sits down a bit more carefully this time, even though his car keys were sitting in the grass, far away from his landing zone. He hands you your cup and a spoon.

"Do these have alcohol in them?" He nudges you with your elbow and you shake your head.

"As if they would let a seventeen-year-old serve alcoholic beverages," you throw in logic.

"I dunno... ever been to a ballpark before? Pretty sure some of those kids are way too young to be peddling there too, but that doesn't stop people from hiring them," he says while pointing his spoon at you.

"Fair point," you finish, then look at your snow cone. You decide to start eating before it melts.

Silence swarms the air, but comfortably. There's the occasional murmur of cicadas or humming cars drowning them out. Birds would land on the scorching asphalt to pick at whatever crumbs were left by other patrons, before fluttering away at the sight of a zooming bike getting too close for comfort.

Taika will point out a few of the kids doing tricks. He picks his favorites for the night, and he keeps himself busy by watching them. You, on the other hand, are occupied with him. You examine him from the tips of his dirty white chucks, to his frazzled hairdo.

"You look like shit," you mutter. He barely pays you mind and that comment was hardly acknowledged. It was like the air had gone a bit stiffer. He was hiding something from you.

"What's going on, Taik?" you worry. He never kept things from you, unless they were hard to bear.

He sets his cup down and holds his hands together. He looks so tired. So solemn.

"Today was total shit," he whispers and runs a hand through his hair.

"Well, yeah, I get that. I wouldn't have known if you had looked a little spiffier," you say, reaching out and gently tucking a curl on his forehead back in place with all the rest of its friends.

"Look, I--..." he says, turning to you, lips parted slightly, and a yearning sensation bubbling from the tips of his fingers as he rests a single hand on you.

There were tough times with the occupancy you both, willingly, chose. The hardest part about it was making friends, or making love, then finding out you have to leave it behind for a new location the next morning.

"I have to leave... for Sydney..." he says, reaching to gently take your cheek into the palm of his hand.

"When?" you manage, though you were clearly becoming upset.

"In a few weeks. Thor is waiting for me," he sighs, barely able to look at you while his thumb rubbed your ample cheek.

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"I don't want to leave you," he says, tilting your head up just the slightest bit. "And I don't want to stop loving you."

Your eyes search his for a moment, wide and a bit confused.

"I thought you said we were just a fling with--"

He cuts you off, "A fling with benefits. I know..." he sighs again, "but every time I find myself waiting for you to call on a shitty day, each time you rest your head on my shoulder, all the times you smile at me and tease me, I find myself falling... more in love with you." He has to pause to breathe.

It's so quiet. Dangerously quiet.

"What happens if I love you too...?" you muster your courage, and look right into his expressive, brown eyes.

"I don't know," he says to you, thumb still rubbing circles.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" you breathe, and he nods.

Still as statues, you wait for words to touch the air. It's only when his foot makes a wrong move and knocks over his snow cone, does the tension break.

His bottom lip pouts for him again and you quietly pick his spoon up off the ground. You clean it on your shirt and hand it to him, all before taking your cup, and holding it out to share. He smiles down at you, taking his spoon from your hand and sticking it into the shaved ice.

Your head leans against his shoulder when the sun disappears behind the mall building.

"I love you too," you whisper.

"I know," he says back, sucking at the tip of his spoon.

"Think we can keep this up over the phone?" you ask, wondering about a brief virtual relationship, just until one of you catches a break.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" he says, lowering his spoon, wrapping his arm around you, and giving you his full attention.

[ye4gerismarchives]

the bachelorette: after the final rose

an: the bachelorette is finally over. writing this was…wow. interacting with my followers was so fun😭 i hope to do so again in the future. do enjoy this and take a look at the poll at the end. my requests will be opening up again! feel free to drop something :)

tags: black, fem reader

taglist: @taybird

The day after your wedding, you and Jean found yourselves in Bora Bora. Once you landed, you and Jean settled down for a moment. Your ideal plan was to unpack, get something to eat at the hotel you were in and probably go to sleep. Jean had different plans in mind. As you unpacked your suitcase, he kept massaging your shoulders. His hands moved down your arms and you didn't protest. Y'all, I don't write smut. Give me a few years and I'll write everything that when down.

Despite getting married on television and the whole world knowing, you and Jean never saw yourself as a married couple. It was more like dating to you guys. There were times he's walked out on you because you were too "emotional" and you've walked out on him because he was too "sensitive". But you always found your way back to each other.

During the week of your first "wedding" anniversary, Jean flew you out to Corfu, Greece. The first six days, he recreated your first "honeymoon" night and on the seventh day, he got on one knee again and asked you to be his wife- for real this time. You immediately said yes and threw yourself at him, toppling him over. You both landed on the restaurant floor but that didn't stop you from kissing him.

Wedding planning didn't take as long and it wasn't as hectic as it was the last time. You and Jean had decided to elope. You decided not to tell anyone, except Mikasa, that the wedding was real this time. Everyone you knew had been under the impression that you were spouses.

The day you went to court, Mikasa had been your only witness. You liked the idea of eloping. It was more intimate. No camera, no scripts. Just you and Jean.

Buying what you call a 'mansion' was not on your bingo card. Before you officially made Jean your husband, you had lived in a penthouse that Levi owned. You thought it was perfect- there was enough space for you and Jean. However, it was time to put your big boy pants on.

The outside of your home looks scary. No, it was a pretty house but this was a HUGE mansion. The inside of your home was very homey, however. There were office spaces for you and Jean- which he loved because he was getting back into law again (he had to quit his job because fans and Yeagerists, Eren's "fandom", had found his place of work and harassed him in some sort of way. Jean works with an elite private firm now), a game room, an inside gym, and a sitting room. Your backyard had a pool, a cabana, a garden, and outside guest quarters.

To be perfectly honest, you both found yourself in your offices. You started your own successful wedding planning business and Jean had his cases. Sometimes you felt like a big home was a waste of time. It's not like you had people to live in it for you.

"Jean, we need to talk."

Jean had just come home from work. It was one in the morning. You were standing in front of him in one of your many bathrobes. Jean walks up to you and plants a kiss on your forehead. "What's up, babe? No hi or anything?"

"I'm afraid that you're not taking care of yourself well enough," you start. "What do you mean, baby?" Jean asks mindlessly as he removes his coat. "Oh, would you stop with the baby thing? I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"

Jean looks at you like you hit his mother or something. "I don't think a serious conversation includes you raising your voice at me," he answers. "Excuse me? Your thick head doesn't like to listen to anyone, so we got to yell things into it," you retort. Jean ignores you and makes his way to the kitchen. You're eyes widen- he's never walked away from you before. "Excuse me!” you call after him.

There is no response from Jean, who pulls a white wine from the fridge. "You're not drinking that. Not until you hear me out," you try again. "Well, you could have told me instead of chewing me out about calling you 'baby', y/n," Jean responds. He turns away from you again and starts looking through the cabinets for a wine glass. You take this as an opportunity to take the wine off the island counter and pour it out. Jean's head snaps back once he hears liquids going down the drain. "What the hell is your problem? I can't drink now?!" he snaps.

"I'm worried about you, idiot. You come home late, I never hear you eating, you don't take your double showers and you're always exhausted. You don't think your job is hurting you? I don't even see you anymore. Your job is hurting us!" you cry.

Jean shakes his head and mutters some nonsense under his breath before placing the wine glass he picked on the island counter. He shakes his head as he leaves.

"Are you gonna be like this when the baby is here?" You call out.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you going to be working long hours and act like a jerk when I'm farther along? What about when the baby gets here? At this point, the baby doesn't even have a father."

Jean walks over to you with confusion in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm pregnant, Jean," you say with a small chuckle. I've wanted to tell you this whole time but you've been busy and I just got fed up tonight because I miss you."

Jean doesn't say a word. Instead, he undoes your robe and places a hand on your stomach. "We're having a baby? Are you serious? Us? How..."

You could only smile wider. Seeing Jean in awe about your very small bump was an entertaining sight.

"I'll...I'll talk to my b-boss. In fact, I-I'll q-quit my job...yeah! I'll q-quit!" he finally lets out.

"Oh no, don't do that. Just get your hours fixed and if they don't allow that, we'll find a different place, yeah?"

"S-sure," Jean stutters. "Are you hungry? Would you like me to order something? Do you want socks? What do you want?"

"I think I want you to take a bath and for you to sleep, mister," you answer. Jean still in a trance, obeys.

"I can't believe we had two. I was under the impression there was only one."

"At least they'll keep the big room you painted busy."

Jean had one of your newborns sprawled on his bare chest. You cradled the other one in your arms. A little boy and girl. Your daughter, Maia, already had Jean wrapped around her finger. Your son, Marquis, was a little independent, despite being a few days old.

"I can't believe we made them," Jean says. After your emergency C-section, Jean was back into that trance he was in when you first told him you were pregnant. "We should have one more. We have pretty babies."

"Shut up, Jean."

You never thought you'd allow a camera in your sight again. Obviously, there was the paparazzi that hounded you and your children down on the regular. But a camera allowed by you in your home? Never. Until today.

It's been seven years since you met the love of your life. You're thirty now and Jean is thirty-two. The two little menaces in your home are three. Maia and Marquis were just like their father- silly and full of life unless otherwise. But at least they look like you (except the pieces of ash brown in their hair that they picked up from Jean). You were pregnant with another. You hoped that your child would bring you peace but even if they were as colorful as your two, it wouldn't matter to you.

You sat in the family room with Jean and your twins as the camera team prepared their cameras and other equipment. Jean was trying his best to keep your children in one place, as you adjust your hair.

"Ms. y/n, are you ready?" Your interviewer asks. You nod and Jean gives you a nervous look. "Hey, kids...why don't you go into the sitting room. We'll come get you later, yeah?" you say softly. Your twins start to whine but they also start their walk to the sitting room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, I'll count you off now," your cameraman says. You both nod, waiting for the interviewer to start asking you questions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, I'll count you off now," your cameraman says. You both nod, waiting for the interviewer to start asking you questions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, it's such an honor to meet you both. Seven years together...amazing. You've been together for almost a decade now," your interviewer starts.

"It's been interesting but it's been nice getting to know my girlfriend of seven years now," Jean says jokingly. "Oh stop it," you reply teasingly.

"How have you changed since the Bachelorette?"

You take a deep breath and Jean looks down awkwardly. "Well, we've been cautious. Obviously, with our privacy but also with the people we allow in our circle," you answer. "We've been in contact with a few contestants and it's been on and off. We've learned that trust is key...not only in marriage but who we bring into it," Jean says.

"If you don't mind me asking, who is in your life right now? Have you been in contact with your father? What about Levi?"

Jean clinches his fist and you take it in your hand, letting him know you were still here with him. "Well, Bertholdt and Reiner are still one of our biggest friends," you answer. Reiner and Bertholdt had a baby recently, a little girl named Gabi, but you decided not to announce that to protect their privacy. "Mikasa and I are still friends and we're still trying to get used to Eren being in her-our lives." Mikasa and Eren met up again and Mikasa was still head over heels for him. You were uncomfortable (because of his silence when his fans harassed your husband) at first but he was good to her. "The twins absolutely adore Levi and Erwin. They're their grandpas," you finish. You still hadn't answered the question about Jean's father.

"And your father? Mr. Kirstein?"

"My father is not in my life. Please stop asking."

The interviewer purses their lips, now feeling embarrassed. “I apologize, Mr. Kirstein. I’ll ask the next question: what are some obstacles you’ve faced in your relationship?”

“Well, we thought we had communication down. But we didn’t…at least not completely. But we managed,” you say.

“I think our children are proof of it,” Jean suddenly includes.

You glare at him and slap his hand, non verbally telling him to shut up. He only gives you a cheeky smile.

The rest of the questions were about hardships, what turned you both on, and your hopes for the future.

When the interviewer finally announced that the last question was coming up, you couldn’t have been happier.

“What are three things you appreciate about each other?”

You look at Jean and then back at the interviewer. “Er-well…I-“

“I appreciate how serious you get,” Jean interrupts, “ how kind you are and how dedicated you are- especially to your children and your career. I wouldn’t want anyone else but you.”

“Jean-“ your voice cracked. It always seemed like you had power over your husband and he was just your dog but he still knew how to overpower you with his words. “I don’t know what to say…you’re so dedicated to our family. Watching you play with our kids, feed them, and put them to sleep- you just prove that you're the perfect man for this job. I see how you treat your mom and I don’t worry about our children and me being mistreated. And you’re so strong. You lost the person who should have been there for you and your mom but you still worked hard and you found some peace. I love you, Jean Kirstein.

Jean takes your hand and kisses it. “I love you too, y/n l/n.”

The End.

once again, thank you for reading the bachelorette! do me a favor and rate this series! it would be very much appreciated :) see y’all soon

[nightswithkookmin]

JIKOOK DYNAMICS: JIMIN'S LOVE LANGUAGE

PREFACE

In my previous post, I shared my thoughts on what I think is Jikook's love language, specifically Jungkook's; and how in my estimation Jimin is the only member within BTS that speaks it, comes close to speaking it and most importantly makes the effort to speak it.

In this post, I attempt to outline what I think is Jimin's love language and show the various ways I feel JK speaks it or comes close to speaking it more so than the others in BTS.

Now I have to state for the record that I do not know or purport to know Jimin or Jungkook or any of these members herein mentioned in any way special and personal other than through the content we all consume on them.

Nor do I intend to be malicious or disrespectful towards them with this post, to intend to strip away their individuality for the sake of shipping symmetry.

Thus, I reiterate, everything I express in here is my thoughts, my observations and my opinion and I pray you treat it as such.

Let the records show, also that, I will bug spray any fake woke wannabe edgy shipper with a Tuktukker complex that takes my words out of context, misconstrue it to suit their own agenda and then turn around to call me out for it. In the name of Jesus, I will avada kedabra your ass. Seriously.

JIMIN

I've always been fascinated by Jimin. By the person he is. And although I do not have a comprehensive understanding of this man's inner workings, he's got to be the most complex and frankly interesting character I've come across in all my shipping years.

His duality is confusing and coupled with his Libra energy, his character and personality can be and is quite often misconstrued and misinterpreted within the shipping community.

He is friendly, cute, funny, beautiful and ship compatible with anyone.

Very often, I find, most people cannot tell his personality from his idol self slash persona or even his love language from his affectionate nature; thus resulting in these bizzare fallacies and ridiculous assumptions about him such as: he is a flirt, hoe, clingy, homewrecker, attention seeker and a plethora of slurs and sobriquet that's defamatory and slanderous at best- its ridiculous.

I get that not everyone likes him and as such wouldn't hesitate to filter his words and actions through arbitrary metrics to arrive at conclusions that profits them and does nothing but help them make sense of their hate- Y'all don't love yourselves enough.

Not to say he is my bias therefore he is perfect. That would be a blunder. He has his shortcomings, he is human after all. What I'm saying is most people don't get him and as such read him wrong?

What's more discombobulating, is the stan who swears up and down they know Jimin well enough but don't see him treating JK any different from the rest of the boys in BTS therefore Jikook isn't real- insert shook pikachu face.

Then there are those stans with genuine shipping concerns about the love dynamics between the two:

Those that feel JM gives more to JK than he receives back. That he is more supportive of JK than JK is of him. Very often, these people would bring up the issue of JK not promoting Promise when it first came out as evidence of this- it's been years let it go.

JK not being as vocal and open about his feelings and interest in JM the way Jimin is and has been about JK is also another area of concern for these stans. If you try to explain to them its because JK is/was shy they will kick- your- ass. Hell, I will kick your ass too. I'll explain later.

Some people also- I know I have at one point- have described JK's interest in and descriptions of JM as a bit shallow and vain compared to how the other members speak of Jimin.

To them, the other members usually talk about how smart and intelligent JM is, how kind and nurturing he is. How much of himself he gives to them. That the way the members talk about Jimin often helps give us a glimpse into the real Park Jimin as distinct from the persona we see on the screens.

But then there is JK: JM hyung is sexy. He has pretty eyes. 'I want you.' Then he proceeds to drool over the Jibooty, squeeze them legs shut tight while struggling to sit through a Jimin solo dance without popping boners left right left around Jimin- Bless him.

I mean, dude nearly snapped his neck trying to catch a glimpse of the Ji-abs in the middle of a performance? Damn.

To be fair, the other members don't talk like this about Jimin and sexualise Jimin as often as JK does because, they don't want to screw Jimin's brains out? Cough, cough. Hashtag save Jimin from JK. Lol

If JK is sexually attracted to Jimin, how else do you expect him to express that? Never mind that he's done some of these things subconsciously at times. You know what...

Y'all need to give this man a break!

[RANT]

He was a hormonal teen- he is still relatively pretty young. It's ridiculous to expect and demand such high level of maturity from a 16/17 year old experiencing a nonplatonic love for the first time in his life and more so in an unforgiving and invasive environment such as that in which he found himself.

Jk and Jimin found each other before they found themselves and it's unreasonable to think that that didn't have a toll on their relationship dynamics. They are human.

They are each growing and maturing at different paces. Their relationship has suffered through its growing pains; Certainly, one person is going to appear lacking in one or two areas in one way shape or form and at any given point in their love journey. That doesn't make them less real.

Again, their careers and the pursuit of it haven't exactly given them the space, time or normalcy to explore what they are and who they are in a functional way, in my opinion.

Everything is moving fast in their world, everything is highly exaggerated and highly scrutinized. Kpop is not exactly a healthy space to foster a healthy relationship and it would be a miracle if any of them should come out unscathed.

Neither one of them went searching for this love thingy nor were they even experienced enough to look at their relationship beyond the convenience of it and the excitement of it- The orgasms were enough reason for them, I think.

I get uncomfortable when some Jikookers, out of good intentions, claim Jikook knew what they were doing, should have known therefore could have known the consequences of them coupling up in a group like BTS before entering into their relationship- let me stop you right there!

While this assumption may seem like a compliment to them it also perpetuates the adultification of early days Jikook which I find disturbing.

They were teens not grown adults when they fell in love. We can't expect and demand such level of maturity from them at that age as cool as that would have made them.

They don't need to be cool to be real. They don't need to be mature to be real.

Jikook is real regardless of whether they were thoughtful or not thoughtful about the consequences of them choosing to date in a group setting, or a homophobic society at the onset of their relationship.

It's ridiculous to dismiss what they are now on the grounds that S.K is a homophobic society or that dating a coworker is not inconsequential.

People date their coworkers all the time and there are gay couples in S.K.

Jikook were too young to comprehend the consequences of dating because which teen worries about all of that before popping one off for the lord? On which planet, sir/ma'am??Were they thinking with their 'ducks?' I believe so. But again, that doesn't make them any less real.

From what I can tell anyway, 2018 was the year Jikook had anything resembling a serious thoughtful contemplation of the status of their relationship- Well, 2018 and this later half of 2020 as some of you might have already noticed. More on this later.

But yes, this adultification of early days Jikook is absurd and needs to stop. And what's equally disturbing is the infantilization of the adult day Jikook- you can't expect Jikook dynamics to remain the same throughout the years. That's bizzare.

Don't expect them to be their same jeonlous, Jimlous, possessive selves. They are growing. They are evolving as individuals and as a pair.

I side eye the fuck out of these fake woke shippers and 'grown ups' who filter Jikook interactions through adult lens and tag moments like Jimlous and Jeonlous as toxic and unhealthy without taking into context where they were at in their love journey or even their age. What y'all think this is? Fiction? Get the fuck outta here.

Jikook have had to learn and grow on the Job and around their job and learn to love eachother under the scrutiny of severe cameras and weird Ahjummas. Leave them the fuck alone or I swear I will petrify your ass for an entire comeback season. Lol

[Rant over]

All that being said, I get it. The way JK talks about Jimin isn't exactly special or unique from the way the other's speak about Jimin. But it isn't exactly superficial either...

And yes, it's quite unsettling that he doesn't describe Jimin in a way that gives meaningful insight into Jimin's personality as distinct from the others', given as he has exclusive access to Jimin more so than any of the members- we have a lot to unpack today, don't we?

Then on the other hand, there are those who think the exact opposite and see JK as the one who gives more to their relationship. That JK takes their relationship more seriously than Jimin does. They see Jimin as a bit wishy-washy when it comes to his commitment to their relationship- this breaks my heart.

Often, such people will cite Jimin's flirty nature, his lack of boundaries with others amongst other things, to prove their point...

Grab a seat, this discussion is going to be a long one. Smiley face.

JIMIN'S LOVE LANGUAGE

Jimin first got on my alt-ship radar in Rookie King when he was given an opportunity to air any and all of his grievances accumulated over the years against any member or staff of BigHit but instead chose to use that opportunity to talk about JK and how JK's actions had been hurting him.

Prior to this, he was just my bias and I would casually ship him with Suga, V, RM and basically all the members- except JK. I just couldn't ship JK with anyone.

Back then, I had a vague sense of JM's personality but felt I knew enough about him to theorize on his love language and JK was the last person I thought of as capable of meeting those emotional needs of Jimin's.

Rookie King changed my mind.

Jimin wasn't just trying to squash his differences with JK, he was trying to get closer to him. To get emotionally intimate with him- this is one of the things that sparked my interest in their dynamics.

Because it wasn't as if they weren't close. They were. They had a skinship between them. Skinship, or lack of physical boundaries as I like to call it, is one of the means through which BTS achieve intimacy amongst them.

Jikook had that between them at the time, they went everywhere together, woke each other up- they were close.

Yet Jimin felt they weren't close enough. That there was a wall between them. Now, I see a lot of people misinterpret this period in the Jikook timeline as that Jimin was crushing hard on JK. He wasn't. In my opinion.

You see, Jimin was the last person to Join the band. This was bound to have an effect on his relationship dynamics with the rest of the members as he had missed out on two years worth of emotional connection and camaraderie with them.

He had had only one year to bond and get to know the others away from the cameras and in a way that could help him develop a sense of belongingness within the group.

Within this one year, he had school, voice training, and other activities that possibly got in the way of him truly building an intimate connection with the others.

He is the only member out of the seven whose intimacy journey got captured on camera. He had to foster a connection with the others with the cameras around.

But building a connection with people even in a platonic sense is quite an intimate and private process. It takes vulnerability, honesty, a willingness to submit and subject oneself to varying degrees of humiliation, a sacrifice of the self, ego and pride in a way that just strips you naked- metaphorically speaking.

And in Jimin's case, he had to go through this stage and process openly and with the cameras around- the second hand embarrassment I get from watching early days Park Jimin!

He literally had to be the clown of the group, the hufflepuff, the clingy one, the flirty one, the one with the abs, the loud and chatty one as well as all the tasteless epithets people now weaponize against him.

I believe, all he was trying to do at this stage was breach the barriers he felt existed between him and the others as the newcomer of the group so he didn't feel like an outsider.

That is his first love language- the need to belong. He has a strong desire to feel connected with people. He cares about people and connection. He's reiterated this throughout the years and even more loudly in the recent Japan interviews.

He wanted to be part of BTS both physically and emotionally. He wanted to fit in, to belong with them, to be accepted and viewed as one of the boys- BTS.

You could see this in the way he had adopted the mannerisms of the group- the skinship, the love language of the group if you will.

It is why when Suga complained about him not liking him as much, Jimin immediately drew closer to him and wrapped his hands around him, initiating skinship between them to show he liked him.

Jimin tried to speak the groups love language so he could bond with them but he also began to infuse his own love language.

If you've seen his relationship with his father you'd understand that Jimin expresses his love through giving, nurturing etc. It is how his primary care givers showed him love and so how he also shows and conveys his love.

The members have talked about how he would encourage them to talk, to open up, how he would listen to them, be there for them and give them gifts- the birthday gift exchange culture in BTS didn't exist until Jimin arrived in BTS.

What I'm trying to say is, Jimin has a distinct way of showing love that is unique from how everyone else in the group expresses their love. That, there is also an established love parlance within BTS that everyone speaks and that is skinship.

So when Jimin does skinship with any member he is not acting 'clingy' he is just speaking the love language that the group understands. But when Jimin nurtures and acts supportive and what not, he is speaking his own unique love language.

Now I have talked extensively about how Jimin expresses his in my last post so I will be focusing mainly on how he receives loves or what gestures he interprets as love.

And since there is a general consensus that VMin have an emotional connection, I will be referencing their relationship a lot for comparisons sake.

Tae is the only member Jimin got to spend the most time with around predebut without the intrusion of the cameras. This i feel allowed Tae room to strip back and be fully vulnerable with Jimin without reservation as is required of intimacy- which was not the case for Jikook hence JK shying away from interacting with JM in front of the cameras.

Jikook wasn't accorded the luxury of privacy VMin had to build their bond. Jikook had to build their bond with the camera's trailing them. How many times have we seen JK give death stares to the camera people for invading his me time with Jimin?

Not to be psychoanalytic but I feel, this is what induced the exhibitionist tendencies we see in them- or perhaps I'm wrong and this is just them being extra. Bless them.

Within the one year JM was trying to connect with JK through skinship, JK was also only coming around to understanding what skinship meant to him. They were evolving at different paces.

JK has the most walls in BTS. He wasn't just physically closed off to skinship in the early days forcing Tae to strip him naked in the bathroom, he was emotionally closed off too.

He is still pretty much emotionally closed off- he likes to put up walls. He had his own room at the dorm, does his own laundry, barely keeps in touch with the others or pick up the damn phone when they call etc.

Jk barely partakes in the group's established way of life except for perhaps the skinship. In my opinion.

It took JK a while to understand this culture of skinship though. And the members, all of them, had to push his boundaries further back in order to connect with him.

For instance, Jin pinching his nipples to wake him up, Tae doing- well, all of it. Go watch Taekook sexual tension edits, I dare you. You'll understand.

These members had three years off camera with JK to build a connection with him and even they were met with some resistance from JK.

All Jimin had was a year with JK. I feel Jimin lowkey coveted what the others had with JK and perhaps wanted to have that with him too. Why? Because of his need to belong and connect with people. Watching JK's dynamics with the others probably made him feel left out.

I also understand how this could have been overwhelming for young JK who was having both his physical boundaries and emotional boundaries breached at the same time by this person whom he he'd known for only a year.

That's just one of the major differences between Jikook and Taekook: while Tae was busy breaching the physical walls between him and JK, Jimin was attempting emotional heist on him. Bravo Jimin, Bravo.

So do I think at this point in 2013 that Jikook were falling in love or had fallen in love? NO. But what I took from that moment was that Jimin wanted and needed to feel a sense of belongingness with JK.

Mind you I said he wanted to belong, not owned. Freedom is a component of Jimin's love language. In as much as he wants to be kept he wants to be set free- To be be given the room and freedom to explore options and take risks without judgement and without sanctions.

This need is often misconstrued as him being noncommittal.

His need for freedom, I believe, stems from his being raised in a conservative home with parents that directed and dictated every facet of his life and wouldn't even allow him to pursue his passions until later. It took a while for his father to give him the go ahead to pursue his dream- which is performing on stage.

This is why I said in my last post that Jimin has a need to be in control of the decision making in a relationship. Being able to do as he pleases is important to him. Being able to control his own narrative is important to him. And the only person in BTS that permits him to have such authority over him is JK.

Now, I know you are going to say 'but JK is a bit possessive yadda yadda yadda'.

Listen, Jimin's need for freedom is inextricably linked with his fear of judgment and repercussion. What this means is, although he wants his freedom he is often afraid of what will happen if he should go for it.

As such, very often he wouldn't do anything without permission. Especially if he feels it's going to land him in trouble.

I fist noticed this in the 2014 Jikook bangtan bomb when he said he was starting to take a liking to JK but then right after he asked if JK was ok with that. Suga have also said, Jimin doesn't go out of his way to do things that makes people hate him- See this is why he needs JK. He could use some rebellion in his life.

However, this fear of sanctions often makes him complacent to and an accomplice in toxic behavioural patterns.

For instance, until recently, he would enable JK and encourage his acts of jealousy and possessiveness and even incite them at times. He would hold on to the thorns if it means keeping the rose.

But I see him asserting himself and demanding space within their relationship at times but when he does and JK withdraws he would act clingy around JK.

It is what Manila was about, what August 2019 was about and what April/May 2020 was about. I know some of y'all don't agree with my analysis on these moments, but I'm gonna have to stand by it.

Jimin is all about the balance of scales. The balance of needs and wants. The balance of fears and desires. It's just the Libra in him. Give him too much freedom and he will feel unwanted, hold on too tight and he would feel suffocated.

'I value my relationship. Spending time with my friends is gold' remember this shade?

Jimin's fear of Judgment comes from being a perfectionist and also being raised in a conservative home with a lot of expectations of him to be the model son as the elder male.

Thus, he instinctively gravitates towards people who are less judgy or have too much expectations of him.

Also, because he believes he has to work hard to achieve the things he wwants he wants to be loved, it would mean a lot to him if he didn't have to work hard to have someone love him.

It makes sense then that he would gravitate towards JK.

Jk embodies all of Jimin's wildest desires. I call this the allure of the Golden Maknae. Jk doesn't conform. He doesn't care about people's opinions of him and lives his life on his own terms- something Jimin is striving for.

No member in BTS is as free spirited, or as rebellious as JK is. When Suga told him not to get a tattoo because the fans would hate it- he's gotten it anyway hasn't he?

The best part, JK fell all on his own. And you damn right. he fell hard.

Still on the subject of fears, another fear I feel Jimin has that speaks to his love language is the fear of being a burden.

It is why he gives and gives and keeps giving. He'd rather give than receive. Which by the way, JK is the only member I have seen Jimin demand back what he gives him. Emotionally speaking.

Because he gives a lot of himself, he burns out quickly and feels emotionally drained quite often.

He has admitted himself that he used to drink by himself in his room whenever he felt drained. I assume he drank by himself because he didn't want to be a burden to others. Aka JK.

You see, JK is an empath. He feels people's pain as if they were his own. You just have to see him tear up while watching JM cry to understand what I mean by this. Jimin is a nurturer, he knows what it feels like to listen to someone's pain.

And if Tae is the one he goes to when it becomes overbearing then what does he need JK for? Glad you asked!

What JK offers Jimin is nourishment. A safe space for him to heal and reboot. JK replenishes Jimin. It is why he constantly wants to be around him.

Jk has been a canvas in their love dynamics from day one. They've both had to negotiate their needs and wants to make their relationship work. Which is something I find unique about their dynamics and why I believe they are real.

JK's lack of experience in dating, meant he had gone into their relationship without any preconceived notions of love. He's had to learn to love Jimin the way Jimin wants to be loved.

Coming from the background he's coming from, and having been denied his ambitions for such a long time, I see why Jimin would be drawn to people that are quite ambitious.

And even though, JK wasn't this person at first, Jimin has had to hype him up to the task. He pushes JK to be more ambitious.

When it comes to JK, I feel it's more about his potential to be everything Jimin wants in a partner and JK seems more than happy to comply with this.

Because of Jimin's duality and as a natural nurturer, I feel Jimin would also be attracted to someone emotionally open to recieving his love but not too emotionally dependent on him- the balance of scales I mentioned earlier.

It is why VMin wouldn't work, in my opinion. Tae is too emotionally dependent on Jimin. He ends up taking too much than he gives. On the other hand, Suga isn't emotionally dependent enough.

Again, for a man who's battled insecurity for years, it's safe to assume security, certainty and stability are an intricate part of his love language.

He seeks validation of these needs through the most random of things. In my opinion. He wants to be the one that knows JK the best. It matters to him if their clothes match, if their hair colors match, if JK meets his eyes in the middle of a serious comeback interview, if he checks all of JK's answers- hell, dude be whispering sweet empty nothings in JK's ears most times, talking about they are destined to be together and shit. You are me, I am you. Shit.

As annoying as some of these behaviors may be, JK is very considerate and tolerant of them and consideration is another one of Jimin's love language. This goes back to having been denied his dreams by his father. That denial flowed from a lack of consideration of his needs.

And as much as emotionally connected he is with Tae, Tae barely takes his feelings into consideration. And you see this in the letter Tae's written to Jimin. Or even in the dumpling incident where Tae put his want above Jimin's.

Not to mention the moments, JM have had to walk out of rooms because- Tae won't stop playing with JK's dam hair! Lol. They are cute.

People take from Jimin without reservation. But Jk is considerate as Jimin is of JK's needs.

Jk wasn't the 'exhibitionist' in that pair. He's a very private individual from what I can tell.

That PDA, that exhibitionism we see in them, that's all Park Jimin. He kinky. Dude freaky as fuck- we ain't mad at that. Bless him.

He enjoys public displays of affection. It's how he receives love. But PDA is not JK's love language, in my opinion. Yet he goes out of his way to show his affections for JM openly.

The best example I can give of this is Rosebowl.

JK understands that in order to be intimate with JM he has to allow himself to be influenced by him.

And Jimin understands that, as much as he wants to be close to JK that he doesn't have to rush him or force him into giving him the things he need from their relationship.

They are both very considerate of each other's needs, as random and ridiculous as those needs may be and cater to them in a way that is uniquely them.

Take the New Jersey live 2019 for example. Jimin seemed exhausted. Didn't want to be on another Live that night but JK clearly wanted to be seen on a Live together with him so he was there.

Another instance is the rock bison incident, where JM exchanged his toy for JK's just to make JK happy.

CONCLUSION

Listen, Jimin is in love with Jk no matter how imperfect you think he is.

No matter how much you think JK sucks at expressing his feelings for JM, Jimin loves him. No matter how close JM is with the other members, aka VMin, Yoonmin, Minimoni and the others; no matter the lack of emotional and physical boundaries between him and the others he will always fall back on Jk because none of those relationships fulfill him as much as JK does.

Jimin's constant need to be around JK could only mean there is some he gets from JK, a sense of fulfillment he gets that he doesn't get from any other member.

Keep supporting Jikook.

Signed,

GOLDY

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 279: Here Comes the Airplane

Previously on BnHA: Gigantomachia gathered up the rest of the League and headed off to go help Tomura. Also he is now 80 feet tall. The heroes were all, “whoa this guy is really big, we should probably stop him and maybe even devote an entire chapter or two just to that,” and so they sent three whole people after him, which sadly is pretty much the exact sort of strategy I’ve come to expect from them by this point. Anyway so Mt. Lady tried to hold Machia off but kept getting flung aside, and Kamui Woods tried to catch him but was set on fire by Dabi who is just having way too good of a time setting all of the flammable heroes on fire today, and Midnight tried to put him to sleep but Compress threw a bunch of debris at her and so she fell like 80 feet. The chapter ended with Midnight being all “fuck this” and calling Momo, who ordered the rest of the child soldier squad into action as Machia approached. I’m not really sure what they’re gonna do, but I honestly don’t really care, because it’s Momo, and so, YES.

Today on BnHA: U.A.’s first-year hero students, who apparently had nine hours to prepare their battleground instead of the fifteen seconds we had all assumed, launch a complex multi-staged assault which is actually really fucking impressive because these kids are actually awesome. First they pin Machia down in one of Honenuki’s mud pits, and then they take turns making impassioned attempts to take out the other League members chilling out on Machia’s back. Unfortunately none of these attempts work because of Dabi, who’s working overtime while the rest of the League sits around shooting down each other’s escape plans. Basically a lot of stuff gets set on fire, and then the chapter ends with Mt. Lady pinning Machia to the ground while MINA, YES, MINA, charges at him covered in acid like some sort of video game boss that you need some kind of specific item to defeat. DID YOU KNOW YESTERDAY WAS MINA’S BIRTHDAY YOU GUYS. Anyway so this chapter is basically pandemonium from start to finish, and it’s great. It is a RUMPUS, y'all. A STRAIGHT UP HULLABALOO.

IS IT MOMO LOVIN’ HOURS I THINK IT IS, YOU GUYS. ARE YOU EXCITED. I AM EXCITED

but first, the color page we were promised, in celebration of Six Whole Years Of This Bullshit!!

oh god oh god so much to love so little time

some of the rowdier characters are making MULTIPLE APPEARANCES IN THIS SHITSHOW, including Kaminari who appears to be in a record-setting THREE of these! who exactly was taking all of these pictures, and why are they so obsessed with him. also how many of these are going to be used as evidence in the latest Kami Traitor Theory posts and is it too early for me to get mad about it

“WE INVITED ENDEAVOR AND HAWKS TO OUR ‘BEING FANCY ON THE COLOR PAGE’ PARTY, EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE NOT U.A. STUDENTS OR FACULTY. WE JUST FELT LIKE IT.” listen that is fine, y’all don’t have to explain yourselves to me

Mirko however is not here, I assume because if she was, Horikoshi would have forgotten to draw all the rest of the characters again. she’s too powerful

Midnight is so sexy I don’t even ksdfnkl

ALL MIGHT LOOKING HAPPY GIVES ME THE STRENGTH I NEED TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. YOUR SMILE IS THE MVP

Cementoss’s face is the runner-up MVP and one of the greatest things I’ve seen in my life

half the people here seem to be attempting to flirt with whoever is taking the pictures. I am starting to suspect that the culprit is Momo. change my mind

for some reason I am really shocked to see Endeavor getting his drink on. and he’s literally the only one, too

Bakugou’s half-assed I SAID NO PAPARAZZI skills are no match for Tamaki’s legendary “I WILL LITERALLY DIE IF YOU CAPTURE ME ON FILM” abilities

I literally didn’t notice Deku until like three quarters of the page in. he sure does blend right in there

Tokoyami is approximately 97.3% done and ticking EVER CLOSER to full 100% doneness, and when that happens even I can’t tell you what is going to go down

do I even need to mention how sexy Aizawa’s hair is. apparently I do

SERIOUSLY THOUGH CEMENTOSS’S FACE

anyway, so that was nice! NOW ON TO THE MOMOLOVIN’

and we begin with FIRST YEAR CLASS B HONENUKI “MUDMAN” JUZOU just LAYIN’ SOME TRAPS IN THE WOODS, as one does

oh my freaking god Tokage

somehow her quirk didn’t freak me out quite this much the last time we saw her. she is really something. has she always had shark teeth

also WHERE IS MONOMA’S GROUP. I immediately want to know!! is he with the Shouto group? or is there yet ANOTHER student group we don’t know about? what would they even be doing

or did Horikoshi actually get three quarters of the way through writing this arc and then suddenly slap his forehead as he realized that if Monoma just casually copied Machia’s powers he would either DIE IMMEDIATELY or else become SUPER STRONG and also grow 80 feet tall and this would suddenly be a very different battle with the scales tipping decidedly in the heroes’ favor. and so he had to quickly write him out of the battle in this very half-assed way

anyway, so while I ponder that, Tokage is peeking the top of her head out over the trees and staring at Machia who is, you guessed it, still heading right their way! just like he’s been doing pretty much this entire time

and now there’s a whole page of reaction panels you guys. this is why Horikoshi tries to avoid these massive Endgame-style battles with every single hero known to man participating. hopefully we won’t have too many of these. like I mean thank you for the roll call and all but I’d like to get to the action now

Mineta of all people is stealing this entire page with that expression though. he is not fucking around. this is twice in as many chapters that he’s been a page-stealing face-making champ. dare I hope this could be the start of a new niche for him? lord knows it would be so much better than the old niche

also this page is just sweatdrops galore. these kids are so nervous. MANGA GODS PLEASE KEEP THEM SAFE, although I’m honestly not too worried about them compared to the adults. I’m sure I should be, but I just am not

all right so now Momo is explaining what those little canisters are!

okay but someone please explain to me how it is that they had time to stop and lay all of these traps?? not just Honenuki’s, but Mineta’s and what looks like some of Shiozaki’s work as well?? did Machia just STOP MOVING for like five whole minutes all of a sudden for no reason at all? while they were all sitting out here saying things like “with that speed...”? ????? ????????

also lol wtf. “we’re gonna have to make him eat it.” I still have no idea what their plan is, but it’s getting more entertaining by the minute I’ll say that much

okay so Momo says that if they can get him to swallow just one of these, then that should be enough to put him to sleep. oh my god this chapter is going to be AMAZING isn’t it

meanwhile Mineta is worrying about Midnight. I swear to god if they turn this into something where he’s only worried because she’s hot, I will take one of these canisters and shove it right up his...

okay good, Mina’s reassuring him that it’s gonna be okay, and then we’re just cutting to Machia stampeding in with Mt. Lady and Kamui still clinging to him

WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS EVEN DOING

“we’ll just stand here adjacent to him and just kind of watch as he rushes straight at the children.” someone help me, I’m having difficulty finding a synonym for “useless” that carries the full amount of emphasis I want to place on it right now. this requires a degree of language the human race is not yet capable of

OH SNAP

THEY GOT HIM YEAHHHHH

OH DANG, FOR REAL THOUGH!!

ngl, for a brief spiteful moment I was disappointed he hadn’t actually fallen on them :/

and they’re still JUST STANDING THERE, I CAN'T EVEN?? we’re getting to the point where I honestly think actual civilians might have been of more use in this situation

YESSSSS

TIME TO FIND OUT HOW MANY TENTH GRADERS GIGANTOMACHIA CAN TAKE IN A FIGHT

also, sorry to keep harping on this, but the juxtaposition of that earlier panel with all of the fully grown and experienced pros just standing in dumb awe, immediately followed by this panel of BRAVE BUT DETERMINED CHILDREN CHARGING IN AND YELLING “GO GO GO”, is just... it really is something. shit. if I was the HPSC and this was what I had to work with, I too might have seriously considered fudging a few age requirements in hopes of finding someone who could actually get the fucking job done

also what the hell is going on down there with Shishida and Satou and that third person? what are those Blackwhip-looking things?? I’m confused

ohhhhh no

Shiozaki is about to be sent flying through the air courtesy of her own hair vines omg

OH NO WAIT THE THREE TOUGH GUYS ARE STOPPING HIM. AHHH THE LAST ONE WAS KENDOU AHHHH

I still can’t figure out what the hell those are though lol. did Momo make some steel cables?? I feel like Machia would be able to break just about any kind of rope or chain they could concoct just by sheer brute strength alone

ah fuck

DON’T YOU GUYS GO RUINING THIS FOR ME!! THEY’VE GOT A GOOD THING GOING HERE, LET THEM HAVE THEIR FUN!!

although I do appreciate how they’re all “U.A.!!” in kind of this “oh shit, these guys we actually have to worry about” sort of tone lol

this look on Toga’s face is a bit concerning! well but Deku and Ochako aren’t here though, so I wonder who she’s gonna fight if it comes to that. huh

(ETA: seriously, does anyone have any idea what Toga is planning cuz I sure don’t.)

Shouji and Ojiro, who I might remind you are normal people with no enhanced physical abilities aside from extra appendages, appear to have somehow circled all the way around to Machia’s back and are now climbing up oh shit

oh and Aoyama’s there too! -- is Shouji carrying him omg

he’s using him as a human ray gun omggg. this is the most delightful thing I’ve ever witnessed

NOW SOMETHING IS BEING SHOT AT THE LEAGUE AND DABI’S STARING AT IT ALL “>:(” AND I’M PRETTY SURE THIS THING, WHATEVER IT IS, IS ABOUT TO BE SET ON FIRE, LET’S SEE

lds;afksjdl;fkj WERE THOSE JIROU’S EARJACKS??!!

okay you know what fuck you Dabi. you think it’s funny to set a little girl’s ears on fire?! don’t expect any sympathy from me when Aoyama lasers you in the face

WELL I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING BUT THEY’RE SHOOTING WHAT LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF LITTLE TAMBOURINES AT HIM NOW

I ASSUME THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY TAMBOURINES, BUT I REALLY DON’T KNOW, IT’S NOT LIKE THEY HANDED OUT THE RULE BOOK TO THIS THING AHEAD OF TIME

[HUGE EXAGGERATED GASPING SOUNDS]

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my

OH MY GOD AND YANAGI THREW THEM WITH HER POLTERGEIST QUIRK!??

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS “ACK?!!” IS AND IT’S REALLY BUMMING ME OUT, BECAUSE THIS CAME WITHIN INCHES OF BEING THE COOLEST FUCKING COMBINATION I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!?!?

(ETA: it would have laid them all flat in seconds. Kaminari is to be feared you guys.)

NO!!!!!

it is sincerely frustrating to me watching the League carelessly toss aside all of their painstakingly accumulated goodwill from the MVA arc in the span of just a few short pages. hey Compress, you think it’s cool to hurl a bunch of rocks at my six-and-a-half-year-old son?? I hope someone rips that cool robot arm off and uses it to punch you in the dick

here comes Sero!! and how are you going to die, Sero

what in the

did he just... sneeze them all into space

okay but hear me out, what if Shouda absorbed that impact. SHOUDA YOUR TIME HAS FINALLY COME. CLASS 1-B’S ASCENT TO GLORY

(ETA: watch this space!! Shouda is here for a reason mark my words.)

meanwhile on Machia’s back, Dabi is soliloquying about Machia’s quirk while his arm is doing... something

please forgive me for not being able to drum up any sympathy for poor Dabi’s arms right about now. quit trying to set all my kids on fire

wait whaaaaat lol

so I scrolled back up to the previous page, and... that was fire?? lord help me why am I still so terrible at being able to tell when Horikoshi is drawing fire as opposed to just air randomly whooshing through trees. I have really got to memorize that foossh sound effect

so can Gigantomachia just BREATHE FIRE now?? or was ALL OF THAT Dabi??? if it was the latter then at least he had the decency to wait until all of the kids got blown out of range before setting the whole forest aflame to keep them back. I’ll admit it, that was thoughtful of him as far as villain power moves go

OHO BUT YOU CAN’T COUNT MOMO OUT JUST LIKE THAT!!

AND NOW EVERYTHING AROUND THEM IS EXPLODING AHHHHHH DID YOU GUYS SET LANDMINES, BAKUGOU WOULD BE SO PROUD

once again I have to ask myself exactly how much prep time they had here. Horikoshi would have you think it was mere seconds, but that clearly cannot be the case?? maybe they set some of these up beforehand to catch any stray villains trying to flee the area?

lmao Spinner’s all “wait why doesn’t he just dig his way out”, because apparently Machia can tunnel himself under the ground. but Compress is all “um because we would die” and Spinner is all “oh right”

though I gotta say, it’s not like they’re that much better off as things are now, either. pinned down in the woods surrounded by fire and explosives. definitely a conundrum

oh snap Compress has realized that their presence is holding Machia back. don’t tell me Machia is gonna head off on his own and leave the rest of the League to square off with the kids

YOOOOOO HOLY SHIT THE HEROES ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING

there you go, League! free cannon fodder to get you all pumped and confident again!

DKFJLSDKJ

PLEASE LET THIS BE THE ACTUAL TRANSLATION OH MY GOD. THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE LINE IN ANYTHING AHHHH

“I’m leaving it to you, U.A.’s youngsters!” yeah, you and everyone else. ah well, can’t deny they get the job done

OH MMKJKYYYY GODDDDDDJJK

MINA COATED HERSELF IN ACID AND IS RUNNING AT GIGANTOMACHIA AND IS SHE ALSO ON FIRE??!?! SHE’S JUST RUNNING AT HIM LIKE A BIG OL’ FIERY BLOB???! QUEEN MINA???!! FIRE IS NOT HER WEAKNESS???! MINA??!! IS AIRPLANE?!??!!?!? MINAAAAAAA

holy fucking shit this whole arc is just one big Arc Of Ladies Getting To Do Stuff and I am 1000% living for it. THIS ARC IS MY FAMILY. I WOULD DIE FOR IT AND LEAVE EVERYTHING TO IT IN MY WILL. ahhhhhhhhhh

[recollins]

Jealousy 101 (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Request: Do you mind doing professor!Reid and reader that are dating and she’s in her class and all the other girls are trying to hit on him and ofc Spencer is oblivious to it but reader is getting jealous and spencer has to reassure her that he doesnt care for them and only her 🥺 make it as long as you want, honestly longer the better hahah thanks so much I love your work! Pairing: Professor!Spencer x Female Reader Words: 4,668 Content: Smut Warnings: Jealousy, fingering, penetrative sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before ya tap it, y'all)  Masterlist

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

Large, gentle hands slid around your waist from behind, tugging you back into a gentle hold. Spencer propped his chin on your shoulder, studying your reflection in the mirror with you as you smoothed down your skirt.

“Are you going for naughty schoolgirl today?” your boyfriend murmured, lips brushing your ear before moving to kiss the base of your jaw. You tipped your head back onto his shoulder, smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

“Well I am one, aren’t I, Professor Reid?” you said slowly, meeting his eyes in the mirror. Pressed against his chest, you could feel the hitch of his breath at the name you used. Before answering, he trailed hungry kisses down your neck, tugging your blouse aside to nip at your shoulder.

A moan slipped out of you and on instinct you leaned back into his hold; his arms tightened around your waist and you felt him smile against your skin. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, (Y/N).”

Turning in his arms, you tipped your head back to peek up at him through your lashes, coy smile curling over your lips. Spencer slowly lifted a brow at you, knowing exactly the kind of trouble this look held for him.

“Who says I can’t finish?”

You didn’t miss the tightening of his jaw or the hard swallow he gave as his eyes flicked over your shoulder, studying your body in the mirror. Those large hands of his slid down your back, taking handfuls of your ass through your skirt. “I say. We have class in twenty minutes, and neither of us can afford to be late again. You know better than to tease me.”

Biting back the smirk that threatened to break free, you pressed your hands against his chest to push him back, stepping out of the hold he tried to pull you back into. You cocked your head to the side, tapping a finger thoughtfully against your chin as you hmm’d and sauntered back.

“Do I? Huh. Must’ve slipped my mind. You’ll just have to remind me, Professor.”

“(Y/N),” he growled in warning, hand falling to palm at the growing bulge in his slacks. His normally honey-brown eyes had darkened to a dangerous, hungry shadowed amber, sending a shiver of desire through you that you knew he saw.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go. You’ll have to remind me later,” you teased, snagging your bag and then scampering out of Spencer’s apartment before he could come after you. Thankfully, your boyfriend had off-campus housing this year. When you’d started dating last fall, it’d been a pain trying to sneak in and out of his place when he lived in the faculty housing.

It was hard to believe that you’d been with Spencer for almost eighteen months now. Truth be told, you hadn’t been looking for a relationship when you’d started college last year. Quite the opposite, actually. You’d just gone through a pretty rough breakup with your high school sweetheart, and the thought of dating anyone was the last thing on your mind.

And then lo and behold, your very first day, Dr. Spencer Reid had walked into your criminal psychology class and you’d been totally and helplessly lost to the illegally handsome man at the front of the class. To be fair, you really tried to resist him, but how could you when you had to stare at that painfully attractive man for ninety minutes every Tuesday and Thursday for months on end?

It wasn’t your fault you’d spent more time focusing on his deliciously long fingers than you did on what he was presenting. And don’t even get started on his tongue. He just couldn’t keep it in his mouth for more than a few minutes at a time, and that just did things to you, okay? You never stood a chance resisting him.

So, like the smooth flirt you were, you started making excuses to see him. It’d started simple enough: staying a few minutes past to have him explain a scenario you already fully understood, asking him to go over the requirements for your essay that you’d already finished… When that didn’t satisfy your craving for the delicious doctor, you’d starting stopping by during his office hours to ask him any question you could possibly think of.

Hell, one week you’d purposely not taken any notes you’d needed for the test next class, and Spencer had kept you in his office for over an hour as he ran through the slides again – one on one – making sure you had everything you needed.

Really, you’d been playing your hand pretty well. Or so you thought.

Just a few months into the semester, when you’d stopped by for the third time that week, Spencer had invited you to sit as he always did, but when you asked him for a recap on what to do for the midterm coming up, he folded his hands on his desk and leveled you with a sharp gaze that rooted you to the seat beneath you.

“Miss (Y/L/N), I know you’re not here about the midterm.” You’d blinked in alarm, stunned he’d instantly call you out like he had, but unable to say anything because, y’know, he had a point. “Would you care to tell me why you’ve been by to visit me more than any other student in any of my classes?”

Huh, more than anyone else? Well, you gave yourself a mental pat on the back for that little achievement. Not that it was really a help to you right now, but still.

“I’m, uh, I just – I wanted you to –“

“Wanted me to what, Miss (Y/L/N)?” he’d cut in, that sinfully distracting tongue flicking out over his lower lip. Your eyes shamelessly followed the movement, and only when you saw the smirk on his face did your eyes snap back to his.

“I… wanted you to myself,” you practically whispered, eyes instantly falling to your lap when you’d realized what you’d said. It was completely inappropriate, you knew that. Crushing on your professor was one thing, but sitting here admitting that after you’d practically been borderline harassing him for the better part of two months?

So when his hand reached out and those tantalizing fingers tipped your chin up so he could meet your eyes again, you were stunned to see the hungry look in his eyes. The hungry look he fixed you with did nothing to slow your beating heart, your racing mind that was spinning out of control with the thoughts you’d been trying to hold back all semester.

One moment you’d been staring each other down, daring one another to make the first move, and the next minute Spencer had practically dragged you onto his desk and had his way with you. Not that you’d minded one bit – the bruises on your hips from his eager hands had stayed deliciously dark against your skin for almost a week, and he’d made sure to leave plenty more in their place after that.

Keeping things secret hadn’t been too bad at first. It was a fun little secret between the two of you. It had been fun and exciting to spend all class eye-fucking each other across the room and then letting Spencer bend you over his desk almost immediately afterwards.

The summer had been even better, because you and Spencer had all the time in the world to yourselves. You’d told your parents you had to stay at school for summer classes, and once Spencer had moved off-campus, you practically lived at his apartment.

The memories of hot, sleepless nights beneath the sheets with Spencer kept you occupied on your walk to class, but the moment you entered the lecture hall the smile fell off your face. Half the seats were filled with women you knew weren’t even in this class. Believe it, you’d checked. Twice.

The only reason they flocked here was to ogle Spencer, and it drove you absolutely crazy. Not only did they only want to spend ninety minutes flirting with your boyfriend, they didn’t even care about what he was teaching. It was disruptive, disrespectful, and downright rude. And it wasn’t just because they were all trying to seduce your boyfriend. Mostly.

Instead of taking your normal seat at the front, you settled a few rows back to plant yourself in the middle of the scattered girls. You normally weren’t one to get jealous, but they’d been playing this game for over a month now and it was pushing you closer and closer to an edge you didn’t know you’d had.

“Like, I’ve never seen anyone look as hot as he did yesterday wearing a sweater vest,” one of the girls behind you gushed; you tensed immediately. Of course they were talking about Spencer. He was the only one who could get sexy and sweater vest in a sentence together. “I missed my test in Biology but it was so worth it to see him yesterday.”

The pencil in your hand nearly snapped in two. They were skipping classes now to see him when you weren’t there?! It was one thing showing up during free period, but this was getting ridiculous. And having them here without you to keep an eye on their inappropriate behavior?

Deep breaths, (Y/N), you growled to yourself, focusing on pulling out your notebook and getting ready to, you know, actually learn in the class. If you weren’t careful your pencil was gonna end up through someone’s neck today.

Not moments later though, you heard excited whispering spark through the seats and a few girls in front of you had the audacity to whine, “oh my god he looks so fuckable today!”

Instantly your gaze snapped up; Spencer had just walked in.

Trust me, I know. That’s what I almost got to do with him, you muttered, your eyes following your boyfriend as he stepped up onto the stage. His eyes fell instantly to the front row and you saw his brow furrow just a hint.

His gaze swept over the seats in concern until his gaze locked onto you. A small, almost imperceptible smile flickered over his lips as soon as he saw you were there, and it helped to settle the burning jealousy raging inside of you. Out of all the other women there, he was only worried about you.

Of course, that feeling died out pretty damn fast as soon as class began. From every side of you all you caught were the girls dirty whispering. You couldn’t even focus on Spencer’s lecture because every two seconds there was another giggle or another not-so-hushed whisper of, “look at how long his fingers are!... His tongue is driving me wild oh my god!... look at how big his feet are. Can you imagine how big his –“

Your pencil actually did snap. The noise startled both yourself and a few of the girls scattered around you, enough to draw Spencer’s attention. When he caught sight of your expression, concern flitted over his ridiculously attractive features. You tried to push the scowl aside but at this point it was a permanent look. Spencer’s eyes narrow just a hint, tongue poking out over his lower lip briefly. You knew that face; he was profiling you.

Not wanting him to be too concerned, you gave him a small smile. He returned the favor before returning to the lecture, wandering back across the stage. Taking as deep a breath you could, you really tried to tune them out. After all, you were one of the few in attendance that actually had to worry about what Spencer was teaching.

Of course, if you asked him to, he’d gladly give you a one-on-one tutoring session. This time you lost focus thinking about the last tutoring session your boyfriend had given you. One that had quickly morphed into Professor Reid teaching you exactly how to take his cock all the way down your throat like the good girl you were –

No. Focus. You need to know this stuff! You snapped to yourself, pulling out of your extremely distracting fantasies. For the next half hour, you managed to force yourself to block out the whispers around you as you fought to listen. You’d almost fully forgotten there were dozens of girls all around you vying for your boyfriend until a girl behind you said excitedly,

“After class I’m so making a move on him.”

You almost lost another fucking pencil.

Breathing hard, trying to keep from whipping around and punching her square in the face, you listened to the plan she concocted to seduce Spencer the moment the lecture was over. Now you completely understood the phrase seeing red.

To be completely honest, you weren’t sure if it was just because she was making moves on your boyfriend, or if it was because it’s exactly what you’d done last year. What if it worked on him? What if he was hit on by a younger, prettier girl this time and you were pushed aside? Normally your insecurities didn’t come out with Spencer. Even with an almost fifteen-year age gap, he’d never made you feel unwanted or like he was out of your league – though you’d told him several times you certainly felt that way. He was amazing at reassuring you just how much you meant to him, just how attracted he was to you, reminding you just how gorgeous you were…  

Your self-conscious thoughts floated to the front of your mind, and you felt tears actually starting to prick your eyes. She just kept going, talking about all she had in mind with Spencer… If you didn’t pull yourself out of this soon you’d either be leaving here in tears or in handcuffs, and you weren’t one to cry in public.

It was as if Spencer was tuned to your thoughts. Like he knew you needed a distraction, needed just a little reassurance from him to get you through the last fifteen minutes of class. Finally done with his presentation, he clicked off the projector (taking a little longer than necessary because he and technology didn’t see eye to eye) and turned to the class and asked,

“Can anyone tell me a few of the differences between male and female arsonists?”

Normally you didn’t like speaking up in class, but you needed him focusing on you now. Though you hadn’t really focused through most of the class, this was thankfully something you were familiar enough with. Spencer caught the movement of your arm going up, and though he was clearly surprised he turned and smiled.

“Yes, Miss (Y/L/N)?”

“Female arsonists are typically older than males, and are more likely to have a psychiatric diagnoses. Women also more frequently have a history of sexual abuse, while men have a tendency towards substance abuse problems.”

There it was, the flicker of pride in his gaze that instantly set your body burning with desire. He gave you an impressed nod, holding your gaze without blinking as he said  slowly, “that’s very good, Miss (Y/L/N). Well done.”

His praise warmed you through, pushing out the ache of jealousy. You smiled back at him, pointedly drawing the end of your pencil between your lips to nibble lightly as you slowly crossed one of your legs over the other.

You caught the tensing of his jaw but, ever the professional, he stamped out the hungry smirk he’d normally give you as he turned to address the rest of the class instead. As the minutes ticked by, though, you noticed his gaze kept coming back to you. Every few minutes, his eyes would flick back, sweeping over your body for the briefest moment before he had to look away.

Every look made you squirm, your panties dangerously damp by the time he finally said, “I think that’s all for today. Be sure to read chapter seven before Thursday.”

Most of the class filed out of the lecture hall immediately. You took your time packing your things away, pointedly keeping an eye on the group of girls that approached Spencer at the front of the room.

“Excuse me, Professor Reid?” the girl up front cooed sweetly, twirling a lock of hair as she stared up at him. Your blood boiled instantly and now you couldn’t even pretend you were doing anything other than eavesdropping.

Spencer, ever polite, looked up at her with a friendly smile as he gathered his journals into his satchel. “Can I help you?”

“Well, I hope so. I was really interested in what you were saying about arsonists but it kind of went over my head,” she giggled, shrugging her shoulders bashfully. “Do you think you and I could meet later so you could help me… get a better grasp?”

Spencer’s eyes studied her for a heartbeat, and then they flicked to you. The instant understanding that settled in his gaze told you he realized exactly what had been bothering you all class. As he looked back at the girl, he slipped his bag onto his shoulder and stepped off the stage, pushing his hands into his pockets.

“I’m sorry, but I only offer study sessions with students who are actually enrolled in my class,” he dismissed. Her giggle died out, and you saw a frown come over her face as Spencer added, “actually, if you’d excuse me, I’m late for one right now. Miss (Y/L/N)?”

Surprised to hear your name, you met his eyes as he turned towards you, waiting patiently at the bottom of the seats. Quickly scooping up your bag, you all but scampered down the steps and fell into step beside him as he led the way out of the lecture hall.

The two of you were silent as he unlocked his office, stepping aside to let you in. You heard the door shut behind you, and then the lock clicked into place. The sound send a rush of desire straight to your core.

“Come here.” It wasn’t a demand, his voice was too gentle for that, but you knew he left no room for argument. You dropped your bag beside one of the chairs and turned to him, instantly tucking yourself to his chest. His arms went tight around you and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “You had no reason to be jealous, you know. You’re so beautiful I couldn’t see anything else.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” you mumbled, and instantly Spencer pulled back. He took your chin between his fingers and tipped your head back to fix you with a stern stare.

“You know I don’t like being lied to, (Y/N).”

You couldn’t hold back the whine at the tone of his voice and it didn’t go unnoticed. “I wasn’t jealous. I was protective. Jealous means wanting something I can’t have, and I already have you. You’re mine, not theirs. I don’t like hearing them talk about you like you belong to them –“

Spencer’s lips crashed onto yours, cutting off your angry rant before it could even get going. Spencer’s arms tightened around you as he walked you back towards his desk. Your legs hit the edge of the desk and instantly he spun you in his arms, pulling your back flush against his chest.

His already-hard cock pressed against your ass and on instinct you rolled your hips back towards him. He let out a low growl, lips falling to your jaw like they had just a few hours ago. This time, his kisses didn’t stop. He slowly moved down your neck, pausing briefly to nip at the skin before running his tongue across to soothe the sting. You whimpered at every pinch of his teeth, writhing in his arms.

He kept one arm tight around your waist to pin you against him as the other hand came up to palm roughly at your breasts. He deftly undid the buttons of your blouse with one hand – which was a lot hotter than it should’ve been – and in moments he was pushing it off your shoulders as he tugged your bra down.

His large hands enveloped one of your breasts, finger gently pinching and tugging at your nipples until he had you moaning softly beneath his touch.

“They don’t mean a thing to me,” he murmured, lips coming up to brush against your ear, nipping softly at the base of your jaw. “They can say what they want to say, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re the only one for me, (Y/N).”

“Spencer,” you moaned as the arm around your waist finally let up so he could slide his hand under your skirt. His hips rocked subtly against your ass as he cupped your core, his palm pressing down and grinding slowly over your clothed clit.

Your hand wrapped over his wrist and gently you tugged him up just enough to guide those long, slim fingers into your panties. Spencer let out a low, eager grown as he ran his hand over your folds, biting down into your shoulder just this side of painful as you began to rock yourself against his touch. Normally you’d go slower, enjoy the buildup, but Spencer only had fifteen minutes before your next class and this time you weren’t walking away without fucking your boyfriend.

Slowly, he pressed a single finger into you and you gasped in pleasure, dropping your head back against his shoulder. He set a slow, tantalizing pace that had you rolling your hips down against his hand, desperate for more.

“Tell me what you want,” he murmured, slipping a second finger inside of you. With a gasp, you rocked down hard and said desperately,

“You, Spence. I want you. I need you.”

“Who do you need?”

“I – I need you, Professor,” you whined softly, not wanting to be too loud just in case one of his overeager fangirls came by his office for some alone time. The thought of them doing so – and then stumbling onto you getting pounded over Spencer’s desk – had you quivering around his fingers.

As you’d hoped, Spencer pulled his hand away, purposefully dragging over your clit and getting another desperate gasp from you. When you looked back to pout up at him, you froze in surprise. Spencer held your gaze with his lust-darkened eyes as he slipped his soaked fingers into his mouth, sucking them off slowly.

“Bend over,” he ordered, voice rough with need. You did as you were told, laying yourself over his desk and pressing back against his aching cock. With a growl, he pushed your skirt up over your hips and ripping down your panties. Both of you were too worked up for any more teasing.

He slid the head of his cock through your folds, coating himself in your slick before grabbing your hips to slowly ease himself into you. Both of you let out low, aching groans as he buried himself completely inside you. He kept one hand on your hip and the other splayed out over your lower back, holding you in place as he slowly began to move.

With each thrust he pushed you harder and harder into the desk until it was shaking beneath you, papers beginning to spill off. You were fighting to stay quiet but Spencer knew exactly how to fuck you in order to bring out the whimpers you couldn’t help.

“You take my cock so well,” he grunted, the fingers around your hip digging in so hard you knew there’d be bruises by tonight. “So perfect for me – fuck. You’re all I need.”

“You’re mine,” you moaned, arching back against him, desperate to take him as deep as you could.  “Only mine – oh god, Spencer!”

He’d stealthily pulled his hand off your back and slid it around to run his thumb over your swollen clit. He grunted as your walls clenched around him; you weren’t gonna last much longer.

“Only yours,” he promised, voice rough as he pounded into you, swirling his thumb over your aching bud. “Come for me. Come on my cock, (Y/N). Show me who I belong to.”

His words shoved you over the edge unexpectedly fast and you gave a choked moan as your body writhed over the desk, lost to your orgasm. Spencer pulled his thumb back as he felt you come down but his pace didn’t slow. You could feel his cock throbbing against you, he was so close.

“You belong to me,” you rasped, clinging to the desk as you looked back over your shoulder to stare up at him. There was no other word for Spencer at that moment besides beautiful. His curls were wild, mouth hanging open, chest heaving beneath his ridiculously attractive sweater vest.

His dark eyes met yours and as soon as they did you felt his rhythym slip. His hips stuttered, and with a low groan he fully buried into you once more, filling you up as he came hard inside of you. Fully spent, he collapsed over your back, barely catching himself on his forearm, head dropping to your shoulder.

The two of you stayed still, tangled with each other, until your breathing finally slowed. Pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder, Spencer pulled out of you. As you went to stand, he gently pressed you back against the desk.

“Stay right there, sweetheart.”

You heard him grabbing a few tissues, and gently he cleaned you up, careful not to brush too hard over your sensitive core. Once clean, he knelt and slid your panties back up, kissing up your legs slowly before he stood. You finally pushed up from his desk with a groan and instantly his arms went around your waist to help you stand and get your balance.

Now that it was all said and done, you couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous for getting so jealous over the other girls. Spencer’s arms came around you again, and you could feel the question in his hold.

“Thank you for that,” you said softly, tipping your head to look up at him. “I know… I mean, I don’t doubt you love me. It’s just nice to be reminded after listening to them all class.”

“I’m glad you don’t doubt my love for you. I never want you to forget how much you mean to me,” he said honestly, dipping to give you a soft kiss. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. After this class, I’ll be speaking with the head of the department to make sure only students enrolled in the class can sit in on my lectures.”

A slow, surprised grin took over your face. “You’d really do that? I thought it looked better for you to have the lecture hall full –“

“I don’t care how it looks. I care how you feel and I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel like this.”

Your arms wrapped around Spencer’s neck and his went around your waist, kissing sweetly as you smiled against each other’s lips. Though you broke apart, Spencer tucked you tight to his chest and you buried your face against his shoulder.

“I actually am gonna need one of Professor Reid’s study sessions before Thursday, though,” you mumbled into his jacket. “I… didn’t catch most of what you said today.”

Spencer stifled a sigh as he stepped back, giving you a mildly chastising frown. You caught the smile in his eyes as the two of you grabbed your bags and he unlocked the door. He started down one hall and you down the other, but he paused to call out pointedly,

“Come see me after class then, Miss (Y/L/N). I’ll make sure you pay attention this time.”

With a smirk, you looked back at him over your shoulder, enjoying the way his eyes were already starting to dark again as he watched you walk away, calling back to him teasingly,

“Yes, Professor.”

The smile he left you with promised you’d be paying for that comment later.

[myboipotterimagines]

Santa, Baby - Sirius Black x Reader

Request:  Hi! Could I request a Sirius Black holiday imagine? It’s their last year at Hogwarts and all the friends stay at Hogwarts for Christmas? It’s super fluffy? And Sirius proposes ? :) thank you

(A/N: Merry Christmas and happy holidays y'all!!)

Christmas isn’t that fun when you’re afraid death is at every corner. Or death eaters, to be more precise. With Voldemort very prevalent, more students remained at Hogwarts than ever before. Parents knew that this was the safest place for their children to be. Some students went home, of course, but the Houses had never been this full over holiday. 

Especially with first years. 

When you were a first year you remembered how ecstatic you were to return home after your first term. You couldn’t imagine being forced to stay at school. But, that was the reality for a lot of the first years. So, of course you took it upon yourselves to make this the best Christmas yet. Believe it or not, it was Sirius’s idea. 

“I know what it’s like to stay here as a first year. Trust me, it sucks. You’re not that close to anyone yet and you feel just,” he pauses, grimacing slightly, “alone.” You grab his hand, rubbing your thumb over his. “It’s legally our job now to make this the best Christmas ever.”  “Okay, let’s do this,” you stated, looking around the group to find agreement. “What do we need?” “Ooh!” James exclaimed. “What’s that thing that muggle kids believe in? Fat dude with the moose?” “First off, how can you be so close and still so far?” Remus asks, bewildered.  “His name is Santa and it’s reindeer, not moose,” Lily explains, rolling her eyes. 

“Alright, we need a Santa. Any volunteers?” Sirius asks. James shoots his hand up. “Not. James. Every first year knows who you are. It’ll ruin the illusion.”  “You could do it,” you suggest. “They’d never suspect you.”  “(Y/N),” Sirius starts.  “Come on, they won’t. And it was your idea. Please?” you ask, pouting slightly.  “Alright,” Sirius agrees. “So what else are we doing?”

“Decorations, for sure,” Peter chimed in. “We can do it after lights out.”  “Good idea,” Remus agreed. “What about gifts? These kids are all probably used to at least one Christmas gift.” The group was quiet for a moment before Lily spoke up. “Molly can knit really well. You know that one sweater she wears to quidditch games? She made that herself.” “I can help her,” Remus added. “I don’t know advanced things but I’m kinda familiar with the basics.” 

The night went on as you discussed your Christmas plans. Growing tired, you slowly sunk into Sirius’s shoulder. 

_________________________________________

Crowded into the Gryffindor common room was the entire Gryffindor student body. While originally planning for only the younger students, you realized everyone needed a little pick-me-up. This included all of the other houses, as well. You met with all of the seventh years and made plans for each house to have their own celebration. But, you still favored that of Gryffindor. The common room was flooded with Christmas decorations. No corner was safe from tinsel and stockings. 

On a large chair in the front of the common room sat Sirius, decked in full Santa gear. 

“Don’t laugh,” Sirius told you when he first put it on.” You shook your head, tears escaping your eyes. “Okay you can laugh a little,” Sirius allowed. 

He was a natural. He started with the first years, calling each student out by name. They each got to spend time with him, some sitting on his lap, others simply giving him a high-five. He went through every student until he eventually got to the seventh years. James was first, practically jumping on his lap. Lily and Remus were more reserved, deciding to go up together. Peter couldn’t stop laughing so we cut his encounter short. And finally, it was your turn. 

“Hello, Santa,” you smiled, sitting on Sirius’s left knee.  “Now,” Sirius asked, “have you been naughty or nice this year?”  You turned to the first years. “What do you guys think?”  “Nice!” they yelled, giggles filling the room.  Sirius shook his head, “I’m not sure with this one. I’ll go ahead and put you on the nice list but you better step your game up next year.”  “How generous, thank you, Santa,” you laughed before standing up. 

The students wished Santa a merry Christmas, and Sirius was out of there. You made sure all of the students were in bed before joining Sirius upstairs. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but you make a really good Santa.” You climbed in bed beside Sirius, nestling yourself under his arm.  “I have many gifts,” he laughed.  “Yes you do,” you whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek. 

In the darkness of the common room, you couldn’t tell if Sirius was awake or asleep. “Hey, Siri?” you ask possibly no one.  “Yes, love?” his voice whispers back.  “Thank you for everything. I love you and am so so proud of you,” you whisper, your voice shaking slightly.  Sirius inhales deeply. “I love you, too. I know that this is supposed to be some fancy gesture but that’s not us,” Sirius whispers, shifting his weight to a sitting position. He continues. “I love you so much and can’t imagine a life without you in it. Will you marry me?” Moonlight illuminates his figure, allowing you to see his messy hair and tear stained cheeks. You nod, your throat tight and hot. “Of course,” you choke out. You both let out laughs, before Sirius pulls you to meet him. The kiss was messy and perfect and real. He pulled apart. “I don’t have a ring,” he admits. 

You laugh gently. “I don’t need a ring.” You lay back down, pulling Sirius with you. 

___________________________________

You don’t know how Molly did it, but she knitted sweaters for every student at Hogwarts. Of course, she had the help of Remus and a few others, but the heavy lifting was all her. You and Sirius open yours together, finding matching maroon and gold sweaters. Soon, everyone looked like the family that you always have been. As much as you loved home, this was a memory you would never forget. You and Sirius sat together in an arm chair, cramped but comfortable. At the foot of the chair sat Remus, laughing at something James had said. James was, of course, wrapped around Lily. Once he got hold of her, he never lets go. Peter sat beside Molly, the two lost in conversation. Other students ran about, laughing and singing Christmas songs, old and new alike. All was well. 

[gaylotusthatexists]

Sacary Village (2)

pairings: brotherly analogical and creativitwins, eventual romantic moceit, parental anxceit/loceit

summary: Logan and Virgil spend their first full day in their new town, and join forces with the town's self proclaimed 'monster hunters', the Prince twins. 

trigger warnings: knife mention, discussion of past death, implied past bad family relations

word count: 9172

taglist: @boopiskoop @shootingcookielover @vindicatedvirgil

a/n: hey! this is part two for my vaguely-gravity-falls-inspired-but-not-quite-au. you don't need to read the first part if you don't want to b u t i would recommend it simply for this to make more sense haha. anyway this chapter was a lot of fun for me and would have had it posted like a week ago but ran out of time and then was offline all week, but here we are now! hope y'all enjoy~

ao3 

monster hunters

When Virgil woke up the next morning, there was a brief panic as he tried to figure out where he was, why he was in such an unfamiliar bedroom, until he remember the move. Right, of course - he was with Janus now, in some sort of attic bedroom, sunlight seeping in through a large, circular window and Logan sat up in bed on the other side of the room, flicking through the pages of some encyclopaedia. Virgil slowly sat up as well, looking around the room with a tired expression.

"Ah, Virgil," Logan asked, shutting his book tight. "Good morning."

Virgil blinked. "How long have you been awake?"

"I'm not sure," Logan said. "An hour, maybe?" 

"Oh."

Logan stood up and made his way over to Virgil's bed, sitting down on top and opening up his arms. Smiling, Virgil sank into him, allowing Logan to hug him tightly. It was a routine of theirs that they'd quickly gotten used to over the past year and a half, a silent reminder every day that, even if the world wasn't offering anything else, they still had each other. Logan was alive, and well, and right here besides him, and things would be okay.

"I didn't dream up yesterday, right?" Logan checked, glancing down at Virgil.

Virgil blinked, confused for a moment, before his eyes widened. Oh. He'd forgotten about that. A dragon, in the forest. What the hell had that been about? "Kinda hope that we did, honestly," Virgil said. "I mean... a dragon?"

"Yeah." Logan hummed. "Janus said he'd explain everything, right?"

"Yup." Virgil wiggled away from Logan, moving closer to the wall. Sensing that Virgil was done with physical contact for the morning, Logan stood up, moving back towards his bed. "I... don't know what to think about Janus."

"I know, Virgil," Logan said, "but we'll be fine. He hasn't tried to hurt us, correct?"

"I mean, yeah, so far."

"He saved us yesterday," Logan reminded him.

"He didn't know it was us then," Virgil said. "How did he even know the dragon was there? What was he doing in the cave?"

"He'll explain everything later."

"He better explain." Virgil looked around the room, eyes landing on the window. "Window looks big enough for us to climb out. It's not to late to pick up my running away plan, is it?"

Logan sighed. "We're not running away, Virgil."

He stood up, heading towards his suitcase and pulling out some clothes. Virgil turned his head as Logan got changed, before the two switched places and Virgil got changed as well. Another routine they'd settled into, changing in one another's presence for fear of being left alone. Logan always refused to leave Virgil's side, and Virgil was grateful for that.

"I'd like to go into town today," Logan decided, as the two made their way to the bathroom just down the hall, which Janus has showed them last night. "Buy a notebook of sorts, to record information about that dragon we saw and any other things we end up seeing."

Virgil frowned. "What, you want to go seeking out all the weird shit again?"

"Well, I believe it will be interesting," Logan claimed. "I'm not asking you to come with me."

Virgil would have come anyway, and Logan knew that. He also knew there was no way in hell that Virgil would want to seek out danger. "Logan, I don't think-"

"We'll be fine," Logan said. "I just want to go back and get a drawing of it. After that, I don't mind if we don't go looking for other things. But if we do happen to come across something-"

"We will run in the opposite direction-"

"I will want to attempt to understand it," Logan corrected. He began to brush his teeth, which Virgil copied a few seconds later. Virgil didn't feel like arguing anymore, but knew that if Logan did go back out there, Virgil would attempt to stop him. He was fairly certain that Logan knew that too.

Once the two had finished with their quick wash, they headed downstairs, hearing footsteps wandering around. Before entering the kitchen, to the source of the footsteps, Virgil and Logan looked at each other, Logan silently communicating to Virgil that it would be fine. Although they hadn't had much time to talk to Janus the night before, after arriving home late from Patton's, he had told them that they were welcome to come downstairs into the kitchen whenever they were ready.

Logan entered the kitchen first, with Virgil following tentatively behind. He wasn't sure what time it was - was it too early for them to be awake? What if he had imagined last nights conversation and were actually meant to wait to be collected from their room, like a few other places that the brothers had stayed in? What if Janus already hated them and wanted them gone?

Virgil's fears quickly faded, though, when he saw Janus' face brighten up upon seeing the two brothers.

"Logan, Virgil, good morning," he greeted. "I trust you had a good sleep?"

Logan nodded, smiling politely at Janus. "Yes, thank you. It's a lovely room." He took a seat at the table as Janus sat down himself. Virgil still hovered in the doorway, assessing the situation.

"It's just an attic," Janus said. "If all goes well and you two can stay here permanently, we can decorate it properly."

Virgil frowned. "Permanently?" he repeated, stepping further into the room.

Janus blinked. "Yes? I thought you knew that by taking you in I was intending to adopt?"

Logan glanced at Virgil, then back at Janus. "We weren't told. It's very... considerate of you, though. Although, fair warning, every other place we've stayed in has had... difficulties."

"I'm well aware," Janus confirmed, straightening his posture and motioning for Virgil to sit down. Although still a little hesitant, Virgil complied. "What separates me from the rest of them, though, is that I am your uncle, and I only want what's best for both of you. I know you two have been through... a lot, recently, and I have every intention to make sure that you are now safe."

Virgil wasn't sure what to make of that. It seemed almost too good to be true. And he didn't trust Janus, not one bit. "If you're our uncle," he said, "how come we've never heard of you before?" That question had been plaguing his mind since he'd been informed of him moving in with Janus, and still set off all sorts of warnings.

"My brother - well, your father and I, we... well, we haven't talked in a while, to say the least."

"Well, yeah, he's been dead for a year and a half," Virgil said, jokingly, although immediately regretted it afterwards as he saw the sort of sad expression on Janus' face. "Sorry," he mumbled after. "Just- you weren't even at the funeral."

Janus gulped. "I know. I- I wanted to be there," he said. "Or would have wanted to be there, if I'd known. I hadn't spoken to him for years before. Or the rest of our family. It's only recently that I heard of his passing. And I'm- I'm dreadfully sorry, Virgil, Logan. I can't- I can't imagine what it must be like."

Virgil raised an eyebrow at that last statement, but didn't say anything else. After a few more moments of silence, Janus stood up and made his way over to the side, before returning a few seconds later with a plate of pancakes.

"Breakfast," he said. "No more talk of death for now. We can talk more about it another time, okay?"

Virgil shrugged. "Alright." After Janus handed him a clean plate, he grabbed a pancake from the centre of the table and began to eat.

After a few moments of silence, Janus spoke again, "So, since you two are getting settled in, we should probably talk ground rules."

Virgil paused eating for a moment, trying not to show how nervous that made him. It was expected, he supposed, but previous places he'd lived in had been pretty ridiculous, and he didn't want to end up somewhere where everything he did was controlled again. He glanced over at Logan, who just stared at Janus intently. Logan had always been a stickler for the rules, he was probably excited to hear them.

"In all honesty, I don't really care what you two do," Janus began, causing both Virgil and Logan to frown. What did that mean? "You're free to come in and out of the house as you please, all rooms here are open, including my bedroom as long as I'm not sleeping - unless it's an emergency, of course - apart from the shed in the garden. That's my space, and I'd rather you two not poke your head around. Even if you see weird lights coming from inside." He paused. "Especially if you see weird lights coming from inside."

There was a long silence, before Logan quietly said, "Anything else?"

Janus shrugged. "I mean, you're both teenagers, I assume you know how to take care of yourselves. If you need any money, just ask, although obviously I'll be hesitant if it's a ridiculous amount. You can have whatever food we have in, or buy your own if you'd prefer. I'll make breakfast and dinner anyway, and lunch if you need it. Patton across the road will be more than willing to provide that as well. Speaking of, feel free to go to Patton's whenever, he's an alright guy, his kids come round here all the time."

"So you... really just don't care what we do?" Virgil asked. "Like, we can just do... whatever?"

"Well, sure." Janus hummed. "I mean, I'd advice against you taking drugs or committing any serious crimes, and obviously I'd like you to do fairly well at school - let me know if there are any problems with school, by the way, I won't be angry if you're struggling. You still have until next week before school starts, though."

Huh. Even their parents had been more strict than this. This was... This was weird.

"I believe that covers it all. I won't give you a curfew, but if you're going to be home super late, or if you're staying at some other house, let me know." Janus smiled. "I want you two to be comfortable here, okay? If you ever need anything, you can tell me."

Another silence. Virgil continued eating, eyes flickering up to Janus every few seconds.

"So," Logan eventually said, "can we talk about yesterday yet?"

Janus' eyes widened. "Yesterday?" he repeated.

"Yes?" Logan said, tilting his head. "The dragon, remember?"

There was a pause, and then laughter. "Dragon? Don't be silly."

Logan frowned. "You were there. You said you'd explain everything today."

"Did I?" Janus hummed. "You must have dreamt that, Logan."

"No, no, he definitely didn't dream it," Virgil said, beginning to feel a little concerned. "I was also there, and we saw you handle the dragon."

Janus shrugged. "Huh. Well, you boys have a great imagination."

Logan stood up, finished with his breakfast. "I bet it's still there," he said, sounding a little agitated, gritting his teeth. "We could show you. Jog your memory a little."

Janus rolled his eyes, and Virgil was half-tempted to punch him in the face. He restrained himself, because, despite the fact he still didn't trust Janus, he had been pretty nice to them so far. "And where was this dragon, exactly? Because I feel like if there was a dragon in the town, I would know about it."

"It- It was in the forest," Logan said, staring hard at Janus. "You were there."

Janus was silent for a moment, something flickering through his eyes - fear? Worry? Anger? "I wouldn't go in the forest if I were you," he said. "It's dangerous."

"Thought you said we could do what we want," Virgil said, regretting it slightly afterwards.

"Of course, I won't stop you, but..." He shook his head. "Actually, no. Unless you're with Patton or myself, no going in the forest. It's dangerous, and I don't want either of you two getting lost." There was something different in his voice, something that Virgil couldn't quite place, but something that also made Virgil feel anxious. That calm, easy-going nature had faded. He sounded stricter, and... and Virgil didn't want to know what would happen if he disobeyed Janus. Going against his 'guardians' wishes had never done him any favours in the past.

"Alright," Logan eventually said, still sounding a little bitter. "I'm... sorry." It occurred to Virgil that perhaps that final tone had made him just as anxious as Virgil.

"Don't apologise, Logan," Janus said, returning to his calmer nature from before. "Now, how about we all take a little walk into town today? Get to know each other a little better. Maybe get you some stuff for the room, or some new clothes if you'd like."

~*~

"Roman, Roman, Roman!"

Roman groaned, turning over in his bed and wrapping his quilt tighter around him.

"Roman!" The voice continued to repeat, over and over. Roman just wanted to continue sleeping. He'd been up late last night and, whilst that wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence, it was also a Saturday, which meant he had an excuse to sleep for a little longer. If it wasn't for his brother, of course, shouting his name over and over and jumping down onto his bed.

"What?" Roman exclaimed, finally sitting up. "What could possibly be so important that you wake me up on a Saturday?"

Remus grinned. "I'm heading back into the forest!" he announced, proudly.

Roman stared at him for a moment, then blinked, unimpressed. "And you're telling me because...?"

"You're coming with me!" Remus said, grabbing Roman's wrist and attempting to pull him out of bed. He failed.

"Remus, it's, like, ten in the morning."

"Yeah, and Dad's still asleep, and I wanna leave before he wakes up so he doesn't find out we're going to the forest-"

"Why don't you just tell him?" Roman wondered.

"Because he'd freak out."

"I don't think he would."

"He would. Especially if he knew about the dragon."

Roman's eyes widened. "Oh shit. The dragon."

"Yup!" Remus grinned. "I wanna go see it again. My new goal in life is to poke it."

"You think that's safe?"

"Nope! That's what makes it fun." He paused for a moment, tapping his leg, before his eyes widened again. "Wait, do you think we could keep it as a pet?"

"It tried to kill us," Roman reminded him.

"Yeah, and? Wolves used to try to kill humans, probably, but then we domesticated them! Bet we could do the same with dragons!"

Roman closed his eyes, sighing. "Lizards, Remus. You're talking about lizards. Just get a lizard."

"I don't want a lizard," Remus said. "I want a dragon." He moved away from Roman's bed, heading over to the door. "Get dressed! I'll nip down to the shop and buy us some snacks for a picnic, if you want. We could go to that lake again."

Roman's eyes lit up at that, and, seeing his now happy expression, Remus grinned and left. A moment later, Roman heard the front door slam shut, before he rubbed his eyes and crawled out of bed. He quickly tidied up his clothes from the night before, which he'd just thrown on the floor before getting into bed, then got changed into a red t-shirt, jeans, and a white jacket, decorated in swirling patterns he'd painted on himself. He quickly brushed his hair, sweeping it to the side, then cleaned his teeth and grabbed his backpack, heading downstairs. It would only be him and Remus, he presumed, so he didn't do anything else to make himself look nice. He took his sketch pad from the living room, however, thinking that if they were heading down to the lake he'd have a good chance to try out some landscapes.

"You going somewhere?" a voice asked, as Roman's hand hovered over the doorknob. He spun around, coming face to face with Patton.

"Oh! Morning, Dad," he said. "I was, uh, Remus and I were gonna head out for the day. He just popped down to the shop, we were gonna-"

"Where are you going?" his dad asked.

"Oh, uh, y'know, just in town. Maybe to the fields, we were gonna have a picnic."

His dad frowned. "Alright, be back before dark."

Roman smiled. "Of course! Thank you." He turned again, heading out the door before his dad could change his mind.

~*~

Logan trailed after Janus and Virgil as they walked into town, along the footpath next to the fields. Although Janus did have a car he could theoretically use to drive into the main town area, he had insisted on walking, stating that it would be nice, and also would allow the brothers to learn the way into town when they wanted to go without access to a car. As if they couldn't figure it out themselves.

"Any shops you want to go to in particular?" Janus asked, as they stepped into the town.

Logan and Virgil were both silent.

"Right, of course, you're new," Janus remembered. "Uh... The clothes you brought with you last night are all you have, right? Like, you don't have any more boxes coming?"

"Well, it was a little difficult to get any of our possessions after our house fucking burned down," Virgil mumbled, staring down at the floor.

"Oh. Yes. I'm- I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Logan quickly said. "We did buy some things after we first moved out, but nowhere we've lived so far have been all that bothered to buy us loads. Virgil and I do have some money of our own, however, so-"

"Logan, you don't need to worry about money," Janus said. "I'm not expecting either of you to buy essentials with your own money, I can handle that." Virgil and Logan exchanged a glance, but said nothing more. Janus continued, "For today, we'll just visit our local clothes shop, and perhaps another day we can drive out to the mall and have a good look around. After that I suppose we should see what kind of food you two would like, and I'll let you two have a wander if you want, check out some of the smaller shops whilst I get some business done."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Business?"

"I just need to have a chat with someone who lives in town, no big deal."

Despite him saying that, Logan desperately wanted to know. Did it have anything to do with that he saw yesterday? Was there some sketchy going on? Or was it just a mundane problem, or a simple catch up, was Logan thinking too much into this?

Either way, he let Janus lead them around town, finding it best not to argue with Janus. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he'd be able to explore the forest more.

~*~

By the time that Remus had made it out of the shop, Roman had already caught up, now looking wide awake. Remus' backpack had been filled to the brim with snacks, most of which he'd brought with a tenner he'd found on the kitchen side but some of which came into his possession in a not-so-legal way, as well as some other 'equipment' in the bottom - knives, nets, a picnic blanket, just in case.

"You got up quick," Remus noticed. "Thought you'd spend a little more time brushing that perfect hair of yours."

"I'll have you know, my hair is already perfect, I don't need to brush it for hours for it to look this way." Roman smirked. "Although, maybe you should give it a try."

Remus stuck his tongue out, then spun around on his heel, heading deeper into town. Frowning, Roman ran a little to catch up with him.

"I thought we were heading to the forest?" Roman recalled.

"Well, yeah, but if we walk back down our street Dad will get confused. And then we'll have to explain. Plus, I stole a tenner off him, so-"

Roman blinked. "Where'd you get it?"

"The kitchen." Remus shrugged. "It was just there, lying by the sink, all in its own, abandoned by the world."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Remus," Roman groaned. "That was mine."

"You really should take better care of your money, Roman."

"You owe me ten."

"I don't owe you shit, I'm your twin brother, we share things. As Dad would always say, sharing is caring."

"I don't think I've ever heard Dad say that."

"You know that he thinks it all the time, though."

Roman sighed. "Okay, yeah, you're right. Doesn't mean I'm gonna let you off."

"You'll forget eventu-" He froze. "Holy shit, is that those kids from yesterday?"

Roman frowned, then followed Remus' gaze. It was. The two teens they'd met the day before were walking around town, following Janus. Their uncle, right? Yeah. Remus grinned and ran up to them, tapping the older one - Logan - on the shoulder. "Hey!"

Alarmed, Logan spun around, getting into a fighting stance, before noticing Remus and relaxing. "Oh. Hello, Remus."

After catching up with him, Roman said, "What are you doing out here?"

"Shopping," Logan said, "obviously."

Janus turned around and looked at Remus, humming. "Ah. The Prince twins. How are you doing?"

"We're good!" Remus said, grinning. "We were gonna have a picnic. Can Logan and Virgil come with us?" He ignored the confused stare from Roman.

"I don't see why not." Janus turned to the brothers. "How about you two finish up your shopping with the twins, then I'll meet you back home tonight."

Logan looked down at Virgil and something happened between them, some sort of secret communication, before Logan looked back up at Janus. "Yes, that sounds good. I'll see you tonight, Uncle."

Janus smiled. "Stay out of the forest, yeah?" Logan nodded, then he took off, leaving the four teenagers alone on the street.

Once Janus was out of sight, Remus said, "Well, Roman and I were planning on heading into the forest, so I hope you're not one to listen to the adults."

Logan breathed out. "That's what Virgil and I were planning to do as well."

Virgil frowned. "No, actually, I-"

"Awesome!" Remus grabbed Logan's wrist and began to drag him down the street, the other two following. "Anywhere you need to go first?"

"Is there anywhere I could buy a notebook of sorts?" Logan asked.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, there's a stationary place at the end of the high street. C'mon."

~*~

As Janus did his weekly food shop, something gnawed in his chest, a feeling that his nephews were about to get in a whole lot of trouble again. He'd been so stupid the day before, forgetting that they were coming in and then allowing them to run straight into danger, without even being able to tell them it was there.

There was something going on in his town, and Janus had spent the last few years living here trying to figure it all out. He didn't want Logan and Virgil to be getting caught up in all of that. He remembered how when he was younger he'd dragged his brother into mysteries with him, and he knew that had only harmed him, emotionally and physically, and in turn caused their relationship to break down. He didn't want that for his nephews. He wanted them to be safe, he needed to keep them safe.

And if that meant hiding a few things from them, keeping them from exploring the forest, then so be it. He needed to come up with some sort of excuse about the dragon, because they really didn't seem to buy his usual lies. It wasn't difficult to convince others in this town that all they saw was an illusion, a dream, but these boys were smarter, they could tell fantasy from reality, and they knew this was reality. Just like Janus did. And just like the twins.

As far as Janus was aware, the twins had never actually seen anything like the dragon yesterday, nothing entirely real, but they had told him about some things they'd found in the forest, skeletons of long dead mystical creatures, weird equipment lying around - his equipment, mostly, but he tried not to tell them about that - small clues to suggest the existence of the extraordinary. He knew all about their self proclaimed 'monster hunting' business, and didn't want to attempt to sway them from that, of course he wanted them to have interests, but... he did worry, sometimes. And he definitely didn't want Logan and Virgil to be getting caught up in all of that. They'd both already been through enough.

After paying for his shopping and leaving the store, Janus pulled out his phone and called Patton, who picked up on the second ring.

"Janus!" he greeted, happily. "How are you doing? The boys settling in okay?"

"I'm quite fine, Patton, thank you," Janus said. "Logan and Virgil are alright as well, I hope. They've just met up with Roman and Remus, actually."

"Oh, have they?" Patton sounded just a little confused, but tried to mask that with his usual happy persona. For the longest time Janus had wondered why Patton always did that, always hid his emotions, until he thought about how much he lied to keep the secrets of this town secrets. He sort of understood. Perhaps Patton just didn't want anyone else to be upset. "They didn't tell me that."

"Well, I'd imagine they're just happy to have some friends," Janus said. "I don't know them as well as you do, of course, but... I've never seen them with anyone else."

"Yeah." Patton sounded a little sadder there, his mask beginning to fade. "I think Roman's had a little trouble fitting in at school, and Remus isn't going to abandon him. They'll have your boys soon though, at least. I'm glad they've made friends."

"Yes, yes, of course." Janus glanced up and down the street, but didn't see any signs of the kids. Perhaps they'd already left town. "Did they tell you where they were going, by any chance?"

"Roman mentioned the field," Patton said.

"Alright. Okay, yeah, that's good." Janus sighed. "If you see them, keep an eye on them, okay? They've been through a lot, and-"

"Don't worry," Patton said, his usual chipper voice returning. "I'll make sure they're safe."

Janus let out a breath. "Thank you."

"No worries." Although he couldn't see him, Janus imagined that Patton was grinning. "I've got to go, though, washing the dishes right now."

"Yeah, of course, sorry. Goodbye, Patton."

"See ya!" Patton hung up. Janus stared at his phone screen for a while, before sighing and beginning to walk back home.

~*~

"Logan, this is a bad idea," Virgil murmured, tugging on his older brother's sleeve. "Uncle Janus literally told us to stay out of the forest."

"Since when have you ever listened to what the adults say?

"Since when have you ever broken a rule?"

"What's so bad about the forest?" Remus asked, spinning around and beginning to walk backwards, as the four of them approached the forest.

"Our uncle said it was dangerous."

"Yeah, duh." Remus rolled his eyes. "It's a forest. There's probably, like, wolves and shit."

Virgil froze.

Roman just laughed. "What, so you're afraid of a little wolf but not of that literal dragon?"

"I'm fucking terrified of the dragon!" Virgil snapped.

"Calm down, Virgil," Logan said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. That did make Virgil feel a little better, he had to admit. "We'll be fine. The dragon's dead, remember?"

"We don't know that the dragon's dead," Virgil said, "and we also don't know that there isn't more of them."

Remus groaned. "No one is forcing you to come, you know? If you're gonna be a stick in the mud just go back home."

Virgil just clung onto Logan, as Logan pulled tighter. He wasn't leaving without Logan, that was for sure. He refused to go anywhere without Logan.

"Alright then." Remus shrugged. "It'll be fun, anyway. Trust me, you aren't going to die. Not today, at least." He backed up into a tree, and let out a short cry of pain, before spinning back around and kicking the tree, glaring angrily at it. "Who the fuck put a tree here?"

"We're here." Roman grinned and picked up the pace, heading deeper into the forest. Sighing, Virgil broke away from Logan's grasp and followed, eyes darting around nervously for any signs of danger. He put his hands in his pockets, clinging onto his phone just in case they got themselves into danger - who he would call, Virgil hadn't figured out yet, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully, by the time they reached the cave the dragon will have disappeared, perhaps it really had just been a figment of their imagination in the first place. They were having a picnic soon as well, right? At the very least, that was something to look forward to.

"So," Roman said, walking next to Virgil as Logan and Remus forged ahead, beginning to exchange theories on the dragon. Virgil wasn't really surprised at Logan doing that, but it was weird to see Remus that way, acting just as much of a nerd as Logan was. "What brings you to town?"

Virgil frowned, glancing down at Roman. He was just a little comforted by the fact that Roman was shorter than him, despite being older. Not much shorter, but shorter nonetheless. "I'm living with my uncle now."

"Yeah, but, like. Why?" Roman said. "Why here? Literally anywhere else would be cooler."

Virgil blinked. "Uh. My parents died. I didn't really have much of choice."

Roman's eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, shit. Uh. S-Sorry-"

"Don't be." Virgil sighed. "It was a while ago. I'm... over it." He wasn't, not really, but he didn't need to tell Roman that. It was something he was still working through - he had been seeing a therapist about it a few months ago, but had to stop after moving too far away. But that was fine, he was fine. He still had Logan, at least.

"Still," Roman continued, "that must be, uh, hard. I-I can't even imagine what that would feel like."

"Eh." Virgil shrugged. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Logan and I are just here now because... Janus is all the family we have left, I think. Took him a while to find us, but we're here now, so... yeah."

Roman gave him a sad smile. He didn't seem to quite know how to respond. Which was fair enough, really. He looked vaguely uncomfortable.

"What about your family?" Virgil found himself asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from himself.

A real smile grew across Roman's face. "It's good. Just me, Remus and Dad. We... have family elsewhere, I think, but never really talk to them. Janus is... also basically family, he's almost like a second dad to us."

"What about your mum?" Virgil asked, immediately regretting it afterwards but finding no way to take it back. It wasn't as if he could travel back in time - could he travel back in time? If dragons were real, then who's to say that time travel wasn't?

"I never knew her," Roman said. "She split up with Dad when Remus and I were young. Dad got full custody."

"Oh. Did something-"

"Nothing bad happened," Roman cleared up. "They just weren't really a good match, what with Dad being a flaming homosexual and all. She didn't really want anything to do with him when she found out."

Oh. Oh. Virgil had never actually met an adult who was gay before. Children, yeah - he'd been to plenty schools with out queer kids, a few of Logan's old friends, including himself, were gay, and Virgil was... not straight, possibly bi, he wasn't quite sure yet. But that was cool. Nice to know that Patton would be... accepting.

"Were you and your parents close?" Roman asked, to which Virgil was half tempted to punch him in the face because who asks that but held himself back.

Instead, Virgil just shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I do miss them, but..." He breathed in. "Like I said, it's been a while. I don't... I don't really want to talk about it."

Roman was silent for a moment. "Okay. Sorry."

"It's okay." Virgil sighed. "It's fine. Just don't have the energy today."

"I-I get it." Virgil seriously doubted that he did, but didn't say any more. The group had reached the cave now, which meant he had far greater things to be dealing with. Like making sure that his brother and possible-friends didn't get killed.

As the group stepped into the cave, Virgil's heart began to pound, as the events from the day before suddenly came flooding back. This cave was creepy enough on its own, with the dim, blinking lights and the quiet whirring of distant machinery, but knowing that there was possibly a dragon running loose was an even worse feeling. What if they weren't so lucky this time? What if they didn't make it out? What if they got caught exactly like they did last time and nobody came to save them?

"Hey," Remus whispered into his ear, causing Virgil to jump back, somewhat startled. Something was gently lowered into his hands, something sharp and metallic, before Remus stalked away. "Just in case."

Virgil looked down at the object in his hands, frowning for a second before completely freaking out, almost throwing the object across the room. "What the fuck do you want me to do with a knife?" Knowing that his original plan to throw the knife away could result in someone getting injured, he instead held it out at arms length.

Logan sighed, turning around to Virgil and taking the knife out of his hands. "Remus, please don't give my fourteen year old brother a knife. Why do you even have knives in the first place?" Logan placed the knife in his own pocket, and Virgil tried his best not to think about its presence.

"We could be fighting a dragon soon!" Remus defended, his loud voice echoing through the cave. "We need to be prepared!"

"Yeah, but giving a child a knife isn't the way to do that," Logan said.

"I'm not a child," Virgil argued. "You're only two years older than me."

"Yes. That makes you a child."

Virgil stuck his tongue out, then charged forward, going to walk next to Remus instead. Perhaps to annoy his brother, or perhaps because he was the one with the knives, so if they were attacked he would be able to defend them. The group arrived at the smaller tunnel from the day before, where they had originally found the dragon. Only to find it completely empty.

"Huh," Logan said with a frown, walking past Virgil further into the tunnel as Virgil stopped, allowing himself to fall back to the back of the group. The same mistake he'd made the way before, before coming face to face with a fucking dragon, but he didn't exactly have any other options. "What happened?"

"Maybe we just dreamt it, like Uncle Janus said," Virgil suggested.

"No, it was definitely here," Logan muttered, crouching down onto the ground. He looked ahead at where the door had been, to find it open once more, then back at the ground, placing a hand on the rocks and feeling around.

"Maybe it flew away!" Remus said, crouching down next to Logan.

"No, it was injured, it couldn't have gotten far," Logan countered.

There was silence for a while, and Virgil was half tempted to turn around and walk back home, leave these weirdos alone to deal with the missing dragon, but still he stayed, not wanting to leave his brother alone. If the dragon really was real, and it had escaped further into the cave, or even got out, he didn't want to risk leaving Logan alone in here with it. Even if he was with the twins - Virgil still wasn't sure what to think of the twins, they seemed to be the type to run into danger for the fun of it and Virgil did not vibe with that at all.

Eventually, Roman performed a dramatic gasp, and ran over to his brother, gripping his shoulders. "Remus, you know what this means?"

"Please don't say 'monster hunter time'."

"Monster hunter time!"

Virgil blinked, stepping forward. "Uh, what's monster hunter time?"

"Remus and I are monster hunters!" Roman said, with a grin.

"Roman is a monster hunter," Remus corrected. "I am a person who searches for creatures of mythical or illogical origin."

"Yeah, exactly, a monster hunter."

"Shut up, Roman."

"You're the one who started the monster hunting thing-"

"Yeah, and I wanted us to the called 'the cryptid catchers' but you said that was dumb, so..."

"It is dumb."

"Alliteration isn't dumb."

"Can you both just shut up and explain what you mean?" Virgil snapped.

Roman sighed. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Remus and I have a hobby of coming into this forest and looking for weird shit. We've never found anything alive, but now we know there's a dragon somewhere, so we're gonna hunt it down."

There was a pause, before Virgil said, "Do you want to get us killed?"

"Yes!" Remus shouted. After Roman nudged his arm, he corrected, "No!"

"C'mon, Virgil," Logan said, rising up off the floor. "It might be fun."

Virgil just stared at him like he was insane.

"If it gets too much, we can head home," Logan promised.

Virgil let out a long, long sigh. "Okay. Fine."

~*~

A few hours after leaving the boys, Janus found himself in Patton's kitchen, running his fingers through his hair and trying to figure out why this was already taking such a toll on him. He knew that Logan and Virgil were okay, they'd been through a lot worse than just having a picnic with the twins, but they'd been out for a while now and he hadn't so much have received a text from either of them or seen them in the fields and he'd promised himself that he'd take care of them, what if they were hurt, what if-

No, no. He'd also promised that he wasn't going to be too protective of the boys. Obviously he wanted to protect them from his work, keep them safely in reality, keep them safe from any harm, but at the same time they were both teenagers, who were smart enough to take care of themselves. They needed to have independence, he didn't want them to feel as though he was trying to control them. He wanted them to live their own lives, make their own decisions. Even if those decisions could potentially put them in danger. Obviously he'd try his best to prevent that, but...

"I'm sure they're fine, Janus," Patton said, placing a cup of tea down in front of him and sitting down opposite him. "Roman and Remus are both quite independent, and also... somewhat sensible, they'll be keeping them safe."

"I've had them for less than twenty four hours and I'm already terrified that they're going to get hurt," Janus said, staring down at his tea.

Patton gave him a small smile. "That's just what comes with being a parent, Janus. You'll always be afraid that your children are going to get hurt, and you'll do everything in your power to protect them, but you need to let them go as well. No matter how scared you are, you'll always have faith that they will eventually come back safe."

Janus sighed. "This is why I didn't want children."

There was silence for a moment, until Patton quietly asked, "Janus, why did you decide to take them in?"

Janus took a long gulp of his tea, trying not to show how much it burnt his tongue as he put it back down. He opened his mouth to speak, before deciding to take another gulp. Procrastination at it's best. In truth, he didn't quite know why he'd decided to take them in. He could have just left them to continue to be thrown around different foster homes, until they eventually both aged out of the system and went to live their own lives. He hadn't talked, even wanted to talk to any of his family in years, and now...

"Because they're all I have left," he eventually said. After seeing Patton's confused expression, he continued, "Both of my own parents are dead, and I stopped speaking to my brother years ago. So then when I found out he died, I... I don't know, I felt like I should have tried better. I never really engaged with my family, kinda just got out of there as soon as I could, but... yeah. Then I find out that my brother had two kids, and that they were all alone in the world, so I reached out and tried to get them. I wanted them to be safe."

Patton looked at him for a while, considering him, before smiling. "I think that's nice of you. Virgil and Logan deserve to have a family just as much as you did."

Janus scoffed. "Yeah, no, I don't blame my family for never trying to connect with me again. You don't know this, but I was kinda shitty person back then. Abandoned my family because they deserved better, and... I don't know, I wanted more out of life. Made a lot of mistakes, talked to a lot of people who didn't make life much better, and... now I'm here, just trying to make the most of things."

"I'm sure you weren't-"

"You don't know anything about my past, Patton," Janus said, perhaps a little too harshly, judging by the way Patton flinched. He immediately felt bad about that. "Sorry, I... That's all behind me now, y'know? I... You're probably closer to me than any of my family ever was."

He tried not to focus on how Patton blushed at that. And definitely didn't blush himself.

"I'm just... worried about the boys," Janus admitted. "They're all I have left and-"

"It'll be okay, Janus," Patton reassured him, "they'll be okay."

~*~

The further the group traveled into the cave, the more excited Logan became about all of this. Machinery was scattered all around, in little rooms and on the walls of tunnels, blinking lights and buttons with weird symbols. It took all of Logan's strength not to go up and push the buttons, just to find out what happened. He held himself back simply because he didn't want to press the wrong button and get himself killed, but God was he curious.

"Who do you think made all of these?" Logan wondered, stopping by one of the machines and crouching down, trying to get a better look around it. He could see a small hatch on the side with a keyhole, and desperately wanted to open it to look inside, to see what was going on.

"Probably some government place," Roman said. "These machines have always been here. I don't think they really do anything."

Logan hummed, reaching towards the hatch and attempting to pull it open. It was locked, which really shouldn't have shocked him. "Do any of you guys know how to pick locks?"

"Oh!" Remus exclaimed, jumping down next to Logan. "I do!"

Virgil seemed just a little alarmed by that. "Should we be concerned?"

"Nah." Remus looked at the lock for a moment, before taking a pin out of his pocket and beginning to pick the lock. A moment later, the hatch swung open. "There!" He moved away, allowing Logan to get a closer.

There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Just wires and cogs, and clear glasses showing some sort of energy source, Logan presumed - a neon green liquid. He tried not to think about that. After staring at it a moment longer, he closed the hatch and stood back up, continuing to follow the others deeper into the cave.

Every now and then, he'd stop by a machine and take out his new sketchbook (which he planned to turn into a journal of sorts) and doodle some of the symbols, mostly to make a note and see if he could research them later. He was intrigued to find out what they meant, although most just seemed to be random shapes - then again, he did spot a couple Greek letters, perhaps the ones he didn't recognise were something like that?

They heard a noise from further down the tunnel, and stopped. A moment later, the noise disappeared, only to start back up again. Logan glanced at the others, trying to figure out if they had any idea what was going on. It didn't sound... aggressive, or even particularly terrifying, but it was different than the quiet whirring of machinery, and seemed to echo around in the tight space. Plus, knowing that it was highly likely that there was a dragon on the loose didn't make things much better.

"Maybe we should just go back home-" Virgil quietly suggested, trying to turn back only to be physically stopped by Roman.

"It's probably nothing," Logan said, half to reassure his brother and half to reassure himself. He continued to walk down the corridor, slower this time, towards the source of the sound. It sounded... well, not dangerous, not really. Peaceful, probably quiet if it wasn't for the echo. At the corner where the noise was at its loudest, Logan stopped, pressing his back against the wall and peaking around. "Oh, no, okay, that's a dragon."

Virgil's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm gonna pet it!" Remus said, a little too loudly, as he surged forward, a little too fast. Logan grabbed his arm just before he made it around the corner, pulling him back.

"Remus, that is literally the worst idea you've come up with all day," Logan said, monotonously.

Remus pouted. "But, like, that was my entire reason for hunting down the dragon-"

"Remus, I don't know how to explain to you how much of a terrible idea this is."

"Well maybe if you let me try you'd see that it's actually a good idea-"

Logan opened his mouth to argue more, but stopped as he saw Virgil walk past them, heading straight towards the dragon. Shit. He let go of Remus' wrist and followed Virgil, trying to stop him as well, but it was too late. Virgil was right by the dragon's side, crouching down. "Virgil, come-"

"Shh," Virgil said, reaching a hand towards the dragon. "It's sleeping." His hand connected with the scales on the dragon's head, and he began to slowly stroke it, the dragon staying completely still.

Remus turned around the corner, slowly followed by Roman, looking incredibly disappointed. "Why is Virgil allowed to pet it but not me?"

"He's not," Logan said, folding his arms, but still softening his voice a little. The dragon did look peaceful, happy, and it wasn't... attacking them, or anything. Plus, if Logan wanted to get a drawing done and study it, having Virgil keeping it calm like this would be good. Eventually, Logan moved further into the room, sitting down with his back to the wall and taking out his journal, trying to draw the dragon to the best of his ability.

Remus seemed to take that as an excuse to go pet the dragon as well, whilst Roman went to sit down next to Logan, observing the situation and chuckling every now and then. After ten minutes or so, he turned to look, frowning at the drawing on the page.

"That sucks," he said, simply.

Logan glared at him. "I'm not exactly an artist."

"Yeah, but, like. It's right in front of you."

"You think you can do better?"

"Yup." Roman took the journal out of Logan's hand, pulled a pencil out of his bag, and began to draw, glancing up at the dragon every few seconds. And Logan had to admit, it was good. Roman had very clearly had a lot of practise when it came to art, and... Christ, yeah, it was pretty realistic. "See?"

"Okay, yes. That... is a lot better than mine."

Roman grinned.

"I'm, uh, I was actually planning on drawing out any creature we come across," Logan told Roman. "And also keep more scientific notes about them on the same pages. Do you- Would you be willing to draw everything for me? You are... very skilled, I have to admit."

Roman smirked. "Sure. Does that mean you'll be a monster hunter as well?"

Logan hesitated, before slowly nodding. "If you two are willing to let me tag along. I think it will be... interesting, at the very least."

"What about Virgil?" Roman asked. "Seems unfair if you come along but not him."

"Yeah, I don't want to die, thank you very much," Virgil said from the other side, still stroking the dragon, utterly entranced.

"You say that, and then you're the one stroking a dragon," Logan said.

Virgil paused, before continuing to stroke it. "Fair point. Okay, I'm in, or whatever."

Logan stood up, approaching the dragon and beginning to examine it. It looked... real, alive, it's chest slowly moving up and down as it breathed. Red scales, reptilian, similar to that of a snake. It looked... almost exactly how he'd expect a dragon to look, like it was straight out of a fairy tale. It was that detail that made Logan question just how real it was.

It could very easily have been a piece of machinery, just like everything else in this cave, perhaps something that had gone haywire. But at the same time, it was breathing, and the scales felt real, and... well, Logan guessed that he wanted it to be real. He wanted something... cool in his life, something extraordinary, something to prove that his life wasn't meaningless.

Perhaps living in this town wouldn't be so bad. As much as Janus was... well, as hard as Logan found it to trust Janus, he had certainly been better than... pretty much every other 'home' they had been in, although they had only known him less than a day. Roman and Remus were nice, at least, and Logan was excited to be able to work with them, to try to solve the mysteries of this town. The mysteries that Logan was sure existed, because, goddamnit, he was going to find them. With Roman and Remus around, he figured that probably wouldn't be hard.

Logan ended up stroking the dragon's tail, a wave of calmness rushing over him. This was nice. Things were nice. And... well, Logan could certainly see himself returning to this cave for more research, perhaps to study those machines more or even just to check out the dragon again. He wanted to know things, to learn things, and this seemed like a pretty good way to do that, to discover the secrets of the world.

~*~

Patton was a little worried about Janus, to say the least. He'd left his house a while ago, returned home to wait for his nephews, but he'd been acting a little... odd. Janus wasn't usually so open about his feelings, and his past, and... anything, really. Even to Patton, Janus remained a total mystery.

A good mystery, Patton had found. He always enjoyed Janus' presence, probably a little more than he should have. He almost reminded Patton of his ex, before she... well, before things got bad between the two of them. Patton had loved her, that much he knew, but they hadn't been a good match. He hadn't loved her in the way she wanted him to love her. She had never wanted a family, just wanted someone to screw around with, really. Patton had wanted something long term, and... well, thinking back he probably saw her as more of a friend. He'd have been happy spending his life with her, but in a platonic relationship rather than romantic or sexual. He wasn't even into girls, although he didn't know that at the time.

Janus, however, was just a little different. There was that same feeling of wanting to spend the rest of his life with him, wanting to build up to the world with him in mind, but it was... stronger. Patton wanted more than just friendship with Janus, and... perhaps he did too. Patton hoped so, anyway. Only time would tell, though. It could have just been a silly crush, for all Patton knew, he'd had plenty of those in his lifetime. And Janus probably wasn't even interested - he had his own life to be focusing on, always busy with 'work' (whatever that was), and now he had two kids to be looking out for as well. It wasn't the right time, not just yet.

Patton sighed as he stared out the window, looking across the fields whilst washing the dishes. He had an alright life, he supposed. A nice town, a stable job, two brilliant children. There wasn't anything to complain about, not really. Still, a part of him wanted more.

~*~

The four 'monster hunters' (they'd have to think of a name for themselves, but that could wait for now) gathered around a lake in the middle of the forest, sitting near the edge. Roman sat with his sketchbook in his lap, his pencil gliding gracefully across the page as he drew the scene in front of him, the ripples spreading out across the water and the little trees in the distance, the few fluffy clouds in the sky. The rest of the group were sat around eating, looking fairly happy with themselves.

"Is this going to be a regular occurrence?" Logan asked, looking back and forth between the twins.

After a moment of silence, Roman shrugged, and said, "If you want it to be. Re and I come down here all the time, you're more than welcome to join whenever."

"No, I mean..." Logan sighed. "Exploring the forest. Finding weird things."

Remus grinned. "Yeah! We come out here almost every day!"

A small smile spread across Logan's face. "Alright. That is... satisfactory."

"If you end up getting me or my brother killed," Virgil said, "I'm going to murder you. I hope you know that."

"How can you kill us when you're dead?" Remus pointed out.

"Shut up."

"No one's going to die," Roman promised. "We know the forest like the backs of our hands. If anything does go wrong, we can just call Janus. He took down the dragon that first time, remember?"

Logan and Virgil exchanged a glance that Roman couldn't quite decipher, before Logan slowly nodded. "Yes. Of course."

Roman smiled. The other three smiled back. He looked back out across the lake, and sighed, feeling the wind brush his cheeks and smelling the freshwater in the air. Things were going to be great, he knew it.