#yoohoo new pairing tag

[partyanimal167]

Be Careful, She Bites- Nico x F! Twilight! Reader

Idk why, but I randomly got into a Gangsta. kick again, and gosh, I really miss this anime. I've read some fics on AO3 and know some people here who are in the fandom. I don't think I've ever written anything for the fandom, so I might as well try while I'm on this plane. I need to remember to add this anime to my pinned post.

I hope this is good. Thanks for reading!!!

CW: canon-typical violence, language, slightly unhinged fem reader lol

You weren't interested in being on your best behavior while trying to settle in a new town. Someone needed to make things interesting.

"You need to act right." That was the order you continued to repeat to yourself as your trailed behind your employer into a bland abandoned warehouse that could have been easily confused with the tens that surrounded it. You didn't really care what business was being carried out right now. The boss only needed you as protection which was a smart decision. The two of you were still new in town and while you had the blessings of the big heads' across the country, their protection from money alone could only do so much with the distance.

You easily ignored the lecherous stares shot your way from some low totem pole men. You continued to roll that sour hard candy in your mouth as you leaned against a stack of crates. The weather was sweltering, so you were happy you decided to don a cropped hoodie and capris. One guy kept staring, so you flicked him off. "Y/N," Damn you could never have any fun.

Negotiations were wrapping up when yelling and gun shots could be heard nearby. A window crashed from the side of the building, and two men stood casually. One had a gun out, long white blonde hair, and an eye patch. The other looked a little more rugged. He had black hair, a permanent scowl, and hand rested on the sword resting on his side.

You crunched your candy and grinned wildly. This looked like the good type of trouble to be in.

"Yoohoo, the Monroe family sends their regards." The blonde says before shooting a weaker pawn. The men instantly move to attack before other individuals join the intruders' side.

"What the fuck is going on?" the man who was talking to your boss exclaims before starting to run away.

You wanted in on the action, but you knew your priority was to get to safety. You leapt to your boss' side and started to run towards an exit.

You were cut off by that dark-haired fellow who crouched down and seemed ready to pull out that sword on you. You grinned and held out your arm in front of your boss. "I'm really in a playful mood, but I suggest you get out of my way." He didn't say anything to you, but your reflexes kicked in and tossed a knife behind him--knocking down a man who had a gun in his hand and aiming at you.

"We're not with them. Just candidates for a business relationship." the boss explained. The man didn't seem to care at all, but he looked passed you two towards his partner.

"Let them be. We don't need more work." his friend called out. In an instant, he was over by him; the light breeze passing by you.

You chuckled and continued to run off. "Hope to catch you soon!"

~~~

Your boss was adaptable if anything. That attack led to that group being absorbed and now business wanting to be done with the notorious Monroe family. You caught some of the details when your partner droned on the phone with the big bosses. You wish you paid more attention though because now you were being shuffled around a too nice-looking banquet room filled with overly dressed individuals and you in your finest pair of slacks and dress shirt. Against your better judgement, your top buttons were undone with the chain of your tags peeking at the right angle.

It was insisted that the venue and Monroes would be a safe space for your kind, but in your experience, there was no such thing. You grumbled when greeted by Daniel Monroe and properly chastised afterwards (though he didn't seem to mind much).

The only thing that kept you from running off was the arrival of those two men from before. Since the meeting, you did a little research and got quite a variety of information on the Handymen duo. They seemed like a good type of trouble to keep close for backup, and you expressed that to the boss. They seemed to agree with you for once.

The one named Worick smiled nicely to the boss and yourself--even kissing their hand. You thought the gesture to be corny yet kinda hot all the same. Your boss was not amused. Worick went on to introduce Nicolas to you. Your suspicions about your similarities were confirmed from your research, and you didn't mind peering down at the man. "Hey cuite," you chuckled. He only glared at you. You straightened up and held out your hands. No need to be mean, I don't bite. He showed more emotion with your hands being used to communicate.

"Stop being a brat. Yes you do." your boss scolded. They turned their attention back to Worick. "Excuse her, if I give her an inch, she takes a mile. Can never be to cautious."

That seemed to be enough for a laugh. "Well that's what makes working with our partners so exciting."

~~~

Nicolas knew trouble miles away, and you were trouble. He didn't often come across Twilights that were similar in strength to him, and he didn't need to see your tags to know.

He had been trailing your duo for a few hours at the request of Cristiano family who knew that you were from some distant family of powerful people. They just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to upset the city's power balance. It was boring work truthfully, but there were perks to being quiet and knowing how to hide.

Right now, the two of you were in some shitty restaurant, so Nicolas sat in a narrow alley bored. There were probably a lot of things going on during this busy time of day that he couldn't hear or cared to.

However a whoosh passed his face could definitely be felt.

He looked up to see your form standing at the alley entrance and turned to see one of your knifes stuck in the brick wall a few feet away. He reached out for his sword.

"Wow wow," you held out your hands in defense, "no need to get all violent on me." You laughed. "Can't I play with you a bit? After all, you've been on my ass all day."

Nicolas shouldn't be too surprised hearing that you knew he was lurking. He grunted and relaxed slightly on his crate. He glared at you.

"Shame we're on the same side right now," you leaned against a wall, "I wanna know how look in a fight. You one of those pill poppers?"

He knew what you were suggesting. Nicolas grunted. We all pop pills. Gonna die either way.

You grinned then shrugged. "Got a point there." You walked towards him. Nicolas was ready for an attack, but you passed him to retrieve your knife. "So what fun is there to do in this godforsaken city?"

There is no fun for us. We're here to kill and follow orders.

You sighed and rolled your eyes. "What a killjoy." you still had a mischievous look in your eyes. Nicolas didn't jerk away when you reached out your hand and cupped his chin. You ran a thumb across the bottom of his lip and licked your own. "Lucky for you, I still think we can show each other a good time. There's always that at least." you grinned madly when your thumb entered the man's mouth and was held tightly between his teeth.

"Be careful. I bite too."

~~~

I miss this show/manga so much!!! I hope Kohske is doing okay. Her wellbeing is more important.

I liked writing for this fandom. The world is such an interesting setting and how things work in it. Maybe I'll try some more later.

Thank you for reading!!!

[sparkywrites25]

Hi, I know people oftenly compare Rivetra to Levihan but I’m a fan of Hange soooo I don’t really like their fights 😭😭 what if a Rivetra au where in Levi introduces Petra to his friends and then Hange started crushing on her and Levi is just so annoyed and jealous because Petra’s obliviously reciprocating Hange’s flirts

Hi hi! I am so sorry that this was so late but I kept starting it and changing my mind about what I wrote. I was also waffling on way too much and, honestly, if I'd have let myself, and didn't already have a million WIPs, I could have easily turned this into a chaptered piece. It did turn out rather different than planned though but I hope you're okay with this.

I really love the idea and I absolutely support you in that I don't like seeing shippers fight over ships. Rivetra and Levihan are both awesome. As are most Levi ships, let's be honest.

---------

Summary: Levi tries to bury his jealousy when his new friend Petra is getting on swimmingly with Hange. But a game of laser tag leads to some interesting revelations.

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Petra Ral

Taglist: @youre-ackermine @lunar-rainclouds @captain-natey

Notes: If you like my work and want to see more then please join my taglist. Form is pinned on my blog.

“Leeeviiiii, Petraaaaaa!!!” Hange’s greeting bounced all across the bowling alley parking lot as they jumped up and down, arms wafting through the air like those of a windmill. 

Levi clicked the lock on his car keys, the answering click of the vehicle almost drowned out by Hange’s echoing voice. He pocketed the keys and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. They were giving him the beginnings of a headache already. He could feel it beginning to sprout up between his eyes. 

“Yoohoo!!!” Hange continued as if a dozen people weren’t already staring at the spectacle they were making of themselves. “Come on slowpokes. We’ve got asses to kick! Right baby?!” they yelled. Levi didn’t have to ask who they were shouting at now. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Petra laughing and waving back at the messy brunette. 

“Too right!” Petra cupped her hands around her mouth and called back as she and Levi headed over to where the group was meeting. “We’re gonna smash them!” 

“Damn straight we are!” Hange cackled back, equally as loudly. Some of the stares in their direction were turning to glares now, Levi observed. Hange really needed to grasp the concept of not showing themself up by being so loud. He and Petra were closing in on the group within seconds now. 

Irritation gnawed away at him as he looked between Hange and Petra’s laughing faces. He hated the feeling because he knew it made no sense, that he had no right to it. Petra could laugh and play around with whoever she wanted. It shouldn’t bother him. He’d wanted her to get along with his friends, hadn’t he? So why was he this annoyed that she had? Even Hange, for all their lack of volume control, was not irritating enough for him to want to keep Petra away from them all the time. They were an acquired taste to be sure but even so, their  relentlessly enthusiastic interactions with Petra grated on his nerves. 

“Bold words,” Erwin greeted, his voice carrying naturally without feeling the need to project himself across the parking lot. Dressed in his usual favourite colours - a baby blue short-sleeved shirt and beige shorts - he looked as friendly and harmless as he intended to look. It was all a front of course. Levi had seen the man plan many times by now and he couldn’t fault the man’s talent for still being underestimated despite repeatedly thrashing other people. That charming smile and enchanting blue eyes really did wonders for the man. Or he was just a natural-born deceiver. That was equally possible too. “But we’ll soon see who is going to be laughing at the end.”

“Not many,” Levi quipped, eyeing the rainbow psychedelic monstrosity that was Hange’s shirt, “judging by the headache that everyone’s gonna get from Hange’s shirt. Is that your latest strategy?” he mused. 

Hange grabbed their shirt and held it out with a puffed up chest and a grin. “Wha-? This ol’ thing? Of course not!” They declared in mock-outrage, only to grin at Petra almost instantly afterward which provoked a laugh out of the shorter, red-haired woman. 

“As if you’d ever do something like that, Hange,” Petra teased affectionately. As soon as Petra was close enough, Hange slung an arm around her shoulders and began to walk towards the entrance with her. Behind them, Miche and Nanaba followed, their hands linked quietly. Moblit and Nifa brought up the rear with Levi and Erwin. 

“I guess Hange had Skittles for fucking breakfast again,” Levi grumbled quietly.

“You can scoff,” Erwin answered. “But I saw them doing just that this morning. Quite a sizable bowl too.”

“Jesus fucking christ.”

Levi’s attention lingered on Petra as she snuggled into Hange’s arm, chatting animatedly with the brunette as they left the rising heat of the parking lot. Her yellow t-shirt clung to her thin frame, rising up above her denim shorts. She wore brown sandals through which her colourfully painted toes peeked out. There was no pattern to the nails. One blue, one green and three orange sat on one foot while the other boasted a yellow, a red, a pink and two browns. Levi had long since given up on questioning Hange’s design logic. 

He himself had opted for an outfit as low-key as always; he wore a plain black t-shirt, dark jeans and boots. Miche had offered for something similarly unobtrusive - a brown t-shirt that said “Everything smells great from here”  above a picture of clouds, paired with some sandy slacks and simple flats. Nanaba contrasted brightly in her baby pink shorts and t-shirt and matching sandals. It was an unusually gentle look for her and Miche kept smiling over at her. Levi wondered how attentive Miche was going to be in the match when he couldn’t stop looking at his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Nifa and Moblit had gone, whether intentionally or unintentionally, with matching red flanel shirts. While Moblit had paired his with some ripped skinny jeans, Nifa had opted for denim shorts that showed off her newly tanned legs from her trip to Marley recently. 

———————————————

The refreshing air-conditioning wafted over the group like a wave as they all stepped inside. Rows of colourful lanes and even more colourful balls, shirts and shoes greeted them. Hange was already pointing out a good lane to book only to stop and point out another one. Moblit, despite his years of experience arguing with Hange, was discussing it with them. Levi watched Hange’s gesturing become more and more dramatic, their eyes gleaming behind their filthy glasses. Levi would be amazed if they managed to get any pins down if they were refusing to clean their glasses even for this. 

It took them about fifteen minutes to pick a lane, agree (with much reluctance on Hange’s part) that they were not doing bowling shirts today, get their shoes and some snacks and settle down at their two lanes. Hange set up the two computers so that their teams were competing. 

“Team Captain!” they declared, punching their fist in the air. They faced little opposition. Miche and Nanaba weren’t particularly concerned, nor were Moblit, Nifa, Petra or Levi. Erwin watched everyone for a moment before offering his own services. Then he made the mistake of giving Hange first selection over their teammate.

“Petraaaaaaa!” they beamed instantly. 

Levi felt his mood plummet even more and inwardly cursed himself for that reaction. So what if Hange picked Petra? This wasn’t elementary school where such choices were usually personal slights towards someone else. What’s wrong with you? You don’t own Petra. So what if she’s on Hange’s team? You don’t want to be on Hange’s team. And yet, as he mused over this, he couldn’t help but feel that Hange’s team, even with the loudness that came from the captain, held a bit more appeal now. He shut down those thoughts for now. There was no point in them, especially with the way things stood. Anyway, he wasn’t entitled to anything like that from Petra and he wasn’t chasing it either. He was just being foolish.

Erwin looked around at everyone carefully before making his selection. “Levi,” he chose finally. 

There was a relief in Erwin’s selection breaking up Levi’s thoughts although the certainty that he definitely wouldn’t be on the same team as Petra now, lingered. Even so, the promise of trying to beat Hange’s team filled him with some satisfaction. He could feel his blood pumping at the thought of beating them now. 

Hange and Petra whispered together for a moment. “Miche!” Hange announced. 

There were some raised eyebrows among everyone since normally Moblit was next to be chosen by Hange. Miche was always on Erwin’s team. Still, he smiled and went to sit next to Petra. Levi looked over towards Hange’s team and caught Petra’s surprise on her face. She grinned across at him and Levi felt his own lips tug upwards into the briefest and thinnest of smiles before he looked away from her. Hange immediately threw their arms around Miche and Petra and Levi ignored the irritation burning away in his stomach.

“Moblit,” Erwin didn’t even hesitate once Miche had taken his seat with his new team. Hange spun round with an impressed smile and Erwin shrugged. “You surely weren’t expecting me to pull any punches if poaching is the name of the game?” he challenged. 

Hange clapped their hands once. “There’s my conniving rival!” they declared.

They eyed the remaining two to be chosen - Nifa or Nanaba. Their face contorted into annoyance as they eyed the two of them. By the way their gaze continually lingered on Nifa, the short redhead was clearly the favourite. But with Miche on Hange’s team now, Nanaba would be a double asset now too. But equally having someone’s partner on the opposite team could make a player ever more competitive. Which way did you play it? Keep them motivated by having them on the same team or raise the stakes by making them serve on different teams and risk competition improving or wrecking their games. Levi could understand the principle of this. 

Although he had no partner in that sense, he was quite looking forward to competing against Hange and their team. Especially Miche. Levi pretended not to notice the amusement that tugged on his lips whenever Levi stepped up to bowl. It was even more amusing to watch that smile dip whenever Levi’s natural strength gained him a strike. 

Just as it was quite entertaining to watch Hange peruse and debate their options in their own head as a few minutes passed. It was equally so when Erwin cleared his throat and prompted Hange to make a decision. She chose Nifa and so Nanaba joined Erwin’s team and promised her new teammates that they were going to crush their opponents.

“I don’t suppose you and Miche have a secret agreement that he’ll throw the match if Hange ever snatches him?” she queried with a grin. 

Erwin chuckled. “That would be poor sportsmanship,” he chided her although there was no real firmness in his tone. “But had I such an agreement with me, it would count for nothing now that you’re on our team instead.”

Levi huffed with a slight smirk. “Yeah he’s not gonna lose face in front of you,” he remarked and Nanaba chuckled, running a hand over her face. 

“Ahh well, I guess we’ll just have to play fair then,” she mock-complained and took one of the seats. “All right then, let’s take ‘em down.”

———————————————

Despite the teams switch up, the groups were still relatively evenly matched. Levi and Miche proved to be the better players on their respective teams. Erwin provided solid advice  to his teammates on maximizing the scores if they didn’t get a strike. Hange provided similar tips for their team although whenever they stepped up onto the lane, they played rather gung ho and their balls constantly slammed down on the lanes before they rolled. Moblit turned out to be something of a dark horse whenever he stepped up to bowl. He was a master at securing half-strikes each time even without Erwin’s tips.

“Hange, I don’t really want to be paying for any damage,” Erwin called over to them when one ball landed with a particularly deafening crack that had several members of staff looking over. Hange, to their credit, held up a hand in apology before continuing on with their game. 

Strategy-aside, Erwin was a considerably good player himself. He made a lot of good shots although his determination to play around with angles and muse over how much arm strength to commit poked continually at Levi’s patience. 

Petra herself wasn’t a bad player either although on most of her turns, Hange stepped up to speak to her. Levi would watch them gesture and enthuse about something or other. At one point they wrapped their arms around Petra and demonstrated posture and technique. As if the woman had never bowled before or been part of a winning team. More irksome was the fact that Petra seemed to let her. She laughed and patted Hange’s cheek then hugged her whenever their advice actually paid off. 

Levi knew it shouldn’t bother him but despite that logic, it did. Knowing that just left him feeling even more pissed off. So he focused on what he could control which was his own performance (as well as pointing out things that his teammates were doing wrong). Making quips whenever “the great Erwin” got less than a half strike as well as suggesting to Nanaba and Moblit that they imagine Miche and Hange’s heads on the pins did make for comfortable distractions though.

Regrettably Hange’s team claimed the first victory and then a second victory after lunch which consisted of fast food that Levi considered too fast to justify being cooked properly. Even so, he ate his meal for energy if nothing else. 

After lunch, Nanaba suggested they opt for something a bit more aggressive, throwing a smirk Miche’s way as she did. A lot of eyes lit up when she suggested laser tag. Even Levi had no objections to the prospect of taking aim at people and adding points to the team collection. Especially if it meant wiping Hange’s bragging smile of their beaming face. 

Hange drove Petra, Nifa. Moblit and Nanaba to the laser quest hall while Erwin drove Levi and Miche. The car journey was perfectly peaceful without Hange shouting and pointing at everything and punching people whenever they saw a yellow car. However the drive was not without it’s nuisances. This one came in the form of a very tall, blue eyed busybody in the driver’s seat. 

“You know, Levi,” Erwin remarked as he navigated them around a roundabout, “I hate it to say it but you’re going to need to act faster this time.”

“Excuse me?” Levi grumbled from the back seat. Even Miche shot Erwin a curious look. 

“Speed doesn’t guarantee a win in bowling,” he remarked in some confusion. 

“I’m not talking about bowling,” Erwin explained and raised his eyes to meet Levi’s in the rear view mirror. “I’m talking about getting Petra on your team,”  he told Levi. 

Levi’s grumpiness quickly transformed into a scowl. “Did I say I wanted her on our team?”

“You didn’t have to,” Erwin replied. “The look you gave Hange’s team after Petra joined. Thankfully looks don’t kill or we’d be burying Hange soon enough,” he continued. He smiled and Levi wanted to punch it, to knock that smug look right off his face. 

“I was glaring at Hange because they’re too fucking loud,” Levi lied. 

“They’re always too fucking loud,” Miche laughed. “Today you were giving death rays out with those eyes of yours.”

“Smell that did you?” Levi grumbled. 

Miche shrugged and gave the air a sniff. 

“Please, Levi,” Erwin interjected as he pulled off the highway onto a quieter road that led to the outskirts of Mitras, “let’s not dance this dance. You care deeply about Petra.”

“That’s because we’re friends. Presumably you care about your friends, Eyebrows.” Levi argued. 

“I don’t get grumpy when my friends get flirty with other people.”

“I told you-”

“Spare me the lies,” Erwin sighed. “There’s no shame in liking someone, Levi. I don’t know why you’re fighting this so much.”

“You know, just because you think you can read into my head doesn’t mean that you can,” Levi folded his arms. “There’s a word for what you’re doing, you know.” He remarked, tilting his head slowly as if realizing something. “You know what… yeah, I think that’s exactly what you’re doing,” Levi’s tone turned taunting at once. “And you accuse me of lying.”

Erwin’s shoulders tightened a little. “If I knew what you were talking about, I might be able to answer that.”

“You’re projecting, Eyebrows. This is about Hange,” Levi pointed out. 

Miche snorted and side-eyed Erwin. “Is it your turn to play denial?” he asked. 

Erwin’s grip on the steering wheel had strengthened. “I’m not denying my feelings for Hange,” he finally said after a significant pause. “But I can admit it, unlike some of us. This isn’t about me not facing up to that.” He looked back at Levi in the mirror again. “I can’t project what I’m willing to acknowledge.”

Levi’s lips tightened and he exhaled through them thinly. “However I feel about Petra, that’s my business.” Levi kept his answer sharp. He averted his gaze to the window and watched the city thinning out into suburbs quickly. “Anyway I know a lost cause when I see one,” he mumbled, “even if I did have those kinds of feelings for her.”

Miche was back to looking confused again. “Why?” he looked over his shoulder at Levi before the shorter man’s meaning began to land on him. “You think Petra’s flirting with Hange for real?” he questioned. “I don’t know about that. Hange’s leading the way in flirting with her but I don’t know if Petra’s into it.”

“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” Erwin cut into the conversation once again, causing Levi to roll his eyes. 

“Let me guess. Wear my heart on my sleeve and see if she bites? Worst case scenario, I get my pride stamped but hey it’s all just personal growth right?” Levi drawled. “If that’s what you’re gonna suggest then that would be some pretty shitty advice, Erwin.”

“You’re right. That would be bad advice,” Erwin agreed, not taking his eyes off the road now as the speed limit lowered. “You should credit me with more sound judgment than that,” he added. “All you need to do is see if she’s interested in Hange. What happens next is up to you?”

Miche let out a short laugh. “You manipulative bastard.” Erwin glanced at his friend with a frown and, from the backseat, Levi scoffed too. 

“So I find out Hange’s situation for you at the same time?” the raven-haired man questioned. “Yeah, this definitely sounds like a you plan.”

“It has to be better than you stewing over there like a poisonous mushroom not knowing Petra wants to be with Hange or not,” Erwin argued. He slowed down once more as a sign for the laser quest hall appeared. He steered the car into a left turn, into a large retail park. In the middle of which, the laser hall was marked by a scarlet hall and the word LaserQ hanging in rainbow lettering above the roof. “But if you’d prefer to stew, that’s your business?”

“You’re assuming, in all this, that I actually fancy Petra,” Levi grumbled quietly. 

“If you want to stay in denial, Levi, that’s your business,” Erwin shrugged and pulled into a parking space.

Levi said nothing, abandoning the discussion in favour of leaving the car and waiting for Hange’s arrival which was not a long wait considering the speed at which they entered the retail park and swung into an empty spot a few spaces from Erwin’s. The parking lot for the retail park in general was fairly empty today, Levi noticed. Unusually so. Still, if it meant less of a cue and less screaming kids to contend with while waiting for their slot then all the better. 

“How do you still have a license?” he quipped as Hange and the others joined them. 

“I’ve been asking them that for years,” Moblit chuckled, shaking his head at Hange. “You drive like a maniac.”

“Like a maniac?” Levi smirked over at Hange. “They are a maniac.”

“And proud of it,” Hange snapped their fingers into a finger gun at Levi. “The world needs some good maniacs in the world. You’ll be thanking me when I make significant scientific advancements in pharmaceuticals.” They declared, chin raised high in determination. “I’m coming for you, Common Cold!” they added, pointing ahead of them. 

Petra fell into step beside Levi, shooting him a serene smile as she did. “I expect your ride was quieter.”

“You’d think,” Levi mumbled, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, “except I had Erwin yapping some life advice at me for the whole journey.”

Petra laughed again. The sound made Levi’s chest feel less constricted. It filled his eardrums with pleasantness. “That’s pretty deep for a Saturday afternoon,” she mused. “What was he trying to advise you on?”

“Just some general decision-making,” Levi answered with a shrug. “I can’t say his advice was that helpful.”

“Maybe you should pretend that it was,” Petra snickered, “otherwise he’ll keep trying.”

Levi huffed out a small laugh. “That’s not a terrible idea.”

Yet even as they continued their walk towards the laser tag hall, Levi couldn’t help but reflect on Erwin’s advice and the opportunity he now had to ask Petra about Hange. Hange was hanging onto Miche and Erwin up ahead while Moblit, Nifa and Nanaba were discussing game tactics just behind them. He could stop Petra for a few moments and ask.

He could do. It wasn’t the worst advice that Levi had ever received. It was fucking awkward though because then it invited the question of why he was interested in the first place. If he played it off as curiosity then she might smell a rat anyway. It wasn’t like he usually sought out any gossip about other people’s relationships. He, honestly, couldn’t spare the interest and the time to waste on such things. Which left very few plausible possibilities left and generally they lingered far too close to a result that he wasn’t going to like. That awkward rejection. After all, Levi considered himself a good reader of people. He was fairly adept at getting the measure of people and he was sure that if Petra did feel something then surely she’d have shown something of it by now. She wasn’t like him, a hider of emotions. She wore hers in a way that Hange would call “healthy compared to Levi”. So that only left the conclusion that Petra only saw him as a friend. 

With that in mind, why would he want to draw attention to it and make their friendship uncomfortable. Surely his feelings would eventually disappear. He would learn to ignore them. Better that than living with perpetual remembrance and awkwardness. So, no, he didn’t need to hold her back for a conversation about that. He could live with things like this and leave that unspoken. It was unusual for Erwin to not account for that when he gave Levi the advice although perhaps that just wasn’t something that would concern him.

“Are you all right?” Petra’s question surprised him out of his own inner monologuing. 

“Yeah,” he semi-lied. “Just enjoying the quiet while I can.”

Petra laughed softly. “Yeah, not a bad call. I love Hange to bits but they should really come with volume control.”

“Or a mute button.”

“Don’t be mean,” Petra elbowed him a little. “You don’t need to pretend that you don’t like them. They’re one of your best friends.”

“I can care and still think that they’re noisy as fuck,” Levi quipped as the pair of them walked through the doors into the facility. 

“Better hope they’re not on your team then,” Petra teased. 

Levi cringed as he imagined Hange’s tendency to whoop alerting the enemy to their whereabouts. “I can only pray for that,” he muttered. 

Petra laughed once more as they quickened their pace to join the others who were gathering at the counter. 

Hange was already talking with Erwin who briefly caught Levi’s eye for a moment. “As you and I were both team captains last time, Hange, perhaps others can take those roles this time,” he suggested quickly. Levi buried the satisfaction that was attempting to show itself on his face. If Hange wasn’t captain, they couldn’t choose their team members.

“Yeah, okay,” Hange agreed and stepped to one side with a grin. “So who wants it?”

There was a scattering of conversation between them all before Nifa raised her hand as did Petra, to Levi’s surprise. He eyed her with one slightly raised brow and it lifted even higher when she winked at him before looking away and gesturing for Nifa to make her selection first. 

“Hange!” Nifa pointed dramatically at the brunette who cackled and did a victory dance on the spot. 

“Dream team alert!” Hange declared before bouncing over to Nifa like a hyperactive five-year-old. 

Levi fought back an eye-roll and prayed that Nifa wouldn’t make him her second selection. He focused on Petra who was gazing around thoughtfully at everyone. Then, her attention snapped to Levi in a second. “Levi,” she declared. 

His heart did a strange motion in his chest and he pushed down the feeling, chiding himself for being ridiculous. He did, however, lean in to Petra’s ear as he stepped up next to her. “Appreciate it,” he murmured. She chuckled softly. 

Nanaba joined Nifa’s team next and Erwin joined Petra’s. Moblit was selected for the final member of Nifa’s team while Miche joined Team Petra. 

Hange evaluated Petra’s team as they all began to put on their battle vests. Petra’s team was lit up in purple light while Nifa’s team was lit up in green. Hange quickly unfastened their hair from the ponytail then shoved it all up again into one that was - to Levi’s frustration - even messier. “Y’all are going down in ways you can’t even fathom yet,” they cackled as they finished their own straps and began to help Nifa with hers despite the girl’s laughing insistence that she could manage. Levi was quite convinced at this point that Hange was just incapable of staying still. 

“We’ll see about that. You’re not the only strategist in the room, Hange,” Miche fired back with a smile. 

“No, but I’d watch your back. Who says he won’t throw one of you to the wolves to protect his own score?” Hange teased, wriggling their eyebrows. 

Moblit eyed them with some suspicion. “You jumped to that strategy awfully quickly.”

Nifa laughed. “Okay maybe don’t get too close to Hange guys!”

“Hey! I would never!” Hange slammed a hand over their heart exaggeratedly. “Tut tut tut, such little faith in your comrade.”

“That’s not exactly something that you would never do,” Moblit smirked at them. “I still remember the February 2021 incident.”

“I apologized for dislocating your shoulder,” Hange pouted with folded arms. “And I was not pushing you in front of me! That kid, Stephen, was all lined up to hit you. I just got carried away in moving you,” they recalled. 

“You think?” Moblit laughed and slung an arm around Hange. They leaned into his hug with a grin. 

“I feel like that is gonna be on your tombstone, Hange,” Nifa said in a loving voice. “They got carried away.”

Hange’s grin seemed to stretch even wider. “That would be a fun - and apt - epitaph for me. Although Saviour of Mankind from the Common Cold would also be good too.”

Laughter bubbled through the group as they stepped into their teams so that the attendant could lead them inside their room. 

“Good luck,” Nifa and Petra declared and shook hands. 

They were led into a darkened arena with multi-coloured lights projecting on different areas. Across the middle of the floor rose many tall walls, some of which had holes cut into them of various shapes. Lines of thin little lights illuminated the pathways around the walls. 

The two groups stared down at the layout as they began to descend the stairs leading into it. Nifa’s team walked ahead. Petra slowed down so that her team was held back a bit. Concentration burned across Petra’s eyes as she stared down at the arena. Beyond her, Levi could see Hange’s eyes scanning over it all. He didn’t doubt for a moment that they would memorize at least most of it with their impressive memory. They may be a noise nuisance but their intelligence was not to be underestimated here.

He focused on looking back at Petra who was slowly stepping down, observing as much of the set up as she could. He could see her lips pressing into a thin frown as she did. “Hey,” he said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder, “just do your best. We’ll figure it out.”

“Yes, don’t worry. They only change the layout a finite number of times,” Erwin added as he leaned over Levi’s shoulder. “We’ve probably played in this one recently.”

Petra nodded and was silent for a moment before she exhaled. “Thanks guys.”

“I’ll be able to sniff those guys out no problem,” Miche added and Petra laughed softly. 

“There’s perks to having a sniffer dog,” Levi muttered and heard Miche huff out what sounded like a laugh. 

“Okay teams, take up positions,” the attendant called once they’d all reached the bottom. She pointed to a gigantic clock on the wall, glaring down with red light. “When the timer starts, the game begins and points will begin to count. You have three minutes to get yourselves into positions,” she added. 

Now that they were on ground level, everything in the arena rose up imposingly. The two teams began to move out along different pathways, spreading themselves over the space. Levi hurried swiftly along several paths before ducking behind a short wall that jutted out on two sides, providing excellent over. He crouched down and pointed his gun up, ready for anyone that might use common sense to check this space. He listened to the shuffling of feet as teammates and rivals similarly found spots in which to hide or launch their attacks. Staring up at the scoreboard that had now appeared below the clock, he tightened his grip on his gun. 

“Woohoo! Let’s go!” Hange cheered.

“Shut up!” Levi heard Nifa hiss although there was a giggle in her voice. 

He refocused on the clock again. 60 minutes was frozen to the screen. He steadied his breathing, waiting for that number to shift. 

Come on. Come on. 

59:59

There was a scuffle of movement from all sides and almost instantly Levi heard the first sounds of shots being fired followed by increasingly hurried footsteps moving around the arena. Here, there and everywhere they ran. He looked in the different directions, trying to focus on the immediate threat. His senses snapped into place, focusing on those noises nearest to him. His body stiffened and, tightening his grip, he remained in a crouch, waiting with baited breath. 

He rolled his eyes as Hange’s triumphant cheer accompanied a grunt of disappointment from Miche. However Hange’s cry soon turned into a yell as their vest beeped with the sound of a hit. By the sounds of the feet hurrying away, Levi would guess that Erwin had landed a hit. 

A blur of green light rushed past Levi’s spot and he wasted no time in opening fire. Moblit stumbled to a stop as his vest announced his hit. He glanced back at Levi and then rushed off again. Levi instantly moved away from his hiding place and crept around a corner. There was a long stretch of unattended space so he hurried along it. At the last second, Nifa jumped out and fired at him. He leapt aside just in time and took a shot at her. It missed and she darted down another path. He began to pursue when the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. He spun around only for Hange’s shot to hit him in the chest. 

Hange cackled and threw up their hands in the air in victory. Suddenly their vest lit up again and they turned around, fuming when they saw Petra appear behind them. “Traitor!” they exclaimed in mock outrage before rushing off once more. 

Petra grinned and strode up to Levi. “All’s fair in laser tag,” she called back to Hange. 

“Nice shot.” Levi said, pushing her back out of the line of sight they were stood in. He cast a glance up at the scoreboard which proclaimed that Petra’s team were ahead by ten points so far. However the sound of another blast quickly brought Nifa’s team up another ten points, signaling a draw. “Come on,” Levi urged Petra to follow him down a diagonal path that cut across the arena. 

They made it down the path and along another before they rounded the corner and came face to face with Nanaba who opened fire with a grin. Petra cursed, laughing, as she was hit but Levi dodged and fired squarely at Nanaba’s chest. 

“Nice one,” Nanaba smirked before dashing off down the way Levi and Petra had come. 

Petra and Levi quickly made their way up the path, with Levi following behind Petra in side-steps, keeping his eyes on anyone who might come up behind them. As they reached the corner, Petra looked around and raised her gun as blaster fire sounded. Across the room, at the opposing corner, Moblit was opening fire. The pair of them dodged each other with nimble side-steps. Levi stepped in next to Petra and joined in. As Moblit stepped side, he fell into Petra’s line of fire and she got him square in the chest. 

Petra cheered before her own vest lit up. She spun around to see Nanaba facing her back the way she’d come. The tall blonde took a shot at Levi who immediately began to pursue her. She laughed and darted away. Grinning, Petra began to chase down Moblit. Halfway down that path, another one opened out and Nifa sprung out firing her shots. 

Petra dodged but one of them managed to hit her and she playfully cursed. “Damn you ninja!” she cried out. Nifa gave her a grin back and half-bowed before scurrying off towards where Moblit had been, only to back away when Erwin appeared in the corner instead. “No, no!” she cried out as he opened fire on her and got her in the gun. 

“Vengeance is mine!” Hange roared from somewhere behind Erwin and he turned with a smile, opening fire on wherever Hange was. 

Petra gave chase to Nifa who ran into Levi as soon as she was able to shoot again. He shot her in her chest and she complained again and dashed off. 

Levi and Petra glanced up at the scoreboard now. 

Team Petra: 200  Team Nifa: 190

“It’s gonna be close,” Petra panted. Despite the fact that running wasn’t allowed, everyone was moving at a quick enough pace to tax themselves. 

“You okay?” Levi asked, turning his back and aiming his gun at the sound of nearby movement. Hange appeared at the end of that pathway and he shot at their back. They immediately flipped him off and he smirked back, watching them flee the behemoth that was Miche. 

“I’m good,” Petra told him and readied her own gun. 

She set off again, taking turn after turn, quickly growing suspicious when she didn’t run into anybody for a few minutes. She spun around, keeping her gun level. She jumped over a cylindrical obstacle and, as she was in the air, she spotted a familiar blonde head crouched nearby. She reached the corner and saw Nanaba with her back to her, crouched behind a low barrier and firing across a space at Erwin who was also ducking behind a barrier. Neither of them found it particularly easy with their height. 

Crouching low herself and keeping her body mostly hidden around the corner, Petra angled her gun towards Nanaba and, after a moment adjusting her precision, shot her in the back. Nanaba swore and fell forward from the shock. Petra rose up and backed away with a smile until her back hit a gun. She turned around with a yelp and Nifa grinned as she fired into Petra’s chest. 

“Nice shootin’,” Nifa teased and raced around Petra. She began opening fire on Erwin only to yelp when her vest took a hit. “Damn you Miche!” she laughed. 

Petra hurried back down the path she came down and then took one to the right. Halfway down that path, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into a small space, boxed off on three sides. She opened her mouth to point out the no-contact rule but Levi raised a finger to his lips and pointed towards the entrance to their spot with his gun. 

Petra was about to say that she didn’t hear anyone behind her but seconds later, Hange appeared and Levi fired as soon as they spotted Levi and Petra. 

“Damn you, Levi!” Hange cried out. Even so they grinned like a hyena and ran off cackling, making Levi instantly torn between suspicion and exasperation with Hange’s manic ways. Did they know someone else was coming along or were they just being insane as always? He stepped in front of Petra automatically.

“Levi,” she murmured but he hushed her. 

He stepped back, lightly pressing her against the back of the space with his back. Petra’s hand dropped from the gun, instinctively touching Levi’s side. She felt his taut muscles pressing lightly against her chest. She felt the movement of his body as he breathed and a flicker of pleasure shot through her like lightening. This close to him she breathed in the subtle aroma of his aftershave mixed with the ever-so-slight tinge of tea. The back hairs of his undercut were millimeters from her face. An odd thought that she could lean in and press her lips to his neck with very little effort came to her and so her already heating cheeks inflamed even more. She suddenly found herself with the itch to reach up and play with the longer strands of his hair. She pushed that urge away - she was getting good at such things by now. 

Her mind wandered, praying that nobody did come along to disturb this moment, that she could keep Levi here against her like this. There was no Hange to play along with and distract herself with now. There was no big group to hide the glances she gave Levi. There was no one she could gently nudge into telling her more about Levi. There was literally nothing between her and Levi and her heart recognized that, pulsing hard in her chest. Her brain was sending dizzying sensations all over her body in collaboration with her pounding heart. She wanted to kiss that jawline, to make her way up to those lips. She wanted to feel his arms around her, to be pressed against his lean, muscular form. She wanted her hands in his hair and to look into those perfect grey-blue eyes and see if what she felt was reflected in there. 

She wished it was as easy to hug Levi as it was to wrap her arms around Hange. She wished that she could hold Levi’s hand and snuggle into him. She loved Hange to bits and they were a dear friend but Petra desperately wanted to transfer that physical affection towards her and Levi instead. But Levi wasn’t very demonstrative about what feelings he had full stop never mind public displays of affection - if he even felt affection for her. 

Being pressed together in that space brought it all home; all the weeks of uncertainty since they’d met and never quite able to get a read on what Levi might feel. You haven’t made things easy for yourself, Ral, she mused. Yet, all the same, the situation seemed to offer itself up to her and, in those lingering seconds of silence and darkness, Petra felt every ounce of uncertainty slip away, to be replaced by sheer determination. I have to know, one way or the other. 

“Levi,” she whispered, letting her gun hang down her front from its straps. 

“Someone’s coming,” he muttered. 

To hell with this game. Petra thought as her hands took hold of Levi’s shoulders and pushed hard, turning him towards her. His head jerked around, eyes confused and annoyed as they sought out her own. Before he could object, she moved her hands and pushed him against one of their hiding spot’s thin walls. Barely a breath left him as he hit the wall. 

Petra leaned in before he could snap out some sarcastic comment or whatever. Her lips touched his in a second, soft but firm, pressing against his. He stiffened beneath her, or at least his body did. His lips seemed to relax under her touch. His eyes widened for a moment and then his lips lowered. He breathed out, moving his lips against hers with no effort to shove her off. Instead his hands, which had let his own blaster dangle between them, found her shoulders and clutched onto them. 

Seconds later, his lips began to move against hers. He was kissing her back! Euphoria and victory danced together in Petra’s chest as she leaned into Levi, feeling his hands move to the back of her head and her lower back. The sounds of hurried footsteps and blaster fire disappeared under the heavy drumming of her own heartbeat against her ribcage. 

His hand on her lower back moved to her right hip so that his arm rested at her back. His fingers on her head began to stroke her hair and Petra hummed into the kiss quietly. 

He held her like she was precious. Like they were in a real war zone right now and he just had to keep her safe. He stepped forward and, for a moment, Petra expected to be pushed off. Instead he turned them so it was her with her back to a wall and it was Levi’s body protecting hers. She gasped a little and pulled away only for his hand on her head to move to cup her cheek instead. She lifted her soft amber eyes to his and began to smile up at him. He brought a finger up to touch her lips. 

Behind Levi, a figure rushed past their hiding spot, apparently too intent on where they were running to or from to notice two hits they could have landed just not. But even so, right now Petra wasn’t concerned about hits or scores or hiding. Her thoughts lingered on the feel of Levi’s mouth on hers and how much she wanted to feel it again. 

She reached her hand up to cup his cheek and jaw, pulling his face back towards hers again. He leaned in a little and they were kissing again and everything was sweet and simple. The world beyond them blurred into the darkness they hid in and Petra’s hands held his sides, their guns pressed against each other in a clatter of plastic. 

The sound snapped Levi out of the kiss and for a moment he appeared dazed, looking into Petra’s eyes and then down at the guns. The remembrance of where they were seemed to hit them at once. Petra glanced up at the scoreboard and then the time above it. 

35:27

Nifa’s team score was 60 points higher than theirs. Petra remembered that she was supposed to be the captain of this team after all. 

Levi’s hands gently moved to cover hers, his eyes staring into hers for a moment. “We need to-”

“-get back to the game,” Petra finished for him. He stepped back from her and regret filled her chest at the absence of him. However, she stamped it out with the reminder that their teammates needed them and 35 minutes was not really a lot of time to unpack what had just happened and still try and win the game. 

Levi nodded and picked up his gun. “Ready?”

Her head was still in a daze but Petra concentrated on the part that was still thinking logically. “You go one way, I’ll go the other,” she said. Already, Levi moving away was forcing her mind to clear which could only be good for their team in the long run. But they would talk about this. They had to. 

The pair of them returned to the game quickly, racing through the arena and making use of obstacles and hiding places to defend themselves and launch sneak attacks. 

The scores for both teams continued to fluctuate with each team taking the lead at different points. Hange’s amused reactions were so loud that most people had a good idea of where they were. Occasionally Nanaba would cuss out either Miche or Erwin. At one point Moblit was chasing Hange down accusing them of being a maniac. Petra and Erwin chased down Nifa and Hange until Nanaba and Moblit arrived as back up. Levi took the least amount of hits and his record of hitting his targets before they could respond to his presence helped him to continue this streak. Nifa and Hange managed to ambush Miche until Levi arrived to balance things out. 

He and Petra bumped into each other only a few more times during the rest of the game. He placed a hand on her back to slip past her and, for a second, she was distracted by the tingling sensation that flowed through her. She barely managed to snap herself out of it enough to dodge Moblit’s next shot. 

Those 35 minutes flew by and with a final shot by Miche to Hange, the game was claimed by Team Petra by 10 points. 

Sometime between removing the equipment and heading for the exit, Hange slumped sleepily against the wall. There was laughter all around as Erwin lifted them into his arms and carried them out of the room. “The perils of having a big bowl of sugar for breakfast,” he remarked with a smile as Nanaba held the door open for him. Chatter lowered in volume for the sleeping Hange’s sake as the group made for the doorway. Replays of the best and worst shots were followed by ribbing about tactics and sneak attacks. 

Levi and Petra hung back from the rest of them and the dissection of the mask. They walked in silence throughout the building and across a fair stretch of the car park. 

Petra looked over at Levi with a thoughtful expression. Her lips parted as she tried to summon up something good to say in this situation but then remembered the audience of whoever was going to be in the car with them. She lowered her gaze and began to play with her fingers. Nerves crawled all over her body. This wasn’t something she wanted to sleep on or ignore until the next time they saw each other. 

Meanwhile Levi was staring ahead of him, mostly anyway. In the corner of his eye, he could see that Petra was fidgeting. He could feel unease creeping around inside him as his thoughts were dragged back to that moment in the arena - the pleasant pressure of Petra’s lips on his, twice. The way she’d held onto him. The way she looked at him. It was like she was staring into his soul and that should have been something of a red flag. It was troublesome to have someone know you so intimately wasn’t it? That’s what his childhood self and his teenage self were screaming. But something stronger and deeper inside him was saying something else. It said that Petra was different. 

Up ahead, Hange was being laid across Moblit and Nifa’s legs in the back of their car while Miche took the wheel with Nanaba next to him. Erwin turned to Levi and Petra. 

“I’ll drop you two off.” His eyes looked between the two of them, his expression unreadable. If he detected anything, he made no comment about it. Levi simply nodded and Petra murmured a quiet thank you as they both climbed into the car with Erwin. 

It was a long and mostly quiet half-hour journey back to the neighbourhood where both Levi and Petra lived. As Erwin began to pull onto a street several blocks from their apartment complex, Petra leaned in and asked him to stop. 

“We’ll be fine from here, Erwin. Thank you so much,” she insisted as Erwin slowed to a stop. 

Erwin smiled at her then at Levi. There was knowing gleam that Levi didn’t entirely like. “Okay if you’re sure. I’ll see you both soon.”

“Sure,” Levi said as he followed Petra out of the car. They waited for Erwin to drive off and Petra slowly began to walk with Levi moving quietly alongside her as she did.

“I thought we should talk about before,” Petra admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t want this hanging over us and I just want to be honest.”

Levi fought back the emotions that were trying to show on his face. She regrets it. She thinks it was a mistake. His brain began to ramble. She’s trying to let me down gently. Well, let’s just stop that right here, shall we? Sourness flooded him. He should have pushed her off not allowed himself to wonder. This was a stupid fucking mistake. “Then just say it,” Levi shrugged, his tone hard and he hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. Get it over with. 

Petra faltered, stopping immediately and staring at him. “You- you knew?” she asked quietly. 

Levi stopped a few paces ahead of her, his tired eyes looking back into her pretty ones. “Yeah, it’s pretty obvious,” he told her. 

Pink blossomed in her cheeks and spread over her face rapidly. “I…” she murmured as her brow pinched in annoyance, “I thought I was hiding it pretty well.”

“Well it’s crystal clear now.” 

Petra bit down on her lip. “So… I guess you don’t… I mean…” she huffed in impatience at herself. “Is this you making your point without actually saying the words? Cos I kinda need to hear you say it, Levi. I can take it. I’m an adult. You don’t need to soft-soap me on this.”

Levi fully turned to face her, unhooking his thumbs and lowering his hands by his sides. “What the fuck are you talking about?” His brows lifted and some of the sharpness of his frown softened. “You’re the one stumbling over telling me.”

Petra looked baffled. “Eh?”

Levi lost patience with this little back-and-forth. “You’re trying to tell me that you regret the kiss. Don’t pussyfoot around it, Petra.”

“I don’t regret the kiss,” Petra answered immediately, silencing Levi. “If anything I regret not kissing you sooner,” she added, her hands grasping her elbows. Caution was clear in her eyes but her lips pursed with determination. This conversation had to happen one way or another.

It was Levi’s turn to wear confusion all over his face. “But you like Hange.” As he said the words, his mind was already flashing through images of the two of them together and the way it had made his stomach burn to watch that easy affection, to feel resentment for the fact that that affection wasn’t being displayed to him. He had tried to logic his way out of such thoughts and when that didn’t work, burial was always something he had made a half-decent job of. Now he was stood here being told that he’d gotten it wrong?

“I love Hange,” Petra agreed, “as a friend.” She began to smile again although he could see some unease gathering in those perfect amber eyes of hers.

Levi pursed his lips. A feeling of utter stupidity began to weigh down on him. He should have considered that this was just an affectionate thing between Petra and Hange. Hange was always hanging off their friends and hugs were their favourite way of greeting. He couldn’t remember them ever flirting with any of them though. Well, perhaps Erwin and Moblit but honestly those felt more like play than anything else. Of course, clearly his detection for such things wasn’t as good as it could be so perhaps he was just wrong about that too.

“Does Hange know that?” The question was not the thing Levi had intended to ask and yet it slipped out far easier than anything else he was thinking about asking. 

Petra lifted her shoulders a little then lowered them as her smile widened. “If it comes up, I’ll put them straight.” She stepped closer to Levi. “I’m more interested in you… how you feel about me,” she confessed. “I’ve liked you a lot since the day we met at your mother’s garden party. Since we spent the whole afternoon talking,” she recollected with a reminiscent smile. 

“The afternoon that you mostly spent talking,” Levi retorted although his lips twitched into a smile. 

“You could have walked away. You’ve never been shy of doing that before,” Petra began to grin. 

“I never said I was bored listening to you.”

Petra shifted from one foot to another, tilting her head with a bolder smile. “You let me kiss you again.”

“I never said I didn’t like you kissing me, either.” Levi argued. 

“I guess there’s a lot that you’ve never said,” Petra mused, stepping even closer now, lowering her arms so they were almost chest to chest. “I’d much rather listen to what you do have to say,” she told him. “Because I don’t make a habit of crossing that line and I just really need to know if there’s something there for you too or… if I just need to forget this.”

Levi lifted his hand and inched his fingers towards her face until they slid over her smooth, round cheek. The words he wanted to say but had struggled with for so long rose to his throat as if summoned by some spell-caster. He leaned in a little until their noses were touching. “I care about you, Petra,” he told her. “You’re not just my friend.”

Petra exhaled softly and her hands lifted to hold onto his hips. “So… you…?”

Levi’s smile turned teasing. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?” and with that question, he leaned down to kiss her lips. 

She smiled into it, and once again the world melted into the blazing golden light of sunset and the blurry shapes of an empty, quiet street.

[ckyking]

glaive!nyx/oracle!noctis/knight!nyx

well @nicrt @bitchkrieg, this is how the nyx sandwich happened. because i have no self-control  (@jasperraven can attest to that). #jokingturnedfeelings is how i like to decribe this process

alright, so, this started as a joke where i considered what oracle!noctis would do if thrown into the canon verse (mainly because i was rewatching kingsglaive at the time and my salt increased tremendously)

"what a sad and hopeless future this world holds." noctis whispers as he looks up at his father's figure going down the steps of insomnia's citadel, "though, it is not that different from ours in the end."

the kings of lucis trying to pull him into their games when the hostilities start. crystal fragments fighting against the oracle's light as he struggles to keep his trident in place, "you cannot grant what is not yours to give!", he shouts as the trident grows hotter in his hands, "you are nothing to me, kings of lucis!"

"i am the oracle of tenebrae and you will heed me.”

also, him going "fuck it, no one here is dying, do you hear me? "

"i do not fucking care, even if we only stay one day, none of you are dying!"

nyx is both glad and salty about this, "if i knew this was what it took to make you fight against fate, i would have opened that damned portal myself ages ago"

looking at regis and nyx and crowe and luna and going, "you're mine, you're mine, you're mine and you're mine. "

"no one is dying ever"

he is all dutiful and all but you fuck with someone else's fate and he will wreck you

oracle!noctis is a vicious little creature who gladly tear you apart if you threaten his people and he will look harmless while doing it

And then, because my brain hates me, it shifted to noct struggling to keep glaive!nyx alive as dawn rises because a) healer and b) fuck the lucii

while knight!nyx is trying to convince him that " no, you cannot take him back with you!"

"he nearly died! I'm not leaving him there!"

"noctis, no."

"noctis yes.”

"your strays are not crossing the dimensional barrier, i forbid it. "

noct stops looking up at his nyx to ask glaive!nyx who he is keeping alive through sheer force of will, "do you want to come with me?"

he nods vaguely because he is dying and dazed by the pain, and noct goes "well, that settles it"

"goddammit noct, you can't take him, me, glaive!me back!"

"just say he is your long lost twin!"

"he is in no shape to agree to this!"

"well, he is dying, so he doesn't have that much choice left if I leave him like that.”

but, but imagine for one second if something happened between glaive!nyx and noct while knight!nyx was still held back by his "duty"

(because it’s a thing in the oracle!au. also, they are good at talking about every single feeling except for whatever is growing between the two of them. anyway)

glaive!nyx still reeling from the events and having to adapt to a whole new world and to a whole new life where everything he cared for is unreachable now. everything he knows is switched around.

but he is still nyx so he would take one look at noct and what he is going through after everything calms down and be like, "i can't just leave him like that."

knight!nyx literally seeing what his life would have been without noctis. and he is so thankful.

but nyx without the weight of the years spent together? noctis would find it that much easier to act on his growing affection, even if he still feels guilty as hell and so painfully in love with his nyx.

not that he continues to separate them with the word "his" seeing that glaive!nyx also becomes his in noct's eyes after a while.

glaive!nyx is wilder than knight!nyx, and drags noct everywhere with him while exploring this new eos. it feels like his first meeting with knight!nyx, and it's fun to watch discover new-old things and to show him around tenebrae.

knight!nyx never leaves them alone if he can help it, but seeing glaive!nyx flirting with noctis just drives him crazy. and it hurts seeing noct react to him so easily

and noctis feels guilty over stealing nyx away from his world and tries to make it up to him, which ends up drawing them closer to each other.

the worst, the absolute worse in knight!nyx's eyes is when glaive!nyx is sworn in as a knight. and his tattoos start around the finger he wore the ring on and goes up his arms following the veins of power the lucii's power left behind.

it's horrible seeing him with as deep a connection to noct as nyx himself, because the oracle's power had to dig in deep to keep him alive, and it shows

he can see them falling in step with each other like the oldest knights automatically do with noct, or reaching for the same thing, or doing remarkably similar movements and it grates

you better believe he enjoys fighting himself when his counterpart is recovered enough. lets him get all his agression out, and he not-so-secretly enjoys him having to teach himself a new fighting style what with the lack of warping

(not that glaive!nyx doesn’t try to create an alternative to that using the oracle’s power)

but noct still comes to him, still seeks him out as usual, even if a little less than usual because of glaive!nyx.

he still wonders if noctis gravitating toward his other self means that he is not good enough

glaive!nyx sees this, because some things are universal to every nyx ulric, but he doesn't want to do anything about it. because noctis is the only familiar thing he has in the entire universe and he is so tired of letting things go.

also, glaive!nyx is so suicidally protective of noctis, it's unreal. the oracle is ready to tear his hair out over this because of course the only thing worse than nyx at this staying unharmed business would be nyx

that would be the thing to make knight!nyx snap to be honest. just him looking at noctis being himself and imagining him with glaive!nyx and his heart just breaks. 

him taking noct into his arms and kissing him, "please, don't send me away. i will be better, i promise, just please. "

and it's noctis' heart that breaks this time

"i'm sorry nyx, i'm so sorry, but i can't send him away. i can't. he has no else, and- "

"do you love him?"

"i- i can't- "

and he can feel nyx retreat from him at his non-answer and he panics and holds on that much tighter to him,

"don't leave me nyx. i- i may be growing to love him, but i do love you, so please. "

nyx wants to believe, knows that it may be true, but he is still not sure, and it kills him

he gently disentangles himself from noct and walks away, because it's a mess of feelings and thoughts and he can't

the connection between them slams shut and he knows without looking back that noctis is holding back tears, just like he is

glaive!nyx finds noctis in the same position later, when he goes in search for him, because they were supposed to explore around town together.

noctis is looking out of the window at the setting sun, eyes dry but cheeks wet and he is just- blank. nyx just sits near him, one knee folded back against his chest and talks softly, to try and draw him back. but noctis refuses to look at him because he will break if he sees his face

except he eventually does, because they are nyxandnoctis and he can't help it. when he does, he just folds nearly in half and cries because his heart has always been the most fragile part of him

noctis ends up leaning against nyx's chest and cradled in his arms, exhausted from all the emotions. he shakes his head when he is asked if he wants to go to his bedroom, and he is curls closer to him.

they end up spending a good part of the night there. when he finally falls asleep, nyx takes him to bed and go hunt hunt for his counterpart, because he can imagine what went on exactly.

when they do, glaive!nyx goads him into a fight like he is so good at while knight!nyx tries to ignore him. but when he brings up noctis, they go all out.

knight!nyx is trying to deal with his love and his sadness and his perceived inadequacy while glaive!nyx is letting out all his pain and his confusion and yes, his growing devotion for noctis because he is the only thing he has in this world. and he ends screaming at his counterpart in the middle of it

telling him that he's an idiot for not taking what was freely offered for so long, and that he is not going to let noctis go to matter what 

knight!nyx is terrifyingly silent and the deadlier for it while glaive!nyx's words destroy him.

it's the taunt about him never loving noctis that sets him off and glaive!nyx is fucking glad because this means the other him is feeling something. even if he ends up pinned to the ground with a kukri to his throat while he presses his own against knight!nyx's stomach

and that's how noctis finds them when he runs out of the manor in search of a threat, their wild emotions having awakened him

noctis gets so sad then, sad and self-recriminatory and angry and most of all guilty "i want you both. is that what you wanted to hear? because it's true! are you both going to leave now!? poor sad naive noctis who cannot even make up his mind. it that what you wanted to hear!?"

they stop fighting at this and painfully get to their feet while noctis is looking from farther away, terrified of their reactions and trying not to show it. they limp toward him with strikingly similar expressions which makes his hand tighten around his trident, summoned in preparation of battle. and then, they kneel in front of him, head bowed low and they apologize of all things.

noctis laughs at that, because all of this is ridiculous, they are all ridiculous. but this is such a nyx thing to do, and he ends dropping the trident which vanishes before it hits the ground and hides his eyes with his hand.

and things get a little better after that, because they sit down and fucking talk about the three of them and where they're heading

bonus : they both go by nyx ulric. it drives the other knights crazy, so they end up calling one of them nyx and the other ulric. noctis is the only one to call both of them nyx, and it baffles everyone how, every single time, no exceptions, nyx and ulric know exactly which one of them he is referring to.

aaaand voilà! this is how the thing happened. now back to sleep with me.

[rogue-durin-16]

FRIDAY NIGHT

Request: Hi I don't know if you already have something like this, but could you write something about - You and Eddie smoking weed with each other and it's your first time doing that and he just guides you through it while making sure you're okay.

Summary: After catching Eddie hanging out in their house, Dustin's sister has the choice to tell their mother —who didn't allow Eddie at home—, or get something out of it. Let's just say, 'Henderson' and 'snitch' didn't go well together.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader

Genre: fluff

Tags:

Requested by: anon

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog @amourtentiaa @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @comfort-reads

Warnings: use of weed, language

A/N: never in my life would i have guessed I'd be writing anything where the main characters smoke weed for shits and giggles, but this was so fun that I'm thinking about writing a sequel to it. Also, this is LOOOONG. Enjoy this and thank anon for the fun request <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

"You got this, big boy."

"Do I?" I grunted, planting my left foot on the garbage container to propel myself. Y/n had made the stunt look so easy, but it was my third attempt and I was still on her yard. "I should've sold you the damn weed."

"You should've." She agreed with a chuckle, bitting her lower lip to stop the teasing.

It would have never crossed my mind that my Friday night activity would be to sneak into the Hendersons' ranch style home through Y/n's awning window, but there I was.

And that wasn't even the weirdest thing.

Two Hours Earlier

"Okay, bad news." Dustin announced from the kitchen, head buried in the fridge while I lounged in his couch, legs sprawled on the cushions.

"No beer?" I guessed, my attention put in some action figures the freshman had sitting around.

He shook his head no with disproportionate grief. "I got... Yoohoo?"

"Fuck yeah, I love Yohoo." I jumped up from the couch and waltzed to the adjacent room where Dustin was pulling out a couple of chocolate drinks. "So—"

"DUSTIN?! IS MY SKETCHBOOK THERE?!"

The younger boy and I froze, our bodies tensing up; the terror in his wide eyes rivaled with mine.

"I thought you said there was no one home?!"

"DUUUSTINN?!"

"She's supposed to be out!" Dustin hissed back at my whisper-yelling through gritted teeth. "I'm so dead."

I rushed back to the living room, basically throwing myself over the coffee table to get my metal lunchbox and my van's keys.

I had been banned from the Hendersons' house by Dustin's lovely mother at the beginning of the school year. It was somewhat understandable; if a scary looking senior had driven my son back home late at night, nearly mowing down my mailbox, I also would have been pissed.

So, had I known there was a remote chance of us not being alone, I would have declined Dustin invitation to hang out at his place after bringing him back after the campaign.

"Gogogogogo!" The kid hastened me, his hands pushing my back, as if I wasn't already half sprinting to the door.

"Y'know, when someone calls your name—" We all came to an abrupt halt at the hall; Dustin, me... and Y/n. "What. The fuck." I took a step back in fear, even though she limited our interaction to giving me a mildly bemused look.

"Why are you home?!" The younger sibling attempted to divert the attention from me, stepping further into the hall that, I supposed, led to his sister's room. "You're supposed to be at Stacy's or something!"

"Why am I home? Why's he home?" She inquired, eyes wide and hand motioning at my form. "You know the rules. Mom's gonna kill you."

"I was just dropping him home." I prevaricated, my hands raised in surrender.

"Oh God, please." She scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "You've been here for at least an hour, I heard the door."

"Oh c'mon, Y/n!" Dustin groaned. "Can't you be a cool sister for once?" The girl's mouth gaped in vexation, but the curly-haired kid opted for another approach before she could chastise him. "Listen, look at him— look at that face. You think that's the face of someone who should be banished from our house?" Y/n looked over Dustin's shoulder to examine my face, her head tilted to the side, arms folded and lips pursed. "Look at those big brown eyes, Y/n."

Half to help out Dustin and half to make a joke out of it, batted my lashes at her, chin casted low and arms behind my back.

Y/n's brow quirked at me, eyes darting at the metallic lunchbox with a shrewd look that screamed 'I know what that is', which triggered an anxious, almost sheepish giggle on my part.

I shared a few classes with Dustin's sister. We were far from friends, but I had talked to her enough times to know that she not only didn't despise me, but was also a decent person.

She was, however, quite scary too, and having her staring down at me wasn't helping the situation.

"Please, Y/n," Dustin begged. "He was about to leave."

She evaluated us both with squinted eyes, pondering her words, "what do I get out of it?"

Dustin eased at her sister's question, which allowed me to release some anxiety of my own. "What do you want?"

"I need a ride." Despite being her brother the one she was negotiating with, her gaze was fixed on me, her eyes holding ulterior motives.

"A rid—" Dustin scoffed, peeking at me. "A ride? From him?" He pointed his thumb at me over his shoulder.

"No, Dustin, from you." She retorted. "Since you clearly have a license and a car now."

"Ha ha. So funny." Y/n exhaled with the ghost of a confident grin at the younger Henderson's bitter tone. "Eddie's not driving you anywhere."

"Where to?" I jumped in, shocking Dustin but not so much Y/n. A spark of pride did cross her face, though.

"I'll guide you." I gave her a nod in agreement. "Gimme a second."

As Y/n disappeared into what I guessed was her room, Dustin stalked in my direction. "Don't."

"'Don't' what? I'm doing you a favor here, man." I spun the van's keychain in my index finger. "Taking one for the team so you don't get grounded."

"Ha! 'one for the team'. Sure." he narrowed his eyes at me. "I bet you're gonna suffer by giving Y/n a lift."

I gave my head a nonchalant shake, a mischievous half smile tugging on the corner of my lips. "I dunno what's that supposed to mean."

Dustin's menacing index finger raised to my face. "She's off limits."

Before I could wisecrack anything, Y/n was out of her room, jacket on, strolling to the front door. "Don't cry, Dustybun, he can come back any other day, these lips" she pointed at her mouth, rotating to stare at her baffled brother. "are sealed. C'mon!" Y/n gave my hand a tug and, soon enough, we were out of the house and in the van.

It took Y/n five minutes in the road to tense up. At first, she didn't comment on it, choosing to focus on the music playing. Then, I hit a curb.

"Do you even have a license?" She inquired after clearing her throat. "Turn left here."

"Are you implying I can't drive?" I obeyed, turning my face to her with a frown.

"I don't need to imply it." She retorted, knuckles white from gripping the grab handle too tight. "Show me your license."

"Can't you take my word for it?" Though her eyes were shut, I knew very well she could hear the amused smile twisting up my lips.

"No."

"Alright." With a dramatic sigh, I let go of the wheel with one hand, leaning to the passenger seat's side to reach for my license; I wouldn't confirm nor deny, that I momentarily forgot I was the one driving.

Y/n's yelp, along with the van briefly sinking into some kind of pothole, brought me back to reality.

"Woah! Okay my bad." I sat back upright with a nervous chuckle, eyes darting at a livid Y/n. "You're such a scaredy-cat."

"Erase that grin from your face, Munson!" She demanded, making me gnaw on my lower lip in order to comply. "You're gonna get me killed!"

"You literally asked for this." I quipped with a laugh, slowing down the van for the sake of Y/n's heart. "Straight ahead or to the right?" I consulted her, seeing the crossroads ahead of us.

"Your choice." Exhaling as if she had just ran a marathon, she eased up in the passenger seat. "I just wanted a ride."

"What?" I did a double take on the girl, processing her words. "I'm just aimlessly driving you around?"

"Yup." She responded, popping the 'p'.

"Couldn't you, I dunno, go for a walk?"

"At night? in Hawkins?" She raised her brows at me with a snort. "Hell no. Plus," She spared me a glance. "if I can get myself a night ride, I will."

"You're so damn weird."

"You're one to talk." She laughed, making me smile in the process. "I wouldn't have snitched, by the way." Y/n confessed. "I just wanted to give Dustin a hard time."

"Oh so you're actually 'a cool sister'." I teased, recalling her younger sibling's words.

"Not as cool as you or Harrington, but I try."

"I'm cool?" I scoffed in surprised, my attention as fixed on the road as it would ever be.

"Dustin says so." My head spun to her once more; her elbow supported by the window, temple resting on her palm. "I kinda agree— Eddie!" Her hand shot to reach for the steering wheel, giving it a swift turn. "Eyes on the road!"

"Y/n, calm down." I urged her with a laugh, correcting the van's direction whilst mentally scolding myself for scaring the girl. "I've never had an accident, and first one isn't gonna be with you here, 'kay?"

She muttered something I couldn't quite catch under her breath, giving her head a slight shake. This was followed by a short silence I was about to break, but Y/n was faster.

"Since when have you been selling?" She inquired with apparent innocence, quickly following her question with, "If it's not too personal— I don't wanna overstep any boundaries."

"No, it's fine." I side eyed her, my attention still on the road, even when my whole body begged me to turn to look at her. "Three years now. Why?"

"Just curious." Oh, that was a lie. She pondered for a second before asking yet another question. "Do you just sell it, or do you...?"

"Both." Silence. And another question.

"How is it?" I responded with a confused 'huh', to which she clarified, "Smoking weed. How is it? Like," her position shifted in a way that her whole upper body was now turned to me. "is it fun?"

"I mean, kinda" I shrugged, noticing how her voice carried that ulterior motive once more. "It's more, like, relaxing y'know?"

A shared, expecting look was what it took for her to spill the beans.

"What are your prices?" Shocked to my core, I pumped the breaks almost instinctively, making her form dangerously jolt forward. "Jesus Christ, Eddie!" Her right hand clutched the collar of her sweater in terror. "Wanna kill me?!"

I disregarded her last two sentences, still stuck on her previous question. "You wanna buy weed?" My tone was high pitched due to the disbelief, and when she nodded, an anxious laugh escaped me. "Absolutely not."

"Excuse me?"

I snorted, eyes open wide at her confusion, as if the reason for my panic wasn't obvious. "Dustin will have my head on a fucking platter."

"I'm the big sister here." She countered in a stern tone, leaning back against her window.

I groaned, throwing my head over the steering wheel at her expectant, defiant glance; she was right and she knew it. But I was, too. Her younger brother would murder me with his bare hands if something happened to Y/n because of me.

"You don't know how to do it." I stated, hoping to find a starting point to convince her not to make a drug deal with me.

"Teach me, then." I lifted my head again, even more taken aback than before. "Walk me through it." She suggested with a careless shrug.

"Are you asking me," I took my pointer finger to my chest. "the scary freak who's not allowed in your house" my brows raised so far up that they would surely meet my hairline. "to walk you through getting high?"

"It's not like you're dangerous." She pointed out, unbuckling her belt to sit sideways and be able to stare at me.

This girl kept leaving me speechless —which was not unusual, it just hadn't happened whilst talking one-on-one. "How do you even know that."

"We share classes, dude, you're a goofball." She snorted, titling her head to the side. "So, how much is it?"

"I'm not selling you anything."

"Eddie!"

"I... Mmm— okay, you just wanna try?" her head shook affirmatively. "We can... smoke together." her eyes lit up in a way that screamed trouble, which terrified me and excited in equal parts.

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

"Fucking—"

"Shh!" She hushed me from the inside, tiptoes on her mattress and hands on the windowsill.

"Stop sushing me and give me a hand!" I urged her, my upper body into the room and my bottom out in the open.

We were not supposed to be there. The initial idea —crafted by me—, had been to drive her back home, share a joint in the back of my van, and then go back to the trailer park.

Y/n had voiced her concern about this; she believed I would most likely crash if I attempted to drive stoned, and insisted on sneaking me into her room for the night.

Not having the heart to tell her that it wouldn't be the first time I drove stoned, and finding very appealing the chance of spending alone time with Y/n Henderson, I caved in rather quickly. Plus, it was Friday, what could be the harm? I would just leave in the early morning and no one would ever know I was there.

"You're gonna have to roll." Her hands took mine, tugging them down to the bed while she simultaneously climbed off it. Her palm pushed my back for me to be upsidedown while gravity forced my body to slide in.

"I-fucking-hate-this-I-fucking-hate-shit-FUCK!" With a yelp and a thump too loud for anyone's liking, the struggle was over. "Okay. That wasn't so bad." I announced with a thrilled grin, pushing myself off Y/n's blankets to sit up properly on the edge of the bed.

"Uhm," she jogged to put the door on the latch. "How do we do this?"

"We should do it near the window," I tilted my head up. "for obvious reasons. Get comfortable."

"Sure," she kicked of her shoes and prompted me to do the same. Our jackets and my vest ended up poorly discarded at the foot of the bed by the time that Y/n and I found ourselves sitting against her wall, her legs crossed and one of mine pulled to my chest while the other laid sprawled on the soft surface. "So— uhhh..."

I spared her a side glance, my expertise hands pulling out of the lunchbox an already loaded joint. "You nervous?"

"No?" I felt her curious eyes on me as I twisted the end of the rolling paper. "Kinda. In a good way."

"In a good way?" I questioned with a mildly confused half smile, placing the joint between my lips in order to light it.

"Yeah, you know, like" her words paused as she focused on analyzing how I took a drag out of it. "Excited."

I breathed out the smoke, giving her an understanding nod. "I think I get it."

And I did get it; that was exactly how the last two hours with her had felt for me.

"Your turn" I took the reefer between my index and my thumb and handed it over to the girl besides me. "Take a short puff but—" Too late for warnings; by the time I was about to finish the sentence, she was already coughing her lungs out, which made me snort in mirth. "Take it easy."

"You could've" she tried to hold back the coughs as she handed me back the joint. "said that earlier."

"You didn't let me!" I defended myself, taking the rolled up weed from her grasp, eyes never leaving her form, shaky, first from the coughing, then from quieted laughter. "The key is to start slow." I breathed in the weed, holding it for a second before releasing the smoke. "And, since is your first time, just take a couple of puffs— Shit," I cursed, seeing the ashes in my jeans. "You got an ashtray by any chance?"

"Nope but—" She threw her torso over my lap, stretching out her arm to reach for a small bowl on her desk. "We can use this."

All from sudden the ceiling was very interesting to me, my body tensing up under hers. "I could've gotten it for you."

Y/n was quick to retract to her original position, placing the bowl between us. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"Pffft— No?" I half lied, taking a long drag while my eyes roamed the room, because, yes, the ceiling was very interesting, but having her figure pressed against mine was just...

"You sure?"

"Mhmm." I blinked myself back into reality, stopping my mind from wandering too far. You're here for a reason, I told myself. "Okay, try again, but this time," I placed the weed back on her lips. "Take it slow. Short puff. Aaaand hold it for a sec." She did as I instructed her, her fingertips brushing mines while we switched the hold of the joint, sending shocks all the way from my digits to my spine.

Maybe getting stoned with her in such a private, intimate place had not been the best idea ever.

She released the smoke with closed eyes and no coughing this time. "Like that?"

"Yeah." She passed it too me with her eyelids still shut, and I wondered if the weed was already taking effect for her. "You alright?"

"Uh-huh." She rested her head on the wall.

A few minutes passed before Y/n spoke again, sounding as confused as ever.

"Why is it... not kicking in?"

"I—" I gave her a puzzled look, examining her features before stating, "I think it... May be kicking in, Y/n."

"Uhhhh nnno?" She dragged the 'n', accompanying the rhetorical question with a snort.

"You sure about that, sweetheart?" I teased, offering her to take another puff, not without reminding her to by prudent with the intake.

"Pooositive." Oh, it definitely was kicking in. She noticed that too, her eyes opening wide at the realization, perplexed gaze turning to me. "Woah."

I tried to keep myself grounded, despite starting to feel the effects too, since I was supposed to be aiding her. "You feelin'... okay?"

She gave me a slow nod. "My body feels funny." She frowned at her own words before letting out a soft titter.

"This is gonna be hilarious." I declared sliding down the wall to a pretty bad yet awfully comfortable position on Y/n's bed. "Take it veeery slow now, though." I advised, looking up at the girl, whose posture had changed too.

She bobbed her head, smoking once more before handing me down the reefer, her eyes squinted at me for a hot second.

"Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I play with your hair?" A silly smile twisted up the corners of my lips before I could mask it, which triggered a giggle from the girl above me while I moved to lay my head on her thighs. "Ughhhh it's so soft." She dramatically groaned, burying her fingers on my scalp and consequently making my eyes roll into my head. I could barely hold myself from moaning. "Oh wow."

Realizing I had, in fact, not held it back at all, I clapped my hand over my mouth, feeling the heat creep up my neck.

"That was... a reaction." She teased, carding my locks with an amused smile, fingers slow and clumsy due to the weed. "You good?"

"Mhmmm." I shut my eyes, trying to keep it cool.

"You sure?"

"Yea—hhh" in panic, I instinctively grabbed her wrist when her hands dove deeper into my mane, scratching my scalp. I didn't know what was more mortifying; Y/n getting those reactions out of me, or the fact that she snickered. "I'm—"

"It's okaaay." She gave my head a pat, leaning back on the wall before taking her last drag for the night.

Time seemed to stretch and contort, at some point, Y/n had decided to blast an Abba cassette as a background noise to muffle our giggles and disconnected conversations.

Our position had pretty much stayed the same, and now Y/n's fingertips being tangled up in my locks felt like white noise to my body; a very, very pleasant one.

"I like this. Mmmm yeah, I like this." She affirmed to herself in a satisfied manner before letting her eyes look down to me. "Tell me your prices, baby."

"I'm not selling you aaanything." I repeated my words from earlier, waving my hands before my face as an emphasis.

"What if" she folded to face me. "I stroke your hair hmm? What 'bout that?"

I struggled to peel my eyes off her inviting lips. "You, Y/n Henderson," I took her face on my hand to shove it lightly. "Are a minx."

She only laughed, going back down, this time closer. I would only have to prop myself up a few inches and—

"Nope." This time, it was my face the one covered by my hands. "You're—"

"Off limits?"

"High." I corrected, peeking through my fingers at her once her words reached my mind. "Off limits?"

"I heard Dustin." She sat upright with a scornful laugh, fingers leaving my hair. "My fourteen year old brother has you on a chokehold."

"Excuuuuse me, m'lady," I jumped on the bed knocking the ashtray down on my way to invade her personal space. "Who said I'm listening to your literal tadpole of a brother about who is and who isn't off limits?"

I only managed to appreciate the look on her face once we were inches away. That proud, satisfied, borderline cocky look she sported when she got what she wanted.

"You. Are. Goading me!" I announced in shock, seeing the slyness twist her features— goddamnit why was that so attractive?

"Is it working?" She whispered the question with a lewd smirk.

It was. It really was, but it wasn't right. "I... Have principles. And you" I pulled away, leaning back. "are horny 'cause you're high."

"I. Am. Not." She declared, accompanying each of her words with a thump on the mattress.

"Horny or high?"

"Screw you."

"You should thank me." I traveled further away from her until my back hit the side of her desk. "I'm saving you the embarrassment of making out with me."

Whatever playfulness we had going on dropped. She seemed almost offended by my words. "Eddie, for fuck's sake." She tugged my wrists, making me scurry back to her before cupping my face with her palms. "That's ssso fucking dumb. Are you dumb?"

"Am I dumb?" I queried, words mushed due to my cheeks being squeezed together. I am for not kissing you, I thought to myself, dilated pupils falling on her lips.

"Yup." She confirmed, letting me know I was thinking out loud for the nth time that night. "Can I... uhh... ask you somethin'?" I gave her an affirmative hum, sighing at the loss of contact when her hands dropped from my cheeks into the bed. "Do you... Nevermind."

"What? No!" I shoved her shoulder before she lied on her back, hands over her head. "C'mon! what is it?" She shook her head 'no', jumping when I poked her side. "C'monnnn!" Another poke, another jump. "Y/n!" Another one.

"Eddieee!" She squealed, trying to push me away in vain due to the giggles.

"Tellmetellmetellme!" I mashed the words together as I climbed on top of her, tickling her until she was a mess of laughter.

"Eddie stop!" She managed to sputter out, setting for tugging my flush against her body before wrapping her arms around me, which turned out to be just the right way to get me to cease my attack, because her embrace was warm and gentle and loving— so loving that I found myself forgetting about whatever question she was going to ask, melting into her hold instead.

If someone were to ask, I wouldn't be able to respond how long we stayed like that; what I could pinpoint, however, was the exact moment that sobered me up.

The violent knock on the door.

Still coming down from the peak of her high state, Y/n didn't quite register what she was doing when she pushed me off and rushed to the room's entrance, unlatching the lock.

"Y/n wait—"

"Hey there Dustybun." She attempted to hold back a snort at the sight of her horrified younger brother, of which I was able to catch a glimpse once I got up from the bed. "Did I wake you?"

"What—" once he spotted, his eyes went so wide that it looked like they would pop out of his skull. "What are you doing here?! Why was she yelling your name?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"It's not what it looks like, man, I swear." I whispered, getting closer to the door.

Dustin shoved us out of the way and his gaze traveled from the messy bed, to our discarded layers of clothing, and to our toulsed hair and disheveled appearance. "Oh, I bet." He hissed. "Get out." He demanded from me, pointing his index finger at the front door's direction.

"He can't," Y/n moved to stand between us and whispered, "he's high."

Dustin, whose brain was going surprisingly slow considering how smart he was, managed to put two and two together. "Y/n, please tell me you are not high."

"He can't go home, he's hiiigh. He gotta sleep here." Y/N whined, blatantly ignoring her brother's inquiry, which was an answer on its own.

"I swear." He pinched his nose, shaking his head in disappointment. "Okay, Eddie you come to my room. And you" he pointed at Y/n. "be thankful I don't feel like waking up mom."

"You're an angel." She sighed in contempt, planting a loud smooch on Dustin's forehead, which made him shove her away with a disgusted face.

"Do I get a kiss too?" I blurted out without giving my words a second thought. "I'm sorry I—"

"Excuse you?" The curly haired boy seemed so outraged that I wouldn't have been shocked if he had punched me in the spot. "I swear on my mother's life— Y/n!"

Dustin was shocked. I was shocked.

Y/n clearly wasn't, since she had been the one to take a surprisingly firm hold of my face in order to plant a kiss on my mouth.

Her lips felt so divine that I would have sworn I had died and ascended to heaven, and the weed was not helping that feeling, only alienating me further from reality.

It was short lasting, and left me wishing for her to kiss me silly.

It was Dustin's yank on my arm the thing that snapped me out of my trance. "No more sucking face, okay?!" He scolded us both, wrenching my form in the hall's direction. "Go to sleep, Y/n. Now." He ordered as we left the room.

She gifted me an apologetic smile before mouthing a 'night, Eddie', leaning on the door frame. Our eyes stayed locked until Dustin shoved me into his own room, not so far from Y/n's.

"What is WRONG WITH YOU?!" he seethed, shutting the door behind him. "My sister?! Really, Eddie?! And she's HIGH!"

"I'm sorry, man—" I tried in vain to apologize, Taking a seat in the freshman's armchair while he paced.

"No! Shut up!" He pointed a menacing finger at me. "I explicitly told you she's OFF. LIMITS. Do I have to spell it..."

My attention, sooner rather than later, drifted from Dustin's tantrum to a way more compelling topic; whatever had happened in the last hours.

It was just starting to dawn on me how surreal the situation had really been. Y/n and I had gone in one night from exchanging a couple of words in class to... To that.

And what the fuck was that exactly? Was it a one time experience? Would we go back to have simple interactions, such as greeting each other in high school halls and commenting Mrs. Click's class while she waited for Dustin at the cafeteria? Because I didn't know how awkward would that be.

I felt like I knew Y/n in a way I would have never expected to know her, and that had transformed my dumb high school crush into stupid fucking butterflies in my stomach at the thought of her.

"...Are you listening to me?!"

"Y-yeah." I shamelessly lied, fidgeting with my rings. Just like Y/n had been animatedly doing for a little while, earlier.

Why had she kissed me?

Fuck, I had way more questions than answers. I couldn't help but wonder whether she had done it because she was high or... Maybe because she... Liked me?

No way.

I buried my face in my palms, completely unaware of what Dustin might have been saying. I doubted I would obtain any answers to questions I would never have the guts to ask, so the best thing to do was to focus on the positive side of it all.

Y/n had turned a boring, borderline depressing Friday night into what would most likely be the best night of the year.

I couldn't hold back the smile that thought put on my face.

[progressiveparadox]

Tagged by @jon-oliva

THE LAST…

1. Drink: Starbucks Frappucino 

2. Phone call: Blood donation appointment      

3. Text message: Me wishing someone a good trip

4. song you listened to: Fundamental Process by Beyond Creation 5. Time you cried: About a week ago, depression related, after an argument 6. Time you’ve dated someone: Several months ago 7. Time you’ve kissed someone and regretted it: A few years ago 8. time you’ve been cheated on: N/A 9. Time you lost someone special: It’s been a while 10. time you’ve been depressed: Ongoing 11. time you’ve gotten drunk and thrown up: Haven’t thrown up from alcohol, it doesn’t typically make me do that

FAVORITE COLORS 12. Purple 13. Blue 14. Black

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU 15. Made new friends: Yes 16. fallen out of love: not really 17. laughed until you cried: Yes 18. found out someone was talking about you: Nah 19. Met someone who changed you: Yes 20. found out who your friends are: idk 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yeah

GENERAL 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Ohh Probably half 23. do you have any pets: I have 2 dogs. I wish they were cats 24. do you wanna change your name: No. I used to think it was dumb when I was a kid, I’ve grown to embrace it 25. what did you do for your last birthday? I went to see Star Wars Rogue One with some friends

26. what time did you wake up: 12:30 PM 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Playing Magic the Gathering 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Dream Theater show this year! 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: yesterday

30. what are you listening to right now: Nothing atm 31. Have you ever talked to a person named tom: Yes, he was very stoned too 32. something that is getting on your nerves: Close mindedness 33. most visited website: Facebook unfortunately  34. hair color: Dark blond 35. do you have a crush on someone: Oh stop you’re making me blush

36. Long or short hair: Long, but I’m gonna cut it  37. what do you like about yourself: I’m very understanding and cuddly, also my musicality and I think I’m reasonably intelligent. I’m a compassionate person  38. Piercings: Not yet. Maybe though 39: blood type: O+ 40: nickname: Dus, Peeboy ( I pee a lot) 41. relationship status: Single 42. zodiac: Sagittarius, I think horoscope is kind of silly though 43. pronouns: He/him 44. favorite tv show: Star Trek: The Next Generation 45. tattoos: Not yet but probably in the near future 46. Right or left handed: Right  47. surgery: No surpassingly  48. Sport: Baseball 49: Holiday: Christmas  50. pair of trainers: N/A 51. eating: Nothing atm 52. drinking: Yoohoo Chocolate drink 53: im about to: Play chess with my tumblr pal :) 54: waiting for: Social opportunities  55: want: To finish my unfinished projects   56: Get married: That would be nice 57: career: Music Therapy  58: hugs or kisses: Both, simultaneously  59: lips or eyes: Eyes 60: shorter or taller: Doesn’t really matter, 61: older or younger: Typically older. Depends 62. Nice arms or nice stomach: Sure 63. Hook up or relationship: Relationship 64: troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant  65: kissed a stranger: No 66: drank hard liquor: Yes 67: lost glasses or contacts: N/A 68: turned someone down: Yeah 69: sex on the first date: idk 70: broken someone’s heart: I think I might have unfortunately  71: had your heart broken: Yes 72: been arrested: No 73: cried when someone died: Yes  74: fallen for a friend: Yes 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN… 75: Yourself: It’s complicated 76: miracles: Things just happen  77: love at first sight: Kind of misleading, Lust and love are 2 different things 78: kiss on the first date: Fuck it dog why not? 79: angels: No

OTHER 80: current best friend’s name: Frank, Baylor 81: eye color: Green 82: favorite movie: Too tough 83: Favorite music genre: Prog! 84: favorite item of clothing: My Dream Theater T shirt lol 85: favorite friends character: idk

[cultivating-ass]

the-village-rp; Eden Stone

And everybody’s hurting

Growing up in Atlanta with a single mother things were never easy, but Edy never knew her upbringing was different. There were times when Edy and her mother couldn’t afford somewhere to live, but the pair were adaptable. Edy even started school early so her mother didn’t have to worry about her while she was at work. As cheesy as it sounds what the girls lacked in money they made up for in love. Even when they were struggling Edy’s mother would do her best to treat Edy even stealing from the store for her. It wasn’t unusual for Edy’s mother to spend the night, the week, a month in jail for various offense, but Edy was always able to take care of herself. Brush her hair, her teeth, go to school, do her homework Edy would go through each day waiting for her mother to get out so they could be together. It wasn’t until her mother was arrested while she was with Edy that things began to change. A young Edy assumed the police would just send her home, but they had other plans.

Everybody’s going through it

Edy was taken away from her mother and placed in foster care. Every night Edy prayed that her mother would come and take her away from the seemingly never-ending foster homes, but instead when the bedroom doorknob would click it would be a foster father, or brother, and Edy would lay as stiff as possible closing her eyes as tightly as she could. To escape the revolving door of foster homes Edy began searching for support outside of the system, but this only lead her into the clutches of the wrong crowd. She began staying out as late as she could, taking drugs, and drinking her pain away. Only the self destructive behavior didn’t make her feel any better. It wasn’t until Edy was introduced to the world of graffiti that she finally saw a silver lining. She began staying out to tag the streets with her calling card: Stoney Don’t Fuck With 12. With her new hobby Edy began running into the police, something her foster homes never approved of. Most of them would just pass her on to the next home, and the ones that didn’t were far worse.

But you just can’t give up now

After a particularly vile foster mother locked her in the basement for a week Edy decided she needed to be free of all the pain and suffering she had endured. She packed her things in a black plastic bag like she had so many times before and just left. Her first stop was to look for her mom in her usual haunts, but Edy had no luck finding her. She waited around for weeks, just like she used to when she was a kid, but after her mom failed to show up she took off without knowing where she was going, and only that she needed to get out. Edy began traveling any way she could hoping trains, hitchhiking, and even walking anything to get away from Atlanta. Edy spread her art as many places as she could before meeting a group of artists in California. It was then that Edy decided to follow them to New York.

‘Cause you gotta save yourself

Living in the city Edy began to truly flourish as an artist. There wasn’t a corner in New York that you couldn’t find Stoney’s calling card. Sadly her notoriety couldn’t save her from the NYPD who regularly picked her up for defacing public property. After they found out Edy was underage they sent her to live in a group home. At first Edy was afraid to live in a group home, but after a while she began to see it as an opportunity to be the person her mother always dreamed she could be. With help from the group home Edy finished high school, and after collecting her writing and art into an essay Edy was accepted into NYU with enough scholarships and grants to keep her in school with a roof over her head. You can still find her art all over the streets, but if you’re looking to catch a glimpse of the artist herself you can find her at Bleeker Street Records where she works. Edy doesn’t talk much about her past and prefers to live in the moment.

tl;dr

History

Born in Atlanta, Georgia

Despite her mother working hard to keep them together Edy was put into foster care

Discovered the world of graffiti as an escape from her abusive foster homes

Ran away to travel and pursue art eventually ending up in New York

Taking to a group home in the city where she finished high school

Attends NYU’s Philosophy program

Fun Facts

Works at Bleeker Street Records

Is a street artist under the name Stoney (Don’t Fuck With 12)

Has synesthesia, and tetrachromacy, as well as heighten senses

Often wears sunglasses when feeling overloaded by sensory information

Because of her story and background was given several grants and scholarships to go to NYU

general

FULL NAME: eden ayesha stone NICKNAMES: edy, stoney AGE: twenty one BIRTHDAY: january 1st, 1997 OCCUPATION: employee at bleeker street records, student, graffiti artist, DJ HOMETOWN: atlanta, georgia SPOKEN LANGUAGES: english

identity

PREFERRED NAME: edy GENDER: non binary/demigirl PRONOUNS: she/her ROMANTIC: pan SEXUAL: demi (does not define sexuality this way, instead just identifies as pansexual) RELIGION: muslim (non-practicing)

relationships

PARENTS: taj carter (according to her mother), ayesha stone SIBLINGS: unknown half siblings CHILDREN: n/a PET(S): none, but often feed the rats in the subway tunnels SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S): n/a

physical

EYES: brown HAIR: brown HEIGHT: 5'3 - 5′6 DOMINANT HAND: left ETHNICITY: mixed race (black/unknown) TATTOO(S): n/a PIERCING(S): n/a NOTABLE FEATURES: TBA FC: brittany o'grady

personality

LIKES: poetry, art, music, records, hiking, urban exploring DISLIKES: police, TBA PHOBIAS: TBA STRENGTHS: artistic talent, stealth, dexterity, street knowledge WEAKNESSES: chrisma, TBA MANNERISMS: TBA

favourites

COLOUR: red FOOD: rice and beans or chicken wings DRINK: yoohoo MOVIE: poetic justice TV SHOW: the get down HOBBY: tagging, drawing, writing, djing MUSIC GENRE: rnb, hip hop, funk SONG: stranger /lover, ibeyi

study

MBTI: TBA ZODIAC: capricorn ALIGNMENT: true neutral